JPH1159596A - Information collection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information collection device which is small in size, light weight capable of securing the confidentiality, and capable of obtaining the target information with high accuracy. SOLUTION: A gliding body is connected to an airplane 12 through a communication cable 11 which can be freely wound, a power source having a wind- power generation mechanism 20 and a secondary battery 21, a steerable flying wing 10a and an observation sensor 23 are mounted on the gliding body, and the flying wing 10a and the observation sensor 23 are driven using the power stored in the secondary battery 21 to obtain the target information by the observation sensor 23 in a condition where the gliding body is independently glided from the airplane 12.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information collecting apparatus mounted on an aircraft, for example, for observing a target and obtaining target information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, an information collecting apparatus of this type is connected to a flying object such as an aircraft via a connecting cable, and is controlled remotely from the flying object to acquire target information. 5 and a wireless system shown in FIG. 6 in which target information is acquired by controlling the object remotely by radio from the flying object side.

That is, the wired system shown in FIG. 4 is called a traction type, and an apparatus main body 1a equipped with an observation sensor (not shown) is connected to an aircraft 3a constituting a mother machine via a cable 2a, and is arranged to fly the aircraft 3a. In conjunction with this, the apparatus main body 1a is pulled through the cable 2a, and the target information is acquired by the observation sensor (not shown). Then, this device main body 1a
The target information acquired in step 3 is transmitted to the aircraft 3 via the cable 2a.
a.

The wired system shown in FIG. 5 is referred to as a suspended type, in which an apparatus main body 1b equipped with an observation sensor (not shown) is suspended from a helicopter 3b constituting a mother machine via a cable 2b, and is disposed. In conjunction with the flight, target information is acquired by an observation sensor (not shown) of the apparatus main body 1b suspended via the cable 2b. Then, the target information acquired by the device main body 1b is transmitted to the helicopter 3b via the cable 2b.

Further, as a wireless system, as shown in FIG. 6, a propulsion device (not shown) that can be remotely operated is mounted on the device main body 1c, and the device main body 1c is configured to be able to navigate using the propulsion device. Then, an observation sensor (not shown) for collecting information is mounted on the device main body 1c, and the propulsion unit of the device main body 1c is remotely controlled by the aircraft 3c constituting the base machine to control the flight near the target. There is a remote control type in which target information is acquired by an observation sensor (not shown) and the target information is wirelessly transmitted to the aircraft 3c.

However, in the above-mentioned information collecting apparatus, the apparatus main bodies 1a and 1b are connected to the aircraft 3a or the helicopter 3b via the cable 2a or 2b to arrange the apparatus 3a or the Because of the structure for acquiring target information by flight of the helicopter 3b, robust cables 2a and 2b are required, so that the apparatus main bodies 1a and 2a and the cables 2a and 2b are connected to the aircraft 3a.
Alternatively, there is a problem in that the flying of the helicopter 3b is adversely affected, so that there is a high risk, and there is a restriction in obtaining the target information.

[0007] In the wireless system, due to its structure,
Because it is necessary to have a propulsion device, it becomes large,
There is a problem that it is difficult to secure confidentiality. Also,
There is a problem that it is easily affected by an interference wave from the target and the transmission capacity of the obtained target information is restricted.

[0008]

As described above, in the conventional information collecting apparatus, since there is a danger that the flying of the flying object is adversely affected, there is a limitation in obtaining the target information. They are large, have low confidentiality, are susceptible to interfering waves, have a limitation on transmission capacity, and have a problem that the reliability of information collection is low in any of the systems.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is compact and lightweight, and can secure confidentiality.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an information collection device that has achieved acquisition of target information with high accuracy.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a glide having an adjustable flying wing coupled to a flying object via a communication cable which can be wound, and a flying wing of the glide. Wing steering means for adjusting, information collection means provided on the glider, for acquiring target information from the sky, and transmitting the target information to the flying object via the communication cable, and kinetic energy of the flying object Into electric energy to generate electric power, and energy generating means for supplying the electric power to the wing steering means and the information collecting means; and a cable control means provided on the flying object and controlling winding of the communication cable. The information collection device was configured with.

Further, the present invention provides a glide body having an adjustable flying wing coupled to a flying object via a communication cable which can be wound up, and a wing steering for adjusting the flying wing of the glide body. Means provided on the glide, acquiring target information from the sky and transmitting the target information to the flying object via the communication cable; and the communication cable provided on the glide. Cable control means for controlling winding of the flying object, energy generation means for converting the kinetic energy of the flying object into electric energy to generate electric power, and supplying the electric power to the wing steering means, information collecting means and cable control means. The information collection device was configured with.

According to the above construction, the glide body is coupled to the flying object via the communication cable, and the wing steering means, the information collecting means, and the cable control means use the electric power generated by the energy generating means as a power source. Is driven, the wing is steered independently of the flying object by its wing steering means,
In the gliding state, target information is acquired by the information collecting means, and the acquired target information is transmitted to the flying object via the communication cable. Therefore, autonomous flight becomes possible without mounting propulsion means, and confidentiality is realized while ensuring small size and light weight, and large-capacity target information can be transmitted via a communication cable.

Further, in the present invention, a cable cutting mechanism is provided in the cable control means for controlling the winding of the communication cable. According to the above configuration, by controlling the operation of the cable cutting mechanism, it is possible to secure the safety of the flying object by separating the gliding object from the flying object in an emergency or the like when a danger occurs.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an information collecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. A glider 10 is supported at one end of a communication cable 11 such as an optical cable (see FIG. 2), and is accommodated in a flying object such as an aircraft 12. And transported to the desired area X. This communication cable 1
The other end of 1 is wound around a cable winding section 13 (see FIG. 3) for cable control so as to be freely wound. The communication cable 11 is connected to a control bus via a communication interface 14 on the side of the glider 10.

The cable winding section 13 selectively winds or sends out the communication cable 11 so as not to adversely affect the gliding of the glide body 10 described later. Also,
For example, a cable cutting mechanism (not shown) is attached to the cable winding unit 13. The cable cutting mechanism (not shown) is operated to cut the communication cable 11 from the glider 10 when the glider 10 is in danger, for example, to prevent the danger from reaching the aircraft. I do.

The cable winding section 13 adjusts the winding or sending timing of the communication cable 11 when the traveling direction of the glider 10 changes, or when the communication cable 11 greatly changes due to wind pressure or the like. The cable control is performed so that the glider 10 does not load the aircraft 12.

The glider 10 is provided with a steerable flying wing 10a (see FIGS. 2 and 3). The flying wing 10a has a steering unit 1 for controlling the wing which forms an autonomous gliding system.
5 are connected.

The steering section 15 is connected to a navigation processing section 17 via a navigation control section 16. The navigation processing unit 17 includes:
A GPS receiver 18 and an inertial sensor 19 such as a gyro or an acceleration type are connected. The navigation processing unit 17 performs complex arithmetic processing on output signals of the GPS receiver 18 and the inertial sensor 19 to generate navigation information, and outputs the navigation information to the navigation control unit 16. The navigation control unit 16 calculates a steering amount based on the input navigation information and command information and outputs the calculated steering amount to the steering unit 15. The steering unit 15 controls the flight wing 1 based on the input steering amount.
By controlling Oa, the glider 10 is glide independently of the aircraft 12.

The control bus is connected to a wind power generation mechanism 20 constituting an energy generating means. Wind power generation mechanism 2
Numeral 0 converts kinetic energy (flow of air) accompanying the flight of the aircraft 12 into electric energy, and outputs the generated power to the secondary battery 21 for power storage. The secondary battery 21 selectively supplies the stored power to the autonomous gliding system and an information collecting system described later.

In the wind power generation mechanism 20, for example, when the amount of power stored in the secondary battery 21 on the aircraft side is reduced, the steering unit 15 is controlled based on command information from the aircraft 12, and the wind power is increased to a maximum. By setting a flight mode that can be used only for a limited time, desired power is secured for a long time.

An information collection processing unit 22 is connected to the communication cable 11, and an observation sensor 23 such as an imaging camera is connected to the information collection processing unit 22. A plurality of observation sensors 23 are arranged around the glider 10,
The outputs of the plurality of observation sensors 23 are combined so as to obtain an up, down, left, and right viewing angle. The above observation sensor 23
Is detachably mounted on a connection part (not shown) of an adapter type provided in the glide body 10, for example, and is connected and arranged in a so-called bus form.

The detachable observation sensor 23 includes, for example, an effectiveness measuring sensor for measuring an interference effectiveness by emitting an interference wave toward a target, and a radio wave collection sensor for collecting a radio wave generated by the target. included. In this case, similarly, the output signals of the validity measurement sensor and the radio wave collection sensor are transmitted as target information to the aircraft 12 via the communication interface 14 and the communication cable 11 in real time.

Further, a warning generator (not shown) is connected to the glider 10. The warning generation unit has a function of generating a warning sound or the like based on a generation signal from the aircraft to warn a target. The warning generation unit has a so-called microphone function, and can output a predetermined sound from, for example, an aircraft together with the warning sound.

When the target information acquired by the glider 10 is input to the aircraft 12 via the communication cable 11, a function of monitoring and storing the target information and a communication mechanism with the glider 10 are provided. Etc. are provided. This allows
The aircraft 12 uses the mounted communication mechanism or the like to
And transmission of the command information to the glider 10 together with the reception of the target information.

In the above configuration, when the aircraft 12 reaches the vicinity of the target in the information collection area, the glider 10 moves the aircraft 1
2 and the communication cable 11 is sent out via the cable take-up part 13 and glides in an autonomous state. Then, the glider 10 is driven by the wind power generator 20 receiving the air accompanying the gliding and starts power generation. The electric power generated by the wind power generation mechanism 20 is stored in a secondary battery 21 and supplied to the autonomous gliding system and the information collecting system via the secondary battery 21.

Here, the GPS receiver 18 receives a GPS signal from a GPS satellite and outputs it to the navigation processing unit 17. At the same time, the inertial sensor 19 detects the inertial motion of the glider 10 and outputs the same to the navigation processing unit 17. Navigation processing unit 17
Generates navigation information by performing complex arithmetic processing on the input GPS signal and inertial motion information, and outputs the generated navigation information to the navigation control unit 16.

The navigation control unit 16 calculates a steering amount based on the navigation information from the navigation processing unit 17 and the command information from the aircraft 12, for example, and outputs the steering amount to the steering unit 15. The steering unit 15 controls the flying wing 10a based on the input amount of steering to glide the glider 10 over the target area X.

In the glide state of the glide body 10, the observation sensor 23 acquires information on the target area X and outputs it to the information collection processing unit 22. The information collection processing unit 22 performs desired signal processing on the input information to generate target information, and transmits the target information to the communication interface 14 and the communication cable 11.
And output to the aircraft 12 in real time.

When the predetermined information is collected, the flying wing 10a is steered through the steering unit 15 and the glider 10 is steered.
Is returned to the aircraft 12 and the communication cable 11
Is controlled to take up via the cable take-up unit 14 and the aircraft 1
2 and the information collection ends here.

At the time of collecting the information, the glider 1
In the case where the collision of the aircraft 0 with the target 24 causes a heavy load on the aircraft 12, the cable cutting mechanism (not shown) is driven to disconnect the communication cable 11 and cut off the aircraft 12. Safety is ensured.

As described above, the information collecting apparatus includes a communication cable 11 capable of winding the glider 10 around the aircraft 12.
And a power source having a wind power generation mechanism 20 and a secondary battery 21, a steerable flight wing 10a, and an observation sensor 23 mounted on the glide body 10.
0a, by driving the observation sensor 23 using the electric power stored in the secondary battery 21,
The target information is acquired by the observation sensor 23 in a state where the airplane glide independently.

According to this, the glide object 10 is connected to the aircraft 12 via the communication cable 11 without a propulsion device as in the conventional radio system, and the glide object 10 is slid to obtain target information. As a result, it is possible to set the connecting cable to such a strength as to enable communication of information, thereby facilitating the reduction in size and weight and securing confidentiality. In addition, by transmitting and receiving information between the aircraft 12 and the glider 10 via the communication cable 11, a large amount of information communication becomes possible, and diversification of collected information can be achieved.

The windable communication cable 11 connecting the aircraft 12 and the glider 10 is selectively cut through a cable cutting mechanism so that the glider 10 can be selectively separated from the aircraft 12. By configuring, for example, the glider 1
During the glide of 0, the safety of the aircraft 12 is ensured even if the glider 10 collides with the target 24 and a dangerous state is reached.

In the above-described embodiment, the description has been given of the case where the cable take-up portion 13 is arranged on the glide body 10. However, the present invention is not limited to this. It is also possible to arrange so that the taking part 13 is disposed on the aircraft 12. Also in this case, the provision of the cable cutting mechanism can similarly improve the safety.

In the above embodiment, the case where the communication cable 11 connecting the aircraft 12 and the glider 10 is cut using the cable cutting mechanism has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. As means, for example, the communication cable 1
1 may be cut.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described where the flying object is arranged on the aircraft 12, but the invention is not limited to this, and the flying object may be mounted on a helicopter, for example. It is also possible.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the energy generating means is constituted by using the wind power generation mechanism 20 and the secondary battery 21 has been described. is there. Therefore, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0038]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, there is provided an information collecting apparatus which is compact and lightweight, and which can secure confidentiality and realizes highly accurate acquisition of target information. Can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an information collecting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a glide taken out of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a partial circuit configuration of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional information collection device.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a conventional information collection device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional information collection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 ... Gliding body. 10a: Flying wing. 11 Communication cable. 12 ... Aircraft. 13 ... Cable winding section. 14 Communication interface. 15. Steering unit. 16 Navigation control unit. 17 Navigation processing unit. 18 ... GPS receiver. 19 ... inertial sensor. 20 ... wind power generation mechanism. 21 ... Rechargeable battery. 22 Information collection unit. 23: Observation sensor. 24 ... Goal.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A glider having an adjustable flying wing coupled to a flying object via a communication cable that can be wound, wing steering means for adjusting the flying wing of the glider, It is provided on the glider, acquires target information from the sky,
Information collecting means for transmitting the target information to the flying object via the communication cable; converting kinetic energy of the flying object into electric energy to generate electric power; and applying the electric power to the wing steering means and information collecting means. An information collecting apparatus, comprising: an energy generating unit that supplies the flying object; and a cable control unit that is provided on the flying object and controls winding of the communication cable. 2. A glide body having an adjustable flight wing coupled to a flying object via a communication cable which can be wound up, wing steering means for adjusting the flight wing of the glide body, It is provided on the glider, acquires target information from the sky,
Information collecting means for transmitting the target information to the flying object via the communication cable; cable control means provided on the gliding body for controlling winding of the communication cable; And an energy generating means for supplying the electric power to the wing steering means, the information collecting means and the cable control means. 3. The energy generating means generates electric power by driving a wind power generation mechanism with kinetic energy associated with the flight of the flying object, stores the electric power in a secondary battery, and stores and supplies the electric power to the secondary battery. The information collection device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. The information collection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a communication unit that performs communication including a warning for a target based on the target information collected by the information collection unit. 5. The information collecting means according to claim 1, wherein the information collecting means collects radio waves from the target as the target information and detects the interference effectiveness of the interfering radio waves to the target. Information collection device. 6. The information collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said information collecting means is provided with an exchangeable observation sensor for acquiring target information. 7. The information collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cable control means includes a cable cutting mechanism, and selectively disconnects the communication cable according to a cable tension. 8. The information collection device according to claim 1, wherein the communication cable is an optical cable.