WO2002081290A1

WO2002081290A1 - An improved vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2002081290A1
Application number: PCT/AU2001/000508
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jean Moana Mcveigh; Murdoch White
Original assignee: Jean Moana Mcveigh; Murdoch White
Priority date: 2001-03-22
Filing date: 2001-06-20
Publication date: 2002-10-17
Also published as: AUPR389701A0

Abstract

A vehicle comprising a body (12), one or more powered engine and at least one propeller member (32) controllably coupled to the one or more engine in a manner to drive the at least one propeller member to rotate in a direction and thereby move the vehicle. The body has at least one air inlet opening (30) in communication with air guiding means arranged to guide air entering said air inlet opening to flow over the at least one propeller member so as to provide an impact force on at least one part of the at least one propeller member to move in said direction of rotation.

Description

AN IMPROVED VEHICLE

THIS INVENTION relates to an improved vehicle in which air is guided to

provide or supplement the energy required for driving propeller members.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Vehicles in general have at least one propelling member for providing

motion to move the vehicles to a desired direction. One or more fuel powered

engines are coupled to the at least one propelling member for rotating it.

For a land vehicle, the propelling members usually are in the form of ground

engaging wheels which also function to support the vehicle on the ground. The

wheels are driven by a single fuel powered internal combustion engine. This

vehicle generally has a cabin for accommodating a driver and passengers and/or

goods. To accommodate such the cabin in the body of the vehicle must have a

certain volume of enclosed space. To protect the engine, body also has fenders and

a bonnet provided around the engine. An under carriage structure is provided to

support the body and the axles to which the wheels are rotatably mounted. The

cabin, the bonnet and the fenders present a substantially large wind drag force

when the vehicle is in motion. A proportion of the energy from the fuel used to

power the engine is spent on overcoming the wind drag. The remaining energy is

used to drive the wheels, the alternator and the compressor of an air conditioner

unit (if fitted).

Prior art attempts in reducing the wind drag on vehicles have been mainly

about designing more aerodynamic shaped vehicles in order to reduce the drag

force. These attempts can have only limited success as the vehicle body must have sufficient room to accommodate a driver and passengers in the cabin, and cargo in

the boot or goods compartment.

Attempts to reduce fuel usage are mainly in designing more efficient engines

or hybrid powered vehicles. While more efficient engines are commendable, a

large proportion of available energy is still required to overcome wind drag and to

provide power for rotating the wheels. The hybrid vehicles normally use a petrol

powered engine and a battery powered motor to provide the energy needed to turn

the wheels and other rotatable members in the vehicles. The hybrid vehicles do not

address the problem of wind drag and the requirement of a large proportion of

available energy to power the wheels.

For marine vehicles the propeller members are in the form of propeller

blades extending from a hub driven by a fuel powered engine. As for land vehicles,

the energy available from the engine is used to overcome wind drag and to drive

the propellers.

Air vehicles may be a helicopter type or a propeller plane or a jet plane.

These vehicles also have a cabin and a housing for accommodating engine(s). The

engine(s) is used to drive a rotor in the case of a helicopter, or a propeller or turbo

fan in the case of a plane. Certain planes have more than one propeller or turbo fan

driven by individual engines. The air vehicles also experience the wind drag

problem and the need to use fuel powered engine to provide all energy needed to

drive the propeller member(s). OBIECT OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to alleviate or to reduce to a certain

level one or more of the prior art disadvantages.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one broad aspect the present invention relates to a vehicle comprising a

body, one or more powered engine and at least one propeller member controllably

coupled to the one or more engine in a manner to drive the at least one propeller

member to rotate in a direction and thereby move the vehicle. The body has at least

one air inlet opening in communication with air guiding means arranged to guide

air entering said least one air inlet opening to flow over the at least one propeller

member so as to provide an impact force on at lease one part of the at least one

propeller member to move in said direction of rotation.

It should be noted that the term "powered engine" as used throughout this

specification is intended to include any fuel powered engine or battery or solar

powered motor. The vehicle of the present invention may be a land based vehicle

such as an automobile, a sea borne vehicle such as a powered boat, an air borne

vehicle such as an aeroplane or a helicopter or an amphibious vehicle.

In preference said at least one propeller member includes at least one

propeller or turbo-fan assembly rotatably mounted to said body and/or at least one

wheel or endless track assembly rotatably mounted under said body, and the air

guiding means include an air direction control member(s) arranged to be

controllably set to direct air over the at least one propeller or turbo-fan assembly and/or the at least one wheel or endless track assembly in a direction(s) of rotation

thereof.

The at least one propeller or turbo-fan assembly and/or the at least one

wheel or endless track assembly may be configured to have a relatively large

surface area thereof for impacting by the air in the air guiding means. As an

example, the at least one propeller or turbo-fan assembly and/or the at least one

wheel or endless track assembly is configured with projection members extending

in the direction(s) of air flow in the guiding means.

It is further preferred that the air guiding means includes a blade assembly

mounted at or behind the or each said at least one air inlet ODening for enhancing

air flow through said air guiding means.

It is also preferred that the air guiding means includes at least one air outlet

opening positioned so that the air moving there through can provide a thrust force

for moving the vehicle forward. Said at least one air outlet opening may also have

a blade assembly arranged therein.

A controllable air deflection means is advantageously provide at the or each

said at least one air outlet opening so that the direction of the thrust force caused

by air exiting the outlet openιng(sj can be controiied to control vehicle movement.

The deflection means in one form can be controlled to provide a downward thrust

force to allow vertical take off of the vehicle.

An inlet protective means may be provided at the or each said air inlet

opening for protecting the air guiding means during adverse weather conditions.

Typically the protective means is in the form of an adjustably retractable shroud arranged at and adjustably movable with respect to the or each said air inlet

opening.

Similarly, an outlet protective means may be provided at the or each said

air outlet opening.

Advantageously the blade assembly has a set of first blade members which

are fixed or removably fixed to a rotatably mounted hub member. The blade

assembly may also have a set of second blade members which are fixed to the

rotatably mounted hub member so that the blade assembly can continue to function

should the first blade members malfunction.

Where the first blade members are removably fixed to the hub member the

fixing mechanism is preferably such that the blade members can be easily and

manually removed and replaced. The hub member may have a storage space

arranged so that a set of replacement blade members can be stored therein.

In one form the replacement blade members are collapsible and are stored

in the collapsible state. In this form the replacement blade members may be

manually or automatically move out of their storage space and may then expand to

their normal state.

Desirably the blade members are shaped to enhance air flow. They may also

have apertures to improve air velocity in the air guiding means.

The invention may also provide blade members that are suitable for use in

different weather conditions and/or different terrains in which the vehicle may be

deployed and/or suitable for a usage. Some of the factors for selecting suitable blade

members are as follows: emergency usage

weather conditions such rain, snow, wind, etc.

visibility

seasons

. land or sea or air usage

terrain such as steepness, rocky, deep valley or gorge

The blade members may be arranged to be selectively configurable so that

^■'They can be manually or automatically configured for use under different operation

condition. In one form the blade members are made from a material that is foldable

so that they can be folded into different configurations to suit operation conditions.

One such condition is to maximise impact force or thrust from the air in the air

guiding means so that less energy and therefore less fuel is required for powering

the powered engine.

A cover member with holes arranged therein can be provided at the or each

said at least one air inlet opening to prevent entry of objects that may cause blade

failure. One example of the cover member is a steel mesh sheet adapted to be

removably fixed at entrance to the or each said at least one air inlet opening.

.The or each blade assembly may have a controllable pitch so that the

direction of movement of the vehicle can be controlled by varying the pitch.

The air guiding means may be arranged to provide impact force to one or

more other rotatable members in the vehicle. Examples of such rotatable members

are a flywheel, an alternator, a compressor of an air conditional unit, etc. The air guiding means may have one or more turbo heads having one air

inlet opening and one corresponding air outlet opening. The or at least one of the

said one or more turbo heads desirably has one main blade assembly arranged at

its inlet opening and/or another main blade assembly at its outlet opening. The or

at least one of the said one or more turbo heads advantageously has a number of

further blade assemblies arranged about said one main blade assembly and/or about

the said another main blade assembly.

The or at least one of the said one or more turbo heads is preferably

arranged so that its position relative to said body is controllably adjustable. In one

preferred form the vehicle of the present invention includes controllably adjustable

connection means for connecting the or at least one of the said one or more turbo

heads to the body. The connection means is adapted to be controllably adjustable

for positioning the or at least one of the said one or more turbo heads in any

position between an extended position and a retracted position relative to the

longitudinal axis of the body. The connection means may also be adapted to be

controllably adjustable for positioning the or at least one of the said one or more

turbo heads along the longitudinal axis of the body.

In another preferred form the or at least one of the said one or more turbo

heads is arranged to be controllably adjustable for positioning at an angle within a

range of angles to the longitudinal axis of the body.

More preferably the or at least one of said one or more turbo heads is

controllably positionable about a first axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

The or at least one of said one or more turbo heads may also be controllably positionable about a second axis parallel to the longitudinal axis so as to provide

a gyroscope type movement.

It is further preferred that the or at least one of said one or more turbo heads

is controllably rotatable about its long axis. Braces and or gearing members may be

used to controllably rotate the or at least one of said one or more turbo heads.

The positioning of the or at least one of said one or more turbo head is

typically controlled for maximising air intake into the or each said one or more

turbo head and/or for controlling air impact force or thrust and/or for balancing the

vehicle.

Where the vehicle is a winged aeroplane the air guiding means may also be

arranged to control the wings for changing direction of movement and/or for

braking. Said wings can have one or more air inlet openings and one or more air

outlet openings, in communication with the air guiding means. The one or more

air inlet openings and the one or more air outlet openings in the wings are arranged

not only to provide impact force on said at least one propeller member but also to

control positions of the wings. As described earlier deflection means can be used

alone or in conjunction with the controllable pitch of the or each blade assembly

for controlling direction of movement including vertical takeoff.

Where the vehicle is a hel icopter the at least one propeller member is a rotor

with a number of rotor arms. The air guiding means provides the impact force on

the rotor arms. The guiding means can also be arranged to tilt the arms for

controlling direction of movement of the helicopter. The vehicle may have an engine cutoff arrangement for selectively cutting

operation of the powered engine so that the air through said air guiding means

alone provides energy to rotate said at least one propeller member. The cutoff

arrangement may have a control circuit with a sensing device for sensing vehicle

operation condition so that operation of said vehicle can be cutoff only when a

predetermined operation condition is sensed. The predetermined condition may

include vehicle speed and air velocity in the guiding means.

The guiding means typically include one or more ducts arranged to guide air

through said at least one inlet opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In order that the present invention can be more readily understood and be

put into practical effect reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings

which illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention and wherein:

Figure 1 is a schematic drawing showing one embodiment of the vehicle

according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic drawing showing another embodiment of the vehicle

according to the present invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic drawing showing a further embodiment of the vehicle

according to the present invention;

Figure 4 is a schematic drawing showing air flow within an embodiment of

the vehicle according to the present invention;

Figure 5 is a schematic drawing showing an embodiment of a blade

assembly in a turbo head; Figure 6 is a schematic drawing showing replacement blade members in a

process to be stored in or to be extracted from slots and expanded from the hollow

of a hub of the blade assembly shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a schematic drawing showing another embodiment of the blade

assembly for use in a turbo head;

Figure 8 is a schematic drawing showing a blade member of the blade

assembly shown in Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a schematic perspective view of a blade assembly in a turbo head;

Figure 10 are cut away views of components of the blade assembly shown

in Figure 9;

Figure 1 1 shows an example of the controllably adjustable connection means

for the turbo head and different blade members that can be used for the blade

assembly; and

Figures 12 and 13 show gyroscope movements of the turbo head.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figures 1 there is shown a vehicle

10 of an embodiment according to this invention. The vehicle 10 has a body 12

which includes a cabin section 14 for passengers or cargos, a driver or pilot section

1 6, and a front section 18 which houses an internal combustion engine (not shown).

The driver/pilot section 16 has two access openings which are closeable by

two swing doors (shown in the open position in dotted lines). A step ladder 20 is

provided at each side of the body 1 2 for access to the passenger/cargo section 14

and the driver/pilot section 1 6. The body 1 2 is supported on an undercarriage structure (not shown). The

undercarriage structure also supports one front wheel assembly 22 and two spaced

rear wheel assemblies 24 (one only shown). The vehicle 10 can also be provided

with a disc or endless track or turbine assembly 26 in addition to or instead of the

wheel assemblies 22 and 24. Where a turbine assembly 26 is used the vehicle 10

will maximise air flow energy available as thrust for propelling the vehicle 10. The

assemblies 22 and 24, and 26 where provided are arranged to be retractable into

the undercarriage.

The body 12 has two wings 28 (one only shown) being arranged one on each

side thereof. As shown in dotted lines, the wings 28 are controllably moveable to

position them at different angle to the longitudinal axis of the body 12. Each of the

wings 28 defines a hollow side duct with an air inlet opening 30 accommodating

a fan blade assembly 32 (see Figures 5 to 1 1). The blade assembly 32, the inlet

opening 30 and the associated duct form a turbo head 34.

The vehicle 10 as shown in Figure 1 has a rear duct 36 with an air outlet

opening 38. A number of air deflection plates (not shown) are positioned at the air

outlet opening 38. The air deflection plates are rotatably adjustable for controlling

lift and/or thrust of the vehicle. A front air duct (not shown) is provided in the front

section 18 of the vehicle 10. The front air duct is in communication with a front air

inlet opening 30 accommodating a fan blade assembly 32 (see Figures 5 to 1 1 ). The

front air duct also other openings arranged for air under the body 12 to enter there

into. Each of the air inlet openings 30 and the air outlet opening 38 has an

adjustable shroud member (not shown) which can be moved to fully exposed the

associated opening to allow maximum air flow or be moved over the associated

opening to provide protection from entry of rain or snow.

The wings 28 are arranged so that they can be controllably moved in any of

the directions relative to the longitudinal axis of the body 12, as shown in Figures

12 and 13. The applicant affectionately refers to theses directions of movement as

movements in accordance to the gyroscope principle since the blade assembly 32

in each turbo head 34 can continue to operate while the turbo head is moved in any

desired direction. The turbo head 34 in each wing 28 can be moved to any angular

position relative to a first axis 36 and to any angular position relative to a second

axis 38. At the same time the associated air duct of the turbo head 34 can be rotated

about its axis to any position independent of the fan blade assembly 32.

Each turbo head 34 can also be adjustably and controllably positioned in any

desired position between an extended position and a retracted position. Figure 1 1

shows schematically one arrangement for positioning the turbo head 34. As can be

seen the turbo head 34 is supported by two spaced arms 40 and 42 which are

connected to respective ends of plates 44 and 46. The plates 44 and 46 are in turn

connected to respective half cylindrical members 48 and 50. The space between

the members 48 and 50 is controllably adjustable and each of the members 48 and

50 are rotatable. Accordingly the turbo head 34 can be rotated through 1 80°. The

arms has adjustable sections 52 and 54 which can be actuated for moving the turbo

head 34 between the fully extended position and the fully retracted position. The plates 44 and 46 each have an adjustable section 56 for moving the turbo head 34

between the region as shown by the dotted area 58. The turbo head 34 may also

has an adjustable brace or gearing 60 for controllably moving the position of the

turbo head 34 with relative to the body 12 of the vehicle 10 in according to the

gyroscope principle.

Figure 1 1 also shows three different forms of blade members 62 that can be

used for the blade assembly 32. Selection of the form of the blade member 62 is

based on weather condition, terrain in which the vehicle 10 is to be used, and

purpose of usage such as commuting, emergency rescue, etc. The three different

forms shown in this Figure are identified as 1 , 2 and 3. Form 1 is best for windless

or relatively still condition and it has ribs extending radially from the hub 64. The

ribs allow the blade members 62 to provide a better bite than a smooth blade

surface and they therefore allow the blade assembly 32 to function more efficiently

under the windless or relatively still condition. Form 2 is best for rainy or snow

condition and it has apertures to reduce weight of the blade assembly 32 and to

allow rain water or melted snow to flow through the apertures. Form 3 is also best

for windless or relatively still condition. Instead of ribs it has an array of rows of

protruding elements arranged to provide efficient bite for air over the blade

member. The hollow of the hub 64 can be covered with a material with the

configuration similar to the form 1 or 3 blade member.

Referring to Figures 5 to 8, the blade assembly 32 in each turbo head 34 has

a hollow hub 64 arranged with slots through which the blade members 62 extend.

Each of the blade members 62 has a large end 66and a narrow end 68. The narrow end 68 is slightly curved so that this blade member 62 cannot be completely pulled

out of the hollow hub 64. The blade members 62 are foldable so that they can be

folded into any desired shape for use under different operation condition. Two

different shapes are shown in Figures 6 and 7. The configurable blade members 62

allow them to be folded for insertion through the slots into the hollow of the hub

64. The hollow in the hub 64 is such that spare blade members can be stored

therein.

The narrow end is shaped so that the blade members 62 are normally held

by the slots. To remove blade member 62 from its slot one simply needs to tilt the

blade member 62 downwardly as shown in Figure 8 and to lift the narrow end 68

out of the slot.

Each turbo head 34 may also has a number of mini turbo heads 70 arranged

there in for enhancing air flow into the head 34. The blade members in these mini

turbo heads 70 are also configurable.

Figures 9 and 10 show one particular embodiment of the turbo head 34 with

mini heads 70. The blade members 62 in the blade assemblies 32 in this

embodiment are configured into a different shape for a particular operation

condition as compared to the blade members 62 shown in Figures 5 to 8.

The mini turbo heads 70 arranged as shown in Figure 10 are also provided

at the outlet opening 38.

Referring again to Figure 1 , the left and right wings 28 can be controlled to

move independently as described above so that they can be used to balance the

vehicle 10 and to control direction of movement. Figures 2 is a schematic drawing showing another embodiment of the

vehicle 10 according to the present invention. The vehicle 10 of this embodiment

is substantially the same of the embodiment shown in Figure 1. Accordingly only

features that are not in the Figure 1 embodiment are described below. This vehicle

10 has a number of sets of wheels 80 rotatably driven by an internal combustion

engine (not shown). The wheels 80 also have projections (not shown) arranged to

project into air ducts 82 connected to a side turbo head 84. Air through the front

turbo head 34 and the wing turbo heads 34 is also directed into the ducts 82 for

providing an impact force onto the projections of the wheels 80. The wings 28 in

this embodiment can be positioned adjacent to the body 12 so that the vehicle 10

can operate in a narrow space. The wings 28 can be positioned to the position as

shown in the dotted lines. A second outlet opening 86 is provide in the rear for

improving available thrust. The vehicle 10 can be provided with a rotating rotor

assembly 88 for allowing the vehicle to hover and lift off vertically like a helicopter.

Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the vehicle 10 which is substantially

similar to the Figure 2 embodiment apart from the shape of the body 12. The wing

28 in this embodiment are rotatable about a vertical axis and can be placed in a

range of tilted positions. The turbo heads 34 can also be rotated relative to the

associated ducts.

Figure 4 shows air flows through various air ducts in the vehicle 10.

In normal operation of the vehicle 10 according to the present invention the

internal combustion engine is started to provide energy to turn the at least one

propeller or turbo-fan assembly rotatably mounted to said body and/or at least one wheel or endless track assembly and to set the vehicle 10 in motion. As the vehicle

10 has a number of air inlet openings it experiences less drag force. Accordingly

less energy is expended to overcome drag.

The air entering through the inlet openings is directed to do useful work on

the at least one propeller or turbo-fan assembly rotatably mounted to said body

and/or at least one wheel or endless track assembly, and on other moving members

in the vehicle 10. The configurable blade members 62 allow the vehicle 10 to be

manually or automatically configured to provide maximum power from the air.

Accordingly less fuel energy is needed to turn these moving members. Further the

turbo heads 34 are adapted to be controllable adjustable for maximising amount of

air into the ducts. The energy from the air may be sufficient to maintain motion of

the vehicle 10 without operating the internal combustion engine. Therefore the

vehicle 10 can be provided with an automatic switching arrangement for

periodically cutting the operation of the engine yet maintaining motion of the

vehicle 10.

The vehicle 10 is therefore highly economical to operate as air is free and is

highly manoeuvrable due to the movements of the turbo heads 34.

Whilst the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the

present invention many variations and modifications thereto will be apparent to

those skilled in the art without departing from the broad ambit and scope of the

invention as herein set forth.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. The bracket system wherein includes the controllably position in any desired location and including for and between an extended position and retracted position as per

claim 1 ,

2. The bracing device whereas the configuration allows for

the said one or more turbo heads rotational and directional relative to the longitudinal and latitude as per claim 2.

including fig 12 and fig 13.

3. The configurations of the blade members specifically for

adapted variations as per claim 3 on fig 11.

4. The blade members as depicted in fig 5 to 8 as per assembly for aperture and protrusion and claim 4.

5. The internal hub for inclusion of applications of varied blade configuration as per claim 5.

6. The mechanism of and/or including the blade assembly device as per claim 6.

7. The associated air ducts and axis as fig 5 to 8 as per

claim 7

8. The mechanism of the including the casing of parachute

paraphernalia and including fig 2 and including fig 5 to 8

as claim 8.

9. The wing configuration whereas can be controlled in an independent mode as per configuration as claim 9.

10. The structure of the wings as per fig 1 to fig 3 and no

28 embodiment as per claim 10,

11. The bracket and or bracing mechanism configuration on the wing structure as per fig 1 and claim 11.

12. The composition of the wing as per claim 12.

13. The or at least one of the said one or more turbo heads

relative to the configuration of the said wing as per claim 13.

14. The outer and or inner casing as per wing configuration

of the one or as recomend for factors as claim 14.

15. The hub casing for the blade members as per claim 15.

16. The fixing mechanism on the rotatably mounted hub member and inclusive of the automation and manually as per claim

16.

17. The configuration of the automatically and or manually

selective mechanism of the operational switches as per claim for factors of varied useages as defined in reference to p7,

no 5 as per claim 17.

18. The gryoscope mechanism of the varied wing configuration and including the traction of the bracing system as per

claim 18.

19. The configuration of the one/ and of varied light system

with related oscillation mechanism as per claim 19.