KR20220151271A - A method to prevent the loss of drones in the marine area using a floating system that can be attached to a drone, and the drone - Google Patents

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention may provide a floating system that is installed on a drone and operates when a fall of the drone is detected to provide buoyancy so that the drone floats on the surface of the water, and a drone configured to be detachable from the floating system. The floating system may comprise a tube and a gas supply unit for injecting gas into the tube, and the tube expands by the injected gas so that the drone floats on the surface of the water.

Description

A method to prevent the loss of drones in the marine area using a floating system that can be attached to a drone, and the drone}

The present invention relates to a drone having a detachable floating system and a method for preventing loss of a drone in a marine area using the floating system of the drone.

Drones have been mainly used for military purposes. In recent years, drones have been used in various fields such as logistics delivery, disaster relief, broadcasting leisure, and the like, in addition to military use, due to various advantages such as simplicity, speed, and economy. Although drones have many advantages, it is also a reality that there is a high risk of falling due to changes in the external environment such as wind and inexperience in driving operation. Since drones and various parts belonging to them are very expensive, economic damage due to damage caused by drones is inevitably serious. In addition, when a drone crashes, the risk of secondary damage to persons and objects as well as enormous economic damage due to damage to the drone itself is serious. In particular, if a drone weighing more than 12 kg crashes into a crowd, it can lead to a serious human accident. In addition, if a fall accident occurs at a dangerous facility or highway, there is a high possibility of a major accident, so care must be taken when using it. The cause of these problems is not only functional problems of drones themselves, but also the lack of compliance with safety rules, safety management, and safety awareness for drone use. Recently, various technologies have been applied to drones to solve these problems. Representatively, it relates to a technology for providing a parachute device to a drone for safe landing in case of a drone crash, Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10-1496892, Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0038495, Korean Registered Patent Publication No. 10 It is introduced in issue -2003727.

In addition, along with the above-mentioned problems, a loss of drones has recently emerged significantly. Considering the price increase due to the advancement of drone technology and the high cost of various additional equipment mounted on drones, loss of drones causes great economic losses. In particular, in an environment such as disaster relief, there are many cases where drones fly under bad weather and bad conditions, and the possibility of a drone crash is relatively high. In the case of a drone crash on land, follow-up measures such as repairing the damaged drone can be taken, but in the case of a drone crash in the sea, the drone is completely lost underwater, so follow-up measures are impossible. As described above, it is possible to consider preventing the loss of the drone by providing a parachute device on the drone, but it is difficult to distinguish the difference between the drone covered by the parachute on the sea level and a general floating object, and due to communication failure of the drone submerged in the water, the drone The fact that the entire area estimated as this lost area must be searched, the fact that the drone sinks into the water with the parachute over time due to the weight of the drone, and the function of the drone damaged by repair due to prolonged submersion is restored. Considering the difficulty of doing this, the conventional technology still has many limitations, so a new technology is required.

Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-1496892 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0038495 Republic of Korea Patent Registration No. 10-2003727

In practice, it is possible to provide a floating system that is installed on a drone and operates when a fall of the drone is detected to provide floating force so that the drone floats on the surface of the water.

In another aspect, a floating system including a tube and a gas supply unit injecting gas into the tube, and the tube expands by the injected gas so that the drone floats on the water surface may be provided.

In another aspect, the floating system is in either an automatic control mode in which the altitude of the falling drone becomes a preset altitude to provide buoyancy or a manual control mode in which buoyancy is provided based on a control command signal from an external terminal. Accordingly, a floating system for floating the drone on the surface of the water may be provided.

In another aspect, a floating system configured to be detachable from the drone and detachably attached to the lower side of the drone may be provided.

In another aspect, a floating system installed in a detachable form on the lower side of the drone; and a propeller installed on the drone to provide propulsion for flight of the drone, wherein the floating system is driven when a fall of the drone is detected to provide floating force so that the drone floats on the surface of the water, and the drone A drone in which the propeller rotates to move the drone while floating on the surface of the water may be provided.

In another aspect, a drone that determines whether the inclination of the drone corresponds to a preset range, and moves the drone while floating by rotating the propeller when the inclination of the drone corresponds to the preset range and the drone is balanced. can provide.

In another aspect, when the fall of the drone is detected, tilt information of the drone is monitored until the drone lands on the surface of the water, and when the tilt angle of the drone exceeds a predetermined reference value, a drone that drives a parachute may be provided.

In another aspect, transmitting drone status information to a terminal; monitoring whether a fall of the drone is detected; Inflating a tube installed in the drone by executing an automatic mode when the fall of the drone is detected; determining whether the tube is inflated; and if the tube is not inflated, transmitting information about this to the terminal and inflating the tube by executing a manual control mode in response to a control command signal from the terminal so that the drone floats on the surface of the water. It is possible to provide a method for preventing the loss of a drone in a marine area by using a floating system of a drone.

In another aspect, determining whether the balance of the floating drone is maintained; and when the balance of the floating drone is maintained, executing an automatic recovery mode so that the drone moves while floating. can

In the embodiment, the drone maintains a contracted state in the normal flight mode while minimizing the occurrence of flight resistance, and when the drone crashes in the marine area, the tube expands to float the drone, thereby preventing loss of the drone in the marine area. It can be prevented.

In addition, in the embodiment, the tube serves as a kind of parachute to the air resistance of the tube, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the drone from falling in the reverse direction due to the drone being overturned.

In addition, the embodiment can solve the problem that the tube does not expand according to various causes such as malfunction of the gas supply unit.

In addition, the embodiment can facilitate collection by allowing the fallen drone to move while floating on the water surface.

In addition, the embodiment can prevent the problem of the propeller being damaged due to repeated friction between the propeller and the water when the crashed drone is moving while floating, and the problem of the drone being instantly overturned according to the frictional resistance with the water.

In addition, the embodiment can facilitate collection by enabling the drone to quickly move to a desired target point by using the propeller of the crashed drone as a propulsion generating device for moving the drone while floating.

In addition, in the embodiment, even when communication between the drone and the controller is interrupted due to abnormal operation of the communication device of the drone, the floating system mounted on the drone operates normally so that the drone can float without being lost underwater.

In addition, the embodiment maintains the normal position of the drone by monitoring the tilt information of the falling drone and operating the parachute system as necessary to prevent the drone from falling to the water surface in an abnormal position such as overturning, and according to the expansion of the tube. It allows it to float stably on the surface of the water.

1 shows a perspective view of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between main components of the drone of FIG. 1 .
3 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between a drone, a terminal, and a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 to 7 are block diagrams of floating systems according to various embodiments. And, Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the gas supply unit for explaining the gas supply unit. And, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the shape of an exemplary tube.
10 shows a drone flying in an ocean area with a river.
11 schematically depicts a drone falling (a), a floating system driving (b), and a drone moving while floating (c).
12 is a flowchart of a method for preventing loss of a drone in a marine area using a drone floating system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
13 is a flowchart of a method for preventing loss of a drone in a marine area using a drone floating system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
14 is a schematic diagram illustrating expansion of a partial region of a drone tube and movement of a drone while floating.
15 schematically illustrates a floating system communicating with a terminal according to various embodiments of the present invention.
16 is a schematic diagram for explaining a parachute driving process of a drone equipped with a parachute system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Since the present invention can apply various transformations and have various embodiments, specific embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. Effects and features of the present invention, and methods for achieving them will become clear with reference to the embodiments described later in detail together with the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various forms. In the following embodiments, terms such as first and second are used for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another component without limiting meaning. Also, expressions in the singular number include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In addition, terms such as include or have mean that features or elements described in the specification exist, and do not preclude the possibility that one or more other features or elements may be added. In addition, in the drawings, the size of components may be exaggerated or reduced for convenience of explanation. For example, since the size and thickness of each component shown in the drawings are arbitrarily shown for convenience of description, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the illustrated bar.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, and when describing with reference to the drawings, the same or corresponding components are assigned the same reference numerals, and overlapping descriptions thereof will be omitted. .

- drone

1 shows a perspective view of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The drone 100 is manually operated by a manager or automatically controlled by a set flight program to fly unmanned. As shown in FIG. 1, the drone 100 includes a main body 20, horizontal and vertical movement propulsion devices 10, and landing legs 30. In particular, the drone 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a floating system 200 that provides buoyancy to allow the drone 100 to float on the surface of the water.

The horizontal and vertical movement propulsion device 10 is composed of one or more propellers 11 installed vertically on the main body 20, and the horizontal and vertical movement propulsion device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention are spaced apart from each other It consists of a plurality of propellers 11 and motors 12. Here, the horizontal and vertical movement propulsion device 10 may be formed of an air injection type propulsion structure other than the propeller 11.

According to various embodiments, the plurality of propellers 11 and the motor 12 may have a waterproof function to prevent damage caused by liquid during sudden rain or when floating on the water surface, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

A plurality of propeller supports may be radially formed in the main body 20 . A motor 12 may be mounted on each propeller support, and a propeller 11 may be mounted on each motor 12.

The plurality of propellers 11 may be arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the main body 20, but are not limited thereto. Also, the rotation direction of the motor 12 may be determined so that the rotation direction of the plurality of propellers 11 is a combination of clockwise and counterclockwise directions. Rotation directions of the pair of propellers 11 symmetrical about the center of the main body 20 may be set to be the same (for example, clockwise). In addition, the other pair of propellers 11 may rotate in opposite directions (for example, counterclockwise).

The landing legs 30 are spaced apart from each other on the bottom surface of the main body 20 . In addition, a buffer support member (not shown) may be mounted on the lower part of the landing leg 30 to minimize impact caused by a collision with the ground when the drone 100 lands, but is not limited thereto. Of course, the drone 100 may be configured with various structures other than those described above.

- Control relationship of drone components

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between main components of the drone of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , the drone 100 measures its own flight state using various sensors in order to fly stably. The drone 100 may include a sensing unit 130 including at least one sensor. The flight state of the drone 100 is defined as a rotational state and a translational state. The rotational motion state means 'yaw', 'pitch', and 'roll', and the translational motion state means longitude, latitude, altitude, and speed. Here, 'roll', 'pitch', and 'yaw' are called Euler angles, and the drone aircraft coordinates x, y, and z three axes are certain specific coordinates, for example, NED coordinates N, E, and D Indicates the angle rotated about an axis. When the front of the drone 100 rotates left and right based on the z-axis of the aircraft coordinates, the x-axis of the aircraft coordinates has an angular difference with respect to the N-axis of the NED coordinates, and this angle is called "yaw" (Ψ). When the front of the drone 100 rotates up and down based on the y-axis directed to the right, the z-axis of the aircraft coordinates has an angle difference with respect to the D-axis of the NED coordinates, and this angle is called "pitch" (θ) . When the drone 100 tilts left and right with respect to the front-facing x-axis, the y-axis of the aircraft coordinates has an angle with respect to the E-axis of the NED coordinates, and this angle is referred to as "roll" (Φ).

The drone 100 uses 3-axis gyro sensors (Gyroscopes), 3-axis accelerometers, and 3-axis geomagnetic sensors (Magnetometers) to measure the rotational motion state, and uses a GPS sensor and a GPS sensor to measure the translational motion state. A barometric pressure sensor may be used.

The sensing unit 130 of the present invention may include at least one of a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, a GPS sensor, an image sensor, and an air pressure sensor. Here, the gyro sensor and the acceleration sensor measure the rotated state and the accelerated state of the body frame coordinates of the drone 100 with respect to the earth centered inertial coordinates, MEMS (MicroElectro-Mechanical Systems) It can also be manufactured as a single chip called an inertial measurement unit (IMU) using semiconductor process technology. In addition, inside the IMU chip, there is a microcontroller that converts the measurements based on the Earth's inertial coordinates measured by the gyro sensor and the acceleration sensor into local coordinates, for example, NED (North-East-Down) coordinates used by GPS. can be included The gyro sensor measures the rotational angular velocity of the three axes x, y, and z of the drone 100 with respect to the earth inertial coordinates, and converts the values (Wx.gyro, Wy.gyro, Wz.gyro) into fixed coordinates. Calculate and convert this value to Euler angles (Φgyro, θgyro, ψgyro) using a linear differential equation.

The acceleration sensor measures the acceleration with respect to the earth inertial coordinates of the three axes of x, y, and z of the drone 100's aircraft coordinates, and then calculates the values (fx,acc, fy,acc, fz,acc) converted to fixed coordinates, This value is converted into 'roll (Φacc)' and 'pitch (θacc)', and these values are calculated using the measurement value of the gyro sensor, and the bias error included in 'roll (Φgyro)' and 'pitch (θgyro)' used to remove

The geomagnetic sensor measures the direction of the drone 100 with respect to the magnetic north point of the three axes x, y, and z of the aircraft coordinates, and calculates the 'yaw' value for the NED coordinates of the aircraft coordinates using this value.

The GPS sensor uses signals received from GPS satellites to determine the translational motion state of the drone 100 on NED coordinates, that is, latitude (Pn.GPS), longitude (Pe.GPS), altitude (hMSL.GPS), and speed on latitude. (Vn.GPS), speed on longitude (Ve.GPS), and speed on altitude (Vd.GPS) are calculated. Here, the subscript MSL means mean sea level (MSL). The air pressure sensor may measure the altitude (hALP.baro) of the drone 100 . Here, the subscript ALP means air-level pressor, and the air pressure sensor calculates the current altitude from the take-off point by comparing the air pressure at the time of take-off of the drone 100 with the air pressure at the current flight altitude.

The camera sensor includes an image sensor (eg, CMOS image sensor) including at least one optical lens and a plurality of photodiodes (eg, pixels) forming an image by light passing through the optical lens; A digital signal processor (DSP) for composing an image based on signals output from the photodiodes may be included. The digital signal processor can create not only still images, but also moving images composed of frames composed of still images.

The drone 100 may include a communication module 170 that receives or receives information and outputs or transmits information. The communication module 170 may include a drone communication unit 175 that transmits and receives information with other external devices. The communication module 170 may include an input unit 171 for inputting information. The communication module 170 may include an output unit 173 that outputs information. Of course, the output unit 173 may be omitted in the drone 100 and formed in the terminal 300.

For example, the drone 100 may directly receive information from the input unit 171. As another example, the drone 100 may receive information input to a separate terminal 300 or the server 400 through the drone communication unit 175. For example, the drone 100 may directly output information to the output unit 173. As another example, the drone 100 may transmit information to a separate terminal 300 through the drone communication unit 175 so that the terminal 300 outputs the information.

The drone communication unit 175 may be provided to communicate with an external server 400, terminal 300, and the like. The drone communication unit 175 may receive information input from the terminal 300 such as a smartphone, computer, remote control device, or controller. The drone communication unit 175 may transmit information to be output to the terminal 300 . The terminal 300 may output information received from the drone communication unit 175. The drone communication unit 175 may receive various command signals from the terminal 300 or/and the server 400. The drone communication unit 175 may receive area information for driving, a driving route, a driving command, and a control command signal for driving the floating system 200 from the terminal 300 or/and the server 400 . Here, the zone information may include flight restriction zone information and access restriction distance information.

The input unit 171 may receive On/Off or various commands. The input unit 171 may receive area information. In addition, the input unit 171 may receive various types of information. The input unit 171 may include various buttons, a touch pad, or a microphone.

The output unit 173 may inform the user of various types of information. The output unit 173 may include a speaker and/or a display. The output unit 173 may output information on a found object detected while driving. The output unit 173 may output identification information of a found object. The output unit 173 may output location information of a found object. In addition, the output unit 173 may emit light in a color for the user to easily identify the drone 100 when the drone 100 crashes.

The drone 100 includes a controller 140 that processes and determines various information such as mapping and/or recognizing a current location. The controller 140 may control the overall operation of the drone 100 through control of various elements constituting the drone 100 .

The controller 140 may receive and process information from the communication module 170 . The controller 140 may receive and process information from the input unit 171 . The control unit 140 may receive and process information from the drone communication unit 175.

The control unit 140 may receive and process sensing information from the sensing unit 130 .

The controller 140 may control driving of the motor 12 . The controller 140 may control the operation of the work unit 40 . In some embodiments, the controller 140 may control the motors 12 independently of each other and may control the rotation speed of the motor 12 .

The drone 100 includes a storage unit 150 for storing various data. The storage unit 150 records various information necessary for controlling the drone 100, and may include a volatile or non-volatile recording medium.

Map information on a driving area may be stored in the storage unit 150 . The map information may be input by the external terminal 300 capable of exchanging information through the drone 100 and the drone communication unit 175, or may be generated by the drone 100 through self-learning. In the former case, the external terminal 300 may include, for example, a remote controller, a PDA, a laptop, a smart phone, a tablet, a drone controller, etc. loaded with an application for setting a map.

- Control relationship between devices

3 is a block diagram illustrating a control relationship between a drone, a terminal, and a server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3 , the drone 100, the terminal 300, and the server 400 may be connected to each other through a wireless communication method. Wireless communication methods include GSM (Global System for Mobile communication), CDMA (Code Division Multi Access), CDMA2000 (Code Division Multi Access 2000), EV-DO (Enhanced Voice-Data Optimized or Enhanced Voice-Data Only), WCDMA (Wideband) CDMA), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), etc. may be used, but are not limited thereto.

As a wireless communication method, wireless Internet technology may be used. Wireless Internet technologies include, for example, WLAN (Wireless LAN), Wi-Fi (Wireless-Fidelity), Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) Direct, DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance), WiBro (Wireless Broadband), WiMAX (World Interoperability for Microwave Access), High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), and 5G. In particular, faster response is possible by transmitting and receiving data using the 5G communication network.

- Floating system

4 to 7 are block diagrams of floating systems according to various embodiments. And, Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the gas supply unit for explaining the gas supply unit. And, Figure 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the shape of an exemplary tube.

Referring to FIG. 4 , the floating system 200 of the drone 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention may be installed below the main body 20 of the drone 100. In some embodiments, in order to minimize the phenomenon that the falling drone 100 is severely tilted, the floating system 200 is mounted on the drone 100 so that the center of gravity of the drone 100 is in the direction of the lower center of the drone 100. ) can be mounted. The floating system 200 may be configured in a detachable form from the main body 20 . When the marine area is included in the flight area of the drone 100, the floating system 200 is mounted on the drone 100 before the drone 100 flies in order to prevent the drone 100 from being lost in the marine area during flight. can do. In another aspect, when the marine area is not included in the flight area of the drone 100, the drone 100 may fly in a state in which the floating system 200 is not mounted.

In various embodiments, a user may manually attach and detach the floating system 200 to the drone 100, but is not limited thereto, and the embodiment automatically attaches and detaches the floating system 200 and the drone 100 on a separately provided docking system. It may be configured to perform a detachable function. Therefore, the drone 100 lands on a docking system provided in a nearby area before entering the marine area on the flight path based on a command signal from the controller and/or according to a preset flight algorithm during flight, and the floating system 200 Combined with, the drone 100 may fly in the marine area with the floating system 200 mounted thereon.

When the floating system 200 is connected to the main body 20, it may be paired with the control unit 140 of the drone 100. In various embodiments, the controller 140 may detect whether the floating system 200 and the body 20 are attached or detached.

The floating system 200 may include a floating controller 210 , a tube 220 and a gas supply unit 230 . In various embodiments, the floating controller 210 may be defined as being included in the aforementioned controller 140 . That is, the function of the floating controller 210 described below may be performed by the controller 140, but is not limited thereto.

The tube 220 may expand by a predetermined size by the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 230 . The degree of expansion of the tube 220 may be such that the drone 100 can float in the water without sinking. In addition, the tube 220 may expand in at least one of forward, backward, left and right directions so that the drone 100 does not tilt or overturn on the surface of the water. In some embodiments, the tube 220 is divided into multiple regions and these multiple regions may expand independently of each other.

The gas providing unit 230 may instantaneously provide gas to the tube based on a control command signal from the floating controller 210 .

Referring further to FIG. 8 , according to various embodiments, the gas supply unit 230 may include a cartridge 231 , a cylinder 232 and a motor unit 233 .

The cylinder 232 may compress and store gas and may be inserted into the cartridge 231 . The cylinder 232 may be configured as a replacement type for the cartridge 231 . By way of example, the cylinder 232 may store CO2 gas, but is not limited thereto.

The cartridge 231 accommodates the cylinder 232 and the cylinder 232 can be triggered by an internal triggering needle by the operation of the motor unit 233 . And, the cylinder 232 may eject the stored compressed gas by percussion. The motor unit 233 is connected to the cartridge 231 and can operate the percussion system in the cartridge 231 by pulling a string connecting the cartridge 231 and the motor unit 233 according to driving of the built-in motor.

In some embodiments, a plurality of gas supply units 230 may be provided, and gas may be injected into each of a plurality of independently expanding tubes.

Referring to FIG. 5 , in the floating system 200 according to various embodiments, the floating controller 210 may control the gas supply unit 230 based on a control command signal from the controller 140 . Exemplarily, the controller 140 determines whether the drone 100 has fallen based on the sensing information of the sensing unit 130, and whether the current location of the drone 100 is in a marine area such as a river, sea, or lake. can judge The control unit 140 determines that the drone 100 is currently falling within the marine area, and when the altitude of the drone 100 reaches a preset altitude, a control signal instructing the execution of tube expansion is transmitted to the floating control unit 210. can transmit In various embodiments, the above-described predetermined altitude may be preset based on the time taken for the tube of the falling drone 100 to expand and the drone 100 to turn over due to the air resistance of the tube. In various embodiments, the tube may be inflated when the falling drone 100 is in a position where the vertical distance from the water surface is within several meters.

Referring to FIG. 6 , according to various embodiments, the terminal 300 may communicate with the drone communication unit 175 to transmit a control signal commanding execution of tube expansion to the drone 100 . In response to this, the control unit 140 provides the floating control unit 210 with a control signal instructing the tube to expand, so that the floating control unit 210 allows the gas supply unit 230 to operate.

In some embodiments, the floating controller 210 may detect whether or not the tube 220 is inflated. The floating controller 210 may transmit a tube expansion completion signal to the controller 140 when the expansion of the tube 220 is detected. In various embodiments, the controller 140 may transmit a tube expansion completion signal to the terminal 300 in response to receiving the tube expansion completion signal.

Referring to FIG. 7 , the floating system 200 according to various embodiments may further include a water landing detection sensor unit 240 . The floating control unit 210 determines whether the drone 100 has landed on the surface of the water based on the sensing information from the surface landing detection sensor unit 240, and if it is determined that the drone 100 has landed on the surface of the water, the gas supply unit 230 ) to cause the tube 220 to expand. The surface landing detection sensor unit 240 according to various embodiments may include the above-described sensing unit 130 and one sensor device.

Referring to FIG. 9 , as shown in (a), the tube 220 may be divided into a body corresponding region 229, a front expansion region 221, and a rear expansion region 222. Each of the front inflation area 221 and the rear inflation area 222 may be in a folded state rolled toward the main body corresponding area 229 . Each of the front expansion area 221 and the rear expansion area 222 may expand while being rolled up by the injected gas.

Each of the front expansion area 221 and the rear expansion area 222 according to various embodiments may be independently inflated, and the front expansion area 221 and the rear expansion area 222 are controlled by the floating controller 210. Either one of them may expand.

According to various embodiments, as shown in (b), tube 220 has body counterpart region 229, front inflation region 221 and rear inflation region 222 as well as right inflation region 223 and left inflation region. (224) may be further included. Each of the expansion regions 221 , 222 , 223 , and 224 may be in a folded state rolled toward the body corresponding region 229 . In addition, the front expansion area 221 can expand forward, the rear expansion area 222 can expand backward, the right expansion area 223 can expand rightward, and the left expansion area 224 can expand leftward by the injected gas. .

Each of the expansion areas 221 , 222 , 223 , and 224 according to various embodiments may be independently inflated, or only one or more may be inflated under the control of the floating controller 210 .

In the normal flight mode of the drone 100, the tube 220 maintains a contracted state to minimize flight resistance, and when the drone 100 crashes in a marine area, the tube 220 is inflated so that the drone 100 by floating to prevent loss in the maritime domain.

- How to prevent the loss of drones in the marine area using the drone's floating system

10 shows a drone flying in an ocean area with a river, and FIG. 11 schematically depicts a drone's fall (a), a floating system's operation (b), and a drone's movement while floating (c). will be. 12 is a flowchart of a method for preventing loss of a drone in a marine area using a drone floating system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a drone floating system according to another embodiment of the present invention. It is a flow chart of a method for preventing the loss of drones in the marine area using

Referring to FIGS. 2, 6, and 10 to 12, a method for preventing loss of a drone in a marine area using a drone floating system according to an embodiment of the present invention (S100) includes transmitting drone state information. (S101), monitoring whether a fall is detected (S102), executing an automatic mode (S103), determining whether or not the tube is inflated (S104), executing a manual control mode (S105) or receiving drone status information. It may include transmitting (S106).

One) Transmitting drone status information (S101)

The drone 100 may periodically transmit its own flight state information to the terminal 300 or may transmit its own flight state information in response to a request from the terminal 300 .

Information about the flight state of the drone 100, such as altitude information of the drone 100, movement speed information of the drone 100, and location information of the drone 100, may be displayed on the terminal 300.

2) A step of monitoring whether a fall is detected (S102)

The drone 100 may fall due to various causes such as changes in external environments such as wind and inexperience in driving operation. Therefore, the control unit 140 of the drone 100 may continuously monitor whether or not the drone 100 has fallen based on the sensing information of the sensing unit 130 .

When the fall of the drone 100 is detected, the controller 140 may notify the terminal 300 that the drone 100 is currently in a fallen state.

3) Automatic control mode execution step (S103)

When determining that the drone 100 is falling based on the sensing information of the sensing unit 130, the control unit 140 may enter an automatic control mode execution step.

The automatic control mode execution step is a driving step of the floating system 200. The control unit 140 may transmit a control signal instructing the floating control unit 210 to execute a floating operation, and the floating control unit 210 responds to the control signal to the floating control unit 210. The gas supply unit 230 may be operated to inflate the 220 .

According to various embodiments, the floating system 200 may determine whether the drone 100 has fallen by itself and perform an operation for inflating the tube 220 .

According to various embodiments, the controller 140 may enter an automatic mode execution step when the drone 100 reaches a predetermined height from the ground when it is determined that the drone 100 is falling. That is, the air resistance of the tube 220 as the tube 220 expands at a high altitude by enabling the automatic mode to be executed when the drone 100 is at an appropriate height (for example, when the drone 100 approaches the surface of the water). The tube 220 serves as a kind of parachute, and as a result, the drone 100 is overturned to prevent the drone 100 from falling in the reverse direction.

4) Step of determining whether the tube is inflated (S104)

After executing the automatic mode, the floating control unit 210 may check whether the tube 220 is inflated. The tube 220 may not expand according to various causes such as malfunction of the gas supply unit 230 . In this case, the floating controller 210 may transmit information about the unexpansion of the tube 220 to the terminal 300 .

5) Run manual control mode (S105)

When information about the unexpansion of the tube 220 is displayed on the terminal 300, the user's terminal 300 may transmit a tube expansion command signal to the drone 100. However, it is not limited thereto, and the terminal 300 may directly transmit a tube expansion command signal to the floating system 200 .

The floating controller 210 may expand the tube 220 by operating the gas supply unit 230 in response to the tube expansion command signal received from the terminal 300 .

In various embodiments, in order to prevent a problem in that the tube 220 does not expand due to a malfunction of the gas supply unit 230, the gas supply unit 230 may include a main gas supply unit and an auxiliary gas supply unit. The main gas supply unit is a device that operates according to the automatic mode execution and injects gas into the tube 220, and the auxiliary gas supply unit may be an auxiliary device that injects gas into the tube 220 according to the manual execution mode.

6) Transmitting drone status information (S106)

The drone 100 may transmit current state information of the drone 100 to the terminal 300 when the expansion of the tube 220 is completed by executing the automatic control mode or the manual control mode.

On the terminal 300, the drone 100 floating in the marine area may be collected based on the state information received from the drone 100.

According to various embodiments, the terminal 300 may transmit a collection control command signal to the drone 100 floating on the surface of the water. The drone 100 may operate and move in a pre-programmed sequence based on reception of the collection control command signal. Illustratively, when the propeller 11 of the floating drone 100 is driven, the drone 100 cannot float in the air because the air resistance in the downward direction according to the driving of the water surface and the propeller 11 is weaker than that of the ground. You can move forward. According to various embodiments, at least some of the plurality of propellers 11 provided in the drone 100 and the remaining parts are separated and operated independently of each other so that the drone 100 moves in one of various directions. can do. In some embodiments, the drone 100 may move to the vicinity of the first flight point by moving in a reverse direction based on previously recorded information about the moving direction, and accordingly, the user may collect the drone 100.

According to some embodiments, location information of the drone 100 is displayed on the terminal 300, and the drone 100 is remotely controlled through the terminal 300 to specify the drone 100 to a location where the user can easily collect it. direction can be moved.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 6, and 10 to 13, a method (S200) of preventing loss of a drone in a marine area using a drone floating system according to another embodiment of the present invention includes transmitting drone status information. Step (S201), monitoring whether a fall is detected (S202), executing automatic mode (S203), determining whether or not the tube is inflated (S204), executing manual control mode (S205) or drone status information transmitting (S206), determining whether or not the balance of the floating drone is maintained (S207), executing an automatic recovery mode if the balance of the drone is maintained (S208), and standby if the balance of the drone is not maintained A step of executing the mode (S209) may be included. Hereinafter, steps different from those of the above-described embodiment will be described in detail.

One) Transmitting drone status information (S206)

The drone 100 may transmit current state information of the drone 100 to the terminal 300 when the expansion of the tube 220 is completed by executing the automatic control mode or the manual control mode.

2) Determining whether the balance of the floating drone is maintained (S207)

The control unit 140 of the drone 100 may determine whether or not the drone 100 maintains a balance within a predetermined range based on tilt angle information of the drone 100 .

Such determination may be made periodically and repeatedly.

The inclination angle of the drone 100 may change every moment according to the state of the water surface (eg, wave or current speed) in the marine area, which is the point where the drone 100 crashes.

The control unit 140 may determine that the drone 100 maintains balance when the information on the change in the inclination angle of the drone 100 is within a preset range for a preset time period, and the drone 100 maintains a balance for a preset time period. When information on the change in tilted angle of is out of a preset range, it may be determined that the drone 100 is not maintaining balance.

3) When the balance of the drone is maintained, the step of executing the automatic recovery mode (S208)

When determining that the drone 100 maintains balance, the controller 140 may execute an automatic recovery mode.

According to the automatic recovery mode, the propeller 11 of the drone 100 is driven to move to the position received from the terminal 300 while floating on the surface of the water. According to various embodiments, according to the automatic recovery mode, the propeller 11 of the drone 100 may be driven and moved to a preset position.

In some embodiments, the control unit 140 may periodically determine whether the balance of the floating and moving drone is maintained based on the sensing information of the sensing unit 130 after the automatic recovery mode step is executed.

4) Executing a standby mode if the balance of the drone is not maintained (S209)

The controller 140 may execute a standby mode when it is determined that the drone 100 does not maintain balance. In addition, the control unit 140 may periodically determine whether the balance of the floating drone is maintained based on the sensing information of the sensing unit 130, and if the balance of the drone 100 is maintained, the drone 100 immediately It can be switched to the automatic recovery mode execution step (S208).

In the embodiment, it is possible to determine whether to perform an operation in which the drone 100 moves while floating on the surface of the water according to the balance state of the drone 100 . In detail, when the inclination of the drone 100 is imbalanced according to waves, flow speed, current conditions, etc., or when waves repeatedly hit the drone 100, repeated friction between the rapidly rotating propeller 11 and water Due to this, it is possible to prevent the problem that the propeller 11 is damaged and the problem that the drone 100 is instantly overturned according to the friction resistance with water.

14 is a schematic diagram illustrating expansion of a partial region of a drone tube and movement of a drone while floating.

Referring to FIG. 9(a) and FIG. 14 , only the front expansion area 221 of the tube 220 of the drone 100 may expand. In some embodiments, when the drone 100 falls, the entire tube 220 expands according to the execution of the automatic control mode, and when the drone 100 floats stably on the water surface, the gas injected into the rear expansion area 222 may be emitted. Accordingly, only the front inflation region 221 can maintain an inflated state.

As only the front inflation area 221 expands, the drone 100 tilts backward, and as a result, at least some of the propellers of the propeller 11, eg, the rear propeller among the front propeller 11a and the rear propeller 11b ( At least part of the area of 11b) is submerged in water. When it is determined that at least a portion of the rear propeller 11b is submerged in water based on the inclination information of the drone 100, the controller 140 may generate driving force by rotating the rear propeller 11b. In some embodiments, the rotational speed of the rear propeller 11b may be lower than the rotational speed during low-speed flight. In some embodiments, when the rear propeller 11b is composed of a plurality of propellers spaced apart from each other, the rotational speed of each of the plurality of propellers is adjusted or only one propeller rotates so that the drone 100 moves while floating. You can also control the direction.

In the embodiment, by using the propeller 11 as a propulsion generating device for moving the drone 100 while floating, the drone 100 can quickly move to a desired target point, thereby facilitating collection.

15 schematically illustrates a floating system communicating with a terminal according to various embodiments of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 15 , the floating system 200 includes a floating control unit 210, a tube 220, a gas supply unit 230, a surface landing detection sensor unit 240, a floating communication unit 250, and a power supply unit 260. can include The gas supply unit 230 may include a cartridge 231, a cylinder 232 into which gas is injected, a motor 233, and a triggering device 235. The cartridge 231 is connected to the cylinder 232, the gas in the cylinder 232 is discharged into the cartridge 231 by the percussion device 235 in the cartridge 231, and the tube 220 connected to the cartridge 231 The ejected gas is injected. The triggering device 235 may include a pressing unit 235a, a triggering needle 235b, a recovery unit 235c, and an acquisition unit 235d. The pressing part 235a is connected to the motor 233 and may move in a direction closer to the cylinder 232 according to driving of the motor 233 . In addition, the recovery unit 235c that generates an elastic force proportional to the movement of the pressing unit 235a so that the pressing unit 235a moving in a direction closer to the motor 233 returns to the original position by the elastic force, the pressing unit 235a ) can be installed on one side of the The trigger needle 235b is installed on the other side of the pressurizing part 235a facing the gas output area of the cylinder 232, and as the pressurizing part 235a moves in a direction closer to the cylinder 232, the trigger needle 235b ) may physically penetrate the gas output region of the cylinder 232 and be inserted into the cylinder 232 . In addition, the pressing part 235a is returned to the distal position by the elastic force applied to the pressing part 235a, and the percussion needle 235b is withdrawn from the cylinder 232, and the gas is discharged through the physically opened gas output area. can

In addition, the water landing detection sensor unit 240 may detect moisture introduced through the inlet 235d as the drone 100 crashes on the surface of the water.

As described in the previous embodiment, the floating control unit 210 of the floating system 200 may be operated by the control unit 140 of the drone, but is not limited thereto. A preset process may be performed based on sensing information of and/or a command signal received from the terminal 300 . Accordingly, the floating system 200 may determine that the drone 100 has crashed into the ocean area when the water landing detection sensor unit 240 detects moisture, and may perform an operation to inflate the tube 220 . In addition, the floating system 200 is configured to inflate the tube 220 based on a command signal from the terminal 300 received through the floating communication unit 250 even when the drone 100 is in a communication disabled state. You can also perform actions.

16 is a schematic diagram for explaining a parachute driving process of a drone equipped with a parachute system according to another embodiment of the present invention.

7 and 16 , the drone 100 according to another embodiment of the present invention may further include a parachute system 500. The parachute system 500 may be configured independently of the floating system 200, but is not limited thereto and may be included in the floating system 200. The parachute system 500 is embedded based on a control command signal from the controller 140 of the drone 100, a control command signal from the floating controller 210, and/or a control command signal from the terminal 300 according to the parachute driving process. The parachute can be deployed. For example, when the fall of the drone 100 is detected, the control unit 140 of the drone 100 monitors the tilt information (angle) of the drone 100 until the drone 100 lands on the surface of the water and monitors the tilt information (angle) of the drone 100. When the inclination angle is equal to or greater than a predetermined reference value, the parachute system 500 may instruct the parachute system 500 to open the parachute. In some embodiments, the floating controller 210 causes the parachute system 500 to parachute when the inclination angle of the drone 100 exceeds a preset reference value based on the location information of the drone 100 received from the controller 140. You can instruct the action to unfold. In some embodiments, the parachute system 500 may itself sense the degree of inclination of the drone 100, which is a criterion for driving the parachute to open. In some embodiments, parachute deployment operation may be initiated based on a control command signal from the terminal 300 . The preset reference value of the aforementioned inclination angle may be 60 degrees, but is not limited thereto. When the falling drone 100 is tilted more than a reference value, the tilt of the drone 100 is normalized by unfolding the parachute, and the drone 100 is guided to land stably on the surface of the water. In addition, according to the expansion of the tube 220, the drone 100 can stably float on the surface of the water without being submerged in the water. It may be implemented in the form of instructions and recorded on a computer readable recording medium. The computer readable recording medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. Program instructions recorded on the computer-readable recording medium may be specially designed and configured for the present invention, or may be known and usable to those skilled in the art of computer software. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROMs and DVDs, and magneto-optical media such as floptical disks. medium), and hardware devices specially configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include high-level language codes that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like as well as machine language codes generated by a compiler. A hardware device may be modified with one or more software modules to perform processing according to the present invention and vice versa.

Specific implementations described in the present invention are examples and do not limit the scope of the present invention in any way. For brevity of the specification, description of conventional electronic components, control systems, software, and other functional aspects of the systems may be omitted. In addition, the connection of lines or connecting members between the components shown in the drawings are examples of functional connections and / or physical or circuit connections, which can be replaced in actual devices or additional various functional connections, physical connection, or circuit connections. In addition, if there is no specific reference such as “essential” or “important”, it may not be a component necessarily required for the application of the present invention.

In addition, the detailed description of the present invention described has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, but those skilled in the art or those having ordinary knowledge in the art will find the spirit of the present invention described in the claims to be described later. And it will be understood that the present invention can be variously modified and changed without departing from the technical scope. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification, but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (9)

Installed on a drone and driven when a fall of the drone is detected to provide buoyancy so that the drone floats on the water surface
floating system. According to claim 1,
Including a tube and a gas supply unit for injecting gas into the tube,
The tube expands by the injected gas so that the drone floats on the water surface.
floating system.. According to claim 2,
The floating system moves the drone according to either an automatic control mode in which the altitude of the falling drone reaches a preset altitude to provide buoyancy, or a manual control mode in which buoyancy is provided based on a control command signal from an external terminal. floating on the surface
floating system. According to claim 3,
configured to be detachable from the drone and detachably attached to the lower side of the drone
floating system. A floating system installed in a detachable form on the lower side of the drone; and
A propeller installed on the drone to provide propulsion for flight of the drone;
The floating system,
When the fall of the drone is detected, it is driven to provide buoyancy so that the drone floats on the water surface;
The propeller rotates to move the drone while the drone floats on the surface of the water.
drone. According to claim 5,
Determining whether the tilt of the drone corresponds to a preset range;
Moving the drone while floating by rotating the propeller when the tilt of the drone corresponds to a preset range and the drone is balanced
drone. According to claim 5,
When the fall of the drone is detected, the tilt information of the drone is monitored until the drone lands on the surface of the water, and the parachute is driven when the tilt angle of the drone exceeds a preset reference value.
drone. Transmitting drone status information to a terminal;
monitoring whether a fall of the drone is detected;
Inflating a tube installed in the drone by executing an automatic mode when the fall of the drone is detected;
determining whether the tube is inflated; and
If the tube is not inflated, transmitting information about this to the terminal and inflating the tube by executing a manual control mode in response to a control command signal from the terminal so that the drone floats on the water surface; including doing
A method for preventing the loss of a drone in the marine area using a drone's floating system. According to claim 8,
Determining whether the balance of the floating drone is maintained; and
Executing an automatic recovery mode when the balance of the floating drone is maintained so that the drone moves while floating; further comprising
A method for preventing the loss of a drone in the marine area using a drone's floating system.

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