CN-121990158-A - Aircraft with tilting fan assembly

Abstract

Embodiments provide an aircraft having one or more tilt fan assemblies configured to tilt between a forward flight position and a vertical lift position. The aircraft may also include a plurality of lift fan assemblies for vertical movement. The tilting fan assembly may be coupled to a fuselage or wing of an aircraft via one or more tilting mechanisms. A control system coupled to the aircraft may control one or more tilting mechanisms to move the tilting fan assembly between a forward flight position and a vertical lift position. The tilt fan assembly may be coupled to one or more support structures that are coupled to a fuselage or wing of the aircraft.

Inventors

• J.J. Tich
• U. Zanozki

Assignees

• 威斯克航空有限责任公司

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20210129

Priority Date

20200131

Claims (20)

1. 1. An aircraft configured for vertical takeoff and landing, the aircraft comprising: a body; A pair of wings coupled to opposite sides of the fuselage; a plurality of lift fan assemblies coupled to the pair of wings, wherein the plurality of lift fan assemblies are configured to generate vertical lift; A pair of tilting fan assemblies configured to move between a vertical lift position and a forward flight position, wherein the plurality of tilting fan assemblies are configured to generate vertical lift when in the vertical lift position; a plurality of support structures coupled to each wing of the pair of wings, wherein: Each of a set of the plurality of lift fan assemblies is non-tiltably mounted to a first end of each support structure, Each of a pair of the plurality of lift fan assemblies is non-tiltably mounted to a second end of a support structure of the plurality of support structures on each side of the fuselage, Each of the pair of tilting fan assemblies is coupled to a second end of a pair of the plurality of support structures via a tilting mechanism, The set of lift fan assemblies being disposed at trailing edges of the pair of wings, the pair of tilting fan assemblies being disposed at leading edges of the pair of wings, and the pair of lift fan assemblies on each side of the fuselage being disposed at leading edges of the pair of wings, and A control system can be configured to activate and deactivate the plurality of lift fan assemblies and control the pair of tilt fan assemblies between the vertical lift position and the forward flight position.
2. 2. The aircraft of claim 1, further comprising: One or more battery cells including a plurality of battery cells configured to power the pair of tilting fan assemblies and the plurality of lifting fan assemblies.
3. 3. The aircraft of claim 1, further comprising a horizontal tail in the form of a V-tail coupled to the aft end of the fuselage.
4. 4. The aircraft of claim 1 wherein the pair of more than one wing configurations are coupled to the fuselage.
5. 5. The aircraft of claim 1 wherein the plurality of lift fan assemblies are mounted in a fixed position relative to the pair of wings to move the aircraft in a vertical direction.
6. 6. The aircraft of claim 1 wherein one or more of the plurality of lift fan assemblies are configurable to cease operation during forward flight of the aircraft.
7. 7. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of lift fan assemblies comprises a motor-driven rotor.
8. 8. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein five lift fan assemblies are coupled to each of the pair of wings, and wherein the combined number of lift fan assemblies and tilt fan assemblies is at least 12.
9. 9. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the control system is configurable to: Receiving a flight instruction; Determining the position of the pair of tilting fan assemblies; Controlling the pair of tilting fan assemblies between the vertical lift position and the forward flight position based on the flight command, and The positions of the pair of tilting fan assemblies are continuously monitored according to the flight instructions.
10. 10. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the control system is configurable to: The position of the pair of tilting fan assemblies is controlled based on flight data received by sensors coupled to the aircraft.
11. 11. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the control system is configurable to: the positions of the pair of tilting fan assemblies are automatically controlled based on a flight plan from a remote entity.
12. 12. A method for controlling an aircraft, the method comprising: Generating a flight command by a control system coupled to the aircraft of claim 1; controlling, by the control system, one or more of a plurality of lift fan assemblies between an active state and an inactive state based on the flight instructions; Controlling, by the control system, one or more of the pair of tilting fan assemblies between a vertical lift position and a forward flight position based on the flight command, and The positions of the pair of tilting fan assemblies are continuously monitored by the control system in accordance with the flight instructions.
13. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: a first and a second of the pair of tilting fan assemblies are controlled independently of each other by the control system.
14. 14. The method of claim 12, further comprising: The pair of tilting fan assemblies are simultaneously controlled by the control system.
15. 15. The method of claim 12, further comprising: the positions of the pair of tilting fan assemblies are automatically controlled by the control system based on a flight plan from a remote entity.
16. 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the flight instructions are take-off instructions, and wherein controlling the one or more of the pair of tilting fan assemblies comprises: determining whether each of the pair of tilting fan assemblies is in the vertical lift position, and Controlling the one or more of the pair of tilting fan assemblies to the vertical lift position.
17. 17. The method of claim 12, wherein the flight command is a hover command or a drop command, and wherein controlling the pair of tilting fan assemblies comprises: The pair of tilting fan assemblies are controlled to the vertical lift position.
18. 18. The method of claim 12, wherein the flight command is a command to switch to forward flight, and wherein controlling the pair of tilting fan assemblies comprises: Controlling the pair of tilting fan assemblies to the forward flight position.
19. 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising: one or more of the plurality of lift fan assemblies are controlled to cease operation during forward flight of the aircraft.
20. 20. The method of claim 12, further comprising: receiving, by the control system, flight data from one or more sensors coupled to the aircraft, and The position of the pair of tilting fan assemblies is controlled based on the flight data received from the one or more sensors coupled to the aircraft.

Description

Aircraft with tilting fan assembly The present application is a divisional application of patent application with application number 202180025808.3, titled "aircraft with tilting fan assembly", with application number 2021, 01, 29. RELATED APPLICATIONS The present application is claimed in accordance with 35 USC 119 (e) to enjoy the benefits of U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 62/968,852, filed on 1/31/2020, and entitled "aircraft with tilting fans (AIRCRAFT WITH TILTING FANS)", the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety for all purposes. Technical Field The described embodiments relate generally to aircraft having vertical take-off and landing capabilities. In particular, embodiments provide an aircraft having one or more tilting fan assemblies that provide vertical and horizontal thrust for hover, transition, and cruise flights in a controlled manner. Background An aircraft with vertical take-off and landing capabilities requires a lift fan to hover, take-off and land vertically. However, such aircraft also require forward thrust to cruise in the air. The thrust generated in the vertical direction provides lift to the vehicle (vehicle) and the thrust generated horizontally provides forward movement. Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft should generate both vertical and horizontal thrust and be able to control these forces in a balanced manner. Disclosure of Invention Various embodiments provide an aircraft configured for vertical takeoff and landing. The aircraft includes a fuselage, a pair of wings coupled to opposite sides of the fuselage, a plurality of lift fan assemblies coupled to the pair of wings, a plurality of tilt fan assemblies, and a control system. The plurality of lift fan assemblies are configured to generate vertical lift. The plurality of tilt fan assemblies are configured to move between a vertical lift position and a forward flight position. The control system may be configured to control the plurality of tilting fan assemblies between the vertical lift position and the forward flight position. Some embodiments provide an aircraft configured for vertical takeoff and landing. The aircraft includes a fuselage, a pair of wings coupled to opposite sides of the fuselage, a plurality of tilt fan assemblies coupled to the pair of wings configured to move between a vertical lift position and a forward flight position, and a control system configurable to control the plurality of tilt fan assemblies between the vertical lift position and the forward flight position. The plurality of tilting fan assemblies are configured to generate vertical lift when in the vertical lift position. The aircraft also includes one or more battery cells including a plurality of battery cells configured to power the plurality of tilting fan assemblies. Embodiments provide a method performed by a control system coupled to an aircraft configured for vertical takeoff and landing for controlling one or more tilt fan assemblies of the aircraft. The control system receives a flight command, determines a position of a plurality of tilting fan assemblies coupled to the aircraft, controls one or more of the plurality of tilting fan assemblies between a vertical lift position and a forward flight position based on the flight command, and continuously monitors the position of the plurality of tilting fan assemblies in accordance with the flight command. If the flight command is a take-off command or a landing command, the control system controls one or more of the plurality of tilting fan assemblies in the forward flight position to a vertical lift position. If the flight command is a forward flight command, the control system controls one or more of the plurality of tilting fan assemblies in the vertical lift position to a forward flight position. These and other embodiments are described in further detail below. Drawings Fig. 1A depicts a simplified schematic diagram of an exemplary VTOL aerial vehicle in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 1B illustrates a top view, plan view, side view and front view (clockwise from the upper left corner) of a VTOL aerial vehicle with a pair of tilting fan assemblies in a forward flight position in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 1C illustrates top, plan, side and front views (clockwise from the upper left corner) of a VTOL aerial vehicle with a pair of tilting fan assemblies in vertical lift positions in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 2A illustrates a top view, a plan view, a side view and a front view (clockwise from the upper left corner) of a VTOL aerial vehicle in which the forward-tilting fan assembly is in a forward-flight position in accordance with various embodiments. Figure 2B illustrates top, plan, side and front views (clockwise from the upper left corner) of a VTOL aerial vehicle in accordance with various embodiments wherein the forward tilting fan assembly is in a vertical lift position.