Convertible aerial vehicle with contra-rotating wing/rotors and twin tilting wing and propeller units
AssigneeThe Government of the US, as represented by the Secretary of the Navy
InventorsDavid A Cylinder, James C. Kellogg
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A micro aerial vehicle can be converted during flight between a fixed wing flight mode and a rotary wing flight mode. The canard design micro aerial vehicle includes a fuselage, two tiltable propellers and airfoils arranged at a forward portion of fuselage, a pair of coaxial drive shafts positioned aft of the tiltable propeller and airfoil arranged for contra-rotation, a stop rotor mechanism, and a pair of wing panels, each of the wing panels attached to one of the coaxial drive shafts. The wing panels act as contra-rotating rotor blades in the rotary wing flight mode, and act as fixed wing panels in the fixed wing mode.
Claims21
A convertible aerial vehicle having a fixed wing flight mode and a rotary wing flight mode, the aerial vehicle comprising:
- a fuselage;
- two tiltable propellers and airfoils arranged at a forward portion of fuselage;
- a pair of coaxial drive shafts positioned aft of the tiltable propeller and airfoil arranged for contra-rotation;
- and
- a pair of wing panels, each of the wing panels attached to one of the coaxial drive shafts.
An aerial vehicle having a fixed wing flight mode and a rotary wing flight mode comprising:
- a fuselage;
- two tiltable propellers and airfoils arranged at a forward portion of fuselage;
- a pair of wing panels, each of the wing panels attached to a drive mechanism and arranged to contra-rotate about a common axis, the wing panels being positioned aft of the tiltable propeller and airfoil and aft of the center of gravity of the vehicle.
An aerial vehicle having a fixed wing flight mode and a rotary wing flight mode comprising:
- a fuselage;
- two tiltable propellers and airfoils arranged at a forward portion of fuselage;
- a pair of wing panels positioned aft of the tiltable propellers and airfoils and aft of a center of gravity of the vehicle;
- a drive mechanism adapted to rotate the wing panels in opposite directions in rotary flight mode and to lock the wing panels in a fixed wing mode position in fixed wing flight mode.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.