Patent Publication Number: US-2019176956-A1

Title: Detachable multiaxial aircraft

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from Taiwan Patent Application No. 106143284, filed on Dec. 8, 2017, in the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to aircraft technology, and particularly, to a detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     A multiaxial aircraft, typically, is a one-piece device that is integrated with different components, e.g. the fuselage and the lift arm assemblies. It is not convenient to repair and carry around the multiaxial aircraft. 
     A published Chinese patent application with a publication number CN204548489U disclosed a detachable multiaxial aircraft, where the fuselage and the lift arm assemblies are locked or unlocked with each other by a locking element, and electrically connected with each other at the locking position. The lift arm assembly includes a rotary wing and a rotary arm. The rotary arm is detachably locked or unlocked to the fuselage. The rotary arm, however, does not have any protection and is easy to break. 
     What is needed, therefore, is to provide a detachable multiaxial aircraft that can overcome the problems as discussed above. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Many aspects of the exemplary embodiments can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the exemplary embodiments. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic view of a first exemplary embodiment of a detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
         FIG. 2  is a schematic view of a first exemplary embodiment of a fuselage. 
         FIG. 3  is a schematic view of a first exemplary embodiment of another fuselage. 
         FIG. 4  is a top main view of a first exemplary embodiment of a lift arm assembly. 
         FIG. 5  is a top view of a first exemplary embodiment of the lift arm assembly. 
         FIG. 6  is a bottom main view of a first exemplary embodiment of the lift arm assembly. 
         FIG. 7  is a side view of a first exemplary embodiment of the lift arm assembly. 
         FIG. 8  is a schematic view of a second exemplary embodiment of a detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic view of a third exemplary embodiment of a detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
         FIG. 10  is a top view of a third exemplary embodiment of the detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
         FIG. 11  is a side view of a third exemplary embodiment of the detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
         FIG. 12  is a schematic view of a fourth exemplary embodiment of a detachable multiaxial aircraft. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, where appropriate, reference numerals have been repeated among the different figures to indicate corresponding or analogous elements. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the exemplary embodiments described herein. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that the exemplary embodiments described herein can be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the related relevant feature being described. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, and the proportions of certain parts may be exaggerated better illustrate details and features. The description is not to considered as limiting the scope of the exemplary embodiments described herein. 
     Several definitions that apply throughout this disclosure will now be presented. The terms “connected” and “coupled” are defined as connected, whether directly or indirectly through intervening components, and is not necessarily limited to physical connections. The connection can be such that the objects are permanently connected or releasably connected. The term “outside” refers to a region that is beyond the outermost confines of a physical object. The term “inside” indicates that at least a portion of a region is partially contained within a boundary formed by the object. The term “substantially” is defined to essentially conforming to the particular dimension, shape or other word that substantially modifies, such that the component need not be exact. For example, substantially cylindrical means that the object resembles a cylinder, but can have one or more deviations from a true cylinder. The term “comprising” means “including, but not necessarily limited to”; it specifically indicates open-ended inclusion or membership in a so-described combination, group, series and the like. It should be noted that references to “an” or “one” exemplary embodiment in this disclosure are not necessarily to the same exemplary embodiment, and such references mean at least one. 
     In general, the word “module,” as used herein, refers to logic embodied in hardware or firmware, or to a collection of software instructions, written in a programming language, such as, for example, Java, C, or assembly. One or more software instructions in the modules may be embedded in firmware, such as an EPROM. It will be appreciated that modules may comprise connected logic units, such as gates and flip-flops, and may comprise programmable units, such as programmable gate arrays or processors. The modules described herein may be implemented as either software and/or hardware modules and may be stored in any type of computer-readable medium or other computer storage device. 
     References will now be made to the drawings to describe, in detail, various exemplary embodiments of the present detachable multiaxial aircrafts. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a first exemplary embodiment of a detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 . The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10  includes a fuselage  12  and two lift arm assemblies  14 . The two lift arm assemblies  14  are detachably connected to the fuselage  12 . The “detachably” can be realized by a plug-in method or a magnetic attraction method. The two lift arm assemblies  14  can be electrically connected to the fuselage  12  by wire or wireless, e.g. bluetooth, infrared, Wifi or RFID. The two lift arm assemblies  14  are located on two opposite sides of the fuselage  12  to form a biaxial aircraft. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , the fuselage  12  includes a positioning module  120 , an actuating module  122 , a flying controlling module  124 , and a communication module  126 . The communication module  126  can include an external antenna  128  or an internal antenna (not shown). 
     In one embodiment, each of the positioning module  120 , the actuating module  122 , the flying controlling module  124 , and the communication module  126  can include an electromagnetic shield casing, a hardware located in the electromagnetic shield casing, and software loaded on the hardware. The hardware can be an electronic compass, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a control circuit, a micro computer, or a battery. The positioning module  120 , the actuating module  122 , the flying controlling module  124 , and the communication module  126  can be detachably assembled together in operation. Thus, the electromagnetic interference between any two of the positioning module  120 , the actuating module  122 , the flying controlling module  124 , and the communication module  126  can be decreased. Moreover, each of the positioning module  120 , the actuating module  122 , the flying controlling module  124 , and the communication module  126  can be replaced individually. In one embodiment, some or all of the positioning module  120 , the actuating module  122 , the flying controlling module  124 , and the communication module  126  can share the same electromagnetic shield casing. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the actuating module  122  and the flying controlling module  124  share the same electromagnetic shield casing and together form a central module  123 . The electromagnetic shield casing of the central module  123  can have a cross section in the shape of square, rectangle, regular hexagon, or regular octagon. 
     In one embodiment, the flying controlling module  124  includes a first cuboid electromagnetic shield casing, the actuating module  122  includes a second cuboid electromagnetic shield casing. The first cuboid electromagnetic shield casing and the second cuboid electromagnetic shield casing have the same cross section so that the first cuboid electromagnetic shield casing and the second cuboid electromagnetic shield casing can form a third cuboid electromagnetic shield casing by stacking with each other. In operation, the flying controlling module  124  and the actuating module  122  are detachably assembled together to form the central module  123 . The central module  123  includes the third cuboid electromagnetic shield casing. The third cuboid electromagnetic shield casing includes four same first side walls connected and perpendicular to each other. The communication module  126  includes a first truncated trapezoid cone shaped electromagnetic shield casing, and the positioning module  120  includes a second truncated trapezoid cone shaped electromagnetic shield casing. The first truncated trapezoid cone shaped electromagnetic shield casing has a bottom wall same as the top wall of the third cuboid electromagnetic shield casing of the central module  123 . The second truncated trapezoid cone shaped electromagnetic shield casing has a top wall same as the bottom wall of the third cuboid electromagnetic shield casing of the central module  123 . In operation, the communication module  126  is detachably connected to the top wall of the central module  123 , and the positioning module  120  is detachably connected to the bottom wall of the central module  123 . In one embodiment, each of the electromagnetic shield casings includes a first bulge corresponding to a second blind hole of another electromagnetic shield casing and a first blind hole corresponding to a second bulge of another electromagnetic shield casing. Metal pads are located on the top of the bulges and the bottom of the blind holes. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the fuselage  12  includes two first connectors  129  located on at least two opposite side surfaces of the central module  123 . The two first connectors  129  are used to detachably connect with the lift arm assembly  14 . The first connectors  129  can further include a first metal pad  1292 . The first connector  129  can be a bulge, a blind hole, or a magnetic disc. In one embodiment, the first connector  129  includes a ring shaped magnetic disc and the first metal pad  1292  is a round metal sheet located in the central hole of the ring shaped magnetic disc. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4-7 , the lift arm assembly  14  includes a landing chassis  140 , an electric motor  142  mounted on the landing chassis  140 , a propeller  144  fixed on the electric motor  142 , and a shell  146  located on the landing chassis  140  and surrounding the propeller  144 . The structures of the landing chassis  140 , the electric motor  142 , and the propeller  144  are not limited and can be designed as needed. In one embodiment, the shell  146  surrounds both the propeller  144  and the electric motor  142 . The landing chassis  140  and the shell  146  can be made of metal or polymer. The landing chassis  140  and the shell  146  can be an integrated structure formed by casting method. The shell  146  can have a cross section in the shape of square, rectangle, regular hexagon, or regular octagon. 
     In one embodiment, the shell  146  includes eight same second side walls connected to each other to form a regular octagon shaped tube. The second side wall of the shell  146  has the same shape and size as the first side wall of the central module  123 . Both the first side wall and the second side wall are rectangular. 
     As shown in  FIG. 7 , the lift arm assembly  14  includes a second connector  147  located on an outer side surface of the shell  146 . Thus, the lift arm assembly  14  can be detachably connected to the fuselage  12  by the first connector  129  and the second connector  147 . The second connector  147  can also be a bulge, a blind hole, or a magnetic disc. When the first connector  129  is bulge, the second connector  147  should be blind hole so that the bulge can be inserted into and fixed by the blind hole. The second connector  147  can further include a second metal pad  1472 . The lift arm assembly  14  and the fuselage  12  can be electrically connected to each other by the first metal pad  1292  and the second metal pad  1472 . In one embodiment, the second connector  147  also includes a ring shaped magnetic disc and the second metal pad  1472  is a round metal sheet located in the central hole of the ring shaped magnetic disc. The first connector  129  has a N pole exposed and the second connector  147  has a S pole exposed so that the first connector  129  and the second connector  147  is attractable by one of the other. 
     The landing chassis  140  includes a pillar  148  and eight bars  149 . Each bar  149  has a first end connected to the pillar  148  and a second end connected to the shell  146 . The angle between adjacent two bars  149  is 45 degrees. In one embodiment, the eight bars  149  are located in the shell  146 , and the pillar  148  has a first end located in the shell  146  and a second end extending out of the shell  146 . The electric motor  142  is located on the first end of the pillar  148  and in the shell  146 , and the propeller  144  is located on the electric motor  142  and in the shell  146 . The second end of the pillar  148  is an inverted cone. When the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10  lands, all the second end of the pillars  148  of the lift arm assemblies  14  will touch the ground so that other parts of the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10  can be supported by the pillars  148 . The electric motor  142  can be a three phase brushless motor, and the propeller  144  can be a  trifolium  self locking paddle. 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a second exemplary embodiment of a detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 A. The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 A includes a fuselage  12  and three lift arm assemblies  14 . The three lift arm assemblies  14  are detachably connected to the fuselage  12 . The three lift arm assemblies  14  are located on three adjacent sides of the fuselage  12  to form a three axial aircraft. The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 A of the second exemplary embodiment is similar to the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10  of the first exemplary embodiment except that the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 A includes three lift arm assemblies  14 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 9-11 , a detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 B of the third exemplary embodiment is provided. The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 B includes a fuselage  12  and four lift arm assemblies  14 . The four lift arm assemblies  14  are detachably connected to the fuselage  12 . The four lift arm assemblies  14  are located on four sides of the fuselage  12  to form a cross shaped four axial aircraft. The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 B of the third exemplary embodiment is similar to the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10  of the first exemplary embodiment except that the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 B includes four lift arm assemblies  14 . Adjacent two lift arm assemblies  14  are in direct contact with each other by overlapping the second side walls of the shell  146 . Furthermore, the adjacent two lift arm assemblies  14  can be detachably connected to each other by a plug-in method or a magnetic attraction method. Thus, the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 B is stronger. 
     Referring to  FIG. 12 , a detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 C of the fourth exemplary embodiment is provided. The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 C includes a fuselage  12  and eight lift arm assemblies  14 . The first four of the eight lift arm assemblies  14  are directly detachably connected to the fuselage  12  and used as main lift arm assemblies. The second four of the eight lift arm assemblies  14  are directly detachably connected to the first four lift arm assemblies  14  and used as assistant lift arm assemblies. The first four lift arm assemblies  14  are directly located on four sides of the fuselage  12  to form a cross shape, and each of the second four lift arm assemblies  14  is directly detachably connected to one of the first four lift arm assemblies  14  to form an eight axial aircraft. In one embodiment, the eight lift arm assemblies  14  are arranged to form two rows. Adjacent two lift arm assemblies  14  are in direct contact with each other by overlapping the second side walls of the shell  146 . 
     The detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 C of the fourth exemplary embodiment is similar to the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10  of the first exemplary embodiment except that the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 C includes eight lift arm assemblies  14 , and the lift arm assembly  14  includes at least the second connector  147  and a third connector (not shown). The third connector can also be a bulge, a blind hole, or a magnetic disc. The third connector is used to detachably connect one lift arm assembly  14  with another lift arm assembly  14 . The third connector can also includes metal pad used to electrically connected to the another lift arm assembly  14 . The second four lift arm assemblies  14  are electrically connected to the fuselage  12  through the first four lift arm assemblies  14 . The fuselage  12  can independently control each of the eight lift arm assemblies  14 . Two rooms  16  are defined by the eight lift arm assemblies  14 . A spare battery (not shown) can be located in the room  16  to supply more power to the detachable multiaxial aircraft  10 C. 
     In one embodiment, the lift arm assembly  14  includes eight connectors, and each of the eight side walls of the shell  146  has one connector. Each connector is a magnetic disc embedded in a cavity (not shown) on the side wall of the shell  146 . The magnetic disc can be reversed according to need. Thus, each two adjacent lift arm assemblies  14  can be detachably connected to each other. 
     The biaxial aircraft can be used as toy, the four axial aircraft can be used for aerial photography, and the eight axial aircraft can be used for transport. The flying controlling module  124  can be changed according to the function of the detachable multiaxial aircrafts. Since the propeller  144  is protected by the shell  146 , it is not easy to be broken. The detachable multiaxial aircrafts have a compact structure because the fuselage  12  and the lift arm assembly  14  are detachably connected to each other via the shell  146 . The number of the lift arm assemblies  14  can be selected as needed so that the detachable multiaxial aircrafts have more function. 
     It is to be understood that the above-described exemplary embodiments are intended to illustrate rather than limit the disclosure. Any elements described in accordance with any exemplary embodiments is understood that they can be used in addition or substituted in other exemplary embodiments. Exemplary embodiments can also be used together. Variations may be made to the exemplary embodiments without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. The above-described exemplary embodiments illustrate the scope of the disclosure but do not restrict the scope of the disclosure. 
     Depending on the exemplary embodiment, certain of the steps of methods described may be removed, others may be added, and the sequence of steps may be altered. It is also to be understood that the description and the claims drawn to a method may include some indication in reference to certain steps. However, the indication used is only to be viewed for identification purposes and not as a suggestion as to an order for the steps.