A multi-copter aircraft with tiltable lifting wings and a method of controlling the same

Abstract

The application discloses a multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings and a control method thereof, and belongs to the technical field of aircrafts. The aircraft comprises a multi-rotor body, a propeller power assembly distributed at four corners of the body, tiltable wings and a tilting execution mechanism. The tilting action of the tiltable wings is decoupled from the output direction of the propeller power, the propeller power direction does not change with the change of the inclination angle of the tiltable wings, and the aircraft maintains the multi-rotor control logic in all stages. The control method determines the longitudinal synchronous target inclination angle of the tiltable wings according to the flight speed and the incoming flow state; based on the total energy coordination control, the wing lift sharing amount, the propeller tension sharing amount and the body target inclination angle are distributed, and after the amplitude and the change rate are limited, the wing tilting, the attitude and the power control instructions are output, the aircraft can be close to the high-lift-drag ratio or the low-energy-consumption working interval in a wide forward flight speed range, and the cruising power can be reduced and the full-speed stability can be improved without entering the fixed-wing flight mode.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of aircraft technology, and in particular to a multi-rotor aircraft with a tiltable lift wing and its control method. Background Technology

[0002] Multirotor aircraft possess vertical takeoff and landing, hovering, and low-speed maneuverability. However, during medium- or high-speed forward flight, they still primarily rely on propellers to generate lift and propulsion. Rotor induced power, airframe drag, and energy losses due to forward tilting limit range and endurance. To improve forward flight efficiency, existing solutions involve adding fixed-angle lifting wings to the multirotor fuselage, allowing these wings to contribute some lift during the forward flight phase.

[0003] In related technologies, fixed-angle lifting wings can usually only approach the optimal aerodynamic state at the design speed point or within a narrow speed range. When the forward speed, fuselage attitude, wind field, or load of a multi-rotor aircraft changes, the fixed-angle lifting wing is prone to deviating from the high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range, generating additional drag or disturbance torque. Traditional tiltrotor, tilt-rotor, tail-seat, or compound VTOL aircraft usually need to switch between flight modes between vertical flight, transitional flight, and fixed-wing cruise, or to make the power direction strongly coupled with the wing attitude.

[0004] However, existing multirotor speed control generally employs a control logic that directly converts speed errors into the target tilt angle and total thrust, achieving altitude and speed control through the vertical and forward components of the propeller's resultant force. Structurally, most winged multirotor aircraft must enter fixed-wing flight mode to generate lift using the wings, making it impossible to introduce lift sharing by adjusting the wing tilt angle in multirotor flight mode. In terms of control methods, most existing winged multirotor designs directly adopt the control laws of ordinary quadrotors. Speed ​​control of multirotors with tiltable wings is not suitable for directly applying ordinary quadrotor control laws; some designs also use angle of attack measurement, angle of attack estimation, and airflow speed measurement or estimation as the sole input constraint for the wing tilt angle control law, further limiting the adaptability and scalability of the configuration.

[0005] Meanwhile, the aforementioned technological limitations prevent existing multi-rotor aircraft from utilizing wings to share lift and improve aerodynamic efficiency during medium-to-high-speed forward flight without entering fixed-wing flight mode. During medium-to-high-speed forward flight, lift is entirely provided by the propeller, requiring the aircraft to maintain a large forward tilt angle, which significantly increases aerodynamic drag, resulting in high flight energy consumption, insufficient endurance, and severely restricting forward flight performance. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This application aims to propose a multi-rotor aircraft with a tiltable lift wing and its control method, in order to solve the technical problem in related technologies where multi-rotor aircraft are limited by the configuration design where the wing and power direction are not decoupled, and the control logic does not comprehensively distribute wing lift, wing tilt angle, propeller thrust, and fuselage tilt angle, making it impossible to utilize the wing to share lift and improve aerodynamic efficiency during medium- and high-speed forward flight without switching to fixed-wing flight mode.

[0007] In a first aspect, this application provides a multi-rotor aircraft with a tiltable lift wing, comprising: A multi-rotor airframe, which provides a mounting and support foundation for the various components of the aircraft; The propeller power assembly is distributed and installed at the four corners of the multi-rotor body, and is used to provide attitude control and thrust control based on the quadcopter control logic; A tiltable wing is provided on the multi-rotor fuselage to generate aerodynamic lift during the forward flight phase of the aircraft. A tilting actuator, which is connected to the tiltable wing via a transmission, is used to independently adjust the tilt angle of the tiltable wing relative to the multi-rotor body; A flight controller, which is electrically connected to the propeller power assembly and the tilt actuator, respectively; The tilting motion of the tiltable wing is decoupled from the power output direction of the propeller power assembly, and the power direction of the propeller power assembly does not change with the tilt angle of the tiltable wing; the multi-rotor aircraft uses quadcopter control logic to maintain flight throughout the entire flight phase. The flight controller is configured to generate wing tilt control commands based on the aircraft's current flight speed and incoming flow conditions, driving the tiltable wing to adjust its attitude independently relative to the fuselage, so that the wing's operating state approaches a preset lift-to-drag ratio or energy consumption operating range.

[0008] In some embodiments, the tiltable wing includes a left wing and a right wing symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the multirotor body, and the root of the left wing and the right wing are both provided with a tilting shaft extending along the span of the wing and rotatably connected to the multirotor body; The tilting actuator includes a left wing tilting component and a right wing tilting component respectively installed inside the multi-rotor fuselage. The power output ends of the two components are respectively connected to the tilting shafts of the left wing and the right wing, and are used to drive the left wing and the right wing to tilt independently around the corresponding tilting shafts.

[0009] In some embodiments, the left wing tilt member and the right wing tilt member can drive the left wing and the right wing to independently change their tilt angles, respectively, to provide symmetrical aerodynamic lift for the aircraft during forward flight; and are configured to drive the left wing and the right wing to generate differential tilt angles based on the common tilt angle, thereby assisting the aircraft's roll attitude adjustment through the lift difference between the left and right wings, and forming a coordinated action with the attitude control of the propeller power assembly.

[0010] In some embodiments, the multi-rotor aircraft does not have a fixed-wing flight mode, nor does it perform the conversion between quadcopter flight mode and fixed-wing flight mode, and it is not configured to convert between quadcopter flight mode and fixed-wing flight mode. During medium-speed and high-speed forward flight phases, the multi-rotor airframe maintains a forward tilt attitude to provide forward thrust components, while the tiltable wing independently adjusts its aerodynamic angle of attack to generate additional lift and share some of the aircraft's gravity load. The propeller power assembly always operates according to the quadcopter attitude control and thrust control logic, and its power direction and basic control architecture do not change with the tilting of the tiltable wing.

[0011] In some embodiments, the multirotor aircraft further includes an airflow angle sensor, which is arranged away from the rotor downwash and the interference of the leading edge of the tilting wing, and is mounted on the front end of the head of the multirotor body via a support structure; The airflow angle sensor is electrically connected to the flight controller and is used to collect and output the incoming airflow angle of attack, sideslip angle, vacuum speed and sensor status information in real time. The flight controller uses the above information as feedback input for the wing tilt closed-loop control and independently adjusts the tilt angle of the tiltable wing to approach the preset working range.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution provided in the first aspect of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: The multirotor aircraft provided in this application features a tiltable wing independently mounted on the multirotor fuselage via a tilting actuator. The tilting motion is decoupled from the power output direction of the propeller power assembly, allowing the wing tilt angle to be adjusted independently of the fuselage attitude and power direction. The aircraft can maintain quadrotor control logic throughout the entire flight phase, from takeoff and hovering to high-speed forward flight, without requiring fixed-wing flight mode or multi-mode switching control logic. During forward flight, the flight controller generates wing tilt commands in real time based on flight speed and incoming airflow, driving the wing to adjust to a near-preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low-energy operating range. It utilizes the incoming airflow to generate additional aerodynamic lift to share some of the gravity load, correspondingly reducing the vertical thrust component required by the propeller. Simultaneously, it maintains a reasonable forward tilt angle to provide forward thrust, reducing the additional aerodynamic drag caused by large tilt angles during forward flight, improving aerodynamic efficiency during medium-to-high-speed forward flight, reducing flight energy consumption, and maintaining the stability and reliability of the quadrotor basic control architecture throughout the entire process, thus expanding the forward flight performance boundaries of the multirotor aircraft.

[0013] Secondly, this application also provides a control method for a multi-rotor aircraft with a tiltable lifting wing as described in any of the first aspects above, characterized in that the method includes: The flight state and incoming flow state of the multi-rotor aircraft are obtained, wherein the incoming flow state includes at least one of airflow direction information and airflow speed information; Determine whether the conditions for tilt-wing auxiliary control are met based on the current speed, sensor status, and flight status. When the auxiliary control conditions of the tiltable wing are met, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the tiltable wing is determined according to the incoming flow state and the current speed, so that the tiltable wing can independently approach the preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range relative to the fuselage attitude. The lift contribution of the wing, the thrust contribution of the propeller, and the target tilt angle of the fuselage are determined based on the total energy coordination control, and the target tilt angle of the fuselage is used as the control quantity of the inner loop of the speed control. After limiting the amplitude and rate of change of the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, the fuselage target tilt angle and the propeller power control quantity, the wing tilt control command, attitude control command and power control command are output respectively. When the auxiliary control conditions of the tilting wing are not met, the tilting wing is centered, frozen, locked, or exits the closed-loop control, while the quadcopter control logic is maintained.

[0014] In some embodiments, when the speed command is increased, the flight controller generates a forward tilt requirement based on the speed command, and determines the target tilt angle based on the lift estimate of the tiltable wing, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, and the magnitude of the resultant force of the propeller power assembly, so that the vertical component and the forward component of the resultant force of the propeller power assembly, together with the aerodynamic lift generated by the tiltable wing, satisfy the altitude control requirement and the speed control requirement.

[0015] In some embodiments, flight log data from multiple full-flight phases is collected, and an energy consumption mapping between current speed, incoming flow status, wing tilt angle, propeller power control quantity, and electrical power is established or updated based on the flight log data. The preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range, the lookup table mapping, or the allocation parameters of the total energy coordination control are corrected according to the energy consumption mapping.

[0016] In some embodiments, the flight controller uses the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle as the reference control quantity for the left and right wings, generates a differential tilt angle based on the roll control quantity, yaw control quantity, sideslip angle, lateral disturbance quantity, or turn control requirements, and superimposes the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle and the differential tilt angle to form the left wing target tilt angle and the right wing target tilt angle, respectively, so that the left and right wings generate differential aerodynamic forces, differential drag, or roll moments to assist lateral control.

[0017] In some embodiments, the method further includes: Preset the differential control activation speed threshold and the maximum limit value of the differential tilt angle; When the forward speed of the aircraft is lower than the differential control activation speed threshold, the differential tilt angle compensation is forcibly limited to zero, and lateral control is completed only through multi-rotor power. When the current airspeed is higher than the differential control activation speed threshold, the control gain of the differential tilt angle compensation increases nonlinearly with the forward airspeed, and increases synchronously with the increase of the amplitude of the roll control command, the yaw control command and the sideslip angle deviation. When the sideslip angle exceeds the preset safety threshold, the differential tilt angle compensation is superimposed in the opposite direction to suppress sideslip divergence, and the differential tilt angle compensation always does not exceed the maximum limit value.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution provided in the second aspect of this application has at least the following beneficial effects: The control method for multi-rotor aircraft provided in this application, by acquiring the aircraft's flight state and incoming flow state and determining the auxiliary control conditions of the tiltable wing through pre-logic, can adapt the start and stop timing of wing tilt control according to different flight conditions, ensuring the stability of basic flight control under hovering, low-speed, and other conditions. When the control conditions are met, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the wing is calculated based on the incoming flow state and current speed, allowing the wing to independently approach the high lift-to-drag ratio or low-energy consumption operating range. At the same time, the total energy coordination control logic comprehensively allocates the lift contribution of the wing, the thrust contribution of the propeller, and the target tilt angle of the fuselage, and the wing output... The generated aerodynamic lift is incorporated into the overall force balance system, replacing the traditional quadcopter control method that directly converts speed error into airframe tilt angle and total thrust. This achieves coordinated matching of fuselage attitude, propeller power, and wing lift, keeping the forward tilt angle within a reasonable range, reducing forward flight aerodynamic drag, and improving energy utilization efficiency. Combined with the limiting of the amplitude and rate of change of control quantities, it ensures the smoothness of wing tilt and power adjustment processes. When control conditions are not met, the wing returns to center and locks, maintaining the basic quadcopter control logic, achieving a smooth transition of control modes, and improving the operational adaptability and flight reliability of the control scheme.

[0019] Additional aspects and advantages of this application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of a multi-rotor aircraft provided according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 2 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of a multi-rotor aircraft provided according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is another partial structural schematic diagram of a multi-rotor aircraft provided according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a multi-rotor aircraft control method provided according to an embodiment of this application.

[0022] Figure label: 100. Multi-rotor aircraft; 10. Multirotor fuselage; 11. Support legs; 20. Propeller power assembly; 21. Arm; 22. Propeller blades; 30. Tilting wing; 31. Left wing; 32. Right wing; 33. Tilting shaft; 40. Tilting actuator; 41. Left wing tilting member; 42. Right wing tilting member; 401. Driven gear; 402. Driven gear; 50. Flight controller; 60. Airflow angle sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The embodiments of this application are described in detail below. The embodiments described with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining this application and are not intended to limit this application.

[0024] In the description of the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "connected," "linked," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application according to the specific circumstances. "Multiple" means at least two, that is, two or more; "multiple" means at least two, that is, two or more.

[0025] In this application, "and / or" is merely a way of describing the relationship between related objects, indicating that three relationships can exist; for example, a and / or b can represent three cases: a alone, a and b simultaneously, and b alone. Additionally, the character " / " in this document generally indicates that the preceding and following related objects have an "or" relationship.

[0026] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used herein in the specification of this application is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0027] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this application clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0028] Please see Figures 1 to 3This embodiment provides a multi-rotor aircraft with a tiltable lift wing. The multi-rotor aircraft 100 includes a multi-rotor fuselage 10, a propeller power assembly 20, a tiltable wing 30, a tilting actuator 40, and a flight controller 50. The multi-rotor fuselage 10 serves as the supporting base for the entire aircraft and adopts an integrated structure of the fuselage and arms 21 of a conventional quadcopter, providing a unified installation benchmark and structural support for the power system, wing system, flight control system, and airborne load. The four propeller power assemblies 20 are respectively fixedly installed at the ends of the arms 21 at the four corners of the multi-rotor fuselage 10. The installation attitude of each power assembly is relatively fixed with respect to the fuselage, and the rotation plane of its propeller is always parallel to the installation plane of the arms 21. The power output direction is distributed along the vertical axis of the fuselage and is only regulated by the quadcopter control law of the flight controller 50 to output thrust and realize the attitude, altitude, and speed control of the aircraft.

[0029] Furthermore, the tiltable wings 30 are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the multi-rotor fuselage 10, located in the mid-fuselage region between the front and rear arms 21. The wingspan extends laterally along the fuselage, and the airfoil adopts a high lift-to-drag ratio airfoil suitable for low-to-medium speed forward flight. Correspondingly, the tilt actuator 40 adopts two independent drive units, corresponding to the left and right wings respectively. Both tilt actuators 40 are fixedly installed in the mounting compartment inside the fuselage. Their power output ends are connected to the root of the corresponding wing through a rocker arm and linkage transmission structure. Under the command of the flight controller 50, they can independently drive the wing to tilt around the tilt axis 33, precisely adjusting the wing's installation angle relative to the fuselage. In the above structure, the tilting motion of the tiltable wing 30 only changes its own aerodynamic angle of attack and does not interfere with the installation attitude or thrust direction of the propeller power assembly 20. From the mechanical structure level, it achieves complete decoupling between the wing tilting motion and the propeller power output direction, which is fundamentally different from the coupling design of traditional tilt rotors and tilt-wing aircraft where the wing and power tilt synchronously.

[0030] In this embodiment, the flight controller 50 is fixedly installed in the flight control cabin inside the multi-rotor fuselage 10. It is electrically connected to the electronic speed controllers of the four propeller power components 20 and the drive ends of the two tilt actuators 40. It also receives sensor data from the aircraft's inertial measurement unit, navigation unit, and airflow detection unit, serving as the core of the entire aircraft's control system. During forward flight, the flight controller 50 collects flight status parameters such as current flight speed, aircraft attitude, and altitude, as well as incoming flow status parameters such as incoming flow angle of attack and vacuum speed in real time. It then generates wing tilt control commands based on preset control logic. When the incoming flow speed meets the conditions for wing lift to take effect during the high-speed forward flight phase, the flight controller 50 calculates the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the wing based on the current speed and incoming flow angle of attack, and drives both wings to tilt synchronously to the corresponding angle. This makes the actual working angle of attack of the wing approach the preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption working range, generating stable additional aerodynamic lift using the forward flight incoming flow.

[0031] It should be noted that this additional lift can directly share part of the aircraft's gravity load, correspondingly reducing the vertical thrust component required by the propeller power assembly 20. At the same time, the flight controller 50, in conjunction with the lift sharing ratio of the wing, synchronously adjusts the target tilt angle of the airframe and the total thrust of the propeller, so that the vertical component of the propeller's resultant force and the wing's lift together balance the aircraft's gravity, and the horizontal component of the propeller's resultant force provides forward thrust. Under the premise of maintaining the quadcopter control architecture unchanged, the optimal distribution of lift sources is achieved.

[0032] The multi-rotor aircraft 100 provided in this embodiment has a tiltable wing 30 that is independently mounted on the multi-rotor fuselage 10 via a tilting actuator 40. The tilting motion of the wing is decoupled from the power output direction of the propeller power assembly 20, allowing the wing tilt angle to be adjusted independently of the fuselage attitude and power direction. The aircraft can maintain quadcopter control logic operation throughout the entire flight phase, from takeoff and hovering to high-speed forward flight, without the need for fixed-wing flight mode and multi-mode switching control logic. During forward flight, the flight controller 50 generates wing parameters in real time based on flight speed and incoming flow conditions. The tilt command drives the wings to adjust to a near-preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range, using the forward airflow to generate additional aerodynamic lift to share part of the gravity load, correspondingly reducing the vertical thrust component required by the propeller, while maintaining a reasonable forward tilt angle of the fuselage to provide the forward thrust component. This reduces the additional aerodynamic drag caused by the large tilt angle of the fuselage, improves the aerodynamic efficiency in the medium and high speed forward flight phase, reduces flight energy consumption, and maintains the stability and reliability of the quadcopter basic control architecture throughout the entire process, thus expanding the forward flight performance boundary of the multi-rotor aircraft 100.

[0033] Optionally, throughout the entire flight process, the multi-rotor aircraft 100 maintains the basic control framework of quadcopter control logic. During takeoff and hovering, the flight controller 50 controls the tiltable wings 30 on both sides to maintain a neutral, low-drag angle and locks them in place. At this time, the wings do not generate effective lift, and the aircraft is entirely provided with lift and attitude control by the propeller power unit 20. The flight characteristics are completely consistent with those of a conventional quadcopter, preserving the flexibility and stability of the multi-rotor aircraft 100 in vertical takeoff and landing and stationary hovering. When the aircraft accelerates to a preset speed threshold and meets the wing-assisted control conditions, the flight controller 50 controls the wings on both sides to gradually deflect through the tilt actuator 40, smoothly intervening in lift sharing. As the forward speed increases, the proportion of aerodynamic lift generated by the wings gradually increases, and the vertical thrust load of the propeller decreases simultaneously. At the same time, the forward tilt angle that the aircraft needs to maintain is significantly reduced compared to a conventional quadcopter at the same speed, effectively reducing the wind resistance and energy loss caused by the large tilt angle of the aircraft. When the flight speed drops below the threshold or abnormal sensor data occurs, the flight controller 50 controls the wing to gradually return to the neutral position and exit the closed-loop control. The entire transition is smooth and without abrupt changes, avoiding the instability risk and control complexity of traditional compound wing aircraft during mode switching.

[0034] Furthermore, since each wing is driven by an independent tilting actuator 40, during the lateral control of the aircraft at medium to high speeds, the flight controller 50 can superimpose differential tilting commands from the left and right wings 32 onto the longitudinal synchronous target tilting angle. This creates an angle difference between the two wings, resulting in a difference in lift and roll torque, which assists the aircraft in completing roll attitude adjustment, crosswind correction, and coordinated turns. This differential tilting control method can fully utilize aerodynamic torque to assist attitude control, reduce the differential thrust output amplitude of the propeller power assembly 20, reduce energy consumption and aerodynamic interference caused by rotor differential, and improve attitude response efficiency and anti-disturbance capability during medium to high speed flight. This allows the aircraft's lateral control to combine the responsiveness of a quadcopter with the aerodynamic efficiency advantages of a fixed wing.

[0035] The above configuration, through the decoupling design of power and wings at the mechanical structure level, coupled with appropriate control logic, expands the aerodynamic gain of wing lift sharing while fully preserving all the flight characteristics of a quadcopter. Compared with a lifting wing scheme with a fixed installation angle, the multi-rotor aircraft 100 in this embodiment can dynamically adjust the wing working angle according to the real-time incoming flow conditions, maintaining the wing's efficient working state over a wider speed range and operating condition range, overcoming the limitation of fixed airfoils that can only maintain high efficiency near the design point. Compared with compound wing schemes that require mode switching, the multi-rotor aircraft 100 in this embodiment maintains a single quadcopter control architecture throughout the entire flight, without the need for complex transition control logic, resulting in higher flight reliability and a simpler control architecture. It achieves improved aerodynamic efficiency, reduced flight energy consumption, and extended endurance and range during the medium-to-high speed forward flight phase, while retaining the advantages of the multi-rotor aircraft 100 in vertical take-off and landing and low-speed maneuverability.

[0036] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3 The tilting wing 30 adopts a split symmetrical layout, consisting of a left wing 31 and a right wing 32. These two parts are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the multi-rotor fuselage 10, located in the area between the front and rear arms 21 in the longitudinal middle section of the fuselage, avoiding structural interference with the arms 21 and the propeller power assembly 20. A tilting shaft 33 extending along the spanwise direction is fixedly installed at the root of both the left wing 31 and the right wing 32. The axis of the tilting shaft 33 is parallel to the leading edge of the wing. Wing mounting brackets are fixed at corresponding positions on the sides of the fuselage. The left wing 31 and the right wing 32 are respectively hinged to the mounting brackets on their respective sides via their tilting shafts 33, allowing the wings to tilt relative to the fuselage in the pitch direction around the spanwise axis.

[0037] Correspondingly, the tilt actuator 40 includes two independent drive units: a left wing tilt component 41 and a right wing tilt component 42. Both tilt components are fixed inside the fuselage drive bay via mounting brackets. Their power output ends pass through the fuselage sidewall and are fixed to the tilt shaft 33 at the root of the corresponding wing via a rocker arm linkage transmission structure. This transmits the rotational driving torque to the tilt shaft 33, thereby driving the left wing 31 and the right wing 32 to tilt independently around their respective shafts. This split-type independent drive structure design ensures that the tilt angle adjustments of the left and right wings 32 do not interfere with each other. It can tilt synchronously to achieve symmetrical lift output, and it can also tilt independently to form an angle difference, providing a mechanical structural basis for subsequent longitudinal lift control and lateral differential control. At the same time, the tilt shaft 33 and the drive components are integrated into the fuselage side and interior, without changing the installation reference and thrust direction of the propeller power assembly 20, thus ensuring the decoupling characteristics of wing tilt and power output from a structural perspective.

[0038] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 3The left wing tilting member 41 and the right wing tilting member 42 are uniformly controlled by the flight controller 50, and have two working modes: synchronous tilting and differential tilting. In longitudinal level flight, the flight controller 50 outputs the same target tilt angle command to the two sets of tilting members, driving the left wing 31 and the right wing 32 to tilt synchronously to the same common tilt angle, so that the left and right wings 32 generate symmetrical aerodynamic lift, which is evenly applied to both sides of the fuselage, providing stable additional lift for the aircraft to share the gravity load and avoid attitude disturbance caused by unilateral lift deviation.

[0039] Based on this, when the aircraft has lateral control requirements such as roll attitude adjustment, crosswind correction, or coordinated turns, the flight controller 50, on the basis of the common tilt angle command, superimposes differential tilt angle commands with opposite amplitudes on the left and right tilt components, so that the left wing 31 and the right wing 32 form a symmetrical angular deviation, thereby generating a roll torque through the lift difference between the two wings, assisting the aircraft in completing lateral attitude adjustment. The aerodynamic torque generated by this differential tilt can cooperate with the differential thrust of the propeller power assembly 20. In the medium- and high-speed forward flight phase, the response efficiency of the aerodynamic torque is higher and the energy consumption is lower, which can effectively reduce the differential adjustment amplitude of the propeller power assembly 20, reduce the aerodynamic losses and attitude oscillations caused by rotor differential, and improve the smoothness and energy utilization of lateral control. In low-speed forward flight, hovering, and other conditions with weak aerodynamic lift, the differential tilt angle is limited to a safe range of zero or a very small range to avoid ineffective adjustment and structural losses, and ensure flight stability.

[0040] Optional, please continue reading Figure 2 and Figure 3 The components included in the left wing tilting member 41 and the right wing tilting member 42 may be the same. In this embodiment, taking the left wing tilting member 41 as an example, it may include a driven gear 401 disposed on the tilting shaft 33 and a driving gear 402 disposed on the multi-rotor body 10. The driving gear 402 may be connected to a drive motor to control the rotation of the left wing 31 and the right wing 32.

[0041] In some embodiments, continue reading Figure 2 and Figure 3The flight control system of the multi-rotor aircraft 100 is configured with only a single quadcopter flight control mode, without a fixed-wing flight control mode or conversion control logic between the quadcopter and fixed-wing modes. The entire aircraft uses quadcopter control logic as the basic control framework throughout the entire flight phase, from takeoff, hovering, low-speed forward flight to medium- and high-speed forward flight. During medium- and high-speed forward flight, the multi-rotor fuselage 10 maintains a forward tilt attitude, decomposing the total thrust of the propeller power assembly 20 into a vertical lift component and a horizontal forward thrust component, which are used to balance the aircraft's gravity and provide forward flight propulsion, respectively. At the same time, the tiltable wing 30 adjusts its aerodynamic angle of attack independently by tilting, generating stable additional aerodynamic lift under the action of the forward flight airflow, directly sharing part of the aircraft's gravity load.

[0042] In this embodiment, the propeller power assembly 20 always operates according to the original quadcopter attitude control and thrust control logic. Its power output direction, speed adjustment rules, and basic attitude control loop remain unchanged. The flight controller 50 adapts and corrects the total thrust and target tilt angle of the aircraft by combining the lift contribution of the wing. The power direction and basic control architecture do not change with the tilt of the wing. This avoids the instability risk, control logic complexity, and transition flight envelope limitations during mode switching. While retaining all the core advantages of quadcopter aircraft, such as vertical takeoff and landing, hovering, and low-speed maneuverability, it improves the efficiency of medium- and high-speed forward flight through the additional lift of the wing, combining high reliability and high performance.

[0043] Optional, please continue reading Figure 2 and Figure 3 The multi-rotor body 10 can be provided with multiple support legs 11. For example, in this embodiment, the support legs 11 and the propeller power assembly 20 can be provided as four, and are respectively distributed at the four corners. The propeller power assembly 20 includes an arm 21 fixedly connected to the multi-rotor body 10, and a propeller blade 22 disposed at the end of the arm 21. The propeller blade 22 is electrically connected to the flight controller 50 and is used to provide power during flight.

[0044] In some embodiments, continue reading Figure 2 and Figure 3 The multirotor aircraft 100 is also equipped with an airflow angle sensor 60, which is used to accurately collect the real aerodynamic parameters of the incoming airflow. The airflow angle sensor 60 is mounted on the front end of the nose of the multirotor fuselage 10 through a support structure. The support structure extends forward along the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, so that the sensor probe is located in front of the rotor disk and beyond the aerodynamic influence area of ​​the leading edge of the tilting wing 30. This avoids the turbulent interference of the rotor downwash and the boundary layer disturbance of the wing leading edge, ensuring that the sensor can collect free airflow data that is not affected by the fuselage, rotor and wing.

[0045] Furthermore, the airflow angle sensor 60 is electrically connected to the corresponding communication interface of the flight controller 50 via a shielded cable. It can collect and output the incoming airflow angle of attack, sideslip angle, vacuum speed, and sensor operating status information to the flight controller 50 in real time. After verifying the validity of the received data, the flight controller 50 uses it as the core feedback input for the wing tilt closed-loop control. Combined with the current flight speed, it calculates the optimal target wing tilt angle in real time and independently adjusts the deflection angle of the tiltable wing 30, making the actual operating state of the wing more accurately approach the preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range. Closed-loop control based on real airflow parameters, compared with open-loop adjustment relying solely on fuselage attitude and ground speed, can more accurately reflect the actual aerodynamic operating state of the wing. It can adapt to complex conditions such as wind field changes, load fluctuations, and fuselage attitude deviations, significantly improving the accuracy and adaptability of wing tilt angle control. At the same time, the sensor status information can serve as one of the criteria for enabling wing auxiliary control functions. When the sensor data is abnormal, the wing closed-loop control is promptly terminated, further improving the fault tolerance and operational reliability of the flight control system.

[0046] Please see Figure 4 This embodiment provides a control method for a multi-rotor aircraft with a tilting lift wing used in the above embodiments, the method comprising: Step S10: Obtain the flight status and incoming flow status of the multi-rotor aircraft, wherein the incoming flow status includes at least one of airflow direction information and airflow speed information; In this step, the flight controller acquires the aircraft's flight status and incoming airflow status in real time through multi-sensor fusion, providing complete input data for subsequent wing tilt control. Flight status parameters are jointly collected by the aircraft's inertial measurement unit, satellite navigation module, barometric altimeter, and power system feedback unit. These parameters specifically include the aircraft's current ground speed, three-axis attitude angles, altitude, rate of climb, propeller power control parameters, and battery power information. All status data is input into the flight controller's main control loop after timestamp synchronization. Incoming airflow status parameters support two acquisition paths: measurement and estimation. Measured data of the incoming airflow angle of attack, sideslip angle, and airspeed can be directly acquired from the airflow angle sensor at the nose of the aircraft. Alternatively, if the sensor is not configured or the data is abnormal, the flight controller can calculate the estimated angle of attack and airspeed by combining inertial navigation data, aircraft attitude angles, and a wind field estimation model. At least one of the airflow direction and airflow speed information is sufficient to support the basic control logic. All incoming airflow data undergoes frame synchronization, validity verification, and sliding filtering before entering the control logic to remove abnormal jump data. The multi-source acquisition design allows the acquisition of the incoming flow state to be independent of a single sensing scheme. It can improve control accuracy through direct measurement and ensure the availability of basic functions through state estimation, thereby improving the adaptability and redundancy of the control scheme.

[0047] Step S20: Determine whether the conditions for tilt-wing auxiliary control are met based on the current speed, sensor status, and flight status; In some embodiments, the flight controller comprehensively determines whether to enable tilt-wing auxiliary lift control based on three dimensions: current flight speed, sensor operating status, and flight status. Two hysteresis thresholds are set in the speed dimension: when the aircraft's forward speed is higher than a preset activation threshold, the speed condition is considered met; when the speed is lower than a lower deactivation threshold, the speed condition is considered not met. This hysteresis interval avoids frequent switching in and out of control functions at boundary speeds. In the sensor dimension, if actual data from an airflow angle sensor is used, the checksum bit of the data frame, sensor status code, and numerical rationality are verified in real time; if the data remains valid, the sensor condition is considered met. If an estimated value is used, the estimation convergence state is checked. In the flight status dimension, the operating condition is met when the aircraft is in a stable flight state (not taking off or landing, not performing extreme maneuvers, and with attitude angles within a safe range). This hierarchical judgment mechanism ensures that wing tilt control is only enabled under conditions where aerodynamic effects are significant and the system state is stable, avoiding the generation of ineffective disturbance torques on the wing under low-speed, turbulent, or fault conditions, thus ensuring the safety and stability of the flight system.

[0048] Step S30: When the auxiliary control conditions of the tiltable wing are met, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the tiltable wing is determined according to the incoming flow state and the current speed, so that the tiltable wing can independently approach the preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range relative to the fuselage attitude. In this step, when the auxiliary control conditions are met, the flight controller in this embodiment uses a combination of lookup table mapping and closed-loop error correction to calculate the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the tiltable wing. The lookup table mapping step uses the current flight speed and the incoming flow angle of attack as input indices, calls the optimal tilt angle mapping table that has been pre-calibrated through aerodynamic simulation and flight testing, and outputs the reference common tilt angle of the wing under the corresponding operating conditions. This reference angle corresponds to a preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range.

[0049] In this embodiment, the closed-loop error adjustment stage calculates the deviation between the current actual working state of the wing and the preset working range in real time. Combined with the angle-of-attack change rate, it generates a tilt correction amount through proportional-integral adjustment, fine-tuning the reference common tilt angle to offset aerodynamic deviations caused by wind field fluctuations and load changes. The finally calculated longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle is the common reference angle for both wings. Its value is determined only by the incoming flow state and flight speed, and is independent of the current pitch attitude of the fuselage, ensuring that the wing can independently adjust its working angle of attack relative to the fuselage attitude.

[0050] Step S40: Determine the wing lift contribution, propeller thrust contribution, and target body tilt angle based on total energy coordination control, wherein the target body tilt angle is used as the control quantity of the speed control inner loop; In this step, the flight controller, based on the total energy coordination control framework, completes the comprehensive allocation of wing lift, propeller thrust, and airframe attitude, replacing the traditional quadcopter control method that directly converts speed error into airframe tilt angle. The flight controller first calculates the aircraft's current total energy demand based on altitude error, speed error, current flight status, and battery power information, clarifying the total lift and thrust required to maintain altitude and tracking speed. Then, combining the calculated longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the wing, it estimates the aerodynamic lift contribution that the tiltable wing can provide under the current operating conditions using the wing aerodynamic model, subtracting it from the total lift demand to obtain the thrust contribution required by the propeller power assembly. Based on this, the flight controller re-decomposes the target airframe tilt angle according to the propeller thrust contribution and thrust demand, ensuring that the vertical component of the propeller resultant force and the wing lift jointly balance gravity, while the horizontal component meets the forward propulsion requirements. The calculated target airframe tilt angle is directly used as the input to the inner loop of the speed control, and is connected to the original quadcopter attitude control loop. This allocation logic incorporates wing lift into the overall aircraft force balance. Without altering the quadcopter's inner ring control architecture, it optimizes the lift source and thrust distribution, effectively reducing the forward tilt angle of the fuselage during medium- and high-speed forward flight, and lowering the airframe's drag and propeller energy consumption.

[0051] Step S50: After limiting the amplitude and rate of change of the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, the fuselage target tilt angle and the propeller power control quantity, output the wing tilt control command, attitude control command and power control command respectively; In this step, before outputting the final control command, the flight controller in this embodiment performs amplitude and rate-of-change limitation processing on three types of control variables: longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, airframe target tilt angle, and propeller power control quantity. For the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, the upper and lower amplitude limits are matched to the mechanical limit structure of the wing tilt mechanism, while a safety margin is set in conjunction with the aerodynamic stall angle of attack boundary to prevent the wing from entering the stall range; the rate-of-change limitation is used to control the angular velocity of the wing deflection to prevent sudden changes in aerodynamic loads and airframe attitude oscillations caused by abrupt angle changes. For the airframe target tilt angle, the amplitude limitation conforms to the attitude safety boundary of the quadcopter to avoid flight loss of control due to excessive tilt angles; the rate-of-change limitation ensures a smooth transition of attitude commands, matching the response bandwidth of the quadcopter's attitude inner loop. For the propeller power control quantity, the amplitude limitation matches the rated operating range of the power system, and the rate-of-change limitation avoids speed fluctuations caused by sudden changes in power output. The control variables after dual limitation processing are output to the wing tilt actuator, the attitude control inner loop, and the propeller electronic speed controller, respectively. This processing mechanism not only ensures that each actuator operates within a safe range, but also avoids flight shocks caused by sudden changes in control commands, thereby improving the smoothness of the flight process and the structural reliability.

[0052] Step S60: When the auxiliary control conditions of the tilting wing are not met, the tilting wing is centered, frozen, locked, or exits the closed-loop control, while the quadcopter control logic is maintained.

[0053] In this step, when the conditions for tilt-wing auxiliary control are not met, the flight controller in this embodiment executes a graded safety backoff strategy while maintaining stable operation of the quadcopter's basic control logic throughout. For scenarios where the conditions are not met under normal operating conditions such as low speed and hovering, the flight controller generates a smooth return-to-center command, controlling the left and right wings to gradually deflect to a neutral, low-drag angle (horizontal attitude angle) at a limited rate of change. Subsequently, it triggers the locking state of the tilt actuator, keeping the wings at a fixed angle to prevent additional drag and disturbance torque caused by free deflection with the airflow. For fault-related conditions such as sensor malfunctions or data anomalies, the flight controller first freezes the current wing tilt angle command to maintain the current aerodynamic state while simultaneously triggering fault detection. If the fault persists, it controls the wings to gradually return to center and lock, without intervening in the quadcopter's attitude and thrust control throughout the entire process. For takeoff, landing, and extreme maneuvering conditions, the flight controller directly locks the wings at a preset safe angle, without activating tilt closed-loop control throughout. This backoff logic ensures that the exit process of the wing-assisted control is smooth and without abrupt changes, and that the basic flight control of the quadcopter is not affected regardless of the state of the wing, thus preserving the flight capability and safety redundancy of the multi-rotor aircraft under all operating conditions.

[0054] The control method for multi-rotor aircraft provided in this embodiment, by acquiring the aircraft's flight state and incoming flow state and determining the pre-logic of the tiltable wing auxiliary control conditions, can adapt the start and stop timing of wing tilt control according to different flight conditions, ensuring the stability of basic flight control under hovering, low-speed, and other conditions. When the control conditions are met, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the wing is calculated based on the incoming flow state and current speed, allowing the wing to independently approach the high lift-to-drag ratio or low-energy consumption operating range. At the same time, the total energy coordination control logic is used to comprehensively allocate the wing lift contribution, propeller thrust contribution, and target tilt angle of the airframe, and to control the wing... The generated aerodynamic lift is incorporated into the overall force balance system, replacing the traditional quadcopter control method that directly converts speed error into airframe tilt angle and total thrust. This achieves coordinated matching of airframe attitude, propeller power, and wing lift, keeping the airframe tilt angle within a reasonable range, reducing forward flight aerodynamic drag, and improving energy utilization efficiency. Combined with the limiting of the amplitude and rate of change of control quantities, it ensures the smoothness of wing tilt and power adjustment processes. When control conditions are not met, the wing returns to center and locks, maintaining the basic quadcopter control logic, achieving a smooth transition of control modes, and improving the operational adaptability and flight reliability of the control scheme.

[0055] In some embodiments, when the speed command is increased, the flight controller generates a forward tilt requirement based on the speed command and determines the target tilt angle based on the lift estimate of the tiltable wing, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, and the resultant force of the propeller power assembly. This ensures that the vertical and forward components of the resultant force of the propeller power assembly, together with the aerodynamic lift generated by the tiltable wing, satisfy both altitude and speed control requirements. In this embodiment, during acceleration with an increased speed command, the real-time lift estimate of the tiltable wing is incorporated into the overall force balance calculation. Combined with the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle and the resultant force of the propeller, the target tilt angle is synchronously corrected. This allows for dynamic matching of the vertical and forward components of the propeller resultant force with the aerodynamic lift of the wing, avoiding altitude deviation and speed tracking errors caused by changes in wing lift during acceleration. This achieves coordinated unity between altitude maintenance and speed response during acceleration, while also optimizing the thrust distribution ratio during acceleration and improving energy utilization efficiency during acceleration.

[0056] In some embodiments, flight log data from multiple full-flight phases is collected. Based on the flight log data, an energy consumption mapping is established or updated between current speed, incoming flow status, wing tilt angle, propeller power control input, and electrical power. The preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low-energy-consumption operating range, the lookup table mapping, or the allocation parameters of the total energy coordination control are corrected according to the energy consumption mapping. In this embodiment, the energy consumption mapping relationship between speed, incoming flow status, wing tilt angle, power control input, and electrical power is constructed based on log data from multiple full-flight phases. The preset high-efficiency wing operating range, tilt angle lookup table logic, and total energy coordination allocation parameters can be continuously corrected based on actual flight conditions. This allows the control parameters to gradually adapt to the actual aerodynamic characteristics, dynamic characteristics, and load conditions of the aircraft, reducing the deviation between simulation calibration parameters and actual operating conditions, and improving the adaptation accuracy and energy consumption optimization effect of the control logic under different usage scenarios.

[0057] In some embodiments, the flight controller uses the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle as the reference control quantity for the left and right wings. It generates a differential tilt angle based on roll control, yaw control, sideslip angle, lateral disturbance, or turn control requirements. The longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle and the differential tilt angle are then superimposed to form the left wing target tilt angle and the right wing target tilt angle, respectively. This allows the left and right wings to generate differential aerodynamic forces, differential drag, or roll moments to assist lateral control. With the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle serving as a unified reference for the left and right wings, and the differential tilt angle corresponding to the lateral control requirements superimposed, the aerodynamic lift and drag differences between the left and right wings can be used to generate aerodynamic moments in the roll and yaw directions. This assists the propeller power assembly in completing lateral attitude adjustment, reducing the output amplitude and energy consumption of rotor differential adjustment during medium-to-high-speed forward flight, achieving coordinated aerodynamic control and rotor control, and improving the smoothness of lateral attitude control response and flight efficiency.

[0058] In some embodiments, the method further includes: presetting a differential control activation speed threshold and a differential tilt angle maximum limit; when the current forward speed of the aircraft is lower than the differential control activation speed threshold, forcibly limiting the differential tilt angle compensation to zero, and completing lateral control only through multi-rotor power; when the current forward speed is higher than the differential control activation speed threshold, the control gain of the differential tilt angle compensation increases non-linearly with the forward speed, and increases synchronously with the increase of the amplitude of the roll control command, the yaw control command and the sideslip angle deviation; when the sideslip angle exceeds a preset safety threshold, the differential tilt angle compensation is superimposed in the opposite direction to suppress sideslip divergence, and the differential tilt angle compensation always does not exceed the maximum limit value.

[0059] In this embodiment, by setting the differential control activation speed threshold and the differential tilt angle maximum limit rule, and making the differential control gain increase non-linearly with forward flight speed, ineffective adjustment caused by insufficient aerodynamic torque can be avoided in the low-speed stage, ensuring the stability of basic attitude control; in the high-speed stage, the differential amplitude is dynamically adjusted according to control requirements, and sideslip divergence is suppressed in the reverse direction through sideslip angle feedback, taking into account both the effectiveness of lateral auxiliary control and the flight safety boundary, and improving the adaptability and operational reliability of differential tilt control in the entire speed range.

[0060] In some embodiments, unlike the differential control logic in the previous embodiment, this embodiment provides synchronous control logic. Specifically, the method further includes: pre-setting an airspeed threshold for activating synchronous tilt control to determine whether the tiltable wing auxiliary control conditions are met. When the incoming flow velocity is below the threshold, the control logic of the tiltable wing maintains longitudinal horizontality; only when the incoming flow velocity exceeds the threshold does it switch to tracking the optimal angle of attack. When the aircraft is in a stationary rapid ascent and descent condition, the tiltable wing rotates to 90 degrees, nose-up, to reduce air resistance.

[0061] Optionally, the longitudinal synchronization target tilt angle is determined based on lookup table mapping, closed-loop error adjustment, or a combination of both. The lookup table mapping uses the current speed and incoming flow status as input and a common tilt angle as output. The closed-loop error adjustment generates a tilt angle correction based on the deviation between the current wing operating state and a preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range. Total energy coordination control determines the total energy change requirement based on at least one of the following: altitude error, speed error, current speed, wing tilt angle, battery voltage, battery current, electrical power, propeller power control quantity, or incoming flow status. It then distributes lift, thrust, or power requirements among the aerodynamic lift generated by the tiltable wing, the thrust generated by the propeller power assembly, and the target tilt angle of the airframe.

[0062] Optionally, when the speed command increases, the flight controller generates a forward tilt requirement based on the speed command, and determines the target tilt angle based on the lift estimate of the tiltable wing, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, and the magnitude of the resultant force of the propeller power assembly. This ensures that the vertical and forward components of the resultant force of the propeller power assembly, together with the aerodynamic lift generated by the tiltable wing, satisfy both altitude and speed control requirements. Based on the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, the flight controller generates a differential tilt angle based on roll control, yaw control, sideslip angle, lateral disturbance, or turn control requirements. The longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle and the differential tilt angle are then superimposed to form the left wing target tilt angle and the right wing target tilt angle, respectively, so that the left and right wings generate differential aerodynamic forces, differential drag, or roll moments to assist in lateral control.

[0063] Optionally, the differential tilt angle is limited to zero or within a low-speed safe range when the current speed is below the differential control activation threshold, and increases with the increase of roll control, yaw control, sideslip angle, or lateral disturbance when the current speed is above the differential control activation threshold. During takeoff and hovering, the left and right wings are kept at neutral angles, low drag angles, preset safe angles, or locked states. During the acceleration forward flight phase, the left and right wings are gradually deflected from the safe angle of the takeoff phase to the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle. During the oblique climb phase, the tilt angle is adjusted according to speed commands and altitude. The command or climb rate command adjusts the propeller power control quantity, the target tilt angle of the airframe, and the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle; during the oblique descent phase, the tilt angle of the tiltable wing and the propeller power control quantity are coordinated and adjusted according to the altitude error, descent rate, speed error, and incoming flow conditions. The flight controller sends status text to the ground station at a frequency lower than the incoming flow condition sampling frequency. The status text includes at least one of the following: wing tilt angle, current speed, angle of attack measurement or angle of attack estimate, sideslip angle measurement or sideslip angle estimate, sensor status, or tiltable wing auxiliary control status.

[0064] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on the invention.

[0065] In the description of this specification, the references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "illustrative embodiment," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., refer to specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with that embodiment or example, which are included in at least one embodiment or example of this application. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example.

[0066] Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this application, and not all of the embodiments. The reference to "embodiment" herein means that a specific feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of this application. The appearance of this phrase in various places in the specification does not necessarily indicate the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. It will be explicitly and implicitly understood by those skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0067] Although embodiments of this application have been shown and described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of this application, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings, characterized in that, include: A multi-rotor airframe, which provides a mounting and support foundation for the various components of the aircraft; The propeller power assembly is distributed and installed at the four corners of the multi-rotor body, and is used to provide attitude control and thrust control based on the quadcopter control logic; A tiltable wing is provided on the multi-rotor fuselage to generate aerodynamic lift during the forward flight phase of the aircraft. A tilting actuator, which is connected to the tiltable wing via a transmission, is used to independently adjust the tilt angle of the tiltable wing relative to the multi-rotor body; A flight controller, which is electrically connected to the propeller power assembly and the tilt actuator, respectively; The tilting motion of the tiltable wing is decoupled from the power output direction of the propeller power assembly, and the power direction of the propeller power assembly does not change with the tilt angle of the tiltable wing; the multi-rotor aircraft uses quadcopter control logic to maintain flight throughout the entire flight phase. The flight controller is configured to generate wing tilt control commands based on the aircraft's current flight speed and incoming flow conditions, driving the tiltable wing to adjust its attitude independently relative to the fuselage, so that the wing's operating state approaches a preset lift-to-drag ratio or energy consumption operating range.

2. The multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tiltable wing includes a left wing and a right wing symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the multi-rotor body. The root of the left wing and the right wing are provided with a tilting shaft that extends along the span of the wing and is rotatably connected to the multi-rotor body. The tilting actuator includes a left wing tilting component and a right wing tilting component respectively installed inside the multi-rotor fuselage. The power output ends of the two components are respectively connected to the tilting shafts of the left wing and the right wing, and are used to drive the left wing and the right wing to tilt independently around the corresponding tilting shafts.

3. The multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings according to claim 2, characterized in that, The left wing tilting member and the right wing tilting member can drive the left wing and the right wing to change their tilt angles independently, so as to provide symmetrical aerodynamic lift for the aircraft during the forward flight phase. And configured to drive the left wing and the right wing to generate a differential tilt angle based on the common tilt angle, thereby assisting the aircraft's roll attitude adjustment through the lift difference between the left and right wings, and forming a coordinated action with the attitude control of the propeller power assembly.

4. The multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings according to claim 3, characterized in that, The multi-rotor aircraft does not have a fixed-wing flight mode, nor does it perform the conversion between quadcopter flight mode and fixed-wing flight mode, and it is not configured to convert between quadcopter flight mode and fixed-wing flight mode. During medium-speed and high-speed forward flight phases, the multi-rotor airframe maintains a forward tilt attitude to provide forward thrust components, while the tiltable wing independently adjusts its aerodynamic angle of attack to generate additional lift and share some of the aircraft's gravity load. The propeller power unit always operates according to the quadcopter attitude control and thrust control logic, and its power direction and basic control architecture do not change with the tilting of the tiltable wing.

5. The multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings according to claim 1, characterized in that, The multi-rotor aircraft also includes an airflow angle sensor, which is arranged away from the rotor downwash and the interference of the leading edge of the tiltable wing, and is mounted on the front end of the head of the multi-rotor body through a support structure. The airflow angle sensor is electrically connected to the flight controller and is used to collect and output the incoming airflow angle of attack, sideslip angle, vacuum speed and sensor status information in real time. The flight controller uses the above information as feedback input for the wing tilt closed-loop control and independently adjusts the tilt angle of the tiltable wing to approach the preset working range.

6. A control method for a multi-rotor aircraft with a tilting lift wing as described in any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that, The method includes: The flight state and incoming flow state of the multi-rotor aircraft are obtained, wherein the incoming flow state includes at least one of airflow direction information and airflow speed information; Determine whether the conditions for tilt-wing auxiliary control are met based on the current speed, sensor status, and flight status. When the auxiliary control conditions of the tiltable wing are met, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle of the tiltable wing is determined according to the incoming flow state and the current speed, so that the tiltable wing can independently approach the preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range relative to the fuselage attitude. The wing lift contribution, propeller thrust contribution, and target body tilt angle are determined based on total energy coordination control, with the target body tilt angle serving as the control variable for the inner loop of speed control. After limiting the amplitude and rate of change of the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, the fuselage target tilt angle and the propeller power control quantity, the wing tilt control command, attitude control command and power control command are output respectively. When the auxiliary control conditions of the tilting wing are not met, the tilting wing is centered, frozen, locked, or exits the closed-loop control, while the quadcopter control logic is maintained.

7. The control method for a multi-rotor aircraft with a tilting lift wing according to claim 6, characterized in that, When the speed command is increased, the flight controller generates a forward tilt requirement based on the speed command, and determines the target tilt angle based on the lift estimate of the tiltable wing, the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle, and the resultant force of the propeller power assembly, so that the vertical component and the forward component of the resultant force of the propeller power assembly, together with the aerodynamic lift generated by the tiltable wing, meet the altitude control and speed control requirements.

8. The control method for a multi-rotor aircraft with a tilting lift wing according to claim 7, characterized in that, Collect flight log data for multiple full-flight phases, establish or update the energy consumption mapping between current speed, incoming flow status, wing tilt angle, propeller power control quantity and electrical power based on the flight log data, and correct the preset high lift-to-drag ratio or low energy consumption operating range, the lookup table mapping or the allocation parameters of the total energy coordination control according to the energy consumption mapping.

9. The multi-rotor aircraft with tiltable lifting wings according to claim 8, characterized in that, The flight controller uses the longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle as the reference control quantity for the left and right wings. It generates a differential tilt angle based on the roll control quantity, yaw control quantity, sideslip angle, lateral disturbance quantity, or turn control requirements. The longitudinal synchronous target tilt angle and the differential tilt angle are superimposed to form the left wing target tilt angle and the right wing target tilt angle, respectively, so that the left and right wings generate differential aerodynamic forces, differential drag, or roll moments to assist lateral control.

10. The control method for a multi-rotor aircraft with a tilting lift wing according to claim 6, characterized in that, The method further includes: Preset the differential control activation speed threshold and the maximum limit value of the differential tilt angle; When the forward speed of the aircraft is lower than the differential control activation speed threshold, the differential tilt angle compensation is forcibly limited to zero, and lateral control is completed only through multi-rotor power. When the current airspeed is higher than the differential control activation speed threshold, the control gain of the differential tilt angle compensation increases nonlinearly with the forward airspeed, and increases synchronously with the increase of the amplitude of the roll control command, the yaw control command and the sideslip angle deviation. When the sideslip angle exceeds the preset safety threshold, the differential tilt angle compensation is superimposed in the opposite direction to suppress sideslip divergence, and the differential tilt angle compensation always does not exceed the maximum limit value.

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