Modular unmanned aerial system with multi-mode propulsion

• US 10,189,565 B2
• Filed: 11/30/2017
• Issued: 01/29/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/02/2016
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration
• Original Assignee: United States Of America As Represented By The Administrator Of The National Aeronautics And Space Administration
• Inventors: Patterson, Michael D., Quinlan, Jesse R., Fredericks, William J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P
• Application Number:
  US15/827,776
• Publication Number:
  US 20180155021A1
• Time in Patent Office: 425 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2211/00 Modular constructions of airplanes or helicopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 29/0033 the propellers being tiltable relative to the fuselage
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 3/00 Wings ornithopter wings B64C33/02
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 37/02 Flying units formed by separate aircraft towing B64D3/00; aircraft transported by aircraft B64D5/00; air-refuelling B64D39/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 9/00 Adjustable control surfaces or members, e.g. rudders trimming stabilising surfaces B64C5/10
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 37/04 Arrangement thereof in or on aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/20 Vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft flying platforms B64U10/13; helicopters B64U10/17
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/25 Fixed-wing aircraft VTOL aircraft B64U10/20
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/102 adapted for flying in formations
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/10 Wings
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/21 Rotary wings
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 40/20 for in-flight adjustment of the base configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/13 using external fans or propellers
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors

Abstract

A modular Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) includes an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) parent module and UAV child modules. A main wing extends from a respective fuselage of the modules. The UAS includes docking mechanisms coupled to wingtips of the main wings. The child modules dock with the wingtips of the parent or an adjacent child module. Docking forms a linked-flight configuration, with undocking and separation from the parent or adjacent child module achieving an independent-flight configuration. The modules have booms arranged transverse to the main wings and parallel to the longitudinal axis, as well as front and rear rotors/propellers. The front and rear propellers have axes of rotation that are normal to a plane of the longitudinal axis in a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) configuration, with the axis of rotation of the rear propellers parallel to the longitudinal axis in a forward-flight configuration.

Claims

1. A modular Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) having a vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) configuration and a forward-flight configuration, the UAS comprising:

a plurality of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) modules each having;

a main wing coupled to a corresponding fuselage and having a uniform tip chord length across the plurality of UAV modules;

a pair of booms extending orthogonally from the main wing;

a first pair of propellers, each of which is connected to the main wing via a corresponding arm and selectively stowable within a respective one of the booms in the forward-flight configuration, the corresponding arm being configured to pivot with respect to the main wing;

a second pair of propellers, each of which is connected to a respective one of the booms via a corresponding articulating motor mount and tiltable with respect to the booms via operation of the corresponding articulating motor mount, wherein the first and second pairs of propellers rotate in parallel horizontal planes in the VTOL configuration, and the second pair of propellers rotates in a vertical plane in the forward-flight configuration; and

wingtip docking mechanisms;

wherein the UAS is configured to selectively couple the UAV modules to each other, wingtip-to-wingtip, in both the VTOL and forward-flight configurations using the wingtip docking mechanisms, and is further configured to selectively uncouple the UAV modules from each other via the wingtip docking mechanisms in an independent flight configuration of the UAS.

2. The modular UAS of claim 1, wherein the plurality of UAV modules includes a single UAV parent module and a plurality of UAV child modules.

3. The modular UAS of claim 2, further comprising:

a fuel tank positioned within or connected to a fuselage of the UAV parent module.

4. The modular UAS of claim 2, further comprising:

a battery pack positioned within or connected to the fuselage of the UAV parent module, wherein the first and second pairs of propellers of the UAV parent module are powered by electrical energy from the battery pack.

5. The modular UAS of claim 4, further comprising a plurality of additional batteries each positioned within or connected to a respective one of the UAV child modules, wherein the first and second pairs of propellers of the UAV child modules are powered by electrical energy from a corresponding one of the additional batteries.

6. The modular UAS of claim 2, wherein each of the UAV modules includes a corresponding energy storage system, and wherein the first and second pairs of propellers of each of the UAV child modules are powered solely by energy from the corresponding energy storage system in the independent-flight configuration.

7. The modular UAS of claim 6, wherein the energy storage system is a battery pack, and wherein the energy is electrical energy.

8. The modular UAS of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of radio frequency (RF) transceivers connected to a corresponding one of the plurality of UAV modules.

9. The modular UAS of claim 1, wherein the wingtip docking mechanisms include a probe and a receptacle.

10. The modular UAS of claim 1, wherein the wingtip docking mechanisms include a set of magnets.

11. The modular UAS of claim 1, wherein the main wing of each of the UAV modules includes at least one vertically-oriented rudder assembly.

12. A method for controlling a modular Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) having vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and forward-flight configurations, the method comprising:

docking an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) parent module to a plurality of UAV child modules using a plurality of wingtip docking mechanisms to form the UAS, the UAV parent module and UAV child modules each having a corresponding fuselage with a longitudinal axis and main wing extending orthogonally from the corresponding fuselage;

launching the UAS in the VTOL configuration, including powering a first pair of propellers each connected to a respective boom and arranged forward of a respective one of the main wings, and a second pair of propellers positioned aft of a respective one of the main wings, wherein each propeller of the first and second pairs of propellers has a corresponding axis of rotation that is normal to a plane of the longitudinal axis when the UAS is in the VTOL configuration;

transitioning the UAS to the forward-flight configuration at a predetermined altitude of the UAS, including, for the UAV parent module and each of the UAV child modules, articulating the first pair of propellers with respect to a respective one of the main wings, stowing the first pair of propellers within a respective one of the booms, and tilting the second pair of propellers until the axes of rotation of the second pair of propellers are parallel to a longitudinal axis of the fuselage;

flying the UAS to a rendezvous point in the forward-flight configuration;

undocking some or all of the UAV child modules from the UAV parent module upon reaching the rendezvous point; and

independently flying the UAV parent module and the UAV child modules in the forward-flight configuration to a corresponding destination using the second pair of propellers.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

docking some or all of the UAV child modules with the UAV parent module or one of the UAV child modules upon completing a flight mission to and from the corresponding destinations.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein independently flying the UAV parent module and the UAV child modules includes delivering a payload to a corresponding destination.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the UAV parent module and the UAV child modules include a corresponding radio frequency (RF) transceiver, the method further comprising:

communicating with the UAV child modules via the UAV parent module using the RF transceivers.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the docking includes inserting a probe of the UAV parent module into a mating receptacle of an adjacent one of the UAV child modules.

17. The method of claim 12, wherein the UAV parent module and each of the UAV child modules includes a corresponding vertically-oriented rudder assembly mounted to an underside of the main wing, the method further comprising:

landing the UAS via the rudder assemblies in the VTOL configuration.

18. An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) having vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and forward-flight configurations, the UAV comprising:

a fuselage having a longitudinal axis;

a main wing having first and second wing sections connected to the fuselage and orthogonal to the longitudinal axis;

first and second booms connected to and extending from the main wing;

a first pair of propellers connected proximate a leading edge of the main wing via a corresponding boom;

a second pair of propellers positioned aft of a trailing edge of the main wing, each propeller of the second pair of propellers having an axis of rotation that is normal to a plane of the longitudinal axis of the fuselage when the UAV is in the VTOL flight configuration, and that is parallel to the longitudinal axis when the UAV is in the forward-flight configuration;

wherein the propellers of the first pair of propellers are selectively stowable within a respective one of the first and second booms when the UAV is in the forward-flight configuration.

19. The UAV of claim 18, wherein the main wing defines wingtips, a corresponding docking mechanism is disposed with respect to each of the wingtips, and the UAV includes a plurality of UAVs each of which is configured to dock wingtip-to-wingtip to form an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS).

20. The UAV of claim 18, further comprising:

at least one empennage connected to an underside of the main wing.