Granted Patent B2

US 12,333,477 · App. 18/484,276 · Granted Jun 17, 2025

Inventor: Joshua Gouled Goldberg (San Bruno, CA)

Assignee: Congruens Group, LLC

G06Q10/0832B64D9/00G08G5/26G08G5/30G08G5/56B64U80/86B64U2101/64B64U2201/10

Abstract

Claims (22)

1. A docking station for a food item preparation and delivery vehicle, the docking station comprising:

a base affixed to a roof or a sidewall of a cargo area of a vehicle; and

one or more docks, each of the one or more docks coupled to a transfer mechanism to receive prepared food items from the cargo area of the vehicle, the one or more docks configured to:

provide a secure docking mechanism to a plurality of drones configured to deliver the prepared food items from a delivery destination of the vehicle to a plurality of delivery locations;

transfer the food items received from the cargo area of the vehicle as payloads to the plurality of drones; and

provide a launching mechanism for the plurality of drones,

wherein the one or more docks comprise at least one food delivery port.

2. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of drones comprises at least one of aerial drones or ground based drones.

3. The docking station of claim 1 , wherein the one or more docks comprise an inverted skirt having a frustoconical shape that is complementary to a corresponding portion of a dock interface of at least one drone of the plurality of drones, and

wherein the skirt is configured to contact the corresponding portion of the dock interface along at least a portion of an inner periphery of the skirt when the drone is docked to at least one dock of the one or more docks.

4. The docking station of claim 3 , wherein the skirt comprises a plurality of sections at different heights relative to the roof of the vehicle.

5. The docking station of claim 4 , wherein the plurality of sections comprises at least one of a plurality of collapsible sections, a plurality of telescoping sections, or a plurality of movable sections.

6. The docking station of claim 3 , wherein the skirt comprises a plurality of sections at different heights relative to the base of the docking station.

7. The docking station of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of sections comprises at least one of a plurality of collapsible sections, a plurality of telescoping sections, or a plurality of movable sections.

8. The docking station of claim 1 , further comprising:

a robotic appendage for transferring payloads to a single drone.

9. The docking station of claim 1 , further comprising:

a transfer lock to transfer a payload to at least one drone from the plurality of drones when docked to the docking station.

10. The docking station of claim 9 , wherein the transfer lock comprises a transfer chamber having at least two doors.

11. The docking station of claim 10 , wherein engaging the at least two doors minimizes an exposure of an interior of the vehicle to an external environment.

12. The docking station of claim 1 , further comprising:

a refueling module to refuel the plurality of drones when docked to the docking station.

Assignments (4)

Continuity (3)

References Cited (400)