Patents Assigned to Aerovironment Inc.
  • Mounting system for mechanical-shock resistant printed circuit board (PCB)
    Patent number: 10617028
    Abstract: A shock resistant fuselage system includes first and second fuselage side walls, each of the first and second fuselage side walls having a plurality of guide posts, and a printed circuit board (PCB) rigidly attached to at least one of the first and second fuselage side walls, the PCB having a plurality of guide slots, each of the plurality of guide posts slideably seated in a respective one of the plurality of guide slots so that elastic deformation of the PCB is guided by the guide slots between the first and second fuselage side walls.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: April 7, 2020
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventor: William John Nicoloff
  • Compressed motor winding
    Patent number: 10601273
    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: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 24, 2020
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Wally Ewald Rippel, Zaher Abdallah Daboussi, Bradford M. Hori, Scott Garret Berman, Bart Dean Hibbs
  • Cryogenic liquid tank
    Patent number: 10584828
    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: Grant
    Filed: November 27, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Alexander N. Brooks, Bart D. Hibbs, David R. Thompson
  • Elevon control system
    Patent number: 10583910
    Abstract: A system comprising an aerial vehicle or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to control pitch, roll, and/or yaw via airfoils having resiliently mounted trailing edges opposed by fuselage-house deflecting actuator horns. Embodiments include one or more rudder elements which may be rotatably attached and actuated by an effector member disposed within the fuselage housing and extendible in part to engage the one or more rudder elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: March 10, 2020
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Tony Shuo Tao, Nathan Olson, Carlos Thomas Miralles, Robert Nickerson Plumb
  • UAV PAYLOAD MODULE CAMERA ASSEMBLY AND RETRACTION MECHANISM
    Publication number: 20200062418
    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: October 28, 2019
    Publication date: February 27, 2020
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: John Peter Zwaan, Pavel Belik, Manolis Dimotakis, Christopher J. D'Aquila
  • INVERTIBLE AIRCRAFT
    Publication number: 20200047906
    Abstract: A rotorcraft including a fuselage, one or more motor-driven rotors for vertical flight, and a control system. The motors drive the one or more rotors in either of two directions of rotation to provide for flight in either an upright or an inverted orientation. An orientation sensor is used to control the primary direction of thrust, and operational instructions and gathered information are automatically adapted based on the orientation of the fuselage with respect to gravity. The rotors are configured with blades that invert to conform to the direction of rotation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 24, 2019
    Publication date: February 13, 2020
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Matthew Todd Keennon, Karl Robert Klingebiel
  • Unmanned aerial vehicle drag augmentation by reverse propeller rotation
    Patent number: 10558225
    Abstract: An air vehicle configured to augment effective drag to change the rate of descent of the air vehicle in flight via propeller shaft rotation direction reversal, i.e., thrust reversal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2020
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Martyn Cowley, Matthew Todd Keennon
  • Interactive weapon targeting system displaying remote sensed image of target area
    Patent number: 10539394
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 19, 2019
    Date of Patent: January 21, 2020
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: John C. McNeil, Earl Clyde Cox, Makoto Ueno, Jon Andrew Ross
  • Inverted-landing aircraft
    Patent number: 10533851
    Abstract: 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. The ground station has an auto-land function that causes the aircraft to invert, stall, and controllably land in the inverted orientation to protect a payload and a rudder extending down from the aircraft. In the upright orientation, the ground station depicts the view from a first aircraft camera. When switching to the inverted orientation: (1) the ground station depicts the view from a second aircraft camera, (2) the aircraft switches the colors of red and green wing lights, extends the ailerons to act as inverted flaps, and (3) the control system adapts a ground station controller for the inverted orientation. The aircraft landing gear is an expanded polypropylene pad located above the wing when the aircraft is in the upright orientation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 18, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher E. Fisher, Thomas Robert Szarek, Justin B. McAllister, Pavel Belik
  • Geographic survey system for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS)
    Patent number: 10534372
    Abstract: A method of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operation, including: receiving from a customer a first data request, the first data request having: a first geographic coverage area; and a refresh rate for the first geographic coverage area; planning a first plurality of flight missions to accomplish the first data request; uploading flight missions data representing the first plurality of flight missions into a UAV pod; and deploying the UAV pod.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 14, 2020
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Eugene Fisher, Jason Sidharthadev Mukherjee, William Arden Lott
  • Power and communication interface for vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
    Patent number: 10518901
    Abstract: A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) system including: a rearward facing tang extending from a rear fuselage portion of a VTOL UAV; one or more metallic contacts disposed on an exterior surface of the tang; a UAV pod including a landing surface; and an opening disposed in the landing surface to receive the tang.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Christopher Eugene Fisher, Jason Sidharthadev Mukherjee, William Arden Lott
  • System for protecting a rotatable shaft of a motor from excessive bending moments
    Patent number: 10507903
    Abstract: 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.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 17, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Emil Ghapgharan, Lane Dennis Dalan, Pavel Belik, Christopher Eugene Fisher, Austin Craig Gunder
  • Multimode unmanned aerial vehicle
    Patent number: 10494093
    Abstract: A system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) configured to transition from a terminal homing mode to a target search mode, responsive to an uplink signal and/or an autonomous determination of scene change.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 3, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Carlos Thomas Miralles
  • Small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) shipboard recovery system
    Patent number: 10479526
    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: July 16, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 19, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: John Peter Zwaan, Robert James Johnston, Cris James Cornell, Philip Martin Finn, Glenn Arnold Blevins, David Wayne Ganzer
  • UAV payload module camera assembly and retraction mechanism
    Patent number: 10457418
    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: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 29, 2019
    Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: John Peter Zwaan, Pavel Belik, Manolis Dimotakis, Christopher J. D'Aquila
  • Systems and devices for remotely operated unmanned aerial vehicle report-suppressing launcher with portable RF transparent launch tube
    Patent number: 10450089
    Abstract: 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. An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) launch tube that comprises a tethered sabot configured to engage a UAV within a launcher volume defined by an inner wall, the tethered sabot dimensioned to provide a pressure seal at the inner wall and tethered to the inner wall, and wherein the tethered sabot is hollow having an open end oriented toward a high pressure volume and a tether attached within a hollow of the sabot and attached to the inner wall retaining the high pressure volume or attach to the inner base wall.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 20, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 22, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Carlos Thomas Miralles, Guan H Su, Alexander Andryukov, John McNeil
  • DEEP STALL AIRCRAFT LANDING
    Publication number: 20190318637
    Abstract: 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. The ground station has an auto-land function that causes the aircraft to invert, stall, and controllably land in the inverted orientation to protect a payload and a rudder extending down from the aircraft. In the upright orientation, the ground station depicts the view from a first aircraft camera. When switching to the inverted orientation: (1) the ground station depicts the view from a second aircraft camera, (2) the aircraft switches the colors of red and green wing lights, extends the ailerons to act as inverted flaps, and (3) the control system adapts a ground station controller for the inverted orientation. The aircraft landing gear is an expanded polypropylene pad located above the wing when the aircraft is in the upright orientation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 11, 2019
    Publication date: October 17, 2019
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher E. Fisher, Thomas Robert Szarek, Justin B. McAllister, Pavel Belik
  • System for detachably coupling an unmanned aerial vehicle within a launch tube
    Patent number: 10442554
    Abstract: A system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle launch tube comprising a sabot disposed in an interior of the launch tube, the sabot having a first clasp tab and an expandable skirt. The sabot is hollow, and the expandable skirt has a circumferential skirt protrusion and is configured to provide a pressure seal with the inner circumferential wall of the launch tube. The system further comprises a clasp detachably coupled to the first clasp tab and contacting the inner circumferential wall of the launch tube.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2014
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventor: Alexander Andryukov
  • Vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) winged air vehicle with complementary angled rotors
    Patent number: 10370095
    Abstract: Systems, devices, and methods for an aircraft having a fuselage (110); a wing (120) extending from both sides of the fuselage; a first pair of motors (132b, 133b) disposed at a first end of the wing; and a second pair of motors (142b, 143b) disposed at a second end of the wing; where each motor is angled (381, 382, 391, 392) to provide a component of thrust by a propeller (134, 135, 144, 145) attached thereto that for a desired aircraft movement applies a resulting torque additive to the resulting torque created by rotating the propellers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: AEROVIRONMENT, INC.
    Inventors: Henry Thome Won, Quentin Lindsey
  • RECONFIGURABLE BATTERY-OPERATED VEHICLE SYSTEM
    Publication number: 20190233100
    Abstract: A quadrotor UAV including ruggedized, integral-battery, load-bearing body, two arms on the load-bearing body, each arm having two rotors, a control module mounted on the load-bearing body, a payload module mounted on the control module, and skids configured as landing gear. The two arms are replaceable with arms having wheels for ground vehicle use, with arms having floats and props for water-surface use, and with arms having pitch-controlled props for underwater use. The control module is configured to operate as an unmanned aerial vehicle, an unmanned ground vehicle, an unmanned (water) surface vehicle, and an unmanned underwater vehicle, depending on the type of arms that are attached.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2018
    Publication date: August 1, 2019
    Applicant: AeroVironment, Inc.
    Inventors: Christopher E. Fisher, Phillip T. Tokumaru, Marc L. Schmalzel, John Peter Zwaan, Jeremy D. Tyler, Justin B. McAllister, Gabriel E. Torres, Pavel Belik