| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 244218000 | Area | 13 |
| 20090026321 | MORPHING AIRCRAFT WITH TELESCOPIC LIFTING AND CONTROL SURFACES - A morphing aircraft includes a lifting body and a telescopic lifting or control surface, such as a wing, coupled to the lifting body. The lifting surface is deployable between extended and retracted positions relative to the lifting body and configured such that, when disposed in the extended position, the flight characteristics of the aircraft correspond to those of a low-speed, high-lift aircraft, and when disposed in the retracted position, the flight characteristics of the air-craft correspond to those of a high-speed, low-lift aircraft, the lifting surface is disposed entirely within the lifting body, and an outboard end surface of the lifting surface blends continuously into an outer mold line surface of the lifting body. | 01-29-2009 |
| 20090072094 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR ADJUSTABLE SURFACES - Methods and apparatus for systems having deployable elements according to various aspects of the present invention comprise a system including a deployable surface and an adaptive actuator including a polymer foam. In one embodiment, the system comprises a vehicle including a deployable wing comprising an exterior surface. The exterior surface may be adjusted by adjusting the shape, size, position, and/or orientation of the adaptive actuator. | 03-19-2009 |
| 20090166477 | Telescoping wing and airfoil control mechanism - This invention relates generally to a collapsible, nesting wing structure with or without wing warp flight control. The invention also incorporates means to maintain wing extension during flight, methods of wing construction for nesting collapsible wings, and control surfaces for collapsible wings. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090283643 | SHAPE-CHANGING STRUCTURE MEMBER WITH EMBEDDED SPRING - A shape-changing structural member has a shape-changing material, such as a suitable foam material, for example a polymer foam capable of withstanding at least 300% strain or a metal alloy foam capable of withstanding at least 5% strain. Springs, such as one or more coil springs, provide structural support for the shape-changing material. The springs may also be used to provide forces to expand and contract the shape change material. The springs may include pairs of concentric springs, one inside of another. The concentric springs may surround an underlying skeleton structure that supports the shape-changing material and/or aids in changing the shape of the material. The concentric springs may or may not be wrapped around the underlying skeleton structure. Multiple springs or pairs of springs may be coupled together using a sheet metal connector. | 11-19-2009 |
| 20100084516 | Retractable Aircraft Wing Tip - Apparatus and methods provide for the use of retractable aircraft wing tips to increase the wingspan of an aircraft to decrease drag and increase fuel efficiency. According to various embodiments, a flexible lifting envelope is attached to an outboard end of an aircraft wing. Upon receiving pressurized air, the flexible lifting envelope extends outward to a lift-producing configuration that extends the span of the aircraft wing to which it is attached. When deflated, the flexible lifting envelope retracts into a stowed configuration to decrease the wingspan of the aircraft to allow for parking at airport gates or to alleviate flight loads. Various implementations provide for a telescoping wing tip and for a rolled wing tip. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100127130 | RECONFIGURABLE WING AND METHOD OF USE - A reconfigurable air vehicle wing may be selectively reconfigured to increase its chord. The wing has a leading edge portion and a trailing edge portion that are moved relative to one another to change the chord of the wing. The wing may be reconfigured from a compact configuration with a smaller chord, to and expanded configuration with a larger chord. The wing may include a foam material that forms part of the outer surface of the wing when the wing is in the expanded configuration. The foam may be a shape memory foam. Alternatively the leading edge section and the trailing edge section may be composed substantially fully of rigid materials. In either case the trailing edge section may be hingedly coupled to the leading edge section. | 05-27-2010 |
| 20100148011 | TELESCOPING STRUCTURE AND METHOD - A telescoping structure includes an alignment mechanism to keep aligned an inner structure member and outer structure member, as the members translate relative to one another to extend or retract the telescoping structure. The alignment mechanism includes multiple parts that are mechanically coupled to respective of the structure members. For example, the alignment mechanism may include sprockets or pinions (rotating, toothed elements) on one of the structure members that engage racks or chains (linear, tooth-receiving elements having recesses therein) on the other of the structure members. By keeping the telescoping structure members in alignment with other during telescoping translation, jamming is prevented or at least made less likely. The parts of the alignment mechanism may also be used to provide force for extending or retracting the telescoping structure, for example using a motor move the tooth elements and/or the tooth-receiving elements to cause relative translation of the structure members. | 06-17-2010 |
| 20100282917 | Aerial vehicle with variable aspect ratio deployable wings - Embodiments of the present invention relate a wing arrangement for an aerial vehicle configured to adjust the vehicles aspect ratio in response to flight mission parameters. The wing arrangement may include a pair of wing assemblies capable of deploying to a first winged position defining a first aspect ratio. Each wing assembly may have a forward inboard wing pivotally connected to the fuselage and an aft inboard wing pivotally connected to the carriage. The forward inboard wing and aft inboard wing of each assembly may be connected, forming a bi-plane configuration. Additionally, the each assembly may include a set of outboard wings configured to telescope from the inboard wings to an extended winged position defining a second aspect ratio greater than the first aspect ratio. | 11-11-2010 |
| 20110001016 | Telescoping and sweeping wing that is reconfigurable during flight - An aircraft wing includes a stationary root section and a telescoping end section slideable in the span wise direction, where the loads for the root and extendable end sections are carried predominately by the airfoil composite skins, rather than a framework of spars and ribs as in conventional aircraft wings. In a single-telescoping configuration the telescoping end section slides within the root section as it extends and retracts during flight, and in another, the telescoping end section slides over the root section as it extends and retracts during flight. The aircraft wing can also include a second telescoping distal end section, and can sweep back during flight, while the end sections or distal end sections are extended or retracted. | 01-06-2011 |
| 20110315826 | RAM AIR INFLATING LIFTING BODY - The invention relates to an improved ram air inflating lifting body ( | 12-29-2011 |
| 20130075538 | Transport Aircraft Hull Attachment System - An aircraft hull attachment device may be configured for attachment to a fuselage of an aircraft. The aircraft hull attachment device can include one or more floats to enable the aircraft to operate on water. The aircraft hull attachment device can also include a structure such as, for example, a saddle-shaped structure, for mounting the device against a bottom region of a fuselage of the aircraft. Upon being operatively coupled to the aircraft, the aircraft hull attachment device can convert an aircraft previously configured to operate only on ground landing strips into an aircraft configured to operate on water landing strips. Additionally or alternatively, the device can include a water tank and a water-tank door to enable the aircraft to which the device is mounted to perform in-flight water drops (e.g., during fire fighting aerial operations). | 03-28-2013 |
| 20160083074 | Horizontal Folding Wingtip - An apparatus of an aircraft, the apparatus may include a wing comprising an unfixed portion and a fixed portion. The unfixed portion movably may connect to the fixed portion. The unfixed portion may include a rotating portion to rotate the unfixed portion between a flight position and a folded position. The fixed portion may connect to the unfixed portion of the wing. A joint may allow rotation of the unfixed portion of the wing with respect to the fixed portion of the wing about a rotation axis. | 03-24-2016 |
| 20160176502 | Morphing Foil or Wing | 06-23-2016 |
