Patents by Inventor Douglas M. Abner

Douglas M. Abner 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).

  • Patent number: 7543780
    Abstract: A small unmanned air vehicle system having autonomous electrical energy transmission line docking capability and especially usable in military or other surveillance situations. Transmission line field sensing by the small unmanned air vehicle is used as an addition to global position system and other navigation methods and is especially applied to vehicle docking maneuvers. A plurality of vehicle carried electromagnetic fields-responsive sensors provides transmission line based signals to the vehicle guidance system in both far field and near field environments. Surveillance sensors are included in the vehicle payload. Vehicle battery charging energy procurement from the transmission line docking is included. Related commonly assigned patent documents are identified.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2009
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force
    Inventors: Patrick T. Marshall, Douglas M. Abner, Robert Williams