JPH06278697A - Helicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To accurately keep geometrical paths by providing other-direction thrust generating devices at different positions from a lateral thrust generating device provided a certain distance away from the center shaft of a main rotor, namely at the positions apart from the center shaft of the main rotor, and making it possible to control the thrust of both the devices separately. CONSTITUTION:A tail rotor 15 for negating reaction force in the opposite direction generated in the airframe 12 due to the rotation of a main rotor 11 is provided at a position a specific distance apart from the vertical shaft 20 of the main rotor 11, that is, at a tail 14. Further, other-direction) thrust generating devices 17, 18 for generating thrusts in different directions from the tail rotor 15 are provided at the different positions from the tail rotor 15, namely at the positions a specific distance apart from the vertical shaft 20 of the main rotor 11, on both sides of the airframe 12 in a state where they are supported by stays 16. The thrusts of the other-direction thrust generating devices 17, 18 and the tail rotor 15 are controlled separately to move the airframe backward and forward, sideways, and in oblique directions while the direction of the airframe 12 is kept constant.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a lateral thrust generating device for rotating a main rotor about an axis perpendicular to an airframe to generate a thrust in a lateral direction at a position separated from a central axis of the main rotor by a certain length. The present invention relates to a helicopter in which a thrust generating device in another direction and a control device for controlling these thrust generating devices are provided in a helicopter, and the helicopter facilitates its operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional helicopter, for example, FIG.
There is something like. The helicopter 1 has a main rotor 3 composed of several relatively large blades 2. By rotating the main rotor 3 around an axis 5 perpendicular to the body 4, a lift force is generated on the blades 2, that is, the main rotor 3. It enables vertical takeoff and landing, enables landing and landing in a narrow space, and can hover to stop at a certain position until it floats up to a certain position, enabling various operations.

When the main rotor 3 is rotated, a reaction force in the opposite direction to the rotation is generated, and the machine body 4 rotates about a vertical axis. Therefore, the tail rotor 6 is generally provided at the tail of the machine body 4. By rotating the tail rotor 6, a thrust force in the lateral direction with respect to the machine body 4 is generated to cancel the reaction force of the main rotor 3.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the main rotor 3
The blade 2 is provided with a feathering hinge 7 for changing its pitch, a flapping hinge that moves up and down so that the blade 2 flaps, and a drag hinge that changes the phase in the rotation direction of the blade 2. There is. The helicopter 1 is steered mainly by changing the pitch of the blades 2 at the feathering hinge 7 and thereby operating the inclination of the rotation surface of the main rotor 3.

In this case, the pitch of all blades, that is, the angle of attack is changed at the same time to change the magnitude of lift of the rotor by collective pitch control, and the angle of attack of each blade is periodically changed during one rotation to change the rotor. There is a cyclic pitch control for changing the rotation surface, that is, the direction of the lift force, which is performed by using a double disc-shaped swash plate 8 provided below the main rotor 3 and moving a link 9 up and down. In the cyclic pitch control, for example, when the helicopter 1 moves forward, each blade changes its pitch when the helicopter rotates in the same direction as when the helicopter moves forward and when it rotates in the opposite direction.

[0006]

By the way, in such a conventional helicopter, the collective pitch control that simultaneously changes the attack angles of all the blades can be easily performed when the helicopter is operated, but the magnitude of the lift is large. Until then, in order to control the direction of the helicopter, etc. by changing the rotation surface of the rotor, that is, the direction of the lift force, it is necessary to perform cyclic pitch control that periodically changes the angle of attack during one rotation. There was a problem that a complicated mechanism such as a plate had to be used.

Further, in order to change the flight direction, it is necessary to change the direction of the lift force to bank the aircraft and make a gentle turn, but it is not possible to make a sudden change in direction, so that helicopters are sown or pesticides are used. Since it is used for agricultural purposes such as spraying, even if an attempt is made to perform a motion that maintains a geometrically accurate trajectory as shown in FIG. 7, after flying a certain stroke S1 at a certain location A, another adjacent stroke In order to fly S2, it is necessary to draw a large arc B and make a turn, and then return to the original position, which is very inconvenient to use for such a purpose.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a conventional problem, and it is not necessary to use a complicated mechanism such as a swash plate as a steering mechanism, and it is possible to achieve geometrical accuracy by a simple control device. The purpose of the present invention is to obtain a helicopter that can perform a motion that keeps a unique trajectory.

[0009]

As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a helicopter having a structure in which a helicopter is rotated around an axis vertical to the aircraft to generate a lift force and the aircraft is levitated in the vertical direction. Different from the lateral thrust generator, which enables the main rotor, the lateral thrust generator which is provided at a position separated from the central axis of the main rotor of the fuselage by a fixed length, and which generates thrust in the lateral direction of the fuselage. The other-direction thrust generator for generating a thrust in a direction different from that of the lateral thrust generator, the other-direction thrust generator being provided at a position apart from the central axis of the main rotor by a certain length, and the other-direction thrust generator and the lateral thrust generator. A thruster is provided to control the thrust of each device individually to keep the direction of the machine body constant and to move the machine body in the front-back, left-right, and diagonal directions and to rotate the machine body at a fixed position.

[0010]

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. The main rotor rotates about an axis vertical to the airframe to generate a lift force, allowing the airframe to fly vertically. The lateral thrust generating device is provided at a position apart from the central axis of the main rotor of the machine body by a certain length, and generates thrust in the lateral direction of the machine body. The other-direction thrust generating device is provided at a position different from the lateral thrust generating device and at a position apart from the central axis of the main rotor by a certain length, and generates thrust in a direction different from that of the lateral thrust generating device. The control device controls the thrust of the other-direction thrust generator and the lateral thrust generator individually to move the fuselage forward, backward, left-right and diagonally while keeping the direction of the fuselage constant, and turn the fuselage at a fixed position. Let

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view of a helicopter 10 showing a configuration of the present invention, in which a main rotor 11 rotates around an axis 13 which is vertical to a machine body 12 and generates a lift force to enable the machine body 12 to fly vertically. Further, when the main rotor 11 is rotated, a reaction force in the opposite direction to the rotation is generated, and the machine body 12 moves vertically
Since it tries to rotate around the main rotor center axis 13 of the body 12, the tail 1
4, a tail rotor 15 is provided, and by rotating the tail rotor 15, a thrust force in the lateral direction is generated with respect to the machine body 12 to cancel the reaction force by the main rotor 11.

[0012] Such a helicopter 10 at a position different from the tail rotor 15 and at a position apart from the main rotor central axis 13 by a certain length, is used as a second direction thrust generating device for generating a thrust in a direction different from that of the tail rotor 15. Extend the stay 16 from the left and right sides of 12 to a little distance,
Two propellers 17 and 18 are provided at the tip of the stay 16. The two propellers 17 and 18 control their pitches individually to generate thrust of arbitrary magnitude in the front and rear parallel to the machine body 12.

The tail rotor 15 and the two propellers 17 and 18 are preferably placed so that the directions of the thrusts generated by them are in the same plane. See also FIG.
As shown in (a), when the thrusting point of the thrust generated by the two propellers 17 and 18 is below the center of gravity G of the mast M, when the thrust to move forward is applied, the nose of the fuselage 12 Is directed upward, the mast M of the main rotor 11 is shortened, the center of gravity G of the mast M is lowered, and the center of gravity G becomes lower than the thrust force of the two propellers 17 and 18 and the tail rotor 15. The structure is located below.

A tail rotor 15 and two propellers 17,
As shown in FIG. 2, the structure of 18 and its drive mechanism are connected from the drive shaft 20 of the main rotor 11 to the three bevel gears 22 via the spur gear 21, and from the bevel gears 22 to the rear thereof. A bevel gear 23 that drives the tail rotor 15 and a bevel gear 2 that drives two propellers 17 and 18 to the left and right of the bevel gear 23.
Engage 4 Then, the shaft 25 of the bevel gear 23 is extended rearward to rotate the bevel gear 26 that drives the tail rotor 15, and the shaft 27 of the bevel gear 24 is extended to drive the two propellers 17 and 18. Rotate 28. The drive shaft 20 is driven by the engine E via spur gears 21 and 29. Further, actuators are attached to the tail rotor 15 and the two propellers 17 and 18, and the pitch of the blades is changed by a control device described later so that thrust of various magnitudes can be applied to each of the front and rear directions. It is supposed to occur.

The pitch between the tail rotor 15 and the two propellers 17 and 18 is controlled by radio control via the control device 30, and the machine body 12 is held forward and backward, left and right, and obliquely while keeping the direction of the machine body 12 constant. Direction, and while hovering the fuselage 12 in place,
It is possible to turn around the shaft 13. In this case, the tail rotor 15 and the two propellers 17 and 18 have uniquely determined thrust directions, and the aircraft 12 is capable of any horizontal movement if the magnitude of the thrust is arbitrarily controlled. Is.

That is, if the variable pitches of the two propellers 17 and 18 are controlled so that the pitches of both propellers 17 and 18 are in the forward direction, the machine body 12 advances. If the pitches of both are in the reverse direction, the machine body 12 moves backward. To do. Also two propellers 17 and 18
Can apply the same thrust force to the both in the opposite directions and the normal torque to the tail rotor 15, so that the body 12 can be turned.

Further, in order to translate the machine body 12 in the horizontal direction, a thrust different from the thrust for canceling the reaction force by the main rotor 11 is applied to the tail rotor 15, and the spin due to the extra thrust of the tail rotor 15 at this time is applied. In order to eliminate the above, the pitches of the two propellers 17 and 18 are set in opposite directions, and thrust in opposite directions is applied. Further, it is possible to apply different thrusts to the two propellers 17 and 18 and adjust the thrust of the tail rotor 15 to move the propellers 17 and 18 diagonally at any angle.

As described above, the main rotor 11 has the body 12
Is used only to levitate in the vertical direction, and to move or change the direction of the helicopter in the horizontal direction, the tail rotor 1
Only the five and two propellers 17 and 18 are used so that the main rotor 11 can be moved forward and backward without tilting. However, when the helicopter 10 moves forward, if the pitch of the blades 19 of the main rotor 11 is constant, the lift forces become unbalanced because the airspeeds on the forward side and the reverse side are different, and the rotation of the main rotor 11 increases. The plane tends to incline, but in this case the horizontal movement speed is slow, so the inclining force is negligible, and the aircraft 12
Does not hinder the exercise of.

Next, the maneuvering operation for such movement and turning will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation is performed by a command from an operation console 31 in the ground-based control device 30, and the computer 32 of the control device 30 includes an operation console 31.
Based on the command from, a program is built in to control the tail rotor 15 and the two propellers 17 and 18 when performing forward, backward and diagonal horizontal movements and turning motions. The appropriate control amount is automatically set only by giving a command from the console 31 to the computer 32 such as forward, backward, diagonal movement, or turning.

Control is performed from the console 31 to the computer 32.
Main rotor control device 3 according to a command issued via
3, a command is issued to the tail rotor control device 34 and the control device 35 of the two propellers, and a signal is sent to the helicopter 10 side via the antenna 36. In the control device 40 on the helicopter 10 side, a signal from the ground side is received by the antenna 41, and in response to a command from the flight control device 42, a main rotor drive device 43, a tail rotor drive device 44, and two propeller drive devices. 45 is driven and the helicopter 10 is controlled.

As described above, the main rotor 11 is used only for vertically floating the machine body 12, and the inclination of the rotation surface of the main rotor 11 is not manipulated for controlling the direction of the helicopter. No, therefore main rotor 1
Since the cyclic pitch control for periodically changing the pitch of the first blade 19 is not performed, there is no problem that a complicated mechanism such as a swash plate has to be used.

In order to use such a helicopter 10 for agricultural purposes such as sowing and pesticide spraying, the main rotor 11 is rotated by remote control and the helicopter 1 is rotated.
0 is levitated and hovered to a fixed position in the air.
Also in this case, the main rotor control device 33 in the control device 30
Then, the main rotor driving device 43 on the control device 40 side is driven to control the main rotor 11 to maintain a constant altitude. Then, from the tail rotor control device 34 and the control device 35 of the two propellers in the control device 30, the tail rotor drive devices 44 and 2 on the control device 40 side.
The propeller drive device 45 is driven to appropriately control the thrust forces of the tail rotor 15 and the two propellers 17 and 18, and the helicopter 10 is steered in a desired direction while maintaining a constant altitude.

After the helicopter 10 has been moved by a certain stroke at a certain place, seeding and pesticide spraying have been carried out, the helicopter 10 moves laterally slightly while maintaining its original posture, and then at that position. Then, the machine body 12 is turned to change its direction, and the work of the next stroke is performed. Therefore, in order to move to another adjacent stroke, it is not necessary to draw a large arc B as shown in FIG. 7 and turn to return to the original position.
It becomes possible to immediately shift from the stroke 1 to the stroke S2.

In the above embodiment, the helicopter 10 is operated by radio, but a manned helicopter may be used by a person inside to perform the same control. It may be built in the machine body instead of being placed in. Further, as a lateral thrust generator provided at a position separated from the main rotor central axis 13 of the machine body 12 by a gear, the tail rotor 15 is provided on the tail portion 14 of the machine body 12 and driven by gears. As long as it is a thrust generator, the driving method does not have to be limited to gears, and the thrust generation source may be a jet injection device or one that extracts the exhaust gas of the engine.

As the other-direction thrust generator, the airframe 12
Stays 16 on both sides, a little away from the left and right fuselage 12
In the above description, two propellers 17 are provided to generate thrust of arbitrary magnitude in the front and rear directions parallel to the airframe 12, but this is not limited to propellers, and it is not limited to jet propellers and engine exhausts. It may be gas extracted,
Further, the thrust may be obtained by the deflecting plate so that the wake of the main rotor 11 is used. Further, the position of the thrust generator and the direction of the thrust are also determined by the two sides of the fuselage 1
2 is not limited to the thrust in the direction parallel to 2, and the thrust may be in another direction at another position in the body 12 as long as the position and the direction are different from those of the lateral thrust generator. The number is not limited to two as shown in the figure, and may be one or three or more.

[0026]

As described above, since the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, it is possible to control the position and the flight direction of the helicopter so that the helicopter moves in a geometrically accurate trajectory. When you try to fly along another adjacent trajectory, you do not need to make a motion that makes a big arc and turn to return to the original position, you can operate the helicopter with a simple operation and work efficiency Can be improved. Further, there is an effect that a complicated structure such as a swash plate does not have to be used for steering, and the structure becomes simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of a helicopter 10 showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a thrust generating device for a helicopter according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state where the central axis of the helicopter is inclined.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a helicopter control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a side view of a conventional helicopter.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an essential part of a main rotor of a conventional helicopter.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a conventional method of farm work using a helicopter.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Main Rotor 12 Airframe 13 Center Axis (Vertical to Airframe) 14 Tail 15 Tail Rotor (Lateral Thrust Generator) 17,18 Two Propellers (Other Thrust Generator) 30 Controller

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A main rotor that rotates about an axis perpendicular to the machine body to generate a lift to enable the machine body to fly in the vertical direction, and a main rotor of the machine body at a position separated by a certain length from the center axis of the main rotor. A lateral thrust generating device that is provided to generate thrust in the lateral direction of the airframe, and a lateral thrust generating device that is provided at a position different from the lateral thrust generating device and separated from the main rotor central axis by a certain length. The other-direction thrust generator that generates thrust in a direction different from that of the other direction, and the thrust of the other-direction thrust generator and the lateral thrust generator are individually controlled to maintain the direction of the fuselage at a constant direction. A helicopter, comprising: a controller that moves the aircraft in left and right directions and in an oblique direction and that turns the aircraft at a fixed position. 2. The helicopter according to claim 1, wherein the lateral thrust generating device is a lateral thrust generating device provided at a tail portion of the airframe. 3. The helicopter according to claim 2, wherein the lateral thrust generating device is a tail rotor. 4. The thrust generators in the other direction according to claim 1, wherein the thrust generators in the other direction are two thrust generators in the front-rear direction, which are provided at positions separated from the central axis of the main rotor by a predetermined length on both sides of the machine body. Characteristic helicopter. 5. The helicopter according to claim 4, wherein the two front-back thrust generators are two propellers provided on both sides of the body.