JPH0535599U - Unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance system - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] It is possible to obtain position information of unmanned aerial vehicles with high accuracy and reliability. A laser range finder 10a for irradiating a laser beam to a laser reflecting prism 12 attached to an unmanned aerial vehicle 3 and receiving the reflected light to measure a distance and a moving direction to the unmanned aerial vehicle 3, and this laser. A gimbal 10b and a gimbal controller 10c for arbitrarily setting the direction of the laser beam emitted from the rangefinder 10a, and the laser rangefinder 10
The laser tracker controller 10d outputs a tracking control signal to the gimbal controller 10c based on the measurement result of a and outputs position information indicating the distance, azimuth angle, and elevation angle to the unmanned aerial vehicle 3. The laser tracker 10 is installed in the vicinity of the runway 1, and based on the position information output from the laser tracker controller 10d, the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 and the distance from the reference position to guide the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 and the relative position of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 The position is calculated and obtained, and the guidance information is generated.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance device.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Conventionally, landing guidance devices for unmanned aerial vehicles (target planes, reconnaissance planes, space shuttles, etc.) have been configured as shown in FIG. That is, conventionally, the radar antenna 2 is installed near the runway 1 and the radar beam is used to measure the position and the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 and the runway 1 and the like. When performing the landing guidance of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3, the ground pilot was notified by displaying the guidance information based on the information obtained by the position measurement. A control signal for the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 according to the guidance information is transmitted from the radar antenna 2 by radio waves.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 The conventional landing guidance device for an unmanned aerial vehicle has the following problems.

1) Although position measurement is performed by a radar, the radar radio wave has a certain width, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 may be captured by a side lobe, so position information can be obtained with high accuracy. There wasn't.

2) It is conceivable to increase the size of the radar antenna 2 in order to solve the above-mentioned problem 1). However, if the radar antenna 2 is increased in size, the weight of the radar antenna 2 increases and the antenna driving speed increases. Will lead to a decline. In this case, a situation occurs in which the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 moving at a high angular velocity with respect to the radar antenna 2 cannot be tracked. That is, in the vicinity of the runway 1, the laser antenna 2 cannot continue to capture the unmanned aerial vehicle 3, and it is not possible to obtain guidance information (distance, relative position, etc.) until landing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance device capable of obtaining position information of an unmanned aerial vehicle with high accuracy and reliability.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The present invention irradiates a corner cube type reflection prism for laser reflection mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle with a laser beam, receives reflected light from the corner cube type reflection prism, and detects the distance from the unmanned aerial vehicle. Based on the measurement result by the distance measuring means for measuring the moving direction, the direction setting means for arbitrarily setting the direction of the laser beam emitted from the distance measuring means, the distance measuring means Control means for instructing the direction setting means to track an unmanned aerial vehicle and outputting position information indicating a distance, an azimuth angle, and an elevation angle to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the position output from the control means. A calculator that calculates the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and a reference position to guide the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the relative position with respect to the unmanned aerial vehicle, based on the information. And it constitutes comprises a and.

[0008]

[Action]

 According to such a configuration, since a laser beam is used, highly accurate position information is required as compared with the case of using a radar. Also, because it can be constructed in a small size, the tracking speed is fast, and guidance information can be obtained until landing.

[0009]

【Example】

 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing the unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance system according to the embodiment. 1 shows a side view and FIG. 2 shows a plan view.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a laser tracker 10 is installed near the runway 1 (the end of the runway 1 on the opposite side of the approach direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3), and the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 has a laser reflection prism. 12 is attached. The laser tracker 10 tracks the unmanned aerial vehicle 3, and the approach direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 changes depending on the wind direction and the like, and is a movable type to cope with this.

The laser tracker 10 has a structure as shown in FIG. That is, the laser tracker 10 includes a laser range finder 10a, a gimbal 10b, a gimbal controller 10c, and a laser tracker controller 10d. The laser range finder 10a irradiates the laser reflecting prism 12 mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 with a laser beam and receives the reflected light, thereby moving the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 and the laser tracker 10 and moving the laser beam. The laser tracker controller 10d is notified of the information about the direction.

The laser tracker controller 10d transmits position information regarding the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 such as distance, azimuth angle, and elevation angle to another system (ground control device not shown) according to the information from the laser range finder 10a. In addition to outputting, a tracking control signal is output to the gimbal controller 10c. The ground control device generates guide information necessary for maneuvering according to the position information and displays it.

The gimbal controller 10c controls the operation of the gimbal 10b, that is, the laser irradiation direction from the laser range finder 10a, based on the tracking control signal from the laser tracker controller 10d. The gimbal 10b operates so that the laser range finder 10a faces the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 under the control of the gimbal controller 10c.

The laser reflecting prism 12 attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 is a corner cube type reflecting prism as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the corner cube type reflection prism has a shape in which the corners of a cube are cut off. The incident surface of light is the surface of the triangle ABC in the figure, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the incident light and the reflected light have a characteristic that they are always parallel to each other. The laser reflecting prism 12 is attached to the pedestal or the inside of the leg door of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3, and is exposed to the outside of the aircraft only when necessary when landing to prevent an increase in resistance when not needed. Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described.

The laser tracker 10 is indicated in advance by the position where the laser tracker 10 is installed (for example, the distance (d1) from the center of the runway 1 and the distance (d2) from the end of the runway 1). ), And the runway length L are registered.

When the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 is guided to land on the runway 1, first, a laser beam is emitted from the laser tracker 10 toward the laser reflection prism 12 of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3. At this time, the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 has a pedestal, and the laser reflection prism 12 is exposed.

The laser range finder 10 a of the laser tracker 10 determines the distance (d 3) between the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 and the laser tracker 10 from the time when the reflected light from the laser reflecting prism 12 is received, that is, the round trip time of the laser beam. Then, the laser tracker controller 10d is notified.

The laser tracker controller 10d is in a state according to the tracking control signal to the gimbal controller 10c when the laser range finder 10a receives the reflected light from the laser reflection prism 12, that is, the laser beam irradiation direction. The elevation angle (laser transmission elevation angle θ1) and the azimuth angle (laser transmission azimuth angle θ2) are measured.

The laser tracker controller 10d outputs the installation position (d1, d2) of the laser tracker 10, the elevation angle (θ1), the azimuth angle (θ2), and the distance (d3) to the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 to the ground control device. To do.

In the ground control device, based on the information from the laser tracker 10, the distance to the runway end or the installation point and the relative position with the unmanned aircraft are calculated by a predetermined algorithm to generate the guidance information. .. Based on this guidance information, the radar antenna 2 sends a control signal to the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 to guide the landing.

In this way, the position measurement accuracy can be improved by using the laser beam instead of the radar as the position measurement means of the unmanned aerial vehicle 3. That is, the laser beam can make the launch beam angle smaller than the radar radio wave, and the side ropes do not occur unlike the radio wave, so that highly accurate position measurement can be performed. Further, since the accuracy of the position information regarding the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 is improved, highly accurate guidance information can be obtained without changing the algorithm for obtaining the guidance information.

Since the laser tracker 10 is smaller than the radar antenna for high accuracy, the tracking speed is fast, and the unmanned aerial vehicle 3 moving at high speed near the runway 1 can also be tracked. It is possible to reliably obtain guidance information. By thus obtaining highly accurate guidance information up to landing, it is possible to significantly reduce the load on the ground pilot who operates the unmanned aerial vehicle 3.

[0023]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain the position information of the unmanned aerial vehicle with high accuracy and reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an external configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance device.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing an external configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance device.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a laser tracker 10.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a laser reflecting prism 12.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing an external configuration of a conventional landing guidance device for an unmanned aerial vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Unmanned aerial vehicle, 10 ... Laser tracker, 10a ... Laser range finder, 10b ... Gimbal, 10c ... Gimbal controller, 10d ... Laser tracker controller, 12 ... Laser reflecting prism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A distance from the unmanned aerial vehicle is obtained by irradiating a laser beam to a corner cube type reflective prism for laser reflection mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle and receiving reflected light from the corner cube type reflective prism. And distance measuring means for measuring the moving direction, direction setting means for arbitrarily setting the direction of the laser beam emitted from the distance measuring means, and based on the measurement result by the distance measuring means, the distance measuring means Control means for instructing the direction setting means to track an unmanned aerial vehicle and outputting position information indicating a distance, an azimuth angle, and an elevation angle to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the position output from the control means. Calculation means for calculating a distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and a reference position to guide the unmanned aerial vehicle and a relative position with respect to the unmanned aerial vehicle based on the information And an unmanned aerial vehicle landing guidance device.