Wingless flying instrument

Abstract

The present invention relates to a wingless flying device having a plurality of electric motor-driven lifting rotors that rotate about different rotor axes. The flying device comprises at least one energy storage device for providing the electrical energy required to operate the lifting rotors, at least one control device for controlling the lifting rotors and for communicating with a ground station, and at least two camera systems for capturing panoramic images. A minimum spherical rotor envelope encompassing all the lifting rotors has a larger volume than a minimum spherical camera envelope encompassing the camera lenses of all the camera systems. The camera systems define a field of view that surrounds the entire flying device, and wherein the lifting rotors are located outside of the field of view.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of Chinese patent application 201680077983.6, filed on November 1, 2016, and entitled “Wingless Flying Instrument”. Technical Field

[0002] The invention relates to a wingless flying device having a plurality of lifting rotors driven by electric motors and rotating about different rotor axes, wherein the flying device has at least one energy storage device for providing the electrical energy required for operating the lifting rotors, at least one control device for controlling the lifting rotors and for communicating with a ground station, and at least two camera devices for capturing a panoramic image. Background Art

[0003] Such unmanned aerial vehicles, such as quadcopters, which are remotely controlled from a ground station, are used to produce panoramic aerial images. For this purpose, in known aerial vehicles, a plurality of camera mechanisms are typically arranged on the frame of the aerial vehicle. The camera mechanisms are arranged as closely as possible so that their fields of view overlap with each other at intervals relative to the aerial vehicle, allowing the entire surroundings of the aerial vehicle to be imaged. Furthermore, it must be ensured that no components of the aerial vehicle are within the field of view of the camera mechanisms, so as not to impair the panoramic recording of the surroundings of the aerial vehicle. To achieve this, the camera mechanisms are typically arranged as far outwardly as possible from the aerial vehicle, so that the remaining components of the aerial vehicle are accordingly arranged as far behind the respective camera mechanisms as possible.

[0004] Aircraft known from the prior art that have camera systems for capturing the entire surroundings of the aircraft are optimally suited for producing panoramic images of the surroundings from a greater distance from the aircraft. The closer the objects in the surroundings to be imaged are to the aircraft, the more difficult it is to image them in conventional aircraft. This is because, due to their spaced-apart arrangement, the different fields of view of the camera systems only intersect at a considerable distance from the aircraft, forming a field of view encompassing the entire aircraft in which all objects can be fully imaged. However, panoramic images of the surroundings can only be captured and produced at a distance from the aircraft at which the surroundings are fully imaged, and in such a way that the fields of view of the different camera systems overlap accordingly.

[0005] For this reason, flying machines known from the prior art are not suitable for taking and producing panoramic photographs, for example, when flying close past buildings, when flying over buildings, or, for example, also over trees or the like, because in such photographs the objects to be photographed are often outside the field of view of the camera, so that the objects can only be imaged partially, and the production of a complete panoramic picture of the surroundings of the flying machine at each time of the flyby is not possible or only possible to a limited extent.

[0006] The area or volume of the object space or the surroundings of the flight instrument that can be detected by the camera system is referred to as the field of view of the camera system. When using a camera system with a rectangular image sensor, the field of view of the camera system is in the form of a truncated pyramid, with the pyramid tip being in the focal point of the objective lens of the camera system. Summary of the Invention

[0007] It is considered an object of the present invention to further improve the flight instruments known from the prior art in such a way that a picture or a panoramic image of the surroundings that is as complete as possible is possible even when flying past objects as closely as possible.

[0008] According to the invention, this object is achieved by having a minimum, spherical rotor envelope encompassing all the lifting rotors, which has a larger volume than the minimum spherical camera envelope (which encompasses the camera lenses of all camera systems), and the camera systems span a field of view that encompasses the entire flight instrument, with the lifting rotors located outside of this field of view. By using this specially designed flight instrument (in which the lifting rotors are arranged further outward, for example on the frame of the flight instrument), the camera systems can be arranged closer together, so that the fields of view of different camera systems of the flight instrument intersect at a smaller distance from the flight instrument. In this special design, it is necessary to adapt the arrangement of the lifting rotors to the required arrangement of the camera systems. Consequently, the design of the flight instrument must be adapted to the camera systems used.

[0009] In the flying device according to the invention, the viewing space advantageously at least partially surrounds the flying device. In order to also be able to produce a panoramic image of the complete surroundings of the flying device, it is provided according to the invention that the viewing space surrounds the entire flying device.

[0010] The efficiency of the lifting rotor increases with increasing rotor surface area. In order to be able to design the rotor surface of the lifting rotor as large as possible and at the same time to be able to arrange the rotor surface outside the field of view of the camera device, it is provided according to the invention that a field of view space that can be detected by the camera device or the field of view of the camera device is determined. The field of view space results from the intersection of the field of view areas with one another. With the aid of or instead of the field of view space, the blind space (Blindraum) can also be easily determined, which cannot be detected by any of the camera devices. In the case of a field of view in the form of a truncated pyramid, the blind space forms a non-convex body with a plurality of curved side faces, which terminate in a pointed manner towards each other in the corner regions of the body. In this case, the lifting rotor is advantageously arranged in an area that is as far outside as possible, which generally involves a sharply terminated corner region of the blind space that cannot be detected by the camera device.

[0011] Advantageously, according to the invention, the camera system includes a camera for taking monoscopic images and / or a camera for taking stereoscopic images. For example, the camera system can include a camera array consisting of at least two cameras spaced apart from one another, with which a stereoscopic image of the surroundings of the flight device can be produced. The use of such a camera system for taking stereoscopic images allows the determination of depth information. The stereoscopic images can be used to create a virtual reality representation of the surroundings. Furthermore, using the flight device according to the invention, when using a camera system that allows stereoscopic images, it is possible to use the flight device for 3D measurement of the surroundings using photogrammetric methods.

[0012] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the flight instrument according to the invention, it is provided that at least one lens spacing of the two camera assemblies is smaller than at least one rotor spacing of the two rotors. Arranging the camera assemblies as close as possible to one another enables a complete panoramic view to be generated even when objects fly by more closely.

[0013] In order to further expand the area that can still be fully detected and to be able to fully detect objects that are still closer to the flight instrument, according to the invention, it is provided that the smallest, spherical center point envelope that surrounds all the lifting rotor center points has a larger volume than the smallest, spherical camera envelope. The corresponding center point or center of gravity of the lifting rotor is referred to as the lifting rotor center point.

[0014] In order not to impair the panoramic image of the surroundings, according to the invention, all components of the flight instrument are located outside the field of view. Due to the arrangement of components such as the necessary energy storage and the control system within the blind area, these components are not detected by the camera system.

[0015] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the wingless flying instrument, the flying instrument has at least four camera assemblies, wherein the camera assemblies are arranged and oriented relative to one another such that an objective plane parallel to the image plane of the camera assemblies surrounds a convex objective polyhedron, so that each boundary surface of the objective polyhedron lies in the objective plane and the objectives of the camera assemblies are arranged completely within the objective polyhedron. The plane passing through the camera assemblies is referred to as the image plane, in which the image sensors of the camera assemblies are arranged.

[0016] Advantageously, according to the invention, the lift rotors are arranged in the area between the field of view and the convex objective lens polyhedron. In order to achieve sufficient lift force by the lift rotors, according to the invention, the lift rotors are arranged at the greatest possible distance from one another, so that the largest possible area or the greatest possible number of lift rotors can be arranged on the wingless flight instrument.

[0017] In order to make the best possible use of the blind space for arranging the lift rotors, according to the invention, the lift rotors are arranged partially extending into the area of ​​the convex objective polyhedron. However, it is also possible, and according to the invention, to arrange the lift rotors completely outside the convex objective polyhedron. In this way, the portion of the blind space enclosed by the convex polyhedron can be used particularly easily for arranging further components, such as the energy storage device.

[0018] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the wingless flying device according to the invention, the energy storage device, the control device, and the camera system are arranged completely within the convex objective polyhedron. By arranging as many components as possible in close proximity to one another, and in particular close to the camera system in the center of the wingless flying device, the weight of the components can be advantageously utilized for vibration damping, thereby stabilizing the image recording by the camera system and enabling recording with minimal disruptive influences and vibrations generated by the lifting rotor.

[0019] To further optimize the arrangement of the lifting rotors in the blind space, and particularly in the sharply converging region of the blind space, the present invention provides for at least two lifting rotors to be arranged so that their rotor axes are oriented nonparallel to one another. This nonparallel orientation of the lifting rotors relative to the vertical axis of the wingless flying device allows for particularly good fit in the sharply converging region of the blind space. Furthermore, this tilted arrangement of the lifting rotors allows for lateral acceleration and braking of the flying device when at least six lifting rotors are used. This allows the flying device to be controlled in any direction without tilting about its yaw axis. This allows the camera assembly's set angle relative to the flying device's yaw axis to be kept constant. In conventional flying devices, for this purpose, a non-consumable cardanic suspension with an electric servo motor is typically used, on which the camera assembly is mounted.

[0020] For the arrangement of the various components of the wingless flying device relative to one another, the lift rotor is arranged on a flying device frame of the flying device. The flying device frame is advantageously formed from profiles and can be designed to be essentially flat or to form different complex bodies, depending on the design.

[0021] In a particularly advantageous embodiment of the wingless flying device, the flying device frame encloses a receiving space, within which the energy storage device, the control device, and the camera device are completely arranged. In this embodiment, the flying device frame is advantageously designed and arranged so that it is arranged within the blind space. The receiving space can, for example, be a substantially rectangular or polyhedral space. According to the invention, the lifting rotors of the wingless flying device form two mirror-arranged lifting rotor groups, wherein the lifting rotor midpoints of the lifting rotors of the lifting rotor groups each lie substantially in a lifting rotor plane, and wherein the lifting rotor planes of the two lifting rotor groups are oriented substantially parallel to one another and orthogonally to the vertical axis of the wingless flying device. The lifting rotors of the two lifting rotor groups are advantageously arranged on the flying device frame, spaced apart from one another, on opposite sides of the flying device frame.

[0022] According to the invention, it is advantageously provided that the drive mechanism of the lift rotor and the lift rotor are rigidly connected to the flight instrument frame, so that the thrust generated by the lift rotor can be effectively transmitted to the flight instrument frame.

[0023] In order to achieve the best possible damping of vibrations generated by the lift rotor in the area of ​​the camera assembly and transmitted to the flight instrument frame, according to the invention, the energy storage device, the control device, and the camera assembly are fastened to the flight instrument frame via a damping mechanism. The damping mechanism can be, for example, a suitable rubber-elastic element.

[0024] Advantageously, according to the invention, the energy storage device, the control device, and the camera device are rigidly connected to one another. In this way, these components of the wingless flying device form a relatively large, continuous mass, which allows for particularly good vibration damping. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Further advantageous embodiments of the wingless flying device according to the invention are explained in greater detail with reference to the exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings.

[0026] in:

[0027] FIG. 1a shows a schematically illustrated side view of a quadcopter with two camera mechanisms,

[0028] FIG. 1b shows a schematically illustrated perspective view of the quadcopter shown in FIG. 1a,

[0029] Figure 2a A schematic side view of a tricopter is shown, wherein the four camera assemblies are arranged such that the objective lens is designed in the form of a polyhedral pyramid.

[0030] Figure 2b Shown in Figure 2a A schematic perspective view of a tricopter is shown in FIG.

[0031] Figure 3a A schematic side view of an octocopter is shown, in which six camera assemblies are arranged such that the objective polyhedron is designed in the form of a cuboid.

[0032] Figure 3b Shown in Figure 3a A schematic perspective view of an octocopter is shown in FIG.

[0033] Figure 4a A schematically illustrated side view of a wingless flight instrument with twelve lift rotors is shown, wherein eight camera mechanisms are arranged such that the objective polyhedron forms a prism with a hexagonal base surface.

[0034] Figure 4b Shown in Figure 4a A schematically illustrated perspective view of a flight instrument is shown,

[0035] Figure 5 A schematically illustrated side view of a wingless flight instrument with twelve lift rotors is shown, wherein the twelve camera assemblies are arranged such that the objective polyhedron has a prismatic body with a hexagonal base surface, wherein mirror-image-designed pyramids are arranged on mutually opposite base sides.

[0036] Figure 6 A schematically illustrated side view of a wingless flight instrument with six lift rotors is shown, wherein five camera mechanisms are arranged such that the objective polyhedron forms a prism with a triangular base surface.

[0037] Figure 7 A schematic representation of an octocopter is shown, in which six camera assemblies are arranged such that the objective polyhedron is designed in the form of a cuboid.

[0038] Figure 8 a schematically illustrated side view of a wingless flight instrument with a flight instrument frame,

[0039] Figures 9a to 9d Different and schematically illustrated views of a wingless flight instrument with eight lifting rotors arranged on a flight instrument frame surrounding a cuboid receiving space, the lifting rotors forming two lifting rotor groups, and

[0040] Figures 10a to 10e Shown by Figures 9a to 9d The arrangement of the camera mechanisms shown in FIG. 4 forms different views of the blind space. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] exist Figure 1a and 1b Schematically depicted in FIG is a wingless flying device 1 having four lift rotors 3 driven by electric motors and rotating about different rotor axes 2. The flying device 1 has two camera systems 4 for capturing a panoramic image.

[0042] The camera system 4 and the lifting rotors 3 are arranged and oriented relative to each other so that the smallest, spherical rotor envelope 5, which encompasses all the lifting rotors 3, has a larger volume than the smallest, spherical camera envelope 6, which encompasses all the camera lenses 7 of the camera system 4. The camera system 4 defines a field of view that encompasses the entire flight instrument 1, allowing the entire surroundings of the flight instrument 1 to be detected. The lifting rotors 3 are located outside this field of view. Furthermore, the lens spacing 8 between the two camera systems 4 is smaller than the rotor spacing 9 between the two opposing lifting rotors 3. In the flight instrument, the smallest, spherical center point envelope 11, which encompasses all the lifting rotor center points 10, also has a larger volume than the smallest, spherical camera envelope 6.

[0043] Figure 2a and 2b A schematic illustration of a wingless flying device 1 is shown, wherein four camera assemblies 4 are arranged such that an objective polygon 12 has four boundary surfaces 13 and is of pyramidal design. The lift rotors 3 of the wingless flying device 1 are arranged completely outside the convex objective polygon 12. Furthermore, the lift rotors 4 are arranged such that their rotor axes 2 are not aligned parallel to one another.

[0044] Figure 3a 、 3b , 4a, 4b, 5 and 6 respectively show alternatively designed wingless flying instruments 1, wherein Figure 3a and 3b The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped objective lens polyhedron 14. Figure 4a and 4b The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a prismatic objective polyhedron 15 ′ with a hexagonal base surface. Figure 5 The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a prismatic objective lens polyhedron 16 with a hexagonal base surface and with mirror-image-shaped pyramids on mutually opposite base sides and is Figure 6 The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG has a prismatic objective polyhedron 15 ″ with triangular base surfaces. Figure 3a and 3b The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 has six camera mechanisms 4, Figure 4a and 4b The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 has eight camera mechanisms 4, Figure 5 The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG. 1 has twelve camera mechanisms 4 and is Figure 6 The flight instrument 1 shown in FIG has five camera mechanisms 4. The flight instrument 1 with a rectangular objective polyhedron 14 and twenty-four camera mechanisms 4 is Figure 7Shown in.

[0045] exist Figures 3a to 7 The flight devices 1 shown in each have a plurality of lift rotors 3, wherein the lift rotors 3 can each be assigned to two lift rotor groups 17. The lift rotors 3 of the individual lift rotor groups 17 are each arranged such that a plane extending through the lift rotor center points 10 is oriented parallel to one another for each flight device 1.

[0046] Figure 8 A schematic illustration of a wingless flying object 1 is shown, wherein a lift rotor 3 is arranged on an instrument frame 18 of the flying device 1. The flying device frame 18 encloses a receiving space 19, within which an energy storage device (not shown), a control device (also not shown), and the camera device 4 are completely arranged. The lift rotor 3 is rigidly connected to the flying device frame 18. The energy storage device, the control device, and the camera device 4 are arranged on the flying device frame 18 via a damping device 20.

[0047] exist Figures 9a to 9d 1 shows various views of a wingless flight instrument 1 with a flight instrument frame 18, which encloses an approximately cuboid-shaped receiving space 19. Six camera assemblies 4, an energy storage device 21, and a control device 22 are arranged within the receiving space 19. The energy storage device 21, the control device 22, and the camera assemblies 4 are rigidly connected to one another. The flight instrument frame 18 has support elements 24 oriented toward the ground and extending beyond the lift rotors 3 of a lift rotor assembly 23 facing the ground, allowing the flight instrument 1 to be placed on the ground.

[0048] exist Figures 10a to 10e In the diagram, it is shown schematically that Figures 9a to 9d Different views of the blind space 25 formed by the arrangement of the camera mechanism 4 are shown in FIG. Figures 9a to 9d The truncated pyramid-shaped field of view of the camera arrangement 4 shown in FIG. 2 is produced and has a plurality of curved side faces 26 , which terminate sharply toward one another in corner regions 27 of the blind space 25 .

[0049] In the figures, individual components of a plurality of components of the same type are sometimes identified by one reference numeral by way of example.

Claims

1. A wingless flying device (1) having a plurality of lift rotors (3) driven by electric motors and rotating about different rotor axes (2), in, The flight instrument (1) has: at least one energy storage device (21) for providing the electrical energy required for operating the lift rotor (3), at least one control mechanism (22) for controlling the lift rotor (3) and for communicating with a ground station, and at least two camera mechanisms (4) for detecting a panoramic image, wherein the smallest, spherical rotor envelope (5) encompassing all lift rotors (3) has a larger volume than the smallest, spherical camera envelope (6) encompassing all camera lenses (7) of the camera assembly (4), The camera mechanism (4) opens a field of view, wherein the field of view is generated from the intersection of the field of view areas of the camera mechanism (4). wherein the lift rotor (3) is outside the field of view, wherein the field of view at least partially surrounds the flight instrument (1), It is characterized in that a smallest spherical center point envelope (11) which surrounds all lift rotor center points (10) has a larger volume than the smallest spherical camera envelope (6).

2. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that The field of view surrounds the entire flight instrument.

3. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The camera system (4) has a camera for taking monoscopic pictures and / or a camera for taking stereoscopic pictures.

4. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: At least one lens distance (8) between the two camera units (4) is smaller than at least one rotor distance (9) between the two lift rotors (3).

5. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: All components of the flight instrument (1) are outside the field of view.

6. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The flight instrument (1) has at least four camera assemblies (4), wherein the camera assemblies (4) are arranged and oriented relative to one another in such a way that an objective plane parallel to the image plane of the camera assemblies (4) surrounds a convex objective polyhedron (12, 14, 15', 15", 16), so that each boundary surface (13) of the objective polyhedron (12, 14, 15', 15", 16) is located in the objective plane and the objectives of the camera assemblies (4) are arranged completely within the objective polyhedron (12, 14, 15', 15", 16).

7. The wingless flying instrument according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lift rotor (3) is arranged in a region between the field of view and the convex objective lens polygon (12, 14, 15', 15", 16).

8. The wingless flying device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that The lift rotor (3) is arranged so as to partially extend into the region of the convex objective polygon (12, 14, 15', 15", 16).

9. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that The lift rotor (3) is arranged completely outside the convex objective polygon (12, 14, 15', 15", 16).

10. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that The energy storage device (21), the control device (22) and the camera device (4) are arranged completely within the convex objective polygon (12, 14, 15', 15", 16).

11. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: At least two lifting rotors (3) are arranged such that the rotor axes (2) of the lifting rotors (3) are oriented non-parallel to one another.

12. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that The lift rotor (3) is arranged on a flight instrument frame (18) of the flight instrument (1).

13. The wingless flying device (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that The flight instrument frame (18) encloses a receiving space (19), within which the energy storage device (21), the control device (22) and the camera device (4) are completely arranged.

14. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that The driving mechanism of the lift rotor (3) and the lift rotor (3) are rigidly connected to the flight instrument frame (18).

15. The wingless flying instrument (1) according to claim 12, characterized in that The energy storage device (21), the control device (22) and the camera device (4) are fixed to the flight instrument frame (18) via a buffer device (20).

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