Helicopter control device

Abstract

To provide a helicopter control device capable of rationally enhancing operability of a swash plate for controlling the movement of blades of a helicopter main rotor.SOLUTION: A helicopter control device includes: a shaft core rod 16 in which a shaft core of a main shaft 15 of a helicopter main rotor is extended downward in a rod-like manner; a liner motion outer cylinder 18 externally fitted to the shaft core rod 16 that can linearly move along a shaft core wire; a gimbal inner ring 31 constituting part of a gimbal 30, which is journaled to a pair of first shafts 19 provided on both sides outside the linear motion outer cylinder 18 in a tiltable manner with respect to the linear motion outer cylinder 18; a gimbal outer ring 33 constituting part of the gimbal 30, which is journaled to the pair of first shafts 19 provided on both sides outside the gimbal inner ring 31 in a tiltable manner with respect to the gimbal inner ring 31; and an outer swash plate 22 that constitutes an outer ring of a bearing with the gimbal outer ring 33 as an inner ring. An inner swash plate 21 is composed by a member constituting the gimbal 30.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device for a helicopter including a swash plate that controls the movement of the blades of the main rotor in the helicopter.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a pitch control device for the main rotor in a model helicopter, a slide ring is provided at the lower part of a mast that rotationally drives the main rotor. The slide ring is moved up and down along the mast by the operation of a collective pitch control arm and can rotate together with the mast. At the upper part of the mast, a collective pitch control member is provided that changes the pitch of the main rotor by moving up and down along the mast. In a pitch control device for the main rotor, the slide ring and the pitch control member are connected to each other by a connecting rod; an outer pipe is fitted and fixed to the outer periphery of the mast between the slide ring and the pitch control member, a groove extending in the axial direction is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the outer pipe, and the connecting rod is accommodated in the groove so as to be movable up and down (see Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The problem to be solved regarding the control device of a helicopter is that when the inner swash plate is provided so as to be freely tiltable in the form of a conventional spherical bearing, an anti-rotation link is provided to prevent the inner swash plate from rotating independently of the blade and torque from being applied to the control rod. However, there has been a problem that no configuration related to a swash plate that prevents torque from being applied to the control rod and provides stable and smooth operability has been proposed instead of such a configuration.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device for a helicopter that can more reasonably enhance the operability of a swash plate that controls the movement of the blades of the main rotor of the helicopter.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0006] The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object. According to one form of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, there is provided a control device for a helicopter including a swash plate that controls the movement of the blades of the main rotor in the helicopter. The control device includes a shaft core rod in a form in which the shaft core of the main shaft standing upright in the vertical direction, which is the rotation axis of the main rotor, extends downward in a rod shape, a linear motion outer cylinder that is externally fitted to the shaft core rod and can linearly move along the shaft core line, and a gimbal inner ring that is arranged so as to surround the linear motion outer cylinder in a ring shape and is pivotally attached to a pair of first shafts provided perpendicular to the shaft core on both sides outside the linear motion outer cylinder and forms a part of the gimbal. The gimbal inner ring is pivotally attached to a pair of second shafts provided perpendicular to the pair of first shafts on both sides outside the gimbal inner ring and forms a part of the gimbal. The gimbal outer ring forms the inner ring of the bearing and the outer ring of the bearing that is externally fitted to the outside of the gimbal outer ring via a rolling member, and an outer swash plate that is a part that does not rotate together with the main shaft of the swash plate. The lower ends of a plurality of control rods that control the movement of the blades of the main rotor are connected via a universal joint, and a member that forms the gimbal constitutes an inner swash plate that is a part that rotates together with the main shaft of the swash plate.

[0007] Further, according to one form of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, a structure can be characterized in that a sphere that circulates on the inner peripheral side of the linear motion outer cylinder contacts a groove provided along the shaft core line on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft core rod, and the linear movement of the linear motion outer cylinder is guided by the shaft core rod.

[0008] Further, according to one form of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, the main shaft is in a hollow shaft shape, and a control rod provided as a part of transmission means for transmitting the operation of the swash plate so as to control the movement of the blades of the main rotor, which is connected to the inner swash plate by a universal joint, extends upward through the hollow portion of the main shaft.

[0009] Also, according to one form of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, it can be characterized in that a control rod guide part for guiding the up-and-down movement of the control rod is provided in the hollow part of the main shaft.

[0010] Also, according to one form of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, it can be characterized in that three drive control means for driving and controlling the swash plate are arranged.

[0011] Also, according to one form of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, it can be characterized in that the helicopter is a drone.

Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, there is a particularly advantageous effect that the operability of the swash plate for controlling the movement of the blades of the main rotor of the helicopter can be more reasonably enhanced.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, a form example of the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention will be described in detail based on the accompanying drawings (FIGS. 1 to 3). In the accompanying drawings, the main parts for explaining the present invention are mainly described, and there are some parts in a state where some configurations are omitted in order to explain the inside or avoid overlapping lines.

[0015] This helicopter control device can be suitably used when mounted on a helicopter-type drone that can fly, for example, by radio control or automatic control using GPS (Global Positioning System) or a wireless communication network. Note that a helicopter-type drone can be used, for example, as a means of transporting goods unmanned.

[0016] The helicopter control device according to the present invention includes a swash plate 20 that controls the movement of the blades of the main rotor 10 (including the root portion 11a of the blades) in a helicopter. That is, according to this swash plate 20, cyclic control for controlling the roll and pitch of the helicopter and collective control performed by moving the entire swash plate along the main shaft (main shaft 15) can be performed while not affecting the cyclic control.

[0017] In this helicopter control device according to the present invention, first, a shaft core rod 16 in a form in which the shaft core of the main shaft 15 standing in the vertical direction, which is the rotation axis of the main rotor 10, extends downward in a rod shape, and a linear motion outer cylinder 18 that is externally fitted to the shaft core rod 16 and can move linearly along the shaft core line are provided. In this embodiment, as will be described later, the shaft core rod 16 is fixed to the main shaft 15 provided hollow at its upper end side 16a via a disk-shaped fixing member 15c, and its lower end portion 16b is arranged in a form that is rotatably received about the shaft core via a shaft end retainer 17 for preventing swing on the base 60 of the device (see FIG. 2). Note that the bearings of the main shaft 15 are mounted on the side of the device base 60 and provided vertically. The upper bearing is provided as the main bearing for rotatably receiving the main shaft 15, and the lower bearing is arranged at an interval so as to rotatably receive the main shaft 15 together with the upper bearing.

[0018] Also, a gimbal inner ring 31 that is arranged so as to surround the linear motion outer cylinder 18 in a ring shape and is pivotally attached to a pair of first shafts 19 provided perpendicular to the axis on both sides outside the linear motion outer cylinder 18 so as to be tiltable, and that constitutes a part of the gimbal 30, and a gimbal outer ring 33 that is arranged so as to surround the gimbal inner ring 31 in a ring shape and is pivotally attached to a pair of second shafts 32 provided perpendicular to the pair of first shafts 19 on both sides outside the gimbal inner ring 31 so as to be tiltable, and that constitutes a part of the gimbal are provided.

[0019] And, the gimbal outer ring 33 serves as the inner ring of a bearing, and an outer ring of the bearing that is externally fitted via a rolling member 23 (sphere or roller) to the outside of the gimbal outer ring 33 is configured, and an outer swash plate 22 that is a part that does not rotate together with the main shaft 15 of the swash plate 20 is provided.

[0020] Also, a lower end portion 40b of a plurality of control rods 40 that control the movement of the blades of the main rotor 10 is connected via a universal joint 35 (a ball joint in this exemplary embodiment), and a portion (connected to a portion on the inner circumference of the gimbal outer ring 33 in this exemplary embodiment) that includes this connection is configured with an inner swash plate 21 that is a part that rotates together with the main shaft 15 of the swash plate 20 by the members that constitute the gimbal 30.

[0021] According to the control device for a helicopter according to the present invention, there is a particularly advantageous effect that the operability of the swash plate 20 that controls the movement of the blades of the helicopter's main rotor 10 can be more reasonably enhanced. That is, according to the present invention, unlike the case where the inner swash plate 21 is provided so as to be freely tiltable in the form of a spherical bearing as in the prior art, due to the configuration of the gimbal 30, it is not necessary to provide an anti-rotation link that prevents the inner swash plate 21 from rotating independently of the blades and applying torque to the control rod 40, and a configuration related to the swash plate 20 that prevents torque from being applied to the control rod 40 and has stable and smooth operability can be achieved.

[0022] In addition, in this exemplary embodiment, a sphere that circulates on the inner peripheral side of the linear motion outer cylinder 18 is provided so as to contact a groove provided along the axial center line on the outer peripheral surface of the axial center rod 16, whereby the linear motion of the linear motion outer cylinder 18 is guided by the axial center rod 16.

[0023] According to this, it becomes a linear motion guiding device in which the linear motion of the linear motion outer cylinder 18 is smoothly guided with respect to the axial center rod 16. Further, since the linear motion outer cylinder 18 moves up and down along the groove, it does not rotate or revolve around the axial center line and can move linearly stably. Therefore, the cyclic control and collective control of the helicopter can be performed extremely smoothly. As this linear motion guiding device, for example, a linear bushing manufactured by Nippon Thomson Co., Ltd. (19-19, 2-chome, Takacho, Minato-ku, Tokyo) can be used.

[0024] In addition, in this exemplary embodiment, the main shaft 15 is in a hollow shaft shape, and a control rod 40 provided as a part of a transmission means for connecting (coupling) the inner swash plate 21 to the swash plate 20 by a universal joint 35 and transmitting the operation of the swash plate 20 to control the movement of the blades of the main rotor 10 extends upward through the hollow portion 15a of the main shaft 15. In this exemplary embodiment, a blade rotation bearing portion 15b is provided at the upper end portion of the main shaft 15, to which the root portion 11a of the blade is rotatably axially attached. Further, a blade body is fixed to the root portion 11a of the blade to form the blade.

[0025] According to this, since the control rod 40 is built in the hollow portion 15a of the main shaft 15 except for the upper and lower end portions, as shown in FIG. 1, an operation transmission mechanism 41 that transmits the operation from the upper end portion 40a of the control rod 40 to the root portion 11a of the blade can be reasonably integrated around the main shaft 15, and they can be appropriately covered with a cover. According to this cover 12, the resistance during flight can be reduced, and the mechanism at the upper part of the main shaft 15 including the above-described operation transmission mechanism 41 can be preferably covered, and there is an effect that dust prevention and drip prevention can be achieved for those mechanisms.

[0026] In the transmission means for transmitting the operation of the swash plate 20 so as to control the movement of the blades of the main rotor 10 in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper end portion 40a of the control rod 40 is pivotally connected to one end of a control arm 41a pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion on the upper end portion of the main shaft 15. Then, the operation of the control rod 40 is transmitted to the base portion 11a of the blade to which the blade body is fixed through a control link member 41b pivotally connected to the other end of the control arm 41a. The control link member 41b in this embodiment has a structure that forms a link mechanism together with the control arm 41a. It is pivotally connected to the other end of the control arm 41a, and the other end is pivotally connected to a base portion side engaging portion 11b of the blade provided in a form protruding from the base portion 11a of the blade via a universal joint (a ball joint in this embodiment).

[0027] Further, in this embodiment, a control rod guide portion 15d for guiding the up and down movement of the control rod 40 is provided in the hollow portion 15a of the main shaft 15. In this embodiment, the control rod guide portion 15d is provided in a shape in which a part is cut out on the peripheral side in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical main shaft 15 or in a shape of a through hole in a disk-shaped fixing member 15c fitted and fixed in the hollow portion 15a. Also, in this embodiment, a disk-shaped fixing member 15c provided for fixing the shaft core rod 16 to the axis of the main shaft 15 and two disk-shaped fixing members 15c of the same form (not shown) are arranged above the hollow portion 15a in which the disk-shaped fixing member 15c is arranged. That is, a total of three disk-shaped fixing members 15c are arranged at appropriate intervals up and down in the hollow portion 15a, and the control rod guide portions 15d are provided at three circumferentially equally spaced positions on the outer peripheral portion of each disk-shaped fixing member 15c so that the three control rods 40 are guided.

[0028] According to this, since the control rod 40 is an elongated member, it is possible to regulate so as to prevent the sway caused thereby, and the vertical movement which is the operation of the control rod 40 can be appropriately guided. Note that the form of this control rod guide part 15d is not limited to the form in which a part provided on the disk-shaped fixing member 15c as described above is cut out or the form of a through hole, and it goes without saying that it can be selectively designed as appropriate, such as appropriately arranging a plate material or a bar material which is appropriately formed.

[0029] Also, in this exemplary embodiment, three drive control means 50 for driving and controlling the swash plate 20 are arranged. In this exemplary embodiment, the three drive control means 50 are connected via drive transmission mechanisms 52 for transmitting a driving force to three equally circumferentially spaced positions of the outer swash plate 22.

[0030] According to this, by the operation by the three-point support of the three drive control means 50, the cyclic control and the collective control by the swash plate 20 can be performed reasonably and smoothly.

[0031] Also, in the mechanism of the drive control means 50 for driving and controlling the swash plate 20 of this exemplary embodiment, which is connected to the outer swash plate 22, as shown in FIG. 2, it is composed of a drive device 51 and a drive transmission mechanism 52. The drive device 51 can use a servo motor, and as the drive transmission mechanism 52, a kind of link mechanism can be used. The drive transmission mechanism 52 of this exemplary embodiment includes a drive transmission lever 52a pivotally mounted at an intermediate portion to a portion (base body) serving as the base 60 of the device, a starting side interlocking member 52b having one end pivotally connected and the other end pivotally connected to the rotating shaft of the drive device 51 at one end of the drive transmission lever 52a, and a driven side interlocking member 52c having one end pivotally connected and the other end pivotally connected to the outer swash plate 22 at the other end of the drive transmission lever 52a.

[0032] According to this, the rotation control drive of the drive device 51 can be transmitted to the outer swash plate 22 stably and smoothly, and the tilting control operation of the swash plate 20 can be appropriately driven and controlled. In addition, the connection between each member can be selectively performed as appropriate using a universal joint such as a ball joint or a joint that can be rotatably connected.

[0033] Next, the rotor drive mechanism of the helicopter will be briefly described. In this exemplary embodiment, an engine is adopted as the power source, and the rotational output of the engine is transmitted from the timing pulley on the output shaft of the engine to the main shaft gear fixed to the main shaft via a timing belt, a timing pulley for relaying power, and a gear, so that the main shaft 15 is driven and the main rotor 10 rotates. Further, in this exemplary embodiment, the power is transmitted via a timing pulley and a timing belt that are coaxially fixed and arranged with the timing pulley for relaying power, so that the tail rotor can rotate. As another configuration, the tail rotor is directly connected to a motor for driving the tail rotor so that it can rotate.

[0034] As described above, various preferred exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to this exemplary embodiment, and it goes without saying that many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0035] 10 Main rotor 11a Root portion of blade 11b Side connecting portion at the root of blade 15 Main shaft 15a Hollow portion 15b Rotation bearing portion of blade 15c Disk-shaped fixing member 15d Control rod guide 16 Shaft core rod 16a Upper end side 16b Lower end portion 17 Shaft end retainer 18 Direct-acting outer cylinder 19 First shaft 20 Swash plate 21 Inner swash plate 22 Outer swash plate 23 Rolling member 30 Gimbal 31 Gimbal inner ring 32 Second axis 33 Gimbal outer ring 35 Universal joint 40 Control rod 40a Upper end portion 40b Lower end portion 41 Motion transmission mechanism 41a Control arm 41b Control interlocking member 50 Drive control means 51 Driving device 52 Drive transmission mechanism 52a Drive transmission lever 52b Starting side interlocking member 52c Driven side interlocking member 60 Base of the device

Claims

1. A control device for a helicopter comprising a swash plate for controlling the movement of the blades of the main rotor in the helicopter, a shaft core rod in a form in which the shaft core of the main shaft standing upright in the vertical direction, which is the rotation axis of the main rotor, extends downward in a rod shape, a linear motion outer cylinder externally fitted to the shaft core rod and capable of linearly moving along the shaft core line, a gimbal inner ring arranged to surround the linear motion outer cylinder in a ring shape and pivotally mounted on a pair of first shafts provided perpendicular to the shaft core on both sides outside the linear motion outer cylinder, which forms part of the gimbal, a gimbal outer ring arranged to surround the gimbal inner ring in a ring shape and pivotally mounted on a pair of second shafts provided perpendicular to the pair of first shafts on both sides outside the gimbal inner ring, which forms part of the gimbal, an outer swash plate that forms the outer ring of the bearing fitted externally via a rolling member outside the gimbal outer ring with the gimbal outer ring as the inner ring of the bearing, and is a part that does not rotate with the main shaft of the swash plate, including a part where the lower ends of a plurality of control rods for controlling the movement of the blades of the main rotor are connected via universal joints, and an inner swash plate, which is a part that rotates with the main shaft of the swash plate, is formed by the members constituting the gimbal. A control device for a helicopter characterized by this.

2. The linear movement of the linear motion outer cylinder is guided by the shaft core rod by providing a sphere that circulates on the inner peripheral side of the linear motion outer cylinder in contact with a groove provided along the shaft core line on the outer peripheral surface of the shaft core rod. The control device for a helicopter according to Claim 1, characterized by this structure.

3. The main shaft is in a hollow shaft shape, and a control rod provided as part of a transmission means for transmitting the operation of the swash plate so as to control the movement of the blades of the main rotor, which is connected to the inner swash plate by a universal joint, extends upward through the hollow part of the main shaft. The control device for a helicopter according to Claim 2, characterized by this.

4. In the hollow part of the main shaft, a control rod guide part for guiding the vertical movement of the control rod is provided. The control device for a helicopter according to Claim 3, characterized by this.

5. The control device for a helicopter according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that three drive control means for driving and controlling the swash plate are provided.

6. The control device for a helicopter according to claim 5, characterized in that the helicopter is a drone.

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