JP2018070079A - Unmanned aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unmanned aircraft that can use a laser scanner to effectively survey a wide topography including planimetric features existing upward from a flight position of an airframe.SOLUTION: An unmanned aircraft includes: a plurality of rotor blades; and a laser scanner capable of scanning a predetermined angular range. The unmanned aircraft has a fuselage provided with a constricted part where a fuselage width is formed narrower than other parts. The constricted part avoids or reduces contact between irradiation light from the laser scanner and the fuselage.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a surveying technique using an unmanned aerial vehicle.

  Patent Document 1 below discloses an aircraft that surveys the surface shape with a laser scanner.

JP 2007-64811 A

  Attempts to survey terrain from the air by mounting a laser scanner on a small unmanned aerial vehicle are underway. For example, when surveying urban areas, canyons, canyons, etc., due to the unmanned aircraft specifications and legal restrictions, the unmanned aircraft can fly at a lower altitude than the features around the aircraft. There is. In order to survey the complete topography around the aircraft under such conditions, it is necessary to irradiate the laser beam above the flight position of the unmanned aircraft.

  For example, when the laser scanner is placed at the bottom of the aircraft, the laser beam irradiated upward or obliquely upward from the laser scanner is blocked by the aircraft of the unmanned aircraft, and the angle range that can be scanned by the laser scanner is limited. There is. On the other hand, when the laser scanner is arranged on the upper part of the machine, the scanning range below the machine is limited. Although it is possible to scan the entire circumference of the airframe by arranging laser scanners above and below the airframe of the unmanned aerial vehicle, in this case, there are problems with the cost and weight of the airframe. In addition, in a method in which the laser scanner is arranged at the lower part of the machine body and surveying is performed, and then the surveying is performed again by placing the laser scanner on the upper part of the machine body, problems of working time and man-hours arise.

  In view of the above problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of efficiently surveying a wide range of terrain including features existing above the flight position of the aircraft using a laser scanner. There is.

  In order to solve the above problems, an unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle including a plurality of rotor blades and a laser scanner capable of scanning a predetermined angular range, and the fuselage of the unmanned aircraft includes the fuselage. A constricted portion is formed with a narrower width than that of the other portions, and the constricted portion prevents or reduces contact between the irradiation light of the laser scanner and the body.

  By providing the constricted portion on the fuselage of the unmanned aircraft, the laser scanner can irradiate the laser beam through the gap secured by the constricted portion. As a result, it is possible to scan a wide range of terrain including a diagonally upper part of the machine body with a single laser scanner.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the laser scanner is arranged in a direction in which features on the side of the unmanned aircraft can be scanned vertically or obliquely.

  The problem that the laser beam is blocked by the fuselage of the unmanned aircraft occurs when the scanning direction of the laser scanner is vertical, more precisely, when the scanning direction of the laser scanner is not horizontal. That is, when the laser scanner is arranged in a direction in which features on the side of the unmanned aircraft can be scanned vertically or obliquely, the constricted portion of the present invention can exert its effect particularly.

  The laser scanner is preferably capable of scanning an angle range exceeding 180 degrees.

  When the laser scanner is capable of scanning an angular range exceeding 180 degrees and is arranged in an orientation in which features on the side of the unmanned aircraft can be scanned vertically or obliquely. Since the scanning range of the laser scanner necessarily includes a space above the flight position of the unmanned aircraft, there is a high possibility that the laser light is blocked by the fuselage of the unmanned aircraft. According to the unmanned aircraft of the present invention, the laser beam can be irradiated through the gap secured by the constricted portion, so that contact between the laser beam and the fuselage can be avoided or reduced even when scanning an angular range exceeding 180 degrees. Can do.

  Further, the constricted portion is configured in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and a reinforcing portion integrated with the constricted portion is provided, and the reinforcing portion is arranged in a direction in which the cylindrical axis direction is horizontal, It is preferable to extend in a direction perpendicular to the width direction of the body.

  The width | variety of the trunk | drum of the constriction part is formed narrower than the other part. Therefore, the constricted portion may become a bottle net on the strength of the aircraft. By increasing the bending rigidity of the constricted portion by the reinforcing portion formed in a substantially rectangular tube shape, it is possible to achieve both the expansion of the scanable range of the laser scanner and the body strength.

  Moreover, it is preferable that a reinforcing plate that supports the inner surface of the reinforcing portion and suppresses deformation of the reinforcing portion is disposed in the cylinder of the reinforcing portion. At this time, it is preferable that a plurality of the reinforcing plates are arranged along the cylinder axis direction of the reinforcing portion.

  Since the reinforcing plate for maintaining the shape of the reinforcing portion is disposed in the cylinder of the reinforcing portion, deformation of the reinforcing portion itself can be suppressed.

  The reinforcing plate is formed with a hole penetrating in the thickness direction of the reinforcing plate, and a cylindrical or cylindrical reinforcing shaft is inserted into the hole portion, and the reinforcing shaft and The reinforcing plate is preferably integrated.

  The reinforcing shaft is inserted into the hole provided in the reinforcing plate, and the reinforcing plate and the reinforcing shaft are integrated, so that the torsional rigidity of the constricted portion is increased and the deformation of the constricted portion is more stably suppressed. It becomes possible.

  The unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention may include a plurality of arms that support the rotor blades, and the arms may be configured to be rotatable in a horizontal direction around a base end portion thereof.

  Generally, in an unmanned aerial vehicle including a plurality of rotor blades, a plurality of arms extend radially from the fuselage, and the rotor blades are disposed at the respective tips. And when surveying using an unmanned aerial vehicle, it is necessary to bring the aircraft into the surveying area. For example, when it is possible to get into the surveying area with a vehicle, it is considered that there will be no particular problems in the transportation of unmanned aircraft. However, if it is a place that is not paved, such as a canyon or a canyon, it will eventually head to the survey area on foot. If the arm of the unmanned aerial vehicle is fixed at this time, the arm and the rotor wing are bulky, which may hinder workers from carrying the aircraft. By making these arms foldable as in this configuration, the airframe can be deformed into a form that is easy for an operator to carry.

  The unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention may include a plurality of arms that support the rotor blades, and the arms may be detachable from the fuselage.

  As mentioned above, if the arm of the unmanned aerial vehicle is fixed, it may be an obstacle for workers to carry the unmanned aircraft on foot. By making these arms removable from the fuselage as in this configuration, the aircraft can be transported more compactly.

  As described above, according to the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently survey a wide range of terrain including features existing above the flight position of the aircraft using a laser scanner.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of a multicopter. It is a top view of a multicopter. It is AA direction sectional drawing of FIG. It is a permeation | transmission perspective view which shows the reinforcement structure of a constriction part. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a multicopter. It is a top view which shows the state which folded the arm of the multicopter.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is an example in which a laser scanner is mounted on a multicopter which is a kind of unmanned aerial vehicle including a plurality of rotor blades. In the following description, “upper” and “lower” refer to the vertical direction in FIG. 1 and are parallel to the Z-axis direction of the coordinate axis display shown in FIG. Further, “horizontal” refers to the XY plane direction indicated by the same coordinate axis display. The "front" and "rear" refers to a direction parallel to the X-axis direction in the coordinate axis display, the X ₁ side "front", the X ₂ side and "rear". In addition, the “width” of the multicopter airframe refers to the length of the airframe in the Y-axis direction of the same coordinate axis display.

〔overall structure〕
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the multicopter 100. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the multicopter 100. The body of the multicopter 100 includes a body 101 that is a main body, four arms 102 that extend radially from the body 101, and a rotor R that is disposed at the tip of each arm 102. The body 101 of the present embodiment is assembled from a CFRP (Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics) plate material, and each arm 102 is also made of a CFRP pipe material. Thereby, the coexistence of weight reduction of the multicopter 100 and ensuring of the body strength is achieved.

  A laser scanner 300 is attached to the lower part of the body 101 of the multicopter 100. The laser scanner 300 is a general laser scanner for surveying, and measures the distance from the feature from the reflected wave of the irradiated laser light, and acquires the three-dimensional point cloud data of the terrain. The laser scanner 300 of this embodiment includes an irradiation unit 310 that can scan an angle range of 360 degrees, and is arranged in a direction in which features on the side of the multicopter 100 can be scanned in the vertical direction.

[Constriction]
The body 101 of the multicopter 100 is provided with a constricted portion 101c in which the width of the body 101 is narrower than other portions. The constricted portion 101 c of the present embodiment is formed such that the width of the body 101 gradually becomes narrower from the connecting portion of the body 101 to each arm 102 toward the center of the body 101 in the front-rear direction. The irradiation unit 310 of the laser scanner 300 is disposed below a portion of the constricted portion 101c where the body 101 is formed with the smallest width. Thereby, the scanable range of the laser scanner 300 is maximized.

  3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. Hereinafter, the effect of extending the scannable range of the laser scanner 300 by the constricted portion 101c will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3A is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a scannable range of a multicopter 100 ′ that is the multicopter 100 when it is assumed that the constricted portion 101c is not provided. FIG. 3B is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a scannable range of the multicopter 100 of the present embodiment having the constricted portion 101c.

  As described above, the laser scanner 300 of the present embodiment is arranged in a direction in which the scanning direction is vertical, and the irradiation unit 310 of the laser scanner 300 has a 360 ° field of view (FOV: Field Of View). )have. Therefore, a part of the scannable range of the laser scanner 300 is inevitably blocked by the body 101 of the multicopter 100. Similar problems may occur not only when the scanning direction of the irradiation unit 310 is vertical but also when at least the scanning direction is not horizontal.

When the constricted portion 101c is not provided in the fuselage 101 as in the multicopter 100 ′ of FIG. 3A, the laser light irradiated above the flight position of the fuselage is blocked by the fuselage 101 over a wide angle range. , the scanning range of the laser scanner 300 is limited to _{V 1.} For example, when surveying terrain such as a city center, a valley, and a gorge, the flightable altitude of the multicopter 100 is lower than the features existing around the multicopter 100 due to the specifications of the multicopter 100 and legal restrictions. Sometimes. In order to scan a complete terrain by the multicopter 100 ′ under such conditions, the multicopter 100 ′ and the features existing on the sides of the copter 100 ′ are located so that the laser beam reaches the top of the feature. It is necessary to leave a sufficient distance between them. Therefore, surveying may be difficult depending on the environmental conditions of the surveying location.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3B, in the multicopter 100 of the present embodiment, the laser beam of the laser scanner 300 can be widely irradiated obliquely upward through the gap secured by the constricted portion 101c. . Thereby, the contact between the laser beam and the body 101 is suppressed, and it is possible to scan the terrain in a wide angular range.

  The irradiation unit 310 of the laser scanner 300 according to the present embodiment has a viewing angle of 360 degrees. However, even if the viewing angle of the irradiation unit 310 is less than that, it scans above the flight position of the aircraft. In this case, an effect of extending the scannable range can be obtained by the constricted portion 101c. For example, as shown in FIG. 3C, even in the case where only one side and the lower side of the airframe are scanned, the constricted portion 101c can ensure a scan range obliquely above. In addition, even if the viewing angle of the irradiation unit 310 is 360 degrees or less, if the viewing angle exceeds 180 degrees, the scanning range of the laser scanner 300 inevitably has a space above the flight position of the multicopter 100. Therefore, the possibility that the laser beam is blocked by the body 101 increases. According to the multicopter 100 of the present embodiment, the laser beam can be irradiated through the gap secured by the constricted portion 101c, so that contact between the laser beam and the fuselage is avoided even when scanning an angular range exceeding 180 degrees. It is possible to reduce.

[Reinforcement structure of constriction part]
FIG. 4 is a transparent perspective view showing the reinforcing structure of the constricted portion 101c. The constricted portion 101c is provided with a reinforcing portion 200 configured in a substantially rectangular tube shape. The reinforcing portion 200 is arranged in a direction in which the axis B in the cylinder axis direction extends horizontally along the front-rear direction of the multicopter 100. The reinforcing portion 200 of the present embodiment is constituted by side walls 200a and 200b that are thinned and arranged in parallel, and an upper plate 101a and a lower plate 101b of the body 101 that cover the upper and lower sides thereof. Since the constricted part 101c is supported by the substantially rectangular tube-shaped reinforcing part 200, the bending rigidity of the constricted part 101c is enhanced. In addition, although the reinforcement part 200 of this embodiment has reduced the number of parts by using the upper board 101a and the lower board 101b as a part of the fuselage | body 101, the reinforcement part comprised by the rectangular tube shape beforehand is used. You may join to the body 101 with a screw | thread or an adhesive agent.

  A reinforcing plate 210 that is a rectangular flat plate member is disposed in the cylinder of the reinforcing portion 200. Three reinforcing plates 210 of the present embodiment are arranged along the cylinder axis direction of the reinforcing portion 200. Since the reinforcing part 200 is supported by the reinforcing plate 210 from the inside, the deformation of the reinforcing part 200 itself is suppressed.

  Further, each reinforcing plate 210 is formed with a hole 210 a penetrating in the thickness direction of the reinforcing plate 210. A reinforcing shaft 290 that is a cylindrical pipe member is inserted through the hole 210a. The distal end portion of the reinforcing shaft 290 is supported by a fixed plate 220 that is a plate material fixed to the body 101. Note that the upper plate 101a, the lower plate 101b, the side walls 200a and 200b, the reinforcing plate 210, and the reinforcing shaft 290 constituting the reinforcing portion 200 of the present embodiment are joined and integrated with each other with an adhesive. Each reinforcing plate 210 is fixed to a cylindrical reinforcing shaft 290, and the reinforcing portion 200 is supported from the inside by these reinforcing plates 210, whereby the torsional rigidity of the constricted portion 101c is enhanced. Further, since the adhesive is used for joining the members constituting the reinforcing portion 200, the weight of the screw is reduced and the structure of the airframe is simplified.

  The width | variety of the trunk | drum 101 in the constriction part 101c is formed narrower than the other part. For this reason, the constricted portion 101c may become a bottle net on the strength of the fuselage. As described above, in the multicopter 100 of this embodiment, the bending portion and the torsional rigidity of the constricted portion 101c are enhanced by the reinforcing portion 200, so that both the expansion of the scanable range of the laser scanner 300 and the body strength are compatible. Is planned.

  The reinforcing portion 200 is not an essential component of the present invention, and the body 101 is deformed due to the constricted portion 101c when a metal material is used for the body 101 or when the weight of the multicopter 100 is extremely small. This can be omitted when there is no fear. Further, the shape of the reinforcing plate 210 is not limited to the flat plate member as in the present embodiment, and a bracing that supports the inner surface of the reinforcing portion 200 may be provided.

[Function configuration of multi-copter]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the multicopter 100. The functions of the multicopter 100 are mainly performed by a flight controller FC, four rotors R, an ESC 141 (Electric Speed Controller) that controls the rotation of the rotors R, a laser scanner 300, and a battery 190 that supplies power to them. It is configured.

  Each rotor R is composed of a motor 142 and a blade 143 connected to its output shaft. The ESC 141 is connected to the motor 142 of the rotor R, and rotates the motor 142 at a speed instructed from the flight controller FC.

  The flight controller FC includes a control device 120 that is a microcontroller. The control device 120 includes a CPU 121 that is a central processing unit, a memory 122 that is a storage device such as a ROM and a RAM, and a PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) controller 123 that controls the rotation speed of each motor 142 via the ESC 141. ing.

  The flight controller FC further includes a flight control sensor group 132 and a GPS receiver 133 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “sensors or the like”), which are connected to the control device 120. The flight control sensor group 132 of the multicopter 100 in this embodiment includes a triaxial acceleration sensor, a triaxial angular velocity sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor (altitude sensor), a geomagnetic sensor (orientation sensor), and the like. The control device 120 can acquire position information of the own aircraft including the latitude and longitude of the aircraft, the altitude, and the azimuth angle of the nose, in addition to the tilt and rotation of the aircraft, using these sensors and the like.

  The memory 122 of the control device 120 stores a flight control program FCP that is a program for controlling the attitude and basic flight operation of the multicopter 100 during flight. The flight control program FCP adjusts the rotational speed of each rotor R based on the information obtained from the sensor or the like according to an instruction from the operator (transmitter 110), and corrects the attitude and position disturbance of the aircraft. Fly the copter 100.

  The operation of the multicopter 100 is manually performed by the operator using the transmitter 110, and the flight plan FP, which is a parameter such as the flight path, speed, and altitude of the multicopter 100, is registered in the autonomous flight program APP in advance. It is also possible to fly the multicopter 100 autonomously to the destination (hereinafter, such autonomous flight is referred to as “autopilot”).

  As described above, the multicopter 100 in the present embodiment has an advanced flight control function. However, the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention may be any aircraft that includes a plurality of rotors R and controls the attitude and flight operation of the aircraft by adjusting the rotational speed of each of the rotors R. It may be an airframe in which sensors are omitted, or an airframe that does not have an autopilot function and can fly only by manual operation.

[Portable configuration]
In the multicopter 100 according to the present embodiment, four arms 102 extend radially from a body 101, and a rotor R is disposed at each tip. And when surveying using the multicopter 100, it is necessary to carry the multicopter 100 to the surveying place. For example, if it is possible to enter the surveying area with a vehicle, it is considered that the problem of transporting the multicopter 100 does not occur. However, if it is a place that is not paved, such as a canyon or a canyon, it will eventually head to the survey area on foot. At this time, if the arm 102 of the multicopter 100 is fixed, the arm 102 and the rotor R are bulky, which may hinder the worker from carrying the aircraft.

  FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a state in which the arm 102 of the multicopter 100 is folded. The multicopter 100 according to the present embodiment is configured such that each arm 102 is rotatable in the horizontal direction from the base end portion 102a. As described above, since the arm 102 is foldable, the airframe can be deformed to be easily transported by an operator. Note that the skid 103 (see FIG. 1) connected to the distal end portion of each arm 102 can also be folded to the proximal end side of the arm 102. It is also possible to detach each arm 102a from its base end 102a and to make it more compact.

100 Multicopter (Unmanned aerial vehicle)
101 Body 101a Upper plate 101b Lower plate 102 Arm 102a Base end R Rotor (rotary blade)
200 Reinforcement part 200a, b Side plate 210 Reinforcement plate 210a Hole part 290 Reinforcement shaft 300 Laser scanner 310 Irradiation part

Claims (9)

A plurality of rotor blades,
An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a laser scanner capable of scanning a predetermined angular range,
The fuselage of the unmanned aircraft is provided with a constricted portion in which the width of the fuselage is narrower than other parts,
The unmanned aerial vehicle characterized in that contact between the irradiation light of the laser scanner and the fuselage is avoided or reduced by the constricted portion.   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the laser scanner is arranged in a direction in which features on a side of the unmanned aircraft can be scanned in a substantially vertical direction.   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the laser scanner is capable of scanning an angle range exceeding 180 degrees. The constricted portion is configured in a substantially rectangular tube shape, and is provided with a reinforcing portion integrated with the constricted portion,
The said reinforcement part is arrange | positioned in the direction in which the cylinder-axis direction becomes horizontal, and is extended in the direction orthogonal to the width direction of the said fuselage, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Unmanned aircraft.   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 4, wherein a reinforcing plate that supports an inner surface of the reinforcing portion and suppresses deformation of the reinforcing portion is disposed in the cylinder of the reinforcing portion.   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 5, wherein a plurality of the reinforcing plates are arranged along a cylindrical axis direction of the reinforcing portion. The reinforcing plate is formed with a hole penetrating in the thickness direction of the reinforcing plate,
A columnar or cylindrical reinforcing shaft is inserted through the hole,
The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the reinforcing shaft and the reinforcing plate are integrated. A plurality of arms for supporting the rotor blades;
The unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein each of the arms is rotatable in a horizontal direction around a base end portion thereof. A plurality of arms for supporting the rotor blades;
The unmanned aircraft according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein each of the arms is removable from the fuselage.

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