Patent Application
20240408510
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The present invention is directed to inflatable devices, particularly to an inflatable device that can be used as a drone racing course.
In recent years, with the promotion of drone applications, drone products have developed rapidly, and various types of drone products have appeared in the civilian market. Generally, a drone refers to an unmanned airplane, which means a flight that is designed to allow a pilot to perform a specified mission without boarding it. This kind of drone started from the development of unmanned airplanes to prepare for war by reconnaissance and aggression in the army, but recently it has been popularized for recreation even for the general public.
In recent years, such drone has many merits such as being utilized in various fields such as logistics delivery, disaster relief, broadcasting and leisure, besides military use due to various advantages such as simplicity, promptness and economic efficiency.
Radio controlled unmanned aircraft (e.g. drones, such as quadcopters) can move at high speed and make rapid changes in direction when remotely piloted by a skilled user. In drone racing, users race their respective drones around a course using remote-controls to maneuver around the course (e.g. through gates, around obstacles, etc.). A camera view from a drone may be relayed to a user to allow a First Person View (FPV) so that the user can see where the drone is going and steer it accordingly in the manner of a pilot sitting in the cockpit of an aircraft.
A drone may include a flight controller that provides output to motors and thus controls propeller speed to change thrust. For example, a quadcopter has four motors, each coupled to a corresponding propeller, with propellers mounted to generate thrust substantially in parallel (e.g. their axes of rotation may be substantially parallel). The flight controller may change speeds of the motors to change the orientation and velocity of the drone and the propellers may remain in a fixed orientation (i.e. without changing the angle of thrust with respect to the quadcopter) and may have fixed-pitch (i.e. propeller pitch may not be adjustable like a helicopter propeller so that each motor powers a corresponding fixed-pitch propeller in a fixed orientation with respect to a drone chassis). The flight controller may be directed by commands received from the user's remote control and may generate outputs to motors to execute the commands.
With the continuous maturity of drone technology, a large number of masses are interested in drone racing technology. The current invention proposes an inflatable drone racing course that would be used in indoor or outdoor environments for the purpose of navigating drones through a race course with uniquely shaped obstacles for each race gate. The racing course also includes Velcro for light strips, battery bank pockets, tie-down loops, and a timing system.
It is to be noted that as per Applicant's knowledge, none of these prior art methods have been found to be completely suitable to meet these needs and are cumbersome and non-durable. Hence, the inventor of the present invention proposes to resolve and surmount existent technical difficulties and to eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings of prior art.
In light of the disadvantages of the prior art, the following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
It is the objective of the invention to provide advancement in inflatable racing courses specially designed for drones.
It is the primary objective of the invention to provide indoor or outdoor environments for the purpose of navigating drones through a race course with uniquely shaped obstacles for each race gate.
It is further the objective of the invention to provide an entertainment-based, race course that sets up easily and includes integrated Velcro for LED light strips on interior openings.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a racing course with pockets to hold a battery bank for LED light strips.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a racing course with an electronic drone timing system.
It is furthermore the objective of the invention to provide an inflatable drone racing course i.e. developed from high-quality suitable material including but not limited to plastic, PVC, and so on.
It is also the objective of the invention that provides a wind-resistant and weather-resistant drone racing course.
Therefore, it can be seen that the right combination of features incorporated in the device of the present invention produces surprising results that are not produced by the prior art.
This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.
FIG. illustrates another view of the invention;
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aerial system (UAS), commonly known as a drone and referred to as a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. Its flight is controlled either autonomously by onboard computers or by the remote control of a pilot on the ground or in another vehicle. The typical launch and recovery method of an unmanned aircraft is by the function of an automatic system or an external operator on the ground. Historically, UAVs were simple remotely piloted aircraft, but autonomous control is increasingly being employed.
With the growth in industries such as virtual reality gaming, eSports and aerial drone racing, there is a growing need for the next generation of interactive game play. The Sports industry has grown massively, with users and audiences that want more than ever to experience live competitive events, where the users may compete against each other in video games or hardware competitions such as aerial drone racing.
The current invention as per its preferred embodiment aims to provide Entertainment-based inflatable racing drones. The inflatable obstacle course includes a frame unit. The frame unit is configured to be placed adjacent to a second frame unit in a sequence with a first frame unit and a last frame unit. The modular units can be rearranged for maintaining novelty of the course. A constant air inflatable portion is configured to be placed adjacent to a second constant air inflatable portion with a first constant air inflatable portion and a last constant air inflatable portion. The constant air inflatable portion fits over the frame unit and is preferably strapped to the frame unit. The constant air inflatable portion is attached to the frame unit to support the constant air inflatable portion. The constant air inflatable portion covers a portion of the frame unit. An air connection such as a fabric tube is preferably formed between the frame unit and the constant air inflatable portion.
The modules can be connected sequentially. A first module can connect to a second module. A First Frame can connect to a second frame. Similarly, a first inflatable portion can structurally and through air conduit connect to a second inflatable portion. The course is preferably arranged in a successive sequence so that the last module is connected to its adjacent module frame, and the last module frame is connected to its adjacent module frame. Furthermore, the last module inflatable portion is connected to its adjacent module inflatable portion. The modules can be rearranged and separated into three separate racing courses.
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
