Airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus

• US 10,179,648 B2
• Filed: 06/08/2016
• Issued: 01/15/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/08/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Howard Martin Chin, Kimberly A. Carraha
• Original Assignee: Howard Martin Chin, Kimberly A. Carraha
• Inventors: Chin, Howard Martin, Carraha, Kimberly A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Woldemaryam, Assres H
• Application Number:
  US15/176,250
• Publication Number:
  US 20160355261A1
• Time in Patent Office: 951 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 5/00 Aircraft transported by aircraft, e.g. for release or reberthing during flight flying units formed by separate aircraft B64C37/02
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/20 for releasing or capturing UAVs in flight by another aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/70 Launching or landing using catapults, tracks or rails launching from storage containers B64U70/50
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/82 Airborne vehicles

Abstract

An airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus for selectively launching drones located on the underside of a carrier aircraft or recovering drones following flight of the drones, the airborne launch and recovery apparatus has an extensible stinger slidable along the length of a stinger sheath between a retracted position proximal the rear portion of the carrier aircraft and an extended position in front of the carrier aircraft, and a catcher shuttle carried on the forward part of the stinger for extending into the non-turbulent air in front of the carrier aircraft when the stinger is in the extended position. The carrier shuttle includes a launch/recovery assembly for selectively either having a locked condition for the recovery guide of a drone prior to the positioning of the catcher shuttle in a selected for the launch of the drone, and having an open condition for receiving the recovery guide of a drone at the termination of the flight of the drone to terminate the flight.

Claims

1. An airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus for use on a carrier aircraft for launching stored drones and for recovering launched drones, each drone including a recovery guide for cooperating with the carrier aircraft to enable the carrier aircraft to capture a launched drone, said airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus comprising:

a stinger assembly for attachment to the underside of the carrier aircraft, said stinger assembly including;

a stinger for disposition in a spaced relationship from the underside of the carrier aircraft; and

a catcher shuttle held by said stinger for being disposed in the non-turbulent air in front of the turbulent air region produced by the carrier aircraft in flight, said catcher shuttle being both releasably engageable with the recovery guide of a launched drone to selectively release the recovery guide of a stored drone prior to launch of the stored drone, and engageable with the recovery guide of a launched drone to effect the engagement of the recovery guide upon the end of flight of the launched drone to capture the launched drone to terminate the flight of the launched drone.

2. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said stinger is mountable at the underside of the carrier aircraft, and said catcher shuttle being extendable from said stinger into the non-turbulent air in front of the carrier aircraft during flight of the launched drone to selectively launch a stored drone in the non-turbulent air, or to recover a launched drone at the end of the flight of the launched drone from the non-turbulent air.

3. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said catcher shuttle is extensible along said stinger into the non-turbulent air in front of the carrier aircraft, and said catcher shuttle includes a launch/recovery assembly for selectively operatively engaging the recovery guide of a launched drone in the non-turbulent air in front of the carrier aircraft at the end of a flight of the launched drone to selectively either capture the launched drone or

for operatively engaging the recovery guide of a stored drone prior to the launching of the stored drone into flight in the non-turbulent air in front of the carrier aircraft and enable the launching of a stored drone into the non-turbulent air.

4. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 3 wherein said launch/recovery assembly comprises a releasable locking device for alternatively having a closed condition for selectively receiving the recovery guide of a stored drone prior to the launch of the stored drone by said airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus, or for selectively, releasably locking the recovery guide of a launched drone following a flight of the launched drone to capture the launched drone, and an open condition for selectively releasing the recovery guide of a stored drone for enabling the launch of a stored drone from said carrier shuttle or for receiving the recovery guide of a launched drone at the end of a flight of the launched drone for subsequent locking the recovery guide both to terminate the flight of the launched drone and to recover the launched drone.

5. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 4 wherein the recovery guide of a stored drone to be launched or a launched drone to be recovered includes a locking member extending from the bottom of said stored drone or said launched drone, and wherein said launch recovery/assembly comprises:

walls defining a recess configured to receive the locking member of a recovery guide of said stored drone or said launched drone; and

a door structure alternatively having a closed position for closing said recess in response to the reception of a locking member in said recess to put said launch/recovery assembly in the closed condition and releasably lock said drone to said launch recovery assembly, and an open position to enable the reception and withdrawal of the recovery guide recess from said recess to enable either the launching of a stored drone from the launch/recovery apparatus or the recovery of a launched drone by said launch/recovery apparatus.

6. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said stinger assembly includes:

a stinger sheath to be placed at the underside of the carrier aircraft, said stinger of said stinger assembly being disposed in said stinger sheath in a telescoping manner, with said stinger being slidable in said stinger sheath between a retracted position and a fully extended position wherein said catcher shuttle held by said stinger is located in the non-turbulent air; and

a first drive located in said stinger and being operatively connected to said catcher shuttle, said first drive being actuable to move said catcher shuttle between a withdrawn position and an extended position, said catcher shuttle being enabled to effect selectively the launch of a stored drone and the recovery of a launched drone when said catcher shuttle is in the extended position.

7. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said stinger sheath extends in the longitudinal direction relative to the carrier aircraft, and wherein said stinger assembly further comprises:

a forward cross support comprising a forward transverse drive assembly operatively connected to said stinger sheath;

a rearward cross support comprising a rearward transverse drive assembly operatively connected to said stinger sheath; and

a longitudinal member joining said forward cross support and said rearward cross support;

wherein said forward cross support and said rearward cross support can manipulate said stinger sheath and move said stinger sheath in a desired position for the launch of a stored drone in desired direction or to recover the launched drone following flight of the launched drone in any flight path within a range of said air launch and recovery direction.

8. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 7, and further including:

extendable arms operatively connectable both to the underside of the carrier aircraft, and to said forward cross support and said rearward cross support to selectively raise, lower and tilt said respective forward cross support and said rearward cross support up, down and sideways relative to the carrier aircraft to orient said respective forward cross support and said rearward cross support, to enable the orientation of said stinger and said catcher shuttle to enable the selective launching of stored drones in a desired direction and the selective recovery of launched drones from the set of drones from a direction following the flight of the respective drones.

9. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said extendable arms comprise forward telescoping arms to selectively lift and lower said forward cross support and the forward position of said stinger sheath.

10. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 9 wherein said forward telescoping arms pivot said forward cross support.

11. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 8 wherein said extendable arms comprise telescoping arms to selectively lift and lower said rearward cross support and the rearward portion of said stinger sheath.

12. The airborne drone launch and recovery apparatus according to claim 1 and further including a launched drone with an engine to drive a launched drone through the atmosphere, said launched drone having a recovery guide for cooperating with said shuttle to selectively enable the launch of a stored drone and the recovery of a launched drone from or by said airborne drone launch and release apparatus.