阅读说明：本技术 飞行体 (Flying body ) 是由 铃木阳一 于 2017-06-04 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明提供一种能够提高飞行效率的飞行体。本发明的飞行体特别涉及具有能够搭载货物等的搭载部的飞行体。飞行体至少能够沿前后方向行进,其具备：升力产生部；臂部,其保持升力产生部；搭载部,其设置在臂部上,且位于比飞行体的重心靠后的位置；以及维持单元,其至少将飞行体的朝向维持为水平,搭载部具有第一连接部,其至少将搭载对象物的朝向维持为水平。由此,能够防止货物进入由螺旋桨产生的尾流区域,提高飞行效率。(The invention provides a flight vehicle capable of improving flight efficiency. The present invention relates to a flying object, and more particularly to a flying object having a mounting portion on which a load or the like can be mounted. The flying object can travel at least in the front-rear direction, and is provided with: a lift force generation section; an arm section that holds the lift force generation section; a mounting portion provided on the arm portion and located behind the center of gravity of the flying object; and a maintaining unit for maintaining at least the orientation of the flying object to be horizontal, wherein the carrying part is provided with a first connecting part for maintaining at least the orientation of the carrying object to be horizontal. Therefore, the cargo can be prevented from entering a wake flow area generated by the propeller, and the flight efficiency is improved.)

1. A flying object capable of traveling at least in a front-rear direction, comprising:

a lift force generation section;

an arm portion that holds the lift force generation portion;

a mounting portion provided on the arm portion and located rearward of a center of gravity of the flying object; and

a maintaining unit that maintains at least the orientation of the flying object to be horizontal,

the mounting portion has a first connecting portion that maintains at least the orientation of the mounting object horizontal.

2. The flying object of claim 1,

the maintaining unit further includes a counterweight provided forward of the center of gravity of the flying object in the front-rear direction.

3. The flying object of claim 2,

the maintaining unit further has a second connecting portion connecting the balance weight and enabling it to move within a predetermined range.

4. The flying object of claim 3,

the second connecting portion connects the counterweight so that it can move only in the front-rear direction.

5. The flying object of any one of claims 2-4, wherein,

the counterweight is a battery of the flight body.

6. The flying object of any one of claims 1-5, wherein,

the lift force generating part is a plurality of rotors which can generate wake flow, and a wake flow area caused by the rotors is generated when the flying body flies,

controlling the flying object so that the rotation speed of the rotor located rearward in the traveling direction is higher than the rotation speed of the rotor located forward in the traveling direction at least when the flying object moves in the forward-backward direction,

the mounting unit is located in the main body unit such that the mounting object is located outside the wake region when the flying object travels.

7. The flying object of claim 6,

the mounting portion is provided at a position where the rotor does not overlap the mounting object when viewed from above the rotor.

8. The flying object of any one of claims 1-7, wherein,

the first connecting portion is connected to the mounting portion and is movable only in the front-rear direction.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a flying object, and more particularly to a flying object having a mounting portion on which a load or the like can be mounted.

Background

In recent years, distribution of cargo has been attempted using a flying body (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "flying body") such as an Unmanned aerial vehicle (Drone) or an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Patent document 1 discloses a delivery system implemented by a flight vehicle (see, for example, patent document 1). The delivery system forms a shipment catalog for delivering cargo to be autonomously delivered by a flying body (unmanned aerial vehicle) to a delivery destination.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

The flight vehicle of patent document 1 has a problem of a decrease in flight efficiency when traveling particularly in a state of carrying a load.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a flying object capable of improving flight efficiency.

Means for solving the problems

According to the present invention, a flying object can be obtained,

which can advance at least in the horizontal direction, and which comprises:

a lift force generation section;

an arm portion that holds the lift force generation portion;

a mounting portion provided on the arm portion and located rearward of a center of gravity of the flying object; and

a maintaining unit that maintains at least the orientation of the flying object to be horizontal,

the mounting portion has a first connecting portion that maintains at least the orientation of the mounting object horizontal.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, a flight vehicle capable of improving flight efficiency can be provided.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state (a) of a conventional flying object when the flying object is lifted and a state (B) of the flying object when the flying object is traveling.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the state of the flying object of the present embodiment when it is lifted and suspended.

Fig. 3 is a view of the flying object in fig. 2 as viewed from above.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the flight vehicle shown in fig. 2 travels.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the flight vehicle in fig. 2 descends.

Fig. 6 is another diagram showing a state in which the flying object in fig. 2 descends.

Fig. 7 is a view showing a state (at the time of re-ascent) after the cargo is unloaded from the flight vehicle in fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a general functional block diagram of the flight object.

Detailed Description

The contents of the embodiments of the present invention are listed and explained. The flight vehicle according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following configuration.

[ item 1]

A flying object capable of traveling at least in a front-rear direction, comprising:

a lift force generation section;

an arm portion that holds the lift force generation portion;

a mounting portion provided on the arm portion and located rearward of a center of gravity of the flying object; and

a maintaining unit that maintains at least the orientation of the flying object to be horizontal,

the mounting portion has a first connecting portion that maintains at least the orientation of the mounting object horizontal.

[ item 2]

The flight object of item 1, wherein,

the maintaining unit further includes a counterweight provided forward of the center of gravity of the flying object in the front-rear direction.

[ item 3]

The flight object of item 2, wherein,

the maintaining unit further has a second connecting portion connecting the balance weight and enabling it to move within a predetermined range.

[ item 4]

The flight object of item 3, wherein,

the second connecting portion connects the balance weight and makes it move only in the front-rear direction.

[ item 5]

The flight object of any one of items 2 to 4, wherein,

the counterweight is a battery of the flight body.

[ item 6]

The flight object of any one of items 1 to 5, wherein,

the lift force generating part is a plurality of rotors which can generate wake flow, and a wake flow area caused by the rotors is generated when the flying body flies,

controlling the flying object so that the rotation speed of the rotor located rearward in the traveling direction is higher than the rotation speed of the rotor located forward in the traveling direction at least when the flying object moves in the forward-backward direction,

the mounting unit is located in the main body unit such that the mounting object is located outside the wake region when the flying object travels.

[ item 7]

The flight object of item 6, wherein,

the mounting portion is provided at a position where the rotor does not overlap the mounting object when viewed from above the rotor.

[ item 8]

The flight object of any one of items 1 to 7, wherein,

the first connecting portion is connected to the mounting portion and is movable only in the front-rear direction.

< detailed description >

Hereinafter, a flying object according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

< background >

A conventional flight vehicle used in a distribution system cannot be a flight vehicle that can cope with an updraft generated in a high-rise building or the like. Conventionally, a flight vehicle called a delivery flight vehicle is a flight vehicle in which a normal flight vehicle used for an aerial image or the like is directly transferred to a delivery flight vehicle. When a general flying object is transferred to a delivery flying object, the following technical problem occurs.

The normal aircraft may tilt with the wind. When a normal flight vehicle is transferred to a delivery flight vehicle, the cargo must be quickly delivered from the departure point to the destination while keeping the position of the cargo before delivery. This is because, as the flight vehicle tilts, the cargo delivered by the flight vehicle necessarily tilts.

The ordinary flying object is easy to incline with the wind. Further, in order to advance, it must be tilted. Even if the cargo delivered by the flight vehicle is tilted for a moment, the cargo loses its commodity value. In particular, when the goods delivered by the flight body are food including liquid such as take-out pizza, take-out sushi, western pastries, and drinks, commercial loss due to inclination of the flight body is large. The same is true for flight delivery commodities.

Further, immediately before a normal flying object lands on a destination, the flying object may be inclined by an airflow generated in a high-rise building or the like. The normal flying body inclined by the air flow initially brings the leg on the side of the flying body into contact with the destination. After that, the flying body must bring the foot on the other side into contact with the destination. The inclination of the body, which appropriately resists the airflow, cannot be maintained until the leg on one side of the flying body comes into contact with the destination and the leg on the other side comes into contact with the destination. As a result, the machine body may be blown down to the leeward or may be out of balance and fall down. That is, there is a problem that the flying body topples over immediately before falling to the destination due to the airflow generated at the destination. In particular, when the gain is set high in order to cope with a payload (load) mounted on the lower portion of a normal flying object, the possibility of falling is high.

Further, the goods delivered by the flight vehicle must be delivered from the delivery site to the destination within several minutes to several tens of minutes according to the customer's demand and depending on the goods. This is because if the goods are not distributed quickly, the goods lose value. However, from the viewpoint of rapid delivery of commodities, the flight speed of a normal flight vehicle is insufficient.

The flying object must accurately deliver the cargo from the delivery location to the destination. An operator of a flight vehicle needs to accurately grasp a route from a delivery location to a destination and a current position by a GPS device or the like and operate the flight vehicle. However, when the flying object is tilted, the GPS antenna provided in the flying object is also tilted. As a result, there is a problem that the GPS reception sensitivity of the flight object is lowered. Further, there is a problem that the flying object loses balance immediately after the cargo is distributed, and falls down or falls down.

In order to solve the above problem in the conventional flying object, as shown in fig. 1(a), by providing a hinge 50 in the flying object 1', the orientation of the cargo 52 can be kept horizontal even when the vehicle moves forward as shown in fig. 1 (B). However, as can be understood from fig. 1(B), when moving forward, the cargo 52 enters the wake region Bs generated by the wake caused by the propeller 2 of the flying body 1', and thus the flying efficiency is poor.

< detailed embodiment of the invention >

As shown in fig. 2, a flying object 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a propeller 2 (lift force generating unit: rotor), a motor 3 for rotating the propeller 2, an arm 4 to which the motor 3 is attached, a mounting unit 5 on which a load 52 is mounted, and a battery unit 6 serving as a counterweight. The flying object 1 takes the direction of arrow D (+ X direction) in the figure as the traveling direction (described later).

In the following description, terms may be used differently according to the following definitions.

Front-back direction: + X-direction and X-direction

Vertical direction (or vertical direction): + Z direction and Z direction

Left-right direction (or horizontal direction): + Y-direction and Y-direction

Traveling direction (front): + X direction

Backward direction (rear): -X direction

Ascending direction (upward): + Z direction

Descending direction (below): -Z direction

The propeller 2 rotates upon receiving an output from the motor 3. The propeller 2 rotates to generate a propulsive force for taking off the flying object 1 from a departure place, horizontally moving the flying object, and landing the flying object to a destination. In addition, the propeller 2 can be rotated to the right, stopped, and rotated to the left.

The blades of the propeller 2 of the present invention have an elongated shape. There may be any number of blades (rotors), such as 1, 2, 3, 4 or more blades. In addition, the shape of the blade may be any shape such as a flat shape, a curved shape, a twisted shape, a tapered shape, or a combination thereof. In addition, the shape of the blade can vary (e.g., telescope, fold, bend, etc.). The blades may be symmetrical (having identical upper and lower surfaces) or asymmetrical (having differently shaped upper and lower surfaces). The blades can be formed as airfoils, wings, or geometries suitable for causing the blades to generate aerodynamic forces (e.g., lift, thrust) when moving in the air. The geometry of the blades may be suitably selected in order to optimise the aerodynamic properties of the blades, such as increasing lift and thrust, reducing drag, etc.

The motor 3 is used to rotate the propeller 2, and for example, the driving unit may include an electric motor or an engine, or the like. The blades can be driven by a motor to rotate in a clockwise direction and/or a counter-clockwise direction about a rotational axis of the motor (e.g., a long axis of the motor).

The blades may all rotate in the same direction or may rotate independently. Several blades rotate in one direction and others rotate in the other direction. The blades may all rotate at the same rotational speed or may each rotate at different rotational speeds. The rotation speed may be automatically or manually determined based on the size (e.g., size, weight), control state (speed, moving direction, etc.) of the moving body.

The arms 4 are members that support the corresponding motor 3 and propeller 2, respectively. In order to indicate the flight state, flight direction, and the like of the rotorcraft, a color body such as an LED may be provided on the arm 4. The arm 4 of the present embodiment may be formed of a material appropriately selected from carbon, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, and the like, or an alloy or combination thereof.

The mounting portion 5 is a mechanism for mounting and holding the load 52. The mounting portion 5 is always kept in a predetermined orientation (for example, a horizontal orientation (vertically downward)) so as to be able to maintain the position and orientation of the loaded cargo 52.

More specifically, the mounting portion 5 has a hinge (gimbal) 50, and is configured to: the cargo 52 is bent in accordance with the inclination of the flying object 1 with the hinge 50 as a fulcrum. The angle at which the hinge 50 is bent is not particularly limited. For example, as shown in fig. 4, the position and direction of the cargo 52 may be kept horizontal even when the flying object 1 flies in a forward-inclined posture. This allows the cargo 52 to be always suspended vertically downward, and to be delivered to the destination while maintaining the position and state of the departure point. The hinge 50 of the present embodiment can move only in the same direction as the traveling direction, i.e., the front-rear direction. However, the movable member may be movable in the right and left direction.

The hinge 50 may be controlled by a motor or the like. This can further prevent the cargo 52 from shaking (natural vibration or the like) during flight.

The shape and mechanism of the mounting portion 5 are not particularly limited as long as the cargo 52 can be accommodated or held, and any shape may be used as long as the cargo 52 mounted on the first mounting portion 30 can be tilted to hold its position.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the mounting portion 5 of the present embodiment is provided at a position that is a predetermined distance L1 rearward in the traveling direction D of the center Gh of gravity of the flying object 1 in the front-rear direction. The predetermined distance L1 is set so that the cargo 52 does not overlap at least in the vertical direction with a circular region (see a region indicated by a one-dot chain line of the propeller 2b in fig. 3) generated by the rotation of the rear propeller 2b, even if it is a part of the cargo. In other words, the predetermined distance L1 is set to a value at which the rotating propeller 2 and the load 52 do not overlap when viewed from above the propeller 2. More preferably, the cargo 52 is disposed at a position not affected by the wake area Bb generated by the rear propeller 2 b. The mounting portion 5 may be provided at any position on the arm. Further, the position can be changed by sliding movement or the like after the mounting.

The battery unit 6 includes a battery 60 such as a lithium ion secondary battery (Li-Po battery or the like) and a hinge 62. The battery unit 6 of the present embodiment is provided at least before the center of gravity, and functions as a counterweight that balances the mounting unit 5 in the front-rear direction. The details of this function will be described later. The hinge 62 is constituted by: the battery 60 is bent in the front-rear direction with the hinge 62 as a fulcrum. The angle at which the hinge 62 is bent is not particularly limited. The hinge 62 has a motor (not shown) for controlling the direction (orientation) of the hinge 62, and the orientation of the battery 60 can be changed in accordance with an instruction from a control unit (not shown: described later). The hinge 62 of the present embodiment can move only in the same direction as the traveling direction, i.e., the front-rear direction. However, the movable member may be movable in the right and left direction.

< description of flight >

Next, the flying state of the flying object 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 2 and 4 to 6. In the following description, for the sake of clarity, four states of the rising time, the horizontal movement time, the falling time, and the re-rising time will be described, but it is needless to say that the flying state is included by a combination of these states, such as performing the horizontal movement while rising.

< when increasing >

As shown in fig. 2, the user operates a wireless control transmitter provided with an operation unit to increase the output of the motor 3 of the flight object, thereby increasing the rotation speed of the propeller 2. The rotation of the propeller 2 generates a lift force required to suspend the flying object 1 vertically upward. When the lift force exceeds the gravity acting on the flying body 1, the flying body 1 departs from the ground and takes off from the departure place.

As shown in the figure, the entire flying object 1 including the arm 4 is maintained horizontal when it ascends. At this time, the battery unit 6 is maintained in the vertical upward direction. In other words, when the lift forces generated by the propellers 2 are equal to each other, the gravity applied to the flying body 1 coincides with the center of gravity Gh in the front-rear direction (the rotational moments about the center of gravity Gh in the left-right direction cancel each other out). This allows the flying object 1 to ascend horizontally.

In addition, the direction of the battery part 6 may be changed according to the weight of the cargo 52. That is, when the load is light, the battery 6 is inclined rearward, and when the load is heavy, the battery 6 is inclined forward, so that balance is achieved.

In addition, when the weight applied to the flying object 1 is mechanically balanced with the lift force generated to the flying object 1 by the rotation of the propeller 2, the flying object 1 can hover. At this time, the height of the flying object 1 is maintained at a constant level. The flying object 1 in the present embodiment also maintains the same posture as in fig. 2 described above when suspended.

< horizontal movement >

The flying body 1 is controlled to: when traveling in the horizontal direction, the rotation speed of the propeller 2 located rearward in the traveling direction is made higher than the rotation speed of the propeller 2 located forward in the traveling direction. Therefore, as shown in fig. 4, when the vehicle is moved horizontally in the traveling direction, the flying body 1 takes a forward tilting posture. At this time, the battery unit 6 is tilted backward from the hinge 62 to be balanced. At this time, the orientation of the cargo 52 is maintained horizontal due to the presence of the hinge 50.

As can be understood by comparing fig. 1(B) and fig. 4, since the mounting portion 5 is located behind the center of gravity Gh, the load 52 is not located in the wake flow regions Bf and Bb of the propeller 2f and the propeller 2B. Therefore, according to the flight vehicle 1 of the present embodiment, the flight efficiency at least when traveling in the horizontal direction can be improved.

< time of descent (time of descent) >

As shown in fig. 5, when the battery unit 6 is lowered, the battery unit rotates about the hinge 62 and faces downward. When an upward force due to an ascending airflow is applied to the ordinary flying object 1, the flying object 1 may lose its balance and fall. However, since the battery unit 6 is vertically lowered before the flying object 1 is lowered, the center of gravity of the flying object 1 is lowered in the vertical direction (see a position G before the battery unit 6 is moved, which is schematically shown in fig. 6)_V0And G_V1). By lowering the center of gravity of the flying body 1, an upward force applied to the flying body 1 by the ascending airflow can be cancelled. As described above, the flying object 1 of the present embodiment also selects and uses means for lowering the center of gravity Gh of the flying object 1 by appropriate combinationThe force generated by the updraft can be overcome.

The flying object 1 lands at the destination, and unloads the cargo 52 mounted on the mounting portion 5 to the destination. That is, at the destination, the flying object 1 is separated from the cargo 52. The flying object 1 and the cargo 52 are separated from each other by separating the cargo 52 from the mounting portion 5. The flying object 1 in the present embodiment does not have a landing gear in order to reduce the weight. Therefore, the loaded cargo 52 itself functions as a landing gear when landing. However, the landing gear may be provided according to the characteristics of the cargo.

In general, after the cargo L is separated from the flying body 1, the payload becomes small immediately, and it can be considered that the center of gravity of the flying body 1 is instantaneously moved upward. However, as described with reference to fig. 6, after the flying object 1 reaches the upper part of the target, the orientation of the battery unit 6 is changed to be vertically downward, and the center of gravity is located vertically below the center of lift generated by the propeller 2 (hereinafter referred to as "center of lift"). Therefore, even after the cargo 52 is separated from the flying body 1, the position of the center of gravity in the vertical direction can be positioned below the center of lift.

< when increasing again >

As shown in fig. 7, after the cargo 52 is separated from the mounting portion 5, the battery portion 6 is further rotated rearward. Thereby, the flying object 1 can balance the change in the center of gravity caused by the separation of the load 52. The battery unit 6 in the present embodiment includes a lock mechanism not shown. The locking mechanism locks the battery part 6 in the position shown in fig. 7. The mobile unit 1 ascends again in this state and returns to a predetermined place such as a departure place.

In the above-described embodiment, the battery unit is used as a counterweight for balancing the mounting unit 5. However, the means for balancing the mounting portion 5 is not limited to this. For example, the rotational speed of the propeller 2 may be changed.

The flight vehicle has the functional blocks shown in fig. 8. In addition, the functional blocks of fig. 8 are a minimum reference structure. The flight controller is a so-called processing unit. The processing unit may have more than one processor, such as a programmable processor, e.g., a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The processing unit has a memory, not shown, and can access the memory. The memory stores logic, code, and/or programming instructions that are executable by the processing unit to perform one or more steps. The memory may include, for example, a removable medium such as an SD card, a Random Access Memory (RAM), or an external storage device. Data acquired from cameras, sensors, etc. may also be transferred directly to and stored in memory. For example, still image and moving image data captured by a camera or the like are recorded in an internal memory or an external memory.

The processing unit includes a control module configured to control a state of the flying object. For example, the control module controls the propulsion mechanism (motors, etc.) of the flying body to adjust the aircraft with six degrees of freedom (translational movements x, y and z, and rotational movement θ)_x、θ_yAnd theta_z) The spatial configuration, velocity and/or acceleration of the flying object. The control module can control one or more states of the mounting part and the sensors.

The processing unit may be in communication with a transceiver configured to transmit and/or receive data from one or more external devices (e.g., a terminal, a display device, or other remote controller). The transmission/reception unit may use any appropriate communication means such as wired communication or wireless communication. For example, the transceiver may use one or more of a Local Area Network (LAN), a Wide Area Network (WAN), infrared, wireless, WiFi, peer-to-peer (P2P) network, a telecommunication network, cloud communication, and the like. The transceiver may transmit and/or receive one or more of data acquired by the sensors, processing results generated by the processing unit, predetermined control data, user commands from the terminal or the remote controller, and the like.

The sensor class of the present embodiment may include an inertial sensor (acceleration sensor, gyro sensor), a GPS sensor, a proximity sensor (e.g., radar), or a vision/image sensor (e.g., camera).

The aircraft of the present invention can be expected to be used as a delivery service dedicated aircraft and an industrial aircraft in a warehouse or a factory. The flying object of the present invention can be used in the aircraft-related industry such as a multi-rotor drone, and the present invention is suitable for use in various industries such as the security field, agriculture, infrastructure monitoring, and the like, in addition to being used as an aerial flying object mounted with a camera or the like.

The above-described embodiments are merely examples for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not intended to be restrictive for explaining the present invention. The present invention can be modified and improved without departing from the scope of the invention, and the invention naturally includes equivalents thereof.

Description of the symbols

1. 1': a flying body; 2. 2f, 2 b: a propeller (lift force generation unit); 3: a motor; 4: an arm (arm portion); 5: a mounting section; 6: a battery unit (weight); 50. 62: a hinge; 52: a load (a mounting object); 60: a battery.