JP2020066371A - Flight vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a flight vehicle having a new structure which enables improvement of flight efficiency.SOLUTION: A flight vehicle according to the invention can travel at least along a first direction and includes an airframe part and an accessory part. The airframe part has a body part and a lift generation part. The body part has a right part and a left part extending along the first direction and a connection part which connects end parts of the right part and the left part as seen in a second direction opposite to the first direction. The structure allows an enclosed space enclosed by the left part, the right part, and the connection part to exist when viewed from a third direction orthogonal to the first direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an aircraft.

  In recent years, use of various services using flying bodies (hereinafter, simply referred to as “aircraft”) such as drones, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and airships used for various purposes. The place is expanding.

  When a flying object flies, it is common to maneuver manually to specify the desired flight and to specify the trajectory by autonomous flight software, but it does not physically determine the trajectory, so the equipment The trajectory may become unstable due to failure or external factors, and the desired flight may not be possible.

  In addition, if the air vehicle becomes out of control or fails, there is a risk of crash. Therefore, there are restrictions on where to fly.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, a safe flight system is provided in which a drone is connected to a guideline and operated to make a desired flight or prevent a crash (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).

JP, 2017-214037, A

  In Patent Document 1, a guideline is provided on the flight trajectory of the drone, and the drone is provided with a structure for holding the guideline so that the guideline can be connected to the guideline. This will not only guide the drone, but also prevent the crash.

  However, the guideline guiding means provided in the drone in Patent Document 1 supports only movement in either the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, and for example, extends part in the vertical direction and part in the horizontal direction. It cannot be used in line with extended guidelines. Further, since the mechanism for moving in the vertical direction is directly attached to the drone body, it affects the change in attitude of the drone during flight.

  Depending on the content of the service, it is necessary for the aircraft to tilt significantly due to strong winds. In that case, it is difficult to safely fly with the mechanism of vertical movement in Patent Document 1. Further, when movement is required in both the vertical direction and the horizontal direction, for example, in applications such as transportation and photography, a mechanism that can handle both the movement in the vertical direction and the horizontal direction is required.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the guided portion guided by the guide means and the flying portion are displaceably connected to each other so as to prevent the guide means from interfering with the attitude of the flying body, and also in the vertical movement in the horizontal direction. It is an object of the present invention to provide an air vehicle that can be moved in various directions by being provided so as to accommodate the movement of the.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide an aircraft having a structure that allows a vehicle to make a desired flight using a guide.

According to the invention,
A flying body that flies up and down including at least a vertical component according to the guide means,
At least a flight unit for generating lift,
A main body portion having a guided portion guided by the guide means,
There is obtained a flying body including a connecting portion that connects the flying portion and the main body portion to each other so as to be displaceable from each other.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a flying body that can improve flight efficiency.

1 is a top view of a flying vehicle according to the present invention. 2 is an exploded view of the aircraft of FIG. 1. FIG. It is a side view of the flying body of FIG. It is a figure showing the state which laid down the main-body part of the flying body of FIG. 1 toward the substantially horizontal direction. It is a figure showing the state which made the main body part of the flying body of FIG. 1 upright. It is a figure which shows the usage example of the flying body of FIG. It is a front view of the flying body of FIG. It is a conceptual diagram which abbreviate | omitted the flight part which shows the usage example of the flying body of FIG. It is a functional block diagram of the flying body of FIG. It is a figure which shows the usage example of the flying body of FIG. It is a figure which shows the other usage example of the flying body of FIG.

The contents of the embodiments of the present invention will be listed and described. The aircraft according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration.
[Item 1]
A flying body that flies up and down including at least a vertical component according to the guide means,
At least a flight unit for generating lift,
A main body portion having a guided portion guided by the guide means,
A flying body comprising: a connecting part that connects the flying part and the body part so as to be displaceable from each other.
[Item 2]
The aircraft according to item 1,
The guide means extends linearly in the guide direction,
The main body portion has an upper end and a lower end and extends in the vertical direction,
The guided portion is a substantially annular portion which is provided at least at the upper end or the lower end and is capable of inserting the guide portion.
Flying body.
[Item 3] <<< Vertical movement is tilted forward >>
The aircraft according to item 2,
The guide means has a portion extending in the vertical direction,
When moving in the up-down direction, by tilting the main body part in a substantially horizontal direction, the guided part is caused to follow the guided part,
Flying body.
[Item 4]
The aircraft according to item 3,
The guide means has a portion extending in the horizontal direction,
When moving in the horizontal direction, by making the main body part upright,
Align the guided portion with the guide means,
Flying body.

<Details of the embodiment according to the present invention>
Hereinafter, an air vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 6, an air vehicle 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention flies according to the guide means 50 at least in the vertical direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to perform a horizontal movement according to the guide means 50 or a flight in which vertical movement and horizontal movement are interwoven.

  Vertical direction, horizontal direction: means the direction that includes the horizontal component and the direction that includes the vertical component

<Details of the first embodiment according to the present invention>
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, a small unmanned rotorcraft is used for ease of explanation, but this is merely an example and does not limit the form of the flying body. For example, whether it is a manned or unmanned aerial vehicle, whether the air vehicle is an airship, a fixed-wing aircraft, or a rotary-wing aircraft.

  Further, the structure and shape are merely examples, and any member may be used as long as it has a function necessary for carrying out the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the aircraft according to the present embodiment can at least rise in the upward direction (third direction: + Z direction) and can descend in the downward direction (−Z direction), Further, the vehicle can move forward in the forward direction D1 (first direction: + Y direction) and backward in the backward direction D2 (second direction: −Y direction).

The flying body 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a flying unit 10 and a main body unit 20, and the flying unit 10 has a mechanism necessary to fly the flying unit 100: for example, a wing for generating lift. , A propeller, and a motor that generates thrust, an engine, and the like, but are not limited thereto.
The main body portion 20 includes at least a guided portion 21: a portion guided along the guide means 50. In addition, a load, a photographing device, a mounting unit for mounting a sensor, a working unit for performing work, and the like may be provided.

  The guide means 50 extends linearly in the guide direction to guide the guided portion 21 to cause the flying object 100 to fly as desired. At this time, not only one guide means 50 but also a plurality of guide means 50 may be used. The material of the guide means 50 may be a flexible material such as a wire or an electric wire, or may be a hard material such as metal or resin.

  The guide means 50 and the guided portion 21 may or may not be in contact with each other as long as they can serve the purpose of guiding. For example, the guide purpose can be achieved by sandwiching the guide means 50 with a plurality of spheres or recognizing the guide means 50 with a camera or the like. In the case of non-contact, since there is no contact between the guide means 50 and the non-guide portion 21, it can be operated without being affected by friction or the like.

  In addition to guiding the flight vehicle 100, the guide means 50 also has a fail-safe function when an abnormality occurs in the flight vehicle 100 or when flight becomes difficult due to an external factor (details will be described later). .

  If the flying body 100 has a structure that does not separate from the guide means 50, even if the flying body 100 falls into an uncontrollable state or in a state where it cannot fly, the place of the crash can be limited to that place, and the surrounding safety. In addition to being secured, it is easy to soften the impact of a fall by providing a cushioning material at the relevant location. Further, when the guide means 50 extends substantially horizontally with respect to the ground surface, the flying body 100 is in a state of being suspended from the guide, and therefore does not fall.

  The guided portion 21 is provided at least at the upper end or the lower end of the main body portion 20, and has a substantially annular shape through which the guide means 50 can be inserted. The shape may be a polygonal shape, an elliptical shape, or the like as long as it can be inserted, and the shape is not necessarily circular.

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the main body portion 20 and the flying portion 10 are connected to each other by a connecting portion 30 in a displaceable manner. Therefore, the flying unit 10 can freely change its posture and maintain its own position while the guided portion 21 follows the guide means 50.
<Details of the second embodiment according to the present invention>

  In the details of the second embodiment according to the present invention, the constituent elements that are the same as those of the first embodiment perform the same operation, and therefore a repetitive description is omitted.

  Further, the structure and shape are merely examples, and any member may be used as long as it has a function necessary for carrying out the present invention.

  The guide means 50 has a portion extending in the vertical direction, and when the flying body 100 moves in the vertical direction, the main body portion 20 is tilted in a substantially horizontal direction to cover the guide means 50. The guide portion 21 can be provided along the line. Similarly, in the case where the guide means 50 has a portion extending in the horizontal direction, when the aircraft 100 moves in the horizontal direction, the main body portion 20 is made substantially upright so that the guide means 50 moves. The guided portion 21 can be placed along the line.

  Even when the guide means 50 is extended in various directions, it can be dealt with by adjusting the inclination direction and angle of the main body. For example, it can be used for various purposes, such as going from the bottom to the top when inspecting a bridge, or shooting from near the ground to the sky without breaking when shooting a video.

  As well shown in FIG. 2, the frame 13 of the flying unit 10 according to the present embodiment may have a substantially U-shape when viewed from the Z direction. With such a shape, deformation is possible for vertical movement and horizontal movement.

  Having a substantially U shape means that the right side portion 13R and the left side portion 13L extending along the Y direction and the rear ends (the end portions in the −Y direction) of the right side portion 13R and the left side portion 13L are connected to each other. It has a connecting portion 13C.

  With such a configuration, the frame 13 has the enclosed space E surrounded by the right side portion 13R, the left side portion 13L, and the connecting portion 13L. In the present embodiment, since the connecting portion 13C is located at the front end of each of the right side portion 13R and the left side portion 13L, the U-shape of the frame has an opening direction toward one side.

  Note that the frame 13 may have, for example, a substantially C-shape or a substantially U-shape as long as it has a shape that is open to one side (details will be described later). .

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the body portion 20 according to the present embodiment is connected to the flight portion 10 by the connecting portion 30. With this structure, the main body 20 can rotate in a predetermined range around the connecting portion as an axis in the YZ plane.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 20 is partially located in the enclosed area E.

  In particular, the body portion 20 has a substantially Ω-shaped escape portion 25 when viewed along the X direction. With this structure, even when the long main body portion 20 is used, the escape portion 25 straddles the connecting portion 13C, so that the collision between the main body portion 20 and the flying portion 10 can be prevented.

  Although the aircraft 100 shown in this description has the escape portion 25, when a short accessory is used, it is possible to move vertically and horizontally without using the escape portion 25. It can be modified for movement.

The main examples in which the use of the present invention can enhance safety and stability are listed below.
・ Inspection of infrastructure such as bridges, electric wires, highways, tunnels, steel towers, etc. by mounting information gathering equipment such as cameras, sensors, microphones, etc. Equipment equipped with tools for work / jetting in high places or dangerous areas, water spraying with equipment for spraying, spraying / spraying of liquids such as disinfectant, pesticides, dyes, speakers, lighting, etc. Transport and information by installing a cabin, which allows passengers to board, and means of transportation and attractions

  The above-mentioned flying object has, for example, the functional blocks shown in FIG. The functional blocks in FIG. 8 are the minimum reference configurations.

  The flight controller can have one or more processors, such as programmable processors (eg, central processing unit (CPU)).

  The flight controller has a memory (not shown) and can access the memory. The memory stores logic, code, and / or program instructions that the flight controller can execute to perform one or more steps.

  The memory may include, for example, a separable medium such as an SD card or random access memory (RAM) or an external storage device. Data obtained from cameras and sensors may be directly transmitted to and stored in the memory. For example, still image / moving image data captured by a camera or the like is recorded in an internal memory or an external memory.

The flight controller includes a control module configured to control the condition of the air vehicle. For example, the control module may adjust the spatial arrangement, velocity, and / or acceleration of a vehicle having 6 degrees of freedom (translational motions x, y and z, and rotational motions θ _x , θ _y and θ _z ). Controls the propulsion mechanism (motor, etc.) of the air vehicle. The control module can control one or more of the states of the mount and sensors.

  The flight controller is capable of communicating with a transceiver configured to transmit and / or receive data from one or more external devices (eg, terminals, displays, or other remote controls). The transceiver can use any suitable communication means, such as wired or wireless communication.

  For example, the transmission / reception unit uses one or more of a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), infrared, wireless, WiFi, point-to-point (P2P) network, telecommunications network, cloud communication and the like. be able to.

  The transmission / reception unit can transmit and / or receive one or more of data acquired by the sensors, processing results generated by the flight controller, predetermined control data, a user command from a terminal or a remote controller, and the like. .

  The sensors according to the present embodiment may include an inertial sensor (acceleration sensor, gyro sensor), a GPS sensor, a proximity sensor (eg, rider), or a vision / image sensor (eg, camera).

  The air vehicle of the present invention can be expected to be used as an industrial air vehicle in home delivery, monitoring, investigation, photographing, and the like. Further, the flying object of the present invention can be used in airplane-related industries such as multicopter drones, and further, the present invention can be suitably used as an aerial imaging flying object equipped with a camera and the like. Besides, it can be used for various industries such as security field, agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, manned attraction, etc.

  The above-described embodiments are merely examples for facilitating the understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the interpretation of the present invention. It goes without saying that the present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the spirit thereof and that the present invention includes equivalents thereof.

100 Flying body 10 Flying part 11a-11d Propeller 12 Arm 13 Frame 14 Motor 20 Body part 21 Guided part 22 Counterweight 25 Escape part 30 Connecting part 50 Guide means

Claims (4)

A flying body that flies up and down including at least a vertical component according to the guide means,
At least a flight unit for generating lift,
A main body portion having a guided portion guided by the guide means,
A flying body comprising: a connecting part that connects the flying part and the body part so as to be displaceable from each other. The aircraft according to claim 1, wherein
The guide means extends linearly in the guide direction,
The main body portion has an upper end and a lower end and extends in the vertical direction,
The guided portion is a substantially annular portion which is provided at least at the upper end or the lower end and is capable of inserting the guide portion.
Flying body. The aircraft according to claim 2, wherein
The guide means has a portion extending in the vertical direction,
When moving in the up-and-down direction, by tilting the main body section in a substantially horizontal direction, the guided section is caused to follow the guided section,
Flying body. The aircraft according to claim 3,
The guide means has a portion extending in the horizontal direction,
When moving in the horizontal direction, by making the main body part upright,
Align the guided portion with the guide means,
Flying body.

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