Integrated unmanned aerial vehicle group launching box launched through submarine torpedo launching tube

Abstract

The invention discloses an integrated unmanned aerial vehicle group launching box launched through a submarine torpedo launching tube, which is characterized by comprising a bearing cabin, an uncovering mechanism arranged on the outer wall of the front end of the bearing cabin, a front cover mounted on the uncovering mechanism, fin plates circumferentially arranged outside the bearing cabin at equal intervals, and a ballast gravity cabin section mounted at the bottom end of the bearing cabin, the propeller is installed at the bottom end of the ballast gravity cabin section, the stacking mechanism is arranged in the bearing cabin, the unmanned aerial vehicle is installed in the stacking mechanism, and the controller is arranged on the inner wall of the bearing cabin. Due to the integrated design of the unmanned aerial vehicle cluster and the bearing cabin, the technical bottlenecks of multi-vehicle integrated loading, water surface vertical posture stabilization and torpedo tube compatible launching are overcome, and efficient launching of the unmanned aerial vehicle cluster in the submarine hidden environment is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of underwater weapon launching technology, specifically to an integrated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm launcher that launches via a submarine torpedo tube. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of underwater unmanned combat platforms, utilizing the stealth characteristics of submarines to deploy drone swarms for wide-area reconnaissance, electronic suppression, and anti-submarine warfare has become a disruptive combat mode. The compatibility of the submarine's standard torpedo tubes with drone swarms, as the only underwater delivery channel, directly determines the upper limit of combat effectiveness. Currently, there is an urgent need to overcome the technical bottleneck of deploying multiple drones in a single launch to meet the core requirements of stealth and coordination in swarm operations.

[0003] Existing technical solutions have systemic defects: the traditional single-tube single-unit mode has a low loading capacity; although multi-tube bundled launch attempts to increase the number, the underwater separation failure rate is high; although the foldable multi-unit carrier achieves spatial integration, it lacks an active attitude stabilization mechanism. The root cause of these defects is the failure to coordinate and resolve the triple contradictions of spatial constraints, fluid attitude stabilization and functional integration.

[0004] Crucially, current technologies have yet to overcome the challenge of maintaining the vertical attitude of the launch vehicle on the water surface—there is neither an optimized solution for the compact stacking of multiple drones with limited torpedo tube volume, nor a stabilization mechanism that combines self-righting hydrodynamic design (such as the roly-poly principle) with deployable control winglets. This technological gap makes it difficult for UAV swarms to achieve a closed-loop operation of "covert launch, stable surfacing, and reliable salvo firing," severely hindering the practical application of underwater swarm warfare.

[0005] Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated UAV swarm launcher that can be launched from a submarine torpedo tube. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to integrate the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm and the carrier compartment into an integrated design, and to make the designed underwater UAV swarm launch box buoyant in the water, so that it can be launched through the torpedo tube of a submarine.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned technical effects, the present invention is implemented through the following technical solution: an integrated UAV swarm launch box launched through a submarine torpedo tube, characterized in that it includes a carrying compartment, an opening mechanism disposed on the outer wall of the front end of the carrying compartment, a front cover mounted on the opening mechanism, fins equidistantly arranged on the outside of the carrying compartment, a ballast gravity compartment section mounted at the bottom end of the carrying compartment; a thruster mounted at the bottom end of the ballast gravity compartment section, a stacking mechanism disposed inside the carrying compartment, UAVs mounted inside the stacking mechanism, and a controller disposed on the inner wall of the carrying compartment;

[0008] The opening mechanism includes a base set on the outer wall of the front end of the bearing compartment, a servo motor installed on the side of the base, a waterproof cover set on the upper end of the servo motor, a rotating rod rotatably installed on the base, a transmission hole set on the side of the waterproof cover, a sealed bearing set in the middle of the transmission hole, and a connecting shaft that passes through the sealed bearing and connects the rotating rod and the servo motor output shaft.

[0009] The outer wall of the bearing chamber is provided with equidistant circumferential grooves, the front end of the fin plate is rotatably installed inside the grooves, and an electromagnetic adjustment mechanism is installed at the bottom of the grooves.

[0010] The stacking mechanism includes an electric slide rail installed inside the carrying compartment, a stacking rack installed on the side of the electric slide rail, an outward pushing mechanism installed inside the stacking rack, and a drone installed on the outward pushing mechanism.

[0011] Furthermore, the front end of the carrier is provided with a launch port, and the shape and size of the front cover are adapted to the launch port; a sealing ring is provided on the edge of the front cover.

[0012] Furthermore, a water pressure sensor and a positioner are provided in the middle of the front cover; both the water pressure sensor and the positioner are electrically connected to the controller.

[0013] Furthermore, the stacking rack is composed of several layers of racks; the rack includes a placement plate and support columns on both sides and the rear end of the placement plate; the placement plate is a circular plate with an H-shaped cutout in the middle.

[0014] Furthermore, the push mechanism includes a conveyor rail on each layer of the placement plate, a baffle at one end of the conveyor rail, an electromagnetic blocking block at the other end of the conveyor rail, a sliding plate slidably mounted on the conveyor rail, a push spring on the baffle, and a fixing clip connecting the sliding plate and the UAV landing gear; the electromagnetic blocking block is electrically connected to the controller via a spirally coiled wire.

[0015] Furthermore, the electromagnetic adjustment mechanism includes an adjustment groove disposed inside the gathering groove, an electromagnet disposed inside the adjustment groove, a metal adjustment rod slidably mounted inside the adjustment groove, and a release spring connecting the metal adjustment rod and the adjustment groove.

[0016] Furthermore, the bearing chamber is a hollow cylindrical structure; the ballast gravity chamber is a self-balancing "roly-poly" shape.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0018] This invention, without altering the initial design of the submarine, fully utilizes multiple torpedo tubes at its front or rear end to integrate them into an integrated underwater drone swarm launch container, conveniently and simply enabling the launch of drone swarms from underwater to the surface. This provides a new means and approach for submarines to launch drone swarms underwater. It overcomes the technical bottlenecks of multi-drone integrated loading, vertical attitude stabilization on the surface, and torpedo tube compatibility, achieving efficient deployment of drone swarms in the concealed environment of a submarine. Attached Figure Description

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for describing the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a vertical floating diagram of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a diagram showing the floating surface of the present invention.

[0023] Figure 4 This is a diagram of the launch box ejection stacking layers of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing the release of a swarm of drones from the stacked layers ejected by the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the stacked layers of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the stacked layer ejection structure of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the stacked-layer catapult-launched UAV of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the opening mechanism of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the present invention.

[0030] In the accompanying drawings, the components represented by the reference numerals are as follows:

[0031] 1. Front cover; 11. Water pressure sensor; 12. Positioner; 2. Opening mechanism; 21. Base; 22. Servo motor; 23. Waterproof cover; 24. Tilting rod; 3. Fin plate; 4. Ballast gravity compartment; 5. Carrier compartment; 51. Retraction slot; 52. Electric slide rail; 6. Thruster; 7. Stacking mechanism; 71. UAV; 711. UAV landing gear; 72. Conveyor slide rail; 721. Electromagnetic blocking block; 722. Sliding plate; 723. Fixing clip; 724. Baffle; 725. Push spring; 73. Support column; 74. Placement plate; 8. Electromagnetic adjustment mechanism; 81. Adjustment slot; 82. Electromagnet; 83. Metal adjustment rod; 84. Release spring. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative efforts shall fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] Example 1

[0034] See Figures 1 to 10 As shown, an integrated UAV swarm launch box launched through a submarine torpedo tube is characterized by comprising a carrying compartment 5, an opening mechanism 2 disposed on the outer wall of the front end of the carrying compartment 5, a front cover 1 mounted on the opening mechanism 2, fins 3 equidistantly arranged on the outside of the carrying compartment 5, a ballast gravity compartment 4 mounted on the bottom end of the carrying compartment 5, a stacking mechanism 7 disposed inside the carrying compartment 5, UAVs 71 mounted inside the stacking mechanism 7, and a controller 9 disposed on the inner wall of the carrying compartment 5.

[0035] The opening mechanism 2 includes a base 21 set on the outer wall of the front end of the bearing compartment 5, a servo motor 22 installed on the side of the base 21, a waterproof cover 23 set on the upper end of the servo motor 22, a flip rod 24 rotatably installed on the base 21, a transmission hole set on the side of the waterproof cover 23, a sealed bearing set in the middle of the transmission hole, and a connecting shaft that passes through the sealed bearing to connect the flip rod 24 and the servo motor output shaft.

[0036] The outer wall of the bearing chamber 5 is provided with equidistant circumferentially arranged gathering grooves 51, the front end of the fin plate 3 is rotatably installed inside the gathering groove 51, and the electromagnetic adjustment mechanism 8 is installed at the bottom of the gathering groove 51.

[0037] The stacking mechanism 7 includes an electric slide rail 52 disposed inside the carrying compartment 5, a stacking rack mounted on the side of the electric slide rail 52, an outward pushing mechanism disposed inside the stacking rack, and a drone 71 mounted on the outward pushing mechanism.

[0038] The front end of the carrying chamber 5 is provided with a launch port, and the shape and size of the front cover 1 are adapted to the launch port; a sealing ring is provided on the edge of the front cover 1.

[0039] A water pressure sensor 11 and a positioner 12 are provided in the middle of the front cover 1; the water pressure sensor 11 and the positioner 12 are electrically connected to the controller 9 through wires; the wires are embedded inside the front cover 1 and the lines are laid along the opening mechanism 2.

[0040] The stacking rack is composed of several layers of racks; the rack includes a placement plate 74 and support columns 73 on both sides and at the rear end of the placement plate 74; the placement plate 74 is a circular plate with an H-shaped cutout in the middle.

[0041] The push mechanism includes a conveyor rail 72 on each layer of the placement plate 74, a baffle 724 at one end of the conveyor rail 72, an electromagnetic blocking block 721 at the other end of the conveyor rail 72, a sliding plate 722 slidably mounted on the conveyor rail 72, a push spring 725 on the baffle 724, and a fixing clip 723 connecting the sliding plate 722 and the UAV landing gear 711; the electromagnetic blocking block 721 is electrically connected to the controller 9 through a spirally coiled wire.

[0042] The electromagnetic adjustment mechanism 8 includes an adjustment groove 81 disposed inside the gathering groove 51, an electromagnet 82 disposed inside the adjustment groove 81, a metal adjustment rod 83 slidably mounted inside the adjustment groove 81, and a release spring 84 connecting the metal adjustment rod 83 and the adjustment groove 81.

[0043] The load-bearing compartment 5 is a hollow cylindrical structure to reduce drag; the ballast gravity compartment 6 is a self-balancing "tumbler" shape to ensure its stability when floating on the sea surface.

[0044] Example 2

[0045] In this invention, the connecting wires are all pre-embedded inside the enclosure for wiring; or a wire groove adapted to the wires is provided inside the enclosure.

[0046] The present invention provides a battery compartment for placing batteries between the ballast gravity compartment 4 and the bearing compartment 5. The battery compartment contains batteries that provide sufficient power to the electrical appliance box controller.

[0047] The propeller 6 described in this invention uses a conventional self-powered motor.

[0048] The locator 12 described in this invention is a common locator.

[0049] The water pressure sensor 11 described in this invention is a common underwater pressure sensor.

[0050] The stacking mechanism 7 of the present invention uses lightweight and inexpensive honeycomb aluminum material to reduce its own weight.

[0051] The controller 9 described in this invention is a PLC controller, which is equipped with a signal transceiver module, a positioning module, a control module, a storage module, an input / output module, and a USB interface.

[0052] The controller 9 of this invention comes with a preset program; the preset program can be externally edited and transmitted through a signal transceiver module. The specific preset program is set according to specific usage requirements and is transmitted to the storage module directly via a USB interface and input / output module, or wirelessly via a wireless signal transceiver module, for setting the control program and enabling operation of the box.

[0053] The locator 12 provided in this invention can release location information in real time under the action of the signal transceiver module, realizing real-time monitoring of the box's location, which is highly practical; the preset program and remote signal control mentioned above are both implemented using existing conventional technologies.

[0054] The integrated underwater drone swarm launch box of this invention uses a torpedo tube for conventional launch into the water. After being set according to a safe distance, it rises with positive buoyancy at a suitable location and is driven to float precisely by the thruster 6. After reaching the water surface, the ballast gravity section (containing a counterweight block, and the thruster motor and battery pack are embedded in it) automatically migrates under wave disturbance. Combined with the bottom weight block, it generates a dynamic restoring torque, suppressing the tilt angle of sea state 3 to ≤5°, providing a near-static launch reference for the drone swarm.

[0055] The thruster 6 described in this invention undertakes the dual mission of attitude control and motion compensation. During the critical floating stage (1-3m water depth) when the fins 3 are not fully deployed, its vector propeller system generates a lateral correction force by adjusting the pitch angle in real time to compensate for the roll torque caused by fluid asymmetry. When the launch box floats to the water surface, the thruster switches to anti-drift mode to maintain the stern vertical attitude of the box and provide a dynamic stable base for the UAV catapult.

[0056] Example 3

[0057] Working principle:

[0058] The box is installed inside the submarine's torpedo tube; the ballast gravity section 4 is designed so that the integrated launch box is in a positive buoyancy state after it is launched from the tube.

[0059] After the torpedo tube launches the box, the water pressure sensor 11 detects the pressure. When the pressure reaches the preset threshold (greater than 0 or the critical value calculated according to the specific situation), the controller controls the thruster 6 to start. At this time, the thruster 6 works to increase the thrust.

[0060] Under the action of the locator 12, the position of the positioning device is determined. Due to the uneven weight distribution between the front and rear of the device, the front end is raised upwards. Under the action of the thruster 6, the device moves forward and floats upwards until the front cover 1 is exposed above the sea surface. At this time, the water pressure sensor 11 detects zero pressure for the first time and feeds the signal back to the controller 9. The controller 9 issues a command to drive the electromagnet 82 to move outwards and push the fins 3 to unfold outwards, thus unfolding all four fins 3. At this time, the unfolded fins 3 and the thruster 6 simultaneously maintain the stability of the launch box.

[0061] Once the launch box stabilizes (the water pressure sensor 11 detects no change in data, and the pressure is always less than 0 or always less than the critical value calculated based on the specific situation), open the front cover 1 of the launch box, and the UAV stacking layer 7 is ejected; at this time, the electromagnetic blocking block 721 inside the UAV stacking layer 7 retracts into the conveyor slide rail 72, and under the action of the outward push spring 725, the UAV 72 is ejected; under the action of the fixing clip, the UAV 71 takes off carrying the sliding plate 722 and the fixing clip 723.

[0062] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, an element defined by the sentence "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device comprising the element.

[0063] The foregoing is merely a list of specific embodiments of the present application, intended to enable those skilled in the art to understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is intended to conform to the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features of the present application.

Claims

1. An integrated UAV swarm launcher box launched via a submarine torpedo tube, characterized in that, It includes a carrier cabin, an opening mechanism located on the outer wall of the front end of the carrier cabin, a front cover installed on the opening mechanism, fins equidistantly arranged on the outside of the carrier cabin, a ballast gravity compartment installed at the bottom of the carrier cabin; a thruster installed at the bottom of the ballast gravity compartment, a stacking mechanism located inside the carrier cabin, a drone installed inside the stacking mechanism, and a controller located on the inner wall of the carrier cabin. The opening mechanism includes a base set on the outer wall of the front end of the bearing compartment, a servo motor installed on the side of the base, a waterproof cover set on the upper end of the servo motor, a rotating rod rotatably installed on the base, a transmission hole set on the side of the waterproof cover, a sealed bearing set in the middle of the transmission hole, and a connecting shaft that passes through the sealed bearing and connects the rotating rod and the servo motor output shaft. The outer wall of the bearing chamber is provided with equidistant circumferential grooves, the front end of the fin plate is rotatably installed inside the grooves, and an electromagnetic adjustment mechanism is installed at the bottom of the grooves. The stacking mechanism includes an electric slide rail installed inside the carrying compartment, a stacking rack installed on the side of the electric slide rail, an outward pushing mechanism installed inside the stacking rack, and a drone installed on the outward pushing mechanism.

2. The integrated UAV swarm launch box as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The front end of the carrier is provided with a launch port, and the shape and size of the front cover are adapted to the launch port; a sealing ring is provided on the edge of the front cover.

3. The integrated UAV swarm launch box as described in claim 1, characterized in that, A water pressure sensor and a positioner are provided in the middle of the front cover; both the water pressure sensor and the positioner are electrically connected to the controller.

4. The integrated UAV swarm launch box as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The stacking rack is composed of several layers of racks; the rack includes a placement plate and support columns on both sides and the rear end of the placement plate; the placement plate is a circular plate with an H-shaped cutout in the middle.

5. The integrated UAV swarm launcher as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The push mechanism includes a conveyor rail on each layer of the placement plate, a baffle at one end of the conveyor rail, an electromagnetic blocking block at the other end of the conveyor rail, a sliding plate slidably mounted on the conveyor rail, a push spring on the baffle, and a fixing clip connecting the sliding plate and the UAV landing gear; the electromagnetic blocking block is electrically connected to the controller via a spirally coiled wire.

6. The integrated UAV swarm launch box as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The electromagnetic adjustment mechanism includes an adjustment groove disposed inside the gathering groove, an electromagnet disposed inside the adjustment groove, a metal adjustment rod slidably mounted inside the adjustment groove, and a release spring connecting the metal adjustment rod and the adjustment groove.

7. The integrated UAV swarm launcher as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The bearing chamber is a hollow cylindrical structure; the ballast gravity chamber is a self-balancing "roly-poly" shape.

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