TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of aeronautics. In particular, the present disclosure pertains to an aircraft wing with enhanced lift capability.

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] Airfoils are well known in the art. They are typically used in devices such as wings of aircrafts, propellers and wind turbines etc. to generate lift forces as a result of air current. The lift forces are generated, based on Bernoulli's principle, which states that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in static pressure (ignoring the fluid's potential energy, which remains same in the airfoil application). The airfoils are configured in the air current to generate higher fluid (air in case of the aircrafts) velocity on an upper surface as compared to the lower surface. The difference in air velocity results in difference in air pressure on the two sides, resulting in a lift force on the airfoil.

[0004] FIGs 1A -1C show an airfoil section 100 (also refereed as airfoil), where an upper surface 102 of the airfoil 100 is having a larger path from a leading end 106 to a trailing end 108, as compared to the path on the lower surface 104. When an air current passes over the airfoil 100 from the leading end 106 to the trailing end 108, as shown in FIG. 1C, the difference in length of the paths results in higher velocity of air over the upper surface 102, as it has to travel a longer distance, is higher compared to the velocity of air moving along the lower surface, resulting in increased air pressure on the lower surface 106 as compared to the pressure at upper surface 102, in accordance with Bernoulli's principle. The difference in pressure results in a lift force on the airfoil.

[0005] As known in the art, the lift force can be increased by providing an angle of attack 110, as shown in FIG. IB, which is the angle that a longitudinal axis of the airfoil 100 makes with direction of air current/stream. As shown in FIG. 1C, the angle of attack results in a large mass of air getting concentrated near the trailing end of the airfoil, as shown by rectangle 112 in FIG. 1C. The accumulated air at the trailing end results in increased lift force on the airfoil 100. [0006] FIG. 2 shows an alternate shape of the airfoil, wherein the airfoil 200 of FIG. 2 is symmetrical, i.e., its upper surface and lower surface are identical. The similar shape of the two surfaces results in zero lift force when the airfoil 200 is placed in the air current with its axis aligned with the direction of air current. With the airfoil 200, the lift force is generated by tilting the airfoil 200 to provide an angle of attack, which, as explained earlier, results in accumulation of air at the trailing end, as highlighted by the rectangle 212 in FIG. 2, resulting in generation of lift force.

[0007] FIGs. 3A and 3B show another commonly used mechanism to generate lift force with an airfoil, wherein a flap 302 is added to the airfoil 100 at the trailing end for pivotal movement. The pivotal movement of the flap 302 results in change in angle of attack of the flap 302. An increase in the angle of attack results in generation of lift force on the aircraft wing 300.

[0008] However, a limitation of the known method of increasing lift by providing an angle of attack is that the angle of attack cannot be increased beyond a limit, as after a certain limit, a phenomenon known as air separation is experienced, in which air current gets detached from the upper surface. The detachment results in increased drag force, which is disadvantageous as results in increase in power required to move the aircraft with corresponding increase in fuel consumption.

[0009] As can be seen, there are a number of known methods of generating lift force on an airfoil section, however, they have limitation in respect of extent of lift that can be achieved. Any solution that can result in increase in the lift force would be advantageous as this can enable reduction in size of the aircraft wings with corresponding cost benefits.

[0010] Therefore, there is a requirement of an improved aircraft wing that can provide higher lift force as compared to the conventional aircraft wings.

[0011] All publications herein are incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. Where a definition or use of a term in an incorporated reference is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.

[0012] In some embodiments, the numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, properties such as concentration, reaction conditions, and so forth, used to describe and claim certain embodiments of the invention are to be understood as being modified in some instances by the term “about.” Accordingly, 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.

[0013] 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.

[0014] 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.

[0015] 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 Markush groups used in the appended claims.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

[0016] Some of the objects of the present disclosure, which at least one embodiment herein satisfy, are listed below. [0017] A general object of the present disclosure is to overcome limitations of the aircraft wings.

[0018] An object of the present disclosure is to provide an aircraft wing that provides higher lift force.

SUMMARY

[0019] Various aspects of the present disclosure relate to the technical field of aeronautics. In particular, the present disclosure pertains to an aircraft wing with enhanced lift capability.

[0020] According to an aspect of the present disclosure, the aircraft wing includes an airfoil defining the shape of the wing. The wing includes a plurality of blades configured with an underside surface of the airfoil, extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge of the airfoil. The plurality of blades is configured to move between a retracted position and a deployed position. The plurality of blades in the deployed position may move to form a plurality of angle of attacks, such that each angle of attack successively increases with the deployment of the plurality of blades which results in generation of higher pressure at the trailing edge of each blade thereby increasing lift.

[0021] In an aspect, the wing includes a plurality of blades and movement of the plurality of blades towards the deployed position causes the corresponding blades to acquire angle of attack, and movement of the blades towards the retracted position causes the corresponding blades to lose angle of attack.

[0022] In an aspect, an aircraft wing includes an airfoil defining the shape of the wing. The lower surface of the wing comprises a plurality of blades extending between a leading edge and a trailing edge of the airfoil. The plurality of blades is configured to move between a retracted position and a deployed position. The plurality of blades in the deployed position, move to form a plurality of angle of attacks, such that each angle of attack successively increases with the deployment of the plurality of blades which results in generation of higher pressure at the trailing edge of each blade thereby increasing lift.

[0023] In an aspect, the plurality of blades forms the lower surface of the wing.

[0024] Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the inventive subject matter will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments and accompanying drawing figures in which numerals represent like components. 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] Similar components and/or features may have the same reference label in the figures. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label with a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. Suppose only the first reference label is used in the specification. In that case, the description applies to any similar components with the same first reference label, irrespective of the second reference label.

[0027] FIGs. 1A to 1C illustrate a conventional airfoil for an aircraft wing and its application to generate lift force.

[0028] FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional airfoil for an aircraft wing with symmetric geometry and its application to generate lift force.

[0029] FIGs. 3A and 3B illustrate a conventional aircraft wing with a flap at trailing end and use of the flat to generate lift force.

[0030] FIG. 4 illustrates a geometric representation of effect of angle of attack of an airfoil, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary cross section of the proposed aircraft wing formed of a plurality of blades, showing a geometric representation of effect of angle of attack of the blades, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary cross section of the proposed aircraft wing having a plurality of blades, showing a geometric representation of effect of angle of attack of the blades, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0033] FIGs. 6A and 6D illustrate exemplary sectional views, showing different possible configurations of the multiple blades of the disclosed aircraft wing, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The following is a detailed description of embodiments of the disclosure depicted in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments are in such detail 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.

[0035] Each of the appended claims defines a separate invention, which for infringement purposes is recognized as including equivalents to the various elements or limitations specified in the claims. Depending on the context, all references below to the “invention” may in some cases refer to certain specific embodiments only. In other cases, it will be recognized that references to the “invention” will refer to subject matter recited in one or more, but not necessarily all, of the claims.

[0036] Various terms are used herein. To the extent a term used in a claim is not defined, 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.

[0037] Embodiments explained herein relate to an aircraft wing that overcomes limitations of conventional aircraft wings. In particular, the disclosed aircraft wing includes an airfoil section (also refereed as airfoil) and a plurality of blades configured on a lower surface of the airfoil. In an aspect, the blades are configured movably such that when desired, the blades can be moved to increase respective angle of attacks. Thus, each of the plurality of blades can contribute to generation of lift force, thereby enhancing the lift.

[0038] In accordance with the inventive concept of the present disclosure, angle of attack of each successive blade is higher than angle of attack of the previous blade. Successive increase in the angle of attack of the blades results in air accumulated at the trailing edge of a previous blade due to the corresponding vertical projection, hitting the next blade and adding to the air accumulation at the blade due to its corresponding vertical projection H2, which results in generation of higher pressure at the trailing edge of the blade, thereby increasing effectiveness of the Bernoulli's principle. Therefore, at least two blades are required to be configured on underside of the air foil.

[0039] In an embodiment, the blades can be configured to anyone of both of a retracting movement and a pivotal movement, such that when generation of higher lift is not required, the blades can be moved back, by retraction and/or pivotal movement, to result in a smooth surface for turbulence free flow of air.

[0040] In different embodiments, the aircraft wing can include two, three, four and five blades. The blades can be configured to cover the entire lower surface from the leading edge to the trailing edge. Alternatively, the blades may cover only a portion of the lower surface between the leading edge to the trailing edge, such as surface towards the trailing edge, leaving a portion of the lower surface towards the leading edge uncovered by the blades. [0041] It is to be appreciated that while the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to aircraft wings, the concept of the present disclosure can be applied to any other device that works based on the Bernoulli's principle to generate useful forces, such as a lift force, as a result of a passing air current, and all such applications are well within the scope of the present disclosure without any limitations whatsoever.

[0042] Referring now to FIG. 4, where a geometric representation of effect of angle of attack of an airfoil is shown, the angle of attack 110 results in an area defined by distance H from point A to B, airflow through which shall get accumulated/compressed at the trailing end of the airfoil 100. As can be seen, larger the angle of attack 110, larger shall be the area defined by distance H, which is a vertical projection of the airfoil 100, and correspondingly, a larger amount of air shall get accumulated/compressed at the trailing end to result in a higher lift force. However, as stated earlier, there is a limit to which the angle of attack 110 can be increased without detrimental effect of air separation.

[0043] FIG. 5A illustrates an exemplary cross section of the proposed aircraft wing formed of a plurality of blades, As shown in FIG. 5A, the aircraft wing 400 includes a plurality of blades forming lower surface of the wing 400. Aircraft wing 400 includes blades 404-1, 404-2, 404-3 (collectively and individually referred to as blades 404, hereinafter) configured with an underside surface of an airfoil 402. Each of the blades 404 can be configured to move between a retracted position, in which it does not have an angle of attack against the incoming air stream, and a deployed position, in which the blades 404 provide an angle of attack to the incoming air stream. When the blades 404 are in deployed position, the angle of attack, such as angle of attack 406-1 of the blade 404-1. 406-2 of the blades 404-2 and 406-3 of the blade 404-3 (collectively referred to as angle of attack 406, hereinafter), of each successive blade 404 can be higher than angle of attack of the previous blade. For example, in the exemplary illustration of FIG. 5A, 406-3 is higher than 406-2 and 406-2 is higher than 406-1. Also, vertical projection of each successive blade 404, is larger than the vertical projection of the previous blade 404. For example, H2 is more than Hl, and H3 is more than H2. Thus, each of the blades 404, in the deployed position can contribute to lift force. Successive increase in the angle of attack 406 of the blades 404 results in air accumulated at the trailing edge of a previous blade, such as blade 404-1, due to the corresponding vertical projection Hl, hitting the next blade, i.e., 404-2 and adding to the air accumulation at the blade 404-2 due to its corresponding vertical projection H2, which results in generation of higher pressure at the trailing edge of the blade 404-2, thereby increasing lift. In accordance with above explained concept of the present invention to increase effectiveness of the Bernoulli's principle, at least two blades 404 are required to be configured on underside of the air foil 402. Configuring more than two blades shall further enhance the lift.

[0044] In an embodiment, a mechanism to move the blades 404 can be configured to move all the blades 404 in unison. In alternate embodiment, the mechanism to move blades 404 can be configured to move a selected set of blades 404 only, such as only two successive blades 404 or only three successive blades, which can enable achieving different lift forces depending on requirement.

[0045] In an embodiment, the mechanism to move the blades 404 can cause the blades 404 to move pivotably, wherein movement of the plurality of blades towards the deployed position causes the corresponding blades to acquire angle of attack, and movement of the blades towards the retracted position causes the corresponding blades to lose angle of attack. In yet another embodiment, the movement of the blades 404 can be a combination of pivotal movement and sliding movement.

[0046] Referring to FIG.5A the second blade (404-2) has a slightly greater angle of attack than the first blade (404-1), so when airflow hits the second blade, there is a deflection. The third blade (404-3) has a slightly greater angle of attack than the second blade (404-2), so when airflow hits the third blade, there is a deflection. The increasing angle of attack of the blades (404) causes the airflow to deflect resulting in generation of increased lift and cause the wings to rise.

[0047] FIG. 5B illustrates an exemplary cross section of the proposed aircraft wing having a plurality of blades. As shown in FIG. 5B, the aircraft wing 400 includes a plurality of blades, such as blades 404-1, 404-2, and 404-3 (collectively and individually referred to as blades 404, hereinafter) configured on an underside surface of an airfoil 402. Each of the blades 404 can be configured to move between a retracted position, in which it does not have an angle of attack against the incoming air stream, and a deployed position, in which the blades 404 provide an angle of attack to the incoming air stream. When the blades 404 are in deployed position, the angle of attack, such as angle of attack 406-1 of the blade 404-1, 406-2 of the blade 404-2, and 406-3 of the blade 404-3 (collectively referred to as angle of attack 406, hereinafter), of each successive blade 404 can be higher than angle of attack of the previous blade. For example, in the exemplary illustration of FIG. 5B, 406-3 is higher than 406-2, and 406-2 is higher than 406-1. Also, vertical projection of each successive blade 404, is larger than the vertical projection of the previous blade 404. For example, H2 is more than Hl, and H3 is more than H2. Thus, each of the blades 404, in the deployed position can contribute to lift force. Successive increase in the angle of attack 406 of the blades 404 results in air accumulated at the trailing edge of a previous blade, such as blade 404-1, due to the corresponding vertical projection Hl, hitting the next blade, i.e., 404-2 and adding to the air accumulation at the blade 404-2 due to its corresponding vertical projection H2, which results in generation of higher pressure at the trailing edge of the blade 404-2, thereby increasing lift. In accordance with above explained concept of the present invention to increase effectiveness of the Bernoulli's principle, at least two blades 404 are required to be configured on underside of the air foil 402. Configuring more than two blades shall further enhance the lift.

[0048] In an embodiment, a mechanism to move the blades 404 can be configured to move all the blades 404 in unison. In alternate embodiment, the mechanism to move blades 404 can be configured to move a selected set of blades 404 only, such as only two successive blades 404 or only three successive blades, which can enable achieving different lift forces depending on requirement.

[0049] In an embodiment, the mechanism to move the blades 404 can cause the blades 404 to move slidingly, wherein sliding of the blades towards the leading edge results in the corresponding blade 404 losing its angle of attack 406, and sliding of the blades towards the trailing edge results in the corresponding blade 404 attaining its angle of attack 406. Alternatively, the mechanism can be configured to move the blades 404 pivotally. In yet another embodiment, the movement of the blades 404 can be a combination of pivotal movement and sliding movement.

[0050] Referring to FIG.5B the second blade (404-2) has a slightly greater angle of attack than the first blade (404-1), so when airflow hits the second blade, there is a deflection. The third blade (404-3) has a slightly greater angle of attack than the second blade (404-2), so when airflow hits the third blade, there is a deflection. The increasing angle of attack of the blades (404) causes the airflow to deflect resulting in generation of increased lift and cause the wings to rise.

[0051] FIGs. 6A to 6D illustrate exemplary sectional views, showing different possible configurations of the multiple blades of the disclosed aircraft wing. As respectively shown in FIGs. 6A, 6B and 6C, the aircraft wings, such as wings 602, 604 and 606, can have two, three or five blades, or any other number, depending on necessity and design requirement. In an embodiment, the blades 404 can cover the entire lower surface of the aircraft wing. In an alternate embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6D, the blades 404 can cover only a portion of the lower surface of the wing, such as covering only a portion of the lower surface towards trailing edge of the wing 608. [0052] Thus, the present disclosure provides an improved aircraft wing that overcomes limitation of the conventional wings and results in higher lift force.

[0053] 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

[0054] The present disclosure provides an improved aircraft wing that overcomes the above-mentioned limitations of the conventional aircraft wings.

[0055] The present disclosure provides an aircraft wing that provides higher lift force.

[0056] The present disclosure provides an aircraft wing that efficiently catches the flow of air.