A tandem dual-vector drive vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

Abstract

The application provides a vertical take-off and landing aircraft driven by longitudinal double vectors, and belongs to the technical field of aircrafts. The aircraft comprises a fuselage, a rotor, a front vector driver and a rear vector driver. The rotor is rotatably connected to the middle top end of the fuselage through a rotor shaft. The front vector driver and the rear vector driver are rotatably connected to the front part of the fuselage and the rear part of the fuselage respectively through installation shafts which are perpendicular to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage. The installation shafts and the rotor shaft are located in the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage. The thrust vectors generated by the front vector driver and the rear vector driver balance the reverse torque caused by the rotation of the rotor and drive the aircraft to fly in the hovering / vertical lifting and cruising stages. The aircraft has the advantages of simple and feasible implementation, high safety, low cost, long endurance time and large load capacity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, particularly a tandem dual-vector drive VTOL aircraft, belonging to the field of aircraft technology. Background Technology

[0002] With the increasing popularity and attention given to the low-altitude economy, it has not only opened up new avenues for economic development and spawned new business models and formats, but also established new directions for technological development and the aggregation of innovation resources. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, as an important carrier and support for the development of the low-altitude economy, have received increasing attention from research institutions and manufacturers. New concepts, modifications, and solutions such as multi-rotor aircraft, tiltrotor aircraft, and compound helicopters are constantly emerging, and some manufacturers have already launched trial operation products to the market.

[0003] Multirotor aircraft are currently the fastest-growing type of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Multiple rotors are distributed in the same or parallel horizontal plane, collectively providing lift, making them a hot topic in the development of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. However, their disadvantages are also significant. The multirotor layout reduces the rotor diameter considerably, drastically decreasing rotor efficiency and resulting in significantly less lift for the same input power. Furthermore, the aerodynamic drag of multirotor aircraft is relatively high, directly impacting loiter time and payload capacity. For these reasons, multirotor aircraft are currently primarily used for unmanned short-endurance flight, low-load aerial photography, reconnaissance, and simple airdrop missions.

[0004] Typical examples of tiltrotor aircraft are the V-22 and V-280. Their outstanding advantage is that they combine the technical advantages of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. By rotating the rotor between vertical and horizontal positions, they can flexibly achieve vertical take-off and landing, hovering and level flight. They have a large load capacity, long endurance and high level flight speed. However, the control system is complex, the reliability is relatively low and the purchase price is expensive. At present, they are mainly used in the defense and military industry.

[0005] Other types of helicopters, such as traditional single-rotor helicopters, require approximately 15% of their power from the vertical tail rotor to balance the reversing torque acting on the fuselage. They also need a relatively long tail section to ensure sufficient torque relative to the center of gravity, thus increasing the space constraints for takeoff and landing. During low-speed flight and hovering, the lateral forces generated by the vertical tail rotor require the helicopter rotor to balance them through periodic pitch changes, resulting in energy waste and increased complexity in helicopter design and operation, as well as higher costs. While compound helicopters have undergone considerable development and offer advantages such as high speed and compact structure, their high price, relatively low reliability, and safety have limited their widespread adoption.

[0006] Although there are many types of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft currently available, their marketization, productization, and large-scale application still face significant challenges due to factors such as procurement costs, payload capacity, endurance, operating costs, and reliability. There is still a need for a VTOL aircraft that is widely recognized by the public, capital, and the market and is suitable as a carrier for the development of the low-altitude economy. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To meet the current comprehensive performance requirements of vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, such as low procurement cost, low operating cost, large payload capacity, long endurance, high reliability, and easy maneuverability, this invention provides a tandem dual-vector drive VTOL aircraft.

[0008] A tandem dual-vector drive vertical takeoff and landing aircraft includes a fuselage, rotors, and a front vector drive and a rear vector drive;

[0009] The rotor is mounted on the top of the middle part of the fuselage via a rotor shaft. The front vector drive and the rear vector drive are mounted on the front and rear parts of the fuselage respectively via mounting shafts perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage. Both are located below the rotor disk rotation plane. The center lines of the mounting shafts and the rotor shafts are both located within the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage.

[0010] The fuselage includes a power system that drives the rotor shaft to rotate the rotor, and a servo system that drives the front vector drive and the rear vector drive to rotate around the mounting axis;

[0011] The rotor disk plane can be set to two states: parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage and tilted backward. The rotor can generate the lift required for hang time by rotating under the power system inside the fuselage, or it can be driven to rotate by the airflow in the state where the rotor disk plane is tilted backward to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage, generating hang time lift in the form of an autorotating rotor.

[0012] The front and rear vector drives are power devices that generate thrust. Under the action of the servo system inside the fuselage, the front and rear vector drives rotate around their respective mounting axes in a plane parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage. The thrust vector generated is adjusted as the front and rear vector drives rotate around their mounting axes in a plane parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage.

[0013] Furthermore, the front vector drive and the rear vector drive are any of the following power units: turbojet engine, turbofan engine, turboprop, internal combustion engine driven propeller, electric propeller, and electric shaftless fan.

[0014] Furthermore, when the rotor disk plane is set parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage, the rotor rotates at high speed under the drive of the power system inside the fuselage to generate lift. The front vector drive and the rear vector drive adjust the magnitude of the thrust generated and, under the action of the servo system inside the fuselage, rotate around their respective mounting axes until the thrust vectors they generate are perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage. The two thrust vectors are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. The torque formed by the two thrust vectors is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the reversing torque transmitted from the rotor rotation to the fuselage. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft achieves hovering / vertical take-off and landing.

[0015] Furthermore, the front and rear vector drives are equipped with pitch servo systems at their connection points with the mounting axes. These systems enable the front and rear vector drives to rotate in the azimuth direction around the mounting axes in a plane parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage, while also rotating in the pitch direction in a plane passing through the centerline of their respective mounting axes and perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage. The resulting thrust vector is then directed accordingly.

[0016] Furthermore, during hovering and flight of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, by controlling the thrust magnitude of the front vector drive and the rear vector drive, as well as the rotation of the pitch servo system, the resulting thrust vector is tilted in a plane passing through the center line of their respective mounting axes and perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage. This generates roll and pitch moments relative to the center of mass of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, which are used for flight attitude control of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

[0017] Furthermore, when the rotor disk plane is set parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage, the rotor rotates at high speed under the drive of the power system inside the fuselage to generate lift. The front vector drive and the rear vector drive adjust the magnitude of the thrust generated and, under the action of the servo system inside the fuselage, rotate around their respective mounting axes until the components of their respective thrust vectors on the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage are equal, and the components on the vertical symmetry plane perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Moreover, the torque formed by the components of the two thrust vectors on the vertical symmetry plane perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the reversing torque transmitted from the rotor rotation to the fuselage. The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft accelerates forward / backward flight.

[0018] Furthermore, during the acceleration and forward flight of the VTOL aircraft, the rotor disk plane is set to a state of tilting backward relative to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage. Under the action of the servo system inside the fuselage, the front and rear vector drives rotate around their respective mounting axes until the thrust vectors they generate coincide with the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage, and the directions are all towards the forward direction of the VTOL aircraft. At the same time, the power system inside the fuselage disconnects the drive to the rotor, and the rotor rotates under the drive of the airflow without generating reverse torque. The VTOL aircraft cruises in autogyro mode under the propulsion of the front and rear vector drives.

[0019] The beneficial technical effects achieved by this invention are:

[0020] The large-diameter single-rotor design achieves higher efficiency. With the same power and size, more rotorcraft can generate greater lift and lower drag. The torque formed by the thrust vectors generated by the front and rear vector drives balances the counter-torque generated by the rotor rotation on the fuselage. This effectively reduces the longitudinal length of the fuselage and avoids the problem of helicopters needing to additionally balance the lateral thrust generated by the tail rotor when using tail rotor torque balancing. Except in hovering, during flight, the thrust generated by the front and rear vector drives is used to propel the aircraft, which is more than 15% less than the power consumed by the helicopter tail rotor to balance the counter-torque, thus improving energy utilization. The design of front and rear dual vector drives and autorotating rotors simplifies the system design complexity, which helps to significantly reduce procurement costs and improve flight safety. Based on the aforementioned improvements in rotor efficiency, drag reduction, and energy utilization, the aircraft can achieve larger transport payloads and longer loiter times.

[0021] Other features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and will be apparent in part from the description, or may be learned by practicing the invention. The objects and other advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the structures particularly pointed out in the written description, claims, and drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is the lower left front view of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a front view of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a left view of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a top view of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 5 This is the left front lower view of the hovering state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a front view of the hovering state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7 This is a left view of the hovering state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 8 This is a top view of the hovering state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 9 This is a left front lower view of the hovering to cruise state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 10 This is a front view of the hovering to cruise state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 11 This is a left view of the hovering to cruise state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 12 This is a top view of the hovering to cruise state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 13 This is a left front lower view of the first specific embodiment of the present invention in cruise mode;

[0035] Figure 14 This is a front view of the cruise state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 15 This is a left view of the cruise state of the first specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 16 This is the lower left front view of the second specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0038] Reference numerals: 1. Fuselage; 2. Rotor; 3. Front vector drive; 4. Rear vector drive. Detailed Implementation

[0039] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the descriptions of the embodiments and the use of terms such as "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," and "right" are merely for illustrative purposes and do not constitute a limitation of the present invention. Furthermore, the technical features involved in the embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other. Any additions, subtractions, integrations, changes, or other equivalent substitutions made without departing from the technical solution of the present invention are included within the protection scope of this patent.

[0040] like Figures 1-4 As shown, a tandem dual-vector drive vertical takeoff and landing aircraft includes a fuselage 1, rotors 2, a front vector drive 3, and a rear vector drive 4.

[0041] The rotor 2 is mounted on the top of the middle part of the fuselage 1 by means of a rotor shaft. The rotor 2 adopts a large diameter, multi-blade design. The front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 are respectively mounted on the upper front surface and the upper rear surface of the fuselage 1 by means of a mounting shaft perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage 1. They are both located below the rotor disk rotation plane of the rotor 2. The center line of the mounting shaft and the center line of the rotor shaft are both located in the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage 1.

[0042] In addition to the structure and aerodynamic shape required for flight, the fuselage 1 also includes a power system that drives the rotor shaft to rotate the rotor 2, a servo system that drives the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 to rotate around the mounting axis, and necessary mechanical and electrical systems for controlling the ailerons, rudders, etc.

[0043] The rotor disk plane of rotor 2 can be set to two states: parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of fuselage 1 and tilted backward. Rotor 2 can generate the lift required for hang time by rotating under the drive of the power system inside fuselage 1, or it can be driven to rotate by airflow in a state where the rotor disk plane is tilted backward to the horizontal mounting surface of fuselage 1, generating hang time lift in the form of a self-rotating rotor.

[0044] The front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 are electrically driven shafted fan motors. Under the action of the servo system inside the fuselage 1, the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 can rotate around their respective mounting axes in a plane parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage 1. The resulting thrust vector rotates around the mounting axes in a plane parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage 1. The magnitude of the thrust generated by the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 is adjustable.

[0045] The front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 are equipped with a pitch servo system at the connection with the mounting axis. This allows the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 to rotate in the azimuth direction around the mounting axis in a plane parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage 1, while also being able to rotate in the pitch direction in a plane passing through the center line of their respective mounting axes and perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage 1. The resulting thrust vector is accompanied by the steering.

[0046] like Figures 5-8 As shown, the rotor disk plane of rotor 2 is set parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of fuselage 1. Rotor 2 rotates at high speed under the drive of the power system inside fuselage 1 to generate lift. The front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 adjust the magnitude of the generated thrust and, under the action of the servo system inside fuselage 1, rotate around their respective mounting axes until the thrust vectors they generate are perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of fuselage 1. The two thrust vectors are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. The torque formed by the two thrust vectors is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the reverse torque transmitted from rotor 2 to fuselage 1, thereby realizing hovering / vertical take-off and landing of the aircraft.

[0047] like Figures 9-12As shown, the rotor disk plane of rotor 2 is set parallel to the horizontal mounting surface of fuselage 1. Rotor 2 rotates at high speed under the drive of the power system inside fuselage 1 to generate lift. The front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 adjust the magnitude of the thrust generated and, under the action of the servo system inside fuselage 1, rotate around their respective mounting axes until the components of their respective thrust vectors on the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of fuselage 1 are equal, and the components on the vertical vertical symmetry plane perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of fuselage 1 are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction. Furthermore, the torque formed by the components of the two thrust vectors on the vertical vertical symmetry plane perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of fuselage 1 is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the reverse torque transmitted from rotor 2 to fuselage 1, thereby enabling the aircraft to accelerate forward / backward.

[0048] like Figures 13-15 As shown, during the acceleration of the aircraft forward, the rotor disk plane of rotor 2 is set in a state of tilting backward relative to the horizontal mounting surface of fuselage 1. Under the action of the servo system inside fuselage 1, the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4 rotate around their respective mounting axes until the thrust vectors they generate coincide with the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of fuselage 1, and the directions are all towards the direction of the aircraft's forward flight. At the same time, the power system inside fuselage 1 disconnects the drive to rotor 2, and rotor 2 rotates under the drive of the airflow without generating reverse torque. The aircraft cruises in autogyro mode under the propulsion of the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4.

[0049] During hovering and flight, the thrust magnitude of the front vector drive 3 and the rear vector drive 4, as well as the rotation of the pitch servo system, are controlled to cause the generated thrust vector to pitch in a plane passing through the center line of their respective mounting axes and perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage 1. This generates roll and pitch moments relative to the center of gravity of the aircraft, which are used for flight attitude control.

[0050] Figure 16 A second specific embodiment of the present invention is given, which differs from the first specific embodiment in that the front vector actuator 3 and the rear vector actuator 4 are selected as turboprop engines. Except for the difference in appearance, the other components and interaction relationships are the same as those of the aforementioned electric-driven shafted fan engine, and will not be described again here. Depending on the actual needs, the front vector actuator 3 and the rear vector actuator 4 can also be selected from any power device capable of generating thrust, such as a turbojet engine, a turbofan engine, an internal combustion engine-driven propeller, an electric-driven propeller, or an electric-driven shaftless fan.

[0051] The beneficial technical effects achieved by this specific embodiment are:

[0052] The adoption of a large-diameter, multi-bladed single-rotor design achieves higher efficiency. Under the same power and size conditions, more rotorcraft can generate greater lift and lower drag. The torque formed by the thrust vectors generated by the front and rear vector drives balances the counter-torque generated by the rotor rotation on the fuselage. This effectively reduces the longitudinal length of the fuselage and avoids the problem of helicopters needing to additionally balance the lateral thrust generated by the tail rotor when using tail rotor torque balancing. Except in hovering, during flight, the thrust generated by the front and rear vector drives is used to drive the aircraft, which is more than 15% less than the power consumed by the helicopter tail rotor to balance the counter-torque, thus improving energy utilization. The front and rear dual vector drives, the choice of an electric-driven shafted fan engine and an autorotor design simplify the system design complexity, which is conducive to significantly reducing procurement costs and improving flight safety performance. Based on the aforementioned improvements in rotor efficiency, drag reduction, and energy utilization, the aircraft can achieve a larger transport payload and a longer loiter time.

[0053] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vertical take-off and landing aircraft of the tandem bi-vector drive type, comprising a fuselage (1) and a rotor (2), characterized in that, Also include the front vector driver (3), rear vector driver (4); The rotor (2) is installed in the middle top of the fuselage (1) by the rotor shaft in a rotary connection mode, the front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) are respectively installed in the front of the fuselage (1) and the rear of the fuselage (1) by the installation shaft perpendicular to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1) in a rotary connection mode, and are located below the rotor disc rotation plane of the rotor (2), the center lines of the installation shaft and the rotor shaft are located in the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage (1). The fuselage (1) includes a power system for driving the rotor shaft to rotate the rotor (2), and a servo system required for driving the front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) to rotate around the installation shaft. The rotor disc plane of the rotor (2) can be set to be parallel to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1) and to be backward inclined, and the rotor (2) can rotate to generate lift required for hovering under the driving of the power system in the fuselage (1), and can be driven to rotate by air flow in the state that the rotor disc plane is backward inclined to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1) to generate hovering lift in the way of autorotation rotor. The front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) are power devices for generating thrust, and under the action of the servo system in the fuselage (1), the front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) are adjusted in azimuth direction in the plane parallel to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1) around the installation shaft, and the generated thrust vector rotates around the installation shaft in the plane parallel to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1), and the size of the thrust generated by the front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) can be adjusted.

2. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1, wherein, The front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) are any one of the power devices of turbojet engine, turbofan engine, turbine propeller, internal combustion engine driven propeller, electric driven propeller and electric driven shaftless fan.

3. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that When the rotor disc plane of the rotor (2) is set to be parallel to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1), the rotor (2) rotates at high speed to generate lift under the driving of the power system in the fuselage (1), the front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) adjust the size of the generated thrust, and under the action of the servo system in the fuselage (1), rotate around the installation shaft to make the generated thrust vector perpendicular to the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage (1), and the two thrust vectors are equal in size and opposite in direction, the moment of the couple formed by the two thrust vectors is equal in size and opposite in direction to the reverse torque transmitted to the fuselage (1) by the rotation of the rotor (2), and the vertical take-off and landing aircraft realizes hovering / vertical take-off and landing.

4. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft of claim 3, wherein, The front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) are also provided with pitch servo systems at the connection with the installation shaft, which are used for making the front vector driver (3) and the rear vector driver (4) rotate in azimuth direction in the plane parallel to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1), and also can rotate in pitch direction in the plane passing through the center line of the installation shaft and perpendicular to the horizontal installation surface of the fuselage (1), and the generated thrust vector rotates.

5. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft of claim 4, wherein, During hovering, flight of the VTOL aircraft, by controlling the thrust size of the front vector drive (3), the rear vector drive (4) and the rotation of the pitch servo system, the generated thrust vector is adjusted to pitch in the plane passing through the center line of the respective mounting shaft and perpendicular to the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage (1), forming a roll, pitch moment relative to the mass center of the VTOL aircraft, for flight attitude control of the VTOL aircraft.

6. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft of claim 1 or 2, wherein, When the rotor disc plane of the rotor (2) is arranged in parallel with the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage (1), the rotor (2) is driven by the power system in the fuselage (1) to rotate at high speed to generate lift, the front vector drive (3) and the rear vector drive (4) adjust the generated thrust size and are rotated around the respective mounting shaft under the action of the servo system in the fuselage (1) until the components of the generated thrust vectors on the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage (1) are equal, the components on the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage (1) are equal in size and opposite in direction, and the moment of the couple formed by the components on the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage (1) is equal in size and opposite in direction to the reverse torque transmitted to the fuselage (1) by the rotor (2), the VTOL aircraft accelerates forward / backward flight.

7. The vertical take-off and landing aircraft as defined in claim 1 or 2, characterized by During the forward flight of the VTOL aircraft, the rotor disc plane of the rotor (2) is arranged in a backward state with the horizontal mounting surface of the fuselage (1), the front vector drive (3) and the rear vector drive (4) are rotated around the respective mounting shaft under the action of the servo system in the fuselage (1) until the generated thrust vectors coincide with the longitudinal vertical symmetry plane of the fuselage (1) and are both directed towards the forward direction of the VTOL aircraft, and at the same time the power system in the fuselage (1) is disconnected from the drive of the rotor (2), the rotor (2) is driven by the air flow to rotate without generating reverse torque, and the VTOL aircraft cruises in the autorotation rotorcraft mode under the propulsion of the front vector drive (3) and the rear vector drive (4).

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