Shroud driven deployable flight surfaces and method
US11274907B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 28, 2020 |
| Grant date | Mar 15, 2022 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 12, 2040 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC F)Mechanical Engineering; Lighting; Heating
- CPC primaryF42B10/20
- WIPO fieldOther special machines
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A nose or tail assembly for a flight vehicle is provided in which the deployment of the canards or fins is driven by energy imparted by the shroud when it is released. A tip section is rotatably coupled to a base, and both are stowed in a volume between the shroud and nose/tail assembly. As the shroud is released, a drive feature engages the tip section to rotate and join the base to form a complete canard or fin. This eliminates the need for storing the canards or fins in or wrapped around the body and eliminates the need for a complex deployment mechanism occupying an internal volume of the body. Although viable for all sizes of flight vehicles, the shroud-driven deployment system scales to very small diameter vehicles in which internal volume is not available to store either flight surfaces or deployment mechanisms.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.