Tower assembling construction method for modular transportation and hoisting by using unmanned aerial vehicle

Abstract

The invention relates to a tower assembling construction method for modular transportation and hoisting through an unmanned aerial vehicle. The method comprises the following steps that firstly, tower materials are assembled into a tower body frame structure on an unmanned aerial vehicle take-off site; the frame structure and the unmanned aerial vehicle are connected through slings and transported to the installation position through the unmanned aerial vehicle. After the frame structure at the bottommost part is fixedly mounted, a holding pole in-place device capable of rising along with the height of the tower body is arranged in the frame structure, the holding pole in-place device comprises a vertical pole body, a Y-shaped forked rod supporting guide sling is arranged at the top of the pole body, a sliding rail is mounted on the forked rod, and a buffer mechanism is arranged between the forked rod and the pole body. The unmanned aerial vehicle hovers the hanging point of the tower body frame structure to the bifurcated rod at the top of the holding pole, the sling is released to the bifurcated rod, the frame structure slides to the center in place along the sliding rail, and the buffering mechanism enables the frame structure to descend slowly to be in butt joint and fixed. According to the method, accurate positioning installation can be achieved, repeated adjustment caused by inaccurate positioning in traditional construction is avoided, time is saved, efficiency is improved, and the buffer mechanism can further prevent the tower body structure and equipment from being damaged by impact force.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the transportation and tower erection of power transmission towers for overhead power transmission lines, and specifically to a tower erection construction method that utilizes unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for modular transportation and hoisting. Background Art

[0002] Power transmission lines are connected after stepping up the electric energy generated by generators through transformers and then passing through control devices such as circuit breakers. Their structural forms mainly include overhead power transmission lines and cable lines. In special and complex geographical environments such as forest parks and nature reserves, overhead power transmission lines are widely used due to vegetation protection and high road construction difficulties, and the line transportation is mainly achieved by building tower racks. Currently, the construction of overhead power transmission lines mostly adopts the method of manual assembly on the ground followed by installation with the assistance of cranes and manual labor, which has many problems, such as low construction efficiency, cumbersome procedures, difficulty in achieving modular and rapid installation construction, and inability to form a systematic, modular, and intelligent situation.

[0003] The material transportation of traditional overhead power transmission lines in high mountains and steep ridges has gone through four stages. The first generation is horse caravan transportation or manual transportation, which has a long construction period and high risks and is difficult to meet the needs of modern construction. The second generation is cableway transportation, which requires cutting down trees to build cableways, not only with a long construction period and high costs, but also with limited applicable conditions. The third generation is tracked vehicle transportation, which also requires cutting down trees to build transportation roads, resulting in a long construction period, high costs, and serious vegetation damage. The fourth generation is helicopter transportation, which is relatively efficient but expensive.

[0004] In terms of tower erection construction in high mountains and steep ridges, traditional methods mainly include guyed tower erection and crane tower erection. Guyed tower erection requires on-site assembly and hoisting with guyed poles, with low construction efficiency and low safety. Crane tower erection also requires on-site assembly and hoisting with cranes, and also requires large-scale road construction up the mountain, causing great damage to the environment. These traditional tower transportation and construction methods have defects such as large workload, serious environmental damage, high safety risks, complex processes, and low efficiency, are difficult to adapt to the terrain, and cannot form an integrated and modular situation of transportation and construction. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a tower erection construction method that is safe, efficient, and integrates transportation and construction.

[0006] The tower erection construction method using UAV modular transportation and hoisting according to the present invention includes the following steps: S1. Assemble tower materials into several frame structures that form the tower body in advance at the UAV take-off site; S2. Connect the frame structures of the tower body to the UAV via suspension ropes and transport them by the UAV; S3. Use the UAV to transport the frame structure at the bottom of the tower body to the designated installation position and fix it for installation; S4. A pole-holding device is arranged inside the bottom frame of the tower body, which can rise with the height of the tower body. The pole-holding device comprises a pole body vertically placed inside the tower body, a "Y"-shaped bifurcated rod is arranged on the top of the pole body to support the guide sling, a slide rail is arranged on the bifurcated rod, and a buffer mechanism is arranged between the bifurcated rod and the pole body; S5. Use a drone to hover the tower frame structure hanging point to the fork rod at the top of the boom, release the sling to the fork rod, slide down the guide rail to the center position, and then slowly descend through the buffer mechanism so that the two frame structures that need to be docked and installed are slowly positioned and fixed in place, so as to achieve precise positioning and installation of the tower body.

[0007] The tower construction method using modular transportation and hoisting of drones assembles the tower materials into several frame structures in advance at the drone take-off site, realizing modular assembly, so that the tower materials can form relatively complete and stable units during the assembly stage, reducing the assembly workload at the construction site. Compared with traditional manual handling or large-scale mechanical transportation, drones have higher flexibility and maneuverability, can quickly shuttle through complex terrain, are not restricted by ground conditions, greatly shorten the transportation time, and thus speed up the overall construction progress; at the same time, with the help of drones, the tower frame structure hanging point is hovered to the fork rod at the top of the holding rod, which can achieve precise positioning, release the sling to the fork rod, and slide down to the center position under the guide of the slide rail. , and then it is slowly lifted and lowered to its original position by the buffer mechanism, ensuring that the tower frame structure can be accurately installed in place, avoiding repeated adjustments and corrections caused by inaccurate positioning in traditional construction, saving a lot of time, and further improving construction efficiency. The buffer mechanism in the pole-holding device can play a buffering role during the installation of the tower frame structure, avoiding damage to the tower structure and installation equipment caused by the impact force caused by the sudden force or release of the sling. The buffer mechanism can not only play a buffering role when the drone places the tower frame structure on the pole-holding device, but also when the two frame structures are docked and installed and fixed in place, the frame structure can be slowly lowered, thereby completing the placement more accurately. The present invention reduces the operating time of personnel at high altitudes through drone transportation and auxiliary installation of the pole-holding positioning device, reduces the probability of high-altitude fall accidents caused by personnel operating errors or equipment failures, and ensures the personal safety of construction personnel. Compared with traditional cableway transportation, crawler vehicle transportation or helicopter transportation, the purchase and maintenance costs of drones are relatively low. The modular assembly and drone transportation methods reduce the personnel requirements of the construction site. Especially when constructing in some remote mountainous areas or areas with inconvenient transportation, the transportation, accommodation and other costs of personnel are relatively high. By adopting the construction method of the present invention, the number of construction personnel can be effectively reduced, thereby reducing labor cost expenditure and achieving effective control of construction costs.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the following steps are further included: After the installation of the frame structure of one section of the tower body is completed, the height of the gin pole positioning device is lifted, and then step S5 is repeated to assemble the frame structure of the next section of the tower body until the installation of the entire tower body is completed.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in step S5, after the frame structure of the tower body is stably placed on the gin pole positioning device, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) releases the sling through the automatic decoupling device, and then returns to the take-off site to prepare for the hoisting operation of the frame structure of the next tower body.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in step S2, a mounting device for hoisting the frame structure of the tower body is provided on the UAV. The mounting device includes a fixing mechanism, a movable pulley group, and a wire winding mechanism that bypasses the movable pulley group. The fixing mechanism is fixed to the bottom of the UAV and is connected to the wire winding mechanism below; the wire winding mechanism includes a driving motor, a wire winding disc, a frame, and a wire rope. The wire rope bypasses the movable pulley group, and the driving motor controls the forward and reverse rotation of the wire winding disc to wind and unwind the wire rope.

[0011] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the mounting device is also internally installed with a tensioning mechanism for controlling the lowering speed of the movable pulley group.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the following steps are further included: Based on the AI analysis of the transportation working conditions in complex environments, a flight control system suitable for complex construction environments is established.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the specific steps for establishing the flight control system to adjust the flight attitude are as follows: Use sensors to measure the flight state of the UAV, and its flight state includes the three-axis roll angular rate and the three-axis acceleration. Then, through the attitude solution function, the current flight attitude of the UAV is calculated in real time according to the sensor data. The calculated flight attitude is compared with the preset flight command through the control law solution device. According to the comparison result, the control law solution device outputs a corresponding control signal, and the control signal is transmitted to the servo actuator to drive the operation of the control surface for adjustment. The adjustment of the control surface generates aerodynamic forces and torques, thereby stabilizing and controlling the flight state of the UAV to ensure that it flies according to the preset command. Description of the Drawings

[0014] Figure 1 It is a flow chart of the steps of a tower erection construction method using a UAV for modular transportation and hoisting.

[0015] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of a gin pole positioning device.

[0016] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the sling suspending the tower body on the gin pole positioning device.

[0017] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the vertical placement of the gin pole positioning device inside the tower body.

[0018] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of another gin pole positioning device. Specific implementation manners

[0019] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0020] It should be noted that if there are directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, top, bottom, inside, outside, vertical, horizontal, longitudinal, counterclockwise, clockwise, circumferential, radial, axial...) involved in the embodiments of the present invention, then the directional indications are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement conditions between components in a certain specific posture (as shown in the accompanying drawings). If this specific posture changes, then the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0021] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly defined and limited, the terms "installation", "setting", "connection", and "coupling" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific situations.

[0022] If there is a description involving "first" or "second" in the embodiments of the present invention, then the description of "first" or "second" is only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying its relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In addition, the technical features of each embodiment (including but not limited to structures, materials, or characteristics, etc.) can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of concise description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, it should be considered as the scope described in this specification.

[0023] As Figure 1 shown, a tower erection construction method using modular transportation and hoisting by an unmanned aerial vehicle includes the following steps: S1. Assemble the tower materials into several frame structures that form the tower body in advance at the UAV take-off site; S2. Connect the frame structure of the tower body to the UAV via sling, and transport it by the UAV; S3. Use the UAV to transport the frame structure at the bottom of the tower body to the designated installation position and fix it; S4. Set up a gin pole positioning device inside the bottom frame of the tower body that can rise with the height of the tower body assembly. The gin pole positioning device includes a rod vertically placed inside the tower body. At the top of the rod, there is a "Y"-shaped bifurcated rod for supporting and guiding the sling. A slide rail is installed on the bifurcated rod, and a buffer mechanism is provided between the bifurcated rod and the rod; S5. With the help of the UAV, suspend the hanging point of the tower body frame structure at the bifurcated rod at the top of the gin pole, release the sling to the bifurcated rod, slide to the center position under the guidance of the slide rail, and then slowly descend through the buffer mechanism so that the two frame structures that need to be butt-jointed and installed are slowly positioned and fixed, realizing the precise positioning and installation of the tower body.

[0024] The tower erection construction method using modular transportation and hoisting by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) pre-assembles tower materials into several frame structures at the UAV take-off site, realizing modular assembly. This enables the tower materials to form relatively complete and stable units during the assembly stage, reducing the assembly workload at the construction site. Compared with traditional manual handling or large machinery transportation, UAVs have higher flexibility and mobility, can quickly shuttle through complex terrains without being restricted by ground conditions, greatly shortening the transportation time and thus accelerating the overall construction progress. At the same time, by using the UAV to hover the hanging point of the tower body frame structure at the fork rod at the top of the gin pole, accurate positioning can be achieved. The sling is released onto the fork rod and slides to the center position under the guidance of the slide rail, and then slowly rises and falls to the original position through the buffer mechanism, ensuring that the tower body frame structure can be accurately installed in place, avoiding repeated adjustments and corrections caused by inaccurate positioning in traditional construction, saving a lot of time and further improving the construction efficiency. Moreover, the buffer mechanism in the gin pole positioning device can play a buffering role during the installation of the tower body frame structure, avoiding damage to the tower body structure and installation equipment caused by the impact force generated when the sling is suddenly stressed or released. The buffer mechanism can not only play a buffering role when the UAV places the tower body frame structure on the gin pole positioning device, but also enable the slow descent of the frame structure when docking and installing two frame structures and fixing them in place, so as to complete the positioning more accurately. Through the transportation by UAV and the auxiliary installation of the gin pole positioning device, the present invention reduces the working time of personnel at high altitude, reduces the probability of high-altitude falling accidents caused by human operation errors or equipment failures, and ensures the personal safety of construction personnel. Compared with traditional cableway transportation, crawler vehicle transportation or helicopter transportation, the purchase and maintenance costs of UAVs are relatively low. The modular assembly and UAV transportation methods reduce the personnel requirements at the construction site. Especially when constructing in some remote mountainous areas or areas with inconvenient transportation, the transportation, accommodation and other costs of personnel are relatively high. By adopting the construction method of the present invention, the number of construction personnel can be effectively reduced, thereby reducing the expenditure on labor costs and achieving effective control of construction costs.

[0025] Further, the following steps are also included: after completing the installation of the frame structure of one section of the tower body, raise the height of the gin pole positioning device, and then repeat step S5 to assemble the frame structure of the next section of the tower body until the installation of the entire tower body is completed. During the installation process, by gradually raising the gin pole positioning device and installing in sections, the verticality and horizontality of the tower body can be more accurately controlled, ensuring the stability and safety of the tower body structure.

[0026] Further, in step S5, after the frame structure of the tower body is stably placed on the gin pole positioning device, the unmanned aerial vehicle releases the sling through the automatic hook release device and then returns to the take-off site to prepare for the hoisting operation of the frame structure of the next tower body. The automatic hook release device is an existing conventional structure. The automatic hook release device can automatically release the sling after reaching the specified position, without manual intervention, reducing the operation time and improving the efficiency of tower material transportation and installation.

[0027] Further, as Figures 2 - 5 shown, the gin pole positioning device described in the tower erection construction method of the present invention in step S4 includes a rod body 2 vertically arranged inside the tower body 1. A "Y"-shaped bifurcated rod 4 for supporting and guiding the sling 3 is provided at the top of the rod body 2. A slide rail 5 is installed on the bifurcated rod, and a buffer mechanism 6 is provided between the bifurcated rod and the rod body. Among them, as Figure 5 shown, the bifurcated part of the bifurcated rod 4 can also be directly connected to the buffer mechanism 6, and the opening fork angle of the bifurcated rod 4 is adapted to the opening of the topmost tower body. The gin pole positioning device cleverly utilizes the symmetrical structure of the tower body frame, enabling the sling connecting the tower body frame to quickly slide along the slide rail to the bifurcation at the center of the bifurcated rod when placed on the bifurcated rod, achieving rapid and precise positioning, thereby improving the installation efficiency. At the same time, the buffer mechanism can play a buffering role during the installation process of the tower body frame structure, effectively avoiding damage to the tower body structure and installation equipment caused by the impact force generated when the sling is suddenly stressed or released.

[0028] Further, the buffer mechanism 6 is an air pump or a hydraulic pump. Using an air pump or a hydraulic pump as the buffer mechanism can effectively reduce mechanical shock and vibration and play an effective buffering and protecting role. Further, the hydraulic pump can be an oil pump.

[0029] Further, the rod body 2 is assembled from multiple frame structures. The multiple frame structures enable the rod body to be flexibly adjusted according to actual needs. The gin pole positioning device of the present invention is installed inside the tower body during use. As the tower body gradually increases in height, the rod body of the device can also rise synchronously, and the assembly process is simple and fast.

[0030] Furthermore, the rod body is fixed within the already installed tower body framework through an upper guy wire 7 and a lower guy wire 8. Specifically, the upper guy wire 7 consists of four steel ropes. One end of the steel rope is fixed to the top of the rod body, and the other end is fixed to the node of the already installed tower body framework; the lower guy wire 8 consists of four steel ropes. One end of the steel rope is fixed to the bottom of the rod body, and the other end is fixed to the middle part of the already installed tower body framework. The arrangement of the upper guy wire and the lower guy wire makes the rod body more stable within the tower body framework. The upper guy wire consists of four steel ropes, with one end fixed to the top of the rod body and the other end fixed to the node of the already installed tower body framework, which can effectively prevent the rod body from tilting during the lifting process and ensure the stability of the lifting process; the lower guy wire consists of four steel ropes, with one end fixed to the bottom of the rod body and the other end fixed to the middle part of the already installed tower body framework, making the main members of the tower body and the foundation bear the force evenly, further enhancing the stability of the entire structure and ensuring the safety and reliability of the rod body.

[0031] In step S2, a mounting device (not shown) for hoisting the framework structure of the tower body is provided on the unmanned aerial vehicle. The mounting device includes a fixing mechanism, a movable pulley block, and a wire winding mechanism that bypasses the movable pulley block. The fixing mechanism is fixed to the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle and is connected to the wire winding mechanism below; the wire winding mechanism includes a driving motor, a wire winding disc, a frame, and a wire rope. The wire rope bypasses the movable pulley block, and the driving motor is used to control the forward and reverse rotation of the wire winding disc to wind and unwind the wire rope, achieving precise hoisting control of the tower body framework structure. Compared with traditional manual operation or simple mechanical devices, it can adjust the position of the tower body framework structure more quickly and accurately, greatly improving the hoisting efficiency. The use of the movable pulley block not only saves effort but also maintains the stability of the tower body framework structure during hoisting and reduces wind interference. The movable pulley block shares the weight of the heavy object through multiple segments of wire ropes, reducing the force on a single wire rope, lowering the risk of wire rope breakage, and effectively buffering the vibration and impact during hoisting to ensure the smoothness of the tower body framework structure during transportation.

[0032] The mounting device is also internally installed with a tensioning mechanism (not shown) for controlling the descending speed of the movable pulley block, making it more stable and safe when hoisting the framework structure of a relatively long tower body.

[0033] It further includes the following steps: establishing a flight control system suitable for complex construction environments based on the AI analysis of complex environment transportation working conditions. Specifically, the specific steps for establishing a flight control system to adjust the flight attitude are as follows: using sensors to measure the flight state of the UAV, and its flight state includes the three-axis roll angular rate and the three-axis acceleration. Then, through the attitude calculation function, the current flight attitude of the UAV is calculated in real time according to the sensor data. The calculated flight attitude is compared with the preset flight command by the control law calculation device. According to the comparison result, the control law calculation device outputs the corresponding control signal, and the control signal is transmitted to the servo actuator to drive the operation control surface to make adjustments. The adjustment of the operation control surface generates aerodynamic force and torque, thereby stabilizing and controlling the flight state of the UAV to ensure that it flies according to the preset command. The UAV uses sensors to monitor the flight state in real time, including the three-axis roll angular rate and the three-axis acceleration, and with the help of the attitude calculation function, calculates the current attitude of the UAV immediately and accurately. This real-time feedback and adjustment mechanism ensures that the UAV can respond quickly and maintain stable flight when encountering sudden airflows or wind speed changes in complex environments such as mountains, forests, and urban high-rise buildings. The flight control system automatically optimizes the strategy according to the environment. For example, in strong winds, by increasing the rotation speed of specific rotors, it can effectively resist the wind force and ensure smooth flight.

[0034] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention accordingly. All equivalent structural transformations made under the inventive concept of the present invention by using the content of the specification and drawings of the present invention, or directly / indirectly applied in other related technical fields are included in the patent protection scope of the present invention. The mention of "embodiment" in this article means that the specific features, structures, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment may be included in at least one embodiment of the present application. The appearance of this phrase in various positions in the specification does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, nor is it an independent or alternative embodiment mutually exclusive with other embodiments. Those skilled in the art explicitly and implicitly understand that, without conflict, the embodiments described herein can be combined with other embodiments, and the embodiments of the present invention and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other.

Claims

1. A tower construction method using unmanned aerial vehicle modular transportation and hoisting, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: S1. Pre-assemble the tower materials into several frame structures constituting the tower body at the drone take-off site; S2, connecting the frame structure of the tower to the drone via a sling, and transporting it by the drone; S3. Use drones to transport the frame structure at the bottom of the tower to the designated installation location and install it in a fixed manner; S4. A pole-holding device is arranged inside the bottom frame of the tower body, which can rise with the height of the tower body. The pole-holding device comprises a pole body vertically placed inside the tower body, a "Y"-shaped bifurcated rod is arranged on the top of the pole body to support the guide sling, a slide rail is arranged on the bifurcated rod, and a buffer mechanism is arranged between the bifurcated rod and the pole body; S5. Use a drone to hover the tower frame structure hanging point to the fork rod at the top of the boom, release the sling to the fork rod, slide down the guide rail to the center position, and then slowly descend through the buffer mechanism so that the two frame structures that need to be docked and installed are slowly positioned and fixed in place, so as to achieve precise positioning and installation of the tower body.

2. The tower assembly construction method using unmanned aerial vehicle modular transportation and hoisting according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The method further comprises the following steps: after the frame structure of one section of the tower body is installed, the height of the holding pole positioning device is raised, and then step S5 is repeated to assemble the frame structure of the next section of the tower body until the entire tower body is installed.

3. The tower assembly construction method using modular transportation and hoisting of unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S5, after the frame structure of the tower body is stably placed on the pole-holding device, the drone releases the sling through the automatic unhooking device, and then returns to the take-off site to prepare for the next tower body frame structure lifting operation.

4. The tower assembly construction method using unmanned aerial vehicle modular transportation and hoisting according to claim 1 is characterized in that: In step S2, a mounting device for a frame structure of a tower body is provided on the UAV, wherein the mounting device comprises a fixing mechanism, a movable pulley block, and a twisting mechanism passing around the movable pulley block; the fixing mechanism is fixed to the bottom of the UAV and connected to the twisting mechanism below; the twisting mechanism comprises a driving motor, a twisting drum, a frame, and a twisting rope, wherein the twisting rope passes around the movable pulley block, and the twisting rope is retracted and released by controlling the twisting drum to rotate forward and reversely through the driving motor.

5. The tower assembly construction method using modular transportation and hoisting of unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 4 is characterized in that: The mounting device is also equipped with a tensioning mechanism for controlling the descending speed of the movable pulley block.

6. The tower assembly construction method using modular transportation and hoisting of unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The following steps are also included: Based on AI analysis of complex environmental transportation conditions, a flight control system suitable for complex construction environments is established.

7. The tower assembly construction method using unmanned aerial vehicle modular transportation and hoisting according to claim 6 is characterized in that: The specific steps of establishing a flight control system to adjust the flight attitude are as follows: using sensors to measure the flight status of the UAV, including the three-axis roll angular rate and the three-axis acceleration, and then using the attitude solving function to solve the current flight attitude of the UAV in real time according to the sensor data, and using the control law solving device to compare the calculated flight attitude with the preset flight command. According to the comparison result, the control law solving device outputs a corresponding control signal, and the control signal is transmitted to the servo steering gear to drive the operating control surface to make adjustments. The adjustment of the operating control surface generates aerodynamic force and torque, thereby stabilizing and controlling the flight status of the UAV to ensure that it flies according to the preset command.

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