Apparatus for generating horizontal forces in aerial vehicles and related method
First Claim
1. A vehicle, comprising:
- a vehicle frame;
a duct carried by said vehicle frame with the longitudinal axis of the duct perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle frame;
a propeller rotatably mounted within said duct about the longitudinal axis of the duct to force an ambient fluid from an inlet at the upper end of the duct through an exit at the lower end of the duct, and thereby produce an upward lift force applied to the vehicle; and
a first plurality of, spaced vanes non-pivotally mounted across at least the inlet end of the duct said first plurality of spaced vanes having parallel longitudinal axes; and
fluidic means provided in a wall of said duct for affecting said ambient fluid flow around said vanes to generate horizontal force components to the lift force applied to the vehicle.
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Abstract
A vehicle, comprising: a vehicle frame; a duct carried by the vehicle frame with the longitudinal axis of the duct perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle frame; a propeller rotatably mounted within the duct about the longitudinal axis of the duct to force an ambient fluid through from an inlet at the upper end of the duct through an exit at the lower end of the duct, and thereby produce an upward lift force applied to the vehicle; a first plurality of substantially parallel, spaced vanes non-pivotally mounted across at least the inlet end of the duct; and fluidic means for affecting the ambient fluid flow around the vanes to generate horizontal force components to the lift force applied to the vehicle.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A vehicle, comprising:
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a vehicle frame; a duct carried by said vehicle frame with the longitudinal axis of the duct perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle frame; a propeller rotatably mounted within said duct about the longitudinal axis of the duct to force an ambient fluid from an inlet at the upper end of the duct through an exit at the lower end of the duct, and thereby produce an upward lift force applied to the vehicle; and a first plurality of, spaced vanes non-pivotally mounted across at least the inlet end of the duct said first plurality of spaced vanes having parallel longitudinal axes; and fluidic means provided in a wall of said duct for affecting said ambient fluid flow around said vanes to generate horizontal force components to the lift force applied to the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A ducted propulsion unit for a VTOL vehicle, the propulsion unit comprising:
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a duct having an interior defined by a peripheral wall, inlet end and an exit end; a propeller located in said duct interior axially between said inlet end and said exit end; at least a first plurality of non-pivotal, substantially parallel spaced vanes extending across the inlet end; and at least one fluidic control device provided in said peripheral wall of said duct and located in proximity to said first plurality of vanes for affecting fluid flow about one or more of said first plurality of vanes. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method of generating horizontal forces in a ducted propulsion unit of a VTOL vehicle comprising:
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(a) arranging at least one duct in a frame of the vehicle, the duct having inlet and exit ends, with a propeller mounted within the duct between the ends; (b) securing a plurality of non-pivotal vanes across at least the inlet end of the duct; and (c) affecting air flow from a location within a peripheral wall of said duct, about said plurality of non-pivotal vanes to create horizontal control forces on the vehicle. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification