Apparatus and method for unmanned surface vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle docking and undocking with position deviation allowance

By designing a capped hook and a slanted rail-slide rail groove structure, a simple and efficient docking and separation of unmanned surface vessels and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in a water environment was achieved. This solved the problems of complex structure and low position error tolerance in existing technologies, and improved the system's collaborative capability and adaptability.

CN120246300BActive Publication Date: 2025-12-09HUAZHONG UNIV OF SCI & TECH
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202510469666.X
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2025-04-15
Publication Date
2025-12-09
Estimated Expiration
2045-04-15

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Existing docking devices for unmanned surface vessels and drones are complex in structure, cumbersome in operation, and have low tolerance for positional errors, making it difficult to achieve reliable docking and separation in aquatic environments.

Method used

A docking device for unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that allows for positional deviations was designed. The device includes a capped hook and a sloping rail-slide rail groove structure. It utilizes gravity to complete the docking and repositioning, which simplifies the device structure and allows for a certain degree of positional deviation. The locking and separation of the UAV and USV are achieved by servo motor drive.

Benefits of technology

It improves the success rate and stability of docking between unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), reduces the complexity and energy consumption of the device, enhances the adaptability of USVs in complex environments, and expands their application scope.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The application provides a device and method for docking and separating unmanned ship and unmanned aerial vehicle with position deviation, which is used for realizing movement of unmanned aerial vehicle carrying unmanned ship across land between non-connected water areas and belongs to the technical field of unmanned system cross-domain cooperation. The device is composed of two parts. The unmanned aerial vehicle part comprises: a foot support, an inter-foot cross beam, an inclined rail, a clamping slider, a rudder fixing frame, a rudder, a rudder connecting rod and a slider connecting rod, and is fixed to the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the foot support; and the unmanned ship part is a hook with a cap and is fixed to the surface barycenter of the unmanned ship. During docking, the unmanned aerial vehicle adjusts the posture so that the hook with a cap of the unmanned ship slides to the lowest groove of the inclined rail under the action of gravity, then the rudder rotates the rudder connecting rod to drive the slider connecting rod to slide the clamping slider along the inclined rail, so that the female head groove of the clamping slider and the male head protrusion of the hook with a cap of the unmanned ship are embedded to complete the docking of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship; and the above process is performed reversely during separation.
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Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The application belongs to the technical field of cross-domain cooperation of unmanned systems, and particularly relates to a device and method for docking and separating unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles with position deviation tolerance. BACKGROUND

[0002] In recent years, unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles have made significant progress and shown extensive application potential in multiple fields. Unmanned surface vehicles play an increasingly important role in offshore operations such as resource exploration, environmental monitoring, near-shore patrol, collective rescue, escort, hunting, and mine clearance. However, the movement range of unmanned surface vehicles is limited to two-dimensional water surface, which greatly restricts the further expansion of their detection and activity range.

[0003] In contrast, unmanned aerial vehicles can easily overcome the limitations of complex terrain and cover areas that unmanned surface vehicles cannot reach, such as shoals, cliffs, and the sky, due to their ability to freely maneuver in three-dimensional space. In certain special terrain or task scenarios, unmanned surface vehicles can significantly expand their operating range and functionality with the help of the high mobility and wide coverage of unmanned aerial vehicles. Through the docking device, unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned surface vehicles can work together to expand the operating space of unmanned surface vehicles from two dimensions to three dimensions, improving their detection and operation capabilities in integrated sea-air investigation, reconnaissance, target capture, shoal water sample extraction, and water quality monitoring. However, reliable docking and separation between unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles still face many technical challenges.

[0004] Some existing docking and separation devices mainly focus on unmanned aerial vehicles and unmanned vehicles. These devices often have the following problems: first, the structure is complex, and installation and operation are cumbersome; second, the tolerance for position error is low, and high-precision position sensors are often needed to complete docking. Unmanned surface vehicles are often accompanied by shaking and drifting due to factors such as waves and wind speed in water surface environments. This physical property makes it difficult for existing devices to be directly applicable in the docking scenario of unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. SUMMARY

[0005] In the above background, the application proposes a device and method for docking and separating unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles with position deviation tolerance, which can overcome shaking and position deviation in dynamic water surface environments and achieve the combination or separation of unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned aerial vehicles. The application takes advantage of the three-dimensional spatial mobility of unmanned aerial vehicles to realize the flying of unmanned surface vehicles carried by unmanned aerial vehicles over land, moving between non-connected water areas, expanding the activity range of unmanned surface vehicles from two dimensions to three dimensions, and enhancing the adaptability of unmanned surface vehicles to complex environments.

[0006] The technical solutions adopted are as follows:

[0007] The application provides a device for docking and separating unmanned ship and unmanned aerial vehicle with position deviation, comprising a hat hook fixed on the surface of the center of gravity of the unmanned ship, the hat hook is composed of a male head protrusion at the top, a hook body in the middle and a hook platform at the bottom.

[0008] Further comprising two groups of four foot supports installed below the arms of the unmanned aerial vehicle, two foot supports in each group are fixedly connected through an inter-foot cross beam, the side surface of the inter-foot cross beam is fixedly installed with an inclined rail, the opposite ends of the inclined rails on the two groups of foot supports are connected into a V-shaped slide rail, the bottom ends of the two inclined rails form a slide rail groove, the upper surface of the inter-foot cross beam is fixedly installed with a rudder holder, the hollow part in the middle of the rudder holder is used for placing a rudder, the rudder disc of the rudder is provided with a rudder disc opening for fixedly connecting one end of a rudder connecting rod, the other end of the rudder connecting rod is rotatably connected with one end of a sliding block connecting rod through a rudder connecting rod tail opening, the other end of the sliding block connecting rod is rotatably connected with a clamping sliding block through a sliding block lower opening, the side surface of the inclined rail cylinder is provided with a slide rail groove, which serves as a sliding track for the clamping sliding block, the upper surface of the inclined rail cylinder serves as a sliding track for the hat hook, and the slide rail grooves formed by the bottom ends of the left and right inclined rails can be embedded with the left and right side surfaces of the hook body of the hat hook; the side surface of the clamping sliding block is provided with a female head groove, which is embedded with the male head protrusion of the hat hook for fixing the hat hook.

[0009] Further details include:

[0010] The foot supports are installed below the arms of the unmanned aerial vehicle through foot support top surface openings and are used as the landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the foot supports are fixedly connected through foot support side surface openings.

[0011] The two ends of the inter-foot cross beam are installed on the foot supports through inter-foot cross beam two-end openings and are used for bearing the rudder holder and the inclined rail. The upper surface of the inter-foot cross beam is installed with the rudder holder through an inter-foot cross beam upper-end opening, and the side surface of the inter-foot cross beam is installed with the inclined rail through an inter-foot cross beam side-end opening.

[0012] The rudder holder is installed on the inter-foot cross beam through a rudder holder base opening, the hollow area in the middle part is used for placing the rudder, and the rudder is fixed through inter-foot cross beam upper and lower cross beam openings.

[0013] The rudder is installed on the rudder holder through rudder upper and lower fixing holes, the rudder disc opening on the rudder disc of the rudder is matched with the rudder connecting rod opening and is used for fixing the rudder connecting rod, and the rudder disc rotation drives the rudder connecting rod to move.

[0014] The middle part of the rudder connecting rod is provided with a rudder connecting rod groove and can be embedded with the rudder disc, one end of the rudder connecting rod is installed on the rudder disc of the rudder through a rudder connecting rod middle opening, and the other end is connected with the sliding block connecting rod through a rudder connecting rod tail opening, and the rotation of the rudder disc can drive the sliding block connecting rod to move.

[0015] The slider connecting rod is connected with the steering connecting rod through the upper opening of the slider connecting rod at one end, and is connected with the clamping slider through the lower opening of the slider connecting rod at the other end.

[0016] The inclined rail is fixed on the cross beam between the feet through the upper end opening of the inclined rail at one end, and is connected with the opposite inclined rail through the lower end opening of the inclined rail at the other end, forming a complete V-shaped structure. The side surface of the inclined rail cylinder has a sliding rail groove, which serves as a sliding track for the clamping slider. The upper surface of the inclined rail cylinder is a hook with a cap, which serves as a sliding track. The left and right sides of the hook body of the hook with a cap that slides into the sliding rail groove at the bottom of the left and right inclined rails are embedded.

[0017] The clamping slider is connected with the slider connecting rod through the rear end opening of the slider. The clamping slider has two bosses embedded in the sliding rail groove of the inclined rail. The bottom of the boss is connected with an arc-shaped bottom plate, which abuts against the surface of the inclined rail cylinder, further promoting the smooth sliding of the clamping slider on the inclined rail. In order to enable the clamping slider to be installed on the V-shaped sliding rail, the clamping slider also has an upper slider boss opening and a lower slider boss opening. The clamping slider is cut into two parts, namely a clamping slider left part and a clamping slider right part, which are fixed as a whole by cooperating with bolts through the upper slider boss opening and the lower slider boss opening after being installed on the V-shaped sliding rail.

[0018] The hook platform at the bottom of the hook with a cap has a hook platform opening for fixing on the upper surface of the unmanned ship. The male head protrusion at the top is embedded in the female head groove of the clamping slider. The lower surface of the hook with a cap, which contacts the inclined rail, is a circular arc surface, which can reduce sliding friction. The left and right sides of the hook body are flat surfaces, which can increase the contact area between the hook body and the sliding rail groove at the bottom of the inclined rail.

[0019] Further, when the device is in docking, it can make the hook with a cap slide into the sliding rail groove under the action of gravity when there is a certain horizontal position error and heading error.

[0020] Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle is any yawable multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned ship is any forwardable and steerable unmanned ship.

[0021] Further, all the components are light enough in mass and strong enough in strength to withstand the mass of the unmanned ship within the load capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and can dock and lift the unmanned ship to the water surface.

[0022] A method for docking and separating an unmanned ship and an unmanned aerial vehicle with position deviation, comprising the following steps:

[0023] S1: When the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship receive the docking instruction, the attitude of each is adjusted through a control algorithm to dock, the horizontal position error and the heading error of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship are controlled within the allowable range during docking, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is raised to a height to enable the unmanned ship to leave the water surface;

[0024] S2: The unmanned aerial vehicle is raised to a height, the hat hook of the unmanned ship slides along the inclined rail to the slide rail groove under the action of gravity, the rudder plate, the rudder connecting rod and the slide block connecting rod are driven by the rudder on the unmanned aerial vehicle to move, so that the clamping slide block slides downward along the inclined rail, the female head groove on the clamping slide block is embedded with the male head protrusion of the hat hook to lock the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship to form a rigid body;

[0025] S3: When the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship receive the separation instruction, the rudder plate, the rudder connecting rod and the slide block connecting rod are driven by the rudder on the unmanned aerial vehicle to move, so that the clamping slide block slides upward along the inclined rail, and the female head groove on the clamping slide block is separated from the male head protrusion of the hat hook;

[0026] S4: The unmanned aerial vehicle is lowered to a certain height to enable the unmanned ship to fall back onto the water surface, and the hat hook of the unmanned ship is separated from the slide rail groove of the V-shaped rail under the action of the water surface buoyancy, so that the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle are separated.

[0027] Further, in step S1, the control algorithm includes a PID algorithm, a model predictive control (MPC) algorithm and an LQR control algorithm, and the docking mode can be that the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers, the unmanned ship actively approaches the unmanned aerial vehicle to complete docking, the unmanned ship is stationary on the water surface and the unmanned aerial vehicle actively approaches to complete docking, or the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship move in the same direction or towards each other to complete docking in motion.

[0028] The present application has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0029] The unmanned ship and unmanned aerial vehicle docking and separation device of the present application designs a homing device of inclined rail-slide rail groove-hat hook, completes docking and homing operation by using gravity, does not need an additional driving device, significantly reduces the complexity and energy consumption of the device, can tolerate a certain position deviation, effectively deals with the position deviation problem of the unmanned ship caused by physical characteristics such as shaking in actual scenes, and improves the success rate and stability of docking.

[0030] The device for docking and separating the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application is simple in design, light in weight, and simple in process operation of docking and separation.

[0031] The unmanned ship and unmanned aerial vehicle docking and separation device of the present application can help the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship to realize rapid docking, locking and separation, improve the system cooperation capability, enhance the adaptability of the unmanned ship to complex environments, broaden the application range of the unmanned ship, and enable the unmanned ship to cover more task scenarios. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0032] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced as follows. Obviously, the drawings in the following description only constitute some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort on the basis of these drawings.

[0033] Figure 1 Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the docking and separation device of the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle allowing position deviation;

[0034] Figure 2 Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the rudder linkage, the slider linkage and the clamping slider of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0035] Figure 3 Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the foot support of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0036] Figure 4 Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the cross beam between the feet of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0037] Figure 5 Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the rudder fixing frame of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0038] Figure 6 Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the rudder of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0039] Figure 7 Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the rudder linkage of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0040] Figure 8 Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the slider linkage of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0041] Figure 9 Figure 9 is a perspective view of the inclined rail of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0042] Figure 10 Figure 10 is a perspective view of one of the clamping sliders of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0043] Figure 11 Figure 11 is another perspective view of the clamping slider of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0044] Figure 12 Figure 12 is a perspective view of the hook with a cap of the docking and separation device of the present application;

[0045] Figure 13 Figure 13 is a flow chart of the steps of the docking and separation method of the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle allowing position deviation;

[0046] Wherein: 1-stand, 11-stand top surface opening, 12-stand side surface opening, 2-interfoot crossbeam, 21-interfoot crossbeam two end opening, 22-interfoot crossbeam upper end opening, 23-interfoot crossbeam side end opening, 3-sliding block connecting rod, 31-sliding block connecting rod upper opening, 32-sliding block connecting rod lower opening, 33-sliding block connecting rod slot, 4-rudder connecting rod, 41-rudder connecting rod slot, 42-rudder connecting rod middle opening, 43-rudder connecting rod tail opening, 5-rudder fixing frame, 51-rudder fixing frame upper and lower crossbeam opening, 52-rudder fixing frame base opening, 6-rudder, 61-rudder upper and lower fixing hole, 62-rudder disc, 63-rudder disc opening, 7-clamping sliding block, 71-sliding block upper boss opening, 72-sliding block rear end opening, 73-female head groove, 74-boss, 75-sliding block lower boss opening, 76-arc-shaped bottom plate, 8-inclined rail, 81-sliding rail upper end opening, 82-sliding rail slot, 83-sliding rail groove, 84-sliding rail lower end opening, 9-hat hook, 91-male head protrusion, 92-hook body, 93-circular arc surface, 94-hook platform, 95-hook platform opening. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0047] To make the objectives, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below in connection with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some but not all of the embodiments of the present application. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort should fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0048] The present embodiment of the present application adopts a quad-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle as an air platform and a differential double-screw unmanned ship as a water surface platform. The present embodiment provides a technical solution:

[0049] A device for docking and separating an unmanned ship and an unmanned aerial vehicle with position deviation, comprising a hat hook 9 fixed to the surface of the center of gravity of the unmanned ship, the hat hook 9 being composed of a male head protrusion 91 at the top, a hook body 92 in the middle and a hook platform 94 at the bottom.

[0050] Further comprising two groups of four foot supports 1 installed below the arms of the unmanned aerial vehicle, each group of two foot supports is fixedly connected by a cross beam 2 between the feet, the side of the cross beam 2 is fixedly installed with a slope rail 8, the opposite end of the slope rail on the two groups of foot supports is connected into a V-shaped slide rail, the bottom end of the two slope rails forms a slide rail groove 83, the upper surface of the cross beam 2 is fixedly installed with a steering gear fixed frame 5, the hollow part in the middle of the steering gear fixed frame 5 places a steering gear 6, the steering disc 62 of the steering gear has a steering disc opening 63 for fixedly connecting one end of a steering gear connecting rod 4, the other end of the steering gear connecting rod 4 is rotatably connected to one end of a sliding block connecting rod 3 through a steering gear connecting rod tail opening 43, the other end of the sliding block connecting rod 3 is rotatably connected to a clamping sliding block 7 through a sliding block connecting rod lower opening 32, the cylindrical side of the slope rail 8 has a slide rail groove 82, which serves as a sliding track for the clamping sliding block, the upper surface of the cylindrical body of the slope rail 8 serves as a sliding track for the hat hook 9, the hook body 92 of the hat hook 9 is embedded on the left and right side of the slide rail groove 83 formed by the bottom end of the left and right slope rails, and the side of the clamping sliding block 7 has a female head groove 73 embedded with the male head protrusion 91 of the hat hook 9 for fixing the hat hook 9. As shown in Figure 1

[0051] The foot support 1 is installed below the arms of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the foot support top surface opening 11, and serves as a landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the foot supports can be fixedly connected by a cross beam between the feet through the foot support side opening 12, and the cylindrical surface of the foot support is grooved to reduce weight, as shown in Figure 3

[0052] The cross beam 2 includes a left cross beam and a right cross beam, and the two cross beams are parallel to the direction of the nose, and the two ends of the cross beam are respectively installed on the foot supports through cross beam two-end openings 21 for bearing the steering gear fixed frame and the slope rail, the upper surface of the cross beam is installed with the steering gear fixed frame through cross beam upper-end openings 22, and the side of the cross beam is installed with the slope rail through cross beam side-end openings 23, as shown in Figure 4

[0053] The steering gear fixed frame 5 includes a left steering gear fixed frame and a right steering gear fixed frame, and is installed on the cross beam through a steering gear fixed frame base opening 52, the hollow area in the middle of the steering gear fixed frame places a steering gear, and the steering gear is installed through steering gear upper and lower cross beam openings 51, as shown in Figure 5

[0054] The steering gear 6 includes a left steering gear and a right steering gear, and the steering gear used is a common digital steering gear, which is installed on the steering gear fixed frame through steering gear upper and lower fixing holes 61, the steering disc opening 63 on the steering disc 62 of the steering gear is matched with the steering gear connecting rod 4 opening for fixedly connecting the steering gear connecting rod 4, and the steering disc rotation drives the steering gear connecting rod 4 to move, as shown in Figure 6

[0055] ​​​​​The rudder connecting rod 4 includes left and right rudder connecting rods, and a rudder connecting rod slot 41 is arranged in the middle of the rudder connecting rod. The rudder connecting rod is embedded in the rudder disc, and one end of the rudder connecting rod is installed on the rudder disc through a rudder connecting rod middle opening 42, and the other end is rotatably connected to the sliding block connecting rod 3 through a rudder connecting rod tail opening 43. The rotation of the rudder disc can drive the sliding block connecting rod to move, as shown in Figure 7 .

[0056] The sliding block connecting rod 3 includes left and right sliding block connecting rods, and one end of the sliding block connecting rod is connected to the rudder connecting rod 4 through a sliding block connecting rod upper opening 31, and the other end is connected to the clamping sliding block 7 through a sliding block connecting rod lower opening 33. The movement of the sliding block connecting rod 3 can drive the clamping sliding block 7 to move. A sliding block connecting rod slot 32 is arranged in the middle of the sliding block connecting rod. When the sliding block connecting rod 3 moves, a part of the rudder connecting rod 4 is embedded in the sliding block connecting rod slot 32, as shown in Figure 8 .

[0057] The inclined rail 8 includes left and right inclined rails, and one end of the inclined rail is fixed to the cross beam between the feet through a sliding rail upper end opening 81, and the other end is connected to another inclined rail through a sliding rail lower end opening 84, forming a complete V-shaped structure. A sliding rail slot 82 is arranged in the middle of the inclined rail cylinder. The surface of the sliding rail slot is smooth enough to serve as a sliding track for the clamping sliding block. The upper surface of the inclined rail cylinder is smooth enough to serve as a sliding track for the hat hook. The left and right inclined rails form a sliding rail groove 83 at the bottom, which is embedded with the left and right sides of the hat hook, so as to limit the left and right shaking of the hat hook, as shown in Figure 9 .

[0058] The clamping sliding block 7 is connected to the sliding block connecting rod through a sliding block rear end opening 72, and is driven by the sliding block connecting rod to slide on the inclined rail. The clamping sliding block has a boss 74 which is embedded in the slot of the inclined rail, and the arc-shaped bottom plate 76 on both sides of the boss abuts against the outer surface of the inclined rail. The clamping sliding block has a female head groove 73 on the upper surface, which is embedded with the male head protrusion of the hat hook for fixing the hat hook. In order to enable the clamping sliding block to be installed on the V-shaped sliding block, the clamping sliding block is cut in the middle into two parts, i.e. a clamping sliding block left part and a clamping sliding block right part. After being installed on the V-shaped sliding rail, the clamping sliding block left part and the clamping sliding block right part are fixed as a whole through a sliding block upper boss opening 71 and a sliding block lower boss opening 75. As shown in Figure 10 , Figure 11 .

[0059] When receiving the docking or separation instruction, the left and right rudders synchronously drive the rudder disc, the rudder connecting rod, the sliding block connecting rod and the sliding block to move. The positions of the two clamping sliding blocks on the V-shaped track are symmetric about the center plane parallel to the direction of the unmanned aerial vehicle head. The pulling force of the two rudders is sufficient to enable the clamping sliding blocks to overcome the gravity and friction force and slide up and down along the V-shaped track.

[0060] The hook platform opening 95 of the hook platform 94 at the lower end of the capped hook 9 is fixed to the upper surface at the center of gravity of the unmanned ship, the male head protrusion 91 at the upper end is embedded in the female head groove of the clamping slider, the lower surface of the capped hook in contact with the inclined rail is a circular arc surface 93, which can reduce sliding friction, the left and right sides of the hook body 92 are flat surfaces, which can increase the contact area of the capped hook with the sliding rail groove at the bottom end of the inclined rail, and the lengths of the rudder connecting lever and the slider connecting lever can drive the left and right clamping sliders to lock the capped hook, as shown in Figure 2 、 Figure 12

[0061] In the present application, the fixed connection between holes is generally through bolts, and the rotary connection between holes is generally through a pin shaft. Since it is common sense in the field, the connection methods are not specifically introduced one by one.

[0062] The device for docking and separating the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle with position deviation tolerance can make the capped hook slide to the sliding rail groove under the action of gravity when there is a certain horizontal position error and heading error.

[0063] All the components of the present application are light in mass and strong in strength, and can support the mass of the unmanned ship within the load capacity of the unmanned aerial vehicle to lift the unmanned ship out of the water.

[0064] A method for docking and separating the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle with position deviation tolerance, and a method step flow chart is shown in Figure 13 The steps specifically include:

[0065] Step 1: After the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship receive the docking instruction, the attitude of each is adjusted through a control algorithm, so that the horizontal position error and the heading error of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship are within the allowable range, the capped hook of the unmanned ship is located above the inclined rail, and the unmanned aerial vehicle is raised to a height that can make the unmanned ship leave the water surface;

[0066] Step 2: The capped hook of the unmanned ship slides along the inclined rail to the sliding rail groove under the action of gravity, the rudder disc, the rudder connecting lever and the slider connecting lever are driven by the rudder on the unmanned aerial vehicle to move, so that the clamping slider slides downward along the inclined rail, the female head groove on the clamping slider is embedded with the male head protrusion of the capped hook to lock the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship to form a rigid body;

[0067] Step 3: After the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship receive the separation instruction, the rudder disc, the rudder connecting lever and the slider connecting lever are driven by the rudder on the unmanned aerial vehicle to move, so that the clamping slider slides upward along the inclined rail, and the female head groove on the clamping slider is separated from the male head protrusion of the capped hook;

[0068] Step 4: The unmanned aerial vehicle is lowered to a certain height to make the unmanned ship fall back onto the water surface, and the capped hook of the unmanned ship is separated from the sliding rail groove of the V-shaped rail under the action of the water surface buoyancy, so as to realize the separation of the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle.​

[0069] The control algorithm includes a PID algorithm, a model predictive control (MPC) algorithm and an LQR control algorithm, and the docking mode can be that the unmanned ship is stationary on the water surface and the unmanned aerial vehicle actively approaches to complete docking, or that the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship move in the same direction or towards each other to complete docking in motion.

[0070] Obviously, the above embodiments are only examples for clearly illustrating the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments. Based on the above description, other different forms of changes or variations can be made by those skilled in the art. Here, all the embodiments are not required to be exhausted, and the obvious changes or variations derived therefrom are still within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A device for docking and undocking an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with allowance for positional deviations, characterized in that, The hat hook (9) is composed of a male head protrusion (91) at the top, a hook body (92) in the middle and a hook platform (94) at the bottom. The two groups of four foot supports (1) are installed below the arms of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and each group of two foot supports is fixedly connected through an inter-foot cross beam (2). The side surface of the inter-foot cross beam (2) is fixedly provided with an inclined rail (8). The opposite ends of the upper inclined rails of the two groups of foot supports are connected into a V-shaped slide rail. The lowermost ends of the two inclined rails form a slide rail groove (83). The upper surface of the inter-foot cross beam (2) is fixedly provided with a rudder fixing frame (5). The hollow part of the rudder fixing frame (5) is used for placing a rudder (6). The rudder disc (62) of the rudder is provided with a rudder disc opening (63) for fixedly connecting one end of a rudder connecting rod (4). The other end of the rudder connecting rod (4) is rotatably connected with one end of a sliding block connecting rod (3) through a rudder connecting rod tail opening (43). The other end of the sliding block connecting rod (3) is rotatably connected with a clamping sliding block (7) through a sliding block connecting rod lower opening (32). The side surface of the inclined rail (8) is provided with a slide rail groove (82) for the clamping sliding block to slide. The upper surface of the inclined rail (8) is used as a sliding track for the hat hook (9). The slide rail groove (83) formed by the lowermost ends of the left and right inclined rails can be embedded with the left and right side surfaces of the hook body (92) of the hat hook (9). The side surface of the clamping sliding block (7) is provided with a female head groove (73) for embedding the male head protrusion (91) of the hat hook (9) to fix the hat hook (9).

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The clamping sliding block (7) is connected with the sliding block connecting rod (3) through a sliding block rear end opening (72). The clamping sliding block (7) is provided with two protrusions (74) which are embedded into the slide rail groove (82) of the inclined rail (8). The bottom of the protrusion (74) is connected with an arc-shaped bottom plate (76) which abuts against the surface of the inclined rail cylinder.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein, The clamping sliding block (7) is further provided with a sliding block upper protrusion opening (71) and a sliding block lower protrusion opening (75).

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein, The lower surface of the hat hook (9) which contacts with the inclined rail is a circular arc surface. The left and right side surfaces of the hook body (92) are planes.

5. A method for docking and undocking of an unmanned surface vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle with allowance for positional deviations, characterized in that, The method is based on the docking and separating device of the unmanned surface vehicle and the unmanned aerial vehicle as claimed in claim 1 and comprises the following steps. S1: After the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned surface vehicle receive the docking instruction, the attitudes of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned surface vehicle are adjusted through a control algorithm to dock. The horizontal position error and the heading error of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned surface vehicle are controlled within a permissible range during the docking. The unmanned aerial vehicle is raised to a height to enable the unmanned surface vehicle to leave the water surface; S2: The unmanned aerial vehicle is raised to a height. The hat hook of the unmanned surface vehicle slides along the inclined rail to the slide rail groove under the action of gravity. The rudder disc, the rudder connecting rod and the sliding block connecting rod are driven by the rudder on the unmanned aerial vehicle to move. The clamping sliding block slides downward along the inclined rail. The female head groove on the clamping sliding block is embedded with the male head protrusion of the hat hook to lock the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned surface vehicle to form a rigid body. S3: When the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship receive the separation instruction, the rudder on the unmanned aerial vehicle drives the rudder disc, the rudder connecting rod and the sliding block connecting rod to move, so that the clamping sliding block slides upward along the inclined rail, and the female head groove on the clamping sliding block is separated from the male head protrusion of the hat hook; S4: The unmanned aerial vehicle descends a certain height so that the unmanned ship can fall back onto the water surface, and under the action of the water surface buoyancy, the hat hook of the unmanned ship is separated from the sliding rail groove of the V-shaped rail, realizing the separation of the unmanned ship and the unmanned aerial vehicle.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein, The control algorithm includes a PID algorithm, a model predictive control algorithm or an LQR control algorithm, and the docking mode is that the unmanned aerial vehicle hovers, the unmanned ship actively approaches the unmanned aerial vehicle to complete docking, the unmanned ship is stationary on the water surface and the unmanned aerial vehicle actively approaches to complete docking, or the unmanned aerial vehicle and the unmanned ship move in the same direction or opposite directions at the same time to complete docking in motion.

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