Patents
US 11781698 B2: Modular robotic crawler with hybrid locomotion for inspection of small diameter pipe
- Granted
- 2023-10-10
- Filed
- 2020-11-19 application 16953237
- Type
- Utility · 19 claims
- Elsewhere
- Google Patents ↗ · USPTO patent document ↗ · USPTO Patent Center record ↗
Abstract
A modular pipe-crawling robot for in-pipe maintenance operations in aspects of the present disclosure may have one or more of the following features: (a) at least two locomotion modules, (b) each module has feet which can extend outward to grip a wall of a pipe while simultaneously reducing its length or disengaging its feet from the inner wall while increasing its length, (c) a gear mechanism built into mechanical linkage, wherein each module's feet are held perpendicular with respect to the inner wall of the pipe, and (d) a joint coupling the at least two modules.
Source: PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 (ipg231010.xml).
Assignees
| Assignee | Type | Place | Also on furp.org | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS 87 patents | US company or organization | Pierre, SD | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Inventors
| Inventor | Place | Patents | Person page | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hadi Fekrmandi | Rapid City, SD | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Phillip Hillard | Rapid City, SD | 2 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 | |
| Skye Rutan-Bedard | Rapid City, SD | 1 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
CPC categories
| Subclass | Category | First group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| F16L | Pipes; joints or fittings for pipes; supports for pipes, cables or protective tubing; means for thermal insulation in general | F16L55/34 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
| B62D | Motor vehicles; trailers | B62D57/032 | PVGPATDIS, file of 2026-04-10 |
Cooperative Patent Classification, as currently assigned (one row per subclass).
Assignments and security interests
| Recorded | What | From | To | Reel/frame | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-12-03 | Assignment Assignment of assignor's interest | FEKRMANDI, HADI signed 2019-11-20 RUTAN-BEDARD, SKYE signed 2019-11-20 HILLARD, PHILLIP signed 2019-11-24 | SOUTH DAKOTA BOARD OF REGENTS PIERRE, SD | 54538/35 | ECORSEXC, file of 2026-09-25 |
Documents recorded with the USPTO Assignment Recordation Branch that list this patent. A security interest is a lender’s claim on the patent as collateral; a release ends it.
USPTO bulk data: PatentsView granted patents, disambiguated (PVGPATDIS) for patents, assignees, inventors, places and CPC categories; the USPTO Patent Assignment Dataset (ECORSEXC) for assignments and security interests. Patents filed in the last 20 years. No claims or full text. Links to other records are by name (and state): EXACT means the identical full name and state; FUZZY means a looser name match, with the confidence shown.