Unmanned aerial vehicle airborne fire hose anti-bending series connector

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of pipeline connection, and particularly discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle airborne fire hose anti-bending series connector which comprises a first connecting end, a second connecting end, a third connecting end and a fourth connecting end. The second connecting end is provided with an external thread structure and is used for being connected with an interface internal thread of a second hose section; the anti-bending connecting structure is connected between the first connecting end and the second connecting end, and the anti-bending connecting structure allows the first connecting end and the second connecting end to adjust the included angle between the first connecting end and the second connecting end on at least one plane; plug-and-play of the connector and a standard hose is ensured through the threads arranged at the two ends of the connector, and a controllable multi-degree-of-freedom rotation capability is introduced into the anti-bending connecting structure, so that a pipeline system connected in series can adaptively adjust the connecting angle, and an acute-angle break point possibly forming blockage is converted into an arc flow channel in smooth transition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of pipeline connection technology, specifically relating to a UAV-borne fire hose anti-bending series connector. Background Technology

[0002] When using drones for aerial fluid transport operations, such as deep water supply or high-altitude firefighting in the fire protection field, it is often necessary to connect multiple hoses (such as water hoses) in the air to extend the operating range. Currently, such hose connection is mostly done by direct docking, that is, by directly screwing the male end of one hose to the female end of another hose through a standard threaded interface, or by using a few rigid elbows with fixed angles for connection.

[0003] However, in the aforementioned existing technical solutions, when a drone suspends or tows a pipeline composed of multiple connected hoses, the weight of the hoses themselves and the dynamic load generated by changes in attitude during flight cause gravity to concentrate at the rigid connection points between the hoses. This can easily lead to sharp-angle bends or even complete folds in the hoses near the connection points, severely obstructing fluid flow and causing a sudden drop or interruption in water supply pressure, making it impossible to complete aerial operations. At the same time, although fixed rigid bends can maintain a specific angle, they cannot adapt to complex multi-directional force changes in the air and may instead become new stress concentration points, exacerbating the risk of hose wear or joint damage. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an anti-bending series connector for airborne fire hoses on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to solve the problems mentioned in the background art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution: Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) airborne fire hose anti-bending series connector, including: The first connecting end has an internal thread structure for connecting with the external thread of the interface of the first section of hose; The second connecting end has an external thread structure for connecting with the internal thread of the interface of the second section of hose; An anti-bending connection structure is provided between the first connection end and the second connection end, the anti-bending connection structure allowing the included angle between the first connection end and the second connection end to be adjusted in at least one plane.

[0006] Preferably, the anti-bending connection structure includes a bent pipe structure, and the two ends of the bent pipe structure are respectively connected to a first connection end and a second connection end through a universal joint structure.

[0007] Preferably, the universal joint structure includes one of a ball joint, a cross-type universal joint, or a double-hinged connector.

[0008] Preferably, the internal thread specification of the first connecting end and the external thread specification of the second connecting end are adapted to the thread size of a standard fire hose interface.

[0009] Preferably, the first connecting end, the second connecting end, and the anti-bending connecting structure are assembled from lightweight, high-strength materials.

[0010] Preferably, the lightweight, high-strength material includes at least one of aluminum alloy, engineering plastic, or carbon fiber composite material.

[0011] A fluid delivery system includes at least two hose segments and at least one anti-bend series connector as described above, wherein the anti-bend series connector is connected in series between two adjacent hose segments.

[0012] An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operation system includes a UAV and a fluid delivery system, wherein the fluid delivery system is used for aerial fluid delivery operations carried out by the UAV slinging or towing.

[0013] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: The threads at both ends of the connector ensure plug-and-play compatibility with standard hoses, while the anti-bend connection structure introduces controllable multi-degree-of-freedom rotation capabilities, enabling the series-connected pipeline system to adaptively adjust the connection angle. This transforms sharp-angle bends that could cause blockages into smooth-transition arc-shaped flow channels, ensuring the continuity and stability of fluid delivery and improving the operational reliability and efficiency of the UAV sling-mounted delivery system. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the usage state of the present invention; In the diagram: 1. First connecting end; 2. Second connecting end; 3. Anti-bending connecting structure; 4. Bending pipe structure. Detailed Implementation

[0015] 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 some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0016] Example 1: Please see Figures 1-3 As shown, the UAV-borne fire hose anti-bending series connector includes: The first connecting end 1 has an internal thread structure for connecting with the external thread of the interface of the first section of hose. The second connecting end 2 has an external thread structure for connecting with the internal thread of the interface of the second section of hose; The first connecting end 1 has an internal thread machined at its end. The specification of the internal thread is preferably matched with the external thread of the water hose interface with a nominal diameter of 40mm to ensure that it can be directly screwed into the interior of a section of the water hose female interface. The thread type is preferably a trapezoidal thread of a standard fire hose interface or a quick-connect thread to ensure connection sealing and tensile strength.

[0017] The second connecting end 2 has an external thread machined at its end. The specification of the external thread is also compatible with the 40mm fire hose interface, and it is used to directly screw into the interior of another section of the fire hose male interface. The anti-bending connection structure 3 is connected between the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2. The anti-bending connection structure 3 allows the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2 to adjust the included angle between them in at least one plane, thereby preventing the water hose after series connection from forming a rigid straight line at the connection point, so that it can bend naturally in accordance with the air posture, but without bending too much (forming an acute angle).

[0018] In one embodiment of the present invention, the anti-bending connection structure 3 includes a bent pipe structure 4, and the two ends of the bent pipe structure 4 are respectively connected to the first connection end 1 and the second connection end 2 through a universal joint structure. The bend structure 4 itself is a tube with a fixed arc, preferably with an arc angle between 90° and 150°. The bend 4 serves as the main frame, and its two ends are connected to the connection end through a universal joint structure. A general fluid turning path is pre-set to avoid the water hose being directly folded inside the connector. The two ends of the bend structure 4 (i.e., its inlet and outlet) are respectively connected to the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2 through a set of universal joint structures. The first connecting end 1 is not directly fixed to one end of the bend 4, but is connected to it through a universal joint; similarly, the second connecting end 2 is connected to the other end of the bend 4 through another universal joint.

[0019] In one embodiment of the present invention, the universal joint structure includes one of a ball joint, a cross-type universal joint, or a double-hinged connector; When it is a ball joint, it includes a ball head and a ball cup. The ball head can be set at the end of the connection end, and the ball cup is fixed at the end opening of the bend structure 4. The two work together to achieve multi-degree-of-freedom rotation. Each universal joint allows the connection end to be connected to swing at least a certain angle (±15° to ±30°) relative to the end of the bend in the up and down and left and right directions.

[0020] In one embodiment of the present invention, the internal thread specification of the first connecting end 1 and the external thread specification of the second connecting end 2 are adapted to the thread size of a standard fire hose interface.

[0021] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first connecting end 1, the second connecting end 2, and the anti-bending connecting structure 3 are assembled from lightweight and high-strength materials; The components can be detachably assembled through threaded connections, clamping collars, and pin locking. The ball cup of the universal joint can be screwed onto the bend port and the fluid seal is ensured by the sealing ring. This modular design facilitates maintenance and replacement of damaged parts, and also makes it easy to change the connection end according to different hose interface standards.

[0022] In one embodiment of the present invention, the lightweight, high-strength material includes at least one of aluminum alloy, engineering plastic, or carbon fiber composite material.

[0023] As can be seen from the above, since each of the two connecting ends is connected to the middle bend 4 through a universal joint, this gives the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2 a combined degree of rotational freedom. Not only can the two connecting ends independently oscillate relative to the bend 4, but the fixed curvature of the bend 4 itself also provides a basic guide. This allows the connector to adapt to different directions of tension from the drone or the water hose below when the water hose is subjected to different directions of tension. It keeps the bending radius of the water hose at the connection point within a large and safe range, thereby effectively preventing the water hose from hard bending or dead bending at the connector position and ensuring smooth water supply.

[0024] A fluid delivery system includes at least two hose sections and at least one anti-bend series connector as described above, wherein the anti-bend series connector is connected in series between adjacent hose sections to form one or more flexible joint structures throughout the delivery pipeline.

[0025] A drone operation system includes a drone and a fluid delivery system. The fluid delivery system is used for aerial fluid delivery operations by being suspended or towed by the drone. In actual operation, the drone can take off carrying a water hose or lift the end of a water hose laid on the ground into the air for deep or high-altitude water supply. The connector can absorb the shaking, twisting and bending stress caused by the weight of the hose itself during flight, prevent the hose from becoming blocked and bent at the connection, and ensure that the water source can be continuously and pressurized to the fire extinguishing device carried by the drone or the next section of hose. As can be seen from the above, when the drone's flight attitude changes or the direction of the water hose being dragged changes, the force acting on the connector will change. At this time, the universal joint structure at both ends of the connector starts to work, allowing the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2 to adaptively deflect relative to the middle bend structure 4, dispersing the sharp bending force that might have been concentrated at one point into smooth angle changes in multiple directions, thereby always keeping the internal flow channel of the water hose unobstructed; the preset curvature provided by the bend structure 4 itself provides a bending path reference with the least resistance for this adaptive process.

[0026] Example 2: The connector in this embodiment also includes a first connecting end 1, a second connecting end 2, and an anti-bending connection structure connecting the two; The anti-bending connection structure of this embodiment adopts a direct connection double universal joint structure. The anti-bending connection structure is directly composed of a first universal joint, a second universal joint and a rigid connecting rod. The rigid connecting rod is a hollow straight tube with connecting structures at both ends; One end of the first universal joint is fixed to the inside of the first connecting end 1 by a thread or fastener; the other end is connected to one end of the rigid connecting rod. In this embodiment, the universal joint is preferably a cross-shaped universal joint, in which the two pairs of journals of the cross shaft are respectively connected to the first connecting end 1 and the fork-shaped part of the rigid connecting rod, allowing the two to rotate relative to each other in a plane; The second universal joint has one end fixed to the inside of the second connecting end 2, and the other end connected to the other end of the rigid connecting rod. The second universal joint can also be a cross-shaped universal joint, but its rotation plane can be at a certain angle (e.g., 90 degrees) with the rotation plane of the first universal joint, so as to achieve multi-directional angle adjustment together.

[0027] As can be seen from the above, the first connecting end 1 can swing relative to the rigid connecting rod in the first plane (such as the left-right direction) through the first universal joint; the second connecting end 2 can swing relative to the rigid connecting rod in the second plane (such as the up-down direction) through the second universal joint. The rotation planes of the two universal joints intersect each other, so that the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2 can achieve multi-degree-of-freedom angle adjustment similar to a ball joint. The rigid connecting rod acts as an intermediate support, maintaining the distance between the two ends and bearing the main tensile force. Furthermore, in one embodiment of the present invention, a friction locking collar is provided on the first universal joint and / or the second universal joint, and the connecting journal of the cross shaft and the fork-shaped member is provided with a thread, the friction locking collar is sleeved at the location, and engages with the journal through the internal thread; When the collar is rotated and tightened, it presses against the ear of the fork-shaped part, increasing the rotational friction resistance until the relative angle between the first connecting end 1 and the rigid connecting rod is completely locked. Once the collar is released, free rotation can be restored. The second universal joint can be equipped with the same mechanism.

[0028] This locking mechanism allows users to manually fix the connector angle temporarily when the drone is hovering or supplying water in a specific posture, preventing accidental swinging caused by water flow impact and improving operational stability.

[0029] Example 3: The connector in this embodiment also includes a first connecting end 1, a second connecting end 2, and an anti-bending connecting structure 3 connecting the two; This embodiment integrates flexible compensation and angle adjustment functions. The anti-bending connection structure 3 is mainly composed of an integrated double ball joint unit and a metal bellows. The integrated double ball joint unit is a compact cylindrical shell with a common spherical chamber at its center. The end of the first connecting end 1 extends to form a first ball head, and the end of the second connecting end 2 extends to form a second ball head. The two ball heads are located in the same spherical chamber, but are independent of each other. The inner wall of the chamber serves as the ball cup of the two ball heads. By using a low-friction coefficient composite material as the ball cup liner, the first ball head and the second ball head can achieve independent, multi-directional rotation within the common chamber. The metal bellows serves as the sealing and pressure-bearing body. Its two ends are welded to the root (behind the ball head) of the first connecting end 1 and the second connecting end 2, respectively, or sealed by clamps. The bellows encloses the entire double ball joint unit, forming a closed fluid channel. The metal bellows itself has excellent flexibility compensation capabilities for axial expansion, radial bending, and torsion.

[0030] As can be seen from the above, when the forces on the two hoses are not in the same direction, the force is transmitted to the connection end. The first connection end 1 and the second connection end 2 can drive the first ball head and the second ball head at their ends to deflect freely in the common spherical cavity, so as to realize the direct and independent universal motion of the two connection ends, and the rotation centers are very close. The outer metal bellows achieves dynamic sealing of the flow channel, preventing fluid leakage from the ball joint gap; when the ball joint reaches its rotation limit (limited by the chamber structure design) or is subjected to axial tension / compression, the bellows can provide secondary compensation through its own elastic deformation (tension, compression, bending), further absorbing vibration and displacement, and protecting the internal ball joint structure. This combined structure ensures that the fluid channel maintains a smooth transition curve in any working posture through the angle adaptation of the ball joint and the flexible deformation of the bellows, reducing the generation of sharp-angle bends. The natural bending shape of the bellows itself is the best anti-bend guide.

[0031] Although embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A bend-avoiding series connector for aerial firefighting hoses of unmanned aerial vehicles, characterized in that Comprising: a first connecting end (1) having an inner thread structure for interfacing with an outer thread of a first section of hose; a second connecting end (2) having an outer thread structure for interfacing with an inner thread of a second section of hose; a bend-prevention connecting structure (3) connected between the first connecting end (1) and the second connecting end (2), the bend-prevention connecting structure (3) allowing the first connecting end (1) and the second connecting end (2) to adjust an included angle therebetween in at least one plane.

2. The anti-kink inline connector for aerial firefighting hoses of claim 1, wherein: The bend-prevention connecting structure (3) comprises an elbow structure (4) having two ends connected to the first connecting end (1) and the second connecting end (2) respectively via a universal joint structure.

3. The anti-kink inline connector for aerial firefighting hoses of claim 1, wherein: The universal joint structure comprises one of a ball joint, a cross-axle universal joint, or a double-joint connecting head.

4. The anti-kink inline connector for aerial firefighting hoses of claim 1, wherein: The inner thread specification of the first connecting end (1) and the outer thread specification of the second connecting end (2) are adapted to the thread size of a standard fire hose interface.

5. The anti-kink inline connector for aerial firefighting hoses of claim 1, wherein: The first connecting end (1), the second connecting end (2), and the bend-prevention connecting structure (3) are assembled from a lightweight high-strength material.

6. The anti-kink inline connector for aerial firefighting hoses of claim 1, wherein: The lightweight high-strength material comprises at least one of an aluminum alloy, an engineering plastic, or a carbon fiber composite material.

7. A fluid delivery system characterized by, A fluid delivery system comprising at least two sections of hose and at least one bend-prevention series connector as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, the bend-prevention series connector being connected in series between two adjacent sections of hose.

8. An unmanned aerial vehicle operation system, characterized by, A fluid delivery system as claimed in claim 7 for aerial fluid delivery operations by a drone, the fluid delivery system being hung or towed by the drone.

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