Land-based unmanned aerial vehicle launching and recovering device

Abstract

The invention provides a land-based unmanned aerial vehicle launching and recycling device. The land-based unmanned aerial vehicle launching and recycling device mainly comprises a moving platform, a launching platform and a stopping device. Wherein a launching platform and a stopping device are mounted on the moving platform. The moving platform is further provided with obstacle removing equipment and / or ground leveling equipment. The launching platform is provided with a folding electromagnetic catapult, and an unmanned aerial vehicle is placed at the launching end of the electromagnetic catapult. The blocking device is provided with a winding mechanism, a blocking cable, a portable pile driver and at least one ground pile. The movable platform is combined with the folding electromagnetic catapult to realize flexible launching, and meanwhile, the track of the catapult can be prolonged, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle is allowed to take off with larger weight; through the added obstacle removing equipment and / or flat ground equipment and the stopping device, a temporary runway can be opened up in a short time in the field, the stopping device is used for rapidly recovering the unmanned aerial vehicle in a short distance, the task efficiency is improved, and the landing safety of the unmanned aerial vehicle is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of ground devices related to aircraft, and in particular to a land-based unmanned aerial vehicle launching and recovery device. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the development of technology and the maturity of products, drones or unmanned aerial vehicles have gradually played an important role in various fields, including but not limited to agriculture, surveying and mapping, express delivery, rescue, and environmental monitoring. Among them, due to different uses, the types of drones are also diverse.

[0003] Among them, according to the load capacity, they can be classified into micro, small, medium, and large drones. For micro and small drones, vertical takeoff or hand throwing can generally be used during the take-off phase; and the recovery method is relatively simple, and there are no special requirements for the site. However, for medium and large drones, professional take-off and landing equipment and / or sites are generally required for launching and recovering. The common method is to take off and land at existing airports, which is the same as the take-off and landing method of manned aircraft; although this technical solution is more mature and safe, and is more friendly to aircraft design, it can be necessary to add equipment such as parachutes, and because the design of similar solutions for manned aircraft is relatively mature and has a certain degree of versatility, it reduces the difficulty and cost of drone design. However, due to some special industry needs, such as survey work needs to be carried out in the wild such as uninhabited areas, if you want to take off and land at the nearest airport, on the one hand, you need to carry out complex and time-consuming coordination work, and at the same time you have to deal with the problem of transfer, which restricts the efficiency of the mission; on the other hand, in order to deal with the potential problem of increased range (not all airports near the target area are available for take-off and landing), not only larger energy / oil storage equipment is needed, but also the payload of the UAV is reduced, which directly increases the mission cost.

[0004] In the face of the above problems, the existing technology can solve the UAV take-off problem to a certain extent by combining a mobile platform with a catapult technology. It has the ability of flexible deployment, reduces dependence on fixed scenes, can reduce launch costs, and increase launch efficiency. The specific technical solutions are as follows:

[0005] 1. Compressed gas ejection: The high-pressure gas is released from the air source to launch the drone from the semi-open space at high speed, so that the drone can obtain sufficient take-off speed; however, due to the upper limit of the air pressure provided by the equipment and the equipment cost, this technology is mostly used in multi-launch scenarios. The drone is small and installed in the launch box, which is not suitable for medium and large drone launch scenarios;

[0006] 2. Gunpowder ejection: This method is currently the more common take-off method for medium and large UAVs. With the help of slide rail guidance, the UAV is ejected by spraying gunpowder from the rear lower part of the fuselage. Although it can greatly increase the take-off weight of the UAV, due to the danger of gunpowder, the cost is increased while the safety is significantly reduced, and higher requirements are also placed on the operator.

[0007] There are also electromagnetic catapult solutions in the existing technical solutions, such as Chinese patent CN111924124A-A vehicle-mounted small UAV multi-sort electromagnetic launch device and launch method, and Chinese patent CN112937902A-Universal common track launch and recovery device and method for UAVs. The above technical solutions can reduce the launch cost and improve the safety problem, and at the same time increase the take-off weight of the UAV. However, since the launch capacity of the electromagnetic catapult is related to its primary length, in order to significantly increase the UAV load, it is necessary to increase the track length under the same basic conditions. For mobile platforms, an overly long ejection track is not conducive to movement and layout, so it is also necessary to improve the design of the existing electromagnetic catapult.

[0008] Continuing from the previous article, except for certain circumstances, medium and large drones are all reusable equipment, and the recovery method needs to be considered; and the common recovery methods for medium and large drones include: parachute recovery, net recovery, landing gear taxiing, and air hook recovery. The above recovery methods also have many problems, as follows:

[0009] A. Parachute recovery: This method is simple, but it has many uncertainties, and the recovery is difficult and costly, and the drone is easily damaged.

[0010] B. Recovery after collision with the net requires the construction of a fixed or temporary interception scene, which is time-consuming and costly in the early stage, and the drone is easily damaged;

[0011] C. Air hook recovery is technically difficult and requires a lot of professional equipment, and is not suitable for medium and large drones;

[0012] D. Landing with landing gear and a parachute is the most common recovery method. However, as mentioned earlier, it requires an airport or a relatively flat area with a buffer, such as grass.

[0013] In summary, considering the problems during the take-off and landing phases of the drone, the existing launch and recovery devices need to be improved. Summary of the invention

[0014] In order to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a land-based UAV launch and recovery device to reduce the launch and recovery costs and improve the overall efficiency.

[0015] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention provides a land-based UAV launch and recovery device, which includes a mobile platform, a launch platform and an arresting device; the launch platform and the arresting device are installed on the mobile platform;

[0016] The mobile platform is also provided with obstacle removal equipment and / or ground leveling equipment;

[0017] The launching platform is provided with a foldable electromagnetic catapult, and a UAV is placed at the launching end of the electromagnetic catapult;

[0018] The blocking device is provided with a winding mechanism, a blocking cable, a portable pile driver and at least one ground pile; one side of the blocking cable is connected to the winding mechanism, and the other side is detachably connected to the ground pile.

[0019] Optionally, the mobile platform is a wheeled off-road truck, and a slewing mechanism is provided on the frame, and the launching platform is installed on the movable end of the slewing mechanism.

[0020] Optionally, the launching platform is provided with a pitch mechanism, and the electromagnetic catapult is installed at the movable end of the pitch mechanism;

[0021] The electromagnetic catapult is a multi-section foldable structure and is provided with an unfolding mechanism;

[0022] A locking mechanism is also provided between the electromagnetic catapult and the UAV or the UAV bracket.

[0023] Optionally, the mobile platform is further provided with the obstacle-clearing device, and the obstacle-clearing device is the upper rotating body of the excavator;

[0024] The launching platform is also integrated with the upper rotating body, including the excavator cab, boom, dipper arm and bucket.

[0025] Optionally, the mobile platform is provided with a remote driving system, and the operating end of the remote driving system is also arranged in the cab of the excavator.

[0026] Optionally, a launch control room is also provided on the mobile platform;

[0027] The launch control room and the excavator cab are staggered and distributed on the launch platform.

[0028] Optionally, the ground leveling device is provided on one side of the mobile platform, and the ground leveling device includes a scraper and a lifting mechanism;

[0029] The scraper is installed at the movable end of the lifting mechanism.

[0030] Optionally, the blocking device is further provided with a damping mechanism, including one or more combinations of an electromagnetic damper, a hydraulic damper, and a friction damper;

[0031] The damping mechanism is connected to the winding mechanism.

[0032] Optionally, an electrical control box is provided on the mobile platform;

[0033] The electrical control box is provided with a control circuit and an energy storage unit, and is integrated with an electrical control system.

[0034] Optionally, the portable pile driver is a digging-modified vibratory hammer pile driver, and an excavator quick connector is provided at the end;

[0035] The side of the mobile platform is also provided with hydraulic or electric legs.

[0036] The present invention adopts the above-mentioned land-based UAV launching and recovery device, which has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0037] The present invention realizes flexible launching by combining a mobile platform with a foldable electromagnetic catapult, and can also extend the catapult track without significantly affecting the movement of the platform, thereby allowing the UAV to take off with a larger weight; the present application can also open up a temporary runway in the wild in a short time by adding obstacle clearing equipment and / or ground leveling equipment and an arresting device, and use the arresting device to quickly and short-distance recover the UAV, thereby improving the mission efficiency and the safety of the UAV landing. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative labor.

[0039] Figure 1 It is a front perspective view of the device in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 2 It is a rear perspective view of the device in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 3 A top view of a launch platform in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 4 It is a simplified structural diagram of the blocking device in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 5 It is a top view of the erection position of the blocking device in a specific embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the operation of the blocking device in a specific embodiment of the present invention.

[0045] In the figure, 1. wheeled off-road truck; 2. launch platform; 3. launch control room; 4. electromagnetic catapult; 5. drone; 6. excavator cab; 7. excavator arm; 8. leveling equipment; 9. arresting device; 10. portable pile driver; 11. electrical control box; 12. temporary runway; 901. winding mechanism; 902. friction damper; 903. arresting cable; 904. ground pile. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0046] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0047] It should be noted that similar reference numerals and letters denote similar items in the following drawings, and therefore, once an item is defined in one drawing, further definition and explanation thereof is not required in subsequent drawings.

[0048] In the description of the present invention, it is necessary to understand that the relative relationships indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "lateral", etc. are based on the results of parameter comparison in actual applications, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific position, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0049] In the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connection" and the like should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0050] It should also be noted that the methods used in the present invention are all conventional methods unless otherwise specified; the raw materials and devices used are all conventional commercially available products unless otherwise specified.

[0051] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, this embodiment provides a land-based UAV launch and recovery device, which mainly includes a mobile platform, a launch platform and an arresting device.

[0052] Among them, the mobile platform of this embodiment can be selected as a crawler self-propelled chassis or a wheeled chassis. Considering that the drone 5 has a certain range, it can avoid the situation where the mobile platform enters a complex scene. Therefore, combined with the applicable scene where unconventional vehicles cannot travel on the road surface, this embodiment specifically designs the mobile platform to be a wheeled off-road truck 1, which has a certain off-road capability and a load-bearing capacity. Specifically, a technically mature engineering vehicle or special vehicle can be selected, which will not be repeated here.

[0053] The launching platform and arresting device are installed on the mobile platform.

[0054] Optionally, in order to enable the device to have the ability to build a temporary runway, an obstacle clearing device is designed to be integrated on the launch platform 2. In this embodiment, the obstacle clearing device is selected as the upper rotating body of the excavator, which mainly includes the excavator cab 6 and the excavator arm 7. The excavator arm 7 adopts a conventional structure, including a boom, a dipper and a bucket. Further, in order to provide the circumferential activity ability of the launch platform 2, a slewing mechanism is designed to be installed on the frame, and the launch platform 2 is installed on the slewing end face; specifically in this embodiment, the slewing mechanism can be understood as the slewing motor and support assembly of the upper rotating body, and it is modified on the frame together. Furthermore, in order to facilitate the operator to perform obstacle clearing operations, the wheeled off-road truck 1 of this embodiment is provided with a remote driving system, and the operating end of the remote driving system is also arranged in the excavator cab 6; such a design can be that after the excavator operator has simply adapted, the original crawler chassis motion control is changed to the wheeled off-road truck 1 driving control, which realizes flexible operation and avoids the inefficiency of two people working together or a single person operating back and forth in two cabs.

[0055] The launch platform 2 is also provided with a foldable electromagnetic catapult 4, and a drone 5 is placed at the launch end of the electromagnetic catapult 4. Optionally, in order to reduce the impact of the external environment on the launch operation, a launch control room 3 is set on the launch platform 2, and the launch console is installed therein, thereby reducing the problem of lack of space for wireless or wired control; further, Figure 3 As shown, in order to reduce the impact of weight imbalance on the launch platform 2, the structure is improved in this embodiment. The excavator cab 6 and the launch control room 3 are staggered, and the corresponding excavator arm 7 and the electromagnetic catapult 4 are also staggered. On the one hand, the requirements for the counterweight of the upper rotating body are reduced (the launch control room and the electromagnetic catapult act as the counterweight of the platform), and combined with the structural size design adjustment, the center of gravity of the mobile platform 2 can be brought closer to the center of the slewing mechanism to the greatest extent, thereby improving the service life of the slewing mechanism, the body and other load-bearing structures, and reducing the failure rate.

[0056] Optionally, a support seat is provided on the launch platform 2, and is hinged with the electromagnetic catapult 4 through an axle support, and the catapult track is adjusted by a hydraulic push rod to form a pitch mechanism. In this embodiment, the electromagnetic catapult 4 can be equipped with a wide range of launch angle adjustment capabilities through the application of the pitch mechanism and the slewing mechanism. For the extension of the track of the electromagnetic catapult 4, since the electromagnetic catapult 4 is a linear induction motor, its primary body is a track structure, but the stator unit therein is an individual installed in sections, so the track can be designed as a two-section structure, so that it can be folded and stored through a hinged structure, and after being unfolded by a hydraulic unfolding mechanism, the two sections of the track are fixed by a lateral locking mechanism. Optionally, it is possible to consider adding a telescopic support rod to the end of the electromagnetic catapult 4, and connecting it to the vehicle body or the ground after unfolding, so as to improve the stability of the track of the electromagnetic catapult 4. For the primary cable of the electromagnetic catapult 4, since it cannot be disconnected, the cable length of this embodiment is increased at the folding part to form redundancy, and the redundant part is protected by an external drag chain. Furthermore, a locking mechanism is provided between the electromagnetic catapult 4 and the UAV 5 or the UAV bracket, so that the UAV can be operated in advance before the electromagnetic catapult to generate a pre-thrust.

[0057] Optionally, in this embodiment, a leveling device 8 is added to cooperate with the obstacle removal device to quickly build a temporary runway with better quality. Specifically, the leveling device selects a common scraper and a multi-link hydraulic lifting mechanism, and the fixed end of the lifting mechanism is fixed to the front of the vehicle, and the movable end is connected to the scraper.

[0058] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, in this embodiment, a blocking device 9 is also installed on the wheeled off-road truck 1. Figure 4 As shown, it is provided with a winding mechanism 901, a blocking cable 903 and at least one ground pile 904, and a portable pile driver 10. Among them, in this embodiment, a guardrail is installed at the rear of the vehicle, and a blocking device 9 and its portable pile driver 10 are hung on both sides of the guardrail. During the movement, the blocking cable 903 is wound around the winding mechanism 901; when it needs to be unfolded, one side of the blocking cable 903 is connected to the winding mechanism 901, and the other side is detachably connected to the ground pile 904. Further, the winding mechanism 901 is an electric winding device, and its motor can act as an electromagnetic damper during the blocking process. In this embodiment, a friction damper 902 is also provided, and the blocking cable 903 is wound around the rotating shaft of the friction damper 902 for deceleration. Optionally, the portable pile driver 10 of this embodiment is a digging-modified vibratory hammer pile driver, and an excavator quick connector is provided at the upper end. When pile driving operation is required, the bucket can be disassembled and the digging-modified vibratory hammer pile driver can be assembled. At the same time, various excavation and modification components can also be installed on the vehicle, such as pile pullers, impact drills and other temporary construction equipment.

[0059] Optional, such as Figure 1 , 2 As shown, an electrical control box 11 is provided on the vehicle frame. It is provided with a control circuit and an energy storage unit, and is integrated with an electrical control system. The system is powered by a vehicle generator, and the control circuit operates to provide the necessary electrical energy for transmission. Accordingly, the electrical control box 11 should have weather resistance suitable for the scene requirements, including but not limited to corresponding waterproof, dustproof, and sun-proof grades.

[0060] Optionally, the vehicle is also provided with a plurality of hydraulic or electric legs (not shown) on the side to improve the stability of the vehicle during construction, ejection or arresting. Further, in order to facilitate the recovery of the UAV 5, a hanger can be mounted or towed on the wheeled off-road truck 1 so as to place the recovered UAV 5 back onto the electromagnetic catapult 4 from the runway.

[0061] Working process

[0062] Drone launch:

[0063] (1) The device of this embodiment drives to a better launch site according to the mission requirements and deploys its legs after parking;

[0064] (2) The operator enters the launch preparation phase, sets various system parameters according to preset conditions, and measures the meteorological conditions at the launch site;

[0065] (3) When all launch conditions are met, the personnel controls and adjusts the rotation of the launch platform 2 and the pitch angle of the electromagnetic catapult 4, and then starts the power system of the UAV 5;

[0066] (4) When all systems are ready, the operator starts the launch operation, and the UAV 5 is quickly launched under the action of the electromagnetic catapult and relies on its own power to perform the preset flight mission.

[0067] Drone Recovery:

[0068] (a) Using the time when the drone is cruising, the device of this embodiment goes to a better recovery site according to the task requirements and carries out subsequent work;

[0069] (b) After arriving, the vehicle stops to inspect the site. When the site meets the conditions for the construction of a temporary runway (if it does not meet the conditions, the vehicle will drive to an alternative site), the operator enters the cab 6 of the excavator to clear the land and form a temporary runway area after clearing the land. The temporary runway 12 is then obtained by repeatedly clearing the land with the leveling equipment at the front of the vehicle.

[0070] (c) A person drives the vehicle to the side of one end of the temporary runway 12, stops the vehicle, and switches to the portable pile driver 10 to drive the ground pile 904 into the ground to a certain depth (the specific depth is determined by the soil conditions and the size of the pile); then the vehicle is driven to the other side of the runway, and the winding mechanism 901 is started to release the blocking cable 903. The person then wraps the blocking cable 903 around the friction damper and hangs it on the ground pile 904 to form a Figure 5 Status shown;

[0071] (d) If Figure 6 As shown, the UAV 5 lands on the temporary runway 12 by manual operation or automatic driving according to the positioning information, and the tail hook quickly decelerates and stabilizes after hooking the arresting cable 903;

[0072] (e) After the drone 5 stops, the personnel check the status of the drone 5, disconnect the arresting cable 903 from the ground pile 904, and recover it; thereafter, if the ground pile 904 needs to be recovered, the personnel remove the ground pile 904 by replacing the portable pile driver 10 with a pile puller; if the ground pile 904 does not need to be recovered, the ground pile recovery process is skipped, and the personnel place the drone 5 on the electromagnetic catapult 4 through the hanger, retract the equipment, and drive away after all the equipment is fixed.

[0073] This article uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only used to help understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. A land-based UAV launch and recovery device, characterized in that: It comprises a mobile platform, a launching platform and an arresting device; the launching platform and the arresting device are installed on the mobile platform; The mobile platform is also provided with obstacle removal equipment and / or ground leveling equipment; The launching platform is provided with a foldable electromagnetic catapult, and a UAV is placed at the launching end of the electromagnetic catapult; The blocking device is provided with a winding mechanism, a blocking cable, a portable pile driver and at least one ground pile; one side of the blocking cable is connected to the winding mechanism, and the other side is detachably connected to the ground pile.

2. The land-based UAV launch and recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile platform is a wheeled off-road truck, and a slewing mechanism is arranged on the frame, and the launching platform is installed on the movable end of the slewing mechanism.

3. The land-based UAV launching and recovery device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The launching platform is provided with a pitch mechanism, and the electromagnetic catapult is installed at the movable end of the pitch mechanism; The electromagnetic catapult is a multi-section foldable structure and is provided with an unfolding mechanism; A locking mechanism is also provided between the electromagnetic catapult and the UAV or the UAV bracket.

4. The land-based UAV launch and recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The mobile platform is also provided with the obstacle-clearing equipment, which is the upper rotating body of the excavator; The launching platform is also integrated with the upper rotating body, including the excavator cab, boom, dipper arm and bucket.

5. The land-based UAV launch and recovery device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The mobile platform is provided with a remote driving system, and the operating end of the remote driving system is also arranged in the cab of the excavator.

6. The land-based UAV launching and recovery device according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that: The mobile platform is also provided with a launch control room; The launch control room and the excavator cab are staggered and distributed on the launch platform.

7. The land-based UAV launch and recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The ground leveling device is provided on one side of the mobile platform, and the ground leveling device includes a scraper and a lifting mechanism; The scraper is installed at the movable end of the lifting mechanism.

8. The land-based UAV launch and recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The blocking device is also provided with a damping mechanism, including one or more combinations of an electromagnetic damper, a hydraulic damper, and a friction damper; The damping mechanism is connected to the winding mechanism.

9. The land-based UAV launching and recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: An electrical control box is provided on the mobile platform; The electrical control box is provided with a control circuit and an energy storage unit, and is integrated with an electrical control system.

10. The land-based UAV launching and recovery device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The portable pile driver is a digging-modified vibratory hammer pile driver, and an excavator quick connector is provided at the end; The side of the mobile platform is also provided with hydraulic or electric legs.

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