Aerial operation system for mounting mechanical arm on unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention discloses an aerial operation system with a mechanical arm mounted on an unmanned aerial vehicle, and relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle application. The unmanned aerial vehicle comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle body and a front arm mechanism arranged on the side portion of the unmanned aerial vehicle body. A posture balance mechanism is arranged on the front arm mechanism; a rear arm mechanism is arranged at the end, away from the unmanned aerial vehicle body, of the front arm mechanism. A mechanical clamping jaw is arranged at the end, away from the front arm mechanism, of the rear arm mechanism. The unmanned aerial vehicle is reasonable in structural design and convenient to use, the aerial operation range of the unmanned aerial vehicle is effectively widened, meanwhile, the problem of attitude imbalance caused by insufficient lateral torque of the unmanned aerial vehicle is solved, and the unmanned aerial vehicle can adapt to wider and more complex working scenes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle applications, and in particular relates to an aerial operation system of an unmanned aerial vehicle with a mechanical arm mounted thereon. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of drone technology and robotic arm technology, aerial work systems integrating drones and robotic arms have been widely used in many fields. These systems are not only used for traditional flight and image acquisition tasks, but have also gradually expanded to complex tasks such as object grasping, manipulation, and interaction. However, the current drone robotic arm aerial work systems on the market have many limitations and are difficult to meet the increasingly diverse and complex application requirements.

[0003] At present, most aerial operation systems composed of drones and robotic arms adopt the design of installing the robotic arm at the bottom of the drone platform. This layout limits the working space of the robotic arm to the bottom of the drone, resulting in its effective operating range being halved; in actual operation scenarios, the operated object is often located on the side of the drone platform, and sometimes even on the top. This makes it difficult for the existing system to meet most work requirements, especially when performing multi-directional operations in complex environments. In addition, when the drone does not carry a robotic arm to maintain a stable flight, the thrust generated by its rotor is vertically downward from the ground. At this time, the center of mass of the drone should be located at the geometric center of the drone and on a straight line perpendicular to the ground; if the drone suspends the robotic arm for loaded operation, due to the gravity of the robotic arm and the force when operating the loaded object, the center of mass of the entire system deviates from the straight line formed by the geometric center of the drone and perpendicular to the ground. In order to maintain a stable attitude and flight, the drone will overcome the posture imbalance caused by this center of mass offset, but the lateral torque adjustment ability of the drone is limited, making it difficult for the drone to overcome this difficulty and maintain a stable attitude, which ultimately affects the accuracy of the robotic arm during aerial operations. Therefore, it is urgent to study an aerial operation system with a UAV mounted mechanical arm to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides an aerial operation system with a drone mounted with a mechanical arm, the purpose of which is to solve the technical problems raised in the above-mentioned background technology.

[0005] In order to solve the above technical problems, the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0006] The present invention is an aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm, comprising a drone body and a front arm mechanism installed on the drone body; the front arm mechanism is equipped with a posture balancing mechanism; the front arm mechanism is equipped with a rear arm mechanism at one end away from the drone body; and the rear arm mechanism is equipped with a mechanical gripper at one end away from the front arm mechanism.

[0007] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the front arm mechanism includes a base fixed to the side of the drone body; a first motor is horizontally fixed on the base; a first transmission block is fixed to the output shaft of the first motor; a load-bearing rod is fixed to one side of the first transmission block along the radial direction of the output shaft of the first motor; the first motor can drive the load-bearing rod to rotate up and down through the first transmission block; a flange for carrying the rear arm mechanism is coaxially fixed to one end of the load-bearing rod away from the first transmission block.

[0008] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the load-bearing rod is an electric push rod.

[0009] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the posture balancing mechanism includes a slide rail motor sleeved on a bearing rod; vector motors are vertically fixed to opposite sides of the slide rail motor; and ducted fans are fixed to output shafts of the two vector motors.

[0010] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the rear arm mechanism includes a first rotating component mounted on a flange; the rotation centerline of the first rotating component is coaxially arranged with the central axis of the supporting rod; a second rotating component is mounted on the first rotating component; the rotation centerline of the second rotating component is perpendicular to the rotation centerline of the first rotating component; a third rotating component is mounted on the second rotating component; the rotation centerline of the third rotating component is perpendicular to the rotation centerline of the second rotating component.

[0011] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the first rotating assembly includes a second motor coaxially fixed on a surface of the flange away from the bearing rod; the output shaft of the second motor is fixed with a second transmission block for carrying the second rotating assembly.

[0012] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the second rotating component includes a third motor horizontally fixed on an end of the second transmission block away from the second motor; an L-shaped block is provided on one side of the third motor; and one end of the L-shaped block is fixed to the output shaft of the third motor.

[0013] As a preferred technical solution of the present invention, the third rotating component includes a fourth motor fixed on the other end of the L-shaped block; the output shaft of the fourth motor is coaxially fixed with a transmission shaft; the end of the transmission shaft away from the fourth motor is fixed on the mechanical clamp.

[0014] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] 1. The present invention, through the design of structures such as the front arm mechanism, the rear arm mechanism and the attitude balancing mechanism, can not only solve the problems of the limited working space of the robot arm in the existing aerial operation system and the imbalance of the UAV attitude caused by the change of the center of mass during the operation of the robot arm, but also significantly improve the operational flexibility and stability of the UAV robot arm in the aerial operation scene, and is suitable for high-altitude operations in various complex environments.

[0016] 2. The present invention uses a front arm mechanism to swing up and down on the drone body, so that the mechanical gripper can move to the side, top or bottom of the drone body, and uses a rear arm mechanism to adjust the operating position of the mechanical gripper, which effectively improves the aerial operating range of the drone and ensures that the mechanical gripper can operate in any position of the drone body without interfering with the drone body. At the same time, during the operation of the mechanical gripper, the posture balancing mechanism is used to offset the gravity when the mechanical gripper grasps an object, which also alleviates problems such as posture imbalance caused by insufficient lateral torque of the drone, and can adapt to a wider and more complex working scenarios.

[0017] Of course, any product implementing the present invention does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings required for describing the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without paying creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 The present invention is a schematic structural diagram of an aerial operation system of a UAV mounted with a mechanical arm.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a diagram of the use state of the mechanical gripper of the present invention when it is located on the side of the drone body.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a diagram of the use state of the mechanical gripper of the present invention when it is located below the drone body.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a diagram of the use state of the mechanical gripper of the present invention when it is located above the drone body.

[0023] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the drone body of the present invention.

[0024] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of the connection between the front arm mechanism and the rear arm mechanism of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 7 It is a structural schematic diagram of the front arm mechanism of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 8 It is a structural schematic diagram of the posture balancing mechanism of the present invention.

[0027] Fig. 9 It is a structural schematic diagram of the rear arm mechanism of the present invention.

[0028] In the accompanying drawings, the components represented by the reference numerals are listed as follows:

[0029] 1-UAV body, 2-front arm mechanism, 3-attitude balancing mechanism, 4-rear arm mechanism, 5-mechanical gripper, 201-base, 202-first motor, 203-first transmission block, 204-bearing rod, 205-flange, 301-slide motor, 302-vector motor, 303-ducted fan, 401-first rotating assembly, 402-second rotating assembly, 403-third rotating assembly, 4011-second motor, 4012-second transmission block, 4021-third motor, 4022-L-shaped block, 4031-fourth motor, 4032-transmission shaft. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0031] Embodiment 1:

[0032] See also Figure 1-4As shown, the present invention is an aerial operation system of a drone mounted mechanical arm, comprising a drone body 1 and a front arm mechanism 2 installed on the drone body 1; the drone body 1 is a conventional device in the field, and the present embodiment preferably uses a conventional four-axis drone in the field; a posture balancing mechanism 3 is installed on the front arm mechanism 2; a rear arm mechanism 4 is installed at one end of the front arm mechanism 2 away from the drone body 1; and a conventional mechanical gripper 5 in the field is installed at one end of the rear arm mechanism 4 away from the front arm mechanism 2. When in use, the front arm mechanism 2 is swung up and down on the drone body 1, so that the mechanical gripper 5 can be moved to the side, top or bottom of the drone body 1, and the rear arm mechanism 4 is used to adjust the operating position of the mechanical gripper 5, which effectively improves the aerial operating range of the drone and ensures that the mechanical gripper 5 can operate in any position of the drone body 1 without interfering with the drone body 1. At the same time, during the operation of the mechanical gripper 5, the posture balancing mechanism 3 is used to offset the gravity when the mechanical gripper 5 grasps an object, which also alleviates problems such as posture imbalance caused by insufficient lateral torque of the drone, and can adapt to a wider and more complex working scene.

[0033] Embodiment 2:

[0034] Based on Example 1, Figure 5-7 As shown, the front arm mechanism 2 includes a base 201 bolted to the side of the drone body 1; a conventional first motor 202 in the field is horizontally bolted to the base 201; the first motor 202 has a conventional torque sensor in the field; the output shaft of the first motor 202 is bolted to the first transmission block 203; one side of the first transmission block 203 is bolted to a load-bearing rod 204 along the radial direction of the output shaft of the first motor 202; the first motor 202 can drive the load-bearing rod 204 to rotate up and down through the first transmission block 203, and the rotation range of the load-bearing rod 204 is 180°; the end of the load-bearing rod 204 away from the first transmission block 203 is coaxially bolted to a flange 205 for carrying the rear arm mechanism 4. When in use, the first motor 202 drives the load-bearing rod 204 to swing up and down via the first transmission block 203, so that the flange 205 drives the mechanical clamp 5 to move to the side, top or bottom of the drone body 1 via the rear arm mechanism 4, so that the mechanical clamp 5 can operate on the side, top or bottom of the drone body 1, effectively improving the operating range of the mechanical clamp 5, ensuring that the mechanical clamp 5 can operate in any orientation of the drone body 1 without interfering with the drone body 1, and adapting to wider and more complex working scenarios.

[0035] The load-bearing rod 204 is a conventional electric push rod in the art, and the electric push rod has a conventional displacement sensor in the art. When in use, by designing the load-bearing rod 204 as an electric push rod, the relative distance between the mechanical gripper 5 and the drone body 1 can be adjusted, so that the mechanical gripper 5 can be extended and retracted according to the length requirement, further improving the operating range and use flexibility of the mechanical gripper 5.

[0036] Embodiment three:

[0037] Based on Example 2, Figure 6 and Figure 8 As shown, the posture balancing mechanism 3 includes a slide rail motor 301 mounted on the supporting rod 204; the slide rail motor 301 is a conventional component in this field; the opposite sides of the slide rail motor 301 are respectively vertically bolted with conventional vector motors 302 in this field; the output shafts of the two vector motors 302 are both bolted with conventional ducted fans 303 in this field. During use, when the rear arm mechanism 4 and the front arm mechanism 2 are operating, the slide rail motor 301 is designed to move axially on the load-bearing rod 204, so that the posture balance position can be adjusted following the change in the position of the center of mass of the robotic arm caused by the change in the load clamped by the mechanical gripper 5. The vector motor 302 is used to control the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303, and the two ducted fans 303 are symmetrically distributed on the opposite sides of the load-bearing rod 204. The thrust provided by the ducted fan 303 is used to offset the gravity when the robotic arm is operating with load, and the thrust directions of the two ducted fans 303 are always kept consistent, so that the ducted fan 303 adjusts the position of the fan on the linear axis 2 according to the center of mass of the robotic arm, thereby alleviating the posture imbalance caused by insufficient lateral torque of the UAV body 1, and effectively ensuring the aerial operation effect of the UAV body 1.

[0038] In addition, it should be noted that the attitude balancing mechanism 3 is not limited to using the ducted fan 303 to maintain the attitude balance of the entire device, and can also be other devices that can offset their own torsional force, such as a coaxial counter-rotating propeller mechanism.

[0039] Embodiment 4:

[0040] Based on Example 3 Figure 6 and Fig. 9As shown, the rear arm mechanism 4 includes a first rotating component 401 mounted on the flange 205; the rotation center line of the first rotating component 401 is coaxially arranged with the central axis of the load-bearing rod 204; a second rotating component 402 is mounted on the first rotating component 401; the rotation center line of the second rotating component 402 is perpendicularly arranged with the rotation center line of the first rotating component 401; a third rotating component 403 is mounted on the second rotating component 402; the rotation center line of the third rotating component 403 is perpendicularly arranged with the rotation center line of the second rotating component 402; the first rotating component 401 includes a conventional second motor 4011 in the field coaxially bolted to a surface of the flange 205 away from the load-bearing rod 204; the second motor 4011 has a conventional torque sensor in the field; the output shaft of the second motor 4011 is bolted with a second rotating component 402 for carrying The second transmission block 4012 of the component 402; the second rotating component 402 includes a conventional third motor 4021 in the field which is horizontally bolted to the second transmission block 4012 at one end away from the second motor 4011; the third motor 4021 has a conventional torque sensor in the field; an L-shaped block 4022 is provided on one side of the third motor 4021; one end of the L-shaped block 4022 is bolted to the output shaft of the third motor 4021; the third rotating component 403 includes a conventional fourth motor 4031 in the field which is bolted to the other end of the L-shaped block 4022; the fourth motor 4031 has a conventional torque sensor in the field; the output shaft of the fourth motor 4031 is coaxially fixed with a transmission shaft 4032 through a conventional coupling in the field; the end of the transmission shaft 4032 away from the fourth motor 4031 is bolted to the mechanical clamp 5. When in use, the second motor 4011 drives the second transmission block 4012 to rotate, and then the third motor 4021 drives the L-shaped block 4022 to rotate, and then the fourth motor 4031 drives the transmission shaft 4032 to rotate, so as to adjust the posture of the mechanical gripper 5. The use state of the rear arm mechanism 4 with different structures can be switched according to the working requirements of the mechanical gripper 5, which effectively improves the use flexibility of the mechanical gripper 5.

[0041] In order to further illustrate the use effect of the aerial work system, the following is further explained based on the relative position between the mechanical gripper 5 and the drone body 1:

[0042] 1) If Figure 2As shown, when the operated object is located on the side of the drone body 1, the front arm mechanism 2 is caused to be located on the side of the drone by rotating the load-bearing rod 204 and combining the yaw angle rotation movement of the drone body 1. At this time, the slide motor 301 moves axially on the load-bearing rod 204 until it approaches the center of mass position of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, and then the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303 is controlled by the vector motor 302. The thrust of the two ducted fans 303 is vertically downward from the ground. The thrust of the ducted fan 303 is used to offset the gravity of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, thereby reducing the propeller lateral torque adjustment pressure of the drone body 1, so that the drone body 1 maintains a balanced posture.

[0043] 2) If Figure 3 As shown, when the operated object is located at the lower part of the drone body 1, the mechanical gripper 5 is caused to be located at the lower part of the drone body 1 by rotating the load-bearing rod 204. At this time, the slide rail motor 301 moves axially on the telescopic end of the load-bearing rod 204 until it approaches the center of mass position of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, and then the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303 is controlled by the vector motor 302. The thrust of the two ducted fans 303 is vertically downward from the ground. The thrust of the ducted fans 303 is used to offset the gravity of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, thereby reducing the propeller lateral torque adjustment pressure of the drone body 1, so that the drone body 1 maintains a balanced posture.

[0044] 3) If Figure 4 As shown, when the operated object is located at the upper part of the drone body 1, the mechanical gripper 5 is caused to be located at the upper part of the drone body 1 by rotating the load-bearing rod 204. At this time, the slide rail motor 301 moves axially on the load-bearing rod 204 until it approaches the center of mass position of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, and then the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303 is controlled by the vector motor 302. The thrust of the two ducted fans 303 is vertically downward from the ground. The thrust of the ducted fans 303 is used to offset the gravity of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, thereby reducing the lateral torque adjustment pressure of the propeller of the drone body 1, so that the drone body 1 maintains a balanced posture.

[0045] In addition, when the object being operated does not require a very long arm span, the load-bearing rod 204 is retracted to an appropriate length, and the ducted fan 303 slides on the load-bearing rod 204 until it approaches the center of mass position of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, and then the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303 is controlled by the vector motor 302. The thrust of the two ducted fans 303 is vertically downward from the ground. The thrust of the ducted fan 303 is used to offset the gravity of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, thereby reducing the propeller lateral torque adjustment pressure of the drone body 1, so that the drone body 1 maintains a balanced posture.

[0046] Of course, it should be noted that no matter whether the mechanical gripper 5 is on the side, above or below the drone body 1, when the thrust of the ducted fan 303 is used to offset the gravity of the system composed of the front arm mechanism 2, the rear arm mechanism 4, the mechanical gripper 5 and the load, the thrust of the ducted fan 303 is usually vertically downward from the ground, but the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303 can also be adjusted by the vector motor 302 according to the use requirements and within a reasonable range. For example, when the mechanical gripper 5 is below the drone body 1, the thrust direction of the ducted fan 303 is tilted to a certain angle away from the drone body 1, and the torque information is fed back in real time through the torque sensor of the first motor 202, thereby forming a closed loop to control the thrust of the ducted fan 303, so as to ensure the stability of the flight posture of the drone body 1 and reduce the pressure of the ducted fan 303.

[0047] The preferred embodiments of the present invention disclosed above are only used to help illustrate the present invention. The preferred embodiments do not describe all the details in detail, nor do they limit the invention to the specific implementation methods described. Obviously, many modifications and changes can be made according to the content of this specification. This specification selects and specifically describes these embodiments in order to better explain the principles and practical applications of the present invention, so that those skilled in the art can understand and use the present invention well. The present invention is limited only by the claims and their full scope and equivalents.

Claims

1. An aerial operation system with a UAV mounted with a mechanical arm, characterized in that: It comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle body (1) and a front arm mechanism (2) mounted on the unmanned aerial vehicle body (1); The front arm mechanism (2) is provided with a posture balancing mechanism (3); the end of the front arm mechanism (2) away from the drone body (1) is provided with a rear arm mechanism (4); the end of the rear arm mechanism (4) away from the front arm mechanism (2) is provided with a mechanical clamp (5).

2. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The front arm mechanism (2) comprises a base (201) fixed to the side of the drone body (1); a first motor (202) is horizontally fixed on the base (201); a first transmission block (203) is fixed to the output shaft of the first motor (202); a bearing rod (204) is fixed to one side of the first transmission block (203) along the radial direction of the output shaft of the first motor (202); the first motor (202) can drive the bearing rod (204) to rotate up and down through the first transmission block (203); and a flange (205) for carrying the rear arm mechanism (4) is coaxially fixed to one end of the bearing rod (204) away from the first transmission block (203).

3. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 2, characterized in that: The bearing rod (204) is an electric push rod.

4. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The posture balancing mechanism (3) comprises a slide rail motor (301) sleeved on a bearing rod (204); vector motors (302) are respectively vertically fixed on opposite sides of the slide rail motor (301); and ducted fans (303) are fixed on the output shafts of the two vector motors (302).

5. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 4, characterized in that: The rear arm mechanism (4) comprises a first rotating component (401) mounted on a flange (205); the rotation centerline of the first rotating component (401) is coaxially arranged with the central axis of the bearing rod (204); a second rotating component (402) is mounted on the first rotating component (401); the rotation centerline of the second rotating component (402) is perpendicularly arranged with the rotation centerline of the first rotating component (401); a third rotating component (403) is mounted on the second rotating component (402); the rotation centerline of the third rotating component (403) is perpendicularly arranged with the rotation centerline of the second rotating component (402).

6. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first rotating assembly (401) comprises a second motor (4011) coaxially fixed on a surface of the flange (205) away from the bearing rod (204); the output shaft of the second motor (4011) is fixed with a second transmission block (4012) for carrying the second rotating assembly (402).

7. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 6, characterized in that: The second rotating assembly (402) comprises a third motor (4021) horizontally fixed to an end of the second transmission block (4012) away from the second motor (4011); an L-shaped block (4022) is provided on one side of the third motor (4021); and one end of the L-shaped block (4022) is fixed to an output shaft of the third motor (4021).

8. The aerial operation system of a drone mounted with a mechanical arm according to claim 7, characterized in that: The third rotating assembly (403) comprises a fourth motor (4031) fixed to the other end of the L-shaped block (4022); the output shaft of the fourth motor (4031) is coaxially fixed with a transmission shaft (4032); and one end of the transmission shaft (4032) away from the fourth motor (4031) is fixed to the mechanical clamp (5).

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