US-12617563-B2 - Payload (variants) and air transport system (variants) comprising same

US12617563B2US 12617563 B2US12617563 B2US 12617563B2US-12617563-B2

Abstract

A payload including a housing provided with one or more toothed guides or with one or more docking mechanisms, each of which is configured to detachably toothedly interact with an unmanned aircraft apparatus being docked so as to enable the movement of said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the housing of the payload, wherein the housing of the payload is further configured to detachably toothedly interact with yet another (other) unmanned aircraft apparatus so as to enable the action of said yet another unmanned aircraft apparatus onto said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus for withdrawal of the latter from interaction with the housing of the payload. Furthermore, embodiments of an air transport system include two or more unmanned aircraft apparatuses and one of the payload.

Inventors

PAVEL RUSLANOVICH ANDREEV

Assignees

PAVEL RUSLANOVICH ANDREEV

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20250226
Priority Date: 20240318

Claims (20)

1 . A payload comprising: a housing provided with one or more docking mechanisms, each of which is configured to detachably toothedly interact with a toothed guide of a docked unmanned aircraft apparatus so as to enable a movement of said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the housing, wherein at least one of the docking mechanisms is further configured to detachably toothedly interact with a toothed guide of yet another unmanned aircraft apparatus so as to enable a movement of yet another unmanned aircraft apparatus by means of the docking mechanism of the payload towards said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus and the contact action of the housing of said yet another unmanned aircraft apparatus onto the housing of said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus for withdrawal of the latter from interaction with said at least one docking mechanism of the payload.
2 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein the housing configured to limit the movement of the unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the housing.
3 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein the movement of the unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the housing is limited upon introduction of the toothed guide of the unmanned aircraft apparatus into toothed interaction with said at least one docking mechanism.
4 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is provided with two or more air propulsion units.
5 . The payload according to claim 4 , wherein at least one of the air propulsion units of the housing is configured to extend, unfold or deploy from the housing.
6 . The payload according to claim 4 , wherein the air propulsion units of the housing of the payload form at least one functional pair of air propulsion units, wherein the air propulsion units are disposed on opposite sides of the housing.
7 . The payload according to claim 4 , wherein at least one of the air propulsion units of the housing is installed on one of the sides of the housing so as to alter a location thereof of the at least one of the air propulsion units on said side of the housing.
8 . The payload according to claim 4 , wherein the air propulsion units of the housing are installed so as to enable same to extend through the body of the unmanned aircraft apparatus or to enable the housing of the unmanned aircraft apparatus to extend over said air propulsion units upon introduction of the toothed guide of said unmanned aircraft apparatus into toothed interaction with said at least one docking mechanism.
9 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is provided with two docking mechanisms configured to detachably toothedly interact with the toothed guide of the unmanned aircraft apparatus.
10 . The payload according to claim 9 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on one of the sides of the housing at a predetermined distance from one another.
11 . The payload according to claim 9 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on the housing on one of the sides of the housing so as to alter a distance between the docking mechanisms on said side of the housing.
12 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on a vertical post extending from the housing on one of the sides of the housing, and are disposed at a distance from one another along a length of the vertical post.
13 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on the housing so as to enter into toothed interaction with the toothed guides of the unmanned aircraft apparatuses on different sides of the housing so as to enable the placement of the air propulsion units of said unmanned aircraft apparatuses in the same plane on different sides of the housing or with a predetermined angular offset along the perimeter of the housing.
14 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is provided with two air propulsion units provided on opposite sides of the housing, and said docking mechanisms are installed on the housing so as to enable the placement of the air propulsion units of the housing and the air propulsion units of the unmanned aircraft apparatus in the same plane on different sides of the housing or with a predetermined angular offset along the perimeter of the housing during introduction of the toothed guide of the unmanned aircraft apparatus into toothed interaction with said docking mechanisms.
15 . The payload according to claim 14 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on the side of the housing which is adjacent to said opposite sides of the housing.
16 . The payload according to claim 1 , wherein the housing is provided with two air propulsion units provided on opposite sides of the housing, and said docking mechanisms are installed on the housing so as to enable the introduction of the toothed guide of the unmanned aircraft apparatus into toothed interaction with said docking mechanisms on one of said opposite sides of the housing or on the side of the housing which is adjacent to said opposite sides of the housing.
17 . An air transport system comprising: a payload provided with two or more docking mechanisms, two or more unmanned aircraft apparatuses, each of which is provided with a toothed guide configured to enter into a detachable toothed interaction with at least one of said docking mechanisms of the payload so as to enable a movement of said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the payload, wherein the housing of at least one of said unmanned aircraft apparatuses is configured to enable the housing of the other unmanned aircraft apparatus of said unmanned aircraft apparatuses to at least partially extend through the housing of said at least one unmanned aircraft apparatus during a movement of said at least one unmanned aircraft apparatus or said other unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the payload.
18 . The air transport system according to claim 17 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on the payload so as to enable the introduction of the toothed guides of said unmanned aircraft apparatuses into toothed interaction with respective docking mechanisms of said docking mechanisms of the payload on different sides of the housing of the payload.
19 . The air transport system according to claim 17 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on the payload so as to enable the placement of said unmanned aircraft apparatuses at a predetermined distance along a height of the payload.
20 . The air transport system according to claim 17 , wherein said docking mechanisms are installed on the payload so as to enable the placement of the air propulsion units of said unmanned aircraft apparatuses in the same plane on different sides of the payload or with a predetermined angular offset along the perimeter of the payload.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to Russian Patent Application No. RU2024107042 filed Mar. 18, 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to transport equipment, in particular to vehicles capable of flying or performing movement through the air to deliver a user to a target location, specifically to payloads having an improved design and air transport systems comprising one of such payloads and unmanned aircraft apparatuses configured to dock to said payload. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION To date, there have been developed many various designs of a payload for transporting passengers and/or cargo of various types, as well as many various automated or semi-automated air transport systems based on the use of unmanned aircraft apparatuses (UAAs) configured to detachably dock to a payload for moving same through the air to a target location. However, despite the fact that modern payload designs and modern air transport systems intended to move said payload through the air using unmanned aircraft apparatuses docked to the housing of the payload make it possible to relatively quickly deliver or move a user through the air to a target location, they have a significant disadvantage of impossibility of non-stop movement of such payload through the air to a target location over a long period of time, i.e., without the need for landing the payload followed by maintenance and replenishment of the range of the unmanned aircraft apparatuses involved in moving said payload through the air. Accordingly, in view of at least the above disadvantage of the state-of-the-art designs of a payload and of air transport systems based on the use of unmanned aircraft apparatuses for transporting payloads through the air, there is an urgent need for the development of improved designs of a payload and improved air transport systems. In particular, U.S. patent application No. 2023294849 (US2023294849) published on Sep. 21, 2023 provides a payload comprising a housing provided with one or more docking mechanisms each configured to detachably toothedly interact with a toothed guide of a docked unmanned aircraft apparatus so to enable said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus to be moved with respect to the housing of the payload, and provides an air transport system which comprises the payload according to US 2023294849 and an unmanned aircraft apparatus docked to the housing of the payload. Of note, the payload and air transport system disclosed in US2023294849 also do not overcome the above-stated disadvantage of impossibility of non-stop movement of such payload through the air to a target location over a long period of time. Thus, there is an obvious need for further improvement of the designs of known payloads and improvement of air transport systems comprising such payload, in particular to increase the range of non-stop flight. Accordingly, the main technical problem solved by the present invention is to create designs of a payload and air transport systems that would enable such payload to move through the air using unmanned aircraft apparatuses and which would at least partially overcome the above-mentioned disadvantage of the prior art of insufficient non-stop flight range. A further technical problem solved by the present invention is to expand the range of vehicles capable of transporting or delivering a user/cargo through the air to a target location. DISCLOSURE The main object of the present invention is to create payloads and air transport systems that solve each at least the above technical problem of the prior art, as well as to expand the range of vehicles for transporting cargo/passengers through the air. Another object of the present invention is to create alternative designs of a payload and alternative air transport systems comprising such payload with respect to the technical solutions known in the prior art. Each of the tasks at hand is solved in the first aspect of the present invention due to the fact that the subject payload comprises: (i) a housing provided with one or more docking mechanisms, each of which is configured to detachably toothedly interact with a toothed guide of a docked unmanned aircraft apparatus so as to enable the movement of said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus with respect to the housing, at least one of the docking mechanisms is further configured to detachably toothedly interact with a toothed guide of yet another unmanned aircraft apparatus so as to enable the action of said yet another unmanned aircraft apparatus onto said docked unmanned aircraft apparatus for withdrawal of the latter from interaction with said at least one docking mechanism. In one embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the housing of the payload may be provided with two air propulsion units provided on opposite sides of the housing, and the docking mechanisms may be in