UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE FLYING METHOD AND UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE FLYING SYSTEM

• US 20170233097A1
• Filed: 09/29/2016
• Published: 08/17/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Inventec Appliances Corporation (Inventec Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Inventec Appliances Corporation (Inventec Corporation)
• Inventors: Chang, Chuan-Yi
• Application Number:
  US15/280,134
• Publication Number:
  US 20170233097A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0031 means for overriding or restricting access to flight controls
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0034 by ground-control override
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0036 by disabling or restraining attackers
• CPC Class Codes: B64D 45/0059 by communicating emergency situations to ground control or between crew members
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• 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: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0021 located in the aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/003 Flight plan management
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0056 in an emergency situation, e.g. hijacking
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0069 specially adapted for an unmanned aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/80 Services using short range communication, e.g. near-field communication [NFC], radio-frequency identification [RFID] or low energy communication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/042 Public Land Mobile systems, e.g. cellular systems

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying method for helping an UAV flying to a location of an owner of the UAV or flying to a predetermined place includes the following steps of: triggering the UAV into a hijacked mode; ascertaining if the UAV is capable of flying or not; the UAV flying to the location of the owner or to the predetermined place if the UAV is capable of flying; and, the UAV sending a distress signal to the owner if the UAV is not capable of flying. Therefore, the UAV is capable of flying back or sending information after entering the hijacked mode, so as to avoid or lower the loss caused by losing the UAV or the UAV being captured by the captor.

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle flying method for helping an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying to a location of an owner of the UAV or flying to a predetermined place, the method comprising the following steps:

triggering the UAV into a hijacked mode;

ascertaining if the UAV is capable of flying or not; and

the UAV flying to the location of the owner or to the predetermined place if the UAV is capable of flying.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step:

triggering the UAV into the hijacked mode according to a triggering signal.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step:

triggering the UAV into the hijacked mode when the UAV deviates from a predetermined flight path.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

ascertaining if an energy level of the UAV is higher than a first threshold value or not;

ascertaining if the environment around the UAV is suitable to fly or not; and

ascertaining that the UAV is capable of flying if the energy of the UAV is higher than the first threshold value and the environment around the UAV is suitable to fly.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following step:

the UAV sending a distress signal to the owner if the UAV is not capable of flying.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the distress signal comprises at least one of information of the position of the UAV, the energy level of the UAV, and the images or sounds of the surroundings recorded by the UAV.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

keeping checking if the energy level of the UAV is lower than a second threshold value or not when the UAV flies under the hijacked mode; and

the UAV landing and sending a distress signal when the energy level of the UAV is lower than a second threshold value.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising the following steps:

keeping checking if the UAV is under an unusual state under the hijacked mode;

triggering the UAV into a crashing mode and sending a first distress signal if the UAV is under the unusual state;

checking if a communication function of the UAV is operative or not after the UAV stops flying under the unusual state; and

sending a second distress signal when the communication function of the UAV is operative.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the unusual state of the UAV includes at least one of stall, sudden drop, and imbalance of the airframe of the UAV.

10. An unmanned aerial vehicle flight system for helping an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flying to the location of an owner of the UAV or flying to a predetermined place, the system comprising:

a central control unit configured on the UAV, the central control unit having a hijack processing program and executing a procedure according to the hijack processing program.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the central control unit triggers the hijack processing program according to a triggering signal.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a communicating device configured on the UAV and connected to the central control unit, the communicating device receiving the triggering signal and transmitting the triggering signal to the central control unit.

13. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

an image capturing device configured on the UAV and connected to the central control unit, the image capturing device being capable of capturing an image of the surroundings around the UAV; and

a locating device configured on the UAV and connected to the central control unit, the locating device obtaining a location of the UAV;

wherein, the procedure further comprises sending a distress signal including the image of the surroundings and the location of the UAV to the owner.

14. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

a flying device configured on the UAV and connected to the central control unit, the flying device driving the UAV to fly;

wherein, the procedure further comprises controlling the flying device driving the UAV to fly to the location of the owner and the predetermined place.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein the procedure includes keeping checking if the energy level of the UAV is lower than a threshold value, and the UAV landing and sending a distress signal when the energy level of the UAV is lower than the threshold value.

16. An unmanned aerial vehicle flying method for helping rescue an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising the following steps:

checking if the UAV is under an unusual state when the UAV is flying;

triggering the UAV into a crashing mode if the UAV is under the unusual state; and

the UAV sending the a first distress signal under the crashing mode.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the first distress signal includes at least one of information of the position of the UAV, the energy level of the UAV, and the images or sounds of the surroundings recorded by the UAV.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the following steps:

checking if a communication function of the UAV is operative or not after the UAV stops flying under the crashing mode; and

sending a second distress signal when the communication function of the UAV is operative.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the second distress signal includes at least one of information of the position of the UAV, the energy level of the UAV, and the images or sounds of the surroundings recorded by the UAV.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the unusual state of the UAV includes at least one of stopping moving, suddenly dropping, and unbalance of the airframe of the UAV.