Iron tower with unmanned aerial vehicle nest and unmanned aerial vehicle out-homing method

Abstract

The invention relates to an iron tower with an unmanned aerial vehicle nest and an unmanned aerial vehicle out-homing method. The iron tower comprises an iron tower body, the unmanned aerial vehicle nest and a plurality of photovoltaic panel assemblies. A blank area is arranged on the dark side of the tower body; the unmanned aerial vehicle nest is embedded in the blank area and comprises a nest main body and a turning plate rotationally arranged on the nest main body; the photovoltaic panel assembly is fixedly arranged on the sunny face of the iron tower, surrounds the unmanned aerial vehicle nest to form a sunshade and wind shielding fence and supplies energy to the unmanned aerial vehicle nest. The photovoltaic panel assembly comprises a frame body, a plurality of photovoltaic panels and a photovoltaic panel angle adjusting mechanism. The unmanned aerial vehicle nest has the advantages that the photovoltaic panel assembly is arranged, energy can be supplied to the unmanned aerial vehicle nest, and the photovoltaic panel assembly can serve as a sun-shading and wind-shielding fence to cover the unmanned aerial vehicle nest row and shield wind when an unmanned aerial vehicle leaves the nest; the angle of a photovoltaic panel in the photovoltaic panel assembly is adjustable, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be gradually laid flat to reduce the wind shielding force when leaving the nest so as to observe whether the unmanned aerial vehicle operates stably, and the out-of-control probability of the unmanned aerial vehicle is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of iron towers, and in particular to an iron tower with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) nest and a method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to return to the nest. Background Art

[0002] The cables, substations, towers and other equipment of the power grid need to be inspected regularly to discover potential hidden dangers and take countermeasures in advance to avoid accidents caused by equipment failure. The traditional manual inspection mode has a wide inspection range and heavy inspection tasks. At the same time, it is difficult to find minor defects, which makes it difficult to ensure the efficiency and quality of power grid inspection. Drone inspection can automate and refine the inspection of power grid facilities and environment, especially for scenes such as overhead power transmission lines and towers, reduce the error rate and risk of work, and greatly improve efficiency.

[0003] In order to improve the convenience of drone inspection, the current common method is to install a drone nest on the tower to park and charge the drone. When installing the drone nest, the drone nest is usually installed on the top of the tower or on the side of the tower without any shelter. There is a risk of the drone nest falling in bad weather. In addition, since the drone nest is installed at a high place, it will be disturbed by wind when the drone takes off. If the wind exceeds the drone's wind resistance, it may cause the drone to lose control. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention mainly solves the above problems and provides an iron tower with a drone nest and a method for drone homing and leaving the nest.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the technical problem is an iron tower with a drone nest, comprising an iron tower, a drone nest and a plurality of photovoltaic panel assemblies; the iron tower comprises a tower body composed of a plurality of columns, inclined support rods are arranged between adjacent columns, and a blank area is arranged on the shady side of the tower body; The drone nest is embedded in the blank area, and the drone nest includes a nest body and a flap rotatably arranged on the nest body, and the nest body is provided with an energy storage module, a drone homing mechanism, a charging pile, a temperature control module and a humidity control module; The photovoltaic panel assembly is fixedly arranged on the sun-facing side of the iron tower and is arranged around the drone nest to form a sunshade and windproof fence and provide energy for the drone nest. The photovoltaic panel assembly includes a frame, a plurality of photovoltaic panels and a photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism. As a preferred scheme of the above scheme, an enclosure is provided on the main body of the machine nest, an opening is provided on one side of the enclosure, the enclosure forms a placement groove for placing the flap, the flap is rotatably connected to the opening of the enclosure, the bottom surface of the placement groove is provided with a cavity for placing the drone, the drone homing mechanism is arranged in the enclosure, and the charging pile is arranged in the cavity.

[0006] As a preferred scheme of the above scheme, the charging pile is vertically arranged in the middle of the bottom surface of the cavity, a lifting plate for carrying the drone is arranged in the cavity, a limit baffle is provided near the bottom surface of the cavity for limiting the lifting plate, a plurality of drainage holes are provided on the lifting plate, a through hole is provided in the middle of the lifting plate corresponding to the charging pile, and an elastic baffle is provided on the side wall of the through hole.

[0007] As a preferred embodiment of the above scheme, the inner wall of the enclosure is provided with a groove for setting a UAV homing mechanism, and the UAV homing mechanism includes a limiting push rod and two relatively arranged limiting conveyor belts.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the above scheme, the limiting push rod includes a push rod for pushing the UAV and a first telescopic part that drives the push rod to extend out of the groove, and the limiting conveyor belt includes a first conveyor belt for pushing the UAV and driving the UAV to translate and a second telescopic part that drives the conveyor belt to extend out of the groove.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the above scheme, rotating shafts are fixedly provided on both sides of the lower part of one end of the flap, the flap is connected to the 90° area of ​​the end face of the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is driven by a motor, and a second conveyor belt is provided on the flap facing the cavity.

[0010] As a preferred scheme of the above scheme, the photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism includes adjustment rods located on the left and right sides of the frame and a translation mechanism located on the upper and lower sides of the frame for driving the adjustment rods to translate forward and backward. The lower ends of both ends of the photovoltaic panel are rotatably connected to the left and right sides of the frame. A slide groove is provided on the end face of the photovoltaic panel, and a plurality of sliding columns are provided on the adjustment rod, and the sliding columns are slidably arranged in the slide groove one by one.

[0011] As a preferred solution of the above solution, a wind speed and direction sensor is provided on the tower body.

[0012] The present invention also provides a method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to leave a nest, which is used for a tower with a UAV nest, and comprises the following steps: S01: The wind speed and direction sensor detects the current wind speed and direction. When the wind speed is greater than the set value, the drone is stopped from leaving the nest. When the wind speed is less than the set value, the photovoltaic panels in the photovoltaic panel assemblies located in the upwind and downwind directions are controlled to be vertically windproof according to the wind direction. S02: The flap is rotated so that the flap is perpendicular to the placement slot to block the wind; S03: The lifting plate rises to bring the drone out of the cavity; S04: Make the drone take off and control the drone to be lower than the light panel assembly and the flap; S05: Control the photovoltaic panels and flaps on the upwind and downwind sides to gradually tilt until the maximum tilt angle and observe whether the drone is stably suspended in the air; if the drone is stably suspended in the air, control the flaps to completely flip outwards so that the drone flies out of the tower from the flap side; if the drone cannot be stably suspended in the air, control the drone to land and stop leaving the nest.

[0013] The present invention also provides a drone homing method for a tower with a drone nest, comprising the following steps: S11: the flap is turned outward so that the flap is flush with the bottom surface of the placement groove; S12: The drone lands on the flap; S13: the second conveyor belt runs to convey the drone to the placement slot, and the lifting plate rises to be flush with the cavity opening; S14: The limiting conveyor belt extends to center the drone and drives the drone to move toward the lifting plate, and the limiting push rod extends out of the groove to limit the drone; S15: The lifting plate descends, allowing the drone to enter the cavity, and the charging port at the lower end of the drone body is connected to the charging pile for charging; S16: The flap is reset, and the temperature control module and the humidity control module regulate the temperature and humidity in the cavity.

[0014] The advantages of the present invention are: a photovoltaic panel assembly is provided, which can supply energy to the drone nest and can serve as a sunshade and windproof fence to cover the drone nest and block the wind when the drone leaves the nest; the angle of the photovoltaic panel in the photovoltaic panel assembly is adjustable, and the windproof force can be gradually laid flat when the drone leaves the nest to observe whether the drone is running smoothly, thereby reducing the probability of the drone losing control. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional structure of the drone nest of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the top view structure of the drone nest of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the cross-sectional structure of the drone nest of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 It is a schematic cross-sectional structural diagram of the photovoltaic panel assembly of the present invention.

[0020] 1-column 2-tilted support rod 3-flap 4-machine nest body 5-photovoltaic panel 6-frame 31-rotating shaft 32-second conveyor belt 41-enclosure 42-limiting conveyor belt 43-limiting push rod 44-lifting plate 45-placing groove 46-temperature control module 47-humidity control module 48-energy storage module 49-cavity 441-drain hole 442-elastic baffle 443-through hole 451-limiting baffle 452-humidity sensor 453-charging pile 454-temperature sensor 51-rotating connecting column 52-slide groove 61-adjusting rod. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] The technical solution of the present invention is further described below through embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0022] Example: This embodiment is a tower with a drone nest, such as Figures 1 to 5 As shown, it includes an iron tower, a drone nest and several photovoltaic panel assemblies. The iron tower includes a tower body composed of several columns 1, and an inclined support rod 2 is arranged between adjacent columns 1. A blank area is arranged on the shady side of the tower body, and a wind force and speed sensor is also arranged on the tower body; the drone nest is embedded in the blank area, and the drone nest supports the blank area. The drone nest includes a nest body 4 and a flap 3 rotatably arranged on the nest body. The nest body 4 is provided with an energy storage module 48, a drone homing mechanism, a charging pile 453, a temperature control module 46 and a humidity control module 47; the photovoltaic panel assembly is fixedly arranged on the sunny side of the iron tower and is arranged around the drone nest to form a sunshade and windproof fence and provide energy for the drone nest. The photovoltaic panel assembly includes a frame 6, several photovoltaic panels 5 and a photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism.

[0023] Specifically, a fence 41 is provided on the main body of the machine nest, and an opening is provided on one side of the fence 41. The fence forms a placement groove 45 for placing the flap. The flap 3 is rotatably connected to the opening of the fence. A rotating shaft 31 is fixedly provided on both sides of the lower part of one end of the flap 3. The flap 3 is connected to the 90° area of ​​the end face of the rotating shaft 31, and the rotating shaft 31 is driven by a motor. The flap is provided with a second conveyor belt facing the cavity surface. A cavity 49 for placing a drone is provided on the bottom surface of the placement groove 45. The drone homing mechanism is provided in the fence 41, and a charging pile 453 is provided in the cavity 49. The charging pile 453 is vertically arranged in the middle of the bottom surface of the cavity 49. A lifting plate 44 for carrying a drone is provided in the cavity 49. A limit baffle 451 for limiting the lifting plate 44 is provided near the bottom surface of the cavity 49. The lifting plate 44 is provided with a plurality of drainage holes 441. A through hole 443 is provided in the middle of the lifting plate corresponding to the charging pile, and an elastic baffle 442 is provided on the side wall of the through hole. When the drone is in the cavity 49, the drone is placed on the lifting plate, and the lifting plate is placed on the limit baffle 451. For the drone returning from the flying line mission, its fuselage may carry rainwater. Therefore, a drainage hole 441 is set on the lifting plate 44, so that the rainwater dripping from the drone can fall to the bottom of the cavity, and the setting of the limit baffle 451 can prevent the drone frame from being soaked in water. In addition, also for rainwater considerations, an elastic baffle 442 is set on the through hole 443 of the lifting plate. When the lifting plate carries the homing drone and falls, the rainwater dripping from the drone body can be blocked by the elastic baffle to prevent rainwater from dripping onto the charging pile. When the lifting plate drops to a certain extent, the charging pile 453 pushes open the elastic baffle 442 and docks with the charging port directly below the drone body to charge the drone. At the same time, a temperature sensor 454 and a humidity sensor 452 are also provided on the side of the charging pile 452. The temperature sensor 454 and the humidity sensor 452 detect the temperature and humidity in the cavity 49 and cooperate with the temperature control module 46 and the humidity control module 47 to keep the inside of the cavity within a suitable temperature and humidity range.

[0024] Furthermore, the inner wall of the enclosure 41 is provided with a groove for the drone homing mechanism, and the drone homing mechanism includes a limit push rod 43 and two relatively arranged limit conveyor belts 42. The limit push rod 43 includes a push rod for pushing the drone and a first telescopic part for driving the push rod to extend out of the groove, and the limit conveyor belt 42 includes a first conveyor belt for pushing the drone and driving the drone to translate and a second telescopic part for driving the conveyor belt to extend out of the groove. Among them, the limit conveyor belt makes the drone centered in the Y-axis direction and drives the drone to translate in the X-axis direction, and the limit push rod 43 is used to limit the drone in the X-axis direction. In this embodiment, the lower end of the drone frame is provided with a roller to cooperate with the drone homing mechanism. When the drone is returned, the two limit conveyor belts 42 are close to each other and abut against the side of the drone frame to make the drone centered in the Y-axis direction, and then the first conveyor belt rotates to drive the drone to translate toward the limit push rod 43, and the limit push rod 43 extends at the same time to limit the drone, ensuring that the drone can accurately fall on the lifting plate. In this embodiment, a contact switch is also provided on the limit push rod 43. When the UAV contacts the limit push rod under the action of the limit conveyor belt, the contact switch is triggered, indicating that the UAV is just on the lifting plate.

[0025] Furthermore, the photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism includes an adjustment rod 61 located on the left and right sides of the frame 6 and a translation mechanism located on the upper and lower sides of the frame 6 to drive the adjustment rod to translate forward and backward. The lower ends of the two ends of the photovoltaic panel 5 are rotatably connected to the left and right sides of the frame 6 by rotating the connecting column 51. The end face of the photovoltaic panel is provided with a slide groove 52, and the adjustment rod 61 is provided with a plurality of sliding columns, and the sliding columns are slidably arranged in the slide groove one by one. When the translation mechanism drives the adjustment rod to translate left and right, the sliding column on the adjustment rod slides in the slide groove, thereby changing the angle of each photovoltaic panel. In this embodiment, the translation mechanism is a screw mechanism. The setting of the photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism can change the inclination angle of the photovoltaic panel to maximize the exposure to sunlight; in windy weather, it can reduce wind resistance; when the drone leaves the nest, it can block the wind.

[0026] Correspondingly, this embodiment also provides a method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to leave the nest, which is used for the above-mentioned tower with the UAV nest, and includes the following steps: S01: The wind speed and direction sensor detects the current wind speed and direction. When the wind speed is greater than the set value, the drone is stopped from leaving the nest. When the wind speed is less than the set value, the photovoltaic panels in the photovoltaic panel assemblies located in the upwind and downwind directions are controlled to be vertically windproof according to the wind direction. S02: The flap is rotated so that the flap is perpendicular to the placement slot to block the wind; S03: The lifting plate rises to bring the drone out of the cavity; S04: Make the drone take off and control the drone to be lower than the light panel assembly and the flap; S05: Control the photovoltaic panels and flaps in the upwind and downwind directions to gradually tilt until the maximum inclination angle, and observe whether the drone is stably suspended in the air through the camera set on the drone nest; if the drone is stably suspended in the air, control the flaps to completely flip outward, so that the drone flies out of the tower body from the flap side; if the drone cannot be stably suspended in the air, control the drone to land, and the drone will fall into the cavity after returning to its position by the drone return mechanism, and stop leaving the nest.

[0027] This embodiment also provides a drone homing method, comprising the following steps: S11: the flap is turned outward so that the flap is flush with the bottom surface of the placement groove; S12: The drone lands on the flap; S13: the second conveyor belt runs to convey the drone to the placement slot, and the lifting plate rises to be flush with the cavity opening; S14: The limiting conveyor belt extends to center the drone and drives the drone to move toward the lifting plate, and the limiting push rod extends out of the groove to limit the drone; S15: The lifting plate descends, allowing the drone to enter the cavity, and the charging port at the lower end of the drone body is connected to the charging pile for charging; S16: The flap is reset, and the temperature control module and the humidity control module regulate the temperature and humidity in the cavity.

[0028] The specific embodiments described herein are merely examples of the spirit of the present invention. Those skilled in the art may make various modifications or additions to the specific embodiments described or replace them in similar ways, but they will not deviate from the spirit of the present invention or exceed the scope defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tower with a drone nest, characterized by: It includes an iron tower, a drone nest and several photovoltaic panel assemblies; the iron tower includes a tower body composed of several columns, inclined support rods are arranged between adjacent columns, and a blank area is arranged on the shady side of the tower body; The drone nest is embedded in the blank area, and the drone nest includes a nest body and a flap rotatably arranged on the nest body, and the nest body is provided with an energy storage module, a drone homing mechanism, a charging pile, a temperature control module and a humidity control module; The photovoltaic panel assembly is fixedly arranged on the sun-facing side of the iron tower and is arranged around the drone nest to form a sunshade and windproof fence and provide energy for the drone nest. The photovoltaic panel assembly includes a frame, a plurality of photovoltaic panels and a photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism.

2. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The main body of the machine nest is provided with an enclosure, one side of the enclosure is provided with an opening, the enclosure forms a placement groove for placing a flap, the flap is rotatably connected to the opening of the enclosure, the bottom surface of the placement groove is provided with a cavity for placing a drone, the drone homing mechanism is arranged in the enclosure, and the charging pile is arranged in the cavity.

3. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The charging pile is vertically arranged in the middle of the bottom surface of the cavity, a lifting plate for carrying a drone is arranged in the cavity, a limit baffle for limiting the lifting plate is arranged near the bottom surface of the cavity, a plurality of drainage holes are arranged on the lifting plate, a through hole is arranged in the middle of the lifting plate corresponding to the charging pile, and an elastic baffle is arranged on the side wall of the through hole.

4. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 1 is characterized by: The inner wall of the enclosure is provided with a groove for setting a UAV homing mechanism, and the UAV homing mechanism includes a limiting push rod and two relatively arranged limiting conveyor belts.

5. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The limiting push rod includes a push rod for pushing the UAV and a first telescopic part for driving the push rod to extend out of the groove; the limiting conveyor belt includes a first conveyor belt for pushing the UAV and driving the UAV to translate and a second telescopic part for driving the conveyor belt to extend out of the groove.

6. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 1 is characterized by: Rotating shafts are fixedly arranged on both sides of the lower part of one end of the flap, the flap is connected to the 90° area of ​​the end face of the rotating shaft, the rotating shaft is driven by a motor, and a second conveyor belt is arranged on the flap facing the cavity.

7. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 1 is characterized by: The photovoltaic panel angle adjustment mechanism includes adjustment rods located on the left and right sides of the frame and a translation mechanism located on the upper and lower sides of the frame for driving the adjustment rods to translate forward and backward. The lower ends of both ends of the photovoltaic panel are rotatably connected to the left and right sides of the frame. A slide groove is provided on the end face of the photovoltaic panel. A plurality of sliding columns are provided on the adjustment rod, and the sliding columns are slidably arranged in the slide groove one by one.

8. The iron tower with a drone nest according to claim 1 is characterized by: The tower body is provided with a wind speed and direction sensor.

9. A method for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to leave the nest, used for the iron tower with the UAV nest as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S01: The wind speed and direction sensor detects the current wind speed and direction. When the wind speed is greater than the set value, the drone is stopped from leaving the nest. When the wind speed is less than the set value, the photovoltaic panels in the photovoltaic panel assemblies located in the upwind and downwind directions are controlled to be vertically windproof according to the wind direction. S02: The flap is rotated so that the flap is perpendicular to the placement slot to block the wind; S03: The lifting plate rises to bring the drone out of the cavity; S04: Make the drone take off and control the drone to be lower than the light panel assembly and the flap; S05: Control the photovoltaic panels and flaps on the upwind and downwind sides to gradually tilt until the maximum tilt angle and observe whether the drone is stably suspended in the air; if the drone is stably suspended in the air, control the flaps to completely flip outwards so that the drone flies out of the tower from the flap side; if the drone cannot be stably suspended in the air, control the drone to land and stop leaving the nest.

10. A drone homing method, used on the iron tower with a drone nest as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S11: the flap is turned outward so that the flap is flush with the bottom surface of the placement groove; S12: The drone lands on the flap; S13: the second conveyor belt runs to convey the drone to the placement slot, and the lifting plate rises to be flush with the cavity opening; S14: The limiting conveyor belt extends to center the drone and drives the drone to move toward the lifting plate, and the limiting push rod extends out of the groove to limit the drone; S15: The lifting plate descends, allowing the drone to enter the cavity, and the charging port at the lower end of the drone body is connected to the charging pile for charging; S16: The flap is reset, and the temperature control module and the humidity control module regulate the temperature and humidity in the cavity.

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