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US 10,988,248 B2Granted
VTOL aircraft
AssigneeJoby Aero, Inc.
InventorsGregor Veble Mikić, Alex Stoll, JoeBen Bevirt
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The aircraft can include: an airframe, a tilt mechanism, a payload housing, and can optionally include an impact attenuator, a set of ground support members (e.g., struts), a set of power sources, and a set of control elements. The airframe can include: a set of rotors and a set of support members.
Claims18
An electric aircraft system comprising:
- a payload housing;
- an airframe coupled to the payload housing, the airframe comprising:
- a left wing defining a first broad surface;
- a right wing defining a second broad surface;
- a left support member mounted to the left wing, the left support member comprising a first end and a second end arranged on opposite sides of the first broad surface;
- and
- a right support member mounted to the right wing, the right support member comprising a first end and a second end arranged on opposite sides of the second broad surface;
- a tilt mechanism rotatably coupling the left wing and the right wing to the payload housing, the tilt mechanism configured to transform the electric aircraft system between a forward configuration and a hover configuration by rotating the left wing and right wing between a first and a second position;
- and
- a plurality of propulsion assemblies comprising:
- a left outboard propulsion assembly mounted to the left wing outboard of the left support member;
- a right outboard propulsion assembly mounted to the right wing outboard of the right support member;
- a first and second inboard propulsion assembly mounted to the first and second ends of the left support member, respectively;
- and
- a third and fourth inboard propulsion assembly mounted to the first and second ends of the right support member, respectively,
- wherein each of the plurality of propulsion assemblies comprises:
- an electric motor;
- and
- a propeller rotatably coupled to the electric motor about an axis of rotation at a fixed angle of attack relative to a wing chord line, the fixed angle of attack defined between the axis of rotation and the wing chord line, wherein the fixed angle of attack is non-zero.
16 more elements
An electric aircraft system comprising:
- a payload housing;
- a left wing defining a first broad surface;
- a right wing defining a second broad surface;
- a left support member mounted to the left wing, the left support member comprising a first end and a second end arranged on opposite sides of the first broad surface;
- and
- a right support member mounted to the right wing, the right support member comprising a first end and a second end arranged on opposite sides of the second broad surface;
- a tilt mechanism connecting the left wing and the right wing to the payload housing, the tilt mechanism configured to independently rotate the left wing and the right wing relative to the payload housing;
- and
- a plurality of propulsion assemblies comprising:
- a left outboard propulsion assembly mounted to the left wing outboard of the left support member;
- a right outboard propulsion assembly mounted to the right wing outboard of the right support member;
- a first and second inboard propulsion assembly mounted to the first and second ends of the left support member, respectively;
- and
- a third and fourth inboard propulsion assembly mounted to the first and second ends of the right support member, respectively.
11 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.