JP2007230367A - Monitor displaying system for unmanned helicopter base station, and abnormality judging system for unmanned helicopter using it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a monitor displaying system for unmanned helicopter base station which increases the reliability for a flight control by sufficiently grasping the flight condition and performing a proper environmental situation judgement, and at the same time, can identify abnormalities in the flight controlling motion or in various kinds of sensors, and to provide an abnormality judging system for unmanned helicopter using the monitor displaying system. <P>SOLUTION: This monitor displaying system for unmanned helicopter base station is equipped with an antenna for communicating with an airframe, a transmitter which is connected with the antenna, a monitor operating section which is connected with the transmitter, and can control the flight state while monitoring it, and a monitor which is connected with the monitor operating section. The monitor displaying system displays the altitude history of the airframe by going back by a specified period of time together with the altitude of the airframe at the present time on the monitor. The airframe is equipped with a plurality of altitude sensors which measure the altitude of the airframe to make the monitor display the measured values of the plurality of the altitude sensors together with a target altitude of the airframe. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned helicopter base station monitor display system and an unmanned helicopter abnormality determination system using the same.

  The unmanned helicopter is controlled in flight by a radio pilot from a ground base station. Flight command data such as the target speed, target altitude, and target direction of the flying aircraft is input by an operator via an input device such as a personal computer or a joystick of the control device of the base station. The input command data is transmitted to the aircraft side via the base station communication device and the ground antenna.

  A monitor is connected to the control device of the base station, and the command flight data input to this monitor can be displayed. This monitor also displays flight status data such as the current flight status such as altitude, speed, and direction, as well as environmental status such as atmospheric pressure, wind, and temperature, transmitted from the aircraft to the base station. The

  In Patent Document 1, a camera is mounted on an unmanned helicopter, and images from this camera are displayed on a monitor of a base station, and flight command data transmitted to the aircraft side and flight state data sent from the aircraft side are displayed. The base station monitor configuration is described.

  When flying an unmanned helicopter, the target altitude is the basic command data, taking into account the altitude when spraying the drug, the camera field of view, the video surveillance altitude, and the height of obstacles on the ground that are likely to become obstacles during the flight. Therefore, an important command value is the altitude at which the aircraft will fly. At the same time, it is important to keep track of the current flight altitude. The actual flight altitude can be measured by a barometric altitude sensor, a GPS altitude sensor, or the like, and the measured altitude data is transmitted from the aircraft side to the ground base station.

  The conventional display system in the monitor configuration of an unmanned helicopter base station displays the target altitude and measurement data from the altitude sensor, displays the target altitude at the current time during flight and the actual flight altitude on the monitor, and confirms the flight status. While controlling the flight by maneuvering the aircraft.

  However, the conventional monitor display system only displays the current altitude data at every moment during the flight, so it was not possible to identify whether the aircraft was approaching or leaving the target altitude. . In addition, from the current flight status data, it is not possible to accurately grasp the environmental conditions in which ambient weather conditions such as wind and atmospheric pressure affect the actual flight control status, and it is possible to issue a maneuver command that accurately corresponds to the environmental status. could not. Furthermore, if the target altitude does not match the actual altitude, it cannot be identified if it is caused by flight control operations or altitude sensor anomalies. If such an abnormal state can be determined, the flight control state can be recovered immediately by dealing with the abnormal state, and the reliability of flight control can be improved.

Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-100818

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional technology. The flight state is sufficiently grasped and an appropriate environmental state determination is performed to improve the reliability of the flight control, and the flight control operation and various sensors are abnormal. It is an object to provide an unmanned helicopter base station monitor display system and an unmanned helicopter abnormality determination system using the same.

The invention described in claim 1 includes an antenna for communicating with the airframe, a communication device connected to the antenna, a monitoring operation unit connected to the communication device and controllable while monitoring a flight state, and the monitoring operation In a monitor display system of an unmanned helicopter base station provided with a monitor connected to the unit, the altitude history of the aircraft up to a predetermined time is displayed on the monitor together with the altitude of the aircraft at the current time.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a plurality of altitude sensors that measure the altitude of the aircraft are provided, and the measured values of the plurality of altitude sensors are displayed on the monitor together with the target altitude of the aircraft. It is a feature.

  The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 2, wherein the altitude sensor includes a GPS altitude sensor and a barometric altitude sensor.

  The invention described in claim 4 is characterized in that the invention according to claim 2 is used to compare the target altitude and the altitude measured by the altitude sensor to determine the flight control or the abnormality of the altitude sensor.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the altitude history up to a predetermined time before the current time is displayed on the monitor screen of the ground base station, the surrounding environmental conditions that affect the flight control from the progress of the flight up to the present time As a result, it is possible to sufficiently grasp the flight state, and the maneuverability of the unmanned helicopter is improved.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, since the actual flight altitude measured by the plurality of altitude sensors is displayed together with the target altitude that is the flight command value of the aircraft, the reliability of altitude display can be improved.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, as the altitude sensor, a GPS altitude sensor using a GPS device that is indispensable for flight control and actually mounted on the aircraft and a barometric altitude sensor based on atmospheric pressure are used. Accurate and reliable altitude measurement data can be obtained.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to compare the displayed target altitude with the actual measured altitude, and to determine whether the flight control operation or the altitude sensor is abnormal based on the difference. That is, if the plurality of altitude measurement data indicate almost the same altitude and the target altitude is significantly different from the measured altitude, it can be determined that the altitude sensor is normal and the flight control operation is abnormal. On the other hand, if one of the plurality of altitude measurement data is greatly different from the other data, the altitude sensor can be determined to be abnormal.

  1 to 3 show an unmanned helicopter according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a side view thereof, FIG. 2 is also a plan view thereof, and FIG. 3 is also a front view thereof, showing an example of an unmanned helicopter for aerial photography that has a camera device mounted as a payload device.

  The unmanned helicopter 1 includes a fuselage 4 including a main body 2 and a tail body 3. A main rotor 5 is provided at the upper part of the main body 2, and a tail rotor 6 is provided at the rear part of the tail body 3. The main rotor 5 and tail rotor 6 are composed of a plurality of rotor blades. A radiator 7 is provided at a front portion of the main body 2, and an engine, an intake system, a main rotor shaft, and a fuel tank (not shown) are accommodated in the main body 2 in this order behind the radiator 7. A large-capacity fuel tank is accommodated near the center of the fuselage in order to eliminate the need for an external sub fuel tank. Skids 9 are provided on the left and right lower portions of the main body 2 via support legs 8 in the substantially central portion of the body 4. A muffler 65 provided in an exhaust pipe 64 connected to an engine (not shown) in the airframe is disposed at the lower part of the airframe above the front end of the skid 9.

  A control panel 10 is provided on the rear upper side of the main body 2, and an indicator lamp 11 is provided on the lower side. The control panel 10 displays check points before flight, self-check results, and the like. The display on the control panel 10 can also be confirmed on the ground base station. The indicator lamp 11 displays a status of GPS control, an abnormality warning of the aircraft, and the like.

  A camera device 12 containing an infrared camera is attached to the lower side of the front part of the main body 2 via a camera head 13. The camera device 12 rotates about a pan axis (vertical axis) with respect to a camera head 13 and an internal camera (not shown) is attached to be rotatable about a tilt axis (horizontal axis). Thereby, the camera can photograph all directions on the ground from the sky through the front window 14.

  An autonomous control box 15 is mounted on the left side of the main body 2. This autonomous control box 15 accommodates a GPS control device necessary for autonomous control, a data communication device communicating with the ground, an image communication device, a control board incorporating a control program, and the like. Autonomous control is based on flight data such as the position and speed of the aircraft, aircraft data such as the attitude and orientation of the aircraft, and operating state data such as engine speed and throttle opening, etc. Is selected automatically or in response to a command from a base station on the ground, and optimal steering control is performed according to the driving state.

  The unmanned helicopter 1 can fly by such autonomous control and can be manually operated by a radio pilot based on the flight state and various operation state data transmitted from the aircraft while visually confirming the flight state. It is.

  An antenna support frame 16 is attached to the lower side of the main body 2. An inclined stay 17 is attached to the antenna support frame 16. The stay 17 is provided with a steering data antenna 18 for transmitting / receiving steering data (digital data) such as driving state data and flight command data necessary for the above-described autonomous control to / from the ground base station. The stay 17 is provided with an image data antenna 19 for transmitting image data (analog data) captured by the camera device 12 to the ground base station.

  Below the tail body 3, an azimuth angle sensor 20 based on geomagnetism or the like is provided. The azimuth sensor 20 detects the orientation of the aircraft (east, west, south, and north). In the main body 2, an attitude angle sensor (not shown) composed of a gyro device is provided.

  A main GPS antenna 21 and a sub GPS antenna 22 are provided on the upper side of the tail body 3. At the rear end of the tail body 3, a radio control receiving antenna 23 for receiving a command signal from the radio pilot is provided.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the ground base station.
The ground base station 40 that communicates with the unmanned helicopter 1 receives a GPS antenna 44 that receives signals from GPS satellites, a communication antenna 45 that performs data communication with the unmanned helicopter 1, and image data from the unmanned helicopter 1. An image receiving antenna 46 is installed on the ground.

  The base station 40 includes a data processing unit 41, a monitoring operation unit 42, and a power supply unit 43.

  The data processing unit 41 includes a GPS receiver 52, a data communication device 53, an image communication device 54, and a communication board connected to these communication devices (GPS receiver 52, data communication device 53, image communication device 54). 51.

  The monitoring operation unit 42 includes a controller 60 for manual operation by a wireless pilot, a base controller 57 for operating the camera device and controlling the operation of the airframe 4, a backup power source 58, a personal computer 55 connected to the base controller 57, A monitor 56 for the personal computer 55 and an image monitor 59 connected to the base controller 57 and displaying image data are configured.

  The power supply unit 43 includes a generator 61 and a backup battery 63 connected to the generator 61 via a battery booster 62. The backup battery 63 is connected to the fuselage 4 side and supplies a voltage of 12 V when the generator 61 is not operating, such as during a check before flight. During the flight, a voltage of 100 V is supplied from the generator 61 to the data processing unit 41 and the monitoring operation unit 42.

  With the above configuration, a command related to the flight of the unmanned helicopter 1 is programmed by the personal computer 55 of the base station 40 and transmitted from the base station 40 to the unmanned helicopter 1 via the data processing unit 41. When the radio control receiving antenna 23 of the unmanned helicopter 1 receives the command, the attitude and position of the fuselage 4 are controlled by a control board (not shown) in the autonomous box 15 (FIG. 1) on the fuselage side, and the unmanned helicopter 1 It is autonomously controlled.

  The base station 40 on the ground monitors the unmanned helicopter 1 by displaying data such as aircraft status and flight status transmitted from each sensor provided in the aircraft 4 of the unmanned helicopter 1 on the monitor 56 of the personal computer 55. When the flight status is corrected for the unmanned helicopter 1 in flight, it can be remotely operated by the manual controller 60 or the personal computer 55.

  On the image monitor 59, image data captured by the camera device 12 (FIG. 1) is displayed. The flight command data input from the personal computer 55 is displayed on the monitor 56 connected to the personal computer 55. The monitor 56 displays detection data from various sensors provided in the machine body. In this embodiment, the target altitude is displayed as the flight command data. Further, in this embodiment, a plurality of altitude sensors (not shown) are provided on the aircraft side, and measurement data (digital data) of the plurality of altitude sensors is transmitted to the navigation data antenna 18 (FIG. 1) on the aircraft side and the ground. Are received by the communication board 51 via the communication antenna 45 and the GPS antenna 44, sent to the base controller 57, and displayed on the monitor 56 of the personal computer 55.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the embodiment according to the present invention.
As an altitude sensor for measuring the altitude of the airframe, a barometric altitude sensor 201 based on atmospheric pressure, a GPS1 altitude sensor 202 connected to the main GPS antenna 21, and a GPS2 altitude sensor 203 connected to the sub-GPS antenna 22 are mounted on the airframe 4. Yes. The altitude data measured by these altitude sensors 201, 202, and 203 is transmitted to the base station 40 via the control data antenna 18 of the aircraft. The base station 40 receives these altitude measurement data via the GPS antenna 44 and the communication antenna 45 and displays them on the monitor 56 via the base controller 57 and the personal computer 55.

  The GPS1 altitude sensor 202 and the GPS2 altitude sensor 203 can be provided in the base station 40. In that case, only GPS position data is transmitted from the aircraft to the base station 40, and the altitude at which the helicopter is located at the base station is calculated based on the position data.

6 (A) and 6 (B) show the monitor display screens of the embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
On the screen 204 of FIG. (A), four altitude lines are displayed as altitude plot lines. One of these is a target altitude, and the other three are lines indicating measurement data of a plurality of altitude sensors (GPS1 altitude sensor, GPS2 altitude sensor and barometric altitude sensor). The screen 204 displays the altitude of the GPS antenna 44 as a landmark of the base station when flying around the base station. This ensures safety when flying around the base station in a low altitude.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the screen 204 displays the altitude at the current time of the four altitude lines and the altitude data history up to 10 seconds before the altitude line. In the display shown in FIG. 4A, all four altitude lines are almost coincident with each other, and the actual altitude measured by each sensor is displayed following the target altitude. In such a case, it is shown that the flight control operation is normally performed and that the three altitude sensors 201, 202, and 203 (see FIG. 5) are functioning normally.

  On the screen 204 in FIG. (B), as in FIG. (A), the altitude at the current time and the altitude history up to 10 seconds before the four altitude displays are displayed. In the example shown in FIG. (B), the target altitude command value is input, and the airframe is gradually raised toward the target altitude (solid line). Also in this example, the three altitude lines are almost coincident, and finally the four altitude lines are almost coincident, indicating that the flight control and each altitude sensor are operating normally.

  When the target altitude and the other three altitudes always deviate greatly, this indicates that there is an abnormality in the flight control operation toward the target altitude. Further, when one of the altitude lines of the measurement results from the three altitude sensors is greatly deviated from the other altitude measurement lines, it indicates that the altitude sensor is abnormal. In this manner, the target altitude and a plurality of actual altitude measurement data are displayed and compared, whereby the flight control operation and the abnormality of each altitude sensor can be determined.

  The altitude history display time is not limited to 10 seconds, and can be displayed by extending it to about 30 seconds, for example. In addition, the altitude display is displayed based on the ellipsoidal altitude for both the GPS altitude sensor and the barometric altitude sensor. The three altitude sensors, the GPS1 altitude sensor, the GPS2 altitude sensor, and the barometric altitude sensor each have an offset from the zero point, but are converged to the GPS1 altitude sensor and displayed accordingly. Therefore, these altitude measurement data can be compared on the screen. In addition, if the difference in altitude between the maximum value and the minimum value of altitude measurement display data is too large, it is not possible to sufficiently grasp the history status. Therefore, it is desirable to automatically adjust the display width appropriately according to the measurement data.

  The present invention can be applied to a monitor display system in an unmanned helicopter base station having a monitor that displays target altitude and actual altitude measurement data.

The side view of the unmanned helicopter concerning the present invention. The top view of a helicopter. The front view of a helicopter. The block diagram which shows the structure of the base station which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows the structure of the Example which concerns on this invention. The figure which shows the example of a screen display of the Example which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Unmanned helicopter, 2: Main body, 3: Tail body, 4: Airframe, 5: Main rotor, 6: Tail rotor, 7: Radiator, 8: Support leg, 9: Skid, 10: Control panel, 11: Display Light: 12: Camera device, 13: Head, 14: Window, 15: Autonomous control box, 16: Antenna support frame, 17: Stay, 18: Steering data antenna, 19: Image data antenna, 20: Azimuth angle sensor, 21: main GPS antenna, 22: sub GPS antenna, 23: reception antenna for radio control, 40: base station, 41: data processing unit, 42: monitoring operation unit, 43: power supply unit, 44: GPS antenna, 45: communication Antenna: 46: Image receiving antenna, 51: Communication board, 52: GPS receiver, 53: Data communication device, 54: Image communication device, 55: Personal computer, 56 Monitor: 57: Base controller, 58: Backup power source, 60: Manual controller, 61: Generator, 64: Exhaust pipe, 65: Muffler, 201: Barometric altitude sensor, 202: GPS1 altitude sensor, 203: GPS2 altitude sensor, 204: Screen

Claims (4)

An antenna for communicating with the aircraft, a communication device connected to the antenna, a monitoring operation unit that is connected to the communication device and can be controlled while monitoring the flight state, and a monitor connected to the monitoring operation unit In the monitor display system of the unmanned helicopter base station provided,
A monitor display system for an unmanned helicopter base station, wherein the altitude history of the aircraft up to a predetermined time ago is displayed on the monitor together with the altitude of the aircraft at the current time.   2. A monitor display system for an unmanned helicopter base station according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of altitude sensors for measuring the altitude of the aircraft, and displaying the measured values of the altitude sensors together with the target altitude of the aircraft on the monitor. .   3. The unmanned helicopter base station monitor display system according to claim 2, wherein the altitude sensor includes a GPS altitude sensor and a barometric altitude sensor.   3. An unmanned helicopter abnormality determination system using a monitor display system according to claim 2, wherein a target altitude and an altitude sensor-measured altitude are compared to determine flight control or an abnormality of the altitude sensor.

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