Ground support station for aerial vehicles

1. A ground station for an aerial vehicle, the ground station comprising:

a protective casing;

at least one charging mechanism; and

an extendable landing pad operable to transition between:

a closed configuration having dimensions suitable to be contained within said protective casing, and

an open configuration having dimensions suitable to land the aerial vehicle,

the extendable landing pad including

a base platform for supporting the aerial vehicle within said protective casing,

an elevator mechanism operable to raise or lower said base platform,

side flaps configured to fold out of the protective casing thereby providing extensions to the base platform, and

lobes configured to fold out of the protective casing and to bridge gaps between said side extensions.

2. The ground station of claim 1 wherein said charging mechanism comprises a power supply operable to maintain a potential difference between a first conducting terminal and a second conducting terminal.

3. The ground station of claim 2 wherein said power supply is selected from a group consisting of solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells, electrochemical cells, piezoelectric units and combinations thereof.

4. The ground station of claim 1 wherein said protective casing comprises a top-closing comprises a first outwardly folding flap rotatably coupled along a common edge with a first side-panel, and a second outwardly folding flap rotatably coupled along a common edge with a second side-panel opposite to said first side-panel.

5. The ground station of claim 1 wherein said extendable landing pad comprises:

the base platform having a rectangular shape and a rectangular base platform configured to be elevated from within said protective casing to a raised position such that an aerial vehicle placed thereupon is no longer contained by the protective casing; and

four side flaps configured to fold out of the protective casing thereby providing extensions to each edge of the rectangular base platform.

6. The ground station of claim 5 wherein said side flaps and lobes each include a set of four corresponding to sides of the rectangular base platform.

7. A ground station for an aerial vehicle, wherein said protective casing comprises a bottom-panel, at least three side-panels and a top-closing, the ground station further comprising:

a base platform for supporting the aerial vehicle; and

an elevator mechanism operable to vertically shift said base platform between a recessed level at which the aerial vehicle is contained within the protective casing, and an elevated level at which the aerial vehicle is raised above the top of the protective casing;

wherein said extendable landing pad comprises:

said base platform at the elevated level;

at least one side-extension configured to extend radially out from said base platform at the elevated level; and

further comprises bridging lobes configured to fold out of the protective casing and to fill gaps between said side-extensions.

8. The ground station of claim 7 wherein said extension is further configured to retract within the protective casing when said base platform is at the recessed level.

9. The ground station of claim 8 wherein at least one extension comprises at least one side flap rotatably coupled to at least one edge of the base platform.

10. The ground station of claim 9 wherein said at least one side flap has a length selected such that when the base platform is at the recessed level, the side flap folds up against one said side-panel of the protective case fitting under the top-closing.

11. The ground station of claim 7 further comprising a homing aid configured to guide the aerial vehicle towards the extendable landing pad.

12. The ground station of claim 11 wherein the homing aid comprises at least one visual indication comprising a pattern of contrasting dark areas and light areas readily identifiable from above.

13. The ground station of claim 11 wherein the homing aid comprises

a first visual indication upon an outer surface of a top-closing, the first visual indication comprising a first pattern of contrasting dark and light areas readily identifiable from high altitude and configured to guide the aerial vehicle towards the ground station; and

a second visual indication upon the extendable landing pad, the second visual indication comprising a second pattern of contrasting dark and light areas configured to be identifiable from low altitude and configured to guide the aerial vehicle towards a desired point upon the extendable landing pad.

14. The ground station of claim 11 wherein the homing aid comprises a beacon selected from an IR beacon, an RF beacon, a LED beacon, a visual beacon, an audio beacon, a US beacon and combinations thereof.

15. The ground station of claim 7 comprising at least one extension module selected from the group consisting of transportation modules, carrying modules, battery pack modules, communication modules, sensor modules, weather station modules, radar modules, night vision modules carrying straps, handles, back pack modules, harnesses, hooks, clips, vehicle mounting units and combinations thereof.

16. The ground station of claim 7 wherein said protective casing is configured to protect the contents thereof from oscillations during motion.

17. The ground station of claim 7 further comprising a suspension module configured to protect the contents thereof from oscillations during motion.

18. The ground station of claim 7 further comprising a locking mechanism to secure contents of the protective casing when closed.

19. The ground station of claim 7 wherein said elevator mechanism comprises a manual actuator.