JP2004322836A - Spray data collecting method of unmanned helicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spray data collecting method of an unmanned helicopter capable of realizing accurate and efficient spray by recognizing a spray region and eliminating overlapped and useless spray and un-spray region, by storing flight data such as a flight path and spray data such as a spray amount and displaying them on a personal computer screen on the ground side when agricultural chemicals or the like are sprayed using the unmanned helicopter. <P>SOLUTION: The unmanned helicopter 1 comprises GPS devices 5 and 6 for obtaining positional information of the airframe, a flight controller 28 for controlling the airframe via a driving device, and a spraying device 15 for spraying a sprayed object. In the spray data collecting method of the unmanned helicopter 1, the flight data including the flight path 35 obtained from the positional information of the GPS devices 5 and 6 and a flight control state controlled by an airframe controller and the spray data including a spray section and the spray amount are collected, a data group provided by collecting them is inputted into the personal computer 25 on the ground side, and a sprayed region 37 can be displayed on the personal computer screen 38. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an unmanned helicopter scatter data collection method.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When spraying pesticides or the like, an unmanned helicopter is used (see Patent Document 1). In this patent document 1, when an object to be scattered such as a pesticide is scattered in a predetermined area using an unmanned helicopter, a GPS device for obtaining position information is mounted on the body, and flight control is performed by remote control operation from the ground. In addition, a monitoring device for monitoring the moving state of the aircraft so that the aircraft does not deviate from the field of view is described.
[0003]
However, in the unmanned helicopter disclosed in Patent Literature 1, when the pesticide is sprayed by remote control, the amount of the spray cannot be grasped, and the skill of the pilot is required to spray an appropriate amount of the pesticide in an appropriate area.
[0004]
Conventionally, only the flight data such as the flight route is stored and displayed on the PC screen on the ground side, and the scatter data after the actual scatter is not displayed. If refueling or replenishment is carried out during the flight without being able to confirm, the spraying will be repeated in the next flight, or conversely, the unsprayed area will be created, making it impossible to properly spray the pesticide.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-5-19854
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described conventional technology, and when spraying pesticides or the like using an unmanned helicopter, the spray data such as the amount of spraying is stored together with the flight data such as a flight path and the like, and these are stored in a personal computer on the ground side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for collecting data of unmanned helicopter spraying, in which a spray area is confirmed by displaying it on a screen, and redundant useless spraying or unsprayed area can be eliminated to realize highly accurate and efficient spraying. .
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, an unmanned helicopter includes a GPS device for obtaining position information of an aircraft, a flight control device for controlling the aircraft via a driving device, and a dispersing device for dispersing objects to be dispersed. In the scattered data collection method, the flight data including the flight path obtained from the position information of the GPS device and the flight control state controlled by the aircraft control device, and the scatter data including the scatter section and the scatter amount are collected, and these are collected. Provided is a method for collecting data of a scattered unmanned helicopter, wherein the collected data is input to a personal computer on the ground side, and the scattered area can be displayed on a personal computer screen.
[0008]
According to this configuration, during the flight, together with the flight data such as the flight path, altitude, and GPS control state, the scattering data such as the scattered flight sections and the amount of spraying are collected, and the collected data group is input to the personal computer on the ground. The scattered area is displayed on the computer screen, so you can check the scattered area, avoid overlapping scatter when spraying later, and eliminate the unscattered area with high accuracy and efficiently evenly over the entire predetermined area Can be sprayed. Especially when splitting the spray during a flight such as a headland, or when replenishing sprayed objects or fuel, the next spraying can be performed on the second flight after checking the previous spraying state based on the previous data, and with high accuracy Appropriate spraying can be achieved.
[0009]
In a preferred configuration example, the set data group is stored in a storage medium on a machine or in a personal computer on the ground, and data is read from the storage medium and displayed on a screen.
[0010]
According to this configuration, the collective data group is temporarily stored in a storage medium such as a non-volatile memory, and the storage medium is taken out of the airframe after the flight and inserted into the personal computer, or the personal computer on the ground by communication with the ground during the flight. Is stored in the memory in the personal computer, and the scatter area is displayed based on the stored data. As a result, the data of the scatter area remains in the memory, so that the data can be checked when necessary, and when the second or later scatter is performed based on this data, or when another person scatters, the previous data is stored. The spraying state can be grasped in advance by using the method, and the spraying can be performed efficiently with high accuracy without unevenness.
[0011]
In a preferred configuration example, the flight data includes altitude data, a fall dispersion range of the scattered object is calculated based on the altitude data, and a scatter area is displayed based on the fall dispersion range and the flight path data. I have.
[0012]
According to this configuration, the range in which the scattered object is dispersed is estimated based on the stored altitude data during the flight. Therefore, the estimated variance range is set in advance as a calculation program, and the scattered area is calculated based on the estimated scattered area. Can be displayed above. As a result, the area scattered with high accuracy can be displayed.
[0013]
A preferred configuration example is characterized in that it is determined whether or not the amount of application with respect to the application area is appropriate, and the application is stopped or continued based on the determination result.
[0014]
According to this configuration, for the scattered area that is determined in advance or confirmed by the measurement flight before the scatter flight, the flight is performed while determining whether or not the scatter amount has reached the required scatter amount. As a result, insufficient or excessive spraying can be prevented.
[0015]
In a preferred configuration example, the flight data includes GPS data, a flight speed is calculated based on the GPS data, and the spraying device can be controlled based on the flight speed.
[0016]
According to this configuration, the flying speed is calculated, and the spraying device is controlled so as to obtain an appropriate amount of spraying according to the flying speed, so that accurate spraying can be performed with high accuracy.
[0017]
In a preferred configuration example, the flight data includes frequency data of a radio wave for remote control operation, and is scattered by another body flying at the same time using radio waves of a frequency different from the frequency data.
[0018]
According to this configuration, when spraying is performed by a plurality of devices, since each device displays the frequency of the radio wave used by the remote control, the plurality of devices can perform the remote control operation by setting different frequencies, without causing interference. , Respectively, can perform proper spraying.
[0019]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.
The unmanned helicopter 1 has a main rotor 2 and a ladder rotor 3, and has a receiving antenna 4 near the ladder rotor 3. A GPS antenna 5 is provided above the body of the unmanned helicopter 1, and receives GPS signals. A GPS sensor 6 is provided below the tail 9 at the rear of the fuselage, and measures a position from a GPS signal. At the rear end of the GPS sensor 6, there are provided a GPS indicator light 7 for displaying an operation state and a reception state of control using the GPS in flight and a warning light 8 for displaying an abnormality of the aircraft. The GPS indicator light 7 and the warning light 8 are actually provided side by side.
[0020]
A self-monitor 10 for displaying the initial state of the unmanned helicopter 1 before flight is provided above the tail 9 at the rear of the aircraft. A direction sensor 11 for detecting geomagnetism is provided below the tail 9. A spraying device 15 including a tank 16 filled with a sprayed material such as agricultural chemicals or other chemicals, a pump 17 and a nozzle 18 is mounted on the airframe.
[0021]
A plurality of servomotors 12 for moving the body in the front-rear, left-right and up-and-down directions, rotating directions, and driving the throttle are provided in the body. The controller 13 further performs GPS control based on the GPS signal. The drive of the pump 17 of the spraying device 15 is controlled by the spraying control device 14.
[0022]
A data collector 19 including a board for collecting various flight data and scatter data is provided in the airframe. To the data collector 19, various flight data such as a flight route, a flight altitude, and a GPS control state, and scatter data such as a scatter section during flight and a driving state of a scatter apparatus are sent from the controller 13 and written into the memory 20 on the same board. Is memorized. The memory 20 on the board may be removable as the data medium 26.
[0023]
The ground-side remote control transmitter 21 includes a transmission antenna 22 and two stick controls 23 for driving the servomotors to operate the aircraft. The transmitter 21 is provided with a spray switch 24 for driving the spray device 15 to spray the medicine from the nozzle 18. By turning on / off the spray switch 24, the medicine is sprayed or the spray is stopped.
[0024]
After the flight is completed, the memory 20 is taken out of the airframe, inserted into the personal computer 25, and data groups such as flight data and scatter data in the memory 20 are input. This data input may be directly input to the personal computer 25 from the aircraft via the communication device during the flight. Based on the input flight data and scatter data, the scattered area is displayed on the personal computer screen together with these data. In the figure, the flight path 35 and the scattering area 37 of the aircraft 36 are displayed on the map on the screen 38.
[0025]
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the scatter area.
As shown in (A), the fall dispersion range of the scattered object can be almost estimated from the height of the airframe. Therefore, based on the dispersion range, the flight path of the airframe, and the on / off information of the scatter switch 24, the scatter area 37 indicated by hatching is displayed together with the flight path 35 on the map 39 on the screen as shown in FIG. Can be.
[0026]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a system for implementing the scatter data collection method according to the present invention.
[0027]
The controller 13 includes a flight control device 28 and a GPS control device 29 controlled by a control program of the CPU 27. A reception signal from the reception antenna 4 is input to the CPU 27 via the receiver 39. The receiver 39 may be incorporated in the controller 13 as a circuit board.
[0028]
The direction sensor 11 and the GPS sensor 6 incorporated in the GPS unit 30 are connected to the GPS control device 29. The GPS unit 30 is provided with a display control circuit 31 for controlling lighting of the GPS indicator light 7, and displays the operation state and the reception state of the GPS control device 29 with the GPS indicator light 7.
[0029]
The flight control device 28 is connected with a rotation sensor 32 for detecting the number of revolutions of the engine and an attitude sensor 33 for detecting the attitude of the body by a gyro. The warning light 8 is connected to the flight control device 28.
[0030]
The data collector 19 is connected to the CPU 27 and collects information from the CPU 27. The CPU 27 is further connected to a servo drive 34 for driving each servo motor.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the embodiment of the present invention. The operation of each step is as follows.
[0032]
Step S1:
Perform a measurement flight before performing a scatter flight. This is a flight (step S5) for measuring the area of the spraying place.
[0033]
Step S2:
After the measurement flight, spraying is started (step S6). This is performed by turning on the scatter switch 24 (FIG. 1) of the remote control transmitter 21.
[0034]
Step S3:
Spray while checking the situation. This involves landing once during flight, taking out a data medium, checking recorded data, etc., taking off again, and performing a scatter flight. There is no need to land when transmitting data to a personal computer on the ground during a flight.
[0035]
Step S4:
When the prescribed amount of the medicine is sprayed, the spraying is stopped. This is performed by turning off the scatter switch 24 (FIG. 1) of the remote control transmitter 21. When the spraying is completed, land and prepare for the next scattering flight.
[0036]
Step S5:
This is a step of measuring the spray area in step S1. Based on the area measurement result, the necessary amount of spraying is calculated, and it is determined whether the amount of spraying is appropriate in step S8 described below.
[0037]
Step S6:
In accordance with the spray start command in step S2, the controller 13 (FIGS. 1 and 3) drives the spray device 15 via the spray control device 14 to spray the medicine. In this scattering flight, the state data including the section in which the spraying device is operated and the medicine is ejected from the nozzle, that is, the section or time from takeoff to landing, or the state where the spraying switch is on, is the data collector 19 (FIGS. 1 and 3). ) Is recorded in the memory 20 (step R1). Further, the falling dispersion range of the scattered object is similarly recorded in the memory 20 (step R2).
[0038]
Step S7:
The spray amount is calculated from the injection time of the nozzle. The calculated application amount is recorded in the memory 20 as the total application amount (step R3).
[0039]
Step S8:
It is determined whether the application amount is appropriate. This is to determine whether the spray amount calculated in step S7 is appropriate for the spray area. The result of the determination as to whether the application amount is appropriate is recorded in the memory via the data collector (step R4). If it is not more than the appropriate amount, the process returns to step S5 to continue the spraying. If the appropriate amount has been reached or exceeded, the process proceeds to step S9.
[0040]
Step S9:
Stop operation of the spraying device. In this case, the spraying operation may be stopped by turning off the spraying switch of the remote control transmitter on the ground side, or the spraying operation may be automatically stopped by the controller on the body side.
[0041]
Step S10:
Based on the GPS signal, the position is measured and the flight speed is calculated from the change in the position.
[0042]
Step S11:
Based on the flight speed, the CPU 27 calculates an appropriate amount of application, and controls the voltage of the application device so that an appropriate amount of application is obtained. The voltage value is recorded in the memory 20 via the data collector (Step R5).
[0043]
Step S12:
Based on the flight speed, the CPU 27 calculates an appropriate amount of application, and controls the current of the application device so that an appropriate amount of application is obtained. The current value is recorded in the memory 20 via the data collector (Step R6).
[0044]
The flight path based on the position information during the flight is always recorded in the memory 20 via the data collector (step R7). The frequency used for remote control communication is recorded in the memory 20 via the data collector (step R8). With this, when spraying with multiple aircraft, each aircraft displays the frequency of the radio wave used by the remote controller, so that multiple aircraft can set the different frequency and operate the remote control, and without interference, Can be performed.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, during flight, together with flight data such as flight path, altitude, and GPS control status, scattered data such as scattered flight sections and scattered amount are collected, and the collected data group is collected on the ground. The scattered area is displayed on the PC screen after inputting to the PC, so that the scattered area can be confirmed, and when spraying later, avoid the overlapping scattered area and eliminate the unscattered area and remove the unscattered area with high precision and efficiency in the specified area Can be spread evenly throughout. Especially when splitting the spray during a flight such as a headland, or when replenishing sprayed objects or fuel, the next spraying can be performed on the second flight after checking the previous spraying state based on the previous data, and with high accuracy Appropriate spraying can be achieved.
[0046]
Further, according to the configuration in which the set data group is stored in a storage medium on a body or in a personal computer on the ground, data is read from the storage medium and displayed on a screen, the set data group is temporarily stored in a non-volatile memory or the like. It is stored in a storage medium, and this storage medium is taken out of the fuselage after flight and inserted into a personal computer, or during flight, taken into a personal computer on the ground by communication with the ground, stored in memory in the personal computer, and then stored in the memory. A scatter area is displayed based on the scatter area. As a result, the data of the scatter area remains in the memory, so that the data can be checked when necessary, and when the second or later scatter is performed based on this data, or when another person scatters, the previous data is stored. The spraying state can be grasped in advance by using the method, and the spraying can be performed efficiently with high accuracy without unevenness.
[0047]
According to the configuration in which the flight data includes altitude data, a fall dispersion range of the scattered object is calculated based on the altitude data, and the spray area is displayed based on the fall dispersion range and the flight path data, the data is stored. Since the range in which the scattered objects are dispersed is estimated based on the altitude data during the flight, this estimated variance range can be set in advance as a calculation program, and the scattered area can be calculated based on this and displayed on the screen. As a result, the area scattered with high accuracy can be displayed.
[0048]
In addition, according to the configuration in which the application amount is determined to be appropriate with respect to the application area and the application is stopped or continued based on the determination result, the identification is performed by confirming the measurement flight that is known in advance or before the application flight. Since it is possible to fly while discriminating whether or not the applied amount of spray has reached the required amount of application for the applied area, it is possible to prevent insufficient or excessive application.
[0049]
Further, according to the configuration in which the flight data includes GPS data, a flight speed is calculated based on the GPS data, and the spraying device can be controlled based on the flight speed. Since the spraying device is controlled so as to obtain a proper spraying amount according to the speed, proper spraying can be performed with high accuracy.
[0050]
Further, according to the configuration in which the flight data includes frequency data of radio waves for remote control operation and is dispersed by another aircraft flying at the same time using radio waves of a frequency different from the frequency data, when each of the plurality of aircraft performs the distribution, Displays the frequency of the radio wave used by the remote controller, so that the multiple devices can set the different frequencies and perform the remote control operation, and can execute the appropriate distribution without interference.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a spray area.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1: Unmanned helicopter, 2: Main rotor, 3: Rudder rotor,
4: receiving antenna, 5: GPS antenna, 6: GPS sensor,
7: GPS indicator light, 8: warning light, 9: tail, 10: self-monitoring,
11: direction sensor, 12: servo motor, 13: controller,
14: spray control device, 15: spray device, 16: tank, 17: pump,
18: nozzle, 19: data collector, 20: storage medium, 21: transmitter,
22: transmitting antenna, 23: stick operator, 24: scatter switch,
25: personal computer, 26: data medium, 28: flight control device,
29: GPS controller, 30: GPS unit, 31: display control circuit,
32: rotation sensor, 33: attitude sensor, 34: servo drive,
35: flight path, 36: airframe, 37: scatter area, 38: screen,
39: Receiver.

Claims (6)

In a method for collecting data of an unmanned helicopter provided with a GPS device for obtaining position information of the airframe, a flight control device for controlling the airframe via a driving device, and a scatter device for scattered objects,
The flight data including the flight path obtained from the position information of the GPS device and the flight control state controlled by the aircraft control device, and the scatter data including the scatter section and the scatter amount are collected. A method for collecting data from an unmanned helicopter, comprising inputting data to a personal computer and displaying a scattered area on a personal computer screen. 2. The unmanned helicopter scattered data collection according to claim 1, wherein the set data group is stored in a storage medium on an airframe or in a personal computer on the ground, and data is read from the storage medium and displayed on a screen. Method. The flight data includes altitude data, a fall dispersion range of a scattered object is calculated based on the altitude data, and a spray area is displayed based on the fall dispersion range and the flight path data. 3. The method for collecting unmanned helicopter spray data according to 2. 4. The method for collecting data of a scattered data of an unmanned helicopter according to claim 1, wherein it is determined whether or not a scatter amount with respect to the scatter area is appropriate, and the scatter is stopped or continued based on a result of the determination. 5. The flight data according to claim 1, wherein the flight data includes GPS data, a flight speed is calculated based on the GPS data, and the spraying device can be controlled based on the flight speed. Data collection method of unmanned helicopter in Japan. The flight data according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the flight data includes frequency data of a radio wave for remote control operation, and the flight data is scattered by another body flying at the same time using radio waves of a frequency different from the frequency data. Scatter data collection method for unmanned helicopters.

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