Reconfigurable VTOL Propulsion Layout for Compact Vertiport Handling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing aerial vehicles with Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) capabilities have a large footprint per passenger, making them impractical for mass passenger transport in urban environments due to space limitations.
Innovation Solution
An aerial vehicle with a compact configuration that deploys propulsion units via a displacement mechanism between a flying position and a stowed position, allowing for vertical take-off and landing, and reducing the vehicle's footprint when not in flight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Area of moving object
If the aerial vehicle uses a conventional fixed propulsion system configuration, then it can maintain stable flight capabilities, but it occupies a large footprint per passenger making it impractical for urban mass transport
Solution Approach 1:
The propulsion units are made dynamically reconfigurable through a displacement mechanism that allows them to move between a flying position (where thrust tunnels are non-intersecting for stable flight) and a stowed position (where they overlap to reduce footprint). This dynamic adaptation resolves the contradiction by providing both flight stability and compact urban storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The propulsion system is divided into multiple independent propulsion units, each with its own displacement mechanism. This segmentation allows individual units to be positioned optimally for either flight or storage, enabling the vehicle to achieve compact footprint while maintaining flight capabilities through coordinated positioning of segmented propulsion components.
2Productivity
If the aerial vehicle increases passenger capacity to improve mass transport efficiency, then it can reduce footprint per passenger, but the vehicle requires larger propulsion systems increasing overall footprint
Solution Approach 1:
The vehicle employs dynamically reconfigurable propulsion units that can be compacted during storage and deployed during flight. This allows the vehicle to have high passenger capacity for mass transport efficiency while maintaining a reduced overall footprint when parked in urban environments, as the propulsion units occupy minimal space in stowed position.
Solution Approach 2:
The displacement mechanism utilizes vertical movement to reposition propulsion units above the cabin in the stowed position, effectively using the vertical dimension to reduce the horizontal footprint. This dimensional transition allows high passenger capacity vehicles to park compactly while maintaining full propulsion capability for flight.
3Area of moving object
If the propulsion units are positioned to reduce footprint when not in flight, then space efficiency in urban environments is improved, but the thrust tunnels may intersect causing performance degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts propulsion unit positions based on operational state: in stowed position, units are positioned above the cabin with overlapping thrust tunnels to minimize footprint; in flight position, units are repositioned to have non-intersecting thrust tunnels for optimal performance. This dynamic state-dependent configuration resolves the contradiction between compact storage and reliable thrust performance.
Data Source
AI summary
An aerial vehicle has a passenger cabin for receiving at least one passenger, a load-bearing structure beneath the cabin, and a propulsion system including a number of propulsion units, which propel the aerial vehicle for powered flight and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL). The propulsion units are preferably carried by support arms attached to the load-bearing structure and extending upwards therefrom so as to support the propulsion units at a level above the cabin. The aerial vehicle is preferably reconfigurable to a compact configuration after landing, with at least some of the propulsion units overlapping the cabin and/or each other, while still allowing passenger transfer in and out of the vehicle, thereby facilitating efficient use of space for implementing a vertiport.