Unmanned aerial vehicle wireless charging control method and system

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle wireless charging, and particularly relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle wireless charging control method and system, and the method comprises the following steps: enabling an unmanned aerial vehicle hangar to work according to a wireless charging preparation instruction; when the unmanned aerial vehicle reaches a set height range above the unmanned aerial vehicle hangar, the unmanned aerial vehicle detects and judges whether foreign matters exist on the surface of a parking apron of the unmanned aerial vehicle hangar; and after the unmanned aerial vehicle is detected and judged, the unmanned aerial vehicle lands and stops on the parking apron and is wirelessly charged. According to the invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle lands and stops on the parking apron only after no foreign matter is confirmed through detection and judgment of the foreign matter (metal foreign matter), so that potential safety hazards possibly existing in wireless charging are fully eliminated, and the efficiency and safety of wireless charging are guaranteed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of wireless charging of unmanned aerial vehicles, and in particular relates to a wireless charging control method and system for unmanned aerial vehicles. Background Art

[0002] Unmanned aircraft, or "drones" for short, are unmanned aircraft that are controlled by radio remote control equipment and self-contained program control devices. At present, drones have been widely used in the three major fields of military, scientific research, and civil use, specifically in the fields of electricity, communications, meteorology, agriculture, ocean, exploration, photography, disaster prevention and mitigation, crop yield estimation, drug control and anti-smuggling, border patrol, public security and anti-terrorism. At present, most of the related drones have the problem of short endurance, resulting in short flight time, so drone hangars are usually set up during drone patrols, and drone hangars provide wireless charging for drones.

[0003] Drone hangars are generally located outdoors and are affected by the outdoor environment. After a long time, iron filings or screws on the hangar door may fall onto the apron. When the drone hangar and the drone are wirelessly charged through magnetic field coupling, if there are foreign objects (especially metal foreign objects, such as iron filings and screws) on the apron of the drone hangar, it will affect wireless charging and reduce the efficiency of wireless charging. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present invention provides a method and system for controlling wireless charging of an unmanned aerial vehicle, aiming to solve the technical problem that foreign objects on the apron affect wireless charging.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] A method for controlling wireless charging of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

[0007] The drone hangar starts the work of the drone hangar according to the wireless charging preparation command sent by the drone;

[0008] When the drone reaches the set height range directly above the drone hangar, the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the apron surface of the drone hangar;

[0009] After the drone detection and judgment is completed, the drone lands and docks on the apron and performs wireless charging.

[0010] To optimize the above technical solutions, the specific measures taken also include:

[0011] Furthermore, the drone sends an unmanned charging preparation instruction to the drone hangar within 10 seconds to 2 minutes before arriving directly above the drone hangar.

[0012] Furthermore, the starting of the drone hangar operation is specifically: opening the door of the drone hangar, and starting the wireless charging transmitter of the drone hangar.

[0013] Furthermore, the time for starting the wireless charging transmitter of the drone hangar to work is equal to the time for the drone to reach a set height range directly above the drone hangar.

[0014] Furthermore, the height range directly above the drone hangar is set to 10 meters.

[0015] Furthermore, after the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the surface of the apron of the drone hangar, if the detection result is that there are foreign objects, the drone hovers above the apron and sends a foreign object removal instruction to the drone hangar. After the drone hangar is cleaned, the drone lands and docks on the apron; if the detection result is that there are no foreign objects, the drone directly lands and docks on the apron.

[0016] Furthermore, after the drone hangar receives the instruction to clear foreign objects, the drone hangar controls the movement of the centering mechanism on its apron, and the centering mechanism clears the foreign objects on the apron out of the apron.

[0017] Furthermore, the centering mechanism includes four centering rods divided into Group A and Group B and a driving device, wherein the two centering rods of Group A are arranged in parallel and oppositely on a pair of side edges of the apron, and the two centering rods of Group B are arranged in parallel and oppositely on another pair of side edges of the apron, and the centering rods of Group A and Group B are perpendicular to each other; the driving device drives the centering rods to move on the apron.

[0018] Furthermore, after the drone hangar receives an instruction to clear foreign objects, the driving device drives a centering rod to move from one side of the apron to the opposite side of the apron to clear foreign objects out of the apron, and after the cleaning is completed, the driving device drives the centering rod back to its original position; wherein, a cleaning brush is provided on the centering rod.

[0019] The present invention also provides a UAV wireless charging control system, which is applicable to the above-mentioned UAV wireless charging control method, and is characterized in that it comprises: a UAV, a UAV hangar and a remote server, wherein the UAV and the UAV hangar communicate with the remote server respectively;

[0020] The drone hangar starts the drone hangar work according to the wireless charging preparation instruction sent by the drone;

[0021] When the drone reaches a set height range directly above the drone hangar, the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the apron surface of the drone hangar;

[0022] After the drone detection and judgment is completed, the drone lands and docks on the apron and performs wireless charging.

[0023] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the wireless charging control method and system for unmanned aerial vehicles proposed in the present invention can only land and dock the unmanned aerial vehicle on the apron after confirming that there are no foreign objects (especially metal foreign objects) through foreign object detection, which fully eliminates the potential safety hazards of wireless charging and ensures the efficiency of wireless charging. At the same time, the present invention also specifically proposes a structure for removing foreign objects, which cleverly combines the centering mechanism and the cleaning component, and adds a cleaning function without changing the existing centering structure. It has a compact structure, low cost, and practical application value. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 This is a flow chart of the wireless charging control method for a drone in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a flow chart of foreign object detection and judgment in the wireless charging control method for unmanned aerial vehicles in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of the wireless charging control system for a drone in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions 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.

[0028] Embodiment 1

[0029] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a method for controlling wireless charging of a drone, comprising the following steps:

[0030] Step 1: The drone hangar starts the work of the drone hangar according to the wireless charging preparation instruction;

[0031] Step 2: When the drone reaches within 10 meters above the drone hangar, the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the apron surface of the drone hangar;

[0032] Step 3: After the drone detection is completed, the drone lands and docks on the apron for wireless charging.

[0033] In this embodiment, the drone hangar includes a hangar door, a hangar body and a helipad. The upper end of the hangar body is rotatably connected to the hangar door. The helipad is arranged between the hangar body and the hangar door. When the hangar door is opened, the helipad is exposed to the outside. When the hangar door is closed, the helipad is covered by the hangar door. A wireless charging transmitter is installed on the lower surface of the helipad. A centering mechanism is provided on the helipad. The centering mechanism includes four centering rods. After the centering mechanism is started, the two opposite centering rods move toward the helipad to move the drone to the middle of the helipad. In addition, only one of the centering rods can be started. When only one of the centering rods is started, the centering rod moves from one side of the helipad to the other side of the helipad to clean the helipad.

[0034] In this embodiment, an infrared detection instrument is provided on the drone.

[0035] In this embodiment, before step 1, it also includes sending an unmanned charging preparation instruction to the drone hangar within 10 seconds to 2 minutes before the drone arrives directly above the location of the drone hangar. In other words, when the drone has 10 seconds to 2 minutes to arrive directly above the location of the drone hangar, the unmanned charging preparation instruction is sent to the drone hangar. This time range can be set according to the model of the drone, the specific application environment and the work needs, such as being set to 10 seconds to 60 seconds.

[0036] In this embodiment, the drone hangar is started in step 1, specifically: the hangar door of the drone hangar is opened, and the wireless charging transmitter of the drone hangar is started. If there is a metal foreign object on the apron, the metal foreign object will be heated when the wireless charging transmitter starts working.

[0037] In this embodiment, the time for starting the wireless charging transmitter of the drone hangar is equal to the time when the drone reaches the top of the helipad. That is, after starting the wireless charging transmitter, the working time of the wireless charging transmitter is determined according to the time when the drone reaches the top of the helipad. Specifically, in this embodiment, it is set that 2 minutes before the drone reaches the top of the drone hangar, an unmanned charging preparation instruction is sent to the drone hangar, and the wireless charging transmitter works for 2 minutes, that is, the metal foreign matter on the helipad is heated for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, the drone hangar controls the wireless charging transmitter to stop working.

[0038] In this embodiment, the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the surface of the apron in the drone hangar. Specifically, the infrared detection instrument on the drone detects whether there are metal foreign objects on the apron surface. That is, if there are metal foreign objects on the apron, the metal foreign objects can be detected by the infrared detection instrument after being heated by the wireless charging transmitter.

[0039] like Figure 2As shown, after the UAV detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the surface of the apron of the UAV hangar, if the detection result is that there are foreign objects, the UAV hovers above the apron and sends a foreign object removal instruction to the UAV hangar. After the UAV hangar is cleaned, the UAV lands and docks on the apron; if the detection result is that there are no foreign objects, the UAV directly lands and docks on the apron.

[0040] After the drone hangar receives the instruction to remove foreign objects, the drone hangar controls the movement of the centering mechanism on its apron, and the centering mechanism sweeps the foreign objects on the apron out of the apron. Specifically, the four centering rods of the centering mechanism are divided into Group A and Group B. Both Group A and Group B have two centering rods. The two centering rods of Group A are located on two opposite sides of the apron and are parallel to each other; the two centering rods of Group B are located on the other two opposite sides of the apron and are parallel to each other. The centering rods of Group A and Group B are perpendicular to each other. The centering mechanism also includes a driving device, which drives the centering rod to move on the apron. After the drone hangar receives the instruction to remove foreign objects, one of the centering rods moves from one side of the apron to the opposite side of the apron, which can sweep foreign objects out of the apron. After the cleaning is completed, the centering rod returns to its original position.

[0041] In this embodiment, in order to clean the foreign matter more cleanly, the centering mechanism is provided with a cleaning brush, that is, the centering rod is provided with a cleaning brush, or other cleaning components with the same function as the cleaning brush. During the movement of the centering mechanism, the cleaning brush cleans the foreign matter out of the apron.

[0042] In this embodiment, the UAV lands and docks on the apron and performs wireless charging. Specifically, after the UAV lands and docks on the apron, the centering mechanism moves the UAV to the middle of the apron, and then the UAV hangar controls the wireless charging transmitter to start working. The wireless charging transmitter is coupled with the wireless charging receiving device in the UAV to perform wireless charging.

[0043] Embodiment 2

[0044] like Figure 1 and 3 As shown, this embodiment provides a UAV wireless charging control system, which is applicable to a UAV wireless charging control method of Embodiment 1, including a UAV hangar, a UAV and a remote server, wherein the UAV hangar and the UAV communicate with the remote server respectively;

[0045] The drone hangar is used to provide wireless charging for drones. Before the drone arrives, the drone hangar starts working according to the wireless charging preparation instructions;

[0046] When the drone reaches within 10 meters above the drone hangar, the drone will detect and determine whether there are foreign objects on the apron surface of the drone hangar;

[0047] After the drone detection and judgment is completed, the drone lands and docks on the apron and performs wireless charging.

[0048] In this embodiment, the specific structure and operation process of the drone and the drone hangar are the same as those in the first embodiment, so they will not be repeated here.

[0049] It should be noted that the terms such as "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "front", "back", etc. cited in the invention are only for the convenience of description and are not used to limit the scope of implementation of the present invention. Changes or adjustments in their relative relationships should be regarded as the scope of implementation of the present invention without substantially changing the technical content.

[0050] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions described in the above embodiments can still be modified, or some or all of the technical features can be replaced by equivalents. These modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, and they should all be included in the scope of the claims and specification of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for controlling wireless charging of an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that: The steps include: The drone hangar starts the work of the drone hangar according to the wireless charging preparation command sent by the drone; When the drone reaches the set height range directly above the drone hangar, the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the apron surface of the drone hangar; After the drone detection and judgment is completed, the drone lands and docks on the apron and performs wireless charging.

2. A method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The drone sends an unmanned charging preparation instruction to the drone hangar within 10 seconds to 2 minutes before arriving directly above the location of the drone hangar.

3. A method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The starting of the drone hangar operation specifically includes: opening the door of the drone hangar, and starting the wireless charging transmitter of the drone hangar.

4. A method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The time for starting the wireless charging transmitter of the drone hangar to work is equal to the time for the drone to reach the set height range directly above the drone hangar.

5. The method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The height range set directly above the drone hangar is 10 meters.

6. The method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: After the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the surface of the apron of the drone hangar, if the detection result is that there are foreign objects, the drone hovers above the apron and sends a foreign object removal instruction to the drone hangar. After the drone hangar is cleaned, the drone lands and docks on the apron; if the detection result is that there are no foreign objects, the drone directly lands and docks on the apron.

7. A method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: After the drone hangar receives the instruction to clear foreign objects, the drone hangar controls the movement of the centering mechanism on its apron, and the centering mechanism clears the foreign objects on the apron out of the apron.

8. A method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 7, characterized in that: The centering mechanism includes four centering rods divided into Group A and Group B and a driving device, wherein the two centering rods of Group A are arranged in parallel and oppositely on a pair of side edges of the apron, and the two centering rods of Group B are arranged in parallel and oppositely on another pair of side edges of the apron, and the centering rods of Group A and Group B are perpendicular to each other; the driving device drives the centering rods to move on the apron.

9. A method for controlling wireless charging of a drone as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that: After the drone hangar receives the instruction to clear foreign objects, the driving device drives a centering rod to move from one side of the apron to the opposite side of the apron to clean the foreign objects out of the apron, and after the cleaning is completed, the driving device drives the centering rod back to its original position; wherein, a cleaning brush is provided on the centering rod.

10. A UAV wireless charging control system, applicable to the UAV wireless charging control method according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: include: A drone, a drone hangar and a remote server, wherein the drone and the drone hangar communicate with the remote server respectively; The drone hangar starts the drone hangar work according to the wireless charging preparation instruction sent by the drone; When the drone reaches a set height range directly above the drone hangar, the drone detects and determines whether there are foreign objects on the apron surface of the drone hangar; After the drone detection and judgment is completed, the drone lands and docks on the apron and performs wireless charging.

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