Submersible drone delivery and recovery system using waterproof aerial drone

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11807358-B2
Application number	US-202017074172-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2020
Priority date	Oct 19, 2020
Publication date	Nov 7, 2023
Grant date	Nov 7, 2023

Abstract

A submersion system for a rotorcraft is described and includes a control module for controlling a depth to which the rotorcraft is submerged in a body of water; a compressed air chamber associated with the control module; and at least one flotation pod including a sealable opening on a top surface thereof and an opening on a bottom surface thereof. The control module selectively causes water to be taken into the at least one flotation pod to cause the submersion system to submerge in the body of water and selectively causes water to be evacuated from the at least one flotation pod to cause the submersion system to float in the body of water.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A submersible rotorcraft, comprising:
a pair of wings;
tail booms attached to opposite outboard ends of the wings;
a control module for controlling a depth to which the rotorcraft is submerged in a body of water;
a compressed air chamber associated with the control module; and
flotation pods attached to ends of each of the tail booms distal to ends of the tail booms attached to the wings, each of the flotation pods including a sealable opening on a top surface thereof and an opening on a bottom surface thereof;
wherein the control module selectively causes water to be taken into the flotation pods to cause the submersion system to submerge in the body of water and selectively causes water to be evacuated from the flotation pods to cause the rotorcraft to float in the body of water such that the wings are supported by the tail booms above a surface of the body of water; and
wherein the control module selectively causes pressurized air from the compressed air chamber to be injected into the flotation pods.

2. The submersion system of claim 1 , wherein the flotation pods comprises an airtight vent valve on a top surface thereof and a flood/drain valve on a bottom surface thereof and wherein the control module controls opening and closing of the valves.

3. The submersion system of claim 1 , wherein the flotation pods comprises a vent on a top surface thereof and a drain on a bottom surface thereof, the at least one flotation pod further comprising a three-way valve, and wherein a position of the three-way valve controls whether each of the vent and drain is open.

4. The submersion system of claim 3 , wherein the three-way valve comprises at least one of a hollow ball valve and a hollow cylinder valve.

5. The submersion system of claim 1 , wherein the compressed air chamber is integrated with the floatation pods.

6. The submersion system of claim 1 , wherein the compressed air chamber is connected to the floatation pods via a control valve having a position that is controlled by the control module.

7. The submersion system of claim 1 further comprising depth sensors for indicating a depth of the submersion system to the control module.

8. A system comprising:
a tail sitter aircraft, comprising:
a pair of wings; and
tail booms attached to opposite outboard ends of the wings;
a submersion system connected to the tail sitter aircraft, the submersion system comprising:
a control module for controlling a depth to which the tail sitter aircraft is submerged in a body of water;
a compressed air chamber associated with the control module; and
flotation pods attached to ends of each of the tail booms distal to ends of the tail booms attached to the wings, each of the flotation pods including a sealable opening on a top surface thereof and an opening on a bottom surface thereof; and

an unmanned submersible exploration device, wherein the tail sitter aircraft is configured to provide aerial transportation for the unmanned submersible exploration device;
wherein the control module selectively causes water to be taken into the flotation pods to cause at least a portion of the tail sitter aircraft to submerge in the body of water and selectively causes water to be evacuated from the flotation pods to cause the tail sitter aircraft to float in the body of water such that the wings are supported above a surface of the body of water by the tail booms; and
wherein the control module selectively causes pressurized air from the compressed air chamber to be injected into the flotation pods.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprising a delivery pod connected to the tail sitter aircraft in which the unmanned submersible exploration device is housed during the transporting and from which the unmanned submersible exploration device is launched after the tail sitter aircraft is submerged to a particular depth in the body of water.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the unmanned submersible exploration device is tethered to the tail sitter aircraft during underwater exploration activities.

11. The system of claim 8 , wherein the unmanned submersible exploration device is capable of at least one of remote control operation and autonomous operation.

12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the tail sitter aircraft is capable of at least one of remote control operation and autonomous operation.

Assignees

• Bell Textron Inc
• Textron Innovations Inc

Inventors

• Barnes Brian Erik
• Miller Gary

Classifications

• B64U2201/10

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

• B64U2201/202

  using tethers for connecting to ground station · CPC title

• B64U50/23

  with each propulsion means having an individual motor · CPC title

• B64U10/20

  Vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft (flying platforms B64U10/13; helicopters B64U10/17) · CPC title

• B64U60/10

  specially adapted for use on water · CPC title