Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02545629 2006-05-09
AI RCRAFT
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to an aircraft with
a fusE:lage and a propulsion device coupled with the fuselage for the
production of a definable lift, whereby the propulsion device includes
impeller
blades and whereby the impeller blades can be rotated about an axis at a pre-
determined blade angle.
Prior art aircraft of this kind exist in various forms and sizes. In
particular, helicopters are well-known in which, through the rotation of one
or
more rotors about a substantially vertical shaft, a force (rotor thrust) is
produced. The vertical component of this force provides lift for the
helicopter.
Rotor' thrust can be derived from the vertical shaft by controlling the
positioning of the impeller blades, which may produce a horizontal component
of rotor thrust. This horizontal component of the rotor thrust serves as a
propE;lling force that can also serve to move the helicopter sideways or
backwards. The blades can be rotated about an axis to a pre-determined
angle to produce a feathering effect. A helicopter's rotors are typically
radially
arranged in relation to their axis of rotation.
Various prior art aircraft have one or more rotors with two or more
radially arranged rotors or blades each, each of which are fastened by one
end to a rotation shaft and/or a rotor hub. The blades of the rotors circulate
over a circular area, and the rotational axis of the rotors (which is
perpE:ndicular to the circular area) is parallel and/or coaxial to the common
vertical axis along the longitudinal or transverse axis of the helicopter's
fuselage. The blades of the rotors are only rotated a few degrees off the
vertical axis. This basic construction principle produces various flight-
static
and flight-dynamic disadvantages in known helicopters.
One disadvantage of prior art helicopters is that the fuselage of these
helicopters can only be maneuvered forwards, backwards or sideways, and
that i:his movement is coupled with pitch motions or rolling motions of the
fuselage. Thus, it is not possible to maneuver the fuselage in all directions
while maintaining the fuselage in a vertical orientation (i.e., without
tilting the
fuselage). When the helicopter is being maneuvered, at least two of the
CA 02545629 2006-05-09
fuselage's situational axis are tilted. In contrast, a satellite can
accomplish
movement maneuvers in which all three situational axes of the satellite remain
parallel. Such "shift maneuvers" are not possible for prior art helicopters.
A further disadvantage of prior art helicopters is that they include the
so-called "overhead carrying-rotors" mentioned above, where the impeller
blades, and the circular area through which the impeller blades travel, extend
well beyond the front and sides of the helicopter. As a result, these
helicopters must maintain an adequate distance from obstacles and
accordingly can not dock with objects (e.g., to toad people or goods into the
helicopter). The loading of people or goods into the helicopters can only take
placE: from below in the fuselage. This limits the ability of the helicopters
to
servE; in rescue and salvage maneuvers.
Also, many prior art helicopters use only one overhead rotor. This
results in a torque due to reactive forces that are caused by air resistance
against the helicopter's blades. This torque seeks to rotate the helicopter
about the vertical axis of the fuselage. A second rotor (for example, a tail
rotor) is typically used to compensate for this torque. Such tail rotors are
trouble-prone and are frequently the cause of helicopter crashes and crash
landings.
Prior art helicopters are also problematic because, during flight, some
of the helicopter's blades are moved against the aviation stream while others
of the helicopter's blades are moved with the aviation stream, so that the air
passes differently over the helicopter's various blades. Thus, changes in
airspeed during directional flight changes the helicopter's flight dynamics.
It is
especially the case that when helicopters are engaged in very fast flight, the
movement of the impeller blades against the aviation stream causes the
airflow to start from the front edges of the impeller blades. The rate of
motion
of impeller blades in the air is a combination of the circular path speed of
the
impE;ller blade and the speed of the aviation stream.
This limits the possible applicable combination of speed and carrying
capacity of the helicopter and the applicable combination of number of blade
revolutions and airspeed to a range within which the tips of the impeller
blades
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are not yet in the supersonic speed range and, therefore, cannot be damaged
by shock waves.
Blades with movement toward the aviation stream are flowed against -
starting from the inside of the rotor circle - partially from the rear edge of
the
impeller blade. This applies to all parts of the impeller blades whose
circular
path speed rate toward the aviation stream is smaller than the flow rate of
the
aviation stream itself. With increasing airspeed, these blades contribute
increasingly less to the helicopter's lift and produce an airspeed-dependent
rolling moment on the helicopter flight cell and/or on the fuselage, which
must
be accounted for in the performance of the helicopter.
This problem leads to the limitation of the typical maximum speed of
prior art helicopters to around 400 km/h. It also causes energy expenditure to
increase as the airspeed of the helicopter increases, which is not favorable
to
the helicopter's airspeed or carrying capacity. Today's helicopters are
therefore very energy-inefficient in their flight performance, and therefore
typically only have flight ranges of about 1000 km.
Helicopters are controlled by adjusting the impeller blades' angles of
incidence and with some experimental helicopters additionally by tilting the
helicopter's rotor axis (e.g., axis of rotation). Unfortunately, since the
impeller
bladEa must be adjusted both cyclically and collectively, a complex swash
plate control and a complicated rotor head construction are necessary. This
complicated construction does not currently permit providing rotor heads with
any more than 8 blades or load-carrying capacities of the rotor heads over 60
tons.
Typical helicopters are in principle pendulums, in which the fuselage
hands from, and oscillates under, the rotor head. The flight attitude of the
fuselage is dependent on the dynamic flight condition (e.g., whether the
helicopter is engaged in forward -, backwards -, sideways or hovering flight).
The flight attitude of the fuselage can not be set independently from the
dynamic flight condition - for example, it is impossible for a helicopter to
jackknife. However, there have been attempts to experiment with helicopters
that have inclinable or tiltable rotor heads. However, these have resulted in
still more fragile and complicated drive constructions.
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An object of the present invention is to provide an aircraft in which at
least one of the above problems is eliminated and which is realized through a
simple construction.
According to the invention, the task at issue is solved with an aircraft
according to patent claim 1. An aircraft with these characteristics is
equipped
and developed so that the impeller blades are situated in a way that they can
be rol:ated about a rotation shaft. While the impeller blades are being
turned,
the impeller blade angle is also adjustable to produce lift. The respective
pivot axes of the impeller blades are also positioned substantially parallel
to
the rotation shaft.
In an inventive manner, it was recognized that the type of aircraft
referE;nced above does not have to be a helicopter equipped with an overhead
carrying rotor, where the impeller blades - and thereby also the pivot axes of
the impeller blades - are substantially radially arranged about the
helicopter's
rotation shaft. Furthermore, it was recognized that a particularly simple
construction of the propulsion device is viable due to the fact that the
impeller
blades are situated so that they can be turned about a rotation shaft, whereby
the rE;spective pivot axes of the impeller blades are positioned substantially
paralilel to the rotation shaft. In other words, the respective pivot axes and
the
rotation shaft are positioned in such a way that the impeller blades move in a
parallel manner about this same rotation shaft while they turn. The blade
angles can be changed while the impeller blades are being turned about the
rotation shaft to generate a controlled lift. The force and direction of the
thrust
depends upon the setting of the impeller blade angle.
According to an inventive embodiment of the aircraft, it is, in particular,
not necessary to use overhead rotors, which usually extend far beyond the
aircraft's fuselage and therefore make accessibility to the fuselage more
difficult and also prevent the possibility of docking the fuselage near, for
example, a building.
The respective pivot axes of the impeller blades may be positioned
substantially equidistantly to each other. This makes it possible for the
impeller blades to have an even and balanced course of motion about the
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rotation shaft. And, along the same lines, the pivot axes of the impeller
blades
may be positioned so that each is equidistant to the rotation shaft.
The pivot axes of the impeller blades may be positioned not just
substantially parallel to the rotation shaft but also substantially parallel
to each
other. Accordingly, an altogether homogeneous and quasi symmetrical
embodiment of the impeller blade arrangement about the rotation shaft is
feasik>le.
For a particularly simple and safe calibration of the angle of the impeller
blades, the impeller blades' pivot axes may be positioned based on the
centroid of the impeller blades. The pivot axis may run exactly through the
centroid of the cross sectional profile of the impeller blades.
A neutral position of the impeller blades, where the impeller blades do
not produce a thrust or air diversion during their rotation about the rotation
shaft., can be produced with a concave curve of the impeller blades' cross-
sectional profile in relation to the rotation shaft. The blades' cross-
sectional
profiles may lie almost completely within a cylindrical wall of an imaginary
circular cylinder. Such a turning circular cylinder would produce no thrust
and
no aiir diversion.
The pivot axis of each blade may stand out perpendicularly from the
impeller blade's cross-sectional profile and, thus, run quasi parallel or
coaxially to the impeller blade's longitudinal axis.
To safely control and swivel the impeller blades about the pivot axis,
the irnpeller blades may include a control shaft at at least one end. These
control shafts would each serve as the point of contact for swiveling the
impeller blades about the pivot axis. The control shafts may extend
perpendicularly from the impeller blade's cross-section profile and be
positioned in front of or behind the pivot axis - as seen from the impeller
bladEa' direction of rotation about the rotation axis. The blade may be
linked,
and respectively the impeller blade's angle of attack (or blade angle) may be
adju:>ted, by the control shaft. Both positive and negative blade angles can
be
employed - relative to the neutral position of the impeller blade. As
mentioned above, the neutral position of the impeller blade means that when
the impeller blades rotate about the rotation shaft, no standing air is
diverted
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from i:he impeller blades. Rather, the impeller blade simply cuts through the
air. The distance between the control shaft and the pivot axis defines the
translation ratio as the impeller blade angle is adjusted.
For particularly safe storage and movement of the impeller blades, the
impeller blades may be rotatably attached at one end to a drive component, or
rotatably mounted within the drive component. Thus, the drive component
may Ibe rotated in a structurally simple way about the axis of rotation, or
rotatably positioned on the axis of rotation. To this end, the drive component
may include a bearing shaft or a hollow shaft, which may be aligned with the
outer' side of the impeller blades.
In a relatively simple embodiment, the drive component may be
constructed as a drive pulley, drive disk or a drive ring, to which the
impeller
bladEa are pivotably attached.
The pivot axes or blades may be positioned perpendicular to the drive
component, the drive pulley, the drive disk or the drive ring. And the
impeller
blades or pivot axes may be positioned on opposing sides of the bearing
shaft. Furthermore, the pivot axes may be arranged in a circle along the edge
of the drive component, the drive pulley, the drive disk or drive ring. The
pivot
axes. are preferably positioned so that they are spaced equidistantly apart.
The arrangement of parallel blades may thereby form a cylindrical rotor
assE:mbly.
In principle, there may be as many blades as desired positioned on the
drivf: component or on the cylindrical rotor assembly, depending upon the
diameter of the drive component and the width of the impeller blades. Each
blade may be positioned so that its pivot axis is perpendicular to the drive
component and so that it pivots about is pivot axis.
The bearing shaft or hollow shaft of the drive component may extend
perpendicularly from the drive component or from the surface of the drive
pulley and/or drive disk. To assure that the drive component operates safely,
the drive component may be coupled with a toothed belt, a chain or a circular
toothed gear. For this, the drive component may include a circular tooth
arrangement adjacent the circumference or circular edge of the drive
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component or on the perimeter of the bearing shaft. Thus, the bearing shaft
may I~e constructed in the form of a drive shaft.
In order to safely couple the impeller blades to the drive component,
the drive component may include recesses or passages for the storage of the
impeller blades' pivot axles. Alternatively or additionally, the drive
component
may include recesses or passages for the impeller blade's control shafts. The
control shafts may be dimensioned to extend through the recesses or
passages in the drive component. The recesses or passages may be
constructed as cut-outs, holes or slots. In particular, the recesses or
passages for the control shafts of the impeller blades may be constructed as
long, preferably curved, holes.
In order to limit the weight of the drive component, the drive
component may include slots, recesses, passages, cut-outs, holes or slivers,
so that the drive component may have a star shaped, circular or spoke-like
appearance.
In order to safely adjust the angle of the impeller blades, the drive
component may work in conjunction with a control member to adjust the
impeller blades about their pivot axis. The control member may be exclusively
responsible for the attitude of the impeller blade angle by means of movement
of the control shafts. The control member may thereby be decoupled from the
rotation of the impeller blades and/or the drive component. In other words,
the control member does not rotate with the rotation of the impeller blades
about the rotation axis. In a relatively simple embodiment, the control
member may be mounted on the axis of rotation.
In order to safely control the pivot shafts, the control member may
include a cyclical gear. In principle, the control member may be adjustable in
a guide relative to the rotation shaft in order to achieve a safe setting or
presetting of the impeller blade angle. The control member may also be
mounted and/or directed so that it can be shifted a certain distance or
amplitude in all directions perpendicular to the rotation axis.
In a particularly simple embodiment, the guide may include two
perpendicularly-arranged linear guides, for the purpose of such cross-table
guidance. Alternatively, and in an equally simple embodiment, the guide may
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include a rotational guide member that is connected to a linear guide member
(e.g., in the form of an extendable and pivotable guide).
As another preferred embodiment, the control assembly may include
two rotational control portions in the form of a double eccentric disk control
member. The elements of the control member specified above may be
described as control disks. The eccentric disk member is advantageous in
that it can be positioned directly on, or be supported by, the bearing shaft
or
hollow shaft of the drive component.
in order to independently and safely control or move the eccentric disks
of the eccentric disk control member, each eccentric disk may be associated
with an actuator. In particular, two eccentric disks of the eccentric disk
control
member may each be respectively associated with an actuator.
An eccentric disk control member may include two eccentric disks: an
inteUnal eccentric disk, which may have its eccentric cam hole mounted via
bearings on the bearing shaft of the drive component; and an outside
eccentric disk, which may be mounted on bearings around or adjacent the
outside of the internal eccentric disk. The eccentric cam hole of the outside
eccentric disk may contain the internal eccentric disk. The control member
may be (or run) mounted on bearings on the outside eccentric disk, and/or
may be centrally positioned in relation to the outside eccentric disk. In such
an arrangement, both eccentric disks can turn freely about each other and/or
within one another. If the eccentric disks become twisted, the control member
is Engaged to address the issue. The eccentricities of the eccentric disks are
selected in such a manner that for a relative angle attitude of the eccentric
disks, the fulcrum of the outside eccentric disk corresponds to the fulcrum of
thE; bearing shaft of the drive component. If the eccentric disks in this
relative
angle attitude run smoothly with respect to each other while turning about the
bearing shaft of the drive component, the condition of the control member
remains unchanged and in a disengaged orientation.
The eccentric disk control member can be used to produce a
controlling effect as follows. When the control member is disengaged, due to
the mutual angular orientation of the eccentric disks, while not engaging each
other, the eccentric disks are rotated into a particular angle that
corresponds
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to the desired direction of deflection of the rotor assembly's blades.
Subsequently, both eccentric disks are rotated against each other in a manner
in which the outside eccentric disk rotates twice as far about an angle as the
internal eccentric disk. Accordingly, the outer eccentric disk rotates twice
as
fast as the internal eccentric disk. Thus, a deflection is produced in the
de:>ired direction that is proportional to the eccentric disk angle of
rotation -
azimuth angle. This double eccentric disk control is thus a vector control in
which the deflection direction of the deflection angle is first set and then
the
amount of the deflection angle is set. Each control command and/or each
pre-determined control position - "control stick position" - may be assigned a
deflection and/or angle of direction of deflection).
The control may now be done in such a manner that the control is
divided into sequential discrete controlling positions. There is a gradual
change-over from one controlling position successively into the next
controlling positions, as the assigned deflection angle transfers over to the
ne~;t assigned deflection angle and assigned angle of amount of deflection
transfers over to the next assigned amount of deflection.
The more precise the selected discrete breakdown is, the more
precise, and/or simultaneous the available control. The eccentric disks may be
adjusted thereby by two actuators, for example two stepper motors. One
actuator holds and at the same time rotates the internal eccentric disk and
onE~ actuator holds and at the same time rotates the outside eccentric disk.
In
addition, each eccentric disk may be provided with a gear rim, in which the
actuator may engage a pinion. The eccentric disks do not move while the
impeller blades are rotating outside of the control procedure.
In order to safely mount and/or guide the control shafts, the control
member may include an annular groove or a circular groove for receiving the
impeller blades' control shafts. While the impeller blades are rotating about
the rotation axis, the control shafts may revolve within the annular groove or
circlular groove. In a further simple embodiment, the control member may be
constructed as a control ring or control disk. With this embodiment, an
annular groove or a circular groove may be formed in the outer area of the
control ring or the control disk.
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Now if the control member is moved in a particular direction by the
guiding of the control member while the drive component is rotating, then the
impeller blades' control shafts (which may revolve in an annular or circle
groove) will cyclically follow this deflection. This creates a cyclical blade
adjustment. With one revolution, the impeller blades' control shafts go from
their neutral position and move into the maximum positive position one time,
anti also move into their maximum negative position one time. Between these
two extreme deflections, the impeller blades' control shafts pass through
their
neutral position twice. In the two neutral positions, which are across from
each other on the control member's annular groove path, standing air is not
diverted from the impeller blades. Because of the impeller blades' direction
of
motion reverses along the circular path, the standing air is maximally
diverted
in tl'ne same direction at the two extreme positions.
The extreme positions of the impeller blades are in positions on the
shiit axis or in the control member's direction of movement. As a result, the
neutral positions are present at positions that are respectively shifted 90
degrees. If the impeller blades' control shafts are positioned in front of the
impeller blades' pivot axes at the impeller blade (as seen from the direction
of
the impeller blades' rotation), then the control member's shift direction is
identical to the thrust direction, which is predetermined by air diversion. If
the
impeller blades' control shafts are positioned behind the pivot axes, then the
reverse effect results.
In order to increase the efficiency of the propulsion device, the annular
groove or the control ring may deviate from a circular arrangement. Thus, it
is
not mandatory to have a circular arrangement of the annular groove or the
control ring. For example, other arrangements may provide an angle of
incidence function that is dependent on the angle of rotation, or superposed
angle of incidence functions. Such techniques may be used to change the
efficiency of the propulsion device. Furthermore, the angle of incidence
function may be proportional to the expression a-cos(x)"', in which "a" is the
degree of the impeller blades' angle of incidence and "w" is preferably a
whole
nunnber, and preferably 11.
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In other words, the form of the control ring or the annular groove may
be further optimized, in order to increase the efficiency of the impeller
blades
rotating about a rotation shaft or the efficiency of a cylindrical rotor
assembly.
To this end, an alternative embodiment may be provided that supplies an
angle of rotation-dependent angle of incidence function, a-cos(x)'". This may
be used in place of a circular annular groove or in place of a circular
control
ring. It is only one example of the ability to optimize the efficiency of the
impeller blades rotating about a rotation shaft or the cylindrical rotor
assembly.
In reality, annular groove forms are more suitable. They supply superposed
angle of incidence functions, that then optimize the efficiency of the
cylindrical
rotor assembly or efficiency of the impeller blades rotating about a rotation
shaft without detracting from the maximum cylindrical rotor assembly or blade
thrust.
Such annular groove forms or control ring forms or blade trajectories
can be produced from the overlay of a circle - basis circle - with two or four
periodic and symmetrical "projections" on the circle. This is done so that the
curves of the possible overlapping functions of the basis circle can be
inscribed and a square can be circumscribed. Thus, a host of curves is then
present. In an informal approximation, it would be conceivable to think of a
squiare around the circle.
Simple examples of such overlapping curves are as follows: for two
buicaing (convex) ellipses and for four convex epicycloids and asteroids or
simple squares or rectangles with rounded corners. If non-circular control
rings or annular grooves are used that have a strong deviation to the circular
form, the controlling of the impeller blades or the cylindrical rotor assembly
should be altered. It would be possible, then, to use two control members that
are next to or in front of one another - or to use slot rings of the same or
sliglhtly different form may be used at one or both ends of the cylindrical
rotor
assembly. The blade pivot axles - blade axles of rotation - run around inside
the grove ring that is situated next to the drive disk and/or the guide disk
and
is fixed relative to the disk. Running inside the other slot ring - the
control ring
- are the impeller blade control shafts or blade coupled shafts. This slot
ring
can still be rotated and shifted relative to the drive disk or guide disk.
CA 02545629 2006-05-09
Instead of drilled holes for seating the impeller blade pivot shaft, the
drive disk and the guide disk are additionally equipped with radial slots or
long
holes in which the impeller blade drag pivot shafts can slide radially. The
drive disk and the guide disk then have the character of a drive/attachment
disk. In this embodiment, which includes pairs of control members and/or slot
rings, both the impeller blade pivot shafts and the impeller blade control
shafts
may be controlled and moved radially. It is apparent then, that in place of a
circle-cylindrical rotor assembly or blade arrangement, the impeller blades
may move on a cylindrical rotor assembly that may be, for example, ellipsoid,
epicyclical, asteroid, or a cross-sectional path of a square with rounded
corners or a rectangle with rounded-corners.
In a simple embodiment, the bearing shaft or hollow shaft of the drive
component may preferably be configured to run centrically through the control
member. The control member may then be positioned concentrically behind
or under the drive component. The bearing shaft of the drive component,
which can simultaneously function as the drive shaft, may be passed through
the control member. The drive component and the control member may thus
be positioned parallel to each other. In one embodiment of the drive
component as drive disk and of the control member as control ring, the
circular area of the drive disk may be positioned parallel or co-planer to the
plane in which the control ring lies.
When the drive disk is rotating, the ends of the impeller blades' control
shafts may run free of play in the control member's annular grove or circle
groove. In this embodiment, the control shafts are inserted through the drive
component or the drive disk. This lack of play can be achieved, for example,
by an appropriate pulley support, in which the ends of the control shafts are
disposed. In the simplest embodiment, this pulley support may be created by
means of two radially, easily transferred, antifriction bearings, which are
disposed on the end of the control shaft. One antifriction bearing maintains
pressurized contact with one of the annular groove's inner walls and the other
antifriction bearing maintains a pressurized contact with the other, or
opposite,
inner wall of the annular groove.
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The cyclic adjustment of the impeller blades may alternatively be
crE;ated by means of known cyclical gears for paddle drives derived from
marine propulsion technology - for example, the Schneider-Voith drive. These
well-known construction principles are less suitable however for fast rotating
rotor assemblies, since the paddle control mechanics control masses of high
inertia, whose cyclic acceleration leads to high reaction forces and
vibrations.
The invention however ensures minimal ground acceleration, since the
impeller blades only accelerate cyclically about their longitudinal axis and
no
other control mechanism must be cyclically accelerated.
For particularly stable flight characteristics, the propulsion device may
include at least two arrangements of rotatable impeller blades about a
rotation
shaft. Thereby unwanted torques about the vertical axis of the aircraft can be
avoided.
In order to produce a safe lift, the rotation axis or axes may be
po:>itioned in a substantially horizontal plane. This makes it possible for a
maximum thrust conversion in a vertical direction.
In a particularly narrow construction of the aircraft, the rotation axis or
axEa may be positioned parallel to the fuselage's longitudinal axis along the
forVVard flight direction. In an alternative embodiment, the rotation axis or
axes may be positioned perpendicular to the fuselage's longitudinal axis along
the forward flight direction. In principle, both arrangements of the rotation
axis
or rotation axes as described above are favorable to the aircraft's flight
stability.
In a particularly simple embodiment, impeller blades may form a
rotatable rotor about, respectively, one of the rotation axes, whereby the
propulsion device may include at least two such rotors.
In order to produce stable flight attitudes, the rotors may be staggered
along the longitudinal axis. At least one such rotor may be positioned on each
longitudinal side of the fuselage. It is however also conceivable that there
may be a plurality of rotors on each longitudinal side of the fuselage. In an
embodiment with a plurality of rotors, a stronger lift may be produced,
whE;reby heavier loads would be transportable by the aircraft.
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In order to avoid unwanted torques, at least two rotors may be rotatable
in opposite directions.
In a simple embodiment, at least two rotors may be positioned on each
of t:he longitudinal sides of the fuselage, and the rotation axes may align
themselves across from the rotors. Thus, finally an arrangement of the rotors
is realized with rotational axes that are perpendicular to the fuselage's
longitudinal axis in forward flight direction.
For versatile and individual control of the aircraft, each rotor may be
separately controllable. In the case of a simplified control, rotors may be
controlled together in the same way.
Due to the working principles of a rotor, which operates by rotating
blades about a rotation axis, a lift and/or propulsion force is generated in a
direction that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the rotor and/or
rotational axis. The rotors (as drives) and/or their rotation axes may
therefore
be positioned parallel and/or coaxial to the transverse axis of the aircraft
at the
fuselage. However, in order to achieve a statically desirable flight condition
and to achieve a particularly stable system, at least two rotors should be
used.
ThE: rotors must be staggered in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the
fusE:lage - with one on each side of the fuselage. In order to avoid unwanted
torques, the two rotor assemblies may rotate in opposite directions. The two
rotors, located at the same height of the longitudinal axis, may be positioned
at the centroid of the aircraft. Depending upon whether the rotor assemblies
turn in the same direction or in opposite directions, a torque may be produced
about the transverse axis or about the vertical axis of the fuselage. In such
a
case, the necessary static stability of flight attitude would not be provided.
When considering the possibility of losing the use of a rotor assembly,
a particularly safe embodiment of the invention includes the use of four rotor
assemblies. Two rotor assemblies may be provided on both sides of the
fuselage, across from each other and/or may form a common rotor assembly
longitudinal axis and/or rotational axis. Such a pair of rotor assemblies may
each be envisioned for the front and rear portions of the fuselage.
By using two and/or four rotor assemblies in the direction of the
longitudinal axis of the fuselage, the aircraft can execute forward and
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backwards maneuvers, without pitching. To do this, the thrust production of
the front and back rotors or rotor pairs would have to be controlled evenly.
On
them other hand, a forward and/or backwards maneuver may be accomplished
with a varying thrust from the front or rear drive. This then leads again to a
torque about the transverse axis of the fuselage, and thus to the well-known
pitch motion, by which under force vector analysis the sub-vectors have
components in a forwards or backwards direction.
The same that is said of forwards and backwards maneuvers can be
said for sideways maneuvers. Lateral maneuvers may be accomplished by
varying the thrust of the left or the right rotor assemblies and/or the left
or the
right drive. A torque thus results about the longitudinal axis of the fuselage
and, from the ensuing rolling motion, lateral-directed thrust vectors are then
produced.
In a further embodiment, a lateral movement of the aircraft may be
produced without a resulting rolling motion. For this, the impeller blades
are fE~atherably mounted, by means of a pivot shaft, at their end that is away
from the drive component, at or in a guidance device. Such a guidance
device can absorb bending moments of the rotary blades that arise from
cyclical air diversion and the centrifugal energy of the rotation. The
arrangement of impeller blades or the cylindrical rotor assembly can rotate
with substantially higher numbers of revolutions with the guidance device.
The guidance device can also absorb substantially more thrust reaction forces
andlor produce substantially more forward thrust and lift thrust.
The guidance device essentially may be constructed like the drive
component - preferably disk-shaped. In doing this, a guidance device may be
in the form of a guide disk.
The guidance device may be supported by a central support shaft or a
hollow :haft between the drive component and the guidance device and
coupled to the drive component. Therefore, the guidance device may
configured to rotate with the drive component. The guidance device and the
drive component may be coupled by means of a shaft or a rotation shaft. The
longitudinal axis of the support shaft, hollow shaft, axis or rotation axis
may
run through the center of the drive component and the guidance device,
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
whereby the longitudinal axis of the support shaft or hollow shaft coincides
with the rotor assembly's longitudinal axis and/or the rotation axis.
The support shaft of the guidance device or the guide disk corresponds
to 'the bearing shaft of the drive component or the drive disk. One can regard
the support shaft as guidance device-lateral extension of the bearing shaft of
they drive component. Since the support shaft or hollow shaft carries and/or
propels the guidance device, it may also function as the drive shaft for the
guidance device.
In order to produce a particularly simple lateral movement of the aircraft
without a resulting rolling motion, the guidance device may be provided with a
guidance rotor that includes rotor blades. The rotor blades may be linked to
the guidance device in a structurally simple way. The rotor blades may be
radially positioned between the hub of the guidance device and the edge of
the guidance device. For this, the guidance device may include appropriate
pa~;sages and/or bearing seats. Such a guidance rotor may correspond to the
tail rotor of conventional helicopters and be structurally similar in
principle.
The guidance rotor may be propelled about a linkage running through
the rotation axis. Such a linkage may include a connecting rod, which is
guided by the support shaft and the bearing shaft of the drive component.
They guidance rotor may be attached by connecting rod and by bellcranks.
Guidance rotors of the rotor assemblies make it possible for the aircraft to
make lateral movements without a resulting rolling motion. In addition, all
guidance rotors may be controlled the same with respect to their thrust.
A turning maneuver of the aircraft about the vertical axis of the fuselage
may be accomplished either by an uneven thrust of the rotor assemblies or
the guidance rotors. In addition, the thrust would only need to come from two
rotor assemblies or guidance rotors that are on opposite sides and not
belonging to the same pair of rotor assemblies.
To cause the aircraft to ascend or descend, the lift thrust of the front
and the rear drive may be evenly controlled. An increase of climbing thrust
may be achieved by increasing the impeller blade angle and/or by increasing
the number of revolutions of the rotor assemblies. This is where a substantial
difference between this invention and conventional helicopters becomes
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
obvious. Conventional helicopters produce their climbing thrust over a
collective increase of the impeller blade angle and/or increase in the number
of revolutions of the rotor. With the present invention, however, the climbing
thrust is attained by means of the cyclic blade control.
In order to control the fuselage's flight attitude and/or trim, the thrust of
thE; front or rear and/or lateral drives may be controlled differently. The
invention makes it possible to maintain the trimming of different current
flight
attitudes independently of the aircraft's dynamic flight condition.
One embodiment of the invention can achieve the same flight-dynamic
conditions of a conventional helicopter without the use of a collective blade
control. The invention therefore involves a substantially simpler
construction.
In addition, this embodiment of the invention can accomplish maneuvers with
completely decoupled movements and/or pure translation movements or shift
maneuvers without associated pitching and/or rolling motions. Such
maneuvers or movements are not possible for conventional helicopters. In
addition, the flight attitude of the fuselage can be trimmed. The helicopter
can
stably assume all positions within the full 360 degrees about the transverse
axis of the fuselage. Since the aircraft according to an embodiment of the
invE~ntion can have two or four rotor assemblies with essentially an arbitrary
number of impeller blades for each rotor assembly, a substantially higher lift
thrust can be achieved and can therefore transport substantially higher
payloads than is possible with conventional helicopters.
In one embodiment, where the rotor assembly's longitudinal axis and/or
the rotation shaft is parallel and/or coaxial to the transverse axis of the
fuselage, there is still an apparent disadvantage - the airflow blows against
the
impeller blades that are moving against the aviation stream and those that are
moving toward the aviation stream in an inefficient and varying way depending
on the number of revolutions and airspeed. In addition, there is still the
disadvantage with this construction that the airspeed is added to the path
speE~d of the impeller blades so the maximum airspeed remains very limited.
These disadvantages can be fixed with the following embodiment of the
invention. For this, the rotor assembly's longitudinal axes and/or the
rotation
axe:. are no longer positioned parallel and/or coaxial to the fuselage's
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
transverse axis. Instead, they are positioned parallel and/or coaxial to the
fuselage's longitudinal axis. One such propulsion device may then employ at
least two rotor assemblies behind one another with a shared rotor assembly
longitudinal axis and/or rotation axis to produce the necessary maneuvering
torques. When using only two rotor assemblies, the two rotors may be
positioned behind one another and overhead, over the fuselage. When using
four rotor assemblies, the four rotors may also be arranged laterally, with
two
rotors behind one another on each side of the fuselage. Each pair of rotor
assemblies located behind one another, next to each other, and/or across
from each other can then rotate in opposite directions to avoid unwanted
torques.
In a particularly efficient embodiment of the invention, blades or rotors
that are positioned next to, or behind, one another may be positioned in a
quasi mirrored arrangement. One can also speak here of a connected and
reflected "behind one another" arrangement of rotor assemblies. For this
embodiment, only one guiding element is necessary for both rotor assemblies.
And it is sufficient to only drive one drive component, since the rotor
assemblies can be coupled over a common guidance device and/or the
reciprocal support axes can be firmly coupled with one another. However, in
this embodiment having only one drive, the maneuvering torques may only be
achieved for both rotors by the cyclical blade adjustment and no longer by
controlling the number of revolutions. Aside from that, the torques, which
result from air resistance against the rotor blades, can no longer be
compensated for by a separate, opposite propelled rotation of the rotor
assemblies.
A more extensive simplification of the aircraft according to an
embodiment of the invention may be achieved because at both ends of the
impE~ller blades each control member is respectively operable independently
from each of the other control members. For example, only one rotor
assembly may be used, but that rotor assembly of course includes two control
members or control rings. The blades may be attached then at each of their
ends either to a drive component or to a control device and have each of their
ends. guided in control members or in annular grooves. In this application,
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
maneuvering torques, which run perpendicularly to the rotor assembly
longitudinal axis and/or rotation axis, may be achieved by a cyclic torsion of
the impeller blades. The torsion takes place via a relative shift of the two
control members or control rings in relation to each other. Thus, the impeller
blade angle and the selective thrust of the impeller blades constantly changes
from one end of the impeller blades to the other end. In the previously
described embodiment of the aircraft, maneuvering torques are produced by
different gross thrust vectors of the individual rotor assemblies. A rotor
assembly with torsion control works like two separate controllable rotor
assemblies.
The correlation of the thrust production to the flight maneuvers changes
with the alignment of the rotor assemblies' longitudinal axes which are
parallel
and/or coaxial to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage. Lateral shift
maneuvers
or turning maneuvers about the vertical axis of the fuselage can no longer be
accomplished by means of the guidance rotors, rather they can now only be
accomplished by means of the rotor assembly's thrust control. However,
fonrvard directed shift maneuvers can no longer by means of the rotor
assemblies, rather they can now only be executed through the guidance
rotors. The usual way of attaining aircraft propulsion through coupled pitch
motion may be avoided. Instead, in a more energy efficient way of attaining
aircraft propulsion, the relatively weak guidance rotors (in the context of a
true
translational movement) may be replaced by strong variable-pitch propellers.
In this embodiment of the invention, a drive train including drive
components of the may comprise: a variable-pitch propeller; a shaft powered
turbine with fuselage attachment; reciprocating turbine shafts; a front
control
mennber or front control ring; a drive component or drive disk of the front
rotor
assE:mbly; front parallel blades; a guidance device or guide disk with
reciprocating support shaft; rear parallel blades; a drive component or drive
disk of the rear rotor assembly; a rear control member or rear control ring;
and
rear bearing shaft intake with fuselage attachment of the drive component or
the drive disk of the rear rotor assembly, whereby the variable-pitch
propeller
sits in front on the turbine shaft, and the bearing shaft of the first drive
component or the first drive disk is also coupled with the operated turbine
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
shaft behind the turbine. The turbine in the drive train replaces the
otherwise
still necessary bearing shaft intake with a fuselage attachment for the front
drive component or the front drive disk.
Alternatively, the drive turbine or turbines may be positioned in or on
the fuselage and propel the drive train via a transmission. In this
alternative
embodiment, a drive turbine may propel two lateral drive trains or, when using
two drive turbines, these may simply be coupled with a transmission in order
to prevent the Loss of a drive turbine.
In an embodiment of the invention, at least one drive turbine may be
po sitioned in the fuselage of the aircraft. This would thereby ensure a
protected arrangement of the drive turbine.
The arrangement of the drive turbine or turbines in the fuselage would
have the further advantage that the turbine exhaust gases may be laterally
dirf;cted from the fuselage, directly to or over the rotor. The negative
pressure
self-produced over and from the rotors may thereby become partly balanced
by inflows of the turbine exhaust gases. The necessary self induced drive
power somewhat decreases the expenditure of drive power. The hot turbine
exhaust gases may prevent a possible freezing of the rotor assembly and, at
the same time, the hot turbine exhaust gases may be swirled in such a
manner and diverted downwardly so that they cannot reach any other turbine
inlets of other turbines and lead to the breakdown of other turbines.
The variable-pitch propeller would have to be laid out in such a way
that both forward and backward thrust can be achieved by means of its
propeller blade adjustment. In order to further reduce the induced power
expE:nditure, a variable-pitch propeller or a propeller may be positioned both
in
front of a rotor assembly, as well as behind this rotor assembly. The front
propeller may be laid out then as a draft propeller, and the rear propeller as
a
pressure propeller. Beiween the variable-pitch propellers or propellers - for
example between the draft propeller and the pressure propeller - two or more
rotor assemblies may be positioned behind one another.
In the hovering flight of the aircraft, one may operate the two propellers
above so that they push against each other. Both propellers may be adjusted
for hovering flight in such a way that their propulsion effect mutually
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
compensates for itself, but additional air mass of the rotor assembly or the
respective rotor assemblies is nevertheless applied.
The propeller can also be used to partially compensate for the torque.
It substantially compensates for a remainder torque, that comes from the
rotation of the rotor assembly and/or reactive air resistance. This torque,
which is generally uncompensated, arises for example when using only one
torsion-controlled rotor assembly - see above. In addition, the propeller
rotation can be set to rotate in the opposite direction of the rotor assembly
rotation by means of a reversing gear mechanism. This torque reconciliation
is particularly interesting for smaller aircraft according to an embodiment of
the invention that has only one drive train.
In a further embodiment of the invention, at the fuselage, one could
include at least one airfoil or auxiliary airfoil to which the rotor assembly
or
assemblies are attached, or from which the rotor assembly or assemblies are
hung.
A torque that comes from air resistance that arises or is
uncompensated, does not have the same serious effect on the aircraft
according to the embodiment of the invention as it does on a conventional
helicopter. In a conventional helicopter, this torque must absolutely be
compensated, usually by a second rotor, for example a tail rotor, in order to
prevent a continuing rotation of the fuselage about its vertical axis. In one
embodiment of the invention, such torques about the vertical axis do not
arise.
Corresponding torques arise only about the longitudinal axis of the fuselage
and all lead at the most to a lateral pendulum deflection of the fuselage. An
aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention is flight-statically
substantially more stable than conventional helicopters.
Due to the parallel and/or coaxial orientation of the rotor assembly's
longitudinal axes to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, the speed
component
of the helicopter's drive speed is canceled along with the rotor-path speed
during the forward movement of the helicopter. This is because both speed
components are perpendicular to each other.
The aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention makes it
therefore possible to attain substantially higher maximum airspeeds than
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
conventional helicopters. In principle, the maximum airspeeds of turboprop
aircrafts are possible also with the aircraft according to an embodiment of
the
invention. There is also the expectation that the aircraft according to an
embodiment of the invention can also fly even faster than a turboprop aircraft
having the same drive power, because the aircraft according to an
embodiment of the invention does not include an airplane tail unit or airplane
wings, which produce substantial additional air resistance, which is not the
case with the aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention. The
aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention has the flight dynamics
of
both a conventional helicopter and a conventional airplane and can therefore
be flown (from the perspective of flight-dynamics) like a helicopter or an
airplane. The flight operation of the aircraft according to an embodiment of
the invention is substantially more energy-efficient than conventional
helicopters, since no increases in rolling moments arise with increases in
airspeed. Thus, the aircraft according to an embodiment of the invention
avoids all well-known disadvantages of conventional helicopters specified in
the introduction. In addition, because of the ability to arrange the rotor
assemblies parallel and/or coaxially to the longitudinal axis of the fuselage,
two or more rotor assemblies may be positioned laterally behind one another
and laterally next to one another adjacent the fuselage. Thus, large fuselage
constructions with load capacities of around the 200 tons, or alternatively of
more than 200 passengers, are possible.
Docking maneuvers and thereby also difficult transport, rescue and
salvage maneuvers are possible with the aircraft according to an embodiment
of the invention, because of the aforementioned advantages and because of
the lack of over-hanging, overhead carrying rotors. For difficult transport,
rescue and salvage maneuvers, the fuselage may be equipped with a docking
assE:mbly, which may be used for the loading or unloading of transported
goods and/or to allow people to embark or disembark from the aircraft. In an
embodiment of the invention of relatively simple construction, the docking
assembly may include a tunnel, a bridge or a basket. Based on easily-
obse~rved docking assemblies of aircraft cockpits, the docking assembly may
be positioned at the front end of the fuselage.
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
The aircraft according to invention could be equipped, for example, with
an escape tube or a catch box at the nose of the aircraft, which may be used
to allow rescued people, animals or goods to enter the aircraft. It may also
facilitate the deplaning of auxiliary or rescue forces and/or goods after
docking. This is an enormous advantage, because, for example, in
multistoried buildings, the auxiliary and rescue forces may not use elevators
for safety reasons and, if necessary, are therefore forced to transport
equipment between many floors using the stairways.
Regarding safe docking of the aircraft with, for example, a building, a
docking assembly could include a preferably funnel-shaped guide. A guide of
this type may be attached to a building and be configured for coupling to an
aircraft for use as an entryway into the aircraft. This could facilitate a
useful
docking of the aircraft.
Regarding a particularly stable coupling of the aircraft to, for example, a
building or to the entryway, the docking assembly could include a locking
mechanism. Such a locking mechanism could include, for example, male
locking device members on the docking assembly and female locking device
mernbers on the entryway.
In other words, an aircraft could include a docking assembly, which fits
exactly into guides or entryways or locking devices that are intended for this
purposes. These guides, entryways, or locking devices may be disposed, for
example, in the escape windows, emergency doors, escape portals, or any
other form of emergency exits that are on the outside of, for example, tall
buildings. The aircraft can dock and anchor itself at these places, open the
appropriate emergency or escape exits, load people, animals, or goods, and
then depart with the loaded people, animal, or goods on board.
The docking assembly may include a funnel-shaped guide that is
adapted to entirely receive a docking nose. When the docking nose is slid
into the funnel-shaped guide with its male locking members, the docking nose
can be guided into the female locking members found at the end of the funnel
shaped guide. The female locking members may, for example, be in a
symrnetrical 3-point arrangement or in a 4-point arrangement around the
perimeter of the entry opening at the end of the funnel-shaped guide. The
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
locking and/or unlocking of the locking mechanism could be operated by the
inventive aircraft electromechanically, or mechanically through connecting
rods. The locking device may be, for example, a hook lock, a spreading
locking device, a channel lock, a bolt lock, or a transverse rod lock in the
form
of, for example, a roller, pin, or fork lock.
The entryway of the funnel-shaped guide can be closed by a hatch, a
door or a windowpane, which can be opened from the outside. The guide
could be transferred into the inside of a building so that it bindingly locks
outside of the building with the building's front and is therefore not
visually
offE:nsive. In high-rise buildings such guides could be, for example,
installed
on all sides of the building and could be installed, for example, on every pre-
determined number of floors. The guide could likewise be mounted on fixed
or rotatable arms. One such arrangement could be more favorable, for
example, on offshore drilling platforms, mining platforms, manufacturing
plants
or Large ships at sea. For the normal transport of people or goods, these
guic9es could likewise be made available for use in high buildings, or towers,
as airport terminals.
The above-referenced technical advantages of aircraft according to the
invention result in economic, logistical and strategic advantages in regard to
conventional civilian and military flying operations.
Since the aircraft according to the invention can, in principle, transport
the same freight weight or the same number of passengers as middle or long-
range aircraft and also exhibits comparably high airspeeds and ranges, the
aircraft according to invention should serve as a substantial competitor in
the
area of middle and long-range aircraft flight, while at the same time offering
substantial ecological, economic and logistical advantages. The aircraft
according to the invention can land on runways from a substantial height
through vertical descending flight, and also take off in this manner. This
avoids the well-known noise pollution of conventional airplanes in
neighborhoods near runways.
The aircraft according to invention does not need a cost-intensive
infrastructure such as, for example, airfields with expansive airplane
runways.
Thus, the costs associated with aircraft according to the invention are
reduced
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
and the aircraft can fly into any desired city and its city center directly,
even if
they city doesn't include an airport. Networks of air routes could be
developed
with minimal infrastructure. This is particularly favorable for the economic
development of countries that do not have the means to develop an
infrastructure that includes conventional airports.
In long-distance flying operations (for example, over oceans), an
aircraft according to the invention can, unlike conventional airplanes, land
on
motherships at sea for maintenance, refueling, or for an emergency landing.
The inventive aircraft can accomplish emergency landings at low speed on
water or land and thereby prevent the usual destruction of airplanes that is
associated with water-based emergency landings or the frequent destruction
of airplanes that is associated with forced landings on land. The inventive
aircraft is substantially safer than conventional middle and long-range
airplanes.
Due to the high load, maneuverability and dockability of the inventive
aircraft, salvage and rescue actions can be accomplished, which are not
possible with conventional helicopters. With the invention, victims of the
attack on the World Trade Center in New York could have been saved from
the then-inaccessible floors of the building. With the invention, supplying or
evacuating crisis or disaster areas can be accomplished better and faster than
with currently available means of transportation.
In military applications, the inventive aircraft makes new, substantially
more efficient operations and strategies possible. For example, large material
or troop movements, which are currently possible only over slow, combined
routEa of transportation using, for example, ships and/or large airplanes
and/or land transportation, could be accomplished with aircraft according to
the invention substantially faster via direct transport into the military
target
areas. The saving of time and money made possible by the inventive aircraft
are of enormous military-strategic importance. For example, in the framework
of miilitary operations, airfields will no longer need to be occupied and
secured. High sea-going vessels can be supplied at any point on the open
sea, without having to wait for, or initiate crossovers with, supply ships.
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
There are different possibilities of applying and expanding upon the
teachings of the current invention in favorable ways. To this end, reference
is
made, on the one hand, to the enclosed claims, and on the other hand, to the
following explanation of preferential examples of an aircraft according to the
invention in view of the figures. In connection with the explanation of the
preferred embodiments of the inventive aircraft, generally preferred
embodiments and further aspects of the teachings are described in reference
to the figures. The figures show:
Fig. 1 depicts schematic front -, back -, top- and side views of a first
exemplary embodiment of an aircraft according to the invention,
Fig. 2 depicts schematic front -, back -, top- and side views of a second
exemplary embodiment of an aircraft according to the invention,
Fig. 3 depicts schematic front -, top- and side views of the aircraft of
Fig. 2 with a docking assembly disposed at the front part of the fuselage,
Fig. 4 is a schematic cross section of an impeller blade of the
propulsion device,
Fig. 5 is a plan view of a drive disk for the impeller blades,
Fig. 6 is a plan view of a control ring with a circular annular groove and
an Eccentric disk guide,
Fig. 7 is a plan view of the drive disk with the control ring shown (by
broN;en lines) in its neutral position,
Fig. 8 is a plan view of the drive disk with the control ring shown (also
by broken lines) in an operating position, whereby the thrust runs in the
direction of the arrow,
Fig. 9 is a schematic side view of a further exemplary embodiment of
an aircraft according to the invention, and
Fig. 10 is a schematic front and rear view of the exemplary
embodiment of Fig. 9.
Fig. 1 shows a first exemplary embodiment of an aircraft according to
the invention in a schematic front -, back -, top and side views. The aircraft
includes a fuselage 1 and a propulsion device 2 coupled with the fuselage 1
for the production of a definable lift. The propulsion device 2 includes a
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
plurality of impeller blades 3, which are rotatable about a pivot axis 4 into
a
predetermined blade angle. The blades 3 are mounted to rotated about a
rotation shaft 5 and the impeller blade angle is changeable during rotation
for
the production of the lift. Moreover, the respective pivot axes 4 of the
impeller
blades 3 are positioned substantially parallel to the rotation axis 5. The
pivot
axEa 4 of the impeller blades 3 are also positioned substantially parallel to
each other.
Furthermore, the pivot axes 4 are positioned equidistant to each other
and are disposed the same distance from the rotation axis 5.
The blades 3 are rotatably attached via their pivot axle 4 at one end to
a drive component 7, or rotatably mounted within the drive component 7.
Each blade 3 includes a control shaft 6 as a point of attack for pivoting the
impeller blades 3 around the pivot axle 4. The drive component 7 includes a
bearing shaft 8.
In the exemplary embodiment shown here, impeller blades 3 form a
rotor assembly 15 that is, respectively, rotatabfe about one of the rotation
axes 5, whereby the propulsion device 2 includes a total of four such rotor
assemblies 15. Two rotor assemblies 15 are positioned on each longitudinal
sides of the fuselage 1. Thereby, the rotation axes 5 are aligned opposite the
rotor assemblies 15.
Fig. 2 shows schematic front -, back -, top and side views of a second
exemplary embodiment of an aircraft according to the invention. In this
exemplary embodiment, rotor assemblies 15 are positioned parallel to a
longitudinal axis of the fuselage 1 that extends in the forward flight
direction.
The blades 3 of the rotor assemblies 15 are torsion-controlled and include a
control member at both ends for controlling the control shaft.
There is a guidance rotor 17 positioned adjacent the guidance device
16 for forward movements or backward motions. The guidance rotor 17 is
comprised of rotor blades 18. With the exemplary embodiment shown here,
two wave achievement drive turbines are positioned overhead.
Fig. 3 shows schematic front -, top and side views of the exemplary
embodiment of an aircraft shown in Fig. 2, whereby a docking assembly 19 is
attached to the fuselage 1 for the loading or unloading of cargo and/or for
the
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loading or unloading of people. The docking assembly 19 is designed as an
escape tube.
Fig. 4 shows a schematic view of the cross-section profile of an
impeller blade 3. The pivot axis 4 is recognizable on the one side, and the
control shaft 6 is recognizable on the other side.
Fig. 5 shows a schematic plan view of a drive component 7 designed
as a drive disk, which includes a bearing shaft 8. The drive component 7
inclludes passages 9 for receiving the pivot axles 4 of the impeller blades 3.
Moreover, the drive component 7 includes passages 10 for the control shafts
6 of the impeller blades 3. The passages 10 are designed as curved elongate
holes. The drive component 7 features passages 11 for weight conservation.
Fig. 6 is a schematic plan view of a control member 12 that is in the
forrn of a control ring having an annular groove 14 running within the area of
the outside edge of the control ring for controlling the control shaft 6 of an
impeller blade 3. The control member 12 is moveable within a guide that is in
the form of an eccentric disk guide. This facilitates the movement of the
control element 12 relative to the axis of rotation 5. In one exemplary
embodiment, the control element 12 is positioned parallel to the drive
component 7 so that the control shaft 6 of an impeller blade 3 extends through
the passage 10 in the drive component 7 and into the annular groove 14 in the
control element.
Fig. 7 shows a schematic plan view of an arrangement of the drive
component 7 with the control member 12 of a rotor assembly 15 positioned
behind the rotor assembly 15. The control member 12 is only represented by
broken lines and only in its outer boundary region. The control member 12 in
Fig. 7 is in its neutral position, whereby no thrust and no air diversion are
produced by the impeller blades 3. The cross sectional profile of the impeNer
blade 3 is concavely curved toward the rotation shaft 5. The blades 3 are
essE;ntially arranged in an imaginary circular cylinder, which is produced by
the curvature of the impeller blades 3.
In Fig. 8, the control member 12 is shifted relative to the rotation shaft 5
by means of the guide. A thrust is produced in the thrust direction 20. One
can recognize the principle of the cyclic blade adjustment in Fig. 8 by means
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CA 02545629 2006-05-09
of the control member 12, whereby the impeller blades 3 are feathered
between their extreme deflections one time during one rotation of the drive
component 7 relative to the control member 12. The two extreme deflection
positions of the impeller blades 3, are virtually located on a line running
through the rotation axis 5 and defined by the thrust direction 20. When the
positions are moved by 90 degrees, the impeller blades 3 are again in their
neutral position, in which they do not produce a thrust or any air diversion.
The direction of rotation of the impeller blades 3 in the exemplary embodiment
shown in Fig. 8 is clockwise.
Fig. 9 shows a schematic side view of a further exemplary embodiment
of an aircraft according to invention with a fuselage 1, whereby a draft
propeller 21 is positioned in front of a rotor assembly 15 and a pressure
propeller 22 is positioned behind another a rotor assembly 15. Moreover,
turbine outlets 23 are positioned adjacent the rotor assemblies 15.
Fig. 10 shows a schematic front and back view of the exemplary
embodiment from Fig. 9, whereby airfoils 24 or auxiliary airfoils are
positioned
adjacent the fuselage 1. The rotor assemblies 15 are attached to or hung
from the airfoils 24. The draft propellers 21 are positioned in front of the
rotor
assemblies 15 and the pressure propellers 22 are positioned behind the rotor
assemblies 15.
Regarding further favorable embodiments of the inventive aircraft, in
order to avoid repetition of the general parts of the description, one can
refer
to the enclosed patent claims.
Finally, it is expressly asserted that the examples of the aircraft
according to invention described above are only for the purposes of
discussion of the claimed device. However, these examples should not be
regarded as limiting.
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