Foldable Wing System For A Vehicle

Abstract

A multi-modal vehicle (“MMV”) 20 a - 20 d . The MMV 20 a - 20 d includes a fuselage 22 and a chassis 26 supporting at least three wheels 44 having deployed and stowed states. Extending away from the fuselage 22 is a canard wing system 28 and a main wing system 30 . The main wing system 30 includes an inboard portion 134 and an outboard portion 132 . The inboard portion 134 is pivotally connected to the fuselage 22 ; the outboard portion 132 is pivotally connected to the inboard portion 134 . The MMV 20 a - 20 d further includes a vertical thrust system 32 comprising a pair of ducted fans 100 that are incorporated into the fuselage 22 , and a dual-use thrust system 34 that is configured to transition between a first position for supplying vertical thrust and a second position for supplying a horizontal thrust. A controller 42 is configured to control the MMV operations, reconfigurations, or transitions.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A foldable main wing system comprising:
 a high-sweep angle delta wing in front of a low-sweep angle conventional wing.   
     
     
         2 . The foldable main wing system of  claim 1  further comprising:
 an inboard portion rotatably coupled to a fuselage; 
 an outboard portion rotatably coupled to the inboard portion; 
 a moveable split trailing edge on each of the inboard and outboard portions; and 
 a leading edge on each of the inboard and outboard portions, the leading edges configured to create vortices and to induce lift. 
 
     
     
         3 . The foldable wing system of  claim 2 , wherein the outboard portion is pivoted to be generally orthogonal to the inboard portion and the inboard portion is pivoted to be generally orthogonal to a horizontal plane of the fuselage. 
     
     
         4 . The foldable wing system of  claim 2 , wherein the outboard portion is pivoted to be generally orthogonal to the inboard portion and the inboard portion is generally parallel to a horizontal plane of the fuselage. 
     
     
         5 . The foldable wing system of  claim 2 , wherein the inboard and outboard portions extend laterally away from the fuselage.