1. A modular hand-launchable unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
a plurality of modules including a fuselage, a nose cone, a tail section and two wing pieces, said modules being readily assembled to construct said UAV and being readily disassembled for compact transport;
a front side and a rear side of said fuselage having a forwardly-facing fuselage through-hole and a rearwardly-facing fuselage through-hole, respectively;
said nose cone having a rearwardly-facing nose cone through-hole for coupling to said forwardly-facing fuselage through-hole;
said tail section having a forwardly-facing tail section through-hole for coupling to said rearwardly-facing fuselage through-hole;
each of said two wing pieces having a fuselage-mounting surface for coupling to a wing-mounting surface on a respective side of said fuselage;
each of said through-holes being defined and reinforced with a bulkhead mounted in a respective one of said through-holes, said bulkhead fitting cooperatively with a mating bulkhead on a corresponding one of said fuselage, nose cone and tail section modules.
2. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein for each pair of mating bulkheads, a first bulkhead of said pair includes two opposing side walls each having an inner surface provided with a shoulder portion, and a second bulkhead of said pair includes a pair of clips positioned to be in alignment with said shoulder portions, each of said clips having a concave portion to accommodate said shoulder portions, respectively, and thereby secure said pair of bulkheads, as well as the corresponding modular components to which the bulkheads are mounted, against one another when the UAV is assembled.
3. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein for each pair of mating bulkheads, a first bulkhead of said pair includes a diagonal pair of projecting alignment structures on the outer surface thereof, and a second bulkhead of said pair includes a diagonal pair of apertures positioned to be in alignment with said projecting alignment structures, respectively.
4. The UAV as set forth in claim 3, wherein each of said projecting alignment structures includes a conical portion and each of said apertures is generally circular.
5. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, further comprising a launch clip mounted on a lower surface of said fuselage, said launch clip having a beveled forward edge for reduced profile and a mounting plate secured to the fuselage through the bulkhead mounted in said forwardly-facing fuselage through-hole.
6. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein a break-away wing spar is pivotally coupled to a mounting rod at the wing-mounting surface on each side of said fuselage, said wing spar having an extended wing-mounting position for connection of the wing pieces in operation and a folded storage position so as to be flush against said wing-mounting surface when disassembled.
7. The UAV as set forth in claim 6, wherein each of said wing pieces has a fuselage-mounting surface with an opening therein for receiving said wing spar in said extended wing-mounting position.
8. The UAV as set forth in claim 7, further comprising a plurality of openings in said wing-mounting surface and a plurality of corresponding projections on said fuselage-mounting surface for insertion into said openings to secure removable connection of said wing pieces to said fuselage.
9. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein each wing piece includes a servo mounted on a lower surface thereof, said servo being coupled to a push rod that is hingedly connected to a corresponding elevon of said wing piece for control thereof.
10. The UAV as set forth in claim 9, wherein said push-rod is generally perpendicular to a trailing edge of said wing piece.
11. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein said plurality of modular components when disassembled fit within a compact transport case of a size that can be carried as a backpack by one person.
12. The UAV as set forth in claim 11, wherein said transport case is less than eighteen inches in height and length, and approximately ten inches in depth.
13. The UAV as set forth in claim 11, wherein said transport case includes a compartment area with an opening thereto and a lid for closing said opening, said compartment area being partially filled with an impact absorbing insert having a plurality of specially sized cutouts therein to accommodate said plurality of UAV modules, respectively, said modules being inserted through said opening and fitting into their respective cutouts in said compartment area with a friction fit.
14. The UAV as set forth in claim 13, wherein said compartment is separated into a fuselage side and a wing piece side by a divider element, said fuselage side being prdvided with a foam-type cushioning insert having specially formed nose cone cutouts and fuselage cutout therein to accommodate and hold the fuselage and at least one nose cone with a friction fit, and said wing piece side being generally open and sized to receive both wing pieces in a juxtaposed relationship.
15. The UAV as set forth in claim 14, wherein said divider element further defines within itself a sleeve for receipt of a stabilizer portion of the tail section, said sleeve having a relatively narrow top opening enclosed by sides of the divider element.
16. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein said UAV weighs about six and a half pounds.
17. The UAV as set forth in claim 1, wherein each of said bulkheads has a generally rectangular frame including a flat outer surface and a flat inner surface joined by a side wall that is generally perpendicular to said inner and outer surfaces, said outer surface having an integrally formed lip extending outwardly and on a same plane therewith such that, when said bulkhead side wall is adjacent an inner wall of a corresponding through-hole, said lip abuts against an outer edge of said through-hole.
18. The UAV as set forth in claim 17, wherein a width of said side wall between said outer and inner surfaces is about 0.25 inches.
19. The UAV as set forth in claim 17, wherein each of said bulkheads is further provided with at least one of an aperture and a projecting alignment structure, each of which fits cooperatively with a complementary projecting alignment structure and aperture, respectively, on the mating bulkhead to facilitate rapid and accurate alignment of the mating bulkheads during assembly of the modules.
20. The UAV as set forth in claim 17, wherein said side wall is beveled to slope from said outer surface to said inner surface.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An arrangement for measuring a hydrocarbon concentration of a gas flow in a line, comprising:
at least one hydrocarbon sensor configured to measure a hydrocarbon concentration, the hydrocarbon sensor being arranged in a sensor chamber coupled to the line and being set back in the sensor chamber with respect to the line, the hydrocarbon sensor comprising:
at least one first temperature sensor;
at least one second temperature sensor; and
at least one heating element for heating the gas flow arranged between the at least one first temperature sensor and the at least one second temperature sensor.
2. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a gas-permeable element arranged between the line and the sensor chamber.
3. The arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gas-permeable element is so gas-permeable that a hydrocarbon concentration of the gas in the sensor chamber depends on the hydrocarbon concentration of the gas flow in the line.
4. The arrangement as claimed in claim 3, wherein the gas-permeable element is configured as a flame barrier.
5. The arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the gas-permeable element is configured as a flame barrier.
6. The arrangement as claimed in one of claim 5, wherein the at least one hydrocarbon sensor has at least one semiconductor component integrated in the at least one hydrocarbon sensor configured to send temperature-dependent signals.
7. The arrangement as claimed in claim 6 further comprising a gas-permeable element arranged between the line and the sensor chamber.
8. The arrangement as claimed in claim 7, wherein the gas-permeable element is configured as a flame barrier.
9. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor has at least one semiconductor component integrated in the at least one sensor configured to send temperature-dependent signals.
10. An internal combustion engine apparatus comprising:
an internal combustion engine; and
an arrangement for measuring a hydrocarbon concentration of a gas flow in a line, comprising:
at least one hydrocarbon sensor configured to measure a hydrocarbon concentration, the hydrocarbon sensor being arranged in a sensor chamber coupled to the line and being set back in the sensor chamber with respect to the line, the hydrocarbon sensor comprising:
at least one first temperature sensor;
at least one second temperature sensor; and
at least one heating element for heating the gas flow arranged between the at least one first temperature sensor and the at least one second temperature sensor.
11. The internal combustion engine apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein the line is configured to provide pneumatic communication between a tank venting system and at least one cylinder of the internal combustion engine.
12. The internal combustion engine apparatus as claimed in claim 11 further comprising: a storage reservoir coupled to the line and configured to store gaseous hydrocarbons.