EP-4739582-A1 - DRONE AND BASE STATION

Abstract

A base station may include a parking plate on which the drone is to be landed. The base station may include pushers slidable on the parking plate. The pushers may be configured to push the legs of the drone to move the drone towards a reference location on the parking plate. The base station may include a gripper carried by the parking plate. The gripper may removably secure the body of the drone in place relative to the reference location. The base station may include an alignment sensor that detects whether a marker on the drone is in alignment with the reference location. A base station may also include a battery swapping system to replace the battery of the drone after the drone is secured.

Inventors

• KIM, YOUNG, JOON
• SANCHEZ, JESSIE
• KIM, Jinkeun
• BAE, TAEWON

Assignees

• Brookhurst Garage, Inc.

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20230721

Claims (20)

1. 1. A base station for receiving a drone comprising a body and a plurality of legs, the base station comprising: a parking plate on which the drone is to be landed; a plurality of pushers slidable on the parking plate, the plurality of pushers configured to push the legs of the drone to move the drone towards a reference location on the parking plate; a gripper carried by the parking plate, the gripper configured to removably secure the body of the drone in place relative to the reference location; and an alignment sensor carried by the parking plate and positioned at the reference location, the alignment sensor configured to detect whether a marker on the drone is in alignment with the reference location.
2. 2. The base station of claim 1, wherein the gripper comprises two flaps, and each flap is configured to pivot from the parking plate to an erected position.
3. 3. The base station of claim 1, wherein the gripper comprises a drone grip slot that is complementary with a tab protruding from the drone.
4. 4. The base station of claim 1, wherein the marker on the drone is a QR code or another pattern configured to stand out as the marker.
5. 5. The base station of claim 1, wherein the marker on the drone is an identifiable component of the drone.
6. 6. The base station of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of pushers have a plurality of leg notches that are configured to receive legs of the drone.
7. 7. The base station of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pushers are configured to move along a set of tracks.
8. 8. The base station of claim 1, wherein at least one of the pushers is an elongated bumper that comprises a tilted region, an orthogonal region, and a leg notch between the tilted region and the orthogonal region.
9. 9. The base station of claim 1, further comprising a battery pack carrier configured to replace a battery pack carried by the drone.
10. 10. The base station of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pushers are moveable between an expanded configuration and a contracted configuration that moves the drone towards the reference location.
11. 11. The base station of claim 1, wherein parking plate forms a ceiling of a bottom compartment of the base station.
12. 12. The base station of claim 11, wherein the bottom compartment carries one or more battery charging sites and a battery pack carrier.
13. 13. The base station of claim 12, wherein the bottom compartment further carries a temperature regulator that is configured to regulate a temperature range of the bottom compartment.
14. 14. The base station of claim 1, wherein the gripper comprises a detection port that is configured to detect whether the drone is secured with the gripper.
15. 15. The base station of claim 14, wherein the detection port further comprises data transmission pins configured to download data from the drone to the base station.
16. 16. The base station of claim 1, wherein the gripper is configured to secure the body of the drone subsequent to the alignment sensor detecting the marker on the drone being in alignment with the reference position.
17. 17. A method for receiving a drone at a base station, the drone comprising a body and a plurality of legs, the method comprising: receiving the drone on a parking plate of the base station; pushing a plurality of pushers that are slidable on the parking plate from an expanded configuration to a contracted configuration to push the legs of the drone to move the drone towards a reference location on the parking plate; using an alignment sensor to detect whether a marker on the drone is in alignment with the reference location, the alignment sensor carried by the parking plate and positioned at the reference location; and securing, using a gripper carried on the parking plate, the body of the drone in place relative to the reference location.
18. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein securing, using the gripper, the body of the drone comprises pivoting from a flat configuration to an erected configuration.
19. 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising swapping a battery pack of the drone after the drone is secured by the gripper.
20. 20. The method of claim 17, wherein the gripper comprises a detection port that is configured to detect whether the drone is secured with the gripper and the detection port further comprises data transmission pins configured to download data from the drone to the base station.

Description

DRONE AND BASE STATION CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/525,563 filed on July 7, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND [0002] Inventory management in a storage site such as a warehouse can be a complex and labor-intensive process. Inventory items are usually placed at their designated locations with barcodes of the items readily scannable to quickly locate the items. However, in some cases, items can be misplaced and become difficult to be found. Also, misplaced items may occupy space that is reserved for incoming inventory, causing storage site personnel to spend time relocating items and tracking missing items. As such, the use of an autonomous system may be desired to automate some of the storage site management process. However, for an autonomous system to be implemented, power management may become an issue that will need to be resolved in an effective way. SUMMARY [0003] In some embodiments, this disclosure is related to a base station for receiving a drone including a body and a plurality of legs, the base station including: a parking plate on which the drone is to be landed; a plurality of pushers slidable on the parking plate, the plurality of pushers configured to push the legs of the drone to move the drone towards a reference location on the parking plate; a gripper carried by the parking plate, the gripper configured to removably secure the body of the drone in place relative to the reference location; and an alignment sensor carried by the parking plate and positioned at the reference location, the alignment sensor configured to detect whether a marker on the drone is in alignment with the reference location. [0004] In some embodiments, this disclosure is related to a method for receiving a drone at a base station, the drone including a body and a plurality of legs, the method including: receiving the drone on a parking plate of the base station; pushing a plurality of pushers that are slidable on the parking plate from an expanded configuration to a contracted configuration to push the legs of the drone to move the drone towards a reference location on the parking plate; using an alignment sensor to detect whether a marker on the drone is in alignment with the reference location, the alignment sensor carried by the parking plate and positioned at the reference location; and securing, using a gripper carried on the parking plate, the body of the drone in place relative to the reference location. [0005] In some embodiments, this disclosure is related to a base station for performing a battery pack swap for a drone, the base station including: a parking plate for receiving the drone; a gripper carried by the parking plate, the gripper configured to secure the drone in place at a parking position at the parking plate; a plurality of chargers, each charger including a battery latch and a power port, the battery latch configured to mechanically hold a battery pack in place with the charger and the power port configured to provide power to the battery pack being charged; and a battery pack carrier movable among the plurality of chargers and the parking position, the battery pack carrier configured to: remove a first battery pack from the drone and move the first battery pack to a first charger, and carry a second battery pack from a second charger to the drone and install the second battery pack to the drone. [0006] In some embodiments, this disclosure is related to a system including: a drone carrying a first battery pack; a base station for performing a battery pack swap for the drone, the base station including: a parking plate for receiving the drone; a gripper carried by the parking plate, the gripper configured to secure the drone in place at a parking position at the parking plate; a plurality of chargers, each charger including a battery latch and a power port, the battery latch configured to mechanically hold a battery pack in place with the charger and the power port configured to provide power to the battery pack being charged; and a battery pack carrier movable among the plurality of chargers and the parking position, the battery pack carrier configured to: remove a first battery pack from the drone and move the first battery pack to a first charger, and carry a second battery pack from a second charger to the drone and install the second battery pack to the drone. [0007] In some embodiments, this disclosure is related to a method for performing a battery pack swap for a drone that carries a first battery pack, the method including: holding, using a battery latch, a second battery pack in place with a charger carried by a base station; providing power to the second battery pack through a power port of the charger; receiving the drone on a parking plate of the base station; securing, using a gripper carried by the parking plate, the drone in place