Weight-Shift Control UAV with Actuable Billows and Coaxial Propellers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Weight-shift control flexible wing aircraft face challenges in recovering from spiral dives, maintaining stability, and operating efficiently in varying environmental conditions, particularly at low airspeeds and high angles of attack, where known propeller configurations are not optimized for different air densities.
Innovation Solution
The aircraft features a frame with a movable wing assembly, actuable billows for altering wing shape, and a propulsion system with coaxial propellers operating at different speeds, allowing for independent or simultaneous actuation to manage center of mass and wing shape changes, enhancing recovery from stalls and spiral dives, and improving maneuverability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If weight-shift control aircraft uses conventional propeller configurations, then the aircraft can operate in standard conditions, but the propeller performance is not optimized for different air densities during flight
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements variable-pitch propellers that can dynamically adjust their blade angle during flight to optimize performance across different air densities and flight conditions. This dynamic adjustment allows the propeller to maintain efficient thrust generation whether operating in dense low-altitude air or thin high-altitude air, directly resolving the contradiction between adaptability and reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters of the propeller system by introducing variable pitch capability and potentially variable speed operation. This allows the propeller to adapt its geometric and rotational parameters to match different air density conditions, ensuring consistent and reliable performance across the full range of operating environments
2Reliability
If the aircraft enters a spiral dive at low airspeeds and high angle of attack, then the aircraft may experience loss of lift and crash, but recovery procedures are complex and require quick execution
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a flight control system with sensors and processors that continuously monitor flight parameters and automatically detect spiral dive conditions. The system performs preliminary detection and assessment, then automatically initiates recovery procedures without requiring complex manual intervention, thus reducing the effective complexity for the pilot while maintaining high reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements an automatic flight control system that uses feedback from sensors monitoring airspeed, angle of attack, and other flight parameters to detect spiral dive conditions and automatically execute recovery maneuvers. This closed-loop feedback system simplifies the recovery process by removing the need for complex pilot judgment and quick manual execution, while ensuring reliable recovery through automated control
3Ease of operation
If the wing assembly is made flexible for weight-shift control, then the aircraft gains maneuverability, but the aircraft loses stability at certain speed and banking conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flight control system with sensors and automated actuators that continuously monitor flight conditions and make real-time adjustments to the flexible wing assembly. The system serves itself by automatically detecting instability conditions and executing corrective maneuvers without pilot intervention, thereby maintaining stability while preserving the inherent maneuverability of the flexible wing design
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces purely mechanical weight-shift control with an augmented system that uses electronic sensors, processors, and automated actuators. This substitution allows the flexible wing to maintain its maneuverability while the electronic control system provides stable, precise adjustments to prevent and correct instability, combining the benefits of flexibility with the stability of electronic control
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enables safer and more efficient recovery from spiral dives with reduced altitude loss, improved turn control, and enhanced operational versatility across different terrains and air densities, ensuring reliable flight operations without human intervention.
Implementation Method 1
a propulsion unit for providing thrust
Implementation Method 2
a wing assembly defining a flexible sail extending from port to starboard sides of the vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an improved weight-shift control flexible wing aircraft and improved systems and methods for recovering or preventing a spiral dive or a stall of a weight-shift control flexible wing aircraft. The aircraft including a frame; a wing assembly defining a flexible sail extending from port to starboard sides of the vehicle, the flexible wing assembly comprising: a wing keel extending from fore to aft ends of the wing assembly; a pair of wings, wherein each side of said pair of wings has a strut coupled to and extending away from the wing keel and defines a leading edge and a trailing edge when the wing assembly is moved though air, wherein the trailing edge of each side of said pair of wings is configured for actuable reversible billowing in at least a portion along a length of the trialing edge.