Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems and Methods of Use

Abstract

An improved unmanned aerial vehicular system having a rotor head assembly with any balanced number of rotary wings or blades, a generally tubular body assembly, a gimballed neck connecting the head to the body, and a navigation, communications and control unit such as for military and humanitarian operations, including payload delivery and pickup. The vehicle is generally guided using a global positioning satellite signal, and by pre-programmed or real time targeting. The vehicle is generally electrically powered and may be launched by one of (a) hand-launch, (b) air-drop, (c) catapult, (d) tube-launch, or (e) sea launch, and is capable of landing on both static and dynamic targets. Once launched, unmanned aerial vehicles may be formed into arrays on a target area and find use in surveillance, warfare, and in search-and-rescue operations.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for deploying a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles onto a target area, which comprises:
 (a) providing a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles;   (b) mapping an array onto a target area, said array comprising a plurality of nodes, and programming each of said plurality of vehicles to navigate under GPS control to a designated node;   (c) launching said plurality of vehicles into the air and dispersing them as a swarm at an altitude effective for achieving a controlled descent flight mode; and,   (d) landing said vehicles under controlled descent flight mode on the designated nodes of said array and   (e) effecting array operations.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of said plurality of vehicles is a queen having a communications link with a remote control workstation and a majority of said plurality of vehicles are swarm vehicles. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising transmitting sensor data from one or more of said swarm vehicles to said queen, and further wherein said queen processes or relays said sensor data to said remote control workstation. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 2 , further comprising designating a backup queen. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 2 , comprising transmitting data from said swarm vehicles to a remote control workstation. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said swarm is launched by one of (a) hand-launch, (b) air-drop, (c) catapult, or (d) tube-launch. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein flying in controlled descent flight mode and landing said vehicles under controlled descent flight mode on the designated nodes of said array comprises actuating one or more aerodynamic control surfaces for navigating under GPS control, said aerodynamic control surfaces comprising a rotor head having a fixed pitch rotary wing combined with a gimballed neck, a rotor head having a variable pitch rotary wing, a rotor head having duplex counter-rotating rotary wings, a rotor head having a vane or vanes, a fuselage having a winglet or an accessory rotor. 
     
     
         8 . An unmanned vehicular system for airborne deployment, which comprises:
 (a) a rotor head assembly comprising at least one lift-generating mechanism, said lift generating mechanism comprising fixed-pitch rotary wings or blades rotatingly mounted on said rotary head assembly and a gear linkage to a power source for rotating said wings or blades during flight, said rotor head assembly having an apical aspect and an inferior aspect;   (b) a vehicle body assembly wherein said vehicle body is aerodynamic in shape with a center Z-axis generally normal to the horizon in flight,   (c) a gimballed neck coupling said inferior aspect of said rotor head assembly to said vehicle body assembly, said gimballed neck comprising gimbal bias elements enabled to articulate the pitch attitude of said rotor head assembly relative to an X-Y plane transverse to said center Z-axis of said vehicle body assembly so as to effect directional control of flight; and,   (d) a digital navigation and control system for directing flight.   
     
     
         9 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A method for deploying a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles onto a target area, which comprises:
 (a) providing a plurality of unmanned aerial vehicles;   (b) mapping an array onto a target area, said array comprising a plurality of nodes, and programming each of said plurality of vehicles to navigate under GPS control to a designated node;   (c) launching said plurality of vehicles into the air and dispersing them as a swarm at an altitude effective for achieving a controlled ascent and hover flight mode;   (d) flying said vehicles to the designated nodes of said array and hovering thereover or landing thereon; and   (e) effecting array operations.   
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein at least one of said plurality of vehicles is a queen having a communications link with a remote control workstation and a majority of said plurality of vehicles are swarm vehicles. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , comprising transmitting sensor data from one or more of said swarm vehicles to said queen, and further wherein said queen processes or relays said sensor data to said remote control workstation. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 28 , further comprising designating a backup queen. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 27 , comprising transmitting data from said unmanned aerial vehicles to a remote control workstation. 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 27 , comprising transmitting flight commands from a remote control workstation to said unmanned aerial vehicles. 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein said swarm is launched by one of (a) hand-launch, (b) air-drop, (c) catapult, (d) tube-launch, or (e) sea launch. 
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 27 , wherein flying in controlled ascent flight mode and landing or hovering said vehicles on the designated nodes of said array comprises actuating one or more aerodynamic control surfaces for navigating under GPS control, said aerodynamic control surfaces comprising a rotor head having a fixed pitch rotary wing combined with a gimballed neck, a rotor head having a variable pitch rotary wing, a rotor head having duplex counter-rotating rotary wings, a rotor head having a vane or vanes, a fuselage having a winglet or an accessory rotor. 
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34 , wherein at least one of said plurality of vehicles is a vehicle of  claim 8 .