Back to results
US 12,207,588 B2Granted
Seed pod deployer
AssigneeFlash Forest Inc.
InventorsBadriveer Thota, Yutong Xie, Navneet Ambale Gopinath, Jeffery Awobodu
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A seed pod deployer includes a body having a hopper adapted to contain a plurality of seed pods; a feeder adapted to transfer the seed pods from the hopper to a nozzle; a launcher adapted to receive the seed pods from the nozzle, the launcher comprising a pair of flywheels and at least one motor adapted for driving the pair of flywheels; and a control system adapted for controlling the operation of the seed pod deployer.
Claims20
A seed pod deployer for use with an aerial drone distribution system, the seed pod deployer comprising:
- a hopper adapted to contain a plurality of seed pods;
- a feeder adapted to transfer the seed pods from said hopper to a nozzle, said feeder including a motor that is adapted to receive a signal to control the transfer of the seed pods from said hopper to said nozzle;
- a launcher adapted to receive the seed pods from said nozzle and launch the seed pods toward a ground surface, said launcher comprising a pair of flywheels and at least one motor adapted for driving said pair of flywheels, wherein said pair of flywheels is spaced by a gap adapted to receive and launch a seed pod;
- and
- a control system that operates in a closed loop for controlling the operation of the seed pod deployer during flight of the aerial drone distribution system, said control system including a sensor for providing feedback to said control system, said control system further including a microcontroller that is adapted to control said feeder by sending a signal to said motor of said feeder to transfer the seed pods from said hopper to said nozzle based on information received from said sensor.
2 more elements
A distribution system for seed pods comprising:
- an aerial drone;
- a seed pod deployer having:
- a hopper adapted to contain a plurality of seed pods;
- a feeder adapted to transfer the seed pods from said hopper to a nozzle, said feeder including a motor that is adapted to receive a signal to control the transfer of the seed pods from said hopper to said nozzle;
- a launcher adapted to receive the seed pods from said nozzle and launch the seed pods toward a ground surface, said launcher comprising a pair of flywheels and at least one motor adapted for driving said pair of flywheels, wherein said pair of flywheels is spaced by a gap adapted to receive and launch a seed pod;
- a control system that operates in a closed loop for controlling the operation of said seed pod deployer during flight of said aerial drone, said control system including a sensor for providing feedback to said control system, said control system further including a microcontroller that is adapted to control said feeder by sending a signal to said motor of said feeder to transfer the seed pods from said hopper to said nozzle based on information received from said sensor;
- and
- a mount disposed on said seed pod deployer for mounting said seed pod deployer to the aerial drone.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.