METHOD OF LOAD DELIVERY AND PICK-UP BY DRONE"

Cross-Reference to Related Applications

This Patent Application claims priority from Italian Patent Application No . 102022000000224 filed on January 10 , 2022 , the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference .

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a ground station for deliveries and pick-ups by drone and a method of load delivery and pick-up by drone .

Background of the Invention

Aerial delivery has always been as fascinating as it is di f ficult for retailers and logistics companies to implement due to technological and regulatory limitations .

In recent years , however, due to the improved performance of drones in terms of controllability and accuracy, some large companies such as Amazon, DHL and Tesco have started pilot proj ects for the delivery of goods .

The present invention intends to realise a ground station that can be easily installed on any fixed or mobile structure ( such as a building or a means of transport ) and allows an easy procedure of approaching the drone to the structure and releasing ( as well as picking up ) a load carried by the drone itsel f ( i . e . a load contained in a carrier module delivered and picked up by the drone ) .

The previous aim is achieved by the present invention in that it relates to a ground station for deliveries and pick-ups by drone of the type described in Claim 1 . The present invention also relates to a method of delivery by drone on a ground station of the type described in Claim 7 . Finally, the present invention relates to a method of pickup by drone on a ground station of the type described in Claim 11 .

Prior art :

US 2020/198801 discloses a system and method for receiving a parcel from an unmanned aerial vehicle at a parcel receiving station placed on the roo ftop . The recipient , using a computer device , may ask the parcel receiving station to deliver the parcel from the rooftop to a delivery place .

US2018 /290764 discloses a landing platform for drones . One or more sensors coupled to the drone landing platform may detect local conditions in the vicinity of the drone landing platform . A communication system is designed to transmit information on local conditions to a drone .

US9975651 di scloses a container trans fer station between unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned ground vehicles . US2018/244404 shows a system of delivery by drone .

US2018/141682 discloses a landing station for an unmanned aircraft . Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention wi ll now be explained with reference to the attached drawings , which represent a non-limiting embodiment thereof wherein :

Figures 1 to 4 schematically show a ground station for deliveries and pick-ups by drone realised according to the present invention which carries out successive steps of the delivery method according to the present invention;

Figures 5 to 9 show a method of pick-up according to the present invention .

Preferred Embodiment

The system of delivery and/or pick-up by drone comprises a ground station 2 and at least one drone 3 of a known type . The drone 3 is configured to transport a load and is provided with a sensor kit and communication systems to interface with the ground station 2 .

The ground station 2 is available on any fixed structure such as a building ( e . g . it may be installed on a balcony, window, rooftop etc . ) or on a mobile structure such as a ship, but also a van or a generic vehicle . In the example shown, the ground station 2 is arranged on a balcony shown in cross-section and schematically .

For example , the ground station 2 may have a domestic application, i . e . it may be installed in homes for deliveries of food, of products purchased on the net , transport services between households , new customised services ( e . g . supply of medical kits , pet care , etc . ) .

Another possible application of the ground station 2 is in the civil nautical field : the ground station 2 may be installed of fshore/on ordinary boats such as commercial vessels and container ships/yachts/plat forms in the Luxury or oil industry .

The ground station 2 is schematically represented and generically comprises a vertical structure 4 fixable to the ground to a fixed structure or a vehicle and provided with an arm 5 that is movable , in the example hori zontally and with a linear motion, between a rest position ( see Figures 1 and 2 ) wherein it is contained in a protective housing 6 and an extended position wherein the arm 5 extends transversally in a cantilever fashion from the vertical structure 4 and protrudes from the protective housing 6 .

The movement of the arm 5 is carried out by actuators of a known type (not shown, e . g . linear motors ) which are in turn controlled by an electronic control unit 7 ( shown schematically) .

The arm 5 is provided with sensors designed to detect its correct arrangement in the rest position and the attainment of the extended activation position . The arm 5 is also provided with a load sensor (not shown) designed to detect the force applied by a load 12 hanging from one end of the arm 5 and thus the presence/absence of such a load 12 .

The vertical structure 4 carries at the top a first marker Ml designed to be recognised by the drone during flight to activate a step of approach of the drone to the ground station while maintaining a predetermined hori zontal distance from the ground station which will be hereinafter shown . Conveniently, the first marker Ml is made from a colour code detectable by a camera on the drone . Codes other than colour codes may obviously be used and are des igned to still determine the distance between the drone and the ground station 2 .

The ground station 2 is provided with a short-range two-way communication system 15 using known technologies ( e . g . Bluetooth™) and configured to communicate with the drone 3 .

The vertical structure 4 further carries a first laser beam emitter 8 designed to provide a first position reference for the drone wherein a lower portion 3 f of the drone has a first vertical distance DI from the arm 5 arranged in the extended position . As will be shown hereinafter, the drone 3 stops its vertical descent when it reaches the first position reference , i . e . it detects the alignment with the laser beam 8 , which conveniently develops in a plane Pl parallel to the hori zontal . The drone 3 remains in such a position as long as the first laser beam emitter 8 is active . Other emitters such as infra-red or microwave radiation emitters may obviously be used .

When the drone 3 reaches the first reference , it sends a signal (using the short-range two-way communication system 15 ) towards the ground station 2 to have the arm 5 of the ground station 2 extended .

The first distance DI also has a value such that it allows inserting the end portion 5f of the arm 5 into an opening or seat of a support structure 11 of a load 12 carried at the bottom by the drone 3 . For example , the drone 3 is provided with a lower portion 3 f provided with grippers 16 which are movable between an open position and a closed position wherein the grippers 16 couple with a ring 17 placed at the end of the support structure 11 which in the example shown is formed by cables extending from the ring 17 to the parallelepiped-shaped load 12 .

The vertical structure 4 also carries a second laser beam emitter 9 designed to provide a second position reference for the drone wherein a lower portion 3 f of the drone has a second vertical distance D2 from the arm 5 arranged in the extended position .

The second distance D2 is lower than the first distance DI .

As will be shown hereinafter, the drone 3 stops further in its vertical descent when it reaches the second position reference , i . e . it detects the alignment with the laser beam 9 , which conveniently develops in a plane P2 parallel to the hori zontal and the plane Pl . In this case as well , di f ferent emitters such as infra-red or microwave radiation emitters may obviously be used .

The ground station 2 activates the second laser beam emitter 9 after extending the arm 5 and after switching of f the first laser beam emitter 8 . The drone , after detecting the switching-of f of the first laser beam emitter 8 resumes its descent until it finds the position laser 9 and stops again .

The drone 3 releases the load autonomously by moving in the plane P2 and identi fying a load release zone on the rod 5f by a vertical camera provided in the drone kit .

This allows the decoupling of the support structure 11 from the drone and its arrangement on the arm 5. In the example , the decoupling is obtained by moving the grippers 16 from the closed position to the open position by decoupling the ring 17 from the grippers .

The approach operations of the drone to the ground system are shown with reference to Figures 1 to 4 , which show a delivery operation .

At first the drone 3 during flight moves to an initial spatial position ( Figure 1 ) wherein the drone is frontally above the ground system 2 and at a predetermined vertical distance from the ground system . This first position i s provided by the GPS system present on the drone .

Then the descent of the drone 3 towards the ground structure 2 is activated as well as the camera of the drone that starts searching for the first marker present on the ground system, in the example the colour code .

After this first marker has been recognised, the drone adj usts the hori zontal distance to the ground station during its descent so that this is equal to a predetermined value .

When the laser beam emitted by the first emitter 8 of ground station 2 hits the sensor present on the drone ( Figure 2 ) , the first position reference is detected and the drone stops its descent and remains stable in hovering at an intermediate position in the space . The short-range transmission system of the drone 3 sends a message to the ground station 2 requesting the extraction of the arm 5 ; in response to this signal , the electronic control unit 7 begins the operation of extracting the arm 5 hori zontally ( see Figure 3 ) . The electronic control unit 7 thereby carries out the arrangement o f the arm 5 in the activation position and the end portion 5a of the arm 5 is inserted in the support structure 11 ( see the central Figure 3 ) .

At the end of this extraction operation, the ground system commands the switching of f of the first laser beam 8 . The drone , following the switching of f of the laser beam 8 , then resumes its descent until the laser beam emitted by the second emitter 9 hits the sensor present on the drone , thus detecting the second position reference (Figure 3 , left side) ; the drone 3 then stops its descent again and remains stable in hovering in a delivery position . The drone 3 thereby moves even closer to the arm 5 to carry out the load release 12 .

Next , the drone searches for a load release zone and after finding it , it carries out the decoupling between the lower end portion 3 f of the drone ( opening of grippers 16 and decoupling of ring 17 ) and the support structure 11 , which is laid and engages with the arm 5 ( central Figure 3 ) .

Following this decoupling operation, the drone 3 moves away from the ground station 2 and performs a return mission to a load base .

The laying of the support structure 11 and the load 12 carried by it are detected by the load cell , which triggers a slider 18 that locks the ring 17 in an activation position at the end of stroke of the unloading zone, irrespective of where the load is released by the drone in the release zone ; after securing the load with the s lider 18 , a command signal is generated for the actuators that carry out the arrangement of the arm in the rest position ( see Figure 4 ) .

The slider 18 is carried by the arm 5 and is configured to couple with the ring 17 and move between a rest position and the activation position wherein the ring 17 and thus the load 12 have a predetermined arrangement along the arm 5 .

Conveniently, the slider 18 is extracted by a kinematic mechanism ( e . g . isostatic triangle pantograph wheel ) from inside the arm 5 and slides along the load release zone on the arm along a guide not shown .

It is thus possible for an operator (not shown) to pick up the load placed on the arm 5 in the rest position, which is easily accessible . In such protection, the load is protected from the weather by the protective housing .

The approach operations of the drone to the ground system are shown with reference to Figures 1 to 9 , which show a pick-up operation .

At first the drone 3 during flight moves to an initial spatial position wherein the drone is frontally above the ground system 2 and at a predetermined vertical distance from the ground system . This first position is provided by the GPS system present on the drone .

Then the descent of drone 3 towards the ground structure 2 is activated as well as the camera of the drone which starts searching for the first marker present on the ground system, in the example the colour code ( see Figure 5 ) .

After this first marker has been recognised, the drone adj usts the hori zontal distance to the ground station during its descent so that this is equal to a predetermined value .

When the laser beam emitted by the first emitter 8 of the ground station 2 hits the sensor present on the drone , the first position reference is detected and the drone stops its descent and remains stable in hovering at an intermediate position in the space . The short-range transmission system of the drone 3 sends a message to the ground station 2 requesting the extraction of the arm 5 ; in response to this signal , the electronic control unit 7 begins the operation of extracting the arm 5 hori zontally ( see Figure 6 ) . The hori zontal arm 5 carries the support structure 11 o f a load 12 that is to be picked up . The support structure 11 is provided with a coupling element ( ring 17 ) extending from the arm 5 .

At the end of this extraction operation, the ground system commands the switching of f of the first laser beam 8 .

The drone , following the switching of f of the laser beam 8 , then resumes its descent ( Figure 6 ) until the laser beam emitted by the second emitter 9 strikes the sensor present on the drone , thus detecting the second position reference ; the drone 3 then stops its descent again and remains stable in hovering in a pick-up position . The drone 3 thereby further approaches the arm 5 and the coupling element ( ring 17 ) in order to carry out the pick-up of the load 12 carried by the arm 5 . Next , the drone searches for the coupling element by its camera and, after finding it , carries out the coupling between the lower end portion 3 f o f the drone ( grippers 16 ) and the coupling element carried by the arm 5 ( i . e . ring 17 ) .

After such a coupling between grippers 16/ring 17 has been carried out , a command is issued by the drone to the ground station 2 to partially raise the drone in order to carry out the decoupling between the arm 5 and support structure 11 . Such operation is carried out by deactivating the second emitter and activating the first emitter, so that the drone moves from the distance D2 from the arm to the greater distance DI .

A return command is then given to return the arm 5 , which returns to its rest position and decouples from the support structure 11 without disturbing the movement of the drone 3 .

Following this decoupling operation between the arm 5 and the support structure 11 , the drone 3 moves away from ground station 2 and performs a return mission to a load base .

Numbers

2 ground station

3 drone

3 f lower end portion 4 vertical structure

5 arm

6 protective housing

7 electronic control unit

8 first emitter

9 second emitter

11 support structure

12 load

15 two-way communication system

16 grippers

17 ring

18 slider