JPH02299998A - Control mechanism for remote control type helicopter - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent lowering of the pay-load of a helicopter by a method wherein a control mechanism is formed with a reel mounted to the machine body of a remote control type helicopter and winding a tension rope and a reel to wind a signal transmission cable for interconnecting a transmitter on the ground side and a receiver on the helicopter side. CONSTITUTION:The one end of a tension rope 3 is mounted to the rear part of a machine body 21 of a remote control type helicopter 20 and the one end of a signal transmission cable 4, e.g. an optical fiber, is connected to a receiver 22 mounted approximately to the lower central part of a machine body 21. The other ends of the tension rope 3 and the signal transmission cable 4 are windable around reels A and B of a control mechanism 1, and the other end, unwound, from the reel B of the signal cable 4 is connected to a transmitter 30. In this case, the signal transmission cable 4 is wound and unwound in a state to be helically wound around the tension rope 3 and thereby, phase interlocking is effected so that a winding amount and an unwinding amount of the reel B are always increased to values higher than those of the reel A.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a control mechanism for an unmanned remote-controlled helicopter.

(Prior art) Unmanned remotely controlled helicopters are used for purposes such as spraying pesticides and taking aerial photographs. be steered.

However, operating such a helicopter is generally complicated and requires skill. Furthermore, when a radio control system is used to operate a helicopter, there is a risk that the receiver installed in the helicopter body may receive noise and the helicopter may malfunction, making it impossible to perform the intended operation.

Therefore, we adopted a wired control system that connects the transmitter on the ground and the receiver installed in the helicopter body using a signal transmission cable such as optical fiber. It is conceivable that the control of the helicopter may be made easier by limiting the number of times.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, if the signal transmission cable is made to also function as a so-called tension rope for limiting the flight range of the helicopter as described above, the signal transmission cable will be affected by the tension acting on it. It is necessary to have enough strength to withstand the force, and the problem arises that the thickness of the sheathing material wrapped around it increases, making the signal transmission cable itself heavier and lowering the payload of the helicopter.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to minimize the reduction in the payload of a helicopter, enable wired control, and facilitate and ensure the control of the helicopter. The aim is to provide a remote control helicopter control mechanism that can be operated remotely.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a tension system attached to the body of a remote-controlled helicopter that is remotely controlled by receiving a signal from a transmitter to a receiver equipped on the body. Reel A that winds the rope and reel B that winds the signal transmission cable that connects the transmitter and the receiver constitute a control mechanism, and these reels A and B are controlled by the amount of feed and winding of reel B. It is characterized in that it is interlocked so that it is always larger than that of A, and that the signal transmission cable is guided by the tension rope and is fed out and wound up.

(Function) According to the present invention, a tension rope for limiting the flight range of a helicopter and a signal transmission cable for wired control are provided separately, and the amount of feed and winding of the signal transmission cable is set to that of the tension rope. Since the tension rope is made larger than the above, all of the tensile force is received by the tension rope, and the tensile force does not act on the signal transmission cable, and the signal transmission cable does not need to be covered, making it possible to reduce its weight. I'll come. Also, since the signal transmission cable has some length, the tension rope is allowed to stretch a little, and as long as the tension rope has high tensile strength, it should be thin and lightweight even if it stretches a little. can be used, which, in combination with the weight reduction of the signal transmission cable described above, helps to prevent reduction in the helicopter's payload.

Furthermore, since the signal transmission cable is guided by the tension rope and is fed out and wound up, the signal transmission cable and the tension rope are fed out and wound up as a unit, making their handling easier.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a control mechanism according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view of a winding section of a reel, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line mm in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a control mechanism according to the present invention,
The control mechanism l is connected to the reel A and the front of the reel A (in the figure,
It is constructed by attaching reel B arranged on the left side) on a base 2.

On the other hand, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 indicates a remotely controlled helicopter in flight, and one end of a tension rope 3 led out from the reel A is attached to the rear of the body 21 of this helicopter. Further, a receiver 22 is mounted substantially at the lower center of the fuselage 21 of the helicopter 20, and one end of the signal transmission cable 4 led out from the reel B is connected to the receiver 22. This signal transmission cable 4 is composed of an optical fiber or the like, and the other end leading out from the reel B is connected to a transmitter 30.
It is connected to the. In addition, the transmitter 30 has two for operation operation.
A book stick 31,32 is provided.

By the way, the reel A is a device for winding up the tension rope 3, and the tension rope 3 passes through the center of the other reel B as shown. This reel A
A drum 6 is rotatably supported on the main body 5 of the tram 6, and the tram 6 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow a in the figure by a motor (not shown) built into the main body 5, and winds the tension rope 3 around its outer circumference. The tension rope 3, which rotates freely in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure and is wound around its outer periphery, is sent out to the helicopter 20 side. Incidentally, this reel A is provided with a guide 7 for reciprocating in the direction of arrow C shown in the figure and uniformly winding the tension rope 3 around the drum 6. or,
A power supply coat 8 connected to a motor built in the main body is led out from the main body 5 of the reel A.

An output shaft 9 that rotates in conjunction with the drum 6 extends from the side of the main body 5 of the reel A, and a pulley 10 is connected to the output shaft 9. And this pulley 1
0 and an input shaft 1 extending laterally of the main body 11 of the reel B.
An endless timing belt 14 is wound between the pulley 13 connected to the end of the timing belt 2.

The reel B has a tram 15 at the tip of its main body 11, and on the outer periphery of the main body 11 is a take-up roller 16 that rotates in the directions of arrows d and e in the figure as the input shaft 12 rotates.
is rotatably supported. This winding roller 16 has a guide member 17 formed into a disc shape from Teflon resin.
is attached, and the signal transmission cable 4 is inserted through the center of the guide member 17.

In the reel B, as described above, the take-up roller 16 and the guide member 17 rotate in the direction of the arrow -d in the figure, so that the signal transmission cable 4 and the guide member 17 are rotated.
The signal transmission cable 4 is wound around the outer periphery of the tram 15 while being guided by the signal transmission cable 4, or the take-up roller 16 and the guide member 17 reciprocate in the direction of arrow f in the figure to uniformly wind the signal transmission cable 4 around the outer periphery of the tram 15. Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the signal transmission cable 4 wound once is connected to the guide member 1.
A plate 19 fastened to the side of the cable 7 with screws 18 is pressed against the outer periphery of the drum 15, thereby preventing the signal transmission cable 4 from loosening during winding. Note that the reel B has a built-in slip mechanism (not shown), and this slip mechanism prevents a tension above a certain level from being applied to the signal transmission cable 4 while it is being wound up. Further, the signal transmission cable 4 is prevented from loosening by the plate 19 both when being sent out and when it is stationary.

By the way, in this embodiment, the tension rope 3 moves the reel B in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) as described above.
Since the signal transmission cable 4 rotates around the tension rope 3 that passes through the reel B as a central axis, the signal transmission cable 4 is connected to the tension rope 3 that extends forward from the reel B. It is sent out while winding in a spiral. Therefore, the signal transmission cable 4 sent out from the reel B is helically wound around the tension rope 3 and held therein as shown in FIG. Therefore, as the signal transmission cable 4 draws a spiral, the amount of winding on reel B and the amount of feeding from reel B are equal to the amount of winding of tension rope 3 on reel A and the amount of reel A.
The diameter and rotational speed of each drum 6.15 for reels A and B are set with this in mind.

Therefore, when the helicopter 20 flies, the helicopter 2
0 pulls the tension rope 3, whereby the tension rope 3 is sent out from the reel A, and the drum 6 freely rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The rotation of the drum 6 is transmitted to the take-up roller 16 of the reel B via the output shaft 9, pulley 10, timing belt 14, pulley 13 and input shaft 12, and the chain take-up roller 16 and the guide member 1.
7 is freely rotated in the direction of arrow e in FIG. It is sent out while winding in a spiral around the tension rope 3 being sent out.

If the tension rope 3 and the signal transmission cable 4 are stopped by a predetermined amount, the helicopter 20 can fly within the length of the tension rope 3, and the flight range is limited by the tension rope 3. In this state, when the operator operates the sticks 31 and 32 of the transmitter 30, a control signal is sent to the receiver 22 mounted on the helicopter 20 via the signal transmission cable 4, and the various control mechanisms of the helicopter 20 are controlled by this control signal. Or driven helicopter 20
Although the helicopter 20 is remotely controlled, as mentioned above, the helicopter 20
Since the flight range of the aircraft is limited, it is easier for the operator to control the aircraft. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a wired control method is adopted in which the control signal from the transmitter 30 is sent to the receiver 22 on the helicopter 20 side via the signal transmission cable 4, so that the control signal does not contain noise from other sources. Malfunctions of the helicopter 20 are prevented and its operation is ensured without being affected.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, the signal transmission cable 4
Since the sending amount of the tension rope 3 is made larger than that of the tension rope 3, all of the tensile force generated due to the restriction of the flight range of the helicopter 20 is received by the tension rope 3, and no tensile force acts on the signal transmission cable 4. Since the signal transmission cable 4 does not need to be covered, its weight can be reduced.

Also, since the signal transmission cable 4 has some length, the tension rope 3 is allowed to stretch to a certain extent.
The tension rope 3 may be one with high tensile strength, or one that is thin and light even if it stretches a little (for example, a core material made of Kevlar fiber (trade name) covered with polyester). Coupled with the above-described weight reduction of the signal transmission cable 4, this is useful for preventing a reduction in the payload of the helicopter 20.

When the work by the helicopter 20 is completed, the tension rope 3 and the signal transmission cable 4 are wound onto reels A and H, respectively. That is, when the drum 6 of reel A is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow a in FIG.
, the chain winding roller 16 and the guide member 17 are rotated in the direction of arrow d in FIG. 1. When the tram 6 of reel A and the take-up roller 16 and guide member 17 of reel B are rotated in this way, the tension rope 3 is wound around the drum 6 of reel A, and the signal transmission cable 4 is connected to the tension rope 3. It is wound up on the tram 15 of reel B while unwinding the spiral winding.

In the above, since the signal transmission cable 4 is guided by the tension rope 3 and is fed out and wound up, the tension rope 3 and the signal transmission cable 4 are fed out and wound up integrally without being separated. This makes handling easier.

In the above embodiment, the signal transmission cable 4 is held by the tension rope 3 by spirally wrapping it around the tension rope 3, but as shown in FIG. The signal transmission cable 4 may be held by the tension rope 3 in a relaxed state by metal fittings 25 provided at intervals.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, a tension rope attached to the body of a remote-controlled helicopter that is remotely controlled by receiving a signal from a transmitter by a receiver installed on the body. The reel A that winds up the signal transmission cable that connects the transmitter and the receiver and the reel B that winds up the signal transmission cable that connects the transmitter and the receiver constitute a control mechanism, and these reels A and B are controlled by the amount of feed and take-up of reel B. - The signal transmission cable is always larger than that of cable A, and the signal transmission cable is guided by the tension rope to be sent out and wound up, thereby minimizing the reduction in the payload of the helicopter. This provides the advantage that the helicopter can be controlled by wires with less control, and that the operation of the helicopter can be made easier and more reliable.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the control mechanism according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the winding section of the reel, Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line ■-m in Fig. 2, and Fig. 4 is a diagram of the signal transmission cable. It is a partial side view which shows another Example of the support structure to a tension rope. 1... Control mechanism, 3... Tension lobe, 4...
- Signal transmission cable, 20...Remotely controlled helicopter, 21...Helicopter body, 22...Receiver, 3
0...Transmitter, A, B...Reel. Patent applicant: Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. Agent
Patent Attorney Ryo Yamashita - No. 21 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] A control mechanism for a remote-controlled helicopter that is remotely controlled by receiving a signal from a transmitter by a receiver installed on the body of the helicopter, the control mechanism comprising a reel A for winding a tension rope attached to the body of the helicopter, and the transmitter. and a reel B for winding a signal transmission cable connecting the receiver and the reel B, and these reels A and B are interlocked so that the amount of feeding and winding of the reel B is always larger than that of the reel A, A control mechanism for a remote-controlled helicopter, wherein the signal transmission cable is guided by the tension rope and is sent out and wound up.