A ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV and control method thereof

Abstract

The present invention discloses a ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV and a control method thereof, comprising a horizontal dual-rotor UAV main body, two sets of hemispherical rotor assemblies and a rotor assembly. The hemispherical assembly is a hollow structure, fixedly connected to the UAV's rotating arm, and can rotate with the rotating arm. Based on the traditional horizontal dual-rotor UAV, the present invention innovatively designs a transmission mechanism based on a conductive slip ring, so that the rotor drive motor, driven by a servo, can be upgraded from the traditional small-angle tilt to 360° rotation, and then cooperates with the hemispherical rotor of the UAV to perform safe, flexible, and concealed ground rolling, thereby significantly reducing the UAV's energy consumption and expanding the UAV's operating range. Combined with the UAV's high aerial maneuverability, the present invention has great application potential in scenarios such as disaster search and rescue, surveying, and environmental mapping.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of ground-to-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and in particular relates to a ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV and a control method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Amphibious ground-to-air drones are a key research area in the drone field. Their wider operating range opens up a wider range of applications, offering enormous potential in disaster relief, surveying, and other areas. Currently, most ground-to-air amphibious drones combine a drone with wheeled mobility. The key to these technologies lies in balancing high maneuverability in aerial scenarios with robustness on the ground, while maintaining limited payload capacity and energy availability, thereby achieving synergy between flight and mobility propulsion.

[0003] Traditional amphibious drones generally use a multi-rotor flight platform combined with a wheel, foot, and tracked ground mobile platform, which makes the robot body structure too complicated and the overall performance poor; multi-rotor aircraft have a simple structure and are easy to operate, but because they require multiple motors to drive, they consume a lot of power; in addition, drones equipped with high-speed rotating propellers face greater safety risks. When in cluttered and narrow spaces or encountering obstacles such as people, animals, and plants, collisions with propellers may cause the drone to crash or serious consequences such as damage to people and objects.

[0004] One type of existing ground-to-air amphibious drone utilizes a multi-rotor drone with passive wheels / frames. This solution places the rotors or drone body within a passively rotating protective wheel / frame to enable ground motion and mitigate damage to internal components from collisions or rolls. However, relying on passive wheel / frame rotation results in limited agility during ground motion. Propellers operating near the ground are not only affected by ground effect but also pose safety risks from kicked-up rocks and debris. Furthermore, the noise and dust created by the propellers hinder the drone's ability to conceal its movements. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In order to address the deficiencies of the existing technology, reduce the structural complexity of the ground-to-air amphibious UAV, improve the safety and comprehensive endurance of the UAV, improve the flexibility of the passive wheels during ground motion of the UAV and the efficiency of the propeller's near-ground operation, and reduce dust, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV comprises a main body and a rotor assembly, wherein the rotor assembly is equipped with a runner assembly, the rotor assembly comprising a propeller, a rotor drive motor, a steering gear drive shaft, a steering gear and a conductive slip ring, the steering gear and the conductive slip ring being connected to the main body, one end of a hollow steering gear drive shaft being fixedly connected to a rotor of the conductive slip ring, and the other end being connected to the rotor drive motor, the rotor drive motor being connected to the propeller, which is not coaxial with the steering gear drive shaft, the rotor outlet wire of the conductive slip ring passing through the hollow steering gear drive shaft and connected to the rotor drive motor, the runner assembly being coaxially fixedly connected to the steering gear drive shaft, so that the runner assembly can tilt at any angle and rotate 360 ​​degrees together with the rotor drive motor. Thus, in the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV, both sets of rotor assemblies can be powered by the same steering gear in the air flight and ground rolling modes, driving the rotor drive motor to tilt at any angle and rotate 360 ​​degrees, thereby completing air flight and ground rolling.

[0007] Furthermore, the rotor assembly also includes a driving transmission gear and a driven transmission gear that mesh with each other, the output shaft of the servo is parallel to the axis of the servo drive shaft, the driving transmission gear is fixedly connected to the servo output shaft, and the driven transmission gear is fixedly connected to the outer surface of the servo drive shaft, thereby transmitting the torque output by the servo to the servo drive shaft, thereby controlling the tilt and rotation of the rotor drive motor.

[0008] Furthermore, the rotor assembly also includes a motor fixing base connected to the rotor drive motor, and one side of the motor fixing base is fixedly connected to the other end of the steering gear drive shaft.

[0009] Furthermore, the connection between the wheel assembly and the outer surface of the steering gear drive shaft is located between the driven transmission gear and the motor fixing seat.

[0010] Furthermore, the rotor assembly also includes a steering gear support connected to the main body, and the steering gear support is respectively interference-connected with the conductive slip ring and fixedly connected to the steering gear.

[0011] Furthermore, the stator outgoing wire of the conductive slip ring is connected to the electric regulator provided on the main body.

[0012] Furthermore, the runner assembly is a hemispherical runner assembly, including a runner, a group of fiberglass tubes and a retainer. One end of the fiberglass tube is fixedly connected to the runner, and the other end is fixedly connected to the retainer. The group of fiberglass tubes are arranged in a circular array on the runner and are fixed together by the retainer to protect the propeller in a collision. The runner is coaxially fixed to the outer surface of the servo drive shaft, and the runner can tilt at any angle and rotate 360° together with the rotor drive motor.

[0013] Furthermore, the spokes of the runner are evenly distributed below the propeller to avoid interference with the rotating propeller.

[0014] Furthermore, the main body includes a flight control, a battery exchange board, a frame, a battery, a distribution board, an electric regulator, and an onboard computer.

[0015] A control method for a ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV is disclosed. The method employs the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV described above, wherein two sets of rotor assemblies are symmetrically mounted at corresponding positions on the left and right sides of the main body and are independently controlled from each other. In an aerial flight mode, a servo drives the blades of the left and right propellers to tilt, utilizing the lift component to control the steering of the UAV. In a ground motion mode, the rotor drive motor is turned off, and the differential control of the left and right servos drives the runners to rotate, thereby driving the UAV to achieve ground motion. Both motion modes share the same drive device, with the servo 36 driving the rotor drive motor 32 to tilt and rotate.

[0016] The advantages and beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0017] (1) The present invention provides a ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV and its control method, which can ensure good flight performance of the UAV in the air while also enabling rapid and smooth switching to a ground dual-wheel motion mode, thereby enabling the UAV to traverse complex and narrow terrains more safely and covertly. The switching between the ground-to-air motion modes can not only adapt to more application scenarios, but also significantly reduce the UAV's energy consumption.

[0018] (2) The present invention does not require additional power devices on the basis of the traditional horizontal twin-rotor UAV, and shares the same set of drive devices in both air and ground motion modes, making the UAV structure simple and compact; the innovative design of the transmission mechanism based on the conductive slip ring enables the rotor drive motor to be driven by the servo from the traditional small-angle tilt to 360° rotation, thereby driving the hemispherical wheels of the UAV to roll on the ground.

[0019] (3) In the ground motion mode, the present invention does not require propeller rotation to provide thrust, but relies solely on the steering gear to provide power to the rotating wheel. This not only has strong controllability and low energy consumption, but is also safe and concealed. No noise or dust will be generated by the rotation of the propeller, and it can also prevent sand from entering the UAV and causing safety hazards.

[0020] (4) The hemispherical rotor structure designed in the present invention is light and flexible in movement, and its hemispherical hollow frame group can provide a safety barrier for the propeller, preventing the drone from crashing after hitting an obstacle or the high-speed rotating propeller from damaging people and objects around it. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 Axonometric view of the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 2A front view of the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 3 A side view of the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 4 A top view of the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 5 Assembly diagram of the hemispherical runner assembly and the rotor assembly of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the exploded view of the rotor assembly of the present invention.

[0027] Explanation of the accompanying reference numerals: 1. Main body, 2. Hemispherical rotor assembly, 3. Rotor assembly, 11. Flight control, 12. Battery exchange board, 13. Frame, 14. Battery, 15. Distribution board, 16. Electronic speed controller, 17. Onboard computer, 21. Rotor, 22. Fiber tube, 23. Retainer, 31. Propeller, 32. Rotor drive motor, 33. Motor fixing seat, 34. Servo drive shaft, 35. Active transmission gear, 36. Servo, 37. Servo support, 38. Conductive slip ring, 39. Driven transmission gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The following describes the specific embodiments of the present invention in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0029] like Figures 1 to 4 As shown, the present invention presents a ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV. While conventional dual-rotor UAVs utilize servos to control motor tilt, this UAV utilizes conductive slip rings and a rotor assembly to achieve active control of both wheels during ground motion. The proposed ground-to-air amphibious spherical UAV features a simple and compact structure, including two sets of hemispherical rotor assemblies. These assemblies not only provide traction for ground motion but also protect the propellers from collisions, making them suitable for reconnaissance, surveillance, and detection in specialized environments.

[0030] The UAV includes a horizontal twin-rotor UAV body 1, two sets of hemispherical rotor assemblies 2 and two sets of rotor assemblies 3; the horizontal twin-rotor UAV body 1 includes a flight control 11, a battery exchange board 12, a frame 13, a battery 14, a distribution board 15, an electronic controller 16, and an onboard computer 17; specifically, the two sets of rotor assemblies 3 are symmetrically installed at corresponding positions on the left and right sides of the frame 13 and are independently controlled by each other. Each set of rotor assemblies 3 includes a propeller 31, a rotor drive motor 32, a motor fixing seat 33, a servo drive shaft 34, an active transmission gear 35, a servo 36, a servo support 37, a conductive slip ring 38, and a driven transmission gear 39.

[0031] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the conductive slip ring 38 and the servo 36 are fixed to corresponding positions on the servo support 37 by interference fit and bolt connection, respectively, with their axes parallel. The rotor of the conductive slip ring 38 is fixedly connected to the inner surface of the hollow servo drive shaft 34. The rotor output wire passes through the hollow servo drive shaft 34 and is connected to the rotor drive motor 32, and the stator output wire is connected to the electronic controller 16. The driving transmission gear 35 and the driven transmission gear 39 are meshed with each other and are fixedly connected to the output shaft of the servo 36 and the outer surface of the servo drive shaft 34, respectively, so as to transmit the torque output by the servo 36 to the servo drive shaft 34, thereby controlling the tilt and rotation of the rotor drive motor 32.

[0032] In the air flight and ground rolling modes of the ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV, both sets of the rotor assemblies 3 can be powered by the servos 36 to drive the rotor drive motors 32 to achieve any angle tilt and 360° rotation.

[0033] like Figure 5 As shown, each hemispherical runner assembly 2 includes a runner 21, a fiberglass tube 22, and a retainer 23. The fiberglass tubes 22 are fixedly connected to corresponding holes in the runner 21 in a circumferential array, and the other ends are fixed together by the retainer 23. The runner 21 is coaxially fixed to the outer surface of the steering gear drive shaft 34 and is located between the driven transmission gear 39 and the motor mounting base 33. The spokes of the runner 21 are evenly distributed below the propeller 31 to avoid interference with the rotating propeller.

[0034] The runner 21 fixedly connected to the outer surface of the steering gear drive shaft 34 can be tilted at any angle and rotated 360 degrees together with the rotor drive motor 32.

[0035] A control method for an amphibious spherical drone:

[0036] The present invention has two motion modes: aerial flight mode and ground rolling mode. The two motion modes share the same drive device, and the rotor drive motor 32 is driven to tilt and rotate by the servo 36; in the aerial flight mode, the control principle is the same as that of the traditional dual-rotor UAV, and the servo drives the left and right propeller blades to tilt, and the lift component is used to control the steering of the UAV; in the ground motion mode, the rotor drive motor is turned off, and the differential control of the left and right servos drives the rotation of the runner, thereby driving the UAV to achieve ground motion.

[0037] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit the same. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the aforementioned embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions described in the aforementioned embodiments, or make equivalent replacements for some or all of the technical features therein. However, these modifications or replacements do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV, comprising a main body (1) and a rotor assembly (3), characterized in that: The rotor assembly is provided with a runner assembly. The rotor assembly (3) includes a propeller (31), a rotor drive motor (32), a steering gear drive shaft (34), a steering gear (36) and a conductive slip ring (38). The steering gear (36) and the conductive slip ring (38) are connected to the main body (1). One end of the hollow steering gear drive shaft (34) is fixedly connected to the rotor of the conductive slip ring (38), and the other end is connected to the rotor drive motor (32). The rotor drive motor (32) is connected to the propeller (31). The rotor outlet line of the conductive slip ring (38) passes through the hollow steering gear drive shaft (34) and is connected to the rotor drive motor (32). The runner assembly is coaxially fixedly connected to the steering gear drive shaft (34).

2. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotor assembly (3) further comprises a driving transmission gear (35) and a driven transmission gear (39) meshing with each other, the output shaft of the steering gear (36) being parallel to the axis of the steering gear drive shaft (34), the driving transmission gear (35) being fixedly connected to the output shaft of the steering gear (36), and the driven transmission gear (39) being fixedly connected to the outer surface of the steering gear drive shaft (34).

3. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rotor assembly (3) further comprises a motor fixing seat (33) connected to the rotor drive motor (32), and one side of the motor fixing seat (33) is fixedly connected to the other end of the steering gear drive shaft (34).

4. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 3, characterized in that: The connection between the wheel assembly and the outer surface of the steering gear drive shaft (34) is located between the driven transmission gear (39) and the motor fixing seat (33).

5. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 2, characterized in that: The rotor assembly (3) further includes a steering gear support (37) connected to the main body (1), and the steering gear support (37) is respectively interference-connected with the conductive slip ring (38) and fixedly connected to the steering gear (36).

6. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stator outgoing wire of the conductive slip ring (38) is connected to the electric regulator (16) provided on the main body (1).

7. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The runner assembly is a hemispherical runner assembly (2), comprising a runner (21), a group of fiber tubes (22) and a retainer (23), one end of the fiber tube (22) being fixedly connected to the runner (21), and the other end being fixedly connected to the retainer (23), the group of fiber tubes (22) being arranged in a circumferential array on the runner (21) and being fixed together by the retainer (23), and the runner (21) being coaxially fixedly connected to the outer surface of the steering gear drive shaft (34).

8. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 7, characterized in that: The spokes of the runner (21) are evenly distributed below the propeller (31).

9. The ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main body (1) includes a flight control (11), a power exchange board (12), a frame (13), a battery (14), a power distribution board (15), an electric regulator (16), and an onboard computer (17).

10. A control method for a ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV, characterized by: A ground-to-air amphibious dual-rotor UAV as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 9 is adopted, wherein two sets of rotor assemblies (3) are symmetrically mounted at corresponding positions on the left and right sides of a main body (1) and are independently controlled from each other; in an air flight mode, a servo (36) drives the blades of the left and right propellers (31) to tilt, and uses the lift component to control the steering of the UAV; in a ground motion mode, the rotor drive motor (32) is turned off, and the drive wheel (21) is rotated by differential control of the left and right servos (36).

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