Structure and manufacturing process for unmanned aerial vehicle

• US 9,963,229 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2015
• Issued: 05/08/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Identified Technologies Corp. (Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Identified Technologies Corp. (Alpine 4 Holdings, Inc.)
• Inventors: Welker, Bennett Logan Montooth, Zhang, Richard Yang, Yang, Anna Wu, Wu, Andy
• Primary Examiner(s): Sanderson, Joseph W
• Application Number:
  US14/924,866
• Publication Number:
  US 20160122017A1
• Time in Patent Office: 923 Days
• 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: B64U 10/13 Flying platforms
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 20/73 Monocoque body
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) device and the manufacturing process to make the UAV. The UAV device comprises a monocoque shell with a single-piece molded construction that includes a central body and arms that extend outward from the central body. Each of the arms includes a terminal end that is spaced away from the central body. The monocoque shell has a cupped shape with a closed first side and an open second side that includes sidewalls that extend around an interior space. The UAV device comprises a plurality of motors and rotors attached to the first side of the monocoque shell with one of said plurality of motors and rotors positioned at the terminal end of each of the arms.

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) device comprising:

a monocoque shell with a molded construction that includes a central body and arms that extend outward from the central body, each of the arms includes a terminal end that is spaced away from the central body, the monocoque shell having a cupped shape with a closed top side and sidewalls that extend around an interior space, the monocoque shell including sheets integrated into and extending along the top side and the sidewalls of the central body and integrated into and extending along the top side and sidewalls of each of the arms, the sheets comprising body wraps that are positioned at the central body and arm wraps that are positioned at each of the arms, the sheets being arranged in layers with a body wrap being interposed between each layer of arm wraps and with an overlap between the body wraps and the arms wraps being limited to flaps at ends of the wraps that overlap at an intersection of the arms and the central body, the sheets further configured with fibers of the layers being positioned at n varying orientations to each other;

a plurality of motors and rotors attached to the top side of the monocoque shell, with one of said plurality of motors and rotors positioned at the terminal end of each of the arms;

a flight computer positioned in the interior space of the central body; and

a baseplate that extends across the interior space of the central body and seals the flight computer within the interior space of the central body.

2. The device of claim 1, further comprising a system controller positioned in the interior space of the central body, the system controller operatively connected to each of the motors.

3. The device of claim 2, further comprising an interior plate that extends between the flight computer and the system controller.

4. The device of claim 1, further comprising a battery attached to the baseplate and configured to power the flight computer and the motors, the battery attached to a first side of the baseplate opposite from the flight computer.

5. The device of claim 1, further comprising wires that extend from the flight computer to each of the motors, each of the wires extending from the flight computer along a second side of the central body and one of the arms between the sidewalls and through an opening in the arm to the motor.