Amphibious vehicles comprising cycloidal propellers
AssigneesThe Texas A&M University System, The Regents of the University of Michigan
InventorsMoble Benedict, Sean M. McHugh, Chase B. Wiley, Ramsay A. Ramsey, Adam Kellen, Yin Lu Young
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An amphibious vehicle for traversing land and bodies of water includes a chassis, and a cycloidal propeller coupled to the chassis and which includes a plurality of cycloidal propeller blades rotatably coupled to the chassis and each extending parallel a rotational axis of the cycloidal propeller, and an extension/retraction system configured to extend the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades away from the chassis and to retract the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades towards the chassis.
Claims16
An amphibious vehicle for traversing land and bodies of water, comprising:
- a chassis;
- and
- a cycloidal propeller coupled to the chassis, wherein the cycloidal propeller comprises:
- a plurality of cycloidal propeller blades rotatably coupled to the chassis and each extending parallel a rotational axis of the cycloidal propeller;
- and
- an extension/retraction system comprising a hub rotatably coupled to the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades and a linear actuator coupled between the hub and the chassis and configured to extend the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades away from the chassis and to retract the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades towards the chassis.
An amphibious vehicle for traversing land and bodies of water, comprising:
- a chassis;
- and
- a cycloidal propeller coupled to the chassis, wherein the cycloidal propeller comprises:
- a wheel rotatably coupled to the chassis;
- a plurality of cycloidal propeller blades rotatably coupled to the chassis and each extending parallel a rotational axis of the cycloidal propeller;
- a rotor configured to rotate in unison with the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades about the rotational axis, and wherein the rotor comprises a first clutch plate;
- a rim coupled to the wheel and comprising a second clutch plate, wherein the first clutch plate is displaceable between a first position spaced from the second clutch plate and a second position in interlocking engagement with the second clutch plate;
- and
- a drive motor configured to transmit rotational torque to the wheel when the amphibious vehicle is in a land operational mode and to transmit rotational torque to the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades when the amphibious vehicle is in a water operational mode.
An amphibious vehicle, comprising:
- a chassis;
- a plurality of cycloidal propellers coupled to the chassis, wherein each of the cycloidal propellers comprises:
- a plurality of blade mounts coupled to the chassis;
- a plurality of cycloidal propeller blades each comprising a blade shaft rotatably coupled to the plurality of blade mounts and each extending parallel a rotational axis of the cycloidal propeller;
- a blade pitching system comprising a plurality of blade pitching servos coupled between the plurality of blade mounts and the plurality of cycloidal propeller blades whereby the plurality of blade pitching servos are configured to rotate each of the cycloidal propeller blades about the blade shaft of the cycloidal propeller blade to alter a radial direction of a thrust vector produced by the cycloidal propeller and extending orthogonally from the rotational axis;
- wherein the chassis comprises one or more control surfaces positioned on an exterior of the chassis to stabilize the vehicle during operation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.