Aircraft using turbo-electric hybrid propulsion system for multi-mode operation
원문보기
IPC분류정보
국가/구분
United States(US) Patent
등록
국제특허분류(IPC7판)
B64C-027/24
B64C-037/00
B64D-027/24
B64C-027/14
B64D-027/02
출원번호
US-0867628
(2013-04-22)
등록번호
US-9193451
(2015-11-24)
발명자
/ 주소
Salyer, Ival O.
출원인 / 주소
Salyer, Ival O.
대리인 / 주소
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
인용정보
피인용 횟수 :
4인용 특허 :
5
초록▼
A vehicle incorporating a hybrid propulsion system. In one form, the vehicle may be an aircraft such that the system includes gas turbine engines as a first motive power source, and one or more battery packs as a second motive power source. Through selective coupling to an electric motor that can in
A vehicle incorporating a hybrid propulsion system. In one form, the vehicle may be an aircraft such that the system includes gas turbine engines as a first motive power source, and one or more battery packs as a second motive power source. Through selective coupling to an electric motor that can in turn be connected to a bladed rotor or other lift-producing device, the motive sources provide differing ways in which an aircraft can operate. In one example, the gas turbine engines can provide operation for a majority of the flight envelope of the aircraft, while the battery packs can provide operation during such times when gas turbine-based motive power is unavailable or particularly disadvantageous. In another example, both sources of motive power may be decoupled from the bladed rotor such that the vehicle can operate as an autogyro. In another mode of operation, the movement of a bladed rotor can be both decoupled from the sources of propulsion as well as fixed relative to the aircraft such that the aerodynamic surfaces formed on the bladed rotors can act as a fixed wing. In another particular form, the vehicle may be ground-based or water-based.
대표청구항▼
1. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage;a plurality of rotors each of which is coupled to said fuselage through a rotatable shaft, said plurality of rotors comprising side-by-side rotors comprising: a first rotor situated on a port side of said fuselage such that said first rotor spins in one of a clo
1. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage;a plurality of rotors each of which is coupled to said fuselage through a rotatable shaft, said plurality of rotors comprising side-by-side rotors comprising: a first rotor situated on a port side of said fuselage such that said first rotor spins in one of a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; anda second rotor situated on a starboard side of said fuselage such that said second rotor spins in an opposing of said clockwise or counterclockwise direction, each of said plurality of rotors comprising two generally opposed rotor blades each of which defines at least one aerodynamic lift surface thereon;wherein said aircraft does not have a tail rotor;a propulsion system selectively cooperative with each of said rotatable shafts to deliver at least one of torque thereto and thrust to said aircraft such that said aircraft may operate in a plurality of flight modes; anda plurality of devices configured to provide said selective cooperation between each of said rotatable shafts and said propulsion system such that while in a first of said plurality of flight modes, torque generated by said propulsion system is decoupled from movement of each of said rotatable shafts while permitting said plurality of rotors to spin, while in a second of said plurality of flight modes, torque generated by said propulsion system is coupled to said plurality of rotors through movement of each of said rotatable shafts to control said spin of said plurality of rotors, while in a third of said plurality of flight modes, each of said rotatable shafts is decoupled from said torque generated by said propulsion system while said plurality of rotors are further prevented from rotating such that said at least one aerodynamic lift surface is affixed at an orientation relative to a flight path of said aircraft such that said aircraft functions as a fixed-wing vehicle and when said aircraft is operating as said fixed-wing vehicle, said side-by-side rotors are each locked in place at varying degrees by a respective detent locking mechanism, said detent locking mechanisms each engaging a sleeve ring containing notches at select angular locations corresponding to varying degrees of wing sweepback, said notches coupling with companion projections around the periphery of a rotatable coupling rotationally affixed to one of said rotatable shafts. 2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein said propulsion system comprises a plurality of propulsion-generating devices comprising: at least two internal combustion engines mounted on generally opposing sides of said fuselage, said at least two internal combustion engines configured to deliver at least one of said torque and said thrust;at least one battery configured to deliver said torque;a plurality of electric current generators each selectively cooperative with said at least one battery and a respective one of said at least two internal combustion engines; andan electric motor configured to receive electric current from at least one of said plurality of electric current generators and said at least one battery such that said received electric current selectively delivers said torque to said rotatable shaft. 3. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein said aircraft receives a substantial entirety of its forward thrust directly from said propulsion system in said first of said plurality of flight modes and said third of said plurality of flight modes. 4. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein a substantial entirety of torque used to rotate said plurality of rotors is received from said at least one of said at least one battery and said internal combustion engine during said second of said plurality of flight modes. 5. The aircraft of claim 2, wherein each of said plurality of devices is configured to provide said selective engagement between said rotatable shaft and said propulsion system comprises a clutch. 6. The aircraft of claim 5, wherein said plurality of clutches comprise: a motor clutch disposed between said internal combustion engine and a respective one of said plurality of electric current generators such that when said motor clutch is engaged, said torque produced by said internal combustion engine cooperates with said electric current generator to deliver electric current to at least one of said at least one battery and said rotatable shaft, while in situations where said motor clutch is not engaged, said torque produced by said internal combustion engine is decoupled from said electric current generator such that to the extent that any of said torque is being delivered to said rotatable shaft, it is coming from said at least one battery, anda rotor clutch disposed between said electric motor and said rotatable shaft. 7. The aircraft of claim 6, wherein said detent mechanism is selectively cooperative with said rotor clutch such that upon said locking of said side-by-side rotors, a respective one of said plurality of rotors establishes a fixed angular orientation of said at least one aerodynamic lift surface relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage. 8. The aircraft of claim 7, wherein said fixed angular orientation comprises one of about 90 degrees, 100 degrees, 110 degrees or 120 degrees relative to a flight path formed along said longitudinal axis of said fuselage. 9. The aircraft of claim 2, further comprising a controller cooperative with said at least two internal combustion engines to provide separate control signals thereto such that at least one of flight steering and turning is controllable thereby. 10. The aircraft of claim 1 further comprising a transceiver, said aircraft comprising an unmanned air vehicle configured for remote flying. 11. The aircraft of claim 10 further comprising a controller configured to actuate full robotic control of said aircraft for take-offs and landings. 12. The aircraft of claim 11 further comprising a throttle control for each of said plurality of rotors so that power to each of said plurality of rotors can be separately controlled. 13. An aircraft comprising: a fuselage;a plurality of rotors each of which is coupled to said fuselage through a rotatable shaft, said plurality of rotors comprising side-by-side rotors comprising: a first rotor situated on a port side of said fuselage such that said first rotor spins in one of a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; anda second rotor situated on a starboard side of said fuselage such that said second rotor spins in an opposing of said clockwise or counterclockwise direction, each of said plurality of rotors comprising two rotor blades each of which defines at least one aerodynamic lift surface thereon;wherein said aircraft does not have a tail rotor;a hybrid propulsion system configured to deliver at least one of torque to each of said rotatable shafts and thrust to said fuselage; anda plurality of clutches configured to provide selective engagement between each of said rotatable shafts and said hybrid propulsion system such that said aircraft may operate in a plurality of flight modes comprising at least a helicopter mode, a gyrocopter mode and a fixed-wing aircraft mode and when said aircraft is operating as a fixed-wing vehicle, said side-by-side rotors are each locked in place at varying degrees by a respective detent locking mechanism, said detent locking mechanisms each engaging a sleeve ring containing notches at select angular locations corresponding to varying degrees of wing sweepback, said notches coupling with companion projections around the periphery of a rotatable coupling rotationally affixed to one of said rotatable shafts. 14. The aircraft of claim 13, wherein upon said locking of the side-by-side rotors a respective one of said plurality of rotors establishes a fixed angular orientation of said at least one aerodynamic lift surface relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage to define said fixed-wing aircraft flight mode. 15. The aircraft of claim 14, wherein said hybrid propulsion system comprises: a plurality of internal combustion engines coupled to said fuselage;at least one battery;a plurality of electric current generators each selectively cooperative with said at least one battery and a respective one of said plurality of internal combustion engines such that in situations where said torque is being delivered at least in part from at least one of said plurality of internal combustion engines to a respective one of said plurality of electric current generators, said electric current generator produces electric current, while in situations where said torque is being delivered substantially entirely from said at least one battery, said electric current generator produces substantially no electric current; andan electric motor configured to receive electric current from said plurality of electric current generators and said at least one battery such that said received electric current selectively delivers said torque. 16. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein a substantial entirety of propulsion provided to said aircraft comes from said thrust produced by at least one of said plurality of internal combustion engines during said fixed-wing aircraft mode. 17. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein a substantial entirety of propulsion provided to said aircraft comes from said torque produced by said plurality of internal combustion engines and said at least one battery during said helicopter mode. 18. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein said detent locking mechanism and said plurality of clutches cooperate to decouple said torque from movement of said plurality of rotors while permitting said plurality of rotors to freely spin such that said at least one rotor causes said aircraft to function as a gyrocopter. 19. The aircraft of claim 15, wherein said rotor locking mechanism is solenoid-actuated. 20. A method of providing motive power to an aircraft, said method comprising: configuring said aircraft to comprise a fuselage, a plurality of rotors each of which is selectively coupled to said fuselage through a respective rotatable shaft, said plurality of rotors comprising side-by-side rotors comprising: a first rotor situated on a port side of said fuselage such that said first rotor spins in one of a clockwise or counterclockwise direction; and a second rotor situated on a starboard side of said fuselage such that said second rotor spins in an opposing of said clockwise or counterclockwise direction, and a rotor clutch where each of said plurality of rotors comprises a plurality of rotor blades at least one of which defines at least one aerodynamic lift surface thereon, wherein said aircraft does not have a tail rotor; and a hybrid propulsion system to selectively deliver at least one of thrust and torque to at least one of said fuselage and said plurality of rotors, said hybrid propulsion system comprising: a plurality of internal combustion engines each with a respective motor clutch;at least one battery;a plurality of electric current generators each selectively cooperative with said at least one battery and a respective one of said plurality of internal combustion engines such that in situations where said torque is being delivered at least in part from said plurality of internal combustion engines to each of said plurality of electric current generators, said plurality of electric current generators produce electric current, while in situations where said torque is being delivered substantially entirely from said at least one battery to said plurality of rotors, said plurality of electric current generators produce substantially no electric current; andan electric motor configured to receive electric current from said plurality of electric current generators and said at least one battery such that said received electric current selectively delivers said torque to said rotatable shafts;operating at least one of said rotor clutch and said motor clutch to provide selective engagement between said rotatable shaft and said hybrid propulsion system; andoperating said hybrid propulsion system such that power produced therefrom in conjunction with said operation of said at least one of said rotor clutch and said motor clutch causes said aircraft to operate in a plurality of flight modes comprising at least a helicopter mode, gyrocopter mode and a fixed-wing aircraft mode; andoperating the aircraft in the fixed-wing flight mode and locking each of said side-by-side rotors in place at varying degrees via a detent locking mechanism, said detent locking mechanisms each engaging a sleeve ring containing notches at select angular locations corresponding to varying degrees of wing sweepback, said notches coupling with companion projections around the periphery of a rotatable coupling rotationally affixed to one of said rotatable shafts. 21. The method of claim 20, further comprising establishing, via said plurality of rotors, a fixed angular orientation of said at least one aerodynamic lift surface relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage to define said fixed-wing aircraft flight mode via said locking of said side-by-side rotors. 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising operating said detent locking mechanism and at least one of said rotor clutch and said motor clutch to decouple said torque from movement of said plurality of rotors while permitting said plurality of rotors to freely spin such that said plurality of rotors causes said aircraft to function as said gyrocopter. 23. The method of claim 20, further comprising reducing rotor noise emanating from said aircraft by configuring said plurality of rotors to extend laterally from said fuselage a sufficient distance such that a footprint defined by said plurality of rotor blades does not extend over said fuselage. 24. The method of claim 20, wherein said plurality of rotor blades comprises two blades diametrically opposed from one another on a hub coupled to a respective one of said plurality of rotors.
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이 특허에 인용된 특허 (5)
Chen, Zhuo, Air vehicle having rotor/scissors wing.
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