Drone Patents
U.S. Pat. No. 9,365,088
UAV HAVING HERMETICALLY SEALED MODULARIZED COMPARTMENTS AND FLUID DRAIN PORTS
The following drone patents were granted in June 2016:
| PAT. NO. | Title |
|---|---|
| 9,380,467 | Dynamic point to point mobile network including intermediate device aspects system and method |
| 9,380,275 | Augmented video system providing enhanced situational awareness |
| 9,377,781 | Automatic driving system able to make driving decisions and method thereof |
| 9,377,779 | Travel-restricted area setting system for unmanned traveling vehicle and computer program for setting travel-restricted area of unmanned traveling vehicle |
| 9,377,315 | System and method to provide valet instructions for a self-driving vehicle |
| 9,377,314 | Reduced network flow and computational load using a spatial and temporal variable scheduler |
| 9,377,310 | Mapping and positioning system |
| 9,376,953 | Forced air blower bypass system |
| 9,376,208 | On-board redundant power system for unmanned aerial vehicles |
| 9,373,262 | Autonomous intelligence surveillance reconnaissance and payload delivery system and method of using same |
| 9,373,149 | Autonomous neighborhood vehicle commerce network and community |
| 9,373,045 | Bus detection for an autonomous vehicle |
| 9,373,014 | Systems and methods for event monitoring using aerial drones |
| 9,371,133 | Drone systems for pre-trip inspection and assisted backing |
| 9,371,114 | Method and system for a towed vessel suitable for transporting liquids |
| 9,371,072 | Lane quality service |
| 9,371,038 | Removable payload containment systems for platforms, installation methods thereof, and payload integration kits for existing platforms |
| 9,369,839 | Network architecture for synchronized display |
| 9,368,028 | Determining threats based on information from road-based devices in a transportation-related context |
| 9,366,555 | Air data system |
| 9,365,218 | Selectable autonomous driving modes |
| 9,365,214 | Systems and methods for determining the status of a turn lane traffic light |
| 9,365,213 | Mode transition for an autonomous vehicle |
| 9,365,186 | Advanced seatbelt interlock using video recognition |
| 9,365,088 | UAV having hermetically sealed modularized compartments and fluid drain ports |
| D758,269 | Autonomous vehicle door |
| 9,363,690 | Closed-loop optimization of a wireless network using an autonomous vehicle |
| 9,363,638 | Registrar mapping toolkit for geofences |
| 9,363,008 | Deployment criteria for unmanned aerial vehicles to improve cellular phone communications |
| 9,361,539 | Object detection system |
| 9,361,409 | Automatic driver modeling for integration of human-controlled vehicles into an autonomous vehicle network |
| 9,360,865 | Transitioning from autonomous vehicle control to driver control |
| 9,360,556 | Methods and systems for detecting weather conditions including fog using vehicle onboard sensors |
| 9,360,328 | Apparatus and method for recognizing driving environment for autonomous vehicle |
| 9,360,320 | Autonomous coordination of agents via attraction and repulsion |
| 9,359,074 | Methods, systems and devices for delivery drone security |
| 9,359,070 | Rotary-wing drone with gearless-drive and fast-mounting propellers |
| 9,359,067 | Method of flying an unmanned aerial vehicle |
| 9,359,046 | Submersible towed body deployment and recovery device |
| 9,358,984 | Driver intention estimation arrangement |
Drone Patent Applications
The following drone patent applications were published in June 2016:
| PUB. APP. NO. | Title |
|---|---|
| 20160191801 | REAL TIME ASSESSMENT OF PICTURE QUALITY |
| 20160191793 | MOBILE DEVICE AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING THE SAME |
| 20160191142 | DEPLOYMENT CRITERIA FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES TO IMPROVE CELLULAR PHONE COMMUNICATIONS |
| 20160189732 | DRONE DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION METHODS AND APPARATUS |
| 20160189549 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROLLING AUTONOMOUS FLYING VEHICLE FLIGHT PATHS |
| 20160189542 | VEHICLE GUIDANCE SYSTEM |
| 20160189435 | Optimized Parking System |
| 20160189101 | SECURE PAYLOAD DELIVERIES VIA UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES |
| 20160189098 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PROVIDING ACCESS TO CONTEXTUALLY RELEVANT VEHICLES FOR DELIVERY PURPOSES |
| 20160187887 | Use of Prior Maps for Estimation of Lane Boundaries |
| 20160187885 | System and Method for Behavior Based Control of an Autonomous Vehicle |
| 20160187882 | MODULAR FLIGHT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM INCORPORATING AN AUTOPILOT |
| 20160187881 | AUTOMATIC DRIVING SYSTEM ABLE TO MAKE DRIVING DECISIONS AND METHOD THEREOF |
| 20160187879 | AUTONOMOUS DRIVING INTERFACE |
| 20160187147 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ASSISTANCE DEVICE |
| 20160186807 | Functional Component, in Particular for a Motor Vehicle, Method for Producing a Functional Component, and a Motor Vehicle Having a Functional Component |
| 20160185526 | STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEM |
| 20160185466 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING DISTRIBUTION LOGISTICS AND INCREASING SURVEILLANCE RANGES WITH UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES AND A DOCK NETWORK |
| 20160185456 | POWER AND DATA TRANSMISSION OVER THIN CONDUCTOR FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE |
| 20160185454 | UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE |
| 20160185447 | UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE ANGULAR REORIENTATION |
| 20160185445 | ELEVON CONTROL SYSTEM |
| 20160185245 | AUTONOMOUS TRANSPORT VEHICLE CHARGING SYSTEM |
| 20160183480 | Invention to Interrupt, Dissolve or Destroy a Tornado |
| 20160182111 | DATA TRANSMISSION SYSTEM AND METHOD JOINTLY USING A TERRESTRIAL LINK AND A SATELLITE LINK |
| 20160180719 | COMMUNITY DRONE MONITORING AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE |
| 20160180717 | DYNAMIC SELECTION OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES |
| 20160180546 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO IMPROVE OBJECT TRACKING USING TRACKING FINGERPRINTS |
| 20160180541 | SENSOR NOISE PROFILE |
| 20160180348 | ENTITY REPRESENTATION VIA PERSISTENT COMPUTE OBJECTS |
| 20160180197 | SYSTEM AND METHOD TO IMPROVE OBJECT TRACKING USING MULTIPLE TRACKING SYSTEMS |
| 20160180171 | BACKGROUND MAP FORMAT FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING |
| 20160180144 | BI-DIRECTIONAL COMMUNITY INFORMATION BROKERAGE |
| 20160180126 | Method and System for Assets Management Using Integrated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Radio Frequency Identification Reader |
| 20160179097 | Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and a Method for Landing the Same |
| 20160179096 | LAUNCHING UNMANNED AERIAL COPTER FROM MID-AIR |
| 20160179095 | CLASSIFICATION OF ENVIRONMENT ELEMENTS |
| 20160179094 | Communication Between a Vehicle and a Road User in the Surroundings of a Vehicle |
| 20160179093 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE OPERATION AT BLIND INTERSECTIONS |
| 20160179091 | TACTICAL ROBOT CONTROLLER |
| 20160178382 | MARKER AIDED AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE LOCALIZATION |
| 20160178330 | ADVANCED COOPERATIVE DEFENSIVE MILITARY TACTICS, ARMOR, AND SYSTEMS |
| 20160178317 | PAYLOAD LAUNCH SYSTEM AND METHOD |
| 20160176638 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED TRANSPORT OF ITEMS |
| 20160176542 | IMAGE CAPTURE SYSTEMS AND METHODS AND ASSOCIATED MOBILE APPARATUSES |
| 20160176523 | MOTOR VEHICLE WITH CAPTIVE AIRCRAFT |
| 20160176520 | SELF-ENCLOSED AIR VEHICLE |
| 20160176514 | ROTARY WING DRONE |
| 20160176503 | Mechanisms for Deploying and Actuating Airfoil-Shaped Bodies on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles |
| 20160176487 | System and Method for Automated Rendezvous, Docking and Capture of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles |
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.