A reconfigurable drone

Abstract

The present invention provides a reconfigurable drone that can realize autonomous dynamic docking and disassembly between drone units (i.e., the smallest reconfigurable unit of a drone), thereby quickly realizing the topological reconstruction of the drone and realizing the interconnection and reconstruction of multiple drones at the mechanical, information and energy levels. The reconfigurable drone includes multiple subsystems such as a perception system, a control system, an autonomous docking system, an energy system, a power system and a transportation system, which can meet the basic flight requirements of the drone and the dynamic docking and disassembly requirements between drone units, and can ensure that the reconfigurable drone can fly stably and complete tasks in both single and combined states. The autonomous docking system adopts a capture-type docking mechanism to achieve high-precision docking. A multi-power low-energy protection management strategy is adopted between the energy systems to realize charging protection of low-energy drones, avoiding problems such as over-discharge of batteries and difficulty in returning.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), in particular to a reconfigurable UAV, and belongs to the technical field of UAVs. Background Art

[0002] Drones can autonomously perform tasks such as logistics, transportation, delivery, and patrol in the civilian sector, and they can perform coordinated operations, electronic countermeasures, and rescue missions in the military sector. They are a core element in smart city development and future battlefield environments. As the scope of smart cities and battlefield environments expands, the development of drones faces significant challenges, including the complexity and diversity of missions, the multidimensional operating environment, the ever-expanding functional requirements, and the limitations of a single carrier configuration. Traditional fixed-configuration drones are clearly unable to meet these challenges. Due to the conflict between size flexibility and functional versatility, they are unable to meet the requirements of drones for large payloads, high power, and long endurance.

[0003] Reconfigurable drone technology comprehensively expands the functional and mission capabilities of drones, enabling more flexible usage and providing new insights and directions for drone development. It is expected to become a disruptive and innovative technology of the future. Due to the complex and ever-changing aerial environment, reconfigurable drones face higher requirements in mechanical, information, and energy reconfiguration. Key challenges require addressing high-precision sensing, positioning, and docking of reconfigurable units in the air, configuration planning and control of reconfigurable drones, and comprehensive energy scheduling and regulation for reconfigurable drones. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a reconfigurable drone that can realize autonomous dynamic docking and disassembly between drone units (i.e., the smallest reconfigurable unit of a drone), thereby quickly realizing the topological reconstruction of the drone and realizing the interconnection and reconstruction of multiple drones at the mechanical, information and energy levels.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: a reconfigurable drone, comprising two or more drone units; each of the drone units has a sensing system, an autonomous docking system, a control system, an energy system, a power system, and a transportation system;

[0006] The drone units are docked or disassembled through the autonomous docking system, switching the single and combined working modes of the drone units;

[0007] The sensing system is used to sense the motion state, relative position, and posture changes of the two UAV units to be docked, providing a basis for dynamic docking;

[0008] The control system is used for flight control of a single UAV and flight control of a multi-UAV unit combination in working mode;

[0009] The energy system provides energy for the power system of the drone unit and can realize energy exchange between the drone units in the combined working mode through the autonomous docking system to provide energy for the loads carried by the drone units;

[0010] The power system provides power for the drone unit;

[0011] The transport system is used to carry the payload of the drone unit.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone unit is a four-rotor drone with a rectangular outer frame, and autonomous docking systems are provided on the sides of the rectangular outer frame.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the autonomous docking system includes: a capture module and a locking module;

[0014] The capture module comprises: a housing, a power unit, a hook, and a movable disc; the movable disc is coaxially mounted inside the housing and slidably engages with the inner circumferential surface of the housing; the power unit is used to drive the movable disc to move axially inside the housing; three or more hooks are hingedly connected at even intervals along the circumference of the movable disc; an opening slot is provided in the middle of the housing at a position corresponding to each hook, for allowing the claw end of the hook to extend out of the housing; the position of the opening slot is connected to a limit block via a pin shaft;

[0015] When the power unit drives the movable disc to move outward along the axial direction, the hook claw is driven to move outward. During the outward movement of the hook claw, the limit block at the corresponding opening slot is squeezed, causing the limit block to rotate around the pin shaft, causing the hook claw to move outward while opening;

[0016] The outer circumferential surface of the locking module is provided with conical grooves corresponding to the hook claws one by one to provide gripping points;

[0017] After the capture module completes the grasping of the grasping point on the locking module through the hook claw, the capture module and the locking module are locked by the self-locking unit;

[0018] The docking surface of the capture module is also provided with a laser ranging sensor and multiple pairs of metal contacts; the docking surface of the locking module is also provided with metal contacts at positions corresponding to the metal contacts on the capture module; when the capture module and the locking module are locked, the metal contacts on the two docking surfaces touch, realizing a wired connection of control signals and power energy;

[0019] The laser ranging sensor is used to monitor the distance between the two drone units in real time during the docking process.

[0020] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the self-locking unit includes an annular latch provided on the docking surface of the locking module and driven by a servo motor, and an annular locking groove provided on the docking surface of the capture module;

[0021] The annular latch can rotate around its own axis under the drive of a servo motor; the annular latch has three or more arc-shaped locking pins evenly spaced along the circumference; the locking module docking surface is provided with arc-shaped protective covers corresponding to the arc-shaped locking pins one by one, and when not docked, the arc-shaped locking pins are respectively located in the arc-shaped grooves in the corresponding arc-shaped protective covers;

[0022] An arc-shaped groove is provided on the position corresponding to the arc-shaped protective cover on the docking surface of the capture module, and the area between every two arc-shaped grooves serves as a locking block. A limiting hole for inserting the arc-shaped locking pin is processed inside the locking block.

[0023] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a capture module and a locking module are provided on each side surface around the rectangular outer frame of the drone unit; thus, each drone unit has two docking points on its docking surface. When two drone units are docked, the capture module and the locking module on the docking surface of one drone unit respectively cooperate with the locking module and the capture module on the docking surface of the other drone unit to realize the docking of the two drone units.

[0024] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a force sensor is further provided on the docking surface of the capture module; the force sensor is used to monitor the contact force during the docking process in real time, and when the contact force exceeds a set value, the docking is stopped.

[0025] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, after two or more drone units are combined to form a combined drone, a comprehensive management method of multi-power low-energy protection management is adopted for the energy system of each drone unit: on the premise of meeting the normal energy requirements of the combination to perform the task and meeting the input / output power constraints of each power supply, only the power supply of the drone unit in the combined drone whose power SoC value is higher than the set value is used to charge the drone unit whose power SoC value is less than the energy required for returning in the air.

[0026] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, when performing comprehensive management of multi-power low-energy protection management:

[0027] The charging drone unit is the receiving aircraft, and the discharging drone unit is the supplying aircraft. The input or output power of the power supply of the receiving aircraft or supplying aircraft is:

[0028] P Bi =k p (SoC Bi -SoC des )

[0029]

[0030] Where: n is the number of power supplies in the modular drone; SoC Bi is the power SoC value of the i-th aircraft in the combined UAV, SoC des is the average power SoC of the combined drone, k p is the proportional coefficient; P Bi For power input or output, when SoC Bi <SoC des When P Bi is the input power; when SoC Bi >SoC des When P Bi is the output power.

[0031] This achieves the purpose of using a high SoC value drone power supply to charge a low SoC value power supply.

[0032] Beneficial effects:

[0033] (1) The reconfigurable UAV of the present invention can realize autonomous dynamic docking and disassembly between UAV units through the autonomous docking system, thereby quickly realizing the topological reconstruction of the UAV, thereby enhancing the types and benefits of UAV mission execution and meeting the complex environment and mission requirements in future battlefield environments and modern transportation industries.

[0034] (2) The reconfigurable UAV includes multiple subsystems such as a perception system, a control system, an autonomous docking system, an energy system, a power system, and a transportation system, which can meet the basic flight requirements of the UAV and the dynamic docking and disassembly requirements between UAV units, and can ensure that the reconfigurable UAV can fly stably and complete tasks in both single and combined states.

[0035] (3) The autonomous docking system adopts a capture-type docking mechanism, which can be controlled by a stepper motor to adjust the position of the active capture module to meet the docking requirements and complete a series of actions such as capture-grasp-lock; the multi-sensor perception system based on laser ranging sensors and force sensors can ensure the accuracy and stability of the docking process and achieve high-precision docking.

[0036] (4) When the UAV unit is flying in the air, during the docking process, the UAV unit will be affected by complex turbulence in the air, causing unstable flight. At the same time, it will be subjected to additional impact at the moment of docking, which will affect the stability of control. By setting up a force sensor, the contact force during the docking process can be monitored in real time to ensure the safety of the aerial docking.

[0037] (5) The present invention proposes a multi-power low-energy protection management strategy, which can realize energy transfer between combined UAVs to achieve charging protection for low-energy UAVs and avoid problems such as over-discharge of their batteries and difficulty in returning home; it can also realize the superposition of power energy of each unit of the UAV, breaking through the power limit of a single equipment, and changing the energy system architecture of existing airborne equipment, providing a basis for airborne equipment to use high-energy consumption equipment such as laser weapons and electromagnetic interference pods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the drone unit in the reconfigurable drone of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the autonomous docking system structure;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the capture module in the autonomous docking system;

[0041] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of autonomous docking of two drone units;

[0042] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the "mouth"-shaped combination of four drone units;

[0043] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the "cross" combination of five drone units;

[0044] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of multi-power low-energy protection management strategy.

[0045] Among them: 1-control system, 2-autonomous docking system, 3-transportation system, 4-energy system, 5-power system, 6-capture module, 7-locking module, 8-claw, 9-ring latch, 10-laser ranging sensor, 11-force sensor, 12-metal contact; 13-conical groove; 14-movable disc. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0047] This embodiment provides a reconfigurable drone that can achieve autonomous dynamic docking and disassembly between drone units (i.e., the smallest reconfigurable unit), thereby quickly realizing the topological reconstruction of the drone and realizing the interconnection and reconstruction of multiple drones at the mechanical, information, and energy levels; so as to enhance the types and benefits of drone mission execution and meet the complex environment and mission requirements in future battlefield environments and modern transportation industries.

[0048] Reconfigurable UAV is a flexible UAV designed for complex environments and mission requirements in future battlefield environments and modern transportation industries. Reconfigurable UAV consists of several UAV units that can be docked according to a set layout to form a combined UAV. In this example, the UAV units are as follows: Figure 1 The quadrotor drone shown in the figure; each drone unit includes multiple subsystems such as a perception system, an autonomous docking system 2, a control system 1, an energy system 4, a power system 5 and a transportation system 3; each drone unit can realize stand-alone flight, or it can become part of a combined drone, and multiple drone units are reconstructed to form a combined drone for flight.

[0049] The perception system is composed of multiple physical quantity sensors (including but not limited to visual sensors, laser ranging sensors, and GPS sensors), which can accurately perceive the motion state and relative position and posture changes of the docking and docked drone units, and provide a basis for dynamic docking; the control system 1 can select the control allocation method according to the configuration of the combined drone to ensure that the drone can be stably controlled under various configurations; through the perception system, the position and posture of other drones are perceived, and the control system 1 dynamically adjusts the position and posture changes of the drone unit, so that the autonomous docking system 2 can realize autonomous capture and dynamic docking between the drone units to be docked, and switch the drone single and combined working modes; the energy system 4 supplies energy to the drone power system 5, and can also realize energy exchange between multiple drone units through the autonomous docking system 2 to supply energy for the weapons carried by the drone units; the power system 5 is responsible for providing power to the drone unit; the transportation system 3 is the payload part of the drone unit, which is carried by the drone unit and performs various tasks according to different load types.

[0050] like Figure 1 As shown, the drone unit has a rectangular outer frame, and the middle part of the rectangular outer frame is provided with an autonomous docking system 2, which makes the docking more flexible and facilitates the combination and reconfiguration of multiple drone units into different forms in a plane according to different mission requirements; that is, multiple drone units 1 can be reconfigured into different forms to adapt to mission requirements through flexible changes in combination; for example, four drone units can be reconfigured into different forms in the same plane. Figure 5 The "mouth" shape combination shown is reconstructed, or five drone units are used to Figure 6 Reconstruct the "cross" combination shown.

[0051] like Figure 2 and Figure 3As shown, the autonomous docking system 2 includes a capture module 6 and a locking module 7, each located in the middle of each end face of the drone unit. When two drone units dock, the capture module 6 and locking module 7 on the docking face of one drone unit cooperate with the locking module 7 and capture module 6 on the docking face of the other drone unit, achieving docking. In other words, each drone unit has two docking points on its docking face.

[0052] The capture module 6 comprises a housing, a power unit, hooks 8, and a movable disc 14. The housing is a hollow cylindrical structure, with the movable disc 14 coaxially mounted within it, slidingly engaging with the inner circumference of the housing. The power unit drives the movable disc 14 axially within the housing. Four hooks 8 are hingedly attached at evenly spaced intervals along the circumference of the movable disc 14. Open slots are provided in the center of the housing, corresponding to the four hooks 8, to allow the claws 8 to extend out of the housing. These slots are connected to limit blocks via pins, creating a predetermined angle between the hooks 8 and the axis of the movable disc. When not docked, the movable disc 14 is located at the bottom surface of the housing, and the four claws 8 are retracted inside the housing (only the claw tips of the claws 8 are outside the housing). When docking is required, the power unit drives the movable disc 14 to move axially outward, driving the four claws 8 to move outward. During the outward movement of the claws 8, they squeeze the limit blocks at the corresponding opening slots, causing the limit blocks to rotate around the pins, thereby causing the claws 8 to rotate around their hinges with the movable disc 14, achieving outward movement and simultaneous opening. In this example, the power unit includes a stepper motor and a lead screw. The stepper motor drives the stepper motor, which uses the lead screw to convert the stepper motor's rotational motion into longitudinal movement of the movable disc 14, which in turn drives the claws 8 to extend outward.

[0053] The outer circumference of the locking module 7 is uniformly spaced along the circumference, with tapered grooves 13 corresponding to the four hooks 8, providing gripping points. This capture method can tolerate large docking errors. After the two drone units meet the attitude and position requirements, the movable disc 14, driven by the power unit, moves back, and the hooks 8 quickly retract, engaging the tapered grooves 13 to achieve grip, thus completing the initial grasping action. The mechanical design of the hooks 8 features a quick return feature, allowing for rapid retraction within a relatively short travel of the movable disc 14, effectively improving the capture success rate.

[0054] After the capture module 6 completes the capture of the locking module 7, the capture module 6 and the locking module 7 are locked by the self-locking unit. The self-locking unit adopts a screw-on latch structure, including an annular latch 9 provided on the docking surface of the locking module 7 and an annular locking groove provided on the docking surface of the capture module 6. Figure 2As shown, the locking module 7's docking surface is equipped with an annular latch 9 driven by a servo motor, capable of rotating about its own axis. The annular latch 9 comprises three arcuate locking pins evenly spaced along the circumference. The locking module 7's docking surface is equipped with an arcuate protective cover corresponding to each of the three arcuate locking pins. When not docked, the three arcuate locking pins reside within the arcuate grooves within the corresponding arcuate protective cover. The capture module 6's docking surface is equipped with three arcuate grooves corresponding to the three arcuate protective covers. The area between each two arcuate grooves serves as a locking block, with a retaining hole machined inside the locking block for the insertion of the arcuate locking pins.

[0055] After capturing module 6 captures locking module 7, preliminary docking is achieved. This initial docking positions the curved protective cover on the docking surface of locking module 7 within the curved groove on the docking surface of capturing module 6, thereby aligning the annular latch 9 with the retaining hole within the locking block. The annular latch 9, driven by a servo motor, then rotates into the retaining hole, achieving locking. The locking pin on annular latch 9 is wedge-shaped, ensuring smooth, seamless engagement. After locking, the stepper motor driving movable disc 14 and the servo motor driving annular latch 9 are unloaded, extending their service life.

[0056] A laser ranging sensor 10, a force sensor 11 and multiple pairs of metal contacts 12 are provided on the docking surface of the capture module 6; in this example, three pairs of metal contacts 12 are provided; on the docking surface of the locking module 7, metal contacts 12 are also provided at positions corresponding to the three pairs of metal contacts 12 on the capture module 6; when the capture module 6 and the locking module 7 are locked, the metal contacts 12 on the two docking surfaces come into contact, thereby establishing an information and energy exchange channel.

[0057] During the docking process, the laser rangefinder 10 monitors the distance between the two drone units in real time. The force sensor 11 monitors the contact force during docking. When the contact force exceeds a set value, docking is stopped to ensure safety. The drone units are in mid-flight, and during the docking process, they are subject to complex turbulence, causing flight instability. Furthermore, they experience additional impact at the moment of docking, which can affect control stability. Therefore, the force sensor 11 is used to monitor the contact force during docking to ensure safe docking.

[0058] like Figure 4As shown, when two drone units dock, one actively identifies the other, making the actively identified drone the active drone and the passively docked drone the passive drone. Based on data fed back by the laser rangefinder 10, the active drone's control system generates instructions to gradually approach the passive drone (the passive drone hovers in mid-air after receiving the docking command), ultimately docking the capture module 6 on the active drone with the locking module 7 on the passive drone (simultaneously, the passive drone's control system controls the capture module 6 on its docking surface to dock with the locking module 7 on the active drone's docking surface). Metal contacts 12 on the docking surface connect the control signals and power energy of the two drone units, achieving interconnection and reconstruction at the mechanical, information, and energy levels.

[0059] By reconfiguring multiple drone units, the maximum payload weight and total battery capacity can be considered a linear combination of multiple drones, compared to a single drone. This exponentially increases the payload capacity and total energy consumption, while also ensuring the drone's flexibility and survivability through flexible disassembly. This completely resolves the existing conflict between size and flexibility in drones, fully meeting the complex environments and mission requirements of future battlefields and the modern transportation industry.

[0060] Different control allocation methods can be adopted for different configurations, ensuring stable control of reconfigurable drone combinations in various numbers and configurations to meet diverse mission requirements. For example, in urban combat environments, multiple drone units can change their combined configurations to ensure the ability to flexibly navigate obstacles while maintaining the same carrying capacity, something that traditional large-scale drones find difficult to achieve.

[0061] The flexible reconfiguration of reconfigurable drones to varying numbers fulfills the mechanical reconfiguration requirements of the drone, allowing the reconfigurable drone's carrying capacity to be flexibly adjusted according to actual needs. For example, multiple drones can be combined to increase the maximum payload (using the transport system 3 to achieve the mounting function), allowing the installation of guided bombs that a single drone unit cannot transport. After the attack is completed, the combined drone can freely disintegrate into multiple drone units and disperse to evacuate the battlefield, effectively preventing counterattacks from enemy air defense firepower and enhancing the drone's survivability.

[0062] After the multiple drone units are reconfigured, a wired connection for control signals and power energy is achieved through the metal contacts 12 in the autonomous docking system 2. Each reconfigured drone unit can communicate with each other and transmit commands via wired transmission, achieving information-level reconstruction. This effectively avoids the shortcomings of currently common swarm drone wireless communications, which are susceptible to interference and poor stability in complex environments. Wired transmission also improves the speed and bandwidth of information transmission between drones, allowing drone units to more quickly share battlefield information and quickly complete a series of operations such as drone swarm mission planning and deployment, and the issuance and execution of attitude and position commands.

[0063] After mechanical and information layer reconstruction is complete, energy-level reconstruction can begin. Reconfigurable drones involve more than just mechanical combination and disassembly; their core lies in energy-level combination and disassembly. Using energy-reconfiguration technology, if the power system of any one unit in a modular drone fails, the remaining units can be directly powered (an emergency measure in the event of a single unit's power failure), preventing the loss of power to that unit from impacting the flight attitude and stability of the entire modular drone. Alternatively, the power supply unit can be replaced, allowing only the single unit carrying a large-capacity battery to take off and land, while the remaining units remain airborne. This extends the modular drone's flight time, ensuring long-term payload operation and avoiding the mission-interrupting challenges of frequent takeoffs and landings for power replacement required of rotary-wing drones. Energy fusion and control technology allows the power supplies of multiple units to be connected in series and parallel, achieving higher output current and voltage. This allows for the flexible deployment of high-power airborne weapons, such as laser weapons and electromagnetic jamming pods, enabling the flexible use of high-power airborne weapons.

[0064] While energy reconfiguration solves the energy supply problem of modular drones, providing them with interchangeable and scalable energy systems and significantly increasing their output power ceiling, the reconfigurable nature of these systems requires a shift from a traditional fixed configuration to a flexible one, posing new challenges for energy management. Specifically, after a reconfigurable drone autonomously disassembles and reassembles, the power supply SoC (i.e., the ratio of remaining power to rated power) and terminal voltage of each drone unit may differ, creating inconsistencies in the power supply characteristics of each unit. Without comprehensive management of all energy sources within a reconfigurable drone, the equipment's output power will be limited by the lowest SoC, significantly reducing its mission-performing capabilities. Furthermore, due to the varying SoCs of each power supply, if energy is delivered undistributed across all power sources, overdischarge of a particular drone unit is a significant risk, shortening its service life and making it impossible to readily disassemble and execute missions.

[0065] To address the aforementioned issues with reconfigurable UAV energy systems, this embodiment proposes a multi-power supply low-energy protection management strategy. By managing the input / output power of each UAV unit's bidirectional reconfigurable power supply (meaning each UAV unit's power supply can both charge and discharge), this strategy enables energy flow between each UAV unit's power supply and the busbar, rationally distributes and schedules the output energy of each power supply, and achieves comprehensive management of the UAV's reconfigurable energy system. However, due to the significant energy consumption inherent in rotary-wing UAVs during flight and the power limitations of the UAV energy bus, simply ensuring that all UAVs have roughly the same power supply level would take a long time and result in excessive energy consumption. Therefore, the energy scheduling strategy adopted in this solution is to, while meeting the normal energy requirements of the equipment's mission and the input / output power constraints of each power supply, only use the power of UAV units with higher power supply SoC values ​​(above a set value) in the modular UAV to charge UAV units with power supply SoC values ​​below the energy required for return to home, thereby preventing battery overdischarge and ensuring that each UAV unit has the ability to autonomously return to home in the event of an emergency disassembly. For example, when the power SoC value of a drone unit in the combined drone is less than the set value A, the drone unit in the combined drone whose power SoC value is higher than the set value B is charged using the power supply of the drone unit.

[0066] Figure 7 This is the overall architecture of the multi-power low-energy protection management strategy proposed in this solution. Based on the current SoC of each power supply in the modular UAV, the expected power of each reconfigurable UAV unit, and several constraints, this strategy determines the aircraft power supply that needs to be protected from low energy (let this UAV unit be the receiving aircraft) and the high-energy value aircraft power supply that supplies it (let this UAV unit be the supplying aircraft). This strategy then realizes power distribution and energy management among multiple power supplies in the modular UAV to protect the normal flight of low-SoC value aircraft.

[0067] Specifically, such as Figure 7 As shown in the figure, the power information management layer summarizes the SoC value and output power of each UAV unit power supply in the modular UAV and transmits it to the power instruction formation layer via the power information bus. The power instruction formation layer calculates the input energy value of the receiving aircraft, the output energy value of the supplying aircraft, the expected SoC of each aircraft, and the output power of each aircraft based on the input information and the input / output power limits of each power supply.

[0068]

[0069] P Bi =k p (SoC Bi -SoC des ) Where: n is the number of power supplies in the energy balancing network (i.e., modular drone); SoCBi is the power SoC value of the i-th aircraft in the energy balancing network, SoC des To balance the average power supply SoC in the energy balance network, the SoC des As each machine expects SoC; k p is the proportionality coefficient (k in this example p is a value in a preset piecewise function related to the power SoC difference); P Bi For power input or output, when SoC Bi <SoC des When P Bi is the input power, that is, the UAV unit corresponding to the power supply is the receiving aircraft; when SoC Bi >SoC des When P Bi is the output power, i.e., the UAV unit corresponding to this power source is the power supply aircraft. The multi-power low-energy protection management strategy enables the power supply aircraft and the receiving aircraft to form an energy balance network, and the power of the receiving aircraft and the power supply aircraft are calculated.

[0070] The output power of each aircraft is transmitted to each UAV unit in the modular UAV via the power command bus. Other commands are sent to the low-energy protection execution layer via the power protection command bus. The low-energy protection execution layer is responsible for executing the actual power flow, sequentially turning on the charging switch of the receiving aircraft, the energy transfer links of each aircraft, and the discharge switch of the supplying aircraft. The aircraft power is then transferred via the energy bus, enabling the high-SoC UAV power supply to charge the low-SoC power supply.

[0071] In summary, the above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable drone, characterized in that: Comprising two or more drone units; each drone unit having a sensing system, an autonomous docking system, a control system, an energy system, a power system, and a transportation system; The drone units are docked or disassembled in the air through the autonomous docking system, switching the single and combined working modes of the drone units; Multiple drone units are reconfigured to form a combined drone for flight; The sensing system is used to sense the motion state, relative position, and posture changes of the two UAV units to be docked, providing a basis for dynamic docking; The control system is used for flight control of a single UAV and flight control in a multi-UAV unit combination working mode; The energy system provides energy for the power system of the drone unit and can realize energy exchange between the drone units in the combined working mode through the autonomous docking system to provide energy for the loads carried by the drone units; The power system provides power for the drone unit; The transport system is used to carry the payload of the drone unit; The autonomous docking system includes a capture module and a locking module. When two drone units are docked, the capture module and the locking module on the docking surface of one drone unit cooperate with the locking module and the capture module on the docking surface of the other drone unit to achieve docking of the two drone units. The docking surface of the capture module is provided with multiple pairs of metal contacts; the docking surface of the locking module is also provided with metal contacts at positions corresponding to the metal contacts on the capture module; when the capture module and the locking module are locked, the metal contacts on the two docking surfaces come into contact, establishing an information and energy exchange channel, and realizing a wired connection of control signals and power energy; The power supplies carried by the drone units are all bidirectional reconfigurable power supplies. After two or more drone units are combined to form a combined drone, the input / output power of the bidirectional reconfigurable power supplies carried by each drone unit is managed to achieve energy flow between the power supply and the bus on each drone unit. Specifically, a comprehensive management method for multi-power low-energy protection management is adopted for the energy system on each drone unit. Under the premise of meeting the normal energy requirements of the combination to perform the mission and meeting the input / output power constraints of each power supply, only the power supplies of the drone units in the combined drone with power supply SOC values ​​higher than the set value are used to charge the drone units with power supply SOC values ​​less than the energy required for returning to the destination in the air; When conducting comprehensive management of multi-power low-energy protection management: The charging UAV unit is called the receiving aircraft, and the discharging UAV unit is called the supplying aircraft. The input or output power of the power supply of the receiving aircraft or the supplying aircraft is: P Bi =k p (SoC Bi -SoC des ) Where: n is the number of power supplies in the modular drone; SoC Bi is the power SoC value of the i-th aircraft in the combined UAV, SoC des is the average power SoC of the combined drone, k p is the proportional coefficient; P Bi For power input or output, when SoC Bi <SoC des When P Bi is the input power; when SoC Bi >SoC des When P Bi The output power is obtained; thus, the energy supply aircraft and the energy receiving aircraft form an energy balance network through the multi-power low energy protection management strategy; The power supplies of multiple drone units can be connected in series and parallel to achieve greater output and voltage.

2. The reconfigurable drone according to claim 1, wherein: The drone unit is a four-rotor drone with a rectangular outer frame, and autonomous docking systems are provided on the sides of the rectangular outer frame.

3. The reconfigurable drone according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The capture module comprises: a housing, a power unit, a hook, and a movable disc; the movable disc is coaxially mounted inside the housing and slidably engages with the inner circumferential surface of the housing; the power unit is used to drive the movable disc to move axially inside the housing; three or more hooks are hingedly connected at even intervals along the circumference of the movable disc; an opening slot is provided in the middle of the housing at a position corresponding to each hook, for allowing the claw end of the hook to extend out of the housing; the position of the opening slot is connected to a limit block via a pin shaft; When the power unit drives the movable disc to move outward along the axial direction, the hook claw is driven to move outward. During the outward movement of the hook claw, the limit block at the corresponding opening slot is squeezed, causing the limit block to rotate around the pin shaft, causing the hook claw to move outward while opening; The outer circumferential surface of the locking module is provided with conical grooves corresponding to the hook claws one by one to provide gripping points; After the capture module completes the grasping of the grasping point on the locking module through the hook, the capture module and the locking module are locked by the self-locking unit; A laser ranging sensor is also provided on the docking surface of the capture module; the laser ranging sensor is used to monitor the distance between the two drone units in real time during the docking process.

4. The reconfigurable drone according to claim 3, wherein: The self-locking unit includes an annular latch provided on the docking surface of the locking module and driven by a servo motor, and an annular locking groove provided on the docking surface of the capture module; The annular latch can rotate around its own axis under the drive of a servo motor; the annular latch has three or more arc-shaped locking pins evenly spaced along the circumference; the locking module docking surface is provided with arc-shaped protective covers corresponding to the arc-shaped locking pins one by one, and when not docked, the arc-shaped locking pins are respectively located in the arc-shaped grooves in the corresponding arc-shaped protective covers; An arc-shaped groove is provided on the position corresponding to the arc-shaped protective cover on the docking surface of the capture module, and the area between every two arc-shaped grooves serves as a locking block. A limiting hole for inserting the arc-shaped locking pin is processed inside the locking block.

5. The reconfigurable drone according to claim 3, wherein: A capture module and a locking module are provided on each side of the rectangular outer frame of the drone unit; thus, each drone unit has two docking points on its docking surface. When two drone units are docked, the capture module and locking module on the docking surface of one drone unit respectively cooperate with the locking module and capture module on the docking surface of the other drone unit to achieve docking of the two drone units.

6. The reconfigurable drone according to claim 3, wherein: A force sensor is also provided on the docking surface of the capture module; the force sensor is used to monitor the contact force during the docking process in real time, and when the contact force exceeds a set value, the docking is stopped.

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