Cargo aircraft
First Claim
1. An aircraft for carrying at least one rigid cargo container, comprising a forward fuselage;
- an empennage;
wings;
a beam structure including a first end to which the forward fuselage is attached, a second end to which the empennage is attached, and mounts to structurally engage the at least one rigid cargo container in juxtaposition with the beam structure between the first and second ends, the wings being mounted to the beam structure, the mounts detachably integrating the at least one rigid cargo container as part of the beam structure to provide structural rigidity to the beam structure in flight;
engines fixed relative to the beam structure.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An aircraft for carrying at least one rigid cargo container includes a beam structure with a forward fuselage attached to the forward end of the beam structure and an empennage attached to the rearward end of the beam structure. Wings and engines are mounted relative to the beam structure and a fairing creates a cargo bay able to receive standard sized intermodal cargo containers. Intermodal cargo containers of light construction and rigid structure are positioned within the cargo bay and securely mounted therein. The beam structure is designed to support flight, takeoffs and landings when the aircraft is empty but requires the added strength of the containers securely mounted to the beam structure when the aircraft is loaded. The aircraft is contemplated to be a drone.
100 Citations
21 Claims
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1. An aircraft for carrying at least one rigid cargo container, comprising
a forward fuselage; -
an empennage;
wings;
a beam structure including a first end to which the forward fuselage is attached, a second end to which the empennage is attached, and mounts to structurally engage the at least one rigid cargo container in juxtaposition with the beam structure between the first and second ends, the wings being mounted to the beam structure, the mounts detachably integrating the at least one rigid cargo container as part of the beam structure to provide structural rigidity to the beam structure in flight;
engines fixed relative to the beam structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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Specification