Unmanned aerial vehicle and operations thereof
First Claim
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1. A multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a weight, the UAV comprising:
- a housing forming a body of the UAV, the housing comprising an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface forming a cavity;
one or more electrical components disposed within the cavity, the one or more electrical components selected from a group comprising a power source, flight control module, inertial measurement unit (IMU), and GPS receiver;
a landing stand attached to and extending away from the housing to bear the weight of the UAV when the UAV is not airborne; and
a magnetometer attached to the landing stand at a distance of at least about 3 cm from the one or more electrical components.
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Abstract
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with improved reliability. According to one aspect of the invention, interference experienced by onboard sensors from onboard electrical components is reduced. According to another aspect of the invention, user-configuration or assembly of electrical components is minimized to reduce user errors.
105 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) having a weight, the UAV comprising:
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a housing forming a body of the UAV, the housing comprising an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface forming a cavity; one or more electrical components disposed within the cavity, the one or more electrical components selected from a group comprising a power source, flight control module, inertial measurement unit (IMU), and GPS receiver; a landing stand attached to and extending away from the housing to bear the weight of the UAV when the UAV is not airborne; and a magnetometer attached to the landing stand at a distance of at least about 3 cm from the one or more electrical components. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
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a central body comprising an upper housing member and a lower housing member, the upper housing member and the lower housing member forming a central cavity, wherein the central cavity is configured to house one or more electrical components (1) configured to control the operation of the UAV, and (2) comprising at least a flight control module; multiple branch housing members extending from the central body, with individual branch housing members comprising an upper branch housing member and a lower branch housing member; at least one landing stand attached to the lower housing member at at least one corresponding attachment interface; and a magnetometer carried by the at least one landing stand; wherein the individual branch housing members are configured to support one or more actuator assemblies, with individual actuator assemblies comprising an actuator configured to provide thrust to the UAV in response to communications from the flight control module; wherein at least a portion of the lower branch housing member of an individual branch housing member extends beneath at least a portion of a corresponding actuator assembly; and wherein the upper branch housing members and the upper housing member form an integral upper body portion, the lower branch housing members and the lower housing member form an integral lower body portion, and the integral upper body portion and the integral lower body portion are removably coupled to form a hollow body portion comprising the central cavity. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9)
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10. A multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
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a housing having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a cavity, the housing including; an upper body portion formed from an upper central housing member and multiple upper branch housing members; and a lower body portion attached to the upper body portion and formed from a corresponding lower central housing member and multiple corresponding lower branch housing members; a flight control module positioned in the cavity; at least one landing stand attached to the outer surface of the housing at at least one corresponding attachment interface; a magnetometer attached to the at least one landing stand, and positioned at least 3 cm from the flight control module; and multiple actuator assemblies, with individual actuator assemblies including an actuator and a rotor; wherein individual upper branch housing members and corresponding individual lower branch housing members form individual branch housing members, and wherein individual actuator assemblies are located at corresponding individual branch housing members. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19)
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20. A multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
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a housing having an outer surface and an inner surface, the inner surface defining a cavity, the housing having an “
X”
shaped arrangement and including;an upper body portion integrally formed from an upper central housing member and multiple upper branch housing members; and a lower body portion attached to the upper body portion and integrally formed from a corresponding lower central housing member and multiple corresponding lower branch housing members; a flight control module positioned in the cavity; a first landing stand attached to the outer surface of the housing at two corresponding attachment interfaces; a second landing stand attached to the outer surface of the housing at two corresponding attachment interfaces; a magnetometer attached to the first landing stand, and positioned at least 3 cm from the flight control module; a wire connected to the magnetometer and extending through an opening in one of the attachment interfaces of the first landing stand, and into the cavity; multiple actuator assemblies, with individual actuator assemblies including an actuator and a rotor, wherein an individual upper branch housing member and a corresponding individual lower branch housing member form an individual branch housing member, and wherein individual actuator assemblies are located at corresponding individual branch housing members; and multiple electronic speed controller (ESC) modules, with individual ESC modules coupled to corresponding individual actuator assemblies via corresponding electrical wires. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification