UNMANNED AIRCRAFT TURN AND APPROACH SYSTEM
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An unmanned aircraft system including an aircraft, comprising:
- a wing system configured to carry the majority of the aircraft weight when in flight;
a plurality of control surfaces configured to control aircraft pitch, aircraft roll and aircraft yaw in flight;
a camera characterized by a field of view, the camera being mounted on a camera pod, wherein the camera pod is configured to vary the orientation of the camera field of view only in yaw, relative to the aircraft, between a directly forward-looking orientation and a directly side-looking orientation; and
a control system configured to control the control surfaces, and further configured to control the camera pod to change the camera position in yaw relative to the aircraft;
wherein the control system is programmed with a commit function for use when the camera is observing an identified target that is not directly in front of the aircraft; and
wherein the commit function controls the camera position in yaw such that the camera continuously maintains the identified target within its lateral field of view.
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Abstract
An aircraft including a wing system, a plurality of control surfaces, a camera mounted on a camera pod, and a control system. The camera pod is configured to vary the orientation of the camera field of view only in yaw, relative to the aircraft, between a directly forward-looking orientation and a side-looking orientation. The control system controls the control surfaces such that they induce a significant aircraft yaw causing an identified target to be within the field of view of the camera with the camera in the directly forward-looking orientation.
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Citations
4 Claims
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1. An unmanned aircraft system including an aircraft, comprising:
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a wing system configured to carry the majority of the aircraft weight when in flight; a plurality of control surfaces configured to control aircraft pitch, aircraft roll and aircraft yaw in flight; a camera characterized by a field of view, the camera being mounted on a camera pod, wherein the camera pod is configured to vary the orientation of the camera field of view only in yaw, relative to the aircraft, between a directly forward-looking orientation and a directly side-looking orientation; and a control system configured to control the control surfaces, and further configured to control the camera pod to change the camera position in yaw relative to the aircraft; wherein the control system is programmed with a commit function for use when the camera is observing an identified target that is not directly in front of the aircraft; and wherein the commit function controls the camera position in yaw such that the camera continuously maintains the identified target within its lateral field of view. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4)
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2. An unmanned aircraft system including an aircraft, comprising:
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a wing system configured to carry the majority of the aircraft weight when in flight; a plurality of control surfaces configured to control aircraft pitch, aircraft roll and aircraft yaw in flight; a camera characterized by a field of view, the camera being mounted on a camera pod, wherein the camera pod is configured to vary the orientation of the camera field of view only in yaw, relative to the aircraft, between a directly forward-looking orientation and a side-looking orientation; and a control system configured to control the control surfaces, and further configured to control the camera pod to change the camera position in yaw relative to the aircraft; wherein the control system is programmed with a commit function that controls the aircraft flight and the camera yaw to guide the aircraft toward the target when the target is not directly ahead of the aircraft and the camera is observing an identified target; wherein the commit function controls the control surfaces such that they induce a significant aircraft yaw causing the identified target to be within the field of view of the camera with the camera in the directly forward-looking orientation; and wherein the commit function controls the camera position in yaw such that the camera continuously maintains the identified target within its field of view.
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Specification