Reconfigurable Ring-Wing UAV Propulsion for Motor-Out Flight Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face design complexities in balancing stability, maneuverability, and energy efficiency, particularly in transitioning between vertical and horizontal flight modes, and maintaining control in degraded operational states.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a ring wing surrounding propulsion mechanisms, allowing for six degrees of freedom in vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) orientation, with reconfigurable propulsion mechanisms and wing sections to adjust cant angles, toe angles, positions, and orientations for improved control and safety, even in motor out situations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the UAV is designed with fixed propulsion mechanisms and wing configuration, then the design is simpler and easier to manufacture, but the UAV cannot adapt to different flight modes (VTOL vs. horizontal flight) and degraded operational states
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements reconfigurable propulsion mechanisms where motor assemblies can dynamically change their orientation and position. Motors are mounted on articulated arms with adjustable cant angles and toe angles, allowing the system to transition between VTOL and horizontal flight modes. This dynamic reconfiguration enables the same hardware to serve multiple flight purposes without requiring separate fixed configurations for each mode.
Solution Approach 2:
The UAV structure is divided into modular segments including articulated motor arms, individual motor assemblies, and segmented ring wings. Each segment can be independently positioned and configured. The ring wing is divided into multiple sections that can be adjusted relative to each other, allowing the system to reconfigure its geometry for different flight modes and maintain stability even when certain segments are damaged or failed.
2Reliability
If the UAV operates with four degrees of freedom (pitch, yaw, roll, heave), then the control system is simpler, but the UAV lacks full six-degree-of-freedom maneuverability for enhanced stability and control in degraded states
Solution Approach 1:
The reconfigurable propulsion mechanisms serve multiple functions simultaneously. The same motor assemblies that provide vertical thrust for VTOL operations can be repositioned to provide horizontal thrust for forward flight. The articulated arms can adjust both cant angles (vertical orientation) and toe angles (horizontal orientation), enabling the system to perform pitch, yaw, and roll control in addition to heave, achieving full six-degree-of-freedom capability with a unified hardware platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes geometric parameters including motor arm lengths, cant angles, and toe angles to optimize performance for different flight conditions. By adjusting these parameters, the UAV can transition between flight modes and reconfigure its control characteristics. This parameter variability allows the system to maintain six-degree-of-freedom control authority while adapting to degraded operational states where certain actuators or wings may be non-functional.
3Ease of operation
If the UAV uses reconfigurable propulsion mechanisms with adjustable cant angles and toe angles, then control and safety in degraded states is improved, but the mechanism complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The motor assemblies are mounted on articulated arms with joints that provide dynamic adjustability. Each motor can independently adjust its cant angle (elevation) and toe angle (azimuth) through motorized actuators. This dynamic positioning capability allows real-time optimization of thrust vectors for control and stability, particularly valuable in degraded operational states where reconfiguration can compensate for failed components.
Solution Approach 2:
The propulsion system is segmented into independent motor assemblies, each with its own articulated mounting arm. This modular segmentation allows individual motors to be adjusted or replaced without affecting the entire propulsion system. The articulated arms themselves are segmented with multiple joints, enabling complex reconfiguration while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized modular components.
Data Source
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AI summary
Various reconfigurations of propulsion mechanisms (101-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6) propellers, propeller blades (104), and/or blade sections (1404-1,1504-1,-2,-3,-4) of propulsion mechanisms, and/or wing sections (107-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6) of a ring wing (107) of an aerial vehicle (100, 200, 300, 400, 500) are described. For example, responsive to a fault or failure of a propulsion mechanism, the remaining propulsion mechanisms, propellers, propeller blades, and/or blade sections of the remaining propulsion mechanisms, and/or one or more wing sections may be modified to maintain control and safety of the aerial vehicle. In example embodiments, cant angles, toe angles, positions, and/or orientations of one or more propulsion mechanisms, angular orientations, positions, and/or lengths of one or more propellers, propeller blades, and/or blade sections of propulsion mechanisms, and/or positions, angular orientations, pitches, and/or pivots of one or more wing sections may be modified to maintain control and safety in either a horizontal, wingbom flight orientation, or a vertical, VTOL flight orientation.