Patents by Inventor Erin Kathleen Anderson

Erin Kathleen Anderson has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Reconfigurable unmanned aerial vehicles for subsurface sensor deployment
    Patent number: 10919625
    Abstract: Embodiments herein describe a reconfigurable UAV to allow for the deployment of a subsurface sensor. The UAV includes a rotor assembly that is slidably coupled to a landing base. The rotor assembly includes a plurality of rotors and a ring circumscribing the rotors. Upon landing, the rotor assembly rotates in a first direction with respect to the landing base, which reduces a spacing between the rotor assembly and the ground and drives a sensor coupled to the rotor assembly into the ground. To remove the sensor from the ground, the rotor assembly rotates in a second direction to increase the spacing between the rotor assembly and the ground. The ring and/or the landing base may include interlocking features such as helical threads that are utilized to translate a rotational motion of the rotor assembly into a linear translation of the rotor assembly along the length of the landing base.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 24, 2018
    Date of Patent: February 16, 2021
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventor: Erin Kathleen Anderson
  • RECONFIGURABLE UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES FOR SUBSURFACE SENSOR DEPLOYMENT
    Publication number: 20200031466
    Abstract: Embodiments herein describe a reconfigurable UAV to allow for the deployment of a subsurface sensor. The UAV includes a rotor assembly that is slidably coupled to a landing base. The rotor assembly includes a plurality of rotors and a ring circumscribing the rotors. Upon landing, the rotor assembly rotates in a first direction with respect to the landing base, which reduces a spacing between the rotor assembly and the ground and drives a sensor coupled to the rotor assembly into the ground. To remove the sensor from the ground, the rotor assembly rotates in a second direction to increase the spacing between the rotor assembly and the ground. The ring and/or the landing base may include interlocking features such as helical threads that are utilized to translate a rotational motion of the rotor assembly into a linear translation of the rotor assembly along the length of the landing base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 24, 2018
    Publication date: January 30, 2020
    Inventor: Erin Kathleen Anderson