Dolphin-like trans-medium flying vehicle and method of operation thereof

Abstract

This invention provides a dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft and its operating method. The aircraft includes a dolphin-shaped fuselage with a set of tiltable ducted rotors mounted on each side. Inside the fuselage are a ducted rotor tilting device and a servo motor. The servo motor drives the ducted rotor tilting device, which in turn drives a tilting shaft via a linkage, thereby controlling the tilt angle of the ducted rotor. A dorsal fin rudder is mounted on the fuselage. The rear of the fuselage is connected to a midsection and a tail section. A tail drive device is installed inside the fuselage, controlling the swinging of both the midsection and tail. This invention utilizes servo motors, a ducted rotor tilting device, and linkages to achieve ducted rotor tilting under different operating conditions. A micro AC motor and a servo motor drive the tail swinging device, achieving synchronized swinging of the midsection and tail, providing thrust for the aircraft underwater, significantly reducing underwater drag and noise, and increasing endurance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft design technology, specifically to a dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft and its operating method. Background Technology

[0002] A cross-medium aircraft is a new concept aircraft capable of both air and underwater flight, commonly known as a "flying submarine" or a "diving aircraft," simultaneously meeting the requirements of both aerodynamics and hydrodynamics. It combines the speed of an aircraft with the stealth of a submarine, capable of acquiring information about friend or foe in the air, on the surface, and underwater. It can also target weaknesses in enemy defense systems, utilizing both air and underwater penetration methods to achieve highly efficient penetration and strike capabilities, as well as multi-mission capabilities. As a purely combat weapon, a cross-medium aircraft possesses excellent stealth performance, making it a powerful tool for penetration; as a supplementary weapon, its combination with submarines allows both to complement each other's strengths and weaknesses, significantly enhancing the submarine's overall combat capabilities. Cross-medium aircraft have a very wide range of applications, and their role is becoming increasingly prominent with technological advancements.

[0003] However, research on biomimetic aircraft capable of operating across both air and sea is currently scarce. While some existing amphibious aircraft can achieve some of these functions, their stealth capabilities, adaptability to complex environments, aerial lift enhancement, underwater drag reduction, and stability still need improvement. Dolphins possess a graceful streamlined body shape, enabling them to minimize drag and energy consumption while maximizing speed in both air and water. Biomimetic dolphins could provide a new approach to designing cross-medium aircraft. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problems of existing technologies, this invention provides a dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft and its operating method. The aircraft utilizes servo motors, a duct tilting device, and connecting rods to tilt the duct under different operating conditions. A micro AC motor and a servo motor drive the tail swinging device to achieve synchronous swinging of the midsection and tail of the aircraft, providing thrust for the aircraft underwater. This significantly reduces the aircraft's underwater drag and noise, and increases its endurance.

[0005] A dolphin-inspired transmedia aircraft includes a dolphin-shaped fuselage with a set of tiltable ducted rotors mounted on each side. Inside the fuselage are a ducted tilting device and a servo motor. The servo motor drives the ducted tilting device, which in turn drives a tilting shaft via a linkage, thereby controlling the tilt angle of the ducted rotor. A dorsal fin rudder is mounted on the fuselage. A midsection and a tail section are sequentially connected to the rear of the fuselage. A tail drive device is installed inside the fuselage, controlling the swinging of both the midsection and the tail section.

[0006] In a further improvement, the duct tilting device includes a base and a planetary assembly mounted on the base. The base is installed inside the fuselage, and the tilting shaft is connected to the planetary assembly. The planetary assembly includes a cavity composed of a planetary assembly chassis and an end cap, and a planetary assembly support. A gear ring is fixed inside the cavity, and a sun gear and planetary gears mesh within the gear ring. One end of the planetary assembly support is fixedly connected to the base, and the other end extends into the planetary assembly cavity and is connected to the sun gear and planetary gears respectively. The sun gear is connected to the dorsal fin rudder, and the dorsal fin rudder drives the sun gear to rotate, thereby controlling the rotation of the tilting shaft through the planetary assembly, thus controlling the duct tilting angle.

[0007] In a further improvement, the duct tilting device is connected to the tilting shaft via a connecting plate and a connecting rod, and the ducts at both ends are connected to the tilting shaft.

[0008] Further improvements include a streamlined fuselage, with the duct and tilt axis located at the aircraft's center of gravity, i.e., the position of the dolphin's side fin.

[0009] In a further improvement, the tail drive device includes a fuselage support plate and a mid-section support plate connected by a swing connecting plate. The fuselage support plate is located inside the fuselage, and a micro AC motor and a servo motor are fixed on the fuselage support plate. The mid-section support plate is connected to the mid-section of the aircraft, and a long shaft is fixed on the mid-section support plate by a shaft support. The servo motor is connected to the long shaft by a short shaft, and the long shaft is connected to the tail. The micro AC motor is connected to the swing connecting plate by an eccentric connecting rod, and the swing connecting plate is connected to the mid-section support plate by a connecting shaft. The micro AC motor controls the swing connecting plate to generate a double rocker arm movement through the eccentric connecting rod, thereby controlling the mid-section support plate to swing around the connecting shaft.

[0010] In a further improvement, the short shaft and the long shaft are connected by a cross link and a shaft head.

[0011] In a further improvement, the tail section is fixed to the middle support plate via a tail section fixed shaft. The long shaft is connected to the tail section via a universal connecting rod and a tail section connecting rod. The servo motor drives the long shaft to rotate around the shaft via a short shaft, thereby causing the tail section to swing around the shaft.

[0012] Further improvements include having the same frequency for the micro AC motor and the servo motor.

[0013] This invention also provides a method for operating a dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft, including an underwater navigation state and an above-water mode:

[0014] When navigating underwater, the aircraft's left and right ducts are perpendicular to the fuselage. The micro AC motors and servo motors are activated to make the mid-section and tail of the aircraft swing around the axis respectively, keeping the swing frequency in phase and increasing the swing amplitude of the tail. At the same time, the power of the servo motors is reduced. At this time, the ducts are perpendicular to the fuselage, which greatly reduces the drag during navigation. The aircraft's dorsal fin controls the direction of navigation, and the left and right fins control the roll.

[0015] In the water-emergence mode, the servo drives the duct tilting device to tilt the duct at a certain angle. At this time, the rotor starts to rotate, and together with the tail oscillating device, it provides thrust to the aircraft. The aircraft forms a certain angle with the horizontal plane and begins to move towards the water surface. At this time, the tilt angle between the duct and the fuselage is gradually increased until it forms a 60-degree angle with the horizontal plane and bursts out of the water. Finally, the duct and the fuselage are made horizontal, and the aircraft enters the air flight mode.

[0016] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0017] The aircraft described in this invention uses a dolphin as its fuselage model, featuring a streamlined shape that reduces drag both in the air and underwater. Tilting ducts on both sides of the fuselage act as a lift system, providing lift for flight and allowing the aircraft's attitude to be adjusted based on the tilt angle and rotor speed. The realistic biomimetic underwater movement of a dolphin, using its tail as an underwater thrust system, simultaneously swings the midsection and tail of the aircraft, improving efficiency, reducing energy consumption, and extending endurance. During the transition phase, a stop and landing at a certain height above the water surface ensures overall aircraft safety and protects the aircraft structure. The dolphin-like leap out of the water tilts the ducts to increase thrust, allowing the aircraft to smoothly emerge from the water, increasing the time spent in mid-air and reducing the time required to transition to air mode. This ensures the ducts can smoothly tilt to be parallel with the fuselage, enabling a smooth transition between air and sea, and has broad application scenarios.

[0018] The aircraft described in this invention uses a planetary gear set as the main ducted tilting device, reducing servo energy consumption, improving component durability, and enabling precise control of the ducted tilt angle. The aircraft's attitude in the air can be controlled by the rotor speed and the ducted tilt angle, making operation simple and convenient. The aircraft uses mechanical linkages and universal joints as the tail swing device, allowing the mid-section and tail to swing together, precisely controlling the swing frequency and phase of the mid-section and tail. The swing frequency can be increased as needed to accelerate the speed, effectively improving tail control, enhancing the aircraft's agility, preventing dolphin movement underwater, reducing underwater drag and noise, and enabling it to adapt to complex marine environments. Attached Figure Description

[0019] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the flight mode of the aircraft described in this invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the tilting shaft described in this invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the tilting shaft described in this invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the culvert tilting device described in this invention;

[0024] Figure 5 This is an enlarged schematic diagram of the interior of the culvert tilting device described in this invention;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the tail swing device described in this invention;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of the tail swing device and its connection to the tail as described in this invention;

[0027] Figure 8 This is an enlarged schematic diagram of the middle section of the tail swing device described in this invention;

[0028] Figure 9 This is an enlarged schematic diagram of the connecting plate of the tail swing device described in this invention;

[0029] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the underwater navigation mode of the aircraft shown in this invention;

[0030] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the water-air cross-medium transition mode of the aircraft shown in this invention.

[0031] 1-Fuselage; 2-Rotor; 3-Ductwork; 4-Tilting Shaft; 5-Ductwork Tilting Device; 6-Dorsal Fin Rudder; 7-Tail Swing Device; 8-Midsection of Aircraft; 9-Tail; 401-Connecting Rod; 402-Connecting Plate; 403-Hex Head Flange Bolt; 404-Hex Nut; 501-Base; 502-Planetary Assembly; 503-End Cap; 504-Hex Head Bolt; 505-Planetary Assembly Support; 506-Planetary Assembly Chassis; 507-Gear Ring; 508-Planetary Gear; 509- Sun gear; 510 - Hexagonal head bolt connecting gear ring and base; 701 - Support plate; 702 - Miniature AC motor; 703 - Servo motor; 704 - Short shaft; 705 - Long shaft; 706 - Shaft support; 707 - Mid-section support plate; 708 - Swing connecting plate; 709 - Universal connecting rod; 710 - Tail connecting rod; 711 - Tail fixed shaft; 712 - Cross connecting rod; 713 - Shaft head; 714 - Connecting shaft; 715 - Eccentric connecting short rod; 8 - Mid-section of aircraft; 9 - Tail. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] One specific embodiment of the present invention is as follows:

[0034] like Figure 1 As shown, the conventional layout of the dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft of the present invention includes a fuselage 1, a rotor 2, a duct 3, a tilt axis 4, a duct tilting device 5, a dorsal fin rudder 6, a tail swing device 7, a mid-section of the aircraft 8, and a tail 9.

[0035] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figure 3, ducts 3 are installed on both sides of the fuselage 1 via tilt shafts 4. Rotors 2 are located within the ducts 3. The overall fuselage 1 of the aircraft is shaped like a dolphin, with a streamlined design and low aerodynamic drag. Both the ducts 3 and tilt shafts 4 are located at the center of gravity of the aircraft, which is the location of the dolphin's side fins. The tilt shafts 4 are connected to the connecting plate 402 using bolts and nuts. Similarly, the connecting rod 401 is connected to the connecting plate 402 using bolts and nuts. The dorsal fin rudder 6 is mounted on the fuselage. The bolt and nut structure includes hexagonal flange bolts 403 and hexagonal nuts 404.

[0036] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown in Figure 4, the base 501 is installed inside the body 1, and the tilting shaft 4 is fixed on the base 501. The planetary assembly 502 is connected to the end cover 503 with hexagonal head bolts 504.

[0037] like Figure 4 , 5 As shown, the planetary assembly 502 is fixed by a planetary assembly support 505. The sun gear 509, planet gears 508, and gear ring 507 are fixed to the planetary assembly support and held in place by the planetary assembly chassis 506 to prevent gear movement. The end cap 503 also fixes the gears in place. The gear ring is fixed to the planetary assembly chassis 506 by hexagonal head bolts 510. The sun gear 509 is directly connected to the servo motor 6. When the servo motor drives the servo motor, the sun gear rotates, driving the planetary gear set to rotate, thereby causing the planetary assembly chassis to rotate around its axis and the connecting rod. This, in turn, drives the connecting rod. When the connecting rod is driven by the duct tilting device, it will move the connecting plate. At this time, the tilting shaft is fixed to the base 501, and the duct will tilt around its axis. The servo motor can control the tilting angle of the duct.

[0038] like Figure 1 , 6As shown, the support plate 701, the micro AC motor 702, the servo motor 703, the short shaft 704, and the connecting plate 708 are all inside the fuselage 1. The long shaft 704 and the mid-section support plate 707 are inside the mid-section 8 of the aircraft and are directly connected to it.

[0039] like Figure 6 , 7 As shown in Figure 8, the servo motor is directly connected to the short shaft 704. The short shaft 704 is connected to the long shaft 704 via a cross link and a shaft head. The long shaft 705 and the short shaft 704 are respectively fixed to the support plate 701 and the middle support plate 707 by shaft supports 706. The long shaft is connected to the tail section via a universal joint, specifically, the long shaft 705 is connected to the tail section connecting rod 710 via a universal joint connecting rod 709. At the tail section 9, the connecting short rod 710 is fixed to the tail section fixed shaft 711. When the servo motor starts, the short shaft 704 connected to it will rotate, thereby driving the long shaft to rotate around the shaft. Because the shafts of the long shaft and the tail section fixed shaft are both fixed, the tail section will swing around the shaft due to the universal joint connecting device.

[0040] like Figure 6 , 8 As shown in Figure 9, the miniature AC motor 702 is connected to the swing connecting plate 708 through an eccentric connecting short rod 715. The support plate 701 is connected to the middle support plate 707. The swing connecting plate 708 is connected to the miniature AC motor 701 through an eccentric connecting short rod. When the motor is started, the swing connecting plate 708 generates a double rocker arm motion, which drives the middle support plate 707 to move around the connecting shaft between the support plate 701 and the middle support plate 707.

[0041] The dolphin-inspired cross-medium aircraft of this invention has four operating modes, and the specific operating methods are as follows:

[0042] like Figure 1 As shown, in flight mode, the duct provides lift. When the aircraft is flying vertically or hovering, the tiltable ducts on both sides are horizontal with the fuselage, and the rotor speed can be adjusted to select up or down. When flying forward or backward, the servo can be activated to drive the duct tilting device, making the duct at a certain angle to the horizontal plane of the aircraft, generating forward or backward thrust. The angle can be controlled to adjust the forward or backward speed. At the same time, the rotation speed of the left and right rotors can be adjusted to adjust the aircraft's heading. This allows the aircraft to fly in the air.

[0043] like Figure 1 As shown, in the water entry mode, the aircraft shuts down the rotor engine at a certain height above the water surface, allowing the aircraft to safely enter the water. After entering the water, the servo drives the duct tilting device to tilt the duct forward, gradually transitioning to the underwater navigation mode where the left and right ducts form a 90-degree angle with the fuselage.

[0044] like Figure 10 As shown, during underwater navigation, the aircraft's left and right ducts are perpendicular to the fuselage. By activating the micro AC motors and servo motors, the mid-section and tail of the aircraft can be made to swing around their axes, respectively. By controlling the swing frequency to be in phase, the swing amplitude of the tail can be increased, while the power of the servo motors can be reduced, thus reducing energy consumption and increasing endurance. At this time, the ducts are perpendicular to the fuselage, which can significantly reduce drag during navigation. The aircraft's dorsal fin can control the direction of navigation, while the left and right fins control the roll.

[0045] like Figure 11 As shown, in the water-emergence mode, the servo drives the duct tilting device to tilt the duct at a certain angle. At this time, the rotor starts to rotate, and with the tail swing device providing thrust to the aircraft, the aircraft will form a certain angle with the horizontal plane and start to move towards the water surface. At this time, the tilting angle between the duct and the fuselage is gradually increased until it forms a 60-degree angle with the horizontal plane and bursts out of the water surface. Finally, the duct and the fuselage are made horizontal, and the aircraft returns to the air flight mode.

[0046] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to interchangeably. Each embodiment focuses on its differences from other embodiments. In particular, for the device embodiments, the above descriptions are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. Since they are fundamentally similar to the method embodiments, the descriptions are relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions of the method embodiments. The above descriptions are merely specific embodiments of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in the present invention, without departing from the principle of the present invention, should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A dolphin-inspired transmedium flight vehicle, characterized in that: The fuselage (1) is shaped like a dolphin. A set of tiltable ducted rotors is mounted on each side of the fuselage (1). A ducted tilting device (5) and a servo motor are installed inside the fuselage (1). The servo motor drives the ducted tilting device (5), which in turn drives the tilting shaft (4) via a connecting rod, thereby controlling the tilt angle of the duct (3). A dorsal fin rudder (6) is mounted on the fuselage. The rear of the fuselage (1) is connected to the midsection (8) and the tail section (9). A tail drive device (7) is installed inside the fuselage (1). 7) Control the mid-section (8) and tail (9) of the aircraft to swing respectively; the tail drive device (7) includes a fuselage support plate (701) and a mid-section support plate (707) connected by a swing connecting plate (708). The fuselage support plate (701) is located inside the fuselage (1). A micro AC motor (702) and a servo motor (703) are fixed on the fuselage support plate (701). The mid-section support plate (707) is connected to the mid-section (8) of the aircraft. A long shaft support (706) is fixed on the mid-section support plate (707). A shaft (705) and a servo motor (703) are connected to a long shaft (705) via a short shaft (704). The long shaft (705) is connected to the tail section (9). The micro AC motor (702) is connected to a swing connecting plate (708) via an eccentric connecting rod (715). The swing connecting plate (708) is connected to the middle support plate (707) via a connecting shaft (714). The micro AC motor (702) controls the swing connecting plate (708) to generate a double rocker arm rocker motion via the eccentric connecting rod (715), thereby controlling the middle support plate. The plate (707) swings around the connecting shaft (714); the short shaft (704) and the long shaft (705) are connected by a cross link (712) and a shaft head (713); the tail (9) is fixed on the middle support plate (707) by the tail fixed shaft (711), the long shaft (705) is connected to the tail (9) in sequence by a universal connecting rod (709) and a tail connecting rod (710), and the servo motor (703) drives the long shaft (705) to rotate around the shaft through the short shaft (704), thereby driving the tail (9) to swing around the shaft.

2. The dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The duct tilting device (5) includes a base (501) and a planetary assembly (502) mounted on the base. The base (501) is installed inside the fuselage, and the tilting shaft (4) is connected to the planetary assembly (502). The planetary assembly (502) includes a cavity composed of a planetary assembly chassis (506) and an end cap (503) and a planetary assembly support (505). A gear ring (507) is fixed inside the cavity. A sun gear (509) and a planetary gear (508) are meshed inside the gear ring (507). One end of the planetary assembly support (505) is fixedly connected to the base (501), and the other end extends into the cavity of the planetary assembly (502) and is connected to the sun gear (509) and the planetary gear (508) respectively. The sun gear (509) is connected to the dorsal fin rudder (6). The dorsal fin rudder (6) drives the sun gear (509) to rotate, thereby controlling the tilting shaft (4) to rotate through the planetary assembly (502), thereby controlling the tilting angle of the duct (3).

3. The dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The culvert tilting device (5) and the tilting shaft (4) are connected to the connecting rod (401) via the connecting plate (402), and the culverts (3) at both ends are connected to the tilting shaft (4).

4. The dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fuselage (1) is streamlined, and the duct (3) and tilt axis (4) are located at the center of gravity of the aircraft, i.e., the position of the dolphin's side fin.

5. The dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that: The micro AC motor (702) and the servo motor (703) have the same frequency.

6. A method for operating the dolphin-inspired transmedium aircraft according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that... Including underwater navigation status and surface mode status: When navigating underwater, the aircraft's left and right ducts are perpendicular to the fuselage. The micro AC motors and servo motors are activated to make the mid-section and tail of the aircraft swing around the axis respectively, keeping the swing frequency in phase and increasing the swing amplitude of the tail. At the same time, the power of the servo motors is reduced. At this time, the ducts are perpendicular to the fuselage, which greatly reduces the drag during navigation. The aircraft's dorsal fin controls the direction of navigation, and the left and right fins control the roll. In the water-emergence mode, the servo drives the duct tilting device to tilt the duct at a certain angle. At this time, the rotor starts to rotate, and together with the tail oscillating device, it provides thrust to the aircraft. The aircraft forms a certain angle with the horizontal plane and begins to move towards the water surface. At this time, the tilt angle between the duct and the fuselage is gradually increased until it forms a 60-degree angle with the horizontal plane and bursts out of the water. Finally, the duct and the fuselage are made horizontal, and the aircraft enters the air flight mode.

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