Combined submersible vessel and unmanned aerial vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9296270-B2
Application number	US-201313765144-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 12, 2013
Priority date	Jun 16, 2008
Publication date	Mar 29, 2016
Grant date	Mar 29, 2016

Abstract

A combined submersible vessel and unmanned aerial vehicle preferably includes a body structure, at least one wing structure, at least one vertical stabilizer structure, and at least one horizontal stabilizer structure. A propulsion system is coupled to the body structure and is configured to propel the flying submarine in both airborne flight and underwater operation. Preferably, the propulsion system includes a motor, a gearbox coupled to the motor and configured to receive power generated by the motor and provide variable output power, a drive shaft coupled to the gearbox and configured to transfer the variable output power provided by the gearbox, and a propeller coupled to the drive shaft and configured to accept power transferred to it from the drive shaft. The propeller is further configured to rotate and propel the flying submarine in both an airborne environment and in an underwater environment.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A flying submarine, comprising:
a body structure including a hull;
at least one wing structure coupled to the body structure;
at least one horizontal stabilizer structure coupled to the body structure; and
a propulsion system coupled to the body structure and configured to propel the flying submarine in both airborne flight and underwater operation, wherein the propulsion system includes:
a motor;
a gearbox coupled to the motor and configured to receive power generated by the motor and provide variable output power;
a drive shaft coupled to the gearbox and configured to transfer the variable output power provided by the gearbox, the drive shaft being a hollow shaft;
a propeller coupled to the drive shaft and configured to accept power transferred to it from the drive shaft, and further configured to rotate and propel the flying submarine in both an airborne environment and in an underwater environment; and
a rocket propulsion system having an exhaust tube concentrically located within the drive shaft.

2. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the propulsion system is further configured to (i) operate the propeller within a first RPM range when operating in an air environment, and (ii) operate the propeller within a second RPM range when operating in a water environment, and wherein a first set of RPM values in the first RPM range are greater than a second set of RPM values in the second RPM range.

3. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the propeller comprises at least two blades, wherein the propeller is disposed at a tail end of the flying submarine, opposite a nose of the flying submarine, and wherein the at least two blades are configured to fold forward and backward with respect to the nose of the flying submarine.

4. The flying submarine according to claim 3 , wherein, when the flying submarine is in a stored configuration, the at least two blades of the propeller are folded forwards, towards the nose of the flying submarine.

5. The flying submarine according to claim 4 , wherein, when the flying submarine is in a water entry configuration, the at least two blades of the propeller are folded backwards, away from the nose of the flying submarine.

6. The flying submarine according to claim 5 , wherein, when the blades of the propeller are folded, structural loads thereon are reduced upon entry into the water environment.

7. The flying submarine according to claim 6 , further comprising a latch configured to prevent the propeller from returning to a stored configuration following unfolding from the stored configuration.

8. The flying submarine according to claim 7 , wherein the latch is further configured to be releasable following unfolding from the stored condition such that the propeller is stored again with the blades folded forward.

9. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , further comprising: at least one battery, configured to store electrical energy, and wherein the motor comprises an electric motor configured to receive power from the battery.

10. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the motor is further configured to rotate in both a clockwise direction and in counter-clockwise direction.

11. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , the motor is rotatable in two directions.

12. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the gearbox comprises a plurality of gear sets configured to operate the propeller within a first set of RPM values in the airborne environment, and to operate the propeller within a second set of RPM values in the underwater environment.

13. The flying submarine according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of gear sets comprises:
a first set of gears with a first gear ratio; and
a second set of gears with a second gear ratio, and wherein, when the motor is operating with the first set of gears, the propeller is configured to operate within the first set of RPM values, and wherein, when the motor is operating with the second set of gears, the propeller is configured to operate within the second set of RPM values.

14. The flying submarine according to claim 13 , wherein the first set of gears is configured to rotate the propeller in a rotational direction opposite that of the motor, and wherein the second set of gears is configured to rotate the propeller in a rotational direction identical to that of the motor.

15. The flying submarine according to claim 13 , wherein each of the first set of gears and the second set of gears is mechanically coupled to a propeller shaft via a one way clutch.

16. The flying submarine according to claim 15 , wherein the one way clutch is selected from the group consisting of a ratchet, and a roller needle clutch.

17. The flying submarine according to claim 15 , wherein the one way clutch is configured to rotate the propeller in a forward direction regardless of the rotation direction of the motor, and further wherein an RPM of the propeller corresponds to (i) the RPM of the motor and (ii) the respective gear ratios of the first gear set and the second gear set.

18. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a magnetic coupler
(i) mechanically coupled to the driveshaft, and
(ii) mechanically coupled to said hull,
wherein the magnetic coupler is configured to rotate the drive shaft via the magnetic coupling between the magnetic coupler and the drive shaft.

19. The flying submarine according to claim 1 ,
wherein the rocket propulsion system is configured to launch the flying submarine out of the water environment and into the air environment.

20. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the rocket propulsion system is configured to exhaust propulsive matter through the exhaust tube without substantially interfering with, or impinging on, the propeller.

21. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the rocket propulsion system comprises:
at least one water storage tank coupled to the rocket propulsion system exhaust tube and configured to store water; and
at least one solid fuel hot gas generator combined with the at least one water storage tank, and wherein the at least one solid fuel hot gas generator is configured to burn solid fuel to create pressurized gas, wherein the pressurized gas forcibly expels water stored within the at least one water storage tank out of the rocket propulsion system exhaust tube, thereby providing the exhaust propulsive matter from the rocket propulsion system to propel the flying submarine.

22. The flying submarine according to claim 1 , wherein the rocket propulsion system comprises:
at least one water storage tank coupled to the rocket propulsion system exhaust tube and configured to store water;
at least one high pressure storage tank coupled to the at least one water storage tank and configured to store pressurized gas; and
at least one solid fuel hot gas generator configured to burn solid fuel to create pressurized gas, wherein the pressurized gas is stored in the at least one high pressure storage tank, and wherein the at least one high pressure gas storage tank is further configured to release the hot pressurized gas into the at least one water storage tank to forcibly expel water stored within the at least one water storage tank out of the rocket propulsion system exhaust tube, thereby providing the exhaust propulsive matter from the rocket propulsion system to propel the flying submarine.

23. The flying submarine ac

Assignees

• Aurora Flight Sciences Corp

Inventors

• Parks Robert
• Woodworth Adam
• Vaneck Tom
• Mcclellan Justin

Classifications

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64C2201/165

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B64C2201/021

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic

• B60F5/02 Primary

  convertible into aircraft (convertible aircraft B64C37/00; convertible unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV]-type aircraft, e.g. convertible into land vehicles, B64U10/70) · CPC title

• B64C2201/042

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic