MULTICOPTER WITH BOOM-MOUNTED ROTORS

• US 20190322378A1
• Filed: 06/18/2019
• Published: 10/24/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Wisk Aero LLC
• Original Assignee: Kitty Hawk Corporation
• Inventors: Tighe, James Joseph, Allison, Eric
• Granted Patent: US 11,358,713 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0025 the propellers being fixed relative to the fuselage
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 27/24 using steam or spring force jet aircraft B64D27/16
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 29/02 associated with wings wings adapted for mounting power plant B64C
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/60 Efficient propulsion technologies, e.g. for aircraft

Abstract

A multicopter aircraft with boom-mounted rotors is disclosed. In various embodiments, a multicopter as disclosed herein includes a fuselage; a port side wing coupled to the fuselage; and a starboard side wing coupled to the fuselage. Each of the wings has mounted thereto one or more booms, each boom having a forward end extending forward of a corresponding wing to which the boom is mounted and an after end extending aft of said corresponding wing to which the boom is mounted. The aircraft further includes a first plurality of lift rotors, each rotor in said first plurality being mounted on a forward end of a corresponding one or said booms; and a second plurality of lift rotors, each rotor in said second plurality being mounted on an after end of a corresponding one or said booms. Each rotor produces vertical thrust independent of the thrust produced by the other rotors.

Claims

1. An aircraft, comprising:

a fuselage;

a port side wing coupled to the fuselage;

a starboard side wing coupled to the fuselage;

wherein each of said wings has mounted thereto one or more booms, each boom having a forward end extending forward of a corresponding wing to which the boom is mounted and an after end extending aft of said corresponding wing to which the boom is mounted;

wherein a first subset of said booms each is mounted to said port side wing or said starboard side wing at a non-zero angle relative to a substantially vertical axis of the aircraft such that the boom is tilted inboard towards the fuselage; and

wherein a second subset of said booms each is mounted to said port side wing or said starboard side wing at a non-zero angle relative to the substantially vertical axis of the aircraft such that the boom is tilted outboard away from the fuselage.

2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the port side wing and the starboard side wing each has three booms mounted thereto and wherein the first plurality of lift rotors is 6 and the second plurality of lift rotors is 6.

3. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the lift rotors in the first and second plurality of lift rotors are driven by electric motors.

4. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the port side wing and the starboard side wing comprise a single wing structure mounted to the fuselage such that said port said wing comprises a port side portion of said single wing structure extending to the port side of the fuselage and said starboard said wing comprises a starboard side portion of said single wing structure extending to the starboard side of the fuselage.

5. The aircraft of claim 1, further comprising a split boom structure extending aft from each of an inboard pair of said booms, the split boom structure comprising a port side boom and a starboard side boom extending aft of the fuselage and being joined at an after end of the split boom structure by a tail structure.

6. The aircraft of claim 5, wherein each of said booms comprising the inboard pair of booms forms at least in part an integral part of a corresponding one of said port side boom and said starboard side boom.