VTOL Propeller Configuration for Passenger Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vertical takeoff and landing aircraft configurations often pose safety risks due to propeller rotational planes intersecting with the passenger compartment during mechanical failures, leading to potential injury or damage to aircraft systems.
Innovation Solution
The aircraft is designed with wings and propellers that rotate around axes of rotation, ensuring the propeller planes never intersect with the passenger compartment, using a configuration where propellers are positioned such that they move above or below the compartment during vertical flight, and incorporating shielding for added protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If propellers are positioned to provide vertical thrust during landing, then vertical takeoff and landing capability is achieved, but propeller rotational planes may intersect with the passenger compartment during mechanical failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions propellers in three-dimensional space such that their rotational planes are offset from the passenger compartment vertically. The front propellers rotate above the passenger compartment while rear propellers rotate below it, using the vertical dimension to separate hazardous rotational planes from occupied space.
Solution Approach 2:
The aircraft uses multiple separate propeller units (front and rear propellers) rather than a single large propulsion system. This segmentation allows each propeller to be positioned independently in space, with front propellers above and rear propellers below the passenger compartment, distributing the safety function across multiple components.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If propellers are positioned far from the center of gravity to avoid intersecting the passenger compartment, then passenger safety is improved, but aircraft controllability and stability may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an asymmetric configuration where front propellers are positioned above the center of gravity and rear propellers are positioned below it. This asymmetric arrangement in the vertical dimension allows safety separation while maintaining horizontal balance and controllability through differential thrust control.
Solution Approach 2:
The control system adjusts thrust parameters of individual propellers independently to maintain aircraft stability and controllability despite their distant positioning. By varying thrust magnitude and direction of each propeller, the system compensates for the increased moment arms and maintains balanced flight characteristics.
3Adaptability or versatility
If wings are mounted on axes of rotation to allow positioning between horizontal and vertical, then flight mode transition is enabled, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the wing mounting function with the propulsion function by attaching propellers directly to the wings. The wings serve dual purposes: providing aerodynamic lift during horizontal flight and acting as rotation arms for positioning propellers during vertical flight transition, reducing the need for separate mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The wing mounting system is designed to be dynamically adjustable, allowing the wings to rotate from horizontal to vertical positions on their axes of rotation. This dynamic reconfiguration enables the aircraft to transition between horizontal cruise mode and vertical takeoff/landing mode using the same structural elements.
Data Source
AI summary
A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft is configured with a front set of propellers mounted to a front wing and an aft set of propellers mounted to an aft wing wherein the propellers may be repositioned by rotating them around a front thrust vectoring axis and an aft thrust vectoring axis respectively. The positioning of the propellers with respect to the thrust vectoring axes and the positioning of the thrust vectoring axes with respect to the upper and lower limits of the passenger compartment ensure that, as the propellers are rotated from a vertical thrust position to a horizontal thrust position, the plane of rotation of the propellers never intersects with the portion of the passenger compartment where a failure of propeller components could result in debris penetrating the passenger compartment and causing injury.