US 11,987,359 B2
Automatic package delivery system and related methods
Nathaneal Fletcher Hill, Leesburg, VA (US)
Assigned to Insitu, Inc., a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, Bingen, WA (US)
Filed by Insitu, Inc. a subsidiary of The Boeing Company, Bingen, WA (US)
Filed on May 5, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/737,304.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/192,872, filed on May 25, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0380051 A1, Dec. 1, 2022
Int. Cl. B64D 1/12 (2006.01); B64U 101/64 (2023.01)
CPC B64D 1/12 (2013.01) [B64U 2101/64 (2023.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A delivery system for an aerial vehicle, comprising:
a first arm assembly, comprising:
a first landing arm configured to rotate in response to an applied external force, wherein the first landing arm is configured to rotate between a first resting position and a first splayed position;
a first resilient member operatively coupled to the first landing arm and configured to bias the first landing arm towards the first resting position; and
a first package guide configured to at least partially retain a package in a stored position when the first landing arm is in the first resting position, wherein the first package guide is coupled with respect to the first landing arm such that rotation of the first landing arm causes corresponding rotation of the first package guide, and wherein the first package guide is configured to guide the package from the stored position to a released position when the first landing arm is rotated towards the first splayed position and to or past a first threshold landing position, wherein the first threshold landing position is in between the first resting position and the first splayed position.