WO2024057825A1

WO2024057825A1 - Drone device for coating and coating method

Info

Publication number: WO2024057825A1
Application number: PCT/JP2023/029886
Authority: WO
Inventors: 薫津田; 悟郎千財
Original assignee: ナノフロンティアテクノロジー株式会社; Ｚｅｎｂｏｔ株式会社
Priority date: 2022-09-15
Filing date: 2023-08-18
Publication date: 2024-03-21

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a drone device for coating and a coating method capable of performing maintenance coating safely and inexpensively. [Solution] The drone body part 10 has an IMU 15 that acquires the tilt angle of a drone device 1, a GPS receiver 16 that acquires the location coordinates of the drone body part 10, a distance sensor 18 that calculates the coating distance from the drone body part 10 to the coating target, and a control unit 14 that changes the position of the drone body part 10 and changes the nozzle angle of a nozzle 341 based on the current tilt angle of the drone body part 10 and the coating distance. The spray control unit 142 that constitutes the control unit 14 computes the discrepancy in the nozzle spray direction arising due to the acquired tilt angle and computes correction of the nozzle angle in the up/down and right/left directions by taking into consideration offset of the nozzle position in the vertical/horizontal directions arising due to the distance between the roll center of the drone body part 10 and the nozzle 341.

Description

Coating drone device and coating method

cross reference

This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-146939 filed in Japan on September 15, 2022, and all contents described in this application are incorporated herein by reference without modification. .

The present invention relates to a coating drone device and a coating method.

A solar thermal power generation system is known that condenses sunlight and uses it as a heat source to rotate a turbine and generate electricity (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Solar thermal power generation systems are equipped with a heat collector that converts concentrated sunlight into heat, and this heat collector is installed on top of a tall tower 100 to 200 meters above the ground. Pyromark 2500 (registered trademark) is known as a heat collecting film used in this heat collector.

United States Published Patent Publication US20140123646A1

By the way, the heat collecting film coated on the heat collectors mentioned above is constantly exposed to high temperatures of over 600°C, which causes severe deterioration of the film and requires maintenance such as recoating to maintain power generation efficiency. be.

When performing maintenance, the temperature of the heat collector is lowered and reapplication is performed automatically or manually on a high tower. Another method is to use a drone to apply the coating, but it is difficult to control the flight attitude of conventional drones when applying the coating. Due to the principle of positional movement in a multicopter, it is necessary to tilt the aircraft in order to offset the effects of crosswinds and maintain the three-dimensional position of the aircraft. Additionally, the attitude of the aircraft constantly changes due to pilot operations and position control to maintain a constant distance between the coating surface and the aircraft. For this reason, when the nozzle is fixed to the fuselage, the nozzle constantly swings as the attitude of the fuselage changes, making it difficult to determine the spray direction, making it difficult to perform high-precision coating required for recoating the heat collector. This method is safe and low-cost by combining flight control that automatically keeps the distance of the aircraft to the coating surface constant and spray control that automatically stabilizes the spray direction of the nozzle by compensating for the shaking of the aircraft. This enables high-precision coating.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a coating drone device and a coating method that can perform maintenance coating safely, at low cost, and with high precision.

The coating drone device of the present invention is a coating drone device having a drone body portion and a spray portion including a nozzle portion for spraying a liquid, and the drone body portion has a front-rear tilt angle and a left-right tilt angle of the drone body portion. a position information acquisition unit that acquires the position coordinates of the drone body; a distance information acquisition unit that calculates the coating distance from the drone body to the application target; and a drone body. The controller has a control unit that changes the position of the drone body based on the current position information and the coating distance, and changes the nozzle angle of the nozzle unit based on the current tilt angle of the drone body and the coating distance. has a spray control unit that controls the nozzle angle of the nozzle unit, and the spray control unit controls the deviation of the nozzle injection direction (spray trajectory) caused by the obtained inclination angle and the relationship between the roll center of the drone body and the nozzle unit. The present invention is characterized in that the amount of correction of the nozzle angle in the vertical and horizontal directions is calculated in consideration of the offset of the nozzle position in the vertical and horizontal directions caused by the distance, and the nozzle is tilted by the nozzle angle that takes into account the amount of correction.

In the coating drone device of the present invention, the spray section connects a container containing a liquid, a pressure feeding device that pumps the liquid and pumps air, and a container and a nozzle to supply the liquid to the nozzle. It includes a first pipe part and a second pipe part that connects the nozzle part and a pressure feeding device to supply air to the nozzle part, and the liquid agent supplied from the first pipe part is transferred to the second pipe part. It is preferable that the air supplied from the nozzle be injected to the front of the nozzle through the nozzle.

The coating method of the present invention is a coating method using a coating drone device having a drone body section and a spray section equipped with a nozzle section for spraying a liquid agent, wherein the attitude information acquisition section is configured to tilt the drone device forward and backward. The angle and the tilt angle including the left and right tilt angle are acquired, the position information acquisition unit acquires the position coordinates of the drone body, the distance information acquisition unit detects the current distance from the drone body to the application target, and performs control. The spray control unit changes the position of the drone body based on the current position information and current distance of the drone body and a preset target application distance, and the spray control unit changes the position of the drone body based on the current inclination angle of the drone body and the target application distance. The nozzle angle of the nozzle unit is controlled to be changed based on the distance, and the nozzle angle correction calculation unit calculates the deviation in the nozzle injection direction (spray trajectory) caused by the obtained inclination angle of the drone body and the roll of the drone body. The nozzle angle correction amount in the vertical and horizontal directions is calculated by taking into account the nozzle position offset in the vertical and horizontal directions caused by the distance between the center and the nozzle section, and the spray control section adjusts the nozzle angle based on the nozzle angle correction amount. It is characterized by tilting the nozzle.

In the coating method of the present invention, a liquid agent is stored in a container, and a pressure feeding device pumps the liquid agent contained in the container and also pumps air, and the liquid agent is delivered through a first pipe section connecting the container and a nozzle section. Air is supplied to the nozzle part through a second pipe part that connects the nozzle part and the pressure feeding device, and the liquid agent supplied from the first pipe part is supplied from the second pipe part. It is preferable to inject the air through the nozzle part to the front of the nozzle part.

According to the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coating drone device and a coating method that can safely perform maintenance coating with high accuracy at low cost.

1 is an external view showing the configuration of a coating drone device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a coating drone device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram showing the composition of the control part which constitutes the drone device for application concerning an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the coating distance in the coating drone device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining control of the nozzle angle in the vertical direction. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining control of the nozzle angle in the left-right direction. It is a schematic diagram showing the composition of the spray part which constitutes the application drone device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. (a) is a diagram showing a state in which the aircraft is in a horizontal state and the nozzle is not controlled to tilt, and (b) is a diagram in which the front of the aircraft is tilted downward and the nozzle is controlled to tilt upward. (c) is a diagram showing a state in which the nozzle is controlled to tilt downward while the front of the aircraft is tilted upward. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a stabilizer mechanism for controlling the vertical direction of a nozzle, (a) is a diagram in a normal state, (b) is a diagram when the nozzle stabilizer is tilted downward, (c) is a diagram when the nozzle stabilizer is tilted upward. It is a figure for explaining the stabilizer mechanism for controlling the left-right direction of a nozzle. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a stabilizer mechanism for simultaneously controlling the vertical and horizontal directions of a nozzle, (a) is a diagram in a normal state, and (b) is a diagram in which the nozzle stabilizer is panned and tilted in the upper left direction. (c) is a diagram when the nozzle stabilizer is panned and tilted in the lower left direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining vertical control of the nozzle, (a) is a diagram in a normal state, (b) is a diagram when the nozzle is tilted downward, and (c) is a diagram when the nozzle is tilted upward. It is a figure when it is made to tilt in the direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the left-right direction control of the nozzle, (a) is a diagram in a normal state, and (b) is a diagram when the nozzle is rotated (panned) to the left (counterclockwise). , (c) are diagrams when the nozzle is rotated (panned) to the right (clockwise). FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a case where the drone body is tilted to the left or right when viewed from the rear; (a) is a diagram in a normal state, and (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the drone body is tilted to the left side. , (c) is a diagram showing a state in which the aircraft is tilted to the right. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a drone body rotating left and right (yaw axis direction) when viewed from above, where (a) shows the normal state and (b) shows the state rotated counterclockwise. It is a flow chart for explaining processing of flight control of a coating drone device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart for explaining processing of nozzle angle control of a coating drone device concerning an embodiment of the present invention.

1 Drone device for coating 10 Drone body section 11 Drone main body section 12 Communication section 14 Control section 141 Flight control section 142 Spray control section 1411 Flight command acquisition section 1412 Aircraft position coordinate correction amount calculation section 1413 Coating object distance correction amount calculation section 1414 Aircraft attitude angle correction amount calculation unit
1415 Flight drive signal generation unit 1421 Nozzle control command acquisition unit 1422 Spray distance calculation unit 1423 Nozzle angle correction calculation unit 1424 Nozzle angle correction execution unit 1425 Spray valve/needle opening/closing control execution unit 15 IMU (attitude information acquisition unit)
16 GPS receiver 18 Distance sensor 20 Spray section 201 Air source 2011 Air compressor/air tank 2012 Liquid pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2013 Air pressure regulator/pressure gauge 203 Air tube 205 Ink tank section 2051 Release valve (release valve)
2052 Pressurized ink tank 207 Ink tube 209 Air tube 22 Flight main body part 221 Flight mechanism part 222 Flight drive part 24 Camera 26 Battery 28 Propeller guard 30 Nozzle cover 32 Memory 34 Nozzle unit 341 Nozzle 3411 Ink input part 3412 Air input part 343 Nozzle Actuator 3431 Nozzle tilt actuator 3432 Nozzle pan actuator 345 Spray on-off actuator

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment (example) of a coating drone device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Hereinafter, the configuration of a coating drone device (hereinafter referred to as a "drone device" unless otherwise required) 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. Note that the drone device 1 of this embodiment is used for maintenance such as recoating to prevent aging of a heat collecting film used in a heat collector installed on a high tower 100 to 200 m above the ground. will be described assuming that it is a heat collecting film, but since the feature of the present invention lies in the aircraft flight control and spray control of a drone device, the coating target is not limited to the heat collecting film.

[Configuration of drone device]
Below, the configuration of the drone device 1 will be explained in detail. The drone device 1 includes a drone body section 10 and a spray section (paint supply device) 20. The drone body section 10 includes a communication section 12, a control section 14, an IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) body inclination angle acquisition section 15, a GPS (Global Positioning System) reception section 16, a ranging sensor 18, a camera 24, and a flight sensor 18. It has a flight main body section 22 including a mechanism section 221 and a flight drive section 222, a battery 26, and a memory 32. The nozzle unit 34 includes a nozzle 341, a nozzle actuator 343 including a nozzle tilt actuator 3431 and a nozzle pan actuator 3432, and a spray on-off actuator 345. Note that the nozzle stabilizer may be a three-axis stabilizer by adding an actuator to the roll axis. Further, although the propeller guard 28 and the nozzle cover 30 are illustrated in FIG. 1 for convenience, these are not essential components of the present invention.

[Description of each part constituting the drone main body 11]
The control unit 14 mainly performs flight control of the drone body 11, and in particular, performs flight control to maintain the three-dimensional coordinate position of the drone and at the same time maintain a constant distance from the injection nozzle to the injection target (coating target). It has a control section 141 and a spray control section 142 that controls the spray angle of the nozzle and the opening/closing of the spray valve.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flight control unit 141 includes a flight command acquisition unit 1411, an aircraft position coordinate correction amount calculation unit 1412, a coating target distance correction amount calculation unit 1413, an aircraft attitude angle correction amount calculation unit 1414, and a flight drive signal. The generating unit 1415 generates a drive control signal to the flight drive signal generation unit 1415 according to the flight command acquired by the flight command acquisition unit 1411 and the aircraft attitude correction angle calculated by the aircraft attitude angle correction amount calculation unit 1414. The generated drive control signal is output to a motor section (not shown) in the flight mechanism section 221 via the flight drive section 222 to control the flight drive of the drone device 1. As a result, the drone device 1 performs various movement operations such as takeoff, landing, ascent, descent, right turn, left turn, forward movement, backward movement, right shift (right rolling), right yawing, left shift (left rolling), and left yawing. Being able to do so. In addition, regarding the aircraft attitude control by right shift and left shift, the tilt angle of the aircraft with respect to the vertical direction is determined by an angle sensor (tilt sensor), an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor (for example, IMU15 that combines a 3-axis gyro sensor and an accelerometer). Control can be performed based on the acquired tilt angle information, and the aircraft position can be controlled based on distance measurement sensor and GPS information, etc., which will be described later.

The flight mechanism section 221 has a propeller mechanism attached to the tips of a plurality of arms, and the flight drive section 222 sends a drive control signal (drive instruction) from the flight control section 141 to the flight mechanism section 221 to control the drone device 1. drive.

The ranging sensor 18 is fixed to the drone body 10, and the optical signal emitted from the light source (LED or laser diode) inside the sensor and the ultrasonic signal emitted from the transducer are used to detect the surrounding three-dimensional model (for example, the object to be coated). (wall surface)), it is reflected, and based on the reflected signal detected by the sensor, the distance measurement sensor 18 calculates and outputs the coating measurement distance to the coating target. Specifically, the actual coating distance from the tip of the nozzle 341 to the coating target (spray distance) is calculated. Information on this coating distance is stored in the memory 32. Although not shown, in order to detect the direction, altitude (height), and rotation angle of the drone device 1, a geomagnetic sensor, an altitude sensor (an atmospheric pressure sensor or a distance sensor directed downwards), an acceleration sensor, and a gyro sensor are used, respectively. are attached and connected to the control section 14, respectively.

Here, the current position (three-dimensional coordinates) of the drone device 1 is determined by position information (latitude, longitude) from the GPS receiver 16 and altitude information (ground or sea level) from a barometric pressure sensor or a ranging sensor directed downwards. The current position is calculated by the body position coordinate correction amount calculation unit 1412 based on the height from Based on the distance information between this calculated current position and the surface to be coated obtained and calculated by the distance sensor 18, the drone device 1 must maintain a position relative to the surface to be coated in order to perform optimal coating. The difference between the preset suitable distance and the current horizontal longitudinal position of the drone device 1 (target spray distance difference) is calculated by the coating target distance correction amount calculation unit 1413, and the horizontal longitudinal position of the drone device 1 is calculated by the coating target distance correction amount calculation unit 1413. However, the amount of attitude change necessary to correct the distance to the coating target surface is calculated by the aircraft attitude angle correction amount calculation unit 1414, and the flight drive signal generation unit 1415 calculates the flight A command is generated and output from flight control section 141 to flight drive section 222 as a drive control signal. In addition, in order to obtain more accurate location information, radio waves from mobile phone base stations, radio waves from wireless communication (Wi-Fi (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), etc.) access points and beacon devices, GPS The current position may be detected using RTK (real-time kinematics) that corrects coordinate information with high precision.

As shown in FIG. 3, the spray control unit 142 includes a nozzle control command acquisition unit 1421, a nozzle angle correction calculation unit 1423, a nozzle angle correction execution unit 1424, and a spray valve/needle opening/closing execution unit 1425. For example, initially, the attitude of the drone body 10 is horizontal (not tilted forward, backward, left, or right), and the direction of the nozzle 341 is also horizontal (initial nozzle direction: not tilted vertically but panned horizontally). When the attitude of the drone body 10 is no longer horizontal and the attitude of the drone body 10 changes, the correction value of the nozzle angle with respect to the horizontal or vertical direction is determined by the body inclination angle acquisition unit ( It is calculated based on the values (three-dimensional angular velocity and acceleration values) acquired by the IMU 15). The nozzle angle correction calculation unit 1423 is configured to return the inclination of the nozzle to the horizontal direction when the injection direction of the nozzle is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction, and as shown in FIG. A correction value for the nozzle angle for correcting the spray trajectory is calculated by taking into consideration the shift in the vertical and horizontal directions of the nozzle tip position due to the distance offset to the tip.

Here, the nozzle angle refers to the vertical angle of the nozzle and the horizontal angle of the nozzle. Hereinafter, when the vertical angle and the horizontal angle are to be distinguished, they will be expressed as "nozzle vertical angle" and "nozzle horizontal angle", and when not distinguished, they will simply be referred to as "nozzle angle". The nozzle angle correction execution unit 1424 executes nozzle angle control based on the nozzle control command received from the external terminal device via the communication unit 12 and the correction value calculated by the nozzle angle correction calculation unit 1423. The spray valve/needle opening/closing execution unit 1425 executes opening/closing of the spray valve/needle upon receiving an opening/closing instruction signal from an external terminal device via the communication unit 12.

The camera 24 is fixed to the drone body 10 and is used to photograph the nozzle, the spray trajectory, and the object to be coated. Activation of the camera 24 begins with activation of the drone device. Images obtained by the camera 24 are transmitted through the communication unit 12 to an external portable device (not shown) of a nozzle operator on the ground.

The memory 32 stores various data for controlling the control unit 14, and in this embodiment, the distance setting value between the coating target surface and the nozzle tip, the position (coordinates) of the drone device 1, and the target angle of the nozzle. etc. is stored.

The communication unit 12 receives flight control information and spray control information of the drone device 1 from an external portable device (not shown), and supplies the information to the control unit 14. The control unit 14 receives control information via the communication unit 12 and controls the drone device 1 and the nozzle unit.

Note that as the external portable device, a portable notebook computer, a smartphone, a high-performance portable terminal called a tablet, and a radio-controlled transmitter are used, but the present invention is not limited to these, and a dedicated remote transmitter/receiver may also be used. In addition, a dedicated application program for processing the various information mentioned above is installed on these portable notebook computers, smartphones, and tablets so that they can connect and communicate with the drone device 1 through the communication section 12. It is fine as long as it is.

The battery 26 is mainly a driving power source for the drone device 1, and a battery remaining amount check unit (not shown) detects, for example, the remaining battery amount of the battery 26 of the drone device 1, and the remaining battery amount is determined to meet a predetermined standard. A warning will be issued if the value is less than the value.

[Description of each part constituting the nozzle unit 34]
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9 to 13, the nozzle unit 34 of the drone device 1 of this embodiment mainly includes a nozzle actuator 343 and a spray-on-off actuator 345, which are composed of a nozzle 341, a nozzle tilt actuator 3431, and a nozzle pan actuator 3432. However, the nozzle stabilizer may be a three-axis stabilizer by adding an actuator to the roll axis. Further, the structure of the stabilizer only needs to be able to appropriately correct the spray trajectory, and does not necessarily have to be a two-axis or three-axis stabilizer along the vertical and horizontal directions.

The nozzle 341 includes an ink input section 3411 that inputs a liquid agent (liquid paint: for example, an ink paint for forming a heat-collecting film) and an air input section 3412 that inputs air, and discharges (sprays) the liquid agent in the form of a mist. It is designed to be The nozzle 341 may eject the liquid paint radially or linearly. A pressurized ink tank 2052 is connected to the ink input section 3411 via an ink tube 207. An air pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2013 is connected to the air input section 3412 via an air tube 209.

The nozzle tilt actuator 3431 has a function of rotating the inclination of the nozzle 341 in the vertical direction (vertical direction). The nozzle pan actuator 3432 has a function of rotating the inclination of the nozzle 341 in the left-right direction (horizontal direction). The spray on/off actuator 345 is for starting/stopping the spraying of the liquid agent (liquid paint) from the nozzle 341.

[Description of each part constituting the spray section 20]
As shown in FIG. 2, the spray unit 20 of the drone device 1 of this embodiment includes an air compressor/air tank 2011, a hydraulic pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2012, and an air pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2013, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7. It has an air source 201 consisting of an air source 201, an air tube 203 for a paint route, an ink tank portion 205, an ink tube 207, and an air tube 209 for an air route. The air tube 203, the ink tube 207, and the air tube 209 are tubes that extend in the front-rear direction and have a substantially cylindrical cross section.

The ink tank section 205 includes a pressurized ink tank 2052 that accommodates a liquid agent (liquid paint) and a release valve 2051 that reduces the pressure of pressurized air from the pressurized ink tank 2052. ing. The air compressor/air tank 2011 is configured as an air tank filled with air or an air compressor that compresses air to create high-pressure air. The liquid pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2012 includes a valve that adjusts the high-pressure air supplied from the air compressor/air tank 2011 to a predetermined pressure, and a pressure gauge that measures the air pressure applied within the pressurized ink tank 2052. be done. The air pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2013 includes a valve that adjusts high-pressure air supplied from the air compressor/air tank 2011 to a predetermined pressure, and a pressure gauge that measures the air pressure input to the nozzle 341. .

The air tube 209 is a tube for sending high-pressure air supplied from the air compressor/air tank 2011 to the air input section 3412 via the air pressure regulator/pressure gauge 2013. The air tube 203 is a tube for sending high-pressure air supplied from the air compressor/air tank 2011 to the pressurized ink tank 2052 via the hydraulic regulator/pressure gauge 2012, and the ink tube 207 is a tube for sending high-pressure air supplied from the air compressor/air tank 2011 to the pressurized ink tank 2052. This is a tube for delivering the liquid agent (liquid paint) supplied from 2052 to the ink input section 3411. Further, the pressurized ink tank 2052 is equipped with a pressure release valve (release valve) 2051.

[Processing of the control unit 14 of the drone device 1]
The processing of the control unit 14 of the drone device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 17.

<Flight control of drone device 1 (aircraft attitude control)>
Below, flight control of the drone device will be explained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 16. When activation of the drone device 1 is started, in step S101, the control unit 14 activates the communication unit 12, and communication is started. In step S102, the control unit 14 acquires the current 3D position coordinates (three-dimensional coordinates) of the drone device 1 from the GPS reception unit 16. Next, in step S103, the control unit 14 calculates the difference (target 3D position difference) between the 3D position coordinates specified by the pilot (target 3D position coordinates) and the current 3D position coordinates. That is, when the current 3D position coordinates of the drone device 1 are different from the target 3D position coordinates, the difference between the current position coordinates and the target 3D position coordinates at that time is calculated, and the difference information, which will be described later, is the target 3D position difference. Control is performed to keep the drone device 1 at the target position based on the difference information of the coating distance.

Next, in step S104, the control unit 14 refers to the output value of the distance measurement sensor 18 and detects the distance (actually measured distance including offset) between the drone device 1 and the object to be coated. Next, in step S105, the control unit 14 calculates an offset distance correction value based on the current tilt angle of the drone body 10 and the distance from the center of gravity (CG) of the drone device 1 to the nozzle tip. Next, in step S106, the control unit 14 calculates the difference in the offset distance correction value (target coating distance difference) from the measured distance including the offset, and in order to perform optimal coating, the control unit 14 applies the drone device 1 to the coating target surface. The difference (target coating distance difference) from a preset suitable distance that must be maintained is calculated (see FIG. 4).

Next, in step S107, the control unit 14 determines whether or not the position of the drone device 1 needs to be corrected. That is, the position of the drone device 1 is determined based on whether there is a target 3D position difference and a target coating distance difference (steps S103, S106), which are the differences between the current 3D position coordinates and the target 3D position coordinates calculated in advance. It is determined whether correction is necessary. Here, if it is determined that correction of the position of the drone device 1 is not necessary, the control unit 14 generates a flight control command based on the calculated target 3D position coordinates of the drone device 1 in step S108. , a flight control command is executed in step S110. On the other hand, if it is determined that the position of the drone device 1 needs to be corrected, in step S109, the control unit 14 calculates the difference between the target 3D position specified by the pilot and the current position and the preset application target. Correction processing (mixing correction processing) of the position of the drone device 1 is performed based on the target coating distance difference calculated from the difference between the distance to the surface and the current distance. Next, the control unit 14 generates a flight control command based on the target 3D position difference of the drone device 1 subjected to the mixing correction process in step S108, and executes the flight control command in step S110.

[About nozzle angle control of drone equipment]
The nozzle angle control of the drone device will be described below with reference to the flowchart in FIG. 17. When activation of the drone device 1 is started, in step S201, the control unit 14 activates the communication unit 12, and communication is started. In step S202, a control command for the nozzle spray direction (nozzle direction command) specified by the nozzle operator is obtained, and the control command is analyzed. In step S203, the acquired control command is converted into a target nozzle angle (the target nozzle angle is calculated). Note that the paint spraying direction of the nozzle 341 is determined by the deviation of the nozzle spraying direction (spray trajectory) caused by the tilt of the aircraft and the distance between the roll center (center point of aircraft rotation) of the drone body 10 and the nozzle tip. The injection direction is changed by simultaneously correcting the Here, the inclination of the nozzle 341 is calculated based on the deviation between the aircraft inclination angle of the drone device 1 acquired by the IMU 15 and the nozzle injection direction (spray trajectory). A dedicated sensor) may also be provided separately.

Next, in step S204, the IMU 15 detects the body inclination angle of the drone body part 10.

Next, in step S205, the spray control unit 142 adjusts the target nozzle angle (target coating position) based on the current body inclination angle of the drone body 10 and the target coating distance (distance from the nozzle tip to the coating target). Refers to the vertical angle and horizontal angle of the nozzle that can inject toward the target.Hereafter, when distinguishing between the vertical angle and the horizontal angle, they will be expressed as "target nozzle vertical angle" and "target nozzle horizontal angle." (If not, simply call it the "target nozzle angle.") Note that this target nozzle angle can be calculated by applying trigonometric functions (using tanθ and hypotenuse distance) if the current aircraft inclination angle, the distance between the aircraft roll center and the nozzle tip, and the target application distance can be specified. be able to. The nozzle angle correction calculation unit 1423 calculates the amount of correction of the nozzle vertical angle in consideration of the offset caused by the detected body inclination angle (see FIG. 8). Note that FIG. 8(a) is a diagram showing a state in which the aircraft is in a horizontal state and the nozzle 341 is not tilted, and FIG. 8(b) is a diagram showing a state in which the front of the aircraft is tilted downward, and the above calculation is not performed. 8(c) is a diagram showing a state in which the nozzle 341 is tilted upward from the horizontal based on the calculated correction amount, and FIG. 8(c) shows a state in which the front of the aircraft is tilted upward, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the nozzle 341 is tilted downward from the horizontal based on the correction amount. Note that the angle correction of the nozzle of a two-axis stabilizer replaces the tilt of the aircraft in the longitudinal and horizontal directions (pitch and roll directions) with the tilt of the nozzle in the vertical and horizontal directions (tilt and pan directions). are corrected at the same time.

Next, in step S206, the nozzle angle correction execution unit 1424 generates a control command for tilting the nozzle by the nozzle angle in consideration of the above-mentioned correction amount, and executes the nozzle angle control command in step S207.

Below, the vertical direction (tilt) control and horizontal direction (pan) control of the nozzle angle when the above-mentioned nozzle angle control command is executed will be explained. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the vertical direction control of the nozzle 341, (a) is a diagram in a normal state, (b) is a diagram when the nozzle 341 is tilted downward, ( c) is a diagram when the nozzle 341 is tilted upward.

The nozzle vertical direction angle control shown in FIG. 9(b) is performed when the nozzle 341 is lowered based on the above-mentioned correction amount calculated when the front of the aircraft is tilted upward (see FIG. 8(c)). The tilt is controlled in the direction. In the nozzle vertical direction angle control shown in FIG. 9(c), the nozzle 341 is moved upward based on the above-mentioned correction amount calculated when the front of the aircraft is tilted downward (see FIG. 8(b)). The tilt is controlled in the direction. Note that FIG. 12(b) corresponds to FIG. 9(b), and FIG. 12(c) corresponds to FIG. 9(c).

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the case where two axes (vertical direction (tilt) and horizontal direction (pan)) are moved simultaneously, but since the tilt control has been described above, it will be omitted, and the following explanation will refer to FIG. 13. The left and right direction control will be explained. Note that when controlling two axes at the same time, the tilt control described above and the pan control described below are performed simultaneously. Although two axes, tilt and pan, are necessary and sufficient for correcting the spray trajectory, the nozzle stabilizer may be a three-axis stabilizer that also controls the roll axis in addition to pan and tilt.

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the left-right direction control of the nozzle, (a) is a diagram in a normal state, and (b) is a diagram when the nozzle is rotated to the left (counterclockwise). (c) is a diagram when the nozzle is rotated to the right (clockwise).

In the nozzle lateral direction angle control shown in FIG. 13(b), the nozzle 341 is controlled to rotate in the left direction based on the nozzle angle control command from the nozzle operator (see FIG. 6(b)). In the nozzle left-right direction angle control shown in FIG. 13(c), the nozzle 341 is controlled to rotate in the right direction based on a nozzle angle control command from the nozzle operator. Note that FIG. 10(b) corresponds to FIG. 13(b), and FIG. 10(c) corresponds to FIG. 13(c).

[Nozzle operation control based on other examples of aircraft inclination]
FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example of a case where the drone body is tilted to the left or right (rolling of the drone body), and is a diagram of the drone body seen from the front. Note that the arrow in the figure indicates the direction of movement of the drone body. Due to disturbances, aircraft maneuvering, and control to maintain the aircraft's 3D position coordinates, the aircraft changed from the normal state shown in Figure 14(a) to the state tilted to the left (rolling) as shown in Figure 14(b). In this case, the drone body 10 moves to the left side when viewed from the rear of the drone body, or stops in place if a crosswind is blowing. When the drone body 10 changes from the normal state shown in FIG. 14(a) to the state tilted (rolling) to the right side as shown in FIG. 14(c), the drone body 10 is and move to the right, or stay where you are if there is a crosswind. In this case, the inclination angle of the drone body 10 is obtained, and the nozzle angle is calculated based on the obtained inclination angle. Then, the amount of correction for the nozzle angle and the offset in the vertical and horizontal directions of the spray trajectory is calculated according to the angle (so as to cancel the inclination), and the operation of the nozzle is controlled based on the amount of correction.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example when the aircraft rotates left and right (aircraft yawing), and is a view of the aircraft from above. Due to disturbances, aircraft maneuvering, and control to maintain the aircraft's 3D position coordinates, the normal state shown in Figure 15(a) turned counterclockwise (yawed) as shown in Figure 15(b). If this happens, the aircraft's heading at that time is obtained from the magnetic sensor, and the rotation angle is calculated based on the obtained heading. Then, a correction amount for the yaw of the aircraft is calculated according to the rotation angle, and the operation of the aircraft is controlled based on the correction amount.

(Explanation of effects of embodiment)
The coating drone device 1 according to this embodiment has the above configuration and operation, and the effects of the coating drone device 1 according to this embodiment will be described below.

The coating drone device 1 according to the present embodiment includes a drone body section 10 and a spray section 20 that includes a nozzle section that sprays a liquid agent. The drone body section 10 includes an IMU 15 that acquires the tilt angle including the longitudinal tilt angle and the left and right tilt angle of the drone device 1, a GPS receiving section 16 that acquires the position coordinates of the drone body section 10, and an object to be coated from the drone body section 10. The position of the drone body 10 is changed based on the distance measurement sensor 18 that detects the coating distance to the drone body 10, the current position information of the drone body 10, and the coating distance, and the current inclination angle of the drone body 10 is set in advance. It has a control unit 14 that changes the nozzle angle of the nozzle 341 based on the determined coating distance. The control unit 14 includes a spray control unit 142 that controls the nozzle angle of the nozzle 341. The spray control unit 142 takes into consideration the deviation in the nozzle injection direction caused by the obtained inclination angle and the offset in the nozzle position in the vertical and horizontal directions caused by the distance between the roll center of the drone body 10 and the nozzle 341 in the vertical and horizontal directions. includes a nozzle angle correction calculation unit 1423 that calculates a nozzle angle correction amount in , and tilts the nozzle by a nozzle angle that takes the correction amount into consideration.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the inclination of the drone body 10 required to correct the inclination angle and positional deviation of the drone body 10 caused by disturbances, drifts, etc., and the inclination of the drone body 10 caused by the pilot's operation Even if a deviation in the injection direction of the nozzle 341 occurs, the deviation in the injection direction of the nozzle 341 can be corrected. Specifically, the nozzle is tilted by the nozzle angle based on the amount of correction of the nozzle angle in the vertical and horizontal directions, taking into account the deviation and offset of the nozzle jet direction caused by the aircraft body tilt angle. It is possible to continue spraying the liquid agent toward the target application target without deviation even when the liquid agent is sprayed. As a result, when the coating target is a heat collecting film, for example, it is possible to perform high-precision coating without stopping the operation of the power plant, so maintenance coating can be performed safely and at low cost (reducing maintenance costs, etc.). can be carried out

Further, in the coating drone device 1 according to the present embodiment, the spray unit 20 includes a pressurized ink tank 2052 that accommodates a liquid, an air compressor/air tank 2011 that pumps the liquid and air, and a pressurized ink tank 2052 that contains a liquid. An ink tube 207 connects the nozzle unit 2052 and the nozzle unit 34 to supply liquid to the nozzle unit 34, and an air tube 209 connects the nozzle unit 34 and the air compressor/air tank 2011 to supply air to the nozzle unit 34. The liquid agent supplied from the ink tube 207 is jetted forward of the nozzle unit 34 via the nozzle unit 34 by air supplied (forced) from the air tube 209.

Therefore, according to the above configuration, the liquid agent discharged from the nozzle unit 34 of the coating drone device 1 is powerfully sprayed by the forced air, so that it can be targeted even from a predetermined distance away from the surface to be coated. It is possible to spray accurately to the application position.

Note that the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments described above, and various changes can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the present invention can be applied to roofs of private houses, walls of high-rise buildings, etc.

Claims

A coating drone device having a drone body and a spray section including a nozzle section for spraying a liquid,
The drone body section is
an attitude information acquisition unit that acquires an inclination angle including a longitudinal inclination angle and a lateral inclination angle of the drone device;
a position information acquisition unit that acquires position coordinates of the drone body;
a distance information acquisition unit that detects the current distance from the drone body to the application target;
The position of the drone body is changed based on the current position information of the drone body, the current distance, and a preset target coating distance, and the position of the drone body is changed based on the current tilt angle of the drone body and the target coating distance. a control unit for changing the nozzle angle of the nozzle unit,
The control unit includes a spray control unit that controls a nozzle angle of the nozzle unit,
The spray control unit adjusts the vertical and horizontal nozzle positions in consideration of a deviation in the nozzle jet direction caused by the obtained inclination angle and an offset in the nozzle position in the vertical and horizontal directions caused by the distance between the roll center of the drone body and the nozzle unit. It includes a nozzle angle correction calculation unit that calculates the amount of correction of the nozzle angle in the horizontal direction, and tilts the nozzle by the nozzle angle that takes into account the amount of correction.
A coating drone device characterized by:
The spray part is
a container containing the liquid agent;
a pumping device that pumps the liquid agent and pumps air;
a first pipe section that connects the container and the nozzle section and supplies the liquid agent to the nozzle section;
a second pipe section that connects the nozzle section and the pressure feeding device and supplies the air to the nozzle section;
The liquid agent supplied from the first pipe part is injected forward of the nozzle part via the nozzle part by air supplied from the second pipe part.
The coating drone device according to claim 1, characterized in that:
A coating method using a coating drone device having a drone body section and a spray section equipped with a nozzle section that sprays a liquid agent,
an attitude information acquisition unit acquires an inclination angle including a longitudinal inclination angle and a left-right inclination angle of the drone device;
a position information acquisition unit acquires position coordinates of the drone body;
a distance information acquisition unit detects the current distance from the drone body to the application target;
a control unit changes the position of the drone body based on current position information of the drone body, the current distance, and a preset target coating distance;
a spray control unit controls to change a nozzle angle of the nozzle unit based on the current inclination angle of the drone body and the target application distance;
The nozzle angle correction calculation unit calculates a deviation in the nozzle jet direction caused by the obtained inclination angle of the drone body and an offset in the nozzle position in the vertical and horizontal directions caused by the distance between the roll center of the earlier drone body and the nozzle. Calculate the amount of correction for the nozzle angle in the vertical and horizontal directions by considering
the spray control unit tilts the nozzle by a nozzle angle that takes into account the amount of correction of the nozzle angle;
A coating method characterized by:
storing the liquid agent in a container;
The liquid agent contained in the container is pumped by a pumping device, and the air is also pumped,
Supplying the liquid agent to the nozzle part via a first pipe part connecting the container and the nozzle part,
Supplying the air to the nozzle part via a second pipe part connecting the nozzle part and the pressure feeding device,
Injecting the liquid agent supplied from the first pipe section to the front of the nozzle section via the nozzle section using air supplied from the second pipe section.
The coating method according to claim 3, characterized in that: