Invertible aircraft

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10329025-B2
Application number	US-201715594342-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 12, 2017
Priority date	Mar 22, 2011
Publication date	Jun 25, 2019
Grant date	Jun 25, 2019

Abstract

A rotorcraft including a fuselage, one or more motor-driven rotors for vertical flight, and a control system. The motors drive the one or more rotors in either of two directions of rotation to provide for flight in either an upright or an inverted orientation. An orientation sensor is used to control the primary direction of thrust, and operational instructions and gathered information are automatically adapted based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity. The rotors are configured with blades that invert to conform to the direction of rotation.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A rotorcraft, comprising: a fuselage defining a vertical dimension with respect to the fuselage, the fuselage being characterized by having a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity; one or more rotors generally having vertically oriented for vertical thrust axes of rotation with respect to the fuselage; one or more motors connected to the one or more rotors; and a control system controlling a speed with which the one or more motors drives the one or more rotors in rotor rotation, and controlling the direction of thrust generated by the rotors; wherein the control system reverses the direction of thrust when the fuselage has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.

2. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the control system controls the direction of thrust based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity.

3. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , and further comprising an orientation sensor sensing the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity, wherein the control system controls the direction of thrust based on a signal from the orientation sensor.

4. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein the control system is programmed to coordinate the operation of the rotors to accomplish controlled flight, and wherein the control system adapts the control system's coordination of the rotors based on the primary direction of thrust with respect to the fuselage.

5. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , and further comprising a directional sensor sensing the external environment, wherein the control system adjusts a sensor signal from the directional sensor based on the primary direction of thrust with respect to the fuselage.

6. The rotorcraft of claim 5 , and further comprising a ground station depicting a video signal from the directional sensor, wherein the ground station displays the video signal in an orientation based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity.

7. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein each rotor has a plurality of blades, and wherein each blade produces equal thrust in either direction of rotation at a given rotational speed.

8. The rotorcraft of claim 7 , wherein each blade extends out from a rotor hub along a longitudinal blade axis, and wherein each blade has 2-fold rotational symmetry around that blade's longitudinal axis.

9. The rotorcraft of claim 7 , wherein each rotor has a plurality of blades, and wherein at least one blade includes rigid sections at a leading edge and a trailing edge, and a flexible section intermediate the rigid sections, wherein the flexible section is adequately flexible to change in aerodynamic shape when the motors reverse the direction of rotor rotation.

10. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , and further comprising a surface-connection device affixing the rotorcraft to a surface such that it hangs from the surface without rotor activity to maintain the rotorcraft's position.

11. The rotorcraft of claim 1 , wherein each rotor has a plurality of blades, wherein each blade extends out from a rotor hub along a longitudinal blade axis, and wherein each blade rotates around that blade's longitudinal axis when the control system reverses the direction of thrust.

12. An aerial vehicle, comprising:
a body having by a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity;
one or more thrusters providing thrust in a primary direction of thrust with respect to the body;
a control system controlling the primary direction of thrust with respect to the body in which the one or more thrusters provides thrust; and
an orientation sensor sensing the orientation of the body with respect to gravity;
wherein the control system reverses the direction of thrust based on a signal from the orientation sensor that indicates the orientation of the body with respect to gravity has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.

Assignees

• Aerovironment Inc

Inventors

• Keennon Matthew Todd
• Klingebiel Karl Robert

Classifications

• B64C29/0033

  the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage · CPC title

• B64C27/06

  with single rotor · CPC title

• B64C27/04

  Helicopters · CPC title

• B64C11/32

  mechanical · CPC title

• B64C2027/4733

  Rotor blades substantially made from particular materials · CPC title