US 11,939,050 B2
Autonomous thrust vectoring ring wing pod
Kevin Morris, Hawkesbury (CA); Nicholas Brodeur, Beaconsfield (CA); and Carlos Fenny, Fort Worth, TX (US)
Assigned to Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed by Textron Innovations Inc., Providence, RI (US)
Filed on Sep. 2, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/446,782.
Application 17/446,782 is a continuation of application No. 16/183,899, filed on Nov. 8, 2018, granted, now 11,130,568.
Prior Publication US 2022/0048618 A1, Feb. 17, 2022
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B64C 29/00 (2006.01); B64C 11/00 (2006.01); B64C 11/46 (2006.01); B64U 10/20 (2023.01); B64U 30/297 (2023.01); B64U 50/14 (2023.01); B64U 50/19 (2023.01)
CPC B64C 29/0033 (2013.01) [B64C 11/001 (2013.01); B64C 11/46 (2013.01); B64U 10/20 (2023.01); B64U 30/297 (2023.01); B64U 50/14 (2023.01); B64U 50/19 (2023.01)] 21 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An autonomous pod, comprising:
a rotation member configured to rotate freely about a rotation axis;
a support member operably coupled to the rotation member, wherein the support member includes a first support member disposed on a first plane and a second support member disposed on a second plane different from the first plane, wherein the first support member and the second support member are disposed within a ring wing pod;
a plurality of thrusters operably coupled to the support member, each thruster configured to provide a variable thrust output, wherein a first group of the plurality of thrusters is operably coupled to the first support member and a second group of the plurality of thrusters is operably coupled to the second support member; and
a controller configured to vary the thrust output of each thruster to rotate the support member about the rotation axis.