JP2005247008A - Control device for unmanned helicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a control device for an unmanned helicopter capable of enhancing the stability of a helicopter body when the air speed of the helicopter body is increased. <P>SOLUTION: A determination means 23 is provided, which determines whether or not the wind velocity in a flight area or the flight speed is larger than the value at which a predetermined stable flight is possible. A flight position control means 24 is provided, which performs the feedback control of the position of a helicopter body 3 when the detected value is larger than the predetermined value. The flight position control means 24 comprises a route setting means 28 to set the target flight route to direct the target position of the helicopter body 3, and a correction means 29 to correct the positional deviation of the helicopter body 3 only in the direction orthogonal to the target flight route. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a control device for an unmanned helicopter that controls the flight of an unmanned helicopter that sprays agricultural chemicals or performs aerial photography of a dangerous area, for example.

  As a conventional control device for an unmanned helicopter of this type, for example, there is one disclosed in Patent Document 1. The unmanned helicopter shown in this publication flies using an engine as a power source, and various servo motors that open and close the throttle valve and change the state of the main rotor and tail rotor, and an attitude sensor that detects the attitude of the aircraft And a GPS sensor that detects the position of the aircraft on the earth coordinates, a wireless device that performs wireless communication with the ground station, and the like.

  The control device for controlling the flight of the unmanned helicopter includes a current flight state / position detected by the sensors on the airframe side and sent as communication data to the ground station, and a personal computer (hereinafter simply referred to as a personal computer) in the ground station. In other words, the servo motors are operated so that the target flight state and the target position set by the The flight state is a numerical value such as a longitudinal flight speed, a lateral flight speed, a vertical flight speed, an azimuth angle speed, and an attitude angle (pitch angle, roll angle, azimuth angle) of the aircraft. It is data.

In this control device, when the wind in the flight airspace becomes stronger in the middle or the direction of the wind changes, the aircraft will move correctly against this wind, that is, so that the unmanned helicopter performs so-called autonomous flight. Control the operation of each servo motor. For example, when the aircraft flies against a headwind, for example, the control device increases the flight speed so that the aircraft flies correctly at the target position.
In addition, the applicant could not find any prior art documents closely related to the present invention by the time of filing other than the prior art documents specified by the prior art document information described in the present specification. .
JP 2000-118498 A (page 3-5, FIG. 1)

  The conventional unmanned helicopter control device configured as described above tilts the aircraft to the limit of the flightable angle in order to obtain a high flight speed, for example, when flying at high speed against the headwind Sometimes. In such a flight state, the direction in which the airframe inclines greatly changes in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with only a slight change in the wind direction. For this reason, the conventional control device for unmanned helicopters has a problem that the airframe largely swings when the airspeed of the airframe is high. Such a problem occurs in the same manner when flying while receiving a strong crosswind even when the speed of forward movement of the aircraft is relatively low.

  The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and an object of the present invention is to improve the stability of the aircraft when the airspeed of the aircraft is increased.

  In order to achieve this object, the control device for an unmanned helicopter according to the present invention is such that the actual flight state / position detected by the sensor provided on the airframe matches the preset target flight state / target position. In the unmanned helicopter control device that controls the operation of each servo motor of the airframe by the feedback control means, the discrimination means for determining whether the wind speed or the flight speed in the flight airspace is larger than a predetermined value capable of stable flight; And flight position control means for performing feedback control of the position of the airframe instead of the feedback control means when the detected value is larger than the set value, the flight position control means is a target directed to the target position A route setting means for setting a flight route, and a correction for correcting a positional deviation of the aircraft only in a direction orthogonal to the target flight route Are those constituted by the stage.

  The unmanned helicopter control device according to the second aspect of the invention provides feedback so that an actual flight state / position detected by a sensor provided in the fuselage matches a preset target flight state / target position. In the control device for unmanned helicopter that controls the operation of each servo motor of the airframe by the control means, it is discriminated whether or not the detected value consisting of the wind speed or the flight speed in the flight airspace is larger than a predetermined value capable of stable flight And a feedback gain setting means for reducing the feedback gain at the time of the feedback control when the detected value is larger than the set value.

  The unmanned helicopter control device according to the invention described in claim 3 is controlled by the control amount by feedback control and the control amount in the unmanned helicopter control device according to the invention described in claim 1 or 2. Wind speed calculation means is provided for calculating the wind speed in the flight airspace based on the difference between the flight state and position change amount of the aircraft.

The control device for unmanned helicopter according to the present invention controls the operation of each servo motor of the fuselage so that the actual flight state / position matches the target flight state / target position when flying at low speed in an air region where the wind speed is low The flight of the unmanned helicopter is controlled so that the flight accuracy becomes high. On the other hand, this control device performs control to correct only the positional deviation in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to the target flight path when the airspeed is high, such as when the wind speed in the flight airspace is high or during high-speed flight. Even if a positional deviation occurs in the longitudinal direction of the aircraft (the direction along the target flight path), the aircraft is allowed to fly without correcting it.
Therefore, in the control device for unmanned helicopter according to the present invention, it is possible to minimize the change in posture in the front-rear direction of the aircraft when flying under strong winds or during high-speed flight. Can do.

The control device for an unmanned helicopter according to the invention described in claim 2 is configured so that the actual flight state / position matches the target flight state / target position during low-speed flight where the flight environment is good. The operation of the servo motor is controlled, and the flight of the unmanned helicopter is controlled so that the flight accuracy becomes high.
On the other hand, this control device reduces the feedback gain and keeps the response at the time of feedback control relatively low when the airspeed is high even during high-speed flight or low-speed flight. .
Therefore, in the control device for unmanned helicopter according to the present invention, the flight state of the airframe can be changed gently during high-speed flight or under strong wind, so that the flight can be stabilized.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the wind speed in the flying air space can be detected using the principle that the airframe is pushed and moved by the wind, so that the sensor for detecting the wind speed is not used exclusively. The wind speed can be detected.
Therefore, in the control device for unmanned helicopters according to the present invention, the unmanned helicopter can be caused to fly so as to be more stable by detecting the wind speed while reducing the weight of the airframe and reducing the cost.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an unmanned helicopter control device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a control device for an unmanned helicopter according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a control signal path of the control device for an unmanned helicopter according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a control method at low speed flight FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a control method during high-speed flight or strong wind. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the unmanned helicopter control device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed operation of the target position setting portion in FIG. FIG. 7 is a graph serving as a feedback gain map.

  In these drawings, what is indicated by reference numeral 1 is an unmanned helicopter whose flight is controlled by the control device 2 according to this embodiment. The unmanned helicopter 1 flies using an engine (not shown) as a power source, for example, sprays agricultural chemicals or performs aerial photography of dangerous areas. In FIG. 1, 3 indicates the airframe of the unmanned helicopter 1, 4 indicates an attitude sensor that detects the attitude of the airframe 3, 5 indicates a GPS sensor that detects a signal from the GPS satellite 6, 7 indicates an airframe side GPS antenna, Reference numeral 8 denotes an airframe side communication device that communicates with a communication device 10 of a ground station 9 to be described later, and 11 denotes an I / F board for connecting the airframe side communication device 8 to the control device 2. In FIG. 1, an agrochemical spraying device and a camera are omitted. In FIG. 1, 13 indicates a ground station personal computer, 14 indicates an I / F board for connecting the ground station side communication device 10 to the personal computer, 15 indicates a ground station side GPS antenna, and 16 indicates GPS reception. Reference numeral 17 denotes a backup transmitter used when the operation by the personal computer 13 becomes impossible.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the entire control system for an unmanned helicopter according to this embodiment includes various sensors 4 and 5 on the airframe 3, servo motors, communication device 8 and in-vehicle arithmetic device 12, ground station PC 13, communication device 10, GPS receiver 16, and the like, and the control mode is switched to one of a high-accuracy flight mode and a stable flight mode, which will be described later, according to the wind and flight speed of the flight airspace. The unmanned helicopter 1 is configured to fly by so-called autonomous flight.

  In the high-accuracy flight mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the control device 2 is unmanned so that the flight speed and position (flight distance) of the unmanned helicopter 1 match the predetermined target flight speed and the target position. The helicopter 1 is caused to fly. In this high-accuracy flight mode, as shown in FIG. 3, the unmanned helicopter 1 matches the target position (at time T1) with the actual position of the airframe 3 when the time T1 has elapsed since the start of flight. At T2 (landing), the aircraft 3 flies so as to coincide with the target position (T2). In other words, in this high-accuracy flight mode, the unmanned helicopter 1 passes the target position at the target speed. However, it will fly to the landing point.

  In the stable flight mode, as shown in FIG. 4, the control device 2 controls the flight speed in the same manner as in the high-accuracy flight mode, while regarding the position of the target flight direction (shown as the target line in FIG. 4). In other words, the unmanned helicopter 1 is caused to fly without controlling anything, in other words, while correcting the positional deviation of the airframe 3 only in the direction orthogonal to the target flight path. FIG. 4 shows an example of flying by changing the flight direction between pass point 1 and pass point 2. In changing the flight direction at these pass points 1 and 2, the control device 2 is configured to turn the unmanned helicopter 1 until the current position is set as the target position and the target direction is directed, as will be described later. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 2 includes a wind speed calculation means 22, a discrimination means 23, a flight position control means 24, a feedback / gain setting means 25 and the like in a feedback control means 21 described later. It is provided as. The personal computer 13 displays an instruction button that can operate the flight operation unit 26 on the screen. When the operator operates the instruction button, the front and rear direction, the left-right direction, the up-down direction, and the rotation direction of the body 3 are formed. Four types of speed command values are input. These speed command value signals are sent to the control device 2 via the communication devices 8 and 10.

The feedback control means 21 controls the flight speed and position in the high-accuracy flight mode and controls the flight speed in the stable flight mode. Here, the control contents in the high-accuracy flight mode by the feedback control means 21 will be described with reference to FIG.
The feedback control means 21 first generates the acceleration command value from the target speed input from the personal computer 13, obtains the target speed by time integration, and further converts the target speed from the body coordinates to the earth coordinates. The target position is obtained by time integration. Further, the feedback control means 21 obtains a target attitude (pitch angle, roll angle) of the unmanned helicopter 1 by differentiating the target speed with respect to time. That is, the feedback control means 21 obtains a target flight state composed of a target speed and a target attitude and a target position by calculation from input data of the personal computer 13.

  After obtaining the target value in this way, the feedback control means 21 determines the difference (speed error, attitude error) between the actual flight state / position detected by the sensors 4 and 5 of the airframe 3 and the target flight state / target position. And position error). The actual flight state and position of the airframe 3 are obtained based on detection values of the attitude sensor 4 and the GPS sensor 5 on the airframe 3 side.

  In addition, the feedback control means 21 sends a control signal to the in-machine arithmetic unit 12 so that the difference becomes zero. When the control signal is sent, the in-machine arithmetic device 12 operates each servo motor in the indicated direction by a predetermined control amount. Further, the feedback control means 21 continues to send the control signal to the side of the airframe 3 until the actual flight state / position of the airframe 3 after the servo motor is operated matches the target flight state / target position, and the two match. When this happens, a stop signal is sent to the airframe 3 side. The in-machine arithmetic unit 12 stops the servo motor when this stop signal is sent. The above-described feedback control means 21 has the same configuration as the control device 2 described in the specification of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-118498 filed earlier by the applicant of the present invention.

  The wind speed calculation means 22 is for detecting the wind speed in the flying air space where the unmanned helicopter 1 flies. The control amount when the feedback control is executed and the actual flight of the airframe 3 controlled with the control amount. A configuration is employed in which the amount of change in the state / position is detected, and the wind speed in the flight airspace is obtained by calculation based on the difference between the control amount and the change amount. That is, the wind speed calculating means 22 detects the wind speed in the flight air space using the principle that the airframe 3 is moved by being pushed by the wind.

The discriminating means 23 compares the wind speed of the flying air area calculated by the wind speed calculating means 22 with a predetermined reference wind speed at a predetermined timing, and when the wind speed of the flying air area is lower than the reference wind speed, the high-precision flight mode Is selected, and the stable flight mode is selected when the wind speed in the flight air region is higher than the reference wind speed.
Further, the discrimination means 23 compares the current flight speed of the aircraft 3 with a predetermined reference speed at a predetermined timing, and when the flight speed is lower than the reference speed, selects the high-precision flight mode, When the flight speed is higher than the reference speed, a configuration in which a stable flight mode is selected is employed.
The reference wind speed and reference speed used by the discrimination means 23 for comparison of wind speed and flight speed are set to the maximum values of wind speed and speed at which the unmanned helicopter 1 can perform stable flight.

  The flight position control unit 24 performs feedback control of the position of the airframe 3 instead of the feedback control unit 21 when the stable flight mode is selected by the determination unit 23. As shown in FIG. 2, the flight position control means 24 includes a path setting means 28 for setting a target flight path (target line: see FIG. 4) directed to the target position of the airframe 3, and the target flight path is orthogonal to the target flight path. The correction means 29 corrects the positional deviation of the machine body 3 only in the direction (indicated by a white arrow in FIG. 4).

The route setting means 28 performs the same calculation as the feedback control means 21 to obtain the target position of the airframe 3, and obtains the current position of the airframe 3 based on data sent from the airframe 3 side. A configuration is adopted in which a target flight path is set so as to connect the position and the current position of the airframe 3.
The correction means 29 uses only the position data in the left and right direction and the up and down direction (direction orthogonal to the target flight path) of the current position data of the body 3 sent from the body 3 side. A configuration is adopted in which each servo motor is controlled by feedback control so as to fly on the target flight path. More specifically, the correction means 29 sets a contact point between a perpendicular line extending from the current position to the target route and the target flight route as a target position, and feeds back such that the current position matches the target position. The aircraft 3 is caused to fly by the control.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the feedback / gain setting means 25 includes a map in which the value of the feedback gain is assigned to the speed of the airframe 3, and based on this map, the feedback / gain of each servo motor at the time of feedback control is provided. A configuration for setting the gain is adopted. According to the map, when the flight speed is lower than the predetermined low speed V1, a relatively high constant value is selected as the feedback gain, and when the flight speed is higher than the predetermined high speed V2, the feedback A relatively low constant value is set as the gain. The feedback gain when the flight speed is between the predetermined low speed V1 and high speed V2 is set so as to gradually decrease as the speed increases. As shown in FIG. 7, the reaction speed of the airframe 3 at the time of feedback control increases (becomes sharp) as the flight speed increases. Therefore, by setting the feedback gain as shown in the map, The influence of the flight speed on the airframe 3 can be reduced to the minimum.

  Next, the operation of the unmanned helicopter control device 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Since the operation when taking off or landing the airframe 3 is the same as that of a conventional unmanned helicopter control device, the explanation of the operation during takeoff and landing is omitted here. In addition, here, it is assumed that the airframe 3 has already taken off and is in a flying state.

  First, in step S1 in FIG. 5, the control device 2 detects the wind speed in the flying air space using the principle that the airframe 3 is pushed by the wind and moves to determine whether or not the wind speed is lower than a predetermined reference wind speed. To do. When the wind speed in the flight airspace is lower than the reference wind speed, the control device 2 proceeds to step S2 and determines whether or not the current flight speed is lower than the reference speed (whether the flight content requires high accuracy). . If the determination result is YES, that is, if the flight environment is good and the flight content requires high accuracy, the control device 2 selects the high accuracy flight mode in step S3, and the selected flight mode is high. It is determined in step S4 whether it is accurate.

On the other hand, if NO is determined in step S1 and step S2, that is, if the wind is in a flight environment faster than the reference wind speed or the flight speed is higher than the reference speed, the stable flight mode is selected in steps S5 and S6. Then, the process proceeds to step S4.
When it is determined in step S4 that the current flight mode is the high-accuracy flight mode, the control device 2 proceeds to step S7, and sets a target flight state and a target position suitable for the high-accuracy flight mode. At this time, if the speed command value input to the personal computer 13 is changed, the target flight state and target position data are updated. If it is determined in step S4 that the current flight mode is the stable flight mode, the control device 2 proceeds to step S8 and sets a target flight state and position suitable for the stable flight mode. The target flight speed is set in the same manner in both the high-accuracy flight mode and the stable flight mode.

  Here, a more detailed operation of the control device 2 when setting each target value in the steps S4, S7 and S8 will be described with reference to FIG. When determining the current flight mode in step S4 in FIG. 5, the control device 2 first uses the acceleration command value generated from the speed command value input to the personal computer 13 as shown in step P1 in FIG. The target speed is calculated by integrating in step P2, and the target speed is determined in step P3.

After determining the target speed in this way, the control device 2 determines whether or not the current flight mode is the high-accuracy flight mode in step P4. When the determination result is YES, that is, in the high-accuracy flight mode, the control device 2 calculates the target position by integrating the target speed in Step P5, and determines the target position in Step P6.
On the other hand, if NO in Step P4, that is, if the stable flight mode is selected, the control device 2 determines whether or not the current flight content is straight ahead in Step P7. If it is determined in this determination step that the airframe 3 is traveling straight, the control device 2 calculates a target flight path (target movement straight line) connecting the operation start point and the target position, as shown in step P8. To find and set. After setting the target flight path, as shown in step P9, the control device 2 sets a contact point between the normal line extending from the current position to the target flight path and the target flight path as a target position, and sets the target position to step S9. Determine at P6.

If NO in Step P7, that is, if it is determined that the body 3 is turning, the control device 2 sets the current position of the body 3 as a target position as shown in Step P10, and sets the target position to Step S10. Determine at P6.
After determining the target position in step P6, the control device 2 reads the feedback gain value corresponding to the target speed from the map shown in FIG. 7, as shown in step S9 of the flowchart shown in FIG. Then, the control amount of the feedback control is calculated so that the current flight state / position of the airframe 3 matches the target flight state / target position. After calculating the control amount in this way, although not shown, data indicating the control amount is sent to the body 3 side, and each servo motor of the body 3 operates by the control amount with the feedback gain. . Then, the control apparatus 2 returns to step S1, and repeats the control mentioned above.

Therefore, in the unmanned helicopter control device 2 configured as described above, when the airspeed is high, such as when the wind in the flight air region is strong or when flying at high speed even if there is little wind, Control is performed to correct only the positional deviation in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to the target flight path, and even if a positional deviation occurs in the front-rear direction of the airframe 3 (the direction along the target flight path), this is corrected. Aircraft 3 is allowed to fly.
For this reason, the control device 2 for the unmanned helicopter 1 can minimize the change in the posture of the airframe 3 in the front-rear direction when flying under a strong wind or at high speed, and the unmanned helicopter 1 can be operated in a stable flight posture. You can fly.

  Further, since the unmanned helicopter control device 2 according to this embodiment is configured to reduce the feedback gain when the flight speed is high, the response at the time of feedback control becomes relatively low in this case. The flight state of the airframe 3 can be changed gently during high-speed flight. In this embodiment, the feedback gain is changed according to the flight speed. However, the feedback gain can be changed according to the wind speed in the flight airspace. It is also possible to detect both the wind speed and change it according to the larger of these two.

  Furthermore, since the unmanned helicopter control device 2 according to this embodiment can detect the wind speed in the flying air space by using the principle that the airframe 3 is moved by being pushed by the wind, only to detect the wind speed. The wind speed can be detected without using the sensor. In detecting the wind speed in the flying airspace, a sensor capable of detecting the flow of the atmosphere can be provided in the airframe 3.

  In embodiment mentioned above, although the control apparatus 2 showed the example which selects either one of high precision flight mode and stable flight mode, the control apparatus 2 for unmanned helicopters which concerns on this invention is such a limitation. It is not caught. For example, the control device 2 for the unmanned helicopter according to the present invention sets the flight mode only to the high-precision flight mode, and makes the feedback gain correspond to the wind speed and the flight speed when the flight air speed is high or the flight speed is high. Can be adopted. By adopting this configuration, when the airspeed is high even during high-speed flight or low-speed flight, the feedback gain decreases and the response during feedback control becomes relatively low. Since it can be suppressed, the flight becomes stable.

It is a block diagram of the control apparatus for unmanned helicopters concerning this invention. It is a figure which shows the path | route of the control signal of the control apparatus for unmanned helicopters concerning this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the control method at the time of low speed flight. It is a figure for demonstrating the control method at the time of high-speed flight or a strong wind. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the control apparatus for unmanned helicopter 1 concerning this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detailed operation | movement of the target position setting part in FIG. It is a graph used as a map of feedback gain.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Unmanned helicopter, 2 ... Control apparatus, 3 ... Airframe, 4 ... Attitude sensor, 5 ... GPS sensor, 13 ... Personal computer, 21 ... Feedback control means, 22 ... Wind speed calculation means, 23 ... Discrimination means, 24 ... Flight position control Means, 25... Feedback gain setting means.

Claims (3)

  For unmanned helicopters that control the operation of each servo motor of the fuselage by feedback control means so that the actual flight state / position detected by the sensor provided on the fuselage matches the preset target flight state / target position In the control device, a determination means for determining whether or not a wind speed or a flight speed in a flight air space is larger than a predetermined value capable of stable flight; and when the detected value is larger than the set value, the feedback control means is substituted. Flight position control means for performing feedback control of the position of the aircraft, and this flight position control means is orthogonal to the target flight path, the route setting means for setting the target flight path directed to the target position Control for an unmanned helicopter characterized by comprising a correction means for correcting the displacement of the aircraft only in the direction Location.   For unmanned helicopters that control the operation of each servo motor of the fuselage by feedback control means so that the actual flight state / position detected by the sensor provided on the fuselage matches the preset target flight state / target position In the control device, a determination means for determining whether or not a detection value composed of a wind speed or a flight speed in a flight airspace is greater than a predetermined value capable of stable flight, and the feedback when the detection value is greater than the set value. A control apparatus for an unmanned helicopter, comprising feedback / gain setting means for reducing a feedback gain during control. In the control device for an unmanned helicopter according to the first or second aspect of the invention, the flight is performed based on a difference between a control amount by feedback control and a change amount of a flight state / position of the aircraft controlled by the control amount. An unmanned helicopter control device comprising wind speed calculation means for calculating wind speed in the airspace.

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