Drone Patents
U.S. Pat. No. 9,341,457
COMBINED SUBMERSIBLE VESSEL AND UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
The following drone patents were granted in May 2016:
| Registration No. | Title |
| 9,355,562 | Using other vehicle trajectories to aid autonomous vehicles driving through partially known areas |
| 9,355,423 | Reward system related to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system |
| 9,355,228 | System and method for policy driven protection of remote computing environments |
| 9,354,296 | Dynamic selection of unmanned aerial vehicles |
| 9,352,834 | Micro unmanned aerial vehicle and method of control therefor |
| 9,352,833 | Automatic flight control for UAV based solid modeling |
| 9,352,780 | Driver assistance device |
| 9,352,752 | Engaging and disengaging for autonomous driving |
| 9,352,651 | Guidance tool for adjusting position of autonomous cruise control assembly |
| D756,842 | Unmanned aerial drone |
| 9,350,954 | Image monitoring and display from unmanned vehicle |
| 9,350,743 | Controlling operation of a machine and describing actions performed by the machine through a social networking system |
| 9,350,742 | Using connections between users in a social networking system to regulate operation of a machine associated with a social networking system user |
| 9,349,055 | Real-time image-based vehicle detection based on a multi-stage classification |
| 9,348,334 | Control interface for a semi-autonomous vehicle |
| 9,348,333 | Modular air delivery |
| 9,347,779 | Method and apparatus for determining a position of a vehicle based on driving behavior |
| 9,346,560 | Systems and methods for UAV battery exchange |
| 9,346,547 | Mechanisms for lowering a payload to the ground from a UAV |
| 9,346,544 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same |
| 9,346,543 | Unmanned aerial vehicle and methods for controlling same |
| 9,346,467 | Driving assistance apparatus for assistance with driving along narrow roadways |
| 9,346,400 | Affective user interface in an autonomous vehicle |
| 9,345,798 | Room sterilization method and system |
| 9,342,074 | Systems and methods for transitioning control of an autonomous vehicle to a driver |
| 9,341,457 | Combined submersible vessel and unmanned aerial vehicle |
| 9,340,299 | Long range electric aircraft and method of operating same |
| 9,340,283 | Distributed unmanned aerial vehicle architecture |
| 9,340,204 | Arrangement for controlling highly automated driving of a vehicle |
| 9,340,126 | Autonomous vehicle with reconfigurable seats |
| D755,703 | Drone propeller |
| D755,673 | Autonomous vehicle exterior |
| D755,531 | Autonomous vehicle seat |
| 9,337,889 | Drone aircraft detector |
| 9,336,568 | Unmanned aerial vehicle image processing system and method |
| 9,336,506 | Machine-readable delivery platform for automated package delivery |
| 9,336,446 | Detecting moving vehicles |
| 9,336,436 | Methods and systems for pedestrian avoidance |
| 9,335,766 | Static obstacle detection |
| 9,335,765 | Autonomous vehicle media control |
| 9,335,764 | Virtual and augmented reality cockpit and operational control systems |
| 9,334,052 | Unmanned aerial vehicle flight path determination, optimization, and management |
| 9,334,051 | Apparatus for servicing a detector of a fire safety system |
| 9,333,983 | Dual-state steering wheel/input device |
| 9,332,691 | Autonomous travel work system |
| 9,331,603 | Energy collection |
| 9,330,571 | Modifying behavior of autonomous vehicle based on predicted behavior of other vehicles |
| 9,329,596 | Systems and methods for controlling positions and orientations of autonomous vehicles |
| 9,328,471 | Safeguarding arrangement for collecting a fluid escaping into a body of water |
| 9,327,903 | Suspension system for autonomous transports |
Drone Patent Applications
U.S. App. No. 20160147223
System and Method for Control of Autonomous Marine Vessels
The following drone patent applications were published in May 2016:
| Pat. App. No. | Title |
|---|---|
| 20160148506 | AN APPARATUS AND METHOD EMPLOYING SENSOR-BASED LUMINAIRES TO DETECT AREAS OF REDUCED VISIBILITY AND THEIR DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT |
| 20160148495 | Emergency Apparatus Indicator |
| 20160148439 | AUTOMATED SERVICE MANAGEMENT |
| 20160148431 | VIDEO SYSTEM FOR PILOTING A DRONE IN IMMERSIVE MODE |
| 20160147232 | UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE DRAG AUGMENTATION BY REVERSE PROPELLER ROTATION |
| 20160147226 | AUTOMATED SERVICE MANAGEMENT |
| 20160147223 | System and Method for Control of Autonomous Marine Vessels |
| 20160146758 | AUTONOMOUS PIPELINE INSPECTION USING MAGNETIC TOMOGRAPHY |
| 20160146618 | METHOD TO GAIN DRIVER’S ATTENTION FOR AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE |
| 20160146197 | BATTERY POWERED VEHICLE PROPULSION SYSTEM |
| 20160145044 | INVENTORY SYSTEM WITH EFFICIENT OPERATOR HANDLING OF INVENTORY ITEMS |
| 20160144982 | UAV DOCKING SYSTEM AND METHOD |
| 20160144978 | DRONE EQUIPPED WITH AN IMAGING DEVICE AND WITH MEANS OF PROTECTING THE IMAGING DEVICE |
| 20160144959 | Systems, Methods and Devices for Collecting Data at Remote Oil and Natural Gas Sites |
| 20160144958 | TETHERED AERIAL SYSTEMS FOR DATA GATHERING |
| 20160144954 | UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE |
| 20160144867 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE DETECTION OF AND RESPONSE TO TRAFFIC OFFICER PRESENCE |
| 20160144859 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUTONOMOUS NAVIGATION OF VEHICLE |
| 20160144734 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MANAGING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES |
| 20160144695 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ALTERING ONE OR MORE VEHICLE FUNCTIONS |
| 20160144358 | Dynamic Lab on a Chip Based Point-Of-Care Device For Analysis of Pluripotent Stem Cells, Tumor Cells, Drug Metabolites, Immunological Response, Glucose Monitoring, Hospital Based Infectious Diseases, and Drone Delivery Point-of-Care Systems |
| 20160142880 | Enhanced Mobile Base Station |
| 20160142416 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USING A SEPARATE DEVICE TO FACILITATE AUTHENTICATION |
| 20160140852 | UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE AUTHORIZATION AND GEOFENCE ENVELOPE DETERMINATION |
| 20160140851 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DRONE NAVIGATION |
| 20160140496 | Automated delivery system and method |
| 20160139603 | AUTOMATIC TAKE-OFF AND LANDING CONTROL DEVICE |
| 20160139602 | LAUNCH-CONTROLLED UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES, AND ASSOCIATED SYSTEMS AND METHODS |
| 20160139600 | AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE REFUELING LOCATOR |
| 20160139598 | AUTONOMOUS DRIVING VEHICLE SYSTEM |
| 20160139595 | MOBILE TERMINAL AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF |
| 20160139594 | REMOTE OPERATION OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE IN UNEXPECTED ENVIRONMENT |
| 20160139248 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR INTERACTION WITH THERMAL DETECTORS |
| 20160139240 | MOVING OBJECT DETECTION SYSTEM WITH DIRECTION AND DISTANCE PREDICTION |
| 20160138924 | VEHICLE AUTONOMOUS TRAVELING SYSTEM, AND VEHICLE TRAVELING METHOD USING THE SAME |
| 20160137313 | TECHNIQUES FOR EMPLACING AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE LAUNCHER PRIOR TO LAUNCHING AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE |
| 20160137312 | UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE LAUNCH SYSTEM |
| 20160137304 | MICRO HYBRID GENERATOR SYSTEM DRONE |
| 20160137293 | ENCLOSED DRONE APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR USE THEREOF |
| 20160137290 | RECESSED LIFT SPOILER ASSEMBLY FOR AIRFOILS |
| 20160137289 | METHOD AND A DEVICE FOR CONTROLLING AT LEAST TWO SUBSYSTEMS OF AN AIRCRAFT |
| 20160137217 | Integrated Vehicle Control System and Apparatus |
| 20160136482 | DEVICES, SYSTEMS, AND METHODS FOR PROVIDING FEATURES TO IMPROVE ACTIVITY SPORT SESSIONS |
| 20160136208 | APPLICATION OF ADSORBED DRONE BROOD HOMOGENATE AND OF VITAMIN D3 OR D-GROUP VITAMINS AND/OR ACTIVE METABOLITES THEREOF FOR PREVENTING AND TREATING VIRAL DISEASES |
| 20160134858 | RGB-D IMAGING SYSTEM AND METHOD USING ULTRASONIC DEPTH SENSING |
| 20160134358 | BEAM FORMING AND POINTING IN A NETWORK OF UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES (UAVS) FOR BROADBAND ACCESS |
| 20160133019 | CONTROL OF IMAGE TRIGGERING FOR AERIAL IMAGE CAPTURING IN NADIR ALIGNMENT FOR AN UNMANNED AIRCRAFT |
| 20160132748 | Hyperspectral Resolution Using Three-Color Camera |
| 20160132714 | FIRE URGENCY ESTIMATOR IN GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT (FUEGO) |
| 20160132705 | Method and System for Autonomous 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.