Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft systems and methods
View Patent ↗An electrically-powered VTOL aircraft has a fuselage with a cabin flexibly connected to a powerplane assembly that includes a plurality of electrically-powered rotors and booms. The powerplane assembly can pitch and roll relative to and independently of the cabin, thereby generating efficient fore, aft and lateral thrust while the cabin attitude remains unchanged. This provides a stable passenger experience and enhanced performance and controllability with reduced cost and complexity. In some embodiments, the fuselage is vertically elongated and the powerplane assembly mounts above the fuselage such that a person may walk beneath the rotors completely erect. A VTOL docking station is also disclosed that is configured to allow the aircraft to land without the use of landing gear. The docking station also includes electrical components configured to automatically provide charging to the aircraft when the aircraft is docked with the docking station.
1 . A vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft system, comprising:
a VTOL aircraft comprising:
a fuselage comprising:
a passenger cabin or a cargo hold;
at least one aircraft battery pack;
a powerplane assembly positioned above the fuselage and comprising:
a plurality of lift-generating rotors comprising at least one rotor blade, each rotor coupled to and driven by an electric motor;
a plurality of booms coupled to a boom mount forming a unitized powerplane structure, wherein the electric motors are mounted to the booms;
a bi-axial pivotal coupling connecting the fuselage and the powerplane structure;
a VTOL docking station comprising:
a self-enclosed barrier surrounding the passenger cabin or the cargo hold when the VTOL aircraft is docked;
a docking station frame configured to support the VTOL aircraft, the docking station frame having one or more electrical contact elements and configured to make electrical contact with complementary boom electrical contact elements of the VTOL aircraft.
2 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the VTOL aircraft further comprises:
a bi-axial pivotal coupling which enables the powerplane assembly to pitch and roll independently of the fuselage; and
a bi-axial pivotal coupling which enables the fuselage to maintain a constant attitude with respect to ground during powerplane pitch and roll, and a bi-axial pivotal coupling which enables the powerplane to pitch and roll without mechanical actuation; and
a powerplane assembly indexed to the fuselage about a yaw axis, so that the powerplane assembly and the fuselage share a common heading; and
a yaw axis perpendicular to a pitch axis and a roll axis.
3 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the VTOL aircraft further comprises:
a plurality of motor controllers coupled to the electric motors of the plurality of rotors; and
a flight controller configured to communicate with the plurality of motor controllers for controlling the rotor speed of the plurality of rotors, thereby enabling powerplane assembly pitch and roll by means of differential rotor thrust.
4 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the VTOL aircraft:
contains at least one aircraft battery pack electrically coupled to the electric motors of the plurality of rotors and electrically coupled to boom electrical contact elements mounted to a bottom surface of the booms.
5 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein:
the VTOL aircraft is configured to dock with the VTOL docking station in such a way that the plurality of booms come to rest on an upper surface of the docking station frame; and
the VTOL aircraft fuselage hangs within the self-enclosed barrier.
6 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein further:
the VTOL aircraft is configured to dock with the VTOL docking station in such a way that the boom electrical contact elements mounted to the booms make an electrical connection with one or more docking station electrical contact elements mounted to an upper surface of the docking station frame.
7 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the VTOL aircraft fuselage is vertically elongated with a height-to-width ratio greater than or equal to 3:1.
8 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the VTOL docking station further comprises:
electrical charging equipment electrically coupled to one or more docking station electrical contact elements, wherein the VTOL docking station is further configured to charge the at least one aircraft battery pack after the one or more docking station electrical contact elements make electrical contact with the boom electrical contact elements.
9 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 8 , wherein:
the VTOL aircraft further comprises an aircraft charge controller electrically coupled to the at least one aircraft battery pack;
the VTOL docking station further comprises a docking station controller in communication with the electrical charging equipment, wherein the docking station controller is configured to communicate with the aircraft charge controller to control charging of the at least one aircraft battery pack.
10 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the VTOL docking station further comprises:
a self-enclosed barrier separating an interior of the VTOL docking station from an environment external to the VTOL docking station;
a door configured to provide access to and from the interior of the VTOL docking station; and
an access control mechanism that is configured to transition the door between a locked state and an unlocked state and to cause the door to transition between an open configuration and a closed configuration.
11 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 10 , wherein the access control mechanism is configured to transition the door to the unlocked state in response to the VTOL aircraft docking with the VTOL docking station and subsequently reducing generated thrust below a predetermined threshold.
12 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 10 , wherein the access control mechanism is configured to transition the door to the locked state in response to the VTOL aircraft initiating takeoff from the VTOL docking station.
13 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 10 , wherein the access control mechanism is configured to transition the door to the locked state in response to the VTOL aircraft increasing generated thrust above a predetermined threshold.
14 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 10 , wherein the access control mechanism is configured to wirelessly receive lock and unlock commands from a user device associated with a passenger of the VTOL aircraft.
15 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 10 , wherein the VTOL docking station barrier comprises a generally cylindrical shape configured to enclose the fuselage within an interior of the VTOL docking station when the VTOL aircraft is docked with the VTOL docking station.
16 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 10 , wherein the VTOL docking station is configured to be installed inside a building or other structure with one or more walls and a roof.
17 . The VTOL aircraft system of claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises:
a VTOL aircraft with one or more boom electrical contact elements mounted to a bottom surface of each boom of the plurality of booms;
a VTOL docking station with one or more docking station electrical contact elements mounted to an upper surface of the docking station frame;
the system configured so that the boom electrical contact elements cross the docking station electrical contact elements when the aircraft is docked, making a point contact electrical connection and thereby enabling charging of the at least one aircraft battery pack while the aircraft is docked in a variety of x, y positions and z headings within the docking station.