Embodiments disclosed herein relate to a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and more particularly, to a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft having a plurality of ducted fans.
Currently, a representative example of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which can generate lift without running on the ground is a helicopter. The helicopter has a large main rotor as compared to an airframe and obtains lift and thrust by rotating the main rotor. Also, anti-torque acting on the airframe by rotation of the main rotor is generally cancelled out using a tail rotor and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Also, in recent years, an unmanned vertical takeoff and landing aircraft called a drone has been being developed. Such a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft generally obtains lift and thrust by rotating a plurality of rotors. Also, the anti-torque acting on the airframe by rotation of these rotors is cancelled out, for example, by rotating half the rotors in a direction opposite to the other half (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-286696
Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-240242
However, with a helicopter-type vertical takeoff and landing aircraft such as described in Patent Document 1, the main rotor is large, and the airframe tends to increase in size to mount the tail rotor and the like. Therefore, if this type of vertical takeoff and landing aircraft performs a takeoff, a landing, or attitude control in a small space in which obstacles such as buildings, trees, and/or the like exist, the main rotor, tail rotor, or the like will touch any of the obstacles. Thus, the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft requires a large space for takeoffs and landings.
Also, with the drone-type vertical takeoff and landing aircraft described in Patent Document 2, a rotational direction of the plurality of rotors has to be controlled in a complicated manner. Also, if power transmitted to the rotors is reversed using a mechanism such as a reversing gear, there are problems in that a structure becomes complicated, that weight of the airframe becomes increased, and so on.
The present disclosure has been made in view of the problems described above and has an object to provide a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which can reduce an impact of anti-torque acting on an airframe, using a simple structure.
The present disclosure provides a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft which includes a plurality of ducted fans in an airframe, in which each of the ducted fans is inclined tangentially to a rotational direction on a side farther from other ducted fans.
Inclination directions of the ducted fans may be perpendicular to a line segment connecting an airframe center located at an equal distance and a shortest distance from rotation centers of the plurality of ducted fans and the rotation center on a plan view of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Also, the airframe may include a power source which supplies power to the ducted fan and an output shaft of the power source may be placed on the airframe center on the plan view of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. Furthermore, the plurality of ducted fans may be rotated in a same direction by the power source.
Also, each of the ducted fans may include a control vane with an adjustable angle of attack, the control vane being installed in an outlet portion of the ducted fan. Also, the airframe may include a propulsion device for attitude control.
With the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft according to the present disclosure described above, since each of the ducted fans is inclined tangentially to the rotational direction of a rotating shaft, a component force of thrust is generated in an inclination direction and the component forces generated on each of the ducted fans can generate offset torque which cancels out anti-torque. This eliminates the need to install a tail rotor and the like as with helicopter-type vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and the need to control the rotational directions of the plurality of ducted fans as with drone-type vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and thus an impact of anti-torque can be reduced using a simple structure.
Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to
As shown in
The ducted fan 3a is placed on the right side of the frame 4 in front view, for example, as shown in
The ducted fans 3a and 3b include, for example, substantially cylindrical ducts 31a and 31b, fans 32a and 32b rotatably placed in the ducts 31a and 31b, nose cones 33a and 33b placed upstream of the fans 32a and 32b, tail cones 34a and 34b placed downstream of the fans 32a and 32b, stators 35a and 35b adapted to couple together the ducts 31a and 31b and tail cones 34a and 34b. Note that the ducted fans 3a and 3b are also sometimes referred to as duct fans.
The nose cones 33a and 33b have a function to guide air drawn in by the fans 32a and 32b smoothly into the ducts 31a and 31b. The stators 35a and 35b have a function to regulate the flow of the air led into the ducts 31a and 31b. Also, a power transmission mechanism adapted to transmit power to the fans 32a and 32b from the power source 5 may be placed in some of the stators 35a and 35b. The tail cones 34a and 34b have a function to smoothly guide the air discharged from the ducts 31a and 31b.
Also, the ducted fans 3a and 3b may have control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b whose angles of attack are adjustable, the control vanes being provided in outlet portions. The control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b are connected to drive shafts (not shown) bridging between the ducts 31a and 31b and the tail cones 34a and 34b, for example, in the outlet portions (on a downstream side of the fans 32a and 32b) of the ducted fans 3a and 3b. Driving sources (e.g., electric motors) of the control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b are placed in the tail cones 34a and 34b or the ducts 31a and 31b. The control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b are arranged, for example, in a substantially cross-shaped pattern and are made up of a pair of control vanes 36a and 36b pivoted in a front-rear direction of the airframe 2 and a pair of control vanes 37a and 37b pivoted in a left-right direction of the airframe 2.
By pivoting the control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b in a desired direction and thereby adjusting the angles of attack, it is possible to adjust directions of the thrust generated by the ducted fans 3a and 3b and control a traveling direction of the airframe 2. Also, the control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b may be used not only to adjust the traveling direction of the airframe 2, but also to control an attitude of the airframe 2.
The frame 4 is a member adapted to couple together the pair of ducted fans 3a and 3b and is connected to the ducts 31a and 31b. The frame 4 may be made of either metal or resin. The power source 5 may be placed on a top face of the frame 4. The power source 5 is, for example, an engine driven by fuel. By adopting an engine as a power source 5, it is possible to drive large ducted fans 3a and 3b for a long time and increase a payload (carrying capacity).
Note that the power source 5 may be placed on an underside of the frame 4 or in rear part of the frame 4. Also, the power source 5 is not limited to an engine, and when the fans 32a and 32b are equipped with respective electric motors, the power source 5 may be a battery (e.g., a storage battery, fuel cell, solar cell, or the like) capable of supplying electric power to the electric motors.
Also, a power transmission mechanism adapted to transmit power generated by the power source 5 to the fans 32a and 32b is placed in the frame 4. As shown in
Note that the power transmission mechanism is not limited to the illustrated belt transmission mechanism, and may be a gear transmission mechanism using a shaft and bevel gears or a chain transmission mechanism using a chain and sprocket. Also, the power transmission mechanism may include a speed reducer mechanism or speed-up mechanism. Furthermore, when the fans 32a and 32b are equipped with respective electric motors, the power transmission mechanism may be a power cable adapted to supply electric power from the power source 5.
Also, a pair of legs 6 adapted to touch the ground at the time of landing is installed on the underside of the frame 4. Each of the legs 6 is constructed from a plate formed, for example, into a C shape and opposite ends of the leg are connected to the frame 4. The leg 6 forms a ring shape in conjunction with the frame 4, thereby acquiring elasticity and thus a capability to cushion the shock of landing. Note that the legs 6 are not limited to the illustrated configuration, and may be constructed from three or more rod-shaped members or made up of long plates adapted to touch the ground at the time of landing and support members connected to the frame 4.
Also, a connector 41 adapted to support a payload C may be installed on the underside of the frame 4. In
Also, a control device (not shown) adapted to control output of the power source 5, rotation speed of the ducted fans 3a and 3b, the angles of attack of the control vanes 36a, 36b, 37a, and 37b, and the like may be placed in the frame 4. The control device may be configured to automatically pilot the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 based on a program inputted in advance or configured to allow the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 to be piloted remotely with a remote control or the like.
Here, a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1′ shown in
Thus, according to the present embodiment, the ducted fans 3a and 3b are fixed to the frame 4 by being inclined in a predetermined direction. For example, as shown in
Also, in line with the inclination of the rotating shafts 52a and 52b, other members (ducts 31a and 31b, fans 32a and 32b, nose cones 33a and 33b, tail cones 34a and 34b, stators 35a and 35b, etc.) of the ducted fans 3a and 3b are also inclined. Therefore, the ducted fan 3a is inclined forward at an angle of θ to the vertical line Lv and the ducted fan 3b is inclined rearward at an angle of θ to the vertical line Lv. Note that
In the ducted fan 3a in which the rotating shaft 52a is inclined forward, thrust Fa directed toward upper left in
If the component forces Fha and Fhb are illustrated on the plan view shown in
Note that in
As shown in
Also, on a plan view of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1, if a point located at an equal distance and the shortest distance from rotation centers Of (i.e., centers of the rotating shafts 52a and 52b) of the pair of ducted fans 3a and 3b is defined as an airframe center Op, inclination directions of the ducted fans 3a and 3b are set perpendicular to a line segment OpOf connecting the airframe center Op and rotation centers Of. However, the inclination directions of the ducted fans 3a and 3b are not limited to the directions perpendicular to the line segment OpOf, and can be set as desired as long as the component forces Fha and Fhb can be generated. Also, according to the present embodiment, the output shaft 51 is placed, for example, on the airframe center Op.
By defining the rotation centers Of and airframe center Op in this way on a plan view of the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1, the inclination directions of the ducted fans 3a and 3b can be prescribed uniformly without regard to the configuration of the airframe 2. Also, by bringing the output shaft 51 into coincidence with the airframe center Op, a power transmission mechanism of a substantially identical configuration can be adopted for the pair of ducted fans 3a and 3b, making it possible to avoid complicating the power transmission mechanism.
Now,
In the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the first variation shown in
By inclining the ducted fans 3a, 3b, and 3c in this way, offset torque can be generated in such a direction as to cancel out anti-torque generated when the ducted fans 3a, 3b, and 3c are rotated clockwise in
In the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the second variation shown in
By inclining the ducted fans 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d in this way, offset torque can be generated in such a direction as to cancel out anti-torque generated when the ducted fans 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are rotated clockwise in
Next, vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to other embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the second embodiment shown in
The first propulsion devices 7 are placed, for example, in locations corresponding to four corners of the airframe 2. Also, the first propulsion devices 7 are placed in such a way as to be able to generate thrust directed downward in the vertical direction with the airframe 2 held horizontally. By adjusting the thrust of four first propulsion devices 7 appropriately, it is possible to control rolling and pitching as desired.
The second propulsion devices 8 are placed, for example, in front of and behind a central portion of the frame 4. Also, the second propulsion devices 8 are placed in such a way as to be able to generate thrust in a Y direction (left-right direction) with the airframe 2 held horizontally. By adjusting the thrust of the two second propulsion devices 8 appropriately, it is possible to control yawing as desired.
The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the third embodiment shown in
The third propulsion devices 9 are placed, for example, in locations corresponding to four corners of the airframe 2. Also, the third propulsion devices 9 are placed in such a way as to be able to generate thrust directed obliquely downward in a direction away from the airframe 2 with the airframe 2 held horizontally. Specifically, the third propulsion device 9 installed in the ducted fan 3a is placed with upper part of the rotating shaft inclined toward the rotation center of the ducted fan 3a and the third propulsion device 9 installed in the ducted fan 3b is placed with upper part of the rotating shaft inclined toward the rotation center of the ducted fan 3b.
By adjusting the thrust of the four third propulsion devices 9 appropriately, it is possible to control rolling, pitching, and yawing as desired. Also, the third embodiment can reduce the number of electric fans for attitude control compared to the second embodiment described above and thereby reduce the weight of the airframe 2.
The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the second embodiment and third embodiment described above do not have control vanes in the outlet portions of the ducted fans 3a and 3b. The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the second embodiment may be designed to control the traveling direction of the airframe 2 by adjusting the directions of the thrust generated by the ducted fans 3a and 3b using the first propulsion devices 7 and second propulsion devices 8. Also, the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the third embodiment may be designed to control the traveling direction of the airframe 2 by adjusting the directions of the thrust generated by the ducted fans 3a and 3b using the third propulsion device 9. Of course, the vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the second embodiment and third embodiment may also have control vanes installed in the outlet portions of the ducted fans 3a and 3b.
The vertical takeoff and landing aircraft 1 according to the first embodiment to third embodiment have been described above as being unmanned aircraft, but may be manned aircraft with seats installed on the frame 4.
The present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and needless to say, various changes can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2016-035226 | Feb 2016 | JP | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | PCT/JP2017/002502 | Jan 2017 | US |
Child | 16009630 | US |