Launch and recovery system for unmanned aerial vehicles
DCFirst Claim
Patent Images
1. An aerial recovery system for recovering an aircraft, said system comprising;
- the aircraft andan arrestment line held up at an upper end by support structure supported by a base, a lower end of the arrestment line also being connected to the base, said arrestment line not being a support for said support structure in the form of a rigid, straight-line guy line tension-tie connection between an immovable upper end attached to the support structure and an immovable lower end,said aircraft containing a capturing device for capturing said line, said capturing device comprising a hook positioned laterally of a longitudinal axis of said aircraft, said hook being adapted to releasably secure said line to said aircraft, said hook being the primary means of capturing said aircraft,said aircraft containing structure suitable for deflecting said line laterally into engagement with said hook, said structure comprising a wing of said aircraft.
1 Assignment
Litigations
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of launching and retrieving a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) (10). The preferred method of launch involves carrying the UAV (10) up to altitude using a parasail (8) similar to that used to carry tourists aloft. The UAV is dropped and picks up enough airspeed in the dive to perform a pull-up into level controlled flight. The preferred method of recovery is for the UAV to fly into and latch onto the parasail tow line (4) or cables hanging off the tow line and then be winched back down to the boat (2).
147 Citations
39 Claims
-
1. An aerial recovery system for recovering an aircraft, said system comprising;
-
the aircraft and an arrestment line held up at an upper end by support structure supported by a base, a lower end of the arrestment line also being connected to the base, said arrestment line not being a support for said support structure in the form of a rigid, straight-line guy line tension-tie connection between an immovable upper end attached to the support structure and an immovable lower end, said aircraft containing a capturing device for capturing said line, said capturing device comprising a hook positioned laterally of a longitudinal axis of said aircraft, said hook being adapted to releasably secure said line to said aircraft, said hook being the primary means of capturing said aircraft, said aircraft containing structure suitable for deflecting said line laterally into engagement with said hook, said structure comprising a wing of said aircraft. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. In combination, a flying object and an apparatus adapted for capturing the flying object,
the flying object having a spanwise lifting surface with a capture device positioned laterally of the centerline of the flying object, the capture device comprising a hook adapted to releasably secure the flying object to the apparatus, the hook being the primary means of capturing said flying object, the flying object being adapted for flying along a flight path, the apparatus comprising: -
an arrestment line positionable in the flight path of the flying object, at least a portion of the arrestment line being inclined at an angle relative to the spanwise lifting surface to intersect the leading edge of the spanwise lifting surface, the arrestment line being positioned to engage the capture device of the flying object to releasably secure the flying object to the apparatus; and a support structure coupled to the arrestment line at two spaced-apart positions and positioned to support a portion of the arrestment line between said positions in the flight path, said arrestment line not being a support for said support structure in the form of a rigid, straight-line guy line tension-tie connection between an immovable upper end attached to the support structure and an immovable lower end. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24)
-
-
25. In combination, a flying object and an apparatus adapted for capturing the flying object, the combination comprising:
-
a) a line suspended across the flight path of the object in an orientation which includes a component normal to the flight path; b) support structure, with a load path to a base, suspending the line, a lower end of the line being restrained to prevent the line from blowing freely in the wind, the arrestment line not being a support for the support structure in the form of a rigid, straight-line guy line tension-tie connection between an immovable upper end attached to the support structure and an immovable lower end; and c) a device located off the centerline of the flying object, the device being adapted for intercepting the line after the line slides laterally along a leading edge of a structure comprising a wing of the flying object and holding the flying object to the line, the device being the primary means of capturing the flying object, the load path not including the arrestment line below the flying object. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
-
-
32. An aerial recovery system for capturing an aircraft, said system comprising;
-
the aircraft and an arrestment line held up at at least one end by an aerial lifting apparatus that uses a relative wind to generate lift, said aerial lifting apparatus not being a rotary wing apparatus that generates lift by blowing air down through a rotor, said aircraft containing a hook adapted for capturing said line and releasably securing said aircraft to said arrestment line, said hook being positioned laterally of a longitudinal axis of said aircraft, said hook being the primary means of capturing said aircraft, said aircraft containing structure suitable for deflecting said line laterally into engagement with said hook, said structure comprising a wing of said aircraft, said structure being swept at least fifteen degrees from an inboard end of the wing to an outboard end of the wing. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
-
Specification