Falling drone warning apparatuses and methods
First Claim
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1. A falling drone warning apparatus comprising a structure, a processor, an accelerometer, an audible alarm, and a power source, wherein:
- the processor, the accelerometer, the audible alarm, and the power source are mechanically coupled to the structure, and the structure is configured to be attached to a drone;
the power source supplies electrical power to the processor, the accelerometer, and the audible alarm;
the accelerometer is capable of measuring acceleration in three orthogonal axes and is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of reading a measured acceleration for each of the three orthogonal axes;
the audible alarm is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of activating the audible alarm; and
the processor activates the audible alarm in a first audible manner based on whether the measured acceleration of one or more of the three orthogonal axes or a combination of the measured acceleration of any two or all of the three orthogonal axes is greater than a first predetermined threshold.
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Abstract
Falling drone warning apparatuses and methods are disclosed. The apparatus may be attached to a drone and may measure acceleration during the drone'"'"'s operation in order to ascertain whether the drone is free falling. If the apparatus detects that the drone is free falling, the apparatus may activate an audible alarm to warn people on the ground of the potential danger and to afford them the opportunity to take action to avoid the drone'"'"'s impact or minimize its effect.
17 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A falling drone warning apparatus comprising a structure, a processor, an accelerometer, an audible alarm, and a power source, wherein:
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the processor, the accelerometer, the audible alarm, and the power source are mechanically coupled to the structure, and the structure is configured to be attached to a drone; the power source supplies electrical power to the processor, the accelerometer, and the audible alarm; the accelerometer is capable of measuring acceleration in three orthogonal axes and is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of reading a measured acceleration for each of the three orthogonal axes; the audible alarm is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of activating the audible alarm; and the processor activates the audible alarm in a first audible manner based on whether the measured acceleration of one or more of the three orthogonal axes or a combination of the measured acceleration of any two or all of the three orthogonal axes is greater than a first predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A falling drone warning apparatus comprising a structure, a processor, an accelerometer, an acoustic sensor, an audible alarm, and a power source, wherein:
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the processor, the accelerometer, the acoustic sensor, the audible alarm, and the power source are mechanically coupled to the structure, and the structure is configured to be attached to a drone; the power source supplies electrical power to the processor, the accelerometer, the acoustic sensor, and the audible alarm; the accelerometer is capable of measuring acceleration in three orthogonal axes and is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of reading a measured acceleration for each of the three orthogonal axes; the acoustic sensor measures one or more sound characteristics of one or more propellers of the drone, and the acoustic sensor is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of reading the one or more measured sound characteristics from the acoustic sensor; the audible alarm is electrically coupled to the processor such that the processor is capable of activating the audible alarm; and the processor activates the audible alarm in a first audible manner based on whether the measured acceleration of one or more of the three orthogonal axes or a combination of the measured acceleration of any two or all of the three orthogonal axes is greater than a first predetermined threshold and based on the one or more measured sound characteristics. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A falling drone warning method comprising:
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attaching a falling drone warning apparatus to a drone, wherein the falling drone apparatus comprises an accelerometer capable of measuring acceleration in three orthogonal axes, an audible alarm, a visual alarm, and a power source, and the power source supplies electrical power to the accelerometer, the audible alarm, and the visual alarm; measuring the acceleration in each of the three orthogonal axes by the accelerometer; and activating the audible alarm in a first audible manner and activating the visual alarm in a first visual manner based on whether the measured acceleration of one or more of the three orthogonal axes or a combination of the measured acceleration of any two or all of the three orthogonal axes is greater than a first predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (20)
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Specification