UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
First Claim
1. An unmanned aerial vehicle, whereinthe unmanned aerial vehicle comprises at least four rotors, each rotor having a plane of rotation,the at least four rotors are arranged such that the plane of rotation of each rotor is co-planar with a face of a notional polyhedron, andeach face of the notional polyhedron is co-planar with the plane of rotation of at least one rotor.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Unmanned aerial vehicles (1), and methods of flying such, comprising at least four rotors (2) arranged such that the plane of rotation of each rotor (2) is co-planar with a face of a notional polyhedron, and wherein each face of the notional polyhedron is co-planar with the plane of rotation of at least one rotor (2). Such methods comprise: a first step of flying the vehicle (1) using a first rotor set (2a-c) to provide lift; and, a second step using a second rotor set (2d-f) to provide lift; wherein, the second rotor set (2d-f) includes at least one rotor (2) that is not used to provide lift in the first step or that operates so that airflow through the rotor (2) is in the opposite direction to that through the rotor (2) during the first step; and, wherein at least one of the first and second sets (2a-c, 2d-f) comprises a plurality of rotors (2).
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein
the unmanned aerial vehicle comprises at least four rotors, each rotor having a plane of rotation, the at least four rotors are arranged such that the plane of rotation of each rotor is co-planar with a face of a notional polyhedron, and each face of the notional polyhedron is co-planar with the plane of rotation of at least one rotor.
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14. (canceled)
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15. A method of flying an unmanned aerial vehicle, the vehicle comprising at least four independently controllable rotors, wherein the method comprises:
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a first step of flying the vehicle using a first set of the rotors to provide lift; and
,a second step of flying the vehicle using a second set of the rotors to provide lift; wherein, the second set of rotors used in the second step includes at least one rotor that is not used to provide lift in the first step or that operates so that the airflow through the rotor is in the opposite direction to that of the airflow through the rotor during the first step; and
,wherein at least one of the first set and the second set comprises a plurality of rotors. - View Dependent Claims (16)
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- 17. A method of flying an unmanned aerial vehicle in order to capture data from an environment, the unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a plurality of sensors mounted at different locations on the vehicle to capture such data, wherein the method comprises a step of flying the vehicle so that it assumes a first orientation in space at which first data is captured by the sensors, rotating the vehicle by at least +90 degrees about a substantially horizontal axis so as to assume a second different orientation in space at which second data is captured by the sensors.
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21-22. -22. (canceled)
Specification