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US 11,111,019 B2Granted
System and method for capturing and releasing fixed-wing aircraft
AssigneeRyan Evaristo Pinto
InventorRyan Evaristo Pinto
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A capture-and-release aircraft for capturing and releasing fixed-wing aircraft is provided. The capture-and-release aircraft comprises a frame to which is secured a set of rotor units. Each rotor unit has a rotor with a rotation axis, the rotation axes of the rotors being generally parallel. A set of aircraft engagement members is also secured to the frame that can align with a set of anchors of a fixed-wing aircraft to releasably couple with the anchors.
Claims16
A capture-and-release aircraft for capturing and releasing a fixed-wing aircraft, comprising:
- a frame;
- a set of at least three rotor units secured to the frame, each of the at least three rotor units being configured to generate vertical lift;
- and
- a set of at least three aircraft engagement members secured to the frame, each of the at least three aircraft engagement members comprising:
- an anchor-capture device configured to releasably couple to a corresponding one of a set of anchors of a fixed-wing aircraft, and
- an articulating arm coupled to the anchor-capture device and controllable to move the anchor-capture device relative to the frame through at least two dimensions to align the anchor-capture device with the corresponding one of the set of anchors of the fixed-wing aircraft,
- a first and a second of the at least three aircraft engagement members being spaced laterally to position the first of the at least three aircraft engagement members towards a first wing of the fixed-wing aircraft to engage the corresponding one of the set of anchors positioned on the first wing, and a second of the at least three aircraft engagement members towards a second wing of the fixed-wing aircraft on an opposite lateral side of the fixed-wing aircraft from the first wing to engage the corresponding one of the set of anchors positioned on the second wing.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.