EP3390221A1

EP3390221A1 - Low-vibration drone

Info

Publication number: EP3390221A1
Application number: EP16815958.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Arthur GARDIN; Florent ROQUE
Original assignee: Evodrone
Current assignee: Evodrone
Priority date: 2015-12-17
Filing date: 2016-12-15
Publication date: 2018-10-24
Also published as: FR3045569A1; WO2017103837A1; US20200262548A1; FR3045569B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a drone comprising a fuselage and a plurality of housing structures (3) for a plurality of engine units (4), the mechanical connection between each engine unit (4) and each housing structure (3) for the engine unit (4) comprising: a ball joint (10) arranged in the axis of rotation of the engine unit (4), opposite the rotor (6); and a flexible connecting member (20) connecting the engine unit (4) to the housing structure (3) for the engine unit (4).

Description

PRONE WITH LOW VIBRATION LEVEL

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a multirotors drone. It relates more particularly to a drone comprising a fuselage and a plurality of housing structures for a plurality of powertrains.

STATE OF THE PRIOR ART

With the permanent miniaturization of electronics, a new type of drone has emerged for a small decade in the category of mini drones ("MTOW" <25kg): drones multirotors. These rotary wing aircraft consist of several rotors (at least 3) whose different thrusts allow lift and control of the drone. The main advantage of this configuration, compared to conventional helicopters, lies in its simplicity: just a few motors directly driving rotors, controlled by an inertial unit and controlled by a small computer, to fly almost any object .

[0003] These multirotor drones, used primarily as recreational vehicles, have seen their fields of use diversify considerably: they are now professionally exploited to perform a wide variety of missions. These missions can take the form of objects to be transported / raised in the air, or of information gathering in all their forms by means of sensors embedded in the aircraft (aerial shooting, mapping, surveys of all kinds). , etc.).

These professional applications require both exemplary reliability and optimal accuracy of information capture. Vibrations are particularly harmful for the reliability and precision of drones. Indeed, the inertial units, which determine the position of the drone in space, are very sensitive to vibrations. These can cause drift and disorientation of the drone which then becomes uncontrollable. The vibrations may also be responsible for disengagement in flight of the drone, because of the loss of fastening screws or premature structural fatigue, for example. On the other hand, the vibrations transmitted to the on-board sensors for the mission (cameras, cameras, infrared sensors, etc.) can drastically reduce the accuracy of measurements. We will mention in particular the "rolling shutter" phenomenon well known to photographers, and directly related to the vibrations of a camera, which is responsible for obvious geometric aberrations.

The reduction of the vibration level is therefore an essential problem for the design of a professional drone. The strategy currently implemented by the bulk of UAV manufacturers consists of isolating only the sensor (camera or other) from the structure of the drone via silentblocs. Although functional, this strategy has two major drawbacks: the vibrations are transmitted to the inertial unit, thus disturbing the reading of the accelerometers and gyroscopes which condition the stability of the flight and the structure of the drone remains subjected to vibrations, which can thus lead to serious problems of reliability (disruption of the inertial unit, loss of screws in flight, premature structural fatigue, etc.).

Some manufacturers also mount the engines on silentblocs. This technique has a very limited efficiency since it requires the use of very rigid silentblocs to limit dynamic coupling phenomena. Indeed, the use of simple silentblocs does not allow to know precisely the natural modes of vibration of the engine on its support. Therefore, it is essential to have a sufficiently rigid mounting so that the natural frequencies of the assembly are moved away from the rotational speeds of the engine, with the risk of causing destructive resonances, which would be the opposite effect to that sought. Therefore, only very high frequencies, rarely problematic on drones, can be isolated. [0007] Other UAV manufacturers install the inertial unit on an insulating material. Here again, the effectiveness of this solution is very limited because of the very small mass of an inertial unit, and therefore the difficulty of isolating it from relatively low frequencies (of the order of the rotational speed of the motors ). In theory, to obtain an effective assembly, it would either be necessary to weigh down the inertial unit, unthinkable in a drone whose lightness is paramount, or use insulating materials extremely inflexible. In the latter case, the inertial unit is almost no longer integral with the drone and the mere presence of electrical cables connected to the central can suffice to change the orientation, so to distort the measurements and to disorient the drone.

It is therefore found that the vibratory problem is only partially solved in the current multirotors. One solution to overcome this problem is to effectively isolate the vibrations at the source, directly at the powertrain. However, unlike the vibratory isolation of a sensor or an inertial unit, the isolation of a powertrain requires that certain forces be transmitted rigidly: the traction required for the flight of the drone, and the torque required for control of the drone in yaw. The use of simple silentblocs does not allow to respect this constraint.

[0009] EP 2599718 discloses a disk-shaped drone comprising a body housing a plurality of horizontally oriented rotors driven by motors. Each of the rotors is connected to the body through a support arm. The body serves as anchor for the rotor support arms. The body is centrally disposed in the platform casing.

To overcome these disadvantages, the invention provides different technical means. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a device for isolating in a particularly effective manner the vibrations from a multirotor drone powertrain, while transmitting the necessary efforts to control the drone.

To do this, the invention provides a drone comprising a fuselage and a plurality of housing structures in which are arranged a plurality of powertrains, a mechanical link between each powertrain and each powertrain housing structure, said mechanical connection between each power train and each powertrain housing structure comprising a flexible connecting member connecting the power train to the powertrain housing structure, said mechanical linkage between each powertrain and each powertrain housing structure further comprising a joint universal arranged in the axis of rotation of the powertrain, opposite the rotor.

[0012]

According to such an architecture we obtain an excellent decoupling between the powertrain and the structure of the drone thus allowing a reduction of vibrations.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the flexible connecting element is remote from said universal joint.

The universal joint is advantageously anti-torque.

Advantageously, the flexible connecting element is an elastomeric membrane fixed on the one hand to the upper portion of the powertrain, and on the other hand to the housing structure. According to such an architecture, the universal joint has the advantage of being inexpensive, durable and effective.

Advantageously, the universal joint comprises a spiral membrane cooperating on the one hand with the housing structure and on the other hand with the powertrain and a multiaxial flexible connection in which a prominent portion of the powertrain is inserted.

Advantageously, the damping ratio R = 1 / L is between 0.01 and 1, preferably between 0.4 and 1 and more preferably between 0.6 and 0.9, where L corresponds to distance between the universal joint and the plane of the rotor, and I corresponds to the distance between said seal and the attachment point of the flexible link with the powertrain.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

All the details of implementation are given in the description which follows, supplemented by FIGS. 1 to 5B, presented solely for purposes of non-limiting examples, and in which:

FIG 1A is a schematic view illustrating the main efforts to be taken into account in a drone multirotors architecture;

FIG 1B is a sectional view in the vertical plane of the powertrain housing and the powertrain, with a symbolic representation of the damping system according to the invention;

FIG. 1C is a perspective view of an example of a drone provided with a plurality of powertrain housing structures arranged at the end of arms carried by the fuselage of the drone;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view in the vertical plane of an example of a housing structure of the powertrain and an example of implementation of a damping system; FIG 3 is a top view of the housing structure of the powertrain to see the extreme positrons allowed by the damping system according to the invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate an example of a joint or ball joint according to the invention;

FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate two examples of flexible fastening according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

DEFINITIONS

By "drone" 1 is meant a remotely piloted aircraft as defined in the decree of 1 April 2012 on "the design of civil aircraft that circulate without any person on board, the conditions of their employment and capabilities required by the people who use them. In short, it is any aircraft capable of unmanned flight on board, which is controlled either by a computer (on board or on the ground) or by an operator on the ground, used for recreational purposes, competitions , or professional.

By "rotary wing" means any drone whose lift in the air is obtained by means of at least one rotor 6, allowing the drone to hover. The invention relates preferentially to multirotor drones equipped with three to eight rotors.

By "powertrain 4" is meant powertrain which comprises a motor, a rotor with fixed pitch or variable pitch, and all the transmission elements between the motor and the rotor 6 (reducer, rotor head, axis of rotation 5, blade holders, etc.)

"MTOW" means "maximum take off weight", that is to say, the maximum take-off weight of an aircraft, the mass beyond which an aircraft can take off without potentially harming flight safety. By "Rolling Shutter" is meant image acquisition technique on a digital sensor, which consists in recording line by line the image received by the sensor. This technique causes geometric aberrations, or image distortions, when moving objects are being acquired or when the sensor is subjected to vibrations.

Figure 1A illustrates the key forces involved in a rotor arrangement. The latter must be able to transmit the traction force. The torque transmitted by the motor must be supported by the fixing means. The fixing assembly, in addition to being adapted to the latter constraints, must be able to damp the vibrations as well as possible. These various technical requirements are often contradictory, it is relatively complex to reach a right balance between these various constraints, explaining the fact that drones known to date still do not comprise of optimal solution.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example of a multirotor drone 1 comprising a plurality of housing structures 3 such as that illustrated in the example of FIG. 1B.

The objective sought by vibration isolation is to modify the stiffness of the connection between the exciting element and its support in the direction of excitation, so that the cutoff frequency of this link is significantly lower than the excitation frequency.

The exciting element is the powertrain 4, and more precisely the rotor 6 where most of the vibrations (unbalance, geometric defect, etc.). The direction of the excitation is the plane materialized by the rotor disk 6. The support of the exciting element is the structure of the drone. The connection between the exciting element and its support is the attachment of the powertrain 4 in the housing structure 3 of the powertrain. The objective is to change the stiffness of the maintenance of the powertrain 4 in the plane of the rotor 6, while transmitting the torque and traction provided by the powertrain as shown in the diagram of Figure 1A. For this, the invention proposes a mounting, as shown diagrammatically in FIG. 2, composed of a connection of universal joint type 10 or finger ball joint, disposed at a reasonable distance from the rotor 6, and connecting the power unit 4 to the structure of the drone 1, as well as flexible connecting elements 20, arranged between the universal joint 10 and the rotor 6, also connecting the power unit 4 to the housing structure 3 and whose mechanical characteristics (stiffness and damping) are adapted to the frequencies to be isolated.

As shown in Figure 1 B and Figure 2, this architecture makes it possible to transmit the traction and torque forces of the powertrain to the structure via the universal joint, while isolating the motions of the powertrain 4 in the plane of the rotor 6 thanks to the flexible connection elements 20.

Figure 3 illustrates the beneficial effect of this configuration, using a top view of a powertrain 4 arranged in a housing structure 3. The solid lines represent the initial position of the bearing ball 7 of the rotor axis. The dashed lines represent the powertrain 4 in maximum deflection position.

CHARACTERISTIC LENGTH L

As shown in Figure 1 B, the characteristic length is defined as the distance L between the universal joint 10 and the plane of the rotor. To maximize the efficiency of the invention, this characteristic length must be related to the diameter D of the rotor 6, and a characteristic length is preferably chosen in the following ranges: a range of extended characteristic length for which the distance L is greater than or equal to 0.5.D and lower or equal to 2.D. A first preferred characteristic length range for which the distance L is greater than or equal to 0.2. D and less than or equal to 1, 5.D. Finally, a second preferred characteristic length range for which the distance L is greater than or equal to 0.5. D and less than or equal to 1 .D.

AMORTIZATION RATIO

The damping ratio is defined by R = L / I where L is the distance between the universal joint 10 and the plane of the rotor 6 and I is the distance between the seal 10 and the point of attachment of the connecting elements. 4 for the maximum efficiency of the invention, R is chosen in the following ranges: an extended damping ratio range in which the ratio R is greater than or equal to 0.01 and less than or equal to to 1. A first range of preferential damping ratio in which the ratio R is greater than or equal to 0.4 and less than or equal to 1. Finally, a second range of preferential damping ratio in which the ratio R is greater than or equal to 0.6 and less than or equal to 0.9.

UNIVERSAL JOINT

In the context of the present invention, the concrete embodiment of a universal joint connection 10 is complicated by the restricted space and mass constraints imposed by a multirotor drone. Added to this is the need to transmit the traction force provided by the powertrain 4 to the structure. However, conventional solutions such as blade coupling, cardan joints or Rzeppa gasket do not take up, or fail, traction.

The preferred solution, illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the GMP comprises a protruding portion 1 1 which fits into a homothetic hole of the joint, and of larger dimensions, by the company of a flexible multiaxial connection 13 put implemented for example by an elastomeric piece which cooperates with the structure of the drone around the hole. Moreover, a spiral membrane 12 is fixed in its center on the powertrain 4, for example using the fasteners 14, and at its ends on the structure of the drone 1. It transmits rigidly the torque of the powertrain 4 to the structure of the drone while the multiaxial flexible connection 13 transmits almost rigidly the traction of the powertrain 4, while leaving it "swivel" around the joint, thanks to local deformations of the elastomeric part.

SOFT LINK ELEMENTS

FIGS. 5A and 5B show two exemplary embodiments of a flexible connection element 20. FIG. 5A shows an exemplary interface between the upper zone of a hollow-axis GMP with a "brushless" motor with a rotating cage with the housing structure 3. The figure illustrates the rotor 5 and the stator 8, the latter serving as an attachment point for an inner fixation 21 of a flexible membrane 20, cooperating on the other hand with the housing structure 3 at the Figure 5B shows an example similar to that of Figure 5A, for a full-axis GMP. The figure illustrates the rotor 5 and the stator 8, the latter serving as an attachment point for an inner fixation 21 of a flexible membrane 20, cooperating on the other hand with the housing structure 3 by means of an external fastener 22 .

The main difficulty in the choice of flexible connecting elements 20 lies in the fact that a rotor 6 must accelerate to reach a nominal speed. During this acceleration phase, the natural frequency of the device will be reached and exceeded. During the passage of this natural frequency, it is necessary to have a damping coefficient sufficient to avoid a phenomenon of divergent resonance and potentially destructive. However, this damping must not be too high to avoid canceling the insulating effect of the link beyond this natural frequency.

In the examples presented here, the flexible connecting elements 20 are preferably made using elastomeric materials (rubbers, silicones, latex, etc.). The figures and their descriptions made above illustrate the invention rather than limiting it. In particular, the invention and its various variants have just been described in connection with a particular example comprising a drone provided with four arms 2 and four rotors 6.

Nevertheless, it is obvious to one skilled in the art that the invention can be extended to other embodiments in which variants are provided with a different number of arms and rotors, preferably between four and eight.

Reference numbers used on Drone figures

Arms

GMP housing structure

Powertrain (GMP)

Rotor shaft

Rotor

Ball bearing of the rotor axis

Stator of the engine

Universal joint

Prominent portion of the powertrain

Spiral membrane

Flexible multiaxial connection

Attachment of Powertrain and Membrane Flexible Connecting Elements

Internal fastening of the flexible connecting element

External fixing of the flexible connecting element

Claims

1. Drone (1) comprising a fuselage and a plurality of housing structures (3) in which are arranged a plurality of powertrains (4), a mechanical link between each powertrain (4) and each housing structure (3) group power train (4), said mechanical connection between each power unit (4) and each powertrain housing structure (3) comprising a flexible connecting element (20) connecting the power unit (4) to the housing structure (3) powertrain (4), characterized in that said mechanical connection between each powertrain (4) and each housing structure (3) powertrain (4) further comprises a universal joint (10) disposed in the axis (5) of rotation of the power unit (4), opposite the rotor (6).

2. Drone (1) according to claim 1, wherein the flexible connecting element (20) is remote (I) of the universal joint (10).

3. Drone (1) according to one of claims 1 or 2, wherein the universal joint is anti-torque.

4. Drone (1) according to one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the flexible connecting element is an elastomeric membrane attached firstly to the upper portion of the powertrain, and secondly to the structure of housing (3).

5. Drone according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the universal joint comprises a spiral membrane (12) cooperating on the one hand with the housing structure (3) and on the other hand with the powertrain and a flexible multiaxial connection (13) in which a prominent portion (1 1) of the powertrain is inserted.

6. Drone (1) according to one of the preceding claims, having a damping ratio R = 1 / L between 0.01 and 1, preferably between 0.4 and 1 and more preferably between 0.6 and 0.9 , where L is the distance between the universal joint and the plane of the rotor, and I is the distance between said seal and the attachment point of the flexible link with the power train.