VEHICLE CONFIGURATION WITH MOTORS THAT ROTATE BETWEEN A LIFTING POSITION AND A THRUSTING POSITION

摘要

This disclosure describes a configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) that will facilitate extended flight duration. The UAV may have any number of lifting motors. For example, the UAV may include four lifting motors (also known as a quad-copter), eight lifting motors (also known as an octo-copter), etc. Likewise, to improve the efficiency of horizontal flight, the UAV also includes a pivot assembly that may rotate about an axis from a lifting position to a thrusting position. The pivot assembly may include two or more offset motors that generate a differential force that will cause the pivot assembly to rotate between the lifting position and the thrusting position without the need for any additional motors or gears.

主权项

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
a frame; a plurality of lifting motors and corresponding lifting propellers oriented to provide a vertical lift to the UAV when the lifting propellers are rotated by the lifting motors; a pivot assembly coupled to the frame of the UAV and configured to rotate from a lifting position to a thrusting position, the pivot assembly including:
a pivot arm extending from the frame of the UAV and configured to rotate with respect to the frame of the UAV;a first pivot motor coupled to the pivot arm;a second pivot motor coupled to the pivot arm and offset with respect to the first motor; and wherein:
the pivot assembly is configured to rotate to the lifting position when a first force generated by the first pivot motor is greater than a second force generated by the second pivot motor; andthe pivot assembly is configured to rotate to the thrusting position when the second force generated by the second pivot motor is greater than the first force generated by the first pivot motor.