A compound wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The application provides a composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle, which comprises a body structure, an energy system, a power system and an airborne avionics system. The composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle realizes self-energy supply by converting light energy into electric energy through solar cells on the machine, realizes vertical take-off by generating upward pulling force through multiple rotors, realizes cruising flight by generating forward pulling force through propellers, and has the advantages of long flight time, long flight range, high altitude, flexible take-off and landing and low use cost.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to a composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle, and belongs to the technical field of overall design of unmanned aerial vehicles. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, with the progress of unmanned aerial vehicle technology and electric propulsion technology, electric unmanned aerial vehicles have also developed rapidly. Unmanned aerial vehicles including electric helicopters, multi-rotor aircrafts and fixed-wing aircrafts have their own advantages and limitations. Helicopters and multi-rotor aircrafts have the characteristics of vertical take-off and hovering, but low cruise efficiency and slow speed. Fixed-wing aircrafts have the characteristics of high speed, long endurance, heavy load, but need to rely on runway take-off and cannot hover. Therefore, vertical take-off unmanned aerial vehicles combining the advantages of fixed-wing aircrafts and rotorcrafts have emerged as the times require. Vertical take-off unmanned aerial vehicles include tilt-rotor, tilt-wing, composite wing and tail seat type, and the technical difficulty of tilt-rotor and tail seat type unmanned aerial vehicles is relatively large, and the technical difficulty of composite wing unmanned aerial vehicles is moderate.

[0003] However, due to the energy density of energy storage batteries, the endurance of electric unmanned aerial vehicles cannot be broken through, and the endurance of mature electric unmanned aerial vehicles on the market is usually several hours or even lower. With the development and wide application of thin-film solar cells, a solution to the energy shortage problem of electric unmanned aerial vehicles is provided, and the West Wind solar unmanned aerial vehicle in the United Kingdom has realized 26 days of continuous flight. However, the existing solar unmanned aerial vehicles at home and abroad mostly use horizontal sliding, hand throwing or ball loading take-off and landing modes, and do not have the ability of autonomous vertical take-off and landing. SUMMARY

[0004] The technical problem of the present application is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle. The light energy is converted into electric energy by the solar cell on the machine to realize self-supply of energy, the upward pulling force is generated by the rotor to realize vertical take-off and landing, and the forward pulling force is generated by the propeller to realize cruise flight.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present application is:

[0006] A composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising: a machine body structure, an energy system, a power system and an airborne avionics system.

[0007] The body structure comprises: wings, fuselage, tail support rods, flat tail, vertical tail, landing gear, ailerons, elevators and rudders; the wings are the main lift surface of the UAV; the fuselage is hung below the wings; the tail support rods are square trusses, one on the left and one on the right below the wings; the flat tail and the vertical tail are the stabilizer of the UAV, located at the tail of the tail support rods, the two vertical tails are symmetrically distributed, and the flat tail is installed at the top end of the two vertical tails; the landing gear is a supporting device of the UAV, supporting the UAV and reducing the impact of the ground during take-off and landing; two ailerons are arranged at the trailing edge of the wings, the elevators are arranged at the trailing edge of the flat tail, and the rudders are arranged at the trailing edge of the vertical tail, the ailerons, the elevators and the rudders realize the flight control of the UAV;

[0008] The energy system comprises: solar cells, storage batteries, power controllers and device power distributors; the solar cells provide energy sources for the UAV; the storage batteries are installed inside the fuselage to provide energy sources for night flight of the UAV; the power controllers are distributedly installed inside the wings corresponding to the arrangement of the solar cells to realize control of solar energy; the device power distributors are installed inside the fuselage to realize power supply and distribution of the onboard electrical equipment;

[0009] The power system comprises: electric motors, propellers and rotors; the electric motors convert the electric energy on the machine into kinetic energy, a total of five, one of which drives the propeller to rotate, and the remaining four drive the respective rotors to rotate; the propeller is installed at the most front end of the fuselage to provide horizontal pulling force for the UAV during level flight and climbing; the four rotors are respectively located on the left and right tail support rods to provide vertical pulling force for the UAV during take-off and landing;

[0010] The onboard avionics system is used for navigation, flight control, measurement and control, and environmental control.

[0011] Further, the solar cells adopt flexible thin-film solar cells with high photoelectric conversion efficiency, which are uniformly laid on the upper surfaces of the wings and the flat tail, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency is not less than 20%; the area of the solar cells accounts for more than 90% of the effective area of the wings and the flat tail.

[0012] Further, the solar cells convert the absorbed solar radiation energy into electric energy, part of which is used to maintain the normal operation of the power system and the onboard avionics system, and part of which is used to charge the storage batteries as the energy source for night flight.

[0013] Further, the storage batteries adopt lithium batteries that can be recycled.

[0014] Further, the middle wing section of the wing is rectangular in plan shape, and the outer wing section is trapezoidal in plan shape.

[0015] Further, the propeller adopts a large-diameter constant pitch propeller, and the rotor adopts a high-speed variable pitch propeller.

[0016] Further, four sets of rotors are respectively located on left and right tail support rods, the left and right tail support rods are used for connecting the wing and the tail wing, and are also used for mounting the rotors, and the chordwise mounting positions of the rotors are determined according to the position of the gravity center of the whole machine.

[0017] Further, the propeller and the rotor are provided with position locking functions to prevent the propeller tip from touching the ground or causing interference; the propeller blades are locked to the horizontal position during the take-off and landing stage, and the rotor blades are locked to the parallel position with the tail support rod during the cruising and climbing stages.

[0018] Further, the airborne avionics system comprises a navigation system, a flight control system, a measurement and control system, a cabin control system and an airborne cable; the navigation system, the flight control system, the measurement and control system and the cabin control system are distributedly installed in the fuselage, the wing or the surface of the wing.

[0019] Further, the landing gear is a four-point support, and the front landing gear is located below the wing, and the rear landing gear is located at the bottom end of the vertical tail.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present application compared with the prior art are:

[0021] (1) The composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application uses solar energy as the energy source, does not need other energy consumption, is clean, environmentally friendly, renewable and low in use cost.

[0022] (2) The composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application uses the solar energy converted electric energy during the day, and uses the solar energy converted electric energy stored in the storage battery at night, realizes the self-balance of energy, and can theoretically achieve infinite endurance.

[0023] (3) The composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application realizes vertical take-off and landing and hovering through the configuration of four rotors, does not depend on runway take-off and landing, and is flexible and convenient to use.

[0024] (4) The composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application realizes efficient cruising through the aerodynamic layout of large aspect ratio and high lift-drag ratio, and can perform long-haul long-distance task flight.

[0025] (5) The composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application is simple in rotor and fixed wing mode switching, and easy to control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] Fig. 1 It is a top view of the composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application;

[0027] Fig. 2 It is a front view of the composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application;

[0028] Fig. 3 It is a side view of the composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The specific embodiments of the present application are described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] As Figs. 1 to 3 shown, the present application provides a composite wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising a body structure, an energy system, a power system and an airborne avionics system.

[0031] The body structure comprises: a wing 1, a fuselage 2, a tail strut 3, a tail plane 4, a vertical tail 5, a landing gear 6, an aileron 7, an elevator 8 and a rudder 9. The wing 1 serves as the main lifting surface of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the middle wing segment is rectangular in plan shape, and the outer wing segment is trapezoidal in plan shape; the fuselage 2 houses most of the airborne avionics equipment and is suspended below the wing 1; the tail strut 3 is a square truss located below the wing 1, with one on the left and one on the right; the tail plane 4 and the vertical tail 5 serve as the stabilizing surface of the unmanned aerial vehicle and are located at the tail of the tail strut 3, with the tail plane 4 installed at the top end of each of the left and right vertical tails 5; the landing gear 6 is a four-point support, with the front landing gear located below the wing 1 and the rear landing gear located at the bottom end of the vertical tail 5; the control surfaces include two ailerons 7 at the trailing edge of the wing 1, one elevator 8 at the trailing edge of the tail plane 4, and two rudders 9 at the trailing edge of the vertical tail 5, which realize flight control of the unmanned aerial vehicle;

[0032] Preferably, the wing adopts a high aspect ratio, rectangular middle wing segment and trapezoidal outer wing segment aerodynamic layout, and a high-lift coefficient airfoil is selected to improve the overall lift-drag ratio and endurance factor, reduce the propeller pull and flight power consumption during level flight and climbing, and increase the flight time and range.

[0033] The energy system comprises: a solar cell 10, a storage battery 11, a power supply controller 12 and a device power distributor 13. The solar cell 10 is a flexible thin-film solar cell with high photoelectric conversion efficiency, uniformly laid on the upper surfaces of the wing 1 and the tail plane 4 to provide energy for the unmanned aerial vehicle; the storage battery 11 is a high-energy-density lithium battery that can be recycled, installed inside the fuselage 2 to provide energy for the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly at night; the power supply controller 12 is distributedly installed inside the wing 1 corresponding to the arrangement of the solar cell 10 to control solar energy; and the device power distributor 13 is installed inside the fuselage 2 to realize power supply and distribution for onboard electrical equipment.

[0034] Preferably, the solar cell is a flexible thin-film cell, which is light in weight, smooth in surface and can well conform to the unmanned aerial vehicle, thereby reducing the adverse impact on the aerodynamic characteristics. The solar cell is laid on the upper surfaces of the wing and the tail plane, with a photoelectric conversion efficiency not less than 20%; the area of the solar cell sheet accounts for more than 90% of the effective area of the wing, which can maximize the use of the space on the upper surfaces of the wing and the tail plane.

[0035] The solar cell 10 converts the absorbed solar radiation energy into electrical energy, part of which is used to maintain the normal operation of the power system and the airborne avionics system, and part of which is used to charge the battery as an energy source for night flight.

[0036] The power system includes an electric motor 14, a propeller 15, and rotors 16. Five electric motors 14 convert electrical energy into kinetic energy; one drives the propeller 15 and four drive the rotors 16. The propeller 15 is mounted at the front of the fuselage 2, providing horizontal thrust for the UAV's level flight and climb phases. Four sets of rotors 16 are located on the left and right tail booms 3, providing vertical thrust for the UAV's takeoff and landing phases.

[0037] Preferably, the propeller uses a large-diameter fixed-pitch propeller to maximize efficiency during level flight and climb, enabling the UAV to cruise efficiently. The rotor uses a high-speed variable-pitch propeller to maximize thrust during takeoff and landing, enabling the UAV to take off and land quickly.

[0038] Preferably, the electric motor is a brushless DC motor, which is matched with the propeller and rotor. The one motor driving the propeller has high efficiency and relatively low speed, while the four motors driving the rotor have high speed and large torque.

[0039] The four rotors are located on the left and right tail booms, which serve two purposes: connecting the wings and tail, and mounting the rotors, thus maximizing functional reuse. The chordal mounting positions of the rotors are determined based on the aircraft's center of gravity.

[0040] Preferably, both propeller 15 and rotor 16 have a position locking function to prevent the propeller tips from touching the ground or causing interference. During takeoff and landing, the propeller blades of propeller 15 are locked to a horizontal position, and during level flight and climb, the rotor blades of rotor 16 are locked to a position parallel to the tail strut 3.

[0041] The airborne avionics system includes all airborne equipment and cables of the navigation system 17, flight control system 18, telemetry and control system 19, and environmental control system 20. Most of the airborne equipment is installed inside the fuselage 2, with some installed inside or on the surface of the wing 1. The location of the airborne cables is determined by the positions of the power controller 12, equipment distributor 13, control surfaces 7, 8, and 9, and the airborne equipment. The arrangement of the airborne equipment and cables is relatively dispersed; only the locations of the main equipment are shown in the diagram.

[0042] This invention relates to a composite-wing vertical takeoff and landing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that converts solar energy into electrical energy through onboard solar cells to achieve self-sufficiency. It uses multi-rotor rotors to generate upward thrust for vertical takeoff and landing, and propellers to generate forward thrust for cruising flight. It has the advantages of long flight time, long range, high service ceiling, flexible takeoff and landing, and low operating cost.

[0043] For example:

[0044] A certain compound wing vertical take-off and landing solar unmanned aerial vehicle, solar cells are laid on the upper surface of the wings and tail, the total take-off weight is 150kg, the wingspan is 20m, the middle wing section is rectangular, the outer wing section is trapezoidal, the wing aspect ratio is 20, the wing reference area is 20m 2 , the designed cruising lift-drag ratio is 25, the designed cruising lift coefficient is 1.1, the wing and tail are laid with 18m 2 flexible solar cells with a conversion efficiency of 30%, 50kg of storage batteries with an energy density of 350Wh / kg are carried, the propeller diameter in the fixed-wing cruising flight mode is 2m, the thrust-weight ratio is 0.1, the cruising speed is 400-800rpm, the four groups of multi-rotor propellers in the rotor vertical take-off mode have a propeller diameter of 0.4m, the thrust-weight ratio is 0.3, and the cruising speed is 1500-2000rpm. Taking the flight at a height of 5km in Beijing in June as an example, the solar radiation power is about 1000W / m 2 around 12 o'clock, the solar radiation power is about 500W / m 2 around 8 o'clock in the morning, according to the whole day irradiation time of 12 hours, the average radiation power is 650W / m 2 , the solar cells on the aircraft can generate 42.12kWh per day, and the energy stored in the storage battery at night is 17.5kWh. The flight speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle at a height of 5km is about 13.5m / s, the propulsion system needs a power of about 1.2kW, the on-board equipment power is about 0.2kW, the cruising total power is about 1.4kW, and the energy required for night flight for 12 hours is 16.8kWh, and the energy required for 24 hours of flight per day is 33.6kWh. The energy obtained by the unmanned aerial vehicle through the solar cells is greater than the flight power required, and no additional fuel needs to be consumed, and theoretically, the unmanned aerial vehicle can fly at a height of 5km for several days, and the single-day flight range can reach more than 1000km.

[0045] The contents not described in detail in the specification of the present application belong to the known technology of the person skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A compound wing, vertical take-off and landing, solar powered unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that The unmanned aerial vehicle comprises a body structure, an energy system, a power system and an airborne avionics system. The body structure comprises wings (1), a fuselage (2), tail struts (3), a flat tail (4), vertical tails (5), landing gears (6), ailerons (7), elevators (8) and rudders (9); the wings (1) are the main lifting surfaces of the unmanned aerial vehicle; the fuselage (2) is hung below the wings (1); the tail struts (3) are square trusses, located below the wings (1) and each on the left and right sides; the flat tail (4) and the vertical tails (5) are the stabilizing surfaces of the unmanned aerial vehicle, located at the tail of the tail struts (3), the two vertical tails (5) are symmetrically distributed, and the flat tail (4) is installed at the top end of the two vertical tails (5); the landing gears (6) are the supporting devices of the unmanned aerial vehicle, supporting the unmanned aerial vehicle and reducing the ground impact during the take-off and landing stages; the two ailerons (7) are arranged at the trailing edges of the wings (1), the elevators (8) are arranged at the trailing edges of the flat tail (4), and the rudders (9) are arranged at the trailing edges of the vertical tails (5), the ailerons (7), the elevators (8) and the rudders (9) realize the flight control of the unmanned aerial vehicle; The energy system comprises solar cells (10), storage batteries (11), power controllers (12) and equipment power distributors (13); the solar cells (10) provide the energy source for the unmanned aerial vehicle; the storage batteries (11) are installed inside the fuselage (2) to provide the energy source for the night flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle; the power controllers (12) correspond to the arrangement of the solar cells (10) and are distributedly installed inside the wings (1) to realize the control of solar energy; the equipment power distributors (13) are installed inside the fuselage (2) to realize the power supply and distribution of the onboard electrical equipment; The power system comprises electric motors (14), propellers (15) and rotors (16); the electric motors (14) convert the electric energy on the machine into kinetic energy, and there are five electric motors in total, one of which drives the propeller (15) to rotate, and the remaining four electric motors drive the corresponding rotors (16) to rotate; the propeller (15) is installed at the most front end of the fuselage (2) to provide horizontal pulling force for the unmanned aerial vehicle during the level flight and climbing stages; the four rotors (16) are respectively located on the left and right tail struts (3) to provide vertical pulling force for the unmanned aerial vehicle during the take-off and landing stages; The airborne avionics system is used for navigation, flight control, measurement and control and environmental control; The middle wing section of the wing (1) is rectangular in plan shape, and the outer wing section is trapezoidal in plan shape; The propeller adopts a large-diameter constant pitch propeller, and the rotor adopts a high-speed variable pitch propeller; The four sets of rotors are respectively located on the left and right tail struts, which are used for connecting the wings and the tail and also for installing the rotors, and the chordwise installation position of the rotors is determined according to the position of the center of gravity of the whole machine; Both the propeller and the rotor have a position locking function to prevent the propeller tip from touching the ground or causing interference; the propeller blade is locked to the horizontal position during the take-off and landing stages, and the rotor blade is locked to the position parallel to the tail strut during the level flight and climbing stages. The solar cells (10) adopt flexible thin-film solar cells with high photoelectric conversion efficiency, are uniformly laid on the upper surfaces of the wings (1) and the flat tail (4), and have a photoelectric conversion efficiency of not less than 20%; the area of the solar cell laying sheet accounts for more than 90% of the effective area of the wings (1) and the flat tail (4).

2. The composite winged vertical take-off and landing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that: ​ 3. The composite winged vertical take-off and landing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2, wherein: The solar cell (10) converts the absorbed solar radiation energy into electric energy, part of which is used to maintain the normal operation of the power system and the airborne avionics system, and part of which is used to charge the battery as the energy source for night flight.

4. The composite winged vertical take-off and landing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The battery (11) adopts a lithium battery that can be recycled.

5. The composite winged vertical take-off and landing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The airborne avionics system includes a navigation system (17), a flight control system (18), a measurement and control system (19), an environmental control system (20) and an airborne cable; the navigation system (17), the flight control system (18), the measurement and control system (19) and the environmental control system (20) are distributedly installed inside the fuselage (2), inside the wing (1) or on the surface of the wing (1).

6. The composite winged vertical take-off and landing solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein: The landing gear (6) is a four-point support, the front landing gear is located below the wing (1), and the rear landing gear is located at the bottom end of the vertical tail (5).

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