Unmanned aerial vehicle for painting structures

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12564852-B2
Application number	US-202519091205-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 26, 2025
Priority date	Jan 17, 2017
Publication date	Mar 3, 2026
Grant date	Mar 3, 2026

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a sprayer configured to generate a pressurized fluid flow and a nozzle configured to receive the pressurized fluid from the sprayer and to generate a spray fan to apply the fluid to a surface. The UAV includes sensors and a control unit to control both flight of the UAV and spraying by the sprayer. The fluid can be stored onboard the UAV in a reservoir or can be remotely stored and pumped to the UAV. The UAV control unit can be preloaded with a spray plan and a flight plan, or the UAV can be controlled by a user.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for spraying a fluid on a surface of a structure, the UAV comprising:
a UAV body supporting at least one lift rotor configured to operationally drive the UAV body; a nozzle supported by the UAV body, the nozzle configured to release the fluid as a spray on the surface; a first arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a first lift rotor; a second arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a second lift rotor; and a control unit supported by the UAV body, the control unit configured to implement a force compensation routine in response to a start spray command, the force compensation routine causing a forward thrust to be applied to the UAV body to counteract a rearward thrust generated by release of the fluid through the nozzle and such that generation of the forward thrust is initiated prior to the release of the fluid.

2 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein a force compensation rotor generates the forward thrust.

3 . The UAV of claim 2 , wherein the force compensation rotor is formed separately from the first lift rotor and the second lift rotor.

4 . The UAV of claim 2 , wherein the force compensation rotor is a rear rotor supported by the UAV body.

5 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to implement a delay between causing the generation of the forward thrust and causing release of the fluid through the nozzle.

6 . The UAV of claim 5 , wherein the control unit is configured to cause generation of the forward thrust before causing release of the fluid through the nozzle.

7 . The UAV of claim 5 , wherein the control unit is configured to a force compensation rotor configured to generate the forward thrust to accelerate prior to the release of the fluid.

8 . The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid source supported by the UAV body.

9 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is supported on a spray tube extending from the UAV body.

10 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle comprises:
a tip bore; a rotatable tip extending into the tip bore; and an orifice disposed within the rotatable tip, the orifice including a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is configured to generate the spray fan.

11 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the first lift rotor is disposed at a first distal end of the first arm extending from the UAV body, and wherein the second lift rotor is disposed at a second distal end of the second arm extending from the UAV body.

12 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to maintain the UAV orientation throughout a spray pass, such that a difference between the first distance and the second distance remains steady throughout the spray pass.

13 . The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising:
a sprayer pump supported by the UAV body and configured to drive the fluid to the nozzle for spraying.

14 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to variably control the forward thrust based on a spray force generated at the nozzle.

15 . The UAV of claim 14 , wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the spray force based on sensor data provided from a sensor supported by the UAV body.

16 . The UAV of claim 14 , wherein the control unit is configured to retrieve the spray force from an acceleration profile stored in a memory of the control unit.

17 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for spraying a fluid on a surface of a structure, the UAV comprising:
a UAV body supporting at least one lift rotor configured to operationally drive the UAV body; a nozzle supported by the UAV body, the nozzle configured to release the fluid as a spray on the surface; a first arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a first lift rotor; a second arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a second lift rotor; and a control unit supported by the UAV body, the control unit configured to:
cause release of the fluid through the nozzle in response to a start spray command; and
causing a force compensation rotor to generate forward thrust to counteract rearward thrust generated by the release of the spray fluid through the nozzle;
wherein the control unit is configured to implement a delay between causing the generation of the forward thrust and causing release of the fluid through the nozzle.

18 . The UAV of claim 17 , wherein the force compensation rotor is formed separately from the first lift rotor and the second lift rotor.

19 . A method of spraying with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising:
receiving a start spray command at a control unit of the UAV; causing, by the control unit and in response to the start spray command, a forward thrust to be applied to the UAV body; and after initiating the forward thrust, causing, by the control unit and in response to the start spray command, release of a spray of spray fluid from a nozzle supported by a UAV body of the UAV, the UAV body supporting at least one lift rotor configured to operationally drive the UAV body.

20 . The method of spraying of claim 19 , wherein the control unit causes the forward thrust to be applied to the UAV body by a force compensation rotor formed separately from the at least one lift rotor.

Assignees

• Graco Minnesota Inc

Inventors

• Thompson David J
• Johnson Dale D

Classifications

• B64U2101/28

  for painting or marking · CPC title

• B64U2201/104

  using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS · CPC title

• 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

• B64U30/20

  Rotors; Rotor supports · CPC title