Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
  • A63H27/00—Toy aircraft; Other flying toys
  • A63H27/12—Helicopters ; Flying tops
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
  • B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
  • B64U30/20—Rotors; Rotor supports
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
  • B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
  • B64U30/20—Rotors; Rotor supports
  • B64U30/26—Ducted or shrouded rotors
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
  • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
  • B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
  • B64U50/10—Propulsion
  • B64U50/13—Propulsion using external fans or propellers
  • B64U50/14—Propulsion using external fans or propellers ducted or shrouded

Definitions

• piloted aircraft has the advantage of not having to risk the lives and health of air crews on dangerous assignments, and also offers much greater freedom in designing the aircraft to optimise its qualities without having to take the requirements of the crew into consideration. This freedom can be utilised to increase operation times and flying altitudes or to provide small, relatively simple aircraft. The design of these aircraft may differ quite sub- stantially from equivalent piloted aircraft.
• An unpiloted rotor-driven aircraft is also known per se (PCT/SE99/00099), which is provided with a drive unit that drives a rotor directly via a rotor shaft.
• a load carrier is also connected to the drive unit via a Cardan joint so that the drive unit can be angularly displaced independently of the load carrier.
• this solution with a Cardan joint between the load carrier and the drive unit causes the centre of gravity of the aircraft to be located extremely high with loads corresponding to the mass of the drive unit. This in turn means that the take-off and landing properties are poorer than if the centre of gravity were to be located lower.
• Another object of the invention is to provide an unpiloted rotor-driven aircraft with better take-off and landing properties than previously known aircraft of this type.
• the joint member in accordance with the invention provides better control efficiency.
• the practical design of the control means of the aircraft depends, amongst other things, on the choice of rotor system. According to one design the altitude control is presumed to be by control of the rotor speed.
• the present invention offers an opportunity, with constant rotor speed, to control the lifting force by at least one rotor element, preferably all, comprising a first rudder half and a second rudder half, separable from each other at the lower edge by an an- gle of a where a may assume a value from 0° to 180°.
• This division of each rudder element requires each element to have two servos for turning the rudder elements about two axes.
• Each rotor system generates a swerving torque whose magnitude is dependent, amongst other things, on the speed.
• the swerving torque can be controlled by a suitable difference in speed for the two rotor members.
• control means with rudder elements.
• swerve control and balance of the rotor torque are achieved with the aid of rudder elements set at a suitable angle of incidence to achieve swerve torque.
• the rudder elements are placed as far downstream of the rotor disc as is practically suitable so that the torque arms are as long as possible.
• the effect of the rudder control will differ depending on if a counter-rotating rotor system is used or a single rotor system. The difference is due to a single rotor constituting a gyro, thus causing the control effect of the rudder torque to be different from that for a counter-rotating rotor system.
• FIG. 1 shows schematically the design in principle of an unpiloted rotor- driven aircraft (UAV) in accordance with the invention.
• the aircraft comprises two main parts, a drive unit 5 with a load carrier 7 carrying suitable equipment such as reconnaissance cameras and fuel tank, a rotor member 1 , the rotor blades of which are rigidly fixed in a rotor hub 3, together with a control means S.
• the drive unit 5 houses a drive motor and a reduction gear for rotary driving of the rotor member 1.
• the rotor member 1 has a rotor shaft
• FIG. 1 also shows schematically the control member S used in accordance with the invention.
• the rotor member 1 is identified by the rotor hub 3 and the drive unit 5 joined thereto via the rotor shaft 4.
• a carrier member 21 is rotatably journalled about the rotor shaft 4, this carrier member curving downwardly in shanks 21 ' on both sides of the shaft, towards the drive unit 5.
• the internal distance between the shanks of the carrier member is sufficient to permit full freedom of movement for the load carrier 7 and drive unit 5.
• a retainer ring 23 is rigidly fixed at the lower ends of the shanks 21', on which ring 23 four rudders 25 are rotatably mounted.
• Each rudder 25 narrows across its cross section.
• the rudders 25 are vertically oriented with the thicker portions of the rudders 25 directed upwards towards the rotor blades and the narrower parts directed downwards.
• the rudders are connected, each to its own rudder shaft 26, the latter being tumable by servo-means 27 to give the desired influencing torque on the drive unit 5.
• the rudders are arranged in the downwardly directed air stream (swept down) from the rotor member 1.
• the unpiloted aircraft is described as having a flexible connection between the drive unit 5 and control member S in the form of a Cardan joint.
• any suitable type of joint means can be used to give the desired all-round mobility between the components, provided the joint means has two degrees of freedom (toll and tilt) and that it is resistant to turning so that the turning influence of the rudder on the carrier member 21 is transmitted to the drive unit 5 and the load carrier 7.

Landscapes

• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Transmission Devices (AREA)
• Toys (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=20281521

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

Cited By (4)

Families Citing this family (2)

Citations (3)

• 2000
  • 2000-10-23 SE SE516367D patent/SE516367C2/sv not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2000-10-23 SE SE0003831A patent/SE0003831D0/xx not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-10-15 WO PCT/SE2001/002235 patent/WO2002034620A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2001-10-15 AU AU2001294495A patent/AU2001294495A1/en not_active Abandoned

Patent Citations (3)

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