US 2026/0176004 A1Published application

Tilt rotor evtol uav with redundant hybrid propulsion system

AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation

InventorsDustin Eli Gamble, Terrance James Elliott Storey, Matthew Curran, Brandon Reimschiissel

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Abstract

An aircraft vehicle includes an elongated spine element with a first and second end, and an elongated lift boom at the first end, extending perpendicular to the spine. The vehicle features a left coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly with a front rotor blade and motor, an aft rotor blade and motor rotating in the opposite direction to the front rotor blade, and a servo motor for tilting the assembly. Similarly, it has a right coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly with a front rotor blade and motor, an aft rotor blade and motor, and a servo motor for tilting the assembly. Additionally, a tail coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly is situated along the spine, with top and bottom rotor blades and motors rotating in opposite directions to each other. The aircraft includes a power supply for the rotor assemblies and a controller to manage the power supplied to the motors.

Claims23

Dependent claims

An aircraft vehicle comprising:

an elongated spine element having a first end and a second end;
an elongated lift boom disposed at the first end of the spine element, the elongated lift boom extending perpendicular to the elongated spine element;
a left coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly comprising:
a left front rotor having left front rotor blades;
a left front motor configured to rotate the left front rotor;
a left aft rotor having left aft rotor blades;
a left aft motor configured to rotate the left aft rotor in a direction opposite to a direction of rotation of the left front rotor;
and
a left servo motor configured to tilt the left coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly about an axis of the elongated lift boom;
a right coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly comprising:
a right front rotor having right front rotor blades;
a right front motor configured to rotate the right front rotor;
a right aft rotor having right aft rotor blades;
a right aft motor configured to rotate the right aft rotor in a direction opposite to a direction of rotation of the right front rotor;
and
a right servo motor configured to tilt the right coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly about the axis of the elongated lift boom;
a tail coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly disposed along the spine element at a location between the first and the second end of the spine element;
comprising:
a top rotor having top rotor blades;
a top motor configured to rotate the top rotor;
a bottom rotor having bottom rotor blades;
a bottom motor configured to rotate the bottom rotor in a direction opposite to a direction of rotation of the top rotor;
a power supply for supplying power to the left, right, and tail coaxial counterrotating rotor assemblies;
and
a controller for controlling the power supplied to the left front, left aft, right front, right aft, and tail coaxial counterrotating rotor assemblies.

22 more elements

A method for actuating rotor assemblies of an aircraft vehicle, the method comprising:

receiving a communication signal determining a flight trajectory for the aircraft vehicle;
determining rotational speeds for a left set of rotor blades of a left coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly;
determining rotational speeds for a right set of rotor blades of a right coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly;
activating the left and right sets of rotor blades by applying power to a plurality of motors configured to rotate the left and right set of rotor blades;
based on a relationship between an airspeed and tilt angles for the left and right coaxial counterrotating rotor assemblies, and based on flight direction, determining the left tilt angle for the left coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly and the right tilt angle for the right coaxial counterrotating rotor assemblies;
tilting the left coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly by the left tilt angle by applying power to a left servo motor;
and
tilting the right coaxial counterrotating rotor assembly by the right tilt angle by applying power to a right servo motor.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.