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US 7,728,267 B2Granted
Methods and apparatus for adjustable surfaces
AssigneeRaytheon Company
InventorsTerry M. Sanderson, Jamie W. Clark
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus for systems having deployable elements according to various aspects of the present invention comprise a system including a deployable surface and an adaptive actuator including a polymer foam. In one embodiment, the system comprises a vehicle including a deployable wing comprising an exterior surface. The exterior surface may be adjusted by adjusting the shape, size, position, and/or orientation of the adaptive actuator.
Claims19
A vehicle comprising:
- a fuselage;
- and
- a configurable control surface connected to the fuselage;
- wherein the control surface has a configurable external shape;
- and
- wherein the configurable control surface includes:
- a brace;
- and
- a polymer foam attached to and overlying the brace, wherein the polymer foam selectively changes shape as part of configuring of the configurable external surface, and wherein the brace provides structural support for the polymer foam.
6 more elements
A method of configuring a control surface of an air vehicle, the method comprising:
- providing the control surface with a polymer foam attached to an underlying brace that is connected to an airframe of the air vehicle, and that provides structural support for the polymer foam;
- and
- configuring the control surface by using changing shape of the polymer foam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.