Ground rotating recovery system for fixed-wing drones

Abstract

Compared with other landing modes, the application innovatively adopts ground support transverse arresting technology, controls the unmanned aerial vehicle through a high-precision flight control system, realizes centimeter-level positioning and control accuracy, and then completes high-precision and high-reliability landing hooking action; after landing hooking, the unmanned aerial vehicle slides to the middle of the rotating support horizontal rod under the action of inertia, and is clamped and locked by a locking mechanism; then the rotating support rotates around the rotating shaft with the unmanned aerial vehicle, a rotating damper is arranged at the rotating shaft to absorb the impact load of the unmanned aerial vehicle landing; finally, the unmanned aerial vehicle and the rotating support are stably stationary at the lower part, the operation and maintenance personnel manually unload the unmanned aerial vehicle, the rotating support restores to the vertical upward state under the action of the reset motor, and waits for the landing of the next unmanned aerial vehicle. The whole rotating recovery system has small area, can realize one-key operation and reset, and improves the efficiency and reliability of the fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle recovery operation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to a ground-based rotating recovery system for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Background Technology

[0002] Current landing methods for fixed-wing UAVs mainly include runway landing, parachute landing, and net landing. Runway landing requires a straight runway and clear airspace, which has high requirements and poor adaptability to the field; parachute landing is easily affected by weather conditions, and the structure of the UAV is easily damaged when it hits the ground in strong winds; net landing requires reinforcement of the fuselage and wings, the recovery net area is huge, and the repositioning of the UAV after recovery is relatively complex. All of the above landing methods have certain problems and are not conducive to efficient use in outdoor environments.

[0003] Conventional arrested landing schemes typically involve setting up arresting cables or nets on the ground or runway. This places extremely high demands on the control of the UAV's landing trajectory, especially the accuracy of altitude control. Furthermore, there is a risk that the landing hook may bounce up and fail to engage during touchdown. Multiple arresting cables or nets are often used to improve the success rate of hook engagement, making the system relatively complex and unreliable. In addition, the UAV's gliding and maintaining its landing trajectory require a long distance of flat ground and airspace. Ground trees, low shrubs, and undulating terrain can affect landing safety, resulting in poor adaptability. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the problems of existing landing methods, this invention innovatively employs a ground-based support lateral arresting technique. According to this invention, a high-precision flight control system is used to control the UAV to achieve centimeter-level positioning and control accuracy (centimeter-level positioning can be achieved using existing solutions), thereby completing a high-precision and highly reliable landing hooking action. After landing, the UAV, under inertia, translates to the middle of the rotating support's crossbar and is locked in place by a locking mechanism. The rotating support then rotates around its axis with the UAV attached, where a rotational damper absorbs the impact load from the UAV's landing. Finally, the UAV and the rotating support stabilize at the bottom, and maintenance personnel manually detach the UAV. The rotating support then returns to a vertically upward position under the action of a reset motor, awaiting the next UAV landing. The entire rotating recovery system has a small footprint, enables one-button operation and reset, and improves the efficiency and reliability of fixed-wing UAV recovery operations. Attached Figure Description

[0005] Figure 1 The illustration shows the configuration of a ground-based rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0006] Figure 2 The diagram schematically shows a partial view of the pivot position of a ground-based rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0007] Figure 3 The diagram shows a top view of a ground-based rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0008] Figure 4 The illustration shows a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with its landing hook retracted and in normal flight mode, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0009] Figure 5 The illustration shows the landing hook on the lower part of the fuselage of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a landing preparation state, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0010] Figure 6 The diagram illustrates the positional relationship between the UAV and the recovery device before landing in a ground-based rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing UAV according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0011] Figure 7 The diagram illustrates the contact hook between the drone and the middle of the crossbar of the rotating support in a ground rotation recovery system for a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0012] Figure 8 The illustration shows the UAV and the rotating support crossbar in contact at the edge of a ground rotation recovery system for a fixed-wing UAV according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Figure 9 The diagram illustrates the direction of rotation of the drone hook after it is attached to a ground-based rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing drone according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 10 The illustration shows the state of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) rotated to 90 degrees in a ground rotation recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Figure 11 The illustration shows the stable stationary state of a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in a ground-based rotating recovery system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 12 The illustration shows the UAV landing hook of a ground rotation recovery system for a fixed-wing UAV according to an embodiment of the present invention locked in the middle of the rotating support crossbar.

[0017] Figure 13 The diagram illustrates the composition of the rotation damper components of a ground rotation recovery system for a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 14 A schematic diagram showing the initial state of a lateral locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided.

[0019] Figure 15 A schematic diagram (sectional view showing the internal spring components) of the initial state of the lateral locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0020] Figure 16 A schematic diagram of a locking landing hook of a lateral locking device according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0022] The technical solution of this invention innovatively adopts ground-supported lateral barrier technology, wherein, Figure 1 This diagram shows the overall principle of the drone recovery system. Figure 2 This shows a partial schematic of the ground support structure. Figure 3 This shows a top view of the ground support structure. Figure 4 and Figure 5 The display shows two states: the drone hook is retracted and the drone hook is extended. Figure 6 Displays the attitude and spatial position of the drone recovery system before landing hook insertion. For example... Figure 1 As shown in Figure 7, a drone recovery system according to the present invention is set on the ground along the drone landing path. A rotating support 3 including a crossbar 301 and a vertical bar 302 is set. A high-precision flight control system is used to control the drone 1 to achieve centimeter-level positioning and control accuracy of the distance between it and the crossbar 301. A landing hook 2 is set on the lower part of the drone 1. Before landing, the landing hook 2 is lowered from the lower part of the fuselage, contacts the crossbar 301 and hooks and locks, thereby completing a highly reliable landing hooking action. After the landing hook 2 hooks the crossbar 301, the drone 1 slides laterally to the middle of the crossbar 301 under the action of inertia and is locked by the lateral locking device 10 of the rotating support.

[0023] Examples include displays showing the drone in a locked state when it has slipped off the rotating support and displays the drone initially attached to the rotating support. Figure 8 As shown, after the drone 1 slides to the middle of the crossbar 301, the drone 1, together with the entire rotating support 3 and the landing hook 2, rotates around the rotation axis 11, as follows. Figure 9 and 10 As shown, a rotational damper 6 is provided at the rotation axis 11 to absorb the impact load of the UAV 1 landing. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the rotational damper 6 can automatically control the damping value and feedback control conditions and / or pre-set the damping value and feedback control conditions.

[0024] Figure 9 This diagram shows the drone and its rotating support rotating together. Figure 10The display shows a 90-degree rotation; after several rotations, the landing impact energy of UAV 1 is completely absorbed, and then the rotating support 3, UAV 1, and landing hook 2 come to a stable stop at the low point, as shown. Figure 11 As shown, maintenance personnel can manually detach UAV 1 at this point, thus completing the recovery process. Afterwards, the rotating support 3 returns to a vertically upward position under the action of the reset motor 7, preparing for the next landing of UAV 1, completing the reset process. The entire rotating recovery system occupies a small area, enables one-button operation and reset, and improves the efficiency and reliability of fixed-wing UAV recovery operations.

[0025] A ground rotation and recovery system for a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a landing hook 2, a rotating support 3, a reinforcing brace 4, a fixed base or ground 5, a rotation damper 6, a reset device 7, a fixed support 8, an angle sensor 9, a lateral locking device for the rotating support 10, and a control module 12. The rotating support 3 includes a horizontal bar 301 and a vertical bar 302, as shown below. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 12 show.

[0026] This invention innovatively adopts ground-supported arresting technology. The fixed bracket 8 is used to raise the rotating bracket 3 to a certain height above the ground. During the contact process between the landing hook 2 of the UAV 1 and the hook of the crossbar 301 of the rotating bracket 3, the UAV 1 only needs to maintain a low heading and altitude accuracy. There is no risk of the UAV 1 failing to hook up. The length of the landing hook 2 is the accuracy tolerance range of the UAV 1 for controlling the flight altitude. Therefore, the reliability is high, the landing difficulty is reduced, and the hook failure can be easily and safely restarted. It is more reliable and safer than ground arresting technology.

[0027] Innovative drone rotation damping recovery method

[0028] Conventional net or line-collision recovery typically utilizes the forward linear motion of the drone 1 carrying the net / rope, which drives the damping rope to perform linear work to buffer the landing impact load. This requires a relatively long forward motion, resulting in a large recovery system and a long runway. According to the present invention, after the drone 1 and landing hook 2 successfully contact and hook onto the crossbar of the rotating support 3, all three will first perform a circular rotation around the axis 11. After the impact load decreases, they transition to a pendulum motion until they come to rest. This converts the forward linear motion of the drone into a circular motion around the axis, transforming the impact load of the drone 1's landing into rotational damping absorption, effectively saving on the size and space requirements of the recovery system.

[0029] Closed-loop controlled rotary damper

[0030] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the rotary damper 6 employs an intelligent control and parameter-adjustable device, enabling convenient adjustment of speed, torque, and damping value. It can be preset or adaptively adapted to meet the landing and recovery requirements of UAVs 1 of different sizes / weights, without requiring replacement of damping components. This improves the system's adaptability and efficiency, achieves one-click recovery, and enhances the efficiency and convenience of the recovery system. According to one embodiment of the present invention, as... Figure 13 As shown, the rotary damper 6 is electromagnetically controlled and consists of modules such as a base 601, a damping motor 602, a sensor 603, a controller 604, and a rotating rope 605. The base 601 is fixedly connected to the central stator of the damping motor 602, and the rotating rope 605 is connected to the outer rotor of the damping motor 602. The rotating rope 605 connects to external structures or parts to which damping force needs to be applied. By changing the current input to the damping motor 602, the torque and speed of the damping motor 602 can be adjusted in real time, thereby changing the force and rotational speed on the rotating rope 605. A sensor 603 is installed to provide feedback on current, voltage, speed, and torque, achieving overall closed-loop control. Figure 13 As shown. In addition, under extreme power-free conditions, damping can be provided by pure friction energy absorption. By utilizing the contact between the rotating bracket 3 and the fixed bracket 8 at the rotating shaft 11, damping is provided through friction during rotation, thereby absorbing the kinetic energy of the UAV.

[0031] "V"-shaped drone centering bar design

[0032] During drone landing, various unexpected situations can arise, especially in windy conditions, which can severely affect the drone's actual flight path accuracy. Therefore, this invention includes a specially designed adaptive drone centering crossbar. Figure 1 The top view shows that the crossbar 301 of the rotating support 3 is tilted forward (in the direction of the UAV's flight) at a certain angle, forming a "V" shape. Furthermore, the contact area between the crossbar 301 and the landing hook 2 is made of an impact-resistant, low-friction coefficient material, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Therefore, even in extreme cases where the impact between the UAV's landing hook 2 and the crossbar 301 of the rotating support 3 occurs at the end of the crossbar 301, the landing hook 2 can still slide laterally to the center of the crossbar 301, successfully completing the hook locking. This improves the accuracy and redundancy of the recovery system, enhancing system reliability. Additionally, under extreme power supply conditions, a crank + gear transmission mechanism can be used for manual reset.

[0033] Closed-loop control reset device

[0034] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a reset device 7 is provided, which operates in conjunction with an angle sensor 9 to execute a closed-loop control process as follows: when the rotating bracket 3 needs to be reset after recycling is completed, the angle sensor 9 identifies the current angle value of the rotating bracket 3 and transmits it to the control module 12. Then, the control module 12 calculates and feeds back the set parameters and duration to the reset device 7, so that the reset device 7 controls the rotating bracket 3 to rotate approximately 180 degrees to reach a vertically upward state, i.e. Figure 1 and 6 The system displays the recovery system status, then the reset device 7 locks the rotating bracket 3, awaiting the execution of drone recovery. The entire control loop is a closed-loop negative feedback, resulting in good positioning accuracy and high reset accuracy.

[0035] like Figure 14 As shown in Figure 16, the lateral locking device (10) includes a fixed block (1001), a sliding block (1002), and a spring (1003). In the initial state, both the left and right sliding blocks (1002) are located in the middle of the lateral locking device. During the landing hook process of the UAV, the landing hook (2) slides to the middle of the lateral locking device (10) and continues to move forward. The landing hook (2) touches the sliding block (1002). Since the contact surface of the sliding block (1002) is inclined, the landing hook (2) presses the sliding block (1002) to slide to both sides. After the landing hook (2) moves forward a certain distance, the landing hook (2) reaches the position of the sliding block (1002) at the square hole. The left and right sliding blocks (1002) are no longer pressed by the landing hook (2) and return to the initial middle position under the action of the spring (1003), thereby realizing the locking of the landing hook (2).

[0036] The advantages and / or beneficial effects of the present invention include:

[0037] 1) The use of ground-based support lateral arresting technology reduces the difficulty of landing and allows for convenient and safe go-around in case of hook failure, which is more reliable and safer than ground-based arresting technology;

[0038] 2) The innovative rotational damping recovery method converts the impact load of the UAV landing into a rotational loop around a horizontal rotation axis, thereby significantly increasing the equivalent buffer distance, reducing the recovery acceleration, reducing or even eliminating the requirement for the flatness of the landing channel, and significantly reducing the size of the UAV recovery device and the required landing space.

[0039] 3) The closed-loop controlled rotary damper can adapt to the recovery needs of fixed-wing UAVs of different sizes and weights, and achieve one-click recovery;

[0040] 4) By adopting a “V”-shaped drone centering crossbar design, the accuracy redundancy and system reliability of the recovery system are improved.

[0041] 5) The angle sensor and the reset device together form a negative feedback closed-loop control loop, which has high reset accuracy and precision.

Claims

1. A ground rotating recovery system for a fixed wing unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that The utility model relates to a rotary recovery system for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising: a fixed support (8) as a base of the unmanned aerial vehicle recovery system, a rotating support (3) comprising a horizontal bar (301) and a vertical bar (302), a rotary damping device, the rotating support (3) is rotatably connected with the fixed support (8) at a rotary shaft (11) through a rotary damper (6), wherein: the horizontal bar (301) is used for contacting and hooking with a landing hook (2) arranged at the lower part of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) body, thereby completing the hook landing action; after the unmanned aerial vehicle slides horizontally to the middle part of the horizontal bar (301), the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) rotates around the rotary shaft (11) together with the whole rotating support (3) and the landing hook (2), the landing energy of the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) is consumed through the rotation, thereby making the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) gradually stop stably together with the rotating support (3), and the recovery of the unmanned aerial vehicle is realized, a horizontal locking device (10) of the rotating support (3), after the landing hook (2) hooks the horizontal bar (301), the unmanned aerial vehicle (1) slides horizontally to the middle part of the horizontal bar (301) under the action of inertia, and is locked by the horizontal locking device (10), the horizontal locking device (10) comprises a fixed block (1001), a sliding block (1002) and a spring (1003); the sliding block (1002) comprises left and right sliding blocks, and in the initial state, the left and right sliding blocks are located at the middle part of the horizontal locking device; during the unmanned aerial vehicle landing hooking process, the landing hook (2) slides to the middle part of the horizontal locking device (10); the landing hook (2) contacts the sliding block (1002), and since the contact surface of the sliding block (1002) is an inclined surface, the landing hook (2) presses the sliding block (1002) to slide to both sides; then, after the landing hook (2) moves forward by a certain distance, the square hole of the landing hook (2) reaches the position of the sliding block (1002), the left and right sliding blocks are no longer pressed by the landing hook (2), and are restored to the initial middle position under the action of the spring (1003), thereby realizing the locking of the landing hook (2).

2. The ground-rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing drone of claim 1, wherein Further comprising: a reset device comprising a reset motor (7), which is used for restoring the rotating support (3) to the vertical upward state after completing the recovery of the unmanned aerial vehicle once, so as to prepare for the next recovery of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

3. The ground-rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing drone of claim 1, wherein Further comprising: an angle sensor (9) which operates jointly with the reset device, and is used for identifying the current angle position of the rotating support when the reset of the rotating support is performed after the recovery is completed, a control module (12) which is used for calculating and feeding back the setting parameters and time length of the reset device to the reset device according to the angle position data from the angle sensor (9), so that the reset device controls the rotating support (3) to rotate about 180 degrees to reach the vertical upward state, and waits for the execution of the recovery of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

4. The ground rotary recovery system for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: the rotary damping device comprises a rotary damper (6), the rotary damper (6) is controlled electromagnetically, and comprises a base (601), a damping motor (602), a sensor (603), a controller (604) and a rotary rope (605), wherein: the base (601) is fixedly connected with the center stator of the damping motor (602), The rotating rope (605) is connected with the outer rotor of the damping motor (602), The rotating rope (605) is connected with the external structure or part that needs to apply damping force. By changing the current size of the input damping motor (602), the torque and rotating speed of the damping motor (602) are adjusted in real time, and then the force and rotating speed on the rotating rope (605) are changed, The sensor (603) is used to feedback current, voltage, rotating speed and torque, and realize overall closed-loop control.

5. The ground rotating recovery system of the fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The rotating damping device provides damping in the case of no power supply and / or power depletion by using pure friction energy absorption, utilizes the contact friction between the rotating support (3) and the fixed support (8) at the rotating shaft (11), and realizes damping through friction in the rotating process, and absorbs the kinetic energy of the unmanned aerial vehicle.

6. The ground rotating recovery system of the fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that: The crossbar (301) of the rotating support (3) is inclined at a certain angle in the forward direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle, that is, the direction of flight, and forms a "V" shape, so that even in the extreme case that the impact between the landing hook (2) of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the crossbar (301) of the rotating support (3) occurs at the end of the crossbar (301), the landing hook (2) can slide laterally to the center of the crossbar (301) and smoothly complete the hook locking, thereby improving the accuracy redundancy of the unmanned aerial vehicle recovery system and improving the reliability.

7. A ground-rotating recovery system for a fixed-wing drone according to one of claims 1-3, characterized in that Further comprising: A manual reset mechanism with a crank-gear transmission mechanism for manually resetting the rotating support (3), Wherein: The rotating damper (6) automatically controls the damping value and feedback control condition and / or sets the damping value and feedback control condition in advance, By using the high-precision flight control system to control the unmanned aerial vehicle, the positioning and control accuracy of the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the crossbar (301) are realized, An impact-resistant low-friction coefficient material is arranged on the contact position of the crossbar (301) and the landing hook (2).

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