苹果获得无人机控制器连接专利

目前尚不清楚苹果是否有一天会将其高性能和无比酷的产品范围扩展到无人机这一不容小觑的潜力市场。然而，一个由美国专利商标局认证的专利让这一诱人的发展前景更加趋近于一个可想象的目标。

It’s still unknown whether Apple will one day expand its range of high performing and incomparably cool products to the not-exactly-chopped-liver world of drones, but a patent granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office takes that tantalizing prospect one step closer to imaginable. 

负责监督产品权利和商标事务的美国组织授权了苹果一个有关无人机控制器的应用专利。作为该特定领域的必备条件，批准中的陈述与最初申请中的一样主旨游移不定，但总的来说是其总部库比蒂诺已经开发了用于配对和解配对无人机控制器的系统，以及用于飞行器跟踪应用的系统。

The US organization overseeing product rights and trademark matters granted Apple a patent for its application regarding drone controllers. As de rigueur in that particular art, the language in the approval is just as seriously wonky as that of the initial application, but its general thrust is that the Cupertino giant has developed systems for pairing and unpairing UAV controllers, and for craft tracking applications. 

该研发缺少足以投入无人机量产的理由。但是不可否认的事实是苹果一直都在投资创造专利性控制器技术，并且该技术让许多爱好者能够梦想有一天公司能发明一款消费级无人机，打入无人机市场。

That research and development is dramatically short of a full-throated entry into the activity of drone production, of course. But the mere fact Apple is spending time and money to create and patent controller tech is enough for some enthusiasts to dream of a day the company takes a consumer UAV to market.

苹果的发明也包括用于转换无人机信号连接的技术，当距离太远而无法维持联系时或者无人机进入障碍重重的区域，堵塞已成问题时，可用控制器直接连接蜂窝网络。

The Apple invention also involves tech used to switch signals connecting a drone from direct transmission from the controller to cellular networks when distances become too great to maintain contact, or UAVs enter obstacle-heavy areas where blockage becomes a problem. 

该技术还涵盖了其他“实施例”，如计算机化追踪，或其他需要信号转换或重连的内置系统。

It also covers other “embodiments” like computerized tracking or other interfacing systems that may necessitate signal swaps and reconnection.

授权书中写道，“里面阐释的技术可用于各种不同类型的设备，包括但不仅限于无人机（UAVs）、无人机控制器(UACs)、城市空中交通服务器、基站、存取点、便携式手机、台式电脑、可穿戴计算机设备、便携式媒体播放器以及其他各种计算机设备。”

“The techniques described herein may be implemented in and/or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial controllers (UACs), a UTM server, base stations, access points, cellular phones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and any of various other computing devices,” the grant reads.

无人机控制器专利以授权码 US 20210352558 A1授权给苹果公司，该授权码的公开是供给所有想要查看该专利的读者，因为网页连接失效。

The drone controller patent was issued to Apple under grant number US 20210352558 A1, which is being provided in full here for any curious readers who want to look it up at after following link to the page fails to function (per its design).

最初的申请书是于2020年5月份在新加坡登记，随后在去年于美国归档。以上流程以及专利授权，首次由Patently Apple公布。苹果公司的这一应用展示了无人机将信号从一个控制器转到另一控制器的技术。

The original petition was registered in Singapore in May of 2020, then filed in the US last year. That activity, as well as yesterday’s patent grant, was first reported by Patently Apple, whose reproduction of the illustration from Apple’s application shows the signal handover between the drone from one controller to another.

根据苹果公司的草案总结，无人机控制器系统应用于以下设备：

According to the Apple-drafted summary, the drone controller system applies to:

对无人机和无人机控制器进行配对和解配的装置、系统和方案。一架无人机和/或一台无人机控制器基于触发条件可进行UAV和主UAC间的配对和解配，并且通过网络接受配置更新，确认UAV和主UAC的配对和解配。触发条件包括至少一架无人机，其目的地是由UAC控制设定的地点，飞往主UAC限制控制主UAV地点的UAV,以及失去捕捉型号的主UAC。配置更新包括至少一个原因代码、一个连接UAV的标识符、连接主UAC的标识符、连接无人机系统的标识符。

Apparatuses, systems, and methods for pairing/unpairing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to/from UAV controllers (UACs). A UAV and/or a UAC may initiate, based on a triggering condition, a paring/unpairing of the UAV to/from a host UAC and receive, from a network, a configuration update that may confirm the paring/unpairing of the UAV to/from the host UAC. The triggering condition may include at least one of the UAV moving from a location designated as controlled by the host UAC, the UAV moving into a location in which the host UAC is restricted from controlling the host UAV, and/or the host UAC losing signaling capabilities. The configuration update may include at least one of a cause code, an identifier associated with the UAV, an identifier associated with the host UAC, an identifier associated with an unmanned aerial system (UAS).