JP2020023210A - Unmanned aircraft standby booth - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an unmanned aircraft standby booth which enables even an unmanned aircraft having a relatively large size airframe to be transported without disassembling a part of the airframe and enables the unmanned aircraft to be operated easily and quickly at a desired timing.SOLUTION: An unmanned aircraft standby booth includes: a case 12 which comprises a base part 12a and a cover part 12b and houses an airframe 52 of a drone 50 in a flyable state; airframe holding means 14 which is disposed in the case 12 and holds at least a part of the airframe 52; and power source input means 16 which is disposed at the case 12 and enables input of a power source included in the airframe 52.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (Drone), and more particularly to an unmanned aerial vehicle standby booth suitable for transporting and taking off a relatively large unmanned aerial vehicle.

  In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicles with advanced control functions have expanded their operational fields, such as commercial and disaster support, focusing on acquiring images and videos provided by mass media, etc., as items that can be easily aerial photography. is there. The convenience of such an unmanned aerial vehicle is that it is easier to operate than a manned aircraft.

  Among the unmanned aerial vehicles with such advantages, relatively small unmanned aerial vehicles have strong characteristics as entertainment items due to their ease of handling, and there are special cases for carrying, or the controller and storage case are integrated. For example, it is often possible to immediately take out and operate it from the transport state.

  On the other hand, in the case of a relatively large unmanned aerial vehicle, the characteristics of being treated as specialized equipment are strong because the aircraft itself is expensive or an operator with specialized knowledge is required. For this reason, the transport is mainly performed in a form that is as compact as possible while avoiding breakage and troubles, and it is more difficult to operate than a small unmanned aerial vehicle.

  As a reason for transporting a relatively large unmanned aerial vehicle, a part of the fuselage is disassembled, packed in a case, and transported to an operation site. Then, a process of taking out the body at the operation site and assembling the body is required. For this reason, the steps of disassembly and assembly are required before and after transport, and it takes considerable time from the arrival at the operation site to the actual start of operation, and the loss of parts due to disassembly and assembly is also a problem. Is coming.

  Under such circumstances, as in the technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1, an unmanned aerial vehicle is operated at an operation site or at a desired timing at any time by fixing and transporting the airframe on the roof of a transportation vehicle. It has been proposed to be able to fly.

JP 2017-21775 A

  Certainly, with the means disclosed in Patent Document 1, even a relatively large unmanned aerial vehicle can be transported without disassembling a part of the fuselage and operated at a desired timing. It will be possible to do so.

  However, when the means disclosed in Patent Literature 1 is adopted, the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle is constantly exposed to wind and rain, and damage may be accumulated in the body. Also, if a situation occurs in which a part of the body falls off while the vehicle equipped with the body is running, a serious accident may occur. For this reason, the proposal as disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a large problem in practical use.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an unmanned unmanned aerial vehicle having a relatively large airframe, capable of transporting a part of the airframe without disassembly, and enabling easy and quick operation at a desired timing. The purpose is to provide an aircraft standby booth.

  An unmanned aerial vehicle stand-by booth for achieving the above object comprises a base portion and a cover portion, a case for accommodating the unmanned aerial vehicle body in a flightable state, and is disposed in the case and holds at least a part of the airframe. And a power supply input means disposed in the case and capable of inputting a power supply provided in the airframe.

  The unmanned aerial vehicle standby booth having the above features includes a first actuator for holding and releasing the body holding unit, a second actuator for opening and closing the cover, and a first actuator. A control unit that outputs an operation signal to the second actuator and the power input unit; a communication unit that outputs a command signal to the control unit; and a base station that transmits an operation signal to the communication unit And a configuration including: According to this feature, it is possible to remotely perform the operation of releasing the body holding means, the operation of opening and closing the cover, and the input of power to the body. Therefore, the operation standby of the machine can be completed without touching the case.

  Further, the unmanned aircraft standby booth having the above features is disposed in the case, and at least one of a photographing function, a wind speed measuring function, a rainfall detecting function, a temperature measuring function, a humidity measuring function, and a tilt angle detecting function is provided. An environment information acquisition unit having a function may be provided, and information acquired by the environment information acquisition unit via the communication unit may be transmitted to the base station. According to this feature, it is possible to determine whether or not the environment is such that the aircraft can fly safely based on the environment information of the operation site.

  According to the unmanned aerial vehicle stand-by booth having the above features, even an unmanned aerial vehicle having a relatively large airframe can be transported without disassembling a part of the airframe. Further, it is possible to operate easily and quickly at a desired timing.

It is a figure showing the front composition showing the form of the unmanned aircraft stand-by booth concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a figure showing the plane composition showing the form of the unmanned aircraft stand-by booth concerning a 1st embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an operation system of an unmanned aircraft standby booth according to the first embodiment. It is a figure showing the schematic structure of the unmanned aerial vehicle which has a body to be stored. It is a block diagram showing an operation system of an unmanned aircraft stand-by booth according to a second embodiment. It is a figure which shows the example of operation at the time of mounting the case of an unmanned aircraft standby booth in the luggage compartment of a vehicle. It is a figure which shows the example of operation at the time of mounting the case of an unmanned aircraft stand-by booth on the roof of a vehicle. It is a lineblock diagram showing the form of the unmanned aircraft stand-by booth concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a figure showing the example of composition of the case which makes a cover part open one side. It is a figure showing the example of composition of the case which makes a cover part a shutter type.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of an unmanned aircraft standby booth of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is only a part of a preferred embodiment for carrying out the present invention. Therefore, even if the form is changed within a range in which the effect is obtained, it can be regarded as a part of the present invention.

[Unmanned aerial vehicles: Drone]
First, an unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter, referred to as a drone 50) accommodated in the unmanned aerial vehicle standby booth 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The drone 50 targeted in the present embodiment is intended for a relatively large drone, for example, a drone having a propeller 58 whose axial distance (between the propellers at the farthest positions) exceeds 300 mm. The drone 50 includes an airframe 52 and a controller 64.

  The basic configuration of the body 52 includes a main body 54, an arm 56, a propeller 58, and a leg 60. The main body 54 includes a communication unit, a control unit, a power supply unit, and the like (not shown), and a camera 62 and other actuators are attached as necessary. The arm portion 56 extends radially from the main body 54 as a base point, and has a motor for controlling the rotation of the propeller 58 at its tip. The leg portion 60 is provided at a lower portion of the main body 54 and is an element for stabilizing the body 52 during takeoff and landing.

  The controller 64 is an element for remotely controlling the airframe 52. If necessary, the monitor 66 is attached, and when the camera 52 is mounted on the fuselage 52, the fuselage 52 can be operated while the video taken by the camera 62 of the fuselage 52 is displayed on the monitor 66. Configuration.

[First Embodiment]
Hereinafter, an unmanned aircraft standby booth accommodating a drone body having the above basic configuration will be described. First, an unmanned aircraft standby booth according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that, in the drawings, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a front configuration showing a form of an unmanned aircraft standby booth according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the same plane configuration. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an operation system of the unmanned aircraft standby booth according to the first embodiment. The unmanned aircraft stand-by booth 10 according to the present embodiment is basically composed of a case 12, an airframe holding unit 14 disposed inside the case 12, and a power input unit 16.

  The case 12 is an element for accommodating the body 52 of the drone 50, and includes a base portion 12a and a cover portion 12b. The base part 12a is an element for making the body 52 stand by stably. Although the specific form does not matter, it is assumed that it has a projection area larger than at least the body 52 to be accommodated in plan view. In addition, it is possible to form a flat plate, but in the present embodiment, it is configured to form a container body that covers the lower half of the body 52.

  Here, when the base portion 12a forms the body of a container that covers the lower half of the body 52, the height of the side wall is configured to be lower than the height of the propeller 58 when the body 52 is accommodated. Is desirable. With such a configuration, the airflow when the propeller 58 is rotated can be stabilized, and the contact between the propeller 58 and the periphery of the propeller 58 and the base portion 12a can be avoided.

  At least the body holding means 14 and the power input means 16 are arranged on the base portion 12a. The body holding unit 14 is an element that holds at least a part of the body 52 and plays a role of restricting the movement of the body 52 accommodated in the case 12. Since a part of the body 52 is held by the body holding means 14, the occurrence of breakage or trouble due to the body 52 moving or falling inside the case 12 due to the inclination or vibration during transportation can be prevented. You can avoid it.

  The body holding means 14 according to the present embodiment is configured to hold the leg 60 of the body 52. For this reason, the body holding means 14 is an open / close type holder. The holding operation or the releasing operation by the body holding unit 14 may be performed manually, but may be performed by an actuator 22 (first actuator) driven by an operation signal from the control unit 20.

  The power input means 16 is an element having a role of turning on a power switch of the body 52 accommodated in the case 12. The power input means 16 has a form corresponding to the power form of the body 52 housed in the case 12. For example, in the case where a switch disposed outside the body 52 is switched or pushed in, the mechanical power input means 16 may be used. On the other hand, when inputting a power switch by energization, wireless communication, or the like, an electric power input means 16 may be used. The power input means 16 is configured to input power to the body 52 by an operation signal from the control unit 20 regardless of the type.

  Here, the control unit 20 is provided at least outside the case 12 (including the outer surface) and is connected to an operation unit that outputs a command signal for outputting an operation signal. By supplying a command signal from the outside of the case to the control unit 20 via the operation unit 24, the power of the aircraft 52 is input and the aircraft holding means 14 is released, and the standby for the aircraft 52 to fly is completed. It is.

  The cover portion 12b is provided on the upper portion of the base portion 12a, and is an element having a role of covering and protecting the body 52. In the present embodiment, the cover 12b covers the upper half of the body 52 because the base 12a has a container shape that covers the lower half of the body 52. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the main cover is configured to have a double door opening from the center in plan view, and a side cover that seals gaps formed at both ends of the main cover and tilts with opening and closing of the main cover. I have. In addition, by making the cover part 12b a split type, the opening and closing space of the large case 12 can be reduced.

  The cover 12b may be manually opened and closed, but may be configured to include an actuator 26 (second actuator) for opening and closing. In the case where the actuator 26 is provided, the opening and closing operation may be performed by an operation signal from the control unit 20. The case 12 is provided with a power supply 28 for supplying power to the control unit 20 and various actuators (including the power supply input unit 16).

[Effects]
According to the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10 having such a configuration, even the relatively large body 52 of the drone 50 can be accommodated and transported as it is. At the operation site, the drone 50 can be operated by opening the cover portion 12b, inputting power by the power input means 16 and releasing the fuselage holding means 14, so that the fuselage 52 can fly directly from inside the case 12. Can be started.

  For this reason, the disassembly and reassembly before and after transport are compared to the conventional case where a part of the fuselage is disassembled and stored in a case for transport, and the fuselage is assembled after removing the aircraft from the case at the operation site. The process has been reduced. Therefore, the time required from the transportation to the operation at the operation site can be greatly reduced, and the risk of parts being lost due to disassembly and assembly can be eliminated.

  In the present embodiment, the body holding means 14 is arranged on the base portion 12a and holds the legs 60 of the body 52. However, the body holding means 14 is arranged on the cover portion 12b and presses the main body 54 of the body 52. It may be something. In the case of such a configuration, it is possible to simultaneously release the body holding means 14 by opening the cover portion 12b.

[Second embodiment]
Next, an unmanned aircraft standby booth 10A according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10A according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10 according to the above-described first embodiment. Therefore, portions having the same configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and detailed description will be omitted.

  The unmanned aircraft standby booth 10A according to the present embodiment includes a base station 40, through which the cover portion 12b of the case 12, the body holding means 14, the power input means 16, and the like arranged in the case 12 can be remotely controlled. Operable configuration. Specifically, the following configuration may be used.

  In the present embodiment, the case 12 includes the communication unit 30. The communication unit 30 is an element that receives an operation signal from a base station 40, which will be described in detail later, and outputs a command signal to the control unit 20. By providing such an element, the case 12 can be remotely controlled.

  The base station 40 is an element for performing remote control of the case 12, and includes at least an operation unit 42. The operation means 42 may include an operation button or the like corresponding to the operation of the case 12, and may output an operation signal to the case 12 by operating the operation button. In the case of the present embodiment, it suffices to have an operation button for transmitting operation signals such as power input, body holding release / fastening, and cover opening / closing.

[Effects]
According to the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10A having such features, the standby for flying the airframe 52 without touching the case 12 can be completed. Further, the case 12 constituting the unmanned aircraft standby booths 10 and 10A according to the present invention can be mounted on a luggage compartment or a roof of a vehicle 70 as shown in FIGS. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6A, when the case 12 is mounted in the luggage compartment, the case 12 is simply carried out of the luggage compartment as shown in FIG. As shown in (5), the cover 12b is opened, and the standby of the body 52 can be completed.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, when the case 12 is mounted on the roof of the vehicle 70, the case 12 is mounted on the vehicle 70 as shown in FIG. By performing the operation via the base station 40 disposed inside, the standby of the aircraft 52 can be completed.

[Third embodiment]
Next, an unmanned aircraft standby booth 10B according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The basic configuration of the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10B according to the present embodiment is the same as that of the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10A according to the above-described second embodiment. Therefore, portions having the same configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals in the drawings, and detailed description will be omitted.

  The unmanned aircraft stand-by booth 10B according to the present embodiment is characterized in that an environment information acquisition unit 18 is arranged in a case 12. The environment information acquisition unit 18 is a unit that performs at least one of a photographing function, a wind speed measurement function, a rainfall detection function, a temperature measurement function, a humidity measurement function, and an inclination angle detection function. Therefore, the environment information acquisition unit 18 includes a camera as a photographing unit, an anemometer, a rain sensor, a thermometer, a hygrometer, an acceleration sensor, and the like, which have desired elements.

  The environmental information obtaining means 18 has an object to obtain information when the body 52 is made to fly. For this reason, the information acquired by the environment information acquiring means 18 is sent to the base station 40 via the communication unit 30 (see FIG. 5). The base station 40 according to the present embodiment has a configuration in which the information sent from the environment information acquisition unit 18 can be visually recognized. Specifically, a display unit 44 such as a monitor may be provided in addition to the operation unit 42. This is because the provision of the display means 44 allows the information acquired by the environment information acquisition means 18 to be visibly displayed.

  Further, the base station 40 may be provided with a calculation unit (not shown) for performing various determinations. By providing the calculation means, it is possible to determine whether or not the aircraft 52 is in a state capable of flying based on the information acquired by the environment information acquisition means 18 and to display this on the display means 44. Becomes

  The display means 44 can also display the status of the case 12 and the body 52 in real time. In other words, whether the cover portion 12b of the case 12 is open or closed, whether the power supply of the body 52 is turned on, and whether the body holding means 14 is released. Also, it can be displayed whether or not the aircraft 52 is present in the case 12, that is, whether or not the aircraft is flying. Further, if the image transmitted to the monitor 66 of the controller 64 is configured to be received directly or through a relay unit, the display unit 44 displays the image displayed on the monitor 66 attached to the controller 64 of the drone 50 together with the image displayed on the monitor 66. The same video can be displayed.

[Effects]
According to the unmanned aircraft standby booth 10B having such features, it is possible to determine whether or not the aircraft 52 can be safely flown based on the environment information of the operation site.

  In the case 12 constituting the unmanned aircraft standby booth according to the present invention, a charging unit for the fuselage battery and a state diagnosis unit (both not shown) of the fuselage 52 may be arranged. When the charging unit is arranged, the battery of the airframe can be charged while the airframe 52 is being transported, and the risk of running out of the battery at the operation site can be reduced. Further, when a condition diagnosis unit is provided, by connecting the diagnosis unit to an external coupler or the like of the body 52, the state diagnosis of the body 52 accommodated in the unmanned aircraft standby booth can be performed. As a result, it is possible to avoid a situation in which a failure of the airframe 52 is discovered after arriving at the operation site, and the aircraft cannot be flown.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, it described that the form about the cover part 12b which comprises the case 12 is a double door. However, the configuration of the cover 12b is not limited, as is the case with the base 12a. In other words, as shown in FIG.

  Further, the form of the cover portion 12b is not limited to a lid type using a so-called hinge. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a shutter type may be used. 10A is a front view showing a state where the case 12 is closed, and FIG. 10B is a front view showing a state where the case 12 is opened. Further, FIG. 10C is a plan view in a state where the case 12 is opened.

  In the case 12 having such a configuration, the rails may be arranged on the retractable side cover, and the retractable shutter may be attached to the rails. This is because, even in such a form, the upper end of the base portion 12a can be configured to be lower than the propeller forming the body 52.

  In the above embodiment, the control unit 20 disposed in the case 12 and the power supply 28 for operating various actuators (including the power supply input unit 16 in addition to the actuators 22 and 26) are disposed in the case 12. Described. However, when the case 12 does not separate from the vehicle 70, such as when the case 12 is mounted on the roof of the vehicle 70, power may be supplied from the vehicle 70.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, an example of an application target of the unmanned aircraft standby booths 10, 10A, and 10B is described as an aircraft in which the center distance of the propeller 58 exceeds 300 mm. This is to the point that application on an airframe is particularly useful. Therefore, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to an airframe in which the distance between the axes of the propellers 58 is less than 300 mm.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case 12 and the base station 40 are described as performing wireless communication. However, communication between the case 12 and the base station 40 may be performed by wire.

10, 10A, 10B ... unmanned aircraft standby booth, 12 ... case, 12a ... base portion, 12b ... cover portion, 14 ... body holding means, 16 ... power input means, 18 ... environmental information acquisition means, 20 ... control unit, 22 ... actuator, 24 ... operation unit, 26 ... actuator, 28 ... power supply, 30 ... communication unit, 40 ... .. Base station, 42... Operating means, 44... Display means, 50... Drone, 52... Body, 54... Body, 56 arm arm 58, propeller 60 ... leg, 62 ... camera, 64 ... controller, 66 ... monitor.

Claims (3)

A case comprising a base part and a cover part, which accommodates an unmanned aerial vehicle in a state capable of flying,
Fuselage holding means arranged in the case and holding at least a part of the fuselage;
And a power input means arranged in the case and capable of inputting power provided in the aircraft. A first actuator for holding and releasing the body holding means;
A second actuator for opening and closing the cover,
A control unit that outputs an operation signal to the first actuator, the second actuator, and the power input unit;
A communication unit that outputs a command signal to the control unit;
The unmanned aircraft standby booth according to claim 1, further comprising: a base station that transmits an operation signal to the communication unit. An environment information acquisition unit disposed in the case and having at least one of a photographing function, a wind speed measurement function, a rainfall detection function, a temperature measurement function, a humidity measurement function, and an inclination angle detection function,
The unmanned aircraft stand-by booth according to claim 1 or 2, wherein information acquired by the environment information acquiring unit via the communication unit can be transmitted to the base station.

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