High-speed naval vessel for carrying unmanned aerial vehicle group and unmanned aerial vehicle group system

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle swarm systems, in particular to a high-speed naval vessel for carrying an unmanned aerial vehicle swarm and an unmanned aerial vehicle swarm system. The high-speed naval vessel comprises a naval vessel body, an unmanned aerial vehicle flying assisting device and an unmanned aerial vehicle recycling device are arranged on a deck of the naval vessel body, an unmanned aerial vehicle cabin is arranged in the naval vessel body, and an unmanned aerial vehicle lifting well is arranged between the unmanned aerial vehicle cabin and the deck. An AGV trolley used for dragging the unmanned aerial vehicle between the unmanned aerial vehicle lifting well and the unmanned aerial vehicle flying assisting device and between the unmanned aerial vehicle lifting well and the unmanned aerial vehicle recycling device is further arranged on the deck, the AGV trolley comprises a vehicle carrying platform, and a mechanical arm is arranged on the vehicle carrying platform; the mechanical arm can be used for installing the plug-in mounting type wings carried on the back of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the vehicle body in the process that the AGV drags the unmanned aerial vehicle from the unmanned aerial vehicle lifting shaft to the unmanned aerial vehicle flying assisting device. The problem that an existing unmanned aerial vehicle group transceiving platform cannot give consideration to maneuverability, unmanned aerial vehicle capacity and unmanned aerial vehicle launching speed is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm systems, and in particular to a high-speed ship for carrying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm system. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of drone technology, the application fields of drones are becoming more and more extensive. For example, in modern warfare, the water drone swarm combat system has become an important development direction. Especially after combining with intelligent technology, the surface unmanned combat platform based on drone swarm will play a great role in the battle. As an important component of the drone swarm system, the carrying platform will have a decisive impact on the performance of the drone swarm system.

[0003] The Chinese patent application with application publication number CN118514821A and application publication date August 20, 2024 discloses a ship platform for launching and recovering drone swarms at sea, wherein the ship platform has a hangar for rotary-wing drones and a hangar for fixed-wing drones in its hull, and a launch and recovery system for rotary-wing drones and a launch and recovery system for fixed-wing drones on its deck, and an elevator shaft connected to the hangar for rotary-wing drones and the hangar for fixed-wing drones, respectively, is provided on the deck, so as to realize the transfer of drones between the plywood and the hangar through the elevator shaft. In addition, an AGV trolley is also provided on the deck, so as to transfer drones between the elevator shaft and the drone launch system and the drone recovery system through the AGV trolley, so as to realize unmanned sending and receiving operations under the control of the control system.

[0004] The above-mentioned ship platform for launching and recovering drone swarms at sea realizes the automatic sending and receiving of drone swarms. In the drone swarm system, the maneuverability of the drone carrier platform, the number of drones, and the sending and receiving speed of drones, especially the launch speed, will be the decisive factors affecting the performance of the entire system. As far as the maneuverability of the drone carrier platform is concerned, it is often closely related to the size of the platform. In short, the smaller the platform, the better its maneuverability will be, and the larger the platform, the worse its maneuverability will be.

[0005] It goes without saying that there is a positive correlation between the size of the platform and the number of drones it can carry. The larger the platform, the more drones it can carry, and vice versa. Combined with the above analysis, it can be seen that there is a negative correlation between the mobility of the platform and the number of drones it can carry. Therefore, how to ensure the mobility of the platform while enabling it to have a larger drone capacity and to launch drones faster is a problem that needs to be solved urgently in this field. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones, so as to solve the problem that the existing drone swarm transmitting and receiving platform cannot take into account the maneuverability, drone capacity and drone launching speed.

[0007] At the same time, the purpose of the present invention is also to provide a drone swarm system using the above-mentioned high-speed ship for carrying drone swarms.

[0008] In order to solve the above problems, the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones of the present invention adopts the following technical solution: the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones includes a hull, a drone flight-assisting device and a drone recovery device are arranged on the deck of the hull, a drone warehouse is arranged in the hull, a drone lifting shaft is arranged between the drone warehouse and the deck, and an AGV cart for towing drones between the drone lifting shaft and the drone flight-assisting device and between the drone lifting shaft and the drone recovery device is also arranged on the deck, the AGV cart includes a vehicle carrying platform, a mechanical arm is arranged on the vehicle carrying platform, and the mechanical arm can be used to install the plug-in wings carried by the drone to the fuselage during the process of the AGV cart towing the drone from the drone lifting shaft to the drone flight-assisting device.

[0009] Furthermore, a take-off runway is provided on the deck, and the take-off runway is arranged inclined with respect to the heading of the ship to increase the length of the take-off runway.

[0010] Furthermore, the UAV flight-assisting device includes a flight-assisting pulley arranged along the take-off runway, and the flight-assisting pulley is equipped with a flight-assisting power device.

[0011] Furthermore, the flight-assisting power device includes a flight-assisting winch device and a reset winch device, a rope is connected between the flight-assisting winch device and the reset winch device, and the pulley is fixedly connected to the rope.

[0012] Furthermore, a switchable magnetic device is provided on the vehicle carrying platform, and the magnetic device is used to absorb and fix the vehicle carrying platform to the deck.

[0013] Furthermore, the robotic arm can also be used to remove the plug-in wings of the drone from the fuselage and store them into the fuselage when the AGV vehicle drags the drone from the drone receiving device to the drone lifting shaft.

[0014] Furthermore, the high-speed vessel is a catamaran unmanned boat.

[0015] Furthermore, the UAV recovery device includes two rope devices arranged at intervals along the left and right directions of the ship body and an arresting cable connected to the two rope devices.

[0016] Furthermore, at least one end of the barrier cable passes through a rope ring provided on a corresponding rope tensioning device and is connected to a tension controller.

[0017] Furthermore, the rope tensioning device includes a base and a rope tensioning column arranged on the base, and the rope tensioning column is a lifting column.

[0018] Furthermore, the rope tensioning column is hinged to the corresponding base, and a swing actuator which can drive the rope tensioning column to swing back and forth is arranged between the base and the rope tensioning column.

[0019] Beneficial effect: The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles of the present invention is an improved invention. In the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles of the present invention, the ship itself can have a high speed and maneuverability. A mechanical arm is arranged on the vehicle-carrying platform of the AGV trolley, and the mechanical arm can be used to install the plug-in wings carried by the unmanned aerial vehicle to the fuselage during the process of the AGV trolley dragging the unmanned aerial vehicle from the unmanned aerial vehicle lifting shaft to the unmanned aerial vehicle flight-assisting device. Therefore, the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles can carry unmanned aerial vehicles with detachable wings. When parking, the wings of such unmanned aerial vehicles can be disassembled and stored in the fuselage, and the space required for parking will be greatly reduced. Therefore, more unmanned aerial vehicles can be parked in a smaller space. At the same time, since the mechanical arm can assemble the wings during the transportation of the unmanned aerial vehicle by the AGV trolley, it is not necessary to set aside special time to assemble the unmanned aerial vehicle, thereby ensuring the launch and delivery speed of the unmanned aerial vehicle; in summary, the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles of the present invention solves the problem that the existing unmanned aerial vehicle swarm transceiver platform cannot take into account the maneuverability, unmanned aerial vehicle capacity and unmanned aerial vehicle launch speed.

[0020] The drone swarm system adopts the following technical solutions: A drone swarm system includes a drone carrying platform and drones. The drone carrying platform is a high-speed ship for carrying a drone swarm. The high-speed ship for carrying a drone swarm includes a hull. A drone flight-assisting device and a drone recovery device are arranged on the deck of the hull. A drone warehouse is arranged in the hull. A drone lifting shaft is arranged between the drone warehouse and the deck. An AGV trolley for towing drones between the drone lifting shaft and the drone flight-assisting device and between the drone lifting shaft and the drone recovery device is also arranged on the deck. The AGV trolley includes a vehicle carrying platform. A mechanical arm is arranged on the vehicle carrying platform. The mechanical arm can be used to install the plug-in wings carried by the drone to the fuselage during the process of the AGV trolley towing the drone from the drone lifting shaft to the drone flight-assisting device. The drone is a fixed-wing drone, which includes a fuselage and wings detachably plugged into the fuselage. A storage structure for carrying and storing the unplugged wings is arranged on the fuselage.

[0021] Furthermore, a take-off runway is provided on the deck, and the take-off runway is arranged inclined with respect to the heading of the ship to increase the length of the take-off runway.

[0022] Furthermore, the UAV flight-assisting device includes a flight-assisting pulley arranged along the take-off runway, and the flight-assisting pulley is equipped with a flight-assisting power device.

[0023] Furthermore, the flight-assisting power device includes a flight-assisting winch device and a reset winch device, a rope is connected between the flight-assisting winch device and the reset winch device, and the pulley is fixedly connected to the rope.

[0024] Furthermore, a switchable magnetic device is provided on the vehicle carrying platform, and the magnetic device is used to absorb and fix the vehicle carrying platform to the deck.

[0025] Furthermore, the robotic arm can also be used to remove the plug-in wings of the drone from the fuselage and store them into the fuselage when the AGV vehicle tows the drone from the drone receiving device to the drone lifting shaft.

[0026] Furthermore, the high-speed vessel is a catamaran unmanned boat.

[0027] Furthermore, the UAV recovery device includes two rope devices arranged at intervals along the left and right directions of the ship body and an arresting cable connected to the two rope devices.

[0028] Furthermore, at least one end of the barrier cable passes through a rope ring provided on a corresponding rope tensioning device and is connected to a tension controller.

[0029] Furthermore, the rope tensioning device includes a base and a rope tensioning column arranged on the base, and the rope tensioning column is a lifting column.

[0030] Furthermore, the rope tensioning column is hinged to the corresponding base, and a swing actuator which can drive the rope tensioning column to swing back and forth is arranged between the base and the rope tensioning column.

[0031] Beneficial effects: The drone swarm system of the present invention is an improved invention. In the drone swarm system of the present invention, the high-speed ship used to carry the drone swarm itself can have a high speed and maneuverability. A mechanical arm is set on the vehicle platform of the AGV trolley, and the mechanical arm can be used to install the plug-in wings carried by the drone to the fuselage during the process of the AGV trolley dragging the drone from the drone lifting shaft to the drone flight-assisting device. Therefore, the high-speed ship used to carry the drone swarm can carry drones with detachable wings. When parking, the wings of such drones can be disassembled and stored in the fuselage, and the space required for parking will be greatly reduced. Therefore, more drones can be parked in a smaller space. At the same time, since the mechanical arm can assemble the wings during the transportation of the drone by the AGV trolley, there is no need to set aside special time to assemble the drone, thereby ensuring the launch and delivery speed of the drone; In summary, the drone swarm system of the present invention solves the problem that the existing drone swarm transceiver platform cannot take into account the maneuverability, drone capacity and drone launch speed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a drone swarm system of the present invention; Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A top view of the drone swarm system in Figure 1; Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the drone swarm system in Figure 1; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the UAV; Figure 5 yes Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of the UAV recovery device; Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the structure of the rope tensioning device.

[0033] In the figure: 1. High-speed catamaran unmanned boat; 2. Reconnaissance and strike integrated fixed-wing UAV; 3. Boat deck command and control system; 4. AGV smart car; 5. Flight-assisting device; 6. Recovery system; 101. Lifting deck area; 102. Recovery and arresting landing area; 103. UAV flight-assisting runway area; 104. Deck surface transfer area; 105. Boat deck command and control system layout area; 11. UAV cabin; 12. Lifting deck; 21. UAV platform; 22. Plug-in wing; 23. Mission payload; 24. Airborne recovery component; 41. Car-carrying platform; 42. Mechanical arm; 43. Magnetic suction device; 51. Flight-assisting power device; 52. Flight-assisting winch device; 53. Reset power device; 54. Reset winch device; 55. Pulley; 61. Rope tensioning device; 62. Tension controller; 63. Arresting cable; 611. Rope threading ring; 612. Lifting column; 613. Swing actuator; 614. Base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] The features and performance of the present invention are further described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments.

[0035] Implementation methods of the drone swarm system of the present invention: The composition of the drone swarm system of the present invention includes a drone carrying platform and a drone. Considering the mobility of the drone swarm system, the number of drones and the launch and delivery speed of the drones, the present invention will use a ship with relatively small size and good mobility as the drone carrying platform. Since the overall volume of the ship is relatively small, in order to be able to carry more drones, the present invention selects the structure of the drone, and uses a drone with detachable wings that can be reduced in size when stopped. Since this type of drone often needs to be assembled with corresponding wings before launch, a robot can be used to meet this demand, so as to realize its unmanned automatic launch at the same time. Considering the issue of launch speed, the present invention puts the assembly of the drone in the process of transferring the drone from the warehouse to the launch point, and ensures the launch speed of the drone by assembling while transferring. Through the combination of the above measures, the mobility of the drone swarm system, the number of drones and the delivery speed of the drone are finally taken into account.

[0036] Based on the above inventive concept, the technical solution of the drone swarm system of the present invention will be described in detail below with examples.

[0037] like Figure 1-Figure 6 As shown, the drone carrier platform of the drone swarm system adopts a high-speed catamaran unmanned boat 1, and the drone is a reconnaissance and attack fixed-wing drone 2. In order to realize unmanned and fully automatic work, a deck command and control system 3 is set on the ship's hull deck. In order to realize the automatic transfer of the drone on the deck, an AGV car is set on the deck. The AGV car can be used, for example, Figure 1-3The AGV smart car 4 shown in the figure is also provided with a flight assisting device 5 on the deck in order to realize the smooth take-off of the UAV on a relatively small deck. In order to realize the automatic recovery of the UAV, a UAV recovery system 6 is arranged on the deck.

[0038] Depend on Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, the under-deck hulls of the high-speed catamaran unmanned boat 1 are set as drone warehouses 11, and the reconnaissance and strike fixed-wing drones 2 can be stored and transported along the course in the warehouse. Lifting decks 12 are set on both sides of the rear of the deck to connect the warehouse and the deck, and the lifting deck forms a structure of a drone lifting shaft. Figure 2 As shown, the deck is a wide platform. According to the functions of different areas, the deck area is divided into a UAV flight-assisting runway area 103, a recovery and arresting landing area 102, a lifting deck area 101, a deck surface transfer area 104 and a deck surface command and control system layout area 105. The operations of each area are independent of each other and can be operated synchronously. The UAV flight-assisting runway area 103 is located at the right side of the bow, arranged at a certain angle to the heading. A take-off runway is set in this area. The take-off runway also adopts the above-mentioned inclined arrangement method to make full use of the deck size and ensure that the UAV has enough take-off distance; the recovery and arresting landing area 102 is located in the middle of the left side of the deck; the lifting deck area 101 is located on both sides of the stern; the deck surface command and control system layout area 105 is arranged on the right side of the deck; the deck surface transfer area 104 is located between the lifting deck area 101, the recovery and arresting landing area 102, and the UAV flight-assisting runway area 103, as a transfer of the UAV 2 between various areas.

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, the reconnaissance and strike integrated fixed-wing UAV 2 is composed of a UAV platform 21, two plug-in wings 22, a mission payload 23, an airborne recovery component 24, etc. The UAV platform 21 includes a fuselage, a power component, a control component, a communication component, and a landing gear; the UAV platform 21 adopts a lower single-wing double-tail beam propulsion layout, and the tail beam of the UAV is provided with a wing adapter and fixing device. After unloading, the plug-in wing 22 can be fixed on the tail beams on both sides of the UAV along the direction of the fuselage, and the fuselage and the wing form a back-carrying arrangement, which is convenient for the overall storage and transportation of the UAV. The mounted mission payload 3 can be an optoelectronic sensor, a radar, and a small guided bomb or a combination of the above components; the power component adopts a double-cylinder two-stroke piston heavy oil engine; the airborne recovery component 24 adopts a hidden arrangement in the belly of the UAV, which can be controlled to release the reset rope hook mechanism, which is hidden in the belly during flight, released during landing, and resets automatically after the recovery is completed.

[0040] like Figure 3As shown, the AGV smart car 4 is mainly composed of a vehicle platform 41, a mechanical arm 42, a magnetic suction device 43 and other parts. The vehicle platform includes a vehicle body, a power system, a control system, a sensor system, and an adapter and fixing device. The power system is the motion execution system of the whole vehicle. Under the instructions of the sensor system and the control system, through the visual sensor system, it can autonomously plan the path, identify the towed drone, and realize the accurate docking of its adapter and fixing device with the drone. The mechanical arm 42 is installed on the vehicle platform 41. When the mechanical arm 42 is required to perform a task, the mechanical arm 42 is unfolded to perform wing insertion and unloading (in some cases, the unloading function can be omitted) and other launch and recovery auxiliary operations, and then reset after the task is completed. The magnetic suction device 43 is installed on the chassis of the vehicle platform 41, which can realize the stable fixation and mooring of the AGV smart car 4 on the boat deck under complex sea conditions.

[0041] like Figure 4 As shown, the flight-assisting device 5 mainly includes a flight-assisting power device 51, a reset power device 53, a flight-assisting winch device 52, a reset winch device 54, a pulley 55, etc. The flight-assisting power device 51 and the reset power device 53 both use motors as acceleration power sources. The flight-assisting power device 51 is coaxially connected with the flight-assisting winch device 52 and is arranged in a base below the deck at the terminal end of the UAV flight-assisting runway area 103. The reset power device 53 is coaxially connected with the reset winch device 54 and is arranged in a base below the deck at the starting end of the UAV flight-assisting runway area 103. The rope ends of the flight-assisting winch device 52 and the reset winch device 54 are connected to the front and rear end connecting structures of the pulley 55. After the pulley 55 is combined with the UAV 2, the flight-assisting power device 51 is used to drag the pulley 55 to achieve the UAV run and assist flight, and the reset power device 53 is used to drag the pulley 55 to reset.

[0042] like Figure 5-6 As shown, the recovery system 6 is composed of two rope tensioning devices 61, two tension controllers 62 and a blocking rope 63. The rope tensioning device 61 is composed of Figure 6As shown, it is mainly composed of a rope ring 611, a lifting column 612, a swing actuator 613, and a base 614. The tension controller 62 is installed on the lower surface of the base 614. One end of the rope 63 is connected to the tension controller 62, and the other end passes through the rope ring 611 to be connected to the rope tensioning device on the other side. The rope ring is integrated at the end of the piston rod of the lifting column 612. The lifting column 612 is installed on the base 614 through a hinge support. The piston rod of the swing actuator 613 is hinged to the piston cylinder of the lifting column 612. One end of the piston cylinder of the swing actuator 613 is hinged to the base 614. The lifting column 612 and the swing actuator 613 constitute a follow-up mechanism, which can adjust the posture of the suspension rope 63 by lifting and swinging to compensate for the deviation of the relative position control between the drone and the arresting device caused by the swinging of the unmanned boat. The tension controller applies controllable tension to the rope to achieve overload control during the arresting and braking process of the drone. It can be seen from the working principle of the tension controller that in some embodiments, only one tension controller can be used and it can be set at one end of the arresting cable.

[0043] Embodiments of the present invention for high-speed ships carrying drone swarms: The structure of the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones of the present invention is the same as the structure of the high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones in the above-mentioned implementation of the drone swarm system, and will not be described in detail here.

[0044] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. The patent protection scope of the present invention shall be based on the claims. All equivalent structural changes made using the contents of the description and drawings of the present invention should also be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A high-speed ship for carrying a group of drones, comprising a ship body, a drone flight assisting device and a drone recovery device are arranged on the deck of the ship body, a drone warehouse is arranged in the ship body, and a drone lifting well is arranged between the drone warehouse and the deck, characterized in that: An AGV cart is also provided on the deck for towing the drone between the drone lifting shaft and the drone flight-assisting device and between the drone lifting shaft and the drone recovery device. The AGV cart includes a vehicle carrying platform on which a mechanical arm is provided. The mechanical arm can be used to install the plug-in wings carried by the drone to the fuselage during the process of the AGV cart towing the drone from the drone lifting shaft to the drone flight-assisting device.

2. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to claim 1, characterized in that: A take-off runway is provided on the deck, and the take-off runway is arranged inclined with respect to the heading of the ship body to increase the length of the take-off runway.

3. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to claim 2, characterized in that: The UAV flight-assisting device comprises a flight-assisting pulley arranged along the take-off runway, and the flight-assisting pulley is equipped with a flight-assisting power device.

4. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to claim 3, characterized in that: The flight-assisting power device comprises a flight-assisting winch device and a reset winch device, a rope is connected between the flight-assisting winch device and the reset winch device, and the pulley is fixedly connected to the rope.

5. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The vehicle carrying platform is provided with a switchable magnetic device, and the magnetic device is used to adsorb and fix the vehicle carrying platform to the deck.

6. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The robotic arm can also be used to remove the plug-in wings of the drone from the fuselage and store them into the fuselage during the process of the AGV vehicle towing the drone from the drone receiving device to the drone lifting shaft.

7. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The high-speed vessel is a catamaran unmanned boat.

8. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The UAV recovery device includes two rope devices arranged at intervals along the left and right directions of the ship body and an arresting cable connected to the two rope devices.

9. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to claim 8, characterized in that: At least one end of the barrier cable passes through a rope ring provided on a corresponding rope tensioning device and is connected to a tension controller.

10. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to claim 9, characterized in that: The rope tensioning device comprises a base and a rope tensioning column arranged on the base, and the rope tensioning column is a lifting column.

11. The high-speed ship for carrying a swarm of drones according to claim 10, characterized in that: The rope tensioning column is hinged to the corresponding base, and a swing actuator which can drive the rope tensioning column to swing back and forth is arranged between the base and the rope tensioning column.

12. A drone swarm system, comprising a drone carrying platform and drones, characterized in that: The drone carrying platform is a high-speed ship for carrying a drone swarm as described in any one of claims 1-11, and the drone is a fixed-wing drone, which includes a fuselage and wings detachably connected to the fuselage, and a storage structure for carrying and storing the unplugged wings is provided on the fuselage.

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