AIRCRAFT WITH OVERLAPPED ROTORS

• US 20170101176A1
• Filed: 10/04/2016
• Published: 04/13/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/07/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Parkhurst, Jeffery, Alber, Mark R., Gayagoy, Charles
• Granted Patent: US 10,589,854 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0033 the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 3/16 Frontal aspect
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 3/32 specially adapted for mounting power plant
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 27/12 within, or attached to, wings

Abstract

An aircraft is provided and includes a fuselage from which a tilt-wing respectively extends, first prop-rotors, which are formed to define first rotor disks and which are respectively disposed on first portions of each side of the tilt-wing, second prop-rotors, which are formed to define second rotor disks and which are respectively disposed on second portions of each side of the tilt-wing such that the corresponding pairs of first and second rotor disks overlap, and a drive shaft system. The drive shaft system is configured to synchronize respective operations of the first and second prop-rotors.

Claims

1. An aircraft, comprising:

a fuselage from which a tilt-wing respectively extends;

first prop-rotors, which are formed to define first rotor disks and which are respectively disposed on first portions of each side of the tilt-wing;

second prop-rotors, which are formed to define second rotor disks and which are respectively disposed on second portions of each side of the tilt-wing such that the corresponding pairs of first and second rotor disks overlap; and

a drive shaft system configured to synchronize respective operations of the first and second prop-rotors.

2. The aircraft according to claim 1, further comprising alighting elements on which the fuselage sits in a grounded-condition.

3. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the second prop-rotors are displaced from distal ends of the tilt-wing.

4. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the first portions of each side of the tilt-wing respectively comprise dihedral, inboard tilt-wing sections and the second portions of each side of the tilt-wing respectively comprise anhedral, outboard tilt-wing sections.

5. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the first portions of each side of the tilt-wing respectively comprise anhedral, inboard tilt-wing sections and the second portions of each side of the tilt-wing respectively comprise dihedral, outboard tilt-wing sections.

6. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second prop-rotors is respectively controllable with differential collective pitch commands.

7. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the tilt-wing is tiltable relative to the fuselage to assume forward-flight, short take-off and landing (STOL) and vertical-flight or hover (VTOL) configurations, wherein:

with the tilt-wing assuming the forward-flight configuration, the second rotor disks trail the first rotor disks,

with the tilt-wing assuming the STOL configuration, the second rotor disks trail the first rotor disks, and

with the tilt-wing assuming the VTOL configuration, the second rotor disks are below the first rotor disks.

8. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the drive shaft system comprises a synchronization cross shaft coupled to each of the first and second prop-rotors.

9. An aircraft, comprising:

a fuselage having opposite sides;

first and second tilt-wing sides respectively extending from the opposite sides of the fuselage and being configured to tilt relative to the fuselage;

inboard prop-rotors, which are formed to define inboard rotor disks and which are respectively disposed on inboard portions of each of the first and second tilt-wing sides;

outboard prop-rotors, which are formed to define outboard rotor disks and which are respectively disposed on outboard portions of each of the first and second tilt-wing sides such that the corresponding pairs of inboard and outboard rotor disks overlap; and

a drive shaft system coupled to each of the inboard and outboard prop-rotors and configured to synchronize respective operations thereof throughout respective flapping envelopes.

10. The aircraft according to claim 9, further comprising alighting elements on which the fuselage sits in a grounded-condition.

11. The aircraft according to claim 9, wherein the outboard prop-rotors are displaced from distal ends of the tilt-wing sides.

12. The aircraft according to claim 9, wherein the inboard portions of each of the tilt-wing sides respectively comprise dihedral, inboard tilt-wing sections and the outboard portions of each of the tilt-wing sides respectively comprise anhedral, outboard tilt-wing sections.

13. The aircraft according to claim 9, wherein the inboard portions of each of the tilt-wing sides respectively comprise anhedral, inboard tilt-wing sections and the outboard portions of each of the tilt-wing sides respectively comprise dihedral, outboard tilt-wing sections.

14. The aircraft according to claim 9, wherein each of the inboard and outboard prop-rotors are respectively controllable with differential collective pitch commands.

15. The aircraft according to claim 9, wherein the tilt-wing sides are tiltable relative to the fuselage to assume forward-flight, short take-off and landing (STOL) and vertical-flight or hover (VTOL) configurations, wherein:

with the tilt-wing sides assuming the forward-flight configuration, the outboard rotor disks trail the inboard rotor disks,

with the tilt-wing sides assuming the STOL configuration, the outboard rotor disks trail the inboard rotor disks, and

with the tilt-wing sides assuming the VTOL configuration, the outboard rotor disks are below the inboard rotor disks.