Unmanned aerial vehicle for painting structures
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) includes a sprayer configured to generate a pressurized fluid flow and a nozzle configured to receive the pressurized fluid from the sprayer and to generate a spray fan to apply the fluid to a surface. The UAV includes sensors and a control unit to control both flight of the UAV and spraying by the sprayer. The fluid can be stored onboard the UAV in a reservoir or can be remotely stored and pumped to the UAV. The UAV control unit can be preloaded with a spray plan and a flight plan, or the UAV can be controlled by a user.
1 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for spraying a fluid on a surface of a structure, the UAV comprising:
a UAV body supporting at least one lift rotor configured to operationally drive the UAV body;
a nozzle supported by the UAV body, the nozzle configured to release the fluid as a spray on the surface;
a first arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a first lift rotor;
a second arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a second lift rotor; and
a control unit supported by the UAV body, the control unit configured to implement a force compensation routine in response to a start spray command, the force compensation routine causing a forward thrust to be applied to the UAV body to counteract a rearward thrust generated by release of the fluid through the nozzle and such that generation of the forward thrust is initiated prior to the release of the fluid.
2 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein a force compensation rotor generates the forward thrust.
3 . The UAV of claim 2 , wherein the force compensation rotor is formed separately from the first lift rotor and the second lift rotor.
4 . The UAV of claim 2 , wherein the force compensation rotor is a rear rotor supported by the UAV body.
5 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to implement a delay between causing the generation of the forward thrust and causing release of the fluid through the nozzle.
6 . The UAV of claim 5 , wherein the control unit is configured to cause generation of the forward thrust before causing release of the fluid through the nozzle.
7 . The UAV of claim 5 , wherein the control unit is configured to a force compensation rotor configured to generate the forward thrust to accelerate prior to the release of the fluid.
8 . The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising a fluid source supported by the UAV body.
9 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle is supported on a spray tube extending from the UAV body.
10 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the nozzle comprises:
a tip bore;
a rotatable tip extending into the tip bore; and
an orifice disposed within the rotatable tip, the orifice including a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is configured to generate the spray fan.
11 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the first lift rotor is disposed at a first distal end of the first arm extending from the UAV body, and wherein the second lift rotor is disposed at a second distal end of the second arm extending from the UAV body.
12 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to maintain the UAV orientation throughout a spray pass, such that a difference between the first distance and the second distance remains steady throughout the spray pass.
13 . The UAV of claim 1 , further comprising:
a sprayer pump supported by the UAV body and configured to drive the fluid to the nozzle for spraying.
14 . The UAV of claim 1 , wherein the control unit is configured to variably control the forward thrust based on a spray force generated at the nozzle.
15 . The UAV of claim 14 , wherein the control unit is configured to calculate the spray force based on sensor data provided from a sensor supported by the UAV body.
16 . The UAV of claim 14 , wherein the control unit is configured to retrieve the spray force from an acceleration profile stored in a memory of the control unit.
17 . An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for spraying a fluid on a surface of a structure, the UAV comprising:
a UAV body supporting at least one lift rotor configured to operationally drive the UAV body;
a nozzle supported by the UAV body, the nozzle configured to release the fluid as a spray on the surface;
a first arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a first lift rotor;
a second arm extending from the UAV body and supporting a second lift rotor; and
a control unit supported by the UAV body, the control unit configured to:
cause release of the fluid through the nozzle in response to a start spray command; and
causing a force compensation rotor to generate forward thrust to counteract rearward thrust generated by the release of the spray fluid through the nozzle;
wherein the control unit is configured to implement a delay between causing the generation of the forward thrust and causing release of the fluid through the nozzle.
18 . The UAV of claim 17 , wherein the force compensation rotor is formed separately from the first lift rotor and the second lift rotor.
19 . A method of spraying with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising:
receiving a start spray command at a control unit of the UAV;
causing, by the control unit and in response to the start spray command, a forward thrust to be applied to the UAV body; and
after initiating the forward thrust, causing, by the control unit and in response to the start spray command, release of a spray of spray fluid from a nozzle supported by a UAV body of the UAV, the UAV body supporting at least one lift rotor configured to operationally drive the UAV body.
20 . The method of spraying of claim 19 , wherein the control unit causes the forward thrust to be applied to the UAV body by a force compensation rotor formed separately from the at least one lift rotor.