US 12,134,461 B2
Apparatus for controlling multi-rotor vehicle vibrations and related methods
Michael J. Duffy, Lansing, NY (US); Naveed Moayyed Hussain, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA (US); Matthew Aaron Novick, Philadelphia, PA (US); and John Jian Dong, Bothell, WA (US)
Assigned to The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed by The Boeing Company, Arlington, VA (US)
Filed on Dec. 18, 2018, as Appl. No. 16/224,029.
Prior Publication US 2020/0189722 A1, Jun. 18, 2020
Int. Cl. B64C 11/50 (2006.01); B64C 11/00 (2006.01); B64U 30/20 (2023.01); B64U 50/13 (2023.01)
CPC B64C 11/50 (2013.01) [B64C 11/008 (2013.01); B64U 30/20 (2023.01); B64U 50/13 (2023.01); B64U 2201/00 (2023.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An apparatus comprising:
memory;
machine readable instructions; and
at least one processor circuit to be programmed by the machine readable instructions to:
determine a vibration level of a frame of a vehicle based on data generated by a sensor of the vehicle, the data generated when a rotational phase of a first rotor of the vehicle is in phase with a rotational phase of a second rotor of the vehicle, the vehicle including a first coaxial rotor set and a second coaxial rotor set, the first coaxial rotor set including the first rotor and the second rotor, the second coaxial rotor set including a third rotor and a fourth rotor, the first rotor and the third rotor on a first side of the frame and the second rotor and the fourth rotor on a second side of the frame, the second side opposite the first side;
identify a resonance mode for at least a portion of the frame of the vehicle, the resonance mode associated with an operational state of the vehicle;
determine that the vibration level exceeds a vibration level threshold when the rotational phase of the first rotor of the first coaxial rotor set is in phase with the rotational phase of the second rotor of the first coaxial rotor set;
generate, based on the vibration level and the resonance mode, a first instruction to cause rotation of the first rotor of the first coaxial rotor set to be adjusted; and
generate, based on the vibration level and the resonance mode, a second instruction to cause rotation of the second rotor of the first coaxial rotor set to be adjusted, at least one of the first instruction or the second instruction to cause the rotational phase of the first rotor of the first coaxial rotor set to be out-of-phase with the second rotor of the first coaxial rotor set; and
cause the first instruction to be transmitted to a controller of the first rotor of the first coaxial rotor set and the second instruction to be transmitted to a controller of the second rotor.