US-12623783-B2 - Collapsible enclosure and suspension

Abstract

A system including an enclosure and a suspension assembly is described. The enclosure includes a first housing section, a second housing section, and a joint link pivotably coupling the first housing section to the second housing section. The joint link couples the housing sections about pivot axes such that the housing sections are movable between an axially aligned operational position and a folded storage position in which the housing sections lie alongside one another. The suspension assembly includes a first end configured to couple to an aerial vehicle and a second end configured to couple to the enclosure. The suspension assembly is configured to be torsion-resistant.

Inventors

• Hemant Chaudhary
• Troy Mestler

Assignees

• SKYFRONT CORP.

Dates

Publication Date

20260512

Application Date

20250618

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A system, comprising: an enclosure configured to house a sensor or transmission device, wherein the enclosure includes a first housing section and a second housing section and a joint link pivotably coupling the first housing section to the second housing section about pivot axes such that the first housing section and the second housing section are movable between an axially aligned operational position and a folded storage position in which the first housing section and the second housing section lie alongside one another; and a suspension assembly comprising: a plurality of links; a plurality of hinge joints serially interconnecting adjacent links of the plurality of links such that the suspension assembly is foldable into a compact tessellated package; a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the suspension assembly in the compact tessellated package; a first end configured to couple to an aerial vehicle; and a second end configured to couple to the enclosure; wherein the suspension assembly is configured to be torsion-resistant.
2. 2 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a latch releasably securing the first housing section and the second housing section in the axially aligned operational position.
3. 3 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a retention member releasably securing the first housing section and the second housing section in the folded storage position.
4. 4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the suspension assembly is a pendulous rod.
5. 5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the suspension assembly is pivotable about two axes.
6. 6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of links comprises a plurality of elongated rigid links disposed end-to-end.
7. 7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each hinge joint of the plurality of hinge joints defines a single rotation axis and successive rotation axes are oriented substantially orthogonally to one another such that the suspension assembly is foldable into the compact tessellated package.
8. 8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each hinge joint of the plurality of hinge joints comprises a rotation-limiting surface restricting relative angular displacement between the adjacent links.
9. 9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the compact tessellated package fits between the aerial vehicle and the ground while the aerial vehicle is in a grounded state.
10. 10 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the second end of the suspension assembly comprises a keyed male inserter.
11. 11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein an end of the enclosure comprises a complementarily keyed female receiver.
12. 12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the enclosure comprises at least one spring-biased locking pin mounted to the complementarily keyed female receiver and automatically engageable with a locking aperture in the keyed male inserter upon insertion of the keyed male inserter into the complementarily keyed female receiver in a specific orientation.
13. 13 . The system of claim 12 , wherein the enclosure comprises at least one manually actuatable slider mounted to the enclosure and operatively connected to the at least one spring-biased locking pin to withdraw the at least one spring-biased locking pin from the locking aperture to permit removal of the keyed male inserter.
14. 14 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the enclosure comprises at least one spring configured to oppose insertion of the keyed male inserter into the complementarily keyed female receiver.
15. 15 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a flexible cable, wherein the suspension assembly includes an internal channel for the flexible cable.
16. 16 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the flexible cable electrically connects the enclosure and the aerial vehicle.
17. 17 . The system of claim 15 , wherein the suspension assembly is foldable into a compact tessellated package and the internal channel is configured to allow for bending of the flexible cable.
18. 18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein tension of the bending of the flexible cable assists in unfolding the suspension assembly, dampens swinging oscillations and/or increases its unfolded rigidity.
19. 19 . The system of claim 1 , wherein, using the plurality of hinge joints, the adjacent links of the plurality of links are able to rotate 180 degrees from axial alignment to fold the suspension assembly into the compact tessellated package.
20. 20 . A system, comprising: an aerial vehicle; and a sensing system coupled to the aerial vehicle, the sensing system comprising: an enclosure configured to house a sensor or transmission device, wherein the enclosure includes a first housing section and a second housing section and a joint link pivotably coupling the first housing section to the second housing section about pivot axes such that the first housing section and the second housing section are movable between an axially aligned operational position and a folded storage position in which the first housing section and the second housing section lie alongside one another; and a suspension assembly comprising: a plurality of links; a plurality of hinge joints serially interconnecting adjacent links of the plurality of links such that the suspension assembly is foldable into a compact tessellated package; a plurality of fasteners configured to secure the suspension assembly in the compact tessellated package: a first end configured to couple to the aerial vehicle; and a second end configured to couple to the enclosure; wherein the suspension assembly is configured to be torsion-resistant.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO OTHER APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/661,685 entitled COLLAPSIBLE ENCLOSURE AND SUSPENSION FOR A MAGNETOMETER filed Jun. 19, 2024 which is incorporated herein by reference for all purposes. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may be deployed for a variety of purposes, including exploration (e.g., surveying or mapping of resources) and defense (e.g., ordnance detection). For these purposes a UAV may be equipped with one or more sensors including a magnetometer. A magnetometer may be susceptible to interference from electronics onboard a UAV and may be physically separated from the UAV (e.g., suspended by a rope or arm). However, changes in heading of the sensors relative to the heading of the UAV due to swinging or rotation of a suspension mechanism may introduce fluctuations into the measurements of a magnetometer, and the sensor or suspension mechanism may snag on terrain, vegetation, etc., or otherwise hinder the UAV, especially during takeoff and landing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA WINGS Various embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating an aerial vehicle and a sensing system in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating an aerial vehicle and a sensing system in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an enclosure in an axially aligned operational position. FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating a side view of an embodiment of an enclosure. FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an enclosure in a folded storage position. FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an embodiment of an enclosure. FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating an enclosure-suspension assembly interface in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating an enclosure-suspension assembly interface in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating a perspective view of an enclosure-suspension assembly interface in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 3D is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of process for utilizing an enclosure and a suspension assembly coupled to an aerial vehicle. FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a portion of a suspension assembly folded into a compact tessellated package. FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a hinge joint of a suspension assembly in an unfolded position. FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a hinge joint of a suspension assembly in a folded position. FIG. 4D is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a system including a suspension assembly coupled to an aerial vehicle. FIG. 4E is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a process for utilizing a suspension assembly with an aerial vehicle and a magnetometer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The invention can be implemented in numerous ways, including as a process; an apparatus; a system; a composition of matter; a computer program product embodied on a computer readable storage medium; and/or a processor, such as a processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by a memory coupled to the processor. In this specification, these implementations, or any other form that the invention may take, may be referred to as techniques. In general, the order of the steps of disclosed processes may be altered within the scope of the invention. Unless stated otherwise, a component such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform a task may be implemented as a general component that is temporarily configured to perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is manufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term ‘processor’ refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores configured to process data, such as computer program instructions. A detailed description of one or more embodiments of the invention is provided below along with accompanying figures that illustrate the principles of the invention. The invention is described in connection with such embodiments, but the invention is not limited to any embodiment. The scope of the invention is limited only by the claims and the invention encompasses numerous alternatives, modifications and equivalents. Numerous specific details are set forth in the following description in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. These details are provided for the purpose of example and the invention may be practiced according to the claims without some or all of these specific details. For the purpose of clarity, technical material that is known in the technical fields related to the invention has not been described in detail so that the invention is not unnecessarily obscured. A system including an enclosure and a suspension assembly is described. The en