The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 30, 1995
Filed:
May. 11, 1993
Robert J Flemming, Jr, Trumbull, CT (US);
Kenneth M Rosen, Guilford, CT (US);
Thomas W Sheehy, Hamden, CT (US);
United Technologies Corporation, Hartford, CT (US);
Abstract
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a toroidal fuselage and a rotor assembly including counter-rotating rotors coaxially mounted with respect to the toroidal fuselage incorporates ancillary aerodynamic structures aerodynamically configured and mounted in combination with the toroidal fuselage to provide a nose-down pitching moment to counteract the nose-up pitching moment generated by airflow over the toroidal fuselage during forward translational flight of the UAV. The ancillary aerodynamic structures have a cambered airfoil profile to provide high lifting forces. The ancillary aerodynamic structures may have centers of lift located significantly aft of the quarter-chord line of the airfoil, and are symmetrically mounted in combination with the lateral sides of the toroidal fuselage so that the centers of lift are located aftwardly of the fuselage axis of the toroidal fuselage in forward translational flight modes such that the ancillary aerodynamic structures generate a nose-down pitching moment to counteract the nose-up pitching moment due to airflow over the toroidal fuselage in forward translational flight. In a first embodiment, the ancillary aerodynamic structures are fixedly mounted in combination with the toroidal fuselage at a predetermined angle of incidence. In a second embodiment, the ancillary aerodynamic structures are rotatably mounted in combination with the toroidal fuselage to provide variable incidence ancillary aerodynamic structures for the UAV.