2131results about "Alighting gear" patented technology

A tethered unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) may be outfitted with a sensor payload for data gathering. The tethered UAV may be tethered to a ground station for constricting the flight space of the UAV while also providing the option for power delivery and / or bidirectional communications. The tethered UAV's flight path may be extended by introducing one or more secondary UAVs that cooperate to extend the horizontal flight path of a primary UAV. The ground station, which may be coupled with the tethered aerial vehicle, may comprise a listening switch configured to determine a condition of the tether such that the supply of power to the tether may be terminated when tether damage or a tether severance is detected.

The present disclosure is directed toward systems and methods for autonomously landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In particular, systems and methods described herein enable a UAV to land within and interface with a UAV ground station (UAVGS). In particular, one or more embodiments described herein include systems and methods that enable a UAV to conveniently interface with and land within a UAV ground station (UAVGS). For example, one or more embodiments include a UAV that includes a landing base and landing frame that interfaces with a landing housing of a UAVGS.

A track assembly for providing traction to a vehicle, such as an agricultural vehicle, a construction vehicle, or another work vehicle The track assembly is mountable to an axle of the vehicle The track assembly comprises a plurality of wheels comprising a leading idler wheel and a trailing idler wheel spaced apart in a longitudinal direction of the track assembly, an axis of rotation of the axle of the vehicle being located between an axis of rotation of the leading idler wheel and an axis of rotation of the trailing idler wheel in the longitudinal direction of the track assembly, and a driver wheel for rotating when the axle of the vehicle rotates The track assembly also comprises an endless track disposed around the wheels The endless track comprises an inner side facing the wheels and a ground-engaging outer side for engaging the ground The endless track engages the driver wheel such that rotation of the driver wheel imparts motion to the endless track.

The Multi-Rotor Safety Shield (MRSS) provides a complete and substantial encasement system which can be secured about a Drone, protecting a multitude of aircraft components from contact with any outside disturbance and which can protect the sensitive components from dust, water, wind, rain, snow, fingers, toes, appendages of any kind, and atmospheric changes as example, from disabling the Drone and can protect people, places or things from high velocity spinning exposed rotor / propellers. The MRSS provides rigid non-permeable platform for attaching or incorporating additional safety devices as found in the Drone industry (or other industries) resulting in a safety device that completely prevents the loss a Drone due to the catastrophic failure of any Drone system or combination of systems which would typically result in rapid decent, and / or uncontrolled flight. The MRSS makes Drones safe near humans and safe to use around public gatherings, stadium events, accident scenes, disaster search and rescue and disaster relief, and indoors for the security and communications markets among others expanding the availability of Drones to further assist humanity.

A hybrid fixed wing aircraft converts into a roadworthy vehicle in a matter of seconds therefore operating efficiently in both air and ground transportation systems. The single piece wing is mounted on a skewed pivot that is on the lower portion of the fuselage and is operated by a pushbutton operating system. The aircraft includes telescopic twin boom tail design that when extended allows good pitch stability and damping. The aircraft's wing area may be increased with additional telescopic wing tip segments. This allows an increase in aspect ratio, hence improving efficiency at high loads. This feature will also creates a reduction in induced drag at cruise speed by simply retracting the tips in flight. The vehicle has a unique synchronized control system that switches from flight to ground mode without input from the operator, thereby providing a natural interface for the operator.

An unmanned aerial vehicle apparatus (100) that includes an air vehicle assembly (150) that is at least partially enclosed within a protective enclosure assembly (120) The protective enclosure assembly (120) is typically at least partially elastic, to protect the air vehicle assembly (150) from bumps, collisions, and other similar occurrences. The enclosure assembly (120) can also facilitate the ability of the apparatus (100) to operate in a ground movement mode (114), such as a rolling mode (116), in addition to a flying mode (112).

A safety and recovery system for an unmanned aerial vehicle including a parachute holder mountable to the aerial vehicle. A parachute is disposed in the parachute holder. An actuator is engaged with the parachute holder. A flight sensor is in communication with the actuator, the flight sensor programmed to detect one or more predetermined emergency flight conditions, and transmit an emergency signal when the flight sensor detects one of the predetermined emergency flight conditions. The actuator deploys the parachute from the parachute holder when the actuator receives the emergency signal from the flight sensor. Autonomous deployment of the parachute can help minimize damage to the aerial vehicle, equipment on the aerial vehicle, or objects or persons beneath the aerial vehicle, in the event of an emergency.

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for driving an aircraft having an undercarriage wheel, comprising aircraft drive means for driving an undercarriage wheel, and a clutch disposed between said driven means and said wheel, wherein said drive means and said clutch are directly connected to the undercarriage apparatus. Said apparatus may have gears disposed between said drive means clutch, or between said clutch and said wheel. In a most preferred arrangement, the apparatus of the invention fits inside the hub of said wheel. When the invention is applied to an aircraft undercarriage wheel, the clutch allows the wheel to be disengaged for takeoff and landing.

A road / air vehicle is able to quickly and easily convert between two configurations, air configuration and road configuration, to facilitate practical operation as both an aircraft and as an automobile. In air configuration the craft includes two laterally symmetrically flight surfaces; a smaller forward canard wing, generally horizontally disposed and a larger rearward main wing generally horizontally disposed with fin surfaces, generally vertically disposed, at each tip. Control surfaces on the main wing, the canard wing and the tip fins severally provide roll control, pitch control and yaw control in flight. The wheels / undercarriage are of a laterally symmetrical rectangular pattern, with the lateral distance between the two forward wheels and the two rearward wheels being similar. The forward wheels are steerable for ground operations. A suitable powerplant drives the rear wheels for ground operations. A second suitable powerplant provides direct atmospheric thrust for flight operations. In road configuration all flight surfaces and avionics sensors are folded and stored inside compartments within the body of the craft. Controls to facilitate both ground and flight operations are available for a single operator to perform the functions of both driver in road configuration and pilot in air configuration.

The present invention relates to an unmanned flying vehicle using a PCB including a main board controlling power supply and flying operation, a motor rotating a propeller by changing electric energy into mechanical energy, a PCB frame changing a signal from a remote controller and connecting the main board with the motor, a propeller generating an impellent force by from rotation by the motor, a receiver receiving a control signal of the remote controller, and a remote controller controlling a motor rotation speed of a quadrotor and direction change, and accordingly, the structure of the unmanned flying vehicle can be simplified so that the flying vehicle can be down-sized and light-weighted, and assemblability can be improved.

Vehicles such as unmanned air vehicles that are capable of movement from an open, flight configuration to an enclosed configuration in which all major flight components can be protected by an outer shell are disclosed. In the enclosed configuration, the vehicles can take on standard geometric shapes such as a rectangular prism, sphere, cylinder, or another shape, so as to not be recognizable as an unmanned air vehicle. Embodiments of vehicles can also include interchangeable and / or wireless motor arms, motor arms which are electrically connected to the remainder of the vehicle only when in an open configuration, remote controllers removably attached to the remainder of the vehicle, and clip or other attachment mechanisms for attachment to objects such as backpacks.

A VTOL aircraft (or other vehicle such as a sea vehicle) includes a pair of elongated ducts on opposite sides of the vehicle body, and a plurality of powered propellers (or other propulsion units such as jet engines) mounted within and enclosed by each of the elongated ducts, such as to produce an upward lift force to the vehicle. Each of the elongated ducts has a short transverse dimension slightly larger than the diameter of the blades of each propeller enclosed thereby, and a large transverse dimension slightly larger than the sum of the diameters of the blades of all the propellers enclosed thereby.

A plasma fairing for reducing noise generated by, for example, an aircraft landing gear is disclosed. The plasma fairing includes at least one plasma generating device, such as a single dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuator, coupled to a body, such as an aircraft landing gear, and a power supply electrically coupled to the plasma generating device. When energized, the plasma generating device generates a plasma within a fluid flow and reduces body flow separation of the fluid flow over the surface of the body. In another example, the body includes a plurality of plasma generating devices mounted to the surface the body to further aid in noise reduction.

A system for use in monitoring, measuring, computing and displaying the volumes of internal gas within a telescopic aircraft landing gear strut. Pressure sensors and temperature sensors and motion sensors are mounted in relation to each of the landing gear struts to monitor, measure and record the impact movement and rates of internal landing gear strut fluids; experienced by landing gear struts, as the aircraft landing gear initially come into contact with the ground. The computer of this system measures the compression experienced by each landing gear strut and determines if the landing gear strut is improperly serviced with either excess or deficient volumes of nitrogen gas. Additional features include automating the inspections required to aircraft landing gear, prior to flight, during flight and during landing events.

An anti-torque thruster system implemented onboard an aircraft comprising a propulsion means coupled to the aircraft, wherein the propulsion means is capable of providing a measure of anti-torque thrust to the aircraft, a fuel storage container coupled to the propulsion means via a fuel delivery conduit, wherein the fuel storage container is capable of storing an appropriate fuel for the propulsion means, a valve means disposed between the fuel storage container and the propulsion means, wherein the valve means may be useable to regulate the flow of fuel from the fuel storage container to the propulsion means, and a controller for controlling the valve means to regulate the flow of fuel from the fuel storage container to the propulsion means, wherein the controller is capable of receiving input from at least one input device.

According to the present invention, an electromechanical braking system is provided. The braking system includes at least one brake system control unit (BSCU) for converting an input brake command signal into a brake clamp force command signal. In addition, the braking system includes a first electromechanical actuator controller (EMAC) and a second electromechanical actuator controller (EMAC) configured to receive the brake clamp force command signal from the at least one BSCU and to convert the brake clamp force command signal to at least one electromechanical actuator drive control signal. Further, the braking system includes at least one electromechanical actuator configured to receive the at least one drive control signal and to apply a brake clamp force to at least one wheel to be braked in response to the at least one drive control signal. Moreover, the first EMAC and the second EMAC are configured to perform antiskid control in relation to the at least one wheel to be braked.

An automatic guidance and control system for aircraft moving on the ground. On-ground taxi control is provided in response to steering commands for nosewheel positioning.

A drive unit (16) for an aircraft running gear (2) having at least a first wheel (4) and a second wheel (6) on a common wheel axis (A), wherein the drive unit (16) is drivingly coupleable to at least one of the first and second wheels (4, 6), is characterized in that the drive unit (16) comprises at least one power output assembly (122, 124) for driving at least one of the first and second wheels (4, 6), with each of the at least one power output assembly (122, 124) comprising a power transmission chain (136) selectively engageable with a sprocket element (108, 110) coupled to one of the first and second wheels (4, 6).

An aircraft braking system includes a brake disk stack (22) that has at least one brake rotor (26) rotatable with an aircraft wheel (16) and at least one brake stator (24), at least one actuator (36) movable in response to a braking command to compress the brake disk stack (22) and slow the wheel (16), at least one actuator motor (32) operably connected to the at least one actuator (36) for moving the at least one actuator (36), a generator (40, 82, 100) having a generator rotor (42) and a generator stator (44), the generator (40, 82, 100) being operably connectable to the aircraft wheel (16) such that said generator rotor (42) rotates when the wheel (16) rotates, and a controller (50) electrically connected to the generator (40, 82, 100) and the at least one actuator motor (32). Also a method of generating electrical power from an aircraft wheel (16).

Improved methods and systems for controlling hydraulically or electrically actuated anti-lock brake systems (ABS) on air and land vehicles requiring only measurement of wheel angular speed although brake torque measurements can also be employed if available. A sliding mode observer (SMO) based estimate of net or different wheel torque (road / tire torque minus applied brake torque) derived from the measured wheel speed is compared to a threshold differential wheel torque derived as a function of a “skid signal” also based on wheel speed only to generate a braking control signal. The braking control signal can be employed to rapidly and fully applying and releasing the brakes in a binary on-off manner and, as an additional option, possibly modulating the maximum available brake hydraulic pressure or electrical current when the brakes are in the “on” state in a continuous manner. In the case of the basic on-off component of braking, the brakes are released when the estimate of differential wheel torque is less than the threshold differential wheel torque (i.e. for relatively high values of brake torque), and the brakes are applied fully when the estimate of differential wheel torque is greater than or equal to the threshold differential wheel torque. For aircraft landing gear applications, a fore-aft accelerometer mounted on the landing gear can be used to suppress nonlinear gear displacement oscillations commonly called gear walk in the direction of wheel roll.

There is provided a method of using a device capable of controlled flight in a surrounding environment, the device comprising: lifting means for providing lift to the device; object-retaining means for holding an object to be affixed to a target site; and a dispensing assembly for dispensing an adhesive, wherein the method comprises: controlling the lifting means so as to controllably fly the device in the surrounding environment; and using the device to affix an object held by the object-retaining means to a target site in the surrounding environment by dispensing an adhesive from the dispensing assembly. Thus, an aerial device, for example a robotic device, may be used to fly to a desired location and affix an object at the desired location, by dispensing, ejecting or otherwise applying an adhesive.

An aircraft landing gear comprising: a shock-absorbing main leg having a sprung part for attachment to an aircraft and an un-sprung part including a slider and an axle carrying at least one wheel, the wheel having a toothed ring gear; a drive transmission mounted externally on the sprung part, or on the un-sprung part, of the main leg, the drive transmission having at least one motor and a drive pinion for meshing with the toothed ring of the wheel; and an actuator for lifting the drive transmission into and out of driving engagement with the toothed ring and for maintaining the driving engagement as the landing gear deflects during a ground taxiing operation. Also, a method of operating the aircraft landing gear.

A system for monitoring a liquid level in an aircraft shock strut includes a cylinder having an internal chamber sealed by a piston telescopically movable within the cylinder. The chamber contains a gas and a liquid, and a sensor assembly is provided for monitoring a condition of a level of the liquid in the chamber. The sensor assembly includes at least one probe within the chamber, and a fitting assembly allows one or more leads from the probe to pass through the wall of the strut while maintaining pressure in the chamber. The fitting assembly includes a plug molded to the one or more leads extending from the probe. The fitting assembly also includes a retainer for holding the plug in sealed relationship with a through passage in the strut.

System and method for monitoring the applications of the brakes, e.g. of an aircraft to determine brake condition and operate a brake maintenance programme or charge a brake system user. It is desirable to have accurate information for determining the condition and predicting the life of carbon-carbon brake discs. This is important for safety as well as commercial reasons. The number of landings of an aircraft is often used as a determinant for such as lifetime warranties for brake discs and recommended maintenance periods. However, at least for carbon disc brakes, this may not be entirely accurate. For example such brake discs also wear during taxiing. The system and method herein includes monitoring each actuation of the brakes and making a separate record of each actuation of the brakes in which there is relative movement of the facing friction surfaces that cause wear, and from that separate record determining brake usage. The monitoring may include measuring changes and processing the signals to distinguish between those which fall below and those which are above a threshold value. Herein there is also described, a method and apparatus for monitoring a braking system comprising sensing a plurality of braking parameters having values dependent upon wear in the system and different faults of the system, and identifying and recording wear and faults based on combinations of values of said parameters.

A system for use in monitoring, measuring, computing and displaying the landing loads experienced while aircraft are executing either normal, overweight or hard landing events. Pressure sensors and motion sensors are mounted in relation to each of the landing gear struts to monitor, measure and record the impact loads and aircraft sink rates; experienced by landing gear struts, as the aircraft landing gear initially come into contact with the ground. The computer of this system measures the landing loads experienced by each landing gear strut and determines if a hard landing event has occurred. Additional features include automating the inspections required to aircraft components, after overweight or hard landing events.

A system for use in monitoring, measuring, computing and displaying the rate of compression of aircraft landing gear struts, experienced while aircraft are executing either normal or hard landing events. Further by measuring the vertical compression rate of the landing gear strut, thus with aircraft hull angle correction to horizontal, determining the vertical sink-rate of the aircraft, as it comes into initial contact with the ground. Accelerometers are attached to opposing sides of a compressible landing gear strut, monitoring and measuring parallel data streams; then identifying differential acceleration data streams, which computed through mathematical algorithms measure the collapse rate of the landing gear strut. Pressure sensors are attached to the working pressure within the landing gear strut, so to monitor in-flight landing gear strut pre-charge pressure, until such time as the pre-charge pressure suddenly increases, to detect the aircraft has come into initial contact with the ground. A method of operating an aircraft at an increased maximum landing weight limitation.