VERTICAL TAKE OFF PLANE
In one embodiment of the present invention, a vertical take off aircraft is provided with an airframe having an aft section freely pivotally connected to the bow section. The airframe is substantially planar when the aft section is pivotally aligned with the bow section. A propeller system and a pair of wings are secured to the bow section of the airframe. When the bow section is pivoted to a vertical position and the aircraft is placed on a surface, the propeller system when activated will vertically lift the aircraft off of the surface. Furthermore, when the aircraft vertically lifts off of the surface, the aft section freely pivots to form the substantially planar airframe which creates larger lift forces in a horizontal direction than in a vertical direction causing the aircraft to fly in a more horizontal direction, whereby the aircraft automatically switches from a vertical take off to horizontal flight.
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The present application is a divisional application of U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/241,504 filed Sep. 30, 2005.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to vertical take off planes, and more particularly to hobby and toy aircraft designed for vertical take offs and horizontal flight
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONPrior art attempts to develop vertical take off aircraft require complicated control systems with wings or engines that are pivotally controlled. U.S. Pat. No. 4,387,866 to Eickmann is directed to such an aircraft. The aircraft includes four tiltable wings for vertical and horizontal flight along with complicated structural components and thrust to ensure the aircraft can make the transition between vertical and horizontal flight.
Other aircrafts use two or more thrusters to transition between vertical and horizontal flight. U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,670 to Shah and U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,456 to Devine both include vertical thrusters and horizontal thrusters. Utilizing extra thrusters requires a lot more weight and cost to the aircraft. Further, children and inexperienced users have difficulty launching a plane from a runway or via a manual throw. A need exists to provide an affordable plane that can be launched in a simple, safe, and efficient manner
The present invention solves these problems found in the prior art, by providing a simple vertical take off aircraft that transitions to horizontal flight.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a vertical take off aircraft has an airframe split into an aft section freely pivotally connected to a bow section. The airframe is substantially planar when the aft section is pivotally aligned with the bow section. A means for propelling the aircraft is secured to the bow section of the airframe and a pair of wings extends outwardly from the bow section. When the bow section is pivoted to a position that the wings are vertical, a portion of the pivoted wings and a portion of the aft section create a tri-pod to support the aircraft on a surface, such that when the propelling means is activated, the aircraft will vertically lift off of the surface. Furthermore, when the aircraft vertically lifts off of the surface, the aft section freely pivots to form the substantially planar airframe which creates larger lift forces in a horizontal direction than in a vertical direction causing the aircraft to fly in a more horizontal direction. This in turn levels the aircraft to a more horizontal position. The aircraft, thus, automatically switches from a vertical take off to horizontal flight.
Numerous other advantages and features of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description of the invention and the embodiments thereof and from the accompanying drawings.
A fuller understanding of the foregoing may be had by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
While the invention is susceptible to embodiments in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and will be described herein, in detail, the preferred embodiments of the present invention. It should be understood, however, that the present disclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the spirit or scope of the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
Referring now to
The bow section 130 includes a means for propelling 132 the aircraft. The propeller means 132 may be a mechanical means or an electrical/mechanical means to rotate a main propeller system 136. As well known in the art, mechanical means may includes a rubber band that when twisted or wound around a pin and released will impart spin to the propeller system 136. Various electrical/mechanical means would include a motor and power supply that when activated will rotate the propeller system. The electrical/mechanical means are preferable. The various electrical/mechanical components are stored in the nose 138 of the bow section 130. However, some of the components may be stored in the aft section 110, provided the power or rotation is transferred to the propeller(s) in the bow section 130.
As illustrated, the propeller system 136 includes a first pair of propellers 140 and a second pair of propellers 142. One of the pairs is positioned in front of the other pair. Either the first or second pair of propellers may be counter-rotating, in order to help alleviate torque on the aircraft 100. As shown in other embodiments herein the propeller system 136 may be a single pair of propellers without a counter-rotating propeller.
The bow section 130 includes a pair of wings 144 extending there from. The wings 144 may include upturned tips 146. The general shape of the wings 144 may be changed to accomplish various flying characteristics, all of which are well known in the art. As illustrated, the wings 144 are dihedral having a larger chord 152 (defined from the leading edge 156 to the trailing edge 158 of a wing) at the root 154 than the tip 146. As such and as discussed in greater detail below, the root trailing edge 148 of the wings 144 will be in contact with the ground when the wings are vertically aligned (
A front portion 156 of the wings 144 is attached to the bow section 130. The wings 144 extend behind the bow section 130 and form an opening 160 therebetween. The opening 160 is sized to receive an aft pivot section 162 of the aft section 110.
The bow section 130 is pivotally connected to the aft section 110 by a loose pivot, meaning the two sections may pivot freely without resistance. The free pivot, defined on both sides of the aircraft 100, has a first plate 126 secured to the aft pivot section 162 and a corresponding second plate 128 secured to a bow pivot section 135 defined on the wings 144 in the opening 160. The inside plate 126 includes a protruding knob 127 that fits in a recess 129 defined on the second plate 128. When assembled, the aircraft 100 has a freely moving joint 150. The joint 150 should also be placed substantially around the aircraft's center of gravity CG. Weights 129 may also be included on the wings 144 to assist in positioning the center of gravity.
During flight as illustrated in
Referring now to
Referring to
In a fourth embodiment aircraft 400, illustrated in
As shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring now to
During takeoff, the aircraft 700 is vertically positioned on the launch pad 750 with the rod 756 and the bowl 752 defined by the launch pad 750 holding the aircraft 700 in a vertical position. Once the aircraft 700 vertically lifts away from the launch pad 750 the weight on the belly 708 of the aircraft 700 will cause the aircraft to turn or bank into a slightly horizontal position. As this occurs, the wind current over the wings and stabilizers will cause the aircraft to fly in a more horizontal direction than vertical direction.
In other embodiments, illustrated by
The present invention may further include a vertical tail stabilizer that may be remotely controlled to provide yaw control. Referring now to
In another embodiment, illustrated in
The wings 1002 may also include moveable or controllable flaps 1015. The flaps 1015 may be controllable by servos (not shown) that receive commands from a remote control unit (not shown).
The body 1004 would house the power supply, servos, and a motor mechanism used to rotate a propeller assembly 1020 positioned on the nose 1016 of the body 1004. The body 1004 would also include a receive and circuit board such that the aircraft is controllable from a remote control unit.
Referring now to
The propeller assembly 1020 further includes a compression spring 1032 and a nose mount 1034. The nose mount 1034 is rotatably secured to the nose 1016 of the body 1004 and is in communication with the motor mechanism such that when the motor mechanism is operating the nose mount 1034 will rotate. The nose mount 1034 includes a projecting member 1036 that extends through the compression spring 1032 and through the aperture 1028 defined by the center mounting region 1026 of the propeller mechanism 1022. Secured onto the projecting member 1036 is a cap mount 1040. The cap mount 1040 includes a receiving end 1041 to secure the projecting member 1036 thereto. The cap mount 1040 further includes a plurality of keys 1042 that align with and slide within the groves 1030 on the aperture 1028 defined by the center mounting region 1026. A cone 1044 is further placed on the end of the cap mount.
Referring now to
From the foregoing and as mentioned above, it will be observed that numerous variations and modifications may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concept of the invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiments illustrated herein is intended or should be inferred.
Claims
1. A vertical take off aircraft comprising:
- an airframe having an aft section freely pivotally connected to the bow section, and the airframe being substantially planar when the aft section is pivotally aligned with the bow section;
- a means for propelling the aircraft secured to the bow section of the airframe;
- a pair of wings extending outwardly from the bow section; and
- when the bow section is pivoted to a position that the wings are vertical, a portion of the pivoted wings and a portion of the aft section create a tri-pod to support the aircraft on the ground, such that when the propelling means is activated, the aircraft will vertically lift off of the ground, and when the aircraft vertically lifts off of the ground, gravity freely pivots the aft section to form the substantially planar airframe and wind current over the substantially planar airframe creates lift forces in a horizontal direction causing the aircraft to fly in a horizontal direction which in turn further increases the horizontal lift forces causing the aircraft to fly level the aircraft to a more horizontal position and fly in the horizontal direction, whereby the aircraft automatically switches from a vertical take off to horizontal flight.
2. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the portion of the pivoted wings are further defined as the root trailing edge of the wings.
3. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the portion of the aft section that aids in creating the tripod is a base stabilizer.
4. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein on either side of the aft section there is provided a first plate secured thereto and a corresponding second plate secured to a bow pivot section defined on the bow section, the inside plate includes a protruding knob that fits in a recess defined on the second plate, whereby when the aft section is assembled to the bow section the first and second plates create the free pivot.
5. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the means for propelling includes a main propeller and a counter-rotating propeller positioned in a nose defined by the aircraft and the counter-rotating propeller is positioned in front of said main propeller.
6. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the means for propelling includes a main propeller positioned in a nose defined by the aircraft.
7. The aircraft of claim 1, wherein the means for propelling includes a pair of propellers separately positioned along the wings of the aircraft.
8. A vertical take off aircraft comprising:
- an airframe having an aft section and a bow section, the bow section having a means for propelling the aircraft, and a pair of wings extending outwardly therefrom, the pair of wings having an opening formed there between to receive an end of the aft section, the opening between the wings and the end of the aft section having free pivoting means that permits the aft section and bow section to freely pivot in relation to each other when assembled,
- when the bow section is pivoted to a vertical position and the aircraft is placed on a surface, the propelling means when activated will vertically lift the aircraft off of the surface, and when the aircraft vertically lifts off of the surface, gravity freely pivots the aft section to form the substantially planar airframe and wind current over the substantially planar airframe creates lift forces in a horizontal direction causing the aircraft to fly in a horizontal direction which in turn further increases the horizontal lift forces causing the aircraft to fly level the aircraft to a more horizontal position and fly in the horizontal direction, whereby the aircraft automatically switches from a vertical take off to horizontal flight.
9. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein the means for propelling includes a main propeller and a counter-rotating propeller positioned in a nose defined by the aircraft and the counter-rotating propeller is positioned in front of said main propeller.
10. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein the means for propelling includes a main propeller positioned in a nose defined by the aircraft.
11. The aircraft of claim 8, wherein the means for propelling includes a pair of propellers separately positioned along the wings of the aircraft.
12. A vertical take off aircraft comprising:
- an airframe having an aft section and a bow section, the bow section having a means for propelling the aircraft, the aft section having a pair of wings, and a tail section, a pivotal connection between the aft section and the bow section wherein the aft and bow sections are freely pivotally connected, and
- when the bow section is pivoted to a vertical position and the aircraft is placed on a surface, the propelling means when activated will vertically lift the aircraft off of the surface, and when the aircraft vertically lifts off of the surface, gravity freely pivots the aft section to form the substantially planar airframe and wind current over the substantially planar airframe creates lift forces in a horizontal direction causing the aircraft to fly in a horizontal direction which in turn further increases the horizontal lift forces causing the aircraft to fly level the aircraft to a more horizontal position and fly in the horizontal direction, whereby the aircraft automatically switches from a vertical take off to horizontal flight.
13. The aircraft of claim 12, wherein the pivotal connection includes an opening in a front portion of the aft section sized to receive the bow section and the aft section includes a pair of diametrically opposed pins and the bow section includes a pair of corresponding apertures sized to receive the pins.
14. The aircraft of claim 12, wherein the propelling means includes a single blade propeller system.
15. The aircraft of claim 12, wherein the propelling means includes a counter-rotating propeller system.
16. A vertical take off aircraft comprising:
- an airframe having a pair of wings, and a tail section; and
- a pair of propeller systems, each propeller system freely pivotally attached to the wings, and
- when the propeller systems are pivoted to a vertical position and the aircraft is placed on a surface, the propelling systems when activated will vertically lift the aircraft off of the surface, and when the aircraft vertically lifts off of the surface, gravity freely pivots the airframe to form a substantially planar aircraft and wind current over the substantially planar aircraft creates lift forces in a horizontal direction causing the aircraft to fly in a horizontal direction which in turn further increases the horizontal lift forces causing the aircraft to fly level the aircraft to a more horizontal position and fly in the horizontal direction, whereby the aircraft automatically switches from a vertical take off to horizontal flight.
17. The aircraft of claim 16, wherein the wings include openings with diametrically opposing pins sized to fit into apertures defined on either side of each body defined by the propeller systems.
Type: Application
Filed: Jan 21, 2010
Publication Date: May 13, 2010
Applicant: REHCO LLC (Chicago, IL)
Inventors: Steven Rehkemper (Chicago, IL), Jeffrey Rehkemper (Chicago, IL), Peter Greenley (Chicago, IL)
Application Number: 12/691,444
International Classification: A63H 27/127 (20060101);