JP2004268737A - Gps control method for unmanned helicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter which continues and stops flying in a safe and stable status without causing sudden acceleration or the like, when a reception failure of a GPS sensor occurs during a flight. <P>SOLUTION: In this GPS control method of the unmanned helicopter which performs speed control utilizing a control program, the control program includes a calculation step (F5) for flying speed and a storage step (F6) for calculation result, and a determination step (F4) for determining whether or not GPS control is possible. If the GPS control is not available, flying is controlled on the basis of such a control amount as to cancel flying speed calculated in the calculation step of flying speed immediately before the flying speed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When flying an unmanned helicopter, speed control using GPS position data is performed (for example, see Patent Document 1). In this case, the reception state of the GPS sensor may suddenly deteriorate. At this time, if the speed control is suddenly stopped, the speed of the airframe may suddenly increase depending on the flight condition, and the aircraft may fly in the control impossible state at the speed just before the reception is deteriorated and cannot return.
[0003]
Also, when speed control is simply stopped and flight control is performed only by attitude control, especially when control is performed in conjunction with the stick operator of the transmitter, a large attitude target is generated at the moment of switching to attitude control. With rapid acceleration, stable flight control is no longer possible.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-19854 [0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned prior art, and when there is a reception failure of a GPS sensor during a flight, it is possible to continue the flight in a stable state without sudden acceleration and stop the flight. It is an object of the present invention to provide a GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter that performs speed control using a control program, the control program has a flight speed calculation step and a calculation result storage step. A GPS for controlling an unmanned helicopter, comprising: a step of determining whether or not the flight is possible; and, when the GPS control becomes impossible, performing a flight control with a steering amount for canceling the flight speed calculated in the immediately preceding flight speed calculation step. A control method is provided.
[0007]
According to this configuration, the flight speed is calculated based on the GPS signal for each sequence routine of a series of program executions during flight in accordance with the control program, and the calculated flight speed is stored in the memory. When a GPS reception failure occurs, based on the flight speed data stored in the memory during the execution of the immediately preceding program control, the flight is controlled by a steering amount that brakes the aircraft so as to cancel the flight speed. The flight can be stably continued without sudden acceleration and the speed can be gradually reduced to a hovering state, and the control can be shifted to the attitude control to continue the flight or descend and land.
[0008]
A preferred configuration example is characterized in that when GPS control cannot be performed, a warning light on the aircraft is displayed.
[0009]
According to this configuration, when a GPS reception failure occurs during the flight, this is displayed by the warning light, so that the pilot on the ground can immediately recognize the reception failure and turn off the GPS control switch. And other necessary measures can be taken promptly.
[0010]
In a preferred configuration example, the transmitter for transmitting the operation command signal has a GPS control switch and a manual changeover switch adjacent to each other, and the operation types of the switches are different.
[0011]
According to this configuration, the GPS control switch and the manual changeover switch can be arranged adjacent to each other as a flight control switch, and can be arranged separately from other switches for dispersing medicine or the like. Reduce. Further, by making the operation modes of the GPS control switch and the manual changeover switch different from each other, the possibility that the manual changeover switch is operated by mistake when the GPS switch is turned off at the time of reception failure is reduced.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned helicopter according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The fuselage 1 has a main rotor 2 and a rudder rotor 3, and is equipped with an engine 4 and an ignition system 5 thereof. A receiving antenna 6 is provided near the ladder rotor 3 and is connected to a receiver 8 formed on a printed circuit board in a receiving box 7 in the body. In the receiving box 7, there is further provided a controller 9 formed on another printed circuit board. A GPS sensor 10 is provided below the rear tail 27 of the body 1. The GPS sensor 10 measures a position from a GPS signal received by the GPS antenna 13. At the rear end of the GPS sensor 10, there are provided a GPS indicator light 11 for displaying a GPS operating state and a receiving state during flight, and a warning light 26 for displaying an abnormality of the aircraft. The GPS indicator light 11 and the warning light 26 are actually arranged side by side on the left and right.
[0013]
The body 1 above the tail 27 at the rear of the body is provided with a panel display unit 25 for displaying an initial state of the body before flight. A posture sensor 12 composed of a gyro is provided near the center of gravity of the body 1. Reference numeral 14 denotes an azimuth sensor for detecting geomagnetism, and reference numeral 15 denotes an engine rotation sensor.
[0014]
The body 1 includes five servomotors 16 to 20 that are driven and controlled by the controller 9. 16 is a left aileron servomotor, 17 is a right aileron servomotor, 18 is an elevator servomotor, 19 is a throttle servomotor, and 20 is a ladder servomotor.
[0015]
Reference numeral 21 denotes a ground-side transmitter. The transmitter 21 includes a first operation element 22 and a second operation element 23 having a stick shape.
[0016]
The first operator 22 is for elevator operation and rudder operation. By operating the first operator 22 in the ab direction, the elevator servomotor 18 is controlled to lower the nose and fly forward (operation a) or raise the nose to fly backward (operation b). By operating the first operating element 22 in the cd direction, the ladder servomotor 20 is controlled to adjust the direction in the left-right direction toward the front of the aircraft 1 and swing the nose left (operating in the c-direction) or right ( d-direction operation).
[0017]
The second operator 23 is used for throttle operation and aileron operation, and is an engine operator for simultaneously adjusting the engine speed and the main rotor load. By operating the second operation element 23 in the ef direction, the body is raised (operation in the e direction) or lowered (operation in the f direction) in the horizontal posture. That is, by operating the second operator 23 in the ef direction, the throttle servomotor 19 is controlled, the engine throttle opening is adjusted, and the left and right aileron servomotors 16 and 17 and the elevator servomotor 18 are simultaneously driven. . As a result, the aircraft rises or descends while keeping the horizontal posture.
[0018]
By operating the second operator 23 in the gh direction, the left and right aileron servomotors 16 and 17 are controlled, and the airframe 1 is tilted left and moved left (g direction operation) or tilted right and moved right (right) ( h direction operation).
[0019]
The transmitter 21 is provided with an encoder position sensor 24 for detecting an encon operation position of the second operator (encon operator) 23 in the ef direction. The engine control position sensor 24 is for controlling the target engine speed in accordance with the main rotor load corresponding to the engine throttle opening.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a control system block diagram of the unmanned helicopter according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control calculation process by the controller.
A control command signal by the operation of the transmitter 21 on the ground side is received by the receiver 8 on the fuselage side and sent to the controller 9 for signal processing. The controller 9 performs the arithmetic processing of the flow shown in FIG. 3 according to a control program preset in the internal control circuit 28.
[0021]
First, an operation state flag and the like are set to initial values (step A1). Subsequently, input signal processing is performed by the input signal processing unit 29 (step A2). This is to check whether the reception state is normal and whether various sensors are normal based on input signals such as command signals and detection signals of various sensors.
[0022]
Next, an engine rotation control calculation is performed (step A3). In this, the engine rotation control calculation unit 30 controls the throttle opening based on the encon servo command from the encon operator 23 (FIG. 1) of the transmitter 21 to control the airplane to fly at a predetermined engine speed. .
[0023]
Next, a posture control calculation is performed (step A4). This is to control the inclination of the body in the front-back and left-right directions based on the signal from the posture sensor 12 in the posture control calculation unit 31.
[0024]
Next, GPS control calculation is performed (step A5). This is to control the flight position and the flight speed based on the signal from the GPS sensor 10 in the GPS control calculation unit 32.
[0025]
Next, after performing these input signal processing and each control calculation processing, the processing result is output from the output signal processing unit 33 (step A6). Based on the output signal, the ignition system of the engine is driven to drive the engine based on the commanded engine speed, and the servomotors 16 to 20 are driven to control the direction and attitude.
[0026]
The routine of these steps A1 to A6 is controlled while the data is being updated during flight, for example, about every 20 ms.
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the GPS control of the unmanned helicopter according to the embodiment of the present invention. The operation of each step is as follows.
[0028]
Step F1:
Based on input signals such as command signals and detection signals of various sensors, it is checked whether the reception state is normal and whether various sensors are normal. This is the same as step A2 in FIG.
[0029]
Step F2:
The engine rotation control calculator 30 controls the throttle opening based on the encon servo command from the encon operator 23 (FIG. 1) of the transmitter 21 to control the flight at a predetermined engine speed. This is the same as step A3 in FIG.
[0030]
Step F3:
The attitude control calculation unit 31 controls the inclination of the body in the front-back and left-right directions based on the signal from the attitude sensor 12. This is the same as step A4 in FIG.
[0031]
Step F4:
It is determined whether GPS control is possible. This is to determine whether or not the GPS sensor 10 normally receives the GPS signal and whether or not the GPS control switch for performing the GPS control is turned on. If the GPS control is possible, the process proceeds to step F5. If the GPS control is not possible, the process proceeds to step F9. When the GPS control cannot be performed, the GPS indicator light 11 or the warning light 26 (see FIG. 1) provided on the aircraft is displayed by lighting or blinking to notify the ground operator that the GPS control cannot be performed.
[0032]
Step F5:
Calculate the current actual flight speed based on the GPS signal.
[0033]
Step F6:
The calculated flight speed is stored in the memory.
[0034]
Step F7:
The actual flight speed is fed back so as to become the target speed of the steering command signal, and the steering control amount is calculated.
[0035]
Step F8:
The steering amount is calculated as an output signal value, and the servomotors 16 to 20 are driven to perform speed feedback control.
[0036]
Step F9:
Calculate the steering amount to cancel the flight speed. This flight speed is obtained by calculating the flight speed data in step F5 of the immediately preceding program execution routine and reading out the flight speed data stored in step F6. The servo motors 16 to 20 are driven based on the steering amount. As a result, the aircraft is braked, the speed gradually decreases, and the vehicle enters a hovering state.
[0037]
FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the calculation of the steering amount for canceling the flight speed. The operation of the flowchart in (A) is as follows.
[0038]
Step G1:
The flight speed V0 immediately before the GPS reception failure is read from the memory.
[0039]
Step G2:
The step input for driving each servomotor required to cancel the read flight speed is calculated. In this step input, as shown in (B), the step width is the input time t (V0), and the step height is the input value u (V0). By giving such a step input, the flying speed is made zero and the hovering state is set.
[0040]
Step G3:
Smooth the data using a first order lag filter. When the steering amount is calculated based on the flight state detection data, the detection data is smoothed to smooth the behavior of the aircraft.
[0041]
Step G4:
Based on the step input in step G2, a steering amount that is a drive amount of each servomotor is calculated.
[0042]
FIG. 6 is a front and rear perspective view of the transmitter.
The first operation element 22 and the second operation element 23 described above (FIG. 1) are provided on the front side of the transmitter 21. A GPS control switch 29 is provided on one shoulder of the transmitter 21, and a manual changeover switch 30 is provided adjacent to the same shoulder. The GPS control switch 29 is an on / off switch for GPS control using a GPS sensor. The GPS control switch 29 is, for example, a toggle switch. The manual changeover switch 30 is a changeover switch for manual control and automatic control. The manual changeover switch 30 is constituted by, for example, a push button switch or a rotary switch of a type different from the toggle switch.
[0043]
A scatter switch 39 and a scatter width switch 40 are provided on the shoulder surface opposite to the transmitter 21. The spray switch 39 is a switch for spraying a medicine or the like, and the spray width switch 40 is a switch for switching between full opening and half opening to adjust the spray width.
[0044]
An antenna 31 is provided on the back side of the transmitter, and various switches and lamp groups are provided on the front side. That is, the power switch 32, the output lamp 33, the battery monitor lamp 34, the rotor rotation adjustment volume 35, the spray amount adjustment volume 36, the rotor brake switch 37, the engine stop switch 38, and the trim levers 41 to 44 of the operators 22 and 23 are operated. Equipped. 45 is a belt hook.
[0045]
In such a transmitter, a GPS control switch 29 and a manual changeover switch 30, which are switches for flight control, are arranged adjacent to each other, and are spaced apart from other switches 39, 40 for dispersing medicine, for example. Therefore, the possibility of erroneous operation is reduced. Further, since the operation modes of the GPS control switch 29 and the manual changeover switch 30 are different from each other, the possibility that the manual changeover switch 30 is erroneously operated when the GPS switch 29 is turned off in the case of poor reception is reduced.
[0046]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the flight speed is calculated based on the GPS signal for each sequence routine of a series of program executions during flight in accordance with the control program, and the calculated flight speed is stored in the memory. Occurs, the flight control is performed based on the flight speed data stored in the memory during the execution of the immediately preceding program control with the steering amount for braking the aircraft so as to cancel the flight speed. Thereby, the flight can be stably continued without sudden acceleration and the speed can be gradually reduced to the hovering state, and the control can be shifted to the attitude control to continue the flight or descend and land. .
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an unmanned helicopter according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a control system block diagram of the unmanned helicopter according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a control calculation process performed by a controller.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of GPS control according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a method of calculating a flight speed canceling speed.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a transmitter according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Airframe, 2: Main rotor, 3: Rudder, 4: Engine, 5: Ignition system,
6: receiving antenna, 7: receiving box, 8: receiver, 9: controller,
10: GPS sensor, 11: GPS indicator light, 12: Attitude sensor,
13: GPS antenna, 14: bearing sensor, 15: engine rotation sensor,
16: right aileron servomotor, 17: left aileron servomotor,
18: Elevation servo motor, 19: Encon servo motor,
20: ladder servomotor, 21: transmitter, 22: first operator,
23: second operation element, 24: operation position sensor, 25: panel display unit,
26: warning light, 27: tail, 28: control circuit, 29: GPS control switch,
30: manual changeover switch, 31: antenna,
32: power switch, 33: output lamp, 34: battery monitor lamp,
35: Rotor rotation adjustment volume, 36: Spray amount adjustment volume,
37: Rotor brake switch,
38: engine stop switch, 39: spray switch, 40: spray width switch,
41 to 44: trim lever, 45: belt hook.

Claims (3)

In a GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter that performs speed control using a control program,
The control program includes a flight speed calculation step and a calculation result storage step, and also includes a determination step as to whether or not GPS control is possible. When the GPS control becomes impossible, the immediately preceding flight speed calculation step is performed. A GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter, wherein the flight control is performed with a steering amount that cancels the flight speed calculated in (1). The GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter according to claim 1, wherein when the GPS control becomes impossible, the warning is displayed by a warning light of the aircraft. 3. The GPS control method for an unmanned helicopter according to claim 1, wherein the transmitter for transmitting the operation command signal has a GPS control switch and a manual changeover switch adjacent to each other, and each switch has a different operation type. .

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