US 11,891,158 B2Granted

Unmanned aerial vehicle search and rescue system

OwnerThomas Lawrence Moses, Merrill Stuart Rossinventors

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A search and rescue drone system includes a buoyant body member, a frame attached to the buoyant body member for carrying a motor and propeller, and an electronic array including a camera, GPS, an EPIRB radio distress beacon, and a transmitter/receiver for remote control flying the drone and communicating with an operator. A laser guidance system may provide coordinates for landing near a swimmer in distress. The search and rescue drone may also be programmed to simply fly to the location of an electronic wearable device, like a bracelet, that is worn by a man overboard. In another embodiment, the search and rescue drone includes pivoting motor mounts, so that it can take off and land vertically with propellers rotating in a horizontal plane, and then the propellers may pivot to rotate in a vertical plane for propulsion across water similar to a fan boat with rescued people aboard.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A lifesaving unmanned aerial vehicle system comprising:

a main body member that is buoyant, said main body member including a support surface, so that a swimmer in distress may climb aboard said main body member, and wherein said swimmer is supported by said support surface;
a frame member extending upwardly from said main body member, said frame member farther including a series of arms extending outwardly so that a motor and propeller are disposed at a distal end of each arm;
a pivoting mount attached to said arms, said each said pivoting mount carrying a motor and a propeller, wherein said pivoting mount pivots in at least a 90 degree range and allowing said propellers to rotate in a range of motion from generally horizontal plane or a generally vertical plane;
said frame member carrying a transmitter and receiver, a battery, and an onboard computing device;
and
a remote control device that wirelessly communicates with said transmitter and receiver for flying said unmanned aerial vehicle system.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/391,293Filed 2 Aug 2021 · division
Priority: 25 Jul 2018
Published: US 2021/0354795 A118 Nov 2021
Granted: 6 Feb 2024
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification31 codes

B63C 9/01
Life-saving in water: air-sea rescue devices, i.e. equipment carried by, and capable of being dropped from, an aircraft
B63H 7/02
Propulsion directly actuated on air: using propellers
B64C 25/54
Characterised by elements which contact the ground or similar surface: floats
B64C 27/52
Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto: tilting of rotor bodily relative to fuselage

Family

Application16/045,137Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 25 Jul 2018
Application16/380,446Parent of this division · filed 10 Apr 2019
US 2021/0354795 A1Pre-grant publication · published 18 Nov 2021
US 11,136,096 B2Parent of this division
US 10,668,997 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
Application16/380,446Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 11,548,600 B2Related patent
US 2020/0031437 A1Published application
US 2020/0031438 A1Published application
US 11,891,158 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.