Mooring type intelligent feeding unmanned aerial vehicle system for deep and far sea culture

Abstract

The invention provides a mooring type intelligent feeding unmanned aerial vehicle system for deep sea culture. The mooring type intelligent feeding unmanned aerial vehicle system comprises a feeding unmanned aerial vehicle, a feeding hose, a hose winch, a Roots blower, a feed storage tank, a distribution box and a control end. According to the invention, a mooring unmanned aerial vehicle feed feeding mode is adopted, so that the flexibility and controllability of feeding are improved, the safety of the feed feeding process is ensured by using the unmanned aerial vehicle feeding mode in the face of complex sea conditions of deep and far sea culture, and the human input is reduced; more importantly, the feed storage tank is directly connected with the unmanned aerial vehicle through the feeding hose (integrated cable), feed supply and power supply of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the feeding process are guaranteed, the feeding area of deep and far sea breeding is large, the breeding distance is large, the situation that the unmanned aerial vehicle goes back and forth for many times can be avoided through the mode, and the feeding efficiency is greatly improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of deep-sea aquaculture, and more specifically, to a tethered drone feeding system capable of long-distance, long-duration feed delivery. Background Technology

[0002] The deep sea possesses vast space and abundant natural resources. With the increasing scarcity of nearshore aquaculture space, developing deep-sea aquaculture can effectively alleviate the problem of insufficient aquaculture space, fully utilize the vast expanse of the deep sea, and improve the utilization rate of marine resources. However, deep-sea aquaculture faces challenges such as complex sea conditions, delayed land-based resupply, and poor accessibility, leading to difficulties in ensuring the smooth operation and maintenance of aquaculture activities. Feed delivery is a key challenge and a major pain point for the industry. Especially in deep-sea aquaculture, if feed is not delivered in a timely and accurate manner, it will affect the growth rate and quality of farmed organisms, reducing aquaculture efficiency. Traditional deep-sea feed delivery methods typically require the use of ships or manual labor, which are inefficient, costly, and risky.

[0003] Chinese invention patent application CN110476861A discloses a pneumatic feeding machine, which consists of a storage tank and a float assembly. The storage tank has a pneumatic feeding mechanism at the bottom, and the float assembly includes a bottom support plate, a top support plate, and a support rod. The bottom support plate has floats at its corners. The top support plate has a feeding mechanism, and the bottom support plate has a front drive mechanism. The storage tank has a manual control mechanism connected to the front drive mechanism. Precise feeding is achieved through the pneumatic feeding mechanism, the floats floating, and the front drive mechanism moving.

[0004] Chinese invention patent application CN118144996A discloses a food-distributing drone for agricultural and livestock farming. In operation, the cover is first opened, and feed is added to the storage tank through the feeding cylinder. The cover and feeding cylinder are then tightly closed using clips. Next, the drone is started and put into flight. When it reaches the feeding area, a push cylinder is activated, causing a push plate to slide, which in turn pushes a push rod, causing a control plate to rotate and open the discharge hole on the baffle. A spiral protrusion is provided on the control plate near the push rod; this design allows the push rod to effectively drive the control plate to rotate during downward movement. Finally, the motor is started, driving the extrusion screw to rotate, thus moving the feed downwards and discharging it through the discharge hole. This design ensures more even and smooth feed dispensing under pressure, greatly improving the quality of feeding.

[0005] Chinese invention patent application CN117775288A discloses a variable-rate, air-pumped solid fertilizer delivery drone, which consists of a drone body and a variable-rate fertilization device. The variable-rate fertilization device includes a fertilizer tank, a variable-rate feeding mechanism, and an air-pumped centrifugal fertilizer spreading mechanism. The variable-rate feeding mechanism has a variable-rate feeding shell, a variable-rate feeding wheel with a feeding trough, and a rotary feeding drive mechanism; the air-pumped centrifugal fertilizer spreading mechanism includes an air-pumping mechanism consisting of an air-pumping shell and a blower with an internal air-pumping channel, and a centrifugal mechanism consisting of a centrifugal shell, a centrifugal disc, and a centrifugal drive mechanism, with the centrifugal shell having a spreading port. The drone dispenses fertilizer quantitatively via the variable-rate feeding wheel, which is then transported to the centrifugal mechanism via the air-pumping mechanism, where the high-speed rotation of the centrifugal disc ejects the fertilizer.

[0006] All of the above inventions can be applied to feed feeding in aquaculture, but they all have certain limitations and shortcomings. First, the floating base type feed feeding device has a fixed delivery position. If the aquaculture area is large, multiple feeding points need to be arranged to cover it. At the same time, more feeding points require more feeding pipelines, which increases the complexity of the system. Moreover, for deep-sea aquaculture, the long-term floating feeding device will be affected by severe wind and waves, which will reduce the service life of the device. The use of drone feed feeding device has the advantage in terms of feeding flexibility. However, the existing drone feeding devices all adopt the solution of portable feed bin, that is, the feed bin is combined with the drone. This method is limited by the payload of the drone and cannot carry a large amount of feed. When feeding a large area, multiple round trips are required to replenish the feed, which increases the flight distance of the drone and reduces efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this invention is to provide a tethered intelligent feeding drone for deep-sea aquaculture, so as to overcome the problems of complex existing deep-sea aquaculture feed feeding systems, low drone feeding efficiency, and large manual input.

[0008] While researching drone feeding devices, the inventors discovered that to solve the problems of feeding efficiency and convenience in deep-sea areas, a "tethered" method could be introduced. This method involves directly transmitting feed to the drone through an "umbilical" feeding hose, allowing the drone to deliver the feed during flight and enabling long-distance, long-duration feeding.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0010] A tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system, characterized in that the system comprises:

[0011] The feeding drone has an equipment mounting plate at its lower part, and a feed feeding component is installed at the lower part of the equipment mounting plate; the feed feeding component is connected to a feed hose connector.

[0012] The feed hose is used to transport feed. One end is connected to the feed hose connector, and the other end is connected to the Roots blower.

[0013] A hose winch, fixed to the aquaculture platform, is used to control the opening and closing of the feeding hose;

[0014] Roots blower, installed on the aquaculture platform, is used to pressurize feed from the feed storage tank and deliver it into the feed hose;

[0015] Feed storage tanks are used to store feed to be fed. The feed storage tanks are connected to the Roots blower to supply materials to the Roots blower.

[0016] The distribution box is used to provide power to the Roots blower, hose winch, and material delivery drone.

[0017] The control terminal receives the location information of the material delivery drone and controls the hose reeling and unwinding of the hose winch and the flight status of the material delivery drone based on the location and altitude information.

[0018] Based on the above technical solutions, the present invention may also employ the following further technical solutions, or combine these further technical solutions:

[0019] The feeding drone is a multi-rotor drone. The feed feeding component includes a drive motor, a motor protective cover, a centrifugal feeding disc, and a feeding disc cap. The centrifugal feeding disc throws out feed particles by rotating. The feeding disc cap is tightened by threads to fix the centrifugal feeding disc and also serves to disperse the feed particles.

[0020] The centrifugal feeding disc has multiple feeding blades arranged around the rotation center, which throw out feed particles by rotation. There is a connecting hole in the middle of the feeding disc, which is connected to the drive motor shaft.

[0021] The feeding hose connector consists of two flange structures. The UAV connection flange is located on the side of the UAV, below the feeding tray cap, and the hose end connection flange is located at the end of the feeding hose. The two flanges are detachably connected.

[0022] The aforementioned feeding drone is equipped with a satellite positioning module, and its position and altitude information can be fed back to the control terminal in real time. The control terminal enables the drone to automatically fly and feed. It can be combined with electronic nautical charts to achieve large-scale and intelligent feeding operations for different cage groups under a specified path by setting the path, dwell time at each point, feed scattering time and scattering interval.

[0023] The hose winch is electrically controlled. The feeding hose is connected to the Roots blower and wound and stored on the winch. The Roots blower automatically retracts and releases the hose according to the instructions from the control terminal. The hose release length can be calculated by multiplying the relative distance between the drone and the winch by a redundancy factor.

[0024] The Roots blower is widely used in pneumatic feed transport. It provides sufficient pneumatic pressure while ensuring the integrity of feed pellets. The feed pellets gain initial kinetic energy through the Roots blower, lose some kinetic energy as they pass through the feeding hose and reach the feeding assembly. The drive motor then rotates the centrifugal feeding disc rapidly, accelerating the feed pellets before they are centrifugally ejected. To ensure feeding density, the drone operates at an altitude of approximately 5 meters above sea level during feeding. Ideally, the radius r of the feed spillway can be calculated using the formula... Calculations show that v0 is the initial velocity of the feed ejected, g is the acceleration due to gravity, and h is the height of the UAV above the sea level; v0 consists of two parts, one being the velocity v0 supplied by the pressurization from the Roots blower. l The pressure is determined by the discharge pressure of the Roots blower; the speed v is determined by the rotation of the centrifugal feeding disc. t The speed is determined by the rotational speed of the centrifugal feeding disc.

[0025] During material feeding, the flexible hose hangs in an arc in the air. When the distance is far, part of the feeding hose floats on the water surface. The length of the hose can be calculated by multiplying the relative distance between the drone and the winch by a redundancy factor μ (for example, 1.1).

[0026] In a specified coordinate system, the three-dimensional coordinates of the winch can be represented as (x, y, z), and the three-dimensional coordinates of the UAV can be represented as (x0, y0, z0). L represents the length of the pipe.

[0027]

[0028] In this invention, different models of the material delivery drone can be selected according to actual needs. Based on existing drone parameters, the maximum takeoff payload of multi-rotor drones can reach 60kg. Since this invention adopts a tethered design, it does not require a battery, and the total takeoff payload can reach 75kg. The material delivery hose is a lightweight medium-sized pneumatic delivery hose, weighing approximately 1.5kg / m. A small-sized cable can be selected for the integrated power cable for the drone, and its weight is negligible. Because the material delivery hose is hollow, its own buoyancy is sufficient to support it floating on the water surface, and the drone does not need to carry the entire weight of the hose. The operating radius is not affected by the weight of the hose; the Roots blower is selected according to the feeding radius, and the longer the conveying distance, the greater the blower pressure capacity required. In this invention, the feeding hose must be wound and stored on the hose winch, which requires greater pressure for transmission. Generally, a model with a pressure capacity greater than 80kPa is selected. Considering the equipment parameters and environmental conditions, the operating radius of the drone of this invention can reach more than 100m, and the feeding diameter can reach about 10m. If the wind speed is high, the drone altitude can be reduced to decrease the feeding diameter, reduce the impact of wind force on the feed when it falls, and increase the controllability of the feeding range.

[0029] In this invention, feed is delivered from a feed storage tank via a Roots blower, and high-pressure airflow travels along the feeding hose to the drone. Feed is then delivered via the feeding assembly at the bottom of the drone. Power is supplied to the winch, Roots blower, and drone through a distribution box. Data and power cables are integrated with the feeding hose at the Roots blower and run directly to the drone. This design allows: ① the drone to eliminate the need for a battery, reducing its weight and increasing its payload capacity; ② it to eliminate the limitation on flight time, increasing the duration of a single operation; and ③ it to ensure that the drone has sufficient flight power when performing feeding operations within its reach.

[0030] During drone flight, the extension and retraction of the winch hose are monitored and controlled by a computer control terminal to ensure that the hose length matches the drone's spatial position.

[0031] The tethered drone feeding solution of the present invention can achieve one-time, full-coverage, and highly efficient feed delivery, avoiding the need for drones to make multiple round trips to replenish feed and power, thus saving manpower and equipment investment.

[0032] In summary, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0033] This invention employs a tethered drone feeding method, which not only improves the flexibility and controllability of feeding but also ensures the safety of the feeding process in the face of complex deep-sea aquaculture conditions, reducing manpower input. More importantly, by directly connecting the feed storage tank to the drone through a feeding hose (integrated cable), the feed and power supply to the drone is guaranteed during the feeding process. In deep-sea aquaculture, where the feeding area is large and the spacing between aquaculture plants is wide, this method avoids the need for the drone to make multiple round trips, greatly improving feeding efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0034] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of a tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system;

[0035] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Exploded view of the structure of the mid-feeding drone;

[0036] Figure 3-1 and Figure 3-2 These are structural schematic diagrams and exploded views of the material delivery components and connecting structures of the material delivery drone;

[0037] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of a feed hose winch;

[0038] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a material delivery drone during operation;

[0039] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram showing the material delivery range and flight trajectory positioning of the material delivery drone during operation. Detailed Implementation

[0040] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0041] like Figure 1 As shown, the tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system of the present invention includes a feeding drone 1, a feeding hose 2, a hose winch 3, a Roots blower 4, a feed storage tank 5, a power distribution box 6, and a control terminal 8. The control terminal can use current drone control equipment such as a computer or remote control. The power distribution box 6 is connected to the electrical equipment in the system, such as the feeding drone 1, the Roots blower 4, and the hose winch 3, via power cables 7. The control terminal 8 can communicate with the drone via a data cable, which can be routed together with the power cable leading to the drone and the feeding hose 2 (e.g., routed within the feeding hose 2). The control terminal can also connect to the drone via wireless communication. The control terminal 8 can also be remotely deployed and connected via satellite signal for data transmission to ensure data and power transmission. The entire equipment is deployed on a deep-sea aquaculture equipment platform 9. The hose winch 3, the Roots blower 4, the feed storage tank 5, and the power distribution box 6 can be fixedly arranged, while the feeding drone 1 needs to be placed in a designated take-off and landing area.

[0042] Specifically, the feeding drone 1 takes off to the breeding area to feed the animals. Its position and altitude information are transmitted to the computer control terminal 8 through the Beidou positioning device 111 on the drone body. The computer calculates the length of the pipe and controls the hose winch 3 to release the pipe.

[0043] Specifically, the feed in the feed storage tank 5 flows out of the feed outlet, is pressurized by the Roots blower 4, and is continuously delivered to the feeding end of the drone along the feeding hose 2. The power of the Roots blower 5, the winch 4, and the drone is all provided by the power distribution box.

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, the feeding assembly is installed on the lower part of the main body 11 of the drone; as Figure 2 The drone on display is a hexacopter with six rotors 13; a Beidou positioning device 111 is installed on the top of the fuselage for real-time positioning during flight to control the drone's flight status and material delivery area; the lower part of the drone's main body 11 is connected to landing gear 12, such as... Figure 5 The support frame will retract via electric drive during flight to avoid affecting the material feeding operation, and will be lowered upon landing.

[0045] like Figure 2 and Figure 3-1 , Figure 3-2As shown, the equipment mounting plate 14 is the main load-bearing structure for equipment such as the feeding assembly. The equipment mounting plate 14 is connected to the main body 11 via bolts and other connecting components. The equipment mounting plate 14 is designed for lightweighting, with multiple weight-reducing holes to reduce weight while ensuring load-bearing capacity.

[0046] Specifically, the feeding components are all installed on the lower part of the equipment mounting plate 14. The drive motor 15 and the motor protective cover 16 are directly connected to the equipment mounting plate 14. The motor protective cover 16 and the drive motor 15 are flat and round to reduce space occupation and ensure aerodynamic performance. The bottom of the motor has four bolt fixing holes along the round edge, and it is installed on the equipment mounting plate 14 with bolts and nuts 110. The motor protective cover 16 is slightly larger than the drive motor 15, and has six bolt fixing holes at the bottom, and is installed on the equipment mounting plate 14 with bolts and nuts 110. The motor protective cover is installed outside the drive motor and ensures that the drive shaft of the motor extends. The motor protective cover is also installed on the reserved holes in the equipment mounting plate 14 with nuts and bolts. Its main function is to protect the motor and provide connection for the lower components.

[0047] Specifically, the centrifugal feeding disc 17 is provided with a connecting hole, which is directly connected to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 15. The rotation of the rotating shaft of the drive motor 15 drives the feeding disc 17 to rotate, thereby feeding the feed. The feeding disc cap 18 is located at the lower part of the feeding disc 17, and its interior is provided with a threaded hole, which is threadedly connected to the rotating shaft, fixing the centrifugal feeding disc 17 to the rotating shaft. The outer surface of the feeding disc cap 18 is inverted conical and has a smooth arc surface shape, which spreads the feed into the feeding disc 17, ensuring uniform and smooth feeding. The lower surface of the feeding disc 17 is provided with multiple feeding blades 171 around the rotation center. By rotating, the feed particles are thrown out. The feeding disc 17 is open at the periphery corresponding to the throwing direction of the blades, for throwing out the feed particles. When feed is fed from the feeding pipe 2 into the feeding tray, it is thrown out by the rotating feeding blades 171. The UAV side connecting flange 19 is located directly below the feeding tray 17 and is connected to the motor protective cover 16 via the connecting rod 191 and fixed with bolts 110. The connecting rod 181 has a rounded triangular cross-section to reduce its impact on feeding. The end connecting flange 21 of the hose 2 has the same shape as the UAV connecting flange 19, but is directly connected to the end of the hose 2. The end connecting flange 21 and the UAV connecting flange 19 are connected by a rotating snap fastener. After the snap fastener is accurately aligned, it is locked by rotation. Both the end connecting flange 21 and the UAV connecting flange 19 are open in the center to allow feed to pass through. The other end of the hose 2 is connected to the Roots blower 4, which is connected to the feed storage tank 5 via a pipe or a hopper. The detachable connection between the end connecting flange 21 and the UAV connecting flange 19 can also be achieved through a direct-insertion snap fastener or bolt connection, but a rotating snap fastener connection is preferred due to its lower air resistance.

[0048] like Figure 4As shown, the hose winch 3 is fixed on the platform 9 by the base 32. The start and stop of the winch motor 31 are controlled by the computer control terminal 8. The feeding hose 2 is wound and stored on the hose winch 33. The winding and unwinding length is calculated by the computer control terminal 8 according to the formula or controlled by the operator based on experience.

[0049] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 The diagram shown is a schematic of a material delivery drone in operation.

[0050] Specifically, the feeding drone 1, carrying the feeding hose 2, takes off and arrives at the breeding area to feed the feed. The feed is delivered from the feed storage tank 5 located on the platform, pressurized by the Roots blower 4 and fed into the feeding hose 2. It then passes through the hose winch 3 to the drone's feeding hose connector (i.e., the end connecting flange 21 and the drone connecting flange 19). After being transported in the pipeline, the remaining kinetic energy of the feed enters the feeding component (i.e., the inverted conical smooth arc surface of the centrifugal feeding disc 17 and the feeding disc cap). The feed first touches the inverted conical smooth arc surface and is then diffused and bounced into the centrifugal feeding disc 17. The centrifugal feeding disc 17 is driven by the drive motor 15 to rotate rapidly and throw out the feed.

[0051] The feeding drone 1 displays its location information and feeding range on the computer control terminal 8 through Beidou positioning and nautical chart data. In turn, the computer control terminal 8 adjusts the drone's flight status and feeding range based on the feedback data. Through preset programs, the drone can also automatically take off and land at set times for feeding.

[0052] Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system, characterized in that, The system includes: The feeding drone has an equipment mounting plate at its lower part, and a feed feeding component is installed at the lower part of the equipment mounting plate; the feed feeding component is connected to a feed hose connector. The feed hose is used to transport feed. One end is connected to the feed hose connector, and the other end is connected to the Roots blower. A hose winch, fixed to the aquaculture platform, is used to control the opening and closing of the feeding hose; Roots blower, installed on the aquaculture platform, is used to pressurize feed from the feed storage tank and deliver it into the feed hose; Feed storage tanks are used to store feed to be fed. The feed storage tanks are connected to the Roots blower to supply materials to the Roots blower. The distribution box is used to provide power to the Roots blower, hose winch, and material delivery drone. The control terminal receives the location information of the material delivery drone and controls the hose reeling and unwinding of the hose winch and the flight status of the material delivery drone based on the location and altitude information.

2. The tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The feeding drone is a multi-rotor drone. The feed feeding component includes a drive motor, a motor protective cover, a centrifugal feeding disc, and a feeding disc cap. The centrifugal feeding disc throws out feed particles by rotating. The feeding disc cap is tightened by threads to fix the centrifugal feeding disc and also serves to disperse the feed particles.

3. The tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The centrifugal feeding disc has multiple feeding blades arranged around the rotation center, which throw out feed particles by rotation. There is a connecting hole in the middle of the feeding disc, which is connected to the drive motor shaft.

4. The tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system according to claim 2, characterized in that, The feeding hose connector consists of two flange structures. The UAV connection flange is located on the side of the UAV, below the feeding tray cap, and the hose end connection flange is located at the end of the feeding hose. The two flanges are detachably connected.

5. The tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The aforementioned material-discharging drone is equipped with a satellite positioning module, and its position and altitude information can be fed back to the control terminal in real time, enabling the drone to automatically fly and discharge materials.

6. The tethered deep-sea aquaculture intelligent feeding drone system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hose winch is electrically controlled. The feeding hose is connected to the Roots blower and wound and stored on the winch. The Roots blower automatically retracts and releases the hose according to the instructions from the control terminal. The hose release length can be calculated by multiplying the relative distance between the drone and the winch by a redundancy factor.

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