WO2020011013A1

WO2020011013A1 - Water-resistant unmanned aerial vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2020011013A1
Application number: PCT/CN2019/092789
Authority: WO
Inventors: 罗东东; 孙维; 张海浪
Original assignee: 深圳市道通智能航空技术有限公司
Priority date: 2018-07-11
Filing date: 2019-06-25
Publication date: 2020-01-16
Also published as: CN208868291U

Abstract

A water-resistant unmanned aerial vehicle (100) comprises: a fuselage (10); an arm (20) connected to the fuselage; a motor (302) provided at the arm; and a propeller (304) connected to a rotary shaft of the motor. wherein a receptacle (202) is formed at one end of the arm connected to the motor, a shaft hole is formed at an upper wall of the receptacle. The motor is received in the receptacle. One end of the rotary shaft of the motor extends out of the arm from the shaft hole. The above arrangement enables an unmanned aerial vehicle to prevent water from entering a motor by means of an arm, thereby increasing the level of protection and improving safety performance of the motor of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and accordingly allowing the unmanned aerial vehicle to operate on a rainy day or under water and adapt to various flight environments.

Description

Waterproof drone

Related applications cross-reference

This application claims priority from a Chinese patent application filed on July 11, 2018 with an application number of 201821097742.0 and an application name of "waterproof drone", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to the technical field of drones, and in particular, to a waterproof drone.

Background technique

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is an unmanned aircraft that controls flight attitude through radio remote control equipment and built-in programs. Due to its advantages such as maneuverability, fast response, unmanned operation, and low operating requirements, etc. , Has been widely used in aerial photography, plant protection, power inspection, disaster relief and many other fields.

Generally, a drone drives a propeller to rotate through a motor mounted on the arm, and completes various flight attitudes by controlling the rotation of the propeller.

In the process of implementing the present invention, the inventors found that at present, the motor of a drone is usually exposed to the air, and when it is running in rain or underwater, it is easy to be damaged by moisture and reduce its service life, so that Drones are not convenient to work in rain or underwater, and it is difficult to adapt to different flying environments.

Summary of the invention

In view of this, the embodiments of the present invention provide a waterproof drone, which can enhance the waterproof protection of the motor of the drone, enhance the waterproof performance of the drone, and enable it to work in rain or underwater, which is suitable for different Flight environment.

In order to solve the above technical problem, a technical solution adopted by the present invention is to provide a waterproof drone, which includes: a fuselage, an arm connected to the fuselage, a motor mounted on the arm, and A propeller connected to a rotating shaft of the motor; wherein:

The arm is formed with an accommodation cavity at an end connected to the motor, and an upper wall of the accommodation cavity is provided with a shaft hole;

The motor is accommodated in the accommodating cavity, and one end of a rotation shaft of the motor protrudes from the shaft hole through the machine arm.

Optionally, the motor includes a stator and a rotor rotatable with respect to the stator. The rotor is fixedly mounted with the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft is rotatably connected with the stator, so that the rotor can be rotated. Rotating around the stator, one end of the rotating shaft penetrates the stator;

The stator is fixedly installed on the upper wall of the accommodating cavity.

Optionally, the machine arm includes an upper machine arm and a lower machine arm which are oppositely disposed and fixedly connected, the receiving cavity is formed between the upper machine arm and the lower machine arm, and the shaft hole is provided in the housing. The upper arm

The stator is fixedly mounted on the upper machine arm.

Optionally, a sealant is applied to the connection between the upper and lower arms, and / or a waterproof gasket is provided at the connection between the upper and lower arms.

Optionally, the fuselage includes an upper case and a lower case that are oppositely disposed and fixedly connected, and a receiving space is formed between the upper case and the lower case;

The upper machine arm extends from the upper machine case, and the lower machine arm extends from the lower machine case;

The receiving space is in communication with the receiving cavity.

Optionally, a sealant is applied to a joint of the upper case and the lower case, and / or a waterproof gasket is provided at a joint of the upper case and the lower case.

Optionally, a control circuit component is disposed in the accommodation space, and a protective film is provided on a surface of the control circuit component.

Optionally, the protective film is an insulating paint.

Optionally, the body is provided with a heat dissipation hole, and a waterproof and breathable film is provided at the heat dissipation hole.

Optionally, the waterproof drone further includes a protective cover, and the protective cover is tightly matched with the bottom of the fuselage, so as to at least partially cover the gimbal of the waterproof drone.

Optionally, the protective cover is a transparent plastic waterproof cover.

Different from the situation of the prior art, the embodiment of the present invention has the beneficial effect that the waterproof drone provided by the embodiment of the present invention houses the motor of the power component in the arm, which can prevent water from entering the motor through the arm, which improves the The protection level and safety performance of the motor of the human machine enable the drone to work in rainy or underwater conditions and is suitable for more flying environments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One or more embodiments are exemplified by the pictures in the accompanying drawings. These exemplary descriptions do not constitute a limitation on the embodiments. Elements with the same reference numerals in the drawings are denoted as similar elements. Unless otherwise stated, the drawings in the drawings do not constitute a limitation on scale.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a three-dimensional structure of a waterproof drone provided by one embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

2 is an exploded view of the structure of the waterproof drone shown in FIG. 1;

3 is an exploded view of the waterproof drone shown in FIG. 1 from another perspective;

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of part A in FIG. 3.

detailed description

In order to facilitate understanding of the present invention, the following describes the present invention in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that when an element is described as "fixed to" another element, it may be directly on the other element, or there may be one or more centered elements in between. When an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or one or more intervening elements may be present therebetween. The terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "horizontal", "vertical" and similar expressions used in this specification are for illustrative purposes only.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this specification have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the technical field of the present invention. The terms used in the description of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. In addition, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other. The term "and / or" used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a waterproof drone provided by one embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, the waterproof drone 100 includes: a fuselage 10, four arms 20 extending from the fuselage 10, The power assembly 30, the landing gear 40, and the protective cover 50 are respectively installed on each of the arms 20. That is, the waterproof drone 100 of the present invention is a four-rotor drone, and the number of power components 30 is four. In other possible embodiments, the waterproof drone 100 may be any other suitable type of rotor drone, such as a double-rotor drone, a six-rotor drone, or the like. Where the power module 30 is applied to other types of unmanned aerial vehicles, the number of the power modules 30 may be changed according to actual needs, which is not limited in the embodiment of the present invention.

In other possible embodiments, the waterproof drone 100 may further include a pan / tilt (not shown), which is installed at the bottom of the fuselage 10. The pan / tilt is used to carry a high-definition digital camera or other camera device to eliminate high-definition The disturbance to the digital camera or other camera device ensures the clear and stable video captured by the camera or other camera device.

In an embodiment of the present invention, one end of the arm 20 is fixedly connected to the body 10. Preferably, the arm 20 and the body 10 are integrally formed. In other possible embodiments, the arm 20 may also be connected to the fuselage 10 in a manner of being expanded or folded relative to the fuselage 10. For example, the arm 20 may be connected to the fuselage 10 through a rotating shaft mechanism, so as to realize the expansion or folding of the arm 20 relative to the fuselage 10.

The power assembly 30 is installed at the other end of the airframe 20 (that is, an end remote from the fuselage 10), and is used to power the waterproof drone 100 and drive the waterproof drone 100. Flying and adjusting flight attitude. In the embodiment of the present invention, the power unit assembly 30 includes a motor 302 and a propeller 304 driven by the motor 302. The propeller 304 is installed on a rotating shaft of the motor 302, and the propeller 304 is rotated by the motor 302 to generate water-proof Lift or thrust of the aircraft 100 flying. The motor 302 may be any suitable type of motor, such as a brushed motor, a brushless motor, a DC motor, a stepper motor, an AC induction motor, and the like. The power assembly 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes an electronic governor (not shown) disposed in a cavity formed by the fuselage 10 or the arm 20, and the electronic governor is used for accelerating a throttle controller or a throttle generator. The generated throttle signal generates a motor control signal for controlling the rotation speed of the motor to obtain a flight speed or a flight attitude required by the waterproof drone 100.

In one implementation, the throttle controller or the throttle generator may be a flight control module of the waterproof drone 100. The flight control module senses the environment around the waterproof drone 100 through various sensors, and controls the flight of the waterproof drone 100. The flight control module may be a processing module (Application Unit), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), or a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

When the user inputs an instruction to control the flight attitude and the like of the waterproof drone 100 through the remote controller, the flight control module of the waterproof drone sends a throttle signal to the ESC, and the ESC receives the throttle signal, generates and sends it to the motor Motor control signals used to start the motor and control the speed of the motor.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the landing gear 40 is disposed on the fuselage 10 or the airframe 20, and is used to make the waterproof drone 100 stop smoothly when the waterproof drone 100 is landing. On the ground or a plane, it plays a supporting role. The protective cover 50 is installed below the fuselage 10, and is used to at least partially cover equipment or materials (such as gimbals, carrying materials, etc.) carried by the waterproof drone 100, so as to waterproof it. protection.

Specifically, please refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 together. The fuselage 10 includes an upper case 101 and a lower case 103 which are oppositely disposed and fixedly connected. The upper case 101 and the lower case 103 may pass through Fixed connection in any way, such as closed cover connection, snap connection, screw connection, etc. Wherein, in some embodiments, in order to improve the waterproof performance of the waterproof drone 100, the connection between the upper case 101 and the lower case 103 may be coated with a sealant or a waterproof gasket, so that Avoid external liquid from entering the receiving space 102 formed by the upper case 101 and the lower case 103 through the gap at the connection between the upper case 101 and the lower case 103.

After the upper case 101 and the lower case 103 are fixedly connected, a receiving space 102 is formed to receive various equipment mounted on the waterproof drone 100. For example, the containment space 102 contains a control circuit assembly 104 composed of electronic components such as a MCU. The control circuit assembly 104 may specifically be a printed circuit board assembly (PCBA). The control circuit assembly 104 It can include multiple control modules, such as a flight control module for controlling the drone's flight attitude, a Beidou module for navigating the drone, and a device for processing related airborne equipment (such as a PTZ). Data processing module for environmental information.

Wherein, in this embodiment, the control circuit component 104 is fixedly installed on the lower case 103, which can facilitate the electrical connection between the control circuit component 104 and other devices (such as a PTZ). In some other embodiments, the control circuit assembly 104 may also be fixedly installed on the upper casing 101 or other suitable positions, as long as the control circuit assembly 104 can be accommodated in the accommodation space 102. .

Further, in this embodiment, the surface of the control circuit component 104 is further coated with a three-proof insulation paint (for example, ULTIMEG 2000-620X), so that a protective layer is formed on the surface of the control circuit component 104. In this embodiment, by providing a protective layer on the surface of the control circuit component 104, the control circuit component 104 can be protected from environmental erosion, and the control circuit component 104 can be lifted from the inside of the fuselage 10. Waterproof. Of course, in some other embodiments, the protective layer may be omitted when the body 10 has good waterproof performance.

In addition, the lower case 103 is provided with a heat dissipation hole 106 for dissipating heat from the inside of the fuselage 10 to prevent the control circuit assembly 104 and other devices contained in the fuselage 10 from being caused by the surrounding environment. Excessive temperature and abnormal operation or failure. It can be understood that, in other embodiments, the heat dissipation hole 106 may also be disposed in the upper casing 101, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention. Further, in some embodiments, in order to prevent water droplets from flowing into the inside of the fuselage 10 from the heat dissipation hole 106, a waterproof and breathable film may be provided at the heat dissipation hole 106 (that is, the heat dissipation hole 106 is covered with Waterproof breathable membrane), the waterproof breathable membrane may include, but is not limited to, GORE-TEX film material. By providing a waterproof and breathable film at the heat dissipation hole 106, the breathable and waterproof performance of the heat dissipation hole 106 can be achieved.

Please continue to refer to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. The machine arm 20 includes an upper machine arm 201 and a lower machine arm 203 which are oppositely disposed and fixedly connected. The upper machine arm 201 extends from the upper machine case 101, and the lower machine arm 20 An arm 203 extends from the lower case 103. The upper arm 201 and the lower arm 203 can be sealedly connected in any manner, such as a closed cover, a buckle, etc., and in order to improve the waterproof performance of the waterproof drone 100, the upper arm 201 The connection with the lower machine arm 203 may be coated with a sealant or provided with a waterproof gasket.

The upper machine arm 201 and the lower machine arm 203 are connected to form an accommodation cavity 202, and the accommodation cavity 202 is in communication with the accommodation space 102. Therefore, the upper case 101 and the upper arm 201 are integrally formed, and the lower case 103 and the lower arm 203 are integrally formed. The process is simple and the production cost is low.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the fuselage 10 includes an upper case 101 and a lower case 103, and a receiving space 102 is formed between the upper case 101 and the lower case 103; The arm 20 includes an upper arm 201 and a lower arm 203, and an accommodation cavity 202 is formed between the upper arm 201 and the lower arm 203; and the accommodation space 102 and the accommodation cavity 202 The communication enables the fuselage 10 and the arm 20 to be connected into an integrated structure, which can simplify the manufacturing process and reduce the production cost. In other embodiments, the fuselage 10 may also form the receiving space 102 by other structures, and / or the arm 20 may also form the receiving cavity 202 by other structures. In addition, the fuselage 10 and the boom 20 may also have mutually independent structures (that is, the receiving space 102 formed in the fuselage 10 and the receiving cavity 202 formed in the boom 20 are not Communication), the arm 20 may also be mounted on the fuselage 10 by other suitable structures, as long as a receiving space 102 is formed in the fuselage 10 for receiving the control circuit assembly 104 and other related equipment, and An accommodation cavity 202 for receiving the motor 302 in the power assembly 30 may be formed inside the arm 20.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, an end of the upper arm 201 far from the fuselage 10 (ie, the upper wall of the receiving cavity 202) is provided with a shaft hole 2010 for receiving the power assembly 30.的轴轴 3024.

Three mounting holes 2012 are also provided on the periphery of the shaft hole 2010 for mounting the motor 302 in the power assembly 30. Specifically, in this embodiment, three mounting holes 2012 are enclosed to form an equilateral triangle, and the shaft hole 2010 is disposed at the center of the equilateral triangle to improve the stability of the connection between the motor 302 and the arm 20 Sex.

It should be understood that, in this embodiment, the motor 302 is mounted on the upper machine arm 201, so that a mounting hole 2012 is opened in the upper machine arm 201. In other embodiments, the motor 302 may also be installed on the lower arm 203, and then the mounting hole 2012 may also be provided on the lower arm 203. In addition, the number of the mounting holes 2012 is not limited to three, and may be one, two, five, etc., as long as the motor 302 can be fixedly installed in the accommodating cavity 202.

Please refer to FIGS. 2 and 3 again. The power assembly 30 includes a motor 302 and a propeller 304, and the propeller 304 is mounted on the motor 302. When the motor 302 is running, the propeller 304 can be driven to rotate in a specific direction (that is, the rotation direction of the motor 302: clockwise or counterclockwise), thereby providing lift for the waterproof drone 100 To drive the waterproof drone 100 to fly. In particular, in this embodiment, the motor 302 is housed in the accommodating cavity 202, and the propeller 304 is disposed outside the arm 20 (in this embodiment, the propeller 304 is disposed at The upper part of the upper arm 201 is described. In other embodiments, the propeller 304 may be disposed below the lower arm 203 or the side of the arm 20, which is not specifically limited in the embodiment of the present invention. ), So that the motor 302 can be isolated from water by the arm 20 to prevent water droplets from entering the motor 302 to damage its internal components and affect its performance, thereby improving the protection level and safety performance of the motor 302.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the motor 302 includes a stator 3020 and a rotor 3022 sleeved on the outer periphery of the stator 3020. A rotating shaft 3024 is fixedly installed in the rotor 3022, and the rotating shaft 3024 is rotatably connected to the stator 3020, so that the rotor 3022 can rotate around the stator 3020.

Particularly, in this embodiment, the motor 302 is installed in the machine arm 20 upside down, specifically, the stator 3020 is fixedly installed in the upper machine arm 201, and the rotating shaft 3024 passes through the stator. 3020 (that is, the rotating shaft 3024 exits the shaft on one side of the stator 3020), and the upper arm 201 passes through the shaft hole 2010 and is connected to the propeller 304.

However, it should be understood that, in this embodiment, by mounting the motor 302 to the upper machine arm 201 upside down, on the one hand, it is possible to achieve surface contact between the stator 3020 and the upper machine arm 201 to further block water from the The shaft hole 2010 flows into the inside of the arm 20 and then into the motor 302. On the other hand, the height required to rotate the shaft 3024 can be reduced, the weight of the motor 302 can be reduced, and the weight of the waterproof drone 100 can be reduced. In some other embodiments, the motor 302 can also be mounted to the lower arm 203 in a forward direction, that is, the stator 3020 is fixedly mounted on the lower arm 203, and the rotating shaft 3024 passes through the rotor. 3022 (that is, the rotating shaft 3024 exits the shaft on one side of the rotor 3022), and the upper arm 201 passes through the shaft hole 2010 and is connected to the propeller 304. Of course, in still other embodiments, the motor 302 can also be installed at other positions in the arm 20 as long as the motor 302 can be wrapped inside the arm 20.

Please refer to FIG. 2 again, the landing gear 40 is disposed on a side of the lower aircraft arm 203 facing away from the upper aircraft arm 201 and extends in a direction away from the power assembly 30. In this embodiment, the landing gear 40 and the lower arm 203 are integrally formed, which can simplify the process steps. In other embodiments, the landing gear 40 may also be hinged to the lower arm 203 so that the landing gear 40 can rotate relative to the arm 20 for easy storage. Alternatively, in still other embodiments, the landing gear 40 can also be installed at other suitable positions, for example, installed under the lower casing 103, which are not specifically limited in the embodiments of the present invention.

The protective cover 50 can be any waterproof protective cover, which is tightly matched with the side of the lower case 103 facing away from the upper case 101, so as to isolate the components in the protective cover from water. Further, in order to ensure the tightness between the protective cover 50 and the lower case 103, a sealant may also be added at the connection between the protective cover 50 and the lower case 103. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the protective cover 50 is mainly used for waterproofing the PTZ, and the PTZ is mainly used for image acquisition. Therefore, in order to ensure the shooting effect of the PTZ, the protective cover 50 may be specifically A transparent plastic waterproof cover. By providing the protective cover 50, the gimbal mounted on the drone can be effectively waterproofed.

In practical applications, an integrated structure of the upper casing 101 and the upper arm 201 may be formed first by a first mold, and the lower casing 103, the lower arm 203, and a jack may be formed by a second mold. The integrated structure of the undercarriage 40; and, the protective cover 50 is mounted to the bottom of the lower case 103 and the protective cover 50 is closely fitted to the lower case 103. Then, the four motors 302 are fixedly mounted to one end of the four upper machine arms 201 away from the upper machine case 101, respectively, wherein the rotation shaft 3024 of each motor 302 passes through the shaft hole of each of the upper machine arms 201 2010 is connected to a corresponding one of the propellers 304; at the same time, the control circuit assembly 104 (and related components) is fixedly installed on the surface of the lower casing 103 facing the upper casing 101. In order to prevent a short circuit caused by the wiring connection on the control circuit component 104, a protective film may be further provided on the surface of the control circuit component 104. In some embodiments, the protective film is a tri-proof insulation paint coated on a surface of the control circuit assembly 104. Finally, the upper case 101 is fixedly connected to the lower case 103, and the upper arm 201 and the lower arm 203 are fixedly connected; and a sealing material (such as, Sealant) to further enhance the waterproof performance of the waterproof drone 100. It should be understood that the above assembly method is only one of the assembly methods provided by the present invention. In practical applications, other assembly methods can also be used to assemble the waterproof drone 100, which will not be detailed here. Say.

In general, different from the situation of the prior art, the waterproof drone provided by the embodiment of the present invention can well prevent water from entering the motor by accommodating the motor of the power component in the arm, thereby improving the drone. The protection level and safety performance of the motor; by providing a protective cover, it is possible to waterproof the drone-mounted equipment such as a gimbal; by coating sealing materials or installing waterproof gaskets on the joints of the fuselage and the arms, and / or Adding a protective film on the surface of the control circuit component can further improve the protection level of the waterproof drone. Therefore, the waterproof drone provided by the embodiment of the present invention can work in rainy weather or underwater, and is suitable for more flying environments.

It should be noted that the preferred embodiments of the present invention are given in the description of the present invention and the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described in the present specification. These embodiments are not intended as an additional limitation on the content of the present invention, and the embodiments are provided to make the understanding of the disclosure of the present invention more thorough and comprehensive. In addition, the above technical features continue to be combined with each other to form various embodiments not listed above, which are all regarded as the scope described in the description of the present invention; further, for those skilled in the art, improvements or changes can be made according to the above description. All these improvements and transformations should fall into the protection scope of the appended claims of the present invention.

Claims

A waterproof drone, characterized in that it includes a fuselage, an arm connected to the fuselage, a motor mounted on the arm, and a propeller connected to a rotating shaft of the motor; wherein,

The arm is formed with an accommodation cavity at an end connected to the motor, and an upper wall of the accommodation cavity is provided with a shaft hole;

The motor is accommodated in the accommodating cavity, and one end of a rotation shaft of the motor protrudes from the shaft hole through the machine arm.
The waterproof drone according to claim 1, wherein the motor includes a stator and a rotor rotatable with respect to the stator, and the rotor is fixedly mounted with the rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft and the The stator is rotatably connected, so that the rotor can rotate around the stator, and one end of the rotating shaft penetrates the stator;

The stator is fixedly installed on the upper wall of the accommodating cavity.
The waterproof drone according to claim 2, wherein the arm comprises an upper arm and a lower arm which are oppositely disposed and fixedly connected, and a space is formed between the upper arm and the lower arm. The accommodating cavity, the shaft hole is provided in the upper machine arm;

The stator is fixedly mounted on the upper machine arm.
The waterproof drone according to claim 3, wherein a joint between the upper and lower arms is coated with a sealant, and / or the upper and lower arms are coated with sealant. The connection is provided with a waterproof gasket.
The waterproof drone according to claim 3, wherein the fuselage comprises an upper case and a lower case that are oppositely disposed and fixedly connected, and a housing is formed between the upper case and the lower case. space;

The upper machine arm extends from the upper machine case, and the lower machine arm extends from the lower machine case;

The receiving space is in communication with the receiving cavity.
The waterproof drone according to claim 5, characterized in that a joint between the upper casing and the lower casing is coated with a sealant, and / or the upper casing and the lower casing The connection is provided with a waterproof gasket.
The waterproof drone according to claim 4, wherein a control circuit component is disposed in the accommodation space, and a protective film is disposed on a surface of the control circuit component.
The waterproof drone according to claim 7, wherein the protective film is an insulating paint.
The waterproof drone according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the body is provided with a heat dissipation hole, and a waterproof and breathable film is provided at the heat dissipation hole.
The waterproof drone according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the waterproof drone further comprises a protective cover, and the protective cover is tightly matched with the bottom of the fuselage to cover at least a part of the cover. A gimbal of the waterproof drone is provided.
The waterproof drone according to claim 10, wherein the protective cover is a transparent plastic waterproof cover.