Unmanned aerial vehicles including wing capture devices and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12134466-B2
Application number	US-202117397686-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 9, 2021
Priority date	Aug 9, 2021
Publication date	Nov 5, 2024
Grant date	Nov 5, 2024

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles including wing capture devices and related methods are disclosed. An example unmanned aerial vehicle includes a fuselage and a wing assembly, the wing assembly including a shoulder coupled to the fuselage, the shoulder including a joint, the joint distal to the fuselage, a wing coupled to the joint, and a hook, the hook coupled to the shoulder, the hook including a groove to receive a cable to arrest flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
a fuselage; and
a wing assembly, the wing assembly including:
a shoulder coupled to the fuselage, the shoulder including a joint, the joint distal to the fuselage;
a wing coupled to the joint;
a boom supporting a rotor; and
a hook coupled to the boom at a location on the boom forward of a leading edge of the shoulder, the hook including a groove to receive a cable to arrest flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the hook is a first hook and further including a second hook coupled to a tip of the wing.

3. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the wing assembly is a first wing assembly, the hook is a first hook, the shoulder is a first shoulder, the boom is a first boom, the rotor is a first rotor, and further including a second wing assembly, the second wing assembly including:
a second shoulder coupled to the fuselage;
a second wing coupled to the second shoulder
a second boom supporting a second rotor; and
a second hook, the second hook coupled to the second boom.

4. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the groove is defined in a surface of the hook, the groove disposed between the fuselage and an edge of the hook distal to the fuselage.

5. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 4 , wherein the hook includes a notch, the notch disposed proximate to the groove.

6. An aerial vehicle comprising:
a fuselage;
a wing coupled to the fuselage;
a boom extending from the wing, the boom supporting a rotor; and
a hook coupled to a side of the boom facing the fuselage, the hook to latch with a cable to arrest flight of the aerial vehicle.

7. The aerial vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the wing is coupled to a shoulder, the shoulder coupled to the fuselage.

8. The aerial vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the boom is coupled to the fuselage via a joint, the hook disposed proximate to the joint.

9. The aerial vehicle of claim 7 , wherein the hook is coupled to a location on the side of the boom proximate the shoulder.

10. The aerial vehicle of claim 6 , wherein the hook is disposed forward of a leading edge of the wing.

11. A wing assembly to be coupled to a fuselage of an air vehicle, the wing assembly comprising:
a shoulder;
a wing coupled to the shoulder;
a boom coupled to the shoulder, the boom supporting a rotor; and
means for coupling the air vehicle to a cable to arrest flight of the air vehicle, the coupling means carried by the boom, the coupling means disposed forward of a leading edge of the shoulder and distal from a tip of the wing.

12. The wing assembly of claim 11 , wherein the coupling means include a hook.

13. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the hook is coupled to a side of the boom facing the fuselage.

14. The unmanned aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the hook is proximate to the shoulder.

15. The aerial vehicle of claim 6 , wherein an end of the hook is directed toward the fuselage.

16. The aerial vehicle of claim 7 , wherein at least a portion of the hook is in-plane with a portion of the shoulder.

17. The aerial vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the rotor is disposed forward of the leading edge of the wing and forward of the hook.

18. The wing assembly of claim 11 , wherein the boom includes a first end proximate to the shoulder and a second end distal from the shoulder, the coupling means proximate to the first end of the boom.

19. The wing assembly of claim 11 , wherein the coupling means is disposed between the boom and the fuselage.

20. The wing assembly of claim 11 , wherein the coupling means is integrally formed with the boom.

Assignees

• Insitu Inc

Inventors

• Rysdyk Rolf
• Underwood Kelsey Nichole
• Volentine Dustin Honea

Classifications

• B64C39/024

  of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV · CPC title

• B64U10/25

  Fixed-wing aircraft (VTOL aircraft B64U10/20) · CPC title

• B64U70/30 Primary

  for capturing UAVs in flight by ground or sea-based arresting gear, e.g. by a cable or a net · CPC title

• B64U30/10

  Wings · CPC title

• B64U10/20

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