초록 ▼

A single-tilt-rotor VTOL airplanes have a tiltable rotor attached to an elongated power pod containing the collective and cyclical pitch mechanism, and transmission. The power pod is pivotably attached to a base that is slidably mounted on a pair of slotted guide beams attached on top of the roof of

A single-tilt-rotor VTOL airplanes have a tiltable rotor attached to an elongated power pod containing the collective and cyclical pitch mechanism, and transmission. The power pod is pivotably attached to a base that is slidably mounted on a pair of slotted guide beams attached on top of the roof of the fuselage. The guide beams run longitudinally from the front of the aircraft to past the center of gravity (CG) of the aircraft in order to transport the power pod from the front section to the center section when converting from the horizontal cruising mode to the VTOL mode. In the horizontal cruising mode, the power pod perched horizontally on top of the fuselage front section with sufficient clearance for the rotor to rotate in front of the aircraft. Upon transitioning to the VTOL mode, a telescopic actuator is used to pivot the power pod vertically while a cable-winch system is used to move the entire power pod and base assembly rearwardly to stop at the center of gravity of the aircraft, and vice versa, thus allowing the power pod to travel significantly rearward and forward as required for proper balancing of vertical lift as the power pod pivots 90 degrees during transition from VTOL mode to the cruising mode. A single piston engine, or a single or pair of turbofan engines, mounted slightly to the rear of the CG, have drive shafts that can be clutched and mated onto respective receiving shaft from the transmission within the power pod in order to power the tiltable rotor. The engine is also attached to a propeller for horizontal propulsion, or if turbofan engines are used, jet thrust is generated for horizontal cruise. A small anti-torque rotor or ducted fan toward the tail of the aircraft is mechanically coupled to the engine via a drive shaft to provide the necessary side-way thrust to overcome the main rotor's torque. In the horizontal cruising mode, the tiltable rotor is allowed to windmill slowly at a minimum rotational speed necessary to maintain the integrity of the rotor blades. The same propulsion principle can be applied to VTOL airplanes having more than one tiltable rotor, thereby can potentially increase the speed, range and reliability of current twin-wing-mounted-tilt-rotor aircraft. A pair of high-aspect-ratio wings on both sides of the fuselage provide highly efficient lift during cruising flight with very little induced drag. Conventional horizontal and vertical tail planes are used for directional stability in the cruising mode.

대표청구항 ▼

1. In a VTOL airplane capable of a vertical takeoff and landing mode (VTOL), an autorotation mode wherein the airplane is capable of a steep but controlled and safe descent by means of a large-diameter lift rotor in an absence of engine power, as well as an efficient high-speed horizontal cruising m

1. In a VTOL airplane capable of a vertical takeoff and landing mode (VTOL), an autorotation mode wherein the airplane is capable of a steep but controlled and safe descent by means of a large-diameter lift rotor in an absence of engine power, as well as an efficient high-speed horizontal cruising mode, the combination comprising:a pair of wings disposed on opposing lateral sides of the airplane for supporting the airplane in the horizontal mode, said wing having a wing tip and a wing root,a horizontal stabilizing surface and a vertical fin disposed at a tail end of the airplane for providing necessary aerodynamic stability,a fuselage having a top, a bottom, a front section, a tail section and a longitudinal axis forming a center line running from the front section toward the tail section,means for controlling said airplane in the VTOL mode and in the autorotation mode in all three typical pitch, roll, and yaw axes,means for controlling said airplane in the horizontal cruising mode typical for a conventional airplane, comprising of ailerons, rudders and elevator.vertical lifting means comprising of:at least one tiltable lift rotor mounted on top of a power pod having a significant length, said tiltable lift rotor having a plurality of elongated and slender rotor blades radially arranged around a tiltable rotor axis, said tiltable rotor axis traverses the length of the power pod, said tiltable rotor axis is tiltable between a vertical orientation for providing vertical lift in the VTOL mode, and a horizontal orientation, for use in the horizontal cruising mode, wherein said tiltable lift rotor blades are disconnected from power and are allowed to rotate at a minimum rotational rate generally sufficient for maintaining structural integrity of the rotor blades in spite of strong force of relative wind in a high-speed cruise,rotor transformational means for transforming the orientation of said tiltable lift rotor between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation,engine powering means connected to said power pod, said power pod having a top end mechanically connected to said tiltable lift rotor for powering said tiltable lift rotor, said power pod is pivotably mounted to a structure of the airplane allowing tilting motion of said tiltable lift rotor,means for disconnecting said engine powering means from said tiltable lift rotor, for use in the horizontal cruising mode, wherein said rotor blades are allowed to rotate at said minimum rotational rate whereby significant drag reduction and rotor blade integrity can be maintained,horizontal propulsion means structurally separated from said tiltable lift rotor for providing horizontally-oriented thrust for use in the horizontal cruising mode, whereby higher cruise efficiency can be obtained than if said tiltable lift rotor is also used as horizontal propulsion means.2. The VTOL airplane of claim 1 wherein the tiltable lift rotor has the rotor axis tiltable generally in a vertical plane containing the longitidinal axis of the fuselage, between a vertical orientation wherein said tiltable lift rotor rises above the fuselage for providing vertical lift in the VTOL mode, and a horizontal orientation whereby said rotor blades protrude in front of the fuselage's front section, for use in the horizontal cruising mode, said tiltable lift rotor creates a substantial reactional rotational torque to the fuselage necessitating an anti-torque means disposed at a significant distance from the tiltable lift rotor's rotational axis to counteract said rotational torque.3. The VTOL airplane of claim 2 wherein said rotor transformational means is comprised of:pivoting means for pivoting the rotational axis of said tiltable lift rotor on a pivoting axis on a transverse relationship with respect to the fuselage, thereby varying a direction of lift from the tiltable lift rotor with respect to the fuselagetranslating means for moving said tiltable lift rotor with respect to the fuselage with a fore-and-aft vector component along the longitudinal axis of the fuselage, thereby allowing the tiltable lift rotor to be moved significantly forward to be in front of the fuselage when said tiltable lift rotor assumes the horizontal orientation for proper clearance of the rotor blades from the fuselage, and allowing said tiltable lift rotor to be moved significantly rearward when said tiltable lift rotor assumes the vertical orientation for proper balancing of vertical lift during a vertical take off, and,coordinating means for coordinating said pivoting means and said translating means into one control function for convenience and for preventing the rotor blades from inadvertently striking the fuselage.4. The VTOL airplane of claim 3 wherein the translating means for sliding the tiltable lift rotor forward and backward with respect to the fuselage further comprising:a streamlined base whereupon the power pod of the tiltable lift rotor is pivotably attached to, said base is slidable on top of the fuselage by riding ona pair of parallel guide beams having a central slot, said guide beam is firmly attached to the top of the fuselage on each lateral side to the longitudinal axis of the airplane,a pair of metallic shoes each supporting a lower end of said base, said shoe is slidingly fitted within the central slot of said guide beams and is lubricated for low-friction sliding motion,motive means for powering the sliding action of said base and said power pod thereby resulting in translational motion of the tiltable lift rotor with respect to the fuselage.5. The VTOL airplane of claim 4 wherein there is provided locking means for tightly locking the metallic shoes with respect to the guide beams thereby preventing translational motion and potential vibration between adjoining parts.6. The VTOL airplane of claim 4 wherein the pivoting means for the tiltable lift rotor is further comprised of a telescopic actuator hingedly attached to the power pod and to the streamlined base.7. The VTOL airplane as defined in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the tiltable said blade has a built-in degree of blade twist from root to tip, said degree of blade twist is set to be significantly lower than the typical blade twist of a typical airplane propeller in cruise, thereby resulting in significantly increase in efficiency in both the VTOL mode and the autorotation mode.8. The VTOL airplane as defined in claim 7 wherein the engine powering means is comprised of an internal-combustion engine, the combination further comprising:a horizontally-oriented propeller of significantly smaller size than the tiltable lift rotor, said propeller is powered by said engine thereby serving as horizontal propulsion means, transmission means connecting said engine to said tiltable lift rotor for providing vertical lift to the airplane during the VTOL mode,clutch means disposed between said engine and said transmission for connecting and disconnecting said engine to said tiltable lift rotor in the VTOL mode and both the horizontal cruising mode and autorotation mode, respectively, thereby improving efficiency in all three mode of VTOL, cruising, and autorotation.9. The VTOL airplane as defined in claim 8 wherein the engine is fixedly attached to the fuselage behind the wing, thereby reducing noise and vibration to the airplane's cabin.10. The VTOL airplane of claim 2 wherein the anti-torque means comprising:a tail rotor comprising of a propeller oriented perpendicular to the airplane's longitudinal axis and is disposed at the tail section of the airplane,a drive shaft for transmitting power from the engine to the tail rotor,clutch means for engaging said tail rotor to the engine in the VTOL mode and for disengaging said tail rotor from said engine in the horizontal cruising mode.11. In a VTOL airplane capable of a vertical takeoff and landing mode (VTOL) as well as an efficient horizontal cruising mode, the combination comprising:a pair of wings disposed on opposing lateral sides of the airplane for supporting the airplane in the horizontal mode, said wing having a wing tip and a wing root,a horizontal stabilizing surface and a vertical fin disposed at a tail end of the airplane for providing necessary aerodynamic stability in horizontal cruising mode,a fuselage having a top, a bottom, a front section, a tail section and a longitudinal axis forming a center line running from the front section toward the tail section,means for controlling said airplane in the VTOL mode in all 3 typical pitch, roll and yaw axes,means for controlling said airplane in the horizontal cruising mode typical for a conventional airplane, comprising of ailerons, rudders and elevator.vertical lifting means comprising of:a main tiltable rotor mounted on top of a power pod having a significant length, said main tiltable rotor having a plurality of elongated rotor blades radially arranged around a main rotor axis, said main rotor axis traverses the length of the power pod, said main rotor axis is tiltable generally in a vertical plane containing the longitudinal axis of said fuselage, between a vertical orientation wherein said main rotor rises above the fuselage for providing vertical lift in the VTOL mode, and a horizontal orientation whereby said main prop-rotor blades protrude in front of the fuselage's front section, for use in the horizontal cruising mode,translating means for sliding the main tiltable rotor forward and backward with respect to the fuselage to allow for clearance of the rotor from the front section of the airplane, further comprising:a streamlined base whereupon the power pod of the main rotor is pivotably attached to, said base is slidable on top of the fuselage by riding ona pair of parallel guide beams having a central slot, said guide beam is firmly attached to the top of the fuselage on each lateral side to the longitudinal axis of the airplane,a pair of metallic shoes each supporting a lower end of said base, said shoe is slidingly fitted within the central slot of each of said guide beams and is lubricated for low-friction sliding motion,motive means for powering the sliding action of said base and said power pod thereby resulting in translational motion of the main rotor with respect to the fuselage.pivoting means for the main rotor for tilting of said rotor between the vertical orientation and the horizontal orientation,engine powering means connected to said power pod, said power pod having a top end mechanically connected to said main rotor for powering said main prop-rotor, said power pod having a lower end pivotably connected to a structural member of the fuselage, said powering means generates a reactive torque in the yaw axis on the fuselage as a resulting of turning said main rotor in the vertical orientation,yaw-control means for countering said yaw-axis reactive torque effect from said power means, and,horizontal propulsion means for providing horizontally-oriented thrust for use in the horizontal cruising mode.12. The VTOL airplane of claim 11 wherein there is provided locking means for tightly locking the metallic shoes with respect to the guide beams thereby preventing translational motion and potential vibration between adjoining parts.13. The VTOL airplane of claim 11 wherein the pivoting means for the main rotor is further comprised of a telescopic actuator hingedly attached to the power pod and to the streamlined base.