An asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of unmanned aerial vehicles

Abstract

The present invention relates to an asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), comprising a rigid support mechanism, an asymmetric bistable dome drive device, and a multi-layer airbag structure device. The rigid support mechanism comprises an open hollow tube and support rods located on both sides of the open hollow tube, the roots of the support rods being connected to the top side edges of the open hollow tube, the multi-layer airbag structure device connecting the support rods and the open hollow tube, and the interior of the airbag is connected to the interior of the open hollow tube; the asymmetric bistable dome drive device is located within the open hollow tube and comprises a base, a U-shaped sheet, and an elastic sheet. The multiple U-shaped sheets are radially distributed and fixedly connected at the tails, forming a radial center at the connection point, and the radial edges are fixedly connected to the inner edge of the annular base via elastic sheets. Compared with the prior art, the present invention achieves efficient stopping control of UAVs inside and outside the pipeline, and has the advantages of compact structure, light weight, and good environmental adaptability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of variable structure robots, and in particular to an asymmetric bistable driving mechanism for multi-modal stopping of unmanned aerial vehicles. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the increasing use of drones in confined spaces and complex environments, achieving stable landing within confined spaces has become a key requirement. This is especially true in narrow areas of varying sizes, such as pipelines, where drones need to land quickly and safely to avoid collisions or complete their missions.

[0003] Current UAV pipeline stopping technologies generally utilize traditional mechanical drive systems, which often rely on motors and complex mechanical structures. The high weight and size of the motors limit the UAV's maneuverability in confined spaces. Furthermore, the relatively slow response speed and deformation capabilities of traditional drive systems also restrict the UAV's adaptability in complex environments. Therefore, achieving fast response, precise stopping, and high robustness within the constraints of minimal weight and size is crucial for improving the overall performance of UAVs in complex environments such as pipelines, and holds significant research significance and application value.

[0004] Invention CN113619788B discloses a bistable perching mechanism for a rotary-wing drone top surface based on opposing claws and spikes. The perching mechanism allows the drone to attach to common indoor mineral wool ceiling panels, extending the drone's flight time and enabling the drone to repeatedly perform tasks such as perching and filming indoors. When the drone needs to return, the servo drives the bistable mechanism to unlock, shifting the claws and spikes from an inward-grasping position to an outward-moving position. This releases the attachment between the claws and the mineral wool panel, allowing the drone, carrying the perching assembly, to detach from the ceiling. This device, designed to allow drones to perch and detach from ceilings, utilizes a rigid system consisting of connecting rods or sliders, resulting in low response speed and adaptability to complex environments. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the defects of the above-mentioned existing technologies and provide an asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of drones, so as to realize efficient parking control of drones inside and outside pipelines, overcome the weight and response speed limitations of traditional drive systems, and improve the adaptability of drone parking.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention can be achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0007] The present invention provides an asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising a rigid support mechanism, an asymmetric bistable dome drive device, and a multi-layer airbag structure device. The rigid support mechanism comprises an open-hole hollow tube and a support rod. A sealing cover is provided at the top end of the open-hole hollow tube. The support rods are located on both sides of the open-hole hollow tube, and the roots of the support rods are connected to the top side edges of the open-hole hollow tube. The multi-layer airbag structure device connects the support rods and the open-hole hollow tube, and the interior of the airbag of the multi-layer airbag structure device is in communication with the interior of the open-hole hollow tube.

[0008] The asymmetric bistable dome drive device is located in an open hollow tube and includes a base, U-shaped sheets and elastic sheets. There are multiple U-shaped sheets and they are distributed radially. The tails of all U-shaped sheets are fixedly connected and the connection forms the center of the radiation. The base is circular, and the radial edge is fixedly connected to the inner edge of the base through the elastic sheet.

[0009] Furthermore, the multi-layer airbag structure device includes an airbag sheet, a double-sided tape strip and a sealing rubber ring. The double-sided tape strip adheres two airbag sheets to form a single airbag. Multiple single airbags are connected by a sealing rubber ring to form a multi-airbag structure. The open hollow tube is connected to the multi-airbag structure through the sealing rubber ring.

[0010] Furthermore, the airbag sheet material is polyimide, and the double-sided tape strip is acrylic-based.

[0011] Furthermore, the asymmetric bistable dome drive device also includes an elastic film layer and a rigid frame. The asymmetric bistable dome drive device is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the open hollow tube through the rigid frame, and the elastic film layer covers the surface of the asymmetric bistable dome drive device.

[0012] Furthermore, the rigid frame material is polylactic acid.

[0013] Furthermore, the asymmetric bistable dome driving device further includes a fixing post, and the tail of the U-shaped sheet is fixedly connected at the center of the radial shape through the fixing post.

[0014] Furthermore, the fixing column is made of nylon.

[0015] Furthermore, the asymmetric bistable dome drive device separates the open hole hollow tube into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the connection point between the multi-layer airbag structure device and the open hole hollow tube is located in the upper chamber, and the lower chamber is connected to the gas drive source.

[0016] Furthermore, the material of the open-hole hollow tube is PETG, the material of the sealing cover is thermoplastic polyurethane, and the material of the support rod is epoxy glass fiber.

[0017] Furthermore, the base material is epoxy glass fiber, the U-shaped sheet material is polyethylene terephthalate, and the elastic sheet is an adhesive composite elastic sheet.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0019] 1. The present invention connects a U-shaped sheet to a base through an elastic sheet with creases, and the top is fixed by a fixed column. The sheet deforms and has two different stable states. When driven, the asymmetric bistable dome drive device can quickly switch from a weakly stable state to a strongly stable state, providing gas for the multi-layer airbag structure device. The multi-layer airbag structure device expands, pushing the support rod to unfold and contact the pipe wall, thereby realizing a direct contact and stop function with the inner wall of the pipe. When the asymmetric bistable dome drive device is in a weakly stable state, the multi-layer airbag structure device remains flat and the support rod is retracted. The drive device designed and proposed by the present invention based on the asymmetric bistable energy characteristics can adapt to pipes of different diameters and maintain robustness when stopped.

[0020] 2. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism proposed in this invention is lightweight. The drive module uses high-efficiency elastic materials to replace traditional motors, significantly reducing weight and volume, providing more performance space for drones that are sensitive to weight and volume. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism can achieve rapid response and stable stopping in a short period of time, ensuring that the drone can operate flexibly in narrow pipes and effectively avoid collision risks.

[0021] 3. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism of the present invention has a simple structure, is easy to integrate and maintain, has high flexibility, can adjust the size of the module according to different models of drones, and can be applied to the drive of various soft robot modules such as fixtures, and has strong scalability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the overall structure of the asymmetric bistable drive mechanism in the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the asymmetric bistable dome driving device of the present invention when it is in a strong stable equilibrium state and a weak stable equilibrium state;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the multi-layer airbag structure device of the present invention;

[0025] In the figure, 1. open-hole hollow tube, 2. sealing cover, 3. support rod, 4. asymmetric bistable dome drive device, 41. base, 42. U-shaped sheet, 43. elastic sheet, 44. elastic film layer, 45. rigid frame, 46. fixing column, 5. multi-layer airbag structure device, 51. airbag sheet, 52. double-sided tape strip, 53. sealing rubber ring. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts should fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] 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, it does not require further definition or explanation in subsequent drawings.

[0028] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "up", "down", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, or are the orientation or position relationship in which the product of the invention is usually placed when in use. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0029] The present invention is an asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for stopping a UAV pipeline. The mechanism mainly consists of a rigid support mechanism, an asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 and a multi-layer airbag structure device 5. Figure 1 shown.

[0030] In this embodiment, the rigid support mechanism includes an open-hole hollow tube 1 and a support rod 3. The open-hole hollow tube 1 is made of polyethylene terephthalate-1,4-cyclohexane dimethanol ester (PETG) material, and a sealing cover 2 made of thermoplastic polyurethane material is provided at the top. The support rods 3 are made of epoxy glass fiber material, and there are four of them and they are located on both sides of the open-hole hollow tube 1. The root of the support rod 3 is connected to the top side edge of the open-hole hollow tube 1, and can be swung around the connection as the center to achieve an opening and closing action, thereby applying pressure to the inner wall of the pipe. The multi-layer airbag structure device 5 connects the support rod 3 and the open-hole hollow tube 1, and the interior of the airbag of the multi-layer airbag structure device 5 is connected to the interior of the open-hole hollow tube 1, driving the support rod 3 to open and close, thereby achieving a direct contact and stop function with the inner wall of the pipe.

[0031] In this embodiment, the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 is located within the perforated hollow tube 1 and primarily comprises a base 41, U-shaped thin sheets 42, and elastic thin sheets 43. The U-shaped thin sheets 42 are made of polyethylene terephthalate, are multiple in number, and are radially distributed. In a preferred embodiment, the number of U-shaped thin sheets 42 is set to four. The tails of all U-shaped thin sheets 42 are fixedly connected by nylon fixing posts 46, and the connection forms the center of the radial pattern. The base 41 is a circular ring made of epoxy glass fiber board, and the radial edges are fixedly connected to the inner edges of the base 41 by elastic thin sheets 43 of a composite material with folds. Specifically, the elastic thin sheets 43 can be bent along the folds, allowing the radially distributed U-shaped thin sheets 42 to have two working positions: an upper position and a lower position.

[0032] The working principle of the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 can be briefly described as follows: four U-shaped sheets 42 are connected to the base 41 through an elastic sheet 43 with folds, and the top is fixed by a fixing column 46. The sheet is deformed and has two different stable states, such as Figure 2 As shown. When actuated, the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 rapidly switches from a weakly stable state to a strongly stable state, supplying gas to the multi-layer airbag structure 5 and maintaining a stable strong stable state for reliable rest. Furthermore, a layer of elastic film 44 seals the device, ensuring its airtightness. The entire asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 is securely connected to the inner wall of the open-pore hollow tube 1 via a rigid polylactic acid frame 45.

[0033] In this embodiment, the multi-layer airbag structure 5 comprises six layers of polyimide sheet 51, two layers of acrylic double-sided tape 52, and a sealing rubber ring 53. Double-sided tape 52 bonds two airbag sheets 51 together to form a single airbag. Sealing rubber ring 53 connects three single airbags to form a multi-airbag structure. The perforated hollow tube 1 is connected to the multi-airbag structure via the sealing rubber ring 53.

[0034] Specifically, the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 divides the perforated hollow tube 1 into an upper chamber and a lower chamber. The multilayer airbag structure 5 connects to the perforated hollow tube 1 in the upper chamber, while the lower chamber is connected to the gas drive source. When the U-shaped sheet 42 is in the upper working position, the volume of the upper chamber is small, the air pressure within the chamber is high, and the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 is in a weakly stable state. When the U-shaped sheet 42 is in the lower working position, the volume of the upper chamber is large, the air pressure within the chamber is low, and the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 is in a strongly stable state.

[0035] The working principle of the multi-layer airbag structure device 5 can be briefly described as follows: a single airbag is formed by sealing and adhering two thin sheets 51 with a double-sided tape strip 52, and a sealing rubber ring 53 is used to connect each single airbag to form a multi-airbag structure, such as Figure 3 As shown. Furthermore, a sealing ring 53 seals the holes between the multi-airbag mechanism and the rigid support structure, ensuring the reliability of the airbag structure under high-pressure conditions. When the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 is in a strongly stable state, the multi-layer airbag structure 5 expands, pushing the support rods 3 to deploy and contact the tube wall. When the asymmetric bistable dome drive device 4 is in a weakly stable state, the multi-layer airbag structure 5 remains flat, and the epoxy glass fiber support rods 3 retract.

[0036] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and such modifications or substitutions are intended to be within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of protection of the claims.

Claims

1. An asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of unmanned aerial vehicles, characterized in that: The invention comprises a rigid support mechanism, an asymmetric bistable dome drive device (4) and a multi-layer airbag structure device (5), wherein the rigid support mechanism comprises an open-hole hollow tube (1) and a support rod (3), a sealing cover (2) is provided at the top end of the open-hole hollow tube (1), the support rod (3) is located on both sides of the open-hole hollow tube (1), and the root of the support rod (3) is connected to the top side edge of the open-hole hollow tube (1), the multi-layer airbag structure device (5) connects the support rod (3) and the open-hole hollow tube (1), and the interior of the airbag of the multi-layer airbag structure device (5) is communicated with the interior of the open-hole hollow tube (1); The asymmetric bistable dome drive device (4) is located in an open hollow tube (1) and comprises a base (41), a U-shaped thin sheet (42) and an elastic thin sheet (43). The U-shaped thin sheets (42) are multiple in number and distributed in a radial pattern. The tails of all the U-shaped thin sheets (42) are fixedly connected and the connection constitutes a radial center. The base (41) is annular, and the radial edge is fixedly connected to the inner edge of the base (41) through the elastic thin sheet (43).

2. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of a UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-layer airbag structure device (5) comprises an airbag sheet (51), a double-sided adhesive tape strip (52) and a sealing rubber ring (53); the double-sided adhesive tape strip (52) adheres two airbag sheets (51) to form a single airbag; a plurality of single airbags are connected via the sealing rubber ring (53) to form a multi-airbag structure; the open-hole hollow tube (1) is connected to the multi-airbag structure via the sealing rubber ring (53).

3. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of a UAV according to claim 2, characterized in that: The material of the airbag sheet (51) is polyimide, and the double-sided tape strip (52) is acrylic-based.

4. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The asymmetric bistable dome driving device (4) further comprises an elastic film layer (44) and a rigid frame (45); the asymmetric bistable dome driving device (4) is fixedly connected to the inner wall of the open-hole hollow tube (1) via the rigid frame (45); and the elastic film layer (44) covers the surface of the asymmetric bistable dome driving device (4).

5. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of a UAV according to claim 4, characterized in that: The material of the rigid frame (45) is polylactic acid.

6. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The asymmetric bistable dome drive device (4) further comprises a fixing column (46), and the tail of the U-shaped sheet (42) is fixedly connected at the center of the radial shape through the fixing column (46).

7. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal parking of a UAV according to claim 6, characterized in that: The material of the fixing column (46) is nylon.

8. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of a UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The asymmetric bistable dome drive device (4) separates the open-hole hollow tube (1) into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the multi-layer airbag structure device (5) is connected to the open-hole hollow tube (1) at the upper chamber, and the lower chamber is connected to a gas drive source.

9. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of a UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the open-hole hollow tube (1) is PETG, the material of the sealing cover (2) is thermoplastic polyurethane, and the material of the support rod (3) is epoxy glass fiber.

10. The asymmetric bistable drive mechanism for multi-modal stopping of a UAV according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base (41) is made of epoxy glass fiber, the U-shaped sheet (42) is made of polyethylene terephthalate, and the elastic sheet (43) is an adhesive composite elastic sheet.

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