Patents by Inventor Mark Ter Keurs

Mark Ter Keurs has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10807707
    Abstract: An unmanned aircraft system (UAS) configured for both vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing flight operations includes forward and aft wing assemblies mounted to the fuselage, each wing assembly including port and starboard nacelles terminating in motor-driven rotors powered by an onboard control system capable of adjusting rotor speeds. The UAS may transition between a powered-lift VTOL configuration to a winged-flight configuration by shifting its center of gravity forward, pivoting the wing assemblies from a powered-lift position perpendicular to the fuselage to a winged-flight position parallel to the fuselage. The forward rotor blades may be folded back so that the aft rotors may provide primary thrust for winged flight operations. Onboard attitude sensors may detect rotor or control failures, to which the control system responds by triggering a conversion to the winged-flight configuration for recovery operations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: DRAGANFLY INNOVATIONS INC.
    Inventors: Mark Ter Keurs, Garry Reusch
  • Patent number: 10377488
    Abstract: A tandem-wing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) includes forward and aft wings mounted to the fuselage by frangible spar elements, the forward wings in a shoulder-wing configuration and the aft wings in a low-wing configuration. The forward and aft wings may incorporate fill-span multifunctional control surfaces on their trailing edges. The wing design prevents interference with airflow over the fuselage into a tail-mounted ducted propeller assembly, which pivots to provide vectored thrust. A nose compartment at the nose end of the fuselage may include a forward-mounted camera with a hemispherical field of view, the nose camera protected by transparent exterior panels. A ventral cargo compartment mounted amidships may include a ventral camera gimbal-mounted to provide an overhead perspective; the ventral camera may be gimbal-mounted for articulation along multiple rotational axes to provide additional views of the UAS exterior.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: Draganfly Innovations Inc.
    Inventors: Garry Reusch, Mark Ter Keurs, Nathan Armstrong, Zenon Dragan