Electric aerial vehicle

Abstract

This electric aerial vehicle comprises a fuselage and a plurality of propulsion units which each are provided to fuselage and have a fan that rotates about an axis and a duct that surrounds the fan, wherein the axes of the plurality of fans each extend in a direction that is inclined with respect to the central axis of the fuselage. When one side of the fuselage with respect to the central axis is displaced in the vertical direction with respect to the other side, a control unit adjusts the rotational speed of a fan of a propulsion unit positioned on said one side in a direction so as to be higher than the rotational speed of a fan of a propulsion unit on said other side, and thereby generates thrust in the horizontal direction via the propulsion unit on said one side.

Description

Electric flying vehicle

[0001] This disclosure relates to an electric flying vehicle. This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-088952 filed in Japan on May 31, 2024, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] In recent years, the utilization of electric flying vehicles represented by drones and multicopters has been promoted (for example, Patent Document 1 below). An electric flying vehicle mainly includes a fuselage, a plurality of thrusters provided on the fuselage, and control wings provided on the thrusters. By rotating the control wings, the direction of thrust can be adjusted, and the traveling direction of the fuselage can be controlled.

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 6590173

[0004] Here, depending on the fuselage characteristics of the electric flying vehicle, pitching and rolling may easily occur. In this case, there is a problem that the attitude of the fuselage is easily disrupted by receiving wind from the horizontal direction.

[0005] This disclosure provides an electric flying vehicle with further improved attitude stability.

[0006] The electric flying vehicle according to this disclosure includes a fuselage, a plurality of thrusters provided on the fuselage and having a fan that rotates around an axis and a duct surrounding the fan, and the axes of the plurality of fans extend in a direction inclined with respect to the central axis of the fuselage.

[0007] According to this disclosure, an electric flying vehicle with further improved attitude stability can be provided.

[0008] 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an electric flying body according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a side view showing the configuration of an electric flying body according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a propeller according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of a control unit according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of a control unit according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, the flowchart showing the processing when moving the airframe in a horizontal direction. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the state when an electric flying body according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure moves horizontally. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the state when an electric flying body according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is yawing. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing flow of a control unit according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, the flowchart showing the processing when recovering the attitude of the airframe. FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of a moment and thrust when rolling or pitching occurs in an electric flying body according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of a moment and thrust when recovering the attitude of an electric flying body according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 1 is a plan view showing a second modified example of an electric flying body according to each embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the inclination angle of the propeller, thrust, and moment in an electric flying body according to each embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram showing the configuration of a control unit according to each embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] First Embodiment An electric flying body 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 10. The electric flying body 1 according to this embodiment is expected to be used for transporting goods between two points, as well as for lifting and lowering materials from low to high places.

[0010] (Configuration of Electric Aircraft 1) As shown in FIG. 1 , the electric aircraft 1 includes an airframe 10, a propulsion unit 20, and a control unit 30. The airframe 10 houses various devices such as a battery, a GPS sensor, a transceiver, and an acceleration sensor. Although not shown in detail, the airframe 10 may have space for carrying goods or cargo. In the example of FIG. 1 , the airframe 10 is rectangular in plan view, for example. One propulsion unit 20 is disposed at each of the four corners of the airframe 10. In other words, a total of four propulsion units 20 are provided, one pair at a time on diagonal lines sandwiching the geometric center of gravity G of the rectangular airframe 10. In the following description, the vertical axis passing through the center of gravity G will be referred to as the "central axis O."

[0011] 2, the thrust directions of the multiple propulsors 20 (the axis X direction of the output shaft 42 described later) extend in a direction inclined with respect to the central axis O of the airframe 10. More specifically, the axis X extends so as to converge toward the central axis O as it moves from below, on one side of the central axis O, to above, on the other side.

[0012] (Configuration of the Propulsion Unit 20) The propulsion unit 20 is a device for generating thrust when the airframe 10 ascends and descends, moves horizontally, and yawing. As shown in Fig. 3 , the propulsion unit 20 has an electric motor 21, a fan 22, a duct 23, a turning unit 24, and a turning drive unit 25.

[0013] The electric motor 21 has an electric motor body 41 and an output shaft 42. The electric motor body 41 houses a stator and a rotor. The output shaft 42 is integrally connected to the rotor. The output shaft 42 extends along an axis X and is rotatable about the axis X. A fan 22 is attached to the end of the output shaft 42. The fan 22 has a spinner 51 and blades 52. The spinner 51 is disk-shaped and centered on the axis X. The spinner 51 may have a pointed shape that protrudes in the direction of the axis X. The spinner 51 rotates integrally with the output shaft 42 about the axis X.

[0014] The blades 52 extend radially from the outer peripheral surface of the spinner 51 and are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction. In the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 , two blades 52 are provided. Note that the number of blades 52 is not limited to two and may be three or more. The blades 52 have an airfoil-shaped cross section when viewed radially. When the blades 52 rotate together with the spinner 51 around the axis X, an airflow is generated from one side to the other in the direction of the axis X. The reaction between the pressure and momentum of this airflow serves as thrust for lifting the aircraft 10. In the following description, the side from which the airflow flows in the airflow direction may be referred to as the "downstream side," and the opposite side may be referred to as the "upstream side."

[0015] The duct 23 has a cylindrical shape that covers the electric motor 21 and the fan 22 from the outer periphery. In other words, the duct 23 has a cylindrical shape centered on the axis X. The space inside the duct 23 forms a flow path through which the airflow generated by the blades 52 passes. The duct 23 is connected to the electric motor main body 41 by stays 60. The stays 60 extend in the radial direction and are provided in plurality at intervals in the circumferential direction. Note that the electric motor main body 41 may be housed in an inner cylinder, and the duct 23 may be supported by having the stays 60 span between the inner cylinder and the duct 23.

[0016] The deflecting unit 24 is a device for deflecting the airflow flowing out of the duct 23 to change the thrust direction. The deflecting unit 24 protrudes radially inward from the inner circumferential surface of the duct 23 and is rotatable around a rotation axis Y extending in the radial direction. The deflecting unit 24 is formed by a plate-shaped flap 24a that extends downstream from the rotation axis Y. As shown in FIG. 1 , as an example, four deflecting units 24 are provided at 90° intervals in the circumferential direction. A deflecting drive unit 25 is connected to each deflecting unit 24. As shown in FIG. 3 , the deflecting drive unit 25 is an actuator that rotates the deflecting unit 24 around the rotation axis Y. The deflecting drive unit 25 is electrically connected to a control unit 30 (described later) and its drive state is controlled based on an electrical signal sent from the control unit 30. The deflecting units 24 are configured to be controlled independently of each other. The number of deflecting units 24 is not limited to four.

[0017] (Configuration of control unit 30) As shown in FIG. 4 , the control unit 30 has a movement direction receiving unit 31, a drive signal generating unit 32, a rotation speed adjusting unit 33, an attitude obtaining unit 34, and a storage unit 35. The movement direction receiving unit 31 obtains the direction in which the aircraft 10 is to move, for example, based on a signal input by the pilot via remote control. In the following description, the direction in which the aircraft 10 moves is simply referred to as the "movement direction D." The movement direction D is any direction within a horizontal plane. Note that the actual movement of the aircraft 10 is a complex combination of horizontal movement and vertical movement; however, in order to simply explain the operation of the control unit 30, the movement direction D will be defined as horizontal movement as described above.

[0018] The drive signal generation unit 32 transmits a signal for driving the turning unit 24 to the turning drive unit 25 based on the movement direction D accepted by the movement direction acceptance unit 31. In other words, depending on the movement direction D, it is determined which turning unit 24 to turn in which direction and by how much.

[0019] The rotation speed adjustment unit 33 adjusts the rotation speed of each propeller 20 based on the moving direction D. The operation of the rotation speed adjustment unit 33 will be described in detail later. The memory unit 35 stores various information as electrical signals. The memory unit 35 pre-stores, for example, the relationship between the moving direction D, the moving speed, the rotation angle of the turning unit 24, and the rotation speed of the propeller 20.

[0020] The attitude acquisition unit 34 acquires the attitude of the aircraft 10 from measuring devices such as acceleration sensors provided on the aircraft 10. The attitude of the aircraft 10 here indicates the degree of rolling, pitching, and yawing, and is acquired as numerical information.

[0021] (Operation during horizontal movement) Next, with reference to Figs. 5 to 7, the behavior of each device when the electric flying body 1 moves horizontally in the movement direction D will be described. As shown in Fig. 5, when the movement direction D is input by the pilot, the movement direction receiving unit 31 receives information about the movement direction D in step S1. Then, in step S2, the turning unit 24 is driven according to the movement direction D. Specifically, the drive signal generating unit 32 receives a signal related to the movement direction D from the movement direction receiving unit 31 and sends a predetermined electrical signal to the turning drive unit 25. This causes the turning unit 24 to rotate by a predetermined angle in a predetermined direction. This changes the direction of the airflow (thrust direction) flowing out of the duct 23. As a result, a thrust is applied to the airframe 10 as a reaction force of the airflow in the direction opposite to the movement direction D (see Fig. 6).

[0022] (Yawing Operation) Furthermore, in addition to horizontal movement in the travel direction D, the airframe 10 can also be yawed by operating the diverting unit 24. Yawing refers to the operation of rotating the airframe 10 around the yaw axis passing through the center of gravity of the airframe 10. As shown in FIG. 7 , when yawing, the diverting units 24 of each propeller 20 are rotated in the same direction by the same angle to generate thrust in the circumferential direction of the axis X. In other words, each propeller 20 generates thrust from one circumferential side to the other. This generates a moment around the yaw axis from one circumferential side to the other in the entire electric flying vehicle 1, causing it to yaw. The movement and attitude of the electric flying vehicle 1 can be controlled by appropriately combining the horizontal movement and yawing operations described above.

[0023] 8 to 10, a recovery operation when the attitude of the electric flying body 1 is lost will be described. Here, "when the attitude is lost" refers to when the airframe 10 experiences unexpected rolling or pitching, i.e., a head-up or head-down motion, due to a gust of wind from the horizontal direction, etc.

[0024] As shown in Figure 9, let us consider the case where wind F strikes the aircraft from the horizontal direction, assuming that the thrust of all the propulsors 20 is equal. In this case, depending on the characteristics of the electric flying vehicle 1, the upwind side of the aircraft 10 may be displaced upward. In other words, if the nose-up direction is taken as positive, the attitude changes in a direction that increases the pitching angle. This phenomenon is known to be particularly pronounced in the case of propulsors 20 that have ducts 23. More specifically, as shown in Figure 9, a nose-up moment M' is generated in the aircraft 10.

[0025] When the attitude is lost as described above, as shown in FIG. 8 , the attitude acquisition unit 34 of the control unit 30 acquires information about the attitude from an acceleration sensor or the like provided on the aircraft 10 (step S11). Specifically, numerical information on the rolling angle and pitching angle is acquired. To restore the attitude of the aircraft 10 from this state, the rotation speed adjustment unit 33 of the control unit 30 adjusts the rotation speed of one or more propellers 20 located on the downwind side in an increasing direction (step S12). More specifically, the rotation speed of the propeller 20 on one side of the central axis O of the aircraft 10 is adjusted so that it is higher than the rotation speed of the propeller 20 on the other side.

[0026] 10, the thrust of the propeller 20 on the leeward side becomes greater than the thrust of the propeller 20 on the windward side. As a result, a moment M is generated that displaces the leeward side of the aircraft 10 upward, offsetting the above-mentioned nose-up moment M'. Ultimately, the attitude of the aircraft 10 is restored.

[0027] As described above, the thrust directions of each propeller 20 extend in a direction converging upward toward the central axis O of the airframe 10. Therefore, when the thrust of each propeller 20 is W, a horizontal component force W cos θ is generated (θ refers to the angle that the thrust direction of the propeller 20 makes with respect to the horizontal direction). Because the thrust of the propeller 20 on the downwind side is relatively greater than that on the upwind side as described above, this horizontal component force is also relatively greater on the downwind propeller 20 side. This difference generates a horizontal thrust force from the downwind side to the upwind side. In other words, a force in the opposite direction to the wind F is generated. As a result, unexpected displacement of the electric flying body 1 due to the wind F is suppressed.

[0028] (Function and Effect) Depending on the characteristics of the electric flying body 1, pitching and rolling may occur in the airframe 10. In this case, there is a problem that the airframe may lose its attitude when exposed to wind from the horizontal direction. To solve this problem, the above-mentioned configurations are adopted in this embodiment.

[0029] According to the above configuration, when wind F blows from the horizontal direction and the aircraft 10 assumes a head-up attitude, increasing the thrust of the propeller 20 on the leeward side generates a reaction moment M that offsets the head-up moment M'. This allows the aircraft 10 to quickly recover its attitude. Furthermore, because a difference in horizontal component force occurs between the propeller 20 on the upwind side and the propeller 20 on the downwind side, a thrust force directed toward the upwind side equal to this difference can be obtained. This makes it possible to minimize the possibility of the aircraft 10 being swept horizontally by the wind F.

[0030] According to the above configuration, the direction of the thrust of the propulsion unit 20 can be freely adjusted by changing the direction of the airflow with the deflection unit 24. This allows horizontal movement and position adjustment without significantly changing the attitude of the electric flying vehicle 1. Furthermore, by aligning the direction of the airflow with the deflection unit 24 from one circumferential direction around the center of gravity to the other, the electric flying vehicle 1 can also rotate around the yaw axis. In this way, minute movement, position adjustment, and yawing can be easily performed.

[0031] Here, the thrust direction (axis X) of each propeller 20 extends in a direction converging toward the central axis O of the airframe 10. Therefore, when the thrust of each propeller 20 is W, a horizontal component force W cos θ is generated (θ refers to the angle the thrust direction of the propeller 20 makes with respect to the horizontal direction). As described above, the thrust of the propeller 20 on the downwind side is relatively greater than that on the upwind side, so this horizontal component force is also relatively greater on the downwind propeller 20 side. This difference generates a horizontal thrust force from the downwind side to the upwind side. In other words, a force in the opposite direction to the wind F is generated. As a result, unexpected displacement of the electric flying vehicle 1 due to the wind F can be suppressed. Therefore, since the electric flying vehicle 1 can hover in the same position, it can perform various loading and unloading operations stably and smoothly.

[0032] The first embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. Note that various changes and modifications can be made to the above-described configurations without departing from the gist of the present disclosure.

[0033] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to Fig. 11 and Fig. 12. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0034] 11 , in this embodiment, the direction in which the axis X of the propulsion unit 20 extends is different from that in the first embodiment. Specifically, the axes X of the multiple fans 22 extend so as to converge toward the central axis O of the airframe 10 as they move from the upper side, which is the other side of the central axis O, to the lower side, which is one side of the central axis O. The other configurations are the same as those described in the first embodiment.

[0035] (Effects) Here, we will explain the recovery operation when the attitude of the electric flying body 1 is lost. "When the attitude is lost" here refers to when the airframe 10 experiences unexpected rolling or pitching, i.e., when it raises or lowers its head, due to a sudden gust of wind from the horizontal direction, etc.

[0036] As shown in Figure 11, let us consider the case where wind F strikes the aircraft from the horizontal direction, assuming that the thrust of all the propulsion units 20 is equal. In this case, depending on the characteristics of the electric flying vehicle 1, the downwind side of the aircraft 10 may be displaced upward. In other words, if the nose-up direction is taken as positive, the attitude changes in the direction that decreases the pitching angle. More specifically, as shown in Figure 11, a nose-down moment M' is generated in the aircraft 10.

[0037] When the attitude is lost as described above, as shown in Figure 8, the attitude acquisition unit 34 of the control unit 30 acquires information about the attitude from an acceleration sensor or the like provided on the aircraft 10 (step S11). Specifically, numerical information on the rolling angle and pitching angle is acquired. In order to restore the attitude of the aircraft 10 from this state, the rotation speed adjustment unit 33 of the control unit 30 adjusts the rotation speed of one or more propellers 20 located on the windward side in a direction to increase it (step S12).

[0038] 12, the thrust of the propeller 20 on the windward side becomes greater than the thrust of the propeller 20 on the leeward side. As a result, a moment M is generated that displaces the windward side of the aircraft 10 upward, offsetting the nose-down moment M'. Ultimately, the attitude of the aircraft 10 is restored.

[0039] As described above, the thrust directions of each propeller 20 extend in a direction converging downward toward the central axis O of the airframe 10. Therefore, when the thrust of each propeller 20 is W, a horizontal component force W cos θ is generated (θ refers to the angle that the thrust direction of the propeller 20 makes with respect to the horizontal direction). Because the thrust of the propeller 20 on the upwind side is relatively greater than that on the downwind side as described above, this horizontal component force is also relatively greater on the propeller 20 on the upwind side. This difference generates a horizontal thrust force from the downwind side to the upwind side. In other words, a force in the opposite direction to the wind F is generated. As a result, unexpected displacement of the electric flying body 1 due to the wind F is suppressed.

[0040] Thus, with the above configuration, when wind F blows from the horizontal direction and the aircraft 10 assumes a nose-down attitude, increasing the thrust of the propeller 20 on the windward side generates a reaction moment M that offsets the nose-down moment M'. This allows the aircraft 10 to quickly recover its attitude. Furthermore, because a difference in horizontal component force occurs between the propeller 20 on the windward side and the propeller 20 on the leeward side, a thrust force directed toward the windward side equal to this difference can be obtained. This makes it possible to minimize the possibility of the aircraft 10 being swept horizontally by the wind F.

[0041] (Other Embodiments) Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure are also included.

[0042] For example, as shown in Fig. 13 as a first modification, the electric flying vehicle 1 can be configured to include a propulsion unit 20 with a turning section 24 and another propulsion unit 120 without a turning section 24. The propulsion unit 120 includes components other than the turning section 24, namely, an electric motor 21, a fan 22, and a duct 23. This configuration can also achieve the same effects as those described above.

[0043] Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 14 as a second modified example, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which a propeller 20 is also provided in the central portion of the aircraft 10 (the region including the center of gravity G). In this case, the turning section 24 may be provided only in the propeller 20 in the central portion. With this configuration, the same effects as those described above can be obtained.

[0044] Additionally, as a modified example of the deflection unit 24, it is possible to adopt a configuration having a nozzle that extends from the duct 23 toward the downstream side of the airflow and whose outlet direction can be freely changed. The nozzle is tubular and has a flow path formed therein through which the airflow flows. This configuration can also achieve the same effects as those described above. The nozzle may also be made of an elastically deformable material. In this case, too, the direction of extension of the outlet end can be changed by an actuator to generate an airflow in a desired direction.

[0045] The configuration of the propulsion unit 20 itself described in the above embodiment is also an example, and a configuration can be adopted in which stator vanes are further provided downstream of the fan 22. The stator vanes are provided to straighten the flow of air compressed by the fan 22. Even with this configuration, the same effects as those described above can be obtained. The number of blades 52 may also be determined appropriately depending on the design and specifications. Furthermore, the pitch of the blades 52 may be variable.

[0046] Furthermore, in the control unit 30, after the movement direction receiving unit 31 receives input of the movement direction D, it is desirable that the generation of the drive signal by the drive signal generating unit 32 and the adjustment of the rotation speed by the rotation speed adjusting unit 33 be performed autonomously. In other words, it is desirable that the user only needs to input the movement direction D, and that subsequent processing be performed autonomously by the control unit 30. Similarly, after receiving input of the movement direction D, the drive signal generating unit 32 and the rotation speed adjusting unit 33 may be configured to automatically perform yawing.

[0047] The aircraft 10 may be capable of carrying personnel. In this case, it is desirable that the aircraft 10 be equipped with a control device and a navigation device.

[0048] The rotation speed of the turning unit 24 may also be changed based on the input of acceleration in the movement direction D. This allows for precise control of the aircraft 10 in accordance with the input acceleration in the movement direction D.

[0049] Furthermore, the angle β that the thrust direction (axis X) of the above-mentioned propulsion unit 20 makes with the vertical direction is determined as follows, for example. Note that the "angle β with respect to the vertical direction" here refers to the angle that the axis X makes with the vertical direction when the electric flying body 1 is placed on a horizontal plane. As shown in Figure 15, the thrusts of a pair of propulsion units 20 located on both sides of the central axis O are denoted as T1 and T2, respectively. In this case, the force Fz and moment My generated by the thrust are expressed by the following equations (1) and (2).

[0050] Fz=(T1+T2)cosβ...(1) My=(T1-T2)Lcosβ...(2)

[0051] If the force generated by factors other than thrust (gravity, crosswind, etc.) is Fz' and the moment is My', the following equations (3) and (4) are obtained from balance.

[0052] Fz+Fz'=0...(3) My+My'=0...(4)

[0053] From equations (1) to (4), the following equations (5) and (6) are obtained: T1=-(Fz'+My') / 2Lcosβ (5) T2=-(Fz'-My') / 2Lcosβ (6)

[0054] At this time, the horizontal force Fx is expressed by the following equation (7).

[0055] Fx=(T1-T2)sinβ=-My' / Ltanβ...(7)

[0056] Therefore, if an aircraft has aerodynamic characteristics that cause My' > 0 (i.e., a head-up moment) when hit by a crosswind, then β > 0, and if an aircraft has aerodynamic characteristics that cause My' < 0 (i.e., a head-down moment), then β < 0, and since Fx < 0, it is possible to obtain a horizontal force that counteracts the crosswind.

[0057] It should be noted that the order of the processes performed by the control unit 30 in the embodiment of the present disclosure may be changed as long as the processes are performed appropriately.

[0058] The storage unit 35 and other storage devices in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be provided anywhere within a range where appropriate information can be transmitted and received. Furthermore, multiple storage units 35 and other storage devices may exist within a range where appropriate information can be transmitted and received, and data may be stored in a distributed manner.

[0059] The above-described processing steps performed by the control unit 30 are stored in the form of a program on a recording medium that can be read by the computer 200, and the above processing is performed by the computer 200 reading and executing this program. A specific example of the computer 200 is shown below.

[0060] 16 , the computer 200 includes a CPU 201, a main memory 202, a storage 203, and an interface 204. For example, the control unit 30 described above is implemented in the computer 200. The operations of the above-described processing units are stored in the storage 203 in the form of a program. The CPU 201 reads the program from the storage 203, loads it into the main memory 202, and executes the above-described processing in accordance with the program. The CPU 201 also allocates a storage area in the main memory 202 corresponding to the above-described storage unit 35 in accordance with the program.

[0061] Examples of storage 203 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD), a magnetic disk, a magneto-optical disk, a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disc read-only memory (DVD-ROM), and a semiconductor memory. Storage 203 may be an internal medium directly connected to the bus of computer 200, or an external medium connected to computer 200 via interface 204 or a communication line. Furthermore, when this program is distributed to computer 200 via a communication line, computer 200 that receives the program may deploy the program in main memory 202 and execute the above-described processing. Storage 203 is a non-transitory tangible storage medium.

[0062] The program may also implement some of the functions described above. Furthermore, the program may be a file that can implement the functions described above in combination with a program already recorded on computer 200, that is, a so-called differential file (differential program).

[0063] In addition to or instead of the above configuration, a custom LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuit) such as a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), or a processing device similar thereto may be provided. Examples of PLDs include programmable array logic (PAL), generic array logic (GAL), complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and field programmable gate array (FPGA). In this case, some or all of the functions realized by a processor may be realized by the integrated circuit.

[0064] <Additional Notes> The electric flying body 1 described in each embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0065] (1) The electric flying body 1 of the first aspect comprises an airframe 10, a fan 22 mounted on the airframe 10 and rotating around an axis X, and a plurality of propulsors 20 having a duct 23 surrounding the fan 22, and the axis X of the plurality of fans 22 extends in a direction inclined relative to the central axis O of the airframe 10.

[0066] According to the above configuration, even if the attitude of the electric flying object 1 is disturbed, it can be quickly restored.

[0067] (2) The electric flying body 1 according to the second aspect is the electric flying body 1 of (1), in which the axis lines X of the multiple fans 22 extend so as to converge toward the central axis O as they move from below on one side of the central axis O to above on the other side.

[0068] The above configuration allows the airframe 10 to quickly recover its attitude. Also, it is possible to minimize the possibility that the airframe 10 will be blown horizontally by the wind F.

[0069] (3) The electric flying body 1 according to the third aspect is the electric flying body 1 of (1), in which the axes of the multiple fans 22 extend so as to converge toward the central axis as they move from the upper side, which is the other side of the central axis, to the lower side, which is one side.

[0070] The above configuration allows the airframe 10 to quickly recover its attitude. Also, it is possible to minimize the possibility that the airframe 10 will be blown horizontally by the wind F.

[0071] (4) The electric flying body 1 according to the fourth aspect is an electric flying body 1 according to any one of aspects (1) to (3), in which the propulsion device has a turning section on the inner periphery of the duct that turns the airflow generated by the duct, and a turning drive section that controls the attitude of the turning section.

[0072] According to the above configuration, minute movements, position adjustments, and yawing can be easily performed.

[0073] (5) The electric flying body 1 according to the fifth aspect is an electric flying body 1 according to any one of the aspects (1) to (4), further comprising a control unit that adjusts the rotation speed of the fan, and when one side of the central axis of the aircraft is displaced vertically relative to the other side, the control unit adjusts the rotation speed of the fan of the propeller located on the one side so that it is higher than the rotation speed of the fan of the propeller on the other side, thereby generating horizontal thrust by the propeller on the one side.

[0074] Unexpected displacement of the electric flying object 1 due to wind F can be suppressed.

[0075] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide an electric flying object with further improved attitude stability.

[0076] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...electric flying vehicle 10...airframe 20...propulsion unit 21...electric motor 22...fan 23...duct 24...diverting unit 24a...flap 24b...nozzle 25...diverting drive unit 30...control unit 31...movement direction receiving unit 32...drive signal generating unit 33...rotation speed adjusting unit 34...attitude acquisition unit 35...storage unit 41...electric motor main body 42...output shaft 51...spinner 52...blade 60...stay 120...propulsion unit 200...computer 201...CPU 202...main memory 203...storage 204...interface D...movement direction G...center of gravity position M...pitching moment M'...reaction moment O...central axis X...axis Y...rotation axis

Claims

1. An electric flying vehicle comprising: an airframe; and a plurality of propulsors mounted on the airframe, each having a fan that rotates around an axis and a duct that surrounds the fan, wherein the axes of the fans extend in a direction inclined relative to the central axis of the airframe.

2. An electric flying vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the axes of the multiple fans extend so as to converge toward the central axis as they move from below on one side of the central axis to above on the other side.

3. An electric flying vehicle as described in claim 1, wherein the axes of the multiple fans extend so as to converge toward the central axis as they move from the other side of the central axis, that is, above, to the one side, that is, below, the central axis.

4. An electric flying vehicle as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the propulsion device has a turning section on the inner periphery of the duct that turns the airflow generated by the duct, and a turning drive section that controls the attitude of the turning section.

5. An electric flying vehicle as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control unit that adjusts the rotation speed of the fan, and when one side of the central axis of the aircraft is displaced vertically relative to the other side, the control unit adjusts the rotation speed of the fan of the propeller located on the one side so that it is higher than the rotation speed of the fan of the propeller on the other side, thereby generating horizontal thrust by the propeller on the one side.

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