A converter-type relay terminal and a laser wireless power transmission network system

Abstract

The present invention discloses a converter-type relay terminal and a laser wireless power transmission network system, belonging to the technical field of laser wireless energy transmission. It includes: a laser transmitting end, several relay terminals and a laser receiving end. Among them, the laser transmitting end is used to emit a collimated and trackable laser beam; the several relay terminals are located between the laser transmitting end and the laser receiving end, and each relay terminal is used to relay and transmit the incident laser to other relay terminals / laser receiving ends, and at the same time store the energy of the laser or actively provide energy to other relay terminals or laser receiving ends, and the incident laser comes from the laser transmitting end / other relay terminals; the laser receiving end is used to receive the energy of the laser. By adding relay terminals, the present invention increases the energy transmission path from the laser transmitting end to the laser receiving end from a single path to multiple paths, improving the overall efficiency and reliability of laser wireless power transmission.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of laser wireless energy transmission, and more specifically, relates to a converter-type relay terminal and a laser wireless energy transmission network system. Background Art

[0002] Laser wireless energy transmission uses a high-energy laser beam as a carrier, converts electrical energy into laser, transmits it after being corrected by a collimation device, and converts the laser into electrical energy at the receiving end by using a photoelectric conversion device, so as to perform non-contact long-distance energy transmission. Compared with electromagnetic coupling inductive wireless energy transmission and magnetic field resonance wireless energy transmission, laser wireless energy transmission has a longer transmission distance. Compared with microwave wireless energy transmission, laser wireless energy transmission has no electromagnetic interference and the volume and mass of the required equipment are smaller. Laser wireless energy transmission has important application prospects in the fields of aerospace and so on. Low transmission efficiency is an important factor restricting the development of laser wireless energy transmission.

[0003] Currently, laser wireless energy transmission systems generally use a single path (for example, patent CN201810716567.7) for energy transmission. The single-path laser energy transmission system has certain defects in terms of energy transmission efficiency and reliability. When the transmission distance is relatively long, due to the divergence angle of the laser, the spot area at the receiving end will be much larger than the area of the laser photovoltaic panel, and the laser energy cannot be completely received, resulting in a low energy transmission efficiency of the system. And when the meteorological conditions of the transmission path are poor, such as rainy days or sandy dust weather, the visibility decreases, the scattering and refraction of the laser in the air medium are intensified, and according to the Beer-Lambert law, the energy attenuation of the laser in the air medium is intensified, and the efficiency of the entire energy transmission system will be greatly reduced. At the same time, when the equipment in the energy transmission system fails or the energy transmission path is blocked by obstacles such as mountains and houses, the laser cannot be transmitted, and the entire energy transmission system fails. Summary of the Invention

[0004] Aiming at the defects of the prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a converter-type relay terminal and a laser wireless energy transmission network system, aiming to solve the problem that the existing laser energy transmission system cannot guarantee the energy transmission efficiency and reliability.

[0005] To achieve the above object, in a first aspect, the present invention provides a converter-type relay terminal, including: a laser photovoltaic cell, a converter, a laser, a collimation unit, a tracking and aiming unit, a storage battery, and a control unit;

[0006] The laser photovoltaic cell is used for converting the received laser into electrical energy and outputting it to the converter;

[0007] The converter is used to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and / or the output voltage of the storage battery, output part of the electric energy from the laser photovoltaic cell to the laser, output the other part to the storage battery, and output the electric energy from the storage battery to the laser;

[0008] The laser is used to receive part of the electric energy output by the converter and emit a laser beam for energy transmission;

[0009] The collimation unit is used to collimate the laser emitted by the laser to form a parallel laser beam;

[0010] The tracking and aiming unit is used to make the parallel laser beam track and aim at other relay terminals / laser receiving terminals;

[0011] The storage battery is used to store part of the electric energy output by the converter or supply electric energy to the converter;

[0012] The control unit is used to control the charge and discharge state and charge / discharge power of the storage battery to avoid overcharging or over-discharging of the storage battery and ensure the power demand of the receiving end load; control the duty ratio of the converter to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage.

[0013] To achieve the above object, in a second aspect, the present invention provides a laser wireless energy transmission network system, including: a laser transmitting end, a plurality of relay terminals and a laser receiving end, wherein,

[0014] The laser transmitting end is used to emit a collimated and trackable laser beam;

[0015] The plurality of relay terminals are located between the laser transmitting end and the laser receiving end. Each relay terminal is used to relay the incident laser to other relay terminals / laser receiving terminals, and at the same time store the energy of the laser or actively provide energy to other relay terminals / laser receiving terminals. The incident laser comes from the laser transmitting end / other relay terminals;

[0016] The laser receiving end is used to receive laser energy.

[0017] Preferably, each relay terminal is a converter type relay terminal as described in the first aspect, or a beam splitter type relay terminal.

[0018] Preferably, the beam splitter type relay terminal includes: a laser coupling mirror group, a beam splitter with adjustable splitting ratio, a collimation unit, a reflecting mirror, a laser photovoltaic cell, a converter, a storage battery, a laser and a control unit;

[0019] The laser coupling mirror group is used to turn the incident laser into a parallel beam and inject it into the beam splitter with adjustable splitting ratio;

[0020] The beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter is used to split a parallel beam into a transmitted laser beam and a reflected laser beam according to the beam splitting ratio;

[0021] The collimation unit is used to collimate the transmitted laser beam and the output laser beam of the laser;

[0022] The reflector is used to reflect the output laser beam of the collimation unit so that the laser follows and aims at other relay terminals / laser receiving terminals;

[0023] The laser photovoltaic cell is used to convert the collimated reflected laser beam into electrical energy and output it to the converter;

[0024] The converter is used to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and / or the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage;

[0025] The storage battery is used to store all the electrical energy output by the converter or provide electrical energy to the converter;

[0026] The laser is used to receive part of the electrical energy output by the converter and emit a laser beam for energy transmission;

[0027] The control unit is used to control the beam splitting ratio of the beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter to control the power ratio of the transmitted laser beam and the reflected laser beam, thereby avoiding overcharging of the storage battery and ensuring the power demand of the receiving end load; controlling the tilt angle of the reflector so that the reflected laser beam of the reflector follows and aims at other relay terminals / laser receiving terminals; controlling the duty cycle of the converter to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage; controlling the discharge power of the storage battery, thereby avoiding over-discharge of the storage battery and ensuring the power demand of the receiving end load.

[0028] It should be noted that the beam splitter type relay terminal uses laser transmission to achieve laser relay transmission, avoiding energy loss caused by multiple optoelectronic and electro-optical conversions, and can improve the energy transmission efficiency of the entire system.

[0029] Preferably, the system further includes:

[0030] A controller, which is used to select the most efficient path from multiple energy transmission paths for laser energy transmission.

[0031] Preferably, the number of relay terminals is one or more.

[0032] Preferably, the laser transmitting end is arranged at an energy station, and the laser receiving end is arranged on a cruising robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0033] Generally speaking, compared with the prior art, the above technical solutions conceived by the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

[0034] (1) The present invention provides a converter-type relay terminal. The front stage receives energy through a laser receiver, and the rear stage emits energy through a laser transmitter. It can both receive and transmit energy, and realizes the transmission of laser through the mutual conversion between light and electricity.

[0035] (2) The present invention provides a laser wireless power transmission network system. By adding relay terminals, the power transmission path from the laser transmitter to the laser receiver is increased from a single path to multiple paths, avoiding the problems of too low power transmission efficiency of a single path under poor meteorological conditions and low visibility, the failure of laser power transmission when a single path is blocked by obstacles, and the problem of too low power transmission efficiency due to too large a spot area received by the receiver when the power transmission path is too long, thus improving the overall efficiency and reliability of laser wireless power transmission. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0036] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a laser wireless power transmission network system provided by the present invention.

[0037] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a converter-type relay terminal provided by the present invention.

[0038] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of a beam splitter-type relay terminal provided by the present invention.

[0039] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a laser wireless power transmission network for a cruising robot provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

[0040] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a laser transmitter in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of a laser receiver in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Embodiments

[0042] In order to make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0043] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of a laser wireless power transmission network system provided by the present invention. As Figure 1As shown in the figure, the system includes a laser transmitting end, a plurality of relay ends, and a laser receiving end. Among them, the laser transmitting end is used to emit a collimated and trackable laser beam; the plurality of relay ends are located between the laser transmitting end and the laser receiving end. Each relay end is used to relay the incident laser to other relay ends / laser receiving ends, and at the same time store the energy of the laser or actively provide energy to other relay ends or laser receiving ends. The incident laser comes from the laser transmitting end / other relay ends; the laser receiving end is used to receive the laser energy.

[0044] Preferably, each relay end is a converter type relay end, or a beam splitter type relay end.

[0045] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of a converter type relay end provided by the present invention. As Figure 2 shown, the converter type relay end includes a laser photovoltaic cell, a converter, a laser, a collimation unit, a tracking unit, a storage battery, and a control unit.

[0046] The laser photovoltaic cell is used to convert the received laser into electrical energy and output it to the converter.

[0047] The converter is used to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and / or the output voltage of the storage battery, output a part of the electrical energy from the laser photovoltaic cell to the laser, output another part to the storage battery, and output the electrical energy from the storage battery to the laser.

[0048] The laser is used to receive a part of the electrical energy output by the converter and emit a laser beam for energy transmission.

[0049] The collimation unit is used to collimate the laser emitted by the laser to form a parallel laser beam.

[0050] The tracking unit is used to make the parallel laser beam track other relay ends / laser receiving ends.

[0051] The storage battery is used to store a part of the electrical energy output by the converter or provide electrical energy to the converter.

[0052] The control unit is used to control the charge and discharge state and charge / discharge power of the storage battery to avoid overcharging or over-discharging of the storage battery and ensure the power demand of the receiving end load; control the duty cycle of the converter to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage.

[0053] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a beam splitter type relay end provided by the present invention. As Figure 3 shown, the beam splitter type relay end includes a laser coupling mirror group, a beam splitter with adjustable splitting ratio, a collimation unit, a reflecting mirror, a laser photovoltaic cell, a converter, a storage battery, a laser, and a control unit.

[0054] The laser coupling mirror group is used to turn the incident laser into a parallel light beam and inject it into the beam splitter.

[0055] The beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter is used to divide the parallel light beam into a transmitted laser beam and a reflected laser beam according to the beam splitting ratio.

[0056] The collimation unit is used to collimate the transmitted laser beam and the output laser beam of the laser.

[0057] The reflecting mirror is used to reflect the output laser beam of the collimation unit so that the laser can track and aim at other relay ends or the laser receiving end.

[0058] The laser photovoltaic cell is used to convert the collimated reflected laser beam into electric energy and output it to the converter.

[0059] The converter is used to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and / or the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage.

[0060] The storage battery is used to store all the electric energy output by the converter or supply electric energy to the converter.

[0061] The laser is used to receive part of the electric energy output by the converter and emit a laser beam for energy transmission.

[0062] The control unit is used to control the beam splitting ratio of the beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter to control the power ratio of the transmitted laser beam and the reflected laser beam, thereby avoiding overcharging of the storage battery and ensuring the power demand of the receiving end load; control the tilt angle of the reflecting mirror so that the reflected laser beam of the reflecting mirror tracks and aims at other relay ends / laser receiving ends; control the duty cycle of the converter to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage; control the discharge power of the storage battery, thereby avoiding over-discharge of the storage battery and ensuring the power demand of the receiving end load.

[0063] Preferably, the system further includes: a controller, which is used to select the most efficient path from multiple energy transmission paths for laser energy transmission.

[0064] Preferably, the number of relay ends is one or more.

[0065] Preferably, the laser transmitting end is arranged at an energy station, and the laser receiving end is arranged on a cruising robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle.

[0066] Embodiment

[0067] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of a laser wireless energy transmission network for a cruising robot provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 4As shown in the figure, this embodiment describes a laser wireless power transmission network system applied to a cruising robot. The system includes: an energy station, Relay Vehicle A, Relay Vehicle B, a cruising robot, and a building. The energy station is used to supply energy to the entire laser wireless power transmission network system, and a complete laser transmitter device is configured in the energy station. Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the laser transmitter in the embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 5 shown, the laser transmitter includes a laser, a collimation unit, and a tracking and aiming unit. The energy station can emit a laser beam with a fixed direction and power to other devices. The Relay Vehicle A is used to provide a relay node for laser transmission, increasing the optional transmission paths of laser transmission. A complete converter-type relay terminal device is configured on the Relay Vehicle A. The Relay Vehicle B is used to provide a relay node for laser transmission, increasing the optional transmission paths of laser transmission. A complete beam splitter-type relay terminal device is configured on the Relay Vehicle B. The cruising robot cruises around the building along the virtual path shown in the figure to complete the fault inspection task. A complete receiver device is configured on the cruising robot, and the receiver device is used for the cruising robot to receive laser energy. Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the laser receiver in the embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 6 shown, the laser receiver includes a laser photovoltaic cell, a converter, a storage battery, and a control unit.

[0068] The detailed operation process of this embodiment is as follows:

[0069] The cruising robot cruises around the building along the predetermined trajectory (virtual path), passing through Position C, Position D, and Position E in sequence. When the cruising robot moves from Position C to Position D, the energy station can directly emit laser to the cruising robot for power supply. The energy station operates according to the set power. The laser on the energy station generates a laser beam, and the laser beam is corrected by the collimation unit to become a parallel laser beam. The outgoing direction of the parallel laser beam is controlled by the tracking and aiming unit. The tracking and aiming unit tracks and locates the laser photovoltaic cell on the cruising robot, and the laser beam is irradiated from the energy station to the laser photovoltaic cell on the cruising robot. The laser photovoltaic cell converts the laser energy into electrical energy, and the control unit on the cruising robot controls the duty cycle of the converter to make the converter output a certain voltage and charge the storage battery on the cruising robot.

[0070] When the cruise robot moves from position D to position E, due to the obstruction of the building, the laser emitted by the energy station cannot directly irradiate the laser photovoltaic cell on the cruise robot. At this time, the laser emitted by the energy station needs to be relayed by the relay vehicle B to the cruise robot. The laser beam generated by the energy station is directly irradiated onto the laser coupling mirror group of the relay vehicle B through the collimation unit and the tracking unit of the energy station. The laser output by the laser coupling mirror group enters the beam splitter of the relay vehicle B. The control unit adjusts the beam splitting ratio of the beam splitter according to the battery power of the relay vehicle B and the load demand of the cruise robot. The beam splitter divides the incident laser into a transmitted laser beam and a reflected laser beam according to the beam splitting ratio. The reflected laser beam enters the laser photovoltaic cell of the relay vehicle B, and the laser photovoltaic cell converts the light energy of the reflected laser beam into electrical energy. The electrical energy is input into the converter, and the converter outputs a certain voltage through the control of the control unit, thereby charging the battery of the relay vehicle B. The transmitted laser beam emitted by the beam splitter enters the collimation unit of the relay vehicle B. The collimation unit makes the transmitted laser beam into a parallel laser beam. The parallel laser beam irradiates onto the reflector of the relay vehicle B. The control unit controls the deflection angle of the reflector so that the reflected laser beam of the reflector irradiates onto the laser photovoltaic cell of the cruise robot. The laser photovoltaic cell of the cruise robot converts the laser energy into electrical energy. The control unit of the cruise robot controls the duty cycle of the converter of the cruise robot, so that the converter outputs a certain voltage and charges the battery of the cruise robot. It should be noted that when the load power of the cruise robot is large and the battery power of the relay vehicle B is high, the energy provided by the energy station alone may not be able to meet the power demand of the load. In this case, the control unit of the relay vehicle B can control the battery of the relay vehicle B to release electrical energy to the converter. The converter converts the output voltage of the battery into a standard voltage and supplies energy to the laser of the relay vehicle B. The laser of the relay vehicle B emits a laser beam. The laser beam enters the reflector through the collimation of the collimation unit. The control unit controls the inclination angle of the reflector so that the reflected laser beam enters the laser photovoltaic cell panel of the cruise robot, thereby supplementing the load power deficit of the cruise robot.

[0071] When the cruise robot moves from position E to position C, due to the obstruction of the building, the laser emitted by the energy station cannot directly irradiate the laser photovoltaic cell of the cruise robot, and the laser beam reflected by the relay vehicle B cannot irradiate the laser photovoltaic cell of the cruise robot either. At this time, the relay function of the relay vehicle A is required to achieve the transmission of laser energy. The laser beam generated by the energy station is directly irradiated onto the laser photovoltaic cell of the relay vehicle A through the collimation unit and the tracking unit of the energy station. The laser photovoltaic cell converts the laser energy into electrical energy and inputs it into the converter of the relay vehicle A. The control unit controls the duty cycle of the converter to make the converter output a certain voltage. One output port of the converter is connected to the storage battery, and the electrical energy output from this converter port is charged into the storage battery. The other output port of the converter is connected to the laser of the relay vehicle A, and the electrical energy output from this converter port powers the laser. The laser generates a laser beam, and the laser beam is corrected by the collimation unit to become a parallel laser beam. The parallel laser beam output by the collimation unit is irradiated onto the laser photovoltaic cell of the cruise robot through the tracking unit. The laser photovoltaic cell of the cruise robot converts the laser energy into electrical energy, and the control unit of the cruise robot controls the duty cycle of the converter to make the converter output a certain voltage and charge the storage battery of the cruise robot. It should be noted that when the load power of the cruise robot is large and the battery power of the relay vehicle A is high, the energy provided by the energy station alone may not be able to meet the power demand of the load. In this case, the control unit of the relay vehicle A can control the storage battery of the relay vehicle A to release electrical energy to the converter. The converter converts the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage and powers the laser of the relay vehicle A. The laser of the relay vehicle A emits a laser beam, and the laser beam is collimated by the collimation unit and then enters the tracking unit. The tracking unit makes the laser beam irradiate onto the laser photovoltaic panel of the cruise robot, thereby supplementing the load power deficit of the cruise robot.

[0072] Compared with the single-path laser energy transmission system, the laser energy transmission network system proposed by the present invention has multiple energy transmission paths, avoiding the drawback that the single-path laser energy transmission system cannot perform laser energy transmission when the path is blocked, and can select a path with higher efficiency from multiple energy transmission paths for laser energy transmission, which can improve the energy supply reliability and efficiency of the entire laser energy transmission system.

[0073] Those skilled in the art can easily understand that the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, and improvements made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A laser wireless power transmission network system, characterized in that, Including: A laser transmitting end, several relay ends, and a laser receiving end. Among them, The laser transmitting end is used to emit a collimated and trackable laser beam; The several relay ends are located between the laser transmitting end and the laser receiving end. Each relay end is used to relay and transmit the incident laser to other relay ends / laser receiving ends, and at the same time store the energy of the laser or actively provide energy to other relay ends / laser receiving ends. The incident laser comes from the laser transmitting end / other relay ends; The laser receiving end is used to receive the energy of the laser; Each relay end is a beam splitter type relay end. The beam splitter type relay end includes: a laser coupling mirror group, a beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter, a collimation unit, a reflector, a laser photovoltaic cell, a converter, a storage battery, a laser, and a control unit; The laser coupling mirror group is used to turn the incident laser into a parallel beam and inject it into the beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter; The beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter is used to divide the parallel beam into a transmitted laser beam and a reflected laser beam according to the beam splitting ratio; The collimation unit is used to collimate the transmitted laser beam and the output laser beam of the laser; The reflector is used to reflect the output laser beam of the collimation unit so that the laser tracks other relay ends / laser receiving ends; The laser photovoltaic cell is used to convert the collimated reflected laser beam into electric energy and output it to the converter; The converter is used to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and / or the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage; The storage battery is used to store all the electric energy output by the converter or provide electric energy to the converter; The laser is used to receive part of the electric energy output by the converter and emit a laser beam for energy transmission; The control unit is used to control the beam splitting ratio of the beam splitting ratio adjustable beam splitter to control the power ratio of the transmitted laser beam and the reflected laser beam, thereby avoiding overcharging of the storage battery and ensuring the power demand of the receiving end load; control the tilt angle of the reflector so that the reflected laser beam of the reflector tracks other relay ends / laser receiving ends; control the duty cycle of the converter to convert the output voltage of the laser photovoltaic cell and the output voltage of the storage battery into a standard voltage; control the discharge power of the storage battery, thereby avoiding over-discharge of the storage battery and ensuring the power demand of the receiving end load.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein The system further includes: A controller, which is used to select the most efficient path from multiple energy transmission paths for laser energy transmission.

3. The system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of the relay ends is one or more.

4. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that The laser transmitting end is configured at an energy station, and the laser receiving end is configured on a cruising robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle.

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