Patent Publication Number: US-2020301446-A1

Title: Tilt-Wing Aircraft

Description:
FIELD OF INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a tilt-wing aircraft, such as a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). 
     BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
     Heavier-than-air type aircraft, or aerodynes, are characterized by one or more wings and a central fuselage. The fuselage typically also carries a tail or empennage for stability and control, and an undercarriage for takeoff and landing. Engines may be located on the fuselage or wings. On a fixed-wing aircraft the wings are static planes rigidly attached to the fuselage and extending either side of the aircraft. When the aircraft travels forwards, air flows over the wings which are shaped to create lift. On a rotorcraft the wings are attached to a rotating shaft to provide lift throughout the entire flight, such as helicopters, autogyros, and gyrodynes. 
     New type aircraft with improved flying performance is desirable to meet the advancing technological need. 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     One example embodiment provides an aircraft with improved agility. The aircraft includes a main body, two wing assemblies, two motors, and a controller. The wing assemblies are attached at lateral of the main body. Each wing assembly further includes a wing that extends from lateral of the main body and is tiltable around an axis vertical to the lateral of the main body, one power plant such as a motor or an engine that is configured on the wing, and one propeller that is driven by the power plant for providing propulsion. The rotating plane of the propeller is vertical to the plane of the wing. Each motor tilts one wing assembly with a tilting angle. The controller is connected with the motors and provides a control signal to the motors to control the tilting angle of the wing assembly. Each wing assembly tilts with an individual tilting angle when the aircraft is flying, so that the aircraft can fly with improved agility. 
     Another example embodiment provides a method for controlling an attitude of an aircraft. The aircraft includes a controller and two wing assemblies. The wing assemblies extend from lateral of a main body and are driven by two motors respectively. The method including the following steps: determining a current flying attitude of the aircraft according to measurements of a plurality of sensors by a controller; calculating a first tilting angle of the first wing assembly according to the current flying attitude and a desired flying attitude by the controller; calculating a second tilting angle of the second wing assembly according to the current flying attitude and the desired flying attitude by the controller; providing a first torque to the first wing assembly to tilt the first wing assembly with the first tilting angle by the first motor; providing a second torque to the second wing assembly to tilt the second wing assembly with the second tilting angle by the second motor; and controlling the attitude of the aircraft by tilting the first wing assembly with the first tilting angle and tilting the second wing assembly with the second tilting angle simultaneously and respectively. 
     Other example embodiments are described herein. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES 
         FIG. 1  shows a top view of a tilt-wing aircraft in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of a tilt-wing aircraft control system in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 3-5  show different flying attitudes of a tilt-wing aircraft in accordance with example embodiments. 
         FIG. 6A and 6B  show a side view and a top view of a tilt-wing aircraft turning right in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 7A and 7B  show a side view and a top view of a tilt-wing aircraft turning left in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  shows a rear view of a tilt-wing aircraft shifting right in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  shows a rear view of a tilt-wing aircraft shifting left in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 10  shows a rear view of an aircraft rotating around the main body in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 11  shows a rear view of a flipped over tilt-wing aircraft hovering in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 12  shows a top view of a tilt-wing aircraft turning clockwise in accordance with an example embodiment. 
         FIG. 13  shows a method for controlling the flying attitude of a tilt-wing aircraft in accordance with an example embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     As used herein and in the claims, “comprising” means including the following elements but not excluding others. 
     As used herein and in the claims, “attitude” refers to the orientation of the craft with respect to a set of reference axes. 
     A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can hover, take off, and land vertically. By taking off directly into the air without the need for a runway, vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft require less physical space and infrastructure to get into the air, which is a necessary feature especially for a miniature UAV. 
     Conventional VTOL aircraft includes a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters, quadrotors, tilt-wing aircraft, and other aircraft with powered rotors, such as tiltrotors. A tilt-wing aircraft features a wing that is horizontal for conventional forward flight and rotates up for vertical takeoff and landing. A tiltrotor is an aircraft which generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more propeller mounted on rotating engine pods usually at the ends of a fixed wing, where only the propeller and engine rotate. Whilst conventional tilt-wing and tiltrotor aircraft combine the vertical lift capability of a helicopter with the speed and range of a conventional fixed-wing aircraft, they focus on better horizontal flying efficiency while the agility of the aircraft is rarely discussed. 
     Example embodiments improve the flying performance of the aircraft over conventional designs by providing agility and aerobatic ability unmatched by conventional designs, in the meantime, maintaining a comparable aerodynamic efficiency of fixed wing aircraft and the vertical take-off capability. Comparing with conventional designs that tilt the wings and/or rotors with the same angle, example embodiments can achieve high agility by swift tilting each of the wings, which carries the propeller and engine, individually, and at a tilting angle much larger than that in conventional designs. 
     The individually tilting wings provide better aerodynamics and hence higher efficiency than conventional designs during normal flight. For example, the swift tilting of the wings collaboratively changes the direction of the propelling power and the aerodynamics of the wing so as to provide high agility in maneuvers, such as change of flying direction and flipping over of the aircraft body. Each individual wing&#39;s direction can be changed at any angle from 0 to 360 degree, so that the wing can provide lift as well as air-braking in rapid landing and aerobatics by changing the tilting angle. Combining lift at one wing and air-braking at the other wing can lead to twisting and turning of the aircraft body in 6-axis, so that the agility and maneuverability is greatly improved. Example embodiments also employ one or more servo systems to adjust the individual power output of the engines to aid better balancing and agility. 
     One example embodiment provides an aircraft with improved agility. The aircraft includes a main body, two wing assemblies, two motors, and a controller. The wing assemblies are attached at lateral of the main body. Each wing assembly further includes a wing that extends from lateral of the main body and is tiltable around an axis vertical to the lateral of the main body, one power plant that is configured on the wing, and one propeller that is driven by the power plant for providing propulsion. The rotating plane of the propeller is vertical to the plane of the wing. Each motor tilts one wing assembly with a tilting angle. The controller is connected with the motors and provides a control signal to the motors to control the tilting angle of the wing assembly. Each wing assembly tilts with an individual tilting angle when the aircraft is flying, so that the aircraft can fly with improved agility. 
     By way of example, the two wing assemblies are attached to the opposite sides of the main body symmetrically via shafts, and each shaft being driven by the corresponding motor. 
     By way of example, the aircraft further includes a sensor for sensing an actual tilting angle of each wing assembly, and sending the actual tilting angle to the controller. The controller further controls power output of each power plant according to the actual tilting angle of the wing assembly. 
     By way of example, the aircraft further includes a plurality of sensors for measuring parameters of the aircraft. The sensors include one or more of an accelerometer, a gravity sensor, a digital compass, a Global Positioning System (GPS), a temperature sensor, a wind sensor and cameras. The controller provides the control signal based on the sensors&#39; measurements. 
     By way of example, a tiltable angle of each wing assembly is at any angle from 0 to 360 degree. 
     By way of example, the controller further includes a transmitter that transmits the control signal and a receiver that receives the control signal via wireless communication and control the tilting angle of the wing assembly. 
     By way of example, the aircraft is a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). 
     One example embodiment provides a method for controlling an attitude of an aircraft. The aircraft includes a controller and two wing assemblies. The wing assemblies extend from lateral of a main body and are driven by two motors respectively. The method including the following steps: determining a current flying attitude of the aircraft according to measurements of a plurality of sensors by a controller; calculating a first tilting angle of the first wing assembly according to the current flying attitude and a desired flying attitude by the controller; calculating a second tilting angle of the second wing assembly according to the current flying attitude and the desired flying attitude by the controller; providing a first torque to the first wing assembly to tilt the first wing assembly with the first tilting angle by the first motor; providing a second torque to the second wing assembly to tilt the second wing assembly with the second tilting angle by the second motor; and controlling the attitude of the aircraft by tilting the first wing assembly with the first tilting angle and tilting the second wing assembly with the second tilting angle simultaneously and respectively. 
     In one example embodiment, each wing assembly further includes a power plant and a propeller driven by the power plant, and the method further includes the following steps: calculating a first power output for the first power plant by the controller; calculating a second power output for the second power plant by the controller; providing, the first power output to the first propeller by the first power plant; and providing the second power output to the second propeller by the second power plant. In one example embodiment, the first and second power plant can provide appropriate power in synchronism with the tilting wings to maintain balance of the aircraft according to the control instructions inputted to the system. 
     With the wing assemblies tilting at different angles and correspondingly power plants adjusting the output power for the propellers, example embodiments can achieve a variety of flying attitudes with great agility, such as vertical taking off/landing, hovering, flying forward, accelerating, flying backward, decelerating, turning right/left, flipping over, and etc. 
     In the following descriptions, the same numbering in different figures is used to indicate the same component/part. The terms related to directions, such as “forward”, “backward”, “upwards”, “downwards”, “left”, “right”, etc. are for convenience of description and better understanding of the invention, and thus will not limit the example embodiments. 
       FIG. 1  shows a top view of a tilt-wing aircraft  100  in accordance with an example embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the aircraft  100  includes a main body  2 . A tail  1  is configured at the rear part of the main body  2  for keeping balance. A left wing assembly  110  and a right wing assembly  120  are attached at the lateral of the main body  2  respectively. The left wing assembly  110  further includes a left wing  3  that is connected to the main body  2  by a shaft  9 , a left power plant  4  that is fixed on the left wing  3 , and a left propeller  5  that is driven by the power plant  4  for providing propulsion. The right wing assembly  120  has the same structure with the left wing assembly  110 . It includes a right wing  6  that is connected to the main body  2  by a shaft  10 , a right power plant  7  that is fixed on the right wing  6 , and a right propeller  8  is driven by the right power plant  7  for providing propulsion for the aircraft  100 . 
     The wings  3  and  6  extend from the lateral of the main body  2  and can rotate around the shafts  9  and  10  which are vertical to the lateral of the main body  2 . The power plant  4  and  7  are fixed on the wings  3  and  6  respectively and each drives one propeller  5  and  8 . The rotating planes of the propellers  5  and  8  are vertical to the plane of the wings  3  and  6 . When the wing assemblies  110  and  120  tilt around the shafts  9  and  10 , the propelling direction of the propellers  5  and  8  changes accordingly. 
     The aircraft  100  further includes two motors (not shown) for providing torques to rotate the shafts  9  and  10 , and thus tilt the wing assemblies  110  and  120  with a tilting angle. The motors are connected to a controller (not shown). For example, the motors and the controller are embedded inside the main body  2 . The controller provides a control signal to a motor driver (not shown) that drives the corresponding motors, and thus control the tilting angle of the wing assemblies  110  and  120  by controlling the output of the motors. As each motor can output an individual torque to the shaft, the left wing assembly  110  and the right wing assembly  120  can tilt with different tilting angles. 
     The aircraft  100  can fly in a fixed wing mode or a tilt-wing mode. When flying in the fixed wing mode, it is aerodynamically similar to a normal fixed wing aircraft, while in a tilt-wing mode, it can provide high agility and aerobatic ability with differential tilting of the wing assemblies. 
     When the aircraft  100  is flying in a tilt-wing mode, the controller calculates a desired tilting angle of the wing assemblies  110  and  120  according to the flying attitude and generates control signals for the motors respectively. Each motor provides an individual output torque to tilt the corresponding wing assembly with an individual tilting angle via the corresponding shaft. As shown in  FIG. 1  for an example, the left wing assembly  110  tilt forward so that the rotating plane of the left propeller  5  is facing forward, while the right wing assembly  120  tilt backward so that the rotating plane right propeller  8  is facing backward. 
     In one example embodiment, the controller also calculates an output for each power plant, so that the propulsion of each propeller is adjusted accordingly. By rapid tilting of each wing assembly in sync with the power output of the power plant controlled by the controller, high agility of the aircraft is achieved. 
     In one example embodiment, the two wing assemblies  110  and  120  are symmetrically attached to the opposite sides of the main body  2 . 
     In one example embodiment, the tiltable angle of the two wing assemblies  110  and  120  are 180 degree forward/backward. 
     In one example embodiment, the aircraft  100  may include more than two wing assemblies. 
     In one example embodiment, the power plant  4  and  7  are engines. By way of example, the engines can change the direction of output power. 
     In one example embodiment, the main body  2  can be an aircraft body, an airship, a tube frame, a wire frame, etc., or a combination thereof. The shape of the main body  2  in  FIG. 1  is for example only, and it may be of other shapes in different example embodiments. The tail  1  may be a set of tail fins for stabilization. In some example embodiment, there may be no tail if the stabilization can be achieved by other mechanism. 
     In one example embodiment, the aircraft is an unmanned aerial vehicle. By way of example, the aircraft may be a flying machine toy. 
       FIG. 2  shows a block diagram of a tilt-wing aircraft control system  200  in accordance with an example embodiment. 
     The control system  200  includes sensors  201 , a controller  202 , two motors  2031  and  2032 , two wing assemblies  2041  and  2042 . The wing assembly  2041  consists of a power plant  2051  and a propeller  2061 . The wing assembly  2042  consists of a power plant  2052  and a propeller  2062 . 
     The controller  202  are connected with the sensors  201  for receiving measurements therefrom, and connected with the motors  2031  and  2032 , and the wing assemblies  2041  and  2042  for providing control signals thereto. 
     In one example embodiment, the sensors  201  includes one or more of an accelerometer, a gravity sensor, a digital compass, a Global Positioning System (GPS), a temperature sensor, a wind sensor and cameras for sensing the parameters of the aircraft and the environment around the aircraft. 
     By way of example, the sensors  201  measure an actual tilting angle of each wing assembly, and sending the actual tilting angle to the controller  202 . Based on the measurements and the input desired flying attitude, the controller  202  calculates and provides a first groups of control signals to the motors  2031  and  2032  for controlling the output power of the motors  2031  and  2032  to tilt the wing assemblies  2041  and  2042  respectively, and provides a second groups of control signals to control power output of each power plant  2051 / 2052  that actuates the propellers. Since the control signal for the motors  2031  are independent from that for the motor  2032 , the tilting angle of the wing assembly  2041  is independent from that of the wing assembly  2042 . 
     By way of example, the sensors  201  monitor the tilting angle of the wing assemblies  2041  and  2042  and feedback the information to the controller  202  continuously, so that the controller can adjust the control signal until the desired flying attitude is achieved. 
     By way of example, the motors  2031  and  2032  can be servo motors with or without reduction gearbox, servo mechanism or a hydraulic servo mechanism. The calculation method of the controller  202  can be artificial intelligent (AI) algorithms for automatic stabilization of the aircraft or perform the instructed aerobatic maneuvers. In one example embodiment, the calculation method can be a self-tuning control algorithm and/or a deep learning algorithm that learn the previous control action and the consequential behavior of the aircraft from sensors feedback such as accelerometers and gyroscopes for improved control action in the next incident. 
     By way of example, the controller  202  includes a microcontroller and/or FPGAs. 
     By way of example, the controller  202  includes a wireless transmitter and receiver. The transmitter transmits the control signals remotely and the receiver, which is connected with the motors, receives the control signals via wireless communication and controls the output of the motors, in turn the tilting angle of each wing assembly. 
       FIGS. 3-5  show different flying attitudes of a tilt-wing aircraft in accordance with example embodiments. As  FIGS. 3-5  are the side view of the aircraft, the left wing  3  and the left propeller  5  and left power plant  4  affixed to left wing  3  are not shown in these figures. 
       FIG. 3  shows the aircraft  300  at the vertical lift-off or hovering state with the wings  3  and  6  rotated approximately 90 degrees upward from horizontal simultaneously, while the angle of tilt of each wing and the output power of their respective power plant  4  and  7  can be fine-tuned continuously in synchronism to maintain balance of the aircraft. 
       FIG. 4  shows the aircraft  400  is hovering forward or accelerating to transit from hover to normal horizontal flight with the wings  3  and  6  tilting forward simultaneously, while each of the power plant  4  and  7  adjusts their power output corresponding to the tilting angle of their respective wings  3  and  6  to provide balance and motion of the aircraft. 
       FIG. 5  shows the aircraft  500  is hovering backward or decelerating to prepare for manoeuvres such as landing. This manoeuvre is performed with the wings  3  and  6  tilting backward simultaneously, while each of the power plant  4  and  7  adjust their power corresponding to the tilting angle of their respective wings  3  and  6  to provide balance and motion of the aircraft. 
     In the flying attitude of  FIGS. 3-5 , the tilting angles of the wings  3  and  6  may have slightly difference to keep balance and directional stability of the aircraft. 
       FIG. 6A and 6B  show a side view  600 A and a top view  600 B of a tilt-wing aircraft making a right turn maneuver during hovering or spiraling upwards/downwards by tilting the left wing  3  forward while tilting the right wing  6  backward simultaneously and respectively, and each of the power plant  4  and  7  adjusting their power corresponding to the tilting angle of their respective wings  3  and  6  to provide balance and motion of the aircraft. 
       FIG. 7A and 7B  show a side view  700 A and a top view  700 B of a tilt-wing aircraft making a left turn manoeuvre during hovering or spiraling upwards/downwards. The left wing  3  tilts backward while the right wing  6  tilts forward simultaneously and respectively. Each of the power plant  4  and  7  adjusts their power corresponding to the tilting angle of their respective wings  3  and  6  to provide balance and motion of the aircraft. By way of example, the tilting angles of the wings  3  and  6  are in the range of 0 to +/− 90 degrees from a vertical axis depending on the desired turning speed. 
       FIG. 8  shows a rear view  800  of a tilt-wing aircraft shifting right during hovering, lifting and landing with the left wings  3  and right wing  6  tilting upwards, i.e., approximately 90 degrees from the horizontal position, by left shaft  9  and right shaft  10  respectively, while the power plant  4  maintains a slightly higher power than that of power plant  7 , or alternatively, the propeller  5  maintains a slightly higher speed than the propeller  8 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a rear view  900  of a tilt-wing aircraft shifting left during hovering, lifting and landing. The left wings  3  and right wing  6  tilt upwards, i.e., approximately 90 degrees from horizontal position, while the power plant  4  maintains a slightly lower power than that of power plant  7 , or alternatively, the propeller  5  maintains a slightly lower speed than the propeller  8 . 
       FIG. 10  shows a rear view  1000  of an aircraft rotating clockwise around the main body  1  in-flight or hovering. The left wing  3  tilts upwards approximately 90 degrees from horizontal while the right wing  6  tilts downwards around the shafts  9  and  10  respectively. Each power plant  4  and  7  adjusts their power corresponding to the tilting angle of their respective wings  3  and  6  to provide balance and motion of the aircraft. In a similar way, the counter-clockwise rotation of the aircraft around the main body  1  can be performed with wings  3  and  6  reversing the positions by 180 degrees as in  FIG. 10 . 
       FIG. 11  shows a rear view  1100  of a flipped over tilt-wing aircraft hovering upside down. Both wings  3  and  6  are rotated approximately 90 degrees downwards from horizontal position. The transition from normal flying position to this upside-down position can be achieved by rapid tilting of the wings to rotate the aircraft as in  FIG. 10  and rapid tilting of the left wing  3  to this state, and with the corresponding adjustment of power from power plant  4  and  7  to balance and maintain the aircraft in an upside-down position. 
       FIG. 12  shows a top view  1200  of a tilt-wing aircraft making an extremely aggressive right turn or clockwise rotation during flight. This manoeuvre can be achieved by tilting the right wing  6  backward with 180 degrees, and tilting the left wing  3  forward with 180 degrees simultaneously and respectively. The power output from power plant  4  and  7  are adjusted accordingly to balance the aircraft. Similarly, the aircraft can make the aggressive left turn or anti-clockwise rotation by tilting the wings  3  and  6  in an opposite direction. 
       FIG. 13  shows a method for controlling the flying attitude of a tilt-wing aircraft. The aircraft includes a controller and two wing assemblies that are driven by two motors respectively with individual control of the engine(s) attached to the corresponding tilting wings. 
     Block  1301  states determining a current flying attitude of the aircraft according to measurements of a plurality of sensors and an instruction from a controller 
     By way of example, the sensors include one or more of an accelerometer, a gravity sensor, a digital compass, one or more Global Positioning System (GPS), a temperature sensor, a wind sensor and cameras etc. The current flying attitude is determined by the controller based on a combination of the sensors&#39; measurements. 
     Block  1302  states calculating a first tilting angle of the first wing assembly and a corresponding attached propeller rotation speed or engine power according to the current flying attitude and a desired flying attitude. 
     Block  1303  states calculating a second tilting angle of the second wing assembly and a corresponding attached propeller rotation speed or engine power according to the current flying attitude and the desired flying attitude. 
     By way of example, the desired flying attitude is input into the controller through a control interface. By way of example, the desired flying attitudes include taking off, hovering, landing, flying forward/backward, accelerating, decelerating, turning, shifting, rotating, and etc. By way of example, the desired flying attitudes are transmitted from a transmitting part of the controller remotely to the receiving part embedded in the aircraft main body. By way of example, the first tilting angle of the first wing assembly and the second tilting angle of the second wing assembly are calculated respectively by the controller that performs an artificial intelligent control method. 
     Block  1304  states providing a first torque to the first wing assembly to tilt the first wing assembly with the first tilting angle while adjusting a corresponding propeller rotation speed or engine power to the calculated value. 
     Block  1305  states providing a second torque to the second wing assembly to tilt the second wing assembly with the second tilting angle while adjusting a corresponding propeller rotation speed or engine power to the calculated value. 
     By way of example, the controller provides control signals to each motor driver to drive the motor that actuates the wing assembly, and each motor provides a torque to tilt each wing assembly accordingly. 
     Block  1306  states controlling the attitude of the aircraft by tilting the two wing assemblies simultaneously and with the first tilting angle and the second tilting angle respectively in synchronism with the corresponding engine power. 
     By way of example, the wing assemblies are tilted simultaneously and each wing assembly tilts with its individual tilting angle. The attitude of the aircraft is manipulated by cooperation of the tilting of the wing assemblies. 
     In one example embodiment, each wing assembly further comprises a power plant and a propeller driven by the power plant. The controller further calculates a first power output for the first power plant and a second power output for the second power plant, so that the first propeller and the second propeller generate differentiate propulsion which further increases the agility of the aircraft. 
     In one example embodiment, the wing assemblies are tilted to be vertical to ground, when the desired flying attitude of the aircraft is taking off from the ground, landing on the ground or hovering above the ground. 
     In one example embodiment, the wing assemblies are tilted with a same forward tilting angle, when the desired flying attitude of the aircraft is flying forward or accelerating. 
     In one example embodiment, the wing assemblies are tilted with a same backward tilting angle, when the desired flying attitude of the aircraft is flying backward or decelerating. 
     In one example embodiment, the first wing assembly is tilted with a forward tilting angle and the second wing assembly is tilted with a backward tilting angle, when the desired flying attitude of the aircraft is turning towards the side of the second wing assembly. 
     In one example embodiment, the first wing assembly is tilted upwards and the second wing assembly is tilted downwards, when the desired flying attitude of the aircraft is rotating around itself. 
     In one example embodiment, both wing assemblies are tilted downwards when the aircraft has flipped over and is hovering upside down. 
     The exemplary embodiments of the present invention are thus fully described. Although the description referred to particular embodiments, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with variation of these specific details. Hence this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.