Patent Application
20190344888
The present invention relates to unmanned and drone aircraft and more specifically to docking devices for unmanned aircraft.
The daily use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), such as multirotor copters and similar vertical aircraft able to vertically take-off and land (VTOL), is constantly increasing. The VTOL UAVs (hereinafter: aerial drones) are used in a variety of fields such as photo shooting, deliveries and many other. Some of the aerial drones utilize an internal power source, which in some cases is rechargeable. The charging of the rechargeable power source is typically done by either connecting the aerial drones to a suitable docking station comprising or connected to a power source or connecting the aerial drones manually to a power source. The aerial drones may employ location and position mechanisms such as GPS, vision sensors, distance sensors and the like.
In order for the aerial drones to navigate to the docking station for charging the power source thereof, and/or exchange data, the aerial drones may use the location and position mechanisms. However, such location and position mechanisms may include positional errors that lead to misalignment of the aerial drone during the docking. Such misalignment may result in the drone connected inaccurately with the docking station, for example in terms of a physical or electromagnetic connection. Such inaccurate connection may prevent or limit data transfer and/or charging of the aerial drones' power source without manual intervention.
US2016001883 discloses systems and methods for autonomously landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In particular, systems and methods described herein enable a UAV to land within and interface with a UAV ground station (UAVGS). In particular, one or more embodiments described herein include systems and methods that enable a UAV to conveniently interface with and land within a UAV ground station (UAVGS). For example, one or more embodiments include a UAV that includes a landing base and landing frame that interfaces with a landing housing of a UAVGS. U.S. Pat. No. 9,346,560 discloses Systems and methods for swapping the battery on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The UAV may be able to identify and land on an energy provision station autonomously. The UAV may take off and/or land on the energy provision station. The UAV may communicate with the energy provision station. The energy provision station may store and charge batteries for use on a UAV. WO2009028913 and KR20090002201 disclose docking stations for airplanes with friction means.
Therefore, there is a great need for improved docking systems and methods to reduce the need for manual intervention for fully-automated aerial drones.
The subject matter discloses a docking station for an aerial drone, comprising a base portion comprising a top surface, an alignment system positioned at the top surface of said base portion, comprising: inclined wall portions extending downwards from the top surface to form a docking recess disposed in said top surface, configured to mechanically orient a matching docker of said aerial drone by sliding at least a portion of the aerial drone therein; and a connection module for connecting to said aerial drone upon landing.
In some cases, the docking recess is in the shape of a concaved hemisphere. In some cases, the docking recess is in the shape of a triangular or rectangular pyramid. In some cases, the docking recess is in the shape of a cone. In some cases, the docking station further comprising a friction reducing mechanism, embedded/located on the inclined wall portions. In some cases, the friction reducing mechanism is comprised of smooth metal balls designed to allow smooth vertical spinning thereof. In some cases, the friction reducing mechanism is comprised of smooth metal cylinders designed to allow smooth vertical spinning thereof.
In some cases, the connection module comprises at least two conductive elements; and wherein a first conductive element of the at least two conductive elements is configured to serve as an electric terminal, and a second conductive element of the at least two conductive elements is configured to exchange signals.
The subject matter also discloses a system for landing an aerial drone in a docking station, comprising: a docking station comprising a base portion having a top surface, an alignment system comprising inclined wall portions extending from the top surface to form a docking recess disposed in said top surface, configured to orient landing of said aerial drone by sliding at least a portion of the aerial drone therein; and a connection module for connecting to said aerial drone upon landing; and, a matching portion configured to be attached to said aerial drone, said matching portion comprising a matching docker in a complimentary shape to the docking recess, wherein the matching docker is designed to fit inside the docking recess; a drone connector element configured to physically connect the matching portion to the aerial drone; a docking connector configured to electrically connect the aerial drone with the docking station.
In some cases, the matching portion is an integral component of the aerial drone. In some cases, the matching portion is a removable component of the aerial drone. In some cases, the docking recess is in the shape of a triangular or rectangular pyramid. In some cases, the docking recess is in the shape of a cone. In some cases, the docking station further comprising a friction reducing mechanism, embedded/located on the inclined wall portions.
In some cases, the friction reducing mechanism comprises of smooth metal balls designed to allow smooth vertical spinning thereof. In some cases, the friction reducing mechanism is comprised of smooth metal cylinders designed to allow smooth vertical spinning thereof. In some cases, each of the connection module of the docking station and the docking connector comprises of at least two conductive elements; and wherein a first conductive element of the at least two conductive elements is configured to serve as an electric terminal, and a second conductive element of the three conductive elements is configured to exchange signals.
The subject matter also discloses a method for landing an aerial drone having a matching portion in a docking station, comprising aerial drone starts the landing procedure by reaching to the docking station, the aerial drone hovers above the docking station and about the docking recesses comprising inclined wall portions; the aerial drone descends to the rim of the docking recess; the aerial drone shuts down its engine, thereby sliding across inclined wall portions of said docking recess; the aerial drone is electrically connected to the docking station.
The invention may be more clearly understood upon reading of the following detailed description of non-limiting exemplary embodiments thereof, with reference to the following drawings, in which:
The following detailed description of embodiments of the invention refers to the accompanying drawings referred to above. Dimensions of components and features shown in the figures are chosen for convenience or clarity of presentation and are not necessarily shown to scale. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings and the following description to refer to the same and like parts.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below. In the interest of clarity, not all features/components of an actual implementation are necessarily described.
The subject matter in the present invention discloses landing an aerial drone on a docking station. The term “aerial drone” used herein depicts unmanned VTOLs such as multicopters. The term “hover” used herein is defined as maintaining a substantially fixed latitude over a specified surface.
In some embodiments, the alignment system 110 is located at the center of the top surface 102 of the base portion 105. In some embodiments, the alignment portion 110 comprising inclined wall portions 115, which are inclined towards the center of the base portion 105, creating a docking recess 120 inside base portion 105. The docking recess 120 enables facilitating the aerial drone to a desired location on the top surface 102 of the base portion 105 without requiring precise navigation of the aerial drone. The docking recess 120 surface area at the height of the top surface is equal to or larger than the surface area of the aerial drone.
In some embodiments, the docking recess 120 is shaped in a concave manner (hemisphere) such as in
In some embodiments, the connection module 125 may be comprised of 3 conductive elements, for example shaped as rings. The first conductive element serves as a positive electric terminal (+), the second ring serves as a negative electric terminal (−) and the third ring serves as a signal exchange terminal.
The matching docker 210 is configured to slidingly fit inside the docking recess 120 of the docking station 100. In some embodiments, the matching docker 210 has a physical shape that matches the physical shape of the docking recess 120, for example with an opposite matching inclined/concaved surface 215. For example, if the docking recess 120 is in the shape of a concave hemisphere, then the matching docker 210 would be shaped in a convex hemisphere as shown in
In some embodiments, the docking connector 220 comprises a docker charging module (not shown) configured to be connected, either wired or wirelessly, to the docking charging module for charging the power source of the aerial drone. In further embodiments, the docking connector 220 comprises a docker data exchange module (not shown) configured to be connected, either wired or wirelessly, to a docking data exchange module for exchanging data with the docking station 100.
In other embodiments, the matching portion 200 may be designed as an external add-on for existing aerial drones. In these cases, the drone connector 220 may comprise an electrical adapter extending therefrom for connecting the matching portion 200 to a power socket of the aerial drone. Thus, the add-on matching portion 200 enables charging the aerial drone by the docking station. In further cases, the matching portion 200 may comprise a data adapter designed to be connected to a data socket of the aerial drone. Additionally, the matching portion 200 may further comprise drone connecting elements (not shown), such as straps, screws and the like, for securing the matching portion to an aerial drone.
It should be understood that the above description is merely exemplary and that there are various embodiments of the present invention that may be devised, mutatis mutandis, and that the features described in the above-described embodiments, and those not described herein, may be used separately or in any suitable combination; and the invention can be devised in accordance with embodiments not necessarily described above.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 259252 | May 2018 | IL | national |
