Static inverse desymmetrized propellers

• US 10,351,262 B1
• Filed: 08/05/2016
• Issued: 07/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Beckman, Brian C., Kimchi, Gur
• Primary Examiner(s): Elamin, Abdelmoniem I
• Application Number:
  US15/230,223
• Time in Patent Office: 1,075 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/00 Aircraft indicators or protectors not otherwise provided for camouflage F41H3/00
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 5/10 Manufacturing or assembling aircraft, e.g. jigs therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/16 with five or more distinct rotor axes, e.g. octocopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/67 the UAVs comprising tethers for lowering the goods
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41805 characterised by assembly
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/35034 Adapt design to customer feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/37337 Noise, acoustic emission, sound
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/50 On board measures aiming to increase energy efficiency

Abstract

Techniques for using a sound spectrum to generate models, which identify unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configurations, are described herein. The models may be based on components associated with a UAV, and instructions for manufacture of a UAV may be provided. For example, a sound spectrum may be obtained by a computer system which is used to generate one or more models. The one or more models are based in part on components of a UAV and identify UAV configurations that will generate an expected sound within the identified sound spectrum. The UAV configurations identified by the models are used to instruct manufacture of a UAV.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

receiving, by a computer system, input that identifies a sound spectrum, the input identified by a user, the sound spectrum comprising at least one of frequency, amplitude, or phase;

generating, by the computer system, a sound profile for the user based in part on the input, the sound profile identifying at least one of a loudness, roughness, sharpness, fluctuation strength, or tonal prominence associated with the sound of the input;

identifying, by the computer system, components of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for determining one or more acoustic models of the UAV based in part on the sound profile;

ranking, by the computer system, the components based in part on the sound profile;

generating, by the computer system, a particular acoustic model based in part on the ranked components that are associated with the UAV;

identifying, by the computer system, the particular acoustic model of an expected UAV configuration that corresponds to the sound profile; and

instructing, by the computer system, manufacture of the UAV using the configuration identified by the particular acoustic model.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the components include one or more of the airframe structure, trusses, cross-braces, payloads, joint isolator, fastener, general mounts, and motor mounts.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the ranking of components is further based in part on a weighting system.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein the weighting system is based on the sound contributed by a single component of the components with respect to the sound profile.

18. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the components for the UAV is further based in part on weighting factors associated with the configuration that are different from other weighting factors associated with another configuration of the components of the UAV, the weighting factors configured to be updated by input provided by a user.

5. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

obtaining, by a computer system, a sound spectrum comprising at least one of frequency, amplitude, or phase;

generating, by the computer system, one or more models based in part on one or more components that are associated with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a particular model of the one or more models identifying a particular UAV configuration that will generate an expected sound within a range of the sound spectrum, the expected sound associated with a sound profile that identifies at least one of a loudness, roughness, sharpness, fluctuation strength, or tonal prominence associated with the expected sound; and

instructing, by the computer system, manufacture of the UAV using the particular configuration identified by the model.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the range of the sound spectrum is specified in one-thirds or one-twenty-fourths of an octave.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising updating, by the computer system, the one or more models based on input provided by a user.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 7, wherein the configuration of the UAV includes a particular configuration for one or more propellers of the UAV.

9. The computer-implemented method of claim 8, wherein the one or more propellers have different treatments that affect the generated sound by the UAV.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein generating the one or more models is further based in part on input provided by one or more sensors associated with the UAV, the input obtained by the one or more sensors during flight of the UAV.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, wherein the input obtained by the one or more sensors include intrinsic data obtained about the UAV and extrinsic data about an environment with a certain distance around the UAV.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, wherein the UAV configuration is further based at least in part on a band within the sound spectrum.

13. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

obtaining, by a computer system, a sound spectrum comprising at least one of frequency, amplitude, or phase;

identifying, by the computer system, components of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for determining one or more acoustic models of the UAV based in part on the sound spectrum; and

generating, by the computer system, a configuration of the components for the UAV based in part on an acoustic model of the one or more acoustic models, the configuration enabling the UAV to generate a sound corresponding to the sound spectrum, the sound associated with a sound profile that identifies at least one of a loudness, roughness, sharpness, fluctuation strength, or tonal prominence associated with the sound.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, further comprising instructing, by the computer system, assembly of the UAV using the configuration.

15. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the sound spectrum is associated with a target sound spectrum that is obtained based in part on input provided by one or more users within a geographic distance of a delivery location.

16. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the configuration of the components for the UAV includes a particular configuration of a portion of the components with respect to other components of the UAV.

17. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the one or more acoustic models is based in part on a particular payload associated with the UAV.

19. The computer-implemented method of claim 13, wherein the sound spectrum is associated with a particular user, the one or more acoustic models of the UAV are associated with the particular user, and the configuration of the components for the UAV is altered based on an altered acoustic model based in part on feedback from the particular user subsequent to a delivery of a payload.