KR102607816B1 - Wireless charging device and control method for unmanned aerial vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a charging device for unmanned aerial vehicles that monitors failures in transmission lines, a battery control unit that compares the battery consumption and remaining capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle in real time using 3D spatial information and flight speed, and a flight path setting for the unmanned aerial vehicle. It includes an unmanned aerial vehicle control unit, a wireless charging device that charges using solar power or transmission line power, and after the battery control unit compares the current remaining amount and predicted consumption, the unmanned aerial vehicle control unit determines a flight path according to the comparison value. A charging device and control method for unmanned aerial vehicles characterized by setting up a charging device and control method.

Description

Charging device and control method for unmanned aerial vehicle {WIRELESS CHARGING DEVICE AND CONTROL METHOD FOR UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to a wireless charging device and control method for unmanned aerial vehicles, and in particular, to a wireless charging device and control method for unmanned aerial vehicles that monitor failures in transmission lines (high-voltage lines through which ultra-high voltage power is transmitted, transmission towers, insulators, clamps, etc.). It's about.

Transmission lines (high-voltage lines, transmission towers, insulators, clamps, etc. that transmit ultra-high voltage power) are very dangerous because tens of thousands of volts [V] of high-voltage electricity flows through them, so they are installed tens of meters above the ground, and are exposed to natural environments (lightning, heavy rain). , typhoons, etc.), regular inspection is essential as there is a high possibility of damage. In the case of previous line monitoring, workers directly boarded the steel tower and visually inspected the transmission line, resulting in safety issues for workers and high-cost, low-efficiency inspection. In addition, inspection work had to be performed after stopping transmission. The downside was that the time in which work could be done was limited.

The unmanned aerial vehicle can configure a system for transmission line monitoring by additionally installing separate devices for monitoring transmission lines (high-resolution, thermal imaging, UV cameras, etc.), and the pilot can set the system based on GPS through satellite and inertial navigation devices. It is possible to move with a single path, altitude, and speed, or to control the location, attitude, and direction by the control system mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle. The characteristics of this unmanned aerial vehicle (rotorcraft) system can be said to be suitable for inspection of power transmission lines that require low-speed, ultra-low-speed, and hovering flight.

However, due to limitations in battery capacity, unmanned aerial vehicles have difficulty conducting continuous track monitoring tasks for long periods of time, and when patrolling large areas such as mountains or the sea, power supply is even more difficult due to numerous unpredictable external factors and battery capacity issues. Not only will stable track monitoring work be disrupted, but in extreme situations, there is even a possibility of an emergency landing. This lack of continuity and stability has slowed the introduction of unmanned aerial vehicles in transmission and distribution line surveillance.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the lack of sustainability due to the capacity limit of the unmanned aerial vehicle battery is overcome by continuously supplying power to the unmanned aerial vehicle using power from the transmission line and natural light, and excessive battery consumption occurs due to a number of external factors. Even if this occurs, we would like to present a charging device and control method for unmanned aerial vehicles that can overcome the lack of stability due to external factors, including an algorithm that can correct the path to prevent an emergency landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle and enable close monitoring.

The present invention relates to a charging device for unmanned aerial vehicles that monitors failures in transmission lines, a battery control unit that compares the battery consumption and remaining capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle in real time using 3D spatial information and flight speed, and a flight path setting for the unmanned aerial vehicle. It includes an unmanned aerial vehicle control unit, a wireless charging device that charges using solar power or transmission line power, and after the battery control unit compares the current remaining amount and predicted consumption, the unmanned aerial vehicle control unit determines a flight path according to the comparison value. It is a charging device for unmanned aerial vehicles characterized by setting.
The present invention provides a method of controlling a charging device for an unmanned aerial vehicle that monitors a transmission line failure, comprising the steps of predicting battery consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicle and adding a charging station to the flight path; Comparing the remaining battery capacity and predicted consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicle; Flight path correction step; and moving to the charging station and landing step; In the moving to the charging station and landing step, the charging station is installed on a transmission pylon, and the flight path modification step is performed when the current remaining battery of the unmanned aerial vehicle is greater than the predicted consumption amount. It flies along the set flight path, and if the current remaining battery capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle is less than the predicted consumption, the path point where the wireless charging device is installed is modified to the next path point, and after wireless charging is performed, it flies according to the set flight path. Here, the charging station has a wireless charging device in which charging is carried out in a charging unit, and the charging unit receives power from the battery of the power supply unit in the wireless charging device in one of a solar method or a transmission line current method. The method uses photovoltaic power generated by the photoelectric effect through a solar module, and the transmission line current method uses the transmission line current by transforming it through a CT current transformer. If power supply is not possible using the solar method, the transmission line current method uses the transmission line current method. Power is supplied in the form of low current.

The present invention, configured as described above, allows management of the unmanned aerial vehicle from a wireless charging device provided on a steel tower without having to lower the main body of the unmanned aerial vehicle for patrolling the transmission line, thereby eliminating waste of manpower, as well as eliminating the need for long-term, long-distance transmission due to limitations in battery capacity. The previous problem of monitoring difficulties has been solved by ensuring that the battery is always charged, enabling efficient work.

1 is a flow chart according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a flow chart of the wireless charging device according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is an example of a route change when providing alternative charging station guidance according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a flowchart of charging a large capacity battery 106-3 according to the present invention.
Figure 5 is an example of a route change when the remaining battery power of the unmanned aerial vehicle is low according to the present invention.
Figure 6 is a diagram showing a wireless charging point according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a configuration diagram of a battery device for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.
Figure 8 is a configuration diagram of a wireless charging device for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.
Figure 9 is a configuration diagram of the power supply unit of the wireless charging device according to the present invention.
Figure 10 is a conceptual diagram of a charging method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.

In order to fully understand the present invention, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described in detail below. This example is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those with average knowledge in the art. Therefore, the shapes of elements in the drawings may be exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description. It should be noted that the same configuration may be indicated by the same reference numeral in each drawing. Detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that are judged to unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention are omitted.

The present invention relates to a charging device for an unmanned aerial vehicle that monitors a transmission line failure, a battery control unit 302 that compares the battery consumption and remaining capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle in real time using 3D spatial information and flight speed, and a flight control unit 302 of the unmanned aerial vehicle. It includes an unmanned aerial vehicle control unit 305 that sets a route, and a wireless charging device 100 that charges using solar or transmission line power. After the battery control unit compares the current remaining amount and predicted consumption, the unmanned aerial vehicle control unit The flight path is set according to the comparison value.

In order to prevent problems such as crash landing accidents due to discharge of the battery 301 of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the battery control unit 302 predicts the consumption required to reach the next charging station along the existing flight path based on 3D spatial information and a given flight speed. This compares it with the current remaining amount in real time. The battery control unit 302 continuously checks the remaining battery capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle (301), and if it is not less than the predicted consumption amount, it flies along the initially set flight path and flies to a pylon (wireless charging device (wireless charging device) included in the flight path in advance). 100) Land at the landing point of the installation site and charge the battery of the unmanned aerial vehicle. However, if the battery 301 of the unmanned aerial vehicle has less remaining power than the predicted consumption due to gusts or flight errors, the unmanned aerial vehicle control unit 305 modifies the flight path (path point 1····n) and The next route point where the wireless charging device 100 is installed becomes the next route point, and the flight begins again according to the set flight path immediately after the route point where the wireless charging device is installed.

Since the purpose of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention is to monitor power transmission lines rather than simply fly, it is necessary to closely monitor all flight paths. Therefore, the above algorithm of re-flying from a route point that could not be reached due to a battery problem can be said to be very important.

The wireless charging device according to the present invention is installed on a transmission tower and includes a control unit 101, a transmission and reception unit 102, a charging unit 105, a GPS device 103, a power supply unit 106, a status display unit 104, and a DB. Includes a construction unit 107. In the case of an unmanned aerial vehicle, the battery control unit 302 determines that the remaining battery power of the unmanned aerial vehicle 301 is lower than expected during operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle control unit 305 modifies the flight path through a predetermined algorithm or modifies the existing flight path. If the next point on the flight path is a charging station, the aircraft lands at a location where the wireless charging device 100 is installed and charges the battery. At this time, tags capable of wireless recognition, such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Tags, are attached to the unmanned aerial vehicles, enabling efficient data management of charging time and charging amount along with ID management for each unmanned aerial vehicle.

The power supply unit 106 is largely composed of two parts. First, a solar module (106-1) is installed and the power generated there is supplied to a large capacity battery. The solar module 106-1 is installed around the wireless charging device 100. Second, as a method of charging using the power from the transmission line of the pylon, a current transformer (CT) (power induction device) 200 is used to transform a certain amount of current from the current flowing in the pylon in the power conversion device 106-2 to produce a large capacity battery. This is a method of supplying power to (106-3). When the weather is cloudy or at night when sunlight is not available, the efficiency of charging through solar power generation decreases. However, if continuous charging is performed using transmission line power as in the second method, continuous operation of the wireless charging device (100) is possible. do. However, the wireless charging device 100 uses solar charging as a priority, but uses current transformer charging only when the efficiency of solar charging decreases for some reason to maintain charging efficiency. Since there are two charging parts, solar charging and current transformer charging, continuous charging is possible even if one charging method fails, thereby increasing the supply reliability of wireless charging.

The charging unit 105 is a charging method using electromagnetic induction, a charging method using magnetic resonance, a method of converting and transmitting and receiving electrical energy into a laser beam, and a method of converting electrical energy into microwaves, which are currently applicable non-contact charging technologies. Enables power transfer through transmission and reception methods. At this time, power is supplied from a large capacity battery (106-3) that has been previously charged in the two ways mentioned above.

In addition, the status display unit 104 is provided to display the charging amount of the wireless charging device in numbers (digital) or color, and the DB construction unit 107 is provided to enable efficient charging data management. Depending on the unmanned aerial vehicle, the charging capacity will be different and the charging time will also be different, so an appropriate charging fee system is needed. The DB building unit 107 in the wireless charging device measures the amount of power supplied to the unmanned aerial vehicle from the charging unit 105 in real time and allows the organization to which the unmanned aerial vehicle belongs to be charged a fee according to the charging amount of the unmanned aerial vehicle. . In addition, it allows signals about various malfunctions that occur in the wireless charging device to be sent to the relevant organization.

1 is an overall flow chart of the present invention. The battery control unit 302 in the unmanned aerial vehicle checks the remaining battery capacity of the battery 301 to determine whether the power is insufficient, and if it determines that the remaining battery capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle is insufficient to reach the next charging station along the existing flight path, the unmanned aerial vehicle starts flight. Change the route. If the flight path is changed in this way or if the next route point is a charging station, move to the steel tower (installation location of the wireless charging device 100) within the track inspection area through the GPS device 303 built into the unmanned aerial vehicle and 3D spatial information modeling. and land at the landing point. When the unmanned aerial vehicle lands safely at the charging location, the battery 301 of the unmanned aerial vehicle is charged by flowing current using the currently applicable non-contact charging technology. After charging, the DB building unit 107 of the wireless charging device stores the charging information included in the charging time and charging amount using an identification tool such as an RFID chip attached to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and then settles the fee to the organization to the user. send to

Thereafter, the control unit 305 of the unmanned aerial vehicle determines whether there are any remaining path points and, if there are any remaining path points, causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to return to the existing path. If there are no route points remaining, a return flight to the affiliated organization is conducted.

Figure 2 shows a flowchart of a wireless charging device and a method of guiding alternative charging stations. First, in standby mode, you wait for the landing signal from the unmanned aerial vehicle. When a landing signal is received, the remaining amount of the large capacity battery 106-3 and the operation of the charging unit 105 are checked to determine whether charging is possible. If charging is possible, the unmanned aerial vehicle lands, charges, and returns to standby. However, if it is determined that charging is not possible, a problem signal is sent to the relevant organization and then guidance is given to an alternative charging station, the method of which is shown in FIG. 3. When the existing route is in the order A-B-C-D-E-F, if an uncharging signal is detected at point B, the charging station, the route point is replaced with the next charging station E, and the existing charging station B is removed from the route. Ultimately, it becomes a path in the order A-E-C-D-F, with G being the path point after F.

Figure 4 shows a flowchart of charging the large capacity battery 106-3. The large-capacity battery charging methods of unmanned charging devices can be broadly divided into two types. First, a solar module (106-1) for charging the unmanned aerial vehicle is installed on the top of the steel tower, and charging is done with the power generated there. The solar module 106-1 is installed around the wireless charging device 100. Second, it is a method of charging using the power of the transmission line by converting a certain current from the current flowing in the tower using a current transformer (CT) (current induction device) 200. First, check whether solar charging is possible, and if not, check whether charging by a current transformer using a line is possible and charge the large capacity battery using a possible charging method. This process continues regardless of whether the unmanned aerial vehicle lands or not. On the other hand, if charging the large capacity battery (106-3) is not possible because both of the above charging methods are not possible, a problem signal is sent to the affiliated organization to induce problem solving.

Figure 5 shows an example of a route change due to insufficient battery power of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The picture of an airplane represents an unmanned aerial vehicle, and the picture of a lightning bolt represents a wireless charging device. It is assumed that the current wireless charging device is located at path point E. When the existing route is in the order A-B-C-D-E-F, if a shortage of remaining power due to external factors is detected at point B, E, the next charging station, is set as the next route point, and C, the existing next route point, is changed to the route point after the charging station. There is no change in the order of the remaining route points, so the route after the change becomes A-B-E-C-D-F, allowing the unmanned aerial vehicle to pass through all route points.

Figure 6 shows the wireless charging point of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The wireless charging device 100 for charging the unmanned aerial vehicle is installed on the top of the steel tower, and the transmission tower (wireless charging device 100) is installed based on 3D spatial information using the GPS device 303 built into the unmanned aerial vehicle. ) to perform takeoff and landing. Additionally, since electromagnetic fields are generated by transmission lines (high voltage, large current), to ensure the stability of the unmanned aerial vehicle, it takes off and lands at a certain distance from the transmission lines. When the electromagnetic field around the unmanned aerial vehicle exceeds the standard recognized within the sensor, alarm information is sent to the operator.

Figure 7 is a configuration diagram of the battery device of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention. In the existing flight path, the next route point is a charging station, or the battery control unit 302 determines that the remaining battery power of the battery 301 is lower than expected during operation of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle control unit 305 determines the flight path through a determined algorithm. If modified, the unmanned aerial vehicle will automatically land at the designated pylon (installation location of the wireless charging unit 306) based on the 3D information space. Afterwards, the battery 301 of the unmanned aerial vehicle begins to be charged through the wireless charging unit 306. The wireless transmitting/receiving unit 304 transmits the charging capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the monitor from the wireless charging unit 306, and if the battery is not charged, track monitoring is stopped and forced to return to the landing point, or if even that is not possible. Put it on standby with the wireless charging device.

Figure 8 is a configuration diagram of a wireless charging device. When the unmanned aerial vehicle lands, the wireless charging device control unit 101 checks whether charging is possible. The charging unit 105 connects power to the large capacity battery 106-3 of the power supply unit 106 and uses electromagnetic induction, which is a non-contact charging technology currently applicable to the battery of an unmanned aerial vehicle. It is possible to transmit power through a charging method using magnetic resonance, a method of charging by converting and transmitting and receiving electrical energy into a laser beam, and a method of converting and receiving electrical energy into a microwave.

The DB construction unit 107 identifies the unmanned aerial vehicle, measures the power supply, calculates the charging amount, and charges the user. The status display unit 104 displays the power method that can currently be supplied to the large capacity battery 106-3 and the remaining capacity of the large capacity battery. The charging capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle's battery is also displayed so that the ground control system (GCS) can check whether it is charged. It is also possible to indicate whether the device is malfunctioning, and in the event of a device malfunction, the wireless transmitter/receiver 102 sends a malfunction signal to the affiliated organization, and also transmits the location of an alternative charging station to other unmanned aerial vehicles to prevent disruption in flight.

Figure 9 shows the power supply unit 106 of the wireless charging device, and Figure 10 shows a conceptual diagram of the charging method for the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.

Power supply methods can be broadly divided into two types. First, a solar module (SOLAR CELL (106-1)) for charging the unmanned aerial vehicle is installed on the top of the steel tower and charged using the power generated there. This method is a photovoltaic cell manufactured for the purpose of converting light energy into electrical energy. It utilizes the phenomenon of photovoltaic electricity being generated by the photoelectric effect when light is applied to the contact surface between a metal and a semiconductor or the p-n junction of a semiconductor. Since solar cells generate very low voltage, the array configuration of solar cell modules configures the voltage through series connection to generate an appropriate voltage and increases the amount of current through a parallel connection circuit. Second, a method of using the power of the transmission line is to charge by converting a constant current flowing in the tower using a CT current transformer 200 (power induction device). The current obtained through these two methods is converted into power suitable for charging the unmanned aerial vehicle through the power conversion device 106-2 and stored in the large capacity battery 106-3. At this time, if both power supply methods are not possible, a failure signal is transmitted to the affiliated organization through the wireless transmitting/receiving unit 102.

Figure 10 is a conceptual diagram of a charging method for an unmanned aerial vehicle according to the present invention.

The present invention is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of GPS-based automatic navigation that models the location topographical information and pylon information of the surveillance target with 3D spatial information to generate a surveillance plan when the work range for patrolling the transmission line before takeoff is determined, and creates a surveillance plan. After creating a flight path (path point 1... In addition, if the unmanned aerial vehicle cannot follow the flight path due to a problem with the remaining battery capacity (301), the flight path is modified to resolve the remaining battery issue and then follow the flight path. 3D spatial information can determine spatial positioning as well as distance on a plane by overlaying satellite photos on a 3D digital map of the area where transmission line surveillance flight services will be performed. In this 3D spatial information, a 3D model of the transmission structure based on the design of an actual transmission tower is applied, so it provides not only connection information and geographic and spatial location relationships of transmission towers and transmission lines, but also the expected battery consumption based on the given flight speed and scheduled flight distance. By judging in three dimensions and adding unmanned charging stations between flight path points to minimize route waste, it can be effectively used to avoid problems such as crash landings due to battery discharge when unmanned aerial vehicles perform transmission line monitoring duties.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and other equivalent embodiments are possible. Therefore, it will be understood that the present invention is not limited to the forms mentioned in the detailed description above. Therefore, the true scope of technical protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the attached patent claims. In addition, the present invention should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents and substitutes within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

100: wireless charging device
101: Wireless charging device control unit
102: wireless transmitting/receiving unit
103: GPS device
104: Status display unit
105: charging part
106: power supply unit
106-1 : SOLAR CELL
106-2: Power conversion device
106-3: Large capacity battery
107: DB Construction Department
200: CT current transformer
301: Battery of unmanned aerial vehicle
302: Battery control unit
303: GPS device/RFID device
304: Wireless transmitting/receiving unit
305: Unmanned aerial vehicle control unit
306: wireless charging unit

Claims (1)

In a method of controlling a charging device for an unmanned aerial vehicle that monitors a failure in a transmission line,
Predicting battery consumption of unmanned aerial vehicles and adding charging stations to the flight path;
Comparing the remaining battery capacity and predicted consumption of the unmanned aerial vehicle;
Flight path correction step; and
Including: moving to the charging station and landing steps;
During the transfer and landing stages to the charging station, the charging station is installed on a transmission tower,
The flight path modification step is,
If the current remaining battery capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle is greater than the predicted consumption, it flies along the set flight path,
If the current remaining battery capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle is less than the predicted consumption, the path point where the wireless charging device is installed is modified to the next path point, and after wireless charging is performed, it flies according to the set flight path,
The charging station has a wireless charging device that charges at the charging unit,
When the wireless charging device detects the landing signal of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the wireless charging device determines whether charging is possible by checking the remaining battery capacity of the power supply unit and whether the charging unit is operating. If charging is determined to be impossible, it sends a problem signal to the affiliated organization. After sending the message, you will be guided to an alternative charging station.
The charging unit receives power from the battery of the power supply unit in the wireless charging device in any one of solar power and transmission line current methods,
The solar method uses photovoltaic power generated by the photoelectric effect through a solar module,
The transmission line current method is used by transforming the transmission line current through a CT current transformer,
A method of controlling a charging device for an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that when power supply through the solar method is impossible, power is supplied through the transmission line current method.