Delivery landing pads for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10960988-B2
Application number	US-201816036488-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 16, 2018
Priority date	Jul 16, 2018
Publication date	Mar 30, 2021
Grant date	Mar 30, 2021

Abstract

Delivery landing pads for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are disclosed. A disclosed landing pad to support a UAV includes a landing surface, and a pressure sensor operatively coupled to the landing surface. The landing pad also includes a processor to determine a presence of the UAV on the landing pad and calculate a weight of a payload transported by the UAV based on a measurement of the pressure sensor to determine whether the payload has been delivered to the landing pad.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method to confirm a delivery of a payload carried by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to a landing pad, the method comprising:
guiding, by instructions executed with at least one processor, the UAV to the landing pad positioned proximate a window or balcony of a building;
causing the landing pad to slide out or fold out from an outer wall of the building, wherein causing the landing pad to fold out or slide out incudes moving a vertical support and a horizontal support of the landing pad, the vertical support and the horizontal support to be rotated relative to one another to fold the landing pad away from the our wall;
detecting a presence of the UAV on the landing pad;
measuring, via a pressure sensor, a weight of the UAV and a payload carried by the UAV;
calculating, by instructions executed with the at least one processor, a weight of the payload; and
comparing, by instructions executed with the at least one processor, the weight of the payload with an expected weight of the payload to confirm delivery of the payload to the landing pad.

2. The method as defined in claim 1 , further including transmitting, by instructions executed with the at least one processor, a delivery confirmation to a fulfillment center upon verifying that the calculated weight of the payload is within a tolerance range of the expected weight.

3. The method as defined in claim 1 , further including transmitting a location and a unique identifier of the landing pad to the UAV when the UAV is within a range of the landing pad.

4. The method as defined in claim 3 , wherein the UAV is to compare the unique identifier with a unique identifier provided by a fulfillment center to verify the landing pad.

5. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the comparing the calculated weight of the payload to the expected weight is based on weights of packages for subsequent deliveries.

6. The method as defined in claim 1 , further including operating a clamp to restrain the UAV relative to the landing pad.

7. The method as defined in claim 6 , further including charging the UAV via a wireless charger of the clamp.

8. The method as defined in claim 7 , wherein charging the UAV includes wireless charging the UAV via a coil disposed in the clamp.

9. The method as defined in claim 8 , wherein the coil is positioned proximate a distal end of the clamp.

10. The method as defined in claim 1 , further including charging the UAV via a magnetic field generated by the landing pad.

11. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein the landing pad is to be folded away from the outer wall and toward a patio.

12. The method as defined in claim 1 , further including placing the UAV within a strap to retain the UAV.

13. The method as defined in claim 12 , further including tightening the strap.

14. The method as defined in claim 1 , wherein causing the landing pad to fold out or slide out includes rotating the landing pad about a hinge of the outer wall or a patio.

15. A non-transitory machine readable medium comparing instructions, which when executed, cause at least one processor to at least:
guide an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) toward a landing pad positioned proximate a window or balcony of a building;
cause the landing pad to fold out or slide out from an outer wall of the building, wherein to cause the landing pad to fold out or slide out incudes moving a vertical support and a horizontal support of the landing pad, the vertical support and the horizontal support to be rotated relative to one another to fold the landing pad away from the our wall;
calculate a weight of a payload delivered by the UAV to the landing pad based on a pressure sensor measurement of the landing pad;
compare the weight of the payload with an expected weight of the payload to confirm delivery of the payload to the landing pad; and
determine a delivery status of the payload based on the comparison of the calculated weight with the expected weight.

16. The non-transitory machine readable medium as defined in claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to:
determine that the UAV has entered a zone of the landing pad; and
cause the UAV to enter a mode in which the UAV is guided to the landing pad based on signals transmitted from the landing pad.

17. The non-transitory machine readable medium as defined in claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to cause clamps to restrain the UAV to the landing pad.

18. The non-transitory machine readable medium as defined in claim 15 , wherein the instructions cause the at least one processor to direct a transceiver to transmit a unique identifier of the landing pad to the UAV, and wherein the processor is to verify that the UAV is landing at a correct location based on the unique identifier.

Assignees

• Boeing Co

Inventors

• Walker James Kendall

Classifications

• B64F1/007 Primary

  Helicopter portable landing pads · CPC title

• G06Q10/0833 Primary

  Tracking · CPC title

• G08G5/57

  for unmanned aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/55

  for a single aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/22

  located on the ground · CPC title