Patent Publication Number: US-2007105475-A1

Title: Radio control helicopter toy

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to a radio control helicopter toy, the movement control thereof is performed with remote control.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      Conventionally, for the movement control of a helicopter, movement can be made in front and back, right and left directions by inclining the blade surface of a rotor provided on the aircraft. For inclining the blade surface of such a rotor, in the real helicopter, a mechanism for inclining the blade surface by interlocking a swash plate, rotating together with the rotor, with the blade via a link is adopted. This kind of the rotor blade surface inclining mechanism by a swash plate is adopted also for a movement control for a helicopter toy. For example, a technique related to a radio control helicopter with co-axial rotors, that is upper and lower rotor heads rotating in the opposite directions are provided concentrically, wherein the inclining of the blade rotation surface is controlled by interlocking a blade of the lower rotor head with a swash plate of a blade inclining mechanism provided in a aircraft is disclosed (for example, see Kokai (Jpn unexamined patent application) No. 2004-121798 (p. 3 to 6, FIGS. 1 to 7)).  
      Since the inside part of the conventional swash plate is connected with the rotor head, which is rotating via a link, a structure allowing the inside part to always rotate together with the rotor head. However, since the outside part is connected with an actuator mounted on the airframe for controlling the inclining of the swash plate with a link, it cannot be rotated. Therefore, a highly sophisticated part such as a ball bearing is required for the inside and the outside of the swash plate, and the structure is also complicated. Moreover, since the all parts from an actuator to the rotor head are connected via links, the structure is extremely complicated as well as the number of parts is large so that the cost may be increased as a whole.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention has been achieved in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a radio control helicopter toy capable of providing a mechanism for the movement control in a simple structure so as to be produced at low cost.  
      In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a first aspect of the present invention includes: a mast mounted projecting to the upper side of an airframe so as to be rotated by a main motor loaded on the airframe; a rotor mounted on the upper part of the mast via a rotor head with the blade surface of a rotor blade capable of inclining; a blade inclining mechanism having an arm with one end part side thereof mounted rotatably on the airframe side and the other end part side thereof is mounted to be driven to approach to the above-mentioned rotor head side by an actuator loaded on the above-mentioned airframe, for inclining the blade surface of the above-mentioned rotor by the magnetic force generated between magnets mounted on the end part of the arm and the above-mentioned rotor head or between a magnet and a ferromagnetic material; and a receiver loaded on the above-mentioned airframe for controlling the operation of the above-mentioned main motor and the actuator. Since the rotor blade surface is inclined by the magnetic force, the conventional inclining mechanism by a swash plate can be eliminated so that the mechanism for the movement control can be provided in a simple structure as well as it can be produced at low cost.  
      In a second aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned mast has an upper mast and a lower mast to be rotated concentrically in the opposite directions by the above-mentioned main motor; the above-mentioned rotor has an upper rotor mounted on the upper part of the above-mentioned upper mast via an upper rotor head with the blade surface of the upper rotor blade capable of inclining and a lower rotor mounted on the upper part of the above-mentioned lower mast via a lower rotor head with the blade surface of the lower rotor blade capable of inclining; and the above-mentioned blade inclining mechanism is provided on the above-mentioned airframe for inclining the blade surface of the above-mentioned lower rotor. In a helicopter toy having an upper mast and a lower mast to be rotated concentrically in the opposite directions, the movement control mechanism can be provided in a simple structure as well as it can be produced at low cost.  
      In the third aspect of the present invention, a stabilizer for controlling the flight attitude of the above-mentioned airframe is mounted on the above-mentioned upper mast so as to interlock with the above-mentioned upper rotor head. According to the stabilizer, the attitude of the airframe can be maintained stably.  
      In the fourth aspect of the present invention, the above-mentioned blade inclining mechanism has the above-mentioned arm to be driven by the actuator provided in for points of the front, back, right and left around the above-mentioned mast. With the masts in the four points, the direction control in the frontward, backward, right and left directions can be enabled.  
      In the fifth aspect of the present invention, a tail pipe is mounted on the rear side of the above-mentioned airframe and a tail rotor to be driven by a tail motor is mounted on an end part of the tail pipe. With the tail rotor, the airframe turnover can be prevented as well as the airframe can be controlled in the right and left directions.  
      In the sixth aspect of the present invention, the magnet or the ferromagnetic material mounted on the above-mentioned rotor head of the above-mentioned blade inclining mechanism is formed in a ring-like shape surrounding the rotation center of the above-mentioned mast. Since the magnet or the ferromagnetic material mounted on the rotor head is formed in a ring-like shape, the blade surface inclination of the rotor blade can be controlled certainly.  
      Since a mast mounted on the upper side of an airframe so as to be rotated by a main motor loaded on the airframe, a rotor mounted on the upper part of the mast via a rotor head with the blade surface of a rotor blade capable of inclining, a blade inclining mechanism having an arm with one end part side thereof mounted rotatably on the airframe side and the other end part side thereof is mounted to be driven to approach to the above-mentioned rotor head side by an actuator loaded on the airframe, for inclining the blade surface of the above-mentioned rotor by the magnetic force generated between magnets mounted on the end part of the arm and the above-mentioned rotor head or between a magnet and a ferromagnetic material, and a receiver loaded on the above-mentioned airframe for controlling the operation of the above-mentioned main motor and the actuator are provided, the rotor blade surface can be inclined by the magnetic force so that the mechanism for the movement control can be provided in a simple structure as well as it can be produced at low cost. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view for explaining the entire configuration of a radio control helicopter toy of an embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view for explaining a blade inclining mechanism of a radio control helicopter toy of the embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 3  is a side view for explaining a blade inclining mechanism of a radio control helicopter toy of the embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a blade inclining mechanism part of a radio control helicopter toy of the embodiment of the present invention.  
       FIG. 5  is a block diagram for explaining the control operation of a radio control helicopter toy of the embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
      Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained specifically with reference to an embodiment shown in the figures. FIGS.  1  to  5  are diagrams for explaining a radio control helicopter toy of an embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view for explaining the entire configuration of a radio control helicopter toy,  FIG. 2  is a perspective view for explaining a blade inclining mechanism of a radio control helicopter toy,  FIG. 3  is a side view for explaining a blade inclining mechanism of a radio control helicopter toy,  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a blade inclining mechanism part of a radio control helicopter toy, and  FIG. 5  is a block diagram for explaining the control operation of a radio control helicopter toy.  
      In these figures, the radio control helicopter toy  10  of this embodiment includes an airframe  11 , an upper rotor  12  and a lower rotor to be rotated concentrically in the opposite directions, provided in the upper part of the airframe, a stabilizer  14  for stably maintaining the rotating attitude, interlocking with one of the rotors, a driving part  15  loaded on the airframe  11  for rotating the upper rotor  12 , the lower rotor  13  and the stabilizer  14 , a blade inclining mechanism  16  loaded on the airframe  11  for controlling the moving direction by inclining the blade surface of the lower rotor  13 , a tail rotor  17  mounted on the rear side of the airframe  11 , a receiver  20  loaded on the airframe  11  for receiving a control signal sent from a transmitter  19  and controlling the operation of the driving part  15 , the blade inclining mechanism  16  and the tail rotor  17 , a battery  18  loaded in the airframe  11  for supplying the power source to each part, and the like.  
      The airframe  11  loads the above-mentioned parts, is formed with a plastic material, is formed in an arbitral shape modeled after a helicopter, and is provided with a landing member  21  in the lower part for landing in a stable state.  
      The upper rotor  12  includes an upper rotor head  25  mounted tiltably on the upper end part side of an upper mast  23  rotatingly driven by the driving part  15 , and a pair of upper rotor blades  26 ,  26  mounted on both end part sides of the upper rotor head  25 . The upper rotor head  25  shaped in a substantially rectangular ring-like shape slightly larger than the outer diameter of the upper mast  23  is mounted tiltably on both end parts of a driving shaft  27  provided in a direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft center at the upper end part side of the upper mast  23 . The upper rotor blades  26 ,  26  are mounted on both end part sides of the upper rotor head  25  along the shaft center of the driving shaft  27  for generating the lift up force at the time of being rotatingly driven by the upper mast  23 .  
      The stabilizer  14  includes a stabilizer head  28  mounted on the upper mast  23  on the lower side of the upper rotor  12 , a pair of stabilizer shafts  29 ,  29  mounted on both end faces of the stabilizer head  28 , weights  30 ,  30  each mounted on end part sides of the stabilizer shafts, and a stabilizer link  32  mounted so as to interlock the stabilizer head  28  and the upper rotor head  25 . The stabilizer head  28  is formed in a substantially rectangular ring-like shape slightly larger than the outer diameter of the upper mast  23 . The stabilizer head  28  is mounted tiltably on both end parts of a shaft  31  penetrating through the upper mast  23  in a direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft center of the upper mast  23  at the lower part side of the upper rotor head  25 . The stabilizer  14  is mounted such that the intersection angle the mounting direction of the stabilizer shafts  29 ,  29  and the mounting direction of the upper rotor blades  26 ,  26  of the upper rotor  12  is for example an inclination angle of about 30 to 90 degrees. That is, according to the stabilizer  14 , in the case the weights  30 ,  30  and the stabilizer shafts  29 ,  29  are inclined to a certain direction around the shaft  31  together with the stabilizer head  28 , the upper rotor head  25  is interlocked and inclined around the driving shaft  27  via the stabilizer link  32  accompanied by the inclination so that the surfaces of the upper rotor blades are inclined in the same direction.  
      The lower rotor  13  includes a lower rotor head  33  mounted tiltably on the upper end part side of the lower mast  24  to be rotatingly driven by the driving part  15 , and a pair of lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  mounted on both end part sides of the lower rotor head  33 . The lower rotor head  33  with the central part shaped in a substantially rectangular ring-like shape slightly larger than the outer diameter of the lower mast  24  is mounted tiltably on the both end parts of a driving shaft  22  provided in a direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft center at the upper end part side of the lower mast  24 . The lower rotor head  33  has mounting parts  35 ,  35  formed with the both end face sides without having the pair of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  projecting downward. Ferromagnetic materials  49 ,  49 , consisting of small pieces to be attracted by a magnet, are mounted on the lower end parts of the mounting parts  35 ,  35 . As to the inclination angle around the shaft center of the driving shaft  22  of the lower rotor head  33 , as it will be explained later in detail, even in the case the ferromagnetic materials  49 ,  49  are attracted by a magnetic force, they do not come in contact with the blade inclining mechanism  16 . The lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  are mounted on the both end part sides of the lower rotor head  33  along the shaft center direction of the driving shaft  22  so as to generate the lift up force at the time of being rotatingly driven by the lower mast  24 .  
      The upper mast  23  is formed with a slightly thick shaft part on the upper side on which, the upper rotor  12  and the stabilizer  4  are mounted, and with a narrow shaft part on the lower side. The lower mast  24  is formed in a substantially pipe-like shape such that the narrow shaft part on the lower side of the upper rotor  12  is rotatably introduced through the pipe. The upper mast  23  and the lower mast  24  are mounted through from the central upper part to the inside of the airframe  11  so as to be rotated at the same rate in the opposite directions by the driving part  15 .  
      The driving part  15 , disposed in the airframe  11  on the lower side of the upper mast  23  and the lower mast  24 , includes a main motor  36 , a pinion  37 , a lower main gear  38  and an upper main gear  39  having the same number of teeth, and an inversion gear pair  40  to be rotated in the opposite directions at the same rate. The main motor  36  is mounted on the airframe  11  with the driving shaft oriented upward, and the pinion  37  is mounted on the driving shaft. The lower main gear  38  is mounted on the lower end part side of the narrow shaft part on the lower side of the upper mast  23 , and the upper main gear  39  is mounted on the lower end part side of the lower mast  24 . The lower main gear  38  is engaged with the pinion to be rotated by the main motor  36 . The lower main gear  38  is engaged with one of the gears of the inversion gear pair  40 , and the other gear of the inversion gear pair  40  is engaged with the upper main gear  39 . That is, the rotational force by the main motor  36  is transmitted to the lower main gear  38  via the pinion  37 , and then is transmitted to the upper main gear  39  via the inversion gear pair  40  from the lower main gear  38  so that the upper mast  23  and the lower mast  24  are rotated in the opposite directions.  
      The blade inclining mechanism  16 , for the movement control by inclining the lower rotor blade  34 ,  34  surfaces by the magnetic force via the lower rotor head  33  mounted tiltably on the upper end part side of the lower mast  24 , includes an actuator  41 , a rotation plate  42 , a pair of arm supporting parts  43 ,  43 , arms  44 ,  44 , links  45 ,  46 ,  47 , and magnets  48 ,  48 . The actuator  41  is mounted on the front part side airframe  11  on the lower side of the lower rotor  13  with the driving shaft oriented to the horizontal direction. The rotation plate  42  is mounted on the driving shaft of the actuator  41 . The arm supporting parts  43 ,  43  are mounted on the front and rear parts of the airframe  11  across the lower part side of the lower mast  24  respectively. To each of the arm supporting parts  43 ,  43 , one end parts of the arms  44 ,  44  formed in a rod-like shape, for example, are mounted rotatably, and the other end part sides are oriented to the lower part side of the upper lower rotor head  33 . The magnets  48 ,  48  are mounted on the other end parts oriented upward of these arms  44 ,  44 , respectively. The rotation plate  42  mounted on the driving shaft of the actuator  41  and one of the arms  44  in front are interlocked with the link  45 . The arm  44  in front and the arm  44  in rear are interlocked with the links  46 ,  47 . The blade inclining mechanism is for rotating the rotation plate  42  by the actuator  41 , and rotating the arms  44 ,  44  with the arm supporting parts  43 ,  43  provided as the supporting points via the links  45 ,  46 ,  47 . That is, by the drive of the actuator  41 , the arm  44  in front is rotated from the slightly inclined neutral position to make the magnet  48  approach to the ferromagnetic material  49  side of the mounting part  35  of the lower rotor head  33 . Then, by the magnetic force, the lower rotor head  33  is attracted and rotated so as to incline the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  forward. On the other hand, the arm  44  in rear is rotated from the slightly inclined neutral position to make the magnet  48  approach to the ferromagnetic material  49  of the mounting part  35  of the lower rotor head  33 . Then, by the magnetic force, the lower rotor head  33  is attracted and rotated so as to incline backward the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  backward. In the case the arms  44 ,  44  are both at the slightly inclined neutral position, it is a position without the function of the magnetic force so as not to rotate the lower rotor head  33 . In the case one of the arms  44  is rotated form the neutral position to a position close to the lower part side of the lower rotor head  33 , the magnetic force is applied, however, the other arm  44  is further inclined form the neutral position so as to rotate to a position without the function of the magnetic force. Since the lower rotor head  33  is arranged not to be incline to more than a certain angle, either of the magnets  48 ,  48  approaches to the ferromagnetic materials  49 ,  49  without contacting thereto and it is rotated with the lower mast.  
      In this embodiment, since the upper rotor  12  and the lower rotor  13  to be rotated concentrically in the opposite directions are provided, the tail rotor  17  needs not be rotated for preventing turnover of the airframe  11 , however, the tail rotor  17  is mounted rotatably on a tail part  50  provided on the end part of the tail pipe  49  elongating horizontally from the rear part of the airframe  11 . The tail rotor  17  is arranged to be transmitted the rotational force of the tail motor  51  provided in the rear part of the airframe  11  via the driving shaft provided inside the tail pipe  49 , the bevel gear provided in the tail part  50 , or the like. By rotating the tail rotor  17  forward or backward by the tail motor  51 , the airframe  11  is rotated around the shaft center of the upper mast  23  and the lower mast  24 , and thereby the operation control in the right and left direction can be enabled.  
      The receiver  20  includes an antenna  61 , a receiving circuit  62  for receiving a control signal as a radio wave transmitted from the transmitter  19 , a control circuit  63  for producing a control signal based on the signal received by the receiving circuit  62 , a motor driving circuit  64  for driving the main motor  36  and the tail motor  51  based on the control signal of the control circuit  63 , an actuator driving circuit  65  for driving the actuator  41 , and the like such that the electric power from the battery  18  can be supplied by a power source switch  66  mounted operatably on the airframe  11 , or the like to the receiving circuit  62 , the control circuit  63 , the motor driving circuit  64  and the actuator driving circuit  65 . The transmitter  19  includes a control part  52  having a control lever for the orientation control for elevation, descent, forward or backward movement and the like, a signal producing circuit  53  for producing a control signal according to the operation of the control part  52 , a transmitting circuit  54  for transmitting a control signal produced by the signal producing circuit  53  as a radio wave from the antenna  57 , and the like such that the electric power is supplied from the battery  55  by the power source switch  56  to the signal producing circuit  53  and the transmitting circuit  54 .  
      The operation of the radio control helicopter toy  10  of the above-mentioned configuration will be explained. First, by switching on the power source switch  66  and placing the airframe  11  at a horizontal portion using the landing member  21 , the radio control helicopter toy  10  is prepared for taking off. Next, by switching on the power source switch  56  of the transmitter  19  and operating the control lever of the control part  52 , a control signal based on the operation is produced in the signal producing circuit  53  and the control signal is transmitted as a radio wave from the transmitting circuit  54  via the antenna  57 . The control signal transmitted from the transmitter  19  is received by the receiving circuit  62  via the antenna  61  of the receiver  20  provided in the airframe  11  of the radio control helicopter toy  10 . The control signal from the transmitter  19  received by the receiving circuit  62  is transmitted to the control circuit  63  so as to produce an output signal, and the output signal is outputted to the motor driving circuit  64  so as to produce a motor driving signal in the motor driving circuit  64  so that the main motor  36  or the tail motor  51  starts the rotation based on the motor driving signal. The rotational force of the main motor  36  is transmitted from the pinion  37  to the upper mast  23  via the lower main gear  38 , and from the lower main gear  38 , the rotation force is also transmitted to the lower mast  24  via the inversion gear pair  40  and the upper main gear  39  so as to rotate the upper rotor  12  and the lower rotor  13  by the same rotational frequency in the opposite directions respectively. Thereby, the upper rotor blades  26 ,  26  mounted on the upper rotor head  25  of the upper rotor  12  and the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  mounted on the lower rotor head  33  of the lower rotor  13  are respectively rotated so as to enable the ascending flight of the airframe  11 . At the time, since the upper rotor  12  and the lower rotor  13  are rotated at the same rotational rate in the opposite directions, the respective reaction torques applied to the airframe  11  can be offset with each other so that the airframe  11  can ascend without rotation. Moreover, since the stabilizer  14  mounted on the upper mast  23  is interlocked with the upper rotor  12  via the stabilizer link  32 , when the stabilizer shafts  29 ,  29  are rotated in a horizontal attitude, the stabilizer shafts  29 ,  29  continue stable operation while maintaining the horizontal attitude due to the centrifugal force of the weights  30 ,  30 . Moreover, in the case the stabilizer shafts  29 ,  29  are inclined from the horizontal attitude for any reason, the stabilizer shafts  29 , 29  affects the surfaces of the upper rotor blades  26 ,  26  to be inclined in the same direction via the stabilizer link  32  so that the function of maintaining the surfaces of the upper rotor blades  26 ,  26  horizontally is generated automatically by the centrifugal force of the weights  30 ,  30 . Therefore, the stable operation can be enabled while maintaining the attitude of the airframe  11 .  
      Next, the operation of the movement control of the airframe  11  by the blade inclining mechanism  16  after ascending in the air to a predetermined height will be explained. First, when a control signal is transmitted by the forward operation from the transmitter  19 , the receiver  20  receives the forward control signal so that the forward signal is transmitted form the actuator driving circuit  65  to the actuator  41 . When the actuator  41  receives the forward signal, the rotation plate  42  is driven so as to rotate the arm  44  in front from the neutral position via the link  45  to make the magnet  48  approach to the ferromagnetic material  49  side of the mounting part  35  of the lower rotor head  33 . Then, by the magnetic force, the lower rotor head  33  is attracted and rotated so as to incline the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  forward. According to the forward inclination of the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34 , the airframe  11  can be moved forward. In the same manner, when a control signal is transmitted by the backward operation from the transmitter  19 , the rotation plate  42  is driven so as to rotate the arm  44  from the neutral position via the links  45 ,  46 ,  47  to make the magnet  48  approach to the ferromagnetic material  49  side of the mounting part  35  of the lower rotor head  33 . Then, by the magnetic force, the lower rotor head  33  is attracted and rotated so as to incline the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  backward. According to the backward inclination of the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34 , the airframe  11  can be moved backward. In this embodiment, by rotating forward or backward the tail rotor  17  by the tail motor  51 , the airframe  11  is oriented in the right or left direction with respect to the rotation shaft center of the upper mast  23  and the lower mast  24 , and thereby, the moving direction can be controlled in the right and left direction.  
      As heretofore explained, according to the radio control helicopter toy  10  of the embodiment of the present invention, since the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  of the lower rotor  13  to be rotated by the lower mast  24  are inclined to the moving direction by attracting using the magnetic force by the blade inclining mechanism  16  mounted on the airframe  11 , it can be produced in a simple structure at low cost without the need of a swash plate or a link of a complicated structure as in the conventional configuration.  
      In the radio control helicopter toy  10  of the above-mentioned embodiment, moving direction can be controlled in forward and backward direction. However, the moving direction can be controlled also in right and left direction by additionally providing a blade inclining mechanism, for inclining the surfaces of the lower rotor blades  34 ,  34  in the right and left direction utilizing the magnetic force, to the airframe  11 . Moreover, although an example of mounting the ferromagnetic materials  49 ,  49  to the mounting parts  35 ,  35  of the lower rotor head  33  and mounting the magnets  48 ,  48  on the end parts of the arms  44 ,  44  of the blade inclining mechanism  16  has been explained in this embodiment, as long as they are attracted by the magnetic force, either one can be ferromagnetic material and the magnet, or furthermore, both of them can be a magnet. Furthermore, the ferromagnetic material or the magnet to be mounted on the lower side of the lower rotor head  33  may be formed in a ring-like shape instead of a small piece.  
      Furthermore, although a helicopter toy of a mechanism having the upper rotor  12  and the lower rotor  13  to be rotated concentrically in the opposite directions has been explained in this embodiment, as another embodiment, by mounting a blade inclining mechanism  16 , with the same mechanism on one rotor to be driven in one direction by a main motor to an aircraft and applying the resultant mechanism to a radio control helicopter toy of a mechanism rotating the tail rotor  17 . Moreover, the tail motor  51  can be mounted to the tail part  50  as well.  
      The present invention can be utilized for a radio control helicopter toy to have the movement control by the remote control.