IP Library Granted Patent US 11,465,740
Granted Patent B2
US 11,465,740 · App. 16/491,615 · Granted Oct 11, 2022

Vehicle-mounted aerial drone container

Inventors: Oswaldo Perez Barrera (Texcoco, MX); Alvaro Jimenez Hernandez (Miguel Hidalgo, MX)
Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
B64C39/02H04W4/029H04W4/40B64C2201/042B64C2201/12B64C2201/208
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,465,740
App. No.
16/491,615
Granted
Oct 11, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

A system comprising a computer programmed to identify a connected location of a vehicle at which a user device is connected to a first network and a disconnected location of the vehicle at which the user device is disconnected from the first network. Upon further determining that the user device has not connected to a second network within a first predetermined time, the computer is further programmed to activate an aerial drone container to an open position.

Claims (63)

1. A system, comprising a computer programmed to:

identify a connected location of a vehicle at which a user-carried device is connected to a first network by detecting a plurality of locations at which the user-carried device in the vehicle is connected to the first network while the vehicle is moving, and designating a most recent one of the plurality of locations as the connected location;

identify a disconnected location of the vehicle at a vehicle destination at which the user- carried device is disconnected from the first network; and

upon further determining that the user-carried device has not connected to a second network within a first predetermined time, activate an aerial drone container to an open position.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is further programmed to detect the plurality of locations periodically.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is further programmed to:

identify the connected location after losing the connection with the first network while the vehicle is moving by detecting a reconnection location of the vehicle at which the user-carried device reconnects with the first network; and

then continue to detect the plurality of locations.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the computer is further programmed to:

determine that an aerial drone battery can provide electrical energy for an aerial drone to travel from the disconnected location to the connected location;

transmit the connected location, the disconnected location, a user-carried device route, and a user-carried device destination to the aerial drone; and

instruct the aerial drone to travel to the connected location to transmit a notification.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the computer is further programmed to:

determine that the aerial drone battery can provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to travel from the connected location to the disconnected location after transmitting the notification; and

instruct the aerial drone to travel from the connected location to the disconnected location after transmitting the notification.

6. The system of claim 4 , wherein the computer is further programmed to:

upon determining the aerial drone battery cannot provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to travel from the disconnected location to the connected location, determine that the aerial drone battery can provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to: travel from the disconnected location to a user-carried device destination, travel from the user-carried device destination along a user-carried device route to the disconnected location and detect a user associated with a user-carried device while travelling along the user-carried device route;

transmit the disconnected location, the user-carried device destination and the user- carried device route to the aerial drone; and

instruct the aerial drone to: travel to the user-carried device destination, travel from the user-carried device destination along the user-carried device route to the disconnected location and detect the user associated with the user-carried device while travelling along the user-carried device route.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the computer is further programmed to:

upon determining that the aerial drone battery cannot provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to: travel from the disconnected location to the user-carried device destination, travel from the user-carried device destination along the user-carried device route to the disconnected location and detect a user associated with a user-carried device while travelling along the user-carried device route, determine a distance the aerial drone can travel from the disconnected location along the user-carried device route and detect the user associated with the user-carried device such that the aerial drone can return to the disconnected location from the distance;

transmit the user-carried device route to the aerial drone; and

instruct the aerial drone to travel to and from the distance along the user-carried device route and detect the user associated with the user-carried device.

8. The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

the container, wherein the container includes a battery charger electrically coupled to a battery and an aerial drone having a chargeable aerial drone battery;

wherein the computer is further programmed to:

determine that the aerial drone is in the container;

activate the battery charger to charge the aerial drone battery; and

deactivate the battery charger upon determining that the aerial drone battery is charged.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the computer is further programmed to:

upon detecting that the aerial drone has returned to the disconnected location, determine that the aerial drone is in the container; and

then activate the battery charger to charge the aerial drone battery.

10. A method comprising:

identifying a connected location of a vehicle at which a user-carried device is connected to a first network by detecting a plurality of locations at which the user-carried device in the vehicle is connected to the first network while the vehicle is moving, and designating a most recent one of the plurality of locations as the connected location;

identifying a disconnected location of the vehicle at a vehicle destination at which the user-carried device is disconnected from the first network; and

upon further determining that the user-carried device has not connected to a second network within a first predetermined time, activating an aerial drone container to an open position.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising detecting the plurality of locations periodically.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

identifying the connected location after losing the connection with the first network while the vehicle is moving by detecting a reconnection location of the vehicle at which the user-carried device reconnects with the first network; and

then continuing to detect the plurality of locations.

13. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

determining that an aerial drone battery can provide electrical energy for an aerial drone to travel from the disconnected location to the connected location;

transmitting the connected location, the disconnected location, a user-carried device route, and a user-carried device destination to the aerial drone; and

instructing the aerial drone to travel to the connected location to transmit a notification.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

determining that the aerial drone battery can provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to travel from the connected location to the disconnected location after transmitting the notification; and

instructing the aerial drone to travel from the connected location to the disconnected location after transmitting the notification.

15. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

upon determining the aerial drone battery cannot provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to travel from the disconnected location to the connected location, determining that the aerial drone battery can provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to: travel from the disconnected location to a user-carried device destination, travel from the user-carried device destination along a user-carried device route to the disconnected location and detect a user associated with a user-carried device while travelling along the user-carried device route;

transmitting the disconnected location, the user-carried device destination and the user- carried device route to the aerial drone; and

instructing the aerial drone to travel to: the user-carried device destination, travel from the user-carried device destination along the user-carried device route to the disconnected location and detect the user associated with the user-carried device while travelling along the user-carried device route.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

upon determining that the aerial drone battery cannot provide electrical energy for the aerial drone to: travel from the disconnected location to a user-carried device destination, travel from the user-carried device destination along a user-carried device route to the disconnected location, and detect a user associated with a user-carried device while travelling along the user- carried device route, determining a distance the aerial drone can travel from the disconnected location along the user-carried device route and detect the user associated with the user-carried device such that the aerial drone can return to the disconnected location from the distance;

transmitting the user-carried device route to the aerial drone; and

instructing the aerial drone to travel to and from the distance along the user-carried device route and detect the user associated with the user-carried device.

17. The method of claim 10 , wherein the container includes a battery charger electrically coupled to a battery and an aerial drone includes a chargeable aerial drone battery; and

the method further comprising:

determining that the aerial drone is in the container;

activating the battery charger to charge the aerial drone battery; and

deactivating the battery charger upon determining that the aerial drone battery is charged.

18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising:

upon detecting that the aerial drone has returned to the disconnected location, determining that the aerial drone is in the container; and

then activating the battery charger to charge the aerial drone battery.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Sep 6, 2019
From: PEREZ BARRERA, OSWALDO; JIMENEZ HERNANDEZ, ALVARO
To: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
Reel/Frame 050288/0872 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210016878A1 · Jan 21, 2021
Cited By (1)
US 12,608,020