Drone Patents — September 2015

U.S. Pat. No. 9,139,311
Reusable Global Launcher

The following drone patents were granted in September 2015:

PAT. NO.	Title
9,148,650	Real-time monocular visual odometry
9,147,260	Detection and tracking of moving objects
9,146,561	Robotic leader-follower navigation and fleet management control method
9,146,559	System and method for gathering video data related to operation of an autonomous industrial vehicle
9,146,557	Adaptive control method for unmanned vehicle with slung load
9,146,295	Acoustic ranging system using atmospheric dispersion
9,146,104	Jellyfish-inspired tilt sensor and artificial mesoglea
9,145,286	Method for operating an autonomous industrial truck
9,145,207	Remotely controlled micro/nanoscale aerial vehicle comprising a system for traveling on the ground, vertical takeoff, and landing
9,145,201	Method and system for steering an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
9,145,159	Lightweight tool delivery system
9,145,140	Robust method for detecting traffic signals and their associated states
9,145,139	Use of environmental information to aid image processing for autonomous vehicles
9,145,116	Systems and methods for implementing a multi-segment braking profile for a vehicle
9,141,108	Unmanned vehicle controller with interchangeable function bridge modules
9,141,107	Mapping active and inactive construction zones for autonomous driving
9,140,814	System and method of using autonomous underwater vehicle to facilitate seismic data acquisition
9,140,556	Method and system for gamma-ray localization induced spacecraft navigation using celestial gamma-ray sources
9,139,363	Automated system for transporting payloads
9,139,311	Reusable global launcher
9,139,310	Systems and methods for UAV battery exchange
9,139,299	Vertical takeoff and landing roadable vehicle
9,139,199	Methods for dense parking of remotely controlled or autonomous vehicles
9,135,510	Method of processing sensor data for navigating a vehicle
9,134,734	Method for the autonomous localization of a driverless, motorized vehicle
9,134,731	Locality adapted computerized assisted or autonomous driving of vehicles
9,134,729	User interface for displaying internal state of autonomous driving system
9,132,916	Aircraft deployment and retrieval of unmanned aerial vehicles
9,132,915	Multi-modal vehicle
9,132,840	User interface for displaying internal state of autonomous driving system
9,132,812	Retaining function for a motor vehicle
9,132,807	Autonomous operation of a motor vehicle in a car wash
9,129,355	Method and system for assessing damage to infrastructure
9,129,236	Drill hole planning
9,129,185	System and method for reducing image clutter
9,128,485	Autonomous vehicle comprising extracorporeal blood treatment machine
9,128,484	Autonomous vehicle comprising extracorporeal blood treatment machine
9,128,190	Light steering device with an array of oscillating reflective slats
9,127,913	Route search planner
9,127,908	Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle
9,126,693	Assisted takeoff
9,126,497	Apparatus and methods for control of a vehicle
9,125,987	Unmanned device utilization methods and systems
9,123,969	Electric vehicle propulsion system and method utilizing solid-state rechargeable electrochemical cells
9,123,614	Methods and applications of non-planar imaging arrays
9,123,034	Methods and systems for electronic payment for parking using autonomous position sensing
9,122,956	Automated feature analysis, comparison, and anomaly detection
9,122,948	System and method for evaluating the perception system of an autonomous vehicle
9,122,566	Robotic material handling system
9,122,278	Vehicle navigation

Drone Patent Applications — September 2015

The following drone patent applications were published in September 2015:

PUB. APP. NO.	Title
20150271201	DEVICE FOR DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF AN ATTACK ON A VEHICLE
20150270897	BANDWIDTH OPTIMIZATION AND HITLESS TRANSPORT IN DYNAMIC FREE SPACE OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS
20150270885	MIMO Systems with Active Scatters and their Performance Evaluation
20150269258	Automated Self-Censoring of Remotely-Sensed Data Based on Automated ROI Awareness and People Detection Using a Prioritized Contact Transport Stream
20150268666	REMOTE CONTROL METHOD AND TERMINAL
20150268665	VEHICLE COMMUNICATION USING AUDIBLE SIGNALS
20150268154	SYSTEM TO ADAPT AN OPTICAL DEVICE TO CALCULATE A CONDITION VALUE
20150268136	Aerial Water Sampler
20150268058	REAL-TIME SYSTEM FOR MULTI-MODAL 3D GEOSPATIAL MAPPING, OBJECT RECOGNITION, SCENE ANNOTATION AND ANALYTICS
20150267996	Launch Tube Restraint System For Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
20150267601	MOTOR VEHICLE COMPRISING AN INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE AND A FAN ARRANGED IN A LOWER HOUSING CLOSING THE ENGINE COMPARTMENT
20150266672	CONTROL SYSTEM FOR STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS
20150266578	AIR-LAUNCHABLE CONTAINER FOR DEPLOYING AIR VEHICLE
20150266577	MODULAR DRONE AND METHODS FOR USE
20150266576	MULTIPLE ENVIRONMENT UNMANNED VEHICLE
20150266575	SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC TAKEOFF AND LANDING BY INTERCEPTION OF SMALL UAVS
20150266490	VEHICLE SENSOR DIAGNOSIS SYSTEM AND METHOD AND A VEHICLE COMPRISING SUCH A SYSTEM
20150266489	VEHICLE, VEHICLE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INCREASING SAFETY AND/OR COMFORT DURING AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
20150266488	VEHICLE, VEHICLE SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR INCREASING SAFETY AND/OR COMFORT DURING AUTONOMOUS DRIVING
20150266486	DRIVER INTENTION ESTIMATION ARRANGEMENT
20150266477	METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PREDICTING MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR OF A TARGET TRAFFIC OBJECT
20150266472	Construction Zone Object Detection Using Light Detection and Ranging
20150266471	Construction Zone Sign Detection Using Light Detection and Ranging
20150266436	METHODS AND APPARATUSES INVOLVING FLEXIBLE CABLE/GUIDEWIRE/INTERCONNECTS
20150263762	Forward error correction (FEC) for local area networks (LANs)
20150262443	METHOD, SYSTEM, and COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM RELATING TO INTERNET of THINGS-ENABLED REMOTE CONTROLS
20150262035	AUTOMATED FEATURE ANALYSIS, COMPARISON, AND ANOMALY DETECTION
20150261221	AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE COMPRISING EXTRACORPOREAL BLOOD TREATMENT MACHINE
20150261220	AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE COMPRISING EXTRACORPOREAL BLOOD TREATMENT MACHINE
20150261219	AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WITH AUTOMATIC WINDOW SHADE
20150261217	SURVEYING SYSTEM
20150260824	UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEM DRONE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FLIGHT SAFETY AND TRACKING SYSTEM
20150260526	AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND METHOD
20150259078	HANDY BASE STATION SYSTEM, DEVICE AND METHOD
20150259066	HOVERING UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
20150259007	System and Method for Semi-Autonomous Driving of Vehicles
20150258910	CHARGE MANAGING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATED GUIDED VEHICLE
20150256034	Optical Power Transfer System for Powering a Remote Mobility System for Multiple Missions
20150254988	FLIGHT CONTROL FOR FLIGHT-RESTRICTED REGIONS
20150254800	NITROGEN STATUS DETERMINATION IN GROWING CROPS
20150253778	APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PREDICTION OF TIME AVAILABLE FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING, IN A VEHICLE HAVING AUTONOMOUS DRIVING CAPABILITIES
20150253774	AUTONOMOUS MOVING ROBOT AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF
20150253772	APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR CONTINUOUSLY ESTABLISHING A BOUNDARY FOR AUTONOMOUS DRIVING AVAILABILITY AND AN AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE COMPRISING SUCH AN APPARATUS
20150253536	AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WITH ADAPTIVE SIDE VIEW MIRRORS
20150253416	SYSTEM AND METHOD OF DETECTING PRECEDING VEHICLE BY USING SENSOR
20150251756	SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR COMMANDING A PAYLOAD OF AN AIRCRAFT
20150251741	AUTONOMOUS POWER GENERATION IN SUBMERSIBLE ENVIRONMENTS
20150251676	Systems and Methods for Vehicle Control
20150251664	METHOD TO CONTROL A VEHICLE PATH DURING AUTONOMOUS BRAKING
20150251566	AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE WITH RECONFIGURABLE SEATS

Definitions

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.

Drone Patents — September 2015