Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with multi-part foldable wings
AssigneeBird Aerospace LLC
InventorsMatthew I. Most, Trevor G. Vita
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention is a canister-launched pyrotechnically actuated folding wing UAV. The invention features a method for reliable and irreversible locking of a foldable wing, while enabling compact storage, cost reduction, ease of deployment and aerodynamic performance unattainable in current folding-wing designs. In a specific embodiment, the UAV is pre-packaged in a deployment canister for single-button deployment. The UAV can be offered in a rental system in which part or the entirety of the device can be returned for refurbishing. Additionally, the device can be provided as a fully expendable unit.
Claims11
An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
- a fuselage;
- a multi-part foldable wing attached to the fuselage and configured to move between a folded stowed configuration and an unfolded flight configuration;
- and
- a deployable irreversible locking mechanism with a locking cord running along the length of the wing and spanning adjacent wing sections configured to irreversibly lock the multi-part foldable wing in the unfolded flight configuration wherein the multi-part foldable wing comprises a plurality of components that each comprise an adhesive-coated surface to adhere the components together in the unfolded flight configuration.
A ground launched unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
- a launch canister;
- a fuselage;
- a multi-part foldable wing attached to the fuselage and configured to move between a folded stowed configuration and an unfolded flight configuration;
- wherein the multipart foldable wing and fuselage are configured to fit within the launch canister;
- and
- a deployable irreversible locking mechanism configured to irreversibly lock the multi-part foldable wing in the unfolded flight configuration wherein the multi-part foldable wing comprises a plurality of components that each comprise an adhesive-coated surface to adhere the components together in the unfolded flight configuration.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.