Systems and methods for winged drone platform

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10967967-B2
Application number	US-201715691611-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 30, 2017
Priority date	Aug 30, 2017
Publication date	Apr 6, 2021
Grant date	Apr 6, 2021

Abstract

Various techniques are provided for a winged drone platform. In one example, a drone can be provided. The drone can include a drone body, a plurality of wings, a plurality of tiling propeller assemblies, and a drone controller. The wings can be coupled to the drone body and configured to generate lift when the drone travels in a first travel direction. The tilting propeller assemblies can each be supported by one of the wings, can include a propeller and a propeller powerplant connected to the propeller, and can be configured to move between at least a first position and a second position. The drone controller can provide instructions to the tilting propeller assemblies to move between at least the first position and the second position. Additional systems and related methods are also provided.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A drone comprising:
a drone body having a central portion;
a first wing, a second wing, a third wing, and a fourth wing coupled to the drone body and each extending radially from the central portion of the drone body, each wing comprising a front facing leading edge and a rear facing trailing edge and configured to generate lift when the drone travels in a first travel direction;
a plurality of tilting propeller assemblies, each tilting propeller assembly supported by at least one of the plurality of wings, comprising a propeller and a propeller powerplant connected to the propeller, and configured to move between at least a first position for take-off and a position for cruise flight configured so that the tilting propeller assemblies provide forward thrust;
wherein a direction of rotation of each of the propellers of the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies is an in-board up direction; and
wherein the tilting propeller assemblies are substantially symmetrically disposed around a vertical axis intersecting a center of gravity of the drone, and wherein the first wing, the second wing, the third wing, and the fourth wing extend radially from the vertical axis.

2. The drone of claim 1 , wherein each of the tilting propeller assemblies is disposed at substantially a same distance from the center of gravity of the drone.

3. A method comprising:
taking off with a drone by positioning a plurality of tilting propeller assemblies of the drone in a first position, the drone further comprising a drone body having a central portion and a first wing, a second wing, a third wing, and a fourth wing extending radially from a vertical axis of the central portion of the drone body, wherein the vertical axis intersects a center of gravity of the drone and wherein the tilting propeller assemblies are substantially symmetrically disposed around the vertical axis;
moving the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies from the first position to a position for cruise flight;
flying the drone with the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies in the position for cruise flight in a first travel direction to generate lift from the first wing, the second wing, the third wing, and the fourth wing of the drone, wherein each wing comprises a front facing leading edge and a rear facing trailing edge; and
wherein a direction of rotation of each of the propellers of the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies is an in-board up direction.

4. The drone of claim 1 , wherein each of the tilting propeller assemblies is disposed at substantially a same distance from a center of gravity of the drone.

5. The drone of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies comprise at least a forward propeller assembly and a rearward propeller assembly, wherein the forward propeller assembly is disposed at a first height relative to the drone body, wherein the rearward propeller assembly is disposed at a second height relative to the drone body, and wherein the second height is higher than the first height during normal operation of the drone.

6. The drone of claim 1 ,
wherein in a takeoff position, an angle between each of the wings and about a vertical axis is 90 degrees,
wherein in a cruise flight position, an angle about the vertical axis and between the first wing and the second wing, and an angle about the vertical axis and between the third wing and the fourth wing is less than 90 degrees, and an angle about the vertical axis and between the second wing and the third wing, and an angle about the vertical axis and between the fourth wing and the first wing is greater than 90 degrees, and
wherein moving between the takeoff position and the cruise flight position comprises tilting the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies.

7. The drone of claim 6 , wherein the first wing, the second wing, the third wing, and the fourth wing are configured to move to the takeoff position at least when the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies are in the first position and configured to move to the flight position at least when the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies are in the position for cruise flight.

8. The drone of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies is configured to operate in autorotation.

9. The drone of claim 1 , wherein the first position is a position where the propellers are configured for vertical flight with propeller rotation axes of the propellers in a substantially vertical orientation.

10. The drone of claim 1 , wherein the propeller powerplants are battery powered.

11. The drone of claim 1 , further comprising a drone controller configured to:
provide instructions associated with takeoff of the drone comprising moving the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies to the first position; and
provide instructions associated with horizontal flight of the drone comprising moving the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies to the position for cruise flight.

12. The drone of claim 11 , wherein the drone controller is configured to provide instructions to the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies to move between at least the first position and the position for cruise flight responsive to a position, velocity, acceleration, and/or direction of the drone.

13. The drone of claim 11 , further comprising communications circuitry configured to receive instructions from a remote controller separate from the drone body, wherein the drone controller is communicatively coupled to the communications circuitry and configured to provide instructions to the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies to move between at least the first position and the position for cruise flight responsive to the instructions received from the remote controller.

14. The drone of claim 13 , further comprising the remote controller, wherein the remote controller is configured to provide instructions to the drone controller to move the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies between the first position and the position for cruise flight.

15. The drone of claim 11 , further comprising an environmental sensor coupled to the drone body, wherein the drone controller is configured to provide instructions to the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies to move between at least the first position and the position for cruise flight responsive to data from the environmental sensor.

16. A method comprising:
taking off with a drone by positioning a plurality of tilting propeller assemblies of the drone in a first position, the drone further comprising a drone body having a central portion and a first wing, a second wing, a third wing, and a fourth wing extending radially from the central portion of the drone body;
moving the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies from the first position to a position for cruise flight;
flying the drone with the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies in the position for cruise flight in a first travel direction to generate lift from the first wing, the second wing, the third wing, and the fourth wing of the drone, wherein each wing comprises a front facing leading edge and a rear facing trailing edge; and
wherein a direction of rotation of each of the propellers of the plurality of tilting propeller assemblies is an in-board up direction.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the position for cruise flight comprises a second position with propeller rotation axes of the propellers disposed at a non-horizontal angle and a third position with propeller rotation axes of the propellers disposed in a substantially horizontal

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Kawiecki Grzegorz M
• Hardt Michael W

Classifications

• B64U2201/10

  autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] · CPC title

• B64U50/19

  using electrically powered motors · CPC title

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · CPC title

• B64U10/14

  with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters · CPC title

• B64U30/297

  Tilting rotors · CPC title