JP6626009B2 - Flying robot equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a flying robot device, and more specifically, it is possible to fly continuously while supplying power from the outside by wire, and to perform various operations such as spraying of pesticides from the air, aerial photography, radiation measurement, etc. In addition, the present invention relates to an industrial flying robot device which does not fall even if a gust or a power supply line is broken.

  Conventionally, as a flying robot for performing a predetermined operation in the air, a form such as an electric helicopter or an electric airplane is known. However, each of them is an electric motor and a battery (for example, lithium ion・ Battery) and work while flying autonomously within the capacity range of the battery. For this reason, the flight time is generally limited to a short time of about 15 to 30 minutes.

  In addition, when the payload (weight of the load) of the flying robot increases in accordance with the task, the power consumption required for the flight further increases, so that the flight time is further restricted. For example, if the payload is 15 kg or more, the flight time will be 5 minutes or less, and it will be virtually impossible to use it for work. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to extend the flight time while mounting the same payload, the weight of the battery mounted on the flying robot increases, so that the substantial payload is reduced by the increased weight. Therefore, in order to put unmanned work in the air by such a flying robot into practical use, it is necessary to eliminate such difficulties (trade-offs) by some means.

As a prior art related to the present invention, for example, a toy airplane that can fly by remote control in a closed area such as a room disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-509758) is disclosed. . This toy airplane includes a model airplane and a remote control device connected to the model airplane via a flexible cable. Electric power is supplied to the electric motor on the model airplane from a power source (battery) built in the remote control device via the cable. The cable is connected to a lower portion of the model airplane near its center of gravity. The floating weight of the model airplane is extremely small at 1.5 g / dm ² or less, which is not industrial use but a toy. The power supply is built in the remote control device, and the model airplane has This is because it is not mounted. Further, the model airplane has a fixed elevator, the raising and lowering of which is performed by changing electric energy supplied to the electric motor. The rudder drive (i.e., altitude adjustment) of the model airplane is driven by changing a direct current (DC) voltage applied to an induction coil (corresponding to the summary, claims 1 to 4 and the detailed description of the invention). Location, see FIGS. 1-4).

  As another prior art related to the present invention, there is a steering mechanism of a remote-controlled helicopter disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-299998). The control mechanism of this remote-controlled helicopter is a remote-controlled helicopter control mechanism that is remotely controlled by receiving a signal from a transmitter on a receiver mounted on the fuselage, and a tension rope attached to the helicopter fuselage. And a reel B that winds up a signal transmission cable connecting the transmitter and the receiver. The reel A and the reel B are fed out and wound up more than the reel A. And the signal transmission cable is guided and guided by the tension rope so as to be sent out and wound up. According to this steering mechanism, it is possible to perform wired control while minimizing a decrease in the payload of the helicopter, and to facilitate and realize the steering operation of the helicopter (see claims and detailed description of the invention). Corresponding portions of the description, see FIGS. 1 to 3).

  As still another related art related to the present invention, there is a floating body disclosed in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-178592). The floating body includes a trunk, a pair of main wings attached to both sides of the trunk, and a winding shaft provided between the pair of main wings and extending in a fluttering direction of the main wings. A main wing is provided with a pair of yarns, one end of which is connected to the winding shaft, and the other end of which is connected to the winding shaft, and a main wing power unit attached to the body for rotating the shaft for winding the yarn. This floating body performs self-exciting fluttering motion, is a toy that floats in a room or outdoors, and means an object that floats in the air and does not include a helicopter or an airplane. Further, this floating body flies at a low speed not higher than the walking speed (3 m / sec) against the gravity, and the wing surface load relative to the total weight is set to 3 Newton / square meter or less. The main wing power unit preferably includes a DC motor and an AC power supply that supplies AC to the DC motor. In this case, by supplying an AC signal having a low frequency at which the DC motor operates to the DC motor, the main wing can be smoothly fluttered. (See Abstract, Claims 1, 8, Paragraph 0001, 0006-0007, 0012-0014, 0049-0050, 0067-0071, FIGS. 1-5, 21-22, 33).

  As still another related art related to the present invention, there is an autonomous control device for a small unmanned helicopter disclosed in Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-256020). This autonomous control device includes a sensor that detects the current position, attitude angle, ground altitude, and absolute nose of a small unmanned helicopter, and a small unmanned unmanned helicopter that is detected by a target position or speed set by a ground station and a sensor. A main processing unit for calculating optimum control command values for driving respective servomotors for moving the five rudders of the helicopter body from the current position and attitude angle of the helicopter; collecting data from sensors; and a main processing unit And a sub-arithmetic unit for converting the arithmetic result output as a numerical value into a pulse signal that can be accepted by the servomotor. According to this autonomous control device, it is possible to autonomously control a small unmanned helicopter having a size and weight as large as a radio control helicopter for a hobby toward a target value of a set position or speed (abstract, claim 1, paragraph 005). 0061, see FIG. 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 11-509758 JP-A-2-299998 JP 2009-178592 A JP 2004-256020 A

  The above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional flying robots, that is, when trying to increase the payload (weight of the load), the power consumption increases and the flight time is further restricted, and conversely, when trying to increase the flight time, The disadvantage that the weight of the mounted battery increases and the payload further decreases is that the power supply to the electric motor on the flying robot is changed from the power supply on the ground side (such as the "toy airplane" in Patent Document 1). This can be solved by performing the operation from a battery) through a flexible cable. However, in this case, the power transmission output is less than 100 W, which is insufficient for industrial use. Further, since the entire length of the cable is considerably long, for example, several meters to several tens of meters, another problem arises when the electric power is supplied to the electric motor on the flying robot through such a long cable.

  The first problem is that a voltage drop occurs by supplying power of several kW or more through a long cable, so that the voltage applied to the electric motor is considerably lower than the power supply voltage (supply voltage) on the ground. It is to be. In addition, the amount of the voltage drop changes with a change in the length of the cable. When such an unstable voltage is applied to the electric motor, there is a possibility that the flight condition of the flying robot will be greatly affected.

  The second problem is that it is necessary to adjust the output of the electric motor in accordance with a change in load (load) due to the cable. During the flight, a part of the cable hangs down from the flying robot, and a part of the cable weight (load due to the cable weight) acts on the flying robot. In addition, the load fluctuates with changes in altitude and horizontal position of the flying robot. Furthermore, when a pulling force acts on the cable due to a strong wind or a gust, the load temporarily increases. For this reason, it is necessary to adjust the output of the electric motor in real time in accordance with the load fluctuation due to the weight of the cable.

  The third problem is that if the cable hanging from the flying robot becomes long, the cable may become entangled due to sudden changes in the altitude or horizontal position of the flying robot or gusts, which may hinder the flying robot's subsequent flight. There is something. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures against such entanglement of the cable.

  A fourth problem is that the flying robot may crash if the flying robot receives a gust or a power supply cable breaks during the flight. Most electric motors that drive propulsion means (for example, a rotor) of a flying robot are DC brushless motors, and thus a DC-DC converter is often used as a driving power source for the electric motor. The DC-DC converter is a power supply circuit using a switching method for downsizing, and has a negative characteristic. For this reason, it is not possible to cope with a sudden load change, and the output may suddenly become zero. For example, when it is necessary to rapidly increase the output to the electric motor due to a gust during a flight, the DC-DC converter cannot cope with the load fluctuation, and the output voltage may suddenly become zero. It is. In that case, the flying robot will crash, so some measures need to be taken.

  Also, if the cable for supplying power to the flying robot is disconnected for some reason, the flying robot will also fall down, so some countermeasures are required.

  However, Patent Document 1 described above only discloses a configuration for supplying electric power to an electric motor on a model airplane via a cable, and the above-described first to fourth problems are not recognized. There is no disclosure or suggestion about how to deal with it.

  Patent Document 2 “Remotely-operated helicopter steering mechanism” discloses a measure for avoiding the third problem of cable entanglement. However, in this control mechanism, while the flight range of the helicopter is limited by the tension rope, the control signal is transmitted by the signal transmission cable connecting the transmitter and the receiver, so that the reel A and the reel B are required. At the same time, it is necessary to control the sending and winding of the signal transmission cable by the reel B in accordance with the sending and winding of the tension rope by the reel A, so that the configuration and control of the cable entanglement prevention mechanism become complicated. There is a drawback. Patent Document 2 does not recognize the first, second, and fourth problems, and does not disclose or suggest any countermeasures for them.

  The above-mentioned “floating body” of Patent Document 3 includes an example in which a main wing power device including a DC motor and an AC power supply that supplies an AC to the DC motor is used. By supplying an AC signal having a low operating frequency to the DC motor, the main wing is smoothly fluttered. The flapping of the main wing is necessary because this floating body is a toy that floats in a room or outdoors by causing a pair of main wings to perform a self-exciting flapping motion. Therefore, it is apparent that the method cannot be used for measures for avoiding the above-described first to fourth problems. Note that Patent Document 3 does not recognize the above-described first to fourth problems in the first place.

  The control device of the small unmanned helicopter of Patent Document 4 realizes autonomous control of the small unmanned helicopter, but stops there, and the above-described first to fourth problems are not recognized, and a countermeasure for them is not described. No disclosure or suggestion.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to ensure stable flight without limiting flight time and payload due to the capacity of a battery mounted on a flying robot. The present invention is to provide an industrial flying robot device that can continuously fly a flying robot and perform various operations such as spraying pesticides, aerial photography, and radiation measurement from the air. .

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an industrial flying robot device that does not have a risk of falling even if a sudden load change occurs in the flying robot due to a gust or the like or the power supply cable is disconnected. To provide.

  Still another object of the present invention is to provide an industrial flying robot device capable of suppressing a voltage drop and a load variation of the flying robot caused by a cable connecting the flying robot and the ground side power supply device with a simple configuration. To provide.

  Still another object of the present invention is that a sudden change in the altitude or horizontal position of the flying robot or wind may entangle the cable connecting the flying robot and the ground-side power supply, which may hinder the flight of the flying robot. Is to provide an industrial flying robot device that can solve the above problem with a simple configuration.

  Still other objects of the present invention not specified herein will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings.

(1) The flying robot device of the present invention
Flying robot,
A ground-side power supply that supplies power to the flying robot via a flexible power transmission cable,
The flying robot,
Propulsion means;
An electric motor that drives the propulsion means,
A first control unit that controls an output of the electric motor according to a load of the power transmission cable acting on the flying robot;
A high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit that converts a high voltage supplied from the ground-side power supply device via the power transmission cable to a low voltage and supplies the low voltage to the electric motor;
A main power supply that supplies the electric motor with the low voltage generated by the high / low voltage conversion unit;
A sub-power supply for supplying an auxiliary voltage to the electric motor as needed;
An auxiliary battery that supplies the auxiliary voltage,
The ground-side power supply device,
A high-voltage power transmission unit that transmits the high voltage to the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit via the power transmission cable;
A second control unit that controls a value of the high voltage transmitted by the high-voltage power transmission unit according to a distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device,
The sub-power supply supplies the auxiliary voltage to the electric motor from the auxiliary battery when the output of the main power supply decreases or disappears.

  In the flying robot device of the present invention, as described above, the high voltage is supplied from the ground-side power supply device to the flying robot via the flexible power transmission cable. In addition, the value of the high voltage by the high-voltage power transmission unit is controlled by the second control unit of the ground-side power supply device according to a distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device. Further, the output of the electric motor is controlled by the first control unit of the flying robot according to the load of the power transmission cable acting on the flying robot. For this reason, the influence of the voltage drop due to the power transmission cable and the weight and entanglement of the power transmission cable that the flying robot receives during the flight is reliably suppressed. Therefore, the flying robot can be continuously fly without being limited in flight time and payload due to the capacity of the battery mounted on the flying robot, and the flying robot can be sprayed with pesticides from the air. , Various operations such as aerial photography and radiation measurement.

  The output of the electric motor is controlled by the first control unit in accordance with the load of the power transmission cable acting on the flying robot. At the same time, the flying robot and the ground-side power supply are controlled by the second control unit. The value of the high voltage transmitted by the high voltage power transmission unit is controlled according to the distance between the devices. Therefore, a voltage drop and a load variation of the flying robot caused by the power transmission cable connecting the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device can be suppressed with a simple configuration.

  Further, in addition to the main power supply for supplying the electric motor with the low voltage generated by the high voltage / low voltage converter, the sub power supply for supplying the auxiliary voltage from the auxiliary battery to the motor is provided. When the output of the main power supply decreases or disappears for some reason, the sub power supply supplies the auxiliary voltage to the electric motor. Therefore, even if a sudden load change occurs in the flying robot due to a gust or the like or the power supply cable is disconnected, the flying robot does not fall.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a flying robot device that can be immediately put into practical use for industrial use.

  (2) In a preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, the high voltage transmitted by the high-voltage power transmission unit of the ground-side power supply device is a DC voltage. In this example, there is an advantage that a voltage drop that occurs when the high voltage is transmitted via the power transmission cable is suppressed as compared with a case where an AC voltage is used. There is also an advantage that a DC voltage circuit can be smaller than an AC voltage converter.

  (3) In another preferred embodiment of the flying robot device according to the present invention, the high-voltage / low-voltage converter of the flying robot is a variable output DC-DC converter. In this example, since the output of the DC-DC converter is variable, there is an advantage that the circuit configuration on the flying robot is simplified.

  (4) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device according to the present invention, the high-voltage power transmission unit of the ground-side power supply device is an AC-DC converter, and the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit of the flying robot is a DC-DC converter. It is said. In this example, an advantage is obtained in that the high voltage transmitted by the high-voltage power transmission unit of the ground-side power supply device can be generated using a commercial power supply.

  (5) In still another preferred embodiment of the flying robot device according to the present invention, when a decrease in the load capacity of the main power supply device is detected, the sub power supply device reduces the low voltage supplied from the main power supply device. In addition, the auxiliary battery is configured to supply the auxiliary voltage to the electric motor. In this example, there is an advantage that the influence on the flight of the flying robot due to the decrease in the load capacity of the main power supply device can be minimized.

  (6) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, when the loss of the output from the main power supply device is detected, the operation of the sub power supply device is stopped, and the auxiliary battery is used for the auxiliary power supply device. It is configured to supply voltage directly to the electric motor. In this example, even if the output of the main power supply device is lost due to a disconnection of the power transmission cable or the like, the advantage is obtained that the flying robot can continue flying without crashing.

  (7) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, the auxiliary battery is charged by using the high voltage supplied from the ground-side power supply device via the power transmission cable, so that the auxiliary battery is discharged. The apparatus further includes a charging power supply device for preventing the auxiliary voltage from decreasing. In this example, there is obtained an advantage that it is possible to prevent a situation in which the auxiliary battery naturally discharges with time and a desired auxiliary voltage cannot be supplied.

  (8) In yet another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, the flying robot device further includes a cable winder that winds an excess of the power transmission cable on the ground side, and feeds and winds the power transmission cable by the cable winder. Pickup is configured to be automatically adjusted according to the distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply. In this example, the power transmission cable connecting the flying robot and the ground-side power supply unit is entangled by a sudden change in the altitude or horizontal position of the flying robot, wind, or the like, which hinders the flight of the flying robot. The fear can be eliminated with a simple configuration.

  (9) In yet another preferred example of the flying robot device according to the present invention, the flying robot detects a position of the flying robot in flight and wirelessly outputs an output signal of the position detecting sensor to the ground. A transmission / reception unit for transmitting to the side power supply device, the second control unit of the ground side power supply device controls the value of the high voltage transmitted by the high voltage power transmission unit, receives the output signal, Configured to do so. In this example, there is an advantage that the position of the flying robot in flight can be easily and reliably detected, and the second control unit can be accurately controlled based on the detection result.

  (10) In still another preferred embodiment of the flying robot device of the present invention, the flying robot device further includes a communication cable (used for transmission and reception of control signals and data communication, for example, made of an optical fiber) connected to the flying robot. And the communication cable is integrated (built-in or added) or attached to the power transmission cable. In this example, there is an advantage that communication with the flying robot during flight can be reliably performed while eliminating adverse effects due to the installation of the communication cable.

  (11) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device according to the present invention, the cable winding machine includes a cable winding motor for sending and winding the power transmission cable, and the cable winding motor. The sending and winding of the power transmission cable by the second control unit are controlled according to the distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device. In this example, although the structure of the cable winder is slightly complicated, the control of the feeding and winding of the power transmission cable according to the distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device is more accurately performed. There is an advantage that it is.

  (12) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, the cable winder includes an urging member (for example, a spring) for urging the power transmission cable in a winding direction thereof, and The feeding of the cable is performed by pulling out the power transmission cable against the winding force of the urging member, and the winding of the power transmission cable is configured to be performed by the winding force of the urging member. You. In this example, there is an advantage that control of sending and winding of the power transmission cable according to the distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device is realized with a simple configuration.

  (13) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, a PID control method is used in at least one of the first control unit of the flying robot and the second control unit of the ground-side power supply device. . In this example, there is an advantage that the first control unit or the second control unit can be easily realized. However, it goes without saying that a method other than the PID control method may be used.

  (14) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, the flying robot device further includes an entanglement preventing member installed on the ground side for preventing entanglement of the cable. In this example, there is an advantage that the entanglement of the cable can be more easily prevented with a simple configuration.

  (15) In still another preferred example of the flying robot device of the present invention, the flying robot has a configuration of an electric helicopter. In this example, there is an advantage that the advantages of the present invention can be maximized.

  According to the flying robot apparatus of the present invention, (a) the flying robot can continuously fly continuously without being limited in flight time and payload due to the capacity of the battery mounted on the flying robot. The flying robot can perform various operations such as spraying pesticides, aerial photography, radiation measurement, etc. from the air. (B) A sudden load change occurs in the flying robot due to a gust, etc., or the power supply cable is disconnected. (C) Voltage drop and load fluctuation of the flying robot caused by the cable connecting the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device can be suppressed with a simple configuration. And (d) the effect of being able to be immediately put to practical use for industrial use is obtained.

  In addition, a cable winder that winds up a surplus of the power transmission cable on the ground side is further provided, and the feeding and winding of the power transmission cable by the cable winder is automatically performed according to the distance between the flying robot and the power supply device on the ground side. (E) In addition to the effects of (a) to (d) above, (e) a sudden change in altitude or horizontal position of the flying robot or wind may cause the flying robot and the ground-side power supply to be adjusted. The effect that the cable connecting the devices is entangled and hinders the flight of the flying robot can be eliminated with a simple configuration.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an entire configuration of a flying robot device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an entire configuration of a flying robot used in the flying robot device of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a robot-side control device and a ground-side power supply device used in the flying robot device of FIG. 1. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation during flight of a robot-side control device used in the flying robot device of FIG. 1. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation during flight of a ground-side power supply device used in the flying robot device of FIG. 1. (A) is a front view which shows the detailed structure of the cable winder used for the flying robot apparatus of FIG. 1, (b) is the side view. It is a functional block diagram showing the internal configuration of the robot side control device and the ground side power supply device used in the flying robot device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a front view which shows the detailed structure of the cable winder used for the flying robot apparatus of FIG. 7, (b) is the side view. FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of an auxiliary power supply device used in the flying robot device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a battery voltage drop prevention circuit used in the flying robot device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an operation of an auxiliary power supply device used in the flying robot device according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(1st Embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of a flying robot device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As is clear from FIG. 1, the flying robot device 1 includes a flying robot 10, a ground-side power supply device 50 that supplies power to the flying robot 10 via a flexible power transmission cable 30, a height of the flying robot 10, A cable winder 40 that pulls out and winds up the power transmission cable 30 in accordance with a change in the position, and an entanglement prevention member that prevents the power transmission cable 30 from becoming entangled during flight to prevent the flying robot 10 from flying. 45. The ground-side power supply device 50, the cable winder 40, and the entanglement prevention member 45 are provided on the ground. The flying robot 10 can fly autonomously with electric power supplied from the ground-side power supply device 50 via the power transmission cable 30.

  The flying robot 10 has a configuration of an electric multi-rotor helicopter having six rotors 13 individually driven by an electric motor 14, as shown in detail in FIG. More specifically, the flying robot 10 includes a substantially cylindrical main body 11 and six cylindrical bodies 11 arranged at regular intervals on the substantially cylindrical outer peripheral portion of the main body 11 and extending radially from the outer peripheral portion. An arm 12, a total of six rotors 13 rotatably installed at the distal ends of the arms 12, and a total of six electric motors 14 for individually rotating the rotors 13 are provided. All the rotors 13 are directly fixed to the rotation shafts of the corresponding electric motors 14, respectively, and are driven to rotate by rotation of the corresponding electric motors 14. All rotors 13 are arranged in the same plane. Here, the rotor 13 functions as a propulsion unit of the flying robot 10.

  In this specification, when distinguishing the six arms 12, as shown in FIG. 2, reference numerals 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d, 12e and 12f are used. Similarly, when discriminating the six rotors 13, symbols 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e, and 13f are used, and when discriminating the six electric motors 14, symbols 14a, 14b, 14c, and 14d are used. , 14e and 14f.

  Equipment (work equipment) necessary for various operations such as pesticide spraying, aerial photography, radiation measurement, etc., is mounted on the main body 11 of the flying robot 10 using appropriate members. The work equipment is sent to a desired position and altitude by flying the flying robot 10, and performs a desired operation while hovering or flying at a desired altitude at the place.

  The power required for the flying robot 10 to fly, in other words, the power required to rotate the six electric motors 14 that drive all the rotors 13 is not supplied from the battery mounted on the flying robot 10 but to the ground side. The power is continuously supplied from the power supply device 50 via the power transmission cable 30. For this reason, mounting of the battery on the flying robot 10 can be omitted. However, in preparation for an emergency such as a sudden increase in the load on the flying robot 10 due to a gust, a failure of the ground-side power supply device 50, a disconnection of the power transmission cable 30, or a sudden decrease or disappearance of power supply due to a failure of a device on the flying robot 10. An auxiliary battery (described later) is mounted on the main body 11. This is for preventing an unexpected crash of the flying robot 10.

  A robot-side control device 20 having an internal configuration as shown in FIG. 3 is mounted inside the main body 11 of the flying robot 10. The distal end of a power transmission cable 30 is mechanically and electrically connected to the robot-side control device 20. The proximal end of the cable 30 is mechanically and electrically connected to the ground-side power supply device 50. The base end portion of the cable 30 is wound around the drum 42 (see FIG. 6) of the cable winder 40 provided near the ground-side power supply device 50 a plurality of times in the vicinity of the ground-side power supply device 50. , And a ground-side power supply device 50. The base end of the cable 30 is inserted and engaged with the cable insertion ring 45a of the entanglement preventing member 45 slightly before the cable winder 40, and is wound around the drum 42 at the rear thereof. The length of the cable 30 drawn from the drum 42 is adjusted by rotating the drum 42 by the cable winding motor 41 in accordance with the distance from the flying robot 10.

  A robot-side autonomous control device (not shown) that controls the autonomous flight of the flying robot 10 is mounted inside the main body 11. As the robot-side autonomous control device, for example, the one disclosed in Patent Document 4 described above can be used.

  More specifically, the robot-side autonomous control device includes (a) a sensor for detecting the current position and the attitude angle of the flying robot 10, and (b) six sensors for driving the six electric motors 14 of the flying robot 10, respectively. From the motor driver of (c), the current flight state of the flying robot 10 obtained from the sensor, and a target value set by a ground-side autonomous control device (described later) using a predetermined autonomous control algorithm. A CPU that independently calculates a control command value so that the electric motor 14 has an optimum rotation speed; (d) a wireless modem that communicates with the ground-side autonomous control device; A manual steering receiver for receiving a steering signal. The CPU monitors the sensor information obtained from the sensor by the ground-side autonomous control device, and inputs a target value set by the ground-side autonomous control device, in addition to the main processing unit that performs the above-described calculation. For example, a sub-operation unit for controlling input and output of signals with the wireless modem is also provided. Examples of the sensors include a GPS sensor that detects the position of the flying robot 10, a three-axis attitude sensor that detects the attitude of the flying robot 10 in three axes, a ground altimeter that measures the altitude of the flying robot 10, A magnetic compass that measures the direction is used. However, the configuration and functions of the robot-side autonomous control device are not limited to this.

  The robot-side autonomous control device receives four steering command values, power, yaw, roll, and pitch, from the ground-side autonomous control device, and individually controls six motor drivers based on the command values. The number of rotations of 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e and 14f is controlled. Thereby, the flying state of the flying robot 10 can be arbitrarily controlled as follows.

  That is, the electric motors 14a, 14c and 14e are rotated clockwise by the respective motor drivers, and the remaining electric motors 14b, 14d and 14f are rotated counterclockwise. Regarding power, if the rotation speeds of the six electric motors 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, and 14f are simultaneously increased, the flying robot 10 rises in a direction perpendicular to itself, and if decreased simultaneously, the flying robot 10 becomes perpendicular to itself. Descend in the direction. When a difference is made between the rotation speeds of the electric motors 14b and 14c and the rotation speeds of the electric motors 14e and 14f, the roll angle changes. If the rotation direction is the same and the rotation speed of the electric motors 14a, 14b and 14f is different from the rotation speed of the electric motors 14c, 14d and 14e, the pitch angle changes. If a difference is made between the rotation speeds of the electric motors 14a, 14c and 14e and the rotation speeds of the electric motors 14b, 14d and 14f, the yaw angle changes. In this manner, an arbitrary flight state can be obtained only by controlling the rotation speeds of the six electric motors 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, and 14f.

  On the ground side, a ground-side autonomous control device (not shown) that is paired with the robot-side autonomous control device is prepared. The ground-side autonomous control device monitors the state of the autonomous control of the flying robot 10 and inputs a target value. The ground-side autonomous control device communicates with the wireless modem of the robot-side autonomous control device, and the robot-side autonomous control device. A manual steering transmitter for transmitting a manual steering signal to the manual steering receiver of the device. When the robot-side autonomous control device breaks down due to some trouble and cannot perform autonomous control, the mode is automatically switched to the manual control mode, and thereafter, the control can be performed by the manual control transmitter. For this reason, the falling of the flying robot 10 can be prevented. However, the configuration and function of the ground-side autonomous control device are not limited thereto.

  Next, the cable winder 40 will be described.

  The cable winder 40 is provided on the ground side adjacent to the ground-side power supply device 50. The cable winder 40 has a function of winding a surplus of the power transmission cable 30 to prevent the cable 30 from being entangled, and a function of the shortage of the cable 30. The flying robot 10 has a function of sending out and preventing an unnecessary load from acting on the flying robot 10 due to the pulling force of the cable 30. The feeding and winding operations of the cable 30 by the cable winding machine 40 are controlled by the ground-side power supply device 50.

  The cable winding machine 40 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 6 and includes a cable winding motor 41, a drum 42 around which the cable 30 is wound, a stand 43 for supporting the cable winding motor 41, and a stand 43. And a base 44 on which a cable winding motor 41 and a drum 42 are installed by using the base 43. The drum 42 is fixed to a rotating shaft 41 a of the cable winding motor 41, and rotates with the rotation of the motor 41. The cable 30 is wound around the drum 42 according to the rotation speed by the forward rotation of the motor 41, and is sent out from the drum 42 according to the rotation speed by the reverse rotation of the motor 41.

  The cable winder 40 is provided with an entanglement prevention member 45 for preventing entanglement of the cable 30. The entanglement prevention member 45 is made of a rigid material (for example, a bar made of metal or synthetic resin) bent in an L-shape, and has a base end fixed to the base 44 of the cable winder 40. A cable insertion ring 45a is formed at the tip of the entanglement prevention member 45. The cable insertion ring 45a is located higher than the drum 42, and holds the cable 30 in a slidable state. This is to ensure that the cable 30 is always wound up or pulled out of the drum 42 in substantially the same state, so that there is no trouble in winding up and pulling out the cable 30. Therefore, the entanglement preventing member 45 can be omitted if there is no problem in winding and drawing out the cable 30 by other measures.

  The base end portion of the cable 30 passes through the cable insertion ring 45a at the distal end of the entanglement prevention member 45, and is wound around the drum 42 a plurality of times with a slight slack. The proximal end of the cable 30 extends to the ground-side power supply 50 and is mechanically and electrically connected to the ground-side power supply 50. A portion of the cable 30 closer to the tip than the portion wound around the drum 42 extends toward the flying robot 10, and the tip is mechanically and electrically connected to the flying robot 10. The length of the cable 30 drawn from the drum 42 is adjusted according to the distance from the flying robot 10 by rotating the drum 42 by the cable winding motor 41 during the flight of the flying robot 10. The rotation of the cable winding motor 41 is controlled by a ground-side power supply device 50 described later.

  Next, the ground-side power supply device 50 will be described.

Ground side power supply 50 generates a high voltage V _H of the direct current (DC), having the function of transmitting the flight robot 10 via the transmission cable 30. Also, depending on the distance between the flying robots 10 and ground-side power supply 50 (i.e., voltage drop), while adjusting the value of the transmission to DC high voltage V _H, to adjust the feeding amount and winding amount of the cable 30 It also has functions.

  The ground-side power supply device 50 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3 and includes an output control unit 51, a control calculation unit 52, a transmission / reception unit 53, a power generation unit 54, a high-voltage power transmission unit 55, and an antenna 56. .

  The transmitting / receiving unit 53 receives, via the antenna 56, the position / altitude signal wirelessly transmitted from the transmitting / receiving unit 25 of the robot-side control device 20. The position / altitude signal thus received is sent to the control operation unit 52.

  The control calculation unit 52 performs a predetermined calculation according to the PID control method based on the position / altitude signal, and calculates the required length of the power transmission cable 30 at the current position and the current altitude of the flying robot 10. Then, the shortage or excess of the length of the cable 30 is calculated from the comparison with the current length of the cable 30. The information on the shortage / excess of the length of the cable 30 calculated in this way is sent to the output control unit 51 by a control signal. Note that the present invention is not limited to the PID control method, and it goes without saying that other control methods can be used.

What is the PID control method?
Manipulated variable = P part (proportional term) + I part (integral term) + D part (differential term)
Is a method of determining the operation amount. here,
P part (proportional term) = flying robot weight change speed (kg / s)? Rising and falling time of flying robot (s)? Transmission cable unit weight (kg / m)? Output coefficient Kp
I part (integral term) = integral value of flying robot weight change speed (kg / s)-output coefficient Ki
D part (differential term) = differential value of flying robot weight change speed (kg / s)-output coefficient Kd
And

  The output control unit 51 receives information on the shortage / excess of the length of the power transmission cable 30 based on the control signal sent from the control calculation unit 52, and drives the cable winding electric motor 41 based on the information. 42 is rotated forward (in a direction in which the cable 30 is pulled out) or backward (in a direction in which the cable 30 is wound up). In this way, the shortage or surplus of the current position of the flying robot 10 and the length of the cable 30 at the current altitude with respect to the length of the cable 30 at the immediately preceding altitude are adjusted.

Power generation unit 54 on the basis of the lack-excess information of the length of the cable 30 transmitted from the output control unit 51 increases or decreases the value of the AC high voltage V _H to the power generation. Then, thus supplying the adjusted DC high voltage _{V H} to the high-voltage power unit 55. By doing so, it is possible to cope with an increase or a decrease in voltage drop due to a shortage or a surplus in the length of the cable 30.

  As the power generation unit 54, a commercial power supply that generates a commercial voltage of 100 V AC is used here to simplify the configuration. However, considering that there are places where commercial power cannot be used, a known generator that generates 100 V AC (or another voltage) may be used.

The high-voltage power transmission unit 55 boosts an original voltage (for example, 100 to 200 V AC) supplied from the power generation unit 54 and converts it into DC to generate a DC high voltage _VH (for example, 250 to 1000 V). Then, thus-generated DC high voltage V _H, that power transmission to the robot-side controller 20 via the transmission cable 30.

Here, the high-voltage power transmission unit 55 is an AC-DC converter. Therefore, it is possible to generate a DC high voltage V _H of high voltage transmission unit 55 power from the commercial power source. At present, some AC-DC converters can directly generate a DC voltage exceeding 300 V (for example, 380 V) from a commercial power supply voltage (100 to 200 V AC), and therefore it is preferable to use this.

The ground-side power supply device 50 transmits the DC high voltage V _H (for example, 250 to 1000 V) generated by the high-voltage power transmission unit 55 from the commercial power supply voltage (AC 100 to 200 V) to the robot-side control device 20 via the power transmission cable 30. Therefore, the power transmission loss can be significantly suppressed as compared with the case where the AC voltage is transmitted. In particular, by setting the DC high voltage _VH to a value exceeding 300 V, it is possible to minimize power transmission loss. In recent years, DC 380 V has become a standard for high-voltage power supply for servers. Therefore, a known power supply device used for high-voltage power supply for servers can be used as the high-voltage power transmission unit 55 as it is.

  When the length of the power transmission cable 30 changes due to the movement of the flying robot 10, the value of the voltage drop due to the cable 30 changes in proportion to the change, so that the voltage drops through the cable 30 to the high-voltage / low-voltage converter 21 of the robot-side control device 20. The voltage value (the input voltage value of the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21) at the time of arrival also varies according to the length of the cable 30. Therefore, in order to solve this, the value of the voltage to be transmitted in the ground-side power supply device 50 is adjusted, and then the power is transmitted. As a result, even when the length of the cable 30 changes, the voltage value when it reaches the high-voltage / low-voltage converter 21 is kept constant.

  Next, the robot control device 20 mounted on the flying robot 10 will be described.

Robot-side controller 20, the flight which operates by the supplied DC high voltage V _H to the robot 10, the output of the six electric motors 14 in accordance with the load of the transmission cable 30 that acts on the flying robot 10 individually It has a function to control (eliminate) the effect of the load of the cable 30 on the flight by controlling.

  The robot-side control device 20 has a configuration as shown in FIG. 3, and includes a high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21, an output control unit 22, a control calculation unit 23, a position detection unit 24, a transmission / reception unit 25, and an antenna 26. Have.

The high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21 is mechanically and electrically connected to the ground-side power supply device 50 via the power transmission cable 30, and receives a DC high voltage V _H (high-voltage / low-voltage conversion) supplied from the ground-side power supply device 50. The input voltage of the unit 21 converts, for example, DC 250 to 300 V) to a DC low voltage _VL (for example, DC 40 to 70 V). The DC low voltage _VL generated in this way is supplied to the output control unit 22, the control calculation unit 23, the position detection unit 24, the transmission / reception unit 25, and the antenna 26, and is used as a drive voltage for these circuits. The high-voltage / low-voltage converter 21 itself operates using the DC low voltage _VL generated as described above as a drive voltage. Similarly, the robot-side autonomous control device receives the supply of the DC low voltage _VL and operates using the supply as the drive voltage. Therefore, the flying robot 10 can fly continuously even if the battery is not mounted on the flying robot 10.

It is preferable that the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21 is configured by a DC-DC converter whose output is variable voltage control. In this case, since the rotor driving motor 14 is a DC motor, the DC low voltage _VL output from the DC-DC converter can be directly supplied to the rotor driving motor 14, and the circuit on the flying robot 10 There is an advantage that the configuration is simplified.

  The position detection unit 24 includes a position / altitude sensor (not shown) mounted on the flying robot 10, and detects the current position and the current altitude of the flying robot 10. As the position / altitude sensor, for example, a GPS sensor that detects the position of the flying robot 10 and a ground altimeter that measures the altitude of the flying robot 10 that are mounted on the flying robot 10 for autonomous flight can be used. . The position / altitude signal generated by the position detection unit 24 is output to the transmission / reception unit 25 and the control calculation unit 23.

The transmission / reception unit 25 wirelessly transmits the position / altitude signal transmitted from the position detection unit 24 to the ground-side power supply device 50 via the antenna 26. This position / altitude signal is used in the ground side power supply device 50 to control the cable winding motor 41 of the cable winding machine 40, and the power transmission cable 30 corresponding to the current position and the current altitude of the flying robot 10 is used. depending on the length, also used to increase or decrease the value of the DC high voltage V _H to be the power transmission from the ground-side power supply 50.

  The control calculation unit 23 receives the position / altitude signal sent from the position detection unit 24 and performs a predetermined calculation according to the same PID control method as the control calculation unit 52 of the ground-side power supply device 50, The length of the power transmission cable 30 corresponding to the position and the current altitude is calculated, and the unit weight of the cable 30 is added thereto to calculate the weight of the cable 30. Further, the amount of change (rate of change) in the weight of the cable 30 per unit time is also calculated. The motor control signal thus calculated is sent to the output control unit 22.

  The output control unit 22 increases or decreases the driving force of the rotor driving electric motor 14 that needs to be corrected, based on the control signal sent from the control calculation unit 23. By doing so, the influence of the weight of the power transmission cable 30 on the current position and the current altitude of the flying robot 10 is corrected, and as in the case where the cable 30 is not connected, it is possible to ascend and descend, and to fly back and forth and left and right. It becomes. For example, when performing an operation while hovering at a fixed position, the flying robot 10 may be pulled by the cable 30 due to the application of a pulling force by the wind or the wind, and may be shifted from a predetermined position. However, in the present embodiment, since the robot-side control device 20 immediately detects this and adjusts the driving force of the motor 14 that needs to be corrected, the flying robot 10 can maintain a fixed position.

  The output control unit 22 preferably uses, for example, pulse width modulation (PWM) or variable voltage control. This is because the rotor driving electric motor 14 is a DC motor. Here, a PWM control circuit is used. However, the present invention is not limited to these.

Assuming that the payload is 20 kg and the maximum peak power required by the six electric motors 14 is 6 kW, the DC high voltage _VH is set to 300 V, the electric wire of the electric wire standard AWG16 is used as the cable 30, and the transmission distance, that is, Assuming that the total length of the power transmission cable 30 is 50 m, the DC current flowing through the cable 30 (the output current of the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21) is 20A, so that the voltage drop due to power transmission is only 10V. In other words, (the voltage value at the receiving end) value of the DC high voltage V _H of the high-pressure / low-pressure converter 21 of the robot-side controller 20 receives is the kept 290 V. If a slightly larger voltage drop due to power transmission can be tolerated, an electric wire smaller than the electric wire standard AWG16 can be used as the cable 30, so that there is an advantage that the cost and unit weight of the cable 30 can be further reduced.

Further, if the output voltage of the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21 is controlled so as to compensate for a voltage drop due to power transmission via the power transmission cable 30, that is, the output current of the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit 21 (DC current flowing through the cable 30) And a voltage drop value represented by a product of an electric resistance value per unit length of the cable 30 and constantly added to the input voltage (the DC high voltage _VH ) of the high-voltage / low-voltage converter 21. For example, the voltage drop due to power transmission is compensated, and the influence of the voltage drop can be eliminated. In this way, the input voltage (the DC high voltage V _H ) can always be kept almost constant.

  Next, the auxiliary power supply device mounted on the flying robot 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. This auxiliary power supply device prevents the flying robot 10 from falling even if a sudden load change (overload) occurs on the flying robot 10 due to a gust or the like or the power transmission cable 30 is disconnected. It has been installed for.

  As shown in FIG. 9, each of the six rotor driving electric motors 14 includes a main DC-DC converter (main power supply device) 61, a current measurement sensor 62, a PWM control circuit 63, a sub DC-DC converter The sub-power supply 64 includes first, second, and third auxiliary batteries 66a, 66b, and 66c, and a charging DC-DC converter (charging power supply) 67.

The main DC-DC converter 61 is supplied with the high voltage DC voltage _{V H} via the transmission cable 30, it generates a predetermined low DC voltage _{V L,} and supplies the PWM control circuit 63. The main DC-DC converter 61 functions as the high-voltage / low-voltage converter 21 of the robot controller 20.

  The current measurement sensor 62 measures a current (motor drive current) flowing from the main DC-DC converter 61 to the PWM control circuit 63, and sends the measured current value to the sub DC-DC converter 64.

The PWM control circuit 63 controls the driving force (rotation) of the electric motor 14 according to the control signal based on the low-voltage DC voltage _VL supplied from the main DC-DC converter 61.

Sub DC-DC converter 64, first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, are connected in parallel to 66c, predetermined auxiliary based on the battery voltage V _B supplied these auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, from 66c _A voltage _VA is generated and supplied to a bias point of the PWM control circuit 63.

Charging DC-DC converter 67 is supplied with the high voltage DC voltage _{V H} via the transmission cable 30, the first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, and always charged to 66c, the battery voltage V _B given Keep at the value. This is due to the natural discharge, because the first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, the battery voltage V _B output from 66c be prevented.

Controller for the main DC-DC converter 68 is supplied with the high voltage DC voltage _{V H} via the transmission cable 30, it generates a predetermined low DC voltage is supplied to the controller 72 through the diode 69. The control device 72 is driven by this low voltage DC voltage.

Controller sub DC-DC converter 70, first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, are connected in parallel to 66c, these auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, based on the battery voltage V _B supplied from 66c A predetermined low-voltage DC voltage is generated and supplied to a bias point of the control device 72 via a diode 71. This is to cope with a decrease or disappearance of the low-voltage DC voltage supplied by the main DC-DC converter 68 for the control device.

  The control device 72 operates the main DC-DC converter 61, the current measurement sensor 62, the PWM control circuit 63, the sub DC-DC converter 64 provided for each of the six rotor driving electric motors 14, and the MOSFET 83 described later. , 84 and the bypass switches 64a, 64b, 64c. Here, a set of six sets of the main DC-DC converter 61, the current measurement sensor 62, the PWM control circuit 63, and the sub DC-DC converter 64 constitutes the motor drive unit 65. The control device 72 is operated by a control signal transmitted from a control PC (personal computer) 90 provided on the ground side in a wired or wireless manner.

Figure 10 shows a circuit (battery voltage drop prevention circuit) to prevent deterioration of the battery voltage V _B output from the first auxiliary battery 66a by natural discharge. Since the second and third auxiliary batteries 66b and 66c have the same circuit configuration, only the first auxiliary battery 66a will be described here.

  The charging DC-DC converter 67 is connected to the positive electrode of the cell group 66aa of the first auxiliary battery 66a via the diode 86a and the fuse 87, and is connected to the negative electrode of the cell group 66aa via the charging FET 83 and the current detecting resistor 85. It is connected to the. The sub DC-DC converter 64 is connected to the positive electrode of the cell group 66aa of the first auxiliary battery 66a via the fuse 87, and connected to the negative electrode of the cell group 66aa via the discharging FET 84 and the current detecting resistor 85. I have. Switching operations (ON / OFF) of the power MOSFETs 83 and 84 are performed by a front-end IC (integrated circuit) 82 based on a control signal from a battery control microcomputer (microcomputer) 81. The battery control microcomputer 81 and the front end IC 82 are provided inside the control device 72.

When charging the first auxiliary battery 66a, the battery control microcomputer 81 turns on the charging FET 83 and turns off the discharging FET 84. Therefore, charging DC-DC converter 67, based on the high DC voltage _{V H} to be sent via the transmission cable 30 to generate a predetermined DC voltage, through the charging FET83 the diode 86a and the fuse 87, the cell Supply to group 66aa. Since cell group 66aa is thus always charged, even if self-discharge, the battery voltage V _B output from the first auxiliary battery 66a is maintained at a predetermined value.

At the time of discharging the first auxiliary battery 66a, the battery control microcomputer 81 turns off the charging FET 83 and turns on the discharging FET 84. For this reason, the battery voltage V _B output from the first auxiliary battery 66a (cell group 66aa) is supplied to the sub DC-DC converter 64 via the fuse 87 and the discharging FET 84. Sub DC-DC converter 64 is thus based on the battery voltage V _B supplied to generate a predetermined auxiliary voltage V _A, and supplies the bias point of the PWM control circuit 63. The auxiliary voltage _VA thus output is also supplied to the control device sub DC-DC converter 70.

11, first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, from 66c, is a conceptual diagram illustrating the operation of supplying the battery voltage V _B to each of the sub DC-DC converter 64. In FIG. 11, only three sets of the main DC-DC converter 61, the current measurement sensor 62, and the sub DC-DC converter 64 are shown, but this is omitted for simplicity of illustration. It goes without saying that the remaining three sets have the same circuit configuration.

  Actually, six sets of the main DC-DC converter 61, the current measurement sensor 62, and the sub DC-DC converter 64 are provided, but they all have the same circuit configuration and the same operation. Only the circuit configuration and operation will be described.

A bypass switch 64a is provided between the input terminal and the output terminal of the sub DC-DC converter 64. This is necessary, bypassing the sub DC-DC converter 64, first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, direct battery voltage V _B is the output voltage of 66c, the load or the PWM control circuit 63 This is for supplying to the motor 14. The bypass switch 64a is controlled by the control device 72.

The control device 72 constantly monitors the motor drive current (the current supplied to the PWM control circuit 63) by each current measurement sensor 62, and the motor drive current is near the limit of the load capacity of the main DC-DC converter 61. When the reached the predetermined value (90% to 95%), to operate the sub DC-DC converter 64, first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, load the battery voltage V _B from 66c (PWM control circuit 63 and the motor 14 ). As a result, the battery voltage V _B to the low DC voltage V _L supplied to the load from the main DC-DC converter 61 is added, even when the load of the motor 14 is increased sharply by gusts and the like, can respond It becomes. That is, even when the load of the motor 14 is suddenly surge, the battery since the voltage V _B is supplied additively, ensures a situation the output of the main DC-DC converter 61 is crashed turned suddenly to zero It can be prevented.

Further, when the output of the main DC-DC converter 61 suddenly becomes zero due to a disconnection of the power transmission cable 30 or a failure of the main DC-DC converter 61, that is, the operation of the main DC-DC converter 61 suddenly stops. If it has been, the control device 72 turns on all the bypass switches 64a and stops the operations of all the sub DC-DC converters 64 at the same time. Thus, the first to third auxiliary battery 66a, 66b, the battery voltage V _B is directly output from 66c, consisting load or to be supplied to the PWM control circuit 63 and the motor 14. Stop via the sub DC-DC converter 64, the battery voltage V _B directly, to supply to the PWM control circuit 63 and the motor 14 is to utilize the battery voltage V _B more efficiently. As a result, the power supply to the PWM control circuit 63 and the motor 14 is not interrupted, and the flying robot 10 can continue flying without falling. For this purpose, the value of the battery voltage V _B, to leave equal to the value of the low DC voltage V _L supplied from the main DC-DC converter 61 preferably.

  Next, the operation of the flying robot device 1 having the above configuration according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described.

Flying robot device 1 (working equipment necessary for work mounting already) case of taking off from the ground, first, to start transmission of a predetermined DC high voltage V _H to the flying robots 10 from the ground side power device 50. Next, a desired position and a desired height are designated from a manual operation device (not shown), a portion in the air where a desired operation is to be performed is specified, and the data is transmitted to the autonomous control device of the flying robot 10. Send. Then, after setting the flying robot 10 to the autonomous flight mode, the rotor driving motor 14 is driven to take off the flying robot 10. Then, the flying robot 10 flies independently and flies to a predetermined location, and hovering at that location. Thereafter, a desired operation is started while hovering is continued.

During the flight to a predetermined place after takeoff, the power transmission cable 30 is gradually sent out from the cable winder 4 in accordance with the flight of the flying robot 10, and the ground-side power supply device is set in accordance with the amount of the cable 30 sent out. the value of the DC high voltage _{V H} to be transmitted from the power 50 is caused to increase. Even if the position or altitude of the flying robot 30 fluctuates during the operation, the fluctuation is immediately detected by the position detection unit 24, and the necessary driving force of the rotor driving motor 14 is adjusted and the length of the cable 30 is also adjusted. Is done. When the desired operation is completed, the manual operation device is operated again, and the flying robot 10 is landed at the place where the flight robot 10 has departed by following the reverse course of the takeoff. Thus, the work at height using the flying robot 10 is completed.

In the flying robot device 10, during hovering of the flying robot 10, the robot-side control device 20 operates as shown in FIG. That is, when the aircraft hovering at a certain position, that is, the flying robot device 10 ascends or descends toward a predetermined position to be hovered next (step S1), the control calculation unit 23 senses this and immediately performs the PID control method. Then, the output of the rotor driving motor 14 is calculated according to (Step S2). Then, according to the output, the rotation speed of the rotor driving motor 14 of the flying robot 10 is increased or decreased (step S3). Thereafter, while referring to the output of the position sensor (step S5), it is determined whether or not the designated height has been reached (step S4). If the height has not yet reached the specified height, the process returns to step S2, and steps S2 to S4 are repeated. If the designated height has been reached, the number of revolutions of the rotor drive motor 14 is maintained, and the processing in FIG. 4 ends (step S6).

In the meantime, the ground-side power supply device 50 operates as shown in FIG. That is, when the aircraft, that is, the flying robot device 10 ascends or descends from a predetermined position to be hovered next (step S11), the control arithmetic unit 52 senses this and immediately outputs the output of the rotor drive motor 14 according to the PID control method. The calculation is performed (step S12). Up to this point, the process is the same as steps S1 and S2 in FIG. Then, in accordance with the output, the rotation angle (phase) of the cable winding motor 41 of the cable winding machine 40 is increased or decreased (step S13). Thereafter, while referring to the output of the position sensor (step S15), it is determined whether or not the designated height has been reached (step S14). If the height has not yet reached the specified height, the process returns to step S12, and steps S12 to S14 are repeated. If the designated height has been reached, the rotation angle (phase) of the cable winding motor 41 is maintained, and the processing in FIG. 5 ends (step S16).

As described above, in the flying robot device 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the DC high voltage _VH is supplied from the ground-side power supply device 50 to the flying robot 10 via the flexible power transmission cable 30. Further, the control calculation unit 52 of the ground-side power supply 50 (second control section), depending on the distance between the flying robots 10 and ground-side power supply 50, the value of the DC high voltage V _H by the high-voltage transmission portion 55 The feeding amount and the winding amount of the cable 30 by the cable winding machine 40 are controlled. Further, the output of the electric motor 14 is controlled by the control operation unit 23 (first control unit) of the flying robot 10 according to the load of the cable 30 acting on the flying robot 10. Therefore, the effects of the voltage drop due to the cable 30 and the weight and entanglement of the cable 30 that the flying robot 10 receives during the flight are reliably suppressed. Therefore, the flying robot 10 can be continuously flighted stably without limiting the flight time and the payload due to the capacity of the battery mounted on the flying robot 10, and the flying robot 10 can spray the pesticide from the air. , Various operations such as aerial photography and radiation measurement.

The output of the electric motor 14 is controlled by the control operation unit 23 (first control unit) of the flying robot 10 according to the load of the power transmission cable 30 acting on the flying robot 10. the control calculation unit 52 (second control section), depending on the distance between the flying robots 10 and ground-side power supply 50, according to the values and the cable winder 40 of the DC high voltage V _H of high voltage transmission unit 55 transmission The feeding amount and the winding amount of the cable 30 are controlled. Therefore, a voltage drop and a load variation of the flying robot 10 caused by the cable 30 connecting the flying robot 10 and the ground-side power supply device 50 can be suppressed with a simple configuration.

Furthermore, in addition to a main DC-DC converter (main power supply device) 61 that supplies the DC low voltage _VL generated by the high-voltage / low-voltage converter 21 to the electric motor 14, first to third auxiliary batteries 66, 66b, _A sub-DC-DC converter (sub-power supply) 64 that supplies the auxiliary voltage _VA from the motor 66c to the motor 14 is provided, and when the output of the main DC-DC converter 61 decreases or disappears for some reason, the sub-DC-DC converter Converter 64 supplies auxiliary voltage _VA to electric motor 14. Therefore, even if a sudden load change occurs in the flying robot 10 due to a gust or the like or the power transmission cable 30 is disconnected, the flying robot 10 does not fall.

  Further, according to the distance between the flying robot 10 and the ground-side power supply device 50, the control unit 52 (second control unit) of the ground-side power supply device 50 sends out the power transmission cable 30 by the cable winding machine 40 and Since the winding amount is controlled, the cable 30 connecting the flying robot 10 and the ground-side power supply device 50 becomes entangled by a sudden change in altitude or horizontal position of the flying robot 10 or wind, so that the flying robot 10 flies. Can be eliminated with a simple configuration.

  Furthermore, since the element technologies used in the flying robot device 1 according to the first embodiment are all known when viewed individually, the flying robot device 1 can be put to practical use at an early stage. is there. Then, by continuously supplying power to the flying robot 10 via the power transmission cable 30, for example, a continuous flight for a long time of one hour or more can be realized while increasing the payload by 20 kg or more. By mounting a high-definition camera or an ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus on the flying robot 10, it becomes possible to quickly carry out a highly required operation such as inspecting a tunnel or a bridge or spraying pesticides on pine or other high trees.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize the flying robot device 1 that can be immediately put into practical use for industrial use.

(2nd Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The flying robot device 1a according to the second embodiment includes a robot-side control device 20 and a ground-side power supply device 50a as shown in FIG. 7, and a cable winder 40a as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the cable winder 40a is different from the cable winder 40 used in the flying robot device 1 of the first embodiment described above in that the cable winder motor 41 is omitted, and the cable winder 40a is used instead. It has a configuration in which a take-in spring 46 is provided. One end of the take-up spring 46 is connected to the drum 42 and the other end is fixed to the stand 43, and constantly biases the drum 42 in a direction in which the power transmission cable 30 is taken up. For this reason, the power transmission cable 30 is sent out by pulling out the power transmission cable 30 against the winding force of the winding spring 46, and the power transmission cable 30 is wound by the winding force of the winding spring 46. Will be Other configurations and functions are the same as those of the cable winder 40.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the ground-side power supply device 50a sends out and winds the power transmission cable 30 from the output control unit 51 of the ground-side power supply device 50 used in the flying robot device 1 according to the first embodiment described above. Of the cable winding motor 41 for the control. Other configurations and functions are the same as those of the ground-side power supply device 50.

  In the second embodiment, an optical fiber 31 as a communication cable is bridged between the flying robot 10 and the ground-side power supply device 50a. The optical fiber 31 is used for transmitting and receiving control signals and performing data communication between the flying robot 10 (robot-side control device 20) and the ground-side power supply device 50a. Since the optical fiber 31 is integrated (built-in or added) into the power transmission cable 30, there is no hindrance to the flight of the flying robot 10.

  The flying robot device 1a according to the second embodiment has the same configuration and function as the flying robot device 1 according to the above-described first embodiment except for the points described above. The description is omitted.

  It is clear that the flying robot device 1a according to the second embodiment of the present invention can obtain the same effects as those of the flying robot device 1 according to the above-described first embodiment. Further, the control of sending and winding of the electric cable 30 (and the optical fiber 31) according to the distance between the flying robot 10 and the ground-side power supply device 50a is performed in the case of the flying robot device 1 according to the above-described first embodiment. There is also an effect that it can be realized with a simpler configuration.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, three auxiliary batteries are installed in the flying robot. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of auxiliary batteries may be any number as necessary. Needless to say, it can be set to.

(Modification)
The first and second embodiments described above show examples that embody the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, an example is shown in which the present invention is applied to an electric multi-rotor helicopter, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention is applicable to any use other than the helicopter, for example, an electric airplane.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is applied to a field that requires continuous power supply to a flying robot, and more specifically, to a field that requires increasing the payload while securing the flight time of the flying robot, depending on the task. It is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a Flying robot apparatus 10 Flying robot 11 Main body 12 Arm 13 Rotor 14, 14a, 14b, 14c, 14d, 14e, 14f Electric motor for rotor drive 20 Robot side control device 21 Low pressure conversion unit 22 Output control unit 23 Control calculation unit 24 Position detection unit 25 Transmission / reception unit 26 Antenna 30 Power transmission cable 31 Optical fiber 40, 40a Cable winding machine 41 Cable winding motor 41a Rotating shaft 42 Drum 43 Stand 44 Base 45 Prevention member 45a Cable insertion ring 46 Winding spring 50 Ground Side power supply devices 51, 51a output control unit 52 control calculation unit 53 transmission / reception unit 54 power generation unit
55 High-voltage power transmission unit 56 Antenna 61 Main DC-DC converter (Main power supply)
62 Current measurement sensor 63 PWM control circuit 64 Sub DC-DC converter (Sub power supply)
64a Bypass switch 65 Motor drive units 66a, 66b, 66c First, second, and third auxiliary batteries
66aa, 66Bb, 66Cc Cell 67 DC-DC converter for charging (power supply for charging)
68 Main DC-DC converter for control device 69, 71 Diode 70 Sub-DC-DC converter for control device 72 Control device 81 Battery control microcomputer 82 Front end IC
83 Charge FET
84 Discharge FET
85 Current detection resistors 86a, 86B, 86C Diode 87 Fuse 90 Control PC

Claims (14)

Flying robot,
A ground-side power supply that supplies power to the flying robot via a flexible power transmission cable;
A cable winding machine that winds up a surplus of the power transmission cable on the ground side,
The flying robot,
Propulsion means;
An electric motor that drives the propulsion means,
A first control unit that controls an output of the electric motor according to a load of the power transmission cable acting on the flying robot;
A high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit that converts a high voltage supplied from the ground-side power supply device via the power transmission cable to a low voltage and supplies the low voltage to the electric motor;
A main power supply that supplies the electric motor with the low voltage generated by the high / low voltage conversion unit;
An auxiliary battery that outputs battery voltage,
A sub-power supply that supplies an auxiliary voltage to the electric motor based on the battery voltage as needed;
A position detection unit that detects the current position and the current altitude of the flying robot in flight and outputs a position / altitude signal;
A first transmission / reception unit that wirelessly transmits the position / altitude signal output from the position detection unit to the ground-side power supply device,
The ground-side power supply device,
A high-voltage power transmission unit that transmits the high voltage to the high-voltage / low-voltage conversion unit via the power transmission cable;
A second transmitting / receiving unit that receives the position / altitude signal wirelessly transmitted from the first transmitting / receiving unit;
Using the position / altitude signal received by the second transmission / reception unit, the value of the high voltage transmitted by the high-voltage power transmission unit is controlled according to the distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device. A second control unit,
The first control unit calculates the load of the power transmission cable acting on the flying robot using the position / altitude signal output from the position detection unit, and uses the obtained load to calculate the electric motor. Is configured to control the output of
The second control unit sends and winds the power transmission cable by the cable winder using the position / altitude signal received by the second transmission / reception unit in parallel with the control of the high voltage value. It is configured to perform the control of
The output of the electric motor, the value of the high voltage, and the sending and winding of the power transmission cable are automatically adjusted according to the distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device,
The flying robot device, wherein the sub power supply supplies the auxiliary voltage from the auxiliary battery to the electric motor when an overload on the flying robot or a disconnection of the power transmission cable occurs. In the second control unit, the required length of the power transmission cable at the current position and the current altitude of the flying robot is calculated using the position / altitude signal received by the second transmitting / receiving unit, and the calculated required length is calculated. The shortage or excess of the transmission cable is calculated by comparing the length with the current length of the transmission cable,
The flying robot device according to claim 1, wherein in the cable winder, feeding and winding of the power transmission cable are adjusted according to the calculated shortage or the excess.   The flying robot device according to claim 1, wherein the high voltage transmitted by the high-voltage power transmission unit of the ground-side power supply device is a DC voltage.   The flying robot device according to claim 1, wherein the high-voltage / low-voltage converter of the flying robot is a variable output DC-DC converter. The high-voltage power transmission unit of the ground-side power supply device is an AC-DC converter,
The flying robot device according to claim 1, wherein the high-voltage / low-voltage converter of the flying robot is a DC-DC converter.   When a decrease in the load capacity of the main power supply is detected, the sub power supply supplies the auxiliary voltage from the auxiliary battery to the electric motor in addition to the low voltage supplied from the main power supply. The flying robot device according to claim 1, wherein the flying robot device is configured as described above.   When the loss of output from the main power supply is detected, the operation of the sub power supply is stopped, and the auxiliary voltage is directly supplied from the auxiliary battery to the electric motor. The flying robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The power supply device further includes a charging power supply device for charging the auxiliary battery using the high voltage supplied from the ground-side power supply device via the power transmission cable, thereby preventing the auxiliary voltage from lowering due to discharging. The flying robot device according to claim 1.   The flying robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a communication cable connected to the flying robot, wherein the communication cable is integrated with or attached to the power transmission cable. The cable winding machine includes a cable winding motor for feeding and winding the power transmission cable,
The feeding and winding of the power transmission cable automatically adjusted according to a distance between the flying robot and the ground-side power supply device is performed by the cable winding motor. The flying robot device as described. The cable winding machine includes an urging member that urges the power transmission cable in a winding direction thereof,
The feeding of the power transmission cable is performed by pulling out the power transmission cable against the winding force of the urging member, and the winding of the power transmission cable is performed by the winding force of the urging member. The flying robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, which is configured.   The flying robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein at least one of the first control unit of the flying robot and the second control unit of the ground-side power supply device uses a PID control method.   The flying robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, further comprising an entanglement preventing member installed on the ground side for preventing entanglement of the power transmission cable.   The flying robot device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the flying robot has a configuration of an electric helicopter.

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