Aerial vehicles with protective members for absorbing shock load during wire strike
AssigneeUniversity of Kansas
InventorsRonald M. BARRETT, Mason Ross DENNELER, Zachary SCHWAB
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
This disclosure generally relates to aerial vehicles that may convert from hover-mode to missile-mode flight and back via body tilt for efficient flight and can strike wires such that neither the wires nor the aircraft are damaged, and divergence is prevented. This includes an aerial vehicle having an elongate fuselage having a nose tip, a plurality of engines connected to the fuselage, and at least three protective members connected substantially near the nose tip of the fuselage longitudinally beyond the plurality of engines.
Claims20
A method for balancing an aerial vehicle, comprising:
- determining a center of gravity for the aerial vehicle without a payload, the aerial vehicle including an elongate fuselage having a nose tip, a plurality of engines connected to the elongate fuselage, and at least three protective members connected substantially near the nose tip of the elongate fuselage and extending longitudinally beyond the plurality of engines;
- connecting a payload to the aerial vehicle;
- and
- moving the payload, the payload having a payload center of gravity, inside the aerial vehicle to match the payload center of gravity with the center of gravity of the aerial vehicle.
A method for balancing an aerial vehicle, comprising:
- determining a center of gravity for the aerial vehicle without a payload, the aerial vehicle including an elongate fuselage having a nose tip, a plurality of engines connected to the elongate fuselage, and at least three protective members connected substantially near the nose tip of the elongate fuselage and extending longitudinally beyond the plurality of engines;
- connecting a payload to the aerial vehicle;
- moving the payload inside the aerial vehicle along a longitudinal axis of the elongate fuselage by one or more of:
- inflating a lower inflatable airbag disposed below the payload to move the payload upward along the longitudinal axis;
- or
- deflating the lower inflatable airbag to move the payload downward along the longitudinal axis;
- based on moving the payload, aligning a payload center of gravity of the payload with the center of gravity of the aerial vehicle;
- and
- after moving the payload, securing the payload by inflating an upper inflatable airbag disposed above the payload.
A method for balancing an aerial vehicle, comprising:
- determining a center of gravity for the aerial vehicle without a payload, the aerial vehicle including an elongate fuselage having a nose tip, a plurality of engines connected to the elongate fuselage, and at least three protective members connected substantially near the nose tip of the elongate fuselage and extending longitudinally beyond the plurality of engines;
- connecting a payload to the aerial vehicle, including positioning the payload between an upper inflatable airbag, a lower inflatable airbag, and one or more side airbags;
- moving the payload in a longitudinal direction by inflating or deflating the lower inflatable airbag;
- aligning a longitudinal position of a payload center of gravity of the payload with a longitudinal position of the center of gravity of the aerial vehicle based on moving the payload in the longitudinal direction;
- moving the payload in one or more lateral directions by inflating one or more of the one or more side airbags;
- aligning a lateral position of the payload center of gravity with a lateral position of the center of gravity of the aerial vehicle based on moving the payload in the one or more lateral directions;
- and
- after moving the payload in the longitudinal direction and in the one or more lateral directions, securing the payload by inflating the upper inflatable airbag.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.