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:
Jul. 07, 2009
Filed:
Feb. 22, 2005
Mark A. Page, Cypress, CA (US);
Doug Mclarty, San Juan Capistrano, CA (US);
Adrian Fazio, Lake Forest, CA (US);
Christian Durand, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Bob Emerick, Murrieta, CA (US);
Mark A. Page, Cypress, CA (US);
Doug McLarty, San Juan Capistrano, CA (US);
Adrian Fazio, Lake Forest, CA (US);
Christian Durand, Mission Viejo, CA (US);
Bob Emerick, Murrieta, CA (US);
Swift Engineering, Inc., San Clemente, CA (US);
Abstract
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is provided, that is cost effective to use and manufacture and that includes a low count of component parts, allowing mission planners to use the UAVs in a disposable manner. The UAV includes an airframe having a central body and wings extending from the central body, defining an interior cavity. The airframe includes an upper and a lower shell, each configured of a unitary piece of plastic. The upper and lower shells have walls among them that define a fuel tank and a payload bay in a stacked configuration. The airframe can further include a payload cover configured to enclose the payload bay and to contribute to the central body of the airframe. A launch assembly is also provided. In a first configuration, a launch assembly is provided, that includes a container for housing multiple UAVs and a deployment mechanism that initiates rapid ejection of the UAVs from the container. In a second configuration, a launch assembly is provided, that includes an elastic tether connecting a UAV to an accelerated mass for gentle acceleration to flight speed under a stable tow.