A flying vehicle has wheels for highways, and a body and an engine. The body, engine and load define a center of mass (CG). Shrouded fans are located about the CG so as to produce, in conjunction with air jet redirection apparatus, the torques required to assume various attitudes. In one embodiment,
A flying vehicle has wheels for highways, and a body and an engine. The body, engine and load define a center of mass (CG). Shrouded fans are located about the CG so as to produce, in conjunction with air jet redirection apparatus, the torques required to assume various attitudes. In one embodiment, an upper shrouded fan, with a diameter no greater than eight feet, produces an air jet, centered above the CG, for lifting the body. A second shrouded fan, smaller than the first, produces an air jet for lift, centered below the center of mass, on the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, forward of the CG. Third and fourth paired shrouded fans produce air jets for lift, centered below the CG, on either side of the longitudinal axis of the vehicle, toward the rear of the body. The paired second and third fans have equal diameters, no greater than half of the diameter of the upper fan, to keep the total width eight feet. The engine is coupled to the fans during flight, for driving them at speeds which are in a mutually fixed ratio, with the rotation direction of the upper fan contrary to the directions of rotation of the other three, whereby rotational moments are substantially canceled. Movable flap arrangements are coupled to the shrouded fans, for redirecting the air jets, for providing directional forward, aft, left, and right translation, and rotation motions, and pitch and roll attitudes.
대표청구항▼
An air-land vehicle, comprising: a load-bearing body supporting an engine, said body defining a longitudinal axis parallel to a preferred direction of travel, said body, engine, and load together defining a center of mass, and said preferred direction of travel, said longitudinal axis and said cente
An air-land vehicle, comprising: a load-bearing body supporting an engine, said body defining a longitudinal axis parallel to a preferred direction of travel, said body, engine, and load together defining a center of mass, and said preferred direction of travel, said longitudinal axis and said center of mass together defining forward and rearward portions of said body relative to said center of mass, and right and left sides of said body being defined by a vertical plane containing said longitudinal axis; a set including at least four shrouded fans, each of said shrouded fans being coupled to said body for, when driven, producing an air jet for providing lift to said body, said shrouded fans of said set being located on said body so that at least one of said shrouded fans of said set lies above said center of mass and the remainder of said shrouded fans of said set lie below said center of mass, and so that at least one of said shrouded fans lying below said center of mass lies in said forward portion of said body and the remainder of said shrouded fans lying below said center of mass lie in said rearward portion of said body, and so that at least one of said shrouded fans lying below said center of mass lies in said right side of said body at a particular longitudinal position and another one lies in said left side of said body at said particular longitudinal position; drive coupling means coupled to said engine and to said set of shrouded fans, for, in a flying mode of operation, driving each of said shrouded fans at rates of revolution which are in a fixed ratio to the rates of revolution of the others of said shrouded fans, with the rotation direction of at least one of said shrouded fans being contrary to the directions of rotation of the remaining ones of said shrouded fans, and with said rate of revolution of each of said shrouded fans being selected in conjunction with its rotational inertia and with said rate of revolution and the rotational inertia of the others of said shrouded fans, to cancel the sum of a product, wherein said product is the product of said inertia of a shrouded fan multiplied by its rotational speed, and said sum is the sum of said products for all said plurality of said shrouded fans in said set, whereby the angular momentum produced by said shrouded fans in one rotational direction are substantially canceled by the angular momentum produced in the opposite rotational direction; controllable flap means coupled to each of said shrouded fans, for controllably redirecting said air jet of the associated one of said shrouded fans, for, in said flying mode of operation, providing independent thrust direction control for at least some of said shrouded fans in at least forward and aft, and left and right directions, whereby said body attitude can be controlled in pitch and roll, and whereby said body can be subject to translational forces in forward and aft, and left and right directions; and a plurality of support wheels, at least one of which is controllably coupled to said engine for being driven thereby in a terrestrial mode of operation, and at least one of which is controllable for steering of said vehicle in said terrestrial mode of operation.
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