Pusher-Prop Quad Will Save the Ceilings

In the early days of aviation, planes used pusher propellers. A pusher prop is typically behind the wing, and the concept probably came from boating, with the ship’s screws located on the stern to push the vessel through water.

It took a few years for aerospace engineers to realize that puller props (mounted on the nose of the airplane) were superior because they spun through clean, not dirty air. The air behind the wing is dirty, meaning that it is full of turbulent air pockets caused by the wing’s traverse through the air.

All the flying craft I have flown indoors have at one point or another scraped my ceiling. All my flying craft have puller props, and my ceiling is full of battle scars from my helicopters and quads.

This patent application, filed by QFO, wants to save the ceilings. It is curious why it took so long, but the invention proposes a flying craft with pusher props. Turbulent, dirty air may be an issue when you’re flying over the English Channel, but when you’re puttering down a hallway, there is no reason why you cannot use pusher props for the same adrenaline rush. As an added benefit to this design, the spindle-and-cup propellers should last a little longer because the spindle is being pushed into the cup by the prop rather than being pulled up by the prop.

Claim 1. A hovering flying craft adapted to be controlled by a handheld remote control, the craft comprising:

• a molded frame assembly including a center body formed of a top member having at least three arms integrally molded with and extending outwardly from the center body and a bottom member having at least three legs integrally molded with and extending downwardly from the center body;
• at least three motor assemblies that each include an electromechanical motor and at least one corresponding propeller operably mounted downwardly-facing, with at least one motor assembly operably mounted at a distal portion of each of the at least three arms;
• a circuit board assembly operably mounted to the center body and configured to control the craft in response to radio frequency signals from the handheld remote control, and a replaceable rechargeable battery insertable into a battery compartment defined by the top member and the bottom member and operably connectable to electrically power the circuit board assembly and the at least three motor assemblies.

Title: “REMOTE-CONTROL FLYING COPTER AND METHOD”

US Patent Application No: 20140099853

Filed (US Prov): Oct. 5, 2012

Published: April 10, 2014