Abstract:
Presented is a system to launch, carry and recover aerial vehicles with a portal circular synthetic runway formed by a moving pad which is equivalent to flying carpet in the ancient tale. Based on the fact that during the process of takeoff, landing or being carried, an aircraft only needs be supported from limited space directly underneath (or above) it, a pad (or a beam or a cable), which is acting as carriage and moving in unison with an aircraft, can be used to provide the same structural support as what&#39;s rendered by conventional runway or transportation vehicle. Circular structure of the synthetic runway makes such a device compact and portable.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     None. 
     TECHNICAL FIELD 
     This invention generally relates to runway for aircrafts to takeoff and land, and specifically provides a system and method to construct flying carpet like circular synthetic runway, which is small and light weight therefore portable. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The basic concept of launching an aircraft by attaching it to a structure which revolves about a fixed axis and subsequently releasing it from the structure is well known in the art. 
     In civilian space, due to population growth, urban sprawl, etc., many airports disappeared, and available land which is suitable for commercial and recreational (e.g., radio controlled model airplanes) runway becomes less and less. In military space, battlefields are dynamic and fluid, and there are often cases that nearby airfields are desirable but not practical or feasible. 
     Previously, some exemplary ways to launch and recover unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are: throwing light-weight UAV by hand to launch it and landing it on its underbelly; Launching UAV by catapult and recovering it by net. Obviously larger and heavier UAV cannot be launched by hand. There are risks with catching UAV by net: UAV might be damaged during impact with net; UAV might fall to ground in case that it gets out of grip of net. 
     The present invention is inspired by folk tale Flying Carpet (also called Magic Carpet) from One Thousand and One Nights. While flying carpet was used to transport people in the tale, the invention here devises a flying carpet like device for takeoff, landing and general carrying purpose. Such a moving device forms a portable synthetic runway. 
     In the Thomas J. Gregory patent, U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,206, the invention provides a method and apparatus for launching a remotely piloted aircraft is disclosed wherein the aircraft, is revolved about a fixed pivot point until a pretermined speed is reached whereupon the vehicle is released from the launching apparatus. The vehicle is attached to one end of a rotatable arm, the imbalance on the arm being counteracted by a counter weight attached to the opposite end. The counter weight is released from the arm at the same time as the aircraft so as to avoid structural damage to the apparatus caused by rotation in the unbalanced condition. The arm is oriented such that it rotates in a plane inclined obliquely to the local gravitational field of the launch site. The supporting structure for the arm may be made stationary, or may be attached to a mobile vehicle for ground transportation. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 8,028,952 B2 issued on Oct. 4, 2011 to James M. Urnes, Sr. disclosed a system to launch and recover an UAV aircraft has a pole member attached to a deck of a ship. An arm member is attached to the pole member and extends away from the pole member in an approximately horizontal direction. The arm member is able to move rotationally and vertically on the pole member. An attachment mechanism is attached to a distal end of the arm member for holding and capturing the UAV aircraft. Momentum of the UAV aircraft causes the arm member to move rotationally around and vertically on the pole member when the UAV aircraft is coupled to the attachment mechanism. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,989,206 fails to at least teach or suggest how to land a flying vehicle using the same device or set of apparatus. Furthermore, it has a launching step that requires releasing counterweight at the same time when aircraft is released. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 8,028,952 B2 does not have a built-in balancing mechanism, instead it relies on weight of the ship to counter the imbalance caused by rotating UAV, therefore it&#39;s not portable. Furthermore, it does not provide means for UAV to land on conventional wheels. 
     The present invention is capable of both launching and landing aircraft, and is portable since the system can be easily setup when it&#39;s moved to a new location. Also the present invention does not require throwing away counterweight, thus poses no hazard associated with fast moving counterweight. Both taking off and landing on conventional wheels, and taking off and landing by hooking to top of aircraft are supported. There are also several other utilities built in the present invention to facilitate aircraft to take off and land. There are mechanisms to extend rotation radius to reduce path curvature to make it easier for the landing aircraft to follow the landing path. There are wings attached to the landing pads to generate lift to help support weight of aircrafts and maintain dynamic balance of the system. The present invention is also capable of launching and recovering 2 aircrafts simultaneously and none of these references presented this capability. This capability can be very useful in urgent battle field situations. Thus the present invention is seen to patentably distinguish over each of these references alone or in combination. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention as claimed has utility in that it provides a device and method to construct portable synthetic runway and landing pad. 
     It is an objective of this invention to provide a device that provides a convenient way to launch and recover of aerial vehicles, especially unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). 
     It is an objective of this invention to provide a device that provides a portable way to launch and recover of aerial vehicles, especially unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). 
     It is also an objective of this invention to provide a device that is versatile due to its portability when compared to conventional runways. 
     In accordance with the exemplary embodiments thereof described herein, the present invention provides a device and method to construct a portable circular synthetic runway formed by a moving pad which is equivalent to a flying carpet in the ancient tale. 
     Based on the fact that during the process of takeoff, landing or being carried, an aircraft only needs be supported from limited space directly underneath (or above) it, a pad (or a beam or a cable), which is acting as carriage and moving in unison with an aircraft, can be used to provide the same structural support as what&#39;s rendered by conventional runway or transportation vehicle. 
     It is a further objective to provide a launching structure which launches the aircraft while at the same time provides easy access to the aircraft for servicing and maintenance. 
     It is an objective of this invention to provide a device and method to construct a portable circular synthetic runway and landing pad formed by a carriage. 
     It is an objective of this invention to provide a device and method to construct a portable circular synthetic runway and landing pad having indicia thereon, so the pilots can stylize each device for any work or social environment. 
     It is an objective of this invention to create a device and method to construct portable circular synthetic runway and landing pad that is easy to manufacture, reliable in operation, and relatively inexpensive to produce. 
     In addition to the above objects, various other objects of this invention will be apparent from careful reading of this specification including the detailed description contained herein below. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       These as well as other features of the present invention will become more apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals designate corresponding parts in the several figures summarized as follows: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a rotating arm. 
         FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the tilt pad and an aircraft attached. 
         FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the tilt pad and a hooked aircraft attached. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a pole. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a telescoping pole mechanism. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a soft cable with a pole. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a rotating arm. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a pole. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a telescoping pole mechanism. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a soft cable with a pole. 
     
    
    
     Other features and advantages of the invention will be become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, various features of the invention. 
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following detailed description and accompanying drawings are provided for purposes of illustrating and describing presently preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention in anyway. It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials, arrangements of parts or operational conditions which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art within the principles and the scope of the invention. 
       FIGS. 1-9  showing the various embodiments of the invention.  FIG. 1  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a rotating arm.  FIG. 2A  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing the tilt pad and an aircraft attached.  FIG. 2B  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the invention, showing the tilt pad and a hooked aircraft attached.  FIG. 3  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a pole.  FIG. 4  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a telescoping pole mechanism.  FIG. 5  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first tilt pad connected to a soft cable with a pole.  FIG. 6  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a rotating arm.  FIG. 7  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a pole.  FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a telescoping pole mechanism.  FIG. 9  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention, showing a first and a second tilt pad each connected to a soft cable with a pole. 
     In an embodiment of the invention it is comprised of: A system to launch, carry and recover aerial vehicles, comprising: 
     a tilt pad  1020  with one or more arresting cables  1024  to catch a landing aerial vehicle  1092  and one or more grippers  1022  to hold and release and launch said aerial vehicle  1092 ; 
     said tilting pad  1020  has a tilting mechanism  2014  in order to match attitude of said aerial vehicle  1092  in circling motion; 
     said tilting pad  1020  is connected to a rotating arm  2010 ; 
     to achieve a larger rotational radius, a pole  2018 , a telescoping pole  2019 , or a soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018  is connected between said first tilting pad  1020  and said rotating arm  2010 ; 
     said tilting mechanism  2014  directly attaches to said rotating arm  2010 , or either a pole  2018 , a telescoping pole  2019 , or a soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018 , if they are used to expand the rotational radius; 
     a guide wheel  2036  is attached to said rotating arm  2010 , so that a driving and position sensing unit  2034  can detect position of a counterweight  2030 , and drive said counterweight to desired position between a first and a second end of said rotating arm  2010 ; 
     a base  2012 , which contains a motor, an electronic control system, and a battery; 
     said motor is used to drive a rotation axis  2011  and said rotating arm  2010 ; 
     in order to detect imbalance, a horizontal force (or pressure) sensor  2050 ,  2051 , a vertical force (or pressure) sensor  2052 ,  2053  and a mounting disk  2055  are added; 
     when said rotating arm  2010  is not rotating, static balancing is achieved by detecting imbalance via force sensors and driving counterweight  2030  to appropriate location on the rotating arm  2010  accordingly using driving and position sensing unit  2034  under the control of electronic control system inside base  2012 ; 
     in order to reduce imbalance dynamically when launching or landing only one aerial vehicle, counterweight  2030  driven by driving and position sensing unit  2034 , chain (or belt)  2032  and guide wheel  2036  is attached to rotating arm  2010 , so that driving and position sensing unit  2034  can detect position of the counterweight, and drive the counterweight to desired position between said ends of rotating arm  2010 ; and 
     when said rotating arm  2010  is rotating, dynamic balancing is achieved by detecting imbalance via force sensors and driving counterweight  2030  to appropriate location on the rotating arm  2010  using driving and position sensing unit  2034 , and adjusting deflection of flaperon  2062  and  2063  accordingly under the control of electronic control system inside base  2012 . 
     In the preferred embodiment of the invention it is comprised of: A system to launch, carry and recover aerial vehicles, comprising: 
     a first tilt pad  1020  with one or more arresting cables  1024  to catch a landing aerial vehicle  1092  and one or more grippers  1022  to hold and release and launch said aerial vehicle  1092 ; 
     said first tilting pad  1020  has a tilting mechanism  2014  in order to match attitude of said aerial vehicle  1092  in circling motion; 
     said first tilting pad  1020  is connected to a rotating arm  2010 ; 
     to achieve a larger rotational radius, a pole  2018 , a telescoping pole  2019 , or a soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018  is connected between said first tilting pad  1020  and said rotating arm  2010 ; 
     said tilting mechanism  2014  directly attaches to said rotating arm  2010 , or either a pole  2018 , a telescoping pole  2019 , or a soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018 , if they are used to expand the rotational radius; 
     a guide wheel  2036  is attached to said rotating arm  2010 , so that a driving and position sensing unit  2034  can detect position of a counterweight  2030 , and drive said counterweight  2030  to desired position between a first and a second end of said rotating arm  2010 ; 
     a base  2012 , which contains a motor, an electronic control system, and a battery; 
     said motor is used to drive said rotation axis  2011  and said rotating arm  2010 ; 
     in order to detect imbalance, a horizontal force (or pressure) sensor  2050 ,  2051 , a vertical force (or pressure) sensor  2052 ,  2053  and a mounting disk  2055  are added; 
     when said rotating arm  2010  is not rotating, static balancing is achieved by detecting imbalance via force sensors and driving counterweight  2030  to appropriate location on the rotating arm  2010  accordingly using driving and position sensing unit  2034  under the control of electronic control system inside base  2012 ; 
     in order to reduce imbalance dynamically when launching or landing only one aerial vehicle, counterweight  2030  driven by driving and position sensing unit  2034 , a pulley system chain (or belt)  2032  and guide wheel  2036  is attached to rotating arm  2010 , so that driving and position sensing unit  2034  can detect position of the counterweight, and drive the counterweight to desired position between said ends of rotating arm  2010 ; and 
     when said rotating arm  2010  is rotating, dynamic balancing is achieved by detecting imbalance via force sensors and driving counterweight  2030  to appropriate location on the rotating arm  2010  using driving and position sensing unit  2034 , and adjusting deflection of flaperon  2062  and  2063  accordingly under the control of electronic control system inside base  2012 . 
     The device as set forth above, further comprising a second tilt pad  1020  with one or more arresting cables  1024  to catch a landing aerial vehicle  1092  and one or more grippers  1022  to hold and release and launch said aerial vehicle  1092 ; 
     said second tilting pad  1020  has a tilting mechanism  2014  in order to match attitude of said aerial vehicle  1092  in circling motion; 
     said second tilting pad  1020  is connected to a rotating arm  2010 ; and 
     to achieve a larger rotational radius, a pole  2018 , a telescoping pole  2019 , or a soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018  is connected between said second tilting pad  1020  and said rotating arm  2010 . 
     The tilting mechanism  2014  directly attaches to one end of said rotating arm  2010 . Wherein said tilting pad  1020  is connected to a rotating arm  2010  by a pole  2018  and wherein said tilting mechanism  2014  is attached directly to said pole. In another alternative embodiment, wherein said tilting pad  1020  is connected to a rotating arm  2010  by a telescoping pole mechanism  2019  to extend the rotational radius and wherein said tilting mechanism  2014  is attached directly to said telescoping pole mechanism  2019 . In yet another alternative embodiment, wherein said tilting pad  1020  is connected to a rotating arm  2010  by a soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018  to achieve an even larger rotational radius and wherein said tilting mechanism  2014  is attached directly to said soft cable  2016  with a pole  2018 . 
     In one embodiment, wherein said pulley system is a chain  2032 . In an alternative embodiment, wherein said pulley system is a belt  2032 . 
     The gripper  1022  on the tilt pad  1020  can hold and release wheel of an aircraft  1092 . Arresting cable  1024  attached to the tilt pad  1020  is used to catch landing gear of said aircraft  1092  during landing. 
     In the various embodiments of this invention as illustrated in  FIGS. 1-7 , the following features should be noted:
         1. Rotating arm  2010 , rotation axis  2011  and base  2012 , which contains a motor to drive rotating arm  2010 , electronic control system, battery, etc. Imaginative tracks to support pad  1020  are dynamically formed or synthesized via the rotation of arm  2010 .   2. Inside wing  2060  with inside flaperon  2062  and outside wing  2061  with outside flaperon  2063  are attached to pad  1020 .   3. Tilting mechanism  2014  is added to tilt pad  1020  in order to match attitude of airplane in circling motion. Usually when an aircraft is circling, it tilts toward center of the circle. Tilting mechanism  2014  only tilts in the direction of making outside wing going upward, and prevents the pad and wings from going downwards.   4. In order to reduce imbalance dynamically, symmetrical “flying carpet” assemblies consisting of pad  1020  and wings are attached to both end of rotating arm  2010  with rotation axis passing through middle point of rotating arm  2010 . With the symmetrical “flying carpet” assemblies, it&#39;s possible to launch and land  2  aircrafts at the same time.   5. In order to reduce imbalance dynamically when launching or landing only one aircraft, counterweight  2030  driven by driving and position sensing unit  2034 , chain (or belt)  2032  and guide wheel  2036  is attached to rotating arm  2010  so that driving and position sensing unit  2034  can detect position of the counterweight, and drive the counterweight to desired position between 2 ends of rotating arm  2010 .   6. In order to detect imbalance, horizontal force (or pressure) sensor  2050 ,  2051 , vertical force (or pressure) sensor  2052 ,  2053  and mounting disk  2055  are added. Difference between forces sensed by sensor  2050  and  2051  determines horizontal imbalance due to centrifugal force. Difference between forces sensed by sensor  2052  and  2053  determines vertical imbalance due to weight and wing lift.   7. Optional telescoping mechanism  2018  can be added to extend rotation radius. Enlarging radius will reduce curvature, which equals to the reciprocal of radius of circular curve, therefore make aircraft landing easier since reducing curvature makes the landing curve closer to straight line, whose curvature is 0. When optional telescoping mechanism  2018  does not exist, tilting mechanism  2014  directly attaches to one end of rotating arm  2010 .   8. Optional soft cable  2016  shown can be added to achieve even larger rotation radius. It&#39;s easier to extend much further using soft cable than using a rigid pole or telescoping pole.       

     When desired, one or more additional set of rotating arm  2010 , “flying carpet” assemblies, dynamic balancing mechanism and optional radius extension mechanism can be attached to the same rotation axis. 
     When arm  2010  is not rotating, static balancing is achieved by detecting imbalance via force sensors and driving counterweight  2030  to appropriate location on the rotating arm  2010  accordingly using driving and position sensing unit  2034  under the control of electronic control system inside base  2012 . For example, before launching  2  identical aircrafts simultaneously, counterweight  2030  should be placed at middle of rotating arm  2010 , and before launching only one aircraft, counterweight  2030  should be placed at opposite side of the aircraft. Weight of base  2012  and forces which tie base  2012  to a supporting structure (e.g., ground) also help in balancing. 
     When arm  2010  is rotating, dynamic balancing is achieved by detecting imbalance via force sensors, driving counterweight  2030  to appropriate location on the rotating arm  2010  using driving and position sensing unit  2034 , and adjusting deflection of flaperon  2062  and  2063  accordingly under the control of electronic control system inside base  2012 . 
     For example, when launching only one aircraft, during acceleration, wing  2060  and  2061  attached to pad  1020  carrying the aircraft generate positive (upward) lift by deflecting corresponding flaperon  2062  and  2063  downward, and at the same time wing  2060  and  2061  attached to pad  1020  not carrying the aircraft generate negative (downward) lift by deflecting corresponding flaperon  2062  and  2063  upward. While speed becomes faster and faster, more lift are generated by wings of the aircraft and wings attached to pad  1020  so that counterweight  2030  can be shifted towards rotation center. While wings of the aircraft generate lift equals to or larger than its weight, the aircraft is released and fly off pad  1020 . Since during acceleration, counterweight  2030  is already moved closer to center of rotation, this makes it easier to quickly move counterweight  2030  to the rotation center while deflections of all flaperons are controlled to maintain balance, and rotation speed of arm  2010  is gradually reduced. 
     When only one aircraft is landing, steps to achieve dynamic balance is about the reverse of the above steps to achieve dynamic balance while launching only one aircraft. 
     For the case that optional telescoping mechanism  2018  exists, when loading only one aircraft for launching while arm  2010  is not rotating, the preferred position is retracted position. The retracted position allows using lighter counterweight while maintaining static balance. Only when speed becomes fast enough so that wings generate sufficient upward or downward forces, telescoping pole mechanism  2019  starts to extend rotation radius. When an aircraft is approaching for landing, telescoping pole mechanism  2019  is extended to have larger radius and less curvature so that it&#39;s easier for the approaching aircraft to land. After the aircraft lands, telescoping pole mechanism  2019  retracts while rotation speed is reducing. 
     For the case that optional soft cable  2016  exists, during aircraft launching, due to its non-rigid nature, soft cable  2016  is only deployed when speed of pad  1020  carrying an aircraft is fast enough so that lift generated by wings attached to pad  1020  and wings of the aircraft is able to support weight of the above mentioned “flying carpet” assemblies and the aircraft. During aircraft landing, soft cable  2016  works in similar way as telescoping pole mechanism  2019  does. 
     Operation—During Passive Tilt Pad 
     During takeoff, tilt pad  1020  carrying an aircraft is driven forward by the aerial vehicle  1092 . Arresting cable  1024  is lowered down. The pad accelerates forward in a circular rotation. When reaching certain speed, gripper  1022  release holding of wheel of the aerial vehicle  1092 , and the aerial vehicle  1092  leaves the pad and climbs up. 
     During landing with passive pad, arresting cable  1024  is raised up; aircraft approaches the pad and after it&#39;s caught by arresting cable  1024 , it powers off and slows down. Optionally tilt pad  1020  can be moved manually to follow approaching aircraft before the aircraft touches down on pad  1020 . 
     Operation—During Active Tilt Pad 
     Alternatively showing the invention with an active pad. The structure is the same, except a sensing and control module  1040  is added to transform tilt pad  1020  from passive one to active one. 
     Tilt pad  1020  can be rotated back and forth by a motor  2012  while sensing and control module  1040  senses relative position between the tilt pad  1020  and an approaching aircraft  1092 , and controls motor  2012  to drive the tilt pad according to sensed relative position. 
     Sensing and control module  1040  may be implemented using computer vision, radar, differential GPS or other means. Here differential GPS means a technology to determine relative position between 2 objects by calculating difference between GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates of these 2 objects. 
     Operation 
     During takeoff, tilt pad  1020  carrying an aircraft is driven forward either by the aircraft or by motor  2012  or by both. 
     During landing when an aircraft approaches the tilt pad, sensing and control module  1040  senses the relative position and speed of the aircraft, and controls motor  2030  to drive the pad to move back or forth accordingly. After the aircraft is caught by arresting cable  1024 , the aircraft powers off, and module  1040  controls the pad to slow down. 
     While the description above refers to a particular embodiment of the present invention, it will be understood that many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.