Abstract:
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pin array release and capture chamber system includes a chamber assembly having two parallel plates of pin arrays from which a plurality of pins extend and retract vertically opposite each other so as to release and capture a UAV. The pin arrays are separated from each other by a space having two vertical and two horizontal sides, and the space is sized so as to receive the UAV. Each pin arrays may be housed in a pin array chamber enclosure. The chamber assembly may be attached to a moving object, such as an aircraft, or may be stationary with respect to a ground surface.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present disclosure relates to pin array chamber systems and methods for releasing and capturing moving objects 
     BACKGROUND 
     Humans have used many release and arresting systems throughout history, to include nets for fishing, and snares for hunting, leading to harpoons, spears, ropes, and myriad other means to capture a desired moving object. Most prior art is concerned with capturing a moving object, with little regard to avoid harming the target, and even fewer contemplating later release as well. As reusable devices proliferated in the 19 th , 20 th  and 21 st  centuries, the need for release systems increased ever so slightly. With the advent of autonomous moving objects, that are reusable, the need increased dramatically, with few precedent systems to solve very high speed capture without destroying the moving object. One subset of moving objects, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), had initial technology focused on landing and take-off to runways with remotely piloted or autonomous control. With the advent of precision relative navigation allowing moving objects to align very accurately with a specific point in space relative to another object, non-destructive systems are increasingly useful for capturing and releasing moving objects. 
     Historical attempts for launch and recovery systems, excluding runway and aircraft carrier landings, for manned and unmanned UAV fall into two categories of hosts. The first is a slow-speed or stationary host (such as a naval vessel or army truck or ground stand), or a high-speed host (such as another UAV, a Bomber or Cargo aircraft). The former have been somewhat successful with netting and hooking solutions, even though UAVs are sometimes harmed or destroyed in the process, while the latter have been largely unsuccessful (with aerial refueling being the primary success). 
     In high-speed host cases, launch and recovery solutions are largely constrained by these factors: relative positioning navigation technology; timing of release and capture; aerodynamic interference between the aerial vehicle and the host; and structural issues and weight, compounded in most cases by speed differentials and ensuing force loads between the aerial vehicle and the launch/recovery vehicle. 
     While many attempts at launch and recovery of aircraft with a host have been envisioned, none have proven practicable at overcoming the four constraints above, simultaneously. For example, the Fighter Conveyor (FICON) program in the late 1940s produced the XF-85 Goblin fighter aircraft for internal carriage to a B-36. This trapeze and hook system attempted to use a manned parasite fighter to overcome the four constraints above. Relative positioning was accomplished with a man in the loop, the timing of capture and release was solved by a trapeze and hook design, but the aerodynamic and structural issues were problematic. In fact, even after an inflight collision and redesign, the FICON program was cancelled because it caused more problems than it solved. The costs outweighed the benefits in the final analysis, even if safety could have been assured. The key problem identified in the FICON program, as well as other examples since, highlights the very real problems around recovery operations between to moving objects. Dramatic modifications and trade-offs to the aircraft and host have been required to achieve safe, repeatable, reliable recovery. Complexity, both in design and operational concepts, and untenable weight growth ensued. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pin array release and capture chamber system includes a chamber assembly having two parallel plates of pin arrays from which a plurality of pins extend and retract vertically opposite each other so as to release and capture a UAV. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  depicts an aircraft illustration as the host of a pin array system with the pin array chamber system open to the airstream in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure. 
         FIG. 2  depicts the pin array chamber system with multiple pins protruding from two opposing plates. 
         FIG. 3  depicts an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) captured within the pin array chamber system 
         FIG. 4  depicts an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) released, in free flight, positioned within the pin array chamber system 
         FIG. 5  depicts a free-flight unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) approaching the pin array chamber and stopping within the chamber. 
         FIG. 6  depicts the pin array chamber system extending the pins with a clamping force to capture the UAV 
         FIG. 7  depicts one embodiment of the PACS attached to a Storage, feed and control mechanism  120 . It depicts 4 sequential stages: Loading, Pre-Launch, Launch and Free Flight. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     A. Overview 
     This disclosure focuses on a capture and release system using a pin array; thereby allowing graceful and non-destructive clamping of a moving object. In particular, the system disclosed specifically solves the four constraints mentioned above in a novel and useful method. The Pin Array Chambering System (PACS) is generally agnostic to host platforms or the moving objects that need to be captured and released, as long as the moving object can be positioned between the pin arrays so that sufficient clamping force can be applied, without causing damage to either the host or the moving object. 
     The PACS uses known technology components combined into a new system and method, such as springs, pins and plates. In the described embodiment for UAV capture by another aircraft, to achieve high-volley rates for launch and recovery, PACS is in many ways analogous to rifles and gatling guns, depending on which variations for the chambering and feed mechanisms are designed. In essence, PACS can consider each UAV as a round that needs to be fed, chambered and launched; but unlike a rifle, subsequently captured and reused. 
     Another aspect of the disclosure is its applicability with systems and methods for use in other gas and liquid mediums, including the vacuum of space. The PACS method can be used in the medium of air, on the surface of water, underwater, or anywhere in the vacuum of space across the entire universe, including all others gases and liquids, or mixtures thereof. Examples include, but are not limited to, releasing and capturing manned and unmanned vehicles by naval ships at rest and moving through water, above and below the surface; ground vehicles or stands at rest and moving across terrain, and space ships or vehicles moving through the vacuum of space, whether in orbit or not. 
     PACS benefits are numerous to the prior art. Due to its graceful release and capture, no structural modifications to existing UAVs are required. No modifications to existing host external designs are required, since it is designed for under-wing to existing hard-points, bomb-bay stowage or for cargo bays. PACS also provides high cycle rates for release and capture, enabling large volleys of UAVs to be deployed. PACS is more reliable, repeatable, simple, flexible, scalable, programmable and efficient than other UAV capture systems. 
     Many specific details of certain embodiments of the disclosure are set forth in the following description and in  FIGS. 1-6  to provide an informed understanding of the system and methods. Well known structures, systems and methods associated with such systems are not shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring this disclosure. As a result, those with ordinary skill in the disclosed art will infer that additional embodiments may be practiced without several of the details described below. 
     B. Embodiments of Pin Array Chamber Systems and Methods for Releasing and Capturing Moving Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) 
       FIG. 1  depicts an aircraft illustration as the host of a pin array system with the pin array chamber system open to the airstream for capture and release of a UAV. Aircraft  105  is the host aircraft with elements  110  as wing-stationed pin arrays for one embodiment, while element  115  is another embodiment of the PACS deployed from the cargo door of a typical military cargo aircraft. In one embodiment, the PACS in element  110  or  115  is attached to a storage, feed and control mechanism  120 , which allows for loading and unloading UAVs into the pin array chamber system. Storage, feed and control mechanism  120  can be used with each PACS as another embodiment, allowing for conveyor handling of UAVs. 
       FIG. 2  depicts a pin array chamber mechanism, consisting of two opposing arrays  200  and  250 , which are perpendicular to one another. Concerning array  200 , holding plate  205  has one or more holes, of varying shapes, but depicted here as circular, allowing one or more pins  210  to extend and retract through plate  205 . The thickness of plate  205  may vary, and there may be additional plates  205  along the longitudinal axis of the pin array, to provide additional stabilization and control of pins  210 . In this embodiment, each pin  210  is of equal length, but may be of equal or varying lengths for other embodiments. Each pin  210  is extended or retracted through plate  205  by applying a longitudinal force comprising electro-mechanical, mechanical, spring, hydraulic or other means, which are not shown, but which one skilled in the relevant art can infer. This force can be applied, or not applied, to each pin  210  individually or equally to all pins  210  of array  200 , if there is more than 1 pin. In the depicted embodiment, array  250  is an exact duplicate of array  200 , including the force methods disclosed, but in an opposing orientation of 180 degrees, so that each pin  210  has an opposing pin  260 . In other embodiments, the number, size, shape, force and alignment of opposing pins  260  of array  250  may be different, but they still apply an opposing force along the longitudinal axis of pins  260 . An outer housing  290 , of various materials and thickness, depicts one method for holding opposing array  200  and array  250  in position to one another. In this embodiment, pins from array  200  and  250  are retracted into a closed housing  290 , above plate  205  and below plate  255 . In another embodiment, the housing may only be the structural elements of the PACS, without any enclosure skin. 
     Pins  210  and  260  may be of varying materials, thickness and strength. In addition, pins  210  and  260  in this embodiment are uniform from end to end. In other embodiments, they may not be uniform and may include any material or combination of materials, such as rubber, rollers, or even ball-bearings as tips that will come in contact with the UAV or moving object. Other embodiments may include other tip materials and mechanisms to minimize damage upon contact with a moving object or to facilitate easier handling of the object once captured. 
     The opposing pins  210  and pins  260 , of array  200  and array  250 , respectively, apply opposing pin force in opposite longitudinal directions. In this embodiment, Plate  205  and plate  255  are separated at the combined extended length of pin  210  and pin  260 , so that an object between them will displace the respective pins. As a result, the opposing forces of pins  210  and pins  260  provide a clamping motion of any object that is placed in between. Other embodiments may separate the two plates at greater or less than the combined extended length of the two pin arrays. 
     Another embodiment of the system and method may include a plurality of sets of pin array chambers in combination working along the same longitudinal axes as arrays  210  and  250 , or other axes. As a further embodiment, another set of two pin arrays could operate 90 degrees rotated to a lateral axis from arrays  210  and  250 ; thereby creating a clamping force from four perpendicular directions into the same chamber space. 
       FIG. 3  depicts an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)  300  within the pin array chamber system  305  from a front view. In this embodiment the UAV is held in place by the clamping forces supplied in opposing directions from pins  210  and pins  260 , from pin arrays  200  and  250 , respectively. The pins  210  and pins  260  supply minimal forces individually so as not to harm the UAV, but a plurality of pins provide a sufficient clamping force to hold the UAV in position, even against any gas dynamic forces, such as drag, being exerted laterally on the UAV. As shown in  FIG. 3 , the extensions of pins  210  and pins  260  against the outer skin of the UAV creates an impression of pins that follows the contours of the UAV precisely. These pin contours provide additional resistance to lateral forces. Each pin  210  and pin  260  is constructed of sufficient material, such as aluminum, so they are structurally held within plate  205  and  255 , or a plurality of plates, not shown, without any substantial lateral deformation to the pins from the lateral forces from drag. The net effect of extended pins  210  and pins  260  by pin array  200  and pin array  250  is a capture chamber that can conform to whatever shape comes between the arrays. In this embodiment, the PACS method allows innumerable UAV sizes and shapes to be captured between the pin arrays. The PACS chamber  305  that captures and holds the UAV is permeable to the lateral slipstream  310  of the air that passes through it, since the extended pins plus the UAV do not take up the entire volume of the Chamber  305 . Chamber  305  is the inside volume between plate  205 , plate  255  and both sides of the enclosure  290 . Lateral slipstream  310  is depicted as an X within chamber  305 , indicating the airflow is going directly into the entire area of chamber  305 . In this embodiment, the aerodynamic drag is much reduced compared to a closed chamber that would not allow the air to pass through and around the pins and the UAV. In another embodiment in the vacuum of space, since no gas or liquid medium exists, the considerations of drag and lateral flow of the slip-stream is moot, although the direction of travel remains. 
     In other embodiments, the UAV could be held in place by a plurality of pin arrays from a plurality of directions. In these cases, the pin arrays may have a plurality of distances between the opposing arrays at full pin extensions, and all pins would extend to their designed length unimpeded by other pins. 
       FIG. 4  depicts an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)  300  being released, in free flight, positioned within the pin array chamber system  305 . The pin array  200  and pin array  250  have retracted their pins  210  and pins  260 , by reversing the longitudinal force along each pin, pulling each pin back through plate  205  and plate  255 , respectively. In this embodiment, the UAV is at the correct power setting to sustain flight within the chamber  305 , at the time of pin retraction. As a result, after the pins are retracted, the UAV maintains its precise relative position, under its own power, within the lateral slipstream  310 . Once the pins are retracted, the UAV is free to fly forward or in reverse to leave the PACS. In another embodiment, the UAV  300  may be unpowered or not powered enough for flight to maintain precise relative position within chamber  305 . 
       FIG. 5  depicts a free-flight unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV  300 , approaching the pin array chamber  305  and stopping within the chamber. The pins  210  and pins  260 , not shown, are fully retracted by reverse longitudinal clamping forces previously mentioned, or in another embodiment, by the removal of those forces, such as spring tension. The pins depicted are by default in the retracted position. In other embodiments, a pin  210  or pin  260  may be extended to varying lengths before or as the UAV  300  approaches the chamber  305 . In this embodiment, the UAV  300  uses autonomous precision relative navigation to move to a precise contact point  505  within the chamber  200 . This precise contact point  505  is an optimal computed location, in 3 dimensional space, for the UAV  300  to stop and be captured. In other embodiments, the moving object may be flown by a man onboard or remotely piloted. 
       FIG. 6  depicts the pin array chamber system extending the pins  210  and pins  260  from opposing array  200  and array  250 , with a clamping force to capture the UAV  300 . In this embodiment, UAV  300  has stopped in a precise contact point  505  within the pin array chamber  305 , matching the speed of the UAV  300  and the pin array chamber enclosure  290 , which is attached to the host aircraft. In other embodiments, the host may be stationary or at a different speed than the moving object, and the moving object is then captured. These latter embodiments may utilize a plurality of pin tips and materials to reduce the lateral forces to the pins and minimize forces and friction to the moving object. In yet another embodiment of a stationary host capturing a moving object, pin array  200  and pin array  250  may asynchronously extend pins  210  and pins  260  along the lateral direction of the moving object as it enters the pin array chamber  305 . In that manner, the clamping motion is gracefully applied to the moving object as it decelerates without causing any undue harm to the moving object. 
       FIG. 7  depicts one embodiment of PACS attached to a Storage, feed and control mechanism  120  previously disclosed in  FIG. 1 . The PACS is an integral part of a larger system to launch and recover multiple UAV  300 s. As shown, in the first stage Loading, UAV  300  is moved via Storage, feed and control mechanism  120  to the PACS enclosure  290  and its various components previously mentioned in the previous Figures. As shown in  FIG. 1 , the Storage, feed and control mechanism  120  has Launch chamber  705 , shown in the open position. In the Pre-Launch stage, the UAV  300 , within PACS enclosure  290 , is then moved down into the Launch chamber  705  by various methods and mechanisms that one possessing ordinary skill in the relevant art can design. In the Launch stage, the UAV  300  is released from PACS by systems and methods previously disclosed. In the Free Flight stage, the UAV  300  moves away and the PACS is available for additional launch or recovery operations. 
     A. Additional Embodiments of Pin Array Chamber Systems and Methods for Releasing and Capturing Moving Objects 
     Additional embodiments of pin array chamber systems and methods for releasing and capturing moving objects include capturing and releasing manned vehicles or UAVs from a surface or submerged naval vessel, such as an unmanned underwater drone for mapping ocean floors. Another embodiment is for space docking in a vacuum, which removes the requirement for heavy and complex docking clamps on every manned vehicle. Instead a pin array chamber could dock any space faring vehicle, and allow for soft and flexible connections to be made for transfers of people or supplies. Another space embodiment is for capture and release of space vehicles that were not designed to be captured, such as satellites, again obviating the need for complex singular use designs for every vehicle contemplated. The space embodiment also allows for repositioning satellites upon release. 
     While the aforementioned embodiments disclose larger and visible systems and methods, additional embodiments occur at much smaller sizes, even well below what is visible to the naked eye, utilizing the same clamping force from a pin array. For those with ordinary skill in the relevant art, the pin array chamber system and method can be used down to the microscopic, molecular, and even atomic levels. At these sizes, pin array chamber clamping forces can also be used to capture moving objects, such as within a blood vessel for medicinal purposes, or as part of scientific research for capturing cells or specific molecules or atoms. Medicine, chemistry and physics, while not all inclusive of possible disciplines, are prime candidates for using PACS to diagnose and treat existing problems, for filtering operations or to conduct research.