Drone Patents

Drone Patents

US Pat. No. 9,321,510 Mesh Wireless Network for Agricultural Environment

The following drone patents were granted in April 2016:

PAT.NO. TITLE
9,324,236 System and methods for situation awareness, advisory, tracking, and aircraft control information
9,321,591 Autonomous transports for storage and retrieval systems
9,321,531 Bystander interaction during delivery from aerial vehicle
9,321,530 Unmanned aerial vehicle and operations thereof
9,321,514 Methods and underwater bases for using autonomous underwater vehicle for marine seismic surveys
9,321,510 Systems and methods for deploying autonomous underwater vehicles from a ship
9,321,461 Change detection using curve alignment
9,319,903 Mesh wireless network for agricultural environment
9,318,014 Systems and methods for reporting visibility to drones
9,317,036 Flight control for flight-restricted regions
9,317,033 Control of the autonomous mode of bimodal vehicles
9,315,267 Integration of high-efficiency, lightweight solar sheets onto unmanned aerial vehicle for increased endurance
9,315,192 Methods and systems for pedestrian avoidance using LIDAR
9,315,178 Model checking for autonomous vehicles
9,315,107 Transport vehicle equipped with current collector
9,313,813 Skypoint for mobile hotspots
9,313,667 Cellular communication network through unmanned aerial vehicle cellular communication links
9,311,820 Configurability options for information, airspace, and property utilized by an unmanned aerial vehicle platform
9,311,760 Unmanned aerial vehicle authorization and geofence envelope determination
9,310,809 Systems and methods for collaboratively controlling at least one aircraft
9,310,808 Apparatus and method for autonomous control and balance of a vehicle and for imparting roll and yaw moments on a vehicle for test purposes
9,310,804 Use of prior maps for estimation of lane boundaries
9,310,608 System and method using a multi-plane curtain
9,310,477 Systems and methods for monitoring airborne objects
9,310,221 Distributed unmanned aerial vehicle architecture
9,309,750 Subsea on-site chemical injection management system
9,309,050 Bot position sensing
9,309,006 UAV payload module camera assembly and retraction mechanism
9,308,994 Apparatus and method of attachment of a payload
9,308,891 Limitations on the use of an autonomous vehicle
9,308,857 Steering wheel light bar
9,308,856 Steering wheel light bar
9,307,383 Request apparatus for delivery of medical support implement by UAV
9,305,306 Method and system for autonomously delivering information to drivers
9,305,280 Airborne fulfillment center utilizing unmanned aerial vehicles for item delivery
9,305,223 Vision-based indicator signal detection using spatiotemporal filtering
9,305,219 Method for estimating free space using a camera system
9,304,512 Propulsion prognostics apparatus and systems for unmanned aerial vehicles
9,304,203 Methods, devices, and systems for improving dynamic range of signal receiver
9,302,783 Systems and methods for UAV docking
9,302,770 Payload-release device and operation thereof
9,302,595 Autonomous charge balancing circuit and method for battery pack

Drone Patent Applications

 

Drone Patents

U.S. Pat. App. 20160117853 UAV FLIGHT DISPLAY

The following drone patent applications were published in April 2016:

PUB. APP. NO. TITLE
20160119747 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ESTIMATING THE POSITION AND ORIENTATION OF A MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE IN A BEACON-BASED POSITIONING SYSTEM
20160119546 APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR STABILIZATION AND VIBRATION REDUCTION
20160118059 DRONE DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION METHODS AND APPARATUS
20160117936 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE AND METHOD FOR COORDINATING THE PATHS OF MULTIPLE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
20160117932 Method and Apparatus For Locating A Target Using An Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
20160117931 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGEMENT OF AIRSPACE FOR UNMANNED AIRCRAFT
20160117853 UAV FLIGHT DISPLAY
20160117811 METHOD FOR GENERATING A TARGET TRAJECTORY OF A CAMERA EMBARKED ON A DRONE AND CORRESPONDING SYSTEM
20160116915 SURVEYING AREAS USING A RADAR SYSTEM AND AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
20160116914 Drone Tours In Security Systems
20160116913 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENVIRONMENT DETECTION SYSTEM
20160116912 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING UNMANNED VEHICLES
20160116593 OBJECT DETECTING APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME
20160116294 ACCURATE POSITION DETERMINATION NEAR EXIT LANES
20160116293 System and Method to Provide Valet Instructions for a Self-Driving Vehicle
20160115702 METHOD FOR OPERATING A TOWING ROBOT
20160114903 FLIGHT ENVELOPE PROTECTION SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
20160114888 DISTRIBUTED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE ARCHITECTURE
20160114887 AMPHIBIOUS VERTICAL TAKEOFF AND LANDING UNMANNED SYSTEM AND FLYING CAR WITH MULTIPLE AERIAL AND AQUATIC FLIGHT MODES FOR CAPTURING PANORAMIC VIRTUAL REALITY VIEWS, INTERACTIVE VIDEO AND TRANSPORTATION WITH MOBILE AND WEARABLE APPLICATION
20160114886 DISTRIBUTED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE ARCHITECTURE
20160114779 Method for furnishing a sensor in the braking system in a vehicle
20160112854 WILDFIRE POSITION INDICATOR APPARATUS AND METHOD OF USE THEREOF
20160112461 COLLECTION AND USE OF CAPTURED VEHICLE DATA
20160112116 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE (UAV) BEAM FORMING AND POINTING TOWARD GROUND COVERAGE AREA CELLS FOR BROADBAND ACCESS
20160111006 USER INTERFACES FOR SELECTING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES AND MISSION PLANS FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
20160110701 METHOD, PRODUCT, AND SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED VEHICLES IN RETAIL ENVIRONMENTS
20160109885 Work Vehicle Cooperation System
20160109884 CELESTIAL NAVIGATION SYSTEM FOR AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE
20160109615 NUCLEAR RADIATION CLEANUP AND URANIUM PROSPECTING
20160109572 NEUTRALIZATION OF A TARGET WITH AN ACOUSTIC WAVE
20160109551 RADIO POSITIONING OF A MOBILE RECEIVER USING A VIRTUAL POSITIONING REFERENCE
20160109288 OPTICAL CORRELATION FOR DETECTION OF POINT SOURCE OBJECTS
20160108894 POWER GENERATING WINDBAGS AND WATERBAGS
20160107750 AIRBORNE DRONE DELIVERY NETWORK AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME
20160107749 Fixed Drone Visualization In Security Systems
20160107655 OPERATING METHOD FOR A VEHICLE IN MANUAL MODE AND IN AUTONOMOUS MODE
20160107531 SYSTEM FOR RECOVERING ELECTRICAL ENERGY FROM MACHINE
20160105649 Panoramic View Imaging System With Drone Integration
20160105648 MOBILE APPRATUS, IN PARTICULAR A ROTARY-WING DRONE, PROVIDED WITH A VIDEO CAMERA DELIVERING SEQUENCES OF IMAGES DYNAMICALLY CORRECTED FOR THE WOBBLE EFFECT
20160105233 BROADBAND ACCESS SYSTEM VIA DRONE/UAV PLATFORMS
20160105232 TELECOMMUNICATION NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
20160105139 Phantom Electric Motor System with Parallel Coils
20160104384 Redundant Determination of Positional Data for an Automatic Landing System
20160104376 Probe Based Variable Speed Sign Value
20160104098 CONTACT CENTER DELIVERY IN-BUILDING HOMING SERVICE
20160103512 DUAL OPERATIONAL TOUCH SCREEN DEVICE FOR A VEHICLE
20160103449 OPERATING METHOD FOR A VEHICLE IN MANUAL MODE AND IN AUTONOMOUS MODE
20160103212 DETECTING LOW-SPEED CLOSE-RANGE VEHICLE CUT-IN
20160102625 System and Method for Alerting and Suppression of Detonation and/or Pre Ignition Phenomena in Internal Combustion Engines by Monitoring RPM Fluctuation
20160101874 DRONE RECEIVING SYSTEMS AND METHODS
20160101872 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FUEL MONITORING
20160101856 WEARABLE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS
20160099946 CONTROLLING OPERATION OF A MACHINE AND DESCRIBING ACTIONS PERFORMED BY THE MACHINE THROUGH A SOCIAL NETWORKING SYSTEM
20160098085 Systems and Methods For Haptic Remote Control Gaming
20160097875 Compensation of Magnetic Data for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Mapping Surveys
20160097853 NEURAL NETWORK-BASED RADAR SYSTEM
20160097793 MICRO INERTIAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
20160097616 Laser Guided and Laser Powered Energy Discharge Device
20160096630 AIRCRAFT HYBRID FUEL SYSTEM
20160096622 METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PROVIDING A SAFETY APPARATUS TO DISTRESSED PERSONS
20160096614 AERIAL VEHICLE WITH FRAME ASSEMBLIES
20160096613 VTOL SYMMETRIC AIRFOIL FUSELAGE OF FIXED WING DESIGN
20160096525 METHODS AND DEVICES FOR SAFE OPERATION OF UNDERSIZE AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES ON PUBLIC ROADS

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. As we use it here, the term “drone” includes any autonomous vehicle. 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.