Adjustable landing gear assembly for unmanned aerial vehicles
First Claim
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (“
- UAV”
), comprising;
a body;
a plurality of motors coupled to the body;
a support coupling configured to couple or decouple a landing gear assembly and the body of the UAV; and
the landing gear assembly, including;
a first landing gear extension that contacts a surface and supports at least a portion of the UAV, wherein the first landing gear extension is adjustable by a landing gear controller between a first contracted position and a first extended position;
a second landing gear extension that contacts the surface and supports at least a portion of the UAV, wherein the second landing gear extension is adjustable by the landing gear controller between a second contracted position and a second extended position; and
a third landing gear extension that contacts the surface and supports at least a portion of the UAV, wherein the third landing gear extension is adjustable by the landing gear controller between a third contracted position and a third extended position;
the landing gear controller configured to at least;
monitor an angle of at least a portion of the body of the UAV with respect to a plane that is approximately perpendicular to a gradient of a gravity field of earth at a position of the UAV; and
adjust at least one of the first landing gear extension, the second landing gear extension, or the third landing gear extension until the at least a portion of the body of the UAV is approximately contained in the plane.
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Abstract
This disclosure describes a configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) landing gear assembly that includes adjustable landing gear extension that may be extended or contracted so that the body of the UAV is contained in a horizontal plane when the UAV is landed, even on sloping surfaces. For example, when a UAV is landing, the slope of the surface may be determined and the landing gear extensions adjusted based on the slope so that the body of the UAV remains approximately horizontal when the UAV lands and is supported by the landing gear extensions.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (“
- UAV”
), comprising;a body; a plurality of motors coupled to the body; a support coupling configured to couple or decouple a landing gear assembly and the body of the UAV; and the landing gear assembly, including; a first landing gear extension that contacts a surface and supports at least a portion of the UAV, wherein the first landing gear extension is adjustable by a landing gear controller between a first contracted position and a first extended position; a second landing gear extension that contacts the surface and supports at least a portion of the UAV, wherein the second landing gear extension is adjustable by the landing gear controller between a second contracted position and a second extended position; and a third landing gear extension that contacts the surface and supports at least a portion of the UAV, wherein the third landing gear extension is adjustable by the landing gear controller between a third contracted position and a third extended position; the landing gear controller configured to at least; monitor an angle of at least a portion of the body of the UAV with respect to a plane that is approximately perpendicular to a gradient of a gravity field of earth at a position of the UAV; and adjust at least one of the first landing gear extension, the second landing gear extension, or the third landing gear extension until the at least a portion of the body of the UAV is approximately contained in the plane. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
- UAV”
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5. A landing gear assembly for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), comprising:
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a first landing gear extension coupled to and extending from UAV, the first landing gear extension adjustable by a landing gear controller between a first contracted position and a first extended position; a second landing gear extension coupled to and extending from the UAV, the second landing gear extension adjustable by the landing gear controller between a second contracted position and a second extended position; a third landing gear extension coupled to and extending from the UAV, the third landing gear extension adjustable by the landing gear controller between a third contracted position and a third extended position; a main support base configured to couple to a body of the UAV, the first, second and third landing gear extensions being coupled to and extending from the main support base; and a support coupling configured to selectively couple and decouple the main support base and the body of the UAV; and wherein the landing gear controller adjusts at least one of the first landing gear extension, the second landing gear extension, or the third landing gear extension so that the body of the UAV is approximately horizontal when landed on a surface. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method to land an unmanned aerial vehicle (“
- UAV”
), the method comprising;measuring, with at least one distance determining element, a slope of a surface; extending a first landing gear extension from a first contracted position, in which the first landing gear extension has a first contracted length, to a first extended position, in which the first landing gear extension has a first extended length, wherein the first extended length is greater than the first contracted length; maintaining a second landing gear extension at a second contracted position, in which the second landing gear extension has a second contracted length; and wherein; the first and second landing gear extensions comprise at least a portion of a landing gear assembly, the landing gear assembly configured to selectively couple to and decouple from a body of the UAV via a support coupling; the second contracted length is less than the first extended length; and a difference between the second contracted length and the first extended length is based at least in part on the slope of the surface. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- UAV”
Specification