Patents Assigned to Aerovironment Inc.
  • UTILITY GROUND DETECTION
    Publication number: 20180275186
    Abstract: In an embodiment, a missing utility ground detection circuit includes a pair of balanced resistors each connected to receive utility voltage from a different one of a pair of utility power lines, the balanced resistors being connected together at a summing node to be capable of summing the voltages from the pair of utility power lines. It includes an unbalance resistor connected to shunt voltage from one of the utility power lines. It has a summing amplifier with an input coupled to the summing node and to a reference voltage, and an input coupled to a second reference voltage. It has an averaging circuit connected at the output of the summing amplifier. A comparator is provided having an input connected to the averaging circuit an input connected to a threshold voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 13, 2018
    Publication date: September 27, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Albert Flack, Scott Garret Berman
  • Tilt-ball turret with gimbal lock avoidance
    Patent number: 10081441
    Abstract: A turret assembly for attachment on the undersurface of an aircraft that reduces performance limitations due to gimbal lock and reduces the cross section profile of the assembly. The assembly includes a roll actuator including a drive shaft. A yoke having a cross member is coupled to the drive shaft and a pair of prongs. The yoke is rotated via the roll actuator and drive shaft along a roll axis oriented substantially parallel to the body of the aircraft. A turret is mounted on the prongs of the yoke. A tilt actuator is contained within the turret. The tilt actuator tilts the turret on a tilt axis relative to the yoke. The tilt axis is perpendicular to the roll axis.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 25, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Thomas Szarek, Thomas Omer, Manolis Pavlos Dimotakis, Jefferson C. McBride
  • Air vehicle flight mechanism and control method for non-sinusoidal wing flapping
    Patent number: 10065737
    Abstract: A flapping wing driving apparatus includes at least one crank gear capstan rotatably coupled to a crank gear, the at least one crank gear capstan disposed radially offset from a center of rotation of the crank gear; a first wing capstan coupled to a first wing, the first wing capstan having a first variable-radius drive pulley portion; and a first drive linking member configured to drive the first wing capstan, the first drive linking member windably coupled between the first variable-radius drive pulley portion and one of the at least one crank gear capstan; wherein the first wing capstan is configured to non-constantly, angularly rotate responsive to a constant angular rotation of the crank gear.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Matthew Todd Keennon, Alexander Andryukov, Karl Robert Klingebiel, Henry Thome Won
  • ELECTRIC VEHICLE SUPPLY EQUIPMENT WITH TEMPERATURE CONTROLLED CURRENT
    Publication number: 20180244166
    Abstract: In electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), interruption of charging due to overheating is prevented by adjusting the pulse duty cycle on the control pilot conductor communicating the maximum allowed current level to the electric vehicle, the adjustment being performed whenever the EVSE temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold temperature below the maximum operating temperature as a function of the approach of the temperature to the maximum operating temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2018
    Publication date: August 30, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventor: Albert Joseph FLACK
  • Small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) shipboard recovery system
    Patent number: 10046864
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for impacting, by a small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV), a net having at least three sides; and converting the kinetic energy of the SUAV into at least one of: elastic potential energy of one or more tensioned elastic cords connected to at least one corner of the net, gravitational potential energy of a frame member connected to at least one corner of the net, rotational kinetic energy of the frame member connected to at least one corner of the net, and elastic potential energy of the frame member connected to at least one corner of the net.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 14, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: John Peter Zwaan, Robert James Johnston, Cris James Cornell, Philip Martin Finn, Glenn Arnold Blevins, David Wayne Ganzer
  • Unmanned aircraft turn and approach system
    Patent number: 10042360
    Abstract: An aircraft including a wing system, a plurality of control surfaces, a camera mounted on a camera pod, and a control system. The camera pod is configured to vary the orientation of the camera field of view only in yaw, relative to the aircraft, between a directly forward-looking orientation and a side-looking orientation. The control system controls the control surfaces such that they induce a significant aircraft yaw causing an identified target to be within the field of view of the camera with the camera in the directly forward-looking orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: William J. Nicoloff, Eric M. Sornborger, Lars B. Cremean
  • Battery watering event detection using a temperature sensor
    Patent number: 10038225
    Abstract: A method of battery cell monitoring includes measuring a temperature of an electrolyte in a battery cell using a temperature sensor, outputting from the temperature sensor a plurality of electrolyte temperature signals indicative of the temperature of the electrolyte over time, providing the plurality of electrolyte temperature signals to a system controller, determining by the system controller a sudden transition in the electrolyte temperature signals, and logging a watering event data indication in a memory in response to calculating the sudden transition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Blake Edward Dickinson
  • COMPRESSED MOTOR WINDING
    Publication number: 20180191217
    Abstract: In one possible embodiment, a motor winding is provided having a high density multi-conductor wire bundle with a compacted Litz wire bundle. The compacted Litz wire bundle has a serpentine configuration with a central portion having compacted Litz wire and end turns having non-compacted Litz wire.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 21, 2017
    Publication date: July 5, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Wally Ewald Rippel, Zaher Abdallah Daboussi, Bradford M. Hori, Scott Garret Berman, Bart Dean Hibbs
  • Active Dihedral Control System for a Torsionally Flexible Wing
    Publication number: 20180155005
    Abstract: A span-loaded, highly flexible flying wing, having horizontal control surfaces mounted aft of the wing on extended beams to form local pitch-control devices. Each of five spanwise wing segments of the wing has one or more motors and photovoltaic arrays, and produces its own lift independent of the other wing segments, to minimize inter-segment loads. Wing dihedral is controlled by separately controlling the local pitch-control devices consisting of a control surface on a boom, such that inboard and outboard wing segment pitch changes relative to each other, and thus relative inboard and outboard lift is varied.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 18, 2017
    Publication date: June 7, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Greg T. Kendall, Derek L. Lisoski, Walter R. Morgan, John A. Griecci
  • Vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) air vehicle
    Patent number: 9988147
    Abstract: A flight control apparatus for fixed-wing aircraft includes a first port wing and first starboard wing, a first port swash plate coupled between a first port rotor and first port electric motor, the first port electric motor coupled to the first port wing, and a first starboard swash plate coupled between a first starboard rotor and first starboard electric motor, the first starboard electric motor coupled to the first starboard wing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2017
    Date of Patent: June 5, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Dana J. Taylor, Phillip T. Tokumaru, Bart Dean Hibbs, William Martin Parks, David Wayne Ganzer, Joseph Frederick King
  • Electric vehicle supply equipment with temperature controlled current
    Patent number: 9981563
    Abstract: In electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), interruption of charging due to overheating is prevented by adjusting the pulse duty cycle on the control pilot conductor communicating the maximum allowed current level to the electric vehicle, the adjustment being performed whenever the EVSE temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold temperature below the maximum operating temperature as a function of the approach of the temperature to the maximum operating temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventor: Albert Joseph Flack
  • Residual current detecting (RCD) and ground impedance monitoring transformer and control methods
    Patent number: 9964574
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for a transformer including: a first drive winding (206) wound on a first core; a second drive winding wound on a second core; a sense winding wound across the first and second cores; and a compensation winding wound across the first and second cores; where one or more utility lines are threaded through a middle of the first and second cores, a common mode current in the one or more utility lines causes one or more pulses to appear on the sense winding, a current on the compensation winding is adjusted until the one or more pulses on the sense winding are cancelled out, and the common mode current on the one or more utility lines is the adjusted current on the compensation winding multiplied by a turn ratio between the compensation winding and the sense winding.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 5, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Peter Gabrielsson, Albert Joseph Flack, Scott Berman
  • Aircraft grounding system
    Patent number: 9957065
    Abstract: Liquid dispensing assemblies including adhesive anchoring assemblies configured to adhere to a support surface external to a device such as a vehicle. An air vehicle includes (a) a fluid adhesive container assembly detachably attached to the air vehicle, wherein the fluid adhesive container assembly comprises: (i) an adhesive container comprising fluid adhesive; and (ii) one or more fibers, wherein the one or more fibers are configured, or a brush of fibers, or a fabric of fibers, is configured to conduct the fluid adhesive and to structurally support an adhesive bond between the one or more fibers and a surface; and (b) means for dispensing the fluid adhesive from the fluid adhesive container, to the one or more fibers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Eugene Fisher, John Peter Zwaan, David R. Thompson, Marc L. Schmalzel, Karl R. Klingbiel, Tyson R. Jensen, Pavel Belik, Eric James Aagaard
  • Air vehicle flight mechanism and control method
    Patent number: 9957044
    Abstract: Heavier-than-air, aircraft having flapping wings, e.g., ornithopters, where angular orientation control is effected by variable differential sweep angles of deflection of the flappable wings in the course of sweep angles of travel and/or the control of variable wing membrane tension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Matthew Todd Keennon, Karl Robert Klingebiel, Alexander Andryukov, Bart Dean Hibbs, John Peter Zwaan
  • Air vehicle flight mechanism and control method
    Patent number: 9950790
    Abstract: Heavier-than-air, aircraft having flapping wings, e.g., ornithopters, where angular orientation control is effected by variable differential sweep angles of deflection of the flappable wings in the course of sweep angles of travel and/or the control of variable wing membrane tension.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Matthew Todd Keennon, Karl Robert Klingebiel, Alexander Andryukov, Bart Dean Hibbs, John Peter Zwaan
  • POWERPLANT AND RELATED CONTROL SYSTEM AND METHOD
    Publication number: 20180106186
    Abstract: A hydrogen fueled powerplant including an internal combustion engine that drives a motor-generator, and has a two-stage turbocharger, for an aircraft. A control system controls the operation of the motor-generator to maintain the engine at a speed selected based on controlling the engine equivalence ratio. The control system controls an afterburner, an intercooler and an aftercooler to maximize powerplant efficiency. The afterburner also adds power to the turbochargers during high-altitude restarts. The turbochargers also include motor-generators that extract excess power from the exhaust.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 30, 2017
    Publication date: April 19, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander Nelson Brooks, James Gallagher Daley
  • Flux concentrator for ironless motor
    Patent number: 9941757
    Abstract: In one possible embodiment, a magnet array for a motor is provided which has an array of permanent magnets being arranged such that flux from the permanent magnets reinforce on one side of the array and substantially cancel on an opposite side of the array, the array further includes flux concentrators located at poles on the reinforcing side of the array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 12, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2018
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Bart Dean Hibbs, Bang Xuan Phan
  • UAV PAYLOAD MODULE CAMERA ASSEMBLY AND RETRACTION MECHANISM
    Publication number: 20180086480
    Abstract: In one possible embodiment, a UAV payload module retraction mechanism is provided including a payload pivotally attached to a housing. A biasing member is mounted to bias the payload out of the housing and a winch is attached to the payload. An elongated flexible drawing member is coupled between the housing and the winch, the elongated drawing flexible member being capable of being drawn by the winch to retract the payload within the housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 1, 2017
    Publication date: March 29, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: John Peter Zwaan, Pavel Belik, Manolis Dimotakis, Christopher J. D'Aquila
  • CRYOGENIC LIQUID TANK
    Publication number: 20180080606
    Abstract: A hydrogen storage tank for a hydrogen fueled aircraft. The tank has a wall made of layers of aerogel sections around a hard shell layer, sealed within a flexible outer layer, and having the air removed to form a vacuum. The periphery of each layer section abuts other sections of that layer, but only overlies the periphery of the sections of other layers at individual points. The wall is characterized by a thermal conductivity that is lower near its gravitational top than its gravitational bottom. The tank has two exit passageways, one being direct, and the other passing through a vapor shield that extends through the wall between two layers of aerogel. A control system controls the relative flow through the two passages to regulate the boil-off rate of the tank.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander N. BROOKS, Bart D. HIBBS, David R. THOMPSON
  • Rotating Lidar
    Publication number: 20180081036
    Abstract: A lidar system, including a base, a sensor body, and a motor having a shaft. The motor is affixed to the base, and can drive the sensor body in rotation with respect to the base. An LED device and a light sensor are each mounted upon the sensor body. A data processing device is also mounted upon the sensor body, and is programmed to produce range information based upon the sensor data. The shaft carries two slip rings. The LED, the sensor and the data processing device all receive electrical power via the two slip rings. The data processing device is configured to transmit the range information via the two slip rings using pulse width modulation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 12, 2015
    Publication date: March 22, 2018
    Applicant: AeroVironment Inc.
    Inventor: Reza Miremadi