Unmanned aerial vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle control method

Abstract

The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle control method. The unmanned aerial vehicle comprises a vehicle body and a first camera connected with the vehicle body; the undercarriage is connected with the fuselage, and the undercarriage can rotate relative to the fuselage so as to have a folded state and a falling state for supporting the fuselage; when the undercarriage is in a folded state, the undercarriage is folded at the bottom of the fuselage and is located outside the view field range of the first camera; and under the condition that the undercarriage is in a falling state, at least part of the undercarriage is located in the view field range of the first camera. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle, the undercarriage can prevent the first camera from being damaged, and the supporting effect of the unmanned aerial vehicle can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, and particularly to an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle control method. Background Art

[0002] Traditional unmanned aerial vehicles are usually equipped with a three-axis gimbal and a camera, and the gimbal stabilizes the camera; in order to protect the unmanned aerial vehicle, landing gears are provided at the ends of the arms to protect the unmanned aerial vehicle when it lands;

[0003] However, during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle often appears in the camera shooting, affecting the imaging result. In some unmanned aerial vehicle-glasses control systems, the unmanned aerial vehicle transmits the captured image to the glasses for display, and the user can control the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the display result. At this time, the landing gear also affects the user's vision, which is not conducive to flight control and reduces the user experience.

[0004] In addition, the landing gear at the end of the arm also protrudes from the fuselage, which is not conducive to the miniaturization of the unmanned aerial vehicle and the folding design of the arm. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Based on this, it is necessary to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle and an unmanned aerial vehicle control method for how to reduce or avoid the problem of the landing gear of the unmanned aerial vehicle being in the way.

[0006] An unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

[0007] A fuselage;

[0008] A first camera, connected to the fuselage; and,

[0009] A landing gear, connected to the fuselage, and the landing gear can rotate relative to the fuselage to have a retracted state and a lowered state for supporting the fuselage;

[0010] Wherein, when the landing gear is in the retracted state, the landing gear is retracted to the bottom of the fuselage and is outside the field of view of the first camera; in the case where the landing gear is in the lowered state, at least a part of the landing gear is within the field of view of the first camera.

[0011] For the above-mentioned drone, when the fuselage lands, the landing gear can be lowered to support the fuselage, thereby spacing the first camera from the ground or the desktop, preventing damage to the first camera, and at least part of the landing gear is within the field of view angle of the first camera, which is beneficial to the reasonable layout of the landing gear. When the fuselage rises, at least two landing gears can be retracted to be outside the field of view of the first camera, so as not to affect the panoramic shooting effect of the drone. At the same time, when the landing gears are retracted, at least two landing gears are retracted to the bottom of the fuselage, which is beneficial to reducing the occupied space of the drone and also beneficial to reducing the influence of the landing gears on the field of view angle design of the first camera, thereby facilitating the expansion of the field of view angle of the first camera to meet the requirements of panoramic shooting.

[0012] In one embodiment, the first camera is disposed at the bottom of the fuselage.

[0013] In one embodiment, the optical axis of the first camera is substantially parallel to the heading axis of the drone.

[0014] In one embodiment, the field of view angle of the first camera is greater than or equal to 180 degrees.

[0015] In one embodiment, an opening is provided at the bottom of the fuselage, the opening is substantially located in the middle of the bottom, and a part of the first camera is disposed inside the fuselage and protrudes from the opening to the bottom of the fuselage.

[0016] In one embodiment, the landing gear includes a first end and a second end that are away from each other, and the first end is rotatably connected to the fuselage.

[0017] Wherein, the second end can move away from or close to the first camera as the first end rotates relative to the fuselage. When the landing gear is in the retracted state, the second end is attached to the bottom of the fuselage.

[0018] And / or, during the process of the landing gear switching from the lowered state to the retracted state, the second end moves towards the first camera.

[0019] And / or, the rotation axis of the landing gear is substantially parallel to the roll axis of the drone.

[0020] In one embodiment, the landing gear includes a first end and a second end that are away from each other, the first end is rotatably connected to the fuselage, and the second end is provided with a notch. When the landing gear is in the retracted state, the notch faces the first camera, and the second ends jointly surround at least part of the first camera along the circumferential direction of the first camera.

[0021] In one of the embodiments, the landing gear is capable of rotating relative to the fuselage along a rotation axis, and when the landing gear is in a retracted state, a projection of the landing gear at least partially overlaps with a projection of the first camera in a direction along the bottom and perpendicular to the axis.

[0022] In one of the embodiments, the number of the landing gears is greater than or equal to two, at least two of the landing gears are respectively rotatably connected to the bottom of the fuselage, and the rotation centers of at least two of the landing gears are respectively located on two sides opposite to each other of the first camera.

[0023] In one embodiment, the bottom is provided with at least two receiving grooves, and the at least two receiving grooves together surround at least a portion of the first camera along the circumference of the first camera, and the landing gear and the receiving grooves correspond one by one. When the landing gear is in a retracted state, at least a portion of each landing gear is received in the corresponding receiving groove.

[0024] In one of the embodiments, the UAV further includes: a driving assembly, wherein the driving assembly is used to drive the two landing gears to rotate in opposite directions relative to the fuselage.

[0025] In one of the embodiments, the driving assembly includes a driving element and two connecting rods, the two landing gears are respectively arranged on both sides of the driving element, and the two landing gears are respectively connected to the output shaft of the driving element through the two connecting rods.

[0026] In one embodiment, the driving assembly further includes a transmission element, which is connected to the output shaft of the driving element and has transmission parts located on opposite sides of the output shaft, and each of the connecting rods is rotatably connected to a corresponding one of the transmission parts.

[0027] In one of the embodiments, when the two landing gears are in a lowered state, an angle between the two landing gears is greater than or equal to 60° and less than or equal to 80°.

[0028] In one of the embodiments, when the two landing gears are in a lowered state, in a direction perpendicular to the bottom, a height difference between the two landing gears and the first camera is greater than or equal to 4 mm and less than or equal to 20 mm.

[0029] In one of the embodiments, when the two landing gears are in a lowered state, in a direction parallel to the bottom, a maximum distance between the two landing gears and the first camera is greater than or equal to 30 mm and less than or equal to 70 mm.

[0030] In one embodiment, the drone further includes a second camera disposed on the top of the fuselage. The sum of the field of view angles of the non-overlapping fields of view of the first camera and the second camera is equal to 360 degrees, and the fuselage is outside the field of view ranges of the first camera and the second camera.

[0031] In one embodiment, the size of the fuselage in a first direction is greater than the size in a second direction, where the first direction is parallel to the direction from the top to the bottom, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

[0032] In one embodiment, the ratio of the size of the fuselage in the second direction to the size in the first direction is greater than or equal to 0.6 and less than 1.

[0033] In one embodiment, the drone further includes a plurality of arms which are sequentially and spaced apart circumferentially along the fuselage. The arms are outside the field of view ranges of the first camera and the second camera, or within the overlapping field of view of the first camera and the second camera.

[0034] In one embodiment, in the first direction, the ratio of the distance between the top and the arm to the distance between the top and the bottom is greater than or equal to 0.35 and less than or equal to 0.45.

[0035] In one embodiment, the overlapping field of view angle of the first camera and the second camera is greater than 1.5°.

[0036] In one embodiment, the drone further includes:

[0037] An in-position sensor configured to output an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear is in the lowered state when the landing gear is in the lowered state.

[0038] This application also provides a drone control method, including:

[0039] Providing the drone according to any of the above embodiments;

[0040] Sensing the height of the fuselage from the ground, and driving the landing gear to retract when the height of the fuselage from the ground is greater than a first preset value, and driving the landing gear to lower when the height of the fuselage from the ground is less than the first preset value.

[0041] In one embodiment, the drone control method further includes:

[0042] Detecting whether the landing gear is in the lowered state;

[0043] When the landing gear is in the lowered state, drive the UAV to land;

[0044] When the landing gear is in the stowed state, control the UAV to stop landing.

[0045] In one embodiment, it further includes:

[0046] When it is detected that the landing gear is in the lowered state, send the landing gear status to the remote controller; the remote controller is used to output an indication signal, and the indication signal is used to represent that the landing gear is in the lowered state.

[0047] In one embodiment, it further includes:

[0048] Respond to the control signal of the remote controller and control the landing gear of the UAV to be in the stowed state or the lowered state. Description of the Drawings

[0049] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of the UAV in some embodiments.

[0050] Figure 2 It is Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of the other angle of the UAV shown.

[0051] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the field of view ranges of the first camera and the second camera in some embodiments.

[0052] Figure 4 It is Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the rotation direction of the landing gear in the UAV shown.

[0053] Figure 5 It is a schematic structural diagram of the UAV when the landing gear is in the lowered state in some embodiments.

[0054] Figure 6 It is a schematic structural diagram of the UAV when the landing gear is in the stowed state in some embodiments.

[0055] Figure 7 It is a schematic structural diagram of the landing gear in some embodiments.

[0056] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of the landing gear when it is in the lowered state in some other embodiments.

[0057] Figure 9 It is Figure 8 A schematic structural diagram of the landing gear when it is in the stowed state shown.

[0058] Figure 10 It is a schematic structural diagram of the drive assembly in some embodiments.

[0059] Figure 11 is Figure 10 a schematic structural view of another angle of the driving component shown in the figure.

[0060] Reference numerals:

[0061] 10. Drone; 11. Body; 111. Top; 112. Bottom; 1121. Opening; 1122. Receiving groove; 12. First camera; 13. Second camera; 14. Landing gear; 141. First end; 142. Second end; 1421. Notch; 15. Driving component; 151. Driving element; 1511. Output shaft; 152. Link; 153. Transmission element; 1531. Transmission part; 16. Arm; 17. Blade; 18. Ranging module; 21. First direction; 22. Second direction; 23. Third direction. Detailed implementation manners

[0062] To make the above objects, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and understandable, the following detailed description of the specific implementation manners of the present application will be given with reference to the accompanying drawings. Many specific details are set forth in the following description in order to fully understand the present application. However, the present application can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without departing from the connotation of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited by the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0063] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that if these terms "center", "longitudinal", "transverse", "length", "width", "thickness", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. appear, the orientation or positional relationship indicated by these terms is based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and is only for the convenience of describing the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present application.

[0064] In addition, if these terms "first" and "second" appear, these terms are only for descriptive purposes and cannot be understood as indicating or implying 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 the description of the present application, if the term "plurality" appears, the meaning of "plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0065] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, if terms such as "installed", "connected", "linked", "fixed", etc. appear, these terms should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or integrated; 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 or the interaction relationship between two components, unless otherwise clearly defined. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in this application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0066] In this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and defined, if there is a description such as a first feature being "on" or "under" a second feature, its meaning can be that the first and second features are in direct contact, or the first and second features are indirectly in contact through an intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature being "above", "over", and "on top of" the second feature can mean that the first feature is directly above or obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. The first feature being "under", "beneath", and "underneath" the second feature can be that the first feature is directly below or obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0067] It should be noted that if an element is referred to as being "fixed to" or "disposed on" another element, it can be directly on the other element or there can also be an intermediate element. If an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element or there may be an intermediate element at the same time. If present, the terms "vertical", "horizontal", "up", "down", "left", "right", and similar expressions used in this application are only for the purpose of illustration and do not represent the only implementation.

[0068] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 and Figure 2 FIGs. and show schematic structural diagrams of the drone 10 at different angles in some embodiments of the present application. The drone 10 provided in the present application may include a fuselage 11, a first camera 12, and a second camera 13. The two ends of the fuselage 11 are respectively the top 111 and the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11. During flight, the top 111 and the bottom 112 can be respectively located at the top and the bottom of the fuselage 11 along the direction of gravity. The first camera 12 is disposed on the bottom 112, and the second camera 13 is disposed on the top 111. The images captured by the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 can be stitched to form a panoramic image. In some embodiments, the sum of the field of view angles of the non-overlapping fields of view of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 is equal to 360 degrees, which is beneficial to achieving a panoramic shooting effect.

[0069] Combined with Figure 3As shown, it can be understood that the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 may have an overlapping field of view. Moreover, the larger the overlapping field of view range of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, the more conducive it is to stitching the images captured by the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 through algorithms to form a panoramic image. In some embodiments, the overlapping field of view angle of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 is greater than 1.5°, the maximum field of view angle of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 may be greater than or equal to 183°, and the overlapping field of view angle of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 may also be greater than 5° or greater than 10° to improve the panoramic shooting effect.

[0070] To achieve the panoramic shooting effect, both the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 can adopt fisheye lenses with wide-angle shooting effects. In some embodiments, an opening 1121 is provided at the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11. The opening 1121 is generally located at the middle position of the bottom 112. The first camera 12 is partially disposed inside the fuselage 11 and protrudes from the opening 1121 to the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11 to obtain a larger shooting field of view and improve the connection strength and structural stability between the first camera 12 and the fuselage 11. The second camera 13 can also be disposed inside the fuselage 11 and protrude from the top 111 of the fuselage 11.

[0071] Since the first camera 12 is located at the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11, to avoid the situation where the first camera 12 is damaged when the drone 10 takes off or lands and the first camera 12 contacts the ground or the tabletop,

[0072] Combined Figure 2 and Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the drone 10 further includes a landing gear 14, which is connected to the fuselage 11. The landing gear 14 can rotate relative to the fuselage 11 to have a retracted state and a lowered state for supporting the fuselage 11; wherein, when the landing gear 14 is in the retracted state, the landing gear 14 is retracted to the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11 and is outside the field of view of the first camera 12; in the case where the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, at least a part of the landing gear 14 is within the field of view of the first camera 12.

[0073] For the above-mentioned drone 10, when the fuselage 11 lands, the landing gear 14 can be lowered to support the fuselage 11, thereby spacing the first camera 12 from the ground or the tabletop to prevent the first camera 12 from being damaged, and at least a part of the landing gear 14 is within the field of view of the first camera 12, effectively utilizing the space; while during the flight of the fuselage 11, the landing gear 14 is retracted to the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11 and is outside the field of view of the first camera 12 to avoid being in the shot.

[0074] In some embodiments, the optical axis of the first camera 12 is substantially parallel to the heading axis of the drone 10; exemplarily, the field of view angle of the first camera 12 is greater than or equal to 180 degrees.

[0075] It should be noted that in this embodiment, the first camera 12 can be fixedly installed at the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11, or installed on the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11 through a shock-absorbing mechanism (shock-absorbing ball). Due to the configuration of its optical axis and field of view angle, the drone 10 can take a wide range of pictures of the area facing the bottom 111 of the fuselage 11. Folding the landing gear 14 at the bottom 111 of the fuselage 11 is conducive to the reasonable layout of the landing gear 14 and avoids the landing gear 14 being in the shot.

[0076] In some embodiments, the rotation axis of the landing gear 14 is substantially parallel to the roll axis of the drone 10.

[0077] Combined Figure 2 with Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the number of the landing gears 14 is greater than or equal to two, and at least two landing gears 14 are located on opposite sides of the first camera 12. The landing gears 14 can rotate relative to the fuselage 11 to have a retracted state and a lowered state for supporting the fuselage 11. When the landing gears 14 are in the lowered state, the dimension of the landing gears 14 in the direction perpendicular to the bottom 112 is greater than the dimension of the first camera 12 in the direction perpendicular to the bottom 112, so as to separate the first camera 12 from a carrier such as the ground or a tabletop when the drone 10 lands. When the landing gears 14 are in the retracted state, the landing gears 14 are folded in at the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11 and are outside the field of view of the first camera 12, and the first camera 12 will not capture the landing gears 14.

[0078] In this embodiment, at least two landing gears 14 are located on opposite sides of the first camera 12. By means of at least three-point fixation, the supporting effect of the drone 10 on the ground or a tabletop can also be improved, making the landing of the drone 10 smoother and reducing the risk of the drone 10 tipping over.

[0079] Exemplarily, the direction perpendicular to the bottom 112 can refer to either the direction of gravity or the direction perpendicular to the plane where the roll axis and pitch axis of the drone 10 are located.

[0080] At least two landing gears 14 are located on two opposite sides of the first camera 12, which can provide protection for the first camera 12 from multiple directions. Moreover, by means of fixing at at least two points, the supporting effect of the drone 10 on the ground or on a tabletop can also be improved, making the landing of the drone 10 more stable and reducing the risk of the drone 10 tipping over. When the fuselage 11 rises, at least two landing gears 14 can be retracted to be outside the field of view of the first camera 12, without affecting the panoramic shooting effect of the drone 10. At the same time, when the landing gears 14 are retracted, at least two landing gears 14 are retracted to the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11, which is beneficial to reducing the occupied space of the drone 10 and also beneficial to reducing the influence of the landing gears 14 on the field of view angle design of the first camera 12, thereby being beneficial to expanding the field of view angle of the first camera 12 and meeting the requirements of panoramic shooting. It can be understood that the arrangement of the landing gears 14 and the first camera 12 in the fuselage 11 cooperate to provide protection for the first camera 12 and improve the connection stability between the first camera 12 and the fuselage 11. At the same time, there is no need to set up a gimbal to carry the camera, which is beneficial to simplifying the structure of the drone 10, reducing the manufacturing cost of the drone 10, and compressing the occupied space of the drone 10.

[0081] Combined with Figure 4 As shown, in some embodiments, the landing gear 14 includes a first end 141 and a second end 142 that are far away from each other and connected to each other. The first end 141 is rotatably connected to the fuselage 11, and the first end 141 can rotate relative to the fuselage 11 about an axis, so that the second end 142 can move about the axis in a direction closer to or away from the first camera 12. When the landing gear 14 switches from the retracted state to the lowered state, the second end 142 moves away from the first camera 12 about the axis. When the landing gear 14 switches from the lowered state to the retracted state, the second end 142 moves towards the first camera 12 about the axis. Thus, the movement of the landing gear 14 relative to the fuselage 11 is not likely to interfere with the first camera 12 and the fuselage 11, and the fuselage 11 does not need to reserve a receiving space for the landing gear 14, which can simplify the design and preparation difficulty of the landing gear 14.

[0082] In this application, it is exemplified that the drone 10 is provided with two landing gears 14. The number of landing gears 14 is not limited to this. When the drone 10 is provided with a greater number of landing gears 14, the multiple landing gears 14 can be sequentially arranged at intervals along the circumference of the first camera 12. In this application, for ease of description, the height direction of the fuselage 11, that is, the direction from the bottom 112 to the top 111, is referred to as the first direction 21, and the second direction 22 and the third direction 23 are defined. The second direction 22 and the third direction 23 are two mutually perpendicular directions on a plane parallel to the bottom 112. The first direction 21, the second direction 22, and the third direction 23 are mutually perpendicular to each other in pairs, and the first direction 21, the second direction 22, and the third direction 23 form a spatial rectangular coordinate system. The axis around which the landing gear 14 rotates relative to the fuselage 11 can be parallel to the second direction 22.

[0083] The direction from the bottom 112 to the top 111 is parallel to the direction where the heading axis of the drone 10 is located.

[0084] In some embodiments, when the landing gear 14 is in the retracted state, the two second ends 142 are attached to the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11, for example, attached to both sides opposite to the first camera 12, which can compress the occupied space of the drone 10 during flight to the greatest extent. Refer to Figure 5 、 Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown in, in some embodiments, in the direction along the bottom 112 and perpendicular to the axis, that is, in the third direction 23, the projection of the landing gear 14 overlaps at least part of the first camera 12, so that the landing gear 14 can not only provide effective protection for the first camera 12, but also have a smaller occupied space when retracted.

[0085] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the second end 142 of the landing gear 14 is provided with a notch 1421. When the landing gear 14 is in the retracted state, the notch 1421 is arranged facing the first camera 12, and the second ends 142 of the two landing gears 14 jointly surround at least part of the first camera 12 along the circumference of the first camera 12. For example, in the embodiment shown in Figure 6 the second ends 142 of the two landing gears 14 are opposite to each other and generally enclose to form a ring surrounding the first camera 12, and the two second ends 142 can be arranged at intervals to avoid interference between the two landing gears 14. With such an arrangement, when the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, the two landing gears 14 are respectively on both sides of the first camera 12 in the third direction 23, and when the landing gear 14 is in the retracted state, part of the two second ends 142 is on both sides of the first camera 12 in the second direction 22, which will neither interfere with the first camera 12 nor compress the occupied space of the drone 10 to the greatest extent.

[0086] In some embodiments, at least two receiving grooves 1122 are provided at the bottom 112 of the fuselage 11. The receiving grooves 1122 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the landing gears 14. The at least two receiving grooves 1122 jointly surround at least part of the first camera 12 along the circumferential direction of the first camera 12. When the landing gears 14 are in the retracted state, at least part of each landing gear 14 is received in the corresponding receiving groove 1122. For example, the landing gear 14 can be completely received in the corresponding receiving groove 1122, and the surface of the landing gear 14 facing away from the bottom 112 is flush with the bottom 112. Thus, not only can the occupied space of the drone 10 be further compressed, but also the appearance integrity of the drone 10 can be improved. It should be noted that the two receiving grooves 1122 can be arranged at intervals from each other. Then, when the landing gears 14 are in the retracted state, the two second ends 142 are spaced apart. The two receiving grooves 1122 can also be communicated with each other. Then, when the landing gears 14 are in the retracted state, the two second ends 142 can just abut against each other.

[0087] Combined with Figure 5 、 Figure 8 and Figure 9 as shown, Figure 8 and Figure 9 show schematic structural diagrams of the landing gear 14 in some other embodiments. In some other embodiments, when the landing gears 14 are in the retracted state, the two second ends 142 jointly surround the first camera 12, and the two second ends 142 partially overlap in the second direction 22. For example, a part of one second end 142 is inserted into the notch 1421 of the other second end 142, or a part of both second ends 142 is inserted into the notches 1421 of each other. With such an arrangement, not only can the interference between the landing gears 14 when rotating relative to the fuselage 11 or with the first camera 12 be avoided, but also the dimension of the landing gear 14 in the first direction 21 can be extended, so as to better isolate the first camera 12 from carriers such as the ground or a tabletop when the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, and reduce the risk of damage to the first camera 12.

[0088] Combined with Figure 5 、 Figure 10 and Figure 11 as shown, in some embodiments, the drone 10 further includes a driving assembly 15. The driving assembly 15 is used to drive the two landing gears 14 to rotate in opposite directions relative to the fuselage 11. Driven by the driving assembly 15, the two landing gears 14 can rotate in opposite directions relative to the fuselage 11 synchronously, which can make the state switching of the landing gears 14 more synchronous and avoid interference between the landing gears 14 during rotation.

[0089] In some embodiments, the driving assembly 15 includes a driving element 151 and two connecting rods 152. The driving element 151 includes, but is not limited to, any applicable motor or engine. The driving element 151 has an output shaft 1511 capable of self-rotation. The two landing gears 14 are respectively arranged on both sides of the driving element 151, and the two landing gears 14 are respectively drivingly connected to the output shaft 1511 of the driving element 151 through the two connecting rods 152. When the output shaft 1511 of the driving element 151 rotates, the two landing gears 14 can be driven to rotate synchronously relative to the fuselage 11 through the two connecting rods 152. The first end 141 of the landing gear 14 can be drivingly connected to the connecting rod 152 through any applicable rotational connection structure such as a hinge or a rotating shaft. The connecting rod 152 can be arranged inside the fuselage 11. The rotational connection structure between the connecting rod 152 and the first end 141 extends from inside the fuselage 11 to the outside of the fuselage 11 and is rotationally connected to the first end 141, which can not only achieve the driving connection between the driving assembly 15 and the landing gear 14, but also prevent the driving assembly 15 from affecting the appearance of the UAV 10. The fuselage 11 can also provide good protection for the components of the driving assembly 15.

[0090] Furthermore, in some embodiments, the driving assembly 15 further includes a transmission element 153. The transmission element 153 is connected to the output shaft 1511 of the driving element 151 and has transmission parts 1531 located on opposite sides of the output shaft 1511. The transmission parts 1531 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the connecting rods 152, and each connecting rod 152 is rotationally connected to the corresponding transmission part 1531. When the output shaft 1511 rotates, the two transmission parts 1531 will be driven to rotate synchronously, so as to drive the two landing gears 14 to rotate synchronously in opposite directions through the connecting rods 152, making the driving of the two landing gears 14 more stable and synchronous.

[0091] Please refer to Figure 4 , in some embodiments, when the two landing gears 14 are in the lowered state, the included angle between the two landing gears 14 is greater than or equal to 60° and less than or equal to 80°, for example, it can be 60°, 70° or 80°. Thus, the opening angle of the landing gears 14 in the lowered state can be reasonably configured, which is not only beneficial to improving the landing stability of the UAV 10, but also can provide effective protection for the first camera 12.

[0092] In some embodiments, when the two landing gears 14 are in the lowered state, in the direction perpendicular to the bottom 112, i.e., in the first direction 21, the height difference between the two landing gears 14 and the first camera 12 is greater than or equal to 4 mm and less than or equal to 20 mm. For example, it can be 4 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, or 20 mm. Thus, there is a sufficient height difference between the landing gear 14 and the first camera 12 to space the landing gear 14 from a carrier such as the ground or a tabletop, providing effective protection for the first camera 12. At the same time, the height difference between the landing gear 14 and the first camera 12 is not too large, which is beneficial to compressing the size of the landing gear 14, thereby compressing the occupied space of the drone 10. Further, when the two landing gears 14 are in the lowered state, in the direction perpendicular to the bottom 112, i.e., in the first direction 21, the height difference between the two landing gears 14 and the first camera 12 is greater than or equal to 8 mm and less than or equal to 16 mm, which can further enhance the protection of the first camera 12 by the landing gear 14 and compress the occupied space of the drone 10.

[0093] In some embodiments, when the two landing gears 14 are in the lowered state, in the direction parallel to the bottom 112, i.e., in the third direction 23, the maximum distance between the two landing gears 14 and the first camera 12 is greater than or equal to 30 mm and less than or equal to 70 mm. For example, it can be 30 mm, 50 mm, 60 mm, or 70 mm. Thus, the distance between the landing gear 14 and the first camera 12 is not too far, which can provide effective protection for the first camera 12 and at the same time compress the occupied space of the drone 10.

[0094] In some embodiments, the drone 10 further includes a plurality of arms 16. The plurality of arms 16 are sequentially and spaced apart along the circumferential direction of the fuselage 11. One end of each arm 16 away from the fuselage 11 can be provided with a blade 17. The plurality of blades 17 cooperate to enable the flight or landing of the drone 10.

[0095] In some embodiments, the size of the fuselage 11 in the first direction 21 is greater than the size in the second direction 22. For example, the fuselage 11 can be columnar, cup-shaped, or table-shaped, which is beneficial to increasing the distance between the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, and increasing the accommodation space of the fuselage 11 between the first camera 12 and the second camera 13. Thus, it is easier to accommodate components such as the battery and circuit board of the drone 10 in the space of the fuselage 11 between the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, and the central stability of the drone 10 is improved. In addition, with the increase in the distance between the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, it is also easier to keep the propeller 17 and the arm 16 outside the field of view of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 and not easily captured by the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, thereby improving the panoramic shooting effect of the drone 10. Of course, part of the arm 16 and the propeller 17 can also be within the overlapping field of view of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13. When the images captured by the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 are stitched to form a panoramic image, the arm 16 and the propeller 17 will not appear in the panoramic image, which is also beneficial to improving the panoramic shooting effect of the drone 10.

[0096] In some embodiments, the ratio of the size of the fuselage 11 in the second direction 22 to the size in the first direction 21 is greater than or equal to 0.6 and less than or equal to 1, for example, it can be 0.6, 0.8, or 0.9. Thus, while reasonably increasing the distance between the first camera 12 and the second camera 13 and the accommodation space of the fuselage 11 between the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, the central stability of the drone 10 can also be improved.

[0097] In some embodiments, in the first direction 21, the ratio of the distance between the top 111 and the arm 16 to the distance between the top wall and the bottom 112 (i.e., the size of the fuselage 11 in the first direction 21) is greater than or equal to 0.35 and less than or equal to 0.45, for example, it can be 0.35, 0.40, or 0.45. In other words, the arm 16 is provided at a position of the fuselage 11 closer to the top 111. Thus, by reasonably configuring the size of the fuselage 11 on both sides of the arm 16, the gravity center stability of the drone 10 can be improved, which is beneficial to improving the flight stability of the drone 10. Additionally, it can also make the arm 16 and the propeller 17 not easily enter the field of view angle range of the first camera 12 and the second camera 13, thereby improving the panoramic shooting effect.

[0098] In some embodiments, the drone 10 may further include an in-position sensor. The in-position sensor is disposed on the fuselage 11 or on the landing gear 14. The in-position sensor is configured to output an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear 14 is in the stowed state when the landing gear 14 is in the stowed state. By providing the in-position sensor, when the drone 10 lands, the in-position sensor can first sense whether the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state. When the in-position sensor outputs an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, the drone 10 is then driven to land. When the in-position sensor does not output an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, the drone 10 is driven to stop landing. Thus, it is possible to avoid the situation where the drone 10 lands when the landing gear 14 is not lowered or not lowered in place, and prevent the first camera 12 from being damaged due to the landing gear 14 not being lowered in place.

[0099] In some embodiments, the in-position sensor may include a microswitch. The microswitch is configured to be triggered when the landing gear 14 switches to the lowered state, thereby outputting an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state. For example, the microswitch may be disposed at the connection between the landing gear 14 and the drive assembly 15, such as at the connection between the landing gear 14 and the link 152. When the landing gear 14 rotates to the lowered state along with the link 152, the microswitch can be just triggered. In some other embodiments, the in-position sensor may include a Hall sensor. The Hall sensor is disposed on one of the landing gears 14, and a magnet is disposed on the other landing gear 14. The Hall sensor is configured to sense the magnetic field of the magnet. It can be understood that as the two landing gears 14 rotate relative to the fuselage 11, the distance between the two landing gears 14 changes, that is, the distance between the magnet and the Hall sensor changes, and the magnetic field intensity sensed by the Hall sensor changes. When the magnetic field intensity of the magnet sensed by the Hall sensor is less than or equal to a second preset value, an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state is output. The second preset value may be the magnetic field intensity sensed by the Hall sensor when the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, and can be specifically set according to the distance between the landing gears 14 in the lowered state, which is not limited in this application.

[0100] In some embodiments, the drone 10 may further include a rotational speed sensor. The rotational speed sensor is configured to sense the rotational speed of the propeller blade 17 and output a signal for driving the landing gear 14 to lower when the rotational speed of the propeller blade 17 is lower than a third preset value. It can be understood that when the rotational speed of the propeller blade 17 is lower than the third preset value, the propeller blade 17 may malfunction or the drone 10 is landing. At this time, driving the landing gear 14 to lower can avoid the situation where the first camera 12 is damaged when the drone 10 lands due to the malfunction of the propeller blade 17 or during normal landing, and improve the safety performance of the drone 10. The third preset value can be set according to the rotational speed of the propeller blade 17 in the normal flight state, which is not limited in this application.

[0101] In some embodiments, the drone 10 may further include a ranging module 18 disposed at the bottom 112. The ranging module 18 includes, but is not limited to, a time-of-flight (TOF) three-dimensional ranging module. The ranging module 18 can measure the distance between the drone 10 and a carrier such as the ground or a tabletop in the vertical direction (the first direction 21), and output a signal to drive the landing gear 14 to lower when the height of the fuselage 11 from the ground is less than a first preset value. Thus, the landing gear 14 can be driven to lower in a timely manner during the landing process of the drone 10, avoiding damage to the first camera 12 during the landing process. The first preset value can be designed according to the lowering speed of the landing gear 14 and the height of the first camera 12 protruding from the bottom 112, and is not limited in this application.

[0102] Based on the drone 10 of any of the above embodiments, the present application further provides a drone control method for the drone 10, including the following steps:

[0103] Sense the height of the fuselage 11 from the ground, that is, sense the distance between the fuselage 11 and a carrier such as the ground or a tabletop in the first direction 21, and drive the landing gear 14 to retract when the height of the fuselage 11 from the ground is greater than the first preset value, and drive the landing gear 14 to lower when the height of the fuselage 11 from the ground is less than the first preset value. Thus, it can be ensured that the landing gear 14 is in the retracted state during the flight of the drone 10, reducing the occupied space of the drone 10, avoiding collisions of the landing gear 14, and at the same time, it can also be ensured that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state during the landing process of the drone 10 to provide effective protection for the first camera 12. Sensing the height of the fuselage 11 from the ground can be achieved through the ranging module 18, and the specific settings can be obtained with reference to the above description.

[0104] In some embodiments, the drone control method may further include:

[0105] Detect whether the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state;

[0106] When the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, drive the fuselage 11 to land;

[0107] When the landing gear 14 is in the retracted state, control the fuselage 11 to stop landing.

[0108] Thus, it can be ensured that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state when the fuselage 11 lands to provide protection for the first camera 12 and improve the safety performance of the drone 10. Detecting whether the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state can be achieved through an in-position sensor, and the specific settings can be obtained with reference to the above description.

[0109] In some embodiments, the drone control method may further include: when it is detected that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state, sending the state of the landing gear 14 to the remote controller; the remote controller is configured to output an indication signal for characterizing that the landing gear 14 is in the lowered state.

[0110] Wherein, the drone 10 may send the state of the landing gear 14 through its communication link with the remote controller;

[0111] The indication signal may be an icon on a display screen, the lighting or extinguishing of an LED light, the vibration of a motor, the sound emitted by a speaker, etc.

[0112] In some embodiments, the drone control method may further include: in response to a control signal from the remote controller, controlling the landing gear 14 of the drone 10 to be in the retracted state or the lowered state.

[0113] The technical features of the above-described embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. For the sake of brevity of description, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above 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.

[0114] The above-described embodiments merely represent several implementation manners of the present application. The description thereof is relatively specific and detailed, but it should not be construed as a limitation on the scope of the patent application. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the concept of the present application, several modifications and improvements can still be made, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the patent of the present application shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A drone, characterized in that, Comprising: A fuselage; A first camera, connected to the fuselage; And, A landing gear, connected to the fuselage, the landing gear being able to rotate relative to the fuselage to have a retracted state and a lowered state for supporting the fuselage; wherein, when the landing gear is in the retracted state, the landing gear is retracted to the bottom of the fuselage and is outside the field of view of the first camera; in the case where the landing gear is in the lowered state, at least a part of the landing gear is within the field of view of the first camera.

2. The drone according to claim 1, wherein The first camera is disposed at the bottom of the fuselage; And / or, the optical axis of the first camera is substantially parallel to the heading axis of the drone; And / or, the field of view angle of the first camera is greater than or equal to 180 degrees.

3. The drone according to claim 2, wherein, An opening is provided at the bottom of the fuselage, the opening being substantially located in the middle of the bottom, and a part of the first camera is disposed inside the fuselage and protrudes from the opening to the bottom of the fuselage.

4. The drone according to claim 1, wherein The landing gear includes a first end and a second end that are spaced apart from each other, and the first end is rotatably connected to the fuselage, Wherein, the second end can move away from or close to the first camera as the first end rotates relative to the fuselage, and when the landing gear is in the retracted state, the second end is attached to the bottom of the fuselage; And / or, during the process of the landing gear switching from the lowered state to the retracted state, the second end moves towards the first camera; And / or, the rotation axis of the landing gear is substantially parallel to the roll axis of the drone.

5. The drone according to claim 1, characterized in that, The landing gear includes a first end and a second end that are spaced apart from each other, the first end is rotatably connected to the fuselage, and a notch is provided at the second end. When the landing gear is in the retracted state, the notch faces the first camera, and the second end jointly surrounds at least a part of the first camera along the circumferential direction of the first camera.

6. The drone according to claim 1, wherein, The landing gear can rotate relative to the fuselage along the rotation axis. In the case where the landing gear is in the retracted state, in the direction along the bottom and perpendicular to the axis, the projection of the landing gear and the projection of the first camera at least partially overlap.

7. The drone according to any one of claims 1-6, wherein The number of the landing gears is greater than or equal to two, and at least two landing gears are respectively rotatably connected to the bottom of the fuselage, and the rotation centers of at least two landing gears are respectively located on two opposite sides of the first camera.

8. The drone according to claim 7, characterized in that, At least two receiving grooves are provided at the bottom, and at least two receiving grooves jointly surround at least a part of the first camera along the circumferential direction of the first camera. The landing gears and the receiving grooves are in one-to-one correspondence. When the landing gear is in the retracted state, at least a part of each landing gear is received in the corresponding receiving groove.

9. The drone according to claim 7, wherein The drone further includes: a driving assembly, and the driving assembly is used to drive the two landing gears to rotate in opposite directions relative to the fuselage.

10. The drone according to claim 9, characterized in that, The driving assembly comprises a driving element and two connecting rods. The two landing gears are respectively arranged on both sides of the driving element. The two landing gears are respectively connected to the output shaft of the driving element through the two connecting rods.

11. The drone according to claim 10, characterized in that, The driving assembly further comprises a transmission element, which is connected to the output shaft of the driving element and has transmission parts located on two opposite sides of the output shaft, and each of the connecting rods is rotatably connected to a corresponding one of the transmission parts.

12. The drone according to claim 7, wherein, When the two landing gears are in a lowered state, an angle between the two landing gears is greater than or equal to 60° and less than or equal to 80°.

13. The drone according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the two landing gears are in a lowered state, in a direction perpendicular to the bottom, a height difference between the two landing gears and the first camera is greater than or equal to 4 mm and less than or equal to 20 mm.

14. The drone according to claim 7, characterized in that, When the two landing gears are in a lowered state, in a direction parallel to the bottom, a maximum distance between the two landing gears and the first camera is greater than or equal to 30 mm and less than or equal to 70 mm.

15. The drone according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, The drone also includes a second camera disposed on the top of the fuselage, the sum of the field of view angles of the non-overlapping fields of view of the first camera and the second camera is equal to 360 degrees, and the fuselage is located outside the field of view of the first camera and the second camera.

16. The drone according to claim 15, characterized in that, The size of the fuselage in a first direction is greater than that in a second direction, wherein the first direction is parallel to a direction from the top to the bottom, and the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.

17. The drone according to claim 16, characterized in that, A ratio of a size of the body in the second direction to a size of the body in the first direction is greater than or equal to 0.6 and less than 1.

18. The drone according to claim 15, characterized in that, The drone also includes a plurality of arms, which are arranged in sequence and spaced apart along the circumference of the fuselage. The arms are located outside the field of view of the first camera and the second camera, or are located within the overlapping field of view of the first camera and the second camera.

19. The drone according to claim 18, characterized in that, In the first direction, a ratio of a distance between the top and the arm to a distance between the top and the bottom is greater than or equal to 0.35 and less than or equal to 0.

45.

20. The drone according to claim 15, wherein, The overlapping field of view of the first camera and the second camera is greater than 1.5°.

21. The drone according to any one of claims 1-6, characterized in that, Also includes: The in-position sensor is used for outputting an in-position signal indicating that the landing gear is in a lowered state when the landing gear is in a lowered state.

22. A method for controlling a drone, characterized in that, include: Providing a drone as described in any one of claims 1 to 21; The height of the fuselage from the ground is sensed, and the landing gear is driven to be retracted when the height of the fuselage from the ground is greater than a first preset value, and the landing gear is driven to be lowered when the height of the fuselage from the ground is less than the first preset value.

23. The drone control method according to claim 22, characterized in that, The drone control method further includes: Detecting whether the landing gear is in a lowered state; When the landing gear is in a lowered state, driving the UAV to land; When the landing gear is in the retracted state, the UAV is controlled to stop landing.

24. The drone control method according to claim 22, wherein, Also includes: When it is detected that the landing gear is in a lowered state, sending the landing gear state to the remote controller; The remote controller is used to output an indication signal for characterizing that the landing gear is in a lowered state.

25. The drone control method according to claim 22, characterized in that, It further includes: responding to the control signal of the remote controller to control the landing gear of the UAV to be in a retracted state or a lowered state.

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