초록 ▼

The invention arose in the design of vertical takeoff craft where a bladed rotor directs a jet of fluid over a curved surface so that the jet is turned from a radial direction towards an axial direction to create lift. These craft have stability problems when an attempt is made to hover close to the

The invention arose in the design of vertical takeoff craft where a bladed rotor directs a jet of fluid over a curved surface so that the jet is turned from a radial direction towards an axial direction to create lift. These craft have stability problems when an attempt is made to hover close to the ground or to a vertical surface and for this reason such craft have been confined to paper proposals and unsuccessful experimental models. In accordance with the invention, the craft is designed so that its rotor and other moving parts have a large angular momentum. In this way, a gyroscopic effect is achieved, sufficient to give positive stability to the craft, eliminating the aforementioned problem.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A craft comprising: a dome shaped canopy forming a radial upper portion and an axial lower portion;a radial fan having blades;a rotor connected to the canopy and the fan, the blades positioned proximate the periphery of the rotor, the rotor configured to rotate the fan to direct a jet of fluid ov

1. A craft comprising: a dome shaped canopy forming a radial upper portion and an axial lower portion;a radial fan having blades;a rotor connected to the canopy and the fan, the blades positioned proximate the periphery of the rotor, the rotor configured to rotate the fan to direct a jet of fluid over the canopy, the canopy further shaped to divert the jet from the radial upper portion towards the axial lower portion to thereby provide lift or thrust; andat least one magnetic member positioned about the periphery of the rotor to thereby maximize an angular inertia of a motor formed to include the rotor and magnetic member, to increase a gyroscopic effect of the motor and fan;wherein when the rotor is rotated to provide lift or thrust, an angular momentum is created to place the craft in a state of positive pitch and roll stability. 2. The craft according to claim 1, further comprising a control system for steering the craft wherein when the motor is in operation at full power, the gyroscopic effect gives a sufficient precession angle to allow the control system to maintain control however close the craft approaches an upwardly extending surface. 3. The craft according to claim 1, wherein a lower edge of the dome or canopy is raised above a ground surface when the craft is resting on flat ground. 4. The craft according to claim 1, further comprising means for sensing pitch and roll about orthogonal axes. 5. The craft according to claim 4, further comprising a controller for manipulating the pitch and roll. 6. The craft according to claim 5, further comprising a plurality of vanes for changing a precession angle of the craft. 7. The craft according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor configured to sense a difference between a desired attitude and an actual attitude of the craft, an electronic control system for determining a force required to reduce the difference, and means for producing a variable signal dependent on angular momentum of the rotor, wherein the control system is designed to use the variable signal to correct for the gyroscopic effect of the rotor. 8. An aircraft, comprising: a dome shaped canopy forming a radial upper portion and an axial lower portion;a radial fan having blades;a rotor connected to the canopy and the fan, the blades positioned proximate the periphery of the rotor, the rotor configured to rotate the fan to direct a jet of fluid over the canopy, the canopy further shaped to divert the jet from the radial upper portion towards the axial lower portion to thereby provide lift or thrust;a ring of magnetically active material positioned about the periphery of the rotor to thereby form together with the rotor a portion of a direct drive electric motor having a maximized angular inertia and gyroscopic effect due to placement of the weight of the ring of magnetically active material distal from a rotational axis of the rotor; anda magnetically active material affixed to the canopy proximate the ring of magnetically active material and forming an additional portion of the electric motor;wherein when the rotor is rotated to provide lift or thrust, an angular momentum is created to place the craft in a state of positive pitch and roll stability through the gyroscopic effect of the motor and fan. 9. The craft according to claim 8, wherein the ring of magnetically active material is a permanent magnet. 10. The craft according to claim 8, wherein the magnetically active material affixed to the canopy is an electric coil. 11. The craft according to claim 8, further including adjustable vanes positioned proximate a lower edge of the canopy. 12. The craft according to claim 11, wherein at least one adjustable vane is provided on the pitch axis and at least one adjustable vane is provided on the roll axis. 13. The craft according to claim 8, the canopy further comprising a recess for receiving the rotor. 14. The craft according to claim 8, further comprising at least two sensors configured to sense a rotation of the craft about two orthogonal axes oriented in the radial direction, wherein rotation about one radial axis is defined as pitch and rotation about the other radial axis is defined as roll. 15. The craft according to claim 14, wherein the sensors are gyroscopic sensors. 16. The craft according to claim 8, further comprising at least one sensor configured to sense angular velocity. 17. A system for maneuvering the craft according to claim 8 comprising: an electronic processor configured to— determine a desired pitch angle and a desired roll angle;compare the desired pitch angle with the present pitch angle of the craft, the desired roll angle with the present roll angle of the craft, and the desired angular velocity with the present angular velocity of the rotor;calculate adjustments to the vanes needed to produce the desired pitch angle and the desired roll angle; andcause to transmit a drive signal to an actuator associated with a vane to be adjusted.