Mass transfer system for stabilizing an airship and other vehicles subject to pitch and roll moments
AssigneeLTAS Holdings, LLC
InventorsMichael K. Walden, George H. Heaven
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The invention relates to a mechanism to control the pitch and/or roll and/or center of gravity of a vehicle. The first embodiment is a track-based mass transfer system in which pathways are positioned along or radially terminate at a central horizontal plane of the vehicle to move one or more mass transfer devices to a desired location to control the pitch and/or roll and/or center of gravity of the vehicle. A second embodiment is a fluid mass distribution system in which one or more conduits selectively distribute a fluid to one or more tanks positioned near a central horizontal plane of the vehicle to control the pitch and/or roll and/or center of gravity of the vehicle.
Claims26
An airship comprising:
- a hull having an inner surface defining a cavity and an outer surface;
- a cabin coupled to the outer surface of the hull;
- a propulsion device, coupled to the outer surface of the hull, for providing yaw control;
- a sensor for detecting a pitch or roll movement of the hull;
- a pathway positioned adjacent to the hull;
- a mass transfer device configured to move along the pathway;
- and
- a control device for receiving a pitch signal or a roll signal and, using the pitch signal or the roll signal, controlling the movement of the mass transfer device along the pathway to achieve a desired pitch or a desired roll of the hull.
A system for providing pitch and roll stability to a vehicle, comprising:
- a pathway disposed adjacent to a perimeter of the vehicle;
- a mass transfer device movably coupled to the pathway;
- and
- a controller configured to cause the mass transfer device to move from a first location on the pathway to a second location on the pathway to achieve a desired pitch or roll orientation.
A system for providing pitch and roll stability to a vehicle, comprising:
- a plurality of tanks disposed about a central horizontal plane of the vehicle;
- a conduit, coupled to the plurality of tanks, for carrying a fluid to and from the plurality of tanks;
- and
- a controller configured to cause the fluid to move to or from the plurality of tanks to achieve a desired pitch or roll orientation.
A method for stability control of a vehicle comprising
- sensing the pitch or roll of the vehicle;
- providing a signal corresponding to the sensed pitch or roll;
- and
- distributing a mass from a first location to a second location of the vehicle based on the signal sensed to achieve a desired vehicle pitch or roll orientation.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.