Deployable UAV Wings for Compact Launch and Longer Endurance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current compact unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configurations are limited in flight range, endurance, and payload capacity, which restricts their mission capabilities and deployment options.
Innovation Solution
The UAV features a deployable design with telescoping wings and stabilizers, allowing for configuration changes from a compact to an expanded arrangement, enhancing aerodynamic efficiency and payload capacity through a sweeping gearbox, telescoping mechanism, and modular payload integration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the UAV uses a compact configuration with stowed wings and stabilizers, then the vehicle size and storage space are reduced, but the flight range and endurance are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV employs dynamically reconfigurable wings and stabilizers that can transition between stowed and deployed states. The wings include telescoping sections that extend the wingspan from a compact configuration to a full flight configuration, while the stabilizers pivot from a retracted position against the fuselage to a deployed position. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the UAV to optimize its aerodynamic properties for different flight phases, thereby extending flight endurance without permanently increasing vehicle size.
Solution Approach 2:
The wing structure incorporates nested telescoping sections where inner wing sections are housed within outer wing sections. When stowed, the wings occupy minimal space against the fuselage; when deployed, the inner sections extend outward to increase the effective wingspan. This nesting arrangement allows the UAV to achieve a large wingspan for extended endurance while maintaining a compact form factor for storage and transport.
2Volume of moving object
If the UAV uses a compact configuration with stowed wings and stabilizers, then the vehicle size is reduced, but the payload capacity is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV features dynamically deployable wings and stabilizers that transition from a compact stowed configuration to a full operational configuration. The telescoping wing sections and pivoting stabilizers allow the vehicle to expand its aerodynamic surface area when needed, providing sufficient lift and stability to carry larger payloads while maintaining a compact vehicle size for storage and transport.
3Use of energy by moving object
If the UAV uses deployable wings and stabilizers, then the aerodynamic efficiency is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV employs dynamically reconfigurable wings and stabilizers that can transition between stowed and deployed states. The wings include telescoping sections that extend the wingspan from a compact configuration to a full flight configuration, while the stabilizers pivot from a retracted position against the fuselage to a deployed position. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the UAV to optimize its aerodynamic properties for different flight phases, thereby extending flight endurance without permanently increasing vehicle size.
Solution Approach 2:
The wing structure is divided into multiple telescoping sections that can be extended or retracted independently. The stabilizers are segmented into movable components that can pivot relative to the fuselage. This segmentation allows for controlled deployment and reconfiguration, enabling the UAV to achieve optimal aerodynamic efficiency while managing the complexity through modular, independently controllable segments.
Data Source
AI summary
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having wings stowed against a fuselage of the UAV in a first arrangement is disclosed. Methods and systems for deploying the wings into a second arrangement are disclosed. For example, after a launch of the UAV, the UAV monitors for at least one pre-set condition. The at least one pre-condition being a pre-condition associated with deploying wings of the UAV into the second arrangement. Upon detecting the at least one pre-set condition, the wings of the UAV are deployed into a second arrangement. Deploying the wings comprises activating, in response to detecting the at least one pre-set condition associated with the UAV, a gearbox configured to transition the wings from the first arrangement to the second arrangement. Roll control may be maintained throughout launch and deployment.