214 patents
Utility
System for protecting a rotatable shaft of a motor from excessive bending moments
16 Jan 24
A motor assembly that includes a motor having a motor casing, a rotatable shaft extending from said motor casing to a shaft length and a hub coupled to said rotatable shaft, the hub having a circumferential skid surface disposed immediately proximal to the motor casing and having a channel configured to seat a propeller, when a propeller is present, wherein a bending moment applied to the shaft through the hub results in the circumferential skid surface contacting said motor casing.
Emil Ghapgharan, Lane Dalan, Pavel Belik, Christopher Eugene Fisher, Austin Craig Gunder
Filed: 6 Mar 23
Utility
Airframe-mounted package launching system, package launching device and method of operation thereof
16 Jan 24
An airframe-mounted package launching system including a package launching device mounted in an interior portion of an airframe structure proximate an external airframe opening, the package launching device including a launch bed configured to support a package during a launching process, and a launch assembly configured to impart a launching force to the supported package on the launch bed during the launching process.
Joel Ifill, Filip Dziwulski, Jason A Litzinger
Filed: 21 Sep 20
Utility
System and method for solar cell array communication
16 Jan 24
In one implementation, a method for a solar cell array is provided, the method includes emitting a communication message from the solar cell array by reverse biasing the solar cell array so as to cause at least a portion of the solar array to emit a detectable amount of radiation corresponding to the communication message.
Nader Michael Lotfy, Eric James Aagaard
Filed: 17 Oct 22
Utility
Systems and Devices for an RF Signal Carrying Cable of a Multi-pack Launcher System
11 Jan 24
Systems, devices, and methods including a launch control box; a multi-pack launcher (MPL) box; and a cable connecting the launch control box and the MPL box, where the cable comprises: an outer jacket, a shielded braid, a first wire, a second wire, a third wire, and a fourth wire, where the first wire and the second wire are shielded by the shielded braid, where the third wire and the fourth wire are outside of the shielded braid, and where the third wire and the fourth wire act as an antenna.
Reza Miremadi
Filed: 12 Sep 23
Utility
Interactive weapon targeting system displaying remote sensed image of target area
9 Jan 24
Systems, devices, and methods for determining a predicted impact point of a selected weapon and associated round based on stored ballistic information, provided elevation data, provided azimuth data, and provided position data.
John C. McNeil, Earl Clyde Cox, Makoto Ueno, Jon Andrew Ross
Filed: 1 Feb 23
Utility
Methods of climb and glide operations of a high altitude long endurance aircraft
9 Jan 24
Systems, devices, and methods including: at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); at least one battery pack comprising at least one battery; and at least one motor of the at least one UAV, where the at least one battery is configured to transfer energy to the at least one motor; where power from the at least one motor is configured to ascend the at least one UAV to a second altitude when the at least one battery is at or near capacity, and where the second altitude is higher than the first altitude; and where power from the at least one motor is configured to descend the at least one UAV to the first altitude after the Sun has set to conserve energy stored in the at least one battery.
Derek Lisoski, Bart Dean Hibbs
Filed: 23 Apr 20
Utility
Methods and systems for determining flight plans for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aerial vehicles
2 Jan 24
Systems, devices, and methods for receiving, by a processor having addressable memory, data representing a geographical area for imaging by one or more sensors of an aerial vehicle; determining one or more straight-line segments covering the geographical area; determining one or more waypoints located at an end of each determined straight-line segment, where each waypoint comprises a geographical location, an altitude, and a direction of travel; determining one or more turnarounds connecting each of the straight-line segments, where each turnaround comprises one or more connecting segments; and generating, by the processor, a flight plan for the aerial vehicle comprising: the determined one or more straight-line segments and the determined one or more turnarounds connecting each straight-line segment.
Quentin Lindsey, Henry Thome Won
Filed: 28 Jul 21
Utility
Rib Mounting Flanges for an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
21 Dec 23
Systems, devices, and methods including one or more rib mounting flanges, where each rib mounting flange comprises: a spar opening configured to receive a main spar of a wing panel; one or more holes for receiving cross-bracing cables; and one or more holes for receiving cross-bracing cables; and one or more holes for connecting the rib mounting flange to an adjacent rib mounting flange.
Emil Ghapgharan
Filed: 28 Aug 23
Utility
Survey migration system for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
12 Dec 23
A method of migrating unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations between geographic survey areas, including: uploading a first plurality of flight missions into a first UAV pod; deploying the UAV pod; autonomously launching the UAV from the UAV pod a plurality of times to perform the first plurality of flight missions; providing first survey data from the UAV to the UAV pod; autonomously migrating the UAV from the first UAV pod to a second UAV pod; receiving a second plurality of flight missions in a second UAV pod; providing the UAV with one of the second plurality of flight missions from the second UAV pod; autonomously launching the UAV from the second UAV pod a plurality of times to perform the second plurality of flight missions; and providing a second survey data from the UAV to the second UAV pod; where the autonomous migrating of the UAV to accomplish the first and second survey data happens autonomously and without active human intervention.
Christopher Eugene Fisher, Jason Sidharthadev Mukherjee, William Arden Lott, Eric James Aagaard
Filed: 14 Jan 22
Utility
Supervisory safety system for controlling and limiting unmanned aerial system (UAS) operations
12 Dec 23
Systems, devices, and methods for determining, by a processor, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) position relative to at least one flight boundary; and effecting, by the processor, at least one flight limitation of a UAS if the determined UAS position crosses the at least one flight boundary.
Andrew Joseph Thurling, Joseph Frank Mohos
Filed: 24 Oct 22
Utility
Motor mount and damper
12 Dec 23
A system having a damper with six or more indentations on alternating sides of the damper, where each indentation is open to an outer circumferential surface of the damper and extends over halfway through a width of the damper, and six or more slots, each slot open to an undulating inner circumferential surface of the damper and extending through the width of the damper.
William John Nicoloff
Filed: 6 May 22
Utility
System and Method of High-resolution Digital Data Image Transmission
7 Dec 23
A system and method for transmitting still images and a video feed from an unmanned aerial vehicle to a ground station is disclosed.
Thomas SZAREK, Thomas OMER, Jefferson C. MCBRIDE
Filed: 1 Jun 23
Utility
Deep stall aircraft landing
5 Dec 23
An aircraft defining an upright orientation and an inverted orientation, a ground station; and a control system for remotely controlling the flight of the aircraft.
Christopher E. Fisher, Thomas Robert Szarek, Justin B. McAllister, Pavel Belik
Filed: 19 Oct 20
Utility
Pod Launch and Landing System for Vertical Take-off and Landing (Vtol) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uavs)
16 Nov 23
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) storage and launch system, including: a UAV pod having an interior; and a telescoping UAV landing surface disposed in the interior of the UAV pod; where the telescoping UAV landing surface may translate up toward a top opening of the UAV pod, translate down into an interior of the UAV pod, or rotate relative to the UAV pod.
Christopher Eugene Fisher, Jason Sidharthadev Mukherjee, William Arden Lott
Filed: 6 Feb 23
Utility
Rotating Lidar
16 Nov 23
A lidar system, including a base, a sensor body, and a motor having a shaft.
Reza Miremadi
Filed: 13 Aug 21
Utility
Voronoi Cropping of Images for Post Field Generation
9 Nov 23
A method and system including: defining a geographic area; receiving a plurality of images; determining a plurality of image points; partitioning the geographic area into a plurality of image regions based on the plurality of image points; and stitching the plurality of images into a combined image based on the plurality of image regions.
Quentin Lindsey
Filed: 13 Jul 23
Utility
Methods and Systems for Retaining Lateral Control of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle During Landing with Leveled Inboard Propellers
19 Oct 23
Systems, devices, and methods including an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV); one or more inner wing panels of the UAV; one or more outer wing panels of the UAV; at least one inboard propeller attached to at least one engine disposed on the one or more inner wing panels; at least one tip propeller attached to at least one engine disposed on the one or more outer wing panels; at least one microcontroller configured to: determine an angular position of the at least one inboard propeller; and send a signal to halt rotation of the at least one inboard propeller such that the at least one inboard propeller is held in an attitude that provides for clearance of the propeller blade to the ground upon landing.
Bart Dean Hibbs
Filed: 22 Jun 23
Utility
Multispectral Filters
19 Oct 23
A method and system including: an aerial vehicle including: a first camera comprising a first sensor having at least red, green, and blue color channels, where the blue color channel is sensitive to near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths; a first optical filter disposed in front of the first sensor, wherein the first optical filter is configured to block wavelengths below green, between red and NIR, and longer wavelength NIR; a processor having addressable memory in communication with the first camera, where the processor is configured to: capture at least one image of vegetation from the first camera; provide red, green, and NIR color channels from the captured image from the first camera; and determine at least one vegetative index based on the provided red, green, and NIR color channels.
Phillip T. Tokumaru
Filed: 22 Jun 23
Utility
Systems and devices for an RF signal carrying cable of a multi-pack launcher system
17 Oct 23
Systems, devices, and methods including a launch control box; a multi-pack launcher (MPL) box; and a cable connecting the launch control box and the MPL box, where the cable comprises: an outer jacket, a shielded braid, a first wire, a second wire, a third wire, and a fourth wire, where the first wire and the second wire are shielded by the shielded braid, where the third wire and the fourth wire are outside of the shielded braid, and where the third wire and the fourth wire act as an antenna.
Reza Miremadi
Filed: 13 Sep 21
Utility
Systems and Devices for Remotely Operated Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Report-suppressing Launcher with Portable RF Transparent Launch Tube
12 Oct 23
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch tube that comprises at least one inner layer of prepreg substrate disposed about a right parallelepiped aperture, at least one outer layer of prepreg substrate disposed about the right parallelepiped aperture, and one or more structural panels disposed between the at least one inner layer of prepreg substrate and the at least one outer layer of prepreg substrate.
Carlos Thomas Miralles, Guan H. Su, Alexander Andryukov, John McNeil
Filed: 15 Jun 23