초록 ▼

A method and apparatus to control movement of a vehicle using a plurality of thrust-producing devices formed in at least one control surface is disclosed. A supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices that are configured to propel gas through the control surface to produce thrust is

A method and apparatus to control movement of a vehicle using a plurality of thrust-producing devices formed in at least one control surface is disclosed. A supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices that are configured to propel gas through the control surface to produce thrust is controlled such that a physical displacement of the control surface is generated. The physical displacement is in accordance with the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices and controls the movement of the vehicle.

대표청구항 ▼

1. A method of controlling movement of a vehicle using a plurality of thrust-producing devices, comprising: forming at least one control surface using a plurality of thrust-producing devices, wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices are configured to propel a gas through the at least one co

1. A method of controlling movement of a vehicle using a plurality of thrust-producing devices, comprising: forming at least one control surface using a plurality of thrust-producing devices, wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices are configured to propel a gas through the at least one control surface to produce thrust, and wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices is formed of Nano Molecular Solid-State Electrodynamic Thruster (NMSET) elements;controlling a supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices formed in the at least one control surface; andgenerating a physical displacement of the at least one control surface in accordance with the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices to control movement of the vehicle. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein: the at least one control surface includes a plurality of control surfaces, andthe controlling of the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices includes controlling the supply of power to first thrust-producing devices formed on a first control surface and second thrust-producing devices formed on a second control surface such that the vehicle moves in a desired path. 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the at least one control surface includes integrally forming said control surface into said vehicle. 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the forming of the at least one control surface includes integrating the NMSET elements into the at least one control surface. 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the generation of the physical displacement of the at least one control surface includes propelling, by the plurality of thrust-producing devices, gas through the at least one control surface, responsive to power-on of the plurality of thrust-producing devices. 6. The method of claim 2, further comprising controlling the plurality of control surfaces to maneuver the vehicle along a respective one or ones of a plurality of axes. 7. The method of claim 2, wherein the controlling of the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices includes separately controlling the thrust-producing devices associated with a respectively different control surface to individually control the physical displacement of each control surface. 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: maneuvering the vehicle along three axes by controlling the supply of power to first thrust-producing devices formed on a first control surface and to further thrust-producing devices formed on further control surfaces. 9. An apparatus for controlling movement of a vehicle, comprising: at least one control surface of the vehicle;a plurality of thrust-producing devices formed in the at least one control surface of the vehicle, wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices is configured to propel gas through the at least one control surface to produce thrust, and wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices is formed of Nano Molecular Solid-State Electrodynamic Thruster (NMSET) elements;a power supply for supplying power to at least the plurality of thrust-producing devices; anda control unit for controlling the supply of power by the power supply to the plurality of thrust-producing devices such that the plurality of thrust-producing devices generates a physical displacement of the at least one control surface in accordance with the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices to control movement of the vehicle. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the NMSET elements are integrated into the at least one control surface. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the at least one control surface is flexible. 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices generates the physical displacement of the at least one control surface by propelling gas through the at least one control surface, responsive to power-on of the plurality of thrust-producing devices. 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein: the at least one control surface includes a plurality of control surfaces; andthe control unit controls the supply of power to first thrust-producing devices formed on a first control surface and second thrust-producing devices formed on a second control surface such that the vehicle moves in a desired path. 14. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the control unit controls displacement of the plurality of control surfaces to maneuver the vehicle along a respective one or ones of a plurality of axes. 15. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the control unit separately controls the thrust-producing devices associated with respectively different control surfaces to individually control the physical displacement of each control surface. 16. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the control unit controls the supply of power to first thrust-producing devices formed on a first control surface and to further thrust-producing devices formed on further control surfaces to maneuver the vehicle along three axes. 17. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the plurality of control surfaces control said vehicle along a respective one or ones of a plurality of axes. 18. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one control surface is integrally formed into said vehicle. 19. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the at least one control surface is configured to be coupled to the vehicle by a hinge mechanism. 20. A non-transitory computer storage medium for execution on a processor to implement a method of controlling movement of a vehicle using a plurality of thrust-producing devices, the method comprising: forming at least one control surface using a plurality of thrust-producing devices, wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices is configured to propel a gas through the at least one control surface to produce thrust, and wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices is formed of Nano Molecular Solid-State Electrodynamic Thruster (NMSET) elements;controlling a supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices formed in the least one control surface; andgenerating a physical displacement of the at least one control surface in accordance with the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices to control movement of the vehicle. 21. A flight control system for controlling movement of an aircraft, comprising: at least one control surface of the aircraft;a plurality of thrust-producing devices embedded in the at least one control surface of the aircraft, wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices are configured to propel gas through the at least one control surface to produce thrust, and wherein the plurality of thrust-producing devices is formed of Nano Molecular Solid-State Electrodynamic Thruster (NMSET) elements;a power supply for supplying power to at least the plurality of thrust-producing devices; anda control unit for determining a flight path of the aircraft and for controlling the supply of power by the power supply to the plurality of thrust-producing devices such that the plurality of thrust-producing devices generate a physical displacement of the at least one control surface in accordance with the supply of power to the plurality of thrust-producing devices to control movement of the aircraft along the determined flight path.