Drone Patents

Drone Patents

US 9,393,847
MODULAR AND MORPHABLE AIR VEHICLE

The following drone patents were granted in July 2016:

PAT. NO. Title
9,401,758 Unmanned air vehicle with autonomous air traffic control communications capability
9,400,500 Autonomous vehicle refueling locator
9,400,498 Tactical robot controller
9,400,338 Seismic acquisition system-based unmanned airborne vehicle
9,400,329 System for mapping and tracking ground targets
9,400,187 Autonomous driving vehicle, autonomous driving management apparatus, and method of controlling the same
9,400,183 Method and apparatus to transition between levels using warp zones
9,399,934 UAV engine lubrication system incorporating an electric oil pump and lubrication oil heating capability
9,399,472 Autonomous mode vehicle control system and vehicle comprising such a control system
9,399,450 Method and system for promoting a uniform driving style
D761,690 Unmanned aerial vehicle
9,397,782 Remote control methods and systems
9,397,518 Wirelessly transferring energy to a mobile device
9,395,727 Single layer shared aperture beam forming network
9,394,048 Unmanned aerial vehicle and operations thereof
9,394,042 Underwater floating device
9,393,998 Systems and methods for vehicle offset navigation
9,393,961 Verifying a target object with reverse-parallax analysis
9,393,847 Modular and morphable air vehicle
9,393,683 Conductive boot for power tool protection
9,392,743 Agricultural autonomous vehicle platform with articulated base
9,392,570 Method of using aircraft for providing mobile network connection and locating subscribers in specified areas
9,391,700 Integrated optical receiver skin
9,390,621 System and method for measuring the real traffic flow of an area
9,390,489 Method and system for assessing damage to infrastructure
9,390,451 Insurance system related to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system
9,389,614 System and method for tracking guiding lines by an autonomous vehicle
9,389,611 Adaptative platform for unmanned defense vehicles
9,389,084 Detecting changes in aerial images
9,387,940 Intelligent self-leveling docking system
9,387,930 Stealth aerial vehicle
9,387,928 Multi-use UAV docking station systems and methods
9,387,927 Rotary-wing drone comprising autonomous means for determining a position in an absolute coordinate system linked to the ground
9,387,911 Launch and recovery techniques for submersible vehicles and other payloads
9,387,863 Rail vehicle system
9,387,854 Use of environmental information to aid image processing for autonomous vehicles
D760,624 Autonomous drone
9,386,605 Mobile dynamic mesh cluster bridging method and apparatus at incident scenes
9,384,668 Transportation using network of unmanned aerial vehicles
9,384,666 Methods to operate autonomous vehicles to pilot vehicles in groups or convoys
9,384,510 Systems and methods for providing a roof guide
9,383,753 Wide-view LIDAR with areas of special attention
9,383,752 Railway maintenance device
9,383,750 System for predictively managing communication attributes of unmanned vehicles
9,383,749 Transitioning a mixed-mode vehicle to autonomous mode
9,383,520 Optical power transfer system for powering a remote mobility system for multiple missions
9,382,002 Drone for inspection of enclosed space and method thereof
9,381,986 Jet-pump-based autonomous underwater vehicle and method for coupling to ocean bottom during marine seismic survey
9,381,980 Systems and methods for launching and retrieving objects in aquatic environments; platforms for aquatic launch and retrieval
9,381,919 Method and arrangement for entering a preceding vehicle autonomous following mode

Drone Patent Applications

The following drone patent applications were published in July 2016:

PUB. APP. NO. Title
20160219223 DRONE PROVIDED WITH A VIDEO CAMERA AND MEANS FOR COMPENSATING FOR THE ARTEFACTS PRODUCED AT THE HIGHEST ROLL ANGLES
20160217698 CONTEXT-BASED FLIGHT MODE SELECTION
20160217695 Multi-part Navigation Process by an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Navigation
20160217694 INFORMATION COLLECTION AND COMPONENT/SOFTWARE UPGRADES FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
20160217692 VESSEL MONITORING SYSTEM AND VESSEL MONITORING METHOD THEREOF
20160217627 SENSOR FAULT DETECTION AND DIAGNOSIS FOR AUTONOMOUS SYSTEMS
20160217578 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MAPPING SENSOR FEEDBACK ONTO VIRTUAL REPRESENTATIONS OF DETECTION SURFACES
20160217562 Active Imaging Systems for Plant Growth Monitoring
20160217153 THREE-DIMENSIONAL POINT-IN-POLYGON OPERATION TO FACILITATE DISPLAYING THREE-DIMENSIONAL STRUCTURES
20160216710 VELOCITY CONTROL FOR AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
20160216245 INFRARED AERIAL THERMOGRAPHY FOR USE IN MONITORING PLANT HEALTH AND GROWTH
20160216072 INTERACTIVE WEAPON TARGETING SYSTEM DISPLAYING REMOTE SENSED IMAGE OF TARGET AREA
20160214808 STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM TRANSPORT VEHICLE
20160214797 STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
20160214728 AN IMPROVED DRONE STRUCTURE
20160214717 COMBINATION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES AND THE METHOD AND SYSTEM TO ENGAGE IN MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS
20160214715 Systems, Methods and Devices for Collecting Data at Remote Oil and Natural Gas Sites
20160214713 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE WITH LIGHTS, AUDIO AND VIDEO
20160214696 POSITION-LOCKING FOR A WATERCRAFT USING AN AUXILIARY WATER VESSEL
20160214612 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING DEVICE
20160214607 PREDICTIVE REASONING FOR CONTROLLING SPEED OF A VEHICLE
20160214605 USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION TO AID IMAGE PROCESSING FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
20160214596 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ADJUSTING DRIVELINE OPERATION
20160214595 Driver Assistance System with Increased Reliability and Availability
20160214533 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE CAMERAS USED FOR NEAR REAL-TIME IMAGING
20160214487 HYBRID ELECTRIC DRIVE SYSTEM AND METHOD
20160210830 SELF-PROPELLED SECURITY SYSTEM ON AN ADJACENT TO A FENCE TRACK
20160210775 VIRTUAL SENSOR TESTBED
20160210383 VIRTUAL AUTONOMOUS RESPONSE TESTBED
20160210382 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING REFINED IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS
20160209850 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ROBUST NONLINEAR REGULATION CONTROL OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES SYNTETIC JET ACTUATORS
20160209849 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DECENTRALIZED, MULTI-AGENT UNMANNED VEHICLE NAVIGATION AND FORMATION CONTROL
20160209848 ASSOCIATING PASSENGER DOCKING LOCATIONS WITH DESTINATIONS
20160209847 TRANSPORT VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR A PROBLEM-FREE TRANSPORT FO HEAVY-DUTY SHELVES IN WORKSHOPS WITH RADIO SHADOWING USING A PARTLY AUTONOMOUS DRIVE MODE
20160209845 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ROUTING AND NAVIGATION USING PASSENGER DOCKING LOCATIONS
20160209844 Inferring State of Traffic Signal and Other Aspects of a Vehicle’s Environment Based on Surrogate Data
20160209843 PASSENGER DOCKING LOCATION SELECTION
20160209842 ASSOCIATING PASSENGER DOCKING LOCATIONS WITH DESTINATIONS USING VEHICLE TRANSPORTATION NETWORK PARTITIONING
20160209841 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING DEVICE
20160209839 DISTRIBUTED, UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE PACKAGE TRANSPORT NETWORK
20160209220 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ANTICIPATORY DEPLOYMENT OF AUTONOMOUSLY CONTROLLED VEHICLES
20160209219 METHOD OF AUTONOMOUS LANE IDENTIFICATION FOR A MULTILANE VEHICLE ROADWAY
20160209191 COMMON CARRIER MUNITION
20160207711 STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
20160207710 STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
20160207709 STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM
20160207637 Mobile Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Infrastructure and Management System and Method
20160207627 PACKAGE TRANSPORT CONTAINER AND TRANSPORT OPERATIONS FOR AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
20160207599 Drive System for a Water Vehicle, Method for Operating a Drive System, and Water Vehicle Having the Drive System
20160207538 AUTONOMOUS DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEM

Definitions

As we use the term here, a “drone” is a vehicle that does not have an on-board human operator. Most drones have some degree of autonomous operation. At least some aspect of a drone’s operation is controlled internally. This requires a computer and software. Vehicles that require a human to control every aspect of operation, such as a hobbyist’s remote controlled airplane, are generally not considered drones.

Most drones use a mixture of autonomous and human control. For example, a drone may have the ability to automatically stabilize itself by adjusting control elements and power settings, but a person is needed to tell the drone where to go.

Aerial drones are known by many different names and acronyms.  Here are the most popular:

  • Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV)
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
  • Unmanned Aircraft (UA)
  • Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)
  • Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle (UCAV)

Since drones use a very wide range of technologies (please see our drone technology article), we do not attempt to include every patent or application that could be applied to drones. Please let us know if we have missed any important patents.

Drone patent applications are applications that have been filed with and published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Although most applications are published, a small percentage (about 7% nation wide) are not published for various reasons. Patent applications are generally published 18 months after the first priority date of the application. Published applications have not necessarily been examined and some applications will be abandoned after publication. Once an application is examined and approved and all fees and formalities have been satisfied, the Patent Office grants a patent.

More Information

Please see our patent page for more information on patents and our intellectual property page for more information on intellectual property.

Inventions and patents are time sensitive. If you have a question about patents, please contact us right away.