A positioning and locking device for a drone

Abstract

The application discloses a positioning and locking device for an unmanned aerial vehicle, and relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicle storage and transportation platforms.The device can automatically complete accurate positioning of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and has good repeated positioning accuracy.After the unmanned aerial vehicle is positioned in the center automatically, the device continues to operate, reliably locks the legs of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and thus locks the unmanned aerial vehicle.The device has good locking effect on the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the unmanned aerial vehicle does not shake after being locked.In addition, after laboratory vibration table vibration tests and field non-paved bumpy road tests, the unmanned aerial vehicle does not appear to be loose after being locked.Through driving four sets of centering and locking assemblies to move by one set of power assemblies, positioning and locking of the unmanned aerial vehicle are automatically and continuously realized, the steps are simple and reliable, and the centering and locking effect of the unmanned aerial vehicle is good.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) storage and transportation platform technology, and in particular to a UAV positioning and locking device that can realize automatic positioning and locking of UAVs. Background Technology

[0002] Due to limitations such as limited battery life, drones often need to be transported by vehicle to their destination before being released for operation. After completing their tasks, the drones need to land on unmanned vehicles for charging or retrieval and storage. In complex environments, especially on unpaved roads in the wild, vehicle travel can cause bumps and swaying, and the dynamic landing of the drones can introduce errors. If the vehicle lacks an automatic drone positioning and locking device, the drone may shake, tip over, or fall during vehicle travel, resulting in damage. Therefore, developing an automatic drone positioning and locking system is extremely necessary.

[0003] However, existing drone positioning and locking devices are difficult to accurately position drones, have poor locking and fixing effects, and involve cumbersome positioning and locking procedures that are prone to shaking with vehicles. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a drone positioning and locking device for overcoming or at least partially solving the above problems.

[0005] This invention provides the following solution:

[0006] A drone positioning and locking device, comprising:

[0007] The mounting base plate is used to support the various components.

[0008] The power mechanism is connected to the back of the mounting base plate. The power mechanism includes a power motor and an indexing plate. The indexing plate is rotatably connected to the mounting base plate. The power motor is connected in cooperation with the indexing plate.

[0009] Four sets of centering locking mechanisms, each including a drive rod, a guide rail, and a rotatable pressure block assembly. One end of the drive rod is connected to the indexing plate to drive the drive rod to reciprocate along its respective axis during the rotation of the indexing plate. The other end of the drive rod is connected to the guide rail. The rotatable pressure block assembly extends through a through hole in the mounting base plate to the front of the mounting base plate. The rotatable pressure block assembly includes a connecting plate, a guide rail chuck, a flipping block, and a pressure block. The connecting plate is connected to the guide rail, the guide rail chuck is connected to the connecting plate, the flipping block is rotatably connected to the front end of the guide rail chuck, and the pressure block is rotatably connected to the flipping block.

[0010] The controller is communicatively connected to the power motor;

[0011] The controller is used to perform the following operations:

[0012] After confirming that the drone to be locked is located on the mounting base plate; the drone to be locked includes a drone tripod, and the drone tripod includes four inner corner connectors located at the four corners;

[0013] The power motor is controlled to drive the indexing plate to perform the first action, so that the drive rods included in each set of centering and locking mechanisms move inward synchronously along their respective axes until all the flipping blocks are in contact with their respective inner corner connectors, thereby realizing the internal expansion positioning of the UAV to be locked.

[0014] The power motor is controlled to drive the indexing plate to perform the second action, so that the drive rods included in each set of centering locking mechanisms continue to move inward synchronously along their respective axes, causing the pressure block to flip under the action of gravity, and the angle between the pressure block and the flipping block gradually changes from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, until the inner corner connector is pressed tightly.

[0015] Preferably, the power mechanism is connected to the back of the mounting base plate via a mounting bracket.

[0016] Preferably, the indexing plate is connected to the mounting bracket via a cam shaft, and the power motor is connected to the mounting bracket and then to the indexing plate via a worm shaft.

[0017] Preferably, the guide rail is connected to the mounting base plate via several sliders.

[0018] Preferably, the mounting base plate is provided with a left mounting block and a right mounting block, and the flipping block is connected to the left mounting block and the right mounting block through a flipping shaft.

[0019] Preferably, the front end of the pressure block is provided with a concave groove, a roller is provided in the concave groove, and a sliding plate is provided below the left mounting block and the right mounting block.

[0020] Preferably, the pressure block is provided with a protruding limiting block.

[0021] Preferably, the slide groove of the flipping block is rotatably connected to the front end of the guide rail clamp via a connecting shaft.

[0022] Preferably, the pressing block is rotatably connected to the flipping block via a pressing block pivot.

[0023] According to specific embodiments provided by the present invention, the present invention discloses the following technical effects:

[0024] This application provides a drone positioning and locking device that can automatically and accurately position a drone with good repeatability. After the drone automatically centers and positions itself, the device continues to operate, reliably locking the drone's landing gear, thereby securing the drone. This mechanism provides excellent drone locking performance, with no shaking after locking. Furthermore, vibration tests on a laboratory vibration table and tests on unpaved, bumpy roads in the field showed no loosening after locking. A single power unit drives four sets of centering and locking components, automatically and continuously achieving drone positioning and locking. The process is simple, reliable, and provides excellent drone centering, positioning, and locking performance.

[0025] Of course, any product implementing this invention does not necessarily need to achieve all of the advantages described above at the same time. Attached Figure Description

[0026] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly described below. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without any creative effort.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a drone positioning and locking device in a locked state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a bottom view of a drone positioning and locking device in a locked state, as provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a drone positioning and locking device in an unlocked state according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a bottom view of an unlocked drone positioning and locking device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the power mechanism and the centering locking mechanism in the unlocked state provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the power mechanism and the centering locking mechanism in the locked state provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 7 This is a partial schematic diagram of the centering and locking mechanism in the unlocked state provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 8 This is a partial schematic diagram of the centering and locking mechanism in the locked state provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] In the diagram: mounting base plate 1, power mechanism 2, power motor 21, worm shaft 22, power rotating shaft 23, indexing plate 24, mounting bracket 25, centering locking mechanism 3, drive rod 31, slider 32, guide rail 33, left mounting block 34, right mounting block 35, connecting plate 36, guide rail chuck 37, connecting shaft 38, flipping block 39, pressure block 310, pressure block rotating shaft 311, roller 312, roller rotating shaft 313, sliding plate 314, UAV tripod 4, inner corner connector 41. Detailed Implementation

[0036] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0037] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 This invention provides a drone positioning and locking device, such as... Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 As shown, the device may include:

[0038] Mounting base plate 1, which is used to support various components;

[0039] The power mechanism 2 is connected to the back of the mounting base plate 1. The power mechanism 2 includes a power motor 21 and an indexing plate 24. The indexing plate 24 is rotatably connected to the mounting base plate 1. The power motor 21 is connected to the indexing plate 24 in cooperation.

[0040] Four sets of centering locking mechanisms 3, each centering locking mechanism 3 includes a drive rod 31, a guide rail 33, and a rotatable pressure block assembly. One end of the drive rod 31 is connected to the indexing plate 24 so that the drive rod 31 reciprocates along its respective axis during the rotation of the indexing plate 24. The other end of the drive rod 31 is connected to the guide rail 33. The rotatable pressure block assembly extends through the through hole of the mounting base plate 1 to the front side of the mounting base plate 1. The rotatable pressure block assembly includes a connecting plate 36, a guide rail chuck 37, a flipping block 39, and a pressure block 310. The connecting plate 36 is connected to the guide rail 33, the guide rail chuck 37 is connected to the connecting plate 36, the flipping block 39 is rotatably connected to the front end of the guide rail chuck 37, and the pressure block 310 is rotatably connected to the flipping block 39.

[0041] The controller is communicatively connected to the power motor 21;

[0042] The controller is used to perform the following operations:

[0043] After confirming that the drone to be locked is located on the mounting base plate 1; the drone to be locked includes a drone tripod 4, and the drone tripod 4 includes four inner corner connectors 41 located at the four corners;

[0044] The power motor 21 is controlled to drive the indexing plate 24 to perform the first action, so that the drive rod 31 included in each of the centering locking mechanisms 3 moves inward synchronously along their respective axes until all the flipping blocks 39 are in contact with their respective inner corner connectors 41, thereby realizing the internal expansion positioning of the UAV to be locked.

[0045] The power motor 21 is controlled to drive the indexing plate 24 to perform the second action, so that the drive rod 31 included in each of the centering locking mechanisms 3 continues to move inward synchronously along its respective axis, so that the pressure block flips under the action of gravity, and the angle between the pressure block and the flipping block gradually changes from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, until the inner corner connector is pressed tightly.

[0046] To further facilitate the connection between the power mechanism 2 and the mounting base plate 1, this embodiment of the application may also provide that the power mechanism 2 is connected to the back of the mounting base plate 1 via a mounting bracket 25.

[0047] Furthermore, the indexing plate 24 is connected to the mounting bracket 25 via a cam shaft, and the power motor 21 is connected to the mounting bracket 25 and then connected to the indexing plate 24 via a worm shaft 22.

[0048] To facilitate the sliding of the guide rail 33 relative to the mounting base plate, this embodiment of the application may also provide that the guide rail 33 is connected to the mounting base plate 1 by a plurality of sliders 32.

[0049] To facilitate the installation of the flip block 39, this embodiment of the application may also provide a left mounting block 34 and a right mounting block 35 on the mounting base plate 1, and the flip block 39 is connected to the left mounting block 34 and the right mounting block 35 through a flip shaft.

[0050] Furthermore, the front end of the pressure block 310 is provided with a concave groove, and a roller 312 is provided in the concave groove. A sliding plate 314 is provided below the left mounting block 34 and the right mounting block 35.

[0051] To ensure that the pressure block 310 can press the inner corner connector 41 tightly, this embodiment of the application may also provide a protruding limiting block on the pressure block 310.

[0052] Furthermore, the sliding groove of the flipping block 39 is rotatably connected to the front end of the guide rail clamp 37 via a connecting shaft 38. The pressure block 310 is rotatably connected to the flipping block 39 via a pressure block rotating shaft 311.

[0053] The apparatus provided in the embodiments of this application will be described in detail below.

[0054] The device consists of a power mechanism 2 and four centering and locking mechanisms. The power mechanism 2 comprises a power motor 21, a worm shaft 22, a worm gear, a power shaft 23, and an indexing plate 24. The centering and locking mechanisms consist of a connecting pin, a drive rod 31, a slider 32, a guide rail 33, a left mounting block 34, a right mounting block 35, a connecting plate 36, a guide rail chuck 37, a connecting shaft 38, a tilting block 39, a tilting shaft, a pressure block 310, a pressure block shaft 311, a roller 312, a roller shaft 313, and a sliding plate 314.

[0055] The drone provided in this application is a drone with a drone landing gear 4, and the drone landing gear 4 is provided with four inner corner connectors 41 at its four corners. After the drone lands on the mounting base 1, the portions of the four sets of centering locking mechanisms 3 located on the upper part of the mounting base 1 are all located inside the drone landing gear 4. After the drone lands, the power mechanism 2 is activated, driving the four sets of centering locking components to center and lock the drone.

[0056] The specific process is as follows: The power motor 21 drives the worm shaft 22 to rotate, which in turn drives the worm gear to rotate. The worm gear and the indexing plate 24 are coaxially mounted, thereby driving the indexing plate 24 to rotate. The connecting pin in the centering locking mechanism is connected to the slide groove in the indexing plate 24, and also connects to the drive rod 31. The drive rod 31 is fixedly connected to the guide rail 33, and the guide rail 33 is constrained to only move in a linear motion by two fixedly mounted sliders 32. When the indexing plate 24 rotates, it drives the connecting pin, the drive rod 31, and the guide rail 33 to move in a linear motion.

[0057] The front end of the guide rail 33 is connected to the guide rail clamp 37 via the connecting plate 36. The guide rail clamp 37 is connected to the slide groove in the flip block 39 via the connecting shaft 38. The flip block 39 is connected to the left mounting block 34 and the right mounting block 35 via the flip shaft. When the guide rail 33 moves linearly, it drives the flip block 39 to rotate around the flip shaft. When the upper surface of the flip block 39 flips from horizontal to vertical, the flip block 39 contacts the drone footrest 4 connector on the drone footrest 4, thereby achieving centering and positioning. The pressure block 310 is connected to the flip block 39 via the pressure block rotating shaft 311. The front end of the pressure block 310 is provided with a U-shaped groove, and the roller 312 is connected to the pressure block 310 via the roller rotating shaft 313.

[0058] When the flip block 39 is horizontal, the roller 312 at the front end of the pressure block 310 contacts the sliding plate 314, and the pressure block 310 also remains horizontal and flush with the flip block 39. When the flip block 39 flips from horizontal to vertical, the pressure block 310 gradually becomes perpendicular to the upper surface of the flip block 39 under the action of gravity. At the same time, when the upper surface of the flip block 39 contacts the foot connector on the drone footplate 4 to achieve centering and positioning, the pressure block 310 presses down on the foot connector to achieve locking. The pressure block 310 is provided with a protruding limit block. When the pressure block 310 is locked, the limit block is designed to also make close contact with the flip block 39, thereby preventing the pressure block 310 from loosening the foot connector in the opposite direction.

[0059] The first half of the power mechanism 2's stroke drives four sets of centering and locking mechanisms to center and position the drone. Specifically, during the first half of the rotation of the indexing plate 24, the flipping block 39 changes from horizontal to vertical, and the upper surface of the flipping block 39 pushes the tripod connectors to move. This device is equipped with four sets of centering and locking mechanisms that synchronously and symmetrically push the corresponding drone tripod connectors 4 into close contact. After this, the drone tripods 4 are positioned by internal expansion, thus achieving precise positioning of the entire drone.

[0060] The latter half of the power mechanism 2's stroke drives four sets of centering and locking mechanisms to lock the drone. Specifically, during the latter half of the rotation of the indexing plate 24, at the instant the flipping block 39 becomes vertical, the pressure block 310 is designed to press down on the landing gear connectors to achieve locking. The flipping block 39 and pressure block 310 in the four centering and locking mechanisms simultaneously and precisely contact the four drone landing gear connectors 4 in both the horizontal and vertical directions, thus achieving reliable locking of the drone.

[0061] The device achieves the centering and locking of the drone by rotating the motor in one go.

[0062] In summary, the UAV positioning and locking device provided in this application can automatically and accurately position the UAV with good repeatability. After the UAV automatically centers and positions itself, the device continues to operate, reliably locking the UAV's landing gear, thereby securing the UAV. This device provides excellent UAV locking performance, with no shaking after locking. Furthermore, vibration tests on a laboratory vibration table and tests on unpaved, bumpy roads in the field showed no loosening after locking. A single power unit drives four sets of centering and locking components, automatically and continuously achieving UAV positioning and locking. The process is simple, reliable, and provides excellent UAV centering, positioning, and locking performance.

[0063] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0064] As can be seen from the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that this application can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product can be stored in a storage medium, such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk, etc., and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in various embodiments or some parts of the embodiments of this application.

[0065] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for system or system embodiments, since they are basically similar to method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the method embodiments. The systems and system embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without creative effort.

[0066] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A drone positioning and locking device, characterized in that, include: The mounting base plate is used to support the various components. The power mechanism is connected to the back of the mounting base plate. The power mechanism includes a power motor and an indexing plate. The indexing plate is rotatably connected to the mounting base plate. The power motor is connected in cooperation with the indexing plate. Four sets of centering locking mechanisms, each including a drive rod, a guide rail, and a rotatable pressure block assembly. One end of the drive rod is connected to the indexing plate to drive the drive rod to reciprocate along its respective axis during the rotation of the indexing plate. The other end of the drive rod is connected to the guide rail. The rotatable pressure block assembly extends through a through hole in the mounting base plate to the front of the mounting base plate. The rotatable pressure block assembly includes a connecting plate, a guide rail chuck, a flipping block, and a pressure block. The connecting plate is connected to the guide rail, the guide rail chuck is connected to the connecting plate, the flipping block is rotatably connected to the front end of the guide rail chuck, and the pressure block is rotatably connected to the flipping block. The controller is communicatively connected to the power motor; The controller is used to perform the following operations: After confirming that the drone to be locked is located on the mounting base plate; the drone to be locked includes a drone tripod, and the drone tripod includes four inner corner connectors located at the four corners; The power motor is controlled to drive the indexing plate to perform the first action, so that the drive rods included in each set of centering and locking mechanisms move inward synchronously along their respective axes until all the flipping blocks are in contact with their respective inner corner connectors, thereby realizing the internal expansion positioning of the UAV to be locked. The power motor is controlled to drive the indexing plate to perform the second action, so that the drive rods included in each of the centering locking mechanisms continue to move inward synchronously along their respective axes, causing the pressure block to flip under the action of gravity, and the angle between the pressure block and the flipping block changes from 0 degrees to 90 degrees, until the inner corner connector is pressed tightly.

2. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The power mechanism is connected to the back of the mounting base plate via a mounting bracket.

3. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The indexing plate is connected to the mounting bracket via a cam shaft, and the power motor is connected to the mounting bracket and then to the indexing plate via a worm shaft.

4. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guide rail is connected to the mounting base plate via several sliders.

5. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting base plate is provided with a left mounting block and a right mounting block, and the flipping block is connected to the left mounting block and the right mounting block through a flipping shaft.

6. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The front end of the pressure block is provided with a concave groove, and a roller is provided in the concave groove. A sliding plate is provided below the left mounting block and the right mounting block.

7. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressure block is provided with a protruding limiting block.

8. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The slide groove of the flipping block is rotatably connected to the front end of the guide rail chuck via a connecting shaft.

9. The UAV positioning and locking device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The pressing block is rotatably connected to the flipping block via a pressing block pivot.

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