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US 6,318,668 B1Granted
Thrust vectoring techniques
AssigneeAllison Advanced Development Company
InventorsMichael S. Ulanoski, Jagdish S. Sokhey, Baily R. Vittal, Von D. Baker
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A thrust directing mechanism to vector thrust and control discharge throat area with a number of vanes mounted across the passage. The mechanism includes a control link pivotally coupled to each of the vanes. The control link is selectively movable to correspondingly pivot the vanes and has at least two degrees of freedom corresponding to a two coordinate position. A desired orientation of the vanes may be determined as a function of the two coordinate position. The discharge exit area is contracted by adjusting convergence of the vanes. During convergence, the vanes are pivoted to various pivot angles selected to optimize thrust efficiency when contracting the throat area.
Claims53
A method, comprising:
- discharging a working fluid through an outlet of an aircraft nozzle to produce thrust, the nozzle being in fluid communication with an aircraft working fluid source and having at least four vanes pivotally mounted across the outlet;
- and
- pivoting the vanes to change thrust direction during said discharging, said pivoting including adjusting convergence of the vanes to maintain a first throat area;
- modulating thrust magnitude during said discharging by pivoting the vanes to change from the first throat area to a second throat area while maintaining a generally constant direction of the thrust.
1 more element
A method, comprising:
- operating an aircraft with a passage having an outlet, the aircraft having at least four vanes
- pivotally mounted across the outlet, said operating including discharging a working
- fluid through the outlet to produce thrust;
- pivoting the vanes to change thrust direction during said discharging;
- and splaying the vanes during said discharging to modulate thrust magnitude while maintaining
- a generally constant thrust vector direction.
3 more elements
A method, comprising:
- operating an aircraft with a passage having an outlet, the aircraft having at least four vanes pivotally mounted across the outlet, said operating including discharging a working fluid through the outlet to produce thrust;
- pivoting the vanes to vector the thrust produced by said discharging over a predetermined range of directions;
- and
- changing geometric throat area during said pivoting to maintain a generally constant effective throat area over the range of directions.
1 more element
A combination, comprising:
- (a) an aircraft defining a passage having an outlet;
- (b) a lift fan mounted in said passage operable to discharge working fluid through said outlet to produce thrust;
- (c) at least four vanes pivotally mounted across said outlet to vector the thrust;
- (d) an actuator controlled linkage coupling said vanes, said vanes simultaneously pivoting in response to movement of said linkage;
- (e) a controller operable to generate a vane control signal to provide a desired thrust vector, said control signal corresponding to a desired pivotal orientation of each of said vanes, said control signal being determined in accordance with a schedule corresponding to a relationship between thrust vector direction and nozzle throat area, said schedule being stored in said controller;
- and
- wherein said linkage responds to said control signal to correspondingly provide said desired pivotal orientation of each of said vanes.
4 more elements
A combination, comprising:
- an aircraft defining a passage therethrough having an outlet, said outlet having a cross section with a first generally straight boundary opposite a second generally straight boundary, and a third generally straight boundary opposite a fourth generally straight boundary, said first and second boundaries being oriented at generally right angles to said third and fourth boundaries;
- a lift fan mounted in said passage to discharge a working fluid through said outlet to produce thrust;
- a first vane aligned to extend a first side of said passage, said first vane being pivotally mounted to selectively deflect the working fluid passing through said passage and including a trailing edge defining said first boundary of said outlet;
- a second vane aligned to extend a second side of said passage, said second side being opposite said first side, said second vane being pivotally mounted to selectively deflect the working fluid passing through said passage and including a trailing edge defining said second boundary of said outlet;
- at least two other vanes pivotally mounted across said outlet between said first vane and said second vane to controllably deflect the working fluid;
- and
- an actuation system operable to synchronously pivot said first vane, said second vane, and said guide vanes to adjust thrust direction while maintaining a generally uniform effective throat area.
4 more elements
A combination, comprising:
- an aircraft defining a passage with an outlet;
- a working fluid source mounted in said passage to discharge a working fluid through said outlet to produce thrust;
- a plurality of working fluid directing members mounted across said passage, said directing members including at least three leading edge caps and at least three articulating vanes, said leading edge caps each being fixed to a wall defining said passage, and said vanes each corresponding to one of said leading edge caps and being configured to pivot relative thereto;
- and
- an actuation system operable to pivot said vanes to deflect the working fluid discharged through said outlet to vector thrust.
2 more elements
A combination, comprising:
- an aircraft defining a passage with an outlet;
- a working fluid source mounted in said passage to discharge a working fluid through said outlet to produce thnist;
- a plurality of working fluid directing members mounted across said passage, said directing members including at least three leading edge caps and at least three articulating vanes, said vanes each corresponding to one of the leading edge caps and being configured to pivot relative thereto;
- and
- an actuation system operable to pivot said vanes to adjust convergence of said vanes about a reference axis.
2 more elements
A method, comprising:
- operating an aircraft with a nozzle having an outlet, the aircraft having at least four vanes pivotally mounted across the outlet, said operating including discharging a working fluid through the outlet to produce thrust;
- pivoting the vanes to vector the thrust produced by said discharging over a predetermined range of directions;
- and
- changing geometric throat area of the nozzle during said pivoting in accordance with a schedule corresponding to a relationship between thrust vector direction and effective throat area of the nozzle.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.