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US 7,889,142 B1Granted
Aerodynamic wingtip device with integral ground plane
AssigneeLockheed Martin Corporation
InventorAaron L. Westman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An aircraft wing that includes a conductive ground plane adjacent the wingtip, where the ground plane conforms to an aerodynamic surface of the wing. Because the ground plane conforms to the aerodynamic surface, it has minimal impact on the aerodynamics of the wing. The ground plane can be part of a wingtip device that is detachably secured to the tip of a main wing portion. The ground plane described herein can be used on any aircraft wing structure that employs an antenna including, but not limited to, a wing of a UAV.
Claims20
A wingtip device, comprising:
- a body made from a non-conductive material, the body including a root end configured for connection to an end of a wing, a tip end, a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a curved top surface extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge;
- an antenna mount on the curved top surface configured to detachably mount an antenna to the body;
- and
- a conductive ground plane disposed on the curved top surface and conforming to the curved top surface.
1 more element
An aircraft wing, comprising:
- a wing body having a root end, a tip end, a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a curved top surface;
- an antenna detachably mounted to the wing body adjacent the tip end;
- and
- a conductive ground plane disposed on the curved top surface adjacent the tip end and conforming to the curved top surface, the conductive ground plane being connected to the antenna.
1 more element
An aircraft wing, comprising:
- a main wing portion having a root end and a tip end;
- a wingtip device including a body made from a non-conductive material, the body including a root end connected to the tip end of the main wing portion, a tip end, a leading edge, a trailing edge, and a curved top surface extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge;
- an antenna mount on the top surface of the wingtip device configured to detachably mount an antenna to the wingtip device;
- a conductive ground plane disposed on the curved top surface and conforming thereto;
- and
- an antenna detachably mounted to the antenna mount and connected to the conductive ground plane.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.