Patent Publication Number: US-2021171218-A1

Title: Docking station for unmanned aerial vehicles

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. non-provisional application Ser. No. 16/037,142, filed Jul. 17, 2018, which claims the benefit of priority of U.S. provisional application No. 62/533,337, filed Jul. 17, 2017, the contents of each of which are herein incorporated by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and, more particularly, to a UAV docking station. 
     An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a UAV, is an aircraft without a human pilot aboard. UAVs are becoming ever more present in society for a wide array of applications, such as inspecting infrastructure, search and rescue missions, and aiding in agriculture. Further, every UAV application would almost certainly benefit in some regard from an automated (or semi-automated) UAV station. Clearly, the ideal UAV station must fulfill various responsibilities. Nevertheless, current UAV stations are limited by their UAV docking mechanism. Currently, most if not all, UAV stations are limited to a single UAV capacity. 
     As can be seen, there is a need for an improved UAV docking station that may efficiently secure more than one UAV. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one aspect of the present invention, a docking assembly for unmanned aerial vehicles comprises: a dock comprising a shaft; and at least one unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a slot, wherein the shaft of the dock inserts through the slot of the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle, thereby docking the at least one unmanned aerial vehicle on the dock. 
     In another aspect of the present invention, an unmanned aerial vehicle dock comprises: a base comprising an upper surface and a lower surface; a shaft extending from the upper surface of the base, wherein the shaft is configured to insert through a slot of an unmanned aerial vehicle; and a battery charger configured to charge the unmanned aerial vehicle when the shaft is disposed through the slot. 
     These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, shown in use; 
         FIG. 2  is a top front perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  is a bottom rear perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of an embodiment of the present invention, shown in a storage configuration; 
         FIG. 5  is a detail exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 6  is section detail view of the present invention, taken along line  6 - 6  in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the removal of a UAV from a shaft; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention; and 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
     The present invention includes a docking station for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The docking stations stacks, stabilizes, and charges the UAVs. Stacking UAVs allows for more UAVs to be housed in a smaller surface area. The present invention also eliminates the need for legs on a UAV, thus making both, the UAVs and UAV stations, much smaller and more space efficient. 
     The present invention may include the following benefits. Firstly, while one UAV is in use the others may be charging which results in the first added benefit, which is continuous UAV usage. Secondly, one may use multiple UAVs at the same time resulting in higher productivity in areas such as agriculture and search and rescue missions as well as more viewing angles for inspections or filming. Stacking UAVs in a station allows for a higher UAV supply in the UAV Station Network and therefore a greater ability to meet the demand for UAVs across the network. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 through 8 , the present invention includes docking assembly for unmanned aerial vehicles  36  (UAVs). The docking assembly includes a dock  10 ,  26  having a shaft  10 . The present invention further includes UAVs  36 . Each of the UAVs  36  include a slot  38  sized such that the shaft  10  may slidably engage the slot  38 . The shaft  10  of the dock  10 ,  26  inserts through the slot  38  of the UAVs, thereby docking the UAVs on the dock  10 ,  26 . 
     The dock  10 ,  26  further includes a horizontally disposed base  26  having an upper surface and a lower surface. The shaft  10  vertically extends from the upper surface of the base  26 . The shaft  10  of the present invention may include a cylindrical shape. The length of the shaft  10  determines how many UAVs  26  can be stacked on the dock  10 ,  26 . 
     The shaft  10  may further include a battery charger  20 ,  22  operable to charge a battery of the UAVs  36  when the UAVs  36  are docked. The battery charger  20 ,  22  may include a positive charge contact ring  20  and a negative charge contact ring  22 . In such embodiments, each of the UAVs  36  may include a positive contact tab  42  and a negative contact tab  44  that align with the positive charge contact ring  20  and the negative charge connect ring  22  when the unmanned aerial vehicle  36  is docked. 
     In certain embodiments, the battery charger  20 ,  22  includes a plurality of pairs of contact rings, each of the pairs of contact rings including the positive charge contact ring  20  and the negative charge contact ring  22 . The plurality of pairs of contact rings are evenly spaced apart along the shaft by spacers  16 . This allows multiple UAVs  36  to be stacked on the shaft  10  and to be charged at the same time. A power source is electrically connected to the positive charge contact rings  20  and the negative charge contact rings  22 , allowing the battery charger  20 ,  22  to provide power to the UAVs  36 . 
     The shaft  10  of the present invention may further include a support  12  coupled to the upper surface of the base  26 . A solid inner shaft  14  extends upward from the support  12  and provides most of the structural rigidity to the shaft  10 . The plurality of spacers  16  and contact mounts  18  may alternate and stack on the inner shaft  14 . A cap  24  secures to the top of the inner shaft  14 , thereby containing the spacers  16  and contact mounts  18 . The positive charge contact rings  20  and the negative charge contact rings  22  are coupled to the contact mounts  18 . The spacers  16  space the contact mounts  18  appropriately. Pairs of contact mounts  18  are evenly spaced apart because each UAV  36  has the same predetermined height. The spacers  16  and the inner shaft  14  may be made of a strong lightweight material, such as carbon fiber and the like. 
     The dock  10 ,  26  may further includes wheels  30  coupled to the base  26  and extending from the lower surface of the base  26 . A plurality of feet  32  may be coupled to and extend from the lower surface of the base  26  to support the dock  10 ,  26  in an upright position for landing and deploying of UAVs  36 . The present invention may further include a handle  28  coupled to the base  10 ,  26 . The handle  28  is extendable and retractable from the base  10 ,  26 . The handle  28  may be disposed on an opposing side of the wheels  30 . Therefore, a user may transport the dock  10 ,  26  by extending the handle  28  and rolling the dock  10 ,  26  by the wheels  30 . The dock  10 ,  26  may further include a balancer foot  34  extending from the upper surface of the base  26  and disposed on the same side as the wheels  20 . Therefore, the user may prop up the base  26  in a stowed position. 
     The UAVs  36  may each include centrally disposed slots  38  that fit over the shaft  10 . For example, the slots  38  may be formed through the UAVs  36  near its center of mass. Each of the UAVs  36  may include charging printed circuit board  40  (PCB) disposed within the slot  38 . The charging PCB  40  includes the positive contact tabs  42  and the negative contact tabs  44 . The contact tabs  42 ,  44  may be spring loaded mechanisms that are designed to push the contacts tabs  42 ,  44  towards the charging shaft  10  and onto the positive charge contact ring  20  and the negative charge contact ring  22  respectively when the UAV  36  is docked. 
     During the docking process, the UAV  36  uses an embedded camera and a visual cue on the dock  10 ,  26  (such as an aruco tag) to localize itself and align itself over the docking shaft  10 . The UAV  36  lowers to the lowest available position to end the docking sequence. The undocking process simply involves the top-most UAV  36  starting its motors and lifting itself off the shaft  10 . While the UAVs  36  are docked, the power source supplies power to the shaft  10  which is then distributed to the UAVs  36 . 
     In alternate embodiments, spring loaded contacts  42 ,  44  in the charging slot  38  on the UAV  36  may be rigidly mounted onto the UAV  36 . Furthermore, there are some design additions that could improve performance, such as, but not limited to, a linear bearing in-line with the charging slot  38  to decrease friction and increase ease of docking, and a magnet placed at the tip of the charging shaft  10  and at the base of the UAV slot  38  to add passive magnetic alignment. This would increase the ease of docking. Alternatively, a set of magnets placed in such a manner where the magnetic field still pulls the docking shaft tip towards the UAV docking slot. 
     Referring to  FIG. 8 , the present invention may include an elongated shaft  46  having contact rings  20 ,  22  to dock and charge four or more UAVs  36 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , an alternative base  48  may not include the handle  28  and the wheels  30 . 
     The docking mechanism described herein could be used in various larger assembly&#39;s and in countless applications. The docking mechanism may be integrated in a fully functional UAV station with capabilities including but not limited to: UAV charging, weather protection, theft protection, and autonomous docking and undocking. Furthermore, the present invention may include an accompanying website or app based interface through which users are able to make use of the UAVs for their various applications. Depending on the application, the user may desire to control the UAV by hand, using a UAV remote control interface, or to have the UAV fly autonomously through a preplanned flight. 
     It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.