Battery arm sensor assembly
AssigneeSkycatch, Inc.
InventorSamuel Giles Miller
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed toward a system for autonomously landing an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) within an unmanned aerial vehicle ground station (UAVGS) and removing a battery assembly from within the UAV while landed. In particular, systems described herein enable a battery arm to engage a battery assembly and remove the battery assembly from within the UAV. Additionally, the battery arm can include one or more sensors that detect a pattern of sensor contacts arranged on an end of the battery assembly. In particular, the sensors on the battery arm can detect and identify the battery assembly based on the particular pattern of sensor contacts on the end of the battery assembly.
Claims20
A system comprising:
- an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
- a main body;
- and
- a battery assembly within the main body of the UAV, the battery assembly comprising a plurality of sensor contacts arranged in a pattern on a first end of the battery assembly;
- and
- an unmanned aerial vehicle ground station (UAVGS) comprising:
- a landing housing sized to receive the UAV;
- and
- a battery arm comprising:
- a battery gripping assembly that extends through a portion of the landing housing to approach the first end of the battery assembly;
- one or more sensors positioned on the battery arm that detect a position of the plurality of sensor contacts on the battery assembly as the battery gripping assembly approaches the first end of the battery assembly.
A battery arm, comprising:
- a battery gripping assembly operable to extend into an unmanned aerial vehicle ground station (UAVGS) to engage a battery assembly within an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the battery assembly comprising a plurality of sensor contacts arranged in a pattern on a first end of the battery assembly;
- and
- one or more sensors positioned on the battery arm that detect a position of the plurality of sensor contacts on the battery assembly as the battery gripping assembly approaches the first end of the battery assembly.
A method comprising:
- aligning a battery arm within an unmanned aerial vehicle ground station (UAVGS) with respect to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) landed within the UAVGS by moving the battery arm within the UAVGS toward the UAV, the battery arm comprising one or more sensors on a portion of the battery arm that extends toward the UAV;
- detecting, by the one or more sensors on the battery arm, a position of the battery arm with respect to a first end of the battery assembly, the first end of the battery assembly comprising a plurality of sensor contacts arranged in a pattern on a first end of the battery assembly;
- and
- causing, based on the detected position of the battery arm with respect to the first end of the battery assembly, the portion of the battery arm to move towards the first end of the battery assembly.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.