Multifunctional vibration reduction supporting leg of unmanned aerial vehicle and locking mechanism of multifunctional vibration reduction supporting leg

Abstract

The invention discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle multifunctional vibration reduction supporting leg and a locking mechanism thereof, and belongs to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and the supporting leg comprises a sleeve, a piston rod, an elastic assembly and a landing trigger inductive switch. The sleeve is perpendicularly fixed to the bottom face of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The piston rod is coaxially inserted into the sleeve, elastically stretches out and draws back with the sleeve and is in axial limiting connection with the sleeve. A locking groove is formed in the lower end of the piston rod and used for being matched with a locking mechanism to lock the supporting feet. The elastic assembly sleeves the piston rod and is used for elastic stretching of the piston rod relative to the sleeve. The landing trigger inductive switch is located over the piston rod and electrically connected with an unmanned aerial vehicle control system. When the piston rod touches ground and moves upwards to trigger the inductive switch, the inductive switch transmits supporting foot ground touching information to the control system. The vibration reduction supporting foot is compact and small in structure and remarkable in vibration reduction effect, has a grounding signal feedback function and facilitates timely adjustment of the landing speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the design of the locking groove can be matched with a locking mechanism to conduct collection and locking in the vehicle-mounted running process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and in particular relates to a multifunctional vibration-damping support foot of an unmanned aerial vehicle and a locking mechanism thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the rise of the civilian low-altitude aircraft market, more and more types of drones are being used in public safety maintenance, emergency search and rescue, agriculture and forestry, environmental protection, communications, aerial photography, etc. Users are more eager to diversify the functions of drones, and the demand for medium and large drones (generally referring to drones with a take-off weight of more than 25 kilograms) is gradually increasing, such as agricultural plant protection, firefighting, short-distance transportation, etc.

[0003] As an important component of drones, the landing gear plays a role in shock absorption and buffering for drone take-off and landing. Traditional drone landing gear is designed as a fixed or automatic folding structure, such as Fig. 9 As shown in the figure, the general structure is large and heavy. The main reason is that the traditional landing gear mainly relies on its structural deformation to absorb the impact energy when the drone lands and touches the ground. This design inevitably requires a relatively large structural size, which brings about a large weight of the landing gear, thus occupying the very precious load capacity of the drone.

[0004] With the diversification of drone technology and demand, higher requirements are put forward for drone load capacity, airborne time and other indicators. In particular, the development of tethered drones often requires drones to be equipped with other supporting equipment and stored together in a vehicle-mounted cabin. Tethered drones put forward more control and intervention requirements for the landing process, such as: timely feedback of drone touchdown signals, and positioning and locking of drones after landing. However, the existing tethered drones mostly use traditional landing gear, which, on the one hand, affects the load capacity of the drone, and on the other hand, because it can only play the role of landing vibration reduction and reducing the impact of touching the ground, it is impossible to achieve timely feedback of drone touchdown signals, and thus it is impossible to regulate the landing speed, which may easily lead to excessive landing impact and damage to some parts of the drone; on the other hand, the bumps in the vehicle-mounted cabin during the transportation of the drone will also cause damage to the drone. The locking of the traditional landing gear requires manual operation to complete and confirm the lock, and the process is relatively cumbersome.

[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to design a multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for UAV to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0006] Technical problem to be solved: In order to avoid the shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention provides a multifunctional vibration-absorbing support foot for UAV and its locking mechanism, which solves the problem that the traditional landing gear affects the load capacity of the UAV and cannot realize the ground contact signal feedback and automatic locking. The buffering and shock absorption are realized by elastic cooperation between the piston rod and the sleeve, a trigger induction switch is set at the top of the sleeve to sense the support foot touching the ground, and a locking groove is set at the lower end of the piston rod, which cooperates with the locking mechanism to automatically lock.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is: a multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising a sleeve, a piston rod, an elastic component, and a landing trigger induction switch;

[0008] The sleeve is a hollow cylindrical structure with open ends. The sleeve is vertically fixed to the bottom surface of the drone along its axis, and its top end is fixedly connected to the drone body.

[0009] The piston rod is coaxially inserted into the sleeve, and is elastically telescopically and axially limitedly connected to the sleeve, and the lower end of the piston rod is exposed at the lower end opening of the sleeve; the lower end of the piston rod is provided with a locking groove for cooperating with the locking mechanism to lock the support foot;

[0010] The elastic component is sleeved on the piston rod and located in the sleeve, and is used for elastic expansion and contraction of the piston rod relative to the sleeve;

[0011] The landing trigger induction switch is located directly above the piston rod and is fixed to the open top of the sleeve through a mounting plate; the landing trigger induction switch is electrically connected to the UAV control system; when the piston rod touches the ground and moves up, the landing trigger induction switch senses the upward movement of the piston rod, and the landing trigger induction switch transmits the ground contact information of the support leg to the UAV control system.

[0012] A further technical solution of the present invention is: the hollow inner cavity of the sleeve is a stepped structure, which includes an axial limit cavity, a radial limit cavity, and an elastic component installation cavity from top to bottom, wherein the diameters of the axial limit cavity and the elastic component installation cavity are larger than the diameter of the radial limit cavity; a limit cavity is installed in the axial limit cavity to prevent the piston rod from slipping out of the sleeve downward; the radial limit cavity matches the small diameter section of the piston rod to limit the radial movement of the piston rod relative to the sleeve; the elastic component installation cavity is used to install the elastic component.

[0013] A further technical solution of the present invention is: the piston rod body is a stepped rod, comprising a small diameter section, a large diameter section, and a ground contact joint that are integrally formed from top to bottom; the small diameter section passes through the elastic component installation cavity and the radial limit cavity from bottom to top, and its top end extends into the axial limit cavity, and the top end of the small diameter section is provided with an external thread for connecting with the limit component; the elastic component is sleeved on the small diameter section, and a first step surface is formed between the small diameter section and the large diameter section for installation and limitation of the elastic component; the upper end of the large diameter section is embedded in the elastic component installation cavity; the ground contact joint is located at the lower end of the large diameter section, exposed to the lower end opening of the sleeve, and the second step surface between the large diameter section and the ground contact joint is used to limit the maximum axial upward displacement of the piston rod; the locking groove is provided at the ground contact joint.

[0014] A further technical solution of the present invention is that the lower end surface of the ground contact joint is a spherical structure for contacting the ground; the locking groove is located on the outer circumferential wall of the ground contact joint and is a horizontal annular inner groove structure perpendicular to the axis of the piston rod.

[0015] A further technical solution of the present invention is: the elastic component includes a first spring, a second spring, and a spacer ring; the first spring, the spacer ring, and the second spring are coaxially mounted on the small-diameter section of the piston rod in sequence from top to bottom; the upper and lower end surfaces of the spacer ring are in contact with the first spring and the second spring respectively, and the spacer ring is used to separate the first spring and the second spring to avoid misalignment of the two springs during compression; the upper end of the first spring abuts against the top wall of the elastic component installation cavity; the lower end of the second spring abuts against the first step surface of the piston rod.

[0016] A further technical solution of the present invention is: the elastic coefficient of the first spring is smaller than the elastic coefficient of the second spring; the elastic coefficient of a single first spring is determined based on the pressure required when compressed to half the stroke, and the impact force is calculated according to an acceleration of 1.5g; the elastic coefficient of a single second spring is determined based on the total weight of the drone and the load that the spring can withstand when compressed to 80% of the full stroke, and the impact force is calculated according to an acceleration of 4g.

[0017] A further technical solution of the present invention is: the limit assembly includes a nut and a gasket, the gasket is sleeved on the top end of the small diameter section of the piston rod and is located in the axial limit cavity; the nut is cooperated and connected with the external thread on the top end of the small diameter section of the piston rod, and its lower end face contacts the upper end face of the gasket; when the piston rod is in a free state, the lower end face of the gasket contacts the bottom wall of the axial limit cavity.

[0018] A further technical solution of the present invention is that: the top of the sleeve is a flange structure, and a plurality of connection holes are evenly distributed around the circumference of the flange, which is used to pass fasteners to connect with the bottom of the drone body; the center position of the upper end surface of the flange is coaxial with the axial limit cavity and is intersected with an inner concave portion for fixing the mounting plate;

[0019] A further technical solution of the present invention is: the mounting plate is coaxially embedded in the inner recess of the flange and fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the inner recess of the flange by screws; the floor-triggering induction switch is fixed at the center position of the lower end surface of the mounting plate.

[0020] A locking mechanism for locking the multifunctional vibration-damping support leg for landing a UAV is arranged on a UAV take-off and landing platform; the locking mechanism comprises a locking pin and a power drive mechanism, the power drive mechanism is used to drive the locking pin to move horizontally and telescopically; the locking pin is plugged into and matched with a locking groove to lock the support leg; the power drive mechanism is electrically connected to a control system of the UAV take-off and landing platform, and its movement is controlled by the control system of the UAV take-off and landing platform.

[0021] Beneficial Effects

[0022] The beneficial effect of the present invention is that: the multifunctional vibration-damping support foot of the drone described in the present invention is provided with four vibration-damping support feet evenly distributed and fixed at the bottom of the drone body. When the drone approaches the take-off and landing platform, unstable lift fluctuations will be generated between the downward airflow and the take-off and landing platform, making the drone in an unstable state. When landing, one or two of the support feet will touch the ground first. Since a landing trigger induction switch is provided at the top of the sleeve just above the piston rod, when the piston rod of one vibration-damping support foot moves up to trigger the landing trigger induction switch, the ground contact information can be transmitted to the drone control system, so as to control the drone to instantly increase the lift, thereby further reducing the ground contact impact.

[0023] The elastic component of the present invention is composed of two springs with different elastic coefficients connected in series, wherein the elastic coefficient of the first spring is smaller than the elastic coefficient of the second spring, and is more suitable for the two stages of the tethered cable drone landing and vehicle driving after collection. Since the impact force on the shock-absorbing support foot during the landing and vehicle driving of the tethered cable drone is quite different, the double spring series design with two elastic coefficients can absorb the impact energy with the smallest possible length and the best deformation in these two working stages. Compared with a single spring that often causes a huge amount of spring expansion and contraction when dealing with two different impact forces at the same time, the double spring structure can more effectively and reasonably deal with the impact, save expansion and contraction space, and reduce the design size of the shock-absorbing support foot.

[0024] The vibration-damping foot of the present invention provides a reliable UAV locking function interface, and cooperates with the locking mechanism to help the UAV achieve equipment safety in the carrying state: by designing a locking groove on the vibration-damping foot, and using it in conjunction with the locking mechanism of the take-off and landing platform, the UAV take-off and landing platform control system can be triggered by a locking trigger switch to lock the vibration-damping foot after it is stored in place, which facilitates the fixation of the tethered cable UAV to be stored on the vehicle.

[0025] The vibration-damping support foot of the present invention has a compact overall structure, is small and light, and has a neat and beautiful appearance. It is mainly suitable for medium and large UAVs with a take-off weight of more than 25 kilograms, including tethered UAVs and other traditional UAVs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the vibration-damping support foot of the present invention in a free state;

[0027] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the appearance structure of the vibration-damping support foot of the present invention when it is in a state of contacting the ground and being compressed;

[0028] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the elastic component in the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the vibration reduction support foot of the present invention installed on a drone;

[0030] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the locking mechanism of the vibration-damping support foot and the lifting and lowering platform of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A partial enlarged view of

[0032] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the sleeve in the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 It is a structural schematic diagram of the piston rod in the present invention;

[0034] Fig. 9 This is a schematic diagram of the traditional UAV landing gear and its installation structure with the UAV.

[0035] Explanation of the reference numerals: 1. sleeve, 11. axial limit cavity, 12. radial limit cavity, 13. elastic component installation cavity, 14. flange, 2. piston rod, 21. small diameter section, 22. large diameter section, 23. ground contact joint, 231. locking groove, 3. elastic component, 31. first spring, 32. second spring, 33. spacer ring, 4. landing trigger induction switch, 41. mounting plate, 5. UAV, 6. locking mechanism, 61. locking mechanism body, 62. locking pin, 63. locking sleeve, 64. locking trigger development, 7. limit assembly, 71. nut, 72. gasket, 8. take-off and landing platform, 9. traditional UAV landing gear. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present invention, but should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0038] Referring to 1 and 4, this embodiment provides a multifunctional vibration-reducing support leg for a drone, such as Figure 4 As shown, four vibration-damping feet are provided at the same time and installed at the bottom of the body of the vertical take-off and landing UAV 5. The multifunctional vibration-damping feet of the present invention can provide landing cushioning for the UAV 5 and impact cushioning during vehicle transportation; at the same time, the landing signal can be fed back to the UAV control system, thereby timely controlling the landing speed of the UAV 5; in addition, the locking mechanism 6 provided on the take-off and landing platform 8 can be used to lock the UAV 5 after it is stored in place, which is convenient for fixing the UAV when it is stored in a vehicle with a tethered cable.

[0039] See also Figure 1 , 2 The multifunctional vibration-damping support for landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention comprises a sleeve 1, a piston rod 2, an elastic component 3, a landing trigger induction switch 4, and a limit component 7. The sleeve 1 is a hollow, open-ended, integrally formed cylindrical structure. The sleeve 1 is vertically fixed to the bottom surface of the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5 along its axis, and its top is fixedly connected to the bottom of the body of the unmanned aerial vehicle 5. The piston rod 2 is coaxially inserted into the hollow cylinder of the sleeve 1 and is elastically telescopically connected to the sleeve 1 through the elastic component 3. The elastic component 3 is sleeved on the piston rod 2 and is located in the sleeve 1, and is used for the elastic expansion and contraction of the piston rod 2 relative to the sleeve 1. The piston rod 2 is also axially limited by the limit component 7, and the limit component 7 limits the piston rod 2 from falling out of the sleeve 1 downward during the up and down movement. The lower end of the piston rod 2 is exposed to the lower end opening of the sleeve 1 for touching the ground. The landing trigger induction switch 4 is located directly above the piston rod 2 and is fixed to the top opening of the sleeve 1 through the mounting plate 41. The landing trigger induction switch 4 is electrically connected to the drone control system. When the piston rod 2 touches the ground and moves up, triggering the landing trigger induction switch 4, the landing trigger induction switch 4 transmits the ground contact information of the supporting legs to the drone control system, thereby facilitating the control of the landing speed of the drone 5. For example, at the moment when the drone 5 lands, 1-2 supporting legs generally touch the ground first, and the ground contact signal is fed back to the drone control system. The drone control system causes the drone rotor to rotate instantly to provide a short-term large lift, slow down the landing, and then slow down the landing impact to achieve a smooth landing.

[0040] For details, see Figure 7 , a flange 14 is provided at the top of the sleeve 1, and 6 φ7 connection holes are evenly distributed around the circumference of the flange 14, which are used to pass screws to connect with the bottom of the body of the drone 5. The hollow inner cavity of the sleeve 1 is a stepped structure, which includes an axial limit cavity 11, a radial limit cavity 12, and an elastic component installation cavity 13 from top to bottom, wherein the apertures of the axial limit cavity 11 and the elastic component installation cavity 13 are larger than the apertures of the radial limit cavity 12, forming a variable diameter step surface. A limit component 7 is provided in the axial limit cavity 11, and the limit component 7 is connected with the top of the piston rod 2 to prevent the piston rod 2 from slipping out of the sleeve 1 downward. The radial limit cavity 12 matches the small diameter section 21 of the piston rod 2 to limit the radial movement of the piston rod 2 relative to the sleeve 1, that is, to avoid radial offset and shaking during the up and down movement of the piston rod 2. The elastic component installation cavity 13 accommodates the elastic component 3, and the elastic component 3 is sleeved on the piston rod 2. The center position of the upper end surface of the flange 14 is coaxial with the axial limit cavity 11 and is provided with an inner concave portion intersecting therewith, for fixing the mounting plate 41. The mounting plate 41 is coaxially embedded in the inner concave portion of the flange 14 and is fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the inner concave portion of the flange 14 by screws. The floor-triggering induction switch 4 is fixed at the center position of the lower end surface of the mounting plate 41, and the microwave induction head of the floor-triggering induction switch 4 faces the piston rod 2.

[0041] The ground-trigger induction switch 4 in this embodiment is an induction trigger switch, and its front end is a microwave induction head. When an object moves within 50 mm of its front end, the switch will send a trigger signal. When the vibration-damping foot contacts the ground, the upper end of the piston rod 2 moves upward, and the ground-trigger induction switch 4 will send a trigger signal to the drone control system in real time. The characteristics of the ground-trigger induction switch 4 ensure that the piston rod 2 moves up after touching the ground. After the trigger induction switch 4 sends a trigger signal, the piston rod 2 is allowed to continue to compress and move upward to adapt to the maximum stroke of the piston rod 2.

[0042] See also Figure 8 The main body of the piston rod 2 is a stepped rod, including a small diameter section 21, a large diameter section 22, and a ground contact joint 23 integrally formed from top to bottom. The small diameter section 21 of the piston rod 2 penetrates the elastic component installation cavity 13 and the radial limit cavity 12 of the sleeve 1 from bottom to top, and its top end extends into the axial limit cavity 11. The top end of the small diameter section 21 is provided with an external thread for connecting with the limit component 7. Specifically, as Figure 1 As shown, the limiting assembly 7 includes a nut 71 and a gasket 72. The gasket 72 is sleeved on the top of the piston rod small diameter section 21 and is located in the axial limiting cavity 11. The nut 71 is matched with the external thread on the top of the piston rod small diameter section 21, and its lower end surface contacts the upper end surface of the gasket 72. When the piston rod 2 is in a free state, the lower end surface of the gasket 72 contacts the bottom wall of the axial limiting cavity 11, thereby realizing that the piston rod 2 is suspended in the sleeve 1 to prevent it from coming out of the sleeve 1.

[0043] The elastic component 3 is sleeved on the small diameter section 21 of the piston rod 2. A first step surface is formed between the small diameter section 21 and the large diameter section 22, which is used for the installation limit of the elastic component 3 on the piston rod 2. The upper end of the large diameter section 22 is embedded in the elastic component installation cavity 13, so that the upper end of the elastic component 3 is against the top of the elastic component installation cavity 13, and the lower end of the elastic component 3 is against the first step surface. The ground contact joint 23 is located at the lower end of the large diameter section 22, exposed at the lower end opening of the sleeve 1. The second step surface formed between the large diameter section 22 and the ground contact joint 23 is used to limit the maximum axial upward displacement of the piston rod 2, that is, when the piston rod 2 is compressed to the limit position, the second step surface is against the end surface of the lower end opening of the sleeve 1. The lower end surface of the ground contact joint 23 is a spherical structure to ensure that it can adapt to various ground conditions when touching the ground. At the same time, in order to facilitate locking of the supporting foot, a locking groove 231 is provided on the ground contact joint 23 . The locking groove 231 is located on the outer circumferential wall of the ground contact joint 23 and is a horizontal annular inner groove structure perpendicular to the axis of the piston rod 2 .

[0044] See also Figure 3 The elastic component 3 adopts a series double elastic coefficient spring component, which is suitable for the two stages of UAV landing and vehicle driving after storage. In the two working stages, the spring absorbs the impact energy with the smallest possible length and the best deformation.

[0045] The elastic component 3 includes a first spring 31, a second spring 32, and a spacer ring 33. The first spring 31, the spacer ring 33, and the second spring 32 are coaxially mounted on the small diameter section 21 of the piston rod 2 in sequence from top to bottom, and are located in the elastic component installation cavity 13 of the sleeve 1. The upper and lower end surfaces of the spacer ring 33 are in contact with the first spring 31 and the second spring 32 respectively. The spacer ring 33 is used to separate the first spring 31 and the second spring 32 to avoid misalignment during the compression of the two springs. The upper end of the first spring 31 abuts against the top wall of the elastic component installation cavity 13, and the lower end of the second spring 32 abuts against the first step surface of the piston rod 2. Among them, the elastic coefficient of the first spring 31 is smaller than the elastic coefficient of the second spring 32. When the piston rod 2 touches the ground, the first spring 31 with a small elastic coefficient is compressed first.

[0046] The elastic coefficient of a single first spring 31 is determined based on the pressure required to compress half of the stroke, because during the landing phase of the drone 5, when approaching the take-off and landing platform 8, unstable lift fluctuations will be generated between the downward airflow and the take-off and landing platform 8, making the drone 5 unstable. In the final landing phase, generally only 1 to 2 legs may contact the take-off and landing platform, and the total weight of the body will act on 1 or 2 legs. The impact force is determined because the drone is affected by the lift of the rotor system at this stage. The actual impact force can generally be considered as 1.5g acceleration. The elastic coefficient of a single first spring 31 is calculated in this way. When the drone is driven off-road, the impact force of the vehicle bumping on the vehicle equipment is relatively large. In the double spring assembly, the elastic coefficient of the lower second spring 32 is designed to be relatively large, mainly used to reduce the impact of the equipment at this stage. When the elastic coefficient of the second spring 32 is selected, the impact acceleration generated during driving is considered to be 4g. In the stowed state, the four legs bear the impact force evenly, that is, when each second spring 32 is compressed to 80% of the full stroke (with a 20% margin reserved to cope with extreme working conditions), it can bear the total weight of the drone and the load.

[0047] By adopting a double elastic coefficient spring in series, it is possible to absorb excess impact energy, and while providing vibration reduction for the UAV 5 when it touches the ground, it can also provide vibration reduction protection for the UAV 5 and the load equipment when the vehicle is bumped and impacted.

[0048] See also Figure 5 , 6 The locking groove 231 of the piston rod 2 is designed to cooperate with the locking mechanism 6 installed on the take-off and landing platform 8 to lock the support foot. For the tethered UAV, when the UAV 5 completes the landing, it is necessary to lock and fix the body in the cabin. By matching the multifunctional vibration-damping support foot of the present invention with the tethered vertical take-off and landing UAV 5, when the UAV 5 lands, it lands on the take-off and landing platform 8 in the cabin according to the landing procedure. When it is guided to the storage locking position, the ground contact joint 23 at the lower end of the piston rod 2 is inserted into the locking mechanism 6 on the take-off and landing platform 8, so that the UAV 5 can be stored and fixed.

[0049] Specifically, the locking mechanism 6 provided by the present invention includes a locking mechanism body 61, a locking pin 62, a locking sleeve 63, and a locking trigger switch 64. The locking sleeve 63 is a cap-shaped structure, the cap body opening of which is upwardly embedded in the take-off and landing platform 8, and the brim of which is fixedly connected to the take-off and landing platform 8. The ground contact joint 23 of the piston rod 2 is inserted into the cap body cavity, and the side wall of the cap body is provided with a through hole for connecting the locking groove 231 of the ground contact joint 23. The locking mechanism body 61 is fixedly installed inside the UAV take-off and landing platform 8, and a power drive mechanism is provided inside the locking mechanism body 61, and the locking pin 62 is telescopically slidably installed on the locking mechanism body 61. The locking trigger switch 64 is installed at the lower end of the locking sleeve 63, and its keycap is located at the bottom of the cap body cavity of the locking sleeve 63. The locking trigger switch 64 and the power drive mechanism of the locking mechanism body 61 are both electrically connected to the UAV take-off and landing platform control system. When the vibration-damping foot is inserted into the locking sleeve 63 and the ground contact joint 23 of its piston rod 2 triggers the locking trigger switch 64, the control system of the UAV landing platform receives the signal that the foot has landed, thereby controlling the power drive mechanism of the locking mechanism body 61 to drive the locking pin 62 to move, and the outer end of the locking pin 62 passes through the through hole of the locking sleeve 63 cap body and plugs into the locking groove 231 to achieve locking. Of course, only one locking mechanism 6 form is provided in the embodiment of the present invention, and other locking mechanisms that can achieve locking in cooperation with the locking groove 231 are applicable.

[0050] The design of the present invention takes into account the structural function and the weight reduction of the parts, so as to meet the design function and minimize the load capacity of the drone. The sleeve 1 must meet the basic function of one-piece molding and withstand relatively large bending and torsion. It is advisable to use a lightweight metal material with high tensile strength. In this embodiment, super-hard aluminum alloy 7A04 is used. The piston rod 2 has a relatively small load and is required to slide freely in the sleeve 1. It is advisable to use a lightweight non-metallic material with relatively low strength and self-lubricating effect. In this embodiment, nylon 1010 is used.

[0051] The multifunctional vibration-damping foot of the present invention is mainly suitable for medium and large UAVs with a take-off weight of more than 25 kg. It can achieve ground vibration reduction, impact reduction, vehicle-mounted impact vibration reduction, ground touchdown trigger signal, and convenient locking. It is particularly suitable for tethered UAVs and is applied to tethered vertical take-off and landing UAVs: at the moment the UAV contacts the take-off and landing platform, the UAV control system receives the aircraft ground touchdown signal transmitted from the multifunctional foot, causing the UAV rotor to instantly accelerate and rotate to provide a short-term large lift to resist the ground touchdown impact. The elastic component 3 in the multifunctional foot provides absorption of excess impact energy to make the ground touchdown smooth. After normal landing, the locking groove 231 set at the lower end of the multifunctional foot provides a body locking structure. After the body is reliably locked and fixed in the cabin, the double spring setting in the multifunctional foot can provide a vibration reduction function for the bumps of the UAV caused by uneven road surface during the vehicle driving process.

[0052] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is to be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not to be construed as limitations on the present invention. A person skilled in the art may change, modify, replace and modify the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention without departing from the principles and intent of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multifunctional vibration-damping support for an unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that: It comprises a sleeve (1), a piston rod (2), an elastic component (3), and a floor-triggering induction switch (4); The sleeve (1) is a hollow cylindrical structure with open ends. The sleeve (1) is vertically fixed to the bottom surface of the body of the drone (5) along its axis, and its top end is fixedly connected to the body of the drone (5). The piston rod (2) is coaxially inserted into the sleeve (1), and is elastically telescopically and axially limitedly connected to the sleeve (1), and the lower end of the piston rod (2) is exposed at the lower end opening of the sleeve (1); a locking groove (231) is provided at the lower end of the piston rod (2) for cooperating with the locking mechanism (6) to lock the support foot; The elastic component (3) is sleeved on the piston rod (2), is located inside the sleeve (1), and is used for elastic expansion and contraction of the piston rod (2) relative to the sleeve (1); The landing trigger induction switch (4) is located directly above the piston rod (2) and is fixed to the top opening of the sleeve (1) via a mounting plate (41); the landing trigger induction switch (4) is electrically connected to the drone control system. When the piston rod (2) touches the ground and moves upward, triggering the landing trigger induction switch (4), the landing trigger induction switch (4) transmits the ground contact information of the support leg to the drone control system.

2. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The hollow inner cavity of the sleeve (1) is a stepped structure, which comprises, from top to bottom, an axial limit cavity (11), a radial limit cavity (12), and an elastic component installation cavity (13), wherein the apertures of the axial limit cavity (11) and the elastic component installation cavity (13) are larger than the apertures of the radial limit cavity (12), forming a variable diameter table; a limit cavity (7) is installed in the axial limit cavity (11) to prevent the piston rod (2) from slipping downward out of the sleeve (1); the radial limit cavity (12) matches the small diameter section (21) of the piston rod (2) to limit the radial movement of the piston rod (2) relative to the sleeve (1); and the elastic component installation cavity (13) is used to install the elastic component (3).

3. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The main body of the piston rod (2) is a stepped rod, comprising a small diameter section (21), a large diameter section (22), and a ground contact joint (23) which are integrally formed from top to bottom; the small diameter section (21) penetrates the elastic component installation cavity (13) and the radial limit cavity (12) from bottom to top, and its top end extends into the axial limit cavity (11); the top end of the small diameter section (21) is provided with an external thread for connecting with the limit component (7); the elastic component (3) is sleeved on the small diameter section (21), and the small diameter section (21) and the large diameter section (22) are connected to each other. A first step surface is formed between the sections (22) for limiting the installation of the elastic component (3); the upper end of the large diameter section (22) is embedded in the elastic component installation cavity (13); the ground contact joint (23) is located at the lower end of the large diameter section (22) and is exposed at the lower end opening of the sleeve (1); a second step surface formed between the large diameter section (22) and the ground contact joint (23) is used to limit the maximum axial upward displacement of the piston rod (2); and the locking groove (231) is provided on the ground contact joint (23).

4. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The lower end surface of the ground contact joint (23) is a spherical structure for contacting the ground; the locking groove (231) is located on the outer circumferential wall of the ground contact joint (23) and is a horizontal annular inner groove structure perpendicular to the axis of the piston rod (2).

5. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The elastic component (3) comprises a first spring (31), a second spring (32) and a spacer ring (33); the first spring (31), the spacer ring (33) and the second spring (32) are coaxially mounted on the small diameter section (21) of the piston rod (2) in sequence from top to bottom; the upper and lower end surfaces of the spacer ring (33) are in contact with the first spring (31) and the second spring (32) respectively, and the spacer ring (33) is used to separate the first spring (31) and the second spring (32) to avoid misalignment of the two springs during compression; the upper end of the first spring (31) is in contact with the top wall of the elastic component installation cavity (13); the lower end of the second spring (32) is in contact with the first step surface of the piston rod (2).

6. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 5, characterized in that: The elastic coefficient of the first spring (31) is smaller than the elastic coefficient of the second spring (32); the elastic coefficient of a single first spring (31) is determined based on the pressure required when compressed to half the stroke, and the impact force is calculated according to an acceleration of 1.5g; the elastic coefficient of a single second spring (32) is determined based on the total weight of the drone and the load that the spring can withstand when compressed to 80% of the full stroke, and the impact force is calculated according to an acceleration of 4g.

7. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The limiting assembly (7) comprises a nut (71) and a gasket (72); the gasket (72) is sleeved on the top end of the piston rod small diameter section (21) and is located in the axial limiting cavity (11); the nut (71) is connected to the external thread on the top end of the piston rod small diameter section (21), and its lower end surface contacts the upper end surface of the gasket (72); when the piston rod (2) is in a free state, the lower end surface of the gasket (72) contacts the bottom wall of the axial limiting cavity (11).

8. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 2, characterized in that: A flange (14) is provided at the top end of the sleeve (1), and a plurality of connection holes are evenly distributed around the circumference of the flange (14), which are used to pass fasteners through the flange (14) to connect with the bottom of the body of the drone (5); the center position of the upper end surface of the flange (14) is coaxial with the axial limit cavity (11), and an inner concave portion is provided to intersect and fix the mounting plate (41).

9. The multifunctional vibration-damping support foot for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 8, characterized in that: The mounting plate (41) is coaxially embedded in the inner recess of the flange (14) and is fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the inner recess of the flange (14) by means of screws; the floor-triggering induction switch (4) is fixed at the center position of the lower end surface of the mounting plate (41).

10. A locking mechanism (6) for locking the multifunctional vibration-damping support foot of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 4, which is arranged on the unmanned aerial vehicle landing platform (8); the locking mechanism (6) comprises a locking pin (62) and a power drive mechanism, and the power drive mechanism is used to drive the locking pin (62) to move horizontally and telescopically; the locking pin (62) is plugged into and matched with the locking groove (231) to lock the support foot; the power drive mechanism is electrically connected to the unmanned aerial vehicle landing platform control system, and its movement is controlled by the unmanned aerial vehicle landing platform control system.

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