AIRCRAFT

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an aircraft.

[0002] Current aircraft are powered by jet engines, and propulsion is generated primarily by the fan of these engines. The airflow is channeled by an external fairing that cooperates with the large diameter of the fan blades.

[0003] At the time of the first oil crisis, in order to reduce fuel consumption, engines called "propfan" were designed, which used very large diameter fans, generally with two counter-rotating stages, but which had no external fairing because their dimensions were such that it would have been difficult to integrate.

[0004] Currently, with the same concern for fuel economy, since this concept would allow a potential gain of 20 to 25% on energy consumption, it is envisaged to equip airliners with such engines.

[0005] However, such a project has many drawbacks. For example, due to the very large diameter of the fans, it is necessary to rethink the architecture of the aircraft, which generates very significant costs. It is not possible to place such engines under the wings, and it is generally planned to install them above the wings, particularly above the empennage.

[0006] In addition, the concept uses the traditional turbojet engine mode, which does not allow for the evolution towards new energy modes, particularly electric and hybrid.

[0007] Another disadvantage of these propfan engines is the high noise they generate due to the lack of a fairing. While this disadvantage has been partly resolved by the use of blades with a particular profile, it has not been completely eliminated.

[0008] WO 2014 / 108125 A describes an aircraft in which a bladed rotor rotates around the fuselage to produce propulsion and an engine assembly to drive the rotor via a transmission.

[0009] The present invention aims to propose an aircraft which makes it possible to resolve all of the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0010] The present invention aims in particular not only to achieve fuel savings, to allow the current architecture of aircraft to be retained, but also to allow consideration of an electric or hybrid engine.

[0011] The invention provides an aircraft according to claim 1.

[0012] It will be understood that the propeller of such an aircraft has the advantages of a large diameter fan engine, without being destructive to the aircraft, since the architecture of the aircraft can remain of the conventional type, and not have protuberances on the wings that are detrimental to good aerodynamic behavior, both on the main wing and on the empennage.

[0013] On the other hand, the incorporation of the base of the propeller into the hull constituting the fuselage, frees up a space which allows, in addition to not hindering circulation inside the aircraft

[0014] According to an additional characteristic of the aircraft according to the invention, the propeller further comprises, externally to the rotor, a fairing, so as to delimit with the base, to which it is secured by legs, a space in which at least one rotor moves.

[0015] The presence of the external fairing allows the aerodynamic flow to be confined to optimize the rotor performance, and it avoids noise problems.

[0016] According to another additional characteristic of the aircraft according to the invention, the rotor is provided with means for adjusting the incidence of the blades.

[0017] Such a feature allows to optimize the operation of the propeller according to the speed of the aircraft.

[0018] According to an additional characteristic of the aircraft according to the invention, the propeller comprises two counter-rotating rotors.

[0019] The drive means can be of different shapes, the purpose being to turn the rotor of the propeller. The rotor can for example have on the inside a toothed crown on which meshes a pinion, itself driven by a motor.

[0020] According to the invention, the motor means consist of brushless type toroidal electric motors, with fixed winding and mobile peripheral rotor, the stator being incorporated into the fixed base incorporated into the fuselage shell and comprising coils, while said rotor carries the blades and comprises permanent magnets on the inside.

[0021] According to this design, the space inside the thruster is free, so that the thruster can be placed anywhere along the aircraft, without interrupting the cabin.

[0022] According to another additional characteristic of the aircraft according to the invention, the stator comprises several pairs of poles.

[0023] The aircraft according to the invention can be equipped with one or more propellers as defined previously.

[0024] According to another additional characteristic of the aircraft according to the invention, the hull which constitutes the fuselage comprises a space which passes through the propeller and which is divided horizontally and longitudinally by a floor which delimits above a space intended for transport, and below a space intended to contain the means of supplying said motor means.

[0025] The advantages and characteristics of the aircraft according to the invention will emerge more clearly from the description which follows and which relates to the attached drawing, which represents a non-limiting embodiment thereof.

[0026] In the attached drawing: there figure 1 represents a perspective view of an aircraft according to the invention. figure 2 represents a partial schematic section along a longitudinal plane of the same aircraft. figure 3 represents a detail of the figure 2 . there figure 4 represents a schematic elevation view of a part of the engine of the aircraft according to the invention.

[0027] In reference to the figure 1 , we can see an aircraft 1 according to the invention, which is of conventional general design, namely that it comprises a fuselage 10 equipped in its middle region with two wings 11, and at the rear with a tailplane 12.

[0028] The aircraft 1 is equipped with a propulsion system consisting of a propeller 2 which constitutes a section of the hull 13 forming the fuselage 10, interposed between current sections of the latter. The propeller 2 is annular in shape, arranged partly around the fuselage 10, in this case in front of the empennage 12, and projecting from the fuselage.

[0029] In this embodiment, the propeller 2 comprises two counter-rotating rotors 3 and 4, equipped with blades, respectively 30 and 40, and which project from the plane defined by the external wall of the hull 13, to move between the fuselage 1 and a fairing 20, which it will be noted can be dispensed with.

[0030] There figure 2 shows a particular embodiment of an aircraft propeller 2 powered by brushless toroidal electric motors, with fixed winding, and that the propeller 2 is composed of a fixed base 21 of annular shape, a fairing 20 secured at a distance to the base 21 through legs 22, and two rotors 3 and 4, moving in the annular space 23, delimited by the base 21 and the fairing 20.

[0031] It can also be seen that the annular shape of the propeller 2 makes it possible to free up a large space inside the fuselage 10, a space divided horizontally and longitudinally by the floor 15 of the hull 13, to create above a space 24 for transport, and below a hold part 25 which can be intended to house an electric generator of the type, non-limitingly, gas turbine or hydrogen battery, or else motor means, not shown, other than electric, and intended to drive the propeller 2.

[0032] Also referring to the figure 3 , it can be seen that the base 21 is incorporated into a supporting structure 14 in the form of an annular groove forming an integral part of the shell 13, and which houses two annular stators 5 and 6, each cooperating with one of the rotors, respectively 3 and 4.

[0033] The stators 5 and 6 comprise coils B, arranged and distributed peripherally, while each of the rotors 3 and 4 comprises a ring-shaped element 31 and 41 respectively, mounted in free rotation on the supporting structure 21, through rolling or sliding means G, from which the blades 30 and 40 project externally, and which internally has permanent magnets A arranged to remain at a short distance from the coils B.

[0034] The peripheral dimension of the thruster 2 allows this motor to integrate a large number of poles, which has advantages, in particular an easily manageable redundancy of the motor(s), a positioning and an exchange surface facilitating natural cooling, a quasi-linear motor being able to be produced in pieces, each piece using an angular sector of the torus in order to create redundancy.

[0035] So, with reference to the figure 4, we see a part of a rotor, 3 - 4, namely the element 31 - 41 and its magnets A, and a part of a stator, 5 - 6, namely its coils B. The stator 5 - 6, comprises an alternating succession of angular sectors S and T, creating a succession of poles.

Claims

1. Aircraft (1) including a fuselage (10), a wing (11) and a tail assembly (12), further including at least one thruster (2) having the general shape of a ring, and comprising on the one hand a rotor (3, 4) consisting of an annular element (31, 41) from which the blades (30, 40) protrude outwardly, and on the other hand a base (21) also annular, coaxial with said annular element (31, 41), and on which said annular element (31, 41) can rotate under the action of motor means, said base (21) being coaxial with said fuselage and is integrated in the shell (13) which constitutes it, while the blades (30, 40) of said rotor (3, 4) are disposed externally to said shell (13), characterised in that the motor means consist of brushless-type toric electric motors, with fixed winding and movable peripheral rotor (31, 41), the stator (5, 6) being incorporated in the fixed base (21) integral with the fuselage (10) and includes coils (B) while said rotor (31, 41) carries the blades (30; 40) and includes on the inner side permanent magnets (A), and in that said motor means consist of toric electric motors powered by an electricity generator.

2. Aircraft (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the thruster (2) furthermore comprises, externally to the rotor (3, 4), a fairing (20), so as to delimit with the base (21), to which it is secured by legs (22), a space (23) in which at least one rotor (3; 4) moves.

3. Aircraft (1) according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the rotor (3; 4) is provided with means for adjusting the angle of incidence of the blades (30; 40).

4. Aircraft (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that it includes two contra-rotating rotors (3, 4).

5. Aircraft (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the stator (5, 6) include several pairs of poles.

6. Aircraft (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the electricity generator consists of a gas turbine.

7. Aircraft (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that the shell (13) which constitutes the fuselage (10) includes a space that passes through the thruster (2) and which is divided horizontally and longitudinally by a floor (15) which upperly delimits a space (24) intended for transport, and below it a space (25) intended to contain the power supply means of said engine means.