IPC분류정보
국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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출원번호 |
US-0458737
(2003-06-11)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
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대리인 / 주소 |
Lowe Hauptman Gilman &
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인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
8 인용 특허 :
11 |
초록
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An improved aircraft includes a thrust source, a wing, and a boom functioning as a “free lever” and having a distal end upon which the thrust is acting and a proximal end about which the boom is freely rotatable to balance forces acting on the proximal and distal ends of the boom. The proximal end i
An improved aircraft includes a thrust source, a wing, and a boom functioning as a “free lever” and having a distal end upon which the thrust is acting and a proximal end about which the boom is freely rotatable to balance forces acting on the proximal and distal ends of the boom. The proximal end is pivotably mounted at or below the center of lift of the wing and above the center of mass of the aircraft. The distal end is located above the center of mass of the aircraft, when the lever is in the vertical position to establish a gravity pendulum, and forward of the center of drag of the aircraft, when the lever is in the horizontal position, to establish a drag pendulum. All transition flight is a resolution of the force vectors of the two pendulums. A director adjusts the vertical and horizontal thrust components of the propulsion system.
대표청구항
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1. An aircraft, comprising:a fuselage; a lifting wing operatively connected to said fuselage; a boom having opposite distal and proximal end portions, the proximal end portion of said boom being pivotally supported on said fuselage; an engine; and a source of propulsion connected to the engine for g
1. An aircraft, comprising:a fuselage; a lifting wing operatively connected to said fuselage; a boom having opposite distal and proximal end portions, the proximal end portion of said boom being pivotally supported on said fuselage; an engine; and a source of propulsion connected to the engine for generating a thrust at the distal end portion of said boom for propelling the aircraft; wherein said boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end to assume an angle of orientation that balances the thrust generated by said engine with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon said aircraft; and wherein, in all flight modes, said freely pivoting boom is substantially in longitudinal alignment with the thrust line of said thrust generated by said source of propulsion. 2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said wing has an aerodynamic center and is pivotably mounted to said fuselage about a spanwise axis forward of said aerodynamic center.3. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein said wing is one of a freewing and a mechanically pivoting wing.4. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said boom is a free lever that is freely pivotable about the proximal end portion to assume the angle of orientation that balances the thrust generated by said engine with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon said aircraft.5. The aircraft of claim 1, further comprising means for vectoring said thrust.6. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said wing has an aerodynamic center, said aircraft has a center of mass, and the aerodynamic center of said wing is located at or above the center of mass of said aircraft.7. The aircraft of claim 6, wherein the proximal end portion of said boom is disposed between the aerodynamic center of said wing and the center of mass of said aircraft.8. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the proximal end portion of said boom is operatively coupled to said engine to transmit an engine output to the distal end portion of said boom, said aircraft further comprising a coupling pivotably connecting the proximal end of said boom to said engine.9. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said source of propulsion comprises a rotor connected to the distal end portion of said boom, said rotor being driven by said engine to produce said thrust.10. An aircraft, comprising:a fuselage; a lifting wing operatively connected to said fuselage; a boom having opposite distal and proximal end portions, the proximal end portion of said boom being pivotally supported on said fuselage; an engine; and a source of propulsion connected to the engine for generating a thrust at the distal end portion of said boom for propelling the aircraft; wherein said boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end to assume an angle of orientation that balances the thrust generated by said engine with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon said aircraft; said source of propulsion comprises a rotor connected to the distal end portion of said boom, said rotor being driven by said engine to produce said thrust; and said boom comprises a rotating shaft for rotating said rotor. 11. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said boom is pivotable at least 90 degrees in a forward direction between a substantially vertical orientation and a substantially horizontal orientation.12. The aircraft of claim 6, wherein, in vertical flight, the center of thrust located on the distal end portion of said boom is disposed above the center of mass of the aircraft when said boom is oriented vertically upward.13. The aircraft of claim 6, wherein, in horizontal flight, the center of thrust located on the distal end portion of said boom is disposed forward of the center of drag of said aircraft when said boom is oriented horizontally forward.14. The aircraft of claim 1, whereinsaid fuselage has a gravitational force and exerts a drag force upon airflow about said fuselage, said wing exerts lift and drag forces upon airflow about said wing, and said boom pivots to create a dynamic equilibrium between the horizontal and vertical components of said thrust, said lift and drag forces of said wing, and said gravitational and drag forces of said fuselage. 15. The aircraft of claim 14, further comprising a thrust director for vectoring and modifying said thrust for changing the dynamic equilibrium of said aircraft.16. The aircraft of claim 7, wherein a rotational axis of the proximal end portion of said boom, the aerodynamic center of said wing and the center of mass of said aircraft are substantially aligned vertically in all flight modes.17. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said engine comprises a jet engine installed at the distal end portion of said boom.18. An aircraft, comprising:a fuselage; a lifting wine operatively connected to said fuselage; a boom having opposite distal and proximal end portions, the proximal end portion of said boom being pivotally supported on said fuselage; an engine; and a source of propulsion connected to the engine for generating a thrust at the distal end portion of said boom for propelling the aircraft; wherein said boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end to assume an angle of orientation that balances the thrust generated by said engine with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon said aircraft; said aircraft further comprising at least one dynamic flight control surface on said boom, said dynamic flight control surface being controllably reoriented by a pilot or aircraft control to vector the thrust, said boom being free to pivot to assume a new angle of orientation that balances the thrust generated by said engine with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon said aircraft. 19. The aircraft of claim 18, further comprising a secondary wing mounted on said boom wherein said dynamic flight control surface is part of said secondary wing.20. The aircraft of claim 19, wherein said secondary wing is a free wing.21. The aircraft of claim 18, wherein said at least one dynamic flight control surface comprises lateral and ventral dynamic flight control surfaces.22. A method of controlling an aircraft in horizontal flight, vertical flight or any transition flight mode between the horizontal and vertical flight, said method comprising the steps of:generating a thrust, sufficient to lift the aircraft either directly or through a lifting wing, at a distal end portion of a boom pivotally supported at a proximal end portion thereof by a fuselage of the aircraft; vectoring the thrust toward a desired flight direction; and permitting the boom to freely pivot to assume an angle of orientation that balances the vectored thrust with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon the aircraft, wherein said boom assumes a substantially horizontal orientation in the horizontal flight. 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said pivoting comprises pivoting the boom about a rotational axis that is located at or above the center of mass of the aircraft.24. The method of claim 22, wherein said vectoring comprises modifying the horizontal component of the thrust to give the aircraft a predetermined airspeed at which a wing of the aircraft provides a lift, at or above the center of mass of the aircraft, that is equal to the weight of the aircraft.25. The method of claim 22, comprising allowing the boom to freely pivot about the proximal end portion between the horizontal orientation in the horizontal flight and a substantially vertical orientation in the vertical flight.26. The method of claim 25, wherein the thrust is vectored to establish a different resultant angle which the boom freely assumes, as a result of said pivoting, to balance the forces acting on the aircraft as a result of the vectored thrust acting on the distal end portion.27. The method of claim 22, further comprising allowing a freewing of the aircraft to freely pivot for producing a lift and drag upon airflow about the wing in response to said thrust vectoring.28. The method of claim 27, further comprising positioning a center of lift of said wing at or above the center of mass of the aircraft.29. The method of claim 22, further comprising forcibly pivoting a wing of the aircraft about a spanwise axis for producing a lift and drag upon airflow about the wing in response to said thrust vectoring, said wing having a center of lift at or above the center of mass of the aircraft.30. The method of claim 22, wherein said pivoting is automatically performed without pilot intervention.31. A method for the control of an aircraft in horizontal or vertical flight and all transition modes thereof, said method comprising the steps of:generating sufficient thrust to lift the aircraft using a thrust source; vectoring said thrust to achieve one of said horizontal, vertical and transition flight modes; said thrust being located on an armature or boom having a distal and proximal end and which boom is freely pivotable longitudinally during flight operations about the proximal end; said thrust being located toward the distal end of said boom such that, in the vertical flight, the thrust is above the center of mass of the aircraft, the boom is pivoted vertically and the thrust line from said thrust is directed vertically downward such that the aircraft operates as a thrust vectored gravity pendulum; and said thrust being located toward the distal end of said boom such that, in the horizontal flight, the thrust is forward of the center of drag of the aircraft, the boom is pivoted horizontally and the thrust line from said thrust is directed horizontally rearward such that the aircraft operates as a thrust vectored drag pendulum. 32. The method of claim 31, wherein the proximal end of the boom is located at or above the center of mass of the aircraft and wherein a wing provides lift at or above the center of mass of the aircraft and wherein at some determined airspeed the lift of the wing is equal to the weight of the aircraft.33. The method of claim 32, wherein the boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end between a predominately vertical and a predominately horizontal orientation, said boom being freely able to assume an angle which balances the lift and drag forces of the aircraft and the wing such that the aircraft operates as a thrust vectored gravity pendulum in vertical flight or as a thrust vectored drag pendulum in horizontal flight, any angle which the boom freely assumes between vertical or horizontal being that angle which balances the forces acting on the gravity pendulum and those forces acting upon the drag pendulum.34. The method of claim 33, wherein the thrust is vectored to establish a different resultant angle which the boom freely assumes to balance the forces acting on the gravity pendulum and those forces acting upon the drag pendulum.35. The method of claim 33, wherein the wing which is employed is a freewing pivotably supported by said fuselage for producing a lift and drag upon airflow about the free wing.36. The method of claim 33, wherein the wing which is employed is a freewing whose center of lift is at or above the center of lift of the center of mass of the aircraft.37. The method of claim 33, wherein the wing which is employed is a pivoting wing whose center of lift is at or above the center of lift of the center of mass of the aircraft.38. The method of claim 31, comprisingvectoring said thrust to achieve said horizontal flight. 39. The method of claim 38, wherein the proximal end of the boom is located at or above the center of mass of the aircraft and wherein a wing provides lift at or above the center of mass of the aircraft and wherein at some determined airspeed the lift of the wing is equal to the weight of the aircraft.40. The method of claim 38, wherein the boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end between a predominately vertical and a predominately horizontal orientation, said boom being freely able to assume an angle which balances the forces acting on the gravity pendulum and those forces acting upon the drag pendulum.41. The method of claim 38, wherein the thrust is vectored to establish a different resultant angle which the boom freely assumes to balance the forces acting on the gravity pendulum and those forces acting upon the drag pendulum.42. The method of claim 38, further comprising providing said aircraft with a freewing pivotably supported by said fuselage for producing a lift and drag upon airflow about the free wing.43. The method of claim 42, wherein the freewing has a center of lift at or above the center of mass of the aircraft.44. The method of claim 38, further comprising providing said aircraft with a pivoting wing whose center of lift is at or above the center of mass of the aircraft for producing a lift and drag upon airflow about the pivoting wing.45. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end in flight between a substantially vertical orientation and a substantially horizontal orientation.46. The aircraft of claim 10, wherein said rotor is a counter rotating rotor.47. An aircraft, comprising:a fuselage; a lifting wing operatively connected to said fuselage; a boom having opposite distal and proximal end portions, the proximal end portion of said boom being pivotally supported on said fuselage; an engine; and a source of propulsion connected to the engine for generating a thrust at the distal end portion of said boom for propelling the aircraft; wherein said boom is freely pivotable about the proximal end to assume an angle of orientation that balances the thrust generated by said engine with the gravitational, lift and drag forces acting upon said aircraft, thereby creating a dynamic equilibrium between the thrust and the gravitational, lift and drag forces; and wherein, at all dynamic equilibriums between the thrust and the gravitational, lift and drag forces, said freely pivoting boom is in longitudinal alignment with the thrust line of said thrust generated by said source of propulsion.
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