Vehicle, system, and method for vertical take-off and landing

#The disclosure relates generally to the field of vertical take-off and/or landing (VTOL), and more particularly, to a vehicle, system, and method for VTOL.

#Multiple concepts have been proposed for VTOL aircraft for urban and regional travel. High energy density batteries and efficient motors are critical for electric powered aircraft. Batteries currently provide about 250 Wh/kg energy density and electric motor power densities have improved to the point where they are beginning to offer credible solutions. Over 100 companies are pursuing various alternative designs. Known solutions, however, suffer the disadvantages of the mismatched and sometimes competing requirements for VTOL and cruise operation. Aircraft typically must carry heavy batteries and extra motors that are only used for VTOL operations. These systems produce high levels of drag during horizontal, fixed wing flight cruise operations due to the use of vertical rotors and their accompanying support and control structures. These mismatched requirements for VTOL and cruise reduce the speed and range of these alternatives. Consequently, most designs do not come close to their published values for speed and range in operation and are limited in scope and mission.

#A limiting factor for traditional VTOL designs is that take-off/landing is a high-power event. Current battery systems typically do not have high enough power to discharge energy rapidly enough, particularly at lower energy levels (state of charge), resulting in an effective energy capacity of approximately 50% the theoretical value in flight.

#The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

#FIG. 1A is a schematic representation of an exemplary sequence of a staged flight of a VTOL vehicle system including a carrier vehicle and a cruise vehicle according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

#FIG. 1B is a schematic cross-section view of an exemplary VTOL vehicle system according to some embodiments of the disclosure.

#Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The following description refers to the accompanying drawings in which the same or similar numbers in the various drawings represent the same, similar, or corresponding elements, unless otherwise noted. The exemplary embodiments are not to be read to limit or define the scope of the disclosure. The embodiments set forth in the following description are exemplary embodiments and do not represent all embodiments consistent with the invention. Instead, they are merely examples of apparatuses, systems, and methods of operation consistent with aspects related to the invention as recited in the appended claims.

#Embodiments of the disclosure provide a vehicle and a method for VTOL. The vehicle for VTOL may be a carrier vehicle, including: one or more fuselages; one or more wings; one or more attach units coupled to the one or more fuselages or to the one or more wings; and propulsion systems operable to provide, at least, substantially vertical thrust and substantially horizontal thrust.

#For take-off, the carrier vehicle may couple to a cruise vehicle, e.g., a vehicle for carrying passengers or cargo, with the attach unit of the carrier vehicle being coupled to corresponding attach location on the cruise vehicle, elevate the cruise vehicle to a release altitude with propulsion systems providing substantially vertical thrust, accelerate the cruise vehicle to a release speed with the propulsion systems providing substantially horizontal thrust, and then, release the cruise vehicle by decoupling the attach unit of the carrier vehicle from the corresponding attach location on the cruise vehicle. The cruise vehicle may then proceed under substantially horizontal thrust to a desired location.