Parachute architecture for low-altitude VTOL aircraft

US11273919B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• Kitty Hawk Corporation · US

Inventors

• Craig Western · San Francisco, US
• Amy Qian · Sunnyvale, US
• Damon Vander Lind · East Palo Alto, US
• Timothy Mattson · San Jose, US
• Eric Miller · Oakland, US
• Peter A. Swan · Paradise Valley, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Sep 4, 2019
• Grant date: Mar 15, 2022
• Expiry date: Nov 3, 2040

Classification

• Technology area (CPC B): Performing Operations; Transporting
• CPC primary: B64D17/725
• WIPO field: Transport
• WIPO sector: Mechanical engineering

Abstract

In an embodiment, a system to deploy a plurality of parachutes includes a plurality of parachute canopies each packed in a canister, a plurality of rockets adapted to extract an associated canopy from the canister, and a controller. The controller is configured to determine that an aircraft is at least one of: in a hover mode of operation and a forward flight mode of operation. In response to the determination that the aircraft is in the hover mode of operation, the controller applies a hover deployment sequence including by instructing the plurality of parachutes to deploy substantially simultaneously. In response to the determination that the aircraft is in the forward mode of operation and above a threshold airspeed, the controller applies a forward deployment sequence including by instructing the plurality of parachutes to deploy in a predefined sequence.