Water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle with super-long standby and endurance

Abstract

The application discloses a water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle with super-long standby and endurance capability, which comprises a fuselage, two wings, a propeller, a motor generator and a rechargeable battery; the front end and the rear end of the fuselage are both provided with a wing along the length direction of the fuselage; the wing root of the wing is rotatably installed on the fuselage in a self-locking manner, and the upper dihedral angle of the wing is 0-90 DEG; the rotation axis of the wing root extends along the length direction of the fuselage; the wing surface is rotatably installed on the wing root; the rotation axis of the wing surface is arranged perpendicularly to the rotation axis of the wing root; the motor generator is fixedly installed on the wing surface, is in transmission connection with the propeller and is in electrical connection with the rechargeable battery. The water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle can be flexibly switched among three working modes of flight, take-off and landing and navigation, meets the frequent water-air transition demand of the unmanned aerial vehicle, improves the endurance capability and the standby time, and thus realizes super-long sea surface standby and multiple flight tasks.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, specifically to an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle with ultra-long standby and endurance capabilities. Background Technology

[0002] Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are unmanned aircraft controlled by radio remote control equipment and program control devices. In recent years, UAVs have been widely used. Traditionally, UAVs could only take off and land from the ground and operate in the air, which undoubtedly limited their application scope.

[0003] Amphibious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are drones that can fly in the air and navigate in water, organically combining the advantages of aircraft and unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Based on their flight methods, amphibious UAVs are divided into two types: fixed-wing and multi-rotor. Fixed-wing amphibious UAVs have a sealed fuselage design, making them waterproof and allowing them to take off and land on water. Multi-rotor amphibious UAVs control their rotors to fly in the air, and their landing gear uses floats to achieve movement on the water.

[0004] The existing technology also discloses the "Naviator" amphibious drone and the "Cracuns" amphibious drone. The "Naviator" amphibious drone can submerge and swim underwater. It adopts a quadcopter structure, and all modules and components are waterproof. When the drone sinks underwater, the green propeller motors reduce speed, causing the fuselage to tilt, thereby achieving underwater navigation. The "Cracuns" amphibious drone has a completely closed and sealed fuselage. It is a quadcopter drone that can fly in the air and move on the water surface. It can stand by underwater for a long time and take off after receiving a command. It has strong stealth capabilities.

[0005] In real-world applications, drones are often required to frequently transition between air and water. Modern countries generally use multi-rotor drones for aerial tasks and submersibles for underwater operations, which presents numerous inconveniences. Existing amphibious drones primarily employ rotorcraft configurations. Rotary-wing drones have lower requirements for takeoff and landing sites, but their significantly limited endurance greatly restricts their maneuverability and mission execution capabilities. Therefore, improving endurance and standby time is crucial for enhancing the survivability and mission completion capabilities of amphibious drones. Summary of the Invention

[0006] This invention provides an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with ultra-long standby and endurance capabilities. This UAV can flexibly switch between three working modes: flight, take-off and landing, and sea navigation, meeting the frequent sea-to-air transition needs of UAVs. Furthermore, it can improve endurance and standby time by converting wind energy into electrical energy, thereby achieving ultra-long sea surface standby and multiple flight missions.

[0007] The present invention adopts the following specific technical solution:

[0008] An amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle with ultra-long standby and endurance capabilities includes a fuselage, two wings, propellers corresponding to the wings, electric generators corresponding to the propellers, and a rechargeable battery.

[0009] Along the length of the fuselage, a wing is mounted at both the front and rear ends of the fuselage; the wing includes a wing root and a wing surface; the wing root is rotatably mounted to the fuselage in a self-locking manner, and the dihedral angle of the wing is 0-90°; the rotation axis of the wing root extends along the length of the fuselage; the wing surface is rotatably mounted to the wing root; the rotation axis of the wing surface is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wing root.

[0010] The electric generators are all fixedly installed on the wing surface, driven by the propeller, and electrically connected to the rechargeable battery;

[0011] The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has three operating modes: flight, takeoff and landing, and sea navigation. In takeoff and landing mode, the wings are dihedral, the electric generator drives the propeller to rotate, and the two wings and the fuselage form a "V" shape. In flight mode, the electric generator drives the propeller to rotate, the dihedral angle of the wings is 0°, and the two wings and the fuselage are in a horizontal state, forming a "Z" shape. In sea navigation mode, the dihedral angle of the wings is 90°, the wing surface is in a vertical state and located on top of the fuselage, and the two wings and the fuselage form a "U" shape. The propeller, the electric generator, and the rechargeable battery convert wind energy into electrical energy and store it.

[0012] Furthermore, it also includes a drive motor and a transmission mechanism;

[0013] The drive motor is fixedly mounted on the fuselage and connected to the wing root through the transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the wing root to rotate.

[0014] Furthermore, the transmission mechanism is a worm gear transmission mechanism, and includes a worm, a worm wheel, a driving bevel gear, and a driven bevel gear;

[0015] The worm is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the drive motor and meshes with the worm wheel;

[0016] The driving bevel gear is coaxially arranged and fixedly connected to the worm gear;

[0017] The driven bevel gear meshes with the driving bevel gear;

[0018] The wing root is fixedly connected to a support shaft that is fixedly installed at the center of the driven bevel gear, and the support shaft coincides with the rotation axis of the wing root.

[0019] Furthermore, a rotary motor is fixedly installed inside the wing root; the output shaft of the rotary motor is fixedly connected to the wing surface and is used to drive the wing surface to rotate.

[0020] Furthermore, the driving bevel gear has two driven bevel gears symmetrically meshing on both sides.

[0021] Furthermore, the lead angle of the worm is smaller than the equivalent friction angle between the meshing gear teeth.

[0022] Furthermore, the rechargeable battery is a lithium battery.

[0023] Furthermore, the wing is equipped with rotatable ailerons;

[0024] The ailerons are used to control the roll and pitch of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle during flight.

[0025] Furthermore, the design of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) features a center of gravity higher than its center of mass.

[0026] Furthermore, it also includes a tail rudder that is fixedly installed at the bottom of the fuselage.

[0027] Beneficial effects:

[0028] The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of this invention has a wing mounted at the front and rear of the fuselage. The propellers of the wings are fixedly connected to an electric generator, which is electrically connected to a rechargeable battery. In flight mode, the rechargeable battery discharges, the electric generator drives the propellers to rotate, the dihedral angle of the wings is 0°, and both wings and the fuselage are horizontal, forming a "Z" shape. Yaw motion is achieved through the difference in thrust between the propellers. In navigation mode, the dihedral angle of the wings is 90°, the wings are vertical and located at the top of the fuselage, and the two wings and the fuselage form a "U" shape. The UAV borrows the principles of sailing, using the two wings at both ends of the fuselage as sails. Currently, drones navigate with or against the wind by adjusting the angle of their two wings to create a lift difference, thus achieving yaw motion. They can also use a tail rudder at the bottom of the fuselage to assist in yaw. A propeller drives an electric generator to convert wind energy into electrical energy, which is stored in a rechargeable battery, enabling extended standby time on the water and multiple flight missions. Therefore, the aforementioned amphibious drone can flexibly switch between flight, takeoff and landing, and sea navigation modes to meet the frequent water-air transition needs of drones. Furthermore, by converting wind energy into electrical energy, it can improve endurance and standby time, expanding its maneuverability and mission execution capabilities, thereby achieving ultra-long standby time on the sea and multiple flight missions. Attached Figure Description

[0029] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention during take-off and landing.

[0030] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Side view of a medium-sized amphibious drone;

[0031] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the drive motor and worm gear transmission mechanism;

[0032] Figure 4 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention during flight;

[0033] Figure 5 for Figure 4 Aerial view of a medium-sized amphibious drone;

[0034] Figure 6 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention during its navigation process.

[0035] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Front view of a medium-sized amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle;

[0036] Figure 8 for Figure 6Aerial view of a medium-sized amphibious drone.

[0037] Among them, 1-fuselage, 2-wing, 3-propeller, 4-tail rudder, 5-drive motor, 6-worm, 7-worm gear, 8-driving bevel gear, 9-driven bevel gear, 21-wing root, 22-wing surface, 23-aileron. Detailed Implementation

[0038] 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, and 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.

[0039] This embodiment provides an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with ultra-long standby and endurance capabilities, such as... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown in the structure, the amphibious drone includes a fuselage 1, two wings 2, propellers 3 corresponding to the wings 2, an electric generator (not shown in the figure) corresponding to the propellers 3, and a rechargeable battery (not shown in the figure); the rechargeable battery can be a lithium battery; the amphibious drone also includes a tail rudder 4 fixedly installed at the bottom of the fuselage 1.

[0040] Along the length of fuselage 1, a wing 2 is installed at both the front and rear ends of fuselage 1; for example Figure 1 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the left side of the page is the front end of fuselage 1, the right side of the page is the rear end of fuselage 1, the top of the page is the right side of fuselage 1, and the bottom of the page is the left side of fuselage 1. The front end of fuselage 1 is the nose, and the rear end of fuselage 1 is the tail. A wing 2 is installed at both the front and rear ends of fuselage 1. That is, a wing 2 is installed at the nose and a wing 2 is installed at the tail. The wing 2 at the nose is installed at the right side of fuselage 1, and the wing 2 at the tail is installed at the left side of fuselage 1.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the wing 2 includes a wing root 21 and a wing surface 22. The wing root 21 is rotatably mounted to the fuselage 1 and is self-locking. The dihedral angle of the wing 2 is 0-90°. The rotation axis of the wing root 21 extends along the length of the fuselage 1, thereby enabling the wing surface 22 to rotate from a horizontal to a vertical position or from a vertical to a horizontal position, or to any tilted position between the vertical and horizontal positions. The wing surface 22 is rotatably mounted to the wing root 21. The rotation axis of the wing surface 22 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wing root 21. The wing surface 22 can rotate not only with the wing root 21 but also relative to the wing root 21, such as... Figure 6 and Figure 8 As shown, the wing surface 22 rotates from a state parallel to the fuselage to a tilted state with an angle to the fuselage; the wing 2 is equipped with a rotatable aileron 23; the aileron 23 is used to control the roll and pitch of the amphibious UAV during flight.

[0042] The electric generators are all fixedly installed on the wing surface 22, connected to the propeller 3, and electrically connected to the rechargeable battery. The electric generator is a motor that has the functions of both a generator and a motor. It can be used as a generator to generate electricity driven by the propeller 3, or it can be converted into a motor to drive the propeller 3 to rotate.

[0043] Amphibious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have three working modes: flight, take-off and landing, and sea navigation.

[0044] The amphibious drone borrows the flight attitude of a seagull; when in takeoff and landing mode, wing 2 is in an upward-dipping state, as... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the electric generator drives the propeller 3 to rotate, and the two wings 2 and the fuselage 1 form a "V" shape structure. The drive motor 5 drives the wings 2 to be in an upward-facing state, which can improve the roll stability of the UAV and enable the UAV to better cope with the interference of the sea surface airflow. In addition, the upward-facing wings 2 can prevent the wings 2 and propeller 3 from making premature contact with the sea surface during take-off and landing, which would cause structural damage.

[0045] When the drone successfully takes off and enters flight mode, such as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, the electric generator drives the propeller 3 to rotate, the dihedral angle of the wing 2 is 0°, and both wings 2 and the fuselage 1 are in a horizontal state, forming a "Z" shape. In flight mode, the wing 2 rotates downward to coincide with the horizontal plane of the fuselage 1, giving the UAV the maximum cruise lift-to-drag ratio. The Z-shaped layout gives the UAV the characteristics of coupled roll and pitch control, which is achieved by adjusting the ailerons 23 on the wing 2. In addition, the yaw motion of the UAV can be controlled by the thrust difference between the two propellers 3. Compared with the tandem wing layout, the Z-shaped layout avoids aerodynamic interference between the front and rear wings 2 and has static stability control characteristics similar to the conventional layout. Therefore, adopting the Z-shaped aerodynamic layout will not significantly increase the design difficulty of the control system.

[0046] When in navigation mode, such as Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8As shown, the dihedral angle of wing 2 is 90°, and the wing surface 22 is vertical and located on top of fuselage 1. The two wings 2 and fuselage 1 form a "U" shape. The propeller 3, electric generator, and rechargeable battery convert wind energy into electrical energy and store it. The amphibious UAV is designed with its center of gravity higher than its center of gravity. In sea navigation mode, the wings 2 rotate upwards, positioning them on top of fuselage 1. When sailing on the sea, the UAV borrows the principle of sailing, using the two wings 2 as sails, and utilizing the lift generated by the wings 2 as power to achieve tailwind or headwind navigation. The lift difference can be generated by adjusting the deflection angle of the front and rear wings 2 to control the yaw motion of the UAV. In addition, the tail rudder 4 under fuselage 1 can assist the yaw motion of the UAV. The UAV's design with its center of gravity higher than its center of gravity allows it to recover to a normal attitude through the torque generated by gravity even if it capsizes in rough sea conditions during sea navigation mode.

[0047] The aforementioned amphibious UAV has a wing 2 mounted at the front and rear of the fuselage 1. The propellers 3 of the wing 2 are fixedly connected to an electric generator, which is electrically connected to a rechargeable battery. When the UAV is in flight mode, the rechargeable battery discharges, and the electric generator drives the propellers 3 to rotate. The dihedral angle of the wing 2 is 0°, and both wings 2 and the fuselage 1 are horizontal, forming a "Z" shape. Yaw motion is achieved through the difference in thrust between the propellers 3. When in sea mode, the dihedral angle of the wing 2 is 90°, and the wing 2 is vertical and located at the top of the fuselage 1. The two wings 2 and the fuselage 1 form a "U" shape. The UAV, drawing inspiration from the principles of sailing, treats the two wings 2 at both ends of the fuselage 1 as sailboats. The amphibious drone features sails that allow it to navigate with or against the wind. A lift difference is generated by adjusting the deflection angle of the two wings 2, enabling yaw motion. The tail rudder 4 at the bottom of the fuselage 1 further assists in yaw. The propeller 3 drives an electric generator to convert wind energy into electrical energy, which is stored in a rechargeable battery, allowing for extended standby time on the water and multiple flight missions. Therefore, this amphibious drone can flexibly switch between flight, takeoff and landing, and sea navigation modes, meeting the frequent water-to-air transition needs of drones. Furthermore, by converting wind energy into electrical energy, it can improve endurance and standby time, expanding its maneuverability and mission execution capabilities, thus achieving ultra-long sea standby time and multiple flight missions.

[0048] In one specific implementation, such as Figure 3As shown, the aforementioned amphibious UAV also includes a drive motor 5 and a transmission mechanism. The drive motor 5 is fixedly installed on the fuselage 1 and connected to the wing root 21 through the transmission mechanism, used to drive the wing root 21 to rotate. The transmission mechanism is a worm gear transmission mechanism, including a worm 6, a worm wheel 7, a driving bevel gear 8, and a driven bevel gear 9. The worm 6 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 5 and meshes with the worm wheel 7. The driving bevel gear 8 is coaxially arranged with and fixedly connected to the worm wheel 7. The driven bevel gear 9 meshes with the driving bevel gear 8. The wing root 21 is fixedly connected to a support shaft fixedly installed at the center of the driven bevel gear 9, and the support shaft coincides with the rotation axis of the wing root 21. Two driven bevel gears 9 are symmetrically meshed on both sides of the driving bevel gear 8, that is, one driven bevel gear 9 is provided on each side of the driving bevel gear 8, the two driven bevel gears 9 are symmetrically arranged, and a support shaft is fixedly installed at the center of each of the two driven bevel gears 9, and both support shafts are fixedly connected to the wing root 21. The lead angle of the worm 6 is less than the equivalent friction angle between the meshing teeth.

[0049] The UAV switches between three operating states by adjusting the dihedral angle. While adjusting the dihedral angle of the wing 2 via the drive motor 5, it must also be self-locking and possess good structural strength. The worm gear mechanism has self-locking properties: when the lead angle of the worm 6 is less than the equivalent friction angle between the meshing teeth, the mechanism is self-locking, achieving reverse self-locking. That is, only the worm 6 can drive the worm wheel 7, and the worm wheel 7 cannot drive the worm 6. Therefore, based on the worm gear transmission mechanism, with both ends connected to the wing root 21 of the wing 2 via support shafts, arbitrary dihedral angle adjustment of the wing 2 can be achieved, while also possessing a self-locking function.

[0050] In order to achieve the rotation of the wing surface 22 relative to the wing root 21, a rotary motor is fixedly installed inside the wing root 21. The rotary motor is electrically connected to a rechargeable battery and obtains electrical energy through the rechargeable battery. The output shaft of the rotary motor is fixedly connected to the wing surface 22 and is used to drive the wing surface 22 to rotate. By rotating the wing surface 22, the windward surface of the wing surface 22 can be adjusted in navigation mode, thereby controlling the flight direction of the UAV.

[0051] The aforementioned amphibious UAV adopts a Z-shaped asymmetric aerodynamic layout. With a fuselage length of 2m and a wingspan of 3m, it can achieve a cruising speed of 30-40m / s and a maximum range of 120km. The longest cruising time is 30 minutes when fully charged and without recharging. The fuselage 1 has a net weight of 2kg and a payload of no more than 2kg. It has three modes: flight, take-off and landing, and sea navigation. The two wings 2 are located at the left front and right rear of the fuselage 1, respectively. Through a worm gear-based transmission device, the dihedral angle of the wings 2 can be adjusted from 0-90° under the drive of the motor, thereby switching between different flight modes.

[0052] For scenarios involving prolonged standby on the water, using traditional power solutions would significantly limit the maneuverability and mission execution capabilities of amphibious drones, and also reduce mission reliability. This invention addresses this issue with an amphibious drone based on a dual-energy system in a maritime mode. Employing an integrated electric and generator unit, it leverages the abundant wind energy of the sea surface to greatly extend endurance while maintaining a certain level of maneuverability, thus enabling extended standby time and multiple flight missions. While the drone is powered by lithium batteries, converting electrical energy into wind energy via propeller 3 to power the drone, its limited payload capacity restricts its ability to carry sufficient energy for extended missions. Considering the greater openness and richer wind resources of the sea compared to land, an integrated electric and generator unit is used. In maritime mode, the drone can utilize wind energy from propeller 3 to generate electricity, slowly charging the lithium batteries, thereby achieving extended standby time and multiple flight missions.

[0053] Obviously, those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations to the embodiments of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, if these modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims of the present invention and their equivalents, the present invention also intends to include these modifications and variations.

Claims

1. An amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle with ultra-long standby and endurance capabilities, characterized in that, It includes a fuselage, two wings, a propeller corresponding to each wing, an electric generator corresponding to each propeller, and a rechargeable battery; Along the length of the fuselage, a wing is mounted at both the front and rear ends of the fuselage; the wing includes a wing root and a wing surface; the wing root is rotatably mounted to the fuselage in a self-locking manner, and the dihedral angle of the wing is 0-90°; the rotation axis of the wing root extends along the length of the fuselage; the wing surface is rotatably mounted to the wing root; the rotation axis of the wing surface is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the wing root. The electric generators are all fixedly installed on the wing surface, driven by the propeller, and electrically connected to the rechargeable battery; The amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has three operating modes: flight, takeoff and landing, and sea navigation. In takeoff and landing mode, the wings are dihedral, the electric generator drives the propeller, and the two wings and the fuselage form a "V" shape. In flight mode, the electric generator drives the propeller, the wings have a dihedral angle of 0°, and the two wings and the fuselage are horizontal, forming a "Z" shape. In sea navigation mode, the wings have a dihedral angle of 90°, the wing surfaces are vertical and located at the top of the fuselage, and the two wings and the fuselage form a "U" shape. The propeller, electric generator, and rechargeable battery convert wind energy into electrical energy and store it. It also includes the drive motor and transmission mechanism; The drive motor is fixedly mounted on the fuselage and connected to the wing root through the transmission mechanism, and is used to drive the wing root to rotate; The transmission mechanism is a worm gear transmission mechanism, and includes a worm, a worm wheel, a driving bevel gear, and a driven bevel gear; The worm is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the drive motor and meshes with the worm wheel; The driving bevel gear is coaxially arranged and fixedly connected to the worm gear; The driven bevel gear meshes with the driving bevel gear; The wing root is fixedly connected to a support shaft that is fixedly installed at the center of the driven bevel gear, and the support shaft coincides with the rotation axis of the wing root.

2. The drone as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A rotary motor is fixedly installed inside the wing root; the output shaft of the rotary motor is fixedly connected to the wing surface and is used to drive the wing surface to rotate.

3. The drone as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The driving bevel gear has two driven bevel gears symmetrically meshing on both sides.

4. The drone as described in claim 2, characterized in that, The lead angle of the worm is less than the equivalent friction angle between the meshing gear teeth.

5. The drone as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The rechargeable battery is a lithium battery.

6. The drone as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The wing is equipped with rotatable ailerons; The ailerons are used to control the roll and pitch of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle during flight.

7. The UAV as described in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The design of the amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is such that its center of gravity is higher than its center of mass.

8. The UAV as described in any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, It also includes a tail rudder that is fixedly installed at the bottom of the fuselage.

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