Mechanisms for Lowering a Payload to the Ground from a UAV
First Claim
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
- a housing;
a payload;
a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, wherein the line-deployment mechanism is controllable to vary a deployment rate of the line;
a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line; and
a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively;
operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, wherein the variable deployment-rate profile is such that the rate at which the line is deployed varies while the payload is being lowered to the ground;
determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground; and
responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments described herein may help to provide medical support via a fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). An illustrative UAV may include a housing, a payload, a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, and a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line. The UAV may further include a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively: operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground, and responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising:
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a housing; a payload; a line-deployment mechanism coupled to the housing and a line, wherein the line-deployment mechanism is controllable to vary a deployment rate of the line; a payload-release mechanism that couples the line to the payload, wherein the payload-release mechanism is configured to release the payload from the line; and a control system configured to determine that the UAV is located at or near a delivery location and responsively; operate the line-deployment mechanism according to a variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload to or near to the ground, wherein the variable deployment-rate profile is such that the rate at which the line is deployed varies while the payload is being lowered to the ground; determine that the payload is touching or is within a threshold distance from the ground; and responsively operate the payload-release mechanism to release the payload from the line. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19)
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14. A method comprising:
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determining, by a computing system, a variable deployment-rate profile for deployment of a payload from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), wherein a line couples the payload to the UAV; the computing system causing a line-deployment mechanism to operate according to the determined variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload towards the ground, wherein the variable deployment-rate profile is such that the deployment rate of the line varies while the payload is being lowered to the ground; detecting, by the computing system, at least one release indication that indicates that the payload is at or near to the ground; and in response to detecting the at least one release indication, the computing system causing the payload to be released from the line. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored therein instructions executable by a computing device to cause the computing device to perform functions comprising:
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determining a variable deployment-rate profile for deployment of a payload from an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), wherein a line couples the payload to the UAV; causing a line-deployment mechanism to operate according to the determined variable deployment-rate profile to lower the payload towards the ground, wherein the variable deployment-rate profile is such that the deployment rate of the line varies while the payload is being lowered to the ground; detecting at least one release indication that indicates that the payload is at or near to the ground; and in response to detecting the at least one release indication, causing the payload to be released from the line. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26)
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Specification