US20170113796A1 - Aircraft with integrated single sensor - Google Patents
Aircraft with integrated single sensor Download PDFInfo
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- US20170113796A1 US20170113796A1 US15/397,415 US201715397415A US2017113796A1 US 20170113796 A1 US20170113796 A1 US 20170113796A1 US 201715397415 A US201715397415 A US 201715397415A US 2017113796 A1 US2017113796 A1 US 2017113796A1
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- single sensor
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
- B64C29/00—Aircraft capable of landing or taking-off vertically, e.g. vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft
- B64C29/02—Aircraft capable of landing or taking-off vertically, e.g. vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft having its flight directional axis vertical when grounded
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
- B64C39/00—Aircraft not otherwise provided for
- B64C39/02—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use
- B64C39/024—Aircraft not otherwise provided for characterised by special use of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
- B64D47/00—Equipment not otherwise provided for
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64D—EQUIPMENT FOR FITTING IN OR TO AIRCRAFT; FLIGHT SUITS; PARACHUTES; ARRANGEMENTS OR MOUNTING OF POWER PLANTS OR PROPULSION TRANSMISSIONS IN AIRCRAFT
- B64D47/00—Equipment not otherwise provided for
- B64D47/08—Arrangements of cameras
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- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01Q—ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS
- H01Q1/00—Details of, or arrangements associated with, antennas
- H01Q1/42—Housings not intimately mechanically associated with radiating elements, e.g. radome
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- B64C2201/021—
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- B64C2201/088—
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- B64C2201/165—
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- B64C2201/18—
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U10/00—Type of UAV
- B64U10/25—Fixed-wing aircraft
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
- B64U2101/30—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
- B64U30/20—Rotors; Rotor supports
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U50/00—Propulsion; Power supply
- B64U50/10—Propulsion
- B64U50/13—Propulsion using external fans or propellers
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U70/00—Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U70/00—Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
- B64U70/80—Vertical take-off or landing, e.g. using rockets
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
- B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
- B64U70/00—Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
- B64U70/90—Launching from or landing on platforms
Definitions
- the subject matter disclosed herein relates to an aircraft with an integrated single sensor and, more particularly, to a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with an integrated single sensor.
- VTOL vertical take-off and landing
- a vertical take-off and landing aircraft is an aircraft that can take off, land and hover in a vertical direction and that can conduct flight operations in a horizontal orientation.
- VTOL aircraft may be manned (i.e., piloted) or unmanned in the case of remotely piloted or autonomous aircraft and may be housed or stowed in places with limited deck and storage areas, such as naval ships.
- VTOL aircraft may be provided with a rotor blown wing (RBW) configuration, which offers a unique blend of rotorcraft and fixed wing features and attributes.
- RBW rotor blown wing
- VTOL aircraft with RBW configurations tend to more compact than similar aircraft with other configuration types. This compactness leads to certain challenges, however, such as those related to providing adequate sensor fields of view (FOV) and the need for the VTOL aircraft to be capable of flying vertically and horizontally.
- FOV sensor fields of view
- a conventional sensor mounting for these aircraft is normally located on the fuselage and thus has a limited FOV due to nacelles, vertical tails and propeller-rotors.
- Other sensor mountings have been proposed, such as ones with two mountings and added complexity.
- an aircraft includes a single sensor and wings extending outwardly in opposite directions from a fuselage.
- Each wing includes a main section, an engine section supported on the main section and tail surfaces extending transversely relative to the main section.
- the single sensor is mountable to one of the tail surfaces with a field of view (FOV) representable as a spherical wedge having a dihedral angle exceeding 180°.
- FOV field of view
- the aircraft is configured to perform unmanned vertical and horizontal flight, the FOV being horizontally and vertically directable during the vertical and horizontal flight, respectively.
- the aircraft further includes alighting elements disposed on the tail surfaces.
- the single sensor includes a pylon coupled to a distal end of the one of the tail surfaces and disposed to extend toward the outer diameter of the rotor disk, an aerodynamic fairing disposed along the pylon and a sensor element coupled to a distal end of the pylon.
- the FOV is bound by the rotor disk, a surface of the fairing and the other rotor disk.
- the aircraft further includes a flight computer to which the single sensor is operably coupled via one of the tail surfaces and the main section.
- an aircraft includes a fuselage, wings and a single sensor.
- the wings extend outwardly in opposite directions from the fuselage.
- Each wing includes a main section, a rotor defining a rotor disk, an engine nacelle supported on the main section and configured to drive rotor rotation and tail surfaces extending transversely relative to the main section.
- the single sensor is mounted to one of the tail surfaces for disposition in substantial alignment with an outer diameter of the rotor disk.
- the aircraft is configured to perform unmanned vertical and horizontal flight.
- a field of view (FOV) of the single sensor is horizontally directable during the vertical flight and downwardly directable during the horizontal flight.
- the aircraft further includes alighting elements disposed on the tail surfaces.
- the tail surfaces extend perpendicularly relative to the main section.
- the single sensor has a field of view (FOV) representable as a spherical wedge with a dihedral angle exceeding 180°.
- FOV field of view
- the single sensor includes a pylon coupled to a distal end of one of the tail surfaces and disposed to extend toward the outer diameter of the rotor disk, an aerodynamic fairing disposed along the pylon and a sensor element coupled to a distal end of the pylon.
- a field of view (FOV) of the single sensor is bound by the rotor disk, a surface of the fairing and the other rotor disk.
- the aircraft further includes a flight computer to which the single sensor is operably coupled via one of the tail surfaces and the main section.
- FIG. 1 is a side view of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft during take-off, landing and hover modes in accordance with embodiments;
- VTOL vertical take-off and landing
- FIG. 2 is a side view of the VTOL aircraft of FIG. 1 during a substantially horizontal flight mode
- FIG. 3 is a front view of the VTOL aircraft of FIG. 1 ;
- FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection between a single sensor of an aircraft and a flight computer in accordance with embodiments.
- a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft includes a single sensor mounted to one vertical tail.
- This single sensor thus offers a field of view (FOV) that is adequate for forward flight in fixed wing mode and in VTOL (i.e., nose up) mode for take-offs and landings and hover operations.
- the sensor is located laterally to one side of the aircraft, which is expected to be favored for the take-offs and landings.
- a VTOL aircraft 10 includes a fuselage 100 extending along a longitudinal axis that has a nose cone section 101 at a first longitudinal end of the fuselage 100 , a tail section 102 opposite from the nose cone section 101 at a second longitudinal end of the fuselage 100 , a first side 103 extending along the fuselage 100 and a second side 104 opposite the first side 103 and extending along the fuselage 100 .
- the fuselage 100 is generally formed to have reduced or otherwise limited aerodynamic drag for flight operations and defines an interior in which multiple components are housed for such flight operations.
- the fuselage 100 is configured to support unmanned flight operations but it is to be understood that this is not required and that the VTOL aircraft 10 could be manned, unmanned, auto-piloted or remote-piloted.
- the VTOL aircraft 10 is configured for performing substantially vertical flight operations (i.e., during take-off, landing and hover maneuvers) and for performing substantially horizontal flight operations (i.e., during mission execution).
- the VTOL aircraft 10 further includes a first wing 20 extending radially outwardly from the first side 103 of the fuselage 100 , a second wing 30 extending radially outwardly from the second side 104 of the fuselage 100 and a single sensor 40 .
- the first and second wings 20 and 30 may extend in substantially opposite directions and may be substantially parallel and coplanar with each other.
- the first wing 20 includes a main section 21 , which has an aerodynamic shape, a rotor 22 that is rotatable and formed to define a rotor disk 220 when rotating, an engine nacelle 23 and first and second tail surface 24 and 25 (the rotor 22 and the engine nacelle 23 may be referred to collectively as an engine section).
- the engine nacelle 23 is supported on the main section 21 and configured to drive rotation of the rotor 22 to thereby drive flight operations of the VTOL aircraft 10 .
- the first tail surface 24 extends transversely in a first direction relative to the main section 21 and the second tail surface 25 extends transversely in a second direction, which may be opposite the first direction, relative to the main section 21 .
- first and second tail surfaces 24 and 25 may be oriented perpendicularly with respect to the main section 21 .
- the first direction may be defined such that the first tail surface 24 extends toward the ground during horizontal flight of the VTOL aircraft 10 .
- the second wing 30 includes a main section 31 , which has an aerodynamic shape, a rotor 32 that is rotatable and formed to define a rotor disk (similar in definition to rotor disk 220 but not specifically shown) when rotating, an engine nacelle 33 and third and fourth tail surfaces 34 and 35 (the rotor 32 and the engine nacelle 33 may be referred to collectively as an engine section).
- the engine nacelle 33 is supported on the main section 31 and configured to drive rotation of the rotor 32 to thereby drive flight operations of the VTOL aircraft 10 .
- the third tail surface 34 extends transversely in a first direction relative to the main section 31 and the fourth tail surface 35 extends transversely in a second direction, which may be opposite the first direction, relative to the main section 31 .
- the third and fourth tail surfaces 34 and 35 may be oriented perpendicularly with respect to the main section 31 .
- the first direction may again be defined such that the third tail surface 34 extends toward the ground during horizontal flight of the VTOL aircraft 10 .
- the alighting elements 50 may include base elements 51 and gearing 52 by which the base elements 51 are coupled to tail ends of each of the first-fourth tail surfaces 24 , 25 , 34 and 35 .
- the alighting elements 50 are configured such that the VTOL aircraft 10 can be stably supported by the alighting elements 50 on the ground with the nose cone section 101 of the fuselage 100 pointed upwardly from the ground and with the tail section 102 pointed at the ground.
- the single sensor 40 is mounted to one of the tail surfaces (e.g., first tail surface 24 ) for disposition in substantial alignment with an outer diameter of the rotor disk 220 of the rotor 22 .
- the single sensor 40 has a field of view (FOV) 400 that is representable as a spherical wedge having a dihedral angle a that exceeds 180°.
- FOV 400 field of view
- this FOV 400 is horizontally directable during the substantially vertical flight operations of the aircraft 10 and is downwardly directable during the substantially horizontal flight operations of the aircraft 10 .
- the single sensor 40 will be capable of sensing regions along, for example, a landing pad. Conversely, during the substantially horizontal flight operations, the single sensor 40 will be capable of sensing the ground below the VTOL aircraft 10 . In contrast, if the single sensor 40 were mounted on the second tail surface 25 , the single sensor 40 would be capable of sensing regions of the landing pad “behind” the VTOL aircraft during the substantially vertical flight operations and the air space above the VTOL aircraft 10 during the substantially horizontal flight operations.
- the single sensor 40 includes a pylon, 41 , an aerodynamic fairing 42 and a sensor element 43 .
- the pylon 41 is coupled to a distal end 240 of the first tail surface 24 and is disposed to extend span-wise toward the outer diameter of the rotor disk 220 of the rotor 22 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ).
- the aerodynamic fairing 42 is disposed along a span of the pylon 41 and is provided with an aerodynamic, low drag outer hull that reduces drag and wind resistance of the single sensor 40 as a whole.
- the sensor element 43 is coupled to a distal end 410 of the pylon 41 .
- the sensor element 43 can be any type of sensor, such as an infrared (IR) sensor, another similar type of sensor or a combination thereof
- the sensor element 43 may include a generally rounded or semi-spherical radome structure 430 that protrudes away from the distal end 410 of the pylon 41 to provide for structural and atmospheric protection for electrical components of the sensor element 43 .
- the radome structure 430 may be moisture impermeable, capable of withstanding impacts by foreign objects and/or impedance matched to the electrical components of the sensor element 43 .
- the electrical components of the sensor element 43 may be substantially centered within the radome structure 430 .
- the FOV 400 of the single sensor 40 is bound by the rotor disk 220 of the rotor 22 , a surface of the outer hull of the aerodynamic fairing 42 and the rotor disk of the rotor 32 (see FIG. 3 ).
- the VTOL aircraft 10 may further include a flight computer 60 .
- the flight computer 60 may be housed substantially within the fuselage 100 and configured for controlling the various flight operations of the VTOL aircraft 10 .
- Such control of the various flight operations may include, in particular, compensating for the asymmetrical configuration of the VTOL aircraft 10 given the mounting of the single sensor 40 on the first tail surface 24 .
- the single sensor 40 may be disposed in signal communication with the flight computer 60 via wireless protocols or via wiring 61 .
- Such wiring 61 may extend from the single sensor 40 to the flight computer 60 via the tail surface 24 and the main section 21 .
- the flight computer 60 will be capable of determining whether flight plans need to be changed based on readings from the single sensor 40 . Such readings may include, but are not limited to, the identification of obstacles or threats within the FOV 400 .
Abstract
Description
- This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/722,921, which was filed on May 27, 2015 and claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/006,533 that was filed on Jun. 2, 2014. The entire disclosures of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/722,921 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/006,533 are incorporated herein by reference.
- The subject matter disclosed herein relates to an aircraft with an integrated single sensor and, more particularly, to a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with an integrated single sensor.
- A vertical take-off and landing aircraft (VTOL) is an aircraft that can take off, land and hover in a vertical direction and that can conduct flight operations in a horizontal orientation. VTOL aircraft may be manned (i.e., piloted) or unmanned in the case of remotely piloted or autonomous aircraft and may be housed or stowed in places with limited deck and storage areas, such as naval ships.
- Current VTOL aircraft may be provided with a rotor blown wing (RBW) configuration, which offers a unique blend of rotorcraft and fixed wing features and attributes. For example, VTOL aircraft with RBW configurations tend to more compact than similar aircraft with other configuration types. This compactness leads to certain challenges, however, such as those related to providing adequate sensor fields of view (FOV) and the need for the VTOL aircraft to be capable of flying vertically and horizontally. In particular, a conventional sensor mounting for these aircraft is normally located on the fuselage and thus has a limited FOV due to nacelles, vertical tails and propeller-rotors. Other sensor mountings have been proposed, such as ones with two mountings and added complexity.
- According to one aspect of the invention, an aircraft is provided and includes a single sensor and wings extending outwardly in opposite directions from a fuselage. Each wing includes a main section, an engine section supported on the main section and tail surfaces extending transversely relative to the main section. The single sensor is mountable to one of the tail surfaces with a field of view (FOV) representable as a spherical wedge having a dihedral angle exceeding 180°.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the aircraft is configured to perform unmanned vertical and horizontal flight, the FOV being horizontally and vertically directable during the vertical and horizontal flight, respectively.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the aircraft further includes alighting elements disposed on the tail surfaces.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the single sensor includes a pylon coupled to a distal end of the one of the tail surfaces and disposed to extend toward the outer diameter of the rotor disk, an aerodynamic fairing disposed along the pylon and a sensor element coupled to a distal end of the pylon.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the FOV is bound by the rotor disk, a surface of the fairing and the other rotor disk.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the aircraft further includes a flight computer to which the single sensor is operably coupled via one of the tail surfaces and the main section.
- According to another aspect of the invention, an aircraft is provided and includes a fuselage, wings and a single sensor. The wings extend outwardly in opposite directions from the fuselage. Each wing includes a main section, a rotor defining a rotor disk, an engine nacelle supported on the main section and configured to drive rotor rotation and tail surfaces extending transversely relative to the main section. The single sensor is mounted to one of the tail surfaces for disposition in substantial alignment with an outer diameter of the rotor disk.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the aircraft is configured to perform unmanned vertical and horizontal flight.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, a field of view (FOV) of the single sensor is horizontally directable during the vertical flight and downwardly directable during the horizontal flight.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the aircraft further includes alighting elements disposed on the tail surfaces.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the tail surfaces extend perpendicularly relative to the main section.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the single sensor has a field of view (FOV) representable as a spherical wedge with a dihedral angle exceeding 180°.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the single sensor includes a pylon coupled to a distal end of one of the tail surfaces and disposed to extend toward the outer diameter of the rotor disk, an aerodynamic fairing disposed along the pylon and a sensor element coupled to a distal end of the pylon.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, a field of view (FOV) of the single sensor is bound by the rotor disk, a surface of the fairing and the other rotor disk.
- In accordance with additional or alternative embodiments, the aircraft further includes a flight computer to which the single sensor is operably coupled via one of the tail surfaces and the main section.
- These and other advantages and features will become more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings.
- The subject matter, which is regarded as the invention, is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the claims at the conclusion of the specification. The foregoing and other features, and advantages of the invention are apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
-
FIG. 1 is a side view of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft during take-off, landing and hover modes in accordance with embodiments; -
FIG. 2 is a side view of the VTOL aircraft ofFIG. 1 during a substantially horizontal flight mode; -
FIG. 3 is a front view of the VTOL aircraft ofFIG. 1 ; and -
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a connection between a single sensor of an aircraft and a flight computer in accordance with embodiments. - The detailed description explains embodiments of the invention, together with advantages and features, by way of example with reference to the drawings.
- As described below, a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is provided and includes a single sensor mounted to one vertical tail. This single sensor thus offers a field of view (FOV) that is adequate for forward flight in fixed wing mode and in VTOL (i.e., nose up) mode for take-offs and landings and hover operations. The sensor is located laterally to one side of the aircraft, which is expected to be favored for the take-offs and landings.
- With reference to
FIGS. 1-3 , aVTOL aircraft 10 includes afuselage 100 extending along a longitudinal axis that has anose cone section 101 at a first longitudinal end of thefuselage 100, atail section 102 opposite from thenose cone section 101 at a second longitudinal end of thefuselage 100, afirst side 103 extending along thefuselage 100 and asecond side 104 opposite thefirst side 103 and extending along thefuselage 100. Thefuselage 100 is generally formed to have reduced or otherwise limited aerodynamic drag for flight operations and defines an interior in which multiple components are housed for such flight operations. - As illustrated, the
fuselage 100 is configured to support unmanned flight operations but it is to be understood that this is not required and that the VTOLaircraft 10 could be manned, unmanned, auto-piloted or remote-piloted. In any case, the VTOLaircraft 10 is configured for performing substantially vertical flight operations (i.e., during take-off, landing and hover maneuvers) and for performing substantially horizontal flight operations (i.e., during mission execution). - The VTOL
aircraft 10 further includes afirst wing 20 extending radially outwardly from thefirst side 103 of thefuselage 100, asecond wing 30 extending radially outwardly from thesecond side 104 of thefuselage 100 and asingle sensor 40. The first andsecond wings - The
first wing 20 includes amain section 21, which has an aerodynamic shape, arotor 22 that is rotatable and formed to define arotor disk 220 when rotating, anengine nacelle 23 and first andsecond tail surface 24 and 25 (therotor 22 and theengine nacelle 23 may be referred to collectively as an engine section). Theengine nacelle 23 is supported on themain section 21 and configured to drive rotation of therotor 22 to thereby drive flight operations of the VTOLaircraft 10. Thefirst tail surface 24 extends transversely in a first direction relative to themain section 21 and thesecond tail surface 25 extends transversely in a second direction, which may be opposite the first direction, relative to themain section 21. - In accordance with embodiments, the first and
second tail surfaces main section 21. In accordance with further embodiments, the first direction may be defined such that thefirst tail surface 24 extends toward the ground during horizontal flight of theVTOL aircraft 10. - The
second wing 30 includes amain section 31, which has an aerodynamic shape, arotor 32 that is rotatable and formed to define a rotor disk (similar in definition torotor disk 220 but not specifically shown) when rotating, anengine nacelle 33 and third andfourth tail surfaces 34 and 35 (therotor 32 and theengine nacelle 33 may be referred to collectively as an engine section). Theengine nacelle 33 is supported on themain section 31 and configured to drive rotation of therotor 32 to thereby drive flight operations of the VTOLaircraft 10. Thethird tail surface 34 extends transversely in a first direction relative to themain section 31 and thefourth tail surface 35 extends transversely in a second direction, which may be opposite the first direction, relative to themain section 31. - In accordance with embodiments, the third and
fourth tail surfaces main section 31. In accordance with further embodiments, the first direction may again be defined such that thethird tail surface 34 extends toward the ground during horizontal flight of theVTOL aircraft 10. - During grounded conditions where the VTOL
aircraft 10 is not in engaged in flight operations and following landings of the VTOLaircraft 10, the VTOLaircraft 10 is supported in an alighted position by alightingelements 50. The alightingelements 50 may includebase elements 51 and gearing 52 by which thebase elements 51 are coupled to tail ends of each of the first-fourth tail surfaces 24, 25, 34 and 35. The alightingelements 50 are configured such that theVTOL aircraft 10 can be stably supported by the alightingelements 50 on the ground with thenose cone section 101 of thefuselage 100 pointed upwardly from the ground and with thetail section 102 pointed at the ground. - The
single sensor 40 is mounted to one of the tail surfaces (e.g., first tail surface 24) for disposition in substantial alignment with an outer diameter of therotor disk 220 of therotor 22. As such, thesingle sensor 40 has a field of view (FOV) 400 that is representable as a spherical wedge having a dihedral angle a that exceeds 180°. As shown inFIG. 1 , due to thesingle sensor 40 being mounted on thefirst tail surface 24, thisFOV 400 is horizontally directable during the substantially vertical flight operations of theaircraft 10 and is downwardly directable during the substantially horizontal flight operations of theaircraft 10. - Thus, during the substantially vertical flight operations, such as take-offs and landings, the
single sensor 40 will be capable of sensing regions along, for example, a landing pad. Conversely, during the substantially horizontal flight operations, thesingle sensor 40 will be capable of sensing the ground below theVTOL aircraft 10. In contrast, if thesingle sensor 40 were mounted on thesecond tail surface 25, thesingle sensor 40 would be capable of sensing regions of the landing pad “behind” the VTOL aircraft during the substantially vertical flight operations and the air space above theVTOL aircraft 10 during the substantially horizontal flight operations. - As shown in
FIGS. 2 and 3 , in particular, thesingle sensor 40 includes a pylon, 41, anaerodynamic fairing 42 and asensor element 43. Thepylon 41 is coupled to adistal end 240 of thefirst tail surface 24 and is disposed to extend span-wise toward the outer diameter of therotor disk 220 of the rotor 22 (seeFIGS. 1 and 2 ). Theaerodynamic fairing 42 is disposed along a span of thepylon 41 and is provided with an aerodynamic, low drag outer hull that reduces drag and wind resistance of thesingle sensor 40 as a whole. Thesensor element 43 is coupled to adistal end 410 of thepylon 41. Thesensor element 43 can be any type of sensor, such as an infrared (IR) sensor, another similar type of sensor or a combination thereof - In accordance with embodiments, the
sensor element 43 may include a generally rounded orsemi-spherical radome structure 430 that protrudes away from thedistal end 410 of thepylon 41 to provide for structural and atmospheric protection for electrical components of thesensor element 43. In accordance with embodiments, theradome structure 430 may be moisture impermeable, capable of withstanding impacts by foreign objects and/or impedance matched to the electrical components of thesensor element 43. - With the structures and configurations described above, the electrical components of the
sensor element 43 may be substantially centered within theradome structure 430. In this position, theFOV 400 of thesingle sensor 40 is bound by therotor disk 220 of therotor 22, a surface of the outer hull of theaerodynamic fairing 42 and the rotor disk of the rotor 32 (seeFIG. 3 ). - With reference to
FIG. 4 , theVTOL aircraft 10 may further include aflight computer 60. Theflight computer 60 may be housed substantially within thefuselage 100 and configured for controlling the various flight operations of theVTOL aircraft 10. Such control of the various flight operations may include, in particular, compensating for the asymmetrical configuration of theVTOL aircraft 10 given the mounting of thesingle sensor 40 on thefirst tail surface 24. In accordance with embodiments, thesingle sensor 40 may be disposed in signal communication with theflight computer 60 via wireless protocols or viawiring 61.Such wiring 61 may extend from thesingle sensor 40 to theflight computer 60 via thetail surface 24 and themain section 21. In any case, theflight computer 60 will be capable of determining whether flight plans need to be changed based on readings from thesingle sensor 40. Such readings may include, but are not limited to, the identification of obstacles or threats within theFOV 400. - While the invention has been described in detail in connection with only a limited number of embodiments, it should be readily understood that the invention is not limited to such disclosed embodiments. Rather, the invention can be modified to incorporate any number of variations, alterations, substitutions or equivalent arrangements not heretofore described, but which are commensurate with the spirit and scope of the invention. Additionally, while various embodiments of the invention have been described, it is to be understood that aspects of the invention may include only some of the described embodiments. Accordingly, the invention is not to be seen as limited by the foregoing description, but is only limited by the scope of the appended claims.
Claims (20)
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
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US15/397,415 US20170113796A1 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2017-01-03 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
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US201462006533P | 2014-06-02 | 2014-06-02 | |
US14/722,921 US9567105B2 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2015-05-27 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
US15/397,415 US20170113796A1 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2017-01-03 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
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US14/722,921 Continuation US9567105B2 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2015-05-27 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
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US20170113796A1 true US20170113796A1 (en) | 2017-04-27 |
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US14/722,921 Expired - Fee Related US9567105B2 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2015-05-27 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
US15/397,415 Abandoned US20170113796A1 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2017-01-03 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
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US14/722,921 Expired - Fee Related US9567105B2 (en) | 2014-06-02 | 2015-05-27 | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
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Cited By (1)
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CN107499506A (en) * | 2017-07-07 | 2017-12-22 | 清华大学 | A kind of distributed propulsion tailstock formula VTOL Fixed Wing AirVehicle |
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US9567105B2 (en) * | 2014-06-02 | 2017-02-14 | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Aircraft with integrated single sensor |
US9879655B1 (en) * | 2014-06-30 | 2018-01-30 | X Development Llc | Attachment apparatus for an aerial vehicle |
US10723453B2 (en) * | 2015-01-21 | 2020-07-28 | Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation | Flying wing vertical take-off and landing aircraft |
CN105730677A (en) * | 2016-03-22 | 2016-07-06 | 王一 | Aircraft |
CN105730676B (en) * | 2016-03-22 | 2019-06-04 | 王一 | A kind of aircraft |
GB2574441B (en) | 2018-06-06 | 2021-04-28 | Ge Aviat Systems Ltd | Automated fault isolation of flight control surfaces and damage detection of aircraft through non-contact measurement |
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US20150344135A1 (en) | 2015-12-03 |
US9567105B2 (en) | 2017-02-14 |
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