KR20180080518A - Unmanned aerial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle comprises: a main body provided with an inlet through which air introduced; a single propulsion generator arranged in the main body and forming a flow of the air for generating thrust; a discharge plate coupled to the main body to cover the propulsion generator and provided with a plurality of outlets discharging the flow of the air formed by the propulsion generator to the outside; a plurality of adjusting tools for adjusting the amount of air discharged from the outlet; and a controller for controlling the adjusting tool and the propulsion generator by applying a control signal to each of the adjusting tool and the propulsion generator.

Description

Unmanned aerial vehicle {UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE}

Embodiments relate to a unmanned aerial vehicle, more particularly, to a unmanned aerial vehicle that uses a single propulsion generator to simplify the structure, improve stability, and enable a long flight.

In general, pilots fly for aircraft control, but pilots do not fly on aircraft used for surveillance, observation, delivery of goods, or military purposes. Unmanned aerial vehicles, which are not piloted, are remotely controlled by radio or automatically controlled by a computer device and perform their mission.

The unmanned aerial vehicle, also called drone, has three to eight motors and propellers. The drones control the propulsion of the propellers to gain propulsion and control the flight direction. In the structure of the drones having a plurality of motors and propellers as described above, the amount of battery consumption increases as the number of motors increases, and the capacity of the battery must also increase greatly in order to allow a dron equipped with a plurality of motors to fly for a long time.

In addition, such drones are likely to cause an accident that the propeller collides with the object during flight due to the structure of the propeller being exposed to the outside of the airplane, and there is a high possibility that the propeller is damaged due to the small impact even if the impact is small.

As a technique for improving the structure of a unmanned aerial vehicle in which a propeller is exposed to the outside, there have been proposed US Patent No. 7,032,861, US Patent No. 4,795,111, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2002-0039079, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0000767 (June 1, 2011), Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-107626 (June 3, 2013), Japanese Patent Registration No. 4683360, etc. have been disclosed.

In the unmanned aerial vehicles of these technologies, the propulsive force can be obtained by discharging the air generated by the propeller through a single air discharge hole. According to these techniques, since the plurality of propellers of the unmanned aerial vehicle are exposed to the outside, the structure of the conventional drones which are vulnerable to collision can be partially improved.

However, in order to control the flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle, a structure combining various types of blades to control the discharge direction of air discharged from a single air discharge hole, a structure combining a vane , And a combination of a plurality of propellers, it is difficult to control the flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle quickly and finely. That is, when using a blade or a vane having a size corresponding to the total diameter of a single air vent hole, it is difficult to finely control the amount of air exhausted from the air vent hole, and the time It is difficult to steer quickly.

In addition, since blades and vanes must be provided to correspond to the total diameter of a single air discharge hole, the sizes of the structures such as blades and vanes are increased, and the capacity of actuators for driving blades and vanes must be increased. As a result, the overall structure of the unmanned aerial vehicle becomes heavy and it is difficult to design the unmanned aerial vehicle compactly.

U.S. Patent No. 6,616,094 is known as a technology of an unmanned aerial vehicle that obtains propulsion using a single propeller. The unmanned aerial vehicle using this technique uses a flow straightening vane that converts the flow of the donut-shaped air generated by the propeller into a linear air flow that raises the unmanned aerial vehicle. However, such a straightening vane of the unmanned aerial vehicle performs only the function of converting a donut-shaped air flow into a linear air flow in order to realize a good lift, so that the flight direction of the unmanned air vehicle can be finely and quickly adjusted it's difficult.

U.S. Patent No. 7,032,861 issued on April 25, 2006. U.S. Patent No. 4,795,111 (Mar. 1, 1989) Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2002-0039079 (May 25, 2002) Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2011-0000767 (2011.01.06.) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-107626 (June 3, 2013) Japanese Patent No. 4,683,360 (Mar. 18, 2011) U.S. Patent No. 6,616,094 (September 9, 2003)

Embodiments provide a unmanned aerial vehicle which can be manufactured with a simple configuration and can reduce the power consumption required for flight and can fly for a long time.

Embodiments provide a unmanned aerial vehicle with improved stability by providing a propulsion generator inside a unmanned aerial vehicle to protect a propelling generator from a collision with an external object.

Embodiments provide a unmanned aerial vehicle that can be designed with a compact design by installing a single propulsion generator inside the main body.

Embodiments provide an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of quickly and precisely controlling flight direction and flight speed while using a single propulsion generator.

The unmanned aerial vehicle according to one embodiment includes a main body having an inlet through which air is introduced, a single propulsion generator disposed inside the main body to form a flow of air to generate propulsion force, A plurality of regulators for regulating the amount of air discharged from the outlet, and a controller for controlling the regulator and the propulsion generator, respectively, And a controller for controlling the regulator and the propulsion generator.

The regulator may include a throttle plate that moves between a closed position that covers the outlet and an open position that opens the outlet, and a driver that generates a driving force to move the throttle plate.

The throttling plate may comprise a plurality of blades, wherein the blades are unfolded in the closed position to cover the outlet, the blades in the open position overlap each other to open the outlet, the size of overlapping of the blades between the open and closed positions is adjusted, The open area can be adjusted.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a plurality of batteries arranged in the main body along the circumferential direction of the main body.

The propulsion generator may include a motor installed in the main body, and a single propeller rotatingly coupled to the motor.

The discharge plate may further include a guide wall for guiding the flow of the air generated by the propelling generator toward the outlet.

The main body may further include a guide for guiding the flow of air inside the main body toward the outlet.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include a cylinder coupled to the outlet of the boat and having a discharge hole for discharging the air at the outlet to the outside, wherein the regulator is disposed inside the cylinder and the end of the needle and the needle And a driver for moving the needle so that the end portion moves in a direction passing through the discharge hole of the cylindrical body.

The needle may have a shape that narrows toward the end.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may further include an elastic supporting portion for elastically supporting the needle against the back plate.

In the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiments as described above, since the propulsion generator for generating the propulsive force is disposed inside the main body and is not exposed to the outside, when the propulsion unit collides with an external object during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, The stability can be improved.

In addition, since a plurality of batteries are disposed in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis of the main body, sufficient power can be secured for flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and propulsion can be generated using only a single propulsion generator, It is possible to fly for a long time.

The entire structure of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be compactly designed by arranging a single propelling generator inside the main body and arranging the battery in the edge area of the main body so as not to interfere with the propelling generator.

Also, since the controller controls the opening area of each of the plurality of outlets independently and controls the driving speed of the propulsion generator, it is possible to precisely and quickly control the flight direction and the flying speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle .

1 is a perspective view of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment.
2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a coupling relationship of components of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG.
3 is a side sectional view of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1;
4 is a view showing the operation of the outlet of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG.
5 is a view showing another operation of the exit of Fig.
Fig. 6 is a view showing another operation of the exit of Fig. 5; Fig.
FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the coupling relationship of the components of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1;
8 is a perspective view illustrating some components of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing some components of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 8; FIG.
10 is a side sectional view showing the operating state of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG.
11 is a side sectional view showing another operating state of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG.

Hereinafter, the configuration and operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically illustrating a coupling relationship of components of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG.

The unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 3 includes a main body 10 having a plurality of inlets 11 into which air is introduced, a main body 10 disposed inside the main body 10, A plurality of outlets (20) coupled to a bottom surface of the body (10) to cover the propulsion generator (20) and configured to discharge a flow of air formed by the propulsion generator (20) A plurality of regulators 40 for regulating the respective open sizes of the outlets 31; a controller 70 for controlling the regulators 40 and the propulsion generators 20; Respectively.

The main body 10 and the back plate 30 form an outer appearance exposed to the outside of the unmanned air vehicle and have a function of receiving and protecting various components in a space between the main body 10 and the back plate 30 . The main body 10 and the back sheet 30 can be made of a material such as plastic, aluminum, iron or the like metal plate.

The main body 10 has a substantially disc shape and is formed in a concave shape so as to accommodate the components therein. The main body 10 has a plurality of inlets 11 connecting the outer space and the inner space of the unmanned air vehicle. The plurality of inlets (11) are arranged along the circumferential direction of the central axis (Sd) of the main body (10). The air outside the unmanned aerial vehicle can be introduced into the interior of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the entrance 11.

A propulsion generator (20) is disposed in the body (10). The propulsion generator 20 includes a motor 22 fixed to the inner surface of the main body 10 and a single propeller 21 coupled to the drive shaft of the motor 22 and rotating. When the motor 22 is operated, the propeller 21 rotates to generate a flow of air inside the main body 10. The flow of the air generated by the propeller 21 is discharged through the outlet 31 of the discharge plate 30 coupled to the lower portion of the main body 10 so that propulsion of the unmanned aerial vehicle is generated.

The body 10 is provided with a guide 19 for guiding the flow of air so that the flow of air inside the body 10 passes through the propeller 21 and is concentrated at the outlet 31. The guide 19 is inclined with respect to the radial direction with respect to the central axis Sd of the main body 10 and extends in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis Sd.

On the upper surface of the main body 10, a global positioning system (GPS) receiver 15 for receiving the satellite navigation signal of the satellite navigation system is disposed.

A plurality of batteries 80 arranged in the circumferential direction with respect to the central axis Sd of the main body 10 are provided in the main body 10. In the illustrated embodiment, the battery 80 is a cylindrical battery, but the embodiment is not limited by the structure of such a battery 80. For example, a rectangular parallelepiped battery may be installed inside the main body 10. [ A plurality of batteries 80 are disposed at the outer edge of the body 10 inside the body 10 so as not to mechanically interfere with the propulsion generator 20 inside the body 10. [

In the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention, the propulsion generator 20 for generating the propulsive force is disposed inside the main body 10 and is not exposed to the outside. Therefore, when the unmanned aerial vehicle collides with an external object during flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, 20 can be prevented from directly colliding with an external object.

Further, since a plurality of batteries 80 are disposed in the circumferential direction with respect to the center axis Sd of the main body 10, sufficient power for flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be ensured.

In addition, by arranging the single propulsion generator 20 inside the main body 10 and arranging the battery 80 in the edge region of the main body 10 so as not to interfere with the propulsion generator 20, The configuration can be made compact.

A controller (70) is disposed inside the main body (10). The controller 70 may be implemented, for example, by a circuit board on which a control semiconductor chip is mounted or a small computer equipped with control software.

The back plate 30 disposed on the bottom surface of the main body 10 functions to cover various components including the propelling generator 20 so that the flow of the air formed by the propelling generator 20 is transmitted to the outside of the unmanned air vehicle As shown in FIG. The outlet (31) is formed to penetrate through the discharge plate (30) so as to connect the inner space and the outside of the unmanned air vehicle.

The discharge plate 30 has a guide wall 39 for guiding the flow of air such that the flow of the air generated by the propelling generator 20 is directed to the outlet 31. The guide wall 39 may be disposed outside of the outlet 31 and extends along the circumferential direction of the outlet 31 in an oblique direction with respect to the radial direction of the outlet 31. [ The thickness of the guide wall 39 may be formed so as to decrease from the radially outer side of the outlet 31 toward the outlet 31. [

At each outlet (31) of the backsheet (30) there is arranged a regulator (40) for regulating the opening area of the outlet (31). The regulator (40) can adjust the open area of the outlet (31) by operating by a control signal applied from the controller (70). The regulator 40 is disposed in each of the four outlets 31 shown in Fig.

2, four outlets 31 are formed in the backsheet 30, but the embodiment is not limited by the number of such outlets 31, and may be 2, 3, 5, 6 The number of the outlet 31 can be increased. In addition, the number of the regulators 40 is also changed according to the number of the changed outlets 31. [

The regulator 40 includes a regulating plate 41 movable between a closed position covering the outlet 31 and an open position opening the outlet 31 and a driver 42 generating a driving force for moving the regulating plate 41. [ Respectively. The driver 42 may be embodied as a motor, for example, operated by an electrical signal. Since the regulator 40 is disposed in each of the plurality of outlets 31, the open area of each of the plurality of outlets 31 can be adjusted independently.

Fig. 4 is a view showing the operation of the outlet of the unmanned air vehicle of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a view showing another operation of the exit of Fig. 5, and Fig. 6 is a view showing still another operation of the exit of Fig. .

The throttle plate 41 has a plurality of blades 41a and 41b. Fig. 4 shows a state where a plurality of blades 41a and 41b are moved to an open position where they overlap with each other, and the outlet 31 of the discharge plate 30 is opened. Fig. 6 shows a state in which the outlet 31 is closed by moving to a closed position where a plurality of blades 41a and 41b are deployed.

The blades 41a and 41b serve to adjust the opening size of the outlet 31 by moving between the open position shown in Fig. 4 and the closed position shown in Fig. The size of the overlapping of the blades 41a and 41b between the open position and the closed position as shown in Fig. 5 can be adjusted to adjust the open area of the outlet 31. Fig. The amount of air discharged from the outlet 31 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 30 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 30, that is, the air volume can be adjusted as the area where the outlet 31 is opened is adjusted.

The embodiment is not limited to the specific configuration of the throttle as shown in Figs. 4 to 6, and only one throttle can be used instead of a plurality of throttle. In the case where each regulator 40 has one regulating plate, for example, the regulating plate of each regulator 40 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor and is rotated by the motor to open the respective outlet 31 of the discharging plate 30 The area can be adjusted. As another example, each regulator 40 may have one regulating plate disposed linearly movably, and the actuator of the regulator 40 may be implemented by a linear actuator that linearly moves the regulating plate.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the coupling relationship of the components of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG. 1; Fig. 7 schematically shows the coupling relationship of the components with the controller 70 disposed inside the main body 10. Fig.

The controller 70 includes a signal input unit 74 for receiving a signal relating to the navigation of the satellite from the GPS receiver 15 and a control unit 70 for applying a control signal to the propulsion generator 20 to stop, An outlet controller 71 for controlling the open area of each outlet 31 by applying a control signal to the regulator 40 and a remote controller 71 for controlling the external control tower or the remote controller operated by the controller And a communication controller 73 connected to the communication module 18 for performing communication with the controller and controlling the communication function.

The controller 70 can control the takeoff and landing operations of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the flight direction and the flying speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle by controlling both the propulsion generator 20 and the controller 40. [ In particular, the controller 70 controls the regulator 40 so that the open area of each of the plurality of outlets 31 can be independently controlled and the driving speed of the propulsion generator 20 can be controlled, And flight speed can be precisely and quickly controlled.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing some components of an unmanned aerial vehicle according to another embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing some components of the unmanned aerial vehicle of FIG.

In the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the other embodiment shown in Fig. 8, the configuration of the boat publication 130 is modified from the configuration of the boat publication 30 in the unmanned aerial vehicle relating to the embodiment shown in Figs.

The discharge plate 130 is provided with a plurality of outlets 131 for discharging air to the outside and discharging air discharged through the outlet 131 to the outside of the unmanned air vehicle And a cylinder 141 having a hole 141o is engaged. The tubular body 141 is fabricated into an approximately hemispherical shape or a cylindrical shape in which the hollow is hollow.

Inside the cylinder 141 is disposed a regulator 140 having a needle 142 and a driver 145 for moving the needle 142. The needle 142 is arranged so as to be able to move in the direction passing through the discharge hole 141o of the cylinder 141 or in the direction away from the discharge hole 141o. In Fig. 8, the needle 142 is arranged so as to be movable up and down with respect to the discharge hole 141o.

The end of the needle 142 can pass through the discharge hole 141o of the cylinder 141. [ The needle 142 has a cross-sectional shape narrowing toward the end.

The driver 145 moves the needle 142 so that the end of the needle 142 can move in the direction through the discharge hole 141o. A shaft 143 is connected to an upper portion of the needle 142 and an upper end of the shaft 143 protrudes upward through a support base 138 provided on the upper side of the outlet 131. At the upper end of the shaft 143, a contact plate 147 is formed.

The driver 145 is a motor operated by an electrical signal, and the cam 146 is coupled to the rotating shaft of the driver 145. Therefore, when the actuator 145 is operated, the cam 146 can be rotated to press the shaft 143 downward. The needle 142 is elastically supported by the elastic supporting portion 148 with respect to the back plate 130 because the elastic supporting portion 148 that provides elastic force is provided between the shaft 143 and the support base 138. [

FIG. 10 is a side sectional view showing the operating state of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 9, and FIG. 11 is a side sectional view showing another operating state of the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG.

Fig. 10 shows a state in which the needle 142 has moved to the open position for opening the discharge hole 141o of the cylinder 141 by moving upward. 11 shows a state in which the opening area of the discharge hole 141o of the cylinder 141 is adjusted by moving the needle 142 downward. The needle 142 from the position of the needle 142 shown in Fig. 11 further moves downward and moves to the closed position so that the discharge hole 141o of the cylinder 141 can be closed by the needle 142.

In the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the embodiment shown in Figs. 8 to 11, air is discharged from the outlet 131 by applying a Coanda effect to the flow of air discharged from the outlet 131 of the discharge plate 130 So that the action can be smoothly performed. The Coanda effect is a phenomenon of a fluid in which the flow of the fluid is about to flow along the curved surface of the object.

The air discharged from the outlet 131 of the discharge plate 130 flows along the inner wall of the cylinder 141 and the air that reaches the discharge hole 141o of the cylinder 141 flows along the surface of the needle 142, And is discharged to the outside of the hole 141o. The air discharged from the outlet 131 flows along a streamlined passage continuously formed by the inner wall of the cylinder 141 and the surface of the needle 142 and is discharged to the outside of the discharge hole 141o.

In the unmanned air vehicle having the above-described configuration, since air is smoothly discharged to the outside along the streamline passage when the air is discharged from the outlet 131 of the discharge plate 130, It is possible to control the flight speed and flight direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle quickly, precisely and smoothly.

The construction and effect of the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative, and it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Accordingly, the true scope of protection of the invention should be determined by the appended claims.

10: main body 73: communication controller
11: inlet 74: signal input
15: GPS receiver 80: battery
18: communication module 41a, 41b:
19: Guide 130: Boat Publishing
20: Propulsion generator 131: Outlet
21: propeller 138: support
22: motor 140: regulator
30: Pear publication 141o: Exhaust hole
31: outlet 141:
39: guide wall 142: needle
40: regulator 143: shaft
41: throttle plate 145: actuator
42: driver 146: cam
70: Controller 147: Contact plate
71: outlet controller 148: elastic support
72: Propulsion controller

Claims (10)

A main body having an inlet through which air is introduced;
A single propulsion generator disposed within the body to form a flow of air to generate propulsion;
A plurality of outlets coupled to the main body to cover the propulsion generator and having a plurality of outlets for discharging the flow of air formed by the propulsion generator to the outside;
A plurality of regulators for regulating the amount of air exiting the outlet; And
And a controller for controlling the regulator and the propulsion generator by applying a control signal to each of the regulator and the propulsion generator. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the regulator includes a throttle plate that moves between a closed position that covers the outlet and an open position that opens the outlet, and a driver that generates a driving force to move the throttle plate. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the throttling plate has a plurality of blades, the blades being unfolded in the closed position to cover the outlet and the blades overlapping each other at the open position to open the outlet, wherein between the open position and the closed position the blades Wherein the overlapping size is adjusted to adjust the opening area of the outlet. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a plurality of batteries disposed in the main body along the circumferential direction of the main body. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the propulsion generator includes a motor installed in the main body and a single propeller rotatably coupled to the motor. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the discharge plate further comprises a guide wall for guiding the flow of air generated by the propulsion generator toward the outlet. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the main body further comprises a guide for guiding the flow of air inside the main body toward the outlet. The method according to claim 1,
And a discharge hole coupled to the outlet of the discharge plate and having a discharge hole for discharging the air at the outlet to the outside,
Wherein the adjuster comprises a needle disposed within the tubular body and having an end passing through the discharge hole and a driver for moving the needle such that the end of the needle moves in a direction through the discharge hole of the tubular body, Unmanned aerial vehicle. 9. The method of claim 8,
Wherein the needle has a shape that narrows toward the end portion. 9. The method of claim 8,
Further comprising: an elastic support portion for elastically supporting the needle with respect to the discharge plate.

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