Temperature-controlled UAV storage system

• US 10,639,956 B2
• Filed: 01/29/2018
• Issued: 05/05/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Walmart Apollo, LLC (WalMart Inc.)
• Inventors: Cantrell, Robert, Winkle, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Yanchus, III, Paul B
• Application Number:
  US15/882,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20180236840A1
• Time in Patent Office: 827 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: B60H 1/00014 for load cargos on load transporting vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/00 Fuselages; Constructional features common to fuselages, wings, stabilising surfaces or the like
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 1/40 Sound or heat insulation , e.g. using insulation blankets
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 2001/0072 from composite materials
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 13/08 the air being heated or cooled
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 9/00 Equipment for handling freight; Equipment for facilitating passenger embarkation or the like emergency equipment B64D17/00, B64D19/00, B64D25/00; structures integral with fuselage to facilitate loading, fuselage floors specially adapted for freight, steps mounted on and retractable within aircraft B64C; ground installations B64F
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/60 for transporting passengers; for transporting goods other than weapons
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/64 for parcel delivery or retrieval
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 6/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0088 characterized by the autonomous decision making process, e.g. artificial intelligence, predefined behaviours using knowledge based models G06N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1917 using digital means
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 23/1927 using a plurality of sensors G05D23/1902, G05D23/1917, and G05D23/1919 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: Y02T 50/40 Weight reduction

Abstract

Described in detail herein is an temperature-controlled UAV delivery system. One or more physical objects can be stored inside a temperature-controlled storage unit of a UAV. A temperature controlling device can control the temperature of the interior volume of the temperature-controlled storage unit. Sensors can detect a temperature of the interior volume of the temperature-controlled storage unit. The computing system can control the temperature controlling device to adjust the temperature of the interior volume of the temperature-controlled storage unit to an ideal temperature for storing the one or more physical objects based on the attributes associated with the one or more physical objects.

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) temperature-controlled storage system comprising:

an autonomous UAV, including;

an inertial navigation system,

one or more storage units configured to store one or more physical objects,

one or more slots adjacent to at least one of the one or more storage units, each slot configured to store a passive coolant and separated from an interior volume of the adjacent storage unit by a barrier,

a temperature-controlling device disposed in the one or more storage units and configured to control the temperature within the one or more storage units, and

a plurality of sensors disposed in the one or more storage units and configured to detect a temperature of the one or more storage units; and

a computing system equipped with a processor and communicatively coupled to the autonomous UAV, the computing system configured to;

determine a set of attributes associated with the one or more physical objects; and

control the temperature-controlling device to move the slot barrier to expose the passive coolant to the interior volume to adjust the temperature of the one or more storage units based on the set of attributes.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the set of attributes is one or more of a type of physical object, a size of physical object and an idle temperature of physical object.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the temperature-controlling device adjusts the temperature of the one or more storage units using an active coolant.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a database operatively coupled to the computing system, wherein the computing system is configured to query the database to retrieve the set of attributes.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or more storage units are made of one or more insulated materials.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the autonomous UAV is further configured to aerially transport the one or more physical objects to a specified location.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the specified location is a storage area of a first vehicle.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the autonomous UAV is stored in a storage area of a second vehicle and the computing system is further configured to instruct the autonomous UAV to navigate to the storage area of the first vehicle in response to the second vehicle being within a predetermined distance of the first vehicle.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the storage area of the second vehicle is temperature-controlled.

10. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) storage method comprising:

storing one or more physical objects in one or more storage units of an autonomous UAV, the autonomous UAV including an inertial navigation system, a temperature-controlling device disposed in the one or more storage units, a plurality of sensors disposed in the one or more storage units, and one or more slots adjacent to at least one of the one or more storage units, each slot configured to store a passive coolant and separated from an interior volume of the adjacent storage unit by a barrier;

detecting a temperature of the one or more storage units using the plurality of sensors; and

determining, via a computing system communicatively coupled to the autonomous UAV, a set of attributes associated with the one or more physical objects; and

controlling, via the computing system, the temperature-controlling device to move the slot barrier to expose the passive coolant to the interior volume to adjust the temperature of the one or more storage units based on the set of attributes.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the set of attributes is one or more of a type of physical object, a size of physical object, and an idle temperature of a physical object.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the temperature-controlling device adjusts the temperature of the one or more storage units using an active coolant.

13. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

querying, via computing system, a database operatively coupled to the computing system to retrieve the set of attributes.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the one or more storage units are made of one or more insulated materials.

15. The method of claim 10, further comprising:

aerially transporting, via the autonomous UAV, the one or more physical objects stored in the one or more storage units, to a specified location.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the specified location is a storage area of a first vehicle.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the autonomous UAV is stored in a storage area of a second vehicle and the method further comprises:

instructing, via the computing system, the autonomous UAV to navigate to the storage area of the first vehicle in response to the second vehicle being within a predetermined distance of the first vehicle.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the storage area of the second vehicle is temperature-controlled.

19. The method of claim 10 wherein the autonomous UAV is a drone made out of an extruded polystyrene foam or machinable aerogel.

20. The method of claim 10 wherein the temperature-controlling device alters or moves a barrier to initiate mixing of a first reactive material with a second reactive material to produce a resulting endothermic or exothermic reaction, the resulting endothermic or exothermic reaction regulating the temperature within the one or more storage units.