Apparatus and method for docking and undocking of drones and unmanned vehicles based on spin motion

Abstract

The application relates to a device and method for docking and separating unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned vehicles based on spin motion, wherein the helical landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle has a helical bottom which can be matched with a helical track on the top base of the unmanned vehicle; the base and the helical landing gear realize docking and separation based on the spin motion of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle alone or jointly; the locking device can lock the base and the helical landing gear after the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle are docked, and can also unlock the base and the helical landing gear when receiving a separation instruction. The application realizes rapid autonomous docking, locking and separation through spin, improves the system cooperation capability, and expands the application range of the traditional amphibious system. Through the device and method for docking and separating unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned vehicles based on spin motion, the land-air amphibious system can realize land-air amphibious motion as an integrated platform, and can also be separated into two subsystems of air and ground to cooperatively execute tasks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, and in particular to a device and method for docking and separating a drone and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion. Background Technology

[0002] In recent years, both unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned vehicles (UGVs) have made significant technological progress. Various unmanned systems are widely used in search and rescue, surveying, logistics, and photography. Moreover, UAVs and UGVs each have their unique advantages in different fields. Compared to UGVs, UAVs move in three dimensions and are unaffected by extreme terrain. However, the relatively high power consumption of UAVs significantly limits their endurance. On the other hand, while UGVs only need to overcome the friction between the ground and tires to achieve extremely low power consumption and long endurance, their movement is often affected by rugged terrain. Due to their respective characteristics, the applicable scenarios for UAVs and UGVs also differ greatly. UAVs can achieve high-speed patrols in various open terrains and provide a very wide field of view. However, in confined spaces, such as navigating low, narrow gaps in ruins, UGVs demonstrate better accessibility and adaptability. UAVs, in confined environments, face the risk of propeller or wing damage.

[0003] To fully leverage the advantages of UAVs and unmanned vehicles (UAVs), the concept of amphibious platforms has emerged and garnered widespread attention from the scientific and industrial communities. A typical design approach for amphibious platforms integrates wings and propellers directly onto a ground platform, combining two power systems onto a single platform. The key to extending endurance in this approach lies in maximizing energy efficiency by operating on the ground. However, when the amphibious platform is in flight, the ground system becomes redundant. This leads to motion planning algorithms that prioritize power optimization often favoring ground-based motion to mitigate the endurance disadvantage during flight. In this situation, the entire system often loses its aerial awareness capabilities, limiting its advantages as an aircraft. Most importantly, the impact of a ground system failure or damage on the entire mission is unacceptable. Therefore, a separable, collaborative system of UAVs and a mobile ground platform is an effective solution to these problems. However, in previous work, the ground platform has primarily served as a support device for UAVs. Such systems often struggle to match the size parameters of the airborne platform, making it difficult to traverse challenging terrains like steep slopes, dead ends, and rivers alongside the UAV. Consequently, the entire system fails to fully utilize the respective advantages of both UAVs and UAVs. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved:

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies where drones and unmanned vehicles cannot be effectively docked or separated, this invention proposes a device and method for docking and separating drones and unmanned vehicles based on spin motion. This enables the amphibious system to function as an integrated platform for amphibious operations, or to be separated into two subsystems, one in the air and one on the ground, to perform tasks collaboratively.

[0006] The technical solution adopted is as follows:

[0007] A device for docking and separating a drone and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion includes a base, a spiral landing gear, and a locking device.

[0008] The base is installed on the top of the unmanned vehicle, is hollow inside, and has a spiral track on its outer circumference;

[0009] The spiral landing gear is installed on the bottom of the drone, replacing the original landing gear, and the spiral landing gear has a spiral bottom that can cooperate with a spiral track;

[0010] The base and the spiral landing gear dock and separate based on the individual or joint spin motion of the UAV and the unmanned vehicle; the locking device can lock the base and the spiral landing gear after the UAV and the unmanned vehicle have docked.

[0011] Furthermore, the top of the base is provided with an inclined guide surface to enable precise point landing of the drone.

[0012] Furthermore, the locking device adopts a pin structure, and the pin is driven by the servo motor on the unmanned vehicle to lock or unlock the base and the propeller landing gear.

[0013] Furthermore, a base pin hole is provided on the base, and a landing gear pin hole is provided on the propeller landing gear. After the base and the propeller landing gear are docked, the base pin hole and the landing gear pin hole are aligned, and the pin passes through both the base pin hole and the landing gear pin hole to achieve locking.

[0014] Furthermore, the spiral landing gear also includes a mounting frame and multiple legs. One end of each leg is provided with a mounting frame, and the other end is provided with a spiral bottom. The drone mounting holes provided on the mounting frame are fixedly connected to the bottom of the drone.

[0015] Furthermore, the drone is a multi-rotor drone capable of arbitrary yaw motion; the unmanned vehicle is a differential four-wheel drive unmanned vehicle.

[0016] A method for docking and separating a drone and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion includes the following steps:

[0017] S1: When the drone and the unmanned vehicle receive the docking command, they adjust their position and attitude so that when the drone lands on the unmanned vehicle, the base and the spiral landing gear are aligned with each other's centers.

[0018] S2: Based on the individual or common opposite spin motion of the UAV and the unmanned vehicle, the tight fit of the docking and separation device is achieved;

[0019] S3: Based on the relative heading angle information, determine whether the UAV's spiral landing gear is fully screwed into the spiral track. When it is fully screwed in, the UAV's servo motor drives the locking device to lock the two together to form an integrated land and air amphibious platform.

[0020] S4: When the drone and the unmanned vehicle receive the separation command, the locking device will be unlocked. The drone and the unmanned vehicle will then separate by rotating their respective or combined opposite directions.

[0021] Furthermore, in S1, the method for aligning the center of the base and the spiral landing gear can employ a drone landing guidance method that combines conical guide surface guidance, push rod correction, and electromagnetic guidance.

[0022] Furthermore, the specific process of docking or separating the drone and the unmanned vehicle includes: the drone maintaining a hovering throttle, having a certain amount of lift but not enough to overcome gravity for takeoff, and overcoming friction through the individual or joint opposite rotational motion of the drone and the unmanned vehicle, causing the spiral landing gear at the bottom of the drone to rotate into or out of the spiral track on the base of the unmanned vehicle.

[0023] Furthermore, the spin motion of the drone is achieved through the yaw motion of the multi-rotor drone; the spin motion of the unmanned vehicle is achieved by making the tires on the left and right sides of the differential four-wheel drive unmanned vehicle rotate in opposite directions at the same speed.

[0024] The beneficial effects of this invention compared to the prior art are as follows:

[0025] 1. The device and method for docking and separating UAVs and unmanned vehicles proposed in this invention adopt a unique spin mode to realize the docking and separation of land and air subsystems. The docking and separation mechanism designed using this method has a simple structure and is lightweight.

[0026] 2. This invention enables the docking and separation of the air and ground components of a traditional amphibious system, solving the problem of short air endurance in traditional amphibious systems and providing a greater advantage in aerial visibility.

[0027] 3. Drones and unmanned vehicles can achieve rapid autonomous docking, locking, and separation through spin, improving system coordination capabilities and expanding the application scope of traditional amphibious systems. Attached Figure Description

[0028] To more clearly illustrate the specific embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the specific embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained from these drawings without creative effort.

[0029] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a device for docking and separating a drone and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion.

[0030] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the base of the docking and separation device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the helical landing gear of the docking and separation device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a method for docking and separating drones and unmanned vehicles based on spin motion;

[0033] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the UAV spin principle provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Among them: 1-Unmanned vehicle mounting hole, 2-Helical track, 3-Base pin hole, 4-Guide surface, 5-UAV mounting hole, 6-Landing gear pin hole, 7-Outrigger, 8-Helical bottom, 9-Mounting bracket. Detailed Implementation

[0035] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0036] This embodiment of the invention uses a quadcopter drone as the aerial platform and a differential four-wheel drive vehicle as the ground platform. This embodiment provides a technical solution:

[0037] A device for docking and detaching a drone and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion includes a base, a helical landing gear, and a locking mechanism, such as... Figure 1 As shown;

[0038] The base is mounted on top of the unmanned vehicle via mounting holes 1 around its perimeter. It is hollow inside, with a small-pitch spiral track 2 on its outer surface. The upper part of the track is suspended to allow the spiral landing gear legs 7 to pass through. The top of the base has an angled guide surface 4 to enable precise, fixed-point landing of the UAV. Figure 2 As shown;

[0039] The spiral landing gear is installed on the bottom of the drone through four drone mounting holes 5 provided on the top mounting bracket 9, replacing the original landing gear, and the bottom is spiral-shaped, and the spiral bottom 8 can cooperate with the spiral track 2.

[0040] The locking device employs a pin structure, driven by a servo motor on the unmanned vehicle to lock or unlock the pin. A base pin hole 3 is provided on the base, and a landing gear pin hole 6 is provided on the propeller landing gear. After the base and propeller landing gear are docked, the base pin hole 3 aligns with the landing gear pin hole 6, and the pin passes through both the base pin hole and the landing gear pin hole simultaneously to achieve locking. Figure 3 As shown;

[0041] The base and the spiral landing gear dock and separate based on the individual or common opposite rotational motion of the UAV and the unmanned vehicle;

[0042] A method for docking and separating a UAV and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion, the method steps are as follows: Figure 4 As shown, the specific steps include:

[0043] Step 1: The drone and the unmanned vehicle receive the docking command, adjust their positions, the drone adjusts its attitude to be horizontal, lands on the unmanned vehicle, and then uses the guidance mechanism to align the horizontal centers of the two.

[0044] Among these methods, the drone can adjust its relative position to the unmanned vehicle using various landing guidance techniques, such as conical surface guidance, push rod correction, and electromagnetic guidance. After adjustment by the guidance mechanism, the drone can achieve precise, fixed-point landing.

[0045] Step 2: The drone and the unmanned vehicle dock based on their individual or combined opposite-direction spin motions. It can be set so that the drone and the unmanned vehicle can spin one revolution individually or in opposite directions together to achieve one revolution. After that, the spiral landing gear and the spiral track of the base are tightly fitted. At this time, the drone and the unmanned vehicle are moving in the same direction.

[0046] The specific implementation process of the drone and unmanned vehicle spin docking-separation is as follows: the drone maintains a hovering throttle, with a certain amount of lift but not enough to overcome gravity for takeoff. Through the individual or joint spin motion of the drone / unmanned vehicle, the friction force is overcome, and the spiral landing gear at the bottom of the drone spins into / out of the spiral track on the base of the unmanned vehicle.

[0047] Step 3: Based on the relative heading angle information of the UAV and the unmanned vehicle, determine whether the UAV landing gear is fully screwed into the track. If so, the unmanned vehicle issues a command, and the unmanned vehicle's servo drives the locking device to lock the two together to form an integrated land and air amphibious platform.

[0048] Step 4: When the drone and the unmanned vehicle receive the separation command, the locking device unlocks. After the drone and the unmanned vehicle rotate once based on their individual or joint counter-rotating motion, the drone's landing gear rotates out of the spiral track, and then the drone takes off normally, realizing the separation of the vehicle and the drone.

[0049] The principle of the UAV's spin motion is similar to that of yaw control, such as... Figure 5 As shown, propellers A and C of the quadcopter drone increase their thrust, while propellers B and D decrease their thrust, keeping the total thrust slightly less than the weight. At this time, the total motor counter-torque is clockwise, allowing the drone to remain horizontal and spin clockwise.

[0050] The self-spinning motion of the unmanned vehicle is achieved by making the tires on the left and right sides of the differential four-wheel drive unmanned vehicle rotate in opposite directions at the same speed.

[0051] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely illustrative examples for clear explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation. Those skilled in the art will recognize that other variations or modifications can be made based on the above description. It is neither necessary nor possible to exhaustively list all possible implementations here. However, obvious variations or modifications derived therefrom are still within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. A device for docking and separating a drone and an unmanned vehicle based on spin motion, characterized in that, The device comprises a base, a helical landing gear and a locking device; The base is installed on the top of the unmanned vehicle, is hollow inside and is provided with a helical track on the outer circumferential surface; The helical landing gear is installed on the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle, replaces the original landing gear and has a helical bottom which can be matched with the helical track; The base and the helical landing gear are docked and separated based on the individual or joint reverse spinning motion of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle; The locking device locks the base and the helical landing gear after the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle are docked; The top of the base is provided with an inclined guide surface to realize the accurate pinpoint landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle; The locking device adopts a bolt structure and is driven by a steering engine on the unmanned vehicle to lock or unlock the base and the helical landing gear; The base is provided with a base bolt hole and the helical landing gear is provided with a landing gear bolt hole, the base bolt hole is aligned with the landing gear bolt hole after the base and the helical landing gear are docked, and the bolt simultaneously passes through the base bolt hole and the landing gear bolt hole to realize locking; The helical landing gear further comprises a mounting frame and a plurality of supporting legs, one end of the plurality of supporting legs is provided with the mounting frame, and the other end is provided with the helical bottom, and the unmanned aerial vehicle mounting hole provided on the mounting frame is fixedly connected with the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned vehicle docking and undocking device based on spin motion according to claim 1, characterized in that, The unmanned aerial vehicle is any yawable multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned vehicle is a differential four-wheel drive unmanned vehicle.

3. A method for unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned vehicle docking and separation based on spin motion, characterized in that, The method is based on the docking and separating device of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle as claimed in claim 2 and comprises the following steps: S1: When the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle receive a docking instruction, the positions and postures of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle are adjusted so that the centers of the base and the helical landing gear are aligned with each other when the unmanned aerial vehicle lands on the unmanned vehicle; S2: Based on the individual or joint reverse spinning motion of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle, the tight fit of the docking and separating device is realized after one round of spinning; S3: According to the relative heading angle information, it is judged whether the helical landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle is completely rotated into the helical track, and when the helical landing gear is completely rotated into the helical track, the locking device driven by the steering engine of the unmanned vehicle locks the base and the helical landing gear to form an integrated amphibious platform; S4: When the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle receive a separating instruction, the locking device is unlocked, the helical landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle is rotated out of the helical track through the individual or joint reverse spinning motion of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle are separated.

4. The method for docking and undocking of UAV and UGV based on spin motion according to claim 3, wherein, In S1, the method that the centers of the base and the helical landing gear are aligned can adopt the unmanned aerial vehicle landing guide mode of conical guide surface guide, push rod correction and electromagnetic guide.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, The specific process of the docking or separating of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle comprises that the unmanned aerial vehicle maintains hovering throttle, has a certain lift but is insufficient to overcome the gravity to take off, the helical landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle bottom is rotated into or rotated out of the helical track of the base on the unmanned vehicle through the individual or joint reverse spinning motion of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned vehicle to overcome the friction.

6. The method of docking and undocking of UAV and UGV based on spin motion according to claim 3, wherein, The spinning motion of the unmanned aerial vehicle is realized through the yaw motion of the multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, and the spinning motion of the unmanned vehicle is realized by rotating the tires on the left and right sides of the differential four-wheel drive unmanned vehicle at the same speed in the opposite direction.

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