USO09555681 B2 (12) United States Patent (10) Patent No.: US 9,555,681 B2 Klein (45) Date of Patent: Jan. 31, 2017 (54) TRANSFORMATION METHOD OF HYBRD B64C 3/54: B64C 3/56; B64C TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE FOR 25/04; B64C 25/54: B64C 37/00; B64C GROUND AND AIR, AND HYBRID 2025/003; B64C 3/58; Y02T 50/145 TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE ITSELF (Continued) (75) Inventor: Stefan Klein, Nitra (SK) (56) References Cited (73) Assignee: AEROMOBIL, S.R.O., Bratislava (SK) U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 1,793,494 A 2f1931 Lee (*) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this 3,029,042 A * 4, 1962 Martin ...................... B6OF 3.00 patent is extended or adjusted under 35 180,119 U.S.C. 154(b) by 142 days. (Continued) (21) Appl. No.: 14/241,239 FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS (22) PCT Filed: Aug. 22, 2012 CH 295.572 A 12/1953 DE 10346189 B3 5, 2005 (86). PCT No.: PCT/SK2O12/OOOO10 (Continued) S 371 (c)(1), (2), (4) Date: Aug. 19, 2014 OTHER PUBLICATIONS PCT International Search Report, Issued in International Applica (87) PCT Pub. No.: WO2013/032409 tion No. PCT/SK2012/000010 dated Dec. 12, 2012. PCT Pub. Date: Mar. 7, 2013 (Continued) (65) Prior Publication Data Primary Examiner — Timothy D Collins US 2015/OO2815O A1 Jan. 29, 2015 Assistant Examiner — Jessica Wong (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm — Finnegan, Henderson, (30) Foreign Application Priority Data Farabow, Garrett & Dunner LLP. Aug. 30, 2011 (SK) ................................... 5O39-2011 (57) ABSTRACT Aug. 30, 2011 (SK) ............................... 5044-2011 U Transformation method of hybrid transportation vehicle for ground and air includes the following transformation and (51) Int. Cl. reciprocal steps: Tilting the compensation cover (7) on. B6OF 5/02 (2006.01) Expansion of both whole wings (1) from the transportation B64C3/56 (2006.01) vehicle longitudinal position around two vertical axes (2) (Continued) into the flying position. Expansion of rear parts of wings (1) (52) U.S. Cl. from the top front parts of wings (1) into the spread flying CPC ................. B60F 5/02 (2013.01); B60F 5/003 position by tilting the rear of each wing (1) around a (2013.01); B64C3/385 (2013.01); B64C3/54 horizontal axis (3). The take-off and landing tilting of wings (2013.01); (1) by an angle of attack alpha=0 to 40° of the wings onset. (Continued) Front wheels track (5) is reduced by axially shifting the front (58) Field of Classification Search wheels (5) towards the fuselage. Furthermore, a correspond CPC ............ B60F 5/02: B60F 5/003; B64C 3/385; (Continued) US 9,555,681 B2 Page 2 ing hybrid transportation vehicle for ground and air is 5,378,020 A * 1/1995 Horn ...................... B62D 37/OO described which contains reciprocal transformation mecha 180/21 6,086,014 A * 7/2000 Bragg, Jr. ................. B6OF 5/02 nisms for transformation from a Sterling double or four-track 244/2 automobile into a sterling aircraft for take-off and landing on 6,129,306 A * 10/2000 Pham ...................... B64C 37.00 the ground or water, and vice versa. 244/2 6,131,848. A * 10/2000 Crow ...................... B64C 37.00 10 Claims, 11 Drawing Sheets 244/2 6,619,584 B1* 9/2003 Haynes ..................... B6OF 5/02 244/2 2003/0094536 A1* 5/2003 LaBiche ................... B6OF 5/02 244/2 (51) Int. Cl. 2009/0127388 A1* 5/2009 Herzberger ............. B64C 35.00 B64C37/00 (2006.01) 244,101 B6OF 5/00 (2006.01) 2009/0302151 A1* 12/2009 Holmes ..................... B64C3,56 B64C3/38 (2006.01) 244, 49 2010/0230532 A1* 9, 2010 Dietrich .................. B64C 37.00 B64C3/54 (2006.01) 244, 49 B64C 25/04 (2006.01) 2011/0042507 A1* 2/2011 Seiford, Sr. ............... B6OF 5/02 B64C 2.5/54 (2006.01) 244/2 B64C 25/OO (2006.01) 2013/0068876 A1 3/2013 Radu ......................... B6OF 5/02 (52) U.S. Cl. 244/2 CPC ................. B64C3/56 (2013.01); B64C 25/04 2015.0102155 A1 4/2015 Krastev .................. B60K 16.00 (2013.01); B64C 25/54 (2013.01); B64C 3700 244/2 (2013.01); B64C 2025/003 (2013.01); Y02T FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 50/145 (2013.01) (58) Field of Classification Search GB 372344 A 4f1932 USPC .............................................................. 244/2 GB 55.6478 A 10, 1943 WO WO O1/23.197 A1 4/2001 See application file for complete search history. WO WO 2007/114877 A2 10, 2007 (56) References Cited WO WO 2011 (0.14106 A1 2, 2011 U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS OTHER PUBLICATIONS 3,056,564 A * 10/1962 Zuck ......................... B6OF 5/02 Written Opinion of the International Searching Authority, Issued in 2442 International Application No. PCT/SK2012/000010 dated Mar, 4. 4,375,898 A * 3/1983 Stephens .............. B62D 35,001 2014. 105,12 Jeffrey W. Buckholz, Summary of Roadable Aircraft, Carplane 4.579.297 A * 4/1986 Ayoola ...................... B6OF 3.00 News, www.carplanenews.com, Jacksonville, Florida, USA. 244/106 Office Action issued in Chinese Patent Application No. 4,986,493 A * 1/1991 Sarh ........................ B64C 37.00 201280047973.X on Sep. 6, 2015. 2442 “Ancient Device in Super-modern Form Applied with Success to 5,000,400 A * 3/1991 Stuhr ...................... B64C 25.10 Supermarine Type 322.” FLIGHT: Variable Incidence, Apr. 25" 244,101 1946, pp. 409–412. 5,050,817 A * 9/1991 Miller ..................... B64C 37/OO 244/120 * cited by examiner U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 1 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 2 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 3 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 4 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet S of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 6 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 7 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 8 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 9 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 10 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 U.S. Patent Jan. 31, 2017 Sheet 11 of 11 US 9,555,681 B2 US 9,555,681 B2 1. 2 TRANSFORMATION METHOD OF HYBRD due to wings folded in vertical position, it is rather high. In TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE FOR case of crosswind automobile is instable in road traffic. Front GROUND AND AIR, AND HYBRID axle has fixed wheel track width and during the flight front TRANSPORTATION VEHICLE ITSELF wheels are out, which causes great resistance for airflow. In Slovakia, moreover, another “Aeromobile’ hybrid RELATED APPLICATIONS transportation vehicle was developed for movement on the ground as well as in the air having a shape of sports car and This application is a National Stage Entry of International being able to travel on roads using its own chassis. In its plan Application No. PCT/SK2012/000010, filed on Aug. 22, it also has car dimensions. In the rear it has two horizontal 2012, which claims priority from Slovakia Application No. 10 wing areas with propeller between them. Also in the front it PP 5039-2011, filed on Aug. 30, 2011 and Slovakia Appli has two wing areas. However it still gives impression of a cation No. PUV 5044-2011, filed on Aug. 30, 2011. The futuristic aircraft. It is a non-transformable transportation contents of all three applications are hereby incorporated by vehicle. Its disadvantage is a fact that it includes in the rear reference in their entirety. situated two side vertical areas that stabilise top non-tiltable 15 wing, which however decreases car stability in case of the TECHNICAL FIELD crosswind. Mentioned facts led to an effort to create a conception of The invention concerns new category of a hybrid trans Such hybrid transportation vehicle for motion on the ground portation vehicle for ground and air with possibility to and in the air that would ensure quick reciprocal transfor take-off and land on the water, which is reciprocally trans mations from automobile into an aircraft. These reciprocal formable already during the travel on the ground. Transfor transformations would create a sterling automobile as well mation method of the hybrid transportation vehicle for as a sterling aircraft. ground into the Sterling auto-mobile, and for air into the The result of this effort is in the following described sterling aircraft is solved by an original way. The hybrid invention that solves transformation method of the hybrid transportation vehicle construction, especially its transfor 25 transportation vehicle for ground and air as such. mation nods, is solved by an original way, too. The invention belongs to the area of automotive and aircraft industry. BRIEF SUMMARY BACKGROUND Above mentioned inadequacies are eliminated by trans 30 formation method of the hybrid transportation vehicle for At present standard transportation vehicles for ground ground and air according to this invention, the principle of (automobiles) and for air (aircrafts) exist. Their construc which consists in the fact that transformation of a sterling tions are generally known. Also special transportation double or four-track automobile into a sterling aircraft for vehicles (hovercrafts) exist, but these belong neither among take-off from the ground includes sequence of transforma automobiles nor among aircrafts. 35 tion steps executable during idle? still-standing as well as Another category of transportation vehicles exists that running/driving of automobile. These are necessary trans disposes with automobile as well as aircraft features. Cali formation steps: fornian company “Moller International” was developing Tilting whole left and right front wing out from the VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) vehicle designed as transportation vehicle longitudinal position, each around its automobile on three-wheel chassis.