Tandem wing type vertical take-off and landing aircraft

Abstract

The invention discloses a tandem wing type vertical take-off and landing aircraft which comprises an aircraft body, wings, lifting wings and an undercarriage, the aircraft body is a main body structure of the aircraft and is of a streamline structure, and an aircraft cockpit, an electric propulsion device cabin and a power system are arranged in the aircraft body; a main wing and a lifting wing in the wings are arranged on the two sides of the front end and the rear end of the fuselage respectively and are in tandem wing layout, the transverse extension length of the lifting wing exceeds the transverse extension length of the main wing, a plurality of groups of propellers are arranged, and an aileron is arranged on the outer side of the rear edge of a wingtip of the main wing; the aircraft can perform transverse maneuver by controlling rolling torque generated by differential deflection of the left and right ailerons; the undercarriage is located at the bottom of the fuselage, comprises a front undercarriage and a rear undercarriage and is used for supporting the aircraft when the aircraft is parked and slides on the ground; the aircraft has optimized lift force distribution and pneumatic coupling effect, lift force efficiency and stability are improved, and safety and vertical take-off and landing capability are enhanced. The aircraft is flexible in load distribution and can adapt to various task requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of aircraft, and in particular to a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Background Art

[0002] With the accelerated development of urbanization, traffic congestion and environmental pollution have become global challenges. As an important solution for future urban air traffic, tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft, with its unique vertical take-off and landing capabilities, low noise, efficient and environmentally friendly electric drive, and flexible and changeable flight modes, can achieve vertical take-off and landing without a runway, greatly reducing the demand for infrastructure, enabling it to be flexibly used in complex environments such as cities.

[0003] The main difficulties in the research, development and production of electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft include technical difficulties, safety and noise control, airspace restrictions, pricing strategies, actual utilization, battery technology and policies and regulations. Summary of the invention

[0004] Based on this, an embodiment of the present application provides a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which aims to improve flight performance, enhance safety, reduce noise and promote environmental protection, and explore new heights for urban air travel.

[0005] The present application provides a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the aircraft comprising a fuselage, wings, elevator wings and landing gear, specifically:

[0006] The fuselage is the main structure of the aircraft, which adopts a streamlined structure. The fuselage is equipped with an aircraft cabin, an electric propulsion device cabin and a power system. The power system is controlled by the control system inside the aircraft cabin to drive vertical take-off and landing.

[0007] The wing includes a main wing, an aileron and an elevator wing. The main wing and the elevator wing are respectively arranged on both sides of the front and rear ends of the fuselage in a tandem wing layout, and the lateral extension length of the elevator wing exceeds the lateral extension length of the main wing. A plurality of propellers are symmetrically arranged on the top of the main wing and the elevator wing with the fuselage as the central axis. Ailerons are arranged on the trailing edge of the main wing, and elevators are arranged on the trailing edge of the elevator wing, which are used to increase lift by changing the curvature of the ailerons and elevators.

[0008] A vertical tail is connected to the rear end of the fuselage and the central axis of the bottom of the elevator wing. The vertical tail includes a fixed vertical stabilizer and a movable rudder.

[0009] The landing gear is located at the bottom of the fuselage and includes the front landing gear and the rear landing gear, which are used to support the aircraft when parking and taxiing on the ground;

[0010] The power system is installed inside the main body of the aircraft, including an electric motor, a tilting frame, a main controller, a power system integrated display instrument, a propeller group, a battery pack, and a power management system.

[0011] Optionally, the electric motor is a lightweight air-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor for directly driving the propeller.

[0012] Optionally, the motor mounting frame in the power system is a welded structure, and the motor mounting frame is connected to the fuselage frame, the motor, and the electric regulator with bolts; the motor and propeller group can generate forward pulling force or downward thrust for the aircraft through the action of the tilting structure, thereby achieving vertical take-off and landing.

[0013] Optionally, the instruments in the aircraft cockpit adopt mechanical flight instruments and power integrated display instruments; the control system adopts a push-pull steel cable form;

[0014] Optionally, the aircraft cockpit is equipped with a single-lever linkage central control column, a dashboard in front, a throttle lever and a brake handle on the central control panel between the two seats, a fire extinguisher bottle on the left side of the windshield frame, and a seat back angle of 26°.

[0015] Optionally, the instrument panel specifically includes a multi-function display, a backup display instrument, a backup display instrument sign, a radio, a switch control panel, a switch control panel sign, a vertical speed indicator, a flight manual sign, a sideslip indicator, a pilot warning sign, an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, and a magnetic compass.

[0016] Optionally, the front landing gear adopts spring damping to be linked with the rudder, and the main landing gear adopts leaf spring damping.

[0017] Optionally, the fuselage skin, wing skin and tail skin in the aircraft are foam board sandwich structures, which are formed by vacuum bag pressing;

[0018] The wing spar, rear wall, root rib, bulkhead, cockpit and fairing are laminated structures, some of which are carbon plate sandwich structures, and are formed by vacuum bag pressing.

[0019] Optionally, the aircraft adopts an all-composite structure, and the structural materials include at least carbon fiber and glass fiber.

[0020] Optionally, the aircraft uses a grating reflection spectrum anisotropy method and a multi-stage thermal cycle method to monitor and control defects and deformation of composite parts.

[0021] The beneficial effects brought by the technical solution provided by the embodiment of the present application include at least:

[0022] (1) Improving flight performance: By optimizing lift distribution and aerodynamic coupling effect, the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft is enhanced, and the lift efficiency and stability are improved, thereby improving flight performance.

[0023] (2) Enhanced safety: The use of a distributed electric propulsion system and an intelligent flight control system based on AI algorithms improves the safety and vertical take-off and landing capabilities of the aircraft. At the same time, the specific implementation plan for safety and redundancy design further enhances the safety performance of the aircraft.

[0024] (3) Reduce noise and promote environmental protection: The use of low-noise rotor design and noise suppression technology, as well as the design and application of an environmentally friendly electric drive system, effectively reduces the noise generated by the aircraft during operation. At the same time, the use of electric drive reduces environmental pollution and embodies the concept of environmental protection.

[0025] (4) Flexible mission adaptability: Due to the flexible load distribution, equipment can be arranged at different positions on the front and rear wings or fuselage according to different mission requirements, making the aircraft able to adapt to a variety of mission requirements, such as business, tourism, medical rescue, firefighting, etc., with high mission adaptability and flexibility of use. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for the implementation methods or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only exemplary, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other implementation drawings can be derived from the provided drawings without creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0028] Figure 2 A front view of a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] Figure 3 A top view of a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 4 A left view of a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft provided in an embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure numerals: 1-fuselage, 2-main wing, 3-elevator, 4-propeller, 5-landing gear, 6-aileron. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clearly understood, the present application is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, the terms "comprises", "has" and any variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusions. For example, a process, method, system, product or apparatus comprising a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may also include other steps or units that are not explicitly listed but are inherent to these processes, methods, products or apparatuses, or steps or units added based on further optimization schemes conceived by the present invention.

[0034] This technical briefing document aims to describe in detail an innovative tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft design, aiming to improve flight performance, enhance safety, reduce noise and promote environmental protection, and explore new heights for urban air travel.

[0035] The overall design (aerodynamic and structural) of tandem wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft, flight control system, power and energy system, vertical take-off and landing mechanism, flight mode conversion technology, safety and redundancy design, materials and lightweight technology, noise and environmental protection measures, etc. Specific technical points include but are not limited to the following:

[0036] 1. The overall structure and characteristics of the tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft design give it significant aerodynamic performance advantages. First, the optimization of lift distribution allows the front and rear wings to bear the lift requirements at different stages respectively, which helps to improve the overall lift efficiency. Secondly, the enhanced stability is due to the aerodynamic coupling effect between the front and rear wings, which can reduce the impact of turbulence. In addition, the load distribution is flexible, and equipment can be arranged at different positions on the front and rear wings or fuselage according to mission requirements. Finally, by adjusting parameters such as the spacing, area and angle of the front and rear wings, the aerodynamic drag of the drone can be effectively controlled;

[0037] 2. Distributed electric propulsion technology. Our aircraft uses a distributed electric propulsion system, which disperses the thrust generation by installing thrusters at multiple locations on the aircraft. This design not only simplifies the structure and reduces weight, but also improves the safety and vertical take-off and landing capabilities of the aircraft;

[0038] 3. Intelligent flight control system based on AI algorithm;

[0039] 4. Combined application of high-efficiency electric motor and battery pack;

[0040] 5. Seamless conversion technology between vertical take-off and landing and horizontal cruising;

[0041] 6. The design of the tandem wing layout shows its advantages in specific applications. In vertical take-off and landing fixed-wing aircraft, this layout can combine the advantages of fixed-wing and multi-rotor aircraft to achieve the characteristics of long flight time, heavy load, and fast cruising speed, while getting rid of the dependence on the take-off and landing site;

[0042] 7. Specific implementation plan for safety and redundancy design;

[0043] 8. Application and structural optimization of lightweight composite materials;

[0044] 9. Low-noise rotor design and noise suppression technology;

[0045] 10. Design and application of environmentally friendly electric drive systems.

[0046] Specifically, Figure 1 The present application discloses a tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the aircraft comprising:

[0047] The aircraft comprises a fuselage 1, wings and landing gear 5, wherein the wings specifically comprise a main wing 2, an elevator wing 3 and an aileron 6. Specifically: the fuselage 1 is the main structure of the aircraft, and adopts a streamlined structure. An aircraft cabin, an electric propulsion device cabin and a power system are arranged inside the fuselage 1, wherein the power system is controlled by a control system inside the aircraft cabin to drive vertical take-off and landing;

[0048] The wing includes a main wing 2, an elevator wing 3 and an aileron 6. The main wing 2 and the elevator wing 3 are respectively arranged on both sides of the front and rear ends of the fuselage in a tandem wing layout, and the lateral extension length of the elevator wing exceeds the lateral extension length of the main wing. A plurality of propellers are symmetrically arranged on the top of the main wing and the elevator wing with the fuselage as the central axis. The vertical lifting and hovering of the aircraft can be achieved by adjusting the rotation speed of the propellers.

[0049] Ailerons are provided at the trailing edge of the main wing, and elevators are provided at the trailing edge of the elevators, which are used to increase lift by changing the curvature of the ailerons and the elevators; a vertical tail is connected to the rear end of the fuselage and the center axis of the bottom of the elevators, and the vertical tail includes a fixed vertical stabilizer and a movable rudder.

[0050] The landing gear 5 is located at the bottom of the fuselage 1, including a front landing gear and a rear landing gear, and is used to support the aircraft when parking and taxiing on the ground;

[0051] The power system is arranged inside the main body of the fuselage 1, and includes an electric motor, a main controller, a power system integrated display instrument, a battery pack, and a power management system.

[0052] The structure of the tandem wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft mainly adopts a fully composite structure, with carbon fiber and glass fiber as the main structural materials. The design focuses on the design concepts of green environmental protection, vertical take-off and landing, low cost and low noise. The body structure mainly includes the fuselage 1, wing landing gear 5 and other parts. The overall layout of the aircraft is as follows Figure 1 As shown, in addition Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 The three views of the tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft are given, among which: Figure 2For the main view, Figure 3 is a top view, Figure 4 It is the left view.

[0053] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft adopts a cantilevered high aspect ratio upper tandem wing, a fully tilting six-motor, propeller combination layout, a hidden circular tail, a front three-point fixed landing gear, a tilting propeller, and a 5-seat side door layout. The power unit is six permanent magnet motors (tilting mechanism), the speed is adjusted by a motor controller, and the power source is a solid-state battery; the body structure is made of high-performance carbon fiber composite materials; the instrument uses mechanical flight instruments and power integrated display instruments; the control system uses a push-pull steel cable. The above is the overall design of the electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

[0054] There is a single-lever linkage central joystick in the cockpit; the instrument panel includes a multi-function display, backup display instrument, backup display instrument sign, radio, switch control panel, switch control panel sign, vertical speed indicator, flight manual sign, sideslip indicator, pilot warning sign, airspeed indicator, altimeter, magnetic compass. There are throttle lever and brake handle on the central control panel between the two seats; there is a fire extinguisher on the left side of the windshield frame; the seat back angle is 26°.

[0055] The aircraft adopts a fully composite material structure mainly made of carbon fiber and glass fiber, including a fuselage 1, wings, propellers 4, and landing gear. The fuselage 1 mainly includes an electric propulsion device compartment, a firewall, a cockpit, a battery compartment, a bulkhead, a circular vertical stabilizer, etc. The wing 2 adopts a large aspect ratio tandem wing shape, and the structure consists of three parts: the main wing, the aileron, and the elevator. The main wing structure includes wing skin, wing beam, rear wall, root rib, common rib and other wing structure arrangements; the elevator structure includes a horizontal stabilizer and an elevator; the landing gear consists of two parts: a front landing gear and a main landing gear. The front landing gear adopts a spring damping form, which is linked to the rudder, and the main landing gear adopts a leaf spring damping form.

[0056] Specifically, in the structure of the present application, the wings of the aircraft are composed of main wings, ailerons and elevator wings. The main wings are located on both sides of the front end of the fuselage, while the elevator wings are arranged on both sides of the rear end of the fuselage, forming a tandem wing layout. This layout allows the aircraft to obtain greater lift during vertical takeoff and landing, while maintaining stability during horizontal flight.

[0057] Propeller configuration: On the top of the main wing and the elevator wing, multiple sets of propellers are set symmetrically with the fuselage as the central axis. These propellers provide the necessary thrust during vertical take-off and landing, and assist in propulsion and control during horizontal flight.

[0058] Ailerons and elevators: The trailing edge of the main wing is equipped with ailerons (ailerons are also called aileron rudders), and the trailing edge of the elevator is equipped with an elevator. By changing the curvature of the ailerons and elevators, the lift of the aircraft during takeoff and landing can be increased, and the takeoff and landing performance can be improved.

[0059] Vertical tail: The vertical tail is connected to the rear end of the fuselage and the central axis of the bottom of the elevator. It includes a fixed vertical stabilizer and a movable rudder. The vertical stabilizer provides heading stability, while the rudder is used to control the heading of the aircraft and ensure directional control during flight.

[0060] The power system of vertical take-off and landing aircraft includes: electric motor, tilt frame, main controller, integrated display instrument of power system; propeller, battery pack, power management system (BMS). A practical and safe electric propulsion system for aircraft based on new rare earth permanent magnet motor and high-efficiency solid-state battery has been developed, forming a highly efficient integrated technology of motor drive system, power battery and propeller.

[0061] The lightweight air-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor has extremely high continuous torque density and high efficiency, and can be used to directly drive the propeller. At a speed of about 1000r / min, its continuous power can reach 130kW, the efficiency is 97%, and its weight is 30.6kg.

[0062] The motor mounting frame is a welded structure. The motor mounting frame is connected to the fuselage frame, motor, and electric regulator with bolts. The motor and propeller group can generate a pulling force in the forward direction of the aircraft through the tilting structure (aircraft cruise flight mode). At the same time, under the action of the tilting structure, the motor and propeller axis are converted to a 90-degree angle with the horizontal line, so that the motor drives the propeller to generate downward thrust to complete the vertical take-off of the aircraft (take-off and landing mode). When landing, after completing the aircraft cruise flight mode, wait for the aircraft to fly to the specified point, and the tilting structure will switch to the take-off and landing mode again, while reducing the power output of the motor, and the aircraft will slowly land and land on the ground.

[0063] The aircraft adopts a relatively mature process system, with manual laying, vacuum bag forming, autoclave forming and connection assembly as the basis of composite material manufacturing technology. The leaf spring is a laminated plate structure, which is formed by autoclave. The fuselage skin, wing skin, tail skin, etc. are foam board sandwich structures, which are formed by vacuum bag forming. Beams, walls, ribs, bulkheads, cockpits, fairings, etc. are laminated structures, some of which are carbon plate sandwich structures, which are formed by vacuum bag forming. Metal parts are self-developed and outsourced.

[0064] The whole machine is assembled using a jig, and key components such as wings, fuselage, and elevators are positioned and supported. The assembly is calibrated using horizontal measurement and laser tracking three-coordinate measurement equipment to ensure that the whole machine assembly meets the design accuracy requirements. The fuselage and the jig are fixed, and the connection parts are fixed or glued. For the first time, a new principle and method for monitoring and controlling defects and deformation of composite parts using grating reflection spectrum alienation method and multi-stage thermal cycle method was proposed, which greatly reduced the curing defects and deformation of composite components, ensuring light weight, low cost and process stability.

[0065] The vertical take-off and landing aircraft has been manufactured in a 1:4 scale prototype according to the design drawings since July 2022. A total of 2 complete aircraft and several test pieces have been manufactured. The production drawings, process documents, manufacturing records, etc. in the aircraft manufacturing are complete. We also carried out manufacturing conformity inspections on the test pieces and vertical take-off and landing aircraft used for verification tests according to the requirements of the review team and the type certification procedures, and are preparing to submit the manufacturing conformity review and approval to the authority. It has excellent low-speed characteristics and vertical take-off and landing performance, and is suitable for aircraft rental, cargo transportation, aerial photography, aerial surveying and mapping, power line inspection, rescue, tourism and other tasks. It also meets the flight needs of private flight enthusiasts and business. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft has a wingspan of 15.18 meters, a take-off weight of 2,210 kilograms, a maximum cruising range of 600 kilometers, a maximum level flight speed of 280 kilometers per hour, and a ceiling of more than 1,000 meters. It is fully suitable for the aircraft advocated by the country's low-altitude economy. It does not require a runway for takeoff and landing. It is a unique aircraft that takes off and lands in place, showing its excellent low-speed characteristics and safe and stable take-off and landing performance.

[0066] By analyzing the applicable scenarios of the product of this application and promoting the product features, more potential customers can be attracted. At the same time, it is necessary to develop different customized service solutions according to user needs, such as business, tourism, medical rescue and firefighting. In summary, the advancement of tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft technology requires coordination and development in all aspects. In the future, with the continuous advancement of science and technology and the continuous expansion of the market, it is not impossible for tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft to become a new mode of air travel or achieve development in the fields of medical care, firefighting, logistics, etc.

[0067] The technical features of the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. To make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above-described embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification.

[0068] The above-described embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application, and the descriptions thereof are relatively specific and detailed, but they cannot be construed as limiting the scope of the patent application. It should be pointed out that, for a person of ordinary skill in the art, several variations and improvements can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent application shall be subject to the attached claims.

Claims

1. A tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft, characterized in that: The aircraft includes a fuselage, wings, elevators and landing gear, specifically: The fuselage is the main structure of the aircraft, which adopts a streamlined structure. The fuselage is equipped with an aircraft cabin, an electric propulsion device cabin and a power system. The power system is controlled by the control system inside the aircraft cabin to drive vertical take-off and landing. The wing includes a main wing, an aileron and an elevator wing. The main wing and the elevator wing are respectively arranged on both sides of the front and rear ends of the fuselage in a tandem wing layout, and the lateral extension length of the elevator wing exceeds the lateral extension length of the main wing. A plurality of propellers are symmetrically arranged on the top of the main wing and the elevator wing with the fuselage as the central axis. Ailerons are arranged on the trailing edge of the main wing, and elevators are arranged on the trailing edge of the elevator wing, which are used to increase lift by changing the curvature of the ailerons and elevators. A vertical tail is connected to the rear end of the fuselage and the central axis of the bottom of the elevator wing. The vertical tail includes a fixed vertical stabilizer and a movable rudder. The landing gear is located at the bottom of the fuselage and includes the front landing gear and the rear landing gear, which are used to support the aircraft when parking and taxiing on the ground; The power system is installed inside the main body of the aircraft, including an electric motor, a main controller, a power system integrated display instrument, a battery pack, and a power management system.

2. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric motor is specifically a lightweight air-cooled permanent magnet synchronous motor, which is used to directly drive the propeller.

3. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 2, characterized in that: The motor mounting frame in the power system is a welded structure, and the motor mounting frame is connected to the fuselage frame, the motor, and the electric regulator with bolts; the motor and propeller group can generate forward pulling force or downward thrust for the aircraft through the tilting structure to achieve vertical take-off and landing.

4. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The instruments in the aircraft cockpit use mechanical flight instruments and power integrated display instruments; the control system uses push-pull steel cables.

5. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 4, characterized in that: The aircraft cockpit is equipped with a single-lever linked central control stick, an instrument panel in front, a throttle lever and a brake handle on the central control panel between the two seats, a fire extinguisher on the left side of the windshield frame, and a seat back angle of 26°.

6. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 4, characterized in that: The instrument panel specifically includes a multi-function display, backup display instruments, backup display instrument signs, a radio station, a switch control panel, a switch control panel sign, a vertical speed indicator, a flight manual sign, a sideslip indicator, a pilot warning sign, an airspeed indicator, an altimeter, and a magnetic compass.

7. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front landing gear adopts spring damping and is linked to the rudder, and the main landing gear adopts leaf spring damping.

8. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fuselage skin, wing skin and tail skin of the aircraft are foam board sandwich structures, which are formed by vacuum bag pressing; The wing spar, rear wall, root rib, bulkhead, cockpit and fairing are laminated structures, some of which are carbon plate sandwich structures, and are formed by vacuum bag pressing.

9. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aircraft adopts an all-composite structure, and the structural materials include at least carbon fiber and glass fiber.

10. The tandem-wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The aircraft uses grating reflection spectrum alienation method and multi-stage thermal cycle method to monitor and control defects and deformation of composite parts.

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