Methods and systems for door-enabled loading and release of payloads in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11186368-B2
Application number	US-201715850705-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2017
Priority date	Dec 21, 2017
Publication date	Nov 30, 2021
Grant date	Nov 30, 2021

Abstract

Example implementations may relate to door-enabled loading and release of payloads in an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which could be a type of UAV in a group of UAVs that is assigned to carry out certain transport tasks. In particular, the UAV may include a fuselage having a first side and a second side, as well as a chamber formed within the fuselage and arranged to house a payload. A first door may be arranged on the first side of the fuselage, such that an opening of the first door enables loading of the payload into the chamber. And a second door may be arranged on the second side of the fuselage, such that an opening of the second door enables release of the payload from the chamber. Moreover, the UAV may include a control system configured to control flight of the UAV, and possibly opening and/or closing of door(s).

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
a control system configured to control flight of the UAV;
a fuselage having a top side, a bottom side, and a chamber arranged to house a payload;
a first door arranged on the top side of the fuselage, wherein an opening of the first door enables loading of the payload into the chamber; and
a second door arranged on the bottom side of the fuselage and facing the first door such that the chamber is between the first door and the second door and the payload in the chamber is between the first door and the second door, wherein an opening of the second door enables release of the payload from the chamber by dropping the payload.

2. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the bottom side is substantially oriented towards the ground during flight of the UAV, and wherein the top side is substantially opposite the bottom side.

3. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control system is further configured to:
determine that the UAV is at a pickup location for pickup of the payload; and
in response to determining that the UAV is at a pickup location for pickup of the payload, cause the opening of the first door to enable loading of the payload into the chamber.

4. The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control system is further configured to:
determine that the UAV is at a delivery location for delivery of the payload; and
in response to determining that the UAV is at a delivery location for delivery of the payload, cause the opening of the second door to enable release of the payload from the chamber.

5. The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising:
a propulsion unit including one or more unexposed propellers.

6. The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising an authentication system, wherein the control system is further configured to:
while the UAV is at a pickup location for pickup of the payload, receive, from the authentication system, authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user to place the payload for pickup; and
in response to receiving authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user to place the payload for pickup, cause the opening of the first door to enable loading of the payload into the chamber.

7. The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising an authentication system, wherein the control system is further configured to:
while the UAV is at a delivery location for delivery of the payload, receive, from the authentication system, authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user; and
in response to receiving authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user, cause the opening of the second door to enable release of the payload from the chamber.

8. A method comprising:
determining, by a control system, that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is at a pickup location for pickup of a payload, wherein the UAV comprises a fuselage having a top side, a bottom side, and a chamber arranged to house the payload, wherein a first door is arranged on the top side of the fuselage and a second door is arranged on the bottom side of the fuselage and facing the first door such that the chamber is between the first door and the second door
in response to determining that the UAV is at the pickup location for pickup of the payload, causing, by the control system, the opening of the first door to enable loading of the payload into the chamber such that the payload is between the first door and the second door in the chamber;
determining, by the control system, that the UAV is at a delivery location for delivery of the payload; and
in response to determining that the UAV is at a delivery location for delivery of the payload, causing, by the control system, the opening of the second door to enable release of the payload from the chamber by dropping the payload.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bottom side is substantially oriented towards the ground during flight of the UAV, and wherein the top side is substantially opposite the bottom side.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein the UAV further comprises an authentication system, the method further comprising:
while the UAV is at the pickup location for pickup of the payload, receiving, by the control system from the authentication system, authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user to place the payload for pickup,
wherein causing the opening of the first door to enable loading of the payload into the chamber is further in response to receiving authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user to place the payload for pickup.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the UAV further comprises an authentication system, the method further comprising:
while the UAV is at the delivery location for delivery of the payload, receiving, by the control system from the authentication system, authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user,
wherein causing the opening of the second door to enable release of the payload from the chamber is further in response to receiving authentication data indicating that a user is an authorized user.

12. A method comprising:
receiving, by a control system, a request for a transport task to be performed by at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) from a group of UAVs, wherein the group of UAVs includes at least a first UAV of a first type and a second UAV of a second type, wherein the first type of UAV comprises a fuselage having a top side, a bottom side, and a chamber arranged to house a payload, wherein a first door is arranged on the top side of the fuselage, wherein an opening of the first door enables loading of the payload into the chamber, wherein a second door is arranged on the bottom side of the fuselage and facing the first door such that the chamber is between the first door and the second door and the payload in the chamber is between the first door and the second door, wherein an opening of the second door enables release of the payload from the chamber by dropping the payload;
based on the first UAV being of the first type, determining, by the control system, that the first UAV meets a criteria for the transport task; and
in response to determining that the first UAV meets the criteria for the transport task, causing, by the control system, the first UAV to perform the transport task corresponding to the received request.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the transport task is associated with a requested item, wherein the first type of UAV is arranged to transport one or more items having a collective weight up to a first weight, wherein the second type of UAV is arranged to transport one or more items having a collective weight up to a second weight, wherein the second weight is greater than the first weight, and wherein determining, based on the first UAV being of the first type, that the first UAV meets the criteria for the transport task comprises:
based on the first UAV being of the first type, determining that the first UAV is arranged to transport the requested item that is of a weight lesser than the first weight.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the transport task is associated with a requested item, wherein the first type of UAV is arranged to transport one or more items having a collective size up to a first size, wherein the second type of UAV is arranged to transport one or more items having a collective size up to a second size, wherein the second size is greater than the first size, and wherein determining, based on the first UAV being of the first type, that the first UAV meets the criteria for the transport task comprises:
based on the first UAV being of the first type,

Assignees

• Wing Aviation Llc

Inventors

• Prager Andre
• Woodworth Adam

Classifications

• B64U2201/20

  Remote controls · 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

• B64U10/14

  with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters · CPC title

• B64U2101/64

  for parcel delivery or retrieval · CPC title

• B64U10/10

  Rotorcrafts · CPC title