PACKAGE DELIVERY BY MEANS OF AN AUTOMATED MULTI-COPTER UAS/UAV DISPATCHED FROM A CONVENTIONAL DELIVERY VEHICLE

[0001] This is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/989,870, filed Jan. 7, 2016 which claimed the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/101,542, filed on Jan. 9, 2015. Each of these prior applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

[0002] This invention relates to systems and associated methods of package delivery.

[0003] Present day package delivery systems utilize a delivery vehicle, typically (but not limited to) a step van manufactured by any number of suppliers, that originates a daily delivery route from a depot, traverses a typical geographical route throughout the day, and returns to the same depot at the end of the day's delivery cycle. One major drawback of such a delivery system is the significant amount of fuel utilized by the delivery vehicle because it is required to physically travel to and from each delivery site, irrespective if there are multiple packages or just a single package to be delivered there and irrespective of the proximity of each delivery site relative to other delivery sites.

[0004] These requirements and inherent inefficiencies of present delivery schemes significantly increase the cost of package delivery. In addition, the uncertainty of traffic and weather conditions detrimentally impacts the reliability of package delivery schedules.

[0005] In various embodiments, this invention is directed to methods and associated systems for autonomous package delivery utilizing, but not limited to: a multi-rotor unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and/or unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an infrared positioning senor, Lidar and global positioning system (GPS) controlled docking station/launch flight path controlled platform integrated with a conventional package delivery vehicle. The UAS/UAV accepts a package for delivery from a mobile launch platform on the vehicle, and uploads the delivery destination as confirmed by the courier via a bar code or QR code reading system. The UAS/UAV autonomously launches from its docked position on the delivery vehicle. The UAS/UAV autonomously dispatches to the delivery destination by means of GPS navigation. The UAS/UAV is guided in final delivery by means of a human supervised live video feed from the UAS/UAV. The UAS/UAV is assisted in the descent and delivery of the parcel by precision land sensors and if necessary by means of remote human control. The UAS/UAV autonomously returns to the delivery vehicle by means of GPS navigation and precision land sensors. The UAS/UAV autonomously docks with the delivery vehicle for recharging and in preparation of the next delivery sequence. The UAS/UAV may recharge its batteries by means of the main propulsion batteries of an electric powered delivery vehicle, but may be recharged by other means in vehicles with differing propulsion systems.

[0006] One embodiment of this invention utilizes a delivery van with an opening port in the roof, along with associated launching and retrieval hardware, configured in such a way as to allow an operator to load a package into the payload compartment of the UAS/UAV from inside the delivery vehicle. After the package is loaded into the UAS/UAV's payload compartment, the intended package destination is uploaded into the UAS/UAV system. When the delivery system, delivery vehicle and the UAS/UAV are within range of the destination, the UAS/UAV is released via the launching system within the delivery van. The UAS/UAV autonomously guides itself via GPS to a predetermined distance from the destination and is remotely guided by aid of precision land sensors and if necessary an operator at a remote location to the final delivery point for package release. Having completed the package release, the UAS/UAV autonomously returns to the delivery vehicle via GPS and is guided into its docking mechanism via infrared sensing devices or other sensors located on the UAS/UAV and delivery vehicle.

[0007] A method for parcel delivery according to various embodiments of this invention utilizes a multi-rotor UAS/UAV, dispatched from a delivery van, and controlled by a combination of automated GPS navigation and human guidance. In the one embodiment of the invention, a UAS/UAV is dispatched from the delivery vehicle with a package, ascends to a designated flight ceiling, and autonomously navigates to the corresponding address by means of GPS navigation. At the designated precise delivery GPS location, the system enables a set of cameras to transmit live video to a remote human operator, who monitors the descent and package drop-off, and is available to intervene, if necessary, to avoid potential interference with any obstacle in the designated drop-off area. After delivery, the UAS/UAV autonomously returns to the designated flight ceiling, navigates to the new position of the delivery vehicle, autonomously descends and docks with the delivery vehicle. Once docked the UAS/UAV recharges its batteries from the vehicle's power supply infrastructure in preparation for the next delivery. This invention may utilize an electric or range-extended electric delivery vehicle as its dispatch and retrieval platform, for the electric powered UAS/UAV “Horsefly.” It is understood that a fossil fuel delivery vehicle and/or fossil fuel powered UAS/UAV may be substituted as alternative embodiments of the invention.

[0008] One advantage to this system and method of package delivery over current parcel delivery systems and methods is the inherent reduction in miles driven by a delivery van to cover a given geographical area. Current methods of parcel delivery require a delivery van to arrive at each point of drop off or retrieval for each parcel. This invention requires only that the delivery vehicle arrive in an area adjacent to several drop off or retrieval points at which point a single or multiple UAS/UAV's is/are dispatched to complete the deliveries while the delivery vehicle remains stationary or moves to another area. The various embodiments of this invention for parcel delivery allow for parcels to be delivered to remote areas or longer distances without having to move the delivery vehicle to the destination. This invention results in substantial fuel savings and lower operating costs than those associated with conventional parcel delivery schemes. While delivery vehicles in their current gasoline-powered configuration can only achieve around 6 mpg in fuel economy, a small UAS/UAV would require relatively little energy in flight, reducing delivery costs for some sections of a daily route from around $1.00 per mile of delivery cost, to around $0.03-0.04 per mile for the UAS/UAV only and around $0.30 when you combine the use of an electric delivery vehicle with the UAS/UAV.

[0009] Rather than dispatching large numbers of UAS/UAV's from a central parcel-sorting warehouse, this invention utilizes the large delivery vehicles already in use for larger deliveries, allowing for fewer numbers of UAS/UAVs to be used for deliveries over a larger area, while keeping the round-trip distances for a single UAS/UAV relatively short. The constantly moving “home base” for each UAS/UAV allows for more complex delivery schedules and eliminates significant empty drive-time from a single courier's day.

[0010] One unique aspect of various embodiments of this invention is that once the delivery vehicle is loaded and departs the depot, it deploys its UAS/UAV to reach destinations that are further removed from the delivery truck's normal route or would require a significant amount of fuel and time for the delivery van to reach. In addition to saving fuel and maintenance costs for the delivery vehicle, this invention provides a method to deliver packages to remote areas not accessible to delivery vehicles. It is understood that this invention may also be used to deliver food, medicine, or any other number of goods to a remote site from a mobile platform.

[0027] This invention will be described more fully hereafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which various embodiments of the invention will be described, but it is understood that other components of equal functionality may be substituted for the embodiments described herein. A package delivery system 10 includes a delivery vehicle 12 which departs from a central depot (not shown), traverses to a general delivery area, deploys packages throughout the designated area making one or more stops, 150 stops are not uncommon. On many routes there are outliers, delivery destinations 14 that are not neatly clustered in proximity to the delivery vehicle 12, hence the delivery vehicle in prior systems must traverse a greater distance to service these locations using more fuel and resulting in greater maintenance of the delivery vehicle. This invention greatly reduces fuel consumption and delivery vehicle maintenance cost by deploying one or more UAS/UAV's 16 from the delivery vehicle 12 to more distant locations once the delivery vehicle arrives to the general package delivery area 18.

[0028] It is understood that in addition to package delivery applications such as those customary for fleet package delivery services, this invention may be used to deliver parcels from maintenance or emergency vehicles to locations that may be inaccessible to normal ground vehicles. FIG. 1 is an overview of one embodiment of the parcel delivery system 10 and associated method according to this invention. FIG. 1 shows the overall concept of this invention in its various operating modes, phases 1 through 7.

[0029] Phase 1 is the package loading and flight preparation mode 20. A package 22 is loaded into a package holding mechanism 24 of the UAS/UAV 16 inside the delivery vehicle 12 and the delivery destination 14 is uploaded to an onboard flight control system 26. The UAS/UAV 16 may utilize a bar code or QR code and appropriate reader within the vehicle 12 and the bar or QR code affixed to the package 22. It is understood that alternative methods of uploading the delivery destination 14 data may be employed, such as via wireless means.

[0030] Phase 2 of FIG. 1 is the automatic takeoff sequence 28 of the UAS/UAV 16 from the delivery vehicle 12 and its ascent to the prescribed flight ceiling prior to the UAS/UAV's traverse to the package delivery destination 14. Phase 3 of FIG. 1 is the autonomous flight 30 via GPS guidance of the UAS/UAV 16 to a location in close proximity to the final delivery destination 14 and package drop off point. Phase 4 of FIG. 1 is human intervention into the final guided descent phase and package drop-off sequence 32. Phase 5 of FIG. 1 is the autonomous ascent to the prescribed flight ceiling 34 prior to the flight back to the delivery vehicle 12. Phase 6 of FIG. 1 is the autonomous GPS navigation controlled flight 36 of the UAS/UAV 16 back to the delivery vehicle 12. Phase 7 of FIG. 1 is the autonomous descent and docking sequence 38 of the UAS/UAV 16 with the delivery vehicle 12 at its present location, which may be a different location than that of Phase 2.

[0031] During Phase 1 when the delivery vehicle 12 arrives within the general delivery area 18 and it is appropriate to deploy the UAS/UAV 16 to a remote delivery destination 14, with the UAS/UAV 16 in the docked position on a docking station 40 and the package holding mechanism 24 in the load position as depicted in FIGS. 6 and 7, the delivery vehicle operator may scan a bar code on the package 22 containing the GPS coordinates of the delivery destination 14. This bar code data contained within an electronic storage media within the delivery vehicle 12 may be transmitted to the UAS/UAV 16 via a wireless transmission utilizing both the internet and cellular networks.

[0032] With the package 22 loaded into the package holding mechanism 24 on the UAS/UAV 16 and the delivery destination coordinates uploaded via a wireless network into the flight control system 26 contained within the UAS/UAV 16, a debris cover 42 on the delivery vehicle 16 is retracted to expose the UAS/UAV 16 in a lowered position as depicted in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0033] With the UAS/UAV package loading complete and the delivery destination information contained within the UAS/UAV flight control system 26, the docking station 40 within the delivery vehicle 12 may be raised as depicted in FIGS. 8 and 9, by means of electrical actuators contained within the delivery vehicle 12 to a launch position. It is understood that alternative methods such as hydraulic actuators or other manual means may be utilized to raise the docking station 40.

[0034] The UAS/UAV 16 may be launched by the operator with supervision via a remote control center 44 as depicted in FIG. 15, ascend autonomously to the desired flight ceiling and autonomously navigate to the desired delivery destination 14 via preprogrammed GPS coordinates loaded with the UAS/UAV's control system 26. The UAS/UAV flight path is monitored via an onboard telemetry transceiver as part of the flight control system 26, depicted in FIG. 14, by the remote UAS/UAV control center 44 as depicted in FIG. 15.

[0035] As the UAS/UAV 16 approaches its delivery destination 14, onboard precision land sensors and controls are activated autonomously with manual intervention enabled to guide the UAS/UAV 16 to the final drop off point at the delivery destination 14 via a video feed from cameras 46 onboard the UAS/UAV 16, if necessary, as depicted in FIGS. 13A-13B, to the remote UAS/UAV control center 44 as depicted in FIG. 15. It is understood that other camera configurations are possible in addition to those shown in this embodiment of the invention.

[0036] The remote UAS/UAV control center 44 may insure a landing zone 48 at the delivery destination 14 is free of obstructions prior to the final decent of the UAS/UAV. The remote control center 44 supervises the final decent and package drop off via video feed by means of network live streaming video to maintain control of the final phase of package delivery.

[0037] Upon completion of the package delivery, the UAS/UAV 16 ascends to the predetermined flight ceiling and autonomously navigates via GPS back to the delivery vehicle 12 as depicted in FIG. 1. When the UAS/UAV 16 is in close proximity of the delivery vehicle 12, the UAS/UAV 16 uses infrared cameras 46 located on principle elements of the UAS/UAV 16 as depicted in FIGS. 13A-13B in conjunction with infrared emitters on the docking station 4o as depicted in FIG. 12 to autonomously land and dock the UAS/UAV 16 on the delivery vehicle 12.

[0038] Once the docking of the UAS/UAV 16 is complete, the UAS/UAV 16 and the docking station 4o are lowered into the delivery vehicle 12 and connected to the delivery vehicle onboard charging infrastructure for replenishing the energy supply on the UAS/UAV 16 in preparation for the next UAS/UAV package delivery. In this embodiment of the invention, the UAS/UAV 16 is powered by electrical energy from an electric delivery vehicle, but it is understood that other embodiments of the invention may employ alternate energy sources including, but not limited to, fossil fuels.

[0039] A more detailed description of one embodiment of the UAS/UAV 16 and docking station 40 will be described.

[0040] One embodiment of the UAS/UAV 16 is depicted in FIGS. 3, 6-10 and 12-14. The UAS/UAV 16 is powered by an onboard battery 5o that can be recharged when docked with the delivery vehicle 12. An onboard computer as part of the flight control system 26 may handle the communication with the delivery vehicle 12 for downloading the coordinates of the delivery destinations 14, while in-flight navigation is done via onboard GPS. Video camera feeds are relayed from the UAS/UAV 16 to the delivery vehicle 12 via an onboard telemetry radio, and then passed from the delivery vehicle 12 to a remote control center 44 via cellular data services.

[0041] The UAS/UAV 16 utilizes a package holding mechanism 24 that retains the package 22 during flight, and can release the package 22 when the UAS/UAV 16 lands on the ground at the delivery destination 14, delivery is accomplished and the UAS/UAV 16 leaves the delivery destination 14.

[0042] The UAS/UAV 16 utilizes onboard IR-receiver(s) and other technology to orient itself during descent and docking with the delivery vehicle 12. The technology signals that are transmitted by the delivery vehicle 12 are interpreted by the UAS/UAV onboard computer 26 and flight corrections are made autonomously by the UAS/UAV 16.

[0043] One embodiment of the docking station 4o as depicted in FIGS. 4-12 includes a structure 52 that the UAS/UAV 16 can land on, the sensor technology used to guide the UAS/UAV 16 during descent, a mechanism 54 that raises and lowers the structure 52 from the loading position to a launch position, and the debris cover 42 which covers the docked UAS/UAV 16 when it is not in flight. The docking station 4o includes a means by which the UAS/UAV onboard battery 50 can be recharged by the delivery vehicle 12 while it is docked. This means is understood to use (but is not limited to) contact charging or wireless charging.

[0044] From the above disclosure of the general principles of this invention and the preceding detailed description of at least one embodiment, those skilled in the art will readily comprehend the various modifications to which this invention is susceptible. Therefore, we desire to be limited only by the scope of the following claims and equivalents thereof.