JP2015217901A - Multicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multicopter that can perform a long-time continuous flight and secure operational stability and safety.SOLUTION: A multicopter 10 includes: a plurality of rotary wings 14 that float an air frame 12; a plurality of motors for supplying drive force to the rotary wings 14; a control device for executing position control for the air frame 12; and a cable assembly 36 that converges a power cable for supplying a power source to the air frame 12 from the outside and an operation information cable for inputting operation information. When a load of an assumed value or more is applied to the cable assembly, supply of the power source is controlled and the air frame 12 performs soft landing.

Description

The present invention relates to a multicopter capable of flying for a long time by supplying power from the ground.

The multicopter can freely fly by adjusting the rotational force balance of a plurality of rotor blades arranged radially. Although the multicopter is remotely operated by radio, in many cases, autonomous flight is possible by airframe control by the function of the mounted GPS or gyro sensor. The multicopter has an advantage that it can stay at a fixed point in the air for a long time, and is often used for aerial photography with a camera mounted (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2013-79034 A

In this way, it is a very convenient multicopter for aerial photography, but on the other hand, there are problems such as increased battery weight due to longer flight times, and constrained flight time due to battery capacity limitations. It has been pointed out. In addition, the operation of the multicopter is based on radio operation using a radio transmitter and adopts the frequency modulation method, so even if there are multiple models using the same frequency band in the same area, operation is possible without radio wave interference. Although it is a possible system, due to the recent spread of WiFi, the problem of dense use of frequency bands has become prominent. Furthermore, various problems related to wireless operations have been pointed out, such as areas with extremely high radio wave output scattered in large urban areas, and the problem of masking of small output devices must be taken into consideration. In addition, if radio interference occurs during autonomous flight by GPS, the aircraft may move in a direction that the multicopter does not expect to correct the position, and in the worst case, it may drop sufficiently. We must respond.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a multicopter that enables continuous flight over a long period of time and ensures operational stability and safety. And

The present invention provides a plurality of rotor blades for levitating a fuselage, a plurality of motors for supplying driving force to the rotor blades, a control device for controlling the position of the fuselage, and supply of power to the plurality of motors from a ground station And a second cable for inputting operation information from the ground station to the control device, and the first cable and the second cable are connected to one end of both cables. A multicopter having a portion that bends below the one end between the ground station and the airframe to which the other end is connected.

The multicopter of the present invention is configured so that power can be supplied from a ground station outside the aircraft, and there is no need to install a battery in the aircraft, so the weight is greatly reduced compared to conventional multicopters. The In addition, by supplying power from the outside of the aircraft, it is possible to fly for a long time, which was impossible with a multi-copter equipped with a conventional rechargeable battery.

Since the cable has a flexible part, the tensile load does not act between the aircraft and the ground station, so it is possible to eliminate as much as possible the influence on posture change and steering stability due to the addition of the cable, The aircraft can be maintained in a stable posture.

The multicopter of the present invention may be configured to lower the airframe when a load greater than an assumed value is applied to at least one of the first cable and the second cable.

By adjusting the length of the cable, it is possible to set a safe zone where flight is possible. If the aircraft tries to fly beyond the safe zone, a tensile load will act on the cable. it can.

The multicopter of the present invention may be configured to lower the position of the airframe when the horizontal position of the airframe exceeds an assumed range.

Since the airframe is equipped with GPS and the current position can be known at all times, a safe area in which the airframe can fly can be set at a horizontal position.

The multicopter of the present invention includes either an air bag that protects the airframe from a drop impact or a parachute that relaxes the falling speed of the airframe, and is assumed to be at least one of the first cable and the second cable. It can also be configured such that at least one of the airbag and the parachute is activated when a load greater than the load is applied or when the horizontal position of the airframe exceeds an assumed range.

Since the multicopter of the present invention supplies power from the outside of the aircraft through a cable, it can fly for a long time without being influenced by the battery capacity. In addition, by adjusting the length of the cable, it is possible to set a safe zone where flight is possible, and if you try to exceed this range, power will be controlled by applying a load greater than the expected value to the cable. Jump-out accidents can be prevented in advance.

Conceptual diagram showing the flight system of a multicopter Conceptual diagram showing cable structure Conceptual diagram showing the normal flight status of the multicopter Conceptual diagram showing the emergency state of the multicopter

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The multicopter 10 includes a body frame 12, a plurality of rotor blades 14, a motor 16 corresponding to each rotor blade 14, a control device 18, a GPS device 20, a parachute device 22, a cable connector 24, and a safety device 26.

An electrical cable 30, an operation information cable 32, and a ground cable 34 are connected to the cable connector 24. The electric cable 30, the operation information cable 32, and the ground cable 34 are converged into one collective cable 36. One end of the collective cable 36 is connected to the ground station. Of the collective cable 36, the electric cable 30 is connected to a generator 38 placed on the ground, and the operation information cable 32 is connected to a personal computer 40 also placed on the ground. As the operation information cable 32, a LAN cable, an optical cable, or the like can be used. The ground cable 34 is connected to, for example, a metal portion of a truck 42 that transports equipment. The rotor blade 14 of the multicopter 10 becomes a source of static electricity under certain conditions, and causes a serious accident for the devices mounted on the multi 10. Such an accident can be prevented beforehand by grounding the ground cable 34.

The collective cable 36 is wound and accommodated on a drum 44 installed on the loading platform of the truck 42, and the cable length is adjusted by unwinding from the drum 44 by a necessary length at the time of use. One end 46 of the assembly cable 36 is lifted to a certain height by an arm 48 installed on the track 42, and the other end 50 is connected to the multicopter 10. The unwinding length from the drum 44 is adjusted so that a part 52 bent downward from the height of the one end 46 is formed in the collective cable 36.

The multicopter 10 is provided with a safety device 26 for ensuring flight safety. The safety device 26 is provided between the collective cable 36 and the fuselage frame 12. When a load exceeding an assumed value is applied to the collective cable 36, the power supply amount to the motor 16 is reduced through the control device 18, and the fuselage is Control to lower. As a result, when the aircraft tries to jump out of the safety zone, a tensile force acts on the cable assembly 36, and the safety device 26 operates to automatically land within the safety zone.

The parachute device 22 operates a parachute for soft landing in an emergency. When the airframe jumps out of the safety zone at a relatively high speed, an excessive tensile force acts on the collective cable 36 and the cable connector 24 is cut. Since the multicopter 10 is not equipped with a battery for flight, the cable connector 24 cuts off power supply from the outside through the electric cable 30. As a result, the levitation force cannot be maintained and the aircraft falls. At this time, the parachute device 22 automatically operates to protect the multicopter itself from the impact of dropping and to prevent damage to people and objects near the dropping point to a minimum.

Software related to the operation of the multicopter 10 is installed in the personal computer 40. Also, software for collecting and storing aerial images and moving image data in real time when a camera is mounted on the multicopter 10 is installed. All operations of the multicopter 10 can be performed by inputting operation information from the personal computer 40. The operation command is transmitted to the control device 18 mounted on the multicopter 10 through the LAN cable 32. Image data or the like taken by the multicopter 10 is transmitted to the personal computer 40 through the LAN cable 32.

FIG. 3 shows the multicopter 10 in flight. The multicopter 10 performs autonomous flight while supplementing the position of the aircraft with the GPS receiver 20 installed. At this time, the electric cable 30, the LAN cable 32, and the ground cable 34 are connected to the multicopter 10, and a fuse is also attached.

When a disturbance occurs in the GPS during the autonomous flight of the multicopter 10, the multicopter 10 may derive a calculation result different from the actual position for the position of the own aircraft. In this case, if there is a difference from the set position, the multicopter 10 starts to move autonomously to fill the difference. The larger the difference is, the faster the moving speed of the multicopter 10 is, and in some cases, it may disappear from view. However, since the multicopter 10 is connected to ground equipment by various cables, it cannot move far beyond the length of the cable. When the cable is pulled by the movement of the multicopter 10 and an impact load greater than a predetermined load is applied to the cable, the fuse 46 is first removed, and the power supply to the multicopter 10 is forcibly cut off. Next, the parachute device 22 operates to open the parachute 46, and the multicopter 10 is softly landed.

10 Multicopter 12 Airframe Frame 14 Rotor Blade 16 Motor 18 Controller 20 GPS Device 22 Parachute Device 24 Cable Connector 26 Safety Device 30 Electric Cable 32 Operation Information Cable 34 Earth Cable 36 Collecting Cable 38 Generator 40 Personal Computer 42 Truck 44 Drum 46 Parachute

Claims (4)

Multiple rotor blades that levitate the aircraft,
A plurality of motors for supplying driving force to the rotor blades;
A control device for controlling the position of the airframe;
A first cable for supplying power from the ground station to the plurality of motors;
The control device comprises a second cable for inputting operation information from the ground station,
The first cable and the second cable have a portion that bends lower than the one end between the ground station to which one end of both cables is connected and the aircraft to which the other end is connected.
Multicopter. The airframe is lowered when a load more than an assumed value is applied to at least one of the first cable and the second cable.
The multicopter according to claim 1. The multicopter according to claim 1, wherein when the horizontal position of the airframe exceeds an assumed range, the position of the airframe is lowered. Either an airbag that protects the aircraft from a drop impact or a parachute that relaxes the falling speed of the aircraft,
At least one of the airbag and the parachute when a load greater than an assumed load is applied to at least one of the first cable and the second cable, or when the horizontal position of the fuselage exceeds an assumed range. One side is activated,
The multicopter according to claim 2 or 3.

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