Patent Publication Number: US-2019170087-A1

Title: Thrust vector controller

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to an airflow direction guiding device, and more particularly to a thrust vector controller. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Flying into the sky is not only a human dream but also a very efficient mode of transportation. It possesses the efficiency of quickly arriving at the destination. Therefore, it can remove the gap between people caused by space. Consequently, flying is not only with entertainment and business nature, but also with a further great demand for other applications. 
     For a fixed-wing aircraft, it is true that it can carry a large number of personnel and goods, but such a vehicle needs a long runway and a lot of related takeoff and landing equipment, thus only confined to the airport takeoff and landing. To overcome this restriction, a rotorcraft, such as a helicopter, which is capable of vertical takeoff and landing, is additionally developed. But even if for a rotorcraft capable of vertical takeoff and landing, a considerable area of apron still needs to be set up and it is unable to pickup and drop off passengers like a ground vehicle. Moreover, it is still difficult for a helicopter to enter a narrow passageway and an ordinary roof in the metropolis with high-density buildings. 
     Therefore, there have currently been research and development teams starting to research and develop single vertical lift aircrafts available to be used in the metropolis with high-density buildings and narrow space. Due to its small size, a single aircraft does not have a larger wing like a fixed-wing aircraft and thus does not have a lift wing and an empennage of a fixed-wing aircraft for controlling the ascent, descent, and direction. Therefore, it becomes an important issue for a single aircraft how to control the direction of a single aircraft. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a thrust vector controller. For an aircraft using an exhaust propulsion device, the thrust vector controller of the present invention may be disposed at an air exhaust opening of the exhaust propulsion device. When the exhaust propulsion device discharges airflow through the air exhaust opening to generate thrust, the thrust vector controller of the present invention can guide the airflow to change an airflow direction and to further change a direction of the thrust to allow the aircraft to change directions, ascend, or descend. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention may be further illustrated by the technical features broadly embodied and described as follows. 
     In order to achieve one or a portion of or all of the objects or other objects, an embodiment of the thrust vector controller provided by the present invention may be used for the exhaust propulsion device of the aircraft. The exhaust propulsion device has an air exhaust opening and may generate an airflow that is discharged from the air exhaust opening to generate the thrust. An embodiment of the thrust vector controller of the present invention includes an airflow guiding member, a connecting member, a first driving device, and a second driving device. The airflow guiding member is adjacent to the air exhaust opening and surrounds the air exhaust opening. The airflow passes through the airflow guiding member and is guided by the airflow guiding member. The connecting member is movably connected to the airflow guiding member and the exhaust propulsion device. The first driving device drives the airflow guiding member to move toward a first direction relative to the exhaust propulsion device. The first direction is from a peripheral surface of the airflow guiding member through a center of the airflow guiding member. The second driving device drives the airflow guiding member to move toward a second direction relative to the exhaust propulsion device. The second direction is from the peripheral surface of the airflow guiding member through the center of the airflow guiding member. The first direction is not parallel to the second direction. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the airflow guiding member includes a main body, a first driving portion, a second driving portion, and a connecting portion. The airflow passes through the main body and is guided by the main body. The connecting member is rotatably connected to the connecting portion. The main body is rotatably connected to the exhaust propulsion device through the connecting portion and the connecting member. The first driving portion, the second driving portion, and the connecting portion are connected to the main body. The first driving device is connected to the first driving portion and drives the first driving portion to further drive the airflow guiding member to move toward the first direction. The second driving device is connected to the second driving portion and drives the second driving portion to further drive the airflow guiding member to move toward the second direction. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the main body includes a first diversion portion and a support portion. The first diversion portion surrounds the air exhaust opening and guides the airflow to be discharged toward one direction. The support portion supports at an inner wall of the first diversion portion to maintain the state in which the first diversion portion surrounds the air exhaust opening. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the support portion includes a first support member and a second support member. The two opposite ends of the first support member are connected to an inner wall surface of the first diversion portion. The two opposite ends of the second support member are connected to the inner wall surface of the first diversion portion. The first support member and the second support member are cross-connected to each other. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the main body further includes a second diversion portion. The second diversion portion is concentrically disposed with the first diversion portion and connects the support portion. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, both the first diversion portion and the second diversion portion are tubular. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting portion is disposed at the place where the first support member and the second support member are cross-connected. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the place where the first support member and the second support member are cross-connected is located at a geometric center of the first diversion portion. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the first driving portion and the second driving portion are disposed at the first diversion portion. The first driving portion and the second driving portion are a central angle of 90 degrees away from each other relative to the geometric center of the first diversion portion. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the first support member and the second support member are disposed by perpendicularly crossing each other. The first driving portion is disposed at the place where the first support member is connected to the first diversion portion. The second driving portion is disposed at the place where the second support member is connected to the first diversion portion. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the connecting member includes a universal joint. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the first driving device and the second driving device are disposed at the exhaust propulsion device. 
     In an embodiment of the present invention, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction. 
     The thrust vector controller of the present invention is disposed at the air exhaust opening of the exhaust propulsion device and can guide the airflow to be discharged from the exhaust propulsion device to the desired direction, so that the thrust of the exhaust propulsion device can act not only along an axis center but also in other directions. Thus, an effect of changing directions, ascent, and descent can be generated for the aircraft equipped with the exhaust propulsion device. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The present invention will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art after reviewing the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of a thrust vector controller of the present invention, disposed at an exhaust propulsion device; 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of the thrust vector controller of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic top view for  FIG. 2 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The present invention will now be described more specifically with reference to the following embodiments. It is to be noted that the following descriptions of preferred embodiments of this invention are presented herein for purpose of illustration and description only. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to be limited to the precise form disclosed. 
     Please refer to  FIG. 1 ,  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 .  FIG. 1  shows an embodiment of a thrust vector controller of the present invention, installed to an exhaust propulsion device.  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  show an embodiment of the thrust vector controller of the present invention. The thrust vector controller  100  of the present invention may be used for an exhaust propulsion device P of an aircraft. The exhaust propulsion device P has an air intake opening Pi and an air exhaust opening Po. An airflow passageway P 1  is formed between the air intake opening Pi and the air exhaust opening Po. Air enters the exhaust propulsion device P from the air intake opening Pi. The exhaust propulsion device P may generate an airflow F in the airflow passageway P 1  with, for example, a propeller, and discharge the airflow F from the air exhaust opening Po. The thrust vector controller  100  includes an airflow guiding member  10 , a connecting member  20 , a first driving device  30 , and a second driving device  40 . The airflow guiding member  10  is disposed adjacent to the air exhaust opening Po. The airflow guiding member  10  is movably connected to the exhaust propulsion device P through the connecting member  20  and is aligned with the air exhaust opening Po. The airflow discharged from the air exhaust opening Po passes through the airflow guiding member  10 . In the present embodiment, the connecting member  20  may be, for example, fixed to the air exhaust opening Po of the exhaust propulsion device P at one end and rotatably connected to the airflow guiding member  10  at the other end thereof, so that the airflow guiding member  10  can be swung in any direction of 360 degrees on a plane parallel to the air exhaust opening Po relative to the air exhaust opening Po. The first driving device  30  and the second driving device  40  may push the airflow guiding member  10  to move in a first direction and a second direction, respectively. The first direction and the second direction may be two non-parallel directions among any of the above-mentioned 360-degree directions. The first direction is a direction from a peripheral surface of the airflow guiding member  10  through a center of the airflow guiding member  10 . The second direction is also a direction from the peripheral surface of the airflow guiding member  10  through the center of the airflow guiding member  10 . But the first direction is not parallel to the second direction. Meanwhile, by varying the amount of displacement of the airflow guiding member  10  in the first direction and the second direction, the airflow guiding member  10  is configured to be tiltable relative to an axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P in each direction within a 360-degree range around its periphery. A different tilt angle may be formed relative to the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P in any direction so that the airflow F is guided to the desired direction. 
     The first driving device  30  and the second driving device  40  are disposed at the exhaust propulsion device P. In the present embodiment, the first driving device  30  and the second driving device  40  are disposed in a space P 3  formed between a shell P 2  of the exhaust propulsion device P and the airflow passageway P 1 . In the present embodiment, the first driving device  30  includes a stepping motor and a control line. The control line is connected with an output shaft of the stepping motor and the airflow guiding member  10 . The output shaft of the stepping motor is controlled to rotate to pull the control line so that the airflow guiding member  10  is swung in one direction. The second driving device  40  also has a stepping motor and a control line. The output shaft of the stepping motor is controlled to rotate to pull the control line so that the airflow guiding member  10  is swung in another direction. In this way, the airflow guiding member  10  can be controlled to tilt relative to the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P in each direction within a 360-degree range around its periphery so that the airflow F is guided to the desired direction. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the airflow guiding member  10  includes a main body  12 , a first driving portion  14 , a second driving portion  16 , and a connecting portion  18 . The airflow F passes through the main body  12  and is guided by the main body  12 . The first driving portion  14 , the second driving portion  16 , and the connecting portion  18  are connected to the main body  12 . The connecting member  20  is movably connected to the connecting portion  18  and the exhaust propulsion device P (please refer to  FIG. 1 ). The main body  12  is movably connected to the exhaust propulsion device through the connecting portion  18  and the connecting member  20 . In the present embodiment, the connecting member  20  may be a universal joint. Thus, the main body  12  and the connecting portion  18  can be swung toward any direction within a 360-degree range in which the connecting member  20  is a center, and be tilted with respect to the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P. The first driving device  30  is connected to the first driving portion  14  and drives the first driving portion  14  to move the airflow guiding member  10  toward the first direction. The second driving device  40  is connected to the second driving portion  16  and drives the second driving portion  16  to move the airflow guiding member  10  toward the second direction. In the present embodiment, the first direction is not parallel to the second direction. In this way, the airflow guiding member  10  can be swung toward any direction within a 360-degree range in which the connecting member  20  is a center, and be tilted with respect to the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P. The tilt angle between the airflow guiding member  10  and the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P can be adjusted by changing the amount of displacement of the airflow guiding member  10  in the first direction and the second direction. Preferably, the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction, so that they can be adapted to a control means based on a rectangular coordinate. 
     In the present embodiment, the main body  12  includes a first diversion portion  122  and a first support portion  120 . The first diversion portion  122  surrounds the air exhaust opening Po. The airflow F is guided by the first diversion portion  122  to be discharged in one direction. The first support portion  120  supports at an inner wall of the first diversion portion  122  to maintain the shape of the first diversion portion  122  and thereby to maintain the state in which the first diversion portion  122  surrounds the air exhaust opening Po. The first support portion  120  includes a first support member  124  and a second support member  126 . The two opposite ends of the first support member  124  are connected to an inner wall surface of the first diversion portion  122 . The two opposite ends of the second support member  126  are connected to the inner wall surface of the first diversion portion  122 . The first support member  124  and the second support member  126  are cross-connected to each other. In the present embodiment, the first support member  124  and the second support member  126  are elongated members. The inner wall surface of the first diversion portion  122  is supported by the first support member  124  and the second support member  126  by connecting the two opposite ends of the first support member  124  to the inner wall surface of the first diversion portion  122  and connecting the two opposite ends of the second support member  126  to the inner wall surface of the first diversion portion  122 . The shape of the first diversion portion  122  may be maintained so that the state in which the first diversion portion  122  surrounds the air exhaust opening Po is maintained. Preferably, the place where the first support member  124  and the second support member  126  are cross-connected is located at a geometric center of the first diversion portion  122 . The first diversion portion  122  is aligned with the air exhaust opening Po of the exhaust propulsion device P. Preferably, the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P passes through the geometric center of the first diversion portion  122  when the airflow guiding member  10  is not displaced. In the present embodiment, the main body  12  further includes a second diversion portion  128 . The second diversion portion  128  is concentrically disposed with the first diversion portion  122  and connected to the first support member  124  and the second support member  126 . The airflow F discharged from the air exhaust opening Po of the exhaust propulsion device P passes through the first diversion portion  122  and the second diversion portion  128 . Therefore, by configuring the first diversion portion  122  and the second diversion portion  128  to generate an amount of displacement in the first direction and the second direction, the first diversion portion  122  and the second diversion portion  128  may be controlled to be tilted relative to the axis center L of the exhaust propulsion device P in each direction within a 360-degree range around the periphery thereof, so that the airflow F is guided to the desired direction. In the present embodiment, the first diversion portion  122  and the second diversion portion  128  are tubular. Preferably, the first diversion portion  122  and the second diversion portion  128  are in the shape of a circular tube, so that the geometric center of the first diversion portion  122  is its center. 
     In the present embodiment, the first driving portion  14  and the second driving portion  16  are disposed at the first diversion portion  122 . The first driving portion  14  and the second driving portion  16  are a central angle of 90 degrees away from each other relative to the geometric center of the first diversion portion  122 . As shown in  FIG. 3 , the first driving portion  14  and the second driving portion  16  are disposed at an outer peripheral wall of the first diversion portion  122 . In the present embodiment, the first driving portion  14  and the second driving portion  16  are ribs, extended in the axial direction of the first diversion portion  122  and disposed at the outer peripheral wall of the first diversion portion  122 . In the present embodiment, the first driving portion  14  is disposed at the place where the first support member  124  and the first diversion portion  122  are connected. The second driving portion  16  is disposed at the place where the second support member  126  and the first diversion portion  122  are connected. 
     The thrust vector controller  100  of the present invention is disposed at the air exhaust opening Po of the exhaust propulsion device P. The airflow F discharged from the exhaust propulsion device P can be guided to the desired direction so that the thrust of the exhaust propulsion device P can act not only along the axis center L, but also in other directions. Thus, an effect of changing directions, ascent and descent can be generated for the aircraft equipped with the exhaust propulsion device P. 
     While the invention has been described in terms of what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similar structures.