Oblique rotor-wing aircraft

• US 10,464,667 B2
• Filed: 09/29/2016
• Issued: 11/05/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ampaire, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Ampaire, Inc.
• Inventors: Combs, Cory Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Badawi, Medhat
• Application Number:
  US15/280,961
• Publication Number:
  US 20180086445A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,132 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/18 the means being jet-reaction apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/24 with rotor blades fixed in flight to act as lifting surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0025 the propellers being fixed relative to the fuselage
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 3/44 Varying camber
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 30/00 Supersonic type aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 9/00 Adjustable control surfaces or members, e.g. rudders trimming stabilising surfaces B64C5/10
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 9/38 Jet flaps
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/30 Wing lift efficiency
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 Weight reduction

Abstract

An oblique rotor-wing aircraft may be capable of vertical take-off and landing, subsonic cruise, transonic cruise, and/or supersonic cruise. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft may comprise one or more of a fuselage, a rotor-wing, a thrust-vectored propulsion system, a locking mechanism, and/or other components. The rotor-wing may be rotatably coupled to the fuselage. The rotor-wing may rotate about an axis in a first flight mode for vertical takeoff and landing. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft may include a thrust-vectored propulsion system that drives the rotation of the rotor-wing about the axis. The thrust-vectored propulsion system may include multiple, separately operable propulsion systems coupled to the rotor-wing and/or the fuselage. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft may comprise a locking mechanism that locks the rotor-wing at an angle oblique to the fuselage responsive to initiation of a second flight mode. The rotor-wing may be fixed at an angle oblique to the fuselage during the second flight mode.

Claims

1. An oblique rotor-wing aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing, the oblique rotor-wing aircraft comprising:

a fuselage;

a rotor-wing rotatably coupled to the fuselage, wherein the rotor-wing rotates about an axis in a first flight mode for vertical takeoff and landing;

a thrust-vectored propulsion system that drives the rotation of the rotor-wing about the axis; and

a locking mechanism that locks the rotor-wing at an angle oblique to the fuselage responsive to initiation of a second flight mode such that the rotor-wing is fixed at the angle oblique to the fuselage,

wherein, responsive to initiation of a third flight mode, the thrust-vectored propulsion system drives the rotor-wing about the axis to an orthogonal position, and the locking mechanism locks the rotor-wing in the orthogonal position with the rotor-wing orthogonal to the fuselage,

wherein, during a takeoff and ascent portion of a given flight, the locking mechanism locks the rotor-wing at an angle oblique to the fuselage in the second flight mode prior to locking the rotor-wing in the orthogonal position in the third flight mode such that transitioning from the rotor-wing rotating in the first flight mode to a fixed wing in the second flight mode and the third flight mode is facilitated and one or more issues with a sudden increase in lift when changing from the rotor-wing to the fixed wing are overcome.

2. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein after initiation of the third flight mode in the takeoff and ascent portion of the given flight, the thrust-vectored propulsion system drives the rotor-wing about the axis to an oblique position and the locking mechanism locks the rotor-wing in the oblique position in the second flight mode, and wherein a flight speed of the oblique rotor-wing aircraft during the second flight mode includes one or more of high subsonic flight speed, transonic flight speed, and supersonic flight speed.

3. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein a flight speed of the oblique rotor-wing aircraft during the third flight mode includes a low-speed subsonic flight speed.

4. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust-vectored propulsion system comprises at least two propulsion systems that are separately operable, the at least two propulsions systems including a rotor propulsion system that drives the rotation of the rotor-wing about the axis and a fuselage propulsion system that is coupled to the fuselage to provide one or both of horizontal propulsion and vertical thrust.

5. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, further comprising a rotor assembly, wherein the rotor-wing is rotatably coupled to the fuselage via the rotor assembly, the rotor assembly including the locking mechanism.

6. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the rotor-wing has multiple portions, the multiple portions including a first portion that extends from a middle portion of the rotor-wing to a first end of the rotor-wing, and a second portion that extends from the middle portion of the rotor-wing to a second end of the rotor-wing, wherein the first portion has a first leading edge and a first trailing edge and the second portion has a second leading edge and a second trailing edge, and wherein the first portion and the second portion have an airfoil shape.

7. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 6, wherein one or both of the first portion and the second portion include a lift management system, the lift management system effectuating one or both of a first shape of the airfoil and creating a first airflow profile for the first portion or the second portion during horizontal flight responsive to one or both of a change from the first flight mode to the second flight mode and a change from the first flight mode to the third flight mode.

8. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 7, wherein the lift management system comprises one or more of a leading-edge flap, a trailing-edge flap, and blown flap.

9. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 6, wherein one or both of the first portion and the second portion include an airfoil augmentation mechanism, the airfoil augmentation mechanism changing an effective shape of the airfoil and creating a first airflow profile for the first portion or the second portion during horizontal flight responsive to a change from the first flight mode to the second flight mode or the third flight mode.

10. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 9, wherein the airfoil augmentation mechanism includes one or more of a piston, an inflatable portion of the airfoil structure, and additional wing in addition to the rotor-wing.

11. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 6, wherein the thrust-vectored propulsion system comprises at least two propulsion systems that are separately operable, the propulsions systems including a rotor propulsion system that drives the rotation of the rotor-wing about the axis via shaftless actuation of the rotor-wing, and wherein the rotor propulsion system comprises one or more nozzles coupled to one or both of the first portion of the rotor-wing and the second portion of the rotor-wing.

12. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 11, wherein one or more of the nozzles include one or more of linear leading-edge nozzles, linear trailing-edge nozzles, wide aperture nozzles, and localized nozzles.

13. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 11, wherein one or more of the nozzles control the output of one or both of a compressor and a stored fluid.

14. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 13, wherein the stored fluid includes one or more of compressed air, compressed nitrogen, and liquid nitrogen.

15. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust-vectored propulsion system includes a gimbaled nozzle.

16. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the oblique rotor-wing aircraft includes one or more of a passenger aircraft, an unpiloted cargo aircraft, an unmanned aircraft, and a piloted cargo aircraft.

17. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust-vectored propulsion system is powered at least partially by consumable fuel.

18. The oblique rotor-wing aircraft of claim 1, wherein the thrust-vectored propulsion system is powered at least partially by one or more of batteries, an electric propeller, an electric fan, an electric compressor, and a generator.

19. A method for vertical take-off and landing, and horizontal flight via an oblique rotor-wing aircraft, the method comprising:

rotating a rotor-wing, rotatably coupled to a fuselage of the rotor-wing aircraft, about an axis in a first flight mode to generate lift for vertical takeoff and landing, wherein a thrust-vectored propulsion system of the rotor-wing aircraft drives the rotation of the rotor-wing about the axis; and

locking, via a locking mechanism, the rotor-wing at an angle oblique to the fuselage responsive to initiation of a second flight mode such that the rotor-wing is fixed at the angle oblique to the fuselage

rotating the rotor-wing about the axis to an orthogonal position;

locking the rotor-wing in the orthogonal position such that the rotor-wing is orthogonal to the fuselage;

wherein, during a takeoff and ascent portion of a given flight, the rotor-wing is rotated to and locked at the angle oblique to the fuselage the prior to the rotor-wing being rotated to and locked in the orthogonal position such that transitioning from the rotor-wing rotating in the first flight mode to a fixed wing in the second flight mode and the third flight mode is facilitated and one or more issues with a sudden increase in lift when changing from the rotor-wing to the fixed wing are overcome.