Electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft
OwnerThomas W. Melcherinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An aircraft has a boom, a propulsion assembly coupled to a first end of the boom, and a first wing coupled to a second end of the boom. The propulsion assembly is coupled to the boom by a rotating joint. A second wing is optionally coupled to the rotating joint. The first wing is coupled to the boom by a rotating joint. The first wing is coupled to the rotating joint by a hinge. A vehicle with roll, pitch, and yaw maneuverability able to mirror the aircraft movements may be coupled to the second end of the boom. The vehicle body may be picked up with a vehicle chassis disconnected from the vehicle body. The boom houses an energy source to power the propulsion assembly. A rudder is coupled to the second end of the boom. A paddle is disposed between the propulsion assembly and the boom.
Claims20
A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft, comprising:
- a boom;
- a propulsion assembly coupled to a first end of the boom via a first rotating joint;
- and
- a pair of wings extending from the boom, the pair of wings includes a first wing coupled to the boom and a second wing coupled to the boom;
- wherein the boom is configured to be suspended substantially vertically from the propulsion assembly with the aircraft in a vertical flight mode, the propulsion assembly is configured to generate a vertical thrust during vertical flight mode;
- and
- the first rotating joint is configured to rotate the propulsion assembly with respect to the boom to generate a horizontal thrust with the propulsion assembly to transition the aircraft from the vertical flight mode to a horizontal flight mode;
- and
- wherein, in flight, the pair of wings is configured to move between a first position, wherein the pair of wings is folded substantially parallel with the boom, and a second position, wherein the pair of wings is unfolded from the boom and oriented substantially perpendicular to the boom so as to generate lift when the aircraft is in at least one of the vertical flight mode or the horizontal flight mode.
A VTOL aircraft, comprising:
- a boom;
- a propulsion assembly coupled to a first end of the boom, the propulsion assembly is configured to generate a vertical thrust when the aircraft is in a vertical flight mode;
- and
- a first pair of wings extending from the boom, the first pair of wings includes a first wing and a second wing;
- a second pair of wings extending from the boom, the second pair of wings includes a third wing and a fourth wing;
- wherein, with the aircraft in a vertical flight mode, the boom, the first pair of wings, and the second pair of wings are configured to rotate together relative to the propulsion assembly about a longitudinal axis of the boom.
A VTOL aircraft, comprising:
- a boom;
- a propulsion assembly coupled to a first end of the boom via a stanchion, the propulsion system incudes a plurality of rotor blades;
- a plurality of paddles disposed between the propulsion assembly and the boom, the propulsion assembly is configured to direct a flow of air across the plurality of paddles to spin the boom in vertical flight;
- and
- a first wing coupled to the boom and configured to generate lift when the boom spins in vertical flight.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.