VTOL aircraft for network system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12187409-B2
Application number	US-202318173125-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 23, 2023
Priority date	Aug 2, 2017
Publication date	Jan 7, 2025
Grant date	Jan 7, 2025

Abstract

A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft provides transportation to users of a network system. The network system may include multiple aircraft or other types of vehicles to provide multi-model transportation. An aircraft may include a fuselage, a truss coupled to the fuselage, and multiple distributed electric propellers coupled to the truss. The distributed electric propellers may be positioned on at least two different planes. The fuselage may include a cabin having one or more seats for the passengers arranged in a configuration that has a compact footprint, provides legroom, provides visibility to surroundings of the aircraft, or facilitates convenient ingress or egress of passengers. The aircraft may open a port cabin door and starboard cabin door for simultaneous ingress or egress of passengers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aircraft comprising:
a fuselage;
a truss coupled to the fuselage, the truss comprising a first wing extending from the fuselage on a port side of the aircraft and a second wing extending from the fuselage on a starboard side of the aircraft; and
a first plurality of distributed electric propellers coupled to the truss, the first plurality of distributed electric propellers including:
a second plurality of distributed-powered rotors positioned on a first plane, one or more of the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors positioned on each of the first and second wings; and
a third plurality of distributed-powered rotors positioned on a second plane different than the first plane, one or more of the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors positioned on each of the first and second wings, the second plane being offset from the first plane such that the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors are arranged non-coplanar with the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors; and

wherein the first plurality of distributed electric propellors are configured to be adjusted by actuators to different states.

2. The aircraft of claim 1 , where the truss comprises:
a first wing on a port side of the aircraft, the first wing including:
a first segment,
a second segment coupled to the first segment at a first joint, and
a third segment coupled to the first segment at the first joint, the second segment and the third segment angled relative to the first segment; and

a second wing on a starboard side of the aircraft, the second wing including:
a fourth segment,
a fifth segment coupled to the fourth segment at a second joint, and
a sixth segment coupled to the fourth segment at the second joint, the fifth segment and the sixth segment angled relative to the fourth segment.

3. The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein one of the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors is coupled to the second segment and another one of the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors is coupled to the third segment, and wherein one of the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors is coupled to the fifth segment and another one of the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors is coupled to the sixth segment.

4. The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein a first angle of the second segment relative to the third segment is an acute angle, and wherein a second angle of the fifth segment relative to the sixth segment is the acute angle.

5. The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein the first plurality of distributed electric propellers further includes:
a fourth plurality of distributed electric propellers positioned on a third plane different than the first plane and the second plane, one of the fourth plurality of distributed electric propellers coupled at the first joint and another one of the fourth plurality of distributed electric propellers coupled at the second joint.

6. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the first plurality of distributed electric propellers comprise:
a first set of two or more opposing propellers that are coplanar on the first plane; and
a second set of opposing propellers that are coplanar in the second plane.

7. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the fuselage comprises:
a cabin having one or more seats for passengers;
a port cabin door on a first side of the fuselage and a starboard cabin door on a second side of the fuselage, the port cabin door and the starboard cabin door configured for ingress or egress of the passengers.

8. The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the aircraft comprises a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft.

9. An aircraft comprising:
a fuselage;
a truss coupled to the fuselage; and
a first plurality of distributed electric propellers coupled to the truss, the first plurality of distributed electric propellers including:
a second plurality of distributed electric propellers positioned on a first plane; and
a third plurality of distributed electric propellers positioned on a second plane different than the first plane; and

wherein at least a portion of the truss or the first plurality of distributed electric propellors is configured to be adjusted to different states,
wherein the truss comprises:
a first wing on a port side of the aircraft, the first wing including:
a first segment,
a second segment coupled orthogonally to the first segment, and
a third segment coupled to the first segment and the second segment, the third segment angled relative to the first segment and the second segment; and

a second wing on a starboard side of the aircraft, the second wing including:
a fourth segment,
a fifth segment coupled orthogonally to the fourth segment, and
a sixth segment coupled to the fourth segment and the fifth segment, the sixth segment angled relative to the fourth segment and the fifth segment.

10. The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein the first plane is aligned with the first segment and the fourth segment, the second plurality of distributed electric propellers including at least four distributed electric propellers.

11. An aircraft comprising:
a fuselage;
a truss coupled to the fuselage, the truss comprising a first portion extending from the fuselage on a port side of the fuselage and a second portion extending from the fuselage on a starboard side of the aircraft on a starboard side of the fuselage; and
a first plurality of distributed electric propellers coupled to the truss, the first plurality of distributed electric propellers including:
a second plurality of distributed-powered rotors positioned on the first portion of the truss and positioned in at least two different planes such that the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors are arranged non-coplanar on the first portion of the truss; and
a third plurality of distributed-powered rotors positioned on the second portion of the truss and positioned in the at least two different planes such that the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors are arranged non-coplanar on the first portion of the truss; and

wherein the first plurality of distributed electric propellors are configured to be adjusted by actuators to different states.

12. The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the first portion of the truss and the second portion of the truss are respectively configured as a Y-shaped structure.

13. The aircraft of claim 11 , wherein the first portion of the truss and the second portion of the truss are respectively configured as a rectangular-shaped structure.

14. The aircraft of claim 13 , wherein:
the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors comprise at least four propellers positioned relative to the rectangular-shaped structure of the first portion of the truss; and
the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors comprise at least four propellers positioned relative to the rectangular-shaped structure of the second portion of the truss.

15. The aircraft of claim 13 , wherein:
the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors comprise at least three distributed-powered rotors positioned relative to the Y-shaped structure of the first portion of the truss; and
the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors comprise at least three distributed-powered rotors positioned relative to the Y-shaped structure of the second portion of the truss.

16. The aircraft of claim 14 , wherein:
two of the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors and two of the third plurality of distributed-powered rotors are positioned in a first plane; and
two of the second plurality of distributed-powered rotors and two of the third

Assignees

• Joby Aero Inc

Inventors

• Moore Mark
• Goel Nikhil
• Badalamenti John Conway
• Petersen Jon D
• Josephson David

Classifications

• B64C1/1438 Primary

  of the sliding type · CPC title

• B64C1/1423 Primary

  Passenger doors · CPC title

• E05Y2400/446

  Vehicle state sensors, e.g. parked or inclination · CPC title

• E05Y2800/30

  inclined, angled · CPC title

• E05Y2400/44

  Sensors not directly associated with the wing movement · CPC title