Vehicles particularly useful as VTOL vehicles
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle including a fuselage, at least one lift-producing propeller carried by the fuselage on each side of its transverse axis a pilot'"'"'s compartment formed in the fuselage between the lift-producing propellers and substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis, and a pair of payload bays formed in the fuselage between the lift-producing propellers and on opposite sides of the pilot'"'"'s compartment. Many variations are described enabling the vehicle to be used not only as a VTOL vehicle, but also as a multi-function utility vehicle for performing many diverse functions including hovercraft and ATV functions.
134 Citations
49 Claims
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1-24. -24. (canceled)
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25. A vehicle comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis wherein said fuselage includes a pair of thrust-producing propellers at the rear end of said fuselage on opposite sides of said longitudinal axis, said pair of thrust-producing propellers supported above said fuselage on a pair of pylons extending upwardly from said fuselage; at least two lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; and at least two engines, each capable of driving said pair of thrust-producing propellers and said lift-producing propellers. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A vehicle, comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis; at least one lift-producing propeller carried by said fuselage on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; at least one payload bay formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers, wherein the vehicle is a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) vehicle; and wherein said VTOL vehicle includes a pair of stub wings each moveable between a retracted, stored position and an extended, deployed position. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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42. A ducted fan vehicle comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis wherein said fuselage includes at least two ducted fans incorporating lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; wherein said fuselage includes two engines, each of said engines capable of driving all of said lift-producing propellers, said two engines being mechanically coupled together in a common transmission system; and wherein each of the engines connects to one of the lift-producing propellers via plural gear boxes, and the other of the lift-producing propellers is connected to said two engines via another gear box longitudinally aligned with one of said plural gear boxes. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46, 47)
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48. A vehicle comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis; at least two lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; at least two engines, each capable of driving said lift-producing propellers; and wherein the vehicle includes a flexible skirt extending below the fuselage enabling the vehicle to be used as a hovercraft for movement over ground or water.
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49. A vehicle comprising:
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a fuselage having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis; at least two lift-producing propellers carried within said fuselage respectively on each side of said transverse axis; a compartment formed in said fuselage between said lift-producing propellers; at least two engines, each capable of driving said lift-producing propellers; and wherein said fuselage carries landing gear.
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Specification