Drone Patents

Drone Patents

US. Pat. No. 9,274,529
SAFE EMERGENCY LANDING OF UAV

The following drone patents were granted in March 2016:

Patent Number  Title
9,300,872 Hybrid stabilizer with optimized resonant and control loop frequencies
9,299,731 Systems and methods for selectable photodiode circuits
9,298,992 Geographic feature-based localization with feature weighting
9,298,186 Methods for operation of autonomous vehicles in special control zones
9,298,184 Process and device to enable or disable an automatic driving function
9,297,920 Enhanced method and device for aquatic seismic prospecting
9,297,626 Aquatic vessel fiber optic network
9,296,411 Method and system for controlling a vehicle to a moving point
9,296,270 Combined submersible vessel and unmanned aerial vehicle
9,296,108 Pre-screening for robotic work
9,293,044 Cooperative vehicle collision warning system
9,292,705 Management of drone operations and security in a pervasive computing environment
9,290,269 Spooler for unmanned aerial vehicle system
9,290,181 Detecting and responding to tailgaters
9,288,938 Robotic platform and method for performing multiple functions in agricultural systems
9,288,513 System and method of high-resolution digital data image transmission
9,286,520 Real-time road flare detection using templates and appropriate color spaces
9,285,463 Method and apparatus for battle damage assessment of electric or electronic devices and systems
9,285,222 Autonomous vehicle power line position and load parameter estimation
9,285,068 Retention system and method for a wing
9,284,062 Multi-zone battery exchange system
9,284,052 Aerial vehicle with frame assemblies
9,284,049 Unmanned aerial vehicle and operations thereof
9,284,043 Evaluating aileron deflection while an unmanned aerial vehicle is in flight
9,284,040 Self-tightening rotor
9,283,972 Networking operation dispatch system based on electronic zones for rail vehicle
9,283,967 Accurate curvature estimation algorithm for path planning of autonomous driving vehicle
9,283,958 Method and device for assisting in returning a vehicle after leaving a roadway
9,283,862 Electric vehicle power management systems
9,283,681 Robotic vehicle systems for inspecting remote locations
D751,025 Unmanned aerial vehicle
9,282,144 Unmanned vehicle selective data transfer system and method thereof
9,280,710 Bus detection for an autonomous vehicle
9,280,559 Registrar mapping toolkit for geofences
9,280,374 Virtual machine asynchronous patch management
9,280,156 Positioning vehicles to improve quality of observations at intersections
9,280,038 Interchangeable mounting platform
9,279,691 Method and apparatus for two-stage planning
9,278,689 Autonomous vehicle detection of and response to emergency vehicles
9,277,122 System and method for removing camera rotation from a panoramic video
9,275,645 Drone detection and classification methods and apparatus
9,275,551 Methods and systems for determining fleet trajectories to satisfy a sequence of coverage requirements
9,274,529 Safe emergency landing of a UAV
9,274,526 Autonomous vehicle and method of estimating self position of autonomous vehicle
9,274,525 Detecting sensor degradation by actively controlling an autonomous vehicle
9,274,524 Method for machine coordination which maintains line-of-site contact
9,274,521 Employing local, opportunistic automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) information processed by an unmanned aerial vehicle ground control station to augment other source “knowledge” of local aircraft position information for improving situational awareness
9,274,086 Magnetic shielding of servo-motors in magnetic detection systems
9,273,981 Distributed unmanned aerial vehicle architecture
9,272,784 Vertical takeoff winged multicopter

Drone Patent Applications

The following drone patent applications were published in March 2016:

Published Application Nuber Title
20160094309 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR JAMMING CELLULAR SIGNALS USING AERIAL VEHICLES
20160093212 USING AERIAL IMAGING TO PROVIDE SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION ABOUT A LOCATION
20160093211 NAVIGATION AID FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE WITH AUTOPILOT
20160092755 Construction Zone Sign Detection
20160091899 APPARATUS FOR GUIDING AN AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE TOWARDS A DOCKING STATION
20160091895 REMOTELY CONTROLLABLE VEHICLES
20160091894 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR FLIGHT SIMULATION
20160091338 GENERATING AN OPTIMAL REFUELING PLAN FOR ROAD VEHICLES
20160090248 AUTOMATED LOADING SYSTEM
20160090184 HYBRID PROPULSION POWER SYSTEM FOR AERIAL VEHICLES
20160089979 MECHANICALLY RECONFIGURABLE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER
20160088498 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE FOR ANTENNA RADIATION CHARACTERIZATION
20160086621 DRONE DETECTION AND CLASSIFICATION METHODS AND APPARATUS
20160086494 Method and Apparatus for Ensuring the Operation and Integrity of a Three-Dimensional Integrated Logistical System
20160086052 APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR SALIENCY DETECTION BASED ON COLOR OCCURRENCE ANALYSIS
20160086051 APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR TRACKING SALIENT FEATURES
20160086050 SALIENT FEATURES TRACKING APPARATUS AND METHODS USING VISUAL INITIALIZATION
20160084708 SPECTRAL IMAGING
20160083115 APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR TETHERED AERIAL PLATFORM AND SYSTEM
20160083112 UAV Take-Off Method and Apparatus
20160083110 INTERCHANGEABLE MOUNTING PLATFORM
20160083084 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND OPERATIONS THEREOF
20160082976 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR CONTROL OF AN AUTONOMOUS DRIVE RELATED OPERATION
20160082953 Consideration of Risks in Active Sensing for an Autonomous Vehicle
20160082935 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR VEHICLE AUTONOMOUS EMERGENCY BRAKING
20160082903 AUTOMATED DRIVING SOLUTION GATEWAY
20160082867 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR SEAT RETRACTION DURING AN AUTONOMOUS DRIVING MODE
20160082597 METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR EARLY SENSORY INTEGRATION AND ROBUST ACQUISITION OF REAL WORLD KNOWLEDGE
20160082460 SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR UNMANNED AERIAL PAINTING APPLICATIONS
20160082298 Forest Fire Control System
20160080389 Using Connections Between Users In A Social Networking System To Regulate Operation Of A Machine Associated With A Social Networking System User
20160079810 Photovoltaics optimized for laser remote power applications at eye-safer wavelengths
20160078759 Tracking a Vehicle Using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
20160078299 Imaging a Parking Display Ticket
20160078272 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISMOUNT DETECTION IN LOW-RESOLUTION UAV IMAGERY
20160076892 METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DETERMINING A STATE OF AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
20160075512 AUTOMATED SYSTEM FOR TRANSPORTING PAYLOADS
20160075447 IMPACT PROTECTION APPARATUS
20160075431 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AND OPERATIONS THEREOF
20160075422 SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GAS AND, OPTIONALLY, LIQUID CARGO TRANSPORTATION BY AIR
20160075418 WEAPON CLEARANCE APPLIANCE FOR CLEARING WEAPONS, SUCH AS UNDERWATER MINES, UNDER WATER, UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLE HAVING A WEAPON CLEARANCE APPLIANCE OF THIS KIND, AND METHOD FOR THIS PURPOSE
20160075357 AUTOMATIC TRAIN OPERATION SYSTEM IN RAILWAY VEHICLES
20160073378 ADAPTIVE COMMUNICATION MODE SWITCHING
20160072804 SYSTEM AND METHOD TO SHARE A RESOURCE OR A CAPABILITY OF A DEVICE
20160072771 HEALTH AND OTHER USE OF COLLECTION OF ARCHIVAL DIGITAL DATA
20160072643 MODULAR DEVICE AND DATA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND GATEWAY FOR A COMMUNICATIONS NETWORK
20160071420 DO-NOT-FLY AND OPT-OUT PRIVACY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
20160071419 AERIAL INFORMATION REQUEST SYSTEM FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES
20160071418 VEHICLE OPERATION ASSISTANCE
20160070265 MULTI-SENSOR ENVIRONMENTAL MAPPING

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.