RU2702462C1 - Hybrid quadcopter - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: aviation.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to rotorcraft. Hybrid quadcopter comprises a gas-filled shell in the form of a biconvex lens with a soft horizontal-folded surface, resting on an inner central axial telescopic column with embedded links, a nacelle with onboard control equipment, which is lowered to the shell, accumulator battery, crosswise-extended brackets and reversible air-screw aircraft engines of variable thrust at their ends. Axial embedded link of telescopic column is extended upwards from coaxial embedded link and housing of column, part of which extends beyond shell, having plug and fasteners on end. Shell support on the telescopic column is carried out due to connection of the rigid convex cover of the shell to the upper end face of the enclosed axial link, and also through connection of the hard flat bottom of the shell to the column body. Bottom has two automatic valves for supply and bleeding of light gas from the shell.

EFFECT: invention is aimed at improvement of streamlining of horizontally-folded surface.

3 cl, 2 dwg

Description

The invention serves multifunctional purposes of aviation, including lifting and transportation of goods, combining aeronautical and flying qualities in a hybrid apparatus.

The device relates, first of all, to rotorcraft with two or more propellers, as well as to lifting devices for special purposes.

Multicopters are known from the development of aviation technology, the main advantages of which are the use as an unmanned device, the ability to stably hang in the atmosphere and the highest maneuverability of vehicles. However, the flight time of multicopters on average is no more than 30 minutes, which imposes the greatest restriction on their range and flight range, not exceeding 7-12 km with a load capacity of 2-3 kg, which allows you to take into the air no more than a small photo or movie camera. Only some models cope with a weight load of 20-30 kg. Light multicopter sensitively react to disturbances in the atmosphere, while losing their spatial stability. The safest modification of these devices are quadrocopters, which, if one of the aircraft engines fails, can avoid an accidental crash.

Hybrid aircraft are known in which aerostatic lifting force of shells filled with gas lighter than air is used in addition to aerodynamic lifting force created by air-screw aircraft engines. In the aeronautical device (patent RU 2581971 C1, 04/20/2015), the soft shell is a vertical cylinder assembled from insulated elastic sections, which is thus multi-link and supported, as well as variable-thrust propeller aircraft engines, on a horizontal truss. The device allows to increase the lifting capacity of the apparatus to the maximum attainable value when filling all sections of the shell with light gas. In this case, it is possible to change the carrying capacity of the apparatus with gas filling not all, but only part of the sections of the multi-link shell, while creating aerostatic force that can lift into the air a load weighing less than the maximum achievable. Without such regulation of carrying capacity, the device would not be able to carry light loads, because when the shell is completely filled with light gas, it will gain the height of the discharged layers of the atmosphere, where the shell will be torn. However, solving the problem of increasing the carrying capacity, the weight of the aeronautical structure increases in this apparatus, since it becomes necessary to install several winches on the farm, tension the cables to flatten the gas sections of the shell, the compressor with the air cylinder, and tie the sections of the shell with a gas manifold. Changes in the carrying capacity of such a hybrid multicopter is stepwise in nature and is a multiple of the volume of one gas section. In another special-purpose vehicle (patent RU 2609660 C1, 11/10/2015), the gas-filled shell is made in the form of a rigid dome into which exactly such a volume of light gas is pumped that will give the device the ability to hang permanently in air with aerostatic lifting force equal to the weight of the aeronautical structure fully assembled and payload weight. Thus, a change in the carrying capacity of such a device is carried out during prelaunch preparation of the apparatus by dosing the volume of light gas injected into the shell. Changes in the thrust of air-propeller aircraft engines compared to this have a negligible effect on the carrying capacity of the device, serve to take it off the ground and spatial maneuver during the flight.

As a prototype, a hybrid airship (WO2008025139 A1, March 6, 2008) was selected, consisting of a spherical shell of a fixed volume filled with light gas mounted on the aeronautical compartment, from which brackets with air-screw aircraft engines at their extremities cross like sides. The aerostatic lifting force of a gas-filled shell significantly increases the carrying capacity of the apparatus. However, loads of different weights require different values of aerostatic lifting force, achieved with different volumes of filling the shell with light gas. If the shell is made soft, its incomplete gas filling leads to the loss of its spherical shape, the shell tissue will hang with arbitrary folds without tension, which worsens the flow and increases the sailing apparatus. The load will be lifted, but its movement under pressure and gusts of wind will become unstable. Rigid execution of the shell is not rational because it increases the dead weight of the device, which leads to greater consumption of expensive light-gas filler. A significant increase in the windage of the apparatus when introducing a dimensional shell into its structure forced the hybrid device to be equipped with two turbines suspended from the sides of the shell at half its height and acting against pressure and gusts of wind. The stability of the device is achieved at the cost of a new increase in the weight of the airship, its dimensions, light gas consumption and energy consumption from the onboard battery (battery).

Meanwhile, there are flying rotorcraft systems that use technical solutions similar to the proposed quadrocopter. So in a manned helicopter (patent GB 2366274 A, 03/06/2002) with a gas-filled shell of ellipsoidal shape, in a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (patent RU 2403183 C2, 01/30/2009), hollow vertical columns were used.

The device (patent RU 2652322 C1, 04/25/2018) is distinguished by the use of a gondola in the form of a bellows, which changes dimensions when compressing or expanding the air in it under the influence of an internal pneumatic jack - another new energy consumer from an onboard battery. In addition, the technical terms “nacelle and bellows” are used incorrectly in this device, since, in essence, the nacelle is a hollow sealed shell in the form of an ellipsoid and does not need a corrugated-corrugated surface. It is no accident that in the next modification of the aeronautical apparatus (RU 2652373 C1, 04/25/2018) the nacelle was given an ellipsoidal shape, more consistent with the essence of both devices and their goals, indicated, inter alia, as reducing energy costs during maneuvering by controlling the sailing apparatus. In both last devices, light gas is not used, the devices do not have aerostatic lifting force.

The above configurations of gas-filled shells, modifications of aeronautical devices are not exhausted. A known shell in the form of a hollow biconvex lens, which is part of an air-height wind generator (patent RU 2535427 C1, 12/24/2013).

The listed and other rotorcraft flying devices combined with gas-filled shells can be used in practice, which, however, is not observed. The reason is that the inclusion of shells in the composition of the devices dramatically increases their windage and the effect of wind pressure in this case makes it impossible to keep hybrid helicopters in hovering mode, displaces them from the flight path. This disadvantage can be overcome in an obvious way to reduce the sailing of hybrid aeronautical systems, which however does not solve the problem completely. It seems necessary not only to achieve a greater carrying capacity of the devices, but also to increase their flight time, which will allow multicopter aircraft, like gliders, to find associated atmospheric flows and successfully follow, using them and due to the thrust of aircraft engines, to their destination. Such a combination of flight and planning requires long-term maneuvering in the air, which can be provided by more capacious batteries of greater massiveness. At the same time, part of the aerostatic lifting force of the gas-filled shells of hybrid multicopters should still be aimed at increasing the carrying capacity of the devices, and the other part should compensate for the use of more capacious and massive batteries, which increase the own weight of helicopters.

The essence of the technical solution lies in the fact that the quadrocopter is combined with a gas-filled shell in the form of a biconvex lens with a soft horizontally folded surface with high streamlining and low windage. The internal central-axial support of such a shell is a telescopic column, the height of which changes together with the vertical dimension of the shell to a larger size when pumping light gas into the shell until the apparatus reaches its maximum load capacity, and decreases when gas from the shell is vented to minimum allowable volume, providing neutral buoyancy (hovering in air) of a fully assembled device with reduced or absent weight load. As a result of such actions, the streamlining of the shell remains practically the same, the windage fluctuates slightly, while it is possible to control the aerostatic lifting force of the apparatus. The stiffness of the shell can be enhanced by installing at the level of the peripheral edge of the shell in the form of a biconvex lens of the inner solid rim with radially directed spokes. It is also possible to improve the streamlining of the folded surface of the shell by the wind, for which a smooth elastic cover can be worn on the shell.

The aim of the invention is to minimize, to insignificantly variable windage of the hybrid quadrocopter at different weight loads on the device, to increase the rigidity of a soft gas-filled shell, to improve the streamlining of its horizontally folded surface.

This goal is achieved in that the quadrocopter has a gas-filled shell in the form of a biconvex lens with a soft horizontally folded surface and a rigid convex cover and a flat bottom. The horizontal symmetry and support of the shell is ensured by an internal telescopic column with links embedded and freely moving in its body. At the same time, part of the body protrudes downward beyond the shell, having a plug and fixing clamps at the end. A convex cover of the gas-filled shell is attached to the upper end of the central-axial enclosed link of the column, and the beginning of the column part protruding from the shell down is connected to the flat bottom of the shell equipped with two automatic valves for supplying and venting light gas. Under this bottom, a gondola is suspended from the column body, filled with electronic control equipment by an unmanned quadrocopter, a battery, and equipped with variable-thrust propeller-type air propellers that are crosswise extended outward and capable of operating in reverse mode. The rigidity of the gas-filled structural element can be enhanced by a solid rim inserted from the inside of the peripheral edge of the biconvex shell and connected through a radial spacer to a sleeve that is mounted on a coaxial embedded link of the telescopic column. The flow around a folded surface of a gas-filled shell by wind flows can be improved if a smooth elastic cover is put on the shell.

In FIG. 1 shows a general view of a hybrid quadrocopter under the maximum possible weight load; in FIG. 2 - the same quadrocopter with increased radius of action with reduced or absent weight load.

The device comprises a gas-filled shell 1 in the form of a biconvex lens with a soft horizontally folded surface. The shell with horizontal symmetry is dressed on an internal telescopic column having a central-axial link 2 and a coaxial link 3, freely inserted in its body 4, part of which protrudes downward outside the shell, ends with a plug 5 and grips 6, used for fastening special equipment and / or cargo. The shell is supported on the telescopic column by connecting the rigid convex cover 7 of the shell with the upper end of the central-axial enclosed link of the telescopic column, as well as by connecting the rigid flat bottom 8 of the shell, with embedded automatic valves for supplying 9 and bleeding 10 light gas, with that body same columns in the place where he is pushed out of the shell. A nacelle 11 with on-board electrical equipment, including primarily a battery, and electronics, brackets 12 extending crosswise to the sides, at the end of which there are reversible air-screw aircraft engines 13 of variable thrust, located under the bottom of the shell, being suspended from the body of the telescopic column. To increase the rigidity of the gas-filled part of the quadrocopter, a solid rim 14 can be used that is placed inside the peripheral edge of the biconvex shell. The rim of the spokes 15 is connected by surprise to the sleeve 16, dressed on a coaxial embedded link of the telescopic column. In order to achieve better streamlining of the folded surface of the apparatus, it is possible to use a smooth elastic cover 17 worn externally on a gas-filled shell.

To reveal the capabilities of the hybrid quadrocopter, you should consider the operation of the device in two modes of its use. To implement the regime of use of this quadrocopter, aimed at achieving the maximum possible carrying capacity of a hybrid device (Fig. 1), it is equipped with a medium-capacity battery, which is used in practice, because The main work of lifting cargo to a height will be performed not by the thrust of air-propeller aircraft engines, but by the aerostatic lifting force of a gas-filled shell. Massive loads are attached to it at the bottom of the apparatus. A light gas is introduced into the casing, which creates excess pressure in it, sufficient for the casing cover with a central-axial embedded link, and then the coaxial embedded link to extend upward from the body of the telescopic column. The folds on the soft surface of the shell move apart and it takes the form of a lens with a large vertical dimension, receives a large bumpy bulge and a gas-filled volume, which gives the loaded unit neutral buoyancy, which is reflected in the device hanging at the surface of the earth. From this static position, the device is derived by turning on air-propeller aircraft engines, the thrust of which lifts the hybrid quadrocopter up together with the fixed load and moves the entire structure in the air. To lower the load to the ground, air-propeller aircraft engines switch to reverse mode of operation. The battery energy is spent more economically on all the mentioned actions than on the practiced multicopter, which makes possible longer manipulations with massive loads. However, the gas-filled shell shape used in the proposed quadrocopter with its large vertical dimension only slightly reduces the windage of the apparatus compared to the prototype. There remains a high probability that the device under the pressure of the wind will move in an undesirable direction, it will be difficult to control or will be lost. Thus, in the first mode of using the quadrocopter there is a limitation; its reliable and safe use will take place only in light winds or in their complete absence. The advantage of the invention is reduced to the practical invariability of the windage apparatus, into the shell of which is pumped a different volume of light gas depending on the weight of a particular load.

In the second mode of using this quadrocopter (Fig. 2), the problem of creating conditions for a longer flight of a rotary-wing aircraft over long distances is solved, while achieving maximum payload is pushed into the background. The battery of the device is equipped with additional sections that increase the battery capacity. Excess light gas is vented from the envelope to a volume capable of creating neutral buoyancy of the structure with a moderately weighted battery and a reduced load. Under the severity of connecting the convex lid of the shell with the central-axial embedded link of the telescopic column, the horizontal folds of the soft surface of the shell come together until they are completely closed when the lower end of the mentioned link abuts the plug, which ends at the bottom of the column body, and the vertical dimension of the shell does not become smaller at least twice. Thus, the lens shape of the shell is transformed from a thickened biconvex state to a more flattened one with minimized windage. The horizontally folded shell can be covered with a smooth elastic cover that creates better streamlined surface, after which the air-screw aircraft engines are turned on, the device comes off the ground and gains height. In view of the sharply reduced windage of the shell, the pressure of the winds no longer has a significant effect on the flight of the hybrid quadrocopter. Due to the larger battery capacity, lower energy costs with minimized windage and improved streamlined envelope, the device can stay in flight longer and travel long distances. At the same time, if you give the on-board electronics system the ability to find tailwind flows through vertical movements and integrate a real flying device with neutral buoyancy into them, the hybrid quadrocopter is capable of moving into the category of aircraft with medium and longer range.

Claims (3)

1. Hybrid quadrocopter, consisting of an airtight shell filled with light gas, a nacelle with on-board control equipment for unmanned flight in air, a battery, cross-brackets extending to the sides and variable-thrust propeller aircraft engines, characterized in that the shell is made in in the form of a biconvex lens with a soft horizontally folded surface and rests on an internal central axial telescopic column with embedded links that freely move Xia in its body, from which the coaxial link and of pushed upwards centrally-axial link and a portion of the housing protrudes downwardly beyond the shell, having on the end cap and the fastening grippers; the shell is supported on the telescopic column by connecting the rigid convex cover to the upper end of the enclosed central-axial link, as well as by connecting the rigid flat bottom of the shell, which has two automatic valves for supplying and bleeding light gas, with the column body at the place where it leaves shells; the nacelle is suspended from the body of the support column below the bottom of the shell and without touching it, the air-propeller aircraft engines related to the nacelle are capable of operating in reverse mode. 2. The quadrocopter according to claim 1, characterized in that the peripheral edge of the gas-filled biconvex shell is reinforced from the inside with a solid rim, the rigidity of which is ensured by spokes radially directed from the rim to the sleeve, freely dressed on the coaxial link of the telescopic column. 3. The quadrocopter according to claim 1, characterized in that a smooth elastic cover is worn on the gas-filled shell.

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