MANNED AND UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
A manned or unmanned aircraft has a main body with a circular shape and a circular outer periphery. One or more rotor blades extend substantially horizontally outward from the main body at or about the circular outer periphery. In addition, one or more counter-rotation blades extend substantially horizontally outward from said main body at or about the circular outer periphery, but vertically offset from the main rotor blades.
1 . An aircraft comprising:
a main body having an outer periphery;
one or more blades rotating about the outer periphery of said main body to generate a thrust having a thrust direction; and
one or more flaps pivotally coupled at the outer periphery of said main body to rotate between a first position at which said one or more flaps is substantially parallel to the thrust direction to avoid interference with the thrust, and a second position at which said one or more flaps is pivoted outward with respect to said outer periphery to partially engage the thrust.
2 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein the thrust pushes downward on said one or more flaps in the second position to tilt the aircraft downward at said one or more flaps in the second position.
3 . The aircraft of claim 1 , wherein said one or more flaps have an outer planar surface that in the first position is substantially parallel to the thrust direction, and in the second position is between 90-180 degrees to the thrust direction.
4 . The aircraft of claim 2 , wherein said aircraft moves in the direction in which it is pushed downward by the thrust.
5 . The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising a drive assembly comprising:
a central shaft;
a blade mount rotatably coupled to said central shaft and coupled to said one or more blades;
a bearing fixedly coupled to said blade mount;
a platform fixedly coupled to said shaft;
a gear rotatably engaged with said bearing;
a motor or engine mounted to said platform and rotatably driving said gear to rotate said bearing, which rotates said blade mount and said one or more blades.
6 . The aircraft of claim 5 , wherein each of said blade mount, bearing, platform and gear have a planar surface that are parallel to one another and orthogonal to a longitudinal axis of said central shaft, and the thrust direction.
7 . The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising one or more counter-rotation blades rotating about the outer periphery of said main body.
8 . The aircraft of claim 7 , wherein said drive assembly is positioned between said one or more blades and said one or more counter-rotation blades.
9 . An aircraft comprising:
an upper body portion;
a lower body portion aligned with said upper body portion, said upper and lower body portions having an outer periphery;
a shaft fixedly coupled to said upper body portion and said lower body portion to define a channel between said upper body portion and said lower body portion;
an upper blade positioned in said channel and rotating in a first direction about the outer periphery of said main body to generate a thrust having a thrust direction; and
a lower blade positioned in said channel and rotating in a second direction opposite the first direction about the outer periphery of said main body.
10 . The aircraft of claim 1 , further comprising one or more flaps pivotally coupled at the outer periphery of said lower body portion to move between a first position at which said one or more flaps is substantially parallel to the thrust direction to avoid interference with the thrust, and a second position at which said one or more flaps is pivoted outward with respect to said outer periphery to partially engage the thrust.
11 . The aircraft of claim 9 , wherein said upper body portion and/or said lower body portion comprise a fuselage.
12 . The aircraft of claim 9 , further comprising a circular band positioned at said channel at the outer periphery and having a first circumferential slot that receives the upper blade and a second circumferential slot that receives the lower blade.
13 . An aircraft comprising:
a main body having a transverse channel and an outer periphery; and
a blade positioned in said transverse channel and extending outward from said main body beyond said outer periphery to generate a thrust.
14 . The aircraft of claim 13 , further comprising a drive assembly positioned in said transverse channel configured to drive said blade.
15 . The aircraft of claim 13 , further comprising a direction regulator at the outer periphery of said main body and having a first position at which said direction regulator does not engage the thrust and a second position at which said direction regulator engages the thrust, whereby the first and second positions control direction, tilt, pitch, roll of said aircraft.
16 . The aircraft of claim 15 , wherein said direction regulator comprises a flap.
17 . The aircraft of claim 15 , further comprising a controller configured to move said direction regulator between said first and second positions.