Variable wing based on metamorphic mechanisms and aircraft

Abstract

The application discloses a variable wing based on a metamorphic mechanism and an aircraft. The variable wing comprises a plurality of ribs, a metamorphic module and a driving mechanism. The plurality of ribs are sequentially connected by the metamorphic module in the transverse direction to form a wing body. The metamorphic module comprises two groups of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms. Each multi-link metamorphic mechanism comprises a first link and four second links. The four second links are arranged in two groups respectively on opposite sides of the first link. One end of each second link is hinged to the first link, and the other end of each second link is hinged to a spar of a rib. The first link, the two spars and the four second links form a double parallelogram structure sharing the first link. The driving mechanism is configured to act on the two groups of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms respectively to drive the wing body to switch between a variable-span configuration, a singular configuration and a variable-sweep configuration. The application can realize both wing span change and sweep angle change, and has the advantages of compact structure and good stability.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of aircraft, in particular to a metamorphic wing based on a metamorphic mechanism with multiple configuration postures and an aircraft. BACKGROUND

[0002] The conventional wing can achieve the best flight performance under special navigation conditions after design, but the requirements for the wing during the flight of the aircraft are not constant. Fixed wings often cannot meet the changing navigation requirements as the aircraft flies in different environments and operating stages.

[0003] The current developed variable wings have various deformation modes, including variable span, variable chord, variable sweep angle, variable camber, variable thickness, variable spanwise camber, wing surface torsion, wing surface folding, etc. The internal mechanism of the existing variable span or variable sweep variable wing is usually a traditional single-degree-of-freedom classical mechanism, which realizes the variable span or variable sweep deformation of the wing through the movement of the internal mechanism, for example:

[0004] Chinese patent application document 2023112568043 discloses a telescopic variable wing and an aircraft, and the internal mechanism is a scissors mechanism, which realizes the variable span deformation of the variable wing through the telescopic movement of the scissors mechanism.

[0005] Chinese patent application document 2021106026289 discloses a telescopic wing mechanism suitable for small unmanned aerial vehicles, and the internal mechanism is a ball screw mechanism. The steering gear of the inner wing drives the ball screw to move, so that the screw nut moves along the preset guide rail, completes the movement process of the outer wing relative to the inner wing, and realizes the deformation of the variable span of the wing.

[0006] Chinese patent application document 2023106408615 discloses a wing variable sweep mechanism, which realizes the variable sweep deformation of the wing through the movement of the worm gear and the planar link.

[0007] Chinese patent application document 2023113040650 discloses a variable sweep wing structure for an aircraft and an aircraft, and the internal mechanism is a gear and rack mechanism. The driving mechanism is connected with the rack and is used to drive the rack to move, so as to drive the two gears to rotate, thereby realizing the variable sweep deformation of the wing.

[0008] The variable wing of the prior art using the internal mechanism of the classical mechanism usually does not change the configuration of the internal mechanism during the deformation process. These mechanisms often cannot change flexibly when facing changing environments or different operating stages. In addition, the current variable wing that can realize multiple deformation functions is generally multi-degree-of-freedom, which needs multiple power sources for coordinated control, and has the disadvantages of complex control system and low stability. SUMMARY

[0009] To at least partially solve the problems in the prior art, the main object of the present application is to provide a variable wing based on a metamorphic mechanism with multiple configurations and a flying vehicle, which can realize both wing span change and sweep angle change, and has the advantages of compact structure and good stability.

[0010] To achieve the above main object, the present application provides, in a first aspect, a variable wing based on a metamorphic mechanism, comprising:

[0011] a plurality of ribs, the ribs having a spar arranged along a longitudinal direction;

[0012] a metamorphic module, the plurality of ribs being connected in sequence along a transverse direction through the metamorphic module to form a wing body with a preset shape;

[0013] wherein the metamorphic module comprises two groups of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms arranged along the longitudinal direction, the multi-link metamorphic mechanism comprising a first link arranged along the longitudinal direction and four second links, the four second links being arranged in two groups respectively on opposite sides of the first link; one end of the second link is hingedly connected to the first link, and the other end of the second link is hingedly connected to the spar, so that the first link, the two spars and the four second links form a double parallelogram structure sharing the first link;

[0014] a driving mechanism configured to act on the two groups of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms respectively to drive the wing body to switch between a variable span configuration, a singular configuration and a variable sweep configuration;

[0015] wherein when the wing body is in the singular configuration, the four second links in the multi-link metamorphic mechanism are arranged transversely and perpendicularly to the first link, so that the wing span of the wing body is maximum and the sweep angle is minimum; at this time, the driving mechanism can drive the corresponding two second links in the two groups of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms to rotate in the same direction to make the wing body switch to the variable sweep configuration and change the sweep angle, and drive the corresponding two second links in the two groups of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms to rotate in opposite directions to make the wing body switch to the variable span configuration and change the wing span length.

[0016] According to a specific embodiment of the present application, the metamorphic module further comprises a connecting branch chain, wherein the first link in one group of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms is fixedly connected to the connecting branch chain, and the first link in the other group of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms is movably connected to the connecting branch chain to allow the two first links to move closer to or away from each other.

[0017] Further, the connecting branch chain and one of the first links in the other group of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms are provided with a sliding groove, and the connecting branch chain and the other of the first links in the other group of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms are provided with a sliding part, and the sliding part and the sliding groove are connected in sliding fit.

[0018] Further, the sliding groove is a T-shaped groove, and the sliding part is a T-shaped sliding block embedded in the T-shaped groove.

[0019] According to an embodiment of the present application, the at least one multi-link metamorphic mechanism further comprises two scissor links, the two scissor links are hingedly connected to each other and the free ends of the two scissor links are respectively hingedly connected to the spar;

[0020] When the wing body is in the singular configuration, the two scissor links are arranged in a stack-up manner on the two second links hingedly connected to the same position of the first link; and the hinged connection points of the scissor links and the spar coincide with the hinged connection points of the second links and the spar.

[0021] In the adjacent two metamorphic modules, the scissor link in one of the metamorphic modules is fixed with the second link hingedly connected to the same hinged connection point in the other metamorphic module, so as to drive the adjacent metamorphic modules to move synchronously when the wing body is in the variable-span configuration.

[0022] According to an embodiment of the present application, at least part of the second links are provided with limiting parts, the limiting parts on the two second links hingedly connected to the same position of the first link in the same multi-link metamorphic mechanism are matched and form a limit, and the limiting parts on the two second links hingedly connected to the same position of the spar in the adjacent two multi-link metamorphic mechanisms are matched and form a limit; when the wing body is switched from the singular configuration to the variable sweep configuration, the limiting parts remain in the matched state to make the different metamorphic modules move synchronously.

[0023] Further, the limiting parts are limit blocks, and the limit matching between the corresponding limiting parts is an abutting matching.

[0024] According to an embodiment of the present application, the number of the wing ribs is three or more.

[0025] According to an embodiment of the present application, the wing body further comprises a skin, and the skin covers the outside of the wing body.

[0026] The second aspect of the present application provides an aircraft, which comprises an aircraft body and a metamorphic wing based on the metamorphic mechanism as described above.

[0027] The present application has the following beneficial effects: a variable wing based on a variable mechanism is provided, which has a variable module capable of realizing two deformation modes of variable span and variable sweep by switching different configurations, meeting the multi-configuration deformation requirements of the variable wing, that is, having two deformation functions of variable span and variable sweep; the two deformation capabilities of the present application can improve the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft in different navigation environments, wherein the variable sweep can reduce the wave making resistance and increase the flight speed, and the change of the span can bring advantages of increasing the lift, improving the cruising height and increasing the range of the aircraft.

[0028] In the present application, a single variable mechanism is used as an internal mechanism, which can only be in one of the two deformation modes of variable span and variable sweep at the same time node, ensuring the safety of the aircraft, and also having the advantages of compact structure and good stability.

[0029] In order to more clearly illustrate the purpose, technical scheme and advantages of the present application, the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and specific embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the variable wing of the present application;

[0031] Figure 2 is a top view of an embodiment of the variable wing of the present application;

[0032] Figure 3 is an installation structure diagram of the driving mechanism;

[0033] Figure 4 is a structure diagram of the first variable module;

[0034] Figure 5 is a structure diagram of the second variable module;

[0035] Figure 6 is a structure diagram of the second variable module;

[0036] Figure 7 is a first schematic view of the variable wing of the present application in a variable span configuration;

[0037] Figure 8 is a second schematic view of the variable wing of the present application in a variable span configuration;

[0038] Figure 9 is a first schematic view of the variable wing of the present application in a variable sweep configuration;

[0039] Figure 10 is a second schematic view of the variable wing of the present application in a variable sweep configuration. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0040] In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present application. However, it will be recognized by one skilled in the art that the present application can be practiced without the specific details described herein. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures, components and circuits have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present application.

[0041] As shown in Figures 1-2 , the aircraft of the embodiment comprises an aircraft body and a variable wing 10, the variable wing 10 is installed on the aircraft body; wherein the aircraft body can refer to the related structure in the prior art, in the embodiment only a connecting frame 20 as the aircraft body is shown, which is not limited. It should be understood that the connecting frame 20 can also be part of the variable wing 10.

[0042] Please continue to refer to Figures 1-2 , the variable wing 10 is a variable wing based on a metamorphic mechanism, which comprises a plurality of wing ribs 11, metamorphic modules 12, driving mechanisms 13 and a skin; wherein the plurality of wing ribs 11 are connected in sequence along the transverse direction through the metamorphic modules 12 to form a wing body with a preset shape, and the skin is preferably a flexible skin made of composite material, which is wrapped on the outside of the wing body and can adaptively deform with the deformation of the wing body. The preset shape of the wing body in the embodiment can be set as needed, which will not be expanded.

[0043] Specifically, the number of wing ribs 11 is preferably three or more; the following will be expanded and introduced by taking three wing ribs 11 as an example; wherein the three wing ribs 11 are in sequence along the transverse direction as a first wing rib 11a, a second wing rib 11b and a third wing rib 11c, and the shapes of the first wing rib 11a, the second wing rib 11b and the third wing rib 11c are preferably the same; wherein each wing rib 11 has a spar 111 arranged along the longitudinal direction and a wing rib frame 112 installed on the spar 111, which is used to form the contour of the wing body.

[0044] Correspondingly, the number of metamorphic modules 12 is also three, the three metamorphic modules 12 are in sequence along the transverse direction as a first metamorphic module 12a, a second metamorphic module 12b and a third metamorphic module 12c, the first wing rib 11a is connected with the connecting frame 20 through the first metamorphic module 12a, the second wing rib 11b is connected with the first wing rib 11a through the second metamorphic module 12b, and the third wing rib 11c is connected with the second wing rib 11b through the third metamorphic module 12c. The connection mode of each metamorphic module 12 is basically the same, and the following will be expanded and introduced in detail by taking the first metamorphic module 12a as an example.

[0045] As shown in Figure 4As shown, the first metamorphic module 12a includes two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d longitudinally spaced apart; each multi-link metamorphic mechanism 12d includes a first link 121 longitudinally arranged and four second links 122 arranged in pairs and located on opposite sides of the first link 121.

[0046] One end of each second link 122 is hingedly connected to the first link 121, and the other end of each second link 122 is hingedly connected to the spar 111, so that the first link 121, the two spars 111 and the four second links 122 form a double parallelogram structure sharing the first link 121; wherein the double parallelogram structure can have multiple poses to respectively correspond to the variable-span configuration, the singular configuration and the variable-sweep configuration of the wing body. Correspondingly, the driving mechanism 13 is configured to act on the two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d respectively, so as to drive the wing body to switch between the variable-span configuration Figures 7-8 ), the singular configuration Figures 1-2 ) and the variable-sweep configuration Figures 9-10 ). It should be understood that the above two spars can be provided by one of the connecting frame 20 and the first wing rib 11a, and in other embodiments, the two spars can also be provided by the two wing ribs 11 respectively, which will not be expanded here.

[0047] As shown in Figure 3 , the driving mechanism 13 in the embodiment includes two sets of motor assemblies 13a corresponding to the two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d respectively; the motor assembly includes a driving motor 131, a coupling 132 and a power output shaft 133, the driving motor 131 is arranged on the connecting frame 20 for example through a support, and the power output shaft 133 is connected to the output end of the driving motor 131 through the coupling 132, wherein the power output shaft 133 acts on one of the second links 122 to drive the second link 122 to rotate forward or reverse. In other embodiments, the driving motor 131 can be installed at other positions and drive the second links 122 at other positions, which will not be limited here.

[0048] Please continue to refer to Figures 1-2 , Figure 4 , when the wing body is in the singular configuration, the four second links 122 in the multi-link metamorphic mechanism 12d are arranged transversely and perpendicularly to the first link 121, so that the wingspan of the wing body is maximum and the sweep angle is minimum; at this time, the corresponding two second links 122 in the two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d can be driven by the driving mechanism 13 to rotate in the same direction, so that the wing body switches to the variable-sweep configuration Figures 9-10) and changing the size of the sweep angle, and driving the corresponding two second links 122 in the two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d in opposite directions to make the wing body switch to the variable-span configuration Figures 7-8 ) and changing the wing span length.

[0049] To realize the linkage between the two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d, the metamorphic module 12 further comprises a connecting branch chain 123; as shown in Figure 4 , one of the first links 121 in one set of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d is fixedly connected with the connecting branch chain 123, and the other first link 121 in the other set of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d is movably connected with the connecting branch chain 123 to allow the above-mentioned two first links 121 to approach or move away from each other.

[0050] Specifically, the connecting branch chain 123 is provided with a sliding groove in one of the first links 121 in the other set of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d, and the other first link 121 in the other set of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d is provided with a sliding part, and the sliding part and the sliding groove are connected in sliding fit. In an optional embodiment, the sliding groove is preferably a T-shaped groove, and the sliding part is preferably a T-shaped sliding block embedded in the sliding groove, which is further conducive to improving the stability of movement.

[0051] As shown in Figures 5-6 , the second metamorphic module 12b and the third metamorphic module 12c have basically the same structure as the first metamorphic module 12a, and both of them also comprise two sets of multi-link metamorphic mechanisms 12d and a connecting branch chain 123. For details, please refer to the above-mentioned related introduction of the first metamorphic module 12a, which will not be repeated here.

[0052] Each metamorphic module 12 in the embodiment has multiple degrees of freedom, so that a corresponding controller needs to be designed to control linkage when driving the wing body to change the configuration; to simplify the control and improve the stability and reliability of movement, a unique design is adopted in the embodiment to reduce the degrees of freedom of the wing body, so that the degrees of freedom of the wing body always remain one. Details are as follows:

[0053] To keep the wing body in the variable-span configuration as a single degree of freedom, at least one multi-link metamorphic mechanism 12d in the embodiment further comprises two scissor links 124, please continue to refer to Figure 4 , the two scissor links 124 are hingedly connected with each other and the free ends of the two scissor links 124 are respectively hingedly connected with the spar 111 (or the connecting frame 20); wherein, when the wing body is in the singular configuration, the two scissor links 124 are collinear and arranged in a stacked manner above and below the two second links 122 hingedly connected at the same position of the first link 121, and the hinge points of the scissor links 124 and the spar 111 coincide with the hinge points of the above-mentioned second links 122 and the spar 111.

[0054] In the adjacent two metamodule 12, one of the metamodule 12 (for example, the first metamodule 12a) in the scissors link 124 and the other metamodule 12 (for example, the second metamodule 12b) in the hinge point of the second link 122 is fixed together to drive the adjacent metamodule 12 to produce synchronous motion when the wing body is in the variable span configuration, that is, the scissors link 124 of the wing body is connected in turn to form a scissors mechanism, so that the degree of freedom of the wing body in the variable span configuration is always one.

[0055] In order to keep the wing body in the variable sweep configuration as a single degree of freedom, at least part of the second link 122 is provided with a limiting part 125, please refer to Figure 4 When the wing body is in the singular configuration, the limiting parts 125 on the two second links 122 in the same position of the first link in the same multi-link metamodule 12d cooperate and form the limit, and the limiting parts 125 on the two second links 122 in the same position of the beam 111 in the adjacent two multi-link metamodules 12d cooperate and form the limit; wherein, when the wing body switches from the singular configuration to the variable sweep configuration, the above-mentioned limiting parts 125 keep the cooperating state to make the different metamodules 12 produce synchronous motion, that is, each limiting part 125 on the wing body in the cooperating state limits the rotation of the wing body in a certain direction, so that the degree of freedom of the wing body in the variable sweep configuration is always one.

[0056] Further, the limiting part 125 is a limit block, and the limit cooperation between the corresponding limiting parts 125 is abutting cooperation.

[0057] The process of the wing body from the variable span configuration to the variable sweep configuration in the embodiment is shown in Figures 1-2 , Figures 7-8 and Figures 9-10 First, the wing body is in the attitude with smaller wingspan shown in Figure 8 At this time, control the two drive motors 131 in the drive mechanism 13 shown in Figure 3 To rotate in opposite directions, specifically, the drive motor 131 located above rotates counterclockwise, and the drive motor 131 located below rotates clockwise, and the wing body gradually deforms into the attitude with larger wingspan shown in Figure 7 Until it continues to deform into the singular configuration shown in Figures 1-2 When the wing body is in the singular configuration, the corresponding limiting parts 125 abut and cannot continue to deform in the original direction. Then, control the two drive motors 131 in the drive mechanism 13 shown in Figure 3 To rotate in the same direction, specifically, the drive motor 131 located above rotates clockwise, and the drive motor 131 located below rotates clockwise, and the wing body gradually deforms intoFigure 9 the larger-sweep angle posture shown, until it continues to deform into Figure 10 the smaller-sweep angle posture shown, namely, sequentially from Figure 8 — Figure 7 — Figures 1-2 — Figure 9 — Figure 10 the change process, the wing body completes the switching from the variable-sweep configuration to the variable-span configuration. In the switching process, the wing body has only one degree of freedom.

[0058] The process of the wing body switching from the variable-sweep configuration to the variable-span configuration in the embodiment is the reverse of the above process; first, the wing body is in Figure 10 the larger-sweep angle posture shown, at which point the control Figure 3 the two drive motors 131 in the drive mechanism 13 shown in FIG. 13 are rotated in the same direction, specifically, the drive motor 131 located above is counterclockwise rotated, and the drive motor 131 located below is counterclockwise rotated, the wing body gradually deforms into Figure 9 the larger-sweep angle posture shown, until it continues to deform into Figures 1-2 the singular configuration shown. Then, the control Figure 3 the two drive motors 131 in the drive mechanism 13 shown in FIG. 13 are rotated in opposite directions, specifically, the drive motor 131 located above is clockwise rotated, and the drive motor 131 located below is counterclockwise rotated, the wing body gradually deforms into Figure 7 the smaller-span posture shown, until it continues to deform into Figure 8 the smaller-span posture shown, namely, sequentially from Figure 10 — Figure 9 — Figures 1-2 — Figure 7 — Figure 8 the change process, the wing body completes the switching from the variable-sweep configuration to the variable-span configuration. In the switching process, the wing body has only one degree of freedom.

[0059] Although the above describes the present application through embodiments, it should be understood that the above embodiments are only used to exemplarily describe the implementable solutions of the present application, and should not be interpreted as limiting the protection scope of the present application, namely, any substitutions or changes made by those skilled in the art according to the present application should also be covered by the protection scope of the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A morphing wing based on metamorphic mechanisms, characterized in that, The application relates to a morphing wing, comprising: a plurality of wing ribs, each wing rib having a spar arranged along a longitudinal direction; a morphing module, a plurality of the wing ribs are connected in sequence along a transverse direction through the morphing module to form a wing body having a preset shape; wherein the morphing module comprises two groups of multi-link mechanisms arranged along the longitudinal direction, each multi-link mechanism comprises a first link arranged along the longitudinal direction and four second links, the four second links are arranged in two groups respectively and are located on opposite sides of the first link; one end of each second link is hingedly connected to the first link, and the other end of each second link is hingedly connected to the spar, so that the first link, the two spars and the four second links form a double parallelogram structure sharing the first link; a driving mechanism configured to act on the two groups of multi-link mechanisms respectively to drive the wing body to switch between a variable-span configuration, a singular configuration and a variable-sweep configuration; wherein when the wing body is in the singular configuration, the four second links in the multi-link mechanism are arranged along the transverse direction and are perpendicular to the first link respectively, so that the wingspan of the wing body is maximum and the sweep angle is minimum; at this time, the driving mechanism can drive the corresponding two second links in the two groups of multi-link mechanisms to rotate in the same direction respectively, so that the wing body switches to the variable-sweep configuration and changes the sweep angle, and the driving mechanism can drive the corresponding two second links in the two groups of multi-link mechanisms to rotate in opposite directions respectively, so that the wing body switches to the variable-span configuration and changes the wingspan length; the morphing module further comprises a connecting branch chain, the first link in one group of the multi-link mechanisms is fixedly connected to the connecting branch chain, and the first link in the other group of the multi-link mechanisms is movably connected to the connecting branch chain to allow the two first links to move close to or away from each other; at least one multi-link mechanism further comprises two scissor links, the two scissor links are hingedly connected to each other, and the free ends of the two scissor links are hingedly connected to the spars respectively; when the wing body is in the singular configuration, the two scissor links are arranged in a line and are arranged in a stacked manner above and below the two second links hingedly connected to the same position of the first link; wherein the hinge points of the scissor links and the spars coincide with the hinge points of the second links and the spars; in adjacent two morphing modules, the scissor links in one morphing module are fixedly connected to the second links in the other morphing module hingedly connected to the same hinge point, so that the adjacent morphing modules can be driven to move synchronously when the wing body is in the variable-span configuration. At least part of the second connecting rod is provided with a limiting part, when the wing body is in the singular configuration, the limiting parts on the two second connecting rods hinged at the same position of the first connecting rod in the same multi-connecting rod metamorphic mechanism cooperate and form a limiting position, and the limiting parts on the two second connecting rods hinged at the same position of the spar in the adjacent two multi-connecting rod metamorphic mechanisms cooperate and form a limiting position; wherein, when the wing body switches from the singular configuration to the variable back-swept configuration, the above-mentioned limiting parts remain in the cooperating state to make the different metamorphic modules produce synchronous movement.

2. The metamorphic wing based on a metamorphic mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The connecting branch is provided with a sliding groove on one of the first connecting rods in the other group of multi-connecting rod metamorphic mechanisms, and is provided with a sliding part on the other of the first connecting rods in the other group of multi-connecting rod metamorphic mechanisms, and the sliding part and the sliding groove are connected in sliding fit.

3. The metamorphic wing based on a metamorphic mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The sliding groove is a T-shaped groove, and the sliding part is a T-shaped sliding block embedded in the sliding groove.

4. The metamorphic wing based on a metamorphic mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The limiting part is a limiting block, and the limiting fit between the corresponding limiting parts is abutting fit.

5. The metamorphic mechanism-based variable geometry wing of claim 1 wherein: The number of the wing ribs is more than three.

6. The metamorphic wing based on a metamorphic mechanism according to claim 1, characterized by: Further comprising a skin, which is wrapped outside the wing body.

7. An aircraft characterised in that Further comprising an aircraft body and a metamorphic wing based on the metamorphic mechanism according to any one of claims 1-6.

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