JP2013107496A - Information collection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To start to collect information in a short period of time, and to collect various pieces of information of a target simply and at a low cost without the need of a ground relay station or a communication satellite for relaying radio waves.SOLUTION: An information collection system includes: a flying body B for information collection which is loaded on a rocket launched toward a target, is released in the vicinity of the target, collects various pieces of information of the target while staying in air, and transmits the collected various pieces of information; and a ground station 10 which receives the various pieces of information transmitted from the flying body B for information collection.

Description

  The present invention relates to an information collection system.

As this type of information collection system, there is one described in Non-Patent Document 1.
The information collection system described in Non-Patent Document 1 is to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and acquire a long-distance target image. In this case, the radio wave is received by relaying a ground relay station or a communication satellite.

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES AND TARGET ISSUE 32-2009

However, since the flight speed of the drone is slow, when the target is a long distance, it takes a considerable time to collect information. Therefore, it takes a considerable time to start collecting the target information. .
Further, since a ground relay station and a communication satellite for relaying radio waves are required, there is an unsolved problem that the configuration of the system becomes complicated and the cost for acquiring necessary information increases.

  Therefore, the present invention has an object to provide an information collection system that can start collecting information in a short time without collecting a ground relay station or a communication satellite for relaying radio waves, and can collect information easily and inexpensively. Yes.

  The present invention for solving the above problems is mounted on a rocket that is launched toward a target, is released in the vicinity of the target, collects various information on the target while stagnating, and collects the various information Is an information collecting system having an information collecting vehicle that transmits the information and a ground station that receives various information transmitted from the information collecting vehicle.

In this configuration, the information collecting vehicle mounted on the rocket is released in the vicinity of the target, collects various types of information on the target while stagnating, and transmits the collected various information.
The ground station receives various information transmitted from the information collection vehicle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to start collecting information in a short time without collecting a ground relay station or a communication satellite for relaying radio waves, and it is possible to collect information simply and inexpensively.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the information collection system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an external appearance perspective view of the information collection flying body which forms a part of information collection system same as the above. It is a block diagram of the control apparatus accommodated in the information collection flight body same as the above. It is an external appearance perspective view of the air vehicle for a relay which makes a part of information collection system same as the above. It is a block diagram of the control apparatus accommodated in the flight body for a relay same as the above.

  EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Below, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an information collection system according to an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of an information collection vehicle that forms part of the information collection system of the above.

An information collection system A according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a ground station 10, an information collection vehicle B, and a relay vehicle C.
The information collection vehicle B shown in the present embodiment is for collecting various information of the target P while remaining in the vicinity of an information acquisition object (hereinafter referred to as “target”) P from which information is to be collected. It is.

The “target P” shown in the present embodiment is a moving body such as an automobile, but includes not only such a moving body but also a fixed object of land such as a building.
The relay flying object C is for relaying the information collecting flying object B and the ground station 10.

  The information collecting vehicle B has a control described in detail later in a main body 40 provided with a paraglider 20, a GPS antenna 30, a propulsion device 31, a gimbal camera 32, a transmission directional antenna 33, and omnidirectional antennas 34 and 35. The device D1 is accommodated.

  The main body 40 is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same outer diameter from the upper part to the lower part, and is formed from an upper fixed shell wall 41, a rotating shell wall 42, and a lower fixed shell wall 43 from the upper side to the lower side thereof. Yes.

  The paraglider 20 includes a plurality of lines 21 each having a lower end attached to a pair of attachment pieces 41b and 41b erected on the upper wall 41a of the upper fixed shell wall 41, and a canopy attached to each upper end of the lines 21. 22 (see FIG. 1).

  Further, the lower ends of the control lines 24, 24 are connected to a flight direction control device 63, which will be described later, through line holes 23, 23 formed in the upper wall 41a. The flight direction can be controlled.

  The propulsion device 31 is disposed on the peripheral wall 41c of the upper fixed shell wall 41, and has a propeller 31b fixed to a drive shaft 31a of a motor (not shown). The motor is connected to a thrust control device 62 to be described later. The thrust can be increased or decreased.

The rotating shell wall 42 is supported so as to be able to rotate forward and backward, and a transmitting directional antenna 33 is attached to the peripheral wall 42a of the rotating shell wall 42 via an attachment piece 42a so that the vertical angle can be changed.
The rotating shell wall 42 and the transmitting directional antenna 33 are connected to the transmitting directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 66, and the rotating azimuth (rotational position) of the rotating shell wall 42 and the transmitting directional antenna 33 are The vertical angle can be adjusted and driven.

The omnidirectional antennas 34 and 35 are arranged on the outer wall surface of the lower fixed shell wall 43 at a predetermined angular interval, and the gimbal camera 32 as an information acquisition unit is arranged on the lower wall surface. .
The gimbal camera 32 has a three-axis gimbal mechanism, and is supported by mounting brackets 44 and 44 extending downward from the lower wall surface of the lower fixed shell wall 43 so that the mounting angle and the rotational drive are possible.

Next, the control device D1 accommodated in the main body 40 will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the control device accommodated in the information collecting vehicle B.
The control device D1 includes a control unit (Central Processing Unit: indicated as “CPU” in the figure) 60, a nonvolatile memory 61, a thrust control device 62, a flight direction control device 63, a GPS receiver 64, an attitude reference device 65, a transmission It has a reliable directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 66, a high-speed communication transmitter 67, a low-speed communication transmitter 68, and the like.

The non-volatile memory 61 stores preliminarily planned flight route (latitude, longitude, altitude coordinates) information and is connected to the control unit 60.
The above flight path is set in consideration of the distance to the target P, the cardinal number of the relay flying object C, etc. before launching the rocket (not shown) on which the information collecting flying object B and the relay flying object C are mounted. It is what is done.
Specifically, the required waypoints are set within each transmittable / receiveable range among the ground station 10, the relay flying object C, and the information collecting flying object B.

The thrust control device 62 controls increase / decrease of the thrust of the propulsion device 31 connected thereto, and is connected to the output side of the control unit 60.
The flight direction control device 63 controls the flight direction by appropriately pulling the control lines 24, 24 connected thereto, and is connected to the output side of the control unit 60.

The GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver 64 receives GPS information received from the GPS satellite 100 shown in FIG. 1 and is connected to the input side of the control unit 60.
The attitude reference device 65 has a function of calculating the attitude and azimuth (orientation) of the information collection vehicle B, and is connected to the input side of the control unit 60.

The transmission directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 66 drives the azimuth (direction) and vertical angle of the transmission directional antenna 33 described above, and is connected to the output side of the control unit 60.
The high-speed communication transmitter 67 transmits image information acquired by the gimbal camera 32 and is connected to the output side of the control unit 60.
The low-speed communication transmitter 68 is for transmitting its own position information, coordinate information, and the like, and is connected to the output side of the control unit 60.

  The control unit 60 serves as a control center of the information collection vehicle B, and exhibits the following functions by executing the necessary programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 61 described above.

(1) A function of directing the transmitting directional antenna to the receiving directional antenna provided in the relay flying object C. This function is referred to as “antenna directing means 60A”.
Specifically, based on the attitude information acquired by the attitude reference device 65 and the GPS signal received from the GPS receiver 64 by the transmitting directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 66 described above, , Longitude and altitude information are calculated, and the transmission directional antenna 33 is driven to be driven to the reception directional antenna 36 of the relay flying object C.

(2) A function of driving and controlling the paraglider 20 and the propulsion device 31 so as to fly along a preset flight path. This function is referred to as “flight control means 60B”.
Specifically, the thrust control device 62 and the flight direction are set so as to fly along a preset flight path based on the latitude, longitude, and altitude information calculated based on the GPS signal received from the GPS receiver 64. Drive control of the control device 63 is performed.

  “Flight path” is a circular orbit at a required altitude without interfering with the flight path of the relay aircraft, for example, within a predetermined flight area where various information can be transmitted to and from the relay aircraft. This is a route like drawing.

(3) A function of acquiring various types of information related to the target via the information acquisition unit. This function is referred to as “information acquisition means 60C”.
In the present embodiment, the image information related to the target is acquired by the gimbal camera 32 as the information acquisition unit. However, the image information is not limited to the image information. For example, infrared information, audio information, or a combination thereof is collected. May be.

(4) A function of directing the information acquisition unit toward the target regardless of the flight posture of the player. This function is referred to as “information acquisition unit directing means 60D”.
In the present embodiment, the above-described gimbal camera 32 is always directed to the target based on its own latitude, longitude, and altitude information calculated based on the GPS signal received from the GPS receiver 64.

  Next, the relay flying object C will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view of a relay aircraft that forms part of the information collection system according to the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a control device housed in the relay aircraft. In addition, about the thing equivalent to what was demonstrated in embodiment mentioned above, the code | symbol same as them is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The relay flying object C is detailed in a main body 40 in which a paraglider 20, a GPS antenna 30, a propulsion device 31, a transmitting directional antenna 33, a receiving directional antenna 36, and omnidirectional antennas 34 and 35 are arranged. A control device D2 described later is accommodated.

  The main body 40 is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same outer diameter from the upper part to the lower part, and from the upper part to the lower part thereof, the upper fixed shell wall 41, the upper rotary shell wall 42, the lower rotary shell wall 45, and the lower fixed shell. It is formed from the wall 43.

  The lower rotary shell wall 45 is supported so as to be able to rotate forward and backward, and a receiving directional antenna 36 is attached to the peripheral wall 45a of the lower rotary shell wall 45 via an attachment piece 45b so that the vertical angle can be changed.

  The lower rotating shell wall 45 and the receiving directional antenna 36 are connected to a receiving directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 69 which will be described later. Is supposed to drive.

Next, the control device D2 accommodated in the main body 40 will be described with reference to FIG.
The control device D2 includes a control unit (Central Processing Unit: indicated as “CPU” in the figure) 60, a nonvolatile memory 61, a thrust control device 62, a flight direction control device 63, a GPS receiver 64, an attitude reference device 65, a transmission device. A reliable directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle controller 66, a receiving directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle controller 69, a high-speed communication transmitter 67, a high-speed communication receiver 70, a low-speed communication transmitter / receiver 71, and the like. ing.

The reception directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 69 controls the azimuth (direction) and vertical angle of the reception directional antenna 36 described above, and is connected to the output side of the control unit 60.
The high-speed communication receiver 70 is for receiving the image information transmitted from the information collecting vehicle B described above.
The low-speed communication transmitter / receiver 71 is for transmitting / receiving its own position information, coordinate information, and the like to / from the information collecting vehicle B.

The control unit 60 serves as a control center of the relay flying object C, and exhibits the following functions by executing the necessary programs stored in the nonvolatile memory 61 described above.
In addition to the flight control means 60B and the information acquisition unit directing means 60D, the relay flying object C has the following functions.

(5) The transmitting directional antenna 33 provided on the ground station 10 is directed to the transmitting directional antenna 33, and the transmitting directional antenna of the information collecting vehicle B is used as the receiving directional antenna. A function to orient 36. This function is referred to as “antenna directing means 60E”.
Specifically, based on the attitude information acquired by the attitude reference device 65 and the GPS signal received by the GPS receiver 30 by the receiving directional antenna azimuth / vertical angle control device 69 described above, , Longitude and altitude information are calculated, and the reception directional antenna 36 is driven to the transmission directional antenna 33 of the information collecting vehicle B.

The ground station 10 is provided with a receiving device (not shown) and a receiving directional antenna 11 for receiving various kinds of information transmitted from the information collecting vehicle B through the relay flying vehicle C.
The ground station 10 has a function of directing the reception directional antenna 11 to a transmission directional antenna 33 provided in a relay flying body C, the details of which will be described later. This function is called “antenna directing means”.

An operation of the information collection system A according to the above-described embodiment will be described.
A rocket (not shown) on which an information collection vehicle B and a relay vehicle C, each of which has been programmed in advance, is launched toward the target. As a result, image acquisition at the target can be started in a very short time.

On the way to the target, the mounted information collecting vehicle B and relay vehicle C are sequentially released.
When the information collecting vehicle B and the relay vehicle C are released, the paragliders 20 are opened and the propulsion device 31 is driven.

Thereby, the information collection flying body B acquires the target image information by the gimbal camera 32 while the information collection flying body B and the relay flying body C fly along the respective flight paths.
The acquired image information is transmitted to the ground station 10 via the relay flying object C.

According to the information collection system A according to the above-described embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
-It is possible to start collecting information in a short time without the need for ground relay stations or communication satellites for relaying radio waves, and to collect various types of target information easily and inexpensively.
-Since the information collection vehicle and relay vehicle are carried by rockets, the collection of various target information can be started in a very short time.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the following modifications can be made.
In the present embodiment, the information collection vehicle B and the relay vehicle C having different configurations have been described as examples. However, the information collection vehicle B includes a receiving directional antenna and high-speed communication. For example, a configuration may be adopted in which a plurality of information collection vehicles having the same configuration and having a relay function are provided.

In this embodiment, the information collecting vehicle and the relay flying vehicle are suspended at the same time to collect various target information as an example, but only one information collecting vehicle is suspended. A configuration may be adopted in which various pieces of target information are collected.
In this case, an antenna directing means for directing the transmitting directional antenna of the information collecting vehicle itself to the receiving directional antenna of the ground station is provided.

  In addition, taking into consideration the mutual transmission / reception distances of the ground station, information collection vehicle, and relay vehicle, the information collection vehicle and multiple relay aircraft are suspended at the same time to collect various target information. It is good also as composition to do.

  In this case, the relay flying vehicle adjacent to the information collecting flying vehicle is directed to the receiving directional antenna of the other relay flying vehicle located on the ground station side with its transmitting directional antenna, and The transmitting directivity antenna of the information collecting vehicle is provided with an antenna directing means for directing its own receiving directivity antenna.

  Also, in the relay aircraft located between the two relay aircraft, direct the transmission directional antenna to the reception directional antenna of the other relay aircraft located on the ground station side, In addition, the antenna directing means for directing its own receiving directional antenna is provided on the transmitting directional antenna of the relay aircraft located on the information collecting vehicle side.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the propulsion device is mounted on each of the information collecting vehicle and the relay vehicle has been described. However, the propulsion device is not necessarily mounted.
That is, various target information may be collected while the information collecting vehicle and the relay flying vehicle are glide.

The information collection vehicle and relay vehicle shown in the above-described embodiments are so-called disposable use modes, but may be collected as follows.
A return flight path for returning to the ground station or a predetermined place from each of the above-described flight paths is set in advance for each of the information collecting vehicle and the relay vehicle. For example, the feedback transmitted from the ground station Return and collect by start signal.

10 Ground Station 20 Paraglider 31 Propulsion Device 32 Information Acquisition Unit (Gimbal Camera)
36 Directional antenna for reception 33 Directional antenna for transmission 60A, 60E Antenna directing means 60B Flight control means A Information collection system B Information collection vehicle C Relay vehicle P Target

Claims (4)

It is mounted on a rocket that is launched toward the information acquisition target, and is released near the information acquisition target, collecting various information of the information acquisition target while remaining in the air, and collecting the collected information A vehicle for collecting information to be transmitted;
An information collection system comprising: a ground station that receives various types of information transmitted from the information collection vehicle. The ground station is provided with a receiving directional antenna, and the information collecting vehicle is provided with a transmitting directional antenna.
The information collection system according to claim 1, wherein an antenna directing means for directing its own transmitting directional antenna to a receiving directional antenna of a ground station is provided in the information collecting vehicle. Information acquisition that is mounted on a rocket that is launched toward an information acquisition target, is released near the information acquisition target, stays at the same time as the information collection vehicle, and is transmitted from the information collection vehicle It has a flying vehicle that relays various information about the object,
The information collection vehicle is provided with antenna directing means for directing the transmission directional antenna provided on the information collection vehicle to the reception directional antenna provided on the relay aircraft,
The relay flying body has its own transmitting directional antenna directed to the receiving directional antenna provided on the ground station, and its own receiving directional antenna to the transmitting directional antenna of the information collecting flying body. The information collection system according to claim 1, further comprising an antenna directing means for directing the light. Paragliding and propulsion devices are mounted on the information collection vehicle and the relay vehicle, respectively.
4. The information collection system according to claim 3, further comprising flight control means for driving and controlling the paraglider and the propulsion device so as to fly along a predetermined flight path.

Images