Monitoring system and power supply control method

Abstract

An embodiment of the present invention proposes a power supply control method and a monitoring system that can execute the power supply control method. The monitoring system includes a base station, an image capture device and a processor. The base station includes a charging device, and the charging device includes a power supply connector and a power supply. The power supply is coupled to the power supply connector and outputs power through the power supply connector. The image capture device photographs the power supply connector to obtain a photographed image. The processor determines the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector based on the photographed image, and issues a warning message based on the distribution of foreign matter. This foreign matter distribution is related to the foreign matter formed on the power supply connector. In this way, it is possible to automatically determine whether the charging mechanism has failed, and notify and / or compensate in the event of failure.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a monitoring technology for an unmanned aerial vehicle, and in particular to a monitoring system and a power supply control method for an unmanned aerial vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Monitoring technology is applied in various industries to monitor equipment, buildings or other assets. In order to eliminate human factors, automatic monitoring methods are now available, and automatic monitoring equipment will be set up in specific places to monitor the environment. Automated monitoring equipment may include drones and charging equipment. However, since charging equipment is usually placed in outdoor places and its charging plate is usually made of metal, the charging plate may be affected by the climate and become damp or even rusty, or foreign objects may fall on the charging plate. The above situations will affect the charging efficiency and cause unexpected energy consumption and temperature rise problems. In addition, the drone may not be fully charged or cannot be fully charged within a fixed time, which will cause the charging time to be extended, thereby affecting the frequency and efficiency of task execution.

[0003] The "background technology" section is only used to help understand the content of the present invention. Therefore, the content disclosed in the "background technology" section may contain some known technologies that are not known to ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field. The content disclosed in the "background technology" section does not mean that the content or the problems to be solved by one or more embodiments of the present invention have been known or recognized by ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field before the application of the present invention. [Summary of the invention]

[0004] The present invention provides a monitoring system and a charging control method for detecting abnormal conditions of a charging connector and notifying or compensating for power supply loss caused by the abnormal conditions.

[0005] Other purposes and advantages of the present invention can be further understood from the technical features disclosed in the present invention.

[0006] To achieve one or part or all of the above-mentioned purposes or other purposes, an embodiment of the present invention provides a monitoring system, including a base station, an image capture device, a drone and a processor, wherein: the base station includes a charging device, the charging device includes a power supply connector, a power controller and a power supply, the power supply is coupled to the power supply connector and outputs power through the power supply connector, the power controller is coupled to the power supply and adjusts the power supply setting of the power supply according to the power characteristics, wherein the power supply setting affects the power characteristics, and the power controller compensates for the power loss caused by the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector through the adjusted power supply setting, the power characteristics include the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the drone battery and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector or the impedance value of the power supply connector, the power supply setting includes the switching conditions of two charging modes, and the two charging modes include one A constant current mode and a constant voltage mode, the switching condition includes a critical voltage, when the supply voltage is greater than the critical voltage, the power controller switches the constant current mode to the constant voltage mode, and the power controller adjusts the critical voltage according to the voltage difference, wherein the power controller uses the sum of the voltage difference and the critical voltage as the new critical voltage; the image capture device photographs the power supply connector to obtain the photographed image; the drone includes a battery and a charging connector, wherein the battery supplies power to the drone, and the charging connector is used to connect the battery and the power supply connector; when the charging connector is connected to the power supply connector, the processor determines the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector based on the power characteristics; and the processor determines the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector based on the photographed image, and issues a warning message based on the foreign matter distribution, wherein the foreign matter distribution is related to at least one foreign matter formed on the power supply connector.

[0007] To achieve one or part or all of the above-mentioned purposes or other purposes, a power supply control method proposed in an embodiment of the present invention includes: photographing a power supply connector in a charging device of a base station to obtain a photographed image, wherein the base station is used to charge a drone; judging the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector according to the photographed image; adjusting the power supply setting of the power supply in the charging device according to the power characteristics, wherein the power supply setting affects the power characteristics, and the power supply loss caused by the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the drone battery and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector is compensated by the adjusted power supply setting, and the power characteristics include the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector or the impedance value of the power supply connector; the power supply setting includes a switching condition of two charging modes, the two charging modes include a constant current mode and a constant voltage mode, and the switching condition includes a critical voltage, when the power supply voltage is greater than the critical voltage, the constant current mode is switched to the constant voltage mode, and the critical voltage is adjusted according to the voltage difference, and the sum of the voltage difference and the critical voltage is used as the new critical voltage; when the charging connector of the drone is connected to the power supply connector, judging the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector according to the power characteristics; and issuing a warning message according to the distribution of foreign matter, wherein the distribution of foreign matter is related to at least one foreign matter formed on the power supply connector.

[0008] Based on the above, the monitoring system and power supply control method of the embodiment of the present invention determines whether the power supply connector on the base station is affected by foreign objects or other abnormal situations based on image recognition, and adjusts the switching timing of the charging mode or the size of the power supply voltage accordingly, thereby compensating for the power supply loss caused by the abnormal situation. In this way, the charging efficiency is improved and the chance of the drone being fully charged is increased.

[0009] In order to make the above features and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, embodiments are given below with reference to the accompanying drawings for detailed description.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a remote server according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a base station according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a power supply control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 6is a flow chart of foreign object recognition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 7 is a flow chart of connection confirmation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 8 is a flow chart of power supply compensation according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Fig. 9 is a flow chart of power supply compensation according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Fig.10 is a flow chart of adjusting power supply settings according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020]

Explanation of symbols

[0021] 1: Monitoring system

[0022] 10: Drones

[0023] 11: Battery

[0024] 13: Charging connector

[0025] 14, 54: Image capture device

[0026] 15, 35, 55: Communication transceiver

[0027] 19, 39, 59: Processor

[0028] 30: Remote Server

[0029] 50: Base Station

[0030] 51: Charging device

[0031] 511: Power

[0032] 512: Power supply connector

[0033] 515: Power Controller

[0034] S510~S550, S610~S650, S710~S750, S810~S850, S910~S930, S1010~S1050: steps. [Specific implementation method]

[0035] The aforementioned and other technical contents, features and effects of the present invention will be clearly presented in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings. The directional terms mentioned in the following embodiments, such as: up, down, left, right, front or back, etc., are only reference directions in the accompanying drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are used to illustrate and not to limit the present invention. In addition, the term "coupling" mentioned in the following embodiments may refer to any direct or indirect means of connection. In addition, the term "signal" may refer to at least one current, voltage, charge, temperature, data, electromagnetic wave or any other one or more signals.

[0036] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a monitoring system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 The monitoring system 1 includes but is not limited to a drone 10 , a monitoring server 30 and a base station 50 .

[0037] Figure 2 is a block diagram of a drone 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 The drone 10 includes but is not limited to a battery 11 , a charging connector 13 , a communication transceiver 15 , and a processor 19 .

[0038] The battery 11 may be a lithium battery, a fuel cell, a nickel-cadmium battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery or other rechargeable batteries.

[0039] The charging connector 13 can be various types of connectors such as terminals, sockets, pin headers, pins, plugs, etc. The charging connector 13 is connected to the battery 11 and is used to connect to an external power source (eg, AC power, power converter, or other power supply device) to charge the battery 11 .

[0040] The communication transceiver 15 may be a transceiver supporting wireless communication technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, fourth generation (4G) or other generations of mobile communications.

[0041] The processor 19 is coupled to the battery 11 and the communication transceiver 15 and can be a central processing unit (CPU), a microcontroller, a chip programmable controller, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or other similar components or a combination of the above components. In this embodiment, the processor 19 is used to control all operations of the drone 10.

[0042] In one embodiment, the drone 10 further includes an image capture device 14. The image capture device 14 is coupled to the processor 19. The image capture device 14 may be a camera, a video camera, or other devices. The image capture device 14 may also include components such as an image sensor (e.g., a charge coupled device (CCD), a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS), etc.), an optical lens, and an image control circuit. In an embodiment of the present invention, the image capture device 14 is used to shoot toward the outside world. For example, the image capture device 14 shoots toward the outward extension of the charging connector 13.

[0043] Figure 3 is a block diagram of a remote server 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 , the remote server 30 includes but is not limited to a communication transceiver 35 and a processor 39. The remote server 30 can be an electronic device such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, various types of servers, a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.

[0044] The implementation of the communication transceiver 35 can refer to the description of the communication transceiver 15, which will not be repeated here. In some embodiments, the communication transceiver 35 may also support a wired communication network such as Ethernet, a fiber optic network, or other types of networks. The communication transceiver 35 can communicate directly with the communication transceiver 15 or forward the information of the communication transceiver 15 through other intermediary devices (e.g., a base station 50, a base station, or a router, etc.).

[0045] The processor 39 is coupled to the communication transceiver 35 , and its implementation can refer to the description of the processor 19 , which will not be repeated here. In this embodiment, the processor 39 is used to control all operations of the remote server 30 .

[0046] Figure 4 is a block diagram of a base station 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 The base station 50 includes but is not limited to a charging device 51 , a communication transceiver 55 and a processor 59 .

[0047] The charging device 51 includes but is not limited to a power source 511, a power supply connector 512, and a power supply controller 515. The power source 511 may be a mains supply, a generator, a solar panel, a battery that is the same as or similar to the battery 11, or a combination of the two or more. The power supply connector 512 may be a connector such as a terminal, a jack, a pin header, a pin, a plug, a charging board, etc., and may be connected to the charging connector 13 of the drone 10 and electrically connected to the power source 511. The power supply controller 515 may be a processor, a chip, or a circuit, and the power supply controller 515 is connected to the power supply 511 and the power supply connector 512, so that the power supply 511 supplies power to the connected external device (e.g., the drone 10 or other electronic device) through the power supply connector 512.

[0048] The implementation of the communication transceiver 55 can refer to the description of the communication transceiver 35, which will not be repeated here. The communication transceiver 55 can communicate with the communication transceiver 15 and / or the communication transceiver 35 directly or forward the information of the communication transceivers 15 and 35 through other intermediary devices (e.g., base stations, routers, etc.).

[0049] The processor 59 is coupled to the charging device 51 and the communication transceiver 55 , and its implementation can refer to the description of the processor 19 , which will not be repeated here. In this embodiment, the processor 59 is used to control all operations of the base station 50 .

[0050] In one embodiment, the base station 50 further includes an image capture device 54. The implementation of the image capture device 54 can refer to the description of the image capture device 14, which will not be repeated here. In the embodiment of the present invention, the image capture device 54 is used to photograph the power connector 512.

[0051] In order to facilitate understanding of the operation process of the embodiment of the present invention, the operation process of the monitoring system 1 in the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with many embodiments below. Hereinafter, the method of the embodiment of the present invention will be described in conjunction with each device and its components or modules in the monitoring system 1. The various processes of this method can be adjusted according to the implementation situation, and are not limited to this. In addition, for the convenience of explanation, the processor 59 of the base station 50 will be taken as an example and used as the main body of the operation. However, some operations on the processor 59 may also be performed by the processor 19 of the drone 10 or the processor 39 of the remote server 30, and the relevant signals or data are transmitted or received through the communication transceivers 15, 35, 55.

[0052] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a power supply control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5, the processor 59 uses the image capture device 14 or 54 to capture the power connector 512 of the base station 50 to obtain a captured image (step S510). In one embodiment, the processor 59 can control the image capture device 14 or 54 to perform a capture operation at any time, at a fixed time, or according to a trigger operation (for example, a remote control signal, the drone 10 approaches a specific distance, or detects a specific humidity, wind speed, etc.). The captured image of the image capture device 14 or 54 will include the power connector 512.

[0053] In another embodiment, when the drone 10 approaches the base station 50 to a specific distance (e.g., 10, 5, 3 or meters) (for example, the distance between the drone 10 and the base station 50 can be sensed by components such as infrared sensors, distance sensors, radio transceivers, etc.), the processor 19 of the drone 10 can also photograph the power supply connector 512 of the base station 50 through the image capture device 14 or 54.

[0054] The processor 59 determines the distribution of foreign matter on the power connector 512 based on the captured image (step S530). In one embodiment, the distribution of foreign matter is related to the foreign matter formed on the power connector 512. The foreign matter may be an oxide or hydroxide (i.e., rust) formed by oxidation of the surface material of the power connector 512, leaves, dust, or other objects outside the body of the base station 50. Abnormalities may affect the charging situation. For example, the charging efficiency decreases, the battery 11 cannot be charged to a certain amount of power, the temperature rises, etc. The embodiment of the present invention identifies these foreign matter and its distribution through automatic optical inspection (AOI) or other image recognition technology.

[0055] Figure 6 This is a flow chart of foreign body identification according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 , the processor 59 performs grayscale processing on the captured image, and determines the foreign body area of ​​the foreign body according to the corresponding grayscale value of the power connector 512 in the captured image after grayscale processing, and determines the area ratio according to the foreign body area (step S610). Specifically, it is assumed that the brightness of the foreign body is different from that of the power connector 512, and the grayscale image can reflect the difference in brightness. The processor 59 can first record the corresponding grayscale value of the power connector 512, and set the grayscale allowable range according to this grayscale value, and set the grayscale value corresponding to the object outside the grayscale allowable range in the captured image as a foreign body. The processor 59 can further mark the position and range of the foreign body identified in the grayscale captured image. The sum of the corresponding ranges of these foreign bodies is used as the foreign body area, and the proportion of the foreign body area to the captured image can be used as the area ratio.

[0056] It should be noted that in addition to identifying objects by grayscale differences, there are many other methods for object recognition. For example, classifiers based on machine learning, image feature comparison, etc. can all be applied to identifying foreign objects. In addition, depending on actual needs, the processor 59 can also perform image processing such as noise reduction, color processing, edge detection, image enhancement, etc. on the captured images, and the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

[0057] Next, the processor 59 determines whether the area ratio is greater than the area threshold (step S630). This area threshold may be a fixed value (e.g., 10, 25, or 30%). Alternatively, the area threshold may be dynamically adjusted depending on weather abnormalities (e.g., multiple days of rain, specific high temperatures, specific humidity, specific wind speeds, etc.) or remote settings (from the remote server 30). If the area ratio is greater than the area threshold, the processor 59 considers that the current abnormal distribution has affected the charging situation. If the area ratio is not greater than the area threshold, the processor 59 considers that the current abnormal distribution is within the allowable range.

[0058] The processor 59 may further issue a warning message based on the distribution of the foreign matter (step S550). Figure 6 In the embodiment of the invention, the processor 59 determines the area ratio of the foreign matter in the foreign matter distribution to the whole or part of the area of ​​the power connector 512. If the area ratio is greater than the area threshold, the processor 59 may issue a warning message (step S650). The processor 59 may further issue a warning message such as a text message, an email, or a push notification to the remote server 30 or other external device through the communication transceiver 55, or the processor 59 may issue a warning message in the form of sound, picture, or light and dark colors through a speaker, a display, or a lighting device.

[0059] In another embodiment, the distribution of foreign matter is related to the contact point between the charging connector 13 and the power supply connector 512. The processor 59 can perform image recognition on a specific position or range in the captured image. If there is a foreign matter at the corresponding position or range where the charging connector 13 and the power supply connector 512 contact, or the proportion exceeds a threshold, the processor 59 can issue a warning message.

[0060] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the processors 19 and 39 may receive the captured images captured by the image capture devices 14 and 54 and further determine the distribution of foreign matter in the captured images.

[0061] After the drone 10 lands on the base station 50, the base station 50 will charge the drone 10. The embodiment of the present invention is mainly directed to a charging mechanism in which the charging ports of the drone 10 and the base station 50 (ie, the charging connector 13 and the power supply connector 512) are in contact.

[0062] Figure 7 is a flow chart of connection confirmation according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 , the processor 59 can determine whether the charging connector 13 of the drone 10 is connected to the power connector 512 according to the battery voltage of the battery 11 (step S710). The power controller 515 includes a detection circuit for the battery voltage. The processor 59 can determine whether the battery voltage of the battery 11 can be measured / read or whether its value meets the allowable range (which may be related to the range between the lowest and highest battery voltages of the battery 11, but can still be adjusted according to other requirements) through the power controller 515 to confirm the connection status. If the battery voltage can be measured / read or its value meets the allowable range, the processor 59 confirms that the charging connector 13 is connected to the power connector 512. For example, the charging connector 13 is two pins extending outward from the main body of the drone 10, and the power connector 512 is two charging plates that are disposed on the platform of the base station 50 and exposed. When the two pins are in direct contact with the two charging plates, the power controller 515 can read the value of the battery voltage. On the other hand, if the battery voltage cannot be measured / determined, or its value does not fall within the allowable range, the processor 59 confirms that the charging connector 13 is not connected to the power connector 512, and repeats step S710 at fixed or irregular intervals until the charging connector 13 is connected to the power connector 512.

[0063] If the charging connector 13 is connected to the power supply connector 512, the processor 59 determines whether to charge the power supply 511 of the drone 10 through the charging device 51 (step S730). In one embodiment, the processor 59 may determine whether to charge the battery 11 through the power supply 511 according to the battery status of the battery 11. The battery status may be related to the power level of the battery 11, the individual voltages of a plurality of cells in the battery 11, or the voltage difference between each of these cells. For example, the charging condition may be that the power level of the battery 11 is lower than the charging threshold (e.g., 10%, 20%, or 80% power), the voltage of any one or more than a certain number of cells is within the voltage safety range (which may be related to the value between the lowest and highest battery voltages of the battery 11, but can still be adjusted according to other requirements), or the voltage difference between any one or more than a certain number of cells is within the voltage difference safety range.

[0064] It can be set to consider all the aforementioned charging conditions together or only some of the aforementioned charging conditions. If the aforementioned charging conditions are considered together, when any of the aforementioned charging conditions is not met, the processor 59 notifies the charging device 51 not to charge the battery 11. Specifically, when the power level of the battery 11 is higher than the charging threshold, the processor 59 regards the battery 11 as not yet in need of charging, and notifies the charging device 51 not to charge the battery 11; or, if the voltage of the single battery is not within the voltage safety range, and / or the voltage difference between the single batteries is not within the voltage difference safety range, the processor 59 regards the battery 11 as abnormal, and notifies the charging device 51 not to charge the battery 11. In some embodiments, when the battery 11 is abnormal (i.e., for example, the voltage of the single battery is not within the voltage safety range, and / or the voltage difference between the single batteries is not within the voltage difference safety range), the processor 59 may further send a warning message to the remote server 30 or other external devices through the communication transceiver 55. The sending of the warning message can refer to the aforementioned description of the warning message sent due to abnormal distribution, which will not be repeated here.

[0065] On the other hand, if the aforementioned charging conditions are considered together, when all the aforementioned charging conditions are met, for example, the power level of the battery 11 is lower than the charging threshold, and the voltage of the single battery is within the voltage safety range, and the voltage difference between the single batteries is within the voltage difference safety range), the processor 59 notifies or controls the charging device 51 to charge the battery 11 (i.e., start charging) (step S750). For example, the charging device 51 turns on the charging switch. However, only some of the aforementioned charging conditions may be considered to determine whether to charge the battery 11 through the power supply 511, for example, only the power level of the battery 11, only the voltage of the single battery, or only the voltage difference between the single batteries, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0066] It should be noted that in other embodiments, the processor 19, 39 receives the determination result of the power controller 515 through the communication transceiver 15, 35 to determine whether the connection status of the charging connector 13 and the power connector 512 and the charging conditions are met. In addition, in some embodiments, the processor 59 may also directly start charging when the charging connector 13 is connected to the power connector 512.

[0067] Next, when the charging connector 13 is connected to the power connector 512, the processor 59 determines an abnormality on the power connector 512 based on the power characteristics of the power supply 511 charging the battery 11. In one embodiment, the abnormality is related to a foreign object formed on the power connector 512. The foreign object may be an oxide or hydroxide (i.e., rust) formed by oxidation of the surface material of the power connector 512, leaves, dust, or other objects other than the body of the drone 10. In another embodiment, the abnormality is related to damage to the power connector 512. For example, it is corroded, broken, lost, etc.

[0068] Abnormal conditions may affect the charging conditions. For example, the charging efficiency decreases, the battery 11 cannot be charged to a certain amount of power, the temperature rises, etc. The charging conditions can be represented by the power characteristics when the power source 511 charges the battery 11. In other words, in addition to the aforementioned method of determining abnormal distribution based on image recognition, the embodiment of the present invention can also judge abnormal conditions by the correlation between abnormal conditions and power characteristics.

[0069] Figure 8 is a flow chart of power supply compensation according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 In one embodiment, the power characteristic includes an impedance value. According to experimental results or actual situations, an abnormal situation on the power connector 512 may cause its impedance value to increase. The power controller 515 can respectively judge the battery voltage of the battery 11, the power supply voltage of the power connector 512 (for example, the voltage of any conductive material on the power connector 512) and the power supply current of the power connector 512 (for example, the current of any conductive material on the power connector 512 or the output current of the power supply 511), and the processor 59 determines the impedance value of the power connector 512 according to the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the power supply voltage of the power connector 512, and the power supply current of the power connector 512 (step S810). The processor 59 can decide whether to issue a warning message based on the difference between the impedance value and the impedance threshold. This impedance threshold may be a pre-defined value and is related to the impedance value measured in the abnormal situation where there is no foreign matter on the power connector 512 (but it can still be adjusted according to other needs). Since the occurrence of an abnormal situation will cause the impedance value to increase, the processor 59 can determine whether the impedance value is greater than the impedance threshold (that is, the aforementioned difference) (step S820).

[0070] If the impedance value is not greater than the impedance threshold, the processor 59 will wait until the next time the power supply connector 512 is connected to the charging connector 13 to determine the impedance value of the power supply connector 512 (return to step S810). On the other hand, if the impedance value is greater than the impedance threshold, the processor 59 regards it as an abnormal situation and issues a warning message accordingly (step S830). The sending of the warning message can refer to the above description of the warning message issued due to abnormal distribution, which will not be repeated here.

[0071] It should be noted that, in some embodiments, the processor 59 regards the situation that the impedance value is not equal to the impedance threshold as the condition that the difference does not meet the normal situation. In addition, in other embodiments, the processor 19, 39 receives the judgment result of the power controller 515 or the processor 59 on the above impedance value through the communication transceiver 15, 35 to determine whether the abnormal situation occurs.

[0072] When an abnormal situation occurs, the base station 50 can activate the charging compensation mechanism. In one embodiment, the power controller 515 adjusts the power supply setting of the power supply 511 (for example, the output voltage / current of the power supply 511, the switching condition of the charging mode of the power supply 511, or the selection of the charging mode, etc.) according to the power characteristics (for example, the impedance value of the power supply connector 512). This power supply setting affects the power characteristics. Specifically, due to the increase in the impedance value, the energy supplied by the power supply 511 may be additionally consumed on foreign objects or other damaged situations. If the current and / or voltage provided by the power supply 511 still maintains the initial power supply setting (for example, a preset value, and the preset value is not changed with respect to the power supply setting), the output power provided to the battery 11 may be insufficient (compared with the output power without the abnormal situation). On the contrary, if the power supply setting of the power supply is changed and the output power provided by the charging device 51 is increased, the power supply loss caused by the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery 11 and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector 512 (for example, the output voltage / current of the power supply 511 is insufficient or the output power is insufficient, etc.) can be compensated by the adjusted power supply setting.

[0073] In one embodiment, the power supply setting includes switching conditions for two charging modes. The two charging modes include a constant current (CC) mode and a constant voltage (CV) mode, and the switching condition includes a critical voltage. The initial power supply setting of the charging mechanism may be that the power controller 515 is maintained in a constant current mode, that is, the output current of the power supply 511 is maintained at a constant value. The output current in the constant current mode may be the maximum output current of the power supply 511, greater than the output current in the constant voltage mode, or other values, thereby achieving a fast charging function and saving charging time. In addition, when the power supply voltage of the power supply connector 512 is greater than the critical voltage (ie, the switching condition), the power controller 515 switches the constant current mode to a constant voltage mode (ie, the output voltage of the power supply 511 is maintained at a constant value). An abnormal condition on the power supply connector 512 will cause its power supply voltage to increase, and the power supply voltage when the abnormal condition occurs will reach the critical voltage earlier than when there is no abnormal condition, thereby reducing the charging time in the constant current mode, that is, the fast charging time is shortened. Changing the constant current mode / fast charge time will affect the charging efficiency. The power controller 515 can adjust the critical voltage according to the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the supply voltage (step S840). In one embodiment, the power controller 515 uses the sum of the voltage difference and the critical voltage as the new critical voltage to increase the maintenance time of the constant current mode. For example, if the voltage difference is 1 volt and the critical voltage is 24 volts, the new critical voltage is 25 volts. Compared with the original critical voltage, the supply voltage takes more time to reach the new critical voltage, which can extend the charging time of the constant current mode. In another embodiment, the power controller 515 may increase the critical voltage by a specific value (which may be related to the ratio of the voltage difference or a fixed value) as a new critical voltage. For example, if the critical voltage is 30 volts, the new critical voltage is 32, 35 or 36 volts.

[0074] It should be noted that, according to different battery characteristics, the fast charging effect can only be demonstrated when the battery capacity is below a certain percentage (for example, 70% or 80%) using the constant current mode, so the new critical voltage may also take into account the remaining power of the battery 11.

[0075] In another embodiment, the power supply setting includes the output voltage of the power supply 511. The power controller 515 can adjust the output voltage according to the voltage difference to change the power supply voltage (step S750). After the power supply voltage reaches the critical voltage and the power supply 511 switches to the constant voltage mode, the power controller 515 can increase the output voltage of the power supply 511, thereby increasing the battery voltage of the battery 11 to the expected voltage level, thereby compensating for the power supply loss (for example, increasing the chance of the battery 11 being fully charged).

[0076] In addition to the aforementioned activation of the compensation mechanism based on the impedance value, in one embodiment, the power characteristic includes a voltage difference, and the processor 59 can determine the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery 11 and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector 512, and decide whether to issue a warning message based on the difference between this voltage difference and the gap threshold. According to experimental results or actual situations, an abnormal situation on the power supply connector 512 may cause the voltage difference between its power supply voltage and the battery voltage to increase. The gap threshold may be a pre-defined value and is related to the power supply voltage measured under abnormal conditions where there is no foreign matter on the power supply connector 512 (but it can still be adjusted according to other needs). Since the occurrence of an abnormal situation will cause the voltage difference to increase, the processor 59 can determine whether the voltage difference is greater than the gap threshold (i.e., the aforementioned difference).

[0077] If the voltage difference is not greater than the difference threshold, the processor 59 will wait until the next time the power supply connector 512 is connected to the charging connector 13 to determine the voltage difference. On the other hand, if the voltage difference is greater than the difference threshold, the processor 59 regards it as an abnormal situation and issues a warning message accordingly. The sending of the warning message can refer to the above description of the warning message issued due to abnormal distribution, which will not be repeated here.

[0078] It should be noted that, in other embodiments, the processors 19 and 39 receive the determination result of the voltage difference by the power controller 515 or the processor 59 through the communication transceivers 15 and 35 to determine whether an abnormal situation occurs.

[0079] On the other hand, the power controller 515 can also adjust the power supply setting of the power supply 511 according to the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector 512, that is, start the charging compensation mechanism. Fig. 9 is a flow chart of power supply compensation according to another embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 9 In one embodiment, the power controller 515 can adjust the aforementioned critical voltage according to the voltage difference (step S910). For step S910, reference can be made to the aforementioned description of step S840, which will not be repeated here. In addition, in another embodiment, the power controller 515 can also adjust the output voltage according to the voltage difference (step S930). For the relevant description of step S930, reference can be made to the aforementioned description of step S850, which will not be repeated here.

[0080] It should be noted that the timing of sending warning information and adjusting power supply settings is not limited to Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The order of the embodiment, and the processor 59 may also only execute one of sending the warning information and adjusting the power supply setting. In addition, the power supply setting is not limited to two charging modes, and the power controller 515 may also only adjust the output voltage and / or output current.

[0081] On the other hand, during the execution of the charging compensation mechanism, the embodiment of the present invention also provides a fool-proof mechanism. Fig.10 This is a flow chart of power supply setting adjustment according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig.10 , the power controller 515 can determine whether an adjustment instruction related to compensating for power loss (for example, an adjustment instruction to change the critical voltage or the output voltage) is received within a set time (for example, 500 milliseconds, 1 second, or 3 seconds, etc.) (step S1010). When the power controller 515 receives an adjustment instruction from the processor 19, 39, or 59 within the set time, the power controller 515 can set the power supply setting according to the adjustment instruction (step S1030). For example, the power controller 515 executes steps S740, S750, S810, or S830 to change the critical voltage or the output voltage. On the other hand, when the power controller 515 does not receive an adjustment instruction within the set time, the power controller 515 can adjust the power supply setting to a preset value (step S1050). This preset value is related to the power supply setting and is not changed. For example, the power controller 515 does not change the critical voltage or the output voltage. In this way, malfunctions caused by communication abnormalities can be avoided.

[0082] In summary, the monitoring system and power supply control method of the embodiments of the present invention can automatically determine (through image recognition and / or power characteristics) abnormal conditions on the power supply connector, and issue warning information when abnormal conditions occur, and / or further compensate for power supply losses. This ensures that the drone can be charged normally, thereby preventing flight safety issues such as insufficient power.

[0083] The above-mentioned contents are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and should not be used to limit the scope of the implementation of the present invention. That is, any simple equivalent changes and modifications made according to the scope of the patent application of the present invention and the content of the invention description are still within the scope of the patent of the present invention. In addition, any embodiment or claim of the present invention does not have to achieve all the purposes, advantages or features disclosed in the present invention. In addition, the abstract and the title are only used to assist in searching patent documents, and are not used to limit the scope of rights of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. mentioned in the claims are only used to name the name of the component (element) or to distinguish different embodiments or scopes, and are not used to limit the upper or lower limit of the number of components.

Claims

1. A monitoring system, characterized in that: The monitoring system comprises a base station, an image capture device, a drone and a processor, wherein: The base station includes a charging device, the charging device includes a power supply connector, a power controller and a power supply, the power supply is coupled to the power supply connector and outputs power through the power supply connector, the power controller is coupled to the power supply and adjusts the power supply setting of the power supply according to the power characteristics, wherein the power supply setting affects the power characteristics, and the power controller compensates for the power loss caused by the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector through the adjusted power supply setting, the power characteristics include the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery of the drone and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector or the impedance value of the power supply connector, the power supply setting includes a switching condition between two charging modes, the two charging modes include a constant current mode and a constant voltage mode, the switching condition includes a critical voltage, when the power supply voltage is greater than the critical voltage, the power controller switches the constant current mode to the constant voltage mode, and the power controller adjusts the critical voltage according to the voltage difference, wherein the power controller uses the sum of the voltage difference and the critical voltage as the new critical voltage; The image capture device photographs the power supply connector to obtain a photographed image; The drone includes a battery and a charging connector, wherein: The battery supplies power to the drone, and the charging connector is used to connect the battery and the power supply connector; When the charging connector is connected to the power supply connector, the processor determines the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector according to the power characteristics; and The processor determines the distribution of the foreign matter on the power connector according to the captured image, and issues a warning message according to the distribution of the foreign matter, wherein the distribution of the foreign matter is related to at least one foreign matter formed on the power connector.

2. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The processor determines a ratio of an area of ​​the power supply connector occupied by the at least one foreign object in the foreign object distribution.

3. The monitoring system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The processor determines whether to issue the warning message according to a difference between the area ratio and an area threshold.

4. The monitoring system according to claim 2, characterized in that: The processor performs grayscale processing on the captured image, determines the foreign object area of ​​the at least one foreign object according to the corresponding grayscale value of the power supply connector in the captured image after the grayscale processing, and determines the area ratio according to the foreign object area.

5. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The image capturing device is arranged at the base station.

6. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The image capturing device is arranged on the drone.

7. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The processor determines the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector, and determines whether to issue the warning message according to the difference between the voltage difference and a gap threshold.

8. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The processor determines the impedance value according to the voltage difference and the power supply current of the power supply connector, and determines whether to issue the warning message according to the difference between the impedance value and an impedance threshold.

9. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply setting includes an output voltage of the power supply, and the power controller adjusts the output voltage according to the voltage difference to change the power supply voltage.

10. The monitoring system according to claim 9, characterized in that: The power controller increases the output voltage.

11. The monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply controller determines whether an adjustment instruction related to compensating for the power supply loss is received within a set time; When the power controller does not receive the adjustment instruction within the set time, the power controller adjusts the power setting to a preset value, wherein the preset value is unchanged with respect to the power setting; and When the power controller receives the adjustment instruction within the set time, the power controller sets the power supply setting according to the adjustment instruction.

12. A power supply control method, characterized in that: The power supply control method comprises: photographing a power supply connector in a charging device of a base station to obtain a photographed image, wherein the base station is used to charge the drone; determining the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector according to the captured image; adjusting a power supply setting of a power source in the charging device according to a power characteristic, wherein the power supply setting affects the power characteristic, and the power loss caused by the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery of the drone and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector is compensated by the adjusted power supply setting, wherein the power characteristic includes the voltage difference between the battery voltage and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector or the impedance value of the power supply connector; The power supply setting includes a switching condition of two charging modes, the two charging modes include a constant current mode and a constant voltage mode, the switching condition includes a critical voltage, when the power supply voltage is greater than the critical voltage, the constant current mode is switched to the constant voltage mode, and the critical voltage is adjusted according to the voltage difference, and the sum of the voltage difference and the critical voltage is used as the new critical voltage; When the charging connector of the drone is connected to the power supply connector, the distribution of foreign matter on the power supply connector is determined based on the power characteristics; and A warning message is issued according to the foreign matter distribution, wherein the foreign matter distribution is related to at least one foreign matter formed on the power supply connector.

13. The power supply control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The step of determining the distribution of the foreign matter on the power supply connector according to the captured image includes: Determine the area ratio of the power supply connector occupied by the at least one foreign object in the foreign object distribution.

14. The power supply control method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The step of issuing the warning information according to the foreign matter distribution includes: Whether to issue the warning message is determined according to the difference between the area ratio and an area threshold.

15. The power supply control method according to claim 13, characterized in that: The step of determining the distribution of the foreign matter on the power supply connector according to the captured image includes: Performing grayscale processing on the captured image; Determining a foreign object area of ​​the at least one foreign object according to a corresponding grayscale value of the power connector in the captured image after the grayscale processing; and The area ratio is determined according to the area of ​​the foreign matter.

16. The power supply control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The step of issuing the warning information according to the foreign matter distribution includes: determining the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery and the supply voltage of the power supply connector; and Whether to issue the warning message is determined according to the difference between the voltage difference and a gap threshold.

17. The power supply control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The step of issuing the warning information according to the foreign matter distribution includes: determining the impedance value according to the voltage difference between the battery voltage of the battery and the power supply voltage of the power supply connector, and the power supply current of the power supply connector; and Whether to issue the warning message is determined according to the difference between the impedance value and an impedance threshold.

18. The power supply control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The power supply setting includes an output voltage of the power supply, and the step of compensating for the power supply loss includes: The output voltage is adjusted according to the voltage difference to change the supply voltage.

19. The power supply control method according to claim 18, characterized in that: The step of adjusting the output voltage according to the voltage difference comprises: Increase the output voltage.

20. The power supply control method according to claim 12, characterized in that: The steps of compensating for the power supply loss include: Determining whether an adjustment instruction related to compensating for the power supply loss is received within a set time; When the adjustment instruction is not received within the set time, adjusting the power setting to a preset value, wherein the preset value is unchanged with respect to the power setting; and When the adjustment instruction is received within the set time, the power supply setting is set according to the adjustment instruction.

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