JP2016074257A - Flight body system and composite cable used for the flight body system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To elongate the distance between a power supply unit installed on ground and a flight body in a system for a fight body flying on the drive power of a motor that supplies power by cables.SOLUTION: A flight system comprises an on-ground part 10 installed on ground, a composite cable 20 the first end of which is connected to the on-ground part 10, and a flight body 30 connected to the second end of the composite cable 20. The on-ground part 10 has a power supply device 11 that generates a direct current voltage of 200 V or more, and an optoelectric converter 12 that converts light signals fed from the flight body 30 to electric signals. The composite cable 20 has a power-supplying conductive wire 21, optical fibers 22, and a tension member made up of aramide fibers. The flight body 30 has a DC motor 33 that drives a main rotor 32, a DC-DC converter 41 that makes the direct current voltage of 200 V or more step down to a rating voltage of the DC motor, an imaging apparatus 35, and an electrooptic converter 42 that converts electric signals outputted from the imaging apparatus 35 to light signals.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a flying object system that flies by a driving force of a motor, and more specifically to a flying object system that supplies power to a flying object by wire from a power supply unit installed on the ground.

  As this type of aircraft system, the one shown in FIG. 7 of Patent Document 1 has been proposed. According to this, it is possible to fly for a long time without worrying about the remaining amount of the battery.

  However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the mass per unit length of the transmission line is large, and the distance between the power supply unit and the flying object is limited to about 20 to 30 meters at most. For this reason, the usage was limited.

JP-A-8-214451

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an aircraft system that can increase the distance between the power supply unit and the aircraft so that the usage can be expanded. It is another object of the present invention to provide a composite cable for use in the aircraft system.

  In the case of a wired aircraft system, it is common to transmit power at the rated voltage of the motor used. Otherwise, the transformer must be mounted on the flying body, which makes the flying body heavier. However, the inventors have considered that even if a transformer is mounted on the flying object, it is possible to reduce the overall weight by increasing the power transmission, and as a result of intensive experiments, the present invention has been completed. .

That is, the present invention is an aircraft system that flies by a driving force of a motor, and includes a ground portion installed on the ground, a composite cable having a first end connected to the ground portion, and a first of the composite cables. And a ground power unit that generates a DC voltage of 200 V or more, and a first photoelectric device that converts an optical signal transmitted from the aircraft into an electrical signal. The composite cable has a conductive wire for feeding, an optical fiber, and a tension member made of an aramid fiber, and the flying body has a DC motor for driving the main rotor, 200 V or more. A DC-DC converter for stepping down a DC voltage to a rated voltage of a DC motor, a photographing device for photographing a still image or a moving image, and a first electro-optic converter for converting an electric signal output from the photographing device into an optical signal; Have .

By increasing the power transmission voltage, the current flowing through the composite cable can be reduced, and the composite cable can be made thinner (lighter). Moreover, a transformer can be lightened by making electric power transmission into direct current | flow. As a result of the inventors' experiment, the distance between the ground portion and the flying object can be increased to at least 80 meters or more by adopting such a configuration.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the power supply device automatically stops supplying power when the conductive wire is short-circuited or disconnected. This is to prevent electric shock.

In the present invention, it is desirable that the flying object further includes a battery having a capacity capable of landing safely even when power from the composite cable is stopped during the flight at the highest altitude.

This is for preventing the flying object from being damaged by falling, and at the same time, preventing the falling flying object from damaging a person or an object.

In the present invention, the flying object may include means for recognizing its own altitude and position and autonomously fly on the set flight path.

  In the aircraft system according to the present invention, since it is not necessary to worry about the remaining amount of the battery, for example, in the case of monitoring the A point, the B point, and the C point every hour, the monitoring image is completely automatic. Can be obtained.

  The composite cable used in the aircraft system of the present invention includes two conductive wires for power feeding, one or two optical fibers, and a tension member made of one or more aramid fibers. Is a tempered copper stranded wire, and one tension member is arranged in the center of the composite cable or a plurality of concentric circles.

  With such a configuration, the composite cable is flexible with high tensile strength.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the distance of a ground part and a flying body can be lengthened, and a use application increases.

It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the flying body system which concerns on 1st embodiment. It is sectional drawing of a composite cable. It is an external view which shows the outline of a flying body system. It is a block diagram which shows the outline of the flying body system which concerns on 2nd embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of a composite cable.

  DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a flying object system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. A detailed description of known techniques is omitted.

(First embodiment)
First, the structure of the air vehicle system 1 which is 1st embodiment is demonstrated mainly with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the flying vehicle system 1 includes a ground unit 10, a composite cable 20, and a flying vehicle 30. The ground unit 10 is installed on the ground and has a structure that can be moved by a caster (not shown). One end of the composite cable 20 is connected to the ground portion 10, and the other end is connected to the flying body 30. That is, the ground unit 10 and the flying body 30 are connected by the composite cable 20.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the air vehicle system 1. In FIG. 1, a power flow for driving the DC motor 33 is shown between the power supply device 11 and the control device 44, and a flow of an electric signal or an optical signal is shown otherwise. As shown in FIG. 1, the ground unit 10 includes a power supply device 11 that generates a DC voltage of 360V. The power supply device 11 is a known technique. In the present embodiment, the DC voltage generated by the power supply device 11 is 360 V. However, if the voltage is 200 V or more, the effects of the present invention are achieved.
When the ground unit 10 and the flying object 30 are separated from each other by a predetermined distance to fly, the mass per unit distance of the composite cable 20 is determined from the payload of the flying object 30 and the like. When the mass per unit distance of the composite cable 20 is determined, the cross-sectional area of the conductive wire 21 in the composite cable 20 described later is also determined, and the allowable value of the current flowing through the conductive wire 21 is also determined. If it does so, the voltage transmitted from the power consumption of the flying body 30 will also be determined. Considering the payload and power consumption of a standard multicopter having a photographing function, if the voltage to be transmitted is 200 V or more, the distance between the ground unit 10 and the flying object 30 can be sufficiently separated compared to the conventional example. it can.
The upper limit of the DC voltage is not particularly defined. However, if the voltage is too high, a DC-DC converter 41 (to be described later) will be large and costly, so that it is preferably about 400V.
Further, the power supply device 11 has a function of automatically stopping power supply when a conductive wire 21 in a composite cable 20 described later is short-circuited or disconnected. This mechanism is a well-known technique.

The ground unit 10 includes a photoelectric converter 12 (first photoelectric converter) that converts an optical signal transmitted from the flying object 30 into an electrical signal. This photoelectric converter 12 is also a well-known technique.

As shown in FIG. 2, the composite cable 20 is composed of two conductive wires 21 for feeding power, one optical fiber 22, and a tension member 23 made of aramid fiber.
The conductive wire 21 is an annealed copper stranded wire having a cross-sectional area of approximately 0.5 square millimeters. More specifically, 64 conductors having a diameter of 0.10 mm are twisted together. In order to give the composite cable 20 flexibility, an annealed copper stranded wire is desirable as in this embodiment. The conductive wire 21 is provided with a coating 24 made of polypropylene.
The optical fiber 22 is a single mode (SM) optical fiber. The optical fiber 22 is provided with an aramid fiber outer sheath 25 on a 0.9 mm core and a polyethylene outer sheath 26 on the outer side thereof.
The tension members 23 are polyparaphenylene terephthalamide, and three concentric circles are arranged.
A press-wound tape (plastic tape) 27 is provided on the outer side of all the conductive wires 21, the optical fiber 22, and the tension member 23, and a polyolefin jacket 28 is provided on the outer side thereof. The mass of the composite cable 20 is approximately 30 grams per meter.

As shown in FIG. 3, the flying body 30 includes an airframe 31, six main rotor blades (rotors) 32, six DC motors 33, an imaging device 35, and a housing unit 40. As shown in FIG. 1, the accommodating portion 40 includes two DC-DC converters 41, an electro-optical converter 42 (first electro-optical converter), a battery 43, a control device 44, and a gyro sensor. 45, an acceleration sensor 46, an atmospheric pressure sensor (altimeter) 47, and a wireless communication unit 51 are accommodated. The flying body 30 is a so-called hexacopter (six-rotor) type multi-copter, and the main mechanism is similar to a well-known technique. For example, a gyro sensor 45 and an acceleration sensor 46 are used for posture control. The number of the main rotor blades 32 is not limited to six and is appropriately selected, but any of four, six, and eight is preferable.
In the present embodiment, the number of DC-DC converters 41 is two, but may be one depending on the relationship between the output current of the DC-DC converter 41 and the power consumption consumed by the entire vehicle 30. And it can also be 3 or more.

The DC motor 33 is a brushless motor with a rated voltage of 24 V, and the rotation speed is PWM-controlled by the control device 44. Each DC motor 33 is connected to each main rotor blade 32.

The DC-DC converter 41 lowers the high-voltage direct current transmitted from the ground unit 10 to the rated voltage of the DC motor 33, and is a well-known technique. The reason why the power supply device 11 transmits high-voltage power is to reduce the current flowing through the conductive wire 21 in the composite cable 20. In addition, the reason why the direct current is used is that when the alternating current is used, the transformer for stepping down the high voltage becomes heavier than the direct current.

The photographing device 35 is for photographing a still image or a moving image, and is a so-called color camera.

The electro-optical converter 42 converts the electric signal output from the photographing device 35 into an optical signal, and is a well-known technique.

  The battery 43 has a capacity capable of landing safely (can fly for several minutes) even when power transmission from the ground unit 10 stops for some reason while the flying object 30 is flying at the highest altitude. . The battery 43 is normally connected to a charging circuit, and is automatically connected to the control device 44 when power transmission is stopped.

The air vehicle system 1 performs power feeding to the air vehicle 30 and transmission of video and image signals from the air vehicle by the composite cable 20, but the maneuvering is performed by a general wireless system. This is because a wireless flying object system is generally commercially available and can be manufactured at a lower cost by using many of its functions.
The operator controls the angle between the flying object 30 and the imaging device 35 using the wireless controller 50 while visually checking the flying object 30. At that time, altitude information transmitted from the flying object 30 may be referred to. In this embodiment, the air pressure sensor (altimeter) 47 is mounted on the flying object 30, and altitude information is transmitted to the wireless controller 50 via the control device 44 and the wireless communication unit 51. The altitude information is displayed on a display screen provided in the wireless controller 50.
The wireless communication unit 51 receives a signal wirelessly transmitted from the wireless controller 50 and transmits the signal to the control device 44 and the imaging device 35. The control device 44 controls the rotational speed of the DC motor 33 based on the signal, and controls the altitude and the traveling direction of the flying object 30. The photographing device 35 changes the photographing direction based on the signal.

The aircraft system 1 can be used for a long time without worrying about the remaining amount of the battery. In addition, since the photographing device 35 and the monitor display 60 are connected by a cable, it is possible to view beautiful images and images free from noise in real time. Because it is wired, it is not bound by the restrictions of the Radio Law. In addition, when the video is confidential information, there is less risk of information leakage compared to wireless.
The monitor display 60 can be a notebook computer, a tablet computer, or the like.

(Second embodiment)
Next, the structure of the air vehicle system 2 which is 2nd embodiment is demonstrated mainly with reference to FIG. In the following description, members having the same or equivalent configuration as the aircraft system 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and description thereof is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 4, the flying vehicle system 2 includes a ground part 210, a composite cable 220, and a flying object 230. One end of the composite cable 220 is connected to the ground portion 210, and the other end is connected to the flying object 230.

The ground unit 210 includes an engine generator 213 that generates an AC voltage of 100V. The ground unit 210 includes a power supply device 11 that generates a DC voltage of 360 V from an AC voltage of 100 V.

The ground unit 210 includes a controller 250 for manually maneuvering the flying object 230 and a communication unit 251. The ground unit 210 includes an electro-optic converter 214 (second electro-optic converter) that converts an electrical signal transmitted from the communication unit 251 into an optical signal.
As a result, the flight does not become unstable due to radio interference.
Further, the ground unit 210 includes a monitor display 60. As a result, even in a situation where the flying object cannot be seen, it is possible to maneuver while viewing the video and information (such as altitude information) sent from the flying object 230.

The ground unit 210 includes four wheels 215, four DC motors 216, a control device 217 that controls the DC motors, and a camera 218. The wheel 215 is connected to a DC motor 216, and the combination of the wheel 215 and the DC motor 216 corresponds to the moving means of the present invention. The control device 217 can recognize a target by the video of the camera 218 and thereby recognize its own position. A combination of the camera 218 and the control device 217 corresponds to the ground position recognition means of the present invention. Further, the control device 217 controls the DC motor 216 based on the recognized position information of the self, and autonomously moves the ground unit 210 along the set movement route. This control device 217 corresponds to the autonomous movement control means of the present invention. These techniques are all known techniques.
As a power source for the control device 217, 100V AC output from the engine generator 213 is stepped down to 24V DC by an AC-DC converter (not shown).
In this embodiment, four-wheel drive is used, but two-wheel drive may be used. Further, a GPS receiver may be provided to recognize its own position. The wheel 215 is free when manually pushed. The position signal of the ground unit 210 is sent to the communication unit 251 and sent to the flying object 230 via the electro-optical converter 214.
In addition to the flying object 230, the ground unit 210 also moves autonomously, so that a wider range can be automatically monitored.

As shown in FIG. 5, the composite cable 220 includes two power supply conductive wires 21, two optical fibers 22, and a tension member 23 made of an aramid fiber.
One tension member 23 is disposed at the center of the composite cable 220. The mass of the composite cable 220 is approximately 34 grams per meter.

Like the flying object 30, the flying object 230 includes an airframe 31, six main rotor blades (rotors) 32, six DC motors 33, an imaging device 35, and a housing 40, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the housing unit 40 includes two DC-DC converters 41, an electro-optical converter 42, a battery 43, a control device 44, a gyro sensor 45, an acceleration sensor 46, and an atmospheric pressure sensor ( An altimeter) 47, a GPS receiver 248, and a photoelectric converter 249 (second photoelectric converter) are accommodated. In the present embodiment, the number of DC-DC converters 41 is two. However, depending on the relationship between the output current of the DC-DC converter 41 and the power consumption consumed by the entire vehicle 230, it may be one, It is the same as the air vehicle system 1 that three or more can be used.

The photoelectric converter 249 converts the optical signal sent from the ground unit 100 into an electrical signal, and is a well-known technique.

The flying object 230 can recognize the altitude by an atmospheric pressure sensor (altimeter) 47. The atmospheric pressure sensor 47 corresponds to the altitude recognition means of the present invention. Further, the photographing device 35 and the control device 44 can recognize a target and recognize its own position. A combination of the photographing device 35 and the control device 44 corresponds to the flying object position recognition means of the present invention. The control device 44 controls the DC motor 33 based on the recognized altitude information and its own position information, and causes the flying object 230 to fly autonomously along the set flight path. This control device 44 corresponds to the autonomous flight control means of the present invention. These techniques are all known techniques.
In this embodiment, the GPS receiver 248 is provided for the purpose of assisting in recognizing its own position, but the GPS receiver 248 is not essential to the present invention.

The contents described above relate to an embodiment of the present invention, and do not mean that the present invention is limited to the above contents. For example, although the aircraft system 2 uses the composite cable 220 having the two optical fibers 22, the optical fiber 22 may use the single composite cable 20 as in the aircraft system 1. It is. In this case, a well-known technique for performing bidirectional communication with one optical fiber 22 may be used. Further, the numerical values (dimensions) described in the present embodiment are not limited to this, but are design matters.

1-aircraft system (first embodiment)
Two-aircraft system (second embodiment)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ground part 11 Power supply device 12 Photoelectric converter (2nd photoelectric converter)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 Composite cable 21 Conductive wire 22 Optical fiber 23 Tension member 30 Aircraft body 31 Aircraft body 32 Main rotor blade 33 DC motor 35 Imaging device
40 housing part 41 DC-DC converter 42 electro-optic converter (first electro-optic converter)
43 Battery 44 Control Device 45 Gyro Sensor 46 Acceleration Sensor 47 Barometric Pressure Sensor 210 Ground Part 213 Engine Generator 214 Electric Light Converter (Second Electric Light Converter) 215 Wheel 216 Motor 217 Control Device 218 Camera 220 Composite Cable 230 Flight Body 248 GPS receiver 249 photoelectric converter (second photoelectric converter)
250 controller 251 communication unit

Claims (8)

A flying object system that flies by the driving force of a motor,
A ground unit installed on the ground;
A composite cable having a first end connected to the ground portion;
An aircraft connected to a second end of the composite cable;
The ground part is
A power supply device that generates a DC voltage of 200 V or more;
A first photoelectric converter that converts an optical signal sent from the flying object into an electrical signal;
The composite cable is
A conductive wire for power supply;
Optical fiber,
A tension member made of aramid fiber,
The aircraft is
A DC motor for driving the main rotor blade;
A DC-DC converter that steps down the DC voltage of 200 V or more to the rated voltage of the DC motor;
A shooting device for shooting still images and videos,
A flying object system comprising: a first electro-optical converter that converts an electric signal output from the imaging device into an optical signal. The aircraft system according to claim 1, wherein the power supply device automatically stops the supply of electric power when the conductive wire is short-circuited or disconnected.   3. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the flying object further includes a battery having a capacity capable of safely landing even when power from the composite cable is stopped during flight at a maximum altitude. The ground part is
A controller for maneuvering the flying object;
A second electro-optical converter that converts an electric signal output from the controller into an optical signal;
The aircraft is
The aircraft system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a second photoelectric converter that converts an optical signal transmitted from the ground portion into an electrical signal.   The aircraft system according to claim 1, wherein the ground unit further includes an engine generator. The aircraft is
Advanced recognition means to recognize your own altitude,
A vehicle position recognition means for recognizing its own position;
The flight according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising autonomous flight control means for autonomously flying on a set flight path based on the altitude and position recognized by the altitude recognition means and the flying object position recognition means. Body system. The ground part is
Transportation means;
Ground part position recognition means for recognizing its own position;
The aircraft system according to claim 6, further comprising autonomous movement control means for autonomously moving along a set movement route based on the position recognized by the ground position recognition means. A composite cable used in the aircraft system according to claim 1,
Two conductive wires for power supply;
One or two optical fibers;
A tension member made of one or more aramid fibers,
The conductive wire is an annealed copper stranded wire,
The tension member is a composite cable used in an aircraft system in which one or a plurality of concentric circles are arranged at the center of the composite cable.

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