JP7120645B2 - rotorcraft - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rotorcraft having multiple rotor blades.

2. Description of the Related Art In various events such as sports and concerts, or surveys of building facilities such as buildings and condominiums, for example, aerial photography using a rotary wing aircraft called a drone or multicopter is sometimes performed. This type of rotary wing aircraft is being applied not only for aerial photography but also in areas such as cargo transportation. Patent Document 1 discloses a rotorcraft having a plurality of rotor blades, a support section installed vertically downward from the center of the rotorcraft, a mounting section installed at the end of the support section vertically downward, A rotorcraft system for aerial photography, which consists of a mooring rope connected to the bottom of the mounting part, one end of the mooring rope is connected to the vertically lower end of the mounting part, and the other end of the mooring rope is anchored on the ground. disclosed.

JP 2013-79043 A

The rotorcraft 1 floats upward by rotating each rotor blade P at the same number of revolutions (more precisely, the number of revolutions per unit time, the same applies hereinafter) in the posture shown in FIG. 13 . At this time, assuming that the upper limit of the rotation speed level is 10, for example, the rotation speed level at the time of rising is set to 6 (numbers in parentheses in the figure, the same applies hereinafter). When the rotary wing aircraft 1 reaches a desired altitude, it stops in the air (hovering) by reducing the number of revolutions to such an extent that the lift force by each rotary wing P and the gravity applied to the aircraft body are balanced. At this time, the rotation speed level is set to 5, for example. When the rotorcraft 1 moves in the horizontal direction, the rotational speed of the rotor P located forward in the direction of travel is reduced (for example, the rotational speed level is 3), and the rotor P located rearward in the direction of travel is reduced. increase the number of revolutions (for example, number of revolutions level 7). As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the rotary-wing aircraft 1 moves in the direction of the arrow a while maintaining the forward-downward tilted attitude toward the traveling direction. When the fuselage of the rotorcraft 1 is tilted, a rotational moment M is generated around the center of lift U by a heavy object G such as a camera. It is necessary to increase the number of revolutions of the rotor blades P located in the rear than that of the rotor blades P in the front.

In Patent Document 1 (especially FIGS. 7 and 8), a joint member R is provided so that a heavy object G can be adjusted to be positioned vertically below the rotorcraft 1 regardless of the attitude of the rotorcraft 1. is disclosed. However, even if such a mechanism is adopted, as shown in FIG. Not a little rotational moment M around U is generated. Therefore, a slight difference is provided between the rotation speeds of the two rotor blades, for example, the rotation speed level of the rotor blade P located forward in the direction of travel is set to level 4 and the rotation speed level of the rotor blade P located behind the direction of travel is set to level 6. There must be.

In this way, when a difference is provided in the number of revolutions of the front and rear rotor blades P in the direction of travel in order for the rotorcraft 1 to travel in the horizontal direction, the rotor blades P in the rear direction of travel may be Since the output of P must be maintained at a high level, various problems are conceivable, such as failure due to heat generation of the motor, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to reduce the difference in the number of rotations of the rotor blades in the forward and rearward directions in the direction of travel when a rotorcraft having a plurality of rotor blades travels in a direction including the horizontal direction. and

According to the present invention, a rotary wing aircraft comprising a flight section, a body section, and a connection section that connects the flight section and the body section so that the flight section and the body section can swing within a predetermined range,
The flight section includes a plurality of rotor blades and an arm portion supporting the plurality of rotor blades,
The main body includes a rod-shaped portion extending in the vertical direction, and a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion provided at the upper end and the lower end of the rod-shaped portion, respectively,
The connection portion includes a first connection portion that allows the main body portion to swing about a horizontal axis orthogonal to the direction of travel, and a first connection portion that is orthogonal to the horizontal axis and has a predetermined angle with the direction of travel when viewed along the horizontal axis. a second connecting portion that allows the support rod to swing about an oblique axis that forms an elevation angle;
A rotorcraft is obtained.

1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a rotorcraft according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. The side view of the rotary wing aircraft which concerns on the same embodiment. The top view of the rotorcraft which concerns on the same embodiment. A conceptual diagram explaining the center of lift force. The side view which shows the attitude|position change of the rotorcraft which concerns on the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram explaining the dynamic relationship in the rotary wing aircraft according to the same embodiment; The side view of the rotary wing aircraft which concerns on the modification of this invention. The side view which shows the attitude|position change of the rotorcraft which concerns on the same modification. The perspective view which shows the structure of the rotorcraft based on another modification of this invention. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a rotorcraft according to still another modification of the present invention; The top view of the rotorcraft which concerns on the same modification. The side view of the rotary wing aircraft which concerns on the same modification. 1 is a side view of a conventional rotorcraft; FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of a conventional rotorcraft moving horizontally; FIG. 10 is a side view of a conventional rotorcraft having joint members when horizontally moving; Figure 2 shows a rotorcraft according to a second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 is another view showing a rotorcraft according to the second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 is another view showing a rotorcraft according to the second embodiment of the invention; Fig. 4 is a modified example showing a rotorcraft according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

A rotorcraft according to the present invention comprises the following configuration.
[Configuration 1]
A rotary wing aircraft comprising a flight section, a body section, and a connecting section connecting the flight section and the body section so as to be able to swing within a predetermined range,
The flight section includes a plurality of rotor blades and an arm portion supporting the plurality of rotor blades,
The main body includes a rod-shaped portion extending in the vertical direction, and a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion provided at the upper end and the lower end of the rod-shaped portion, respectively,
The connection portion includes a first connection portion that allows the main body portion to swing about a horizontal axis orthogonal to the direction of travel, and a first connection portion that is orthogonal to the horizontal axis and has a predetermined angle with the direction of travel when viewed along the horizontal axis. a second connecting portion that allows the body portion to swing about an oblique axis forming an elevation angle;
rotorcraft.
[Configuration 1]
The rotorcraft according to Configuration 1,
A rotary wing aircraft, wherein the intersection of the horizontal axis and the oblique axis is substantially at the center position of the lift generated in the fuselage by the rotation of the plurality of rotary wings.
[Configuration 2]
The rotorcraft according to Configuration 1,
A rotary wing aircraft, wherein the intersection of the horizontal axis and the oblique axis is at the center of gravity of the main body.
[Configuration 3]
The rotorcraft according to any one of Configurations 1 to 3,
The position of the first mounting portion is shifted rearward from the main body,
The position of the second mounting portion is shifted forward from the body portion,
rotorcraft.
[Configuration 4]
The rotorcraft according to any one of Configurations 1 to 4,
The flight unit moves in the direction of travel so as to be tilted in the direction of travel, and the elevation angle is an angle at which the oblique axis can be horizontal at least during flight in the direction of travel.
rotorcraft.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a rotorcraft 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the rotorcraft 10 as seen from the direction of arrow X in FIG. 3 is a plan view of the rotorcraft 10 as seen from the direction of arrow Y in FIG. In this embodiment, a four-rotor type multicopter will be described as an example of a rotorcraft having a plurality of rotor blades.

A central portion 15 of the rotorcraft 10 is provided at the center of the rotorcraft 10 when viewed from above. From the side of the central portion 15, the four arms 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D are arranged at regular intervals, that is, the angles formed by the longitudinal directions of the adjacent arms are 90 degrees. is extended to The arm portions 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D are means for supporting the rotary blade portions 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D, respectively. Arm portion 14A and rotor blade portion 11A, arm portion 14B and rotor blade portion 11B, arm portion 14C and rotor blade portion 11C, and arm portion 14D and rotor blade portion 11D all have the same configuration. and the configuration of the rotary blade portion 11A will be described as an example. In this embodiment, the arm portions 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D are bent downwardly so as to avoid their movable ranges so as not to interfere with the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D. Although it has a shape, it does not necessarily have to have the shape illustrated in FIG.

A rotary blade portion 11A is attached to the tip portion of the arm portion 14A farther from the central portion 15. As shown in FIG. The rotary blade section 11A includes a rotary blade 12A and a power section 13A. The rotor blade 12A is means for converting the output from the power section 13A into the propulsion force of the rotorcraft 10 . Although the rotor blade 12A illustrated in the figure has two blades, it may have three or more blades. The power unit 13A is power generating means such as an electric motor or an internal combustion engine. In this embodiment, as the power units 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D, two electric motors (right-handed motor and left-handed motor) rotating in different directions are used, and the power units 13A and 13C are left-handed motors. , power units 13B and 13D are right rotation motors. The power section 13A is fixed to the arm section 14A, and the rotating shaft of the power section 13A is fixed to the rotor blade 12A. As shown in FIG. 3, the rotary shafts of the rotor blades 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D are arranged at regular intervals on concentric circles around the central portion 15 when viewed from above.

The first mounting unit 25 is means for mounting an object, and includes, for example, a camera 28 for aerial photography, a drive mechanism (not shown) for changing the direction of the camera, and a control unit for controlling the camera 28 and the drive mechanism. It carries an object such as a device (not shown). The control device controls the photographing operation of the camera 28, the pan operation for rotating the camera 28 left and right, the tilt operation for tilting the camera 28 up and down, and the like. Further, in the rotorcraft 10, the power supply for driving the power units 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, the camera 28, the control device, etc., the receiver for radio control, and the attitude of the rotorcraft 10 are grasped. A level or the like (none of which is shown) for may have been Further, the control device may also be mounted in the space provided in this central portion 15 .

A connecting portion 16 is fixed to the lower surface of the central portion 15 . The connecting portion 16 connects the first mounting portion 25 to the arm portion 14A via the support rod 21 and the central portion 15 so that the first mounting portion 25 can move within a predetermined range with respect to the airframe of the rotorcraft 10. , 14B, 14C, 14D. The connecting portion 16 is a joint mechanism such as a ball joint, and rotatably supports the first mounting portion 25 and the support rod 21 . In the present embodiment, the connecting portion 16 is located within a substantially semispherical range below the rotorcraft 10 and within a range that does not come into contact with the arm portions 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D. Support rods 21 are supported so as to be rotatable. A connection portion 16 is fixed to the upper end of the support rod 21, and a first mounting portion 25 is fixed to the lower end thereof. The support rod 21 and the first mounting portion 25 are maintained in a vertically downwardly suspended state from the rotorcraft 10 by the action of gravity regardless of the attitude of the rotorcraft 10 .

An operator operates a radio control transmitter having an operation unit to operate the rotorcraft 10 . When the receiver receives the radio signal transmitted from the transmitter, the controller of the rotorcraft 10 controls the power units 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D, the camera 28, etc. of the rotorcraft 10 based on the radio signal. Controls each part.

Here, as shown in FIG. 4, the center C of the connecting portion 16 coincides with the center U of the lift generated in the body of the rotorcraft 10 by the rotation of the four rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D. ing. Here, the center C of the connecting portion 16 is the point of action on the connecting portion 16 of the gravity acting on the support rod 21, the first mounting portion 25, and the object mounted on the first mounting portion 25. 16 is the center of rotation. Further, the lift center U is the point of action on the rotorcraft 10 of the lift generated by the rotation of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D. More specifically, when the width of each of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D in the lateral direction is d, each rotor blade 12A is positioned d/n from the upper end in the width direction of each rotor blade. , 12B, 12C, 12D (n is 3, for example). Rotation of each of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D shown in FIG. The center of the concentric circles through which the axis passes is the center of lift U.

The center U of the lift force generated in the airframe of the rotorcraft 10 is the point of action of the gravity of the heavy objects (the support rod 21, the first mounting portion 25, and the object mounted on the first mounting portion 25). 16, which is the center of rotation of the rotorcraft 10. Therefore, even if the body of the rotorcraft 10 is tilted, the center of lift U is subject to the vertical gravity force exerted by the heavy object. Therefore, no rotational moment due to the gravity of the heavy object is generated around the center of lift U.

Next, changes in attitude of the rotorcraft 10 will be described with reference to FIG. When the operator uses the operation unit of the transmitter to perform an operation to raise the rotorcraft 10, the control device controls the power units 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D according to this operation to increase the rotation speeds of the power units 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D. , the rotational speeds of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D attached to the power sections 13A, 13B, 13C and 13D also increase. As a result, the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D gradually generate the lift necessary for the rotorcraft 10 to rise. When the lift force exceeds the gravitational force acting on the rotorcraft 10, the rotorcraft 10 begins to float in the air in the direction of arrow A, as shown in FIG. 5(A). At this time, for example, assuming that the upper limit of the rotational speed level of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D is 10, the rotational speed level of each rotor blade 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D during this ascent is, for example, 6, Both have the same number of revolutions.

Then, when the rotorcraft 10 reaches the desired altitude, the operator operates the transmitter to increase the rotational speeds of the rotorcraft 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D so that the rotorcraft 10 hovering. to adjust. In other words, the rotational speed at this time is a rotational speed that balances the lift force due to the rotation of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D and the gravity applied to the rotorcraft 10. For example, the rotational speed level is 5.

Next, when the rotorcraft 10 moves in the horizontal direction, the operator operates the transmitter to change the rotational speed of the rotor blades 12B and 12C behind in the direction of travel to forward in the direction of travel. The number of revolutions of the rotor blades 12A and 12D at . At this time, for example, the rotational speed level of the rotor blades 12B and 12C in the rear is set to 6, and the rotational speed level of the rotor blades 12A and 12D in front is set to 4. As a result, the lift force by the rear rotor blades 12B and 12C is greater than the lift force by the front rotor blades 12A and 12D, and the position of the rotor blades 12B and 12C is higher than the position of the rotor blades 12A and 12D. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5B, the body of the rotary wing aircraft 10 is tilted forward and downward toward the traveling direction.

As soon as such a posture is obtained, the operator operates the transmitter to adjust the rotational speed of each of the rotor blades A, 12B, 12C, and 12D to such a rotational speed as to move horizontally at a desired speed. For example, the rotation speed levels of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D at this time are all set to 5. Conventionally, unless the number of rotations of the rotor blades behind in the direction of travel is higher than the number of rotations of the rotor blades in front of the direction of travel, the aircraft attitude cannot be maintained and horizontal movement cannot be achieved. In this embodiment, the rotorcraft 10 can be moved in the arrow B direction as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5(B) and 5(C), when the body of the rotorcraft 10 is tilted forward and downward in the direction of travel, the gravity of the heavy object below the support rod 21 is applied to the connecting portion. 16, and as described above, the point of action of the gravity on this connecting portion 16 (the center C of the connecting portion 16) coincides with the center U of the lift force. Therefore, no rotational moment is generated around the center U of the lift force due to the gravity of the heavy objects below the support rod 21 . Therefore, the rotational speeds of the rotor blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D may remain the same.

Let us explain this mechanically. As shown in FIG. 6, the force acting on the center of lift U (the center of the connecting portion C) is composed of gravity mg caused by mounted objects such as the support rod 21, the first mounting portion 25, and the camera 28, and the rotor blades 12A and 12B. , 12C, and 12D are the lift forces F due to the rotation. The direction of gravity mg is downward in the vertical direction, and the direction of lift force F is in the upward direction orthogonal to a plane passing through the position d/n from the upper end of each rotor blade 12A, 12B, 12C, 12 in the width direction. When the lift force F is decomposed into a component force F1 parallel to the direction of the gravity mg and a component force F2 perpendicular to the direction of the gravity mg, the component force F1 is balanced with the gravity mg, and the component force F2 is the rotor blade It becomes the horizontal thrust of the aircraft 10 . Due to the component forces F1 and F2, the rotorcraft 10 moves horizontally while maintaining its altitude.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the rotorcraft 10 travels in the horizontal direction, the difference in the number of rotations between the front and rear rotor blades in the direction of travel can be made smaller than before. difference can be zero.

Reducing the difference in rotational speed between the front and rear rotor blades in the traveling direction has the following advantages. First, during the period in which the rotorcraft 10 moves in the horizontal direction, the output of the rotor blades at the rear in the direction of travel is considerably higher than the output at the front in the direction of travel (high output enough to cancel the rotational moment M that has been generated in the past). If the power unit is a motor, the possibility of failure due to heat generation is reduced, and a downgraded power unit with lower output performance than before can be used. space is created. If it is allowed to downgrade the power section in this way, it becomes possible to reduce the weight and cost of the entire rotary wing aircraft body, and as a result, it is possible to enjoy improved fuel efficiency and economic benefits.

In addition, when a difference is provided in the rotational speed of the front and rear rotor blades in the direction of travel as in the conventional art, the rotational speed of the front rotor blade in the direction of travel is relatively small, and the rear power section Even if the output is increased, part of the output must be used to eliminate the rotational moment, so the average number of rotations of all the rotor blades does not increase very much as a result. For this reason, the traveling speed of the rotorcraft is not very high, and the weight of heavy objects that can be carried by the rotorcraft cannot be too heavy. In contrast, according to the present embodiment, the output of the power units 13A, 13B, 13C, and 13D does not have to be used for canceling the rotational moment, and the ratio of the output to the propulsive force of the rotary wing aircraft is reduced compared to the conventional case. can be enhanced. Therefore, it contributes to the improvement of the traveling speed of the rotorcraft, and also makes it possible to carry heavier loads.

In addition, in the case of a transportation application in which a load is transported by a rotary wing aircraft, separated in the air above the destination, and dropped at the destination, in the conventional configuration, the moment the load is separated from the rotary wing aircraft, The rotation moment M is suddenly reduced by an amount corresponding to the weight of the cargo, and furthermore, there is a difference in the rotational speed level between the front and rear in the direction of travel, so the behavior of the rotorcraft body becomes extremely unstable. On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, no rotational moment is generated, and there is no difference in the rotational speed level between the front and rear in the traveling direction, so there is no room for the rotational moment to change even if the load is separated. Problems such as those described above do not occur.

[Modification]
The first embodiment described above may be modified as follows.
[Modification 1]
A center-of-gravity moving mechanism for moving the center of gravity of the rotorcraft body may be provided. FIG. 7 is a side view of the rotorcraft 10A according to Modification 1, and FIG. 8 is a side view showing a change in attitude of the rotorcraft 10A. The connecting portion 16A connects the second mounting portion 26 disposed on the side opposite to the first mounting portion 25 as viewed from the connecting portion 16A to the arm portions 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D together with the first mounting portion 25. . The second mounting portion 26 is connected to the first mounting portion 25 via the support rods 21 and 22 . The second mounting section 26 may be mounted with a power supply, a receiver, a control device, a level, and the like, as well as an antenna for receiving a positioning signal (for example, a GPS signal). The support rod 21 and the support rod 22 are rod-shaped members extending in one direction, and are attached to ball joints or the like within a range that does not interfere with the arm portions 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D and the rotary blade portions 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D. centering on the connecting portion 16A of the fuselage.

Furthermore, the first mounting portion 25, the second mounting portion 26, and the support rods 21 and 22 can be vertically moved with respect to the connecting portion 16A by, for example, a rack and pinion mechanism provided on the connecting portion 16A. . When the first mounting portion 25 and the second mounting portion 26 move downward (in the direction of arrow f) due to this vertical movement mechanism, the weight on the first mounting portion 25 side as viewed from the connecting portion 16A is on the second mounting portion 26 side. becomes heavier than the weight of This lowers the position of the center of gravity of the rotorcraft 10A. In this case, regardless of the attitude of the rotorcraft 10 , the first mounting section 25 is positioned vertically below the rotorcraft 10 and the second mounting section 26 is positioned vertically above the rotorcraft 10 due to the action of gravity. position can be maintained. On the other hand, when the first mounting portion 25 and the second mounting portion 26 are lifted upward (in the direction of arrow e) by this vertical movement mechanism, the weight of the second mounting portion 26 side as viewed from the connecting portion 16A is greater than that of the first mounting portion. 25 side becomes heavier, and the position of the center of gravity of the rotorcraft 10A is raised. That is, the connecting portion 16A, the first mounting portion 25, the second mounting portion 26, and the support rods 21 and 22 constitute a center-of-gravity moving mechanism for moving the center of gravity of the rotorcraft body.

According to Modification 1, as shown in FIG. 8, by the same control as in the above-described embodiment, the rotary blades 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D are kept at the same number of revolutions, and the rotorcraft 10A is moved horizontally. can be moved to Furthermore, when an antenna for receiving positioning signals (for example, GPS signals) is mounted on the second mounting portion 26, the weight of the first mounting portion 25 side as viewed from the connecting portion 16A is greater than the weight of the second mounting portion 26 side. When the antenna is made heavy, the orientation of the antenna can always be maintained constant (that is, the antenna always faces vertically upward), so the directivity and gain of the antenna can be maintained constant. Furthermore, the position of the center of gravity of the rotorcraft 10A can be changed by vertically moving the first mounting portion 25, the second mounting portion 26, and the support rods 21 and 22 with respect to the connecting portion 16A. The modification is effective in maintaining the attitude of rotorcraft 10 in the event of failure of any rotor section 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D. Specifically, if the center of gravity of the airframe of the rotorcraft 10A is moved closer to the rotor blades that have failed and stopped, and the center of gravity of the airframe is moved and the attitude of the airframe is changed, only the remaining rotor blades can be used. It is possible to continue flying.

[Modification 2]
In the above-described embodiment and modification 1, the first mounting portion 25 or the second mounting portion 26 can freely rotate around the connection portions 16 and 16A by the action of gravity. A power unit such as a motor or an auxiliary propeller may be used and actively controlled according to the operator's operation. For example, in the case of the above-described embodiment, a driving mechanism that allows the support rod 21 to be variable with respect to the arm portions 14A, 14B, 14C, and 14D with the connecting portion 16 as a starting point, and a motor that drives the driving mechanism are provided in the rotary wing aircraft. 10. When the operator operates the transmitter and the rotorcraft 10 reaches a desired altitude, the rotational speed of the rotor blades 12B and 12C behind in the direction of travel is higher than the rotational speed of the rotor blades 12A and 12D ahead in the direction of travel. is increased, the posture of the rotorcraft 10 is tilted forward and downward in the direction of travel, and furthermore, the first mounting portion 25 is positioned vertically below the connection portion 16 using the drive mechanism according to the tilt. to control. This control may be performed manually by the operator, or may be performed automatically by the controller of the rotorcraft 10 according to the inclination of the rotorcraft 10 based on a predetermined control algorithm. Further, the first mounting portion 25 is provided with two auxiliary propellers that generate propulsive forces in two directions orthogonal to each other when viewed from above, and the propulsive forces of the auxiliary propellers control the position of the first mounting portion 25. good too.
As described above, the connection section may be connected to the arm section so that the first mounting section can be moved by gravity, or connected to the arm section so that the first mounting section can be moved by the power section. You may

[Modification 3]
In Modified Example 1, if the weight on the first mounting portion 25 side and the weight on the second mounting portion 26 side when viewed from the connecting portion 16A are set to be the same, the rotary wing aircraft 10A can be moved in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. The attitude of the support rod 21 and the support rod 22 can be kept horizontal when moving to. In this case, for example, if the camera 28 is mounted on the second mounting portion 26, the imaging direction of the camera 28 will be the traveling direction of the rotorcraft 10. can reduce the possibility of getting in the way. Further, when the attitude of the support rods 21 and 22 is horizontal compared to when the attitude of the support rods 21 and 22 is vertical, the air resistance of the airframe when traveling in the horizontal direction can be reduced. It becomes possible.

[Modification 4]
The structure of the rotorcraft is not limited to those illustrated in the embodiments, and may be structures as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, for example. A rotary wing aircraft 10B according to Modification 4 is configured such that an arm section 141 that supports the rotary wing sections 11A, 11B, 11C, and 11D has a rectangular shape when viewed from above. The connecting portion 16B includes a frame 161 connected to the arm portion 141 by a rotating shaft 1621 so as to be rotatable about the horizontal x-axis, and a frame 161 so as to be rotatable about the horizontal y-axis orthogonal to the x-axis. A frame 162 connected to the frame 161 with a pin 1611 is provided. A damper 171 is provided between the arm portion 141 and the frame 161 to suppress the rotational motion of the frame 161 about the x-axis. A damper 172 is provided to restrain rotational movement about the y-axis. The dampers 171 and 172 extend the time required for the displacement so that the first mounting portion 25 does not become unstable due to the rotational movement of the frames 161 and 162 and the sudden displacement of the first mounting portion 25 . It is a means to

[Modification 5]
The present invention is applicable not only when the rotorcraft travels in the horizontal direction, but also when it travels in directions including the horizontal direction (that is, directions with vector components in the horizontal direction). That is, even if the component force F1 in the direction parallel to the direction of the gravity mg explained in FIG. can be smaller than

[Modification 6]
The power supply need not be mounted on the rotorcraft. For example, a power supply may be installed on the ground and a power cable extending from the power supply may be connected to the rotorcraft to supply power. At an altitude of about 15 m, a receiver for contactless power transmission may be installed in the central part, the first mounting part, or the second mounting part, and power may be supplied wirelessly from the ground to the rotorcraft.

(Second embodiment)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 16 to 18. FIG. In the description below, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 16, the rotorcraft according to the second embodiment also includes a flying section, a main body, and a connecting section that connects the flying section and the main body so that they can swing within a predetermined range. there is A rotorcraft flies primarily in the direction of travel (the X direction).

The flight section includes rotor blades 11A and 11B (11C and 11D not shown), power sections (motors) 13A and 13B (13C and 13D not shown) for supplying power to these, and power sections 13A and 13B. and arm portions 14A and 14B (14C and 14D are not shown) that support the .

The main body includes a vertically extending support rod, and a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion provided at upper and lower ends of the support rod, respectively. The support bars have a lower support bar 21 extending downward and an upper support bar 22 extending upward. A camera 28T is mounted on the first mounting portion, and a camera 28B is mounted on the second mounting portion.

The connecting portion according to the present embodiment has a so-called biaxial gimbal structure having a first connecting portion 16P and a second connecting portion 16R. The first connection portion 16P connects the main body portion so as to be able to swing in the pitch direction (around the horizontal axis). The second connection portion 16R allows the main body portion to swing about an oblique axis P forming an elevation angle θ with the traveling direction (X axis).

The points of intersection between the horizontal axis and the oblique axis according to this embodiment are the lift forces generated by the rotor blades 11A and 11B (11C and 11D not shown) and the rotor blades 11A and 11B (11C and 11D not shown). Almost coincides with the center. More specifically, the position of the intersection is the point of action on the rotorcraft of the lift generated in the fuselage by the rotation of the rotor, and is on a plane passing through the width of each rotor in the lateral direction, In addition, it is located at a position substantially coinciding with the point of action at the center of the circle through which the rotating shaft of each of the plurality of rotor blades passes. Furthermore, the above-mentioned intersection according to the present embodiment substantially coincides with the center of gravity G of the main body.

Also, as shown in the figure, the position of the camera 28T is shifted rearward from the main body, and the position of the camera 28B is shifted forward from the main body. As a result, the rotors function as counterweights in the longitudinal direction, and the rotor blades are less likely to enter the field of view during flight in the forward direction.

As shown in FIG. 17, the rotorcraft moves in the direction of travel by tilting the flight section in the direction of travel. At this time, the oblique axis P is sometimes parallel to the horizontal direction. That is, the elevation angle θ shown in FIG. 16 is an angle at which the oblique axis P can be horizontal at least during flight in the forward direction, in other words, the moment when the oblique axis can be at least horizontal during flight in the forward direction. is set to be Specifically, the elevation angle θ is preferably 10 to 35 degrees, preferably 25 to 35 degrees when the flight speed in the direction of travel is important, and 10 to 15 degrees when the flight speed is low. .

As shown in FIG. 18, when the flight speed in the direction of travel is further increased, the oblique axis forms an angle of depression with the horizontal direction.

In this way, in the initial state (at the time of vertical ascent), by making the oblique axis form an elevation angle in advance with the traveling direction, it becomes easier to maintain an appropriate attitude during flight, and in particular, the second connection. Since the effective angle of the portion 16R is increased, it is possible to increase the Sao speed of light. Also, when a motor is used for the connecting portion, the output of the motor can be made small.

<Modification>
The above-described second embodiment may be configured as a modified example as shown in FIG. 19, for example. As shown, the rotorcraft in this modification has the camera 28T on-axis with the main body (ie, not offset rearward). If the camera 28B is positioned forward, it is possible to suppress the reflection of the rotor blades. is preferred.

10, 10A, 10B, 10C... rotary wing aircraft, 11A, 11B, 11C, 11D... rotary wing section, 12A, 12B, 12C, 12D... rotary wing, 13A, 13B, 13C, 13D... power section, 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 141 Arm portion 15 Center portion 16, 16A, 16B Connecting portion 161, 162 Frame body 21, 22 Supporting rod 25 First mounting portion 26 Second mounting portion , 28 ... camera

Claims (5)

A rotary wing aircraft comprising a flight section, a body section, and a connecting section connecting the flight section and the body section so as to be able to swing within a predetermined range,
The flight section includes a plurality of rotor blades and an arm portion supporting the plurality of rotor blades,
The main body includes a member extending in the vertical direction, and a first mounting portion and a second mounting portion provided on the upper end side and the lower end side of the member , respectively,
The connecting portion includes a first connecting portion that allows the main body to swing about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the traveling direction, and an oblique connecting portion that is perpendicular to the horizontal axis and forms a predetermined elevation angle above the horizontal when vertically rising. a second connecting portion that allows the body portion to swing about an axis;
rotorcraft. A rotorcraft according to claim 1,
A rotary wing aircraft, wherein the intersection of the horizontal axis and the oblique axis is substantially at the center position of the lift generated in the fuselage by the rotation of the plurality of rotary wings. A rotorcraft according to claim 1,
A rotary wing aircraft, wherein the intersection of the horizontal axis and the oblique axis is at the center of gravity of the main body. The rotary wing aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The position of the first mounting portion is shifted rearward from the main body,
The position of the second mounting portion is shifted forward from the body portion,
rotorcraft. The rotorcraft according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The flight unit moves in the direction of travel so as to be tilted in the direction of travel, and the elevation angle is an angle at which the oblique axis can be horizontal at least during flight in the direction of travel.
rotorcraft.

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