Payload coupling apparatus for UAV and method of delivering a payload

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10793274-B2
Application number	US-201615389074-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2016
Priority date	Sep 9, 2016
Publication date	Oct 6, 2020
Grant date	Oct 6, 2020

Abstract

A payload coupling apparatus is provided including a housing, wherein the housing is adapted for attachment to a first end of a tether, a slot extending downwardly from an outer surface of the housing towards a center of the housing thereby forming a lower tip on the housing beneath the slot, and wherein the slot is adapted to receive a handle of a payload. A method of delivering a payload using the payload coupling apparatus is also provided.

First claim

We claim:

1. A payload coupling apparatus comprising:
a housing;
wherein the housing is adapted for attachment to a first end of a tether;
a slot extending downwardly from an outer surface of the housing towards a center of the housing thereby forming a lower lip on the housing beneath the slot;
wherein the slot is adapted to receive a handle of a payload; and
wherein there are no moving parts in the payload coupling apparatus.

2. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of the housing above the slot extends further outwardly than an outermost end of the lip below the slot.

3. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a first cam and a second cam extend outwardly from an outer surface of the housing.

4. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the first and second cams are adapted to engage mating cams positioned within a fuselage of a UAV to force rotation of the housing into a desired position within the fuselage of the UAV.

5. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the handle of the payload automatically decouples from the slot of the housing when the payload is lowered to the ground.

6. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a top surface of the housing has a rounded shape.

7. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 6 , wherein a bottom surface of the housing has a rounded shape.

8. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the first cam extends upwardly to form a sharp apex and the second cam extends upwardly to form a blunt apex.

9. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the slot extends at an angle of between 35 and 55 degrees.

10. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the housing has a spherical shape.

11. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 10 , wherein an outer surface of the housing has a tether slot for positioning a tether therein, and an upper portion of the housing is weighted such that when the handle of the payload is decoupled from the slot, the top of the housing rotates downwardly.

12. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 11 , wherein the slot of the housing is prevented from reengaging the handle of the payload when the housing is retrieved to a UAV.

13. A payload coupling apparatus comprising:
a housing;
a tether attachment point on the bottom of the housing;
a slot vertically extending between a first inner surface of the housing and a pair of vertical, upwardly extending fingers on the housing;
wherein the slot is adapted to receive a handle of a payload;
an opening formed between the pair of vertical fingers;
and a tether slot positioned on the first inner surface of the housing;
wherein there are no moving parts in the payload coupling apparatus.

14. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 13 , wherein a top portion of the housing is weighted such that when the handle of the payload is decoupled from the slot of the housing, the top portion of the housing rotates 180 degrees such that the fingers point downwardly.

15. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 14 , wherein a tether is attached to the bottom of the housing and the tether is positioned within the tether slot on the first inner surface of the housing.

16. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 15 , wherein when the handle of the payload is decoupled from the slot of the housing, the tether is disengaged from the tether slot and extends through the opening between the fingers during rotation of the housing and the bottom of the housing is suspended from the tether.

17. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 13 , wherein a first cam and a second cam extend outwardly from an outer surface of the housing.

18. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the first and second cams are adapted to engage mating cams positioned within a fuselage of a UAV to force rotation of the housing into a desired position within the fuselage of the UAV.

19. The payload coupling apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the handle of the payload automatically decouples from the slot of the housing when the payload is lowered to the ground.

20. A method of delivering a payload from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), including the steps of:
providing a tether having a first end secured to a winch system positioned in the UAV and a second end secured to a payload coupling apparatus, wherein the payload coupling apparatus includes a housing;
wherein the housing is adapted for attachment to the second end of the tether;
a slot extending downwardly from an outer surface of the housing towards a center of the housing thereby forming a lower lip on the housing beneath the slot;
wherein the slot is adapted to receive a handle of a payload;
wherein there are no moving parts in the payload coupling apparatus;
positioning a handle of a payload within a slot in the payload coupling apparatus;
operating the winch system to lower the payload coupling apparatus and payload until the payload engages a ground surface; and
further operating the winch system to lower the payload coupling apparatus until the handle of the payload is decoupled from the slot of the payload coupling apparatus.

21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the slot of the payload coupling apparatus extends from an outer surface of the payload towards downwardly towards a center of the payload coupling such that a lower lip extends beneath the slot.

Assignees

• Wing Aviation Llc

Inventors

• Prager Andre
• Shannon Trevor

Classifications

• B64U70/30

  for capturing UAVs in flight by ground or sea-based arresting gear, e.g. by a cable or a net · CPC title

• G06Q10/083 Primary

  Shipping · CPC title

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64U2201/10

  autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS] · CPC title

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · CPC title