Self-contained aerial cargo vehicle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10479499-B2
Application number	US-201615365414-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2016
Priority date	Nov 30, 2016
Publication date	Nov 19, 2019
Grant date	Nov 19, 2019

Abstract

An aerial vehicle includes one or more rotors and a cargo container. The one or more rotors are configured to propel the aerial vehicle. The cargo container defines a cargo volume and is configured to travel with the aerial vehicle during propulsion by the one or more rotors. The cargo container is further configured to contain, at least, the one or more rotors, when the aerial vehicle is not configured for moving cargo.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An aerial vehicle comprising:
one or more rotors configured to propel the aerial vehicle;
a cargo container comprising a first horizontally disposed wall, a second horizontally disposed wall, and a plurality of vertically disposed walls, each of the plurality of vertically disposed walls, the first horizontally disposed wall, and the second horizontally disposed wall are configured to combine to form an enclosure defining a cargo volume, the cargo container configured to move cargo with the aerial vehicle during propulsion by the one or more rotors and configured to contain, at least, the one or more rotors, when the aerial vehicle is not configured for moving cargo,
wherein the first horizontally disposed wall is a ceiling wall of the cargo container and a first surface of the ceiling wall is an exterior top wall of the cargo container, and when the one or more rotors are contained within the cargo container, the first horizontally disposed wall is a floor wall of the cargo container and the first surface of the floor wall is an interior floor wall of the cargo container.

2. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more rotors are configured to be collapsible into the cargo container, when the aerial vehicle is not configured for moving cargo.

3. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising a controller configured to control the aerial vehicle for unmanned travel, when the aerial vehicle is configured for moving cargo.

4. The aerial vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to receive control commands from a remote operator, the control commands for directing travel of the aerial vehicle, when the aerial vehicle is configured for moving cargo.

5. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more rotors include a plurality of rotor components and a plurality of joints, each of the plurality of joints associated with at least two rotor components, each of the plurality of joints configured to fold at least two rotor components of the one or more rotors, and
wherein the one or more rotors are configured to be collapsible into the cargo container by folding one or more of the plurality of rotor components, with respect to another of the plurality of rotor components, at each of the plurality of joints.

6. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of one or more power sources, one or more controllers, one or more actuators, one or more wireless transceivers, one or more batteries, one or more rotor blades, and any combinations thereof,
wherein each of the one or more rotors includes at least one of one or more support structures, one or more rotor motors, one or more rotor blades, and any combinations thereof,
wherein each of the at least one of one or more power sources, one or more controllers, one or more actuators, one or more wireless transceivers, one or more batteries, one or more rotor blades, and any combinations thereof are configured to be contained by the container, when the aerial vehicle is not configured for moving cargo, and
wherein each of the at least one of the one or more rotors, the one or more support structures of the one or more rotors, the one or more rotor motors of the one or more rotors, the one or more rotor blades of the one or more rotors, and any combinations thereof are configured to be contained by the container, when the aerial vehicle is not configured for moving cargo.

7. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the first and second horizontally disposed walls are horizontally disposed substantially perpendicular with respect to the direction of gravity and each of the plurality of vertically disposed walls are disposed substantially parallel with the direction of gravity, and
wherein the one or more rotors are operatively coupled with the first horizontally disposed wall.

8. The aerial vehicle of claim 7 , wherein each of the plurality of vertically disposed walls, the first horizontally disposed wall, and the second horizontally disposed wall are attachable and detachable, with respect to another of the plurality of vertically disposed walls, the first horizontally disposed wall, and the second horizontally disposed wall.

9. The aerial vehicle of claim 8 , wherein the one or more rotors are operatively coupled with a first surface of the first horizontally disposed wall and remains operatively coupled with the first surface of the first horizontally disposed wall when the aerial vehicle is configured for moving cargo and when the one or more rotors are contained by the cargo container.

10. The aerial vehicle of claim 8 , wherein, when the aerial vehicle is configured for moving cargo, the cargo container is configured, for assembly, to maintain the cargo volume, as the one or more rotors propel the aerial vehicle from the ceiling wall of the cargo container.

11. The aerial vehicle of claim 8 , wherein, when the aerial vehicle is configured for moving cargo, each of the plurality of vertically disposed walls are reconfigured as repurposed horizontal walls, each of the repurposed horizontal walls substantially perpendicular with the direction of gravity, and
wherein each of the repurposed horizontal walls and the second horizontal wall are configured to be stacked beneath and substantially parallel with the ceiling wall.

12. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , further comprising an external load lifting connection, the external load lifting connection operatively coupled with the cargo container and configured to lift an external load during travel of the aerial vehicle.

13. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more rotors are a quadrotor configuration for propelling the aerial vehicle.

14. The aerial vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the one or more rotors are a tandem rotor configuration for propelling the aerial vehicle.

15. A cargo unit configured for aerial travel to transport a cargo load, the cargo unit comprising:
a cargo container comprising a first horizontally disposed wall, a second horizontally disposed wall, and a plurality of vertically disposed walls, each of the plurality of vertically disposed walls, the first horizontally disposed wall, and the second horizontally disposed wall are configured to combine to form an enclosure defining a cargo volume;
an aerial vehicle including, at least, one or more rotors configured to propel the cargo unit, when the cargo unit is configured for moving the cargo load, and the aerial vehicle configured to be contained by the cargo container, when the cargo unit is not configured for moving the cargo load, within a portion of the cargo volume,
wherein the first horizontally disposed wall is a ceiling wall of the cargo container and a first surface of the ceiling wall is an exterior top wall of the cargo container, and when the one or more rotors are contained within the cargo container, the first horizontally disposed wall is a floor wall of the cargo container and the first surface of the floor wall is an interior floor wall of the cargo container.

16. The cargo unit of claim 15 , wherein the aerial vehicle is configured to be collapsible into the cargo container, when the cargo unit is not configured for moving the cargo load.

17. The cargo unit of claim 15 , wherein the aerial vehicle further includes a controller configured to control the aerial vehicle for unmanned travel, when the aerial vehicle is configured for moving the cargo load.

18. A method for packing an aerial vehicle within an operatively coupled cargo container, the cargo container comprising a first horizontally disposed

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Newman Daniel I

Classifications

• B64U2101/60

  for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons · CPC title

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · CPC title

• B64U80/70

  in containers (B64U80/60 takes precedence) · CPC title

• B64D9/003

  Devices for retaining pallets or freight containers · CPC title

• B64C2201/146

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic