Unmanned aerial vehicle including secondary flight controls for speed-independent attitude control and axis-independent linear motion
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and method of operating the same is disclosed. The UAV includes an airframe, a set of primary flight controls connected to the airframe, and a set of secondary flight controls that comprises one or more thrusters connected to the airframe. The set of primary flight controls is operable to control an attitude and linear motion of the UAV in three spatial dimensions while the UAV is in flight. The set of secondary flight control is operable to control the attitude of the UAV in one or more of the three spatial dimensions in a speed-independent manner while the UAV is in flight. The airframe houses a flight controller that is configured to operate the set of primary flight controls and the set of secondary flight controls.
1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
an airframe;
a set of primary flight controls connected to the airframe, the set of primary flight controls being operable to control an attitude and linear motion of the UAV in three spatial dimensions throughout the flight envelope of the UAV, wherein the set of primary flight controls comprises a combination of fixed wing aircraft flight controls and rotorcraft flight controls; and
a set of secondary flight controls that comprises at least a first set of one or more thrusters connected to a front portion of the airframe and a second set of one or more thrusters connected to a rear portion of the airframe, the set of secondary flight controls being operable to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in any of the three spatial dimensions in a speed-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV, wherein at least two thrusters of the first set of one or more thrusters or the second set of one or more thrusters are multi-purpose thrusters each being independently configurable in different combinations to generate thrust in different directions and control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in any of the three spatial dimensions in the speed-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV;
wherein the airframe houses a flight controller that is connected to and configured to simultaneously operate the set of primary flight controls and the set of secondary flight controls, and wherein the UAV is a compound aircraft.
2 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the set of secondary flight controls is further operable to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in an axis-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV.
3 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the airframe further houses a source of thrust for the first set of one or more thrusters and the second set of one or more thrusters, the source of thrust comprising one or more of:
an on-board air compressor;
a high pressure gas reservoir;
a chemical combustion engine; or
bleed from a propulsion thrust.
4 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein at least one thruster of the first set of one or more thrusters or the second set of one or more thrusters comprises a fixed thruster.
5 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein a number of the second set of one or more thrusters is greater than a number of the first set of one or more thrusters.
6 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the first set of one or more thrusters and the second set of one or more thrusters are configured to collectively generate lateral movement of the UAV without rotation of the airframe.
7 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the fixed wing aircraft flight controls comprise one or more of:
canards;
ailerons;
an elevator; or
a rudder.
8 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the rotorcraft flight controls comprise one or more rotors.
9 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the rotorcraft flight controls comprise one or more rotors housed in a ring-shaped body, wherein the ring-shaped body is coupled to the airframe, and wherein the second set of one or more thrusters are coupled to the ring-shaped body.
10 . The UAV of claim 9 , wherein the one or more rotors are configured to control the linear motion of the UAV along the longitudinal axis of the UAV.
11 . The UAV of claim 9 , wherein the ring-shaped body is coupled to the rear portion of the airframe.
12 . A method performed by a flight controller of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that comprises an airframe, a set of primary flight controls connected to the airframe, and a set of secondary flight controls that comprises at least a first set of one or more thrusters connected to a front portion of the airframe and a second set of one or more thrusters connected to a rear portion of the airframe, wherein at least two thrusters of the first set of one or more thrusters or the second set of one or more thrusters are multi-purpose thrusters, and wherein the flight controller is housed in the airframe and is connected to and configured to simultaneously operate the set of primary flight controls and the set of secondary flight controls, the method comprising:
operating the set of primary flight controls to control an attitude and linear motion of the UAV in three spatial dimensions throughout the flight envelope of the UAV, wherein the set of primary flight controls comprises a combination of fixed wing aircraft flight controls and rotorcraft flight controls; and
operating the set of secondary flight controls to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in any of the three spatial dimensions in a speed-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV, wherein operating the set of secondary flight controls comprises independently configuring each of the multi-purpose thrusters in different combinations to generate thrust in different directions and control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in any of the three spatial dimensions in the speed-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV, and wherein the UAV is a compound aircraft.
13 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
operating the set of secondary flight controls to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in an axis-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV.
14 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
providing a source of thrust for the first set of one or more thrusters and the second set of one or more thrusters, the source of thrust comprising one or more of:
an on-board air compressor;
a high pressure gas reservoir;
a chemical combustion engine; or
bleed from a propulsion thrust.
15 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the multi-purpose thrusters comprise a combination of a fixed thruster and a rotatable thruster, and wherein operating the set of secondary flight controls comprises:
operating the combination of the one or more of the fixed thruster and the rotatable thruster to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in any of the three spatial dimensions in the speed-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV.
16 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
controlling lateral movement of the UAV without rotating the airframe based on operation of the first set of one or more thrusters and the second set of one or more thrusters.
17 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the rotorcraft flight controls comprise one or more rotors housed in a ring-shaped body, and wherein the ring-shaped body is coupled to the airframe, the method further comprising:
operating the one or more rotors to control the linear motion of the UAV along the longitudinal axis of the UAV.
18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the fixed wing aircraft flight controls comprise one or more of:
canards;
ailerons;
an elevator; or
a rudder, and wherein operating the set of primary flight controls comprises operating one or more of the canards, the ailerons, the elevator, or the rudder to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in the three spatial dimensions throughout the flight envelope of the UAV.
19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the second set of one or more thrusters are coupled to the ring-shaped body, and wherein operating the set of secondary flight controls comprises:
operating the second set of one or more thrusters to control the attitude and the linear motion of the UAV in any of the three spatial dimensions in the speed-independent manner throughout the flight envelope of the UAV.
20 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the ring-shaped body is coupled to the rear portion of the airframe.