JP2018030430A - Unmanned flight vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an unmanned flight vehicle which can access to the upper side of an object.SOLUTION: An unmanned flight vehicle 10 includes: a flight body part 11 including a lift force generation part 16; support legs 18 which are provided at the lower side of the flight body part 11 and ground during landing; an elongated upper rod 20 which is erected protruding upward further than the flight body part 11, has a protruding length from the flight body part 11 which is longer than a length from an upper end of the flight body part 11 to a lower end of the support leg 18, and enables an object to be arranged between itself and the upper side of the flight body part 11; and a camera 22 attached to an upper part of the upper rod 20.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned air vehicle.

  In recent years, it has been proposed to mount equipment such as an imaging device on an unmanned air vehicle to perform observation, inspection, and the like in a place where it is difficult for humans to approach and enter (see Patent Document 1). By using an unmanned air vehicle, it is possible to observe and inspect places where it is difficult for humans to approach or enter, but if there are workpieces around the object, the object becomes an obstacle and the object You may not be able to access things from above. In this case, it is difficult to observe or inspect the upper side of the object.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-88121

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described facts, and an object thereof is to provide an unmanned air vehicle capable of accessing equipment on the upper side of an object.

  An unmanned air vehicle according to the first aspect of the present invention includes a flying main body including a lift generating unit, a leg provided on the lower side of the flying main body, and a landing on the landing, and projects upward from the flying main body. It is installed on a long standing member that is longer than the length from the upper end of the flying body part to the lower end of the leg, and the upper part of the standing member. Equipment.

  The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1 includes a long standing member that protrudes upward from the flight main body. The standing member has a projecting length from the flying body part longer than the length from the upper end of the flying body part to the lower end of the leg. By providing such a standing member, even if there is an obstacle on the upper side of the object for observation or inspection and it is difficult to access the object from above, the object can be accessed from the lower side. Can do.

  The unmanned air vehicle according to the invention of claim 2 has a space in which at least a part of the object can be arranged above the flight main body and below the upper end of the standing member. It is characterized by.

  In this way, by forming a space in which at least a part of the object can be arranged above the flying body part and below the upper end of the standing member, the flying body part is arranged below the object. In this state, the object can be placed between the flying main body and the standing member, and the equipment can be accessed above the object.

  The unmanned air vehicle according to the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the equipment is a photographing device and is installed so as to be able to photograph downward.

  In this way, by installing the photographing device on the upper part of the standing member, it is possible to place an object between the standing member and the flight main body and photograph the upper part of the object.

  An unmanned air vehicle according to the invention of claim 4 is characterized in that the equipment is a gas sensor.

  In this way, by installing the gas sensor on the upper part of the standing member, the target object is arranged between the standing member and the flight main body part, and the gas sensor is accessed from the upper part of the target object, thereby causing gas leakage, etc. Can be detected.

  The unmanned air vehicle according to the invention of claim 5 is characterized in that the standing member is a hollow rod.

  Thus, by forming the standing member with a hollow rod, the weight of the standing member can be reduced, and the overturning moment can be reduced.

  An unmanned aerial vehicle according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is provided below the flight main body, protrudes below the leg during flight, and expands and contracts so as to be shortened to a position where it comes into contact with the leg during landing. A lower rod is further provided.

  In the unmanned air vehicle according to the sixth aspect, the lower rod is provided on the lower side of the flight main body. The lower rod protrudes below the leg that contacts the ground when landing, and applies a moment to the flying body so as to cancel the rotational moment acting in the direction in which the flying body tilts. Therefore, the inclination of the flight main body during flight is suppressed, and the posture can be stabilized. In addition, the lower rod protrudes below the leg that contacts the ground when landing, so it can generate a relatively large moment compared to the case where it does not protrude downward. Can be made lightweight.

  Also, when landing, the lower rod can be extended and retracted so that it can be shortened to the ground with the leg, so that the leg and the lower rod are grounded, and when landing, the lower rod prevents the leg from being grounded. It can be avoided.

  An unmanned air vehicle according to a seventh aspect of the invention is characterized in that the lower rod is extended by its own weight during flight and is shortened by being pushed by a grounding portion during landing.

  The lower rod of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 7 extends by its own weight during flight and is shortened by being pushed by the grounding portion at the time of landing. Can do.

  The unmanned air vehicle according to the invention of claim 8 is characterized in that the standing member and the lower rod extend in a vertical direction from a position sandwiching the center of gravity of the flight main body.

  Here, the target position that sandwiches the center of gravity of the flight main body is not only when sandwiched directly above and below the center of gravity of the flight main body, but one of the standing member and the lower rod is eccentric with respect to the center of gravity. In the case, it means that the other is eccentric to the opposite side with the center of gravity in between.

In this way, at the target position across the center of gravity of the flight main body,
By extending the standing member and the lower rod in the vertical direction, the rotational moment received by the standing member can be canceled in a balanced manner by the canceling moment of the lower rod, and the flight posture of the unmanned air vehicle can be stabilized.

  According to the unmanned air vehicle according to the present invention, the equipment can be accessed above the object.

It is a schematic perspective view of the unmanned air vehicle according to the present embodiment. It is a schematic side view at the time of landing of the unmanned air vehicle concerning this embodiment. It is a schematic side view at the time of flight of the unmanned air vehicle according to the present embodiment. It is a figure explaining the state which the moment acted on the unmanned air vehicle concerning this embodiment. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the state which the unmanned air vehicle concerning this embodiment accessed the upper side of the target object.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an unmanned air vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment. The unmanned air vehicle 10 according to the present embodiment includes a base portion 12, a frame portion 14, a lift generating portion 16, a support leg 18, an upper rod 20, and a lower rod 30 as main components.

  The base portion 12 has a disk shape, and is mounted with a communication antenna and a control device (not shown). The center of gravity G of the base portion 12 is set at the center of the circle, and coincides with the center of gravity of the flight main body 11 described later.

  The lift generating part 16 includes four arm parts 16A protruding radially outward from the base part 12, a propeller part 16B installed on the arm part 16A, and a motor part 16C in which a motor for operating the propeller part 16B is housed. ,have. The arm portion 16A is formed of a hollow rod, and control wiring and the like are accommodated inside the arm portion 16A. The tip of the arm portion 16A is attached to the corner portion of the frame portion 14.

  The frame part 14 is disposed so as to surround the base part 12 and the lift generating part 16, and has a square shape with corners corresponding to the four propeller parts 16B in plan view. A protective net 15 is provided on the side surface and the upper surface of the frame portion 14. The protective mesh 15 prevents foreign matter from above and from the side from entering the base portion 12 and the lift generating portion 16. In the present embodiment, the flight main body 11 includes the base portion 12, the lift generating portion 16, and the frame portion 14. The flight main body 11 according to the present embodiment includes a member disposed inside the frame 14 and the frame 14. In the present embodiment, the frame portion 14 is included in the flight main body portion 11, but the frame portion 14 may not be included in the flight main body portion 11.

  The support leg 18 is fixed to the frame portion 14 and protrudes below the frame portion 14. The support legs 18 support the unmanned air vehicle 10 on the ground contact surface U during landing (see FIG. 2).

  The upper rod 20 has a hollow bar shape, and as shown in FIG. 2, is erected so as to protrude upward at a position offset from the center of gravity G of the base portion 12 by a distance G1 radially outward. At the upper end of the upper rod 20, a camera 22, which is a photographing device as equipment, is installed. The camera 22 is installed so that the optical axis L of the lens of the camera 22 is obliquely downward, and the camera 22 can shoot downward. The direction of the optical axis L of the camera 22 is preferably such that at least a part of the upper surface of the flight main body 11 can be photographed. A space SP in which an object (object for investigation, inspection, observation, etc.) can be placed is formed above the flight main body 11 and below the upper end of the upper rod 20. The protruding length D1 of the upper rod 20 from the flight main body 11 (in this embodiment, the length from the upper surface of the protective net 15 to the upper end of the upper rod 20) is the lower end of the support leg 18 from the upper surface of the flight main body 11. Is set to be longer than the length D2 (in this embodiment, the length from the upper surface of the protective mesh 15 to the lower end of the support leg 18).

  The lower rod 30 protrudes downward at a position offset by G2 at the same distance as G1 outward in the radial direction on the opposite side in the horizontal direction with respect to the center of gravity G. That is, the upper rod 20 and the lower rod 30 are each extended in the vertical direction from the target position with the center of gravity G interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower rod 30 is composed of four rods of a first rod portion 32, a second rod portion 34, a third rod portion 36, and a fourth rod portion 38 in order from the bottom. Yes. The 1st rod part 32, the 2nd rod part 34, the 3rd rod part 36, and the 4th rod part 38 are made into the shape of a hollow stick, the outside diameter and inside diameter of the 1st rod part 32 are the smallest, and the upper rod The outer diameter and inner diameter increase gradually. The third rod portion 36 can be stored inside the fourth rod portion 38, the second rod portion 34 can be stored inside the third rod portion 36, and the first rod is stored inside the second rod portion 34. The rod portion 32 can be stored.

  At the lower end of the first rod portion 32, a grounding portion 31 that is grounded on the grounding surface is formed. The grounding portion 31 has a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the first rod portion 32. As shown in FIG. 3, a large-diameter portion 32 </ b> A whose outer diameter protrudes radially outward from the outer periphery of the first rod portion 32 is formed at the upper end of the first rod portion 32. A ring 34 </ b> B having an inner diameter that is smaller than the outer diameter of the large diameter portion 32 </ b> A and larger than the outer diameter of the first rod portion 32 is fixed to the lower end of the second rod portion 34. The ring 34 </ b> B hits the large-diameter portion 32 </ b> A of the first rod portion 32 inserted into the second rod portion 34, and prevents the first rod portion 32 from coming out of the second rod portion 34.

  Similarly, large diameter portions 34 </ b> A and 36 </ b> A whose outer diameter protrudes radially outward from the outer periphery are formed at the upper ends of the second rod portion 34 and the third rod portion 36. Further, at the lower ends of the third rod part 36 and the fourth rod part 38, a diameter smaller than the outer diameters of the large diameter parts 34A and 36A so as to prevent the second rod part 34 and the third rod part 36 from coming out, respectively. Rings 36B and 38B having an inner diameter of are fixed.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the first rod portion 32 has a storage position P <b> 1 stored in the second rod portion 34, and a large diameter portion 32 </ b> A of the first rod portion 32. The first rod portion 32 is in contact with the ring 34B and is movable between the extended position P2 where the second rod portion 34 has come out. Similarly, the second rod portion 34 is configured such that the storage position Q1 stored in the third rod portion 36 and the large-diameter portion 34 of the second rod portion 34 abut on the ring 36B of the third rod portion 36 so that the second rod The part 34 is movable between the extended position Q2 where the part 34 has come out from the third rod part 36. Further, the third rod portion 36 has a storage position R1 stored in the fourth rod portion 38, and the large-diameter portion 36 of the third rod portion 36 abuts on the ring 38B of the fourth rod portion 38. 36 is movable between the extended position R <b> 2 that has come out of the fourth rod portion 38.

  The first rod portion 32, the second rod portion 34, and the third rod portion 36 move from the storage positions P1, Q1, and R1 to the extended positions P2, Q2, and R2 due to their own weight during takeoff. Accordingly, during the flight of the unmanned air vehicle 10, the first rod portion 32, the second rod portion 34, and the third rod portion 36 are disposed at the extended positions P2, Q2, and R2. Hereinafter, the state of the lower rod 30 in this state is referred to as an “extended state 30A”. When in the extended state 30A, the entire length of the lower rod 30 is L1.

  When the unmanned air vehicle 10 is landed, the first rod portion 32, the second rod portion 34, and the third rod portion 36 are pushed by the landing surface to be shortened to be in a shortened state 30B (see FIG. 2). When the unmanned air vehicle 10 lands on a flat ground, the lower rod 30 is disposed at the storage positions P1, Q1, and R1. The total length of the lower rod 30 is L2. When the total length is L1, the lower rod 30 protrudes below the support leg 18. Let the projection length of the lower rod 30 from the flight main body 11 when the total length is L1 be C1.

  In addition, when the unmanned aerial vehicle 10 lands on the ground having unevenness, the entire length of the lower rod 30 in the shortened state 30B may be longer than L2 or may be shorter.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, an example of an investigation of the gas pipe 50 spanned along the bridge floor slab B will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the gas pipe 50 is suspended below the bridge floor slab B by a support member 52 and is bridged along the bridge floor slab B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the unmanned air vehicle 10 supports the flight main body 11 by the grounding portion 31 of the support leg 18 and the lower rod 30 being grounded as shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the lower rod 30 is in a shortened state 30B.

  When the unmanned air vehicle 10 takes off, the lower rod 30 enters the extended state 30A as shown in FIG. The protrusion length D1 of the upper rod 20 from the flight main body 11 is longer than the length D2 from the upper surface of the flight main body 11 to the lower end of the support leg 18, and is easily affected by the falling moment. However, as shown in FIG. 4, even if the overturning moment M1 acts on the upper rod 20, the canceling moment M2 that cancels the overturning moment M1 acts on the lower rod 30 in the extended state 30A. Therefore, the inclination of the unmanned air vehicle 10 is suppressed, and the flight posture can be stabilized.

  After the unmanned air vehicle 10 is taken off, the unmanned air vehicle 10 is accessed from the lower side with respect to the gas pipe 50. 3 and 5, the camera 22 attached to the tip of the upper rod 20 is disposed above the gas pipe 50 in the vertical direction, and the gas pipe 50 is connected to the flight main body 11 in the horizontal direction. Arrange them at overlapping positions. That is, the gas pipe 50 is disposed in the space SP. In this state, an image of the upper surface of the gas pipe 50 can be captured by the camera 22, and the upper state of the gas pipe 50 can be investigated and inspected.

  Since the unmanned air vehicle 10 of the present embodiment has the lower rod 30, the flight attitude of the unmanned air vehicle 10 is generated by generating the canceling moment M2 that cancels the overturning moment M1 of the upper rod 20 as described above. Can be stabilized. Further, the lower rod 30 can be expanded and contracted, and is in an extended state 30A during flight. Therefore, a large moment is generated as compared with the case where a member of the same weight that does not expand is provided in the flight main body 11. Therefore, the weight of the lower rod 30 for generating the canceling moment of the same magnitude can be reduced. Further, since the lower rod 30 is stretched by its own weight, the stretched state 30A during flight can be realized with a simple structure.

  Further, since the lower rod 30 is shortened so as to be grounded together with the support leg 18 at the time of landing, it is possible to avoid the lower rod 30 from interfering with the grounding of the support leg 18 at the time of landing. In the present embodiment, the support legs 18 are provided, but the support legs 18 may not be provided, and the frame portion 14 may be grounded instead of the support legs 18 at the time of landing. In this case, the frame portion 14 serves as the leg of the present invention, and the base portion 12 and the lift generating portion 16 constitute the flight main body portion of the present invention.

  In the present embodiment, the lower rod 30 is stretched by its own weight or shortened by being pushed by the ground surface, but may be electrically expanded and contracted. By making it non-electrical as in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress the consumption of electricity as compared with the case where it is electrically expanded and contracted. Further, the non-electrical extension / contraction mechanism of the lower rod 30 is not limited to the one described in the present embodiment, and other extension / contraction mechanisms may be employed.

  Moreover, since the unmanned air vehicle 10 of this embodiment is provided with the upper rod 20 standing up from the flight main-body part 11, it is on the upper side of objects (observation and gas pipe 50 in this embodiment), such as observation and inspection. Even if there is an obstacle (bridge floor slab B in this embodiment) and it is difficult to access from above, it is accessed from the lower side of the object and the flight main body 11 is placed below the object, The upper rod 20 allows access to the upper side of the object. Further, since the upper rod 20 is a hollow rod, the weight can be reduced.

  Further, since the upper rod 20 and the lower rod 30 are vertically extended from the target position with the center of gravity G of the flying main body 11 interposed therebetween, the rotational moment M1 received by the upper rod 20 is offset by the canceling moment of the lower rod 30. By M2, it is possible to cancel out in a balanced manner and to stabilize the flight posture of the unmanned air vehicle 10. In the present embodiment, the distances G1 and G2 between the upper rod 20 and the lower rod 30 from the center of gravity G are equal distances, but the distances G1 and G2 are not necessarily equal distances. By being arranged on the opposite side across the center of gravity G, the rotational moment M1 received by the upper rod 20 can be canceled in a balanced manner by the canceling moment M2 of the lower rod 30.

  Further, a weight can be attached to the ground contact portion 31 at the tip of the lower rod 30 of the present embodiment to increase the canceling moment.

  In addition, the protruding length C1 of the lower rod 30 from the flying body 11 of the present embodiment is preferably equal to or longer than the protruding length D1 of the upper rod 20 from the flying body 11 in consideration of flight stability. .

  In the present embodiment, the camera 22 is installed at the upper end of the upper rod 20 and the object is photographed. However, other devices such as a gas sensor and an ultrasonic sensor are used instead of the camera 22 or together with the camera 22. May be installed.

  Moreover, although the example provided with the lower rod 30 was demonstrated in this embodiment, the lower rod 30 does not need to be provided. Even in this case, the flying posture of the unmanned air vehicle 10 can be stabilized by generating a canceling moment for the overturning moment of the upper rod 20 by elongating the support leg 18 or the like.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Unmanned air vehicle 11 Flight main-body part 16 Lift generating part 18 Support leg (leg)
20 Upper rod (standing member)
22 Camera (shooting equipment)
30 Lower rod G Center of gravity

Claims (8)

A flying body including a lift generating unit;
A leg that is provided on the lower side of the flight main body and is grounded when landing,
A long standing member that protrudes upward from the flight main body and has a projection length from the flight main body that is longer than the length from the upper end of the flight main body to the lower end of the leg; ,
Equipment attached to the upper part of the standing member;
An unmanned air vehicle with   2. The unmanned flight according to claim 1, wherein a space in which at least a part of an object can be arranged is formed above the flight main body and below the upper end of the standing member. body.   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the equipment is a photographing device and is installed so as to be capable of photographing downward.   The unmanned air vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the equipment is a gas sensor.   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the standing member is a hollow rod. A lower rod provided on the lower side of the flight main body, projecting below the legs during flight, and extendable so as to be shortened to a position where it comes into contact with the legs during landing;
The unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:   The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the lower rod extends by its own weight during flight and is shortened by being pushed by a grounding unit during landing. 8. The unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 6, wherein the standing member and the lower rod extend in a vertical direction from a position sandwiching the center of gravity of the flight main body. .

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