초록 ▼

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be deployed from a small stowed package for flight and stowed back into the package after the flight is complete is disclosed. The UAV is retracted to a volume that is less than half of it's fully deployed volume. This allows the UAV to be transported to any desi

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be deployed from a small stowed package for flight and stowed back into the package after the flight is complete is disclosed. The UAV is retracted to a volume that is less than half of it's fully deployed volume. This allows the UAV to be transported to any desired field position on a truck or other convenient transportation. The UAV may also be launched from a ship deck. In a further aspect, the flexible deployment of the UAV will allow a single UAV to be used in place of multiple types of UAVs.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising a fuselage;a telescoping wing assembly comprising a telescoping axis, said wing assembly comprising two wings, each further comprising: a plurality of concentric tubular mast segments coaxial with said telescoping axis, said mast segments configured to

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising a fuselage;a telescoping wing assembly comprising a telescoping axis, said wing assembly comprising two wings, each further comprising: a plurality of concentric tubular mast segments coaxial with said telescoping axis, said mast segments configured to slide relative to adjacent mast segments;a plurality of ribs; anda plurality of skin segments each attached to at least one rib, said skin segments configured to slide relative to adjacent skin segments and said ribs configured to slide over at least on mast segment; anda wing root mechanism comprising: a vertical rotation pivot operatively coupling said wing assembly to said fuselage by a vertical rotation pin; anda horizontal rotation pivot operatively coupled to the telescoping wing assembly between the two wings and operatively coupled to the vertical rotation pivot by a horizontal rotation pin oriented perpendicularly to said vertical rotation pin, said vertical rotation pivot allowing said wing assembly to rotate around said vertical rotation pin between a stowed position in which the telescoping axis is parallel to an axis of the fuselage and a deployed position in which the telescoping axis is perpendicular to the axis of the fuselage, said horizontal rotation pivot allowing the wing assembly to tilt as a unit around said horizontal rotation pin into the stowed position. 2. The UAV of claim 1, wherein the fuselage further comprises: a front portion on one side of the wing root mechanism; anda tail portion on the opposite side of the wing root mechanism, said tail portion comprising a plurality of telescoping concentric tubular mast segments. 3. The UAV of claim 2, further comprising an empennage assembly rotatably attached to an end of the tail portion opposite the wing root mechanism. 4. The UAV of claim 1, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 14 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 51″×21″×12″. 5. The UAV of claim 1, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 8 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 40″×21″×12″. 6. The UAV of claim 1, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 14.8 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 53.5″×38″×26″. 7. The UAV of claim 1, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 22 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 80″×40″×22″. 8. The UAV of claim 1, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 27 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 100″×48″×35″. 9. The UAV of claim 1 further comprising one or more imaging sensor devices. 10. A fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising: a fuselage;a telescoping wing assembly having a telescoping axis, said wing assembly comprising two wings each further comprising: a plurality of concentric tubular mast segments coaxial with said telescoping axis, said mast segments configured to slide relative to adjacent mast segments;a plurality of ribs; anda plurality of skin segments each attached to at least one rib, said skin segments configured to slide relative to adjacent skin segments and said ribs configured to slide over at least on mast segment;a wing root fitting further comprising: a vertical rotation pivot operatively coupled to the fuselage by a vertical rotation pin; anda horizontal rotation pivot operatively coupled to the telescoping wing assembly between the two wings and operatively coupled to the vertical rotation pivot by a horizontal rotation pin oriented perpendicularly to said vertical rotation pin, said vertical rotation pivot allowing the wing assembly to rotate around said vertical rotation pin between a position in which the telescoping axis is parallel to an axis of the fuselage and a position in which the telescoping axis is perpendicular to the axis of the fuselage and said horizontal rotation pivot allowing the wing assembly to tilt around said horizontal rotation pin. 11. The UAV of claim 10, wherein the fuselage further comprises: a front portion on one side of the wing root fitting; anda tail portion on the opposite side of the wing root fitting, said tail portion further comprising a plurality of concentric tubular mast segments. 12. The UAV of claim 11, further comprising an empennage assembly rotatably attached to an end of the tail portion opposite the wing root fitting. 13. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 14 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 51″×21″×12″. 14. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 8 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 40″×21″×12″. 15. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 14.8 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 53.5″×38″×26″. 16. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 22 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 80″×40″×22″. 17. The UAV of claim 11, wherein the wingspan of the wing assembly when fully extended is approximately 27 feet and further wherein the wing assembly when fully retracted has a wingspan such that the UAV may be stowed in a case with dimensions of approximately 100″×48″×35″. 18. The UAV of claim 10, wherein said mast segments further comprise latch fittings for controlling a sliding motion of the mast segments as the telescoping wing assembly is retracted or deployed. 19. The UAV of claim 18, wherein each latch fitting further comprises: a latch receptacle mounted to the inside of one end of a mast segment, said latch receptacle further comprising cutout pockets on either side of the latch receptacle; anda latch pawl mounted to the outside of one end of an adjoining mast segment, said latch pawl further comprising pins which engage with the cutout pockets of the latch receptacle. 20. The UAV of claim 10, further comprising a means of propulsion. 21. The UAV of claim 20 further comprising solar cells attached to a surface of the UAV to power the means of propulsion. 22. The UAV of claim 10 further comprising one or more imaging sensor devices.