Granted Patent B2

US 12,613,096 · App. 17/605,910 · Granted Apr 28, 2026

Inventors: Derek Lisoski (Simi Valley, CA); Bart Dean Hibbs (Simi Valley, CA)

Assignee: AeroVironment, Inc.

G01C21/20B64U2101/00B64U2201/20

Abstract

Claims (22)

1 . A system, comprising:

at least one unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV);

at least one flight control computer (FCC) associated with each UAV of the at least one UAV, wherein the FCC controls movement of said each UAV of the at least one UAV;

at least one computing device associated with a ground control station, wherein the at least one computing device is in communication with the at least one FCC;

wherein the at least one FCC maintains a first station-keeping flight pattern of a respective UAV of the at least one UAV above the ground control station, wherein the first station-keeping flight pattern comprises a D-loop flight pattern;

wherein the at least one computing device is configured to: determine whether a wind speed exceeds a set threshold that is a predetermined percentage of a current flight speed of the respective UAV of the at least one UAV, and transmit a transition signal comprising a set of spatial coordinates to the at least one FCC to transition the respective UAV of the at least one UAV from the first station-keeping flight pattern to a second station-keeping flight pattern in response to the determination that the wind speed exceeds the set threshold, wherein the second station-keeping flight pattern comprises a figure-eight flight pattern; and

wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to: generate a connecting flight path between the first station-keeping flight pattern and the second station-keeping flight pattern that allows for a constant turn rate over most of the connecting flight path and more gradual banking maneuvers as the respective UAV of the at least one UAV transitions between the first and second station-keeping flight patterns, and wherein the transition between the first and second station-keeping flight patterns occurs proximate an intersect point located at a center of the D-loop flight pattern above the ground control station; and

wherein the at least one computing device is further configured to, in response to the wind speed falling below the set threshold relative to the flight speed, transmit an exit command signal comprising the set of spatial coordinates to follow to transition the respective UAV of the at least one UAV from the figure-eight flight pattern back to the D-loop flight pattern.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the set threshold is also based on UAV dimensions, available battery power, and weather conditions.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one computing device is configured to transmit the exit command signal to the at least one FCC to transition the respective UAV of the at least one UAV from the second station-keeping flight pattern to the first station-keeping flight pattern in response to the wind speed falling below the set threshold relative to the flight speed of the respective UAV of the at least one UAV, wherein the exit command signal comprises a set of spatial coordinates for the FCC of the respective UAV of the at least one UAV to follow.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein the set threshold is 40% of the flight speed.

5 . A method comprising:

maintaining, by at least one flight control computer (FCC) associated with each unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of one or more UAVs, a first station-keeping flight pattern above a ground control station, wherein the FCC controls movement of said each UAV of the one or more UAVs, and wherein the first station-keeping flight pattern comprises a D-loop flight pattern;

determining whether a wind speed exceeds a set threshold that is a predetermined percentage of a current flight speed of the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs;

transmitting, by at least one computing device associated with the ground control station, a transition signal comprising a set of spatial coordinates to the at least one FCC in response to the determined wind speed exceeding the set threshold,

transitioning, by the at least one FCC associated with the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs, the respective UAV from the first flight station-keeping pattern to a second station-keeping flight pattern via a connecting flight path, wherein the second station-keeping flight pattern comprises a figure-eight flight pattern, wherein the connecting flight path allows for a constant tum rate over most of the connecting flight path and more gradual banking maneuvers as the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs transitions between the first and second station-keeping flight patterns, and wherein the transition between the first and second station-keeping flight patterns occurs proximate an intersect point located at a center of the D-loop flight pattern above the ground control station; and

transmitting, by the at least one FCC associated with the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs, an exit command signal in response to the wind speed falling below the set threshold relative to the flight speed, wherein the exit command signal comprises the set of spatial coordinates to follow to transition the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs from the figure-eight flight pattern back to the D-loop flight pattern.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the set threshold is also based on UAV dimensions, available battery power, and weather conditions.

7 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

transitioning, by the at least one FCC associated with the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs, the respective UAV from the second station-keeping flight pattern to the first station-keeping flight pattern;

wherein the exit command signal comprises a set of spatial coordinates for the FCC of the respective UAV of the one or more UAVs to follow.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the set threshold is 40% of the flight speed.

Assignments (2)

Continuity (4)

References Cited (182)