Payload coupling apparatus for UAV and method of delivering a payload
AssigneeWing Aviation LLC
InventorsAndré Prager, Trevor Shannon, Zhefei Li, Kyle Liske
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An unmanned aerial vehicle system including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); a tether having a first end positioned in a winch system of the UAV and a second end secured to a payload coupling apparatus; a payload coupling apparatus receptacle positioned in the UAV; a payload having a handle, wherein the handle of the payload is positioned within a slot in the payload coupling apparatus; wherein the UAV has a recessed restraint slot for receiving a top portion of the payload.
Claims20
An unmanned aerial vehicle system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including a payload coupling apparatus receptacle positioned in a recessed restraint slot of the UAV;
- a payload coupling apparatus;
- a tether having a first end positioned in a winch system of the UAV and a second end secured to the payload coupling apparatus, wherein the tether is configured to extend through the payload coupling apparatus receptacle for lowering the payload coupling apparatus from the UAV and for pulling the payload coupling apparatus into the payload coupling apparatus receptacle;
- and
- a payload having a handle, wherein the handle of the payload is positioned within a slot in the payload coupling apparatus;
- wherein the recessed restraint slot is configured to receive a top portion of the payload when the payload coupling apparatus is positioned in the payload coupling apparatus receptacle.
A method of securing a payload to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), including:
- securing a payload on a payload coupling apparatus, wherein the payload coupling apparatus is attached to a tether that is coupled to a winch system of the UAV;
- operating the winch system of the UAV to retract the tether through a payload coupling apparatus receptacle positioned in a recessed restraint slot in the UAV and raise the payload coupling apparatus and payload to the UAV;
- and
- further operating the winch system to position the payload coupling apparatus into the payload coupling apparatus receptacle and to position a top portion of the payload into the recessed restraint slot.
An unmanned aerial vehicle system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) including a payload coupling apparatus receptacle and a recessed restraint slot;
- a payload coupling apparatus;
- and
- a tether having a first end coupled to a spool in the UAV and a second end secured to the payload coupling apparatus, wherein the tether is configured to extend through the payload coupling apparatus receptacle for lowering the payload coupling apparatus from the UAV and for pulling the payload coupling apparatus into the payload coupling apparatus receptacle;
- and
- wherein the recessed restraint slot is configured to receive a top portion of a payload when the payload coupling apparatus is positioned in the payload coupling apparatus receptacle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.