Connector arrangement for drones

Abstract

Connector arrangement (1) for an electro-mechanical coupling between a first portion (2) and a second portion (3) of an object (4), in particular an unmanned aerial vehicle, the arrangement (1) comprising a mechanical module (5) for mechanically connecting the first portion (2) to the second portion (3), and an electrical module (6) for electrically connecting the first portion (2) to the second portion (3), wherein the electrical module (6) is detachable from the mechanical module (5).

Description

[0001] CONNECTOR ARRANGEMENT FOR DRONES

[0002] The present invention relates to a connector arrangement for an electro-mechanical coupling between a first portion and a second portion of an object, in particular an unmanned aerial vehicle. Also, the present invention relates to a coupling assembly comprising a first and a second of said connector arrangement and to a coupling assembly comprising said connector arrangement and an electric socket. In addition, the present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising said connector arrangement or one of said coupling assemblies.

[0003] A drone - also known as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system - is a robotic flying object that can be remotely controlled or that can fly autonomously using software-controlled flight plans in its embedded systems. In many cases, a drone works in conjunction with onboard sensors and a global positioning system (GPS). It is noted that drones are not limited to the sky, but can also be employed as nautical vehicles.

[0004] The use of drones has strongly increased over the past decade. Beyond surveillance and delivery applications, UAVs are used for journalism, search and rescue, disaster response, asset protection, wildlife monitoring, firefighting, communications relay, healthcare and agriculture. Many personal drones are available for consumer use. Operators are often beginners who are looking to simply fly them for fun or racing. Stronger, more capable drones are also available for use in commercial settings.

[0005] One of the issues encountered by UAV users is the fact that these are tedious to repair when a crash occurs since in almost all cases it is necessary to go to the workshop, thereby taking a long time to be ready to fly again. Another aspect is related to the transportation, as the footprint of the UAV aircraft can be quite large when fully assembled.

[0006] To cope with these problems, there are some solutions in the art. For example, the problem of large footprint during transportation can be solved with drones having foldable arms. However, since electrical cables pass through the cavity of the arms, these cables can be exposed to damage during the transportation since the cables are outside the arms at the folded corners. In addition, a foldable arm would not solve the problem of a tedious repair after a crash damage.

[0007] In other cases, connection joints are provided to allow the detachment of the arms from the main body of the drone so that the damaged part can be detached from the rest of the drone and repaired in an easy manner, or simply replaced by a new part. However, in such cases the connection is limited to dedicated type of configurations since only specific electric components can be attached in the drone arm and no further connections are able to be routed (i.e., several different sensors, GPS, etc.).

[0008] Examples of the present disclosure seek to address or at least alleviate the above problems.

[0009] In a first aspect, there is provided a connector arrangement for an electro-mechanical coupling between a first portion and a second portion of an object, in particular an unmanned aerial vehicle, the arrangement comprising: a mechanical module for mechanically connecting the first portion to the second portion; and an electrical module for electrically connecting the first portion to the second portion, wherein the electrical module is detachable from the mechanical module.

[0010] This arrangement allows an electro-mechanical coupling between two portions of a drone, for example one of the arms and the main body. In this way, in case of a crash, one portion can be detached from the other portion and repaired or replaced with a new one. This is also beneficial during transportation since the footprint of the drone can be reduced by suitably detaching the portions. It is noted that the arrangement allows at the same time a mechanical and an electrical connection between the two portions, so that visible electrical cables are not present after detaching the two portion since always protected inside the internal spaces of the drone (main body or arms). In addition, the possibility of detaching the electrical module from the mechanical module allows a modular function of the arrangement since the two modules (mechanical and electrical) are independent from each other and can be combined according to different configurations.

[0011] In a second aspect there is provided a coupling assembly comprising: a first and a second connector arrangement according to the first aspect, wherein the first connector arrangement is pluggable into the second connector arrangement.

[0012] In a third aspect there is provided a coupling assembly comprising: a connector arrangement according to the first aspect, and an electric socket, wherein the electrical module of the connector arrangement is pluggable into the electric socket.

[0013] In this way, the two portions of the drone can be easily and quickly connected to each other. In a fourth aspect there is provided an unmanned aerial vehicle having a first portion and a second portion and comprising the connector arrangement according to the first aspect or the coupling assembly according to the second aspect or the coupling assembly according to the third aspect for connecting the first portion to the second portion.

[0014] Other aspects and features are defined in the appended claims.

[0015] Examples of the disclosure may provide a connector arrangement, a coupling assembly, and an unmanned aerial vehicle able to ensure a reliable electromechanical connection between different portions, for example the arms and the main body of the drone, thereby allowing a modularity in using different types of electrical connections.

[0016] Examples of the disclosure will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like references refer to like parts, and in which:

[0017] Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the connection arrangement according to an example;

[0018] Figure 2A is a schematic representation of a coupling assembly according to an example;

[0019] Figure 2B is a schematic representation of a coupling assembly according to another example;

[0020] Figure 3 is a representation of the employment of the coupling assembly of figure 2A according to an example;

[0021] Figure 4A is a representation of the employment of the coupling assembly of figure 2B according to an example;

[0022] Figure 4B is a representation of the employment of the coupling assembly of figure 2B according to another example;

[0023] Figure 5 is a representation of mechanical module according to different examples;

[0024] Figure 6A is a representation of the electrical module according to an example; and Figure 6B is representation of the electrical module with different connection points.

[0025] Figure 1 is a schematic representation of the connector arrangement 1 according to an example of the present disclosure. The arrangement 1 serves to basically couple two portions, i.e. a first portion 2 and a second portion 3, of an object 4 (not shown in the figure). In particular, the object 4 is an electronic device such as an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) where the two portions 2, 3 need to be mechanically and electronically connected to each other. Therefore, the connector arrangement 1 comprises a mechanical module 5 and an electrical module 6 for the mechanical and the electrical connection, respectively. Figure 1 is intended as a cross section of a system showing the arrangement 1 and the two portions 2, 3. The portion can be any structural component of the object 4 having a suitable shape, elongated longitudinal shape, curved shape, flat shape, etc. that is connected to other devices such as sensors, actuators, etc.. The portion can also be a case / housing of the object containing electronic circuitry.

[0026] The arrangement 1 is (at least in part) inserted into, and / or fixed to, each portion 2, 3. Accordingly, one part of the mechanical module 5 can be connected to the first portion 2 and another part to the second portion 5 in order to ensure a reliable connection between the two portions. Advantageously, the arrangement 1 (e.g. the mechanical module 5) can be fixed to only one of the two portions (e.g. the first portion 2) at one side and the other side of the arrangement 1 (e.g. of the mechanical module 5) can be plugged into the other of the two portions (e.g. the second portion 3). In another configuration, the mechanical module 5 can be divided into two components that are fixable with each other.

[0027] It is noted that the electrical module 6 (shown in dashed line in the figure) is detachable from the mechanical module 5. For example, the mechanical module 5 comprises a housing with walls and the electrical module 6 can be attached to, and detached from, said walls. When attached, the electrical module 6 is maintained in a stable coupling configuration with respect to the mechanical module 5. When detached, the electrical module 5 can be separated from the mechanical module 5, for example for easy repair in case of damage. For this purpose, the mechanical module 5, e.g. the housing of the mechanical module 5, comprises at least an aperture from which the electrical module 6 can be extracted, at least in part. Therefore, the electrical module 6 is contained, at least in part, inside the mechanical module 5.

[0028] It is noted that the detachment for the mechanical module 5 does not necessarily mean that the electrical module 6 is also detachable from the arrangement 1 . As a matter of fact, the electrical module 5 can still remain in contact with the connector arrangement 1 , e.g. a core part of the arrangement, through one or more cables. However, according to an example, the electrical module 6 is removable from the arrangement 1 and replaceable with a different electrical module 6. This can be very useful if there is the need of changing the electrical configuration. As a matter of fact, the electrical module 6 can be characterized by one or more electrical connection lines for transferring electrical signals for different purposes (sensor information, power, data, etc.) from the first portion 2 to the second portion 3 and vice versa. Having the possibility of changing only the electrical module 6 inside the arrangement 1 , makes it is easier for the user to customize the electrical connection lines and modify the performance of the object, i.e. of the drone, for example by adding a connection signal related to an additional sensor. In other words, the connector arrangement 1 according to the present disclosure is a modular connector able to be reconfigured based on the necessity. Figures 2A and 2B illustrate two different configurations for a coupling assembly 10, 12. For example, these coupling assemblies 10, 12 can be used for an object 4 as a drone, more specifically as an unmanned aerial vehicle. The first portion 2 of the UAV as intended according to the present disclosure can be for example one arm including at least a propeller 13, whereas the second portion 3 of the UAV can be the main body. It is noted that the first and second portions 2,3 of the UAV can be other parts of the same. For example, the first and second portions 2,3, can be two pieces of a single arm. And the coupling assembly 10, 12 would connect one piece of the arm (i.e. distal portion) from another piece of the arm (i.e. proximal portion).

[0029] In figure 2A, the coupling assembly 10 comprises two connector arrangements 1 as described above, i.e. a first connector arrangement 1 and a second connector arrangement 1 , wherein the first connector arrangement 1 is connected to the second connector arrangement 1. For example, the first connector arrangement 1 is located at the first portion 2 of the object 4 and is fixable to said first portion 2, and the second connector arrangement 1 is located at the second portion 3 of the object 4 and is fixable to said second portion 3. Therefore, the first connector arrangement 1 can be plugged into the second connector arrangement 1 to achieve an electromechanical coupling between the two portions 2, 3. For this purpose, the first connector arrangement 1 can be configured for example as a male connector arrangement 1 and the second connector arrangement 1 can be configured as a female connector arrangement 1 so that the first connector arrangement 1 can be inserted (plugged) into the second connector arrangement 1. A male connector arrangement 1 can be intended as a male mechanical module 5 and / or a male electrical module 6 and a female connector arrangement 1 can be intended as a female mechanical module 5 and / or a female electrical module 6. Therefore, the coupling between the two connector arrangements 1 can be obtained by the insertion (plugging) of the male mechanical module 5 and / or male electrical module 6 into the female mechanical module 5 and / or female electrical module 6, respectively.

[0030] A practical application of this coupling assembly 10 is shown in figure 3. In this case, the coupling assembly 10 serves to connect one arm 2 of the drone 4 having a propeller 13 to the main body 3 of the drone 4. The first connector arrangement 1 including a corresponding mechanical module 5 and an electrical module 6 is located at, and fixable to, one end of the arm 2 (opposite to the end of the arm 2 provided with the propeller 13) and the second connector arrangement 1 including a corresponding mechanical module 5 and an electrical module 6 is located at, and fixable to, one region of the main body 4. As mentioned above, the electrical modules 6 can be detached and removed from the corresponding mechanical modules 5 to increase the modularity of the drone 4. In other words, the arm 2 can be attached to, and detached from, the main body 3 of the drone 4. This can be very useful during transportation or in case of a reparation action, since only the damaged part (for example the arm) can be sent to the workshop for repair. Also, the electrical module 6 can be replaced with a different electrical module 6, if needed. For example, the drone can be provided with an additional sensor (e.g. temperature sensor, optical sensor, etc.) and the electrical module 6 can be replaced to activate the functionalities of such sensor by using suitable electrical connection lines.

[0031] In figure 2B, the coupling assembly 12 comprises a connector arrangement 1 as described above and an electric socket 11. In this case, the electrical module 6 of the connector arrangement 1 can be inserted (plugged) into the electric socket 11.

[0032] In order to establish a mechanical connections, the mechanical module 5 of the connector arrangement 1 can be fixed to the electric socket 11 , i.e., a part of the mechanical module 5 can engage a part of the electric socket 11.

[0033] According to an example, the first connector arrangement 1 is located at the first portion 2 of the object 4 and is fixable to said first portion 2, and the electric socket 11 is located at the second portion 3 of the object 4 and is fixable to said second portion 3. Therefore, the first connector arrangement 1 can be plugged into the electric socket 11 to achieve an electromechanical coupling between the two portions 2, 3. For this purpose, the first connector arrangement 1 can be configured for example as a male connector arrangement 1 and the electric socket 11 can be configured as a female electrical component so that the first connector arrangement 1 can be inserted (plugged) into the electric socket 11. As mentioned above, a male connector arrangement 1 can be intended as a male mechanical module 5 and / or a male electrical module 6. Therefore, the coupling between the connector arrangement 1 and the electric socket 11 can be obtained by the insertion (plugging) of the male mechanical module 5 and / or male electrical module 6 into the socket 11.

[0034] A practical application of this coupling assembly 12 is shown in figures 4A and 4B. These figures illustrate two UAVs, wherein the coupling assembly 12 is located at the end of each arm 2. The example of the figures shows a drone with four arms 2 each including a propeller 13. Similar to the case of figure 3, each of the arm 2 can be independently attached to, and detached from, the main body 3 of the drone 4. This can be very useful during transportation or in case of a reparation action. Also, the electrical module 6 (not shown in the figure) can be replaced with another electrical module 6, if needed. It is noted that the main body 3 of the drone 4 has a polygonal shape and the arms 2 can be distributed along the sides of the main body 3. The difference between the configurations of the two figures is that in case of figure 4A only a limited number of sides (four) are provided with the electric sockets 11 and each connector arrangement 1 is coupled to a corresponding electric socket 11 , whereas in case of figure 4B all the sides (e.g. eight) are provided with an electric socket 11 although only a reduced number of arms (e.g. four) are attached to the main body 3 using the coupling assembly 12. The latter configuration gives to the drone 4 a higher constructional flexibility since it is possible to vary the number and position of the arms 2 based on the necessity. In addition, the free electric sockets 11 can be used for coupling additional devices, such as sensor device. In other words, the free sockets 11 offers the possibility for expansion modules for a drone, in the shape of actuators such as arms with a propeller or a servomotor that can detach a payload, or in the shape of additional sensors.

[0035] It is noted that both the embodiments of 4A and 4B are only possible examples and that any number of connectors and / or arms can be attached on any shape of the body 3.

[0036] As mentioned above, according to this coupling assembly 12, the mechanical module 5 of the connector arrangement 1 can engage the electric socket 11. For example, the mechanical module 5 comprises an interlock mechanism 8. For example, the interlock mechanism can be a latch. The interlock mechanism 8 can also be used with the coupling assembly 10 of figures 2A and 3 in order to reinforce the electromechanical connection between the two portions 2, 3 of the drone 4.

[0037] Figure 5 illustrates different examples of mechanical modules 5. All these example comprise a module body 15 that is configured to be connected to one portion 2, 3 of the object 4, for example to be connected to the arm 2 of the drone 4. In addition, the mechanical modules 5 comprise an interlock mechanism 8 that is pivotally connected (hinged) to the module body 15. The interlock mechanism 8 is used to fix the mechanical module 5 to the electric socket 11 , as shown in figures 4A and 4B.

[0038] The examples (i)-(vi) of figure 5 show how the mechanical module 5, and in particular the module body 15, can be differently shaped based on the specific connection requirements for the arms 2 of the drone 4. In the example (vi) of figure 5 the top housing mechanically locks with its lower part with a latch.

[0039] Different other interlocking mechanism 8 could also be used to fix the portions 2, 3 together, pertaining but not limited to bolt assembly, swivel locks, threaded connections, snaplocks, etc.

[0040] Figures 6A and 6B illustrate, on the other hand, different examples of electrical modules 6. It is noted that the electrical module 6 comprises at least one electrical connector point 7 for the transmission of a signal, in particular data signal or power signal. The electrical module 6 of figure 6A has for example five connection points 7, wherein one is the ground an the other four are used for electrical signaling. It is noted that the electrical module 6 can have other possible configurations of connector points according to the user’s needs, as shown in the examples (i)- (vii) of figure 6B. Advantageously, the electrical module 6 can be configured as male component (defined with M in figure 6A) or as female component (defined with F in figure 6A). The electrical module

[0041] 6 as female component can correspond to the electric socket 11 of the coupling assembly 12 of figures 2B and 4A-B. The electrical module 6 has a module housing 14 and the connection points

[0042] 7 are embedded in the body of the module housing 14. It is noted that the module housing 14 has a shape and dimension such that it can fit the inside of the mechanical module 5. In this way, the electrical module 6 can be inserted (completely or partially) into the mechanical module 5. For example, the module housing 14 of figures 6A-6B has a squared cross section that fits the squared section of the mechanical modules 5 of figure 5.

[0043] According to an example, the mechanical module 5 comprises a breaking point 9. This increases the mechanical protection in case of a damage due to a crash of the drone 4 in order to prevent further damages to the main body 3 of the drone 4. The breaking point 9 can be designed in the outermost (arm side) part of the mechanical module 5, by having a structural weak spot with a breaking strength below the yield strength of other parts in the connector part 1 from fig. 4A and 4B. The breaking point 9 can be a recess or a region of different (less robust) material compared to other parts of the mechanical module 5. If the drone 4 crashes and a propeller 13 hits the ground hard enough, a fracture will occur in the parts attached to the drone arm 2, and a new backup arm 2 can quickly replace it, only by detaching the old broken arm 2 and attaching the new arm 2 in the connector 1 .

[0044] Although a variety of techniques and examples of such techniques have been described herein, these are provided by way of example only and many variations and modifications on such examples will be apparent to the skilled person and fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention, which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

CLAIMS1. Connector arrangement (1) for an electro-mechanical coupling between a first portion (2) and a second portion (3) of an object (4), in particular an unmanned aerial vehicle, the arrangement (1) comprising: a mechanical module (5) for mechanically connecting the first portion (2) to the second portion (3); and an electrical module (6) for electrically connecting the first portion (2) to the second portion (3), wherein the electrical module (6) is detachable from the mechanical module (5).

2. Connector arrangement (1) of claim 1 , wherein the electrical module (6) is contained, at least in part, inside the mechanical module (5).

3. Connector arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrical module (6) is removable from the arrangement (1) and replaceable with a different electrical module (6).

4. Connector arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the electrical module (6) comprises at least one electrical connector point (7) for the transmission of a signal, in particular data signal or power signal.

5. Connector arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical module (5) comprises an interlock mechanism (8).

6. Connector arrangement (1) according to claim 5, wherein the interlock mechanism (8) is a latch.

7. Connector arrangement (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the mechanical module (5) comprises a breaking point (9).

8. Coupling assembly (10) comprising: a first and a second connector arrangement (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7,wherein the first connector arrangement (1) is pluggable into the second connector arrangement (1).

9. Coupling assembly (10) according to claim 8, wherein the first connector arrangement (1) is located at the first portion (2) of the object (4) and the second connector arrangement (1) is located at the second portion (3) of the object (4).

10. Coupling assembly (12) comprising: a connector arrangement (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, and an electric socket (11), wherein the electrical module (6) of the connector arrangement (1) is pluggable into the electric socket (11).

11. Coupling assembly (12) of claim 10, wherein the mechanical module (5) of the connector arrangement (1) is fixable to the electric socket (11).

12. Coupling assembly (12) according to any one of claims 10 to 11 , wherein the connector arrangement (1) is located at the first portion (2) of the object (4) and the electric socket (11) is located at the second portion (3) of the object (4).

13. Unmanned aerial vehicle (4) having a first portion (2) and a second portion (3) and comprising the connector arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7 or the coupling assembly (10) according to any one of claims 8 to 9 or the coupling assembly (12) according to any one of claims 10 to 12 for connecting the first portion (2) to the second portion (3).

14. Unmanned aerial vehicle (4) according to claim 13, comprising an arm having at least a propeller (13), wherein at least one of the first portion (2) or the second portion (3) is said arm.

15. Unmanned aerial vehicle (4) according to any one of claims 13 to 14, comprising a main body, wherein at least one of the first portion (2) or the second portion (3) is said main body.

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