Invertible aircraft

• US 9,650,135 B2
• Filed: 10/16/2015
• Issued: 05/16/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aerovironment
• Original Assignee: Aerovironment
• Inventors: Keennon, Matthew Todd, Klingebiel, Karl Robert
• Primary Examiner(s): Badawi, Medhat
• Application Number:
  US14/885,972
• Publication Number:
  US 20160130010A1
• Time in Patent Office: 578 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 11/20 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 11/32 mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2027/4733 Rotor blades substantially made from particular materials
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/04 Helicopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/06 with single rotor
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/08 with two or more rotors
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/12 Rotor drives
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/473 Constructional features
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 27/59 mechanical
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0033 the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/02 characterised by special use
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/028 Micro-sized aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/00 Power plant control systems; Arrangement of power plant control systems in aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 31/06 actuated automatically
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/31 : for surveillance
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/70 : for use inside enclosed spaces, e.g. in buildings or in vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 : Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/29 : Constructional aspects of rotors or rotor supports; Arrangements thereof
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/299 : Rotor guards ducted or shrouded rotors B64U30/26; guards used as ground propulsion B64U60/60
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 : using electrically powered motors
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0038 : by providing the operator with simple or augmented images from one or more cameras located onboard the vehicle, e.g. tele-operation images analyzed by a computer and used for automatic navigation G05D1/0246
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/005 : by providing the operator with signals other than visual, e.g. acoustic, haptic

Abstract

A rotorcraft including a fuselage, one or more motor-driven rotors for vertical flight, and a control system. The motors drive the one or more rotors in either of two directions of rotation to provide for flight in either an upright or an inverted orientation. An orientation sensor is used to control the primary direction of thrust, and operational instructions and gathered information are automatically adapted based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity. The rotors are configured with blades that invert to conform to the direction of rotation.

Claims

1. A rotorcraft, comprising:

a fuselage defining a vertical dimension with respect to the fuselage, the fuselage being characterized by a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity;

one or more rotors generally oriented for vertical thrust with respect to the fuselage;

one or more motors connected to the one or more rotors; and

a control system controlling the speed and direction with which the one or more motors drives the one or more rotors in rotor rotation;

wherein the one or more motors drive the one or more rotors in either of two directions of rotor rotation; and

wherein the control system controls the one or more motors to reverse the direction of rotor rotation with respect to the motors when the fuselage has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.

2. The rotorcraft of claim 1, wherein the control system controls the reversal of rotor rotation based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity.

3. The rotorcraft of claim 1, and further comprising an orientation sensor sensing the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity, wherein the control system controls the direction of rotor rotation based on a signal from the orientation sensor.

4. The rotorcraft of claim 1, wherein the control system is programmed to coordinate the operation of the rotors to accomplish controlled flight, and wherein the control system adapts the control system'"'"'s coordination of the rotors based on the primary direction of thrust with respect to the fuselage.

5. The rotorcraft of claim 1, and further comprising a directional sensor sensing the external environment, wherein the control system adjusts a sensor signal from the directional sensor based on the primary direction of thrust with respect to the fuselage.

6. The rotorcraft of claim 5, and further comprising a ground station depicting a video signal from the directional sensor, wherein the ground station displays the video signal in an orientation based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity.

7. The rotorcraft of claim 1, wherein each rotor has a plurality of blades, and wherein each blade produces equal thrust in either direction of rotation for a given rotational speed.

8. The rotorcraft of claim 7, wherein each blade extends out from a rotor hub along a longitudinal blade axis, and wherein each blade has 2-fold rotational symmetry around that blade'"'"'s longitudinal axis.

9. The rotorcraft of claim 7, wherein each rotor has a plurality of blades, and wherein at least one blade includes rigid sections at a leading edge and a trailing edge, and a flexible section intermediate the rigid sections, wherein the flexible section is adequately flexible to change in aerodynamic shape when the motors reverse the direction of rotor rotation.

10. The rotorcraft of claim 1, and further comprising a surface-connection device affixing the rotorcraft to a surface such that it hangs from the surface without rotor activity to maintain its the rotorcraft'"'"'s position.

11. An aerial vehicle, comprising:

a body characterized by a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity;

one or more thrusters providing thrust in a primary direction of thrust with respect to the body;

a control system controlling the primary direction of thrust with respect to the body in which the one or more thrusters provides thrust; and

an orientation sensor sensing the orientation of the body with respect to gravity;

wherein the control system reverses the direction of rotor rotation based on a signal from the orientation sensor that indicates the orientation of the body with respect to gravity has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.