Guidance system of a drone

• US 10,522,047 B2
• Filed: 01/15/2016
• Issued: 12/31/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 01/23/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Paradox Engineering SA
• Original Assignee: Paradox Engineering SA
• Inventors: Giusti, Alessandro, Gambardella, Luca Maria, Minetti, Giovanni, Guzzi, Jerome
• Primary Examiner(s): Moyer, Dale
• Application Number:
  US15/545,631
• Publication Number:
  US 20180018884A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,446 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60L 53/80 Exchanging energy storage elements, e.g. removable batteries
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/95 Means for guiding the landing UAV towards the platform, e.g. lighting means
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 1/68 Marker, boundary, call-sign, or like beacons transmitting signals not carrying directional information
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0202 specially adapted to aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0026 located on the ground
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0052 for cruising combined instruments indicating more than one navigational value G01C23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/70 Energy storage systems for electromobility, e.g. batteries
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 10/7072 Electromobility specific charging systems or methods for batteries, ultracapacitors, supercapacitors or double-layer capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 90/12 Electric charging stations

Abstract

A guidance system for a drone is described, said system comprising: a plurality of poles fixed to the ground and associated with a private or public electric power grid; a plurality of devices fixed to the poles and powered by the electric power grid, said devices being interconnected in a wireless network and comprising a radio communication module for communicating with the drone; a controller connected to the wireless network and intended to program a flight path of the drone between two or more poles by transmitting configuration commands to the respective devices of the wireless network, for configuring the radio communication modules, wherein the radio communication module of one pole in the flight path is configured to guide the drone towards the radio communication module of a following pole in the flight path.

Claims

1. A guidance system for a drone, comprising:

a plurality of devices being interconnected in a wireless network and comprising a radio communication module for communicating with the drone;

a controller connected to the wireless network, the controller operative to program a flight path of the drone by transmitting configuration commands to the respective devices of the wireless network, for configuring the radio communication modules, characterized by the fact that;

a plurality of poles are fixed to the ground and powered by a private or public electric power grid;

each of said devices is fixed to one of said poles and is powered by the electric power grid;

said flight path is a path between two or more poles; and

said configuration commands comprise a code for identifying the drone and, for each of said devices, a code identifying a following device along said flight path towards which guiding the drone and flight coordinates with deviation intervals, and wherein the radio communication module of one device on a pole in the flight path is configured to guide the drone towards the radio communication module of the following device on a pole in the flight path.

2. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein said poles are pylons of a railway network and said electric power grid is branched off from the electric railway network.

3. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein said poles are the public lamp posts of a roadway communication network.

4. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein said wireless network is a Mesh network.

5. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the modules configured to guide the drone along the flight path form a second wireless network with different functional features compared to the first wireless network.

6. The guidance system according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one of said devices comprises a landing base for the drone.

7. The guidance system according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the devices provided with a landing base comprises a wireless or wired Ethernet interface connected to the drone so as to transfer data from or to the drone.

8. The guidance system according to claim 6, wherein at least one of the devices provided with a landing base comprises means for recharging or replacing a battery of the drone or an area for exchanging merchandise between drones.

9. The guidance system according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the devices provided with a landing base form a third wireless network with a bandwidth wider than a bandwidth of the wireless network for data transmission.

10. The guidance system according to claim 1, further comprising a cable network between said poles, the cables of said cable network being engaged by the drone in case of breakdown during flight.

11. The guidance system according to claim 1, comprising a physical safety network extending between the poles below a flight altitude of the drone and intended to catch the drone in the event of it falling to the ground.

12. The guidance system according to claim 1, wherein the programming of said flight path in the controller comprises programming one or more timed stops of the drone, at a pole, to avoid collisions with other drones.

13. A method for guiding a drone, comprising the steps of:

connecting a plurality of devices in a wireless network;

programming a flight path P of the drone by transmitting configuration commands, from a controller to the respective devices of the wireless network, for configuring radio communication modules, of said devices characterized by

fixing the devices to poles at the ground, the poles being associated with a public or private electric power grid, and powering the devices with the same electric power grid associated with the poles;

wherein said configuration commands include a code for identifying the drone and, for each of said devices, a code identifying a following device along said flight path towards which guiding the drone, and wherein the radio communication module of one device on a pole in the flight path guides the drone towards the radio communication module of the following device on a pole in the flight path.

14. A system, comprising:

a drone; and

a guidance system for the drone, the guidance system comprising;

a plurality of devices being interconnected in a wireless network and comprising a radio communication module for communicating with the drone;

a controller connected to the wireless network, the controller operative to program a flight path of the drone by transmitting configuration commands to the respective devices of the wireless network, for configuring the radio communication modules, characterized by the fact that;

a plurality of poles are fixed to the ground and powered by a private or public electric power grid;

each of said devices is fixed to one of said poles and is powered by the electric power grid;

said flight path is a path between two or more poles, and

said configuration commands comprise a code for identifying the drone and, for each of said devices, a code identifying a following device along said flight path towards which guiding the drone and flight coordinates with deviation intervals, and wherein the radio communication module of one device on a pole in the flight path is configured to guide the drone towards the radio communication module of the following device on a pole in the flight path,

wherein the drone is adapted to be piloted by the guidance system, the drone operative to receive flight commands from the radio communication modules of the devices fixed to the poles.