Patent Issued for Security and safety configurations for drone delivery (USPTO 11935347): United Services Automobile Association

2024 APR 08 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- According to news reporting originating from Alexandria, Virginia, by NewsRx journalists, a patent by the inventors Philbrick, Ashley Raine (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on March 29, 2022, was published online on March 19, 2024.

The assignee for this patent, patent number 11935347, is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

Reporters obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors: “Users may possess items (e.g., food, clothing, emergency supplies, etc.) that they want to share with others rather than disposing of them. However, it can be difficult to determine what to do with such items. Currently, users can deliver the items to donation centers where the items are sorted and placed for sale in a store or given out to those in need. In some cases, the users can post the items on a website for potential buyers to view. In the event of a purchase, the seller must ship the item to the buyer or arrange for the buyer to pick-up the item.

“Various drones exist that can deliver items. However, due to legal restrictions, costs, and privacy concerns around drones, it may not be economical for users to own and operate personal drones to deliver packages. In some cases, items can be stolen from delivery drones or the items can be contaminated (e.g., carry a disease or virus).

“The techniques introduced here may be better understood by referring to the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate identical or functionally similar elements.”

In addition to obtaining background information on this patent, NewsRx editors also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “Aspects of the present disclosure are directed to collecting and distributing community items via a drone. While it’s common for people to donate or share items (e.g., food, clothing, tools, emergency supplies, etc.), it can be difficult to gather, store, and coordinate the delivery of the items. Thus, a community item distribution system is needed to coordinate the storage and distribution of items to users. In some implementations, the community item distribution system includes a platform for users to post information (e.g., item descriptions, images of item, etc.) regarding items they want to share with the community. The community item distribution system can categorize the information about the shared items, such as types of items, the locations of items, or expiration dates of items. In some cases, the community item distribution system can establish donation parameters for the shared items. The donation parameters can include where and when items can be donated/retrieved, categorizations of the items, expiration date, weight, size dimensions, storage locations of the items, the types of items that can be shared, the frequency that a user can request items, or the delivery distance (e.g., radius of 2 miles) from the recipient. Additional details on receiving and cataloging shared items are provided below in relation to FIG. 4A.

“A recipient user can enter her information (e.g., delivery address, phone number, email, name, military status, employment status, etc.) into the platform (e.g., website or application) and the community item distribution system can select available items based on the user information, such as a delivery location. In some cases, the community item distribution system can generate a user interface listing the available items to the user. Upon request (e.g., by loading a website or app) the community item distribution system can display the available items for a recipient user to view, select, and request for delivery. Upon receiving a selection of an item from a recipient user, the system can schedule a drone (flying or land-based) to transport the item from the storage location to the delivery location of the recipient. The drone can transport the item in a secured container attached to the drone. A user at the storage location can access the secured container and place the item inside. Upon the delivery, the recipient user can enter an access code to retrieve the item from the secured container. Additional details on receiving an item selection and delivery are provided below in relation to FIGS. 4B and 5.

“The drones can receive delivery information from the community item distribution system which includes a route to a pickup (storage) location, a routes from the pickup location to a drop-off (delivery) location, and security procedures for the delivery. In some implementations, the drone can disinfect the items prior to delivering the items to the recipient, in which case the drone can also receive a disinfectant schedule for the items. As examples, the secure container can contain various disinfecting systems to reduce the risk of contagion on the items, such as one or more ultraviolet (UV) lights, ozone generators, chemical dispensers (e.g., with alcohol vapor or other disinfecting chemicals). The drone can apply a disinfectant schedule while it transports the items to a delivery location. The disinfectant schedule can be determined by mapping features of the items, such as their size, type (e.g., food, clothing, electronics), surface materials, etc., to aspects of the disinfecting process such as duration or intensity of UV light to apply, amount of ozone, alcohol vapor, or other chemical disinfectant to apply, etc. Additional details on drones disinfecting items are provided below in relation to FIG. 6.

“Methods and systems disclosed herein can provide technical advantages over conventional item sharing systems. Various embodiments employ the technical means of automated management and the distribution of items to provide users with a greater ability to share items in a safe manner. For example, the community item distribution system can provide one or more of the following technological improvements when coordinating computing systems to: 1) set-up a community item service; 2) monitor the viability of the items and manage the categorized items; 3) disinfect the items before a designated recipient receives the item; and 4) implement item delivery, e.g., to provide items via a drone to users.

“Some existing systems can deliver items via a drone, yet these existing systems only provide the items and do not manage a supply of community items and coordinate delivery from multiple sources to variable delivery locations, much less do existing systems disinfect the items before delivering the items to the recipient while securing them in transport. The community item distribution system and processes described herein provides a solution for sharing community items by categorizing information of the items, establishing item donation parameters, receiving requests for the categorized items, scheduling a drone to deliver the requested item, and disinfecting the item prior to delivering the item. For example, the community item distribution system can ensure that the user receives her requested item in a safe manner (e.g., disinfected from bacteria). Also, the community item distribution system allows items to be donated without the supplying user having to leave her home. This alleviates both an issue with storing donated items (as items can be kept by the supplying user until a drone arrives to take the items to a recipient) while also increasing the likelihood that items will be donated by eliminating the hurdle of supplying users having to travel to a particular drop-off location. Furthermore, the disclosed community item distribution system can allow sharing with at-risk individuals who may otherwise not be able to obtain such items. For example, many homeless people have access to mobile phones with location information, and the community item distribution system can allow these people to select food and other necessary items and have them delivered to the user’s device location, without having to go to a food kitchen or donation center, which may be too difficult or costly for many people.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for delivering community items via a drone equipped with a secured container comprising a locking mechanism and one or more ultraviolet (UV) disinfecting lights, the method comprising: receiving delivery information for one or more items; obtaining transportation parameters, for the one or more items, specifying: a first route to a pickup location; a second route from the pickup location to a drop-off location; security procedures to employ at the drop-off location including an indication of an access code for the locking mechanism; and a disinfectant schedule for the one or more items that is based on a mapping of A) UV illumination intensities and durations to B) one or more categories assigned to the one or more items and one or more surface materials of the one or more items; using the first route to travel to the pickup location and unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container in response to arriving at the pickup location, wherein the secured container receives the one or more items at the pickup location; using the second route to transport the one or more items to a delivery location while engaging the one or more UV disinfecting lights according to the disinfectant schedule; and upon arriving at the delivery location, executing the security procedures by: performing an authentication at the delivery location based on receiving the access code indicated in the security procedures; and in response to the authenticating, unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container.

“2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: automatically identifying the one or more surface materials of the one or more items by: capturing one or more images of the one or more items, using one or more cameras directed toward the interior of the secured container; and applying a machine learning model trained to produce surface material determinations.

“3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the disinfectant schedule is not complete prior to arriving at the delivery location; and delaying unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container until the disinfectant schedule is complete.

“4. The method of claim 1, wherein obtaining the transportation parameters comprises determining the one or more items are for an emergency event, and wherein the drone uses the second route at a predetermined rate based on the emergency event.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the delivery location is an intermediate delivery location; wherein obtaining the transportation parameters comprises determining a weight and/or dimensions of the one or more items; and wherein, based on the determined weight and/or dimensions, the second route is a route to the intermediate delivery location at which the one or more items are transferred to a second drone to transport the one or more items to the delivery location.

“6. The method of claim 1, wherein the drone is a flying drone and wherein the second route includes a flight route and flight time of the drone.

“7. The method of claim 1, wherein the mapping used to determine the disinfectant schedule for the one or more items is based on a machine learning model trained to determine disinfectant schedules for items, wherein the machine learning model was trained based on previously observed effectiveness rates for UV disinfecting lights, at various intensities, for various durations, and for items of various surface types.

“8. A computing system for delivering community items via a drone equipped with a secured container comprising a locking mechanism and one or more disinfecting systems, the computing system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processor, cause the computing system to perform a process comprising: receiving delivery information for one or more items; obtaining transportation parameters, for the one or more items, specifying: a first route to a pickup location; a second route from the pickup location to a drop-off location; security procedures to employ at the drop-off location including an indication of an access code for the locking mechanism; and a disinfectant schedule for the one or more items that is based on a mapping of A) disinfecting actions to B) one or more categories assigned to the one or more items and/or one or more surface materials of the one or more items; using the first route to travel to the pickup location and unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container in response to arriving at the pickup location, wherein the secured container receives the one or more items at the pickup location; using the second route to transport the one or more items to a delivery location while engaging at least one of the one or more disinfecting systems according to the disinfectant schedule; and upon arriving at the delivery location, executing the security procedures by: performing an authentication at the delivery location based on receiving the access code indicated in the security procedures; and in response to the authenticating, unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container.

“9. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the process further comprises: automatically identifying the one or more surface materials of the one or more items by: capturing one or more images of the one or more items, using one or more cameras directed toward the interior of the secured container; and applying a machine learning model trained to produce surface material determinations.

“10. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the process further comprises: determining the disinfectant schedule is not complete prior to arriving at the delivery location; and delaying unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container until the disinfectant schedule is complete.

“11. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the disinfecting systems include one or more chemical dispensing systems, and wherein the mapping correlates A) amounts of chemical to dispense to B) the one or more categories assigned to the one or more items and/or the one or more surface materials of the one or more items.

“12. The computing system of claim 11, wherein the mapping used to determine the disinfectant schedule for the one or more items is based on a machine learning model trained to determine disinfectant schedules for items, wherein the machine learning model was trained based on previously observed effectiveness rates for chemical disinfecting procedures on items of various surface types.

“13. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the delivery location is an intermediate delivery location, wherein obtaining the transportation parameters comprises determining a weight and/or dimensions of the one or more items, and wherein, based on the determined weight and/or dimensions, the second route is a route to the intermediate delivery location at which the one or more items are transferred to a second drone to transport the one or more items to the delivery location.

“14. The computing system of claim 8, wherein the drone is a flying drone and wherein the second route includes a flight route and flight time of the drone.

“15. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having machine executable instructions stored thereon that, when executed by one or more processors, direct the one or more processors to perform a method for delivering community items via a drone equipped with a secured container comprising a locking mechanism and one or more disinfecting systems, the method comprising: receiving delivery information for one or more items; obtaining transportation parameters, for the one or more items, specifying: a first route to a pickup location; a second route from the pickup location to a drop-off location; security procedures to employ at the drop-off location including an indication of an access code for the locking mechanism; and a disinfectant schedule for the one or more items that is based on a mapping of A) disinfecting actions to B) one or more categories assigned to the one or more items and/or one or more surface materials of the one or more items; using the first route to travel to the pickup location and unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container in response to arriving at the pickup location, wherein the secured container receives the one or more items at the pickup location; using the second route to transport the one or more items to a delivery location while engaging at least one of the one or more disinfecting systems according to the disinfectant schedule; and upon arriving at the delivery location, executing the security procedures by: performing an authentication at the delivery location based on receiving the access code indicated in the security procedures; and in response to the authenticating, unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container.

“16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: automatically identifying the one or more surface materials of the one or more items by: capturing one or more images of the one or more items, using one or more cameras directed toward the interior of the secured container; and applying a machine learning model trained to produce surface material determinations.

“17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the method further comprises: determining the disinfectant schedule is not complete prior to arriving at the delivery location; and delaying unlocking the locking mechanism of the secured container until the disinfectant schedule is complete.”

There are additional claims. Please visit full patent to read further.

For more information, see this patent: Philbrick, Ashley Raine. Security and safety configurations for drone delivery. U.S. Patent Number 11935347, filed March 29, 2022, and published online on March 19, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11935347)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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