Flying vehicle systems and methods
AssigneeWorkhorse Group Inc.
InventorsJay Ratajczak, Wei Wei, Haonan Zhang, Thaddeus Bort, Scott Wilson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method according to certain embodiments generally involves operating a system including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and a base station. The base station includes a nest including an upper opening having an upper opening diameter and a lower opening having a lower opening diameter less than the upper opening diameter. The lower opening is accessible from within the base station. The method generally includes landing the UAV within the nest such that a portion of the UAV is accessible via the lower opening, releasably attaching a load to the UAV, and operating the UAV to deliver the load to a destination.
Claims20
A charging station for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a plurality of legs that define a size of an effective landing area of the UAV, the charging station comprising:
- a nest having at least one sidewall having an inner surface, the at least one sidewall arranged in at least one of a sloped configuration and a curved configuration about a central axis that provides an upper opening at an upper portion of the nest and a lower end of the nest, wherein the upper opening is larger, and the lower end is smaller, than the effective landing area;
- and
- a plurality of electrical contacts positioned along the inner surface of at least a portion of the at least one sidewall,
- wherein the sloped configuration or the curved configuration facilitates direct slideable displacement of an electrical contact surface of the plurality of legs along at least a portion of the at least one sidewall from a first location between the upper opening and the plurality of electrical contacts to a second location at which the electrical contact surface is in direct contact with, and electrically coupled to, one of the plurality of electrical contacts.
A charging station for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a plurality of legs that define a size of an effective landing area of the UAV, the charging station comprising:
- a nest having at least one sidewall having an inner surface, the at least one sidewall arranged in a curved configuration, the curved configuration defined in a plane that includes at least a portion of a central axis of the nest and provides an upper opening at an upper portion of the nest and a lower end of the nest, wherein the upper opening is larger, and the lower end is smaller, than the effective landing area, a curve of the curved configuration;
- and
- a plurality of electrical contacts positioned along the inner surface of at least a portion of the at least one sidewall,
- wherein the curved configuration facilitates direct slideable displacement of an electrical contact surface of the plurality of legs along at least a portion of the at least one sidewall from a first location between the upper opening and the plurality of electrical contacts to a second location at which the electrical contact surface is in direct contact with, and electrically coupled to, one of the plurality of electrical contacts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.