The Boeing Company

Swift Engineering, Inc.

Other

Andrew R Streett

Ray A Stribling

Darren Scott Cokin

Richard William Aston

Robert Anthony Godlasky

Brett T Cope

John A Woleader

Hugh Cook

Marc Rocklinger

Xuewu Liu

Marc Louis Breen

Naoto Ogawa

Hugh Quenten Cook

Karen Ryder

Nate Ogawa

Justin Malone

Matthew Barrientos

Bryan Brown

Hugh Quenten Cook Jr

A vehicle skin, such as a composite skin for a UAV wing or other vehicle component, is co-cured with an array of solar cells to form a thin, lightweight, integrated skin structure. In one embodiment, an upper surface of the solar-cell array may be substantially coplanar with an upper surface of the composite skin. A coating, such as a spray-on fluorinated polymer coating, is applied to the upper surface of the integrated skin structure to protect the solar cells from the environment or other potentially harmful elements.

Composite vehicle skin co-cured with solar-cell array

A method of forming an injection-bonded joint includes providing a first part and a second part having a second part upper edge and a second part lower edge, and forming a chamber wall within a bondline region between mating surfaces of the first part and the second part. The chamber wall divides a bondline length of the bondline region and defines at least one adhesive chamber. The method further includes forming a bondline dam along each of the second part upper edge and the second part lower edge in a manner such that the chamber wall, the bondline dams, and the mating surfaces collectively enclose the adhesive chamber having a chamber upper edge and a chamber lower edge. The method also includes injecting a structural adhesive into the adhesive chamber through an injection port and discharging excess adhesive from the adhesive chamber through a bleed hole.

Structural assembly having injection-bonded joint and method of forming

A system for detecting a living being using electric fields may include sensors configured to generate and receive an electric field. The system may include at least one amplifier connected to at least one electrode of a sensor, a controller to operate the sensors, and a processor connected to the controller. The processor may output a signal representative of the presence or absence of a living being present in the electric fields or representative of a distance between the sensor and the living being. The sensors may be attached to a rigid or flexible substrate forming part of a skin that can be attached to a robot, a vehicle, or another moving or autonomous device to sense the presence of a living being near the device. The device may be configured to stop moving or to move to avoid the living being in the electric field.

Human sensing using electric fields, and associated systems and methods

A coated structure is provided that has a highly concentrated coating of carbon nanotubes so as to provide integrated thermal emissivity, atomic oxygen (AO) shielding and tailorable conductivity to the underlying surface, such as the surface of an aerospace vehicle, a solar array, an aeronautical vehicle or the like. A method of fabricating a coated structure is also provided in which a surface is coated with a coating having a relative high concentration of carbon nanotubes that is configured to provide integrated thermal emissivity, AO shielding and tailorable conductivity to the surface.

Carbon nanotube coated structure and associated method of fabrication

A casing for a battery assembly may include a first casing portion having a first base portion and a pair of first leg portions extending generally perpendicularly to the first base portion. At least one of the first leg portions may have a flared end. The casing may further include a second casing portion with a second base portion and a pair of second leg portions extending generally perpendicularly to the second base portion. At least one of the second leg portions may have a flat end. The casing portions are attached at a joint including the flat end attached to the flared end. In some embodiments, a battery assembly may include at least one power cell and a casing including a first casing portion and a second casing portion attached together at a joint. The joint may be under tension. The casing applies pressure to the power cell.

Power cell casing

A method of manufacturing a cone-shaped composite article may include providing unidirectional plies in a continuous arcuate shape in a flat pattern configured to wrap 360 degrees around a cone-shaped mandrel such that opposing ply ends of each unidirectional ply terminate at a ply seam. The method may further include laying up at least one inner sublaminate on the cone-shaped mandrel, the inner sublaminate containing at least four of the unidirectional plies having an inner stacking sequence with fiber angles of &#x2212;45, 90, 0, +45 degrees such that the inner sublaminate has a quasi-isotropic layup at any location of the inner sublaminate. The method may additionally include laying up at least one outer sublaminate in an outer stacking sequence being a mirror image of the at least one inner stacking sequence.

Method of manufacturing a spiral laminated structural cone

A system for measuring water quality parameters, such as pH, CO, alkalinity, and so forth, includes sensors or other measuring components integrated onto a circuit board. The circuit board may be contained within a submersible, watertight housing. A spectrophotometer may be located on the circuit board to measure the wavelength and intensity of light transmitted through the water being tested. Sensors for measuring salinity, pressure, temperature, or other properties may also be included on or near the circuit board. A microcontroller for processing these measurements is located on the circuit board. System components used to direct and filter the water, such as certain pumps, filters, and so forth, may be included in the housing off of the circuit board. Integrating the sensors and other measuring components onto a circuit board allows for a compact, low-cost water-quality-measuring system that is capable of making very accurate and precise measurements.

Spectrophotometric system for measuring water quality

A tailgate for a vehicle includes a plurality of modules, which may be interchangeable. The modules may include a removable storage tray, a cutting board, a grill, a refrigeration unit, a television, or speakers. The grill may include a grill base with control elements, at least one flame element, at least one heat spreader positioned over the flame element, and a grill grate positioned over the heat spreader. The tailgate may include removable or rotatable lids to cover the modules. A layer of insulation may be positioned around the grill base. The tailgate may include a funnel and a removable tray to collect debris from the grill.

Modular barbecue for vehicle tailgate

A transportable ground station for a UAV includes a container in which the UAV may be transported and housed. The container includes a wireless or contact-based recharging station that recharges the UAV's batteries or other power sources after the UAV returns from a mission. The recharging station may be directly or indirectly connected to one or more solar panels that generate energy to power the recharging station. The ground station may be deployed virtually anywhere, from any vehicle (e.g., plane, train, boat, truck, etc.), and may operate over an extended period of time without human intervention.

Transportable ground station for an unmanned aerial vehicle

This disclosure is directed to apparatuses, systems, and methods associated with the stowing, deploying, and deployment of a solar cell array. With reference to some exemplary embodiments this disclosure teaches apparatuses, systems, and methods directed to a solar cell array system that is a relatively lightweight, compact, and self-contained structure that securely stores, protects, and deploys the solar array. With reference to some exemplary embodiments this disclosure teaches apparatuses, systems, and methods for deploying a solar cell array that is held in the deployed configuration by self-contained compressive force and tensile force members such that no loads are carried through the solar cell panels.

Stowing or deploying a solar array

A VTOL aircraft includes at least one puller rotor and at least one pusher rotor. The VTOL aircraft, for example, may include three puller rotors and one pusher rotor. The combination of static puller and pusher rotors allows the rotors to remain in a fixed orientation (i.e., no moving mechanical axes are required) relative to the wings and fuselage of the VTOL aircraft, while being able to transition the aircraft from a substantially vertical flight path to a substantially horizontal flight path.

Vertical take-off and landing aircraft

A method and apparatus for deploying a group of panels. An apparatus comprises a group of panels in a folded configuration against a side of a spacecraft, a group of flexible members connected to the group of panels, and an interface system associated with the group of panels and the group of flexible members. The interface system is configured to move the group of panels from the folded configuration to a deployed configuration when the group of flexible members is extended from the spacecraft.

Component deployment system

A method of forming an injection-bonded joint may include forming a chamber wall within a bondline region between mating surfaces of a first part and a second part. The chamber wall may divide a bondline length and define at least one adhesive chamber. The method may include injecting a structural adhesive into the adhesive chamber through an injection port, and discharging excess adhesive from the adhesive chamber through a bleed hole.

Growing community of inventors

Sam Clemente, CA, United States of America

Andrew R Streett