Aerial boom with through-fan spray and related methods and vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12042810-B2
Application number	US-202017089430-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 4, 2020
Priority date	Nov 18, 2019
Publication date	Jul 23, 2024
Grant date	Jul 23, 2024

Abstract

A boom for a sprayer vehicle includes a fluid-carrying medium; at least one nozzle fluidly coupled to the fluid-carrying medium; and at least one unmanned aerial vehicle tethered to the fluid-carrying medium. The at least one unmanned aerial vehicle includes a plurality of fans, and the nozzle is arranged to discharge material through a fan. Related methods and sprayer vehicles are also disclosed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A boom for a sprayer vehicle, comprising:
a fluid-carrying medium;
at least one nozzle fluidly coupled to the fluid-carrying medium; and
at least one unmanned aerial vehicle tethered to the fluid-carrying medium, the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a plurality of fans, the plurality of fans are energized to enable the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle to go airborne, each fan configured to rotate about an axis, wherein the at least one nozzle is arranged to discharge material through at least one fan of the plurality of fans, wherein the material is discharged from the at least one nozzle in a direction parallel to the axis of the at least one fan.

2. The boom of claim 1 , wherein the at least one nozzle is adjacent to the at least one fan.

3. The boom of claim 1 , wherein the at least one nozzle is above the at least one fan.

4. The boom of claim 1 , further comprising a carrier carrying power cabling and the fluid-carrying medium.

5. The boom of claim 4 , wherein the fluid-carrying medium is fluidly coupled to at least one tee fitting, wherein the at least one nozzle is coupled to the at least one tee fitting and the at least one fan is substantially co-planar with the carrier.

6. The boom of claim 1 , further comprising a carrier that carries an electrical cable and the fluid-carrying medium.

7. The boom of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of fans have at least one surface that is substantially co-planar with a surface of the carrier.

8. The boom of claim 4 , wherein the fans of the at least one unmanned vehicle are tethered to each other via the carrier.

9. The boom of claim 1 , wherein the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle comprises at least two unmanned aerial vehicles tethered together via the fluid-carrying medium.

10. The boom of claim 9 , further comprising a carrier that carries an electrical cable and the fluid-carrying medium, wherein the at least two unmanned aerial vehicles are tethered together via the fluid-carrying medium and the electrical cable.

11. The boom of claim 10 , wherein the at least two unmanned aerial vehicles are tethered together via the carrier, the fluid-carrying medium and the electrical cable.

12. The boom of claim 1 , further comprising at least one second nozzle fluidly coupled to the fluid-carrying medium, the at least one second nozzle arranged to discharge material without the material flowing through any fans.

13. The boom of claim 12 , wherein the at least one first nozzle and the at least one second nozzle each comprise an actuator.

14. The boom of claim 1 , wherein the at least one nozzle is arranged to discharge material directly onto one of the plurality of fans.

15. A sprayer vehicle, comprising:
a chassis; at least one reel carried by the chassis; and 2
a boom carried by the at least one reel, the boom comprising: a fluid-carrying medium; at least one nozzle fluidly coupled to the fluid-carrying medium; and at least one unmanned aerial vehicle tethered to the fluid-carrying medium, the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a plurality of fans, the plurality of fans are energized to enable the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle to go airborne, each fan configured to rotate about an axis, wherein the at least one nozzle is arranged to discharge material through at least one fan of the plurality of fans, wherein the material is discharged from the at least one nozzle in a direction parallel to the axis of the at least one fan.

16. The sprayer vehicle of claim 15 , further comprising:
at least one actuator; and
at least one processor configured to control flow of the material through the at least one nozzle by sending a control signal to the at least one actuator.

Assignees

• Agco Corp

Inventors

• Crowley Mark Aron

Classifications

• B05B3/0204

  being a ventilator or fan · CPC title

• B64C39/024

  of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV · CPC title

• B64U2101/00

  UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications · CPC title

• B64U2101/30

  for imaging, photography or videography · CPC title

• B64U10/14

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