VTOL;twin;propeller;attitude;control;air;vehicle

• US 9,387,939 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2012
• Issued: 07/12/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lapcad Engineering, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Lapcad Engineering, Inc.
• Inventors: Lundgren, Gert Magnus
• Primary Examiner(s): Badawi, Medhat
• Application Number:
  US13/723,144
• Publication Number:
  US 20140175214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,300 Days
• Field of Search: 244/17.23, 244/17.11, 244/17.19, 244/54, 244/53.R, 701/2, 701/3, 701/4, 701/22
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0033 the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/31 for surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 40/10 for adjusting control surfaces or rotors
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/11 using internal combustion piston engines
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors

Abstract

A commonly assumed operational requirement for a multi-rotor vehicle, often referred to as a “Quad-Copter” or “Quad-Rotor”, is to have onboard a minimum of three motors, in order to provide a stable hover, and more frequently as many as eight motors. The Twin Propeller Attitude Control (TPAC) Air Vehicle, using a hybrid control system, needs only two motors, in order to achieve full control of altitude, pitch, roll and yaw. Pitch control is achieved by means of differential thrust, while roll and yaw control is accomplished via thrust vectoring. In the event of loss power of one or both engines, a parachute will be automatically released.

Claims

1. A twin engine vertical take-off and landing Air Vehicle comprising:

a longitudinal shaft and one or more frames connecting the longitudinal shaft to a plurality of skids;

only two counter-rotating independently controlled engines and respective propellers mounted to and below the longitudinal shaft, the respective propellers push the air downward through unobstructed area, and

wherein the engines and respective propellers placed in tandem to allow for a narrow width of the Air Vehicle, constrained only by the reach of the propellers;

a flight stabilization system controls a hybrid control system, the hybrid control system directly attached to the shaft without a transmission device and without a cyclic blade pitch assembly connected to the engine, and

wherein the hybrid control system utilizes equal thrust of the two engines for vertical positioning, and

wherein the hybrid control system utilizes unequal or differential thrust of the only two engines for fore and aft positioning;

wherein a rotational speed of each engine and propeller assembly is independently controlled increasingly and decreasingly, resulting in the Air Vehicle tilting around the lateral axis, with a component of the thrust pointing in the fore or aft direction, causing the Air Vehicle to move in the fore or aft direction; and

wherein the hybrid control system utilizes thrust vectoring for a lateral positioning around yaw axis and heading control, and

wherein each engine and propeller assembly tilts around the longitudinal axis in the same direction, with a net component of the thrust pointing in the lateral direction, causing the Air Vehicle to move either to the left or to the right, and

wherein each engine and propeller assembly tilts around the longitudinal axis in opposite directions, creating a yawing moment, resulting in heading control of the Air Vehicle;

an automatic feedback control mechanism for stabilizing hover and flight characteristics of the Air Vehicle; and

wherein in hover mode, loss of one or both engines will trigger the launch of a parachute, in order to provide a survivable descent.

2. The Air Vehicle of claim 1, further comprising:

flight controls for controlling the Air Vehicle position and heading.

3. The Air Vehicle of claim 1, wherein the engines are internal combustion engines.

4. The Air Vehicle of claim 1, wherein the engines are electric motors.

5. The Air Vehicle of claim 1, wherein the Air Vehicle further comprises a radio control receiver for receiving control signals from a remote control unit.