KR102164295B1 - Apparatus and method for falling prevention of drone - Google Patents

Abstract

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the apparatus for preventing a fall of a drone may include: a main body including a control unit determining a power operation of the drone and a sensor unit detecting a fall in response to the power operation of the drone; And a parachute unit that detects a fall of the drone and operates in response to the fall when the power of the drone does not operate, wherein the sensor unit includes an acceleration sensor that detects a vertical descent speed of the drone; And a gyro sensor for detecting a horizontal inclination of the drone, wherein the parachute unit comprises: a mechanical switch operating in response to the acceleration sensor; And it may include an air resistance film spread in response to the mechanical switch operation.
According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method for preventing a fall of a drone according to an embodiment includes determining a power operation of the drone; Detecting a fall of the drone by an acceleration sensor when the power of the drone does not operate; Operating a mechanical switch when the fall is detected; And spreading an air resistance film in response to the mechanical switch operation. It may include.

Description

Apparatus and method for falling prevention of drone}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for preventing a fall of a drone, and more particularly, to a device for preventing an accident due to a fall of a drone in a sudden flight fall.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a vehicle that can fly according to a program entered in advance to perform a designated mission without a pilot, or autonomously fly by recognizing the surrounding environment (obstacles or routes) by itself. In recent years, it has been used for various purposes, such as weather observation, terrain exploration, reconnaissance or surveillance.

In general, the unmanned aerial vehicle operates electrically, and a sudden change in the unmanned aerial vehicle may occur due to battery discharge due to rapid temperature change or electrical shock due to lightning strikes, resulting in damage to people or buildings passing by the ground. Caused.

In addition, in the case of a parachute disposed on a conventional unmanned aerial vehicle, there is a problem in that space is limited in the configuration of the unmanned aerial vehicle, such as placing a GPS sensor or other sensor on the upper side of the unmanned aerial vehicle, since it is arranged on the top of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

An embodiment of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for decelerating a fall speed through a parachute operated by an electrically independent mechanical device.

The technical problem to be solved in the embodiment is not limited to the technical problem mentioned above, and another technical problem not mentioned will be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention belongs from the following description. I will be able to.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the apparatus for preventing a fall of a drone includes: a main body including a control unit for determining a power operation of the drone and a sensor unit for detecting a fall in response to the power operation of the drone; And a parachute unit that detects a fall of the drone and operates in response to the fall when the power of the drone does not operate, wherein the sensor unit includes an acceleration sensor that detects a vertical descent speed of the drone; And a gyro sensor for detecting a horizontal inclination of the drone, wherein the parachute unit comprises: a mechanical switch operating in response to the acceleration sensor; And it may include an air resistance film spread in response to the mechanical switch operation.

According to an embodiment, the acceleration sensor may be electrically independent from the main body and operate mechanically.

According to an embodiment, the acceleration sensor may control the mechanical switch from ON to OFF when the acceleration of the drone continues to exceed a preset value in the direction of gravity.

According to an embodiment, when the mechanical switch is turned off, the air resistance film may be spread out from a side surface of the main body.

According to an embodiment, a driving unit disposed outside the main body; And a plurality of connecting portions connecting the main body and the driving unit, wherein the air resistance film may be spread into a space between the main body and each of the connecting portions.

According to an embodiment, the parachute may further include a roller connected to one end of the air resistance film.

According to an embodiment, when the drone is not in a fall state, the roller may be formed in a horizontally compressed column shape in the form of the spring.

Depending on the embodiment, the air resistance film may be wound around the roller and disposed in a roll shape.

According to an embodiment, the air resistance film may be unfolded by rotation by a tilt of the roller or a magnetic force.

According to an embodiment, the air resistance film may be unfolded by air resistance due to the fall of the drone.

According to an embodiment, when the air resistance film is unfolded, the roller may move in the direction of the driving unit and may be lengthened.

According to an embodiment, the driving unit may further include a motor, and the roller may be fixed by a magnet disposed at one end of the motor.

In order to solve the above technical problem, a method for preventing a fall of a drone includes determining a power operation of the drone; Detecting a fall of the drone by an acceleration sensor when the power of the drone does not operate; Operating a mechanical switch when the fall is detected; And spreading the air resistance film in response to the mechanical switch operation.

According to an embodiment, the acceleration sensor may be electrically independent from the main body and operate mechanically.

According to an embodiment, the step of detecting the fall may control the mechanical switch from ON to OFF when the acceleration of the drone continues to exceed a preset value in the direction of gravity.

According to an embodiment, the operation of the mechanical switch may be spread out from a side surface of the main body when the mechanical switch is turned off.

According to an exemplary embodiment, a driving unit disposed outside the main body and a plurality of connecting units connecting the main body and the driving unit are included, and in the step of spreading the air resistance film, the air resistance film is a space between the main body and each of the connection parts. Can be unfolded.

According to an embodiment, the parachute may further include a roller connected to one end of the air resistance film.

According to an embodiment, the air resistance film may be unfolded by rotation by a tilt of the roller or a magnetic force.

According to an embodiment, the air resistance film may be unfolded by air resistance due to the fall of the drone.

According to an embodiment, when the air resistance film is unfolded, the roller may move in the direction of the driving unit and may be lengthened.

According to an embodiment, the driving unit may further include a motor, and the roller may be fixed by a magnet disposed at one end of the motor.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there are the following effects.

First, since the parachute part of the present invention is electrically independent from the main body, there is an advantage that it is possible to implement a mechanical parachute without transmitting an electrical signal.

Second, since the parachute of the present invention is disposed on the side of the body of the drone, the upper portion of the drone is not used, thereby increasing space efficiency, and there is an advantage in that there is no space limitation in the configuration of the drone.

The effects obtainable in the present invention are not limited to the above-mentioned effects, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description. will be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The accompanying drawings are provided to aid understanding of the present invention and provide embodiments of the present invention together with a detailed description. However, the technical features of the present invention are not limited to a specific drawing, and features disclosed in each drawing may be combined with each other to constitute a new embodiment.
1 is a view showing an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing the configuration of a parachute according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a view showing a cross-sectional view of a drone before a fall according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a view showing a cross-sectional view of the drone after a fall according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a drone in which a parachute is operated according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a drone in which a parachute is operated according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
7 to 8 are diagrams illustrating a flow of a parachute operation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an apparatus and various methods to which embodiments of the present invention are applied will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings. The suffixes "module" and "unit" for components used in the following description are given or used interchangeably in consideration of only the ease of preparation of the specification, and do not have meanings or roles that are distinguished from each other by themselves.

In the description of the embodiment, in the case of being described as being formed in "top (top) or bottom (bottom)", "before (front) or after (back)" of each component, "top (top) or bottom (Bottom)" and "Before (front) or after (back)" include both components formed by direct contact with each other or one or more other components disposed between the two components.

In addition, in describing the constituent elements of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b) may be used. These terms are only used to distinguish the component from other components, and the nature, order, or order of the component is not limited by the term. When a component is described as being "connected", "coupled" or "connected" to another component, that component may be directly connected or connected to that other component, but another component between each component It should be understood that elements may be “connected”, “coupled” or “connected”.

In addition, the terms such as "include", "consist of" or "have" described above mean that the corresponding component may be embedded unless otherwise stated, excluding other components Rather, it should be interpreted as being able to further include other components. All terms, including technical or scientific terms, unless otherwise defined, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. Terms generally used, such as terms defined in the dictionary, should be interpreted as being consistent with the meaning in the context of the related technology, and are not interpreted as ideal or excessively formal meanings unless explicitly defined in the present invention.

The unmanned aerial vehicle may be a generic term for an airplane or helicopter-shaped aircraft capable of flying and controlling by induction of radio waves without a pilot. For example, it may be a drone or an unmanned aerial vehicle, and may include conceptual elements of unmanned, remotely controlled, and ultralight aircraft.

1 is a view showing an unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the drone 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention may include a main body 100, a driving part 200, a connection part 300, and a parachute 400.

The main body 100 is formed in the shape of an octahedron, but is not limited thereto, and may be formed in any shape such as a hexahedral shape, a triangular pyramid shape, and a cylindrical shape, if necessary.

The body 100 may include a sensor unit 110 and a control unit 120.

The sensor unit 110 may include a sensor that is electrically independent from the body 100. The sensor unit 110 may include an acceleration sensor 111 and a gyro sensor 112.

The acceleration sensor may detect the vertical descent speed of the drone 10.

The acceleration sensor 111 detects the fall of the drone 10, and when a fall is detected, the acceleration sensor 111 detects that the drone 10 is falling if the acceleration of the mechanical acceleration sensor continues above a preset value in the direction of gravity. I can.

In this case, the acceleration sensor 111 may have a structure in which a magnet is placed inside a coil. When the drone 10 suddenly moves, the coil moves with the drone 10, but the magnet hardly moves due to inertia. This changes the magnetic field passing through the coil, and an induced current flows through the coil by electromagnetic induction. It is possible to detect the change in the speed of the drone 10 by detecting the change in the induced current.

According to an embodiment, when the vertical descent speed of the drone 10 detected by the acceleration sensor 111 is detected to be 9.8m per second or more, the acceleration sensor 111 can detect that the drone 10 in flight is falling. have.

In addition, the acceleration sensor 111 may detect a vertical descent speed and operate a mechanical switch when the detected acceleration sensing value is greater than or equal to a preset value.

The gyro sensor 112 may detect the horizontal inclination of the drone 10 according to the flight of the drone 10. The gyro sensor 112 may detect the orientation of the drone 10. If the gyro sensor 112 processes and the drone 10 fails to maintain equilibrium, it may be determined that there is an abnormality in the flight of the drone 10.

According to an embodiment, when the inclination of the drone 10 detected by the gyro sensor 112 is greater than or equal to a specific inclination, a mechanical switch may be operated.

The controller 120 may determine whether the power of the main body is operating.

When the power of the main body is 0N, the controller 120 may control the acceleration sensor by power. That is, when it is determined that the power is a normal operation, the operation of the acceleration sensor can be controlled by the power.

The driving unit 200 may include a plurality of motors 210 and propellers 220. The driving unit 200 is a configuration of the flying power to rotate the propeller 220 by driving the motor 210 by receiving a control command from the control unit 120 of the main body 100 so that the drone 10 can fly. A propeller method using thrust generated by rotation of a propeller widely used in the drone 10 is recommended, but embodiments of various driving units 200 such as a jet engine in addition to the propeller method are possible, and thus the propeller method is not limited.

The driving unit 200 may be disposed outside the main body. The driving unit 200 is a device for generating lift and flying force so that the drone 10 can move back and forth, left and right, and up and down, and may generally be composed of a plurality of propellers and a motor that rotates the same. (200) is equally applied to a general unmanned aerial vehicle, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The connection part 300 may be formed as a frame, and may be formed in a shape such as an “X” or “Y” according to an embodiment. The connection part 300 may be formed in any shape as needed. In addition, a connection part 300 extending outward of the main body 100 is provided.

When the parachute 400 falls on the main body 100 due to a lightning strike or a discharge of a battery, the parachute may be unfolded based on a mechanical operation.

According to an embodiment, when electricity is not supplied from the main body 100 to the driving unit 200, the drone 10 falls, detects a fall by an acceleration sensor, and a parachute may be operated in response to the fall.

The configuration of the parachute 400 will be described in detail below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

2 is a view showing the configuration of a parachute according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the parachute 400 may include an air resistance film 410, a roller 420, a mechanical switch 430, and a parachute 440.

The air resistance film 410 may be disposed in a space between each connection part 300 regardless of the number of connection parts 300.

When the drone 10 is not in a fall state, the air resistance film 410 may be compressed and disposed on the side of the main body 100. According to an embodiment, when the drone 10 is not in a fall state, the air resistance film 410 may be wound and disposed on a spring-shaped horizontally compressible column in a crumpled state.

The roller 420 may be disposed connected to one end of the air resistance film 410.

The roller 420 may rotate with a tilt or magnetic force, so that the air resistance film 410 may be unfolded.

According to an embodiment, when the mechanical switch 430 is operated OFF, the roller 420 moves in the direction of the driving unit 200 and may have a length.

The roller 420 may include an elastic element. At this time, when the roller 420 is not in a fall state, the roller 420 may be formed in a horizontally compressed column shape in the form of a spring.

According to the embodiment, the roller 420 uses a spring as the elastic element, but it is not necessarily limited thereto, and it is obvious that other materials having elasticity may be used.

At least one mechanical switch 430 may be disposed corresponding to the number of the air resistance film 410 and the roller 420 disposed between each of the connecting parts 300.

The mechanical switch 430 may be configured to be electrically independent from the main body 100

According to an embodiment, the mechanical switch 430 may be fixed so that the air resistance film 410 and the roller 420 cannot be moved in an ON state before a fall.

Depending on the embodiment, the mechanical switch 430, when the drone 10 falls and the drone 10 is not electrically operated, the acceleration sensor 111 detects the fall and goes from ON to OFF in response to the fall. It can work.

3 is a view showing a cross-sectional view of a drone before a fall according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a view showing a cross-sectional view of the drone after a fall according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the parachute 400 may be disposed in a space between the side surfaces of the main body and each connection part 300.

According to an embodiment, when the drone falls, the parachute 400 may be discharged into a space between the body 100 and each connection part 300.

The air resistance film 410 in the state before the fall may be wound around the roller 420 in a roll shape and disposed on the side of the body 100. The roller 420 may be disposed in a space between each connection part 300. At this time, the roller 420 may be in a compressed state.

The air resistance film 410 and the roller 420 in the state before the fall may be locked so that they are not unfolded by the mechanical switch 430.

Referring to FIG. 4, the mechanical switch 430 after the fall determination may be operated from ON to OFF. Accordingly, when the drone 10 falls, the mechanical switch 430 is operated so that the air resistance film 410 may be unfolded.

At this time, the roller 420 may be moved toward the motor by rotation with a tilt or magnetic force. In this case, the roller 420 may have a compressed spring having a longer column. That is, when the air resistance film 410 is unfolded, the roller 420 moves toward the motor, the spring is unfolded, and the length of the column may be lengthened.

When the roller 420 is moved by the elastic force in the compressed state, the magnet 211 disposed on one side of the motor may cancel the restoring force of the elastic element of the roller 420. That is, it is possible to prevent the elastic element from being compressed again by the restoring force. Through this, the roller 420 may be fixed to the magnet 211.

5 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a drone in which a parachute is operated according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the parachute 400 may be disposed in an outer area other than the center of the main body.

According to an embodiment, the mechanical switch after the acceleration sensor determines the fall may be operated from ON to OFF.

Accordingly, when the drone falls, the parachute 440 may be discharged in the upper direction of the main body. At this time, the parachute may be unfolded by air resistance according to the fall.

When the parachute is released, even if it is not in the center of the body part 100 of the drone, if the parachute is unfolded, the free fall speed of the drone 10 may be lowered.

6 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional view of a drone in which a parachute is operated according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, the parachute 400 may include a plurality of parachutes 440 disposed at upper ends of a driving unit in which a motor is installed.

When the inclination of the drone 10 by the gyro sensor 112 is higher than a preset value, it is determined that the drone 10 is falling, and the mechanical switch 430 is operated by the gyro sensor 112. Through this, the parachute can be discharged to the top of the driving unit.

At this time, the parachute may be unfolded by air resistance according to the fall.

When a parachute is released, the opposite side of the parachute may be unfolded due to a low air resistance in the future, resulting in a slope, and the other side of the parachute may unfold due to time difference.

7 to 8 are diagrams illustrating a flow of a parachute operation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 to 8, the drone 10 may determine whether the main body 100 is electrically operated (S510).

When the drone 10 is electrically operated, the mechanical acceleration sensor can be controlled by power.

When the drone 10 is not electrically operated, the acceleration sensor 111 may detect the fall of the drone 10 (S530).

That is, the acceleration sensor 111 operates independently of the electric power from the main body 100 to sense the acceleration of the drone 10. In this case, the acceleration sensor 111 may detect the fall of the drone 10 when the acceleration sensor 111 is greater than or equal to a preset value in the direction of gravity.

When the fall of the drone 10 is detected by the acceleration sensor 111, the mechanical switch 430 may be operated (S540). That is, when the fall of the drone 10 is detected, the mechanical switch 430 may be operated from ON to OFF.

When the mechanical switch 430 is operated, the air resistance film 410 disposed in the space between each connection unit 300 may be unfolded (S550). At this time, the air resistance film 410 may be unfolded while the roller 420 connected to one end of the air resistance film 410 rotates by a tilt or magnetic force. At this time, when the air resistance film 410 is unfolded, the roller 420 moves in the direction of the driving unit 200 and becomes longer, and the magnet 211 disposed at one end of the motor included in the driving unit 200 ) Is fixed to the air resistance film 410 can be operated to spread in the space between each of the connecting portions 300.

In addition, after the step S540, the parachute disposed on the outer portion of the main body corresponding to the mechanical switch 430 may be unfolded to the upper portion of the main body (S560).

According to another embodiment, after the step S520, the gyro sensor 112 may detect the fall of the drone 10 (S610).

The gyro sensor 112 detects the horizontal inclination of the drone 10, and if it is determined that the drone 10 cannot maintain the balance, it is determined that the drone 10 is falling, and the mechanical switch is turned from ON to OFF. It can work.

When the mechanical switch 430 is operated, a parachute disposed above the driving unit 200 may be spread over the driving unit (S630).

Thereafter, after the parachute is unfolded, the inclination of the opposite side of the parachute is changed according to air resistance, and the parachute 440 installed in the other driving unit 200 may also be unfolded due to a time difference (S640).

As described above with respect to the embodiment, only a few are described, but other various types of implementation are possible. The technical contents of the above-described embodiments may be combined in various forms unless they are technologies incompatible with each other, and may be implemented in a new embodiment through this.

It is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit and essential features of the present invention. Therefore, the detailed description above should not be construed as restrictive in all respects and should be considered as illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

10: drone 100: main body
110: sensor unit 120: control unit
111: acceleration sensor 112: gyro sensor
200: drive unit 210: motor
220: propeller 211: magnet
300: connection part 400: parachute
410: air resistance film 420: roller
430: mechanical switch 440: parachute

Claims (24)

A main body including a control unit determining a power operation of the drone and a sensor unit detecting a fall in response to the power operation of the drone;
A driving unit disposed outside the main body;
A plurality of connection parts connecting the main body and the driving part; And
Including; when the power of the drone does not operate, detects the fall of the drone, and operates in response to the fall; and
The sensor unit
An acceleration sensor detecting a vertical descent speed of the drone; And
Including a gyro sensor that detects the horizontal tilt of the drone,
The parachute part
A mechanical switch operating in response to the acceleration sensor; An air resistance film extending into a space between the main body and each of the connecting portions in response to the mechanical switch operation; And
Includes; a roller connected to one end of the air resistance film,
The air resistance film is
Unfolded by rotation according to the slope of the roller or magnetic force
Drone fall protection device. The method of claim 1,
The acceleration sensor
Mechanically independent from the main body
Drone fall protection device. The method of claim 2,
The acceleration sensor
When the acceleration of the drone continues to exceed a preset value in the direction of gravity, the fall prevention device of the drone controls the mechanical switch from ON to OFF. The method of claim 3,
The air resistance film is
When the mechanical switch is turned off, the fall prevention device of the drone that is spread out from the side of the main body. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The roller
When the drone is not in a fall state, a device for preventing fall of a drone formed in a column shape compressed horizontally in the form of a spring. The method of claim 7,
The air resistance film is
A device for preventing fall of a drone that is wound around the roller and disposed in a roll form. delete The method of claim 1,
The air resistance film is
Unfolded by air resistance due to the fall of the drone
Drone fall protection device. The method of claim 1 or 10,
When the air resistance film is unfolded, the roller moves in the direction of the driving unit and the length of the drone is increased. The method of claim 11
The driving part
Further includes a motor,
The roller is a fall prevention device of a drone that is fixed by a magnet disposed at one end of the motor. A main body including a control unit determining a power operation of the drone and a sensor unit detecting a fall in response to the power operation of the drone;
A driving unit disposed outside the main body;
A plurality of connection parts connecting the main body and the driving part; And
Including; when the power of the drone does not operate, detects the fall of the drone, and operates in response to the fall; and
The sensor unit
An acceleration sensor detecting a vertical descent speed of the drone; And
Including a gyro sensor that detects the horizontal tilt of the drone,
The parachute part
A mechanical switch operating in response to the gyro sensor;
An air resistance film extending into a space between the main body and each of the connecting portions in response to the mechanical switch operation;
A roller connected to one end of the air resistance film; And
It includes a parachute unfolding in response to the mechanical switch,
The air resistance film is
Unfolded by rotation according to the inclination or magnetic force of the roller,
The parachute is
A device for preventing fall of a drone that is disposed above the driving unit and spreads to the top of the driving unit in response to the mechanical switch. A main body including a control unit determining a power operation of the drone and a sensor unit detecting a fall in response to the power operation of the drone;
A driving unit disposed outside the main body;
A plurality of connection parts connecting the main body and the driving part; And
When the power of the drone does not operate, it detects the fall of the drone and includes a parachute that operates in response to the fall,
The sensor unit
An acceleration sensor detecting a vertical descent speed of the drone; And
Including a gyro sensor that detects the horizontal tilt of the drone,
The parachute part
A mechanical switch operating in response to the acceleration sensor;
An air resistance film extending into a space between the main body and each of the connecting portions in response to the mechanical switch operation;
A roller connected to one end of the air resistance film; And
It includes a parachute unfolding in response to the mechanical switch,
The air resistance film is
Unfolded by rotation according to the inclination or magnetic force of the roller,
The parachute is
A device for preventing fall of a drone that is disposed in an outer area other than the center of the main body and spreads to the upper part of the main body in response to the mechanical switch. Determining a power operation of the drone;
Detecting a fall of the drone by an acceleration sensor when the power of the drone does not operate;
Operating a mechanical switch when the fall is detected; And
Spreading the air resistance film into the space between the main body of the drone and the connection part in response to the mechanical switch operation;
Including,
The air resistance film is
Unfolded by rotation according to the inclination or magnetic force of the roller connected to one end
How to prevent a drone from falling. The method of claim 15,
The acceleration sensor
Mechanically independent from the main body
How to prevent a drone from falling. The method of claim 15,
The step of detecting the fall
When the acceleration of the drone continues to be more than a preset value in the direction of gravity, the method of preventing a fall of a drone by controlling the mechanical switch from ON to OFF. The method of claim 17,
The step of operating the mechanical switch
When the mechanical switch is turned off, a method for preventing a fall of a drone spreading outward from the side of the main body. delete delete delete The method of claim 15,
The air resistance film is
Unfolded by air resistance due to the fall of the drone
How to prevent a drone from falling. The method of claim 15 or 22,
When the air resistance film is unfolded, the roller moves in the direction of the driving unit and the length becomes longer.
How to prevent a drone from falling. The method of claim 23
The driving part
Further includes a motor,
The roller is fixed by a magnet disposed at one end of the motor
How to prevent a drone from falling.

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