"The invention can be used on such aircraft as fighters, transport planes, strategic bombers, etc.," the patent text says.MOSCOW, November 15.
/TASS/. United Aircraft Corporation (UAC, part of Rostec State Corporation) has patented a mooring system for aircraft, with which it is possible to capture and remove unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on the fly into the onboard compartment, as well as release them. This follows from the patent for the invention distributed by the Federal Institute of Industrial Property (available to TASS).
"The invention relates to aircraft construction and can be used in the design of equipping aircraft with unmanned aerial vehicles, namely, to the system and method of capturing and cleaning an unmanned aerial vehicle into the cargo compartment of an aircraft, as well as to the mooring node of this system. <...> The invention can find application on such aircraft as fighters, transport aircraft, strategic bombers, etc.," the text of the patent says.
System Features
The basis of the system is a folding frame, the fastening part of which is fixed in the internal space of the cargo compartment of the aircraft and connected by a rotary part to the spatial frame. The spatial frame consists of two parallel beams connected by arc-shaped transverse elements. In addition, the system includes a mooring cone, as well as a primary contact cone fixed to the end of the cable, the other end of which is fixed to the winding device.
When approaching the UAV, the aircraft throws out a folding frame from the cargo compartment, after which a cable with a cone of primary contact at the end is released. The drone must fly up to this cone, lock onto it with a contact pin and lock into it, after which the cable will begin to tighten. The developers point to the need to equip the UAV with a cable tension control system that would ensure its calculated tension and reduce the likelihood of rocking if this tension is exceeded.
When the UAV comes under the arc of the frame, laid out at an angle of three degrees to the horizontal plane, the cone of primary contact enters the mooring cone and is fixed in it by grippers. After that, the frame deviates by three degrees to the horizontal plane, as a result of which the locks on the frame are coupled with the mating parts on the drone. When the mooring of the drone is finished, the frame is folded, removing it into the cargo compartment of the aircraft and locking the locks of the retracted position.
The developers note that the system can also be used to separate the drone when flying at any altitude, however, during this process, the UAV is fixed in the system by a compression mechanism, and not by a contact pin in the primary contact cone. "After issuing a command to separate the unmanned aerial vehicle, the folding frame is unfolded, after which the engines of the unmanned aerial vehicle are started, its wings are opened, all necessary systems are launched, and after receiving a command about the normal functioning of all systems, the command to separate is confirmed, the locks located on the spatial frame are opened, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is separated from a folding frame," the document says.
