Flapping wing aerial vehicles
First Claim
1. A flapping wing aerial vehicle comprising:
- a vehicle body;
a pair of flapping wings;
tunable wing hinges coupled to the flapping wings, each wing hinge constructed to deliver a force to a respective one of the flapping wings to alter end points of a stroke of the respective flapping wing;
a motor;
a power transmission device; and
elastic drive mechanisms that rotate the flapping wings about pivot points to produce the strokes of the flapping wings,wherein each tunable wing hinge includes an actuator magnet coupled to a drive portion of the respective flapping wing and an actuator coil that applies a magnetic force to the actuator magnet to alter the end points of the flapping wing stroke,wherein each elastic drive mechanism comprises a nonlinear spring element coupling a drive portion of the respective flapping wing to a rigid drive arm, andwherein the power transmission device couples the motor to the rigid drive arm of each elastic drive mechanism and converts rotational motion of the motor into linear motion at each rigid drive arm.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An autonomous flapping wing aerial vehicle can have a vehicle body, a pair of flapping wings, tunable wing hinges, and elastic drive mechanisms. The tunable wing hinges can be coupled to the flapping wings. Each wing hinge can be constructed to deliver a force to a respective one of the flapping wings to alter end points of a stroke thereof. The elastic drive mechanisms can rotate the flapping wings about pivot points to produce the strokes of the flapping wings. The elastic drive mechanism can be driven at or near a resonance thereof. Alterations to the strokes of the flapping wings produced by the combined effect of the tunable wing hinges and the elastic drive mechanisms, operating in parallel, can provide steering control of the aerial vehicle.
111 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A flapping wing aerial vehicle comprising:
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a vehicle body; a pair of flapping wings; tunable wing hinges coupled to the flapping wings, each wing hinge constructed to deliver a force to a respective one of the flapping wings to alter end points of a stroke of the respective flapping wing; a motor; a power transmission device; and elastic drive mechanisms that rotate the flapping wings about pivot points to produce the strokes of the flapping wings, wherein each tunable wing hinge includes an actuator magnet coupled to a drive portion of the respective flapping wing and an actuator coil that applies a magnetic force to the actuator magnet to alter the end points of the flapping wing stroke, wherein each elastic drive mechanism comprises a nonlinear spring element coupling a drive portion of the respective flapping wing to a rigid drive arm, and wherein the power transmission device couples the motor to the rigid drive arm of each elastic drive mechanism and converts rotational motion of the motor into linear motion at each rigid drive arm. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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12. A flapping wing aerial vehicle comprising:
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a vehicle body; a pair of flapping wings; tunable wing hinges coupled to the flapping wings, each wing hinge constructed to deliver a force to a respective one of the flapping wings to alter end points of a stroke of the respective flapping wing; a motor; a power transmission device; and elastic drive mechanisms that rotate the flapping wings about pivot points to produce the strokes of the flapping wings, wherein each tunable wing hinge includes an actuator magnet coupled to a drive portion of the respective flapping wing and an actuator coil that applies a magnetic force to the actuator magnet to alter the end points of the flapping wing stroke, wherein each elastic drive mechanism comprises a nonlinear spring element coupling a drive portion of the respective flapping wing to a rigid drive arm, wherein the power transmission device couples the motor to the rigid drive arm of each elastic drive mechanism and converts rotational motion of the motor into linear motion at each rigid drive arm, and wherein each of the flapping wings comprises a dihedral angle and a root spring element having vertical flexibility. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification