Multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous laying device for unmanned platform

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of underwater unmanned vehicles, and discloses a multi-vehicle carrying and autonomous laying device for an unmanned platform, which comprises a hanger, a protective frame body, a lifting platform and a release mechanism, the hanging frame is placed along the axis of the aircraft and provided with a hanging connector, the aircraft is provided with a limiting block, the hanging connector is used for being clamped with the limiting block and locked through a release mechanism, and the aircraft is hung on the hanging frame. The lifting platform is mounted on the unmanned platform through the protective frame body, and the lifting platform can be automatically expanded or contracted; during loading, the lifting platform is unfolded and extends out of the protective frame body, the hanging rack for hanging the aircraft is mounted on the lifting platform, and the lifting platform is retracted until the aircraft is completely arranged in the protective frame body; and during releasing, the lifting platform is unfolded again and extends out of the protection frame body, the releasing mechanism relieves limiting of the hanging connector to the aircraft, and laying of the aircraft is completed. According to the invention, rapid loading, safety protection and autonomous laying of the aircraft are realized by adopting a modular design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of underwater unmanned vehicles, and in particular to a multi-vehicle carrying and autonomous deployment device for an unmanned platform. Background Art

[0002] Underwater unmanned vehicles have been widely used in various fields and in various application scenarios. On the one hand, the demand for multi-platform collaboration is becoming increasingly urgent. The operating capacity of small-scale vehicles is limited, and they need to be deployed and extended. On the other hand, there is currently a lack of dedicated mother ships for vehicle operations, and the adaptability of manned deployment to sea conditions is poor. Unmanned platforms are more adaptable to harsher sea conditions. At present, it is urgent to solve the problem of how to achieve multi-vessel loading and autonomous deployment on unmanned platforms. Summary of the invention

[0003] In view of this, the present invention provides a multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device for an unmanned platform, which integrates rapid loading and deployment, and adopts a modular design to achieve rapid loading, safety protection, and autonomous deployment of aircraft.

[0004] The present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions: a multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device for an unmanned platform, including a hanger, a protective frame, a lifting platform and a release mechanism; the hanger is placed along the axis of the aircraft and is provided with a hanging interface, the aircraft is provided with a limit block, the hanging interface is used to engage with the limit block and be locked through a release mechanism, so that the aircraft is mounted on the hanger; the lifting platform is installed on the unmanned platform through the protective frame, and the lifting platform can be automatically expanded or retracted; when loading, the lifting platform is expanded and extended out of the protective frame, the hanger for mounting the aircraft is installed on the lifting platform, and the lifting platform is retracted until the aircraft is completely placed in the protective frame; when releasing, the lifting platform is expanded and extended out of the protective frame again, and the release mechanism releases the limit of the hanging interface on the aircraft, completing the deployment of the aircraft.

[0005] Furthermore, the lifting platform is composed of a hanging slide, a connecting plate and a lifting mechanism. The hanging slide is fixedly connected to the connecting plate, and the connecting plate is connected to the top of the inner side of the protective frame through the lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism expands or contracts itself to enable the connecting plate to drive the hanging slide to extend or retract into or out of the protective frame. The top of the bracket is provided with a slide groove and a locking structure that slides with the hanging slide. The bracket for mounting the aircraft is slidably connected to the hanging slide, and the bracket is limited on the hanging slide by the locking structure.

[0006] Furthermore, the lifting mechanism includes a fork-shaped link mechanism and a driving mechanism; the fork-shaped link mechanism is composed of two fork-shaped links, the two fork-shaped link openings are opposite to each other, and the upper and lower rods of the two fork-shaped links are crossed with each other, and the upper and lower ends of each fork-shaped link are respectively hinged to the protective frame and the connecting plate; the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links are connected by a driving mechanism, and the driving mechanism achieves contraction by making the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links move away from each other, and the driving mechanism achieves expansion by making the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links move closer to each other.

[0007] Furthermore, the hanging interface is provided with a front limit link and a rear limit link along the length direction of the hanger, and the aircraft is provided with a front limit block and a rear limit block correspondingly; along the circumferential tangent direction of the aircraft, one end of the rear limit link is engaged with the rear end of the rear limit block, and the other end of the rear limit link is fixedly connected to the hanger; along the circumferential tangent direction of the aircraft, the front limit link vertically passes through the hanger and is hinged with the hanger, and one end of the front limit link extending out of the hanger is engaged with the front end of the front limit block, and the release mechanism limits the rotation of one end of the front limit link extending out of the hanger by tightening the other end of the front limit link extending out of the hanger forward along the axis of the aircraft, so that the front limit block and the rear limit block are clamped between the front limit link and the rear limit link, thereby realizing the limitation of the aircraft on the hanger.

[0008] Furthermore, the release mechanism is an explosive bolt. When released, the explosive bolt explodes to release the limit on the front limit link and provides a thrust backward along the axis of the aircraft to the other end of the front limit link extending out of the bracket, so that the other end of the front limit link rotates forward along the axis of the aircraft, thereby releasing the limit of the front and rear limit blocks by the front and rear limit links, and the aircraft detaches from the bracket.

[0009] Furthermore, the hanging slideway is divided into an upper hanging slideway and a lower hanging slideway, and the upper hanging slideway and the lower hanging slideway are staggered and fixed on the connecting plate.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0011] 1. The present invention is provided with an independent pylon, which converts most of the actual installation time to the mounting and installation of the pylon and the aircraft, that is, the aircraft installation pylon can be prepared for assembly in advance, and the actual loading only needs to complete the docking and installation of the pylon and the lifting platform, which greatly reduces the loading time and has high timeliness; the rapid mounting and autonomous deployment are integrated through the release mechanism, and a protective frame is provided to provide safety protection for the aircraft, and all structures can be produced in a modular manner.

[0012] 2. The present invention is provided with two hanger slideways to meet the requirements of carrying and deploying multiple aircraft in a limited space. The two sets of aircraft are staggered to further ensure that there is no interference during deployment, and the deployment is highly safe and has good adaptability to sea conditions.

[0013] 3. The lifting platform of the present invention adopts a fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism design, which has a compact structure and ensures the stability requirements of the entire lifting platform during loading and lifting. The driving mechanism and the fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism are integrated into one, which is easy to assemble and maintain.

[0014] 4. The present invention adopts a modular approach, which can be promoted, and the loading process is simple and convenient, and can be adapted to different types of platforms. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the general assembly of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the rack of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a lifting platform, wherein (a) is a schematic diagram of the lifting platform being retracted, and (b) is a schematic diagram of the lifting platform being expanded.

[0018] Among them, 1 is a protective frame, 2 is a lifting platform, 3 is a driving mechanism, 4 is a spacecraft, 5 is a release mechanism, 6 is a bracket, 7 is a front limit link, 8 is a rear limit link, 9 is a fork-shaped link mechanism, 10 is a hanging slide, 11 is a connecting plate, 12 is a front limit block, and 13 is a rear limit block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0020] The present invention provides a multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device for an unmanned platform, such as Figure 1 , 2 As shown, the device includes a pylon 6, a protective frame 1, a lifting platform 2 and a release mechanism 5; the aircraft 4 can be mounted on the pylon 6, the pylon 6 can be carried on the lifting platform 2, the protective frame 1 is installed on the unmanned platform, and the lifting platform 2 is located between the unmanned platform and the protective frame 1, and the connection relationship is as follows:

[0021] The hanger 6 is placed along the axis of the aircraft 4. The hanger 6 is provided with a hanging interface. The aircraft 4 is provided with a limit block. The aircraft 4 is limited on the hanger 6 by the engagement of the hanging interface and the limit block. The hanging interface locks the aircraft 4 on the hanger 6 through the release mechanism 5, that is, the release mechanism 5 forms a whole with the aircraft 4 and the hanger 6. When loading the aircraft 4, the aircraft 4 can be pre-connected with the hanger 6, the release mechanism 5 is installed and locked, and then the whole is installed on the lifting platform 2, which can reduce the requirements of the lifting platform 2 for the installation space, and greatly reduce the preparation time and the difficulty of assembly. The lifting platform 2 is installed on the unmanned platform through the protective frame 1, and the lifting platform 2 can automatically expand or contract inside the protective frame 1.

[0022] During loading, the lifting platform 2 is unfolded and extended out of the protective frame 1, and the hanger 6 for mounting the aircraft 4 is installed on the lifting platform 2. The lifting platform 2 is retracted until the aircraft 4 is completely placed in the protective frame 1, and the loading of the aircraft 4 is completed. During release, the lifting platform 2 is automatically unfolded and extended out of the protective frame 1, and the release mechanism 5 releases the limit of the hanger 6 attachment interface on the aircraft 4, and the deployment of the aircraft 4 is completed. The hanger 6 is retained on the lifting platform 2 and can be reused. The release mechanism 5 and the hanger 6 play the purpose of locking and deploying the aircraft 4.

[0023] The protective frame 1 is mainly used for the outer layer protection of the aircraft 4 under high sea conditions and high speed. The protective frame 1 is installed on an unmanned platform and can adopt a titanium alloy frame structure. A high-strength reinforced plastic rectifying layer is provided on the outside of the protective frame 1. In this embodiment, the front part of the rectifying layer of the protective frame 1 is a drainage section, which is used to reduce the resistance of the aircraft 4; an installation interface is provided on the inside of the protective frame 1, which can be used for the installation of the lifting platform 2 and electrical lines.

[0024] The protective frame 1 can be installed on the side or bottom of the unmanned platform according to actual conditions. In this embodiment, the protective frame 1 is installed on the side of the unmanned platform, and the lifting platform 2 is fixed to the inner top of the protective frame 1 through the installation interface. The lifting platform 2 is located between the protective frame 1 and the unmanned platform; the protective frame 1 serves as a protective device for the inner aircraft 4, and can be adaptively improved according to the unmanned platform actually carried, that is, the protective frame 1 can be expanded into other structural types, so that the entire deployment device can be adapted to a wider range of platforms. The protective frame 1 provides a relatively good space for the entire loading and deployment process. As the outer layer protection of the aircraft 4, it can prevent it from being damaged under high speed and severe sea conditions, and prevent problems such as bumps, scratches, and jams, thereby improving the safety of the deployment of the aircraft 4, improving the adaptability to sea conditions, and greatly enhancing the operational capacity.

[0025] The lifting platform 2 is composed of a mounting slide 10, a connecting plate 11 and a lifting mechanism. The mounting slide 10 is fixedly connected to the connecting plate 11, and the connecting plate 11 is connected to the top of the inner side of the protection frame 1 through the lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism expands or contracts itself so that the connecting plate 11 drives the mounting slide 10 to extend or retract into the protection frame 1. A slide groove and a locking structure that slide with the mounting slide 10 are provided on the top of the hanger 6. After extending out of the protection frame 1 during loading, the hanger 6 for mounting the aircraft 4 is slidably connected with the mounting slide 10, generally sliding from front to back along the axis direction of the aircraft 4 to achieve convenient and quick installation, and the hanger 6 is limited on the mounting slide 10 through the locking structure. The locking structure can use a detachable fastener or a buckle form. After the hanger 6 for mounting the aircraft 4 is mounted on the mounting slide 10, the loading can be completed by simply locking it through the locking structure, which greatly reduces the preparation time and the difficulty of assembly.

[0026] In order to meet the requirements of carrying multiple aircraft 4 in a small space, upper and lower mounting slides can be set to meet the requirements of mounting and deploying two sets of aircraft 4. The upper and lower mounting slides are fixed to the connecting plate 11 in a staggered manner, that is, the upper mounting slide and the lower mounting slide are parallel to each other, located in different horizontal planes and different vertical planes. The staggered mounting of two sets of aircraft 4 is achieved by the staggered upper and lower mounting slides, so that both aircraft 4 can obtain better activity space after deployment, minimize the impact of the surrounding structures on the aircraft 4, reduce the risk of scratches, and avoid interference between the upper and lower aircraft 4 during deployment.

[0027] The lifting mechanism includes a fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism 9 and a driving mechanism 3. The fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism 9 is composed of two fork-shaped connecting rods, and the fork-shaped connecting rod is a V-shaped connecting rod, that is, two connecting rods formed by hinged ends of two V-shaped components (upper rod and lower rod), and the free ends of the upper rod and the lower rod are the upper end and the lower end of the fork-shaped connecting rod respectively. The two fork-shaped connecting rod openings are arranged opposite to each other, and the upper rods of the two fork-shaped connecting rods are cross-hinged with each other, and the lower rods of the two fork-shaped connecting rods are cross-hinged with each other. The upper ends of the two fork-shaped connecting rods are both hinged to the top of the protective frame 1, and the lower ends of the two fork-shaped connecting rods are both hinged to the middle of the connecting plate 11. The middle hinges of the two fork-shaped connecting rods (the hinges of the upper rod and the lower rod) are connected by the driving mechanism 3. The driving mechanism 3 realizes the contraction of the lifting mechanism by making the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped connecting rods move away from each other, and the driving mechanism 3 realizes the expansion of the lifting mechanism by making the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped connecting rods move closer to each other.

[0028] The driving mechanism 3 includes a driving motor and a connecting rod. The driving motor is arranged at the middle hinge of any fork-shaped connecting rod. One end of the connecting rod is connected to the driving motor, and the other end of the connecting rod is connected to the middle hinge of another fork-shaped connecting rod. The driving motor can push out or retract the connecting rod.

[0029] like Figure 3As shown, initially, the lifting mechanism is in a fully retracted state: the distance of the connecting rod between the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links pushed out by the driving motor is the longest, the lower end of each fork-shaped link is closest to its upper end, and the hanging slide 10 is inside the protective frame 1. When loading, the lifting mechanism is unfolded: the driving motor retracts the connecting rod, so that the middles of the two fork-shaped links are close to each other, that is, the distance between the middles of the two fork-shaped links becomes shorter, and the lower end of each fork-shaped link moves downward away from its upper end, driving the connecting plate 11 and the hanging slide 10 thereon downward, until the two hanger slides 10 on the connecting plate 11 extend out of the protective frame 1 and connect to the hanger 6 of the mounted aircraft 4. After the mounting bracket 6 and the mounting slideway 10 for mounting the aircraft 4 are loaded, the lifting mechanism automatically retracts and resets: the driving motor pushes out the connecting rod so that the middle parts of the two fork-shaped connecting rods move away from each other, that is, the distance between the middle parts of the two fork-shaped connecting rods becomes longer, and the lower end of each fork-shaped connecting rod moves upward toward its upper end, driving the mounting slideway 10 and the aircraft 4 thereon upward into the inner side of the protection frame 1. When the aircraft 4 is deployed, the lifting mechanism is deployed again so that the mounting slideway 10 carrying the aircraft 4 descends.

[0030] The lifting platform 2 adopts a fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism 9 and is equipped with an auxiliary connecting rod to achieve the stability and structural strength requirements of the entire lifting platform 2, which can better adapt to the interface requirements of narrow spaces and has good adaptability. The lifting function of the lifting platform 2 can operate the aircraft 4 outside the protective frame 1 during loading and deployment. Its operating space is relatively open, which is convenient for operation and can reduce assembly time and improve the safety of deployment; the driving motor combined with the connecting rod transmission is used as the power of the lifting platform 2, and the driving mechanism 3 and the fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism are installed as a whole, which is convenient for assembly and maintenance. At the same time, the driving motor adopts a large margin design, which can adapt to the load force caused by the marine environment and ensure that the function can be completed normally during the operation; in addition, the driving motor adopts a watertight connector and cable to connect with the main control end, which can receive the host computer command to realize the automatic lifting function.

[0031] like Figure 2As shown, in this embodiment, the attachment interface adopts a limit link mechanism, and a front limit link 7 and a rear limit link 8 are provided along the length direction of the pylon 6, and the spacecraft 4 is provided with a front limit block 12 and a rear limit block 13 corresponding thereto, and the front limit block 12 and the rear limit block 13 are arranged along the axis of the spacecraft 4. The pylon 6 is placed along the axis of the spacecraft 4, and the front limit link 7 and the rear limit link 8 are perpendicular to the pylon 6. One end of the rear limit link 8 is engaged with the rear end of the rear limit block 13 along the tangent direction of the spacecraft 4, and the other end of the rear limit link 8 is fixedly connected to the pylon 6. The front limit link 7 passes vertically through the bracket 6 along the circumferential tangent direction of the aircraft 4 and is hinged to the bracket 6. The front limit link 7 can rotate around the hinge point in the cross-section of the aircraft 4. The end of the front limit link 7 extending out of the bracket 6 is engaged with the front end of the front limit block 12. The release mechanism 5 limits the rotation of the end of the front limit link extending out of the bracket 6 by tightening the other end of the front limit link 7 extending out of the bracket 6 forward along the axis of the aircraft 4, so that the front limit block 12 and the rear limit block 13 are clamped between the front limit link 7 and the rear limit link 8 to limit the axial displacement of the aircraft 4, so as to limit the aircraft 4 on the bracket 6.

[0032] In this embodiment, the front limit block 12 and the rear limit block 13 are cylinders with a boss on the top. The end of the front limit link 7 that is engaged with the front limit block 12 and the end of the rear limit link 8 that is engaged with the rear limit block 13 are both provided with an arc structure that cooperates with the surface of the cylinder to limit the displacement in the tangential direction of the aircraft; the bosses on the top of the front limit block 12 and the rear limit block 13 are used to limit the radial displacement of the aircraft 4.

[0033] The release mechanism 5 is an explosive bolt, which is installed on the pylon 6. When not exploded, the front limit link 7 is tightened to extend the other end of the pylon 6, limiting the front limit link 7 and the front end of the front limit block 12 from rotating forward along the axis of the aircraft 4. When released, the explosive bolt explodes under the control of the host computer, releasing the limit on the front limit link 7, and providing a thrust backward along the axis of the aircraft 4 to the other end of the front limit link 7 extending from the pylon 6, so that the other end of the front limit link 7 rotates forward rapidly along the axis of the aircraft 4, thereby releasing the limit of the front and rear limit links on the front and rear limit blocks, and the aircraft 4 is separated from the pylon 6. After the limit is released, the aircraft 4 can maneuver away under its own power, realizing safe and rapid deployment.

[0034] The use process of this device: in the preparation process, the connection between the aircraft 4 and the pylon 6 is completed in advance, and the explosive bolts are used to complete the limit locking of the aircraft 4; when loading, the upper computer controls the lifting platform 2 to descend, and the pylon 6 carrying the aircraft 4 is slid to the predetermined position along the mounting slide 10, and then the locking mechanism is used to lock it. After the two sets of aircraft 4 are loaded, the upper computer controls the lifting platform 2 to rise to the predetermined position, that is, the loading of the aircraft 4 is quickly completed; when releasing, the upper computer controls the lifting platform 2 to descend, issues the explosive bolt detonation command, releases the limit of the limit link mechanism, controls the aircraft 4 to move away, and completes the deployment of the aircraft 4. The present invention combines rapid loading and deployment, and adopts modular design to achieve rapid loading, safety protection, and autonomous deployment of the aircraft 4.

[0035] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-vehicle carrying and autonomous deployment device for an unmanned platform, characterized in that: It includes a hanging frame, a protective frame, a lifting platform and a releasing mechanism; The pylon is placed along the axis of the aircraft and is provided with a mounting interface. The aircraft is provided with a limit block. The mounting interface is used to engage with the limit block and be locked through a release mechanism to enable the aircraft to be mounted on the pylon; the lifting platform is installed on the unmanned platform through a protective frame, and the lifting platform can be automatically expanded or retracted; During loading, the lifting platform is unfolded and extended out of the protective frame, the bracket for mounting the aircraft is installed on the lifting platform, and the lifting platform is retracted until the aircraft is completely placed in the protective frame; during releasing, the lifting platform is unfolded and extended out of the protective frame again, and the releasing mechanism releases the limit of the aircraft on the mounting interface, completing the deployment of the aircraft.

2. The multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The lifting platform is composed of a hanging slide, a connecting plate and a lifting mechanism. The hanging slide is fixedly connected to the connecting plate, and the connecting plate is connected to the top of the inner side of the protection frame through the lifting mechanism. The lifting mechanism expands or contracts itself to make the connecting plate drive the hanging slide to extend or retract into the protection frame. A slide groove and a locking structure that slide with the mounting slide are provided on the top of the mounting bracket. The mounting bracket for mounting the aircraft is slidably connected to the mounting slide, and the mounting bracket is limited on the mounting slide by the locking structure.

3. The multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The lifting mechanism includes a fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism and a driving mechanism; the fork-shaped connecting rod mechanism is composed of two fork-shaped connecting rods, the two fork-shaped connecting rods are opened opposite to each other, and the upper and lower rods of the two fork-shaped connecting rods are crossed with each other, and the upper and lower ends of each fork-shaped connecting rod are respectively hinged to the protective frame and the connecting plate; The middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links are connected by a driving mechanism, which realizes contraction by moving the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links away from each other, and realizes expansion by moving the middle hinges of the two fork-shaped links closer to each other.

4. The multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The mounting interface is provided with a front limit link and a rear limit link along the length direction of the mounting bracket, and the aircraft is provided with a front limit block and a rear limit block corresponding thereto; One end of the rear limit link is engaged with the rear end of the rear limit block along the circumferential tangent direction of the aircraft, and the other end of the rear limit link is fixedly connected to the bracket; the front limit link vertically passes through the bracket and is hinged to the bracket along the circumferential tangent direction of the aircraft, and one end of the front limit link extending out of the bracket is engaged with the front end of the front limit block, and the release mechanism limits the rotation of the end of the front limit link extending out of the bracket by tightening the other end of the front limit link extending out of the bracket forward along the axis of the aircraft, so that the front limit block and the rear limit block are clamped between the front limit link and the rear limit link, thereby realizing the limitation of the aircraft on the bracket.

5. The multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The release mechanism is an explosive bolt. When released, the explosive bolt explodes to release the limit on the front limit link and provides a thrust backward along the axis of the aircraft to the other end of the front limit link extending out of the bracket, so that the other end of the front limit link rotates forward along the axis of the aircraft, thereby releasing the limit of the front and rear limit blocks by the front and rear limit links, and the aircraft detaches from the bracket.

6. The multi-aircraft carrying and autonomous deployment device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that: The hanging slideway is divided into an upper hanging slideway and a lower hanging slideway, and the upper hanging slideway and the lower hanging slideway are staggered and fixed on the connecting plate.

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