JPH04117895A - Radio controlling device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily avoid a control disable state and to restore a reception to an excellent state by providing a display means displaying the result of detection to at least any of the controlling device or a device to be controlled when an occurrence time of an error shared in the unit time is a prescribed rate or over. CONSTITUTION:In order to receive a control data sent from the controlling device 1, a receiver 5 detects only a radio wave at a prescribed frequency. Then the detected signal is decoded, converted into a servo motor command signal and the result is outputted to servo motors 6a-6n. An error check means 7 judges whether or not a signal received by the receiver 5 is a correct code and outputs it to a signal processing unit 8 as the occurrence of a reception error when any error exists. The error check means 7 detects an error for each frame of usual transmission signal, then the signal processing unit 8 fetches an error signal in matching with a frame time to calculate a rate shared by the error signal within a prescribed time and when the value is a prescribed value or over, an output is given to blink a warning lamp 9.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to unmanned helicopters, airplanes,
The present invention relates to a radio control device for airships, vehicles, ships, etc., and particularly relates to a control device developed to avoid a state in which control is not possible due to inability to receive control radio waves.

[Prior Art] Radio control devices °C used in model airplanes become unable to operate due to interference radio waves or because the control radio waves are weakened due to the distance, and as a result, the model aircraft cannot be operated. (Planes, etc. may run out of control or crash.) Currently, most radio control devices use codes for data transmission. This is done by encoding on the transmitter side. This is done through a process of decoding the code on the receiver side.Then, reception errors are detected by
This is done by determining whether the code is correct. Therefore, as a countermeasure against the above-mentioned runaway or crash, a preset I
A method has been used to prevent runaway by outputting a command value to a servo motor.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in normal data communication, when a data error occurs, the error does not occur continuously;
As data is repeatedly received correctly and errors occur, the number of data errors gradually increases, and eventually a series of errors occurs. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately grasp the tendency for the reception condition of the control signal to deteriorate using the method of measuring the time during which errors continue to occur. Furthermore, for this reason, the command for the fail-safe function is set to normally descend, which only prevents the vehicle from running out of control and crashing. As a result, it was practically difficult to avoid the uncontrollable state and return to a state with good reception.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to easily avoid the uncontrollable state and return to a state with good reception.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention of Paragraph 1 of the present application includes a control device having a transmitting means for encoding and transmitting control data, and a controlled device having a receiving means for receiving and decoding the control button. In the radio control device, the controlled device constantly monitors the reception state by the receiving device, and has a means for detecting when the error occurrence time is equal to or more than a predetermined percentage of the unit time. A radio control device, characterized in that at least one of the control device or the controlled device is provided with a display means for displaying the detection result.

Furthermore, the invention as set forth in item 2 provides the radio control device as set forth in item 1 above, in which the transmitting means transmits control data with an individual identification symbol added thereto as a control signal, and the controlled device stores the identification code. It is characterized by having a storage means, and comparing the identification symbol in the control signal received by the receiving means with the stored identification symbol, and detecting a difference as an error.

The invention of item 3 provides that in the radio control device of item 1 or 2 above, when the error occurrence time in unit time is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio, the controlled device performs a preset operation. It is characterized by the fact that it is made to do so.

[Operation J] According to the radio control device of the present invention, by focusing not on the length of time during which errors continue to occur, but on the ratio of error time to unit time, it is possible to accurately grasp the tendency for the reception condition of control signals to deteriorate. I can do something. By using the display means, it is possible to inform the pilot of a tendency for the reception condition to deteriorate in the process leading up to the loss of control, so that the pilot can avoid the loss of control and return to a state with good reception. be able to.

Furthermore, according to the invention set forth in item 3, the operator is notified of a tendency for the reception condition to deteriorate, and the controlled device itself performs a preset operation, thereby avoiding an uncontrollable condition and returning the reception to a good condition. The operator can understand from the display that the operation described in item 1 is not a runaway operation of the controlled device but a normal avoidance operation.

[Example code] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 are diagrams for explaining a radio control device for an industrial unmanned helicopter according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

First, in FIG. 1 showing the overall block configuration of a radio control device in which the device of this embodiment is adopted, numeral 2 is a control device, 2 is a transmitting means for encoding and transmitting control data, and 3 is a helicopter as a controlled device. Therein, there is a receiving means 4 for receiving and decoding the control data transmitted from the control device 1.

Reference numeral 5 indicates a receiver, and 6a to 6n indicate servo motors for driving and controlling each attitude control section of the helicopter (not shown). Specifically, they are servo motors for controlling aileron, pitch, elevator, etc.

7 is an error detection means, 8 is a signal processing device, and 9 is a flashing warning lamp as a display means for informing the operator of a tendency for reception conditions to deteriorate. Further, 10 is an ignition system whose engine rotation is to be detected, and 1 is a battery.

Next, the operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be explained based on FIG.

First, in order to receive the control data transmitted from the control device 1, the receiver 5 detects only radio waves of a predetermined frequency. The detected signal is then decoded and converted into a servo motor command signal, which is output to each of the servo motors 68 to 6n. The rotation of each servo motor is controlled by this command signal, and each attitude control section is driven by the motor, thereby performing required flight control.

On the other hand, the error detection means 7 determines whether the signal received by the receiver 5 has a correct code, and if there is an error, outputs it to the signal processing device 8 as a reception error. Since error detection by the error detection means 7 is normally performed for each frame of the transmitted signal, the signal processing device 8 captures the error signal in accordance with the frame time, calculates the proportion of the error signal within a predetermined time, If the value is above a predetermined value, the warning lamp 9 is output to blink.

Further, the signal processing device 8 constantly monitors engine rotation, battery voltage, etc., and if there is an abnormality in these, the signal processing device 8 flashes in a pattern different from the previous flashing to notify the operator.

Next, in FIG. 2 showing details of the signal processing device in FIG. 1, 12 is a microcomputer, 13 is an A/D converter that converts a battery voltage value into a digital value, 1
4 is memory with backup, 158-15e and 1
6a to 16n are buffer amplifiers having input control or amplification functions.

The operation of the signal processing device 8 will be explained below.

The microcomputer 12 observes the state of reception error occurrence for a predetermined period of time (approximately 0.1 seconds to 1 second), and calculates the error signal occurrence time within that period by a predetermined percentage (10% to 80%).
%) or more, a warning lamp 9 is flashed to notify the operator that the receipt is bad.

Then, as time passes, information that falls outside the observation time frame is xenocelled, new information that has entered the frame is taken in, and the proportion of error signals within the latest predetermined time is always expressed as
error rate).

To explain this more specifically using Figure 3, the observation time is 0.
5 seconds and the warning lamp is set to flash when the error rate is 50%, tl, 112. At each point in time t3, the warning lamp blinks in a predetermined blinking pattern (time interval). Also, at time t4, it blinks in a different pattern from the previous blinking pattern, and the battery voltage is 12.
Displays that the voltage is below V.

At the same time, the engine rotation, battery voltage, and command value to the servo motor detected as described above are also detected.
It is recorded in the backed-up memory 4, so that in the unlikely event that a situation such as inability to control occurs, the recorded contents can be used to investigate what caused the inability to control.

This corresponds to a so-called flight reefer. Specifically, the data stored in the memory 14 can be read by connecting another microcomputer from the outside to the /real interface terminals 14a and 14b.

In this embodiment, a lamp is used as a method of informing the operator, but a strong light source such as a strobe may also be used as a method of reliably informing the operator even in bright times such as daytime. In addition, as a method of informing the pilot, each status on the helicopter side may be transmitted to the pilot device side by using radio, and the information may be displayed on the pilot device side.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention relating to an industrial unmanned helicopter, which is the same as the first embodiment, will be described.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control device in this embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the format of the transmission signal.

First, in FIG. 4, 17 is a control device, inside which is a microcomputer 20. It has a transmitting means 18 composed of a high frequency circuit 24 and the like, an identification symbol setting device 19, and the like. 2] a ~ 2In is aileron,
Pitch Elevator, etc. (7) Each operating lever is used to control the control hook servo motor or engine throttle, and 23a-23n are relay switches for turning engine ignition ON/OF1 or controlling auxiliary equipment such as pesticide spraying. .

Further, in FIG. 5, 30 indicates a transmission signal, which is a frame synchronization signal 31, an identification symbol (II)
) signal 32, a signal 33 for helicopter operation, a signal 34 for controlling auxiliary equipment such as pesticide spraying, a frame end r signal 35, etc.

Next, the operation of the control device of the second embodiment will be explained as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.
This will be explained based on the diagram.

First, when the power switch (not shown) of the control device 17 is turned on, the micro floppy computer 20 starts operating the identification symbol setting device 1.
9 to take in its own identification symbol (ID) internally. Then, the position rtt of each operating lever 2]a to 21n is input via the A/D converter 22, and each operating switch 23a
Also input the status of ~23n. Next, these are encoded and multiplexed, converted into serial data having a format 30 as shown in FIG. 5, and transferred to the modulation amplifier 25 in the high frequency circuit 24. The high frequency circuit 24 also includes a modulator 26, an oscillator 27, a multiplier circuit 28, and a power amplifier 29.
It modulates a carrier wave with the input serial data and radiates it into space as an electromagnetic wave from an antenna.

In this embodiment (J), the status of the control lever and operation switch is always captured, and data is always transmitted according to the format shown in FIG. 5 as described above.

The identification code (ID) can be loaded into the microcomputer by attaching the switch 37 directly to the ■10 boat 36 of the microcomputer as shown in a) of Figure 6, or by attaching the switch 37 directly to the foot register 38.38
Other possible methods include a method in which individual IDs are written in advance in a program, a method in which the IDs can be set in a backed-up RAM in the transmitter, etc. The operation b) will now be explained. First, when a load command is issued from the microcomputer 20 to the 7ft register 38 via the line 39a, the 7ft register 38 takes in the identification symbol set by the switch 40. The identification symbol is then output to the microcomputer 20 bit by bit via the line 39c in synchronization with the clock signal input via the line 39b. From the above, method a) requires as many microcomputer boards as the number of channels of the switch 37, whereas [)
) method requires only 3 ports, and the boat can be effectively used for other purposes. Furthermore, in method C),
By using a resent signal generation circuit 41 linked to a power switch, which is generally set in a micro combi coater, the number of required ports can be reduced.

Next, the configuration of the receiving means will be explained based on FIG. 7 showing the block configuration of the controlled device of the second embodiment.

42 is a helicopter as a controlled device, and a high frequency circuit 44 is installed inside the helicopter. It has a receiving means 43 constituted by a signal processing device 52 and the like, and an identification symbol storage device 53 and the like. 55a to 55n are engine ignition ON/OF
1'' relay, or a relay for controlling auxiliary equipment such as pesticide spraying, and 54a to 54n are control amplifiers for each of the relays.

Further, the high frequency circuit 44 is paired with the high frequency circuit 24 in which the transmitting means 18 is present, and its configuration includes a high frequency amplifier 45, a mixing circuit 46, an oscillator 47, and a multiplier circuit 4.
8, an intermediate frequency amplifier 49, a demodulator 50, a comparator 51, etc.

The operation of the signal processing device 52 will be explained below.
Operations similar to those in the embodiment will be omitted.

The signal processing device 52 compares the identification symbol in the received control signal with the identification symbol stored in the identification symbol storage device 53, and detects an error if they are different. The operation in each reception state will be specifically explained below.

(1) When a regular control radio wave with its own identification symbol (ID) is received, the same 1tll of data is obtained by the synchronization signal 31 in Fig. 5, and if the received I I
It decodes the signals in the same freight as 1) and outputs command values to the control amplifiers 54a to 54n for each of the motors 68 to 6n and the output relays 55a to 55n.

(2) If the ID cannot be confirmed due to W wave noise, etc., it may be difficult to synchronize, or it may not be possible to synchronize.
If C cannot be identified as ID or own II),
The data in that frame is ignored and is not output to each issue-bo motor. Alternatively, a command value may be output to a servo motor or the like based on previously received correct data. However, if it cannot be confirmed that u1j or more r I) at the specified time and the operation data cannot be received, a command is output to the control device or servo motor to perform a preset operation to prevent the aircraft from running out of control. . The preset operation mentioned here means that if it has an autonomous control function,
Specifically, it is conceivable that: (1) the vehicle moves in a direction where the control signal becomes relatively stronger; (2) it heads in a direction that is 180° rotated from the previous direction. Additionally, from the moment the ID cannot be confirmed or verified, the warning lamp 9 will notify the pilot of this fact.

(3) When a control radio wave with a different ID is received. Similar to (2), no output is made to the control device or servo motor.

Alternatively, a command value may be output to a servo motor or the like based on previously received correct data. The warning lamp 9 lights up in a different flashing pattern than (2) so that it can be seen that another ID 1) is being received, and informs the operator that another ID is being received.

In the manner described above, the control data is transmitted and received to prevent malfunctions due to operation data other than one's own control data, and to inform the operator that the TX waves are not being transmitted correctly.

In this embodiment, the data format is synchronized for each frame, but synchronized for each data.
Signals may be selected depending on the state of 1).

In addition, if the receiver has an autonomous control function, the output of the microcomputer of the receiver is output to control device B, and if a control radio wave with the correct ID cannot be received, the status is notified to the control device and the control device is It is only necessary to autonomously control the device.

Next, the effects of the second embodiment will be explained.

As in the first embodiment, even if radio waves of the same frequency are used from another device during radio control, reception errors can be detected by comparing the identification symbols. In addition, in this embodiment, since signals other than regular control signals are not output to the control device or servo motor, the fail-safe function can be used with the Cvj or helicopter without being affected by erroneous control signals caused by other radio waves. If the robot has autonomy, it can perform autonomous control until it receives its own operation data. Also, by checking the identification symbol, it is possible to know the limit point of whether or not the device is affected by other radio waves. Further, even before radio control, it is possible to know in advance whether radio waves of the same frequency are being used only by the receiver.

In each of the above embodiments, error detection and identification symbol confirmation have been described separately, but they can also be carried out in combination.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the radio control device according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately grasp the tendency of the reception condition to deteriorate due to a reception error of the control signal, and by using the display means, the reception condition can be checked in the process leading up to the loss of control. Since the driver can be notified of the deterioration trend, the driver or the controlled device itself can easily avoid the uncontrollable state and return to a state with good reception.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are diagrams for explaining a wireless control device for an industrial unmanned helicopter according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed diagram of the signal processing device (error generation = 18 occurrence frequency detection means), and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing its operation, and FIGS. 4 to 7 are diagrams for explaining the second embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a block diagram showing the control device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the format of the transmitted signal.
FIG. 6 is a detailed diagram of the identification symbol setting device, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the block configuration of the operated device. In the figure, I 17 is a control device, 218 is a transmitting means, 3, 42 is a controlled device, 4, 43 is a receiving means, 8, 5
2 is a signal processing device (error frequency detection means), 9 is a warning lamp (display means), 32 is an identification symbol signal (identification symbol), and 53 is an identification symbol storage device (identification symbol storage means).

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A radio control device comprising a control device having a transmitting means for encoding and transmitting control data, and a operated device having a receiving means for receiving and decoding the control data, wherein the controlled device has the receiving means. has a means for constantly monitoring the reception state and detecting when the error occurrence time occupying a unit time exceeds a predetermined ratio;
A radio control device characterized in that at least one of the control device or the controlled device is provided with a display means for displaying the detection result. (2) The transmitting means transmits the control data with an individual identification symbol added thereto as a control signal, and the operated device has a storage means for storing the identification symbol, and the control signal received by the receiving means is transmitted as a control signal. 2. The radio control device according to claim 1, wherein the identification symbol is compared with the stored identification symbol, and if they are different, it is detected as an error. (3) The radio control device according to claim (1) or (2), wherein the controlled device performs a preset operation when the error occurrence time in unit time is equal to or greater than a predetermined ratio.