Invertible aircraft
AssigneeAeroVironment, Inc.
InventorsMatthew Todd Keennon, Karl Robert Klingebiel
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A rotorcraft including a fuselage, one or more motor-driven rotors for vertical flight, and a control system. The motors drive the one or more rotors in either of two directions of rotation to provide for flight in either an upright or an inverted orientation. An orientation sensor is used to control the primary direction of thrust, and operational instructions and gathered information are automatically adapted based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity. The rotors are configured with blades that invert to conform to the direction of rotation.
Claims20
An aerial vehicle, comprising:
- a body having a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity;
- one or more thrusters providing thrust in a controllable direction of thrust with respect to the body;
- and
- a control system programmed to control the direction of thrust with respect to the body in which the one or more thrusters provide thrust;
- wherein the control system is programmed to reverse the direction of thrust with respect to the body when the orientation of the body with respect to gravity has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.
A method of controlling an aerial vehicle, the aerial vehicle including a body having a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity, and one or more thrusters providing thrust in a controllable direction of thrust with respect to the body, comprising:
- controlling the direction of thrust with respect to the body in which the one or more thrusters provide thrust;
- and
- reversing the direction of thrust with respect to the body when the orientation of the body with respect to gravity has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.
A method of controlling a rotorcraft, the rotorcraft including a fuselage defining a vertical dimension with respect to the fuselage, the fuselage having a right-side-up orientation and an upside-down orientation with respect to gravity, the rotorcraft including one or more rotors having vertically oriented axes of orientation with respect to the fuselage, and the rotorcraft including one or more motors connected to the one or more rotors, comprising:
- controlling the speed with which the one or more motors drives the one or more rotors in rotor rotation to control the direction of thrust generated by the rotors;
- and
- reversing the direction of thrust when the fuselage has switched between the right-side-up orientation and the upside-down orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.