WO2021254946A1

WO2021254946A1 - Drone for dispensing biological material

Info

Publication number: WO2021254946A1
Application number: PCT/EP2021/065925
Authority: WO
Inventors: Niels Lennart OHLSEN
Original assignee: Syddansk Universitet
Priority date: 2020-06-17
Filing date: 2021-06-14
Publication date: 2021-12-23
Also published as: EP4167735A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a drone (1) for dispensing biological material (11), such as live beneficial animals. The drone comprises a drone body (2) and propulsion means (4) for providing the propulsion of the drone during use. It further comprises a container (5) for storage of biological material to be dispensed, a dispenser unit (7) for dispensing the biological material, and a possibly a guide (6) for transferring the biological material from the container to the dispenser unit. The guide is arranged inclined with respect to vertical. In alternative embodiments, the container is inclined and is arranged to extend all the way to the dispenser unit. The drone may further be provided with a blower (12) arranged to blow the biological material away from the drone during the dispensing.

Description

DRONE FOR DISPENSING BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a drone for dispensing biological material, such as for dispensing larvae or insects onto an agricultural area by letting the drone pass over the surface area while performing the dispensing. In particular, the present invention is related to such a drone wherein the system used for the dispensing is designed to limit the mortality rate of the biological material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The use of pesticides to manage pest problems is a common practice around the world. In Denmark, all the country's drinking water is supplied from sub-terrain groundwater reservoirs, and in 2017 and 2018 traces of pesticides used since 1930 have been discovered in reservoirs all over the country, contaminating the fresh water supply and potentially endangering the safety of the consumers.

A known substitute for herbicides and insecticides is the dispersion of natural predators, relative to the pest, e.g. mites that eat the eggs of harmful insects, ladybugs that feed on soft-bodied harmful larvae, or bees that pollinate the crops and thereby increase the yield of a field.

One of the current problems with the dispensing of living insects or larvae is the dispensing rate and the mortality rate. Dispensing insects by hand is a gentle but labor-intensive method, and mechanical dispensing is difficult to accomplish without harming or killing the living insects or larvae.

Hence, an improved method of pest control within agriculture would be advantageous, and in particular, a more eco-friendly and non-toxic method, preferably with none or at least low long-term impact on the environment, would be advantageous. In particular, it would be advantageous if dispensing of biological material could be performed with a method which is so gentle to the biological material being dispensed that a low mortality rate could be ensured. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a drone for dispensing biological material with which a more gentle handling of the biological material is possible than with prior art.

When the drone is used for dispensing live beneficial animals, it is an object of the present invention to provide a drone with which the mortality rate of the beneficial animals is lower than with prior art.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an alternative to the prior art.

In particular, it may be seen as an object of the present invention to provide a drone that solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Thus, the above-described object and several other objects are intended to be obtained in a first aspect of the invention by providing a drone for dispensing biological material, the drone comprising:

- a drone body,

- propulsion means for providing the propulsion of the drone during use,

- a container for storage of biological material to be dispensed, - a dispenser unit for dispensing the biological material, and

- a guide for transferring the biological material from the container to the dispenser unit, wherein the guide is arranged inclined with respect to vertical so that the biological material (11) can be transferred from the container (5) to the dispenser unit (7) by gravity at a gentle rate and without the weight of the biological material being of harm to the underlying biological material.

A drone according to the first aspect of the invention can alternatively be provided by a drone for dispensing biological material, the drone comprising: - a drone body, - propulsion means for providing the propulsion of the drone during use,

- a container for storage of biological material to be dispensed, and

- a dispenser unit for dispensing the biological material, wherein the container is arranged inclined with respect to vertical so that the biological material can be transferred from the container to the dispenser unit by gravity at a gentle rate and without the weight of the biological material being of harm to the underlying biological material.

In any of the embodiments, the biological material may be live beneficial animals. Such animals could e.g. be mites that eat the eggs of harmful insects, ladybugs that feed on soft-bodied harmful larvae, or bees that pollinate the crops.

By "drone body" is preferably meant a frame of the drone onto which the other parts are attached. A drone is typically also provided with legs for supporting the drone in a landed and standing position. In the following description, such legs can be considered a part of the drone body.

The scope of protection also covers embodiments, wherein the drone is provided with more than one dispenser unit each having an associated guide for transfer of the biological material. For such embodiments, the dispenser units may have biological material transferred thereto from a common container. Alternatively, there are more than one container.

The propulsion means typically comprises a number of rotor blades, a motor for driving the rotor blades, and a controller for controlling the motor and the flight of the drone. The motor is typically powered by a battery which therefore also is considered as part of the propulsion means.

By "inclined with respect to vertical" is referred to the orientation of the inclined guide or container, respectively, when the drone stands on the ground. During flight, a plane in which the drone body extends may change depending on the flight characteristic of the drone. By having the guide or container, respectively, arranged inclined with respect to vertical, it can be obtained that the biological material can be transferred by gravity at a gentle rate and without the weight of the biological material being of harm to the underlying biological material as could be the case with a vertically arranged guide. This may be particularly relevant for the biological material being live beneficial animals in the form of soft and fragile animals.

By referring to "the inclined guide or container, respectively" is meant the inclined guide in embodiments having a guide and the inclined container in embodiments without a guide. It does not exclude that in embodiments also having a guide, the container could have an inclined orientation with respect to e.g. an axis of symmetry of the container. However, when referring to an inclined container in the following, the meaning is the inclined container leading directly to the dispenser unit without an intermediate guide.

A further advantageous effect of the guide and the matching location of the dispenser unit, i.e. at an end of the inclined guide, is that the biological material can be dispensed at a distance from the rotor blades of the drone so that the risk of damaging the biological material is hereby lowered compared to a system without these features. This advantage is also present for an inclined container as an alternative to the embodiments with an inclined guide.

The inclined guide or container, respectively, may be arranged at an angle of between 30 and 60 degrees, such as between 40 and 50 degrees, preferably about 45 degrees, with respect to vertical. The actual angle to use for a given application may depend on the biological material to be dispensed. This can be determined by performing experiments as part of the design process.

In embodiments comprising a guide, the guide may be in the form of a duct with a channel along which the biological material can be transferred. The term "duct" will be used in the following; it could also be referred to as "pipe" or "tube".

The duct may have a closed duct wall surrounding the channel along a full length or substantially a full length of the guide. Hereby the biological material is protected until it reaches the dispenser unit. It can also be ensured that the dispensing rate is determined by the dispenser unit as all the biological material reaches the dispenser unit instead of e.g. escaping through a gap in the duct wall. By "channel" is meant the open space in the duct which could be occupied by the biological material if it was filled up. However, during normal operation, the channel is typically not completely full, as that could cause undesired damage to the biological material sliding against the duct wall.

The channel of the duct may have a cross-sectional area of 1,000 to 10,000 mm², such as 2,000 to 8,000 mm², preferably around 2,500 mm². In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the channel has a cross-section of 50x50 mm². The cross-section can e.g. be quadratic, rectangular, or circular, but any cross-sectional shape is covered by the scope of the invention.

The inclined guide or container, respectively, may be provided with advancement means for providing an advancement force to the biological material, which advancement means in combination with gravity result in the transfer of the biological material from the container to the dispenser unit.

The advancement means may be in the form of a conveyer belt. Alternatively or in combination herewith, the advancement means may be adapted to provide a vibration to the biological material to ease the advancement thereof by temporarily overcoming frictional forces.

The guide and/or the container may be hingedly mounted and arranged to be pivotable between a rest position for use when the drone has landed and an operation position for use when the drone is flying. Hereby it will be possible to use a guide and/or a container which would otherwise be in the way for a stable landing.

The guide and/or the container may be detachably mounted to the drone. This may e.g. be relevant for cleaning or storage, e.g. if the drone is to be used for other purposes as well. It may also be relevant, if different guides or containers can be used with the same drone.

Both the hinged mounting and the detachable mounting may be used also for the container in embodiments having a guide. The container may be mounted centrally, such as at or close to the centre of gravity of the drone. Hereby a more stable flight can be ensured. By "centrally" mounted, reference is made to the centre of gravity of the container.

A drone as described above may further comprise a blower which is arranged to blow the biological material exiting the dispenser unit away from the dispenser unit and away from the drone. Hereby the risk of the biological material colliding with the rotor blades is further lowered whereby the mortality rate of biological material in the form of beneficial animals is lower than with systems without such a blower. The blower can be mounted directly on the dispenser unit or adjacent thereto. In presently preferred embodiments having such a blower, the biological material is blown backwards with respect to the forward movement of the drone. Hereby the speed of the biological material is counteracted the speed of the drone so that the forces acting on the biological material are reduced compared to a system without such a blower.

In any of the embodiments as described above and comprising a guide, the container and the guide may be integrally made as one unit. Such a unit may further comprise a battery for powering the propulsion means.

In any of the embodiments as described above and not comprising a guide, the container may be provided in a unit having a separate compartment for storage of a battery for powering the propulsion means.

Alternatively, a battery for powering the propulsion means can be arranged at other positions on the drone.

In a second aspect, the present invention relates to a method of dispensing biological material, such as live beneficial animals, by use of a drone according to any of the preceding claims, the method comprising:

- filling the biological material into the container,

- transporting the drone to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and

- letting the drone fly over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing. The first and second aspects of the present invention may be combined. These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiments described hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The drone for dispensing biological material according to the invention will now be described in more detail with regard to the accompanying figures. The figures show one way of implementing the present invention and is not to be construed as being limiting to other possible embodiments falling within the scope of the attached claim set.

Figure 1 schematically shows a three-dimensional view of an embodiment of a drone according to the present invention.

Figure 2 schematically shows a top view of the drone in figure 1.

Figure 3 schematically shows an example of a guide for use with the drone in figure 1.

Figure 4 schematically shows a longitudinal sectional view along a longitudinal direction of a guide which is provided with advancement means in the form of a conveyor belt.

Figure 5 schematically shows the drone in figure 1, wherein the guide has been pivoted into a rest position for use when the drone has landed.

Figure 6 schematically shows a three-dimensional view of another embodiment of a drone according to the present invention, namely a drone with an inclined container.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT

Figure 1 schematically shows an example of a drone 1 for dispensing biological material, such as live beneficial animals. The drone 1 has a drone body 2 which in the embodiment of figure 1 is in the form of four arms arranged in the shape of a cross. Each of the arms is provided with a leg 3 on which the drone 1 can stand when landed. As explained above, the legs 3 can also be considered as a part of the drone body 2. At an outer end region of each arm, a rotor blade 4 is arranged. The rotor blades 4 together with at least one driving motor (not shown) and at least one battery (not shown) form the propulsion means for providing the propulsion of the drone 1 during use. Other designs of the drone body and the propulsion means are also covered by the scope of protection. The drone 1 has a container 5 for storage of biological material to be dispensed. In the embodiment in figure 1, the container 5 is mounted centrally at or close to the centre of gravity of the drone 1. The drone 1 has a guide 6 for transferring the biological material from the container 5 to the dispenser unit 7. The design of the dispenser unit 7 may differ from what is shown in figure 1. The guide 6 is arranged inclined with respect to vertical so that the transfer of the biological material can take place at least partially due to gravity as explained above. In a presently preferred embodiment of the invention, the angle of inclination of the guide 6 with respect to vertical is approximately 45 degrees.

Figure 2 schematically shows a top view of the drone 1 in figure 1. In this embodiment, the guide 6 and dispensing unit 7 are shown as arranged midway between two arms of the drone body 2. Hereby the influence on dispensed biological material from the rotating blades 4 can be kept to a minimum ensuring the desired gentle and controlled dispensing.

As shown in figure 1, the drone 1 is further provided with a blower 12 arranged at or near the dispenser unit 7 in order to blow the biological material 11 exiting the dispenser unit 7 away from the dispenser unit 7 and away from the drone 1. Hereby collision with the rotor blades 4 and resulting potential damage to the biological material 11 can be avoided. This guiding of the biological material 11 away from the rotor blades 4 is also obtained by the inclined arrangement of the guide 6. The blower 12 may e.g. be designed with a housing surrounding an impeller blowing air towards a plate arranged below the blower 12. When the biological material 11 exiting the dispenser unit 7 falls via an exit tube 13 and towards this plate, they will move along a layer of air provided along the plate by the blower 12. Hereby the biological material can be spread out as shown in figure 2 in a gentle manner. Other designs and modes of operation of a blower is also possible. The choice thereof may e.g. depend on the design of the dispenser unit used and on the type of biological material to be dispensed.

Figure 3 schematically shows an example of a guide 6 for use with the drone 1 in figure 1. The guide 6 is in the form of a duct with a closed duct wall 8 surrounding the channel 9 along which the biological material can be transferred. In figure 1, the duct is closed and extends along a full length of the guide 6 to provide optimal protection of the biological material.

Figure 4 schematically shows a sectional view along a longitudinal direction of a guide 6 which is provided with advancement means in the form of a conveyer belt 10 arranged along a lower wall of the duct. The conveyor belt 10 is used for providing an advancement force F to the biological material 11 laying on the conveyor belt 10. Since the guide 6 is arranged at an inclined angle with respect to vertical, depending of the angle of inclination and the friction between the biological material 11 and the conveyor belt 10, the movement of the conveyor belt 10 will in combination with gravity result in the transfer of the biological material 11 from the container 5 to the dispenser unit 7.

In some embodiments of the invention, the guide 6 is hingedly mounted and arranged to be pivotable between a rest position for use when the drone 1 has landed and an operation position for use when the drone 1 is flying. The operation position is illustrated in figure 1, and a rest position is schematically shown in figure 5.

A drone 1 as described above may be used by filling the biological material 11 into the container 5, transporting the drone 1 to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and letting the drone 1 fly over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing.

Figure 6 schematically shows a three-dimensional view of another embodiment of a drone 1, namely a drone with an inclined container 5. In the illustrated embodiment, the container 5 is provided in a unit having a separate compartment 14 for storage of a battery 15 for powering the propulsion means. Apart from the embodiment in figure 6 having an inclined container 5 extending all the way to the dispenser unit 7 instead of having a guide, the drone in figure 6 resembles the one in figure 1. The description of figure 1 not relating to the guide therefore also applies to figure 6. The container 5 may be mounted to the drone body 2 in a connection or hinge as shown for the guide 6 in figure 1. It may also be mounted by other means, such as by clamps or bolts. Furthermore, it may be permanently mounted so that the biological material is to be filled into the container before dispensing. Although the present invention has been described in connection with the specified embodiments, it should not be construed as being in any way limited to the presented examples. The scope of the present invention is set out by the accompanying claim set. In the context of the claims, the terms "comprising" or "comprises" do not exclude other possible elements or steps. Furthermore, the mentioning of references such as "a" or "an" etc. should not be construed as excluding a plurality. The use of reference signs in the claims with respect to elements indicated in the figures shall also not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Furthermore, individual features mentioned in different claims, may possibly be advantageously combined, and the mentioning of these features in different claims does not exclude that a combination of features is not possible and advantageous.

Claims

1. Drone (1) for dispensing biological material (11), the drone (1) comprising:

- a drone body (2), - propulsion means (4) for providing the propulsion of the drone (1) during use,

- a container (5) for storage of biological material (11) to be dispensed,

- a dispenser unit (7) for dispensing the biological material (11), and

- a guide (6) for transferring the biological material (11) from the container (5) to the dispenser unit (7), wherein the guide (6) is arranged inclined with respect to vertical so that the biological material (11) can be transferred from the container (5) to the dispenser unit (7) by gravity at a gentle rate and without the weight of the biological material being of harm to the underlying biological material.

2. Drone (1) for dispensing biological material (11), the drone (1) comprising:

- a drone body (2),

- propulsion means (4) for providing the propulsion of the drone (1) during use,

- a container (5) for storage of biological material (11) to be dispensed, and

- a dispenser unit (7) for dispensing the biological material (11), wherein the container (5) is arranged inclined with respect to vertical so that the biological material (11) can be transferred from the container (5) to the dispenser unit (7) by gravity at a gentle rate and without the weight of the biological material being of harm to the underlying biological material.

3. Drone (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the biological material (11) is live beneficial animals.

4. Drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the inclined guide (6) or container (5), respectively, is arranged at an angle of between 30 and 60 degrees, such as between 40 and 50 degrees, preferably about 45 degrees, with respect to vertical.

5. Drone (1) according to claim 1 or any of claims 3-4 when dependent on claim 1, wherein the guide (6) is in the form of a duct with a channel (9) along which the biological material (11) can be transferred.

6. Drone (1) according to claim 5, wherein the duct has a closed duct wall (8) surrounding the channel (9) along a full length or substantially a full length of the guide (6).

7. Drone (1) according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the channel (9) of the duct has a cross-sectional area of 1,000 to 10,000 mm², such as 2,000 to 8,000 mm², preferably around 2,500 mm².

8. Drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the inclined guide (6) or container (5), respectively, is provided with advancement means (10) for providing an advancement force (F) to the biological material (11), which advancement means (10) in combination with gravity result in the transfer of the biological material (11) from the container (5) to the dispenser unit (7).

9. Drone (1) according to claim 8, wherein the advancement means (10) is in the form of a conveyer belt.

10. Drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the guide (6) and/or the container (5) is hingedly mounted and arranged to be pivotable between a rest position for use when the drone (1) has landed and an operation position for use when the drone (1) is flying.

11. Drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the guide (6) and/or the container (5) is detachably mounted to the drone (1).

12. Drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the container (5) is mounted centrally, such as at or close to the centre of gravity of the drone (1).

13. Drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, further comprising a blower (12) which is arranged to blow the biological material exiting the dispenser unit (7) away from the dispenser unit (7) and away from the drone (1).

14. Drone (1) according to claim 2 or any of claims 3-13 when dependent on claim 2, wherein the container (5) is provided in a unit having a separate compartment for storage of a battery for powering the propulsion means (4).

15. Method of dispensing biological material (11), such as live beneficial animals, by use of a drone (1) according to any of the preceding claims, the method comprising:

- filling the biological material (11) into the container (5),

- transporting the drone (1) to a dispensing area where the dispensing is to take place, and

- letting the drone (1) fly over the dispensing area while performing the dispensing.