Aerodynamically efficient lightweight vertical take-off and landing aircraft with pivoting rotors and stowing rotor blades

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10556700-B2
Application number	US-201715641129-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 3, 2017
Priority date	Mar 18, 2014
Publication date	Feb 11, 2020
Grant date	Feb 11, 2020

Abstract

An aerial vehicle adapted for vertical takeoff and landing using a set of wing mounted thrust producing elements and a set of tail mounted rotors for takeoff and landing. An aerial vehicle which is adapted to vertical takeoff with the rotors in a rotated, take-off attitude then transitions to a horizontal flight path, with the rotors rotated to a typical horizontal configuration. The aerial vehicle uses different configurations of its wing mounted rotors and propellers to reduce drag in all flight modes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aerial vehicle adapted for vertical take-off and horizontal flight, said aerial vehicle comprising:
a main vehicle body;
one or more electric battery packs;
a right side wing, wherein one or more right side wing rotor assemblies are attached to said right side wing, with at least one of said one or more right side wing rotor assemblies are attached to said right side wing along the span of side right side wing inboard of the tip of said right side wing, each of said one or more right side wing rotor assemblies comprising an electric motor, and wherein said right side wing is pivotally attached to said main vehicle body, and wherein the centers of mass of each of said one or more right side wing rotor assemblies are forward of the leading edge of said right side wing;
a left side wing, wherein one or more left side wing rotor assemblies are attached to said left side wing, with at least one of said one or more left side wing rotor assemblies are attached to said left side wing along the span of side right side wing inboard of the tip of said left side wing, each of said one or more left side wing rotor assemblies comprising an electric motor, and wherein said left side wing is pivotally attached to said main vehicle body, and wherein the centers of mass of each of said one or more left side wing rotor assemblies are forward of the leading edges of said left side wing;
one or more right rear rotor assemblies, each of said one or more right rear rotor assemblies attached to the rear of said vehicle body by a deployment mechanism adapted to deploy each of said one or more right rear rotor assemblies from a forward facing horizontal flight configuration along the right side of said vehicle body to a vertical take-off configuration, said deployment mechanisms enclosed within a rotor mounting nacelle, each of said one or more right rear rotor assemblies comprising an electric motor, wherein said nacelle covers said deployment mechanism and said electric motor when in said forward facing horizontal flight configuration; and
one or more left rear rotor assemblies, each of said one or more left rear rotor assemblies attached to the rear of said vehicle body by a deployment mechanism adapted to deploy each of said one or more left rear rotor assemblies from a forward facing horizontal flight configuration along the left side of said vehicle body to a vertical take-off configuration, said deployment mechanisms enclosed within a rotor mounting nacelle, each of said one or more left rear rotor assemblies comprising an electric motor, wherein said rotor mounting nacelles covers said deployment mechanism when is said forward facing horizontal flight configuration.

2. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 wherein said right side wing and said left side wing are partially forward swept wings.

3. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 wherein said right side wing and said left side wing are forward swept wings.

4. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 wherein each of said one or more right side wing rotor assemblies and each of said one or more left side wing rotor assemblies comprise propeller blades, said propeller blades adapted to pivot from a deployed configuration to a stowed configuration.

5. The aerial vehicle of claim 4 wherein stowed propeller blades reside in recesses within a rotor mounting nacelle.

6. The aerial vehicle of claim 2 wherein each of said one or more right side wing rotor assemblies and each of said one or more left side wing rotor assemblies comprise propeller blades, said propeller blades adapted to pivot from a deployed configuration to a stowed configuration.

7. The aerial vehicle of claim 6 wherein stowed propeller blades reside in recesses within a rotor mounting nacelle.

8. The aerial vehicle of claim 4 wherein said propeller blades and said electric motors deploy to a deployed configuration as a joined unit.

9. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 wherein the rotor mounting nacelles of said right side rear rotor assemblies and the rotor mounting nacelles of said left side rear rotor assemblies are fixedly coupled to said main vehicle body.

Assignees

• Joby Aviation Inc
• Joby Aero Inc

Inventors

• Bevirt Joeben
• Stoll Alex

Classifications

• B64C29/0033

  the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage · CPC title

• B64C39/068

  having multiple wings joined at the tips · CPC title

• Y02T50/62

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• B64C11/28 Primary

  Collapsible or foldable blades · CPC title

• B64D27/24 Primary

  using steam or spring force (jet aircraft B64D27/16) · CPC title