Patents by Inventor Philip E. Burks

Philip E. Burks 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).

  • Publication number: 20220177130
    Abstract: Various embodiments of systems, apparatus, and/or methods are described for enhanced responsiveness in responding to an emergency situation using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Drones are fully autonomous in that they are operated without human intervention from a pilot, an operator, or other personnel. The disclosed drone utilizes movable access doors to provide the capability of vertically takeoff and landing. The drone also includes an emergency recovery system including a mechanism to deploy a parachute in an event of a failure of the on-board autopilot. Also disclosed herein is a drone port that provides an IR-based docking mechanism for precision landing of the drone, with a very low margin of error. Additionally, the drone port includes pads that provide automatic charge to the drone's batteries by contact-based charging via the drone's landing gear legs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2022
    Publication date: June 9, 2022
    Inventors: Philip E. Burks, James Nipp, Jerry Daniel Claridge, Paul Miller
  • Patent number: 11279481
    Abstract: Various embodiments of systems, apparatus, and/or methods are described for enhanced responsiveness in responding to an emergency situation using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Drones are fully autonomous in that they are operated without human intervention from a pilot, an operator, or other personnel. The disclosed drone utilizes movable access doors to provide the capability of vertically takeoff and landing. The drone also includes an emergency recovery system including a mechanism to deploy a parachute in an event of a failure of the on-board autopilot. Also disclosed herein is a drone port that provides an IR-based docking mechanism for precision landing of the drone, with a very low margin of error. Additionally, the drone port includes pads that provide automatic charge to the drone's batteries by contact-based charging via the drone's landing gear legs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 22, 2022
    Assignee: PHIRST TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Philip E. Burks, James Nipp, Jerry Daniel Claridge, Paul Miller
  • Patent number: 11111033
    Abstract: A recharging system operable to supply power to a rechargeable battery onboard an aerial vehicle. The recharging system includes conductive contacts onboard an aerial vehicle and a landing platform including conductive regions, a charge sensor, and a power supply. The conductive contacts are polarized and located on the skids of the aerial vehicle. When then conductive contacts are received by the conductive regions, the charge sensor operates switches in order to connect a positively charged contact with the positive terminal of the power supply and the negatively charged contact with the negative terminal. Thus, the rechargeable battery is recharged by the power supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: September 7, 2021
    Assignee: PHIRST TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Philip E. Burks, Ryan E. LaBarre, Trent S. Clawson, Jack Edgar Terrell, Brandon Shawn Kirkpatrick
  • Publication number: 20210176818
    Abstract: Methods, systems and devices for connecting computer aided dispatch (CAD) systems for providing improved emergency response services are described. An example method includes connecting to a first CAD system and a second CAD system, wherein the information exchange interfaces associated with the first and second CAD systems are incompatible, and performing, using a common user interface overlay, the following operations: receiving an indication of an emergency situation, transmitting a list of available assets to the first CAD system, wherein the list of available assets comprises at least a set of available assets that are controlled by the second CAD system, receiving, from the first CAD system, a set of active assets designated to respond to the emergency situation, wherein the set of active assets is selected from the list of available assets, and transmitting, to the second CAD system, the set of active assets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 7, 2020
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Inventors: Philip E. Burks, James Nipp, Chad Richey
  • Publication number: 20180327091
    Abstract: Various embodiments of systems, apparatus, and/or methods are described for enhanced responsiveness in responding to an emergency situation using unmanned aerial vehicles (drones). Drones are fully autonomous in that they are operated without human intervention from a pilot, an operator, or other personnel. The disclosed drone utilizes movable access doors to provide the capability of vertically takeoff and landing. The drone also includes an emergency recovery system including a mechanism to deploy a parachute in an event of a failure of the on-board autopilot. Also disclosed herein is a drone port that provides an IR-based docking mechanism for precision landing of the drone, with a very low margin of error. Additionally, the drone port includes pads that provide automatic charge to the drone's batteries by contact-based charging via the drone's landing gear legs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 11, 2018
    Publication date: November 15, 2018
    Inventors: Philip E. Burks, James Nipp, Jerry Daniel Claridge, Paul Miller