JP7140417B2 - drone system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to drone systems.

The application of small helicopters (multi-copters), generally called drones, is progressing. One of its important application fields is the spraying of chemicals such as agricultural chemicals and liquid fertilizers on farmlands (fields) (for example, Patent Document 1). In Japan, where farmland is narrower than in Europe and the United States, the use of drones rather than manned airplanes and helicopters is often suitable.

Technologies such as the Quasi-Zenith Satellite System and RTK-GPS (Real Time Kinematic - Global Positioning System) have made it possible for drones to accurately determine their absolute position in centimeters during flight. Even in farmland with narrow and complex topography typical of , it can fly autonomously with minimal manual operation and can spray chemicals efficiently and accurately.

On the other hand, there were cases where it was difficult to say that consideration of safety was sufficient for autonomous flying drones for spraying agricultural chemicals. Drones loaded with drugs can weigh tens of kilograms, which could lead to serious consequences in the event of an accident such as falling on a person. In addition, drone operators are usually not experts, so a fool-proof mechanism is necessary, but consideration for this has been insufficient. Until now, there have been drone safety technologies premised on human operation (for example, Patent Document 2), but it addresses the unique safety issues of autonomous flying drones, especially for agricultural chemical spraying. The technology to do so did not exist.

In order to fly a drone in a field, a moving body is required to carry the drone to a predetermined position around the field. In addition, there is a need for a drone system in which the drone and the moving object exchange information and operate in cooperation with each other when the drone departs from and arrives at a predetermined position.

Patent Publication JP 2001-120151 Patent publication publication JP 2017-163265

To provide a drone system capable of maintaining high safety even during autonomous flight by cooperatively operating a drone and a mobile body capable of moving by loading the drone and allowing the drone to take off and land.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone system according to one aspect of the present invention operates in cooperation with a drone and a mobile body capable of carrying the drone and capable of taking off and landing. A drone system, wherein the drone comprises a flight control unit that controls the flight of the drone; and 2 that transmits information that can distinguish whether the drone is in flight, is loaded, a departure and arrival area that serves as a departure and arrival point for the drone to take off and land; a movement control unit that loads the drone in the departure and arrival area and moves the moving object together with the drone; and receiving information from the drone. a mobile object receiving unit that can determine whether the drone is in flight based on information from the drone; and a display unit that displays information based on the determination result of the mobile object control unit. and, when it is determined that the drone is in flight, the mobile body control unit displays at least one of operation restrictions of the mobile body and display on the display unit while the drone is in flight. Make it different from the case where it is not.

The moving body control unit may be configured to limit the movement of the moving body when it is determined that the drone is in flight.

The moving body control unit may be configured to change the display on the display unit when it is determined that the drone is in flight and when it is not determined that the drone is in flight.

The mobile body further has at least a mode switching mechanism capable of switching between a mode in which the mobile body can move and a mode in which the drone can take off and land from the mobile body. The body form can be switched and held, and the moving body receiving unit is configured to hold the moving body in a form that allows the drone to take off and land when receiving information indicating that the drone is in flight. may have been

The moving object may further include a form acquisition unit capable of acquiring a form of the moving object.

The mobile body further includes a mobile body transmitter capable of transmitting a configuration of the mobile body to the drone, and the drone determines a position to land the drone based on the configuration of the mobile body. may be configured.

The moving body control unit may be configured to guide the moving body to a position where the drone can take off and land.

The flight control unit may be configured to determine whether or not the drone can land at the departure/arrival point based on information on the mobile object received by the drone.

The moving body has a surrounding environment acquisition unit that acquires information about the surrounding environment of the departure/arrival point, the moving body can transmit information about the surrounding environment to the drone, and the drone is capable of transmitting information about the surrounding environment to the drone. It may be configured to determine whether or not to land at the departure/arrival point based on the information.

The flight control unit may be configured to acquire the position of the mobile object and determine whether or not to land at the departure/arrival point based on the position of the mobile object.

The flight control unit may be configured to land the drone on the ground corresponding to the point from which the drone took off when it is determined that the drone cannot land at the departure point. .

The flight control unit may be configured to land the drone within a target area where the drone is working when it is determined that the drone cannot land at the departure and arrival point.

The flight control unit may be configured to stop returning the drone and hover at a predetermined point when it is determined that the drone cannot land at the departure point.

The moving object further includes a movement detection unit that detects that the moving object has moved while the drone is in flight, and an intervention operation unit that transmits an instruction to the drone to perform an evacuation action, The intervention operation unit may be configured to transmit an instruction to the drone to perform an evacuation action when the movement detection unit detects movement of the mobile body.

The intervention operation unit may be configured to generate a driving route of the drone from a predetermined position in the target area where the drone is working to the departure/arrival point, and transmit the driving route to the drone.

The mobile body acquires the remaining amount of a battery mounted on the drone, predicts a flightable range of the drone based on the remaining battery amount, and the mobile body control unit predicts the flightable range. may be configured to limit the movement range of the moving body based on.

In order to achieve the above object, a control method for a drone system according to one aspect of the present invention provides cooperation between a drone and a mobile body capable of carrying the drone and capable of taking off and landing. A control method for a drone system that operates as a drone, wherein the mobile body includes a departure and arrival area where the drone is loaded and serves as a departure and arrival point for the drone to take off and land, and controlling the flight of the drone; a step of transmitting information distinguishable whether or not the is in flight; a step of loading the drone in the departure/arrival area and moving the moving object together with the drone; a step of receiving information from the drone; determining whether the drone is in flight based on information from the drone; displaying information based on the result of the determination; and if it is determined that the drone is in flight, and making at least one of a movement limit of a mobile body and a display of said information different from when said drone is not in flight.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone system control program according to one aspect of the present invention provides for cooperation between a drone and a moving body capable of carrying the drone and capable of taking off and landing. A control program for a drone system that operates, wherein the mobile body includes a departure and arrival area where the drone is loaded and serves as a departure and arrival point for the drone to take off and land, and a command to control the flight of the drone and a command to control the flight of the drone. a command to transmit information that can be distinguished whether or not it is in flight; a command to load the drone in the departure/arrival area and move the moving object together with the drone; a command to receive information from the drone; a command to determine whether the drone is in flight based on information from the drone; a command to display information based on the result of the determination; and if the drone is determined to be in flight, the movement causing a computer to execute instructions that cause at least one of body motion restriction and display of said information to be different than when said drone is not in flight.

In order to achieve the above object, a mobile object according to one aspect of the present invention is a mobile object capable of carrying a drone and capable of taking off and landing; A departure/arrival area that is loaded and serves as a departure/arrival point for the drone to take off and land, a movement control unit that moves the moving object together with the drone, a moving object receiving unit that receives information from the drone, and information from the drone. and a display unit configured to display information based on the determination result of the mobile control unit, wherein the mobile control unit is configured to: When it is determined that the drone is in flight, at least one of the operation restriction of the moving body and the display on the display unit is made different from when the drone is not in flight.

In order to achieve the above object, a drone according to one aspect of the present invention is a drone that is loaded on a mobile object and is movable together with the mobile object, the drone comprising a flight control unit that controls the flight of the drone. , a drone transmission unit that transmits information that can distinguish whether or not the drone is in flight, the moving body includes a departure and arrival area where the drone is loaded and serves as a departure and arrival point for the drone to take off and land; A movement control unit that loads a drone in the departure/arrival area and moves the moving object together with the drone, a moving object receiving unit that receives information from the drone, and the drone flies based on information from the drone. a mobile control unit capable of determining whether the drone is in flight; When it is determined that the drone is not in flight, at least one of the operation restriction of the moving object and the display of the display unit is changed from that when the drone is not in flight.

A drone and a moving object that can carry the drone and can take off and land operate in cooperation, and high safety can be maintained even during autonomous flight.

1 is a plan view showing a first embodiment of a drone system according to the present invention; FIG. It is a front view of the drone which the said drone system has. It is a right view of the said drone. It is a rear view of the said drone. It is a perspective view of the said drone. 1 is an overall conceptual diagram of a chemical spraying system that the drone has. FIG. It is a schematic diagram showing the control function of the said drone system. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing how the drone is loaded on the moving body according to the present invention; FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which the drone is mounted on the moving body, and the top plate on which the drone is mounted is sliding backward. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram relating to operations of the drone and the mobile body, in which information is transmitted from the mobile body and received by the drone; FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram relating to operations of the drone and the mobile object for transmitting information from the drone and receiving information by the mobile object; It is a flowchart which shows the flow which the said drone lands on the departure/arrival point on the said moving body. FIG. 4 is a flow chart for securing the amount of resources held by the mobile object based on the view from the drone. FIG. It is a flowchart when abnormality is detected in the said drone. 4 is a flow chart when an abnormality is detected in the moving body; FIG. 10 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 20 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 20 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a mobile body and the drone according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention; It is an overall conceptual diagram showing an eleventh embodiment of a chemical spraying system that the drone has. FIG. 12 is an overall conceptual diagram showing a twelfth embodiment of a chemical spraying system that the drone has. It is (a) a perspective view and (b) a vertical cross-sectional view of a foot receiving portion arranged in a moving body according to the present invention. FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the moving body according to the first embodiment of the invention of the present application when the state of FIG. 9 is viewed from another angle; In addition, the configuration on the top plate of the moving body is omitted as appropriate.

Embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. All figures are illustrative. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, certain details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. However, embodiments are not limited to these specific details. Also, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown to simplify the drawings.

First, the configuration of the drone that the drone system according to the present invention has will be described. In the specification of the present application, a drone refers to a power means (electric power, prime mover, etc.), a control method (wireless or wired, and whether it is an autonomous flight type or a manually operated type, etc.), It refers to an aircraft in general that has a plurality of rotor blades.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the rotor blades 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101-2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b (also called rotors) are: It is a means to fly the drone 100, and considering the balance of flight stability, aircraft size, and power consumption, it is equipped with 8 aircraft (4 sets of two-stage rotor blades). Each rotor 101 is arranged on the four sides of the main body 110 of the drone 100 by means of arms protruding from the main body 110 of the drone 100 . That is, rotor blades 101-1a and 101-1b are on the left rear in the traveling direction, rotor blades 101-2a and 101-2b are on the left front, rotor blades 101-3a and 101-3b are on the right rear, and rotor blades 101- on the right front. 4a and 101-4b are arranged respectively. In addition, the drone 100 makes the downward direction of the paper surface in FIG. 1 the advancing direction. Rod-shaped legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 extend downward from the rotating shaft of rotor blade 101, respectively.

Motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 102-4a, 102-4b are equipped with rotors 101-1a, 101-1b, 101-2a, 101- Means for rotating 2b, 101-3a, 101-3b, 101-4a, 101-4b (typically an electric motor, but may be a motor, etc.), one machine provided for one rotor blade It is Motor 102 is an example of a propeller. The upper and lower rotors in one set (e.g. 101-1a and 101-1b) and their corresponding motors (e.g. 102-1a and 102-1b) are used for drone flight stability etc. The axes are collinear and rotate in opposite directions. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the radial members for supporting the propeller guard provided to prevent the rotor from interfering with foreign objects are not horizontal but have a scaffold-like structure. This is to prevent the member from interfering with the rotor by promoting the buckling of the member to the outside of the rotor blade at the time of collision.

Four drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, and 103-4 are provided and are means for spraying the drug downward. In the present specification, chemicals generally refer to liquids or powders such as pesticides, herbicides, liquid fertilizers, insecticides, seeds, and water that are applied to fields.

The drug tank 104 is a tank for storing the sprayed drug, and is provided at a position close to and lower than the center of gravity of the drone 100 from the viewpoint of weight balance. The drug hoses 105-1, 105-2, 105-3, 105-4 are means for connecting the drug tank 104 and the drug nozzles 103-1, 103-2, 103-3, 103-4, and are hard material, and may also serve to support the drug nozzle. A pump 106 is means for ejecting a drug from a nozzle.

FIG. 6 shows an overall conceptual diagram of a system using an embodiment of the drone 100 for chemical spraying according to the present invention. This figure is a schematic diagram and not to scale. In the figure, drone 100, controller 401, and base station 404 are connected to farming cloud 405, respectively. Also, the small mobile terminal 401 a is connected to the base station 404 . These connections may be wireless communication using Wi-Fi, a mobile communication system, or the like, or may be partially or wholly wired.

The operation device 401 is a means for transmitting commands to the drone 100 by the operation of the user 402 and displaying information received from the drone 100 (for example, position, drug amount, remaining battery level, camera image, etc.). Yes, and may be implemented by a portable information device such as a general tablet terminal that runs a computer program. The drone 100 according to the present invention is controlled to fly autonomously, but manual operation may be performed during basic operations such as takeoff and return, and in an emergency. In addition to the portable information device, an emergency operating device (not shown) with a dedicated emergency stop function may be used (emergency operating devices such as a large emergency stop button can be (It may be a dedicated device equipped with Furthermore, apart from the operation device 401, the system may include a small portable terminal 401a, such as a smart phone, capable of displaying part or all of the information displayed on the operation device 401. FIG. Further, it may have a function of changing the operation of the drone 100 based on information input from the small portable terminal 401a. The small portable terminal 401a is connected to a base station 404, for example, and can receive information and the like from the farming cloud 405 via the base station 404. FIG.

A farm field 403 is a rice field, a field, or the like to which the drone 100 sprays chemicals. In reality, the topography of the farm field 403 is complicated, and there are cases where a topographic map cannot be obtained in advance, or there are cases where the topographic map differs from the situation of the field. Fields 403 are usually adjacent to houses, hospitals, schools, other crop fields, roads, railroads, and the like. Also, there may be obstacles such as buildings and electric wires in the field 403 .

The base station 404 is a device that provides a Wi-Fi communication base unit function, etc., and may also function as an RTK-GPS base station and provide an accurate position of the drone 100 (Wi-Fi Fi communication master unit function and RTK-GPS base station may be independent devices). Also, the base station 404 may be able to communicate with the farming cloud 405 using a mobile communication system such as 3G, 4G, and LTE. The base station 404 is on board a vehicle 406a along with a point of origin 406 in this embodiment.

The farming cloud 405 is typically a group of computers and related software operated on a cloud service, and may be wirelessly connected to the operation device 401 via a mobile phone line or the like. The farming cloud 405 may analyze the image of the field 403 captured by the drone 100, grasp the growth status of crops, and perform processing for determining the flight route. In addition, the drone 100 may be provided with topographical information and the like of the field 403 that has been saved. In addition, a history of flight and captured images of the drone 100 may be accumulated and various analysis processes may be performed.

Normally, the drone 100 takes off from the departure/arrival point 406 outside the field 403 and returns to the departure/arrival point 406 after spraying the chemical on the field 403 or when replenishment of the chemical, charging, or the like is required. The flight path (entry path) from the departure/arrival point 406 to the target field 403 may be stored in advance in the farming cloud 405 or the like, or may be input by the user 402 before starting takeoff.

Note that, as in the eleventh embodiment shown in FIG. 25, in the chemical spraying system for drone 100 according to the present invention, drone 100, controller 401, small portable terminal 401a, and farming cloud 405 are each connected to base station 404. It may be a configuration that is

Further, as in the twelfth embodiment shown in FIG. 26, in the chemical spraying system for drone 100 according to the present invention, drone 100, controller 401, and small portable terminal 401a are each connected to base station 404, A configuration in which only the operation device 401 is connected to the farming cloud 405 may be employed.

FIG. 7 shows a block diagram showing control functions of an embodiment of the chemical spray drone according to the present invention. The flight controller 501 is a component that controls the entire drone, and specifically may be an embedded computer including a CPU, memory, related software, and the like. Flight controller 501 controls motors 102-1a and 102-1b via control means such as ESC (Electronic Speed Control) based on input information received from operation device 401 and input information obtained from various sensors described later. , 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, and 104-b, the flight of the drone 100 is controlled. The actual rotation speeds of motors 102-1a, 102-1b, 102-2a, 102-2b, 102-3a, 102-3b, 104-a, and 104-b are fed back to flight controller 501 to ensure normal rotation. It is configured to be able to monitor whether or not Alternatively, an optical sensor or the like may be provided on the rotor blade 101 and the rotation of the rotor blade 101 may be fed back to the flight controller 501 .

The software used by the flight controller 501 is rewritable through a storage medium or the like, or through communication means such as Wi-Fi communication or USB, in order to extend/change functions or correct problems. In this case, protection is provided by encryption, checksum, electronic signature, virus check software, etc. to prevent rewriting by unauthorized software. Also, part of the calculation processing used for control by the flight controller 501 may be executed by another computer existing on the operation device 401, on the farming cloud 405, or at another location. Due to the high importance of flight controller 501, some or all of its components may be duplicated.

The flight controller 501 communicates with the controller 401 via the Wi-Fi slave device function 503 and via the base station 404, receives necessary commands from the controller 401, and sends necessary information to the controller. You can send to 401. In this case, the communication may be encrypted to prevent fraudulent acts such as interception, impersonation, and device hijacking. The base station 404 also has a function of an RTK-GPS base station in addition to a Wi-Fi communication function. By combining the signals from the RTK base station and the signals from the GPS positioning satellite, the flight controller 501 can measure the absolute position of the drone 100 with an accuracy of several centimeters. Due to the high importance of the flight controller 501, it may be duplicated or multiplexed, and each redundant flight controller 501 should use a different satellite in order to cope with the failure of a particular GPS satellite. may be controlled.

The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is means for measuring the acceleration of the drone body in three mutually orthogonal directions (further means for calculating the velocity by integrating the acceleration). The 6-axis gyro sensor 505 is means for measuring changes in the attitude angle of the drone body in the three directions described above, that is, angular velocity. The geomagnetic sensor 506 is a means of determining the direction of the drone body by measuring geomagnetism. The air pressure sensor 507 is a means of measuring air pressure, and can also indirectly measure the altitude of the drone. The laser sensor 508 is means for measuring the distance between the drone body and the ground surface using reflection of laser light, and may be an IR (infrared) laser. Sonar 509 is a means of measuring the distance between the drone body and the ground using the reflection of sound waves such as ultrasonic waves. These sensors may be selected according to the drone's cost targets and performance requirements. Also, a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor) for measuring the inclination of the airframe, a wind sensor for measuring wind force, etc. may be added. Also, these sensors may be duplicated or multiplexed. If there are multiple sensors for the same purpose, the flight controller 501 may use only one of them and switch to an alternative sensor if it fails. Alternatively, multiple sensors may be used at the same time and a failure is assumed to occur if their measurements do not match.

Flow rate sensors 510 are means for measuring the flow rate of the drug, and are provided at multiple locations along the path from drug tank 104 to drug nozzle 103 . A liquid shortage sensor 511 is a sensor that detects when the amount of medicine has fallen below a predetermined amount. Multispectral camera 512 is a means of photographing field 403 and acquiring data for image analysis. The obstacle detection camera 513 is a camera for detecting drone obstacles, and is a separate device from the multispectral camera 512 because its image characteristics and lens orientation are different from those of the multispectral camera 512 . Switch 514 is a means for user 402 of drone 100 to make various settings. The obstacle contact sensor 515 is a sensor for detecting that the drone 100, especially its rotor or propeller guard portion, has come into contact with an obstacle such as a wire, building, human body, standing tree, bird, or other drone. . The cover sensor 516 is a sensor that detects that the operation panel of the drone 100 and the internal maintenance cover are open. A drug inlet sensor 517 is a sensor that detects that the inlet of the drug tank 104 is open. These sensors may be selected, duplicated or multiplexed depending on the drone's cost targets and performance requirements. Also, a sensor may be provided outside the drone 100 at the base station 404, the controller 401, or at another location to transmit the read information to the drone. For example, a wind sensor may be provided in the base station 404 to transmit information on wind power and wind direction to the drone 100 via Wi-Fi communication.

The flight controller 501 transmits a control signal to the pump 106 to adjust the medicine ejection amount and stop the medicine ejection. The current status of the pump 106 (eg, number of revolutions, etc.) is configured to be fed back to the flight controller 501 .

The LED 107 is display means for informing the operator of the drone of the state of the drone. Display means such as a liquid crystal display may be used in place of or in addition to LEDs. The buzzer 518 is an output means for informing the state of the drone (especially error state) by means of an audio signal. A Wi-Fi slave device function 519 is an optional component for communicating with an external computer or the like for transferring software, for example, separately from the operation device 401 . In place of or in addition to the Wi-Fi slave unit function, infrared communication, Bluetooth (registered trademark), ZigBee (registered trademark), other wireless communication means such as NFC, or wired communication means such as USB connection may be used. Also, instead of the Wi-Fi slave device function, it may be possible to communicate with each other by mobile communication systems such as 3G, 4G, and LTE. The speaker 520 is output means for notifying the state of the drone (especially error state) by means of recorded human voice, synthesized voice, or the like. Weather conditions can make it difficult to see the visual display of the drone 100 in flight, and in such cases, audible status communication is effective. A warning light 521 is a display means such as a strobe light that indicates the state of the drone (especially an error state). These input/output means may be selected, duplicated or multiplexed according to the drone's cost targets and performance requirements.

As shown in FIG. 10, the drone system 500 is roughly divided into a drone 100 and a moving object 406a connected via a network NW. Drone 100 and mobile object 406a transmit and receive information to each other and operate cooperatively. Departure/arrival point 406 in FIG. 6 is formed on moving object 406a. The drone 100 has a flight control unit 21 that controls the flight of the drone 100, and a functional unit that transmits and receives information to and from the moving object 406a. Each functional unit of the drone 100 is provided in, for example, a flight controller 501 shown in FIG. Note that the drone 100 and the moving object 406a may be connected by wire instead of being connected through the network NW.

The drone system 500 may include a mobile terminal such as a smart phone in addition to the drone 100 and the mobile object 406a. The display unit of the mobile terminal displays information on the operation expected to operate the drone 100, more specifically, the scheduled return time of the drone 100 to the departure/arrival point 406, the details of the work to be performed by the user 402 at the time of return, and the like. information is displayed accordingly. Also, the operations of the drone 100 and the moving object 406a may be changed based on the input from the mobile terminal. The mobile terminal can receive information from both the drone 100 and the moving object 406a. Information from the drone 100 may also be transmitted to the mobile terminal via the mobile object 406a.

Configuration of moving object A moving object 406a shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 receives information possessed by the drone 100 and appropriately notifies the user 402, or accepts input from the user 402 and transmits it to the drone 100. It is a device. Also, the moving body 406a can move with the drone 100 loaded. The moving object 406a can be driven by the user 402, or can move autonomously. It should be noted that the moving body 406a in the present embodiment is assumed to be a vehicle such as an automobile, more specifically a light truck, but it may be a suitable moving body capable of traveling on land such as a train, a ship or a plane. It can be a body. The driving source of the moving body 406a may be gasoline, electricity, a fuel cell, or any suitable source.

The moving body 406a is a vehicle in which a passenger seat 81 is arranged in front in the traveling direction and a loading platform 82 is arranged in the rear. Four wheels 83, which are examples of moving means, are drivably arranged on the bottom side of the moving body 406a. A user 402 can get into the passenger seat 81 .

The passenger seat 81 is provided with a display unit 65 for displaying the state of the moving object 406a and the drone 100. FIG. The display unit 65 may be a device having a screen, or may be realized by a mechanism for projecting information onto the windshield. Further, in addition to the display section 65, a rear display section 65a may be installed on the rear side of the vehicle body 810 covering the passenger seat 81. FIG. The angle of the rear display unit 65a with respect to the vehicle body 810 can be changed left and right, and the user 402 working behind and on the left and right sides of the loading platform 82 can view the screen and obtain information.

A base station 404 having a shape in which a disk-shaped member is connected to the upper part of a round bar extends above the passenger seat 81 at the front left end of the loading platform 82 of the moving body 406a. Note that the shape and position of the base station 404 are arbitrary. According to the configuration in which the base station 404 is located on the passenger seat 81 side of the loading platform 82, compared to the configuration in which the base station 404 is located behind the loading platform 82, the base station 404 is less likely to interfere with takeoff and landing of the drone 100.

The carrier 82 has a luggage compartment 821 that stores the battery 502 of the drone 100 and the drug to be replenished in the drug tank 104 of the drone 100 . The luggage compartment 821 is an area surrounded by the vehicle body 810 that covers the passenger seat 81 , a rear plate 822 , a pair of side plates 823 and 823 , and an upper plate 824 . The rear plate 822 and the side plates 823 are also called "tilts". Rails 825 are arranged on both ends of the upper portion of the rear plate 822 along the upper ends of the side plates 823 to reach the vehicle body 810 on the back side of the passenger seat 81 . The top plate 824 is a landing/departure area where the drone 100 is placed and is a landing/departure point 406 from which the drone 100 can take off and land. The rails 825 are ribs projecting upward from the plane of the top plate 824 to prevent the drone 100 riding on the top plate 824 from slipping out of the left and right ends of the moving body 406a. Further, a rib 8241 is formed on the rear side of the top plate 824 so as to protrude upward to the same extent as the rail 825 .

A warning light 830 that indicates that the drone system 500 is working may be arranged on the upper part of the vehicle body 810 and on the rear side of the rear plate 822 in the traveling direction. The warning light 830 may be a display that distinguishes between work and non-work by color scheme or blinking, or may be capable of displaying characters or patterns. Also, the warning light 830 on the upper part of the vehicle body 810 may extend up to the upper part of the vehicle body 810 and display on both sides. According to this configuration, even when the drone 100 is placed on the loading platform 82, the warning can be visually recognized from behind. In addition, the warning can also be visually recognized from the front of the traveling direction of the moving body 406a. If the warning light 830 is not displayed, even if the moving object 406a is parked on the road and is waiting for the drone 100 to return, people and cars will enter the vicinity, so please do not enter the entrance. It is necessary to separately install a regulated indicator lamp or the like. On the other hand, since the warning light 830 can be visually recognized from the front and the rear, it is possible to save the trouble of installing a separate indicator light or the like.

The top plate 824 may be manually slidable, or may be slid automatically using a rack and pinion mechanism or the like. When the top plate 824 is slid rearward, articles can be stored in the luggage compartment 821 from above the loading platform 82, and articles can be taken out. In addition, in the configuration in which the top plate 824 slides backward, the drone 100 can take off and land at the departure/arrival point 406 because the top plate 824 and the vehicle body 810 are sufficiently separated.

The top plate 824 is provided with four leg receiving portions 826 to which the legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 of the drone 100 can be fixed (see FIG. 27). The foot receiving part 826 is a disc-shaped member having a truncated cone-shaped concave upper surface, which is installed one by one at positions corresponding to the four legs 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 of the drone 100, for example. be. It should be noted that the bottom of the truncated cone-shaped recess of the foot receiving portion 826 and the tips of the feet 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, and 107-4 may be shaped so as to be fittable with each other. When landing on the footrest 826, the feet 107-1, 107-2, 107-3, 107-4 of the drone 100 slide along the conical surface of the footrest 826, and the feet 107-1, 107-2, 107 reach the bottom of the truncated cone. -3,107-4 tips are induced. The drone 100 can be automatically or manually fixed to the foot support portion 826 by an appropriate mechanism, and even when the moving body 406a carries the drone 100 thereon, the drone 100 can be secured without excessive vibration or falling. can be safely transported. In addition, the moving body 406a can detect whether or not the drone 100 is fixed to the foot receiving section 826 by the mounting state acquiring section 322, which will be described later.

A circular light 850 that displays a guideline for the take-off and landing positions of the drone 100 is arranged in the approximate center of the top plate 824 . Circumferential light 850 is formed by a group of light emitters arranged in a substantially circular shape, and the group of light emitters can be individually blinked. In this embodiment, four large light emitters 850a are arranged at approximately 90-degree intervals on the circumference, and two small light emitters 850b are arranged at regular intervals between the large light emitters 850a. Circumferential light 850 is constructed. Circumferential light 850 displays the flight direction after takeoff of drone 100 or the direction in which drone 100 flies when landing by lighting one or more of light emitter groups 850a and 850b. Circumferential light 850 may be composed of a single annular light emitter that can partially blink.

A pair of side plates 823 are hinged to the loading platform 82 at their bottom edges, and can be tilted outward. FIG. 9 shows a state in which the side plate 823 on the left side in the traveling direction is tilted outward. When the side plate 823 falls outward, it becomes possible to store and take out stored items from the side of the moving body 406a. The side plate 823 is fixed substantially parallel to the bottom surface of the luggage compartment 821, and the side plate 823 can also be used as a workbench.

A pair of rails 825 constitutes a mode switching mechanism. A hinge connecting the side plate 823 and the loading platform 82 may also be included in the form switching mechanism. In the configuration in which the top plate 824 is arranged to cover the upper side of the luggage compartment 821 and the side plates 823 stand up to cover the sides of the luggage compartment 821, the moving body 406a moves. When the moving body 406a is stationary, the upper plate 824 is switched to the rearward sliding form or the side plate 823 is tilted, and the user 402 can approach the inside of the luggage compartment 821. FIG.

The drone 100 can replenish the battery 502 while landing at the departure/arrival point 406 . Replenishment of the battery 502 includes charging of the built-in battery 502 and replacement of the battery 502 . A charging device for the battery 502 is stored in the luggage compartment 821, and the battery 502 stored in the luggage compartment 821 can be charged. Further, the drone 100 may include an ultracapacitor mechanism instead of the battery 502, and a charger for the ultracapacitor may be stored in the luggage compartment 821. In this configuration, the battery 502 mounted on the drone 100 can be rapidly charged via the legs of the drone 100 when the drone 100 is fixed to the foot rests 826.

The drone 100 can replenish the medicine stored in the medicine tank 104 while landing at the departure/arrival point 406 . The luggage compartment 821 stores appropriate components for dilution and mixing, such as a dilution and mixing tank for diluting and mixing the drug, a stirring mechanism, and a pump and hose for sucking up the drug from the dilution and mixing tank and injecting it into the drug tank 104. may have been Further, a replenishing hose that extends from the luggage compartment 821 to the upper side of the top plate 824 and is connectable to the injection port of the chemical tank 104 may be arranged.

A waste liquid groove 840 and a waste liquid hole 841 for guiding the drug discharged from the drug tank 104 are formed on the upper surface side of the top plate 824 . Two liquid waste grooves 840 and two liquid waste holes 841 are arranged so that the liquid waste grooves 840 are positioned below the drug nozzle 103 regardless of whether the drone 100 lands on the left or right side of the moving body 406a. ing. The waste liquid groove 840 is a groove having a predetermined width, which is formed substantially straight along the length direction of the moving body 406a along the position of the drug nozzle 103, and slightly extends toward the passenger seat 81 side. Inclined. At the end of the waste liquid groove 840 on the passenger seat 81 side, a waste liquid hole 841 is formed to pass through the upper surface plate 824 and guide the chemical liquid into the luggage compartment 821 . The waste liquid hole 841 communicates with a waste liquid tank 842 installed in the luggage compartment 821 and substantially directly below the waste liquid hole 841 .

When injecting the medicine into the medicine tank 104, an air bleeding operation is performed to discharge gas, mainly air, filling the medicine tank 104 to the outside. At this time, an operation for discharging the medicine from the discharge port of the medicine tank 104 is required. Also, after the drone 100 finishes its work, it is necessary to discharge the medicine from the medicine tank 104 . According to the configuration in which the waste liquid groove 840 and the waste liquid hole 841 are formed in the top plate 824, when the drone 100 is arranged on the top plate 824 and the drug is injected into and discharged from the drug tank 104, the waste liquid is discharged into the waste liquid tank. It can be guided to 842 and can be safely drugged and discharged.

●Overview of functional blocks possessed by mobile body and drone As shown in FIG. 10, the mobile body 406a includes a movement control unit 30 as a configuration for moving the mobile body 406a itself. In addition, the moving object 406a includes a moving object transmission unit 31, an intervention operation unit 35, and an input unit 36 as a configuration for acquiring information about the moving object 406a and transmitting it to the drone 100. FIG. Further, the position acquisition unit 311a, the orientation acquisition unit 311b, the angle acquisition unit 311c, and the driving state acquisition unit 323 included in the mobile body transmission unit 31 configure the movement detection unit 310. FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the moving object 406a receives information about the drone 100 from the drone 100, makes appropriate judgments based on the information, and is configured to notify the user 402 of necessary information. A body reception unit 60, a display unit 65, and a mobile body control unit 66 are provided.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the drone 100 includes a flight control section 21 capable of autonomously controlling the flight of the drone 100. As shown in FIG. Further, the drone 100 includes a drone receiving section 20 as a configuration for receiving information from the moving object 406a. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the drone 100 includes a drone transmission unit 40 as a configuration for acquiring information about the drone 100 and transmitting it to the moving object 406a.

●Functional Block of Moving Body As shown in FIG.

The landing information transmission unit 311 is a functional unit that transmits information necessary for the drone 100 to land at the departure/arrival point 406 on the moving object 406a to the drone reception unit 20 of the drone 100. The landing information transmission unit 311 includes a position acquisition unit 311a, an orientation acquisition unit 311b, an angle acquisition unit 311c, and a surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d. The landing information transmission unit 311 transmits to the drone reception unit 20 the following information acquired by the position acquisition unit 311a, the orientation acquisition unit 311b, the angle acquisition unit 311c, and the surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d.

The position acquisition unit 311a is a functional unit that acquires the position coordinates of the departure/arrival point 406. FIG. The position coordinates are three-dimensional coordinates. The departure/arrival point 406 is the current position coordinates of the moving body 406a when the moving body 406a is stationary. If the moving object 406a is moving, the coordinates may be coordinates indicating the expected arrival position of the departure/arrival point 406 when the drone 100 reaches a predetermined range near the departure/arrival point 406. FIG.

The orientation acquisition unit 311b is a functional unit that acquires the orientation of the moving body 406a. In detecting the orientation of the moving body 406a, the value of the geomagnetic sensor of the moving body 406a may be referred to.

The angle acquisition unit 311c is a functional unit that acquires the roll angle and pitch angle of the moving body 406a.

The position, orientation, and angle of the moving body 406a may each be able to acquire changes over time. Position acquisition unit 311a, orientation acquisition unit 311b, angle acquisition unit 311c, and operating state acquisition unit 323, which will be described later, constitute movement detection unit 310 that detects movement of moving body 406a. The movement detection unit 310 detects movement of the moving body 406a automatically or manually by the movement control unit 30 based on changes in the position, orientation, and angle of the moving body 406a over time. , and movements due to disturbances such as vehicle collisions can be detected. Based on the information acquired by the movement detection unit 310 and the information acquired by the movement control unit 30, it is possible to distinguish and determine whether the moving object 406a was moved automatically or manually, or was moved due to disturbance. When the movement detection unit 310 detects movement due to disturbance, the display unit 65 may display that effect. According to this configuration, it is possible to ensure more safety than the configuration in which only the movement by the movement control section 30 is detected.

The surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d is a functional unit that acquires information about the surrounding environment that can be an obstacle for the drone 100 to land at the departure/arrival point 406. For example, the strength and direction of the wind, the presence or absence of precipitation such as rain or snow. to get In addition, when the arrival/departure point 406 is vibrating, the surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d acquires that information. The vibration at the departure/arrival point 406 may be an earthquake, or may be vibration generated in the vicinity of a road with heavy traffic. Vibration at the departure/arrival point 406 can be measured by a 6-axis gyro sensor provided on the moving object 406a. Furthermore, the surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d may acquire information on satellites communicated by RTK-GPS, communication status, and information on geomagnetism. The drone 100 that has received the information from the surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d determines whether or not to land based on the information on the surrounding environment.

Furthermore, the surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d detects obstacles existing around the moving object 406a as one piece of information about the surrounding environment. Obstacles include, for example, structures such as houses, guardrails, and electric wires, creatures such as people and animals, and mobile objects such as cars, which pose a risk of collision when the drone 100 lands. Surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d includes, for example, a visible light or infrared camera, and detects obstacles around moving object 406a. In addition, obstacle detection can be performed using Radar/Lider in place of or in addition to the camera. can be used. According to this configuration, information on obstacles that the drone 100 cannot detect can be transmitted to the drone 100 . Therefore, the risk of the drone 100 colliding with an obstacle can be further reduced.

The landing information transmission unit 311 determines whether the drone 100 can land safely based on at least one of the information acquired by the position acquisition unit 311a, orientation acquisition unit 311b, angle acquisition unit 311c, and surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d. may be determined, and the determination result may be transmitted to the drone receiving unit 20. Note that the flight control unit 21 of the drone 100 may make this determination.

The moving object state transmitting unit 32 is a functional unit that transmits the state of the moving object 406a to the drone receiving unit 20. FIG. The moving object state transmitting unit 32 particularly acquires information as to whether the moving object 406a is in a state where it can function as the departure/arrival point 406, and transmits the information to the drone receiving unit 20. The function of the departure/arrival point 406 includes the ability of the drone 100 to take off and land on the upper surface plate 824, the ability to replenish the battery 502 and the chemical solution of the drone 100, and the like.

The moving object state transmission unit 32 includes a form acquisition unit 321 , a mounting state acquisition unit 322 , an operating state acquisition unit 323 , a work state acquisition unit 324 and a system state acquisition unit 325 . The moving object state transmitting unit 32 transmits the following information acquired by the configuration acquiring unit 321, the mounting state acquiring unit 322, the operating state acquiring unit 323, the working state acquiring unit 324, and the system state acquiring unit 325 to the drone receiving unit. Communicate to 20.

The morphology acquisition unit 321 is a functional unit that acquires the morphology of the moving object 406a. The mobile body 406a can switch between at least the running mode when the mobile body 406a moves and the take-off/arrival base mode when the drone 100 takes off and lands from the mobile body 406a by the mode switching mechanism described above. In addition, in this embodiment, it is possible to switch to a working table form in which the side plate 823 is tilted. The form acquisition unit 321 acquires information as to which form the moving object 406a is in, the running form, the departure/arrival base form, or the workbench form. The configuration acquisition unit 321 may acquire the configuration of the moving body 406a based on the driving state of an appropriate configuration for driving the configuration switching mechanism, such as the motor that drives the rack-and-pinion mechanism of the rail 825. FIG. Further, the form acquisition unit 321 may have a configuration for mechanically detecting the form of the moving object 406a, such as a touch switch.

In the workbench state, there is a high probability that the user 402 is present in the vicinity of the moving body 406a, so the drone 100 cannot take off and land. Therefore, the safety of the user 402 is ensured by the mobile body transmitting unit 31 transmitting to the drone receiving unit 20 a signal prohibiting takeoff and landing of the drone 100 or a signal permitting takeoff and landing of the drone 100 .

The form of the moving object 406 a acquired by the form acquiring unit 321 is transmitted to the drone receiving unit 20 via the moving object transmitting unit 31 . The flight control unit 21 of the drone 100 may be configured to determine the landing position of the drone 100 based on the form of the mobile object 406a. When the mobile object 406a is in the takeoff/landing base configuration, the flight control unit 21 determines to land at the departure/arrival point 406 of the mobile object 406a. When the moving body 406a is in the traveling mode or the workbench mode, the flight control unit 21 determines that landing at the departure/arrival point 406 is impossible. In this case, the drone transmission unit 40 may transmit to the moving object 406a a command requesting transformation to the departure/arrival base configuration. Also, if the moving object 406a cannot transform into the departure/arrival base form, it may be decided to land at a point other than the departure/arrival point 406. FIG. For example, it may be decided to land the drone 100 on the ground corresponding to the point from which it took off. This is because the takeoff point has a track record of taking off, so there is a high probability that it is possible to land there. Alternatively, it may be determined to land the drone 100 at a predetermined point in the field where the drone 100 is working. This is because, compared to points outside the field, it is easier to grasp the topography of points inside the field, and it is less likely to interfere with passing people and vehicles, so there is a high probability that a safe landing is possible.

The loading state acquisition unit 322 is a functional unit that acquires information as to whether or not the drone 100 is loaded at the departure/arrival point 406 . Also, the mounting state acquisition unit 322 can acquire information as to whether or not the drone 100 is fixed at the departure/arrival point 406 and the moving object 406a is in a state where it can move safely. Mounting state acquisition unit 322 determines whether or not movement of moving object 406a is permitted based on whether moving object 406a is in a state in which it can be moved safely, and displays the determination result to the user through display unit 65. May be passed to 402. According to the configuration in which the mounting state acquisition unit 322 is provided in the moving body 406a, the mounting state can be grasped even when the drone 100 is not powered on. When the drone 100 is mounted on the moving body 406a and transported to the vicinity of the field before starting work in the field, the power of the drone 100 may be turned off at the time of mounting. Therefore, it is preferable that the mounting state acquisition unit 322 is provided in the moving body 406a.

The operating state acquisition unit 323 acquires operating information indicating whether the moving body 406a is moving or is in a movable state. In addition, the driving state acquisition unit 323 can acquire a more detailed driving state of the moving body 406a, and can acquire it by distinguishing whether the vehicle is moving or in an idle state where the vehicle is stopped but can move. . In addition, the driving state acquisition unit 323 can acquire a more detailed driving state when the moving object 406a is in a state where it cannot move, and refers to the information from the form acquisition unit 321 in addition to the information that the vehicle is stopped, Information indicating that the work is being performed on the workbench or that the form is being transformed may be acquired.

The work state acquisition unit 324 is a functional unit that acquires the state of the battery 502 and the chemical liquid that are replenished in the drone 100 . The work state acquisition unit 324 transmits battery replenishment information indicating the state of replenishment work for the battery 502 to the drone reception unit 20 . The battery replenishment information includes information as to whether or not the mobile body 406a is currently charging the battery 502 in the luggage compartment 821, the state of preparing the battery 502 in the luggage compartment 821 of the mobile body 406a, , including information as to whether the battery 502 is being replaced or has been replaced. In addition, the work state acquisition unit 324 transmits to the drone reception unit 20 drug replenishment information indicating the state of drug replenishment work. The medicine replenishment information includes information as to whether the medicine is being prepared in the luggage compartment 821, the medicine is being replenished on the moving body 406a, or the replenishment is completed. The medicine replenishment information also includes information indicating the progress of dilution and mixing of medicines in or near the luggage compartment 821 .

The system state acquisition unit 325 is a functional unit that acquires information on the state in which the system of the moving object 406a is placed (hereinafter also referred to as “system state”). The system status information includes information on whether mobile unit 406a is abnormal and whether base station 404 is abnormal. In this description, "abnormalities" of the drone 100, the base station 404, and the moving object 406a include internal failures as well as abnormal states of the external environment.

The abnormality of the moving body 406a also includes information as to whether or not the drone 100 should immediately return based on the details of the abnormality that has occurred. This is because if the extent of the abnormality of the moving object 406a is minor, or if the abnormality is of a type that does not greatly affect the work of the drone 100, it may not be necessary to return the drone 100. An abnormality that requires the return of the drone 100 may be, for example, a case where the fuel of the moving body 406a becomes less than a predetermined amount. The system status information includes the remaining drive energy capacity of the drive source that drives the moving object 406a. When the remaining amount of fuel for driving the moving body 406a is less than a predetermined amount, the system state acquisition unit 325 can notify that effect. The driving source of the moving body 406a may be gasoline, electricity, a fuel cell, or any suitable source.

The information indicating that the base station 404 has an abnormality may be transmitted from the mobile transmitter 31 to the drone receiver 20, or may be transmitted from the base station 404 to the drone receiver 20 without the mobile transmitter 31. 20 may be communicated.

The resource information transmission unit 33 is a functional unit that transmits to the drone reception unit 20 resource information indicating the amount of resources prepared for the moving body 406a that can be replenished to the drone 100. FIG. The resource information includes the number of charged batteries 502 and the amount of medicine. The resource information may also be the remaining charge capacity of the equipment that charges the battery 502 . If the drone 100 is configured to be driven by a fuel cell, the amount may be the amount of fuel gas that can be stored in the drone 100, such as hydrogen gas. The amount of resources prepared for the moving body 406a may be obtained manually by the user 402, or may be obtained automatically. As an example of an automatic acquisition configuration, a configuration may be employed in which the weight of a predetermined range in luggage compartment 821 is measured in order to acquire the drug amount. Also, in order to obtain the number of charged batteries 502, in addition to the weight of a predetermined range of luggage compartment 821, the capacity of batteries 502 may be measured.

The intervention operation unit 35 is a functional unit that transmits commands for flight control of the drone 100 to the drone reception unit 20 . The drone 100 normally operates autonomously by the flight control unit 21 of the drone 100 itself, but when an abnormality occurs in the drone 100, an instruction from the moving body 406a intervenes to operate the drone 100. can do. Commands from the user 402 can also be transmitted to the drone 100 through the input unit 36 of the mobile object 406a.

In particular, the intervention operation unit 35 can transmit a command to the drone 100 to the effect that the user 402 performs an evacuation action to stop the work of the drone 100 . Evacuation actions include actions to return to the departure/arrival point 406. Evacuation actions include, for example, normal landing actions, mid-air suspension such as hovering, and immediate movement to a predetermined return point by the shortest route. including "return".

Also, the evacuation action may be a "normal return" in which the robot moves to a predetermined return point along an optimized route. An optimized route is, for example, a route calculated with reference to a route that has been sprayed with chemicals before receiving a normal return command. For example, departure point 406 . In the normal return, the drone 100 may travel to a predetermined return point while spraying the chemical via a route on which the chemical has not yet been sprayed. In addition, the evacuation action also includes an "emergency stop" that stops all rotor blades and causes the drone 100 to fall downward from the spot.

The intervention operation unit 35 may transmit an instruction to the drone 100 to perform an evacuation action when the movement detection unit 310 detects the movement of the moving body 406a. The escape behavior in this case is specifically hovering. If the moving object 406a moves, it is unclear whether the drone 100 can safely continue its work, so first the work of the drone 100 is stopped to ensure safety. At the same time, the moving body control unit 66 issues a warning via the display unit 65 and requests the moving body 406a to return to its original position. In addition, the display unit 65 may perform a display that guides the moving object 406a to its original position.

The intervention operation unit 35 may generate a driving route of the drone 100 that connects a point where the drone 100 exists or an entry/exit point where the drone 100 leaves the farm field and the arrival/departure point 406 .

Further, the intervention operation unit 35 may be capable of transmitting to the drone 100 signals for individually operating the three-dimensional position coordinates, velocity, acceleration, and nose orientation of the drone 100 . The intervention operation unit 35 may start controlling the flight of the drone 100 upon receiving the abnormality information from the drone 100 .

The input unit 36 is a functional unit that receives input from the user 402 . The input unit 36 can input, for example, a command to start flying the drone 100 or a command to return the drone 100 to the departure/arrival point 406 . The input unit 36 may be a tablet configured with the same mechanism as the display unit 65. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 11, the mobile unit 406a further includes a mobile receiver unit 60, a display unit 65, and a mobile unit controller 66. FIG.

The mobile reception unit 60 is a functional unit that receives information from the drone transmission unit 40 . The information received by the mobile receiver 60 will be described later together with the description of the functional blocks of the drone 100. FIG.

The display unit 65 is a functional unit for appropriately displaying information to be transmitted to the user 402 .

The mobile unit control unit 66 is a functional unit that determines the operation of the mobile unit 406a based on the information received by the mobile unit reception unit 60. FIG. The operation of the moving object 406a includes determination of necessity of notification to the user 402 and operation of changing the form of the moving object 406a. Further, the operation of the moving body 406a includes an operation of moving the position of the moving body 406a by the movement control unit 30. FIG. The details of the operation of the mobile object control unit 66 will be described later together with the information received by the mobile object receiving unit 60 and the functional blocks of the drone 100 .

● Functional Block of Drone As shown in FIG. The information from the drone transmission unit 40 includes information that allows distinguishing whether the drone 100 is in flight or not. The information transmitted from the drone transmission unit 40 may be transmitted periodically, or may be transmitted as a trigger at timing such as the start of flight, the start of landing, or a predetermined time before the start of landing.

The aircraft information transmission unit 41 is a functional unit that transmits information regarding the current situation of the drone 100 to the mobile object reception unit 60 . The aircraft information transmission unit 41 includes a position acquisition unit 411, an orientation acquisition unit 412, a work information acquisition unit 413, a communication environment acquisition unit 414, a resource information acquisition unit 415, a driving route acquisition unit 416, and an installation state acquisition unit. a portion 417;

A position acquisition unit 411 is a functional unit that acquires the three-dimensional position coordinates of the drone 100 . Three-dimensional position coordinates are obtained based on RTK-GPS information. According to this configuration, the current position of the drone 100 can be displayed on the display section 65. FIG. Also, it is possible to acquire the three-dimensional coordinates of the drone 100 while the drone 100 is landing at the departure/arrival point 406 and store them in the drone 100 itself and the moving body 406a as coordinates that can be landed. Drone 100 may be configured to determine a landing position based on the three-dimensional coordinates of drone 100 at the time of landing. According to this configuration, the position coordinates of the departure/arrival point 406 to be acquired for landing can be acquired by the configuration of the drone 100, so there is no need to install the RTK-GPS configuration in the moving object 406a, and the configuration is simple. In addition, it can be done cheaply. Further, based on the coordinates when the drone 100 is landed, the moving body control unit 66 can also guide the moving body 406a so that the drone 100 can return. Guidance of the moving body 406a is performed by superimposing the point of the target coordinates on the map or the actual scenery, and by instructing the operation history to be performed in the reverse order based on the operation history of the steering wheel and tires. may be notified to the user 402. The configuration in which the moving body 406a is moved by the user 402 who receives guidance can be configured at a lower cost than the configuration in which the moving body 406a itself moves by automatic operation. In order to automatically drive the moving body 406a, for example, a position measuring device with higher accuracy than GPS (GNSS) mounted on existing automobiles, for example, a position measuring device using RTK-GPS is mounted on the moving body 406a. As the need arises, costs rise.

The orientation acquisition unit 412 is a functional unit that acquires the orientation of the nose of the drone 100 . The orientation of the nose is obtained by referring to the value of the geomagnetic sensor mounted on the drone 100 or the value of the GPS compass.

The work information acquisition unit 413 is a functional unit that acquires information regarding the state of work performed by the drone 100 . The working state of the drone 100 includes taking off, landing, and waiting for hovering. It also includes a state in which the drone 100 is entering an agricultural field and a state in which it is flying outside the agricultural field. Furthermore, it includes a state in which the drone 100 is performing work such as chemical spraying or monitoring, and a state in which the work is not being performed. Information about the working state may be displayed through the display unit 65 as appropriate. According to this configuration, the user 402 can know the state of the autonomous drone 100 substantially in real time, which gives the user 402 a sense of security.

When it is determined that the drone 100 is in flight based on the information acquired by the work information acquisition unit 413, the moving body control unit 66 restricts the movement of the moving body 406a by the movement control unit 30. FIG. The restriction on movement may be prohibition of movement, or may be restriction that permits only movement within a predetermined range. In prohibiting the movement, the configuration may be such that the release of the P shift is prohibited, or the release of the side brake may be prohibited. In many cases, existing automobiles are equipped with mechanisms for prohibiting the release of the P-shift and side brakes. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare a separate device even when modifying an existing automobile to configure a moving object according to the present invention. There is no That is, the moving body according to the present invention can be realized at low cost. Also, when it is determined that the drone 100 is in flight, the display unit 65 displays a different display than when the drone 100 is not in flight. The display unit 65 may always display that fact while the drone 100 is in flight. Further, the display unit 65 may issue a warning when the user 402 inputs an instruction to move the moving object 406a while the drone 100 is in flight.

In addition, the moving body control unit 66 operates the mode switching mechanism or restricts the operation, thereby holding the moving body 406a in a configuration in which the drone 100 can take off and land. The moving body control unit 66 may mechanically lock the mode switching mechanism, or may restrict electrical connection so that the mode cannot be switched. Further, the moving body control unit 66 may display on the display unit 65 that the mode switching is impossible. The display may be always displayed while the drone 100 is flying, or may be displayed when the user 402 inputs an operation to switch the mode.

The communication environment acquisition unit 414 is a functional unit that acquires the state of communication with satellites and communication with the moving object 406a and other components of the drone system 500. FIG.

The resource information acquisition unit 415 is a functional unit that acquires the amount of resources loaded on the drone 100, that is, the remaining amount of the battery 502 (see FIG. 7) and the remaining amount of the medicine tank 104. FIG. By obtaining the remaining amount of the battery 502 of the drone 100, the drone 100 or the moving object 406a can predict the flight range in which the drone 100 can fly with the remaining amount. The mobile object control unit 66 may define the movable range of the mobile object 406a based on the flightable range of the drone 100, and restrict the movement of the mobile object 406a outside the flightable range. According to this configuration, the moving object 406a can be kept within the range where the drone 100 can return, and the safe return of the drone 100 can be ensured. Also, the resource information acquisition unit 415 may determine whether or not the moving object 406a exists within the flight range of the drone 100 . If the moving object 406a is moved and does not exist within the flight range of the drone 100, the flight control unit 21 may land the drone 100 at the point where the drone 100 took off. Also, in this case, the flight control unit 21 may hover or land the drone 100 at a predetermined point. The predetermined point may be a point where the drone 100 exists, an exit point from a field, or an arbitrary point near the moving object 406a when the moving object 406a deviates from the flight range. good. According to the configuration of landing at the exit point from the field, compared to the configuration of landing at the point where the work in the field is interrupted, the drone 100 can be easily approached without the user 402 entering the field. .

The driving route acquisition unit 416 is a functional unit that acquires information on a predetermined driving route of the drone 100 in the field. The drone 100 flies in the field based on the information on the driving route, and performs predetermined work such as monitoring and chemical spraying. In addition, the driving route acquisition unit 416 acquires the entry/exit point at which the drone 100 enters and exits the field and information on the departure/arrival route connecting the departure/arrival point 406, and transmits the information to the moving body 406a via the drone transmission unit 40. may

The loading state acquisition unit 417 is a functional unit that acquires information as to whether or not the drone 100 is loaded on the moving object 406a. Also, the mounting state acquisition unit 417 may be capable of acquiring mounting information indicating whether the drone 100 is fixed at the departure/arrival point 406 of the moving body 406a and whether the moving body 406a is in a state where it can move safely. The mounting state acquisition unit 417 may transmit a signal to the effect that movement of the moving object 406a is permitted to the moving object 406a via the drone transmitting unit 40 when the drone 100 is safely fixed. Further, the mounting state acquisition unit 417 may transmit a signal to the moving object 406a via the drone transmitting unit 40 to the effect that movement of the moving object 406a is not permitted when the drone 100 is not fixed.

The prediction information transmission unit 42 is a functional unit that predicts information about replenishment of resources to be performed by the drone 100 returning to the departure/arrival point 406 and transmits the information to the mobile unit reception unit 60 . The prediction information transmission unit 42 includes a return time acquisition unit 421 , a return number acquisition unit 422 , and a required replenishment amount acquisition unit 423 .

The return time acquisition unit 421 performs the task of returning the drone 100 to the departure/arrival point 406 for replenishment of resources from the start of the work when the drone 100 completes the work on the planned driving route determined in advance in the target area such as a field. This is a functional unit that calculates the time required to reach the break point. The return time acquisition unit 421 may be able to acquire the scheduled time to interrupt the work and the scheduled time for the drone 100 to return to the departure/arrival point 406 by referring to the required time and the current time.

The number-of-returns acquisition unit 422 is a functional unit that acquires the scheduled number of times the drone 100 returns to the departure/arrival point 406 to replenish resources.

The required replenishment amount acquisition unit 423 is a functional unit that acquires the amount of resources that the drone 100 needs to be replenished with. The required amount of resources is, for example, the number of charged batteries or the amount of medicine. The number of charged batteries can be calculated by taking into consideration the length of the scheduled driving route, past actual values of power consumption, and the like. The chemical amount can be calculated based on the total area of the field and the application concentration determined according to the chemical type.

The anomaly detection unit 43 is a functional unit that detects an anomaly occurring in the drone 100 and transmits it to the mobile object reception unit 60 through the drone transmission unit 40 . If the drone 100 is malfunctioning, the drone 100 returns to the departure/arrival point 406 . Upon receiving the abnormality of the drone 100, the moving body control unit 66 determines whether the drone 100 is in a position where it can return, based on the information from the abnormality detection unit 43. to change position or form. Also, the moving body control unit 66 notifies the user 402 through the display unit 65 to change the position or form. Further, the moving object control unit 66 notifies the user 402 through the display unit 65 to move away from the moving object 406a by a predetermined distance.

The request command transmitting unit 44 is a functional unit that transmits to the moving unit receiving unit 60 a request command regarding the state of the moving unit 406a. In particular, when the drone 100 is scheduled to return, the request command transmitting unit 44 transmits a request to the moving object receiving unit 60 to change the position, orientation, and form of the moving object 406a into a state that enables landing. You may The moving body control unit 66 may automatically change to a state in which the landing is possible based on the request, or guide the user 402 to be in a state in which the landing is possible by appropriately notifying the user 402. may Further, when the moving body 406a is ready to land, the request command transmitting unit 44 may transmit a command to prohibit movement of the moving body 406a and a command to prohibit changing the form of the moving body 406a. good.

Flowchart for Drone Landing at a Departure and Landing Point on a Moving Object As shown in FIG. Received from unit 41 and prediction information transmitting unit 42 (S11).

The moving body control unit 66 determines whether or not the position, orientation, and angle of the moving body 406a are within the range in which the drone 100 can return (S12). If it is not possible to return, the moving body control unit 66 drives the movement control unit 30 to move the moving body 406a to a position, orientation, and angle that allow the drone 100 to return (S13). Alternatively, the moving body control unit 66 notifies the user 402 of the movement request of the moving body 406a through the display unit 65, and returns to step S12.

When the position, orientation, and angle of the moving body 406a are within the returnable range, the user 402 is notified through the display unit 65 not to move the moving body 406a (S14). It also transmits to the drone 100 the position, orientation, and angle of the moving object 406a.

Next, the mobile body control unit 66 determines whether or not the communication state with the satellite or other components on the drone system 500 acquired by the surrounding environment acquisition unit 311d is appropriate (S15). If the communication state is not appropriate, it waits for a predetermined time (S16). Also, it notifies the user 402 that it is on standby due to the communication state. Furthermore, it may be configured to notify the scheduled waiting time. Also, instead of waiting, the user 402 may be notified of a request to move the moving body 406a. If the moving object 406a is placed near a structure that causes radio wave interference, or if the position of the satellite seen from the moving object 406a is erroneously recognized during communication with the satellite, the moving object 406a movement is useful.

Next, the mobile object control unit 66 determines whether the mobile object 406a acquired by the configuration acquisition unit 321 is in a configuration that allows the drone 100 to return (S17). If the drone 100 is not in a returnable form, the mobile body control unit 66 changes the form of the drone 100 (S18). Further, the moving object control unit 66 may notify the user 402 through the display unit 65 to change the form of the moving object 406a.

Next, the moving body control unit 66 determines whether or not the operating state of the moving body 406a is a state in which the drone 100 can return (S19). If the drone 100 is not in a returnable operating state, the moving body control unit 66 changes the operating state (S20). Further, the moving body control unit 66 may notify the user 402 through the display unit 65 to change the operating state of the moving body 406a.

Since the drone 100 is scheduled to return, the display unit 65 notifies the user 402 not to approach the carrier 82 (S21). At this time, based on the information acquired by the surrounding environment acquiring unit 311d, it is configured to issue landing permission to the drone 100 after confirming that there are no people or obstacles around the moving object 406a. good too. When the landing clearance is received, the drone 100 lands at the departure/arrival point 406 (S22). If there are people or obstacles around the moving body 406a, the drone 100 may hover at a predetermined point and wait until the people or obstacles disappear. The hovering point may be within the farm field, the exit point from the farm field, or an arbitrary point near the moving body 406a. Also, if it is not possible to land at the departure/arrival point 406 even after hovering for a predetermined time, the robot may land at the point where it was hovering or after moving. According to the configuration of landing at the exit point where the user 402 leaves the field, compared to the configuration of landing at the point where the work in the field is interrupted, the drone 100 can be easily approached without the user 402 entering the field. .

Flowchart for managing resources owned by a mobile object and to be replenished by the drone As shown in FIG. Information such as the number of times of return is received from the prediction information transmission unit 42 of the drone 100 (S31). The mobile body control unit 66 refers to the resource amount acquired by the resource information transmission unit 33, and determines whether or not the number of batteries 502 and the drug amount possessed by the mobile body 406a are sufficient ( S32). If the number of batteries 502 possessed by the mobile object 406a or the amount of medicine is insufficient, the mobile object control unit 66 notifies the user 402 of the necessity of replenishment and of the necessary replenishment amount (S33). Further, the moving body control unit 66 may notify the user 402 of the required amount until the next return and the total amount required until the end of the work in the field, separately.

● Flowchart when Abnormality Occurs in Drone As shown in FIG. 14, first, the abnormality detection unit 43 of the drone 100 detects an abnormality (S41). Next, the drone transmission unit 40 transmits information to the moving object receiving unit 60 to the effect that the drone 100 will return to the moving object 406a (S42).

The flight control unit 21 of the drone 100 determines whether the return is possible under the control of the flight control unit 21 itself (S43). to step S11.

When it is determined that the return is impossible under the control of the flight control unit 21 itself, the moving object control unit 66 determines whether the drone 100 can return by the intervention operation performed by the intervention operation unit 35 of the moving object 406a. Judge (S45). If it is possible to return, it switches to the intervention operation from the moving body 406a (S46), and proceeds to step 11 in FIG. In step S45, if it is determined that it is impossible to return even by the intervention operation, the drone 100 lands on the spot or stops the operation of the rotor blades and makes an emergency stop ( S47).

Flow chart when an abnormality occurs in a moving object As shown in FIG. Detect (S51). Next, the mobile body transmission unit 31 transmits a command to the drone reception unit 20 to return the drone 100 (S52).

● Mobile (2)
With reference to FIG. 16, the second embodiment of the moving body according to the present invention will be described, focusing on the parts different from the form described above. Hereinafter, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those of other embodiments. In addition, in each embodiment, the configuration of the groove 840 on the top plate, the waste liquid hole 841, the waste liquid tank 842 in the luggage compartment 821, etc. is omitted, but even if the same configuration as the first embodiment is added, good.

In the moving body 406b of the second embodiment, a second top plate 824b along the top plate 824 is arranged below the top plate 824 so as to cover the interior of the luggage compartment 821. It is different from mobile. Sliding the top plate 824 backward exposes the second top plate 824b. According to this configuration, even if the top plate 824 slides, the upper part of the interior of the luggage compartment 821 is not opened, and the load can be protected. In addition, the moving body 406b is connected to the end of the luggage compartment 821 by a hinge at the lower end of the side flap 823b. According to this configuration, it is possible to approach the load inside the luggage compartment 821 and also use the gate 823b as a workbench.

The second top plate 824b may be one flat plate, or may be composed of a plurality of flat plates. In this embodiment, the second upper surface plate 824b is composed of two flat plates having substantially the same shape. are connected to each other. These two flat plates and support rods are fixed by, for example, hinges, and the flat plates can be rotated from the side of the moving body 406a to approach the load inside the luggage compartment 821. As shown in FIG. Further, the second upper surface plate 824b is slidably connected to the rail 825 instead of being rotatable with a hinge, and is slid rearward in the traveling direction to open the luggage compartment 821 upward. may be

● Mobile (3)
A third embodiment of the moving body according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 17, focusing on the parts that differ from the form described above. In the moving body 406c of the third embodiment, the upper end of the side flap 823c is connected to the rail 825c by a hinge, and the flap 823c is rotated to be fixed substantially parallel to and on the same plane as the top plate 824. It is different from the moving body of the first embodiment in that it can According to this configuration, it is possible to expand the surface on which the landing can be made by the flap 823c. Also, in this embodiment, a second top plate 824b is arranged.

● Mobile (4)
A fourth embodiment of the moving body according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 18, focusing on the parts different from the form described above. The moving body 406d of the fourth embodiment has a nested structure in which a sliding cargo chamber 821d is accommodated in a cargo chamber 821, and the lower end of the gate 823d is connected to the sliding cargo chamber 821d by a hinge. and the sliding luggage compartment 821d can be pulled out sideways from below the top plate 824. As shown in FIG. According to this configuration, since the load can be pulled out together with the sliding cargo chamber 821d, workability is improved. Also, in this embodiment, a second top plate 824b is arranged.

● Mobile (5)
A fifth embodiment of the moving body according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 19, focusing on portions different from the previously described embodiment. In the moving body 406e of the fifth embodiment, the side tilt 823e is connected to the end of the loading platform 82 by a hinge, and the sliding loading chamber 821e can be pulled out from the loading chamber 821. As shown in FIG. According to this configuration, when the sliding luggage compartment 821e is pulled out, the sliding luggage compartment 821e is supported by the gate 823e, so that the sliding luggage compartment 821e can be pulled out more stably. Also, in this embodiment, a second top plate 824b is arranged.

● Mobile (6)
A moving body 406f of the sixth embodiment shown in FIG. 20 has a shape obtained by removing the second top plate 824b from the moving body 406d of the fourth embodiment.

● Mobile (7)
A moving body 406g of the seventh embodiment shown in FIG. 21 has a shape obtained by removing the second top plate 824b from the moving body 406e of the fifth embodiment.

● Mobile (8)
A movable body 406h of the eighth embodiment shown in FIG. 22 has a shape in which the gate 823c of the third embodiment is arranged, and a sliding load chamber 821e is pulled out from below the gate 823c. Also, in this embodiment, a second top plate 824b is arranged.

● Mobile (9)
A movable body 406i of the ninth embodiment shown in FIG. 23 is provided with the tilt 823c of the third embodiment (see FIG. 17), and is further connected with an extension member 823i extending toward the rear end of the tilt 823c in the traveling direction. ing. The extension member 823i is a flat plate having substantially the same thickness as the gate 823c. It is connected to the gate 823c by a mechanism. The extension member 823i can be fixed substantially parallel to and substantially coplanar with the top plate 824 . The rear end of the extension member 823i extends to the rear end of the moving body 406i in a state where it is fixed substantially on the same plane as the top plate 824. As shown in FIG. A rib similar to the rear end of the top plate 824 is formed at the rear end of the extension member 823i to prevent the drone 100 from falling off the loading platform . According to this configuration, the landing surface can be expanded by the flap 823c and the extension member 823c.

The extension members 823c and 823i may be connected to the side surface of the top plate 824 by a rotating mechanism or a sliding mechanism that slides the extension members 823c and 823i along the plane of the top plate 824.

23, a pair of tilters 823c and extension members 823i are arranged substantially symmetrically on the left and right sides of the top plate 824. It may be arranged. Moreover, in this configuration, it is optional whether or not the luggage compartment 821 can be pulled out from the luggage compartment 821d or 821e.

● Mobile (10)
A movable body 406j of the tenth embodiment shown in FIG.

In all the embodiments described above, it is optional whether they are symmetrical or only one of the left and right sides has the features described above. A moving body in which the left and right sides are respectively equipped with the configurations described in the different embodiments also belongs to the technical scope of the present invention.

In this description, an agricultural chemical spraying drone has been described as an example, but the technical idea of the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to general drones for other purposes such as shooting and monitoring. . It is particularly applicable to machines that operate autonomously. Further, the moving body is not limited to a vehicle, and may be of any suitable configuration.

(Technically Remarkable Effects of the Present Invention)
In the drone system according to the present invention, the drone and the mobile body that can move with the drone and can take off and land the drone operate in cooperation, and even if the drone autonomously flies, it is highly safe. can maintain sexuality.

Claims (3)

A drone system in which a drone and a mobile body capable of moving with the drone loaded thereon and capable of taking off and landing by the drone operate cooperatively,
The drone includes a resource information acquisition unit that acquires the remaining amount of the battery loaded on the drone,
The moving body includes a moving body control unit that controls the operation of the moving body,
The moving object control unit receives the remaining amount acquired by the resource information acquiring unit, predicts a flightable range in which the drone can fly based on the remaining amount, and determines whether the moving object can fly within the remaining amount. restrict movement outside
drone system.
The resource information acquisition unit determines whether or not the moving object exists within a flight range of the drone, and if the moving object does not exist within the flight range, the drone has taken off. land the drone at a location;
The drone system of claim 1.
The resource information acquisition unit determines whether or not the moving object exists within the flightable range of the drone, and if the moving object does not exist within the flightable range, Landing the drone on the moving object in the vicinity of the moving object;
The drone system of claim 1.

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