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US 12,559,233 B1Granted
VTOL aircraft using fixed forward canted rotors
AssigneeJoby Aero, Inc.
InventorsGregor Veble Mikic, JoeBen Bevirt, Alex Stoll
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vertical take-off and landing aircraft and method which uses fixed rotors for both VTOL and forward flight operations. The wing rotors are tilted forward and provide some forward propulsion during horizontal flight. The wing rotors are under power during forward flight and provide some lift during horizontal flight. The fraction of lift provided by the vertical thrusting rotors is greater than 0.2. The rotor assemblies may have rotating propellers with electric motors.
Claims19
An aerial vehicle adapted for vertical takeoff and horizontal flight, said aerial vehicle comprising:
- a main vehicle body;
- a right side wing assembly, said right side wing assembly comprising:
- a right side wing coupled to said main vehicle body;
- a right side span support coupled to said right side wing;
- a plurality of right side wing rotor assemblies wherein the spin axis of each of said right side wing rotor assemblies is tilted forward in a fixed position relative to the aircraft structure in the range of 5-20 degrees, said plurality of right side wing rotor assemblies adapted to remain under power during forward flight, said plurality of right side wing rotor assemblies comprising:
- a right side forward inboard rotor assembly forward of said right side wing, said right side forward inboard rotor assembly coupled to a forward end of the right side span support;
- and
- a right side rearward inboard rotor assembly rearward of said right side wing, said right side rearward inboard rotor assembly coupled to a rearward end of the right side span support, wherein when in a forward flight configuration said right side rearward inboard rotor assembly is higher than said right side forward inboard rotor assembly;
- and
- a left side wing assembly, said left side wing assembly comprising:
- a left side wing coupled to said main vehicle body;
- a left side span support coupled to said left side wing;
- a plurality of left side wing rotor assemblies wherein the spin axis of each of said left side wing rotor assemblies is tilted forward in a fixed position relative to the aircraft structure in the range of 5-20 degrees, said plurality of left side wing rotor assemblies adapted to remain under power during forward flight, said plurality of left side wing rotor assemblies comprising:
- a left side forward inboard rotor assembly forward of said left side wing, said left side forward inboard rotor assembly coupled to a forward end of the left side span support;
- a left side rearward inboard rotor assembly rearward of said left side wing, said left side rearward inboard rotor assembly coupled to a rearward end of said left side span support, wherein when in a forward flight configuration said left side rearward inboard rotor assembly is higher than said left side forward inboard rotor assembly.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.