# US 10,120,376 B2 · Renewable UAV energy via blade rotation > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,120,376 B2 - Document ID: US10120376B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/364,630 - Filed: 2016-11-30 - Published: 2018-05-31 - Granted: 2018-11-06 - Earliest claimed: 2016-11-30 - Assignees: International Business Machines Corporation - Applicants: International Business Machines Corporation - Inventors: Gregory J. Boss; Jeremy R. Fox; Andrew R. Jones; Kevin C. McConnell; John E. Moore, Jr. - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10120376B2 ## CPC - B60L 53/68: Off-site monitoring or control, e.g. remote control - B60L 8/006: {Converting flow of air into electric energy, e.g. by using wind turbines} - B60L 53/24: Using the vehicle's propulsion converter for charging - B60L 53/305: {Communication interfaces} - B60L 53/52: Wind-driven generators - B60L 58/12: responding to state of charge [SoC] - B64U 50/19: using electrically powered motors - B64U 50/34: In-flight charging (photovoltaics B64U50/31) - F03D 7/0224: {Adjusting blade pitch} - F03D 9/25: the apparatus being an electrical generator (F03D9/22 takes precedence) - F03D 9/32: on moving objects, e.g. vehicles - G08G 1/017: identifying vehicles (G08G1/015, G08G1/054 take precedence) - G08G 1/20: {Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles} - G08G 5/21: located onboard the aircraft - G08G 5/22: located on the ground - G08G 5/26: Transmission of traffic-related information between aircraft and ground stations - G08G 5/34: for flight plan modification - G08G 5/54: for approach or landing - G08G 5/55: for a single aircraft - G08G 5/57: for unmanned aircraft - B60L 2200/10: Air crafts - B64U 30/20: Rotors; Rotor supports - B64U 2101/30: for imaging, photography or videography - F05B 2220/706: an electrical generator - F05B 2240/92: on an airbourne structure - F05B 2240/923: which is a vehicle - Y02E 10/72: Wind turbines with rotation axis in wind direction - Y02E 10/728: Onshore wind turbines - Y02T 10/70: Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries - Y02T 10/7072: Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors - Y02T 90/12: Electric charging stations - Y02T 90/14: Plug-in electric vehicles - Y02T 90/16: Information or communication technologies improving the operation of electric vehicles - B60L: PROPULSION OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (arrangements or mounting of electrical propulsion units or of plural diverse prime-movers for mutual or common propulsion in vehicles B60K1/00, B60K6/20; arrangements or mounting of electrical gearing in vehicles B60K17/12, B60K17/14; preventing wheel slip by reducing power in rail vehicles B61C15/08; dynamo-electric machines H02K; control or regulation of electric motors H02P); SUPPLYING ELECTRIC POWER FOR AUXILIARY EQUIPMENT OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES (electric coupling devices combined with mechanical couplings of vehicles B60D1/64; electric heating for vehicles B60H1/00); ELECTRODYNAMIC BRAKE SYSTEMS FOR VEHICLES IN GENERAL (control or regulation of electric motors H02P); MAGNETIC SUSPENSION OR LEVITATION FOR VEHICLES; MONITORING OPERATING VARIABLES OF ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES; ELECTRIC SAFETY DEVICES FOR ELECTRICALLY-PROPELLED VEHICLES - B64U: UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR - F03D: WIND MOTORS - G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93}) - F05B: INDEXING SCHEME RELATING TO WIND, SPRING, WEIGHT, INERTIA OR LIKE MOTORS, TO MACHINES OR ENGINES FOR LIQUIDS COVERED BY SUBCLASSES F03B, F03D AND F03G - Y02E: REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION - Y02T: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES RELATED TO TRANSPORTATION ## Abstract A computer-implemented method includes: monitoring, by a computer device, a charge level of a battery of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); determining, by the computer device and based on the monitoring, the charge level is less than a threshold level; docking the UAV on a host vehicle; charging the battery using wind-induced rotation of a rotor of the UAV while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; determining, by the computer device, the UAV is moving away from a destination while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; and undocking the UAV from the host vehicle based on the determining the UAV is moving away from the destination. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A computer-implemented method, comprising: monitoring, by a computer device, a charge level of a battery of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); determining, by the computer device and based on the monitoring, the charge level is less than a threshold level; determining an optimum charging location from a plurality of possible charging locations on a surface of a host vehicle; docking the UAV on the optimal charging location of the host vehicle; charging the battery using wind-induced rotation of a rotor of the UAV while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; determining, by the computer device, the UAV is moving away from a destination while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; and undocking the UAV from the host vehicle based on the determining the UAV is moving away from the destination. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising determining the host vehicle from a plurality of candidate vehicles based on determining which of the plurality of candidate vehicles include a visual indicator detectable by a camera of the UAV. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining a plurality of candidate vehicles based on broadcasts received by the computer device from respective ones of the plurality of candidate vehicles; and determining the host vehicle from the plurality of candidate vehicles. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The method of claim 3, further comprising determining, by the computer device, the host vehicle based on route information received from the respective ones of the plural candidate vehicles. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising determining a plurality of candidate vehicles by the computer device querying a database. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method of claim 5, further comprising determining, by the computer device, the host vehicle based on route information of the plural candidate vehicles received from the database. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, wherein the optimum charging location is based on one of wind tunnel test results and historical docking and charging data for particular vehicle types. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a position of the rotor while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle, wherein the adjusting the position of the rotor comprises: successively adjusting a blade pitch of the rotor to each of a plurality of predefined pitch positions; determining an optimum one of the plurality of predefined pitch positions; and adjusting the blade pitch to the determined optimum one of the plurality of predefined pitch positions. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the optimum one of the plurality of predefined pitch positions is determined based on rotational speed of the rotor at each of the plurality of predefined pitch positions. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising adjusting a position of the rotor while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle, wherein the adjusting the position of the rotor comprises at least one from the group consisting of: adjusting rotor tilt position; adjusting rotor angular position; and adjusting rotor blade pitch. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1, further comprising: capturing images of the surface of the host vehicle via a camera of the UAV; and determining, by the computer device, one or more edges of the surface of the host vehicle from the images, wherein the docking the UAV on the optimal charging location of the host vehicle comprises controlling, by the computer device, the landing of the UAV on the optimal charging location based on the one or more edges of the surface of the host vehicle. ### Claim 12 A computer program product comprising a computer readable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith, the program instructions executable by a user device to cause the computer device to: obtain data from a database, the data defining an optimum charging location on a surface of a host vehicle of a particular vehicle type for charging a battery of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), wherein the charging location is one of multiple possible charging locations on the surface of the host vehicle, and wherein the optimum charging location is determined based on the particular vehicle type; monitor a distance from a current location of the UAV to a destination of the UAV while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle and charging a battery using wind-induced rotation of a rotor of the UAV; determine, based on the monitoring, the UAV is moving away from a destination while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle; and undock the UAV from the host vehicle based on the determining the UAV is moving away from the destination. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the optimum charging location is based on one of wind tunnel test results and historical docking and charging data. ### Claim 14 (depends on 12) The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the program instructions cause the computer device to adjust a position of the rotor while the UAV is docked on the host vehicle. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The computer program product of claim 14, wherein the adjusting the position of the rotor comprises: successively adjusting a blade pitch of the rotor to each of a plurality of predefined pitch positions; determining an optimum one of the plurality of predefined pitch positions; and adjusting the blade pitch to the determined optimum one of the plurality of predefined pitch positions. ### Claim 16 (depends on 12) The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the program instructions cause the computer device to receive route information of the host vehicle from the host vehicle. ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The computer program product of claim 12, wherein the program instructions cause the computer device to receive route information of the host vehicle from the database. ### Claim 18 An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system, comprising: a processor, a computer readable memory, and a computer readable storage medium; a rechargeable battery; a propulsion system comprising a motor and a rotor; a generator configured to recharge the battery using wind-induced rotation of the rotor; program instructions to determining an optimum charging location on a surface of a host vehicle to recharge the battery of the UAV, wherein the optimum charging location is selected from a plurality of possible charging locations on the surface of a host vehicle based on a type of the host vehicle; and program instructions to determine an optimum blade pitch of the rotor for recharging the battery when the UAV is docked on the host vehicle, and the host vehicle is in motion, wherein the program instructions are stored on the computer readable storage medium for execution by the processor via the computer readable memory. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The UAV system of claim 18, wherein the optimum blade pitch is determined based on: successively adjusting the blade pitch of the rotor to each of a plurality of predefined pitch positions; and determining a respective wind-induced rotational speed of the rotor at each of the plurality of predefined pitch positions. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The UAV system of claim 18, further comprising: program instructions to capture images of the surface of the host vehicle via a camera of the UAV; and program instructions to land the UAV on the optimal charging location based on one or more edges of the surface of the host vehicle determined from the captured images.