Aircraft having a ducted fan in the airfoil

Abstract

An aircraft includes a wing having an integrated ducted fan. The ducted fan is enclosed at least in sections by a feed lip. The feed lip has a flat curvature on the bow side and a comparatively strong curvature on the rear side.

Claims

1. An aircraft comprising: a wing; an integrated ducted fan disposed on the wing; adjustable inlet louvers that are positioned on the wing at an inlet end of the integrated ducted fan; and a feed lip disposed on the wing that at least partially encloses the ducted fan and the adjustable inlet louvers, wherein, as viewed in a direction of air flow over the wing, a leading surface of the feed lip has a smaller curvature than that of a trailing surface of the feed lip, and wherein the feed lip comprises a flexible seal that is compressible against at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers.

2. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the ducted fan includes adjustable outlet louvers.

3. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft comprises an all-electric drive.

4. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft comprises a rapidly chargeable battery system.

5. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the ducted fan is substantially horizontal.

6. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft comprises substantially vertical fans for generating a propulsion.

7. The aircraft according to claim 6, wherein the vertical fans are ducted fans.

8. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the ducted fan includes adjustable outlet louvers, and the louvers are configured so as to avoid a pressure compensation between a negative pressure prevailing above the wing and a positive pressure prevailing below the wing through the ducted fan in a cruising phase of the aircraft.

9. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft is fully autonomously controllable.

10. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the leading surface and the trailing surface of the feed lip are disposed on opposite sides of the feed lip, as viewed in the direction of air flow over the wing.

11. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the leading surface and the trailing surface of the feed lip are disposed on a top side of the wing.

12. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the leading surface of the feed lip has a larger radius of curvature than that of the trailing surface of the feed lip.

13. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the leading surface of the feed lip extends between a top side of the wing and a bottom side of the wing, and wherein the leading surface intersects the top side of the wing at a curved surface, and the leading surface intersects the bottom side of the wing at an edge.

14. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the trailing surface of the feed lip extends between a top side of the wing and a bottom side of the wing, and wherein the trailing surface intersects the top side of the wing at a curved surface, and the trailing surface intersects the bottom side of the wing at an edge.

15. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the feed lip is compressible against a leading surface of said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers.

16. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the feed lip is compressible against a trailing surface of said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers.

17. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein, as viewed in the direction of air flow over the wing, said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers comprises a leading end and a trailing end, wherein the trailing end comprises a flexible seal that is compressible against a leading end of another one of the adjustable inlet louvers.

18. The aircraft according to claim 17, wherein the trailing end of said another one of the adjustable inlet louvers also comprises a flexible seal.

19. The aircraft according to claim 17, wherein the leading end of said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers is rounded and the trailing end of said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers is pointed.

20. The aircraft according to claim 17, wherein the flexible seal of the trailing end of said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers is bendable to an elevation beneath the leading end of said another one of the adjustable inlet louvers when said at least one of the adjustable inlet louvers is moved against said another one of the adjustable inlet louvers.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and are described in further detail below.

(2) FIG. 1 shows the cross-section of a wing.

(3) FIG. 2 shows a first detail 15 of the view according to FIG. 1.

(4) FIG. 3 shows a second detail 16 of the view according to FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 4 shows hovering and transitioning.

(6) FIG. 5 shows the cross-section of the wing in a deviating view.

(7) FIG. 6 shows a first detail 22 of the view according to FIG. 5.

(8) FIG. 7 shows the cross-section of an inlet louver of the wing.

(9) FIG. 8 shows a second detail 23 of the view according to FIG. 5.

(10) FIG. 9 shows the cross-section of a further wing, whose inlet and outlet louvers are in the open position.

(11) FIG. 10 shows a first detail 25 of the view according to FIG. 9.

(12) FIG. 11 shows a second detail 26 of the view according to FIG. 9.

(13) FIG. 12 shows the cross-section of the wing, wherein inlet and outlet louvers are in the closed position.

(14) FIG. 13 shows a first detail 29 of the view according to FIG. 12.

(15) FIG. 14 shows a second detail 30 of the view according to FIG. 12.

(16) FIG. 15 shows a top plan view of the ducted fan of the wing.

(17) FIG. 16 illustrates by way of example an operating concept having a rotary drive.

EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

(18) FIG. 1 shows the wing (10) of the aircraft in profile. As can be seen in the drawing, the wing (10) is vertically punctured by a ducted fan (20) having inlet louvers (13) on its top side according to the drawing and outlet louvers (14) on its bottom side for flow control. The outlet louvers (14) can be used in addition to the thrust vector control and thus in addition to the navigation of the aircraft and are also able to fully close the bottom of the ducted fan (20).

(19) In FIGS. 2 and 3, the louvers are shown in open position (17) and closed position (18). As FIG. 2 illustrates, the inlet louvers (13) thus serve as flow guide blades that direct the air flow into the ducted fan (20) in their open position (17). (It is understood that, in particular on the inlet side, other closing mechanisms are possible without leaving the scope of the invention.)

(20) The outlet louvers (14) which are better visible in FIG. 3 serve in a corresponding manner as thrust vector blades for controlling the aircraft and as flow guide blades in order to deflect the flow rearward and, when transitioning from the take-off phase to the cruising phase (cf. FIG. 4), to generate an increasing horizontal thrust.

(21) FIG. 5 shows an alternative view of the wing (10), which draws the viewer's attention to two details (22FIG. 6, 23FIG. 7), which are explained below.

(22) FIG. 6 illustrates the seal between the inlet louvers (13) and the feed lip of the fan duct. For this purpose, it comprises a feed lip at least partially encompassing the ducted fan (20) having a flexible zone (24) in such a way that the closed inlet louvers (13) seal the wing (10) by pressing against this zone (24).

(23) When combined, FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate the seal between the front or inflowing edges and the rear or outflowing edges of the inlet louvers (13). Accordingly, the latter have a flexible zone (24) at their respective outflowing edge, such that the closed inlet louvers (13) seal the wing (10) by bending the outflowing edge below the inflowing edge of the respective downstream inlet louver (13).

(24) FIG. 9 shows an embodiment of the wing (10), whose feed lip, which encompasses the ducted fan (20) on the top side, is aerodynamically optimized: As the detailed views of FIGS. 10 and 11 clearly show in comparison, the aforementioned feed lip has a flat curvature (27) on the bow side and a significantly stronger curvature (28) on the rear side.

(25) FIG. 12 shows the same wing (10), wherein the top side inlet louvers (13) and bottom side outlet louvers (14) are now in a fully closed position. In this way, a pressure balance between the negative pressure (11) prevailing above the wing (10) and the positive pressure (12) prevailing below the wing (10) through the ducted fan (20) is largely avoided in the cruising flight phase of the aircraft.

(26) As FIG. 13 illustrates, the inlet louvers (13) thus serve as flow guide blades that direct the air flow into the ducted fan (20) in their open position (17). (It is understood that, in particular on the inlet side, other closing mechanisms are possible without leaving the scope of the invention.) The outlet louvers (14) that are more easily visible in FIG. 14 serve as thrust vector blades for controlling the aircraft and, in a corresponding manner, as flow guide blades to deflect the flow rearward and to generate an increasing horizontal thrust upon transition from the take-off phase to the cruising phase.

(27) In the present embodiment, two bars (21) spanning the ducted fan in parallel, whose configuration is illuminated in FIGS. 15 and 16, serve as the actuating mechanism of at least the inlet louvers (13). As the latter figure shows, these bars (21) are driven by a rotational actuator (33) offset by 90?, which is arranged outside of the wing passage between the bars (31). In the present embodiment, two planetary gears (35) serve to translate and engage a continuous shaft of the rotational actuator (33) on both sides.

(28) Each bar (21) is associated with a radial lever (34), which translates the rotational movement translated by the transmission (35) into a translational movement that drives a pushrod (32), in the present case via an intermediate piece. This in turn supports a plurality of louver levers (31), each of which is associated with one of the louvers (13).

(29) Both levers (34) are preferably in a self-inhibiting position in the closed state of the louvers (13) in order to not apply any forces to the rotational actuator (33) in turn.