TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to the field of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft. In particular, the present disclosure pertains to a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle capable of vertical take-off and landing.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
[0003] A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can hover, take off, and land vertically. In general, two types of VTOL aircraft have been built and flown successfully, first a rotary wing aircraft commonly known as a helicopter and second a fixed-wing aircraft, in which the thrust generated by thrusters downwardly for lift-off and then re-directed horizontally for wing-supported forward flight.
[0004] Moreover, because of its retreating blade and its basic construction the forward flight speed and efficiency of a conventional helicopter is significantly inferior to that of a conventional fixed wing aircraft. Additionally, the complexity of the helicopter's mechanical linkages contributes significantly to the aircraft high cost and demanding maintenance requirements. The fixed wing aircraft are fully packed and do not provide feel of fly like experience to a user. However, the fixed wing aircrafts require high thrust for take-off and for horizontal redirection for wing-supported forward flight.
[0005] Conventional fixed wing aircrafts have vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities and cannot operate without an airstrip which increases operational cost of the conventional aircraft. Further, such aircrafts include a numbers of electric ducted fans powered by a plurality of lithium polymer battery that has power limitations due to lower specific energy, and provides inadequate power supply to electric ducted fans to generate thrust for vertical take-off and horizontal forward flight. Use of a large number of lithium 2
polymer batteries as power source results in an increase in size as well as weight of the such aircrafts that may lead to reduction in overall flight time of the aircraft.
[0006] There is, therefore a need to provide a simple, efficient and cost-effective hybrid-powered aerial vehicle to generate optimum thrust that improvesflight time and payload capacity of the aerial vehicle. Further, there exists a need in the art to provide for an aerial vehicle capable of transitioning between a vertical take-off position and a cruising position while the aerial vehicle is in flight.
[0007] As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a,” “an,” and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0008] In some embodiments, the numerical parameters set forth in the written description and attached claims are approximations that can vary depending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by a particular embodiment. In some embodiments, the numerical parameters should be construed in light of the number of reported significant digits and by applying ordinary rounding techniques. Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forth the broad scope of some embodiments of the invention are approximations, the numerical values set forth in the specific examples are reported as precisely as practicable. The numerical values presented in some embodiments of the invention may contain certain errors necessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in their respective testing measurements.
[0009] The recitation of ranges of values herein is merely intended to serve as a shorthand method of referring individually to each separate value falling within the range. Unless otherwise indicated herein, each individual value is incorporated into the specification as if it were individually recited herein. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g. “such as”) provided with respect to certain embodiments herein is intended merely to better illuminate the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element essential to the practice of the invention. 3
[0010] Groupings of alternative elements or embodiments of the invention disclosed herein are not to be construed as limitations. Each group member can be referred to and claimed individually or in any combination with other members of the group or other elements found herein. One or more members of a group can be included in, or deleted from, a group for reasons of convenience and/or patentability. When any such inclusion or deletion occurs, the specification is herein deemed to contain the group as modified thus fulfilling the written description of all groups used in the appended claims.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A general object of the present disclosure is to provide an aerial vehicle capable of taking-off and landing vertically.
[0012] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an aerial vehicle powered by a hybrid power source that improves fight time of the aerial vehicle.
[0013] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide an aerial vehicle that may provide maximum interaction of a user body and air during flight as to provide a feel of fly like experience to a user.
[0014] Another object of the present disclosure is to provide a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle that is easy to be stabilized during all phases of flight, particularly during the transition between vertical flight position and cruising flight position.
[0015] Yet another object of the present disclosure is to provide a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle that is highly agile and manoeuvrable.
SUMMARY
[0016] The present disclosure relates to an aerial vehicle capable of vertical take-off and landing, said aerial vehicle powered by a hybrid power source that improves flight time and payload capacity of the aerial vehicle and enables a user to feel a fly like experience while using the proposed aerial vehicle. Aspects of the present disclosure pertain to an aerial vehicle that includes a fuselage that has a cavity to accommodate any or a combination of a user and cargo. The fuselage is provided with a plurality of harnessing straps to secure any or a combination of the user and the cargo with the fuselage. In an aspect, the proposed aerial vehicle includes a wing frame coupled with the fuselage, the wing frame provided with at 4
least two elevons extending in lateral direction of the fuselage to allow transition of the aerial vehicle between the vertical flight position and the cruising flight position. In an embodiment, a bottom end of the fuselage is coupled with a landing gear to assist vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle.
[0017] In an aspect, the proposed aerial vehicle further includes a plurality of jet engines and a plurality of electric ducted fans (EDF) coupled at pre-determined locations of the fuselage and the wing frame. Any or a combination of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs may generate thrust to facilitate vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle and to facilitate manoeuvring of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight.
[0018] In an aspect, the proposed aerial vehicle further includes a flight control unit configured to allow cruising of the aerial vehicle by controlling transition of the aerial vehicle between a vertical flight position and a cruising flight position by controlling operational parameters of each of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs.
[0019] In an embodiment, the flight control unit is located in vicinity of the fuselage such that the user accommodated with the cavity of the fuselage is able to control operational parameters of each of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs by accessing the flight control unit. In an embodiment, the flight control unit is configured to enable autonomous take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle. In an embodiment, the flight control unit is configured to rotate the at least two elevons from stowed configuration to deployed configuration to enable transition of the aerial vehicle between the vertical flight position and the cruising flight position.
[0020] In an embodiment, rotation of the at least two elevons is actuated by a rotary device selected from the group consisting of an actuator, a servomotor, an AC motor and a DC motor.
[0021] In an embodiment, the wing frame is coupled with at least one EDF to regulate roll and yaw parameters of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight. The fuselage is coupled with at least two EDFs to regulate pitch parameters of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight.
[0022] In an embodiment, the plurality of EDFs are powered by an energy accumulation device comprising any or a combination of a battery bank and a capacitor bank. 5
[0023] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle is provided with a plurality of sensors adapted to detect an anomaly in operational parameters of the plurality of the jet engines and the plurality of EDFs. The aerial vehicle is operatively coupled with at least one parachute that automatically gets deployed in case of detection of the anomaly to allow ejection of the user from the fuselage of the aerial vehicle.
[0024] Those skilled in the art will further appreciate the advantages and superior features of the disclosure together with other important aspects thereof on reading the detailed description that follows in conjunction with the drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present disclosure.
[0026] FIGs. 1A and 1B illustrateexemplary font view and top view representations of proposed aerial vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0027] FIGs. 2A and 2B illustrate exemplary side view and rear view representations of the aerial vehicle respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary representation of air foil for wing frame of the proposed aerial vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0029] FIGs. 4Aand 4B illustrate an exemplary representation of graph of forward transition analysis and backward transition analysis of the aerial vehicle respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0030] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such details as to clearly communicate the disclosure. However, the amount of detail offered is not intended to limit the anticipated variations of embodiments; on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims. 6
[0031] If the specification states a component or feature “may”, “can”, “could”, or “might” be included or have a characteristic, that particular component or feature is not required to be included or have the characteristic.
[0032] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. This disclosure may however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. These embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those of ordinary skill in the art. Moreover, all statements herein reciting embodiments of the disclosure, as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents as well as equivalents developed in the future (i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure).
[0033] Various terms as used herein are shown below. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined below, it should be given the broadest definition persons in the pertinent art have given that term as reflected in printed publications and issued patents at the time of filing.
[0034] Embodiment explained herein relates to an aerial vehicle capable of taking-off and landing vertically that is powered by a hybrid power source that improves flight time and payload capacity of the aerial vehicle. In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle may also maximise interaction of air with body of a user to enhance feel of fly like experience of the user. In an embodiment, the proposed aerial vehicle can take-off vertically and then re-direct in a cruising position for wing-supported forward flight.
[0035] Aspects of the present disclosure provide a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle that includes a fuselage, a wing frame coupled with the fuselage, said wing frame including at least two elevons extending in lateral direction of the fuselage, a plurality of jet engines and a plurality of electric ducted fans (EDF) coupled at pre-determined locations of the fuselage and the wing frame, wherein any or a combination of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs generate thrust to facilitate vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle and to facilitate manoeuvring of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight, and a flight control unit configured to allow cruising of the aerial vehicle by controlling
7
transition of the aerial vehicle between a vertical flight position and a cruising flight position by controlling operational parameters of each of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs.
[0036] In an embodiment, the fuselage includes a cavity to accommodate any or a combination of a user and cargo, and wherein the fuselage is provided with a plurality of harnessing straps to secure any or a combination of the user and the cargo with the fuselage.
[0037] In an embodiment, the flight control unit is located in vicinity of the fuselage such that the user accommodated with the cavity of the fuselage is able to control operational parameters of each of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs by accessing the flight control unit.
[0038] In an embodiment, a bottom end of the fuselage is coupled with a landing gear to assist vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle.
[0039] In an embodiment, the flight control unit is configured to enable autonomous take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle.
[0040] In an embodiment, the flight control unit is configured to rotate the at least two elevons from stowed configuration to deployed configuration to enable transition of the aerial vehicle between the vertical flight position and the cruising flight position.
[0041] In an embodiment, rotation of the at least two elevons is actuated by a rotary device selected from the group consisting of an actuator, a servomotor, an AC motor and a DC motor.
[0042] In an embodiment, the wing frame is coupled with at least one EDF to regulate roll and yaw parameters of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight. In an embodiment, the fuselage is coupled with at least two EDFs to regulate pitch parameters of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight.
[0043] In an embodiment, the plurality of EDFs are powered by an energy accumulation device comprising any or a combination of a battery bank and a capacitor bank.
[0044] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle includes a plurality of sensors adapted to detect an anomaly in operational parameters of the plurality of the jet engines and the plurality of EDFs. In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle further includes at least one parachute that automatically gets deployed in case of detection of the anomaly to allow ejection of the user from the fuselage of the aerial vehicle. 8
[0045] FIGs. 1A and 1B illustrate exemplary font view and top view representations of proposed aerial vehicle in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 1A and 1B, the proposed aerial vehicle (also referred to as a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle hereinafter) 100can include a fuselage 102and a wing frame 104 having a leading edge and a trailing edge coupled to the fuselage 102 to generate lift during forward flight of the aerial vehicle 100,a plurality of jet engines 106 (as shown in FIG. 1B) and a plurality of electric ducted fans (EDF) 108 coupled at pre-determined locations of the fuselage 102 and the wing frame 104.
[0046] In an embodiment, any or a combination of the jet engines 106 and the EDFs 108 may produce thrust to facilitate vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle 100, along with facilitating transition between a vertical take-off position to a cruising position, such as a substantially horizontal cruising position, to enable forward flight of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0047] In an embodiment, the fuselage 102 can include a cavity defined by two lateral sides, a rear side, a top end and a bottom end to accommodate any or a combination of a user (also referred to as a pilot hereinafter). In an embodiment, the fuselage 102 can be open at a front side to maximise interaction of the user and air during flight of the aerial vehicle 100 that provide feel a fly like experience to the user. In an embodiment, the fuselage 102 may be adapted to accommodate any or a combination of the user and a cargo based on logistic requirement of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0048] In an embodiment, the fuselage 102 may be provided with a plurality of harnessing straps 110 to secure any or a combination of the user and the cargo with the fuselage 102 during flight of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0049] In an embodiment, the fuselage 102 may be coupled with a landing gear 112 to assist vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle100 in a tail-sitting configuration of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, the landing gear 112 may include a platform supporting the fuselage 102 and a plurality of casters provided at base of the platform to enable lateral as well as longitudinal movement of the aerial vehicle 100 supported on the landing gear 112.
[0050] In an aspect, the wing frame 104 can be extended outward with respect to lateral sides of the fuselage 102 to generate lift during forward flight in cruising position of the 9
aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, the wing frame 104 can be made up of a carbon fibre tubes to reduce weight of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0051] In an embodiment, the plurality of the jet engines 106, for instance, jet engines 106-1, 106-2, 106-3, 106-4 and so on (collectively referred to as jet engines 106 and individually referred to as jet engine 106 hereinafter), coupled to the wing frame 104 to generate downward thrust as to enable vertical take-off of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, the jet engines 106 may be powered by jet fuels such as unleaded kerosene, naphtha-kerosene and the likes.
[0052] In an embodiment, the jet engines 106 may produce thrust by combusting the jet fuels during flight. In an embodiment, the jet fuel can be stored in a fuel storage tank configured in the wing frame 104 to supply required quantity of fuel to the jet engine 106 during flight.
[0053] In an embodiment, the plurality of jet engines 106 may be coupled on the trailing edge on rear side of the wing frame 104 to produce vertical thrust during VTOL and horizontal thrust during forward flight. In an embodiment, one or more jet engine of the plurality of jet engines 106 may be coupled on a front side of the wing frame 104 to produce vertical thrust during VTOL and horizontal thrust during forward flight.
[0054] In an embodiment, the plurality of electric ducted fans (EDFs) 108 such as, EDFs 108-1, 108-2, 108-3, 108-4, 108-5, 108-6 and so on (collectively referred to as EDFs 108 and individually referred to as EDF 108 hereinafter) can be adopted for VTOL. In an embodiment, at least two EDFs of the plurality of EDFs 108 can be coupled to the fuselage 102 to provide vertical thrust to during VTOL of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, the at least two EDFs of the plurality of EDFs 108 can be coupled at opposite lateral side of fuselage 102.
[0055] In an embodiment, at least one EDF of the plurality of EDFs 108 can coupled to the wing frame 104 to provide vertical thrust to during VTOL of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0056] . In an embodiment, each EDF of the plurality of EDFs 108 can include a fan/propeller rotated by a motor. In an embodiment, the motor can be any or a combination of brushless electric motors, brushless direct current (BLDC) motors and permanent-magnet synchronous motors (PMSM). 10
[0057] In an embodiment, rotation of each of the fans of the EDFs 108 can provide lifting thrust to enable vertical take-off as well as safe landing of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, rotation of each of the fans of the EDFs 108 can also provide for transition between vertical take-off flight position of the aerial vehicle 100 to a cruising flight position of the aerial vehicle 100, such as, a flight position inclined at a certain angle with respect to the vertical take-off flight position. In an embodiment, each of the motor of the EDFs 108 can be powered by an energy accumulation device (as shown in FIG. 2B) including any or a combination of a battery bank, a capacitor bank and the like to rotate propellers of the EDFs 108.
[0058] In an embodiment, the plurality of the EDFs 108 may allow control of pitch, yaw and roll parameters of the aerial vehicle 100 by varying angular velocities of their fans while the aerial vehicle 100 is in flight.
[0059] In an embodiment, the plurality of jet engines 106 and the plurality of EDFs 108 can provide an optimum thrust to the aerial vehicle 100 in order to facilitate vertical take-off and landing, along with facilitating transition between vertical flight position and cruising flight position to allow wing supported forward flight/cruising of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0060] In an embodiment, the EDFs 108 can be turned OFF after transition from the vertical flight position to the cruising flight positions such that the jet engines 106 continuously operate to provide required thrust for forward flight of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, for transition from cruising flight position to vertical flight position i.e., during landing of the aerial vehicle 100, the EDFs 108 can be turned on to support the jet engines 106 for enabling safe landing of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0061] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 can further include a flight control unit(also referred to as a control unit hereinafter) (as shown in FIG. 2B) that allows forward flight of the aerial vehicle 100 by controlling transition of the aerial vehicle 100 between vertical flight position to cruising flight position. In an embodiment, transition of the aerial vehicle 100 can be controlled by controlling operational parameters such as propellant emission of the jet engines 106 and angular velocity (rpm) of motors of the EDFs 108.
[0062] In an embodiment, the flight control unit can include one or more control sticks 114 to control flight of the aerial vehicle 100 manually by the user. In an embodiment, the 11
user can give command with assistance of the control stick 114 for control of any or a combination of the plurality of the jet engines 106 and the plurality of EDFs 108.
[0063] In an embodiment, the flight control unit can be configured with a display unit 116 having a graphical interface for display different parameters such as navigation, gyroscopic parameters and aerodynamic parameters of the aerial vehicle 100.In an embodiment, the user can select different configuration of the aerial vehicle 100 with assistance of the control stick 114. In an embodiment, the different configuration of the aerial vehicle can be a tail sitting configuration for vertical landing of the aerial vehicle 100 and the like.
[0064] In an embodiment, the flight control unit may include four microcontrollers where three of the microcontrollers are slave units and one microcontroller is a master unit. In an embodiment, in case of any fault in any of the microcontrollers, effective controlling of operational parameters of the jet engines 106 and the EDFs 108 is done by the remaining microcontrollers.
[0065] In an embodiment, the plurality of EDFs108 can be coupled to the fuselage 102 and the wing frame 104 in a quad-copter configuration (as shown in FIG. 1B) for efficient manoeuvring of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, the EDFs108 coupled to fuselage 102 can be used for pitch control of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0066] In an embodiment, the flight control unit can enable control of pitch, roll and yaw parameters of the aerial vehicle 100 by controlling angular velocities of fans the plurality of EDFs 108. In an embodiment, pitch, roll and yaw can be controlled during both vertical flight position and the cruising flight position of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0067] In an embodiment, all thrusters including the jet engines 106 and the EDFs 108 can be powered ON for producing thrust during vertical take-off of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, thrust developed by the EDFs 108 can be used to control take-off as well as landing of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, EDFs 108 being powered by an electrical energy accumulation device (shown in FIG. 2B), such as a battery bank or a capacitor bank, can provide very high response time for controlling stability during take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle 100 while the jet engines 106 can provide very high thrust power for vertical flight and forward flight of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, 12
combined use of the jet engine 106 and the EDFs 108 can minimise use of fuel and maximise performance of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0068] In an aspect, the wing frame 104 may be provided with at two elevons118 (also shown in FIG. 2B) including elevon 118-1 and elevon 118-2 extending in lateral direction of the fuselage 102. In an embodiment, elevon118-1 and elevon118-2 may be coupled with trailing edges of the wing frame 104 to control pitch and roll parameters of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0069] In an embodiment, the flight control unit can enable rotation of the at least two elevons118-1 and 18-2 from a stowed configuration to a deployed configuration to enable transition of the aerial vehicle 100from the vertical flight position and the cruising flight position and vice-versa.
[0070] In an embodiment, rotation of the elevons118-1 and 118-2can be actuated by a rotary device selected from the group consisting any of an actuator, servomotor, and like that is controlled by the control unit.
[0071] In an embodiment, the wing frame 104 may be coupled with the fuselage 102 in such a way that allows rotation of the wing frame 104 with respect to the fuselage 102. In an embodiment, the wing frame 104 may be pivotally coupled with the fuselage 102.
[0072] In an exemplary implementation, for transition of aerial vehicle 100 from vertical flight position to the cruising flight position the elevons118-1 and 118-2are rotated in a first rotation direction to effect rotation of the wing frame 104 with the fuselage 102 that leads to transitions of the aerial vehicle 100 from the vertical flight position to cruising fight position, wherein the first rotation direction is flap down of the elevons 118-1 and 118-2 to the wing frame104 toward the front side of the wing frame 104. For transition of aerial vehicle 100 from cruising position to vertical landing position, the elevons 118-1 and 118-2 are rotated in a second rotation direction to effect rotation of the wing frame 104 with the fuselage 102 that leads to transitions of the aerial vehicle 100 from the cruising fight position to the vertical landing position, wherein the second rotation is flap-up of the elevons 118-1 and 118-2 to the wing frame 104 frame toward the rear side of the wing frame 104.
[0073] In an embodiment, the elevon 118-1 can be rotated in an opposite direction of the elevon 118-2 as to increase lift on one half of the wing frame 104 and decrease lift in the opposite half, thereby enabling rolling of the aerial vehicle 100. 13
[0074] In an embodiment, transition of the aerial vehicle 100 between the vertical flight position and the cruising flight position can be achieved with the assistance of any or a combination all the thrusters including the jet engines 106, the EDFs 108,and the elevons 118-1 and 118-2.
[0075] FIGs. 2A and 2B illustrate exemplary side view and rear view representations of the aerial vehicle respectively in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2A, the wing frame 104 can be a blended wing mount mounted over the fuselage 102. In an embodiment, during forward flight of the aerial vehicle 100, the wing frame 104 may generate lift and the jet engines 106 may generate thrust required to propel the aerial vehicle forward in order to maximize endurance of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0076] As shown in FIG. 2B, the energy accumulation device 202can be located into a battery cartridge 204 mounted over the wing frame 104. In an embodiment, the energy accumulation device 202, may include any or a combination of a Li-ion batteries and a capacitor bank to provide required power for operation of the plurality of EDF 108.
[0077] In an embodiment, the energy accumulation device 202 can provide power to the EDFs 108 and other auxiliary units of the aerial vehicle 100.
[0078] In an embodiment, jet fuel of the aerial vehicle 100 can be stored in one or more fuel tanks 206. In an embodiment, the fuel tan 206 can be mounted on rear side of the wing frame 104 to provide fuel to jet engines 106 during flight.
[0079] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 can include a plurality of sensor and a plurality of electrical circuitries comprising any or a combination of temperature sensor, user health monitoring sensor, infrared sensor, global positioning system (GPS) chip, speed sensor and the like to detect an anomaly in operational parameters of the plurality of jet engines 106,the plurality of EDFs 108 and the aerial vehicle 100.In an embodiment, the plurality of the sensors and the plurality of the electronic circuits can provide a real-time information related to the aerial vehicle 100such as location of the aerial vehicle, altitude of the aerial vehicle, speed of the aerial vehicle, surface temperature of the aerial vehicle, pilot health condition and the like to the flight control unit 208.
[0080] In an embodiment, the flight control unit 208 continuously check health condition such as a Cardiac shock, Neuro Complication of the user by using the health monitoring sensor and an artificial intelligence (AI) system. In an embodiment, in case of detection of 14
any anomalyin health of the user/pilot, the flight control unit can 208 can halt all the manual control and shift to autonomous control for emergency landing of the aerial vehicle 100. In such a case, the control unit 208 can also transmit an emergency signal to nearest health care centre informing the health care centre of the condition.
[0081] In an embodiment, the flight control unit 208 can divert aerial vehicle 100 to the nearest health care centre or in case the flight control unit 208is not able to reach the health care centre, the control unit 208 may transmit the emergency signal to the nearest health care centre informing the health care centre of the condition. In an embodiment, the control unit 208 can also transmit instantaneous coordinates of the aerial vehicle 100 to the nearest health care automatically.
[0082] In an embodiment, the flight control unit 208 and can be powered by a power distribution board.
[0083] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 can include an ejection system 210(as shown in FIG. 2A) including at last one parachute. In an embodiment, in case an anomaly is detected by the any of the plurality of sensors, the ejection system canallow ejection of the user from the fuselage 102 of the aerial vehicle 100 to save the user life. In an embodiment, the ejection system can work manually as well as automatically.
[0084] In an exemplary implementation, the ejection system 210 includes two parachutes for safety of the user. In case of failure of first parachute, the ejection system 100 automatically deploy second parachute for ejection of the user form the fuselage 102 at a time of detection of any anomaly in the aerial vehicle 100 by the plurality of the sensors.
[0085] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 can include a fire protection unit (not shown) for safety of the user. In an embodiment, the fire protection unit can include any of carbon dioxide cylinders and methyl bromide cylinders that are prone to fire in any of fuel tank, battery cartridge, jet engines, EDFs or any other part of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, in case of detection of detection of abnormal change in temperature of the aerial vehicle 100 by the plurality of the sensors, such as infrared sensors, the fire protection unit can prevent a burning aerial vehicle 100 from falling from sky, and may extinguish the burning aerial vehicle 100 before its contact to a ground surface, thereby converting the burning aerial vehicle into debris which reduces the risk of fire on ground. 15
[0086] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 can be an unmanned aerial vehicle and with fully automated control capability with assistance of the control unit 208to enable smooth transition to and from vertical take-off and landing. In an embodiment, the proposed aerial vehicle 100 is associated with excellent gust response and high manoeuvrability in both hover and forward flight conditions.
[0087] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 can be designed to have minimum weight, has potential for long-endurance flight, continuous speed range, and an ability to operate in challenging environments.
[0088] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 powered by the hybrid power source may increase stability and manoeuvrability of the aerial vehicle 100. In an embodiment, the combination of jet engines 106 and EDFs 108 can compensate performance limitation of each other.
[0089] In an embodiment, the aerial vehicle 100 is designed based on analysis of its various components as described herein below:
[0090] Wing Design: Estimation and assumptions
Maximum take-off weight = 195 Kg Trimmed Coefficient of Lift (CL) = 0.365 Static Margin (𝜎𝜎) = 10 percent Desired cruise speed = 74 meter per second (143 knots) Moment Coefficient (CM) = CL × 𝜎𝜎 = 0.0365
[0091] Air Foil Selection:
As shown in FIG. 3 MH-25 air foil with 20% thickness was used for root and Eppler was used in decreasing order of thickness towards the tip of the wing frame 104. Reflexed aerofoil with low moment coefficient was used so that variation in moment remain within acceptable range for wide range of angle of attack. The wing twist angle is also kept low for reduced induce drag through flight envelop.
[0092] Aerodynamic Analysis of the Wing:
Aerodynamic analysis of the wing frame 104 was done by using XFLR5 software that is known to give reliable result. The XFLR5 software analysis was done in various ways such as Lift line method (LLT), Vortex- lattice method and three dimensional panel to predict performance of the aerial vehicle 100. Bell shaped lift was proffered over elliptical since
16
design of aerial vehicle 100 was focused on manoeuvrability. After many iteration and with modification of wing twist, a close desire result of the lift distribution was achieved. After analysis on the XFLR5 software it was found that for trimmed conditions wing is both longitudinally and laterally stable at static margin of 20% and total twist -1.5 degree.
[0093] Transition Analysis:
Exemplary analysis of Transition of the aerial vehicle 100 from vertical flight position to cruising flight position (also referred to as a forward transition) and from cruising flight position to vertical flight position (also referred to as a backward transition hereinafter) is provided herein below. Refer to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, where exemplary representations of the forward transition and backward transition of the aerial vehicle 100 is shown as a graph between angle of the aerial vehicle with respect to horizontal in degrees and time taken during transition in second(s) and speed of the aerial vehicle 100 in meter per second (m/s). Forward transition Analysis At start of the transition, speed of the aerial vehicle 100 was about 20 m/s At success of the transition, speed of the aerial vehicle 100was about 80 m/s Forward transition duration was about 20 s Transition throttle was about 75% Backward transition Analysis At start of the transition, speed of the aerial vehicle 100 was about 70 m/s At success of the transition, speed of the aerial vehicle 100was about 60 m/s Forward transition duration was about 10 s Transition throttle was about 80%
[0094] It should be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those already described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims. Moreover, in interpreting both the specification and the claims, all terms should be interpreted in the broadest possible manner consistent with the context. In particular, the terms “comprises” and “comprising” should be interpreted as referring to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive manner, indicating that the referenced elements, components, or steps may be present, or utilized, or combined with other elements, components, or steps that are not expressly referenced. Where the specification claims refers 17
to at least one of something selected from the group consisting of A, B, C ….and N, the text should be interpreted as requiring only one element from the group, not A plus N, or B plus N, etc. The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the embodiments herein that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without departing from the generic concept, and, therefore, such adaptations and modifications should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation. Therefore, while the embodiments herein have been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments herein can be practiced with modification within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.
[0095] While the foregoing describes various embodiments of the invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The scope of the invention is determined by the claims that follow. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments, versions or examples, which are included to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention when combined with information and knowledge available to the person having ordinary skill in the art.
ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION
[0096] The present disclosure provides an aerial vehicle capable of taking-off and landing vertically.
[0097] The present disclosure provides an aerial vehicle powered by a hybrid power source that improves fight time of the aerial vehicle.
[0098] The present disclosure provides an aerial vehicle that may provide maximum interaction of a user body and air during flight as to provide a feel of fly like experience to a user.
[0099] The present disclosure provides a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle that is easy to be stabilized during all phases of flight, particularly during the transition between vertical flight position and cruising flight position. 18
[00100] The present disclosure provides a hybrid-powered aerial vehicle that is highly agile and manoeuvrable.

We Claim:
1. An aerial vehicle comprising:
A fuselage; a wing frame coupled with the fuselage, said wing frame comprising at least two elevons extending in lateral direction of the fuselage; a plurality of jet engines and a plurality of electric ducted fans (EDF) coupled at pre-determined locations of the fuselage and the wing frame, wherein any or a combination of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs generate thrust to facilitate vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle and to facilitate manoeuvring of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight; and a flight control unit configured to allow cruising of the aerial vehicle by controlling transition of the aerial vehicle between a vertical flight position and a cruising flight position by controlling operational parameters of each of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs.
2. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the fuselage comprises a cavity to accommodate any or a combination of a user and cargo, and wherein the fuselage is provided with a plurality of harnessing straps to secure any or a combination of the user and the cargo with the fuselage.
3. The aerial vehicle of claim 2, wherein the flight control unit is located in vicinity of the fuselage such that the user accommodated with the cavity of the fuselage is able to control operational parameters of each of the plurality of jet engines and the plurality of EDFs by accessing the flight control unit.
4. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein a bottom end of the fuselage is coupled with a landing gear to assist vertical take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle.
5. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the flight control unit is configured to enable autonomous take-off and landing of the aerial vehicle.
6. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the flight control unit is configured to rotate the at least two elevons from stowed configuration to deployed configuration to enable transition of the aerial vehicle between the vertical flight position and the cruising flight position. 20
7. The aerial vehicle of claim 6, wherein rotation of the at least two elevons is actuated by a rotary device selected from the group consisting of an actuator, and a servomotor.
8. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the wing frame is coupled with at least one EDF to regulate roll and yaw parameters of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight, and wherein the fuselage is coupled with at least two EDFs to regulate pitch parameters of the aerial vehicle while the aerial vehicle is in flight.
9. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the pluralities of EDFs are powered by an energy accumulation device comprising any or a combination of a battery bank and a capacitor bank.
10. The aerial vehicle of claim 1, wherein the aerial vehicle comprises a plurality of sensors adapted to detect an anomaly in operational parameters of the plurality of the jet engines and the plurality of EDFs, and wherein the aerial vehicle comprises at least one parachute that automatically gets deployed in case of detection of the anomaly to allow ejection of the user from the fuselage of the aerial vehicle.