WO2022177312A1

WO2022177312A1 - Method for supporting replacement of battery of drone for seamless power supply, and device therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2022177312A1
Application number: PCT/KR2022/002334
Authority: WO
Inventors: 윤태기
Original assignee: 주식회사 렉스피
Priority date: 2021-02-17
Filing date: 2022-02-17
Publication date: 2022-08-25
Also published as: KR102561295B1; KR20220117952A

Abstract

A method for supporting replacement of a battery of a drone for seamless power supply, according to one embodiment of the present invention, may comprise the steps of: recognizing that the remaining amount of a first main battery, which is supplying power to the drone, is less than or equal to a first level; providing, to a user, a notification that informs the user of replacement of the first main battery; receiving, from the user, a battery replacement input for the first main battery; switching a power supply source of the drone from the first main battery to an auxiliary battery built into the drone; releasing a lock on the first main battery; recognizing that the first main battery is removed from the drone and a second main battery is inserted into the drone; setting the lock on the second main battery; and switching the power supply source of the drone from the auxiliary battery to the second main battery.

Description

A method for supporting battery replacement of a drone for seamless power supply and a device therefor

The present specification proposes a battery replacement support method of a drone for seamless power supply and an apparatus therefor.

An unmanned aerial vehicle refers to an airplane that flies with remote control or autonomous flight control without a pilot to perform tasks that are difficult or dangerous for humans to perform, such as filming, reconnaissance, cargo transportation, and radiation monitoring. As an unmanned aerial vehicle whose navigation or landing guidance is controlled using a Global Positioning System (GPS), a drone is widely known.

A drone is a kind of unmanned aerial vehicle that flies in the sky by rotating a plurality of propellers using battery power, and is configured to be able to fly by a user's remote control operation or an automatic navigation system.

Such a drone was initially developed as an unmanned aerial vehicle for military use, but has recently been used for business, media, and personal use as well. For example, newspapers, broadcasters, and film production companies are using drones for filming purposes, and the delivery industry will use drones for actual delivery services in the next few years. In particular, Internet Technology (IT) companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon are investing in drone development recently. .

However, these drones consume a lot of power and require high battery capacity. However, as the battery capacity increases, the volume and weight of the battery also increase, which reduces the flight efficiency of the drone. this existed. In order to solve this problem, a method of providing a plurality of batteries but replacing the batteries according to the remaining amount of batteries is widely used to simultaneously secure the flight efficiency and battery efficiency of the drone to a certain level.

However, since the power supplied to the drone is cut off while the battery is being replaced, the user cannot use the drone seamlessly, and there is a problem that the user has to wait for the drone reboot and reboot time.

In order to solve this problem, in the method for supporting battery replacement of a drone for seamless power supply according to an embodiment of the present invention, the remaining amount of the first main battery supplying power to the drone is the first Recognizing that the level is below the level; providing a notification informing a user of replacement of the first main battery to a user; receiving a battery replacement input for the first main battery from the user; converting the power supply of the drone from the first main battery to an auxiliary battery built into the drone; unlocking the first main battery; recognizing that the first main battery is removed and a second main battery is inserted in the drone; setting the lock on the second main battery; and switching the power supply of the drone from the auxiliary battery to the second main battery. may include

According to an embodiment of the present invention, since the power supply is flexibly switched in consideration of the remaining amount of batteries, there is an effect that a seamless drone use environment can be provided to the user.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, there is an effect that the life of the main battery can be extended by preventing the main battery from being completely discharged.

1 is a block diagram of a battery replaceable drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting battery replacement of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of charging a first main battery using an auxiliary battery according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 illustrates an embodiment of determining a driving mode based on a second main battery position and a charge level according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 illustrates a state diagram of a driving mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a diagram illustrating an operation of a drone in a power saving driving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a diagram illustrating a drone in a non-power saving driving mode and a power saving driving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

8 is a diagram illustrating a flight radius of a drone in a power saving driving mode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Since the technology to be described below can have various changes and can have various embodiments, specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail. However, this is not intended to limit the technology described below to specific embodiments, and it should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the technology described below.

Terms such as first, second, A, and B may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the above terms, and only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from other components. used only as For example, a first component may be named as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component without departing from the scope of the technology to be described below. and/or includes a combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items. For example, 'A and/or B' may be interpreted as meaning 'at least one of A or B'. Also, '/' may be interpreted as 'and' or 'or'.

In terms of terms used herein, the singular expression should be understood to include a plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, and terms such as "comprises" include the described feature, number, step, operation, and element. , parts or combinations thereof are to be understood, but not to exclude the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features or numbers, step operation components, parts or combinations thereof.

Prior to a detailed description of the drawings, it is intended to clarify that the classification of the constituent parts in the present specification is merely a division according to the main function that each constituent unit is responsible for. That is, two or more components to be described below may be combined into one component, or one component may be divided into two or more for each more subdivided function. In addition, each of the constituent units to be described below may additionally perform some or all of the functions of other constituent units in addition to the main function it is responsible for. Of course, it can also be performed by being dedicated to it.

In addition, in performing the method or operation method, each process constituting the method may occur differently from the specified order unless a specific order is clearly described in context. That is, each process may occur in the same order as specified, may be performed substantially simultaneously, or may be performed in the reverse order.

Hereinafter, in a battery replaceable drone, a battery replacement support method/system for providing a seamless use environment will be proposed. A battery replaceable drone to be described below may correspond to a drone in which a program/application designed/manufactured to implement the embodiment proposed in the present specification is pre-installed.

At least one component to be described later with reference to this figure may be excluded from the battery replaceable drone (hereinafter abbreviated as 'drone') 100 or a new component may be added to the drone 100 according to embodiments. . Furthermore, each component may be implemented through at least one hardware/software component.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the drone 100 includes a control unit 111 , a driving unit 112 , a camera 113 , a main battery 114 , a sensor unit 115 , an auxiliary battery 116 , a lock unit 117 , It may include a communication unit 118 , a battery remaining amount measuring unit 119 , and/or a location obtaining unit 120 .

The control unit 111 may communicate with other components and may control them. In particular, the controller 111 may control at least one component to perform various embodiments proposed in the present specification. Accordingly, the control unit 111 may be described as being identical to the drone 100 . The control unit 111 may be implemented through at least one processor. The control unit 111 is a CPU (Central Processing Unit), MPU (Micro Processor Unit), MCU (Micro Controller Unit), AP (Application Processor), AP (Application Processor), or any form well known in the art of the present invention. It may be configured to include at least one processor. The controller 111 may perform an operation on at least one application or program for executing the method according to the embodiments of the present invention.

The driving unit 112 may include a plurality of propellers and at least one motor for providing rotational force to the plurality of propellers, and drive them under the control of the controller 111 to provide lift for flying the drone 100 . can do. More specifically, the driving unit 112 may operate at least one motor to rotate the propeller, and may move the drone 100 to a specific altitude or maintain it at a specific altitude. Also, the driving unit 111 may move the horizontal coordinates of the drone 100 by adjusting the lift force between the plurality of propellers.

The camera 113 may generate visual data such as an image or a video by photographing an object. In particular, the camera 113 may be photographed while tracking an object, and for this purpose, it may be rotated based on a certain axis.

The main battery 114 is a replaceable battery detachable from the drone 100 , and may correspond to a main power supply source of the drone 100 . The main battery 114 may correspond to various replaceable batteries that can be used as a power source of the drone 100 , such as a lithium battery, a lithium ion battery, and a lithium polymer battery. A plurality of main batteries 114 may be provided to be replaced with other main batteries when discharged. The discharged main battery 114 may be charged through an external charging device, or may be charged through a wired/wireless charging device while mounted on the drone 100 . In this specification, for convenience of explanation, the first main battery is defined as a main battery currently mounted on the drone, and the second main battery is defined as meaning a main battery that is not currently mounted on the drone 100 , respectively. .

The sensor unit 115 collectively refers to various sensing means, and senses various inputs of the user and the external/surrounding environment of the drone 100, and controls the sensing result so that the drone 100 can perform an operation accordingly. 111) can be forwarded. For example, the sensor unit 115 may include a gravity sensor, a geomagnetic sensor, a motion sensor, a gyroscope sensor, an acceleration sensor, an infrared sensor, an inclination sensor, a brightness sensor, an altitude sensor, an olfactory sensor, a temperature sensor, It may include at least one of various sensing means such as a depth sensor, a pressure sensor, a bending sensor, an audio sensor, a video sensor, a camera sensor, a GPS (Global Positioning System) sensor, an optical sensor, a touch sensor, a proximity sensor, and a grip sensor. have. The above-described sensors may be included in the drone 100 as a separate module/configuration, or may be included as integrated into at least one module/configuration. In particular, the sensor unit 114 may sense a replacement input of the main battery 114 , and may transmit a sensing result to the control unit 111 .

The auxiliary battery 116 is a built-in battery of the drone 100 and may correspond to an auxiliary power supply source of the drone 100 . The auxiliary battery 114 may also correspond to various built-in batteries that can be used as a power supply source of the drone, such as a lithium battery, a lithium ion battery, and a lithium polymer battery, similarly to the main battery 114 . Since the auxiliary battery 116 is always built in the drone 100 , it has a smaller weight/volume than the main battery 114 , and as a result, the battery capacity may be smaller than that of the main battery 114 . The auxiliary battery 116 charges the main battery 114 or serves as a power supply source for the drone 100 instead of the main battery 114 when the remaining battery power of the main battery 114 is very low below a preset level. can be done Through this, the user can seamlessly use the drone 100 while replacing the battery. This embodiment will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2 .

The locking unit 117 may include a physical/mechanical locking device to physically/mechanically lock the main battery 114 under the control of the control unit 111 so that the main battery 114 is not separated from/separated from the drone 100 . When the main battery 114 is replaced, the lock unit 117 may release the lock under the control of the controller 111 so that the main battery 114 can be separated from the drone 100 .

The communication unit 118 may transmit/receive various data/information/signals by performing communication using at least one wired/wireless communication protocol. In particular, the communication unit 118 communicates with a wireless control unit paired with the drone 100 in advance, the main battery 114 (in particular, the second main battery), and/or the user device in order to control/enact the drone 100 . communication can be performed. Here, the wireless control unit may refer to a control module used to wirelessly control the drone.

The remaining battery amount measuring unit 119 may measure the remaining battery amounts of the main battery 114 and the auxiliary battery 116 , and transmit the measurement result to the controller 111 . The battery remaining amount measuring unit 119 may include at least one sensor for measuring the remaining amount of the battery. For example, the battery residual amount measuring unit 119 may include a precision current sensing resistor, and using this, the battery residual amount may be measured by continuously monitoring the output current of the battery and comparing it with the maximum battery charge amount. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the remaining battery amount measuring unit 119 may measure the remaining battery amount using various techniques for measuring the remaining battery amount.

The location acquisition unit 120 may include at least one sensor to acquire the location of the drone 100 in real time and transmit it to the control unit 111 . For example, the location acquisition unit 120 may include a GPS sensor to acquire the current location of the drone 100 (in real time), and may transmit information about the current location to the controller 111 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the drone may monitor the remaining amount of the first main battery in real time, and may recognize that the remaining amount of the first main battery is less than or equal to a first level ( S201 ).

Next, the drone may provide a notification informing the user of replacement of the first main battery (S202). In this step, when the drone is equipped with at least one output unit (eg, a display, a speaker, etc.), the user is notified by outputting a notification directly through the output unit, or a battery replacement notification is sent to the wireless control unit and/or through the communication unit. or by transmitting to the user device. In the latter case, the wireless control unit and/or the user device may output a battery replacement notification through the output unit to notify the user to replace the first main battery.

Next, the drone may receive a battery replacement input for the first main battery from the user (S203). This step may be performed when the drone directly receives the user's battery replacement input through the sensor unit, or receives the battery replacement input from the wireless control unit and/or the user device through the communication unit. Although not shown in this flowchart, the drone that has received the battery replacement input acquires the location of the wireless control unit and/or user device using the communication unit, and moves to the corresponding location so that the user can easily replace the main battery. .

Next, the drone may switch the power supply from the first main battery to the auxiliary battery (S204). To this end, the drone may be separately provided with a battery switching module for a power supply switching operation. When switching the power supply, the drone may stop supplying power to the driving unit, but may maintain power supply to the rest of the components. This is because, if the driving unit is continuously driven even while replacing the battery, there is a risk of injury to the user due to the operation of the propeller. In addition, the power supply for the remaining components is maintained as it is, so that the user can seamlessly use the function of the drone that was being used before replacing the battery.

Next, the drone may control the locking unit to release the lock on the first main battery (S205).

Next, the drone may recognize that the first main battery is removed and the second main battery is inserted ( S206 ). This may be implemented by providing at least one sensor for sensing attachment/detachment of the main battery in the battery receiving unit in which the main battery is accommodated.

Next, when the drone recognizes the storage of the second main battery in the battery compartment, the drone controls the lock unit to set a lock on the second main battery (S207), and changes the power supply of the drone from the auxiliary battery to the second main battery. It can be switched (S208). The second main battery mounted on the drone supplies power as a main power source of the drone and at the same time may charge the auxiliary battery so that it can be used again later.

As described above, the battery replacement support method proposed in the present specification has the effect of increasing user convenience by seamlessly providing the function of the drone since the power supply is switched to the auxiliary battery when the user exchanges the main battery.

In addition to this, the drone according to an embodiment of the present invention provides a power source switching method for extending the life of the main battery, which will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 3 .

A fully discharged state of a battery is considered to be one of the main causes of a rapid decrease in the lifespan of a battery. In particular, since batteries used in drones are expensive, a sudden decrease in the lifespan of the batteries may act as a very heavy burden on users. Therefore, in the present specification, by preventing the complete discharge of the main battery, it is intended to propose an embodiment for preventing the lifespan of the battery from being rapidly reduced.

When the battery replacement input is not received from the time when the battery replacement notification of step S202 in FIG. 2 is provided until the remaining amount 304 of the first main battery 302 becomes the second level L2 lower than the first level there may be In this case, the drone charges the first main battery 302 using the auxiliary battery 301 in order to prevent complete discharge of the first main battery 302 , so that the remaining amount 304 of the first main battery 302 is reduced. It may be maintained so as not to fall below the second level L2. Accordingly, the second level L2 is a preset battery level to prevent a fully discharged state of the first main battery 302 , and may be set to, for example, 10% or 5%.

The first main battery 302 supplied with power from the auxiliary battery 301 may continuously operate as a power supply source for the drone. However, when power of the drone is supplied through the first main battery 302 by the auxiliary battery 301 charging the first main battery 302 , compared to the case where the auxiliary battery 301 directly supplies power to the drone. Since the power supply efficiency is reduced, the drone may stop charging the first main battery 302 when the remaining amount 303 of the auxiliary battery 301 drops to the third level. Furthermore, the drone may switch the power supply from the first main battery 302 to the auxiliary battery 301 . In this case, the remaining amount 304 of the second level L2 remains in the first main battery 302 to prevent complete discharge. Furthermore, according to an embodiment, the remaining amount 304 of the first main battery 302 may be used as an emergency power source in an emergency mode, which will be described later with reference to FIG. 5 .

When the power supply is switched to the auxiliary battery, the drone may determine the driving mode of the drone based on the location and charge level of the second main battery.

If the location of the second main battery is located close to the drone and is sufficiently charged above a preset level, even if the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery is insufficient, it can be replaced at any time. It is reasonable to assume that they want to maintain the non-power-saving driving mode that they have been using so far. On the other hand, if the current location of the second vane battery is far away or is not sufficiently charged, it is reasonable to think that the user wants to maintain the power of the drone for a long time by reducing the use of the battery as much as possible even if some functions are limited.

In view of this, in the present specification, an embodiment of determining the driving mode of the drone based on the position and charge level of the second main battery is proposed. This will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5 .

4 illustrates an embodiment of determining a driving mode based on a second main battery position and a charge level according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 illustrates a state diagram of a driving mode of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The drone 401 may obtain information on the remaining amount 403 and the location of the second main battery 402 . To this end, the second main battery 402 may be provided with a battery remaining amount measuring unit, a location obtaining unit, and a communication unit, and each configuration is as described above with reference to FIG. 1 . The second main battery 402 may measure the remaining amount 403 of its own battery in real time by using the remaining battery amount measuring unit, and transmit the measurement result to the drone 401 through the communication unit. Similarly, the second main battery 402 may acquire its own location in real time using the location obtainer and transmit it to the drone 401 . Alternatively, instead of the second main battery 402 not having a separate location obtaining unit, the drone 401 may indirectly obtain the location information of the second main battery 402 using a short-range wireless communication protocol through the communication unit. have. For example, when the drone 401 detects a Bluetooth signal of the second main battery 402 using a Bluetooth communication protocol, it indirectly indicates that the second main battery 402 is in a location close to the current drone 401 . can be recognized as In this case, according to an embodiment, the user device and/or the wireless control unit may function as a relay node and/or a gate node between the drone 401 and the second main battery 402 .

The drone 401 that has obtained the remaining amount 403 and the location information of the second main battery 402 in this way may determine a driving mode based on the obtained information. In more detail, as shown in FIG. 4 , the remaining amount 403 of the second main battery 402 is equal to or greater than a preset level L3 and the second main battery 402 is a preset distance from the drone 401 . When located within (d1), the drone 401 may maintain the power driving mode as the current non-power saving driving mode 501 . Conversely, when the remaining amount 403 of the second main battery 402 is less than the preset level L3 or the second main battery 402 is not located within the preset distance d1 from the drone 401, the drone ( 401 may switch the power driving mode to the power saving driving mode 502 .

In the present specification, the power saving driving mode 502 may correspond to a low power power driving mode in which power supplied to some hardware components is cut off and some software components are terminated in order to maximize battery saving of the drone 401 . The non-power saving driving mode 502 is a general power driving mode opposite to the power saving driving mode, and may correspond to a power driving mode in which power supply to some hardware components is cut off or some software components are not terminated. The operation of the drone 401 in the power saving driving mode 502 will be described in more detail below with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 .

As shown in FIG. 5 , the drone 401 may operate in the emergency driving mode 503 in addition to the non-power saving driving mode 501 and the power saving driving mode 502 described above. In the emergency driving mode 503 , when the drone 401 is operating in the power saving driving mode 502 , when the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery reaches a level just before being completely discharged, emergency power equal to the second level left in the first main battery It may correspond to an emergency power drive mode using In particular, when the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery is not sufficient for the drone 401 to return to the user's location (more specifically, the wireless control unit location, the user device location, or a preset return location) due to sudden temperature drop, etc. , the emergency driving mode 503 may be operated.

In this case, the power supply may be switched from the auxiliary battery back to the first main battery, and the emergency power of the first main battery may be mainly used for flying the drone 401 to the return location (ie, supplying power to the driving unit). have.

The emergency driving mode 503 may be selectively applied to the drone according to a design of a user or a manufacturer.

The drone 401 may acquire information on the remaining amount 403 and the location of the second main battery 402 in real time while operating in the power saving driving mode 502, and based on this, the power driving mode is changed to the non-power saving driving mode. (501) can be converted. More specifically, while the drone 401 is acquiring information on the second main battery 402 in real time, the remaining amount 403 of the second main battery 402 is greater than or equal to the preset level L3 and the second main battery 402 is When it is recognized that the battery 402 is located within a preset distance d1 from the drone 401 (eg, the user purchases a new main battery and sets it as the second main battery 402 , or the second main battery 402 ) When the remaining amount 403 exceeds a preset level L3 as a result of charging the battery 402 in real time, etc.) can Since there is an alternative battery that can stably supply power even if the auxiliary battery is discharged, it is reasonable to think that the continuation of the function of the drone 401 with high performance/quality/performance rather than battery saving is an operation that more suits the user's intention. .

In the power saving driving mode, the drone 601 may identify/recognize a function that was being performed (mainly) before switching to the power saving driving mode. This figure exemplifies a case in which the drone was shooting before switching to the power saving driving mode.

Referring to FIG. 6 , the drone 601 may recognize a shooting function as a function that was being performed before switching to the power saving driving mode. In this case, the drone may distinguish/recognize the configuration of the hardware 602 and software 603 necessary to perform the shooting so that the shooting can be seamlessly maintained even if it is switched to the power saving mode. In the case of the shooting function, the camera 602-1, the communication unit 602-2, and the driving unit 602-3 may be distinguished/recognized as the hardware configuration 602, and the software configuration 603 includes the shooting program ( 603-1) can be distinguished/recognized. The drone 601 may group the differentiated/recognized hardware configuration 602 and the software configuration 603 into one group in association with the shooting function and store the grouped information as grouping information. In the grouping information, if the same function is later recognized as a function that was in use before switching to the power saving mode, the drone 601 repeats the hardware/

software configurations

602 and 603 for the corresponding function. By retrieving the information, it can be easily used to determine the corresponding configurations.

When the grouping is completed, the drone 601 selectively assists the hardware configuration 602 belonging to the group (in this embodiment, the camera 602-1, the communication unit 602-2, and the driving unit 602-3). The power of the battery can be supplied, and the power supply of the auxiliary battery can be cut off for the rest of the hardware configuration. Similarly, the drone 601 can be selectively activated only for the software configuration 603 (in this embodiment, the shooting program 603-1) belonging to the group, and can be forcibly terminated for the remaining software configurations. .

If the drone 601 was executing a plurality of functions in a multitasking manner before switching to the power saving driving mode, the function (or The function that occupies the highest occupancy) can be recognized as the function that was being performed before switching to the power saving operation mode. Alternatively, a priority for each function may be separately set by the user, and a function set with the highest priority among functions being executed may be recognized as a function that was being performed before switching to the power saving driving mode.

In particular, Fig. 7(a) illustrates the drone 701-1 being photographed in the non-power saving driving mode, and FIG. 7(b) illustrates the drone 701-2 being photographed in the power saving driving mode, respectively.

7(a) and 7(b), the drone 701-2 in the power saving driving mode compared to the non-power saving driving mode has a maximum flightable altitude (and/or current altitude) at a first height h1. The second height h2 may be limited/adjusted to be low, and the photographing angle of view may also be limited/adjusted low from the first angle θ1 to the second angle θ2. And/or, although not shown in this drawing, the photographing resolution may also be limited/adjusted from the first resolution to the second resolution, and the photographing frame rate may also be limited/adjusted from the first frame rate to the second frame rate.

That is, in the power saving operation mode, the basic functions (eg, shooting function) of the drone itself remain the same as in the non-power saving driving mode, but the performance/performance/quality of the function (eg, altitude, movement distance, shooting angle, The shooting resolution, shooting frame, etc.) may be adjusted low. Through this, the minimum function that the user wants to continuously use is maintained/supported, but the performance/performance/quality of the corresponding function is adjusted to a low level, thereby providing a seamless use environment and maximizing battery efficiency.

In the power saving driving mode, the maximum flight altitude and maximum radius of the drone 801 may be determined in proportion to the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery. This is to allow the drone 801 to use the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery to stably return to the location of the user 802 because the flying distance of the drone 801 is also shortened as the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery decreases. In addition, even if the auxiliary battery is suddenly discharged due to a sudden temperature drop, etc., since the drone 801 is located within the field of view of the user 802 , the user can easily retrieve the crashed drone 801 .

Accordingly, as shown in this figure, when the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery is at the first level, the maximum flying radius of the drone 801 may be set to the first distance r1, and the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery is at the first level. When the . Similarly, the maximum flight altitude can also be adjusted/limited in proportion to the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery.

The drone 801 may safely return to the user 802 before the auxiliary battery is completely discharged by executing a forced return command when the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery has fallen to a specific level. When the drone 801 falls to the ground as the auxiliary battery is completely discharged during flight, the drone 801 may be severely damaged or fall into a river or sea and the user 802 may not be able to find it. To prevent this problem, when the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery reaches a certain level (eg, the fourth level), the drone 801 automatically recognizes the location of the user 802 and gives a forced return command to fly back. can run The location of the user 802 may be recognized by recognizing the location of the wireless control unit and/or the user device. The level at which the drone 801 is set to forcibly return (eg, a fourth level) may be set to a minimum power level required for the drone 801 to return to the user 802 . Accordingly, when the return flight distance is long, the fourth level may be set high, and when the return flight distance is short, the fourth level may be set low.

Furthermore, if a specific function is currently being performed, all information related to the currently performed function is stored/backed up, the function is forcibly terminated, and the user 802 may return. For example, if the drone 801 is currently being filmed, it can return to the location of the user 802 by storing/backing up all captured image/video data, forcibly ending the shooting function, and then controlling the driving unit. .

Embodiments according to the present invention may be implemented by various means, for example, hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. In the case of implementation by hardware, an embodiment of the present invention provides one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), FPGAs ( field programmable gate arrays), a processor, a controller, a microcontroller, a microprocessor, and the like.

In addition, in the case of implementation by firmware or software, an embodiment of the present invention is implemented in the form of a module, procedure, function, etc. that performs the functions or operations described above, and is stored in a recording medium readable through various computer means. can be recorded. Here, the recording medium may include a program command, a data file, a data structure, etc. alone or in combination. The program instructions recorded on the recording medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and available to those skilled in the art of computer software. For example, the recording medium includes a magnetic medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, and a magnetic tape, an optical recording medium such as a compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), a digital video disk (DVD), and a floppy disk. magneto-optical media, such as a disk, and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions may include high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like as well as machine language codes such as those generated by a compiler. Such hardware devices may be configured to operate as one or more software modules to perform the operations of the present invention, and vice versa.

In addition, the device or terminal according to the present invention may be driven by a command that causes one or more processors to perform the functions and processes described above. For example, such instructions may include interpreted instructions, such as script instructions, such as JavaScript or ECMAScript instructions, or executable code or other instructions stored on a computer-readable medium. Furthermore, the device according to the present invention may be implemented in a distributed manner over a network, such as a server farm, or may be implemented in a single computer device.

Further, a computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script or code) mounted on the device according to the invention and executing the method according to the invention includes compiled or interpreted language or a priori or procedural language. It can be written in any form of programming language, and can be deployed in any form, including stand-alone programs, modules, components, subroutines, or other units suitable for use in a computer environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program may be placed in a single file provided to the requested program, or in multiple interacting files (eg, files that store one or more modules, subprograms, or portions of code), or portions of files that hold other programs or data. (eg, one or more scripts stored within a markup language document). A computer program may be deployed to be executed on a single computer or multiple computers located at one site or distributed over a plurality of sites and interconnected by a communication network.

Although each drawing has been described separately for convenience of description, it is also possible to design to implement a new embodiment by merging the embodiments described in each drawing. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the configuration and method of the embodiments described as described above, but the above-described embodiments are configured by selectively combining all or part of each embodiment so that various modifications can be made. it might be

In addition, although preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described above, the present specification is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those of ordinary skill in the art to which the specification belongs without departing from the gist of the claims Various modifications are possible by the person, of course, these modifications should not be individually understood from the technical spirit or perspective of the present specification.

Claims

In a method for supporting battery replacement of a drone for seamless power supply,

recognizing that the remaining amount of a first main battery supplying power to the drone is less than or equal to a first level;

providing a notification informing a user of replacement of the first main battery to a user;

receiving a battery replacement input for the first main battery from the user;

converting the power supply of the drone from the first main battery to an auxiliary battery built into the drone;

unlocking the first main battery;

recognizing that the first main battery is removed and a second main battery is inserted in the drone;

setting the lock on the second main battery; and

switching the power supply of the drone from the auxiliary battery to the second main battery; A battery replacement support method comprising:
The method of claim 1,

When the battery replacement input is not received from the time the notification is provided until the remaining amount of the first main battery reaches a second level lower than the first level,

maintaining the remaining amount of the first main battery not to fall below the second level by charging the first main battery using the auxiliary battery; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
3. The method of claim 2,

When the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery drops to a third level as the first main battery is charged,

stopping charging of the first main battery; and

switching the power supply of the drone from the first main battery to the auxiliary battery; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
4. The method of claim 3,

obtaining information on the remaining amount and location of the second main battery; and

When the remaining amount of the second main battery is equal to or greater than a preset level and the second main battery is located within a preset distance from the drone, maintaining the power driving mode of the drone as the current non-power saving driving mode,

switching the power driving mode of the drone to a power saving driving mode when the remaining amount of the second main battery is less than the preset level or the second main battery is not located within the preset distance from the drone; A battery replacement support method comprising:
5. The method of claim 4,

When the drone is switched to the power saving driving mode,

identifying a function being performed before switching to the power saving driving mode;

recognizing a hardware configuration and a software configuration necessary to continuously perform the function;

grouping the recognized hardware configuration and software configuration into one group in association with the function; and

selectively supplying power to the auxiliary battery only to hardware components belonging to the group, and selectively activating only software components belonging to the group; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
6. The method of claim 5,

When the drone is switched to the power saving driving mode and the function being performed before switching to the power saving driving mode was a shooting function,

adjusting the photographing resolution of the photographing function to be lower than a preset resolution; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
5. The method of claim 4,

When the drone is switched to the power saving driving mode,

limiting the ascendable altitude and the movable radius of the drone to within a preset distance from the user; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
8. The method of claim 7,

The preset distance is determined in proportion to the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery.
5. The method of claim 4,

When the remaining amount of the auxiliary battery drops to the fourth level,

terminating the function and recognizing the location of the user after saving all information related to the currently performed function; and

flying to the user's location; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
5. The method of claim 4,

acquiring, in real time, information on the remaining amount and location of the second main battery while the drone is operating in the power saving driving mode;

When the remaining amount of the second main battery is equal to or greater than a preset level and the second main battery is located within a preset distance from the drone, switching the power driving mode of the drone from the power saving driving mode to the non-power saving driving mode step; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
The method of claim 1,

When the power supply of the drone is switched to the second main battery,

charging the auxiliary battery using the second main battery; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.
The method of claim 1,

When the battery replacement input is received,

interrupting the power supply to the driving unit of the drone, but maintaining the power supply of the hardware configuration necessary for the function being performed before receiving the battery replacement input; Further comprising, a battery replacement support method.