Charging station for self-balancing multicopter
A vertical landing is performed by an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle above a charger where the eVTOL vehicle includes a rotor that is configured to rotate during an occupant change state to keep the eVTOL vehicle stationary during the occupant change state. The eVTOL communicates with an area controller to receive an assignment of the charger from the plurality of chargers in the area based at least on part on an occupancy status of the charger. The charger is located in an area that includes a plurality of chargers. A male charging port that is part of the eVTOL vehicle and a female charging port that is part of the charger are detachably coupled and a battery in the eVTOL vehicle is charged using the charger while the male charging port and the female charging port are detachably coupled.
1 . An electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, comprising:
a controller that is configured to:
send a charging request to an area controller, wherein:
the area controller is associated with an area including a plurality of chargers;
the area controller tracks an occupancy status for each charger in the plurality of chargers; and
the area is surrounded by a fence;
receive an assignment of a charger from the plurality of chargers in the area, wherein:
the assigned charger is determined by the area controller based at least in part on: (1) the tracked occupancy status for each charger in the plurality of chargers and (2) maximizing a distance between the eVTOL vehicle and any other vehicle that is being charged by the plurality of chargers; and
at least one charger of the plurality of chargers is a below-ground charger having a top surface substantially level with the ground; and
instruct the eVTOL vehicle to perform a vertical landing above the assigned charger;
a rotor that is configured to rotate during loading to dynamically counterbalance wind effects;
a spar including a vertical portion and at least one horizontal crossbar coupled to a first end of the vertical portion, wherein the rotor is provided on the at least one horizontal crossbar; and
a male charging port that is provided on and configured to charge a battery in the eVTOL vehicle including by detachably coupling the male charging port that is part of the eVTOL vehicle and a female charging port that is part of the assigned charger.
2 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the male charging port is vertically-oriented.
3 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the rotor is configured to rotate during loading to dynamically counterbalance wind effects including by maintaining eVTOL vehicle stability.
4 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the male charging port includes:
a first contact including a circular band wrapping around the male charging port; and
a second contact at a distal end of the male charging port.
5 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the female charging port includes an upper conical section configured to guide the male charging port into a charging position.
6 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the female charging port includes:
a first cylindrically-shaped contact; and
a second contact at a bottom interior surface of the female charging port.
7 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the male charging port and the female charging port are configured to be coupled above the ground.
8 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the male charging port and the female charging port are configured to be coupled below the ground.
9 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein:
the controller is further configured to communicate departure information to the area controller in response to conclusion of charging; and
the area controller updates the occupancy status of the at least one charger in the plurality of chargers in response to receiving the departure information.
10 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the area controller further acts as a flight controller, including by permitting at most one vehicle to be airborne at a given time.
11 . The eVTOL vehicle recited in claim 1 , wherein the assigned charger is determined by the area controller using a sequence of assigned spots that keeps vehicles at maximal distances from each other.
12 . A method, comprising:
sending a charging request to an area controller, wherein:
the area controller is associated with an area including a plurality of chargers;
the area controller tracks an occupancy status for each charger in the plurality of chargers; and
the area is surrounded by a fence;
receiving an assignment of a charger from the plurality of chargers in the area, wherein:
the assign ed charger is determined by the area controller based at least in part on: (1) the tracked occupancy status for each charger in the plurality of chargers and (2) maximizing a distance between an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle and any other vehicle that is being charged by the plurality of chargers; and
at least one charger of the plurality of chargers is a below-ground charger having a top surface substantially level with the ground; and
instructing the eVTOL vehicle to perform a vertical landing above the assigned charger, wherein the eVTOL vehicle includes:
a rotor that is configured to rotate during loading to dynamically counterbalance wind effects;
a spar including a vertical portion and at least one horizontal crossbar coupled to a first end of the vertical portion, wherein the rotor is provided on the at least one horizontal crossbar; and
a male charging port that is provided on and configured to charge a battery in the eVTOL vehicle including by detachably coupling the male charging port that is part of the eVTOL vehicle and a female charging port that is part of the assigned charger.
13 . The method recited in claim 12 , wherein the rotor is configured to rotate during loading to dynamically counterbalance wind effects including by maintaining eVTOL vehicle stability.
14 . The method recited in claim 12 , performing the vertical landing includes identifying the assigned charger above which the eVTOL vehicle is to land based at least in part on a computer vision sensor.
15 . The method recited in claim 12 , performing the vertical landing includes identifying the assigned charger above which the eVTOL vehicle is to land based at least in part on the assignment by a remote controller.
16 . The method recited in claim 12 , further comprising turning off the rotor in response to the vertical landing by the eVTOL vehicle above the assigned charger.
17 . The method recited in claim 12 , further comprising extending the male charging port into the female charging port in response to the vertical landing by the eVTOL vehicle above the assigned charger.
18 . The method recited in claim 12 , wherein the eVTOL vehicle is autonomous.
19 . The method recited in claim 12 , further comprising performing a vertical take-off by the eVTOL vehicle in response to completion of the charging the battery.
20 . A computer program product embodied in non-transitory computer readable storage medium and comprising computer instructions for:
sending a charging request to an area controller, wherein:
the area controller is associated with an area including a plurality of chargers;
the area controller tracks an occupancy status for each charger in the plurality of chargers; and
the area is surrounded by a fence;
receiving an assignment of a charger from the plurality of chargers in the area, wherein:
the assign ed charger is determined by the area controller based at least in part on: (1) the tracked occupancy status for each charger in the plurality of chargers and (2) maximizing a distance between an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicle and any other vehicle that is being charged by the plurality of chargers; and
at least one charger of the plurality of chargers is a below-ground charger having a top surface substantially level with the ground; and
instructing the eVTOL vehicle to perform a vertical landing above the assigned charger, wherein the eVTOL vehicle includes:
a rotor that is configured to rotate during loading to dynamically counterbalance wind effects;
a spar including a vertical portion and at least one horizontal crossbar coupled to a first end of the vertical portion, wherein the rotor is provided on the at least one horizontal crossbar; and
a male charging port that is provided on and configured to charge a battery in the eVTOL vehicle including by detachably coupling the male charging port that is part of the eVTOL vehicle and a female charging port that is part of the assigned charger.