대표
청구항
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What is claimed is: 1. A refueling drogue, comprising: a refueling drogue body; and an active stabilization system, wherein the refueling drogue includes a flexible joint coupled to the refueling drogue body, the active stabilization system includes a plurality of control surfaces connected to the refueling drogue on an opposite side of the flexible joint with respect to the refueling drogue body, and the refueling drogue includes a refueling drogue hose connector, the refueling drogue hose connector being adapted to rigidly connect a refueling hose to ...
What is claimed is: 1. A refueling drogue, comprising: a refueling drogue body; and an active stabilization system, wherein the refueling drogue includes a flexible joint coupled to the refueling drogue body, the active stabilization system includes a plurality of control surfaces connected to the refueling drogue on an opposite side of the flexible joint with respect to the refueling drogue body, and the refueling drogue includes a refueling drogue hose connector, the refueling drogue hose connector being adapted to rigidly connect a refueling hose to a portion of the refueling drogue supporting the control surfaces. 2. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the refueling drogue body includes a refueling probe connector assembly adapted to securely connect a refueling probe of a receiver aircraft to the refueling drogue. 3. The refueling drogue of claim 1, further comprising the refueling hose, wherein the refueling drogue hose connector is rigidly connected to the refueling hose such that the portion of the refueling drogue supporting the control surfaces is rigidly connected to the refueling hose, and wherein the refueling drogue body is flexibly connected to the portion of the refueling drogue supporting the control surfaces. 4. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to effectively stabilize the refueling drogue when the refueling drogue is placed in an airstream. 5. The refueling drogue according to claim 1, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to effectively stabilize the refueling drogue when the refueling drogue is placed in an airstream having a relative velocity to the refueling drogue of more than about 80 KEAS. 6. The refueling drogue of claim 5, wherein the refueling drogue is adapted to physically connect one airborne aircraft to another airborne aircraft. 7. The refueling drogue of claim 5, wherein the refueling drogue is adapted to extend from an airborne refueling aircraft and is adapted to transfer aviation fuel from the airborne refueling aircraft to a receiver aircraft. 8. The refueling drogue of claim 5, wherein the refueling drogue includes a refueling hose. 9. The refueling drogue of claim 5, wherein the refueling drogue body is adapted to physically connect with a refueling probe of a receiver aircraft, and wherein the refueling drogue includes a gyroscope. 10. The refueling drogue according to claim 1, wherein the active stabilization system comprises a gyroscope, and wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to utilize the gyroscope as a reference orientation. 11. The refueling drogue of claim 10, wherein the gyroscope is mounted in the stabilization system. 12. The refueling drogue of claim 11, wherein the refueling drogue is adapted to move about the gyroscope such that the gyroscope can maintain an effectively fixed orientation relative to a position of the refueling drogue prior to movement about the gyroscope. 13. The refueling drogue of claim 12, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to utilize the gyroscope for a stable reference orientation as the refueling system moves about the gyroscope. 14. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the refueling drogue is adapted to move about a gyroscope such that the gyroscope can maintain an effectively fixed orientation relative to a position of the refueling drogue prior to movement about the gyroscope. 15. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the active stabilization system includes a plurality of variable position stabilization surfaces. 16. The refueling drogue of claim 15, wherein the active stabilization system comprises a stable reference device, and wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to effectively continuously control the plurality of variable position stabilization surfaces to effectively maintain the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to a stable reference as dictated by the stable reference device. 17. The refueling drogue of claim 16, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to receive input based on a long-term stable reference device, and wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to set the stable reference dictated by the stable reference device based on input from the long-term stable reference. 18. The refueling drogue of claim 15, wherein the active stabilization system comprises a stable reference device, and wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to control the plurality of variable position stabilization surfaces based on the orientation of the refueling drogue at a first time period and the orientation of the refueling drogue at a second time period after the first time period, the orientation of the refueling drogue being relative to a stable reference as dictated by the stable reference device. 19. The refueling drogue of claim 18, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to receive data based on a long-term stable reference, and wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to set the stable reference dictated by the stable reference device based on input from the long-term stable reference. 20. The refueling drogue of claim 19, wherein the refueling drogue further comprises a long-term stable reference device adapted generate and output the data based on the long-term stable reference, wherein the long-term stable reference device is adapted to at least one of: average data from the long-term stable reference and base the generated and outputted data on the averaged data; and normalize data from the long-term stable reference and base the generated and outputted data on the averaged data. 21. The refueling drogue of claim 18, wherein the stable reference device is a rotatable gyroscope. 22. The refueling drogue of claim 18, wherein the stable reference device is a solid-state movement sensor. 23. The refueling drogue of claim 18, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to control the plurality of variable position stabilization surfaces based on the orientation of the refueling drogue at a first time period and the orientation of the refueling drogue at a second time period after the first time period to effectively return the refueling drogue to the orientation at the first time period. 24. The refueling drogue of claim 15, wherein the active stabilization system comprises: a stable reference device adapted to dictate a stable reference; and a logic device adapted to determine a change in the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to the stable reference; wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to control the variable position stabilization surfaces to effectively eliminate the change in the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to the stable reference based on the determined change. 25. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to receive input based on a long-term stable reference device, and wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to set the stable reference dictated by the stable reference device based on input from the long-term stable reference. 26. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the refueling drogue is adapted to generate electricity by harnessing an air stream flowing past the refueling drogue that results from a forward velocity of the refueling drogue through the atmosphere to energize or power components of the active stabilization system. 27. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the stable reference device includes a gimbal-less gyro arrangement. 28. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the logic device comprises at least one of a circuit, a processor and a computer. 29. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the logic device is further adapted to determine a difference in the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to the stable reference, and wherein the active stabilization system is further adapted to control the variable position stabilization surfaces to reduce the difference in the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to the stable reference based on the determined difference. 30. The refueling drogue of claim 29, wherein the logic device is a computer, wherein the computer is further adapted to calculate a difference in the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to the stable reference, and wherein the active stabilization system is further adapted to control the variable position stabilization surfaces to reduce the difference in the orientation of the refueling drogue relative to the stable reference based on the calculated difference. 31. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the stable reference device is a rotatable gyroscope. 32. The refueling drogue of claim 24, wherein the stable reference device is a solid-state movement sensor. 33. The refueling drogue of claim 24, further comprising a plurality of rotary vanes adapted to pivot about respective vane axes and a plurality of sensors adapted to output respective signals indicative of respective angles of pivot about the vane axis, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to set the stable reference dictated by the stable reference device based on the signals. 34. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the active stabilization system comprises two pairs of variable position stabilization surfaces orthogonal to one another. 35. The refueling drogue of claim 34, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to actively regulate the orientation of the refueling drogue at substantially any rotation angle of the stabilization surfaces from at least one of a horizontal plane and a vertical plane. 36. The refueling drogue of claim 35, wherein the refueling drogue further comprises a sensor adapted to measure a rotation angle γ. 37. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the active stabilization system comprises: a sensor adapted to measure a varying angle between a reference on the refueling drogue and a direction of the air stream. 38. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the refueling drogue includes a refueling drogue hose, the active stabilization system further comprising: a first sensor adapted to measure a first varying angle between an axis through the refueling hose and a direction of the air stream; and a second sensor adapted to measure a second varying angle between an axis through the center of the refueling drogue hose and a direction of the air stream; wherein the refueling drogue is adapted to regulate the orientation of the refueling drogue based on the measured first varying angle and the measured second varying angle. 39. The refueling drogue of claim 38, wherein at least one of the first sensor and the second sensor includes a rotary vane adapted to pivot about a vane axis and a sensor adapted to output a signal indicative of the angle of pivot about the vane axis. 40. The refueling drogue of claim 38, wherein the first varying angle lies on a plane that is not substantially orthogonal to a plane on which the second varying angle lies. 41. The refueling drogue of claim 38, wherein the stabilization system is adapted to permit the first sensor and the second sensor to rotate relative to the horizontal plane and the vertical plane. 42. The refueling drogue of claim 38, wherein the first varying angle lies on a plane that is substantially orthogonal to a plane on which the second varying angle lies. 43. The refueling drogue of claim 42, further comprising a first pair of stabilization surfaces orthogonal to a second pair of stabilization surfaces, wherein the plane on which the first varying angle lies is on a plane through the first pair of stabilization surfaces and wherein the plane on which the second varying angle lies is on a plane through the second pair of stabilization surfaces. 44. The refueling drogue of claim 38, wherein at least one of the first and second sensors is located aft of the refueling drogue hose connector. 45. The refueling drogue of claim 1, wherein the refueling drogue includes a refueling drogue hose, wherein the active stabilization system is adapted to compute at least one of an angle Ω1' and Ω2' and at least one of angle β1' and β2' with reference to a reference on the refueling drogue. 46. The refueling drogue of claim 1, further comprising an autonomous docking system. 47. The refueling drogue of claim 1, further comprising an active control system. 48. A refueling drogue active stabilization kit comprising: an active stabilization pack including a plurality of control surfaces connected to the stabilization pack, a rigid refueling drogue hose connector and a flexible refueling drogue body connector, wherein the pack is adapted to flexibly connect to at least a refueling drogue body and rigidly connect to a refueling drogue hose such that the plurality of control surfaces are connected to the active stabilization pack in between flexible refueling drogue body connector and the rigid refueling drogue hose connector, and wherein the pack is adapted such that when connected to the refueling drogue body and to a refueling hose and the active stabilization pack and connected components are placed in an airstream, the pack is effectively actively stabilized. 49. An aerial refueling assembly, comprising: a refueling drogue body; a refueling drogue hose; and an active stabilization unit including a plurality of control surfaces, wherein a flexible joint is coupled to the refueling drogue body such that the refueling drogue body is flexibly connected to a portion of the unit supporting the control surfaces, a rigid refueling drogue hose connector is coupled to the refueling hose such that the portion of the unit supporting the control surfaces is rigidly connected to the refueling hose, and the portion of the unit supporting the control surfaces is located in between the flexible joint and the rigid refueling drogue hose connector. 50. The aerial refueling assembly of claim 49, wherein the active stabilization unit is adapted to effectively stabilize the unit when the aerial refueling assembly is placed in an airstream having a relative velocity to the aerial refueling assembly of more than about 80 KEAS. 51. The aerial refueling assembly of claim 50, wherein the refueling drogue body includes a refueling probe connector assembly adapted to securely connect a refueling probe of a receiver aircraft to the refueling drogue body. 52. The method according to claim 51, wherein the active stabilization pack includes a flexible joint adapted to flexibly connect to the refueling drogue body. 53. The method according to claim 51, wherein the active stabilization pack includes a connector adapted to rigidly connect the stabilization pack to the refueling hose. 54. The method according to claim 53 wherein the active stabilization pack includes a flexible joint adapted to flexibly connect to the refueling drogue body. 55. A method of retrofitting a refueling drogue assembly including a refueling drogue with a refueling drogue body and a refueling hose to include an active stabilization system, comprising: obtaining an active stabilization pack including a plurality of control surfaces, rigidly connecting the active stabilization pack to the refueling hose, and flexibly connecting the active stabilization pack to the refueling drogue body so that a portion of the active stabilization pack that supports the control surfaces is located on an opposite side of the flexible connection with respect to the refueling drogue body and the refueling drogue hose is rigidly connected to the portion of the active stabilization pack that supports the control surfaces.
