Aerodynamically shaped, active towed body

• US 9,849,983 B2
• Filed: 12/04/2015
• Issued: 12/26/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/15/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar
• Original Assignee: Stiftung Alfred-Wegener-Institut Fuer Polar-Und Meeresforschung
• Inventors: Herber, Andreas, Kalmbach, Dirk, Gerdes, Ruediger, Bayer, Hans-Joerg
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P
• Application Number:
  US15/535,431
• Publication Number:
  US 20170341749A1
• Time in Patent Office: 753 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2001/0045 Fuselages characterised by special shapes
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 3/16 Frontal aspect
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/022 Tethered aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 3/02 for towing targets
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/25 Fixed-wing aircraft VTOL aircraft B64U10/20
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/50 Glider-type UAVs, e.g. with parachute, parasail or kite for landing B64U70/83
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/60 Tethered aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/00 UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/10 Wings
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/40 Empennages, e.g. V-tails foldable or collapsible UAVs B64U20/50
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/82 Airborne vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: F41J 9/10 towed

Abstract

An aerodynamically shaped, active towed body includes a fuselage curved along its vertical and horizontal longitudinal plane. The fuselage has a unit chamber and a load chamber. A transverse plane of the fuselage is triangular, two upper corners being located on an upper face of the fuselage and a lower corner being located on a lower face of the fuselage. Each of two wings is subdivided into a small and a large segment. The small segment points downwards and is attached to the fuselage in a region of the lower corner and the large segment points upwards and is attached to the small segment. Each of the small segments comprise an additional load chamber. The towed body further includes a tail fin, rudders that are each adjustable by the control device and a coupling for the towing cable.

Claims

1. An aerodynamically shaped, active towed body, which is towable through the air using a towing cable by a powered aircraft, the towed body comprising:

a fuselage curved along its vertical and horizontal longitudinal planes, the fuselage having a unit chamber and a load chamber, a transverse plane of the fuselage being triangular, two upper corners being located on an upper face of the fuselage and a lower corner being located on a lower face of the fuselage, and the vertical longitudinal plane of the fuselage only being curved on the upper face and running straight on the lower face;

at least one power supply and one control device disposed in the unit chamber,

two wings arranged at a rear region of the fuselage, each of the two wings being subdivided into a small and a large segment, the small segment pointing downwards and being attached to the fuselage in a region of the lower corner and the large segment pointing upwards and being attached to the small segment, each of the small segments comprising an additional load chamber;

a tail fin;

rudders that are each adjustable by the control device; and

a coupling for the towing cable.

2. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the rudders include a first rudder configured to provide position control around a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis of the towed body disposed in each of the wings and a second rudder configured to provide position control around a vertical axis of the towed body disposed in the tail fin.

3. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the control device comprises an autopilot control device and a manual control device, the autopilot control device comprising a position-stabilizing gyroscope system and an anti-collision module.

4. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the wings and the unit chamber are arranged in the rear region of the towed body and the load chamber is arranged in the middle and front region of the towed body.

5. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the load chamber in the fuselage comprises individually removable segment chambers which are loadable with variable payloads.

6. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the upper corners and the lower corner of the fuselage are rounded.

7. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the coupling for the towing cable is arranged in the middle of the fuselage and a nose boom is arranged at the tip of the fuselage, at least one measuring instrument and/or a transmission and receiving device being arranged in the nose boom and being configured to provide a wireless connection with the powered aircraft and/or with a ground or water-based receiving and transmitting station.

8. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein various measuring instruments and/or transmission and receiving devices are arranged in the load chamber in the fuselage and in the additional load chamber in the small segment of each of the wings.

9. The towed body according to claim 1, further comprising measuring instruments configured to provide maneuvering, detecting obstacles in towing mode, stabilizing the towed body and obtaining measurement data for research-oriented and/or commercial purposes, the measuring instruments being disposed in a nose boom, or in the load chamber in the fuselage and in the additional load chamber in the small segment of each of the wings.

10. The towed body according to claim 8, wherein trace gas and/or aerosol inlet nozzles of the measuring instruments are arranged in the additional load chambers in the small segments.

11. The towed body according to claim 7, wherein the measuring instruments at least comprise a forward-facing infrared camera system, a video camera system, a laser-assisted distance measurement system, a radar-assisted altitude measurement system, a satellite-assisted positioning system and/or a meteorological measurement system.

12. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein the at least one power supply at least comprises accumulators and a generator.

13. The towed body according to claim 12, wherein the generator is a brushless generator with an external rotor in the form of a folding propeller arranged on the tail of the fuselage, the propeller being driven by air flow in towing mode.

14. The towed body according to claim 12, wherein the accumulators are lithium polymer accumulators.

15. The towed body according to claim 1, wherein an emergency parachute system is disposed in the fuselage.