Modular and morphable air vehicle
First Claim
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1. A personal air vehicle apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
- a. a fuselage having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axis corresponding to a fore and an aft direction;
b. a central unit attached to said fuselage, said central unit defining an axis of rotor tilt, said axis of rotor tilt being movable with respect to said fuselage between a tandem position in which said axis of rotor tilt is generally parallel to said longitudinal axis and a side-by-side position in which said axis of rotor tilt is generally normal to said longitudinal axis;
c. a first rotor and a second rotor, said first and said second rotors being operably attached to said central unit, said first rotor being configured to rotate about a first rotor axis of rotation, said second rotor being configured to rotate about a second rotor axis of rotation, said first and said second rotor axes of rotation being in a spaced apart relation with respect to said axis of rotor tilt;
d. said first and said second rotor axes of rotation being tiltable about said axis of rotor tilt between a vertical position and a horizontal position when said axis of rotor tilt is in said side-by-side position, said first and said second rotor axes of rotation being generally parallel and in combination describing a plane, said plane being generally parallel to said longitudinal axis when said first and said second rotor axes of rotation are in said horizontal position, said plane being generally normal to said longitudinal axis when said rotor axes of rotation are in said vertical position.
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Abstract
An unmanned air module includes one or more rotors, engines, a transmission and avionics. Any of several different ground modules may be attached to the air module. The air module may fly with and without the ground module attached. The ground module may be a vehicle ground module and may be manned. The vehicle ground module may transport the attached air module across the ground. The air module may have two rotors, which may be ducted fans, and three different configurations: a tandem rotor configuration, a side-by-side configuration, and a tilted-rotor configuration.
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Citations
52 Claims
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1. A personal air vehicle apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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a. a fuselage having a longitudinal axis, said longitudinal axis corresponding to a fore and an aft direction; b. a central unit attached to said fuselage, said central unit defining an axis of rotor tilt, said axis of rotor tilt being movable with respect to said fuselage between a tandem position in which said axis of rotor tilt is generally parallel to said longitudinal axis and a side-by-side position in which said axis of rotor tilt is generally normal to said longitudinal axis; c. a first rotor and a second rotor, said first and said second rotors being operably attached to said central unit, said first rotor being configured to rotate about a first rotor axis of rotation, said second rotor being configured to rotate about a second rotor axis of rotation, said first and said second rotor axes of rotation being in a spaced apart relation with respect to said axis of rotor tilt; d. said first and said second rotor axes of rotation being tiltable about said axis of rotor tilt between a vertical position and a horizontal position when said axis of rotor tilt is in said side-by-side position, said first and said second rotor axes of rotation being generally parallel and in combination describing a plane, said plane being generally parallel to said longitudinal axis when said first and said second rotor axes of rotation are in said horizontal position, said plane being generally normal to said longitudinal axis when said rotor axes of rotation are in said vertical position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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31. A personal air vehicle apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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a. an air module, said air module being configured not to accommodate a human being on board said air module; b. at least one rotary wing operably attached to said air module; c. a ground module, said ground module and said air module being configured to be selectably attached one to the other, said ground module having a passenger cabin, said passenger cabin being configured to contain said human being, said at least one rotary wing being configured to support said air module and said ground module containing said human being in said flight when said ground module is attached to said air module, said at least one rotary wing being configured to support said air module in said flight when said ground module is not attached to said air module. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A personal air vehicle apparatus, the apparatus comprising:
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a. an air module; b. at least one rotary wing operably attached to said air module; c. a ground module, said ground module and said air module being configured to be selectably attached one to the other, said at least one rotary wing being configured to support said ground module and said air module in a flight when said ground module and said air module are attached, said rotary wing being configured to support said air module in said flight when said ground module and said air module are not attached, said ground module being configured to support said air module above a surface of a ground when said ground module and said air module are attached and said ground module and said air module are not in said flight. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52)
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Specification