Gyro-stabilized air vehicle
First Claim
1. An aircraft for vertical, horizontal or stationary flight, comprising:
- a fuselage;
two shrouded propulsion assemblies;
a plurality of control surfaces attached to the shrouded propulsion assemblies for controlling the flight of the aircraft;
an engine mounted to the fuselage having an engine shaft arranged to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the aircraft;
two propellers one in each shrouded propulsion assembly that produces thrust such that the aircraft is in flight and such that air flow is created over the plurality of control surfaces;
a gyroscopic stabilization member attached to the engine shaft via a gear box such that the gyroscopic stabilization member rotates with an angular momentum that is selected, with respect to the moment of inertia of the aircraft about the axis of rotation of the gyroscopic stabilization member, such that the aircraft is gyroscopically stabilized during flight.
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Abstract
A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air vehicle disclosed. The air vehicle can be manned or unmanned. In one embodiment, the air vehicle includes two shrouded propellers, a fuselage and a gyroscopic stabilization disk installed in the fuselage. The gyroscopic stabilization disk can be configured to provide sufficient angular momentum, by sufficient mass and/or sufficient angular velocity, such that the air vehicle is gyroscopically stabilized during various phases of flight. In one embodiment the fuselage is fixedly attached to the shrouded propellers. In another embodiment, the shrouded propellers are pivotably mounted to the fuselage.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. An aircraft for vertical, horizontal or stationary flight, comprising:
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a fuselage;
two shrouded propulsion assemblies;
a plurality of control surfaces attached to the shrouded propulsion assemblies for controlling the flight of the aircraft;
an engine mounted to the fuselage having an engine shaft arranged to rotate about a longitudinal axis of the aircraft;
two propellers one in each shrouded propulsion assembly that produces thrust such that the aircraft is in flight and such that air flow is created over the plurality of control surfaces;
a gyroscopic stabilization member attached to the engine shaft via a gear box such that the gyroscopic stabilization member rotates with an angular momentum that is selected, with respect to the moment of inertia of the aircraft about the axis of rotation of the gyroscopic stabilization member, such that the aircraft is gyroscopically stabilized during flight. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An aircraft comprising:
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a fuselage;
two shrouded propulsion assemblies defining flight surfaces wherein the fuselage is mounted solidly between the two shrouded propulsion assemblies;
a plurality of control surfaces attached to the shrouded propulsion assemblies for controlling the flight of the aircraft;
an engine mounted in the fuselage;
two propellers, one mounted in each shrouded propulsion assembly, actuated by the engine via belt drives or gear boxes, that produce thrust such that the aircraft is in flight and such that the airflow is created over the plurality of control surfaces wherein the engine provides sufficient thrust via the propellers so as to power the aircraft wherein the engine provides sufficient thrust via the propellers so as to power the aircraft through a flight envelope that includes vertical take off and landing and horizontal flight and transitions there between;
a gyroscopic stabilization member comprising a disk structure actuated via a gear box by the engine, the disk structure situated in the fuselage in between the two shrouded propulsion assemblies. - View Dependent Claims (7)
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8. An aircraft comprising:
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a fuselage;
two shrouded propulsion assemblies defining flight surfaces wherein the fuselage is mounted pivotably between the two shrouded propulsion assemblies;
a plurality of control surfaces attached to the shrouded propulsion assemblies for controlling the flight of the aircraft;
an engine mounted in the fuselage;
two propellers, one mounted in each shrouded propulsion assembly, actuated by the engine via interconnecting shafts and gear boxes that produce thrust such that the aircraft is in flight and such that the airflow is created over the plurality of control surfaces wherein the engine provides sufficient thrust via the propellers so as to power the aircraft wherein the engine provides sufficient thrust via the propellers so as to power the aircraft through a flight envelope that includes vertical take off and landing and horizontal flight and transitions there between;
a gyroscopic stabilization member comprising a disk structure actuated via a gear box by the engine, the disk structure situated in the fuselage in between the two shrouded propulsion assemblies. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. An aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis;
two shrouded propeller assemblies coupled to the fuselage, wherein each shrouded propeller assembly is spaced laterally from the fuselage and provides thrust, and has one or more control surfaces that direct at least a portion of air flow of the thrust so as to provide flight control of the aircraft;
an engine positioned within the fuselage and coupled to and providing power to the two shrouded propeller assemblies by a power transfer mechanism; and
a gyroscopic stabilization member positioned within the fuselage and coupled to the power transfer mechanism such that the gyroscopic stabilization member rotates about a rotational axis so as to yield a selected angular momentum with respect to the longitudinal axis and a moment of inertia of the aircraft, and thereby provide gyroscopic stabilization of the aircraft during flight. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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27. An aircraft, comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis;
two propulsion devices coupled to the fuselage, wherein each propulsion device provides thrust and has one or more control surfaces that directs at least a portion of air flow of the thrust so as to provide flight control of the aircraft; and
a gyroscopic stabilization member coupled to a power source such that the gyroscopic stabilization member rotates about a rotational axis so as to yield a selected angular momentum with respect to the longitudinal axis and a moment of inertia of the aircraft, and thereby provide gyroscopic stabilization of the aircraft during flight.
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Specification