An air freight system comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); and a bag for holding a cargo. The bag is removably attached to an exterior, e.g. the fuselage, of the UAV. The mouth of the bag can extend around a portion of the fuselage and can be closed by a fastener, e.g. a zip, to secure it to the fuselage. A sling system can be used to attach the bag to the fuselage, the sling including a sleeve part that receives a portion of the fuselage and a sling part that receives a portion of the bag. The sling system can further comprise an adjuster for moving the bag in a longitudinal direction relative to the fuselage, to adjust the centre of gravity of the air freight system. A rail can be attached to the fuselage, on its under surface for example with one or more mounting points, and the bag then attached to that rail. The bag can have parts with greater flexibility that other parts, with the parts with lesser flexibility facing a forward direction with respect to the direction of flight to provide structural stiffness to the bag to resist distortion of the bag in flight.
Air freight system
28.09.2022
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM, CONTROL APPARATUS, AND FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION METHOD
Europäisches Patentamt | 2022
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