Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
244003000 | Trains | 9 |
20080223976 | Space vehicle launch system - A space vehicle launch system is proposed which utilizes a vacuum filled lighter than air vessel to lift a rocket powered vehicle to a high altitude where the vehicle can easily blast into outer space. The main advantages of this system are that, first, the rocket would not need to carry a large mass of fuel, and, therefore, this system would be much safer than the state of the art. Second, the vehicle would be lifted slowly through the atmosphere, and would not suffer any damage due to abrupt acceleration or air friction. | 09-18-2008 |
20100237183 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR THE RETRIEVAL OF A SMALLER UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE BY A LARGER UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE - A system and method are provided for using a first aircraft to retrieve a second aircraft. The first aircraft is typically larger than the second aircraft. A minimum airspeed of the first aircraft is typically greater than a maximum airspeed of the second aircraft. The first aircraft flies in a substantially circular pattern and extends a tow line, such that the tow line forms a substantially helical shape behind and below the first aircraft. Due to the helical shape, there is at least one point along the extended tow line at which the speed of the tow line is substantially equal to the speed of the second aircraft. The second aircraft can readily latch onto the tow line at that point, thereby minimizing potential damage otherwise caused by differential airspeeds. | 09-23-2010 |
20100327104 | DEVICE FOR MAINTAINING THE ALTITUDE OF A PAYLOAD HAVING AN ALTITUDE-MAINTENANCE ENERGY SOURCE THAT IS PERMANENT AND EXTRACTED FROM THE SURROUNDING MEDIUM - A device for permanently maintaining the altitude of a payload the altitude-maintenance energy source of which is practically permanent and extracted from the medium includes at least two gliding bodies connected together by at least one physical link and being, in use, at different altitudes relative to the ground and for which the instantaneous winds have, practically permanently, different characteristics, and further includes a system for controlling the respective attitudes of these two bodies. | 12-30-2010 |
20110006151 | AERIAL RECOVERY OF SMALL AND MICRO AIR VEHICLES - A method, apparatus, system, and computer system to facilitate aerial recovery of an air vehicle are disclosed. In various embodiments, a drogue is established in a drogue recovery orbit and an air vehicle is recovered with the drogue. Establishment of the drogue in a drogue recovery orbit may include establishment of a mothership in a mothership recovery orbit or actuating control surfaces on the drogue. Recovering the air vehicle may include maneuvering the drogue and the air vehicle in a cooperative manner to facilitate recovery of the air vehicle or utilizing a homing device on the drogue to guide the air vehicle. The various techniques disclosed may be modified to compensate for wind. | 01-13-2011 |
20110024548 | LAUNCHING SYSTEM AND LAUNCHING APPARATUS - A flying object capable of being launched in air is detachably mounted on a wing body of a launching apparatus. The launching apparatus is towed by an aircraft through a cable so as to be run and taken off. After raising the launching apparatus to a launching height of the flying object by the aircraft, the flying object is released from the wing body in air and then the flying object is ignited and launched in air in a launching system. The system for launching in air can be developed without newly developing a platform as a mother ship so that a research cost can be remarkably reduced. In the case that a small artificial satellite is installed in a flying object, it is possible to develop an artificial satellite smoothly and quickly applicable to security matters and disaster observation. | 02-03-2011 |
20130008998 | TOWABLE AIR VEHICLE - An unmanned, towable aerovehicle is described and includes a container to hold cargo, an autogyro assembly connected to the container and to provide flight characteristics, and a controller to control operation the autogyro assembly for unmanned flight. The container includes a connection to connect to a powered aircraft to provide forward motive force to power the autogyro assembly. In an example, the autogyro assembly includes a mast extending from the container, a rotatable hub on an end of the mast, and a plurality of blades connected to the hub for rotation to provide lift to the vehicle. In an example, an electrical motor rotates the blades prior to lift off to assist in take off. The electrical motor does not have enough power to sustain flight of the vehicle. | 01-10-2013 |
20140061363 | TOWABLE AEROVEHICLE SYSTEM WITH AUTOMATED TOW LINE RELEASE - An unmanned, towable aerovehicle is described and includes a container to hold cargo, an autogyro assembly connected to the container and to provide flight characteristics, and a controller to control operation the autogyro assembly for unmanned flight. The container includes a connection to connect to a powered aircraft to provide forward motive force to power the autogyro assembly. In an example, the autogyro assembly includes a mast extending from the container, a rotatable hub on an end of the mast, and a plurality of blades connected to the hub for rotation to provide lift to the vehicle. In an example, an electrical motor rotates the blades prior to lift off to assist in take off. The electrical motor does not have enough power to sustain flight of the vehicle. | 03-06-2014 |
20140252156 | High Altitude Aircraft, Aircraft Unit and Method for Operating an Aircraft Unit - A high-altitude unmanned stratosphere aerial vehicle includes a fuselage, wings, control surfaces, and a propulsion system including an engine and a propeller. Each wing has a plurality of hoses and wing spars extending in a direction perpendicularly to the longitudinal fuselage axis and are surrounded by a skin forming a wing covering that determines the cross-sectional contour of the wing, the cross-sectional contour forming a laminar flow airfoil that generates high lift when there is low flow resistance. At the free end facing away from the fuselage, each wing has a winglet extending transversely to the longitudinal wing axis. The winglet has a movable control surface, which allows an aerodynamic side force to be generated so as to bring the aerial vehicle to a banked position. | 09-11-2014 |
20150021428 | PRESSURE-EQUALIZING CRADLE FOR BOOSTER ROCKET MOUNTING - A launch system and method improve the launch efficiency of a booster rocket and payload. A launch aircraft atop which the booster rocket is mounted in a cradle, is flown or towed to an elevation at which the booster rocket is released. The cradle provides for reduced structural requirements for the booster rocket by including a compressible layer, that may be provided by a plurality of gas or liquid-filled flexible chambers. The compressible layer contacts the booster rocket along most of the length of the booster rocket to distribute applied pressure, nearly eliminating bending loads. Distributing the pressure eliminates point loading conditions and bending moments that would otherwise be generated in the booster rocket structure during carrying. The chambers may be balloons distributed in rows and columns within the cradle or cylindrical chambers extending along a length of the cradle. The cradle may include a manifold communicating gas between chambers. | 01-22-2015 |