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US-20260125150-A1 - APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS

US20260125150A1US 20260125150 A1US20260125150 A1US 20260125150A1US-20260125150-A1

Abstract

A hover-capable flying machine such as a drone includes a robotic arm extending from the body, and an instrumentality for balancing the machine in response to disturbances such as those caused by picking up and dropping of the payload by the extended robotic arm. In embodiments, the end of the arm is equipped with a balancing rotor assembly that may provide lift sufficient to counteract the weight of the payload and/or of the arm. In embodiments, the machine's power pack is shifted in response to the disturbances. The power pack may be moved, for example, on a rail within and/or extending beyond the machine in a direction generally opposite to the extended arm. The power pack may also be built into a bandolier-like device that can be rolled-in and rolled out, thus changing the center of gravity of the machine.

Inventors

  • Alexander I. Poltorak

Assignees

  • Alexander I. Poltorak

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20250626

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A flying machine, comprising: a robotic arm comprising an end effector capable of grasping, carrying, and releasing payloads; and means for providing lift counterbalancing at least a portion of the weight of the end effector with and without the payloads carried by the end effector.
  2. 2 . The flying machine of claim 1 , further comprising: means for generating lift for vertical movement of the flying machine.
  3. 3 . The flying machine of claim 2 , further comprising: means for supporting the robotic arm, the means for generating lift for vertical movement, and the means for providing lift counterbalancing; wherein: the robotic arm comprises a first end attached to the means for supporting and a second end at the end effector.
  4. 4 . The flying machine of claim 3 wherein: the robotic arm is selected from the group consisting of a Cartesian robotic arm, a cylindrical robotic arm, a spherical robotic arm, a selective compliance assembly robotic arm (SCARA), an articulated robotic arm, a non-articulated robotic arm, a parallel robotic arm, and an anthropomorphic robotic arm; and the robotic arm is operated by onboard controls for a human pilot, an onboard controller, or remote controls for a human operator.
  5. 5 . The flying machine of claim 3 , wherein the means for providing lift counterbalancing comprises one or more balancing rotors and means for rotating at least one of the one or more balancing rotors.
  6. 6 . The flying machine of claim 3 , wherein the means for providing lift counterbalancing comprises a pair of coplanar counter-rotating rotors configured to counteract angular momentum generated by each other and means for rotating each of the coplanar counter-rotating rotors.
  7. 7 . The flying machine of claim 3 , wherein the means for providing lift counterbalancing comprises a pair of coaxial counter-rotating rotors configured to counteract angular momentum generated by each other and means for rotating each of the coaxial counter-rotating rotors.
  8. 8 . The flying machine of claim 3 , wherein the flying machine is an Unmanned-Aircraft Vehicle System (UAVS), the UAVS further comprising: an energy bank; a receiver; and a flight control system (FCS) linked to the energy bank, the receiver, and the means for generating lift for vertical movement.
  9. 9 . The flying machine of claim 8 , wherein the means for generating lift for vertical movement comprises a pair of counter-rotating main rotors.
  10. 10 . The flying machine of claim 8 , wherein the robotic arm is non-articulated.
  11. 11 . The flying machine of claim 8 , wherein the robotic arm is articulated and comprises at least two links connected by a joint.
  12. 12 . The flying machine of claim 8 , further comprising at least one sensor configured to provide to the FCS readings indicating torque between the robotic arm and the means for supporting, wherein the flight control system is configured to coordinate actions of the robotic arm and power driving the means for providing lift counterbalancing in response to the readings.
  13. 13 . The flying machine of claim 8 , further comprising at least one sensor configured to provide to the FCS readings indicating attitude and/or attitude changes of the flying machine, wherein the flight control system is configured to coordinate actions of the robotic arm and power driving the means for providing lift counterbalancing in response to the readings.
  14. 14 . The flying machine of claim 8 , further comprising a gyroscope.
  15. 15 . The flying machine of claim 3 , further comprising: an energy bank; and a flight control system (FCS) coupled to the energy bank and configured to vary automatically power provided from the energy bank to the means for providing lift counterbalancing, to reduce forces between the means for supporting and the robotic arm that result from pickup and release of payloads by the end effector.
  16. 16 . The flying machine of claim 3 , further comprising: a flight control system (FCS) configured to increase automatically lift generated by the means for providing lift counterbalancing in response to grasping of the payloads, and to decrease automatically the lift generated by the means for providing lift counterbalancing in response to release of the payloads.
  17. 17 . A method of operating a flying machine having a robotic arm with an end effector configured to grasp, carry, and release items, the method comprising: generating lift for hovering and vertical movement of the flying machine; controlling the robotic arm to grasp, hold, and release a payload; and balancing the flying machine by applying balancing lift at the end effector.
  18. 18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein: the step of applying comprises generating the balancing lift by a balancing rotor assembly; the method further comprising: using the balancing rotor assembly to provide at least a portion of horizontal propulsion for the flying machine.
  19. 19 . The method of claim 17 , further comprising: obtaining readings of a sensor indicating attitude and/or attitude changes of the flying machine; wherein the step of applying comprises varying the balancing lift in response to the readings.
  20. 20 . A method of operating a flying machine having a robotic arm with an end effector configured to grasp, hold, and release items, the method comprising: generating lift for hovering and vertical movement of the flying machine; controlling the robotic arm to grasp, hold, and release a payload; and step for balancing the flying machine by applying balancing lift at the end effector.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/582,401, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS, filed on Feb. 20, 2024, now allowed; which is a continuation of and claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/515,299, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS, filed on Oct. 29, 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,945,572; which is a division of and claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 17/515,231, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS, filed on 29 Oct. 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,794,879; which is a division of and claims priority from U.S. application Ser. No. 16/336,904, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS, filed on 26 Mar. 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,453,480; which is U.S. national stage of PCT International Application PCT/US17/56216, WIPO publication WO2018/071592, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS, filed on 11 Oct. 2017; which claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/407,971, entitled APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR BALANCING AIRCRAFT WITH ROBOTIC ARMS AND PAYLOADS, filed on 13 Oct. 2016. Each of the patent documents identified above is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein, including text, figures, claims, tables, and computer program listing appendices (if present), and all other matter therein. FIELD The present description generally relates to stabilization and balancing of aircraft with robotic arms used for lifting, carrying, and/or dropping various payloads. In selected embodiments, the present description relates to drones with robotic arms and other aircraft capable of hovering. BACKGROUND Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as Unmanned Aerial Systems (UASs), Unmanned-Aircraft Vehicle Systems (UAVSs), Remotely Piloted Aerial Vehicles (RPAVs), Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPASs), and more commonly, as drones, are powered aerial vehicles (i.e., aircraft) that do not carry a pilot or human operator on board, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, and can carry payloads. Drones are presently used for intelligence gathering (e.g., through aerial photography), as missile delivery systems in military and intelligence operation, and for recreation by consumers. Drones can be employed for payload deliveries and pickups, among many other tasks. Drones are particularly useful for missions that are dangerous, monotonous, or otherwise impractical or unpleasant for a pilot, but can also be more cost-efficient than human-operated aircraft even for more agreeable missions. There are generally three modes of drone operation: (1) autonomous operation by an onboard flight controller; (2) autonomous operation by a remote flight controller via remote control; (3) remote operation by a human operator, that is, operation by a human via remote control. It is, of course, possible to have a drone capable of some mixture of two or more of the modes described above. For example, different modes may be engaged at different times, and/or for different functions or tasks; and different modes may be engaged at the same time to control different functions and capabilities. Drones are usually multirotor aircrafts. One of the most popular drone designs is a quadcopter (or quadroter/quadrotor/quadrone) design-a drone design with four equally-spaced, high-speed rotors. Multirotor and other drones may be equipped with sensors to get information about their surroundings and their states (such as attitude and velocity). Such sensors may include 3D gyro, accelerometer, magnetometer, pressor sensor, GPS, camera, battery level sensor, radio control receiver, and others. Multirotor drones are typically controlled through radio remote controllers. Rotors may be powered by electrical motors, for example, brushless DC motors. Military and industrial UAVs are often powered by combustion engines requiring fuel. Some UAVs use solar power. Most consumer drones, however, operate on batteries. Currently, the most popular source of energy in consumer drones appears to be Lithium-Polymer (LiPo) batteries. Nickle Cadmium (NiCad) and Nickle Metal Hydride (NiMH) were first used, but Lithium batteries (Lithium Ion or LiPo) are generally superior to NiCad batteries because they typically have higher power densities, higher energy storage densities, and have longer lives. Lithium-ion (Li-ion), lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), lithium polymer, and lithium titanate batteries are also used in drone applications. Some drones use charging stations to recharge. Batteries are made of cell(s), from one to several, which may be connected in series and/or in parallel. If two similar cells are connected in series (positive to negative), the voltage will double, but current capacity will stay the same. Connecting