Expandable multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle hangar and transfer storage scheduling strategy

Abstract

The invention discloses an expandable multifunctional unmanned aerial vehicle hangar and a transfer storage scheduling strategy, and relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle storage. The unmanned aerial vehicle hangar has modular assembly and multifunctional expansion capabilities, and diversified requirements of unmanned aerial vehicles can be met while transportation and assembly convenience of the hangar is ensured. Comprising a hangar shell, the hangar shell comprises a fixed frame and an expansion interface, a plurality of bearing and transferring plates which are horizontally arranged are contained in the fixed frame, and the bearing and transferring plates can walk in a guide rail frame and are driven by a vertical circulating system to ascend and descend in a reciprocating mode; a work station is further arranged in the fixed frame. According to the unmanned aerial vehicle hangar, the unmanned aerial vehicle hangar is modularized, the assembling speed of the hangar is increased, meanwhile, a plurality of expansion functional areas are arranged, and multifunctional efficient storage of unmanned aerial vehicles is achieved through a unique transfer strategy.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of drone storage, and more specifically to an expandable, multi-functional drone hangar. Background Technology

[0002] my country's drone industry has developed rapidly, with fixed-wing drones playing a crucial role due to their efficiency, flexibility, and wide range of applications. In recent years, with the rapid development of drone technology and the continuous expansion of its application areas, the performance and functionality of fixed-wing drones have been significantly improved. Their applications in aerial photography, surveying, agricultural plant protection, and emergency rescue are becoming increasingly widespread, making them an indispensable tool in modern society. However, fixed-wing drones typically rely on airports for takeoff and maintenance when performing tasks in the field. Since airports are often far from the actual work area, drones consume a significant amount of energy during their round trips, resulting in shorter effective operating time and reduced work efficiency. Furthermore, when facing large-scale operations requiring multiple drones to work collaboratively, airports must provide ample parking space to accommodate numerous drones, which not only increases site occupancy but also wastes space resources.

[0003] To overcome the various challenges faced by drones, existing drone hangar design schemes have made certain innovations in different aspects, such as: The paper "A Modular Drawer-Type Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Hanger" with publication number CN120793288A proposes stacking multiple drone parking bays to form a drawer-type structure. Each parking bay can be quickly disassembled and assembled. Although this improves the convenience of the drone hanger, its method of storing drones is fixed and lacks a flexible storage strategy.

[0004] The publication CN120863945A, titled "A Multifunctional Integrated Vehicle-Mounted UAV Hangar," proposes equipping the hangar with functions such as automatic battery replacement and automatic payload replacement. While this achieves functional diversification for the UAV hangar, its capacity is limited, making it unable to accommodate multiple UAVs simultaneously, and it lacks expansion interfaces.

[0005] In summary, the aforementioned patented technologies have made innovative explorations in different dimensions, such as modular architecture and multi-functional integration, and have proposed solutions for specific needs such as compact deployment of drone hangars, energy and payload management. However, existing improvements are characterized by technological singularity, failing to systematically integrate the advantages of modular expansion, adaptive energy management, and multi-task payload collaboration. This results in limited scalability and poor functional collaboration when dealing with complex scenarios such as large-scale drone swarm scheduling and drone collaborative operations, and a lack of dynamically adjustable transfer and storage strategies. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the above problems, this invention proposes an expandable and multifunctional drone hangar and a transfer and storage scheduling strategy. This enables the drone hangar to have modular assembly and multifunctional expansion capabilities, ensuring convenient transport and assembly while meeting the diverse needs of drones, thereby expanding the functionality and application scope of the drone hangar.

[0007] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: The expandable multi-functional hangar includes a hangar shell 100, the hangar shell 100 includes a fixed frame and an expansion interface 140, the expansion interface 140 is located on both sides of the fixed frame; the fixed frame includes a fixed shell 110, a vertical circulation system 120 and a guide rail frame 130, the fixed shell 110 is a hollow rectangle, with rectangular windows on the top and front sides respectively, the top being the inlet and the front being the outlet; there are two guide rail frames 130, adopting a grid structure, symmetrically distributed on both sides inside the fixed shell 110, and fixedly connected to the fixed shell 110; the vertical circulation system 120 is in groups of two, for a total of four groups, symmetrically installed in the gaps of the guide rail frames 130, and fixedly connected to the guide rail frames 130; The fixed frame houses multiple horizontally arranged load-bearing transfer plates 200, which can move within the guide rail frame 130 and reciprocate up and down under the drive of the vertical circulation system 120. The fixed frame also includes a workstation, which includes a support platform 300 on which different devices are installed.

[0008] Furthermore, the fixed outer shell 110 is composed of four panels, which are hollow rectangles in shape. There are four rectangular protrusions on each side surface, and an expansion interface 140 is provided between two protrusions.

[0009] Furthermore, the guide rail frame 130 includes a long straight guide rail 131, a short straight guide rail 133, a cross guide rail 132, and a T-shaped guide rail 134; the fixed frame is divided into an exit area, a middle area, and an entrance area from front to back. Multiple parallel short straight guide rails 133 are fixedly installed in the exit area and the entrance area. Multiple parallel long straight guide rails 131 are fixedly installed in the middle area. The two ends of the long straight guide rail 131 are fixedly connected to the short straight guide rail 133 through the cross guide rail 132, and the end of the short straight guide rail 133 away from the long straight guide rail 131 is fixedly connected to the T-shaped guide rail 134. The long straight guide rail 131 and the short straight guide rail 133 both have straight tracks inside, and both have tooth marks inside. The cross guide rail 132 has a cross-shaped track, and the horizontal part of the cross-shaped track has tooth marks inside. The T-shaped guide rail 134 has a T-shaped track, and the horizontal part of the T-shaped track has tooth marks inside. The vertical part of the cross-shaped track and the vertical part of the T-shaped track are the accommodating areas of the vertical circulation system 120. One long straight guide rail 131 and two short straight guide rails 133 form a layer. Multiple layers are set in the fixed frame, each layer being a storage area or a functional area. The vertical circulation system 120 is used to lift and move the load-bearing transfer plate 200 between the layers.

[0010] Furthermore, the circulation system 120 includes a circulation guide rail 121 and a circulation slider 122. The circulation guide rail 121 is elliptical and is the main component of the vertical circulation system 120. It is fixedly installed in the slotted gap of the guide rail frame 130. The circulation slider 122 is L-shaped with toothed marks on its surface. It is installed on the circulation guide rail 121 and is located in the vertical part of the cross-shaped track and the vertical part of the T-shaped track. One circulation guide rail 121 is equipped with multiple circulation sliders 122. The circulation guide rail 121 is driven by a motor to reciprocate in a circumferential direction, thereby driving the circulation sliders 122 to move up and down reciprocally.

[0011] Furthermore, the carrier transfer plate 200 includes a carrier plate surface 210, a positioning groove 220, and drive wheels 230. Two carrier plate surfaces 210 are symmetrically arranged, each being an L-shaped strip with a rough texture on its surface. The pair of carrier plate surfaces 210 are fixedly connected as one unit by a connecting arm. The positioning groove 220 is semi-circular and is formed on the connecting arm. There are four drive wheels 230, which are respectively installed at the bottom of the pair of carrier plate surfaces 210 and move back and forth in the long straight guide rail 131 or the short straight guide rail 133 under the drive of the drive motor.

[0012] Furthermore, the workstation includes a support platform 300 and functional devices. The support platform 300 is installed in the middle of the hangar shell 100, with the same width as the hangar shell 100, dividing the hangar shell 100 vertically. Its length is narrower than the hangar shell 100, leaving vertical movement space on both sides of the hangar shell 100. It is installed offset from the guide rail frame 130, and its installation height is slightly lower than that of the guide rail frame 130. The functional devices are of various types and are installed above the support platform.

[0013] A transfer and storage scheduling strategy is proposed based on the loop-shaped circular path formed by the horizontal movement of the bearing transfer plate 200 and the vertical circulation of the circulation slider 122. The implementation steps of this transfer and storage scheduling strategy are as follows: Step 1: The carrier transfer plate 200 in the entrance area is raised to the recovery height by the circulation system 120. After the drone is stably supported, the carrier drone returns to the initial position and enters the hangar entrance. Step 2: The system will plan the optimal path based on the specific mission requirements of the UAV and the real-time status of each area of ​​the hangar. The transport board 200 will then precisely guide the UAV to the floor where the functional area or storage area is located, completing the positioning and parking.

[0014] Step 3: After the UAV completes its maintenance work, the system issues an exit command to the carrier transfer plate 200. The carrier transfer plate 200 moves the UAV along the optimized path to the designated position at the hangar exit, awaiting the UAV's takeoff.

[0015] Furthermore, in step 2, if the UAV needs to be directed to the storage area or the hangar exit, the carrier transfer plate 200 will move quickly along the loop path to the storage area or directly to the hangar exit; if the UAV needs to be directed to the functional area, the carrier transfer plate 200 will move into the storage area at a designated position through horizontal movement; at the same time, the system automatically retrieves an empty carrier transfer plate 200 from the storage area and moves it into the loop system to complete the dynamic replacement.

[0016] This invention equips a drone hangar with a support platform, transfer rails, and functional equipment. This not only enables efficient storage of drones in a limited space but also allows for their transfer to different functional locations according to their needs. By modularizing the drone hangar, the assembly speed is increased. It also features multiple expandable functional areas and a unique transfer strategy, achieving multifunctional and efficient storage of drones. Its beneficial effects are: I. The expandable multifunctional hangar proposed in this invention adopts a modular design and is composed of standardized components. It can be flexibly expanded according to capacity requirements, enabling rapid assembly and deployment. It can be built in a short time and ensures the stability and reliability of the system, thereby improving the portability and assembly efficiency of the drone hangar.

[0017] Second, the expandable multifunctional hangar proposed in this invention has multiple functional areas and is equipped with multiple functional expansion interfaces. This design not only enriches the functionality of the drone hangar, but also provides corresponding functional services for drone expansion through the functional expansion interfaces, meeting the diverse needs of drones.

[0018] Third, the expandable multifunctional hangar proposed in this invention has a unique transfer and storage strategy, which can accurately transfer drones to their corresponding functional areas according to the specific needs of drones, thereby meeting the different functional needs of drones and improving the storage and management efficiency of the hangar. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the hangar exterior according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the framework components according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the transfer plate according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the regional distribution according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the transfer strategy process according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the transfer and storage route according to an embodiment of the present invention; In the diagram: 100 - hangar shell, 200 - load-bearing transfer plate, 300 - load-bearing platform; 110 - fixed shell, 120 - vertical circulation system, 130 - guide rail frame, 140 - expansion interface, 121 - circulation guide rail, 122 - circulation slider, 131 - long straight guide rail, 132 - cross guide rail, 133 - short straight guide rail, 134 - T-shaped guide rail, 135 - vertical guide rail, 210 - load-bearing plate surface, 220 - positioning groove, 230 - drive wheel. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To clearly illustrate the technical features of this patent, the following detailed description is provided through specific embodiments and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0021] like Figure 1 As shown, the expandable multi-functional UAV hangar proposed in this invention has a hangar shell 100, a load-bearing transfer plate 200, and a workstation. The hangar shell 100 includes a fixed frame and expansion interfaces 140. The fixed frame is rectangular and is the main body of the hangar. The expansion interfaces 140 are located on both sides of the fixed frame, which can be further expanded according to the specific needs of the hangar and the UAV, enriching the diversity of hangar functions. The expansion interfaces can be mainly used to connect other functional areas, such as connecting a small hangar next to a large hangar. Currently, the expansion interfaces shown in the figure are only on the lower left and lower right sides.

[0022] The load-bearing transfer plates 200 are located between the fixed frames and are arranged horizontally. The workstation is installed inside the hangar.

[0023] The workstation includes a support platform 300 and functional equipment. The support platform is installed in the middle of the hangar shell 100, with the same width as the hangar shell 100, dividing the hangar shell 100 vertically. Its length is narrower than the hangar shell 100, leaving vertical movement space on both sides of the hangar shell 100. It is installed offset from the guide rail frame 130, with an installation height slightly lower than the guide rail frame 130, serving as the support platform for the functional equipment. There are various types of functional equipment installed above the support platform to meet diverse needs such as UAV energy replenishment, payload replacement, and airframe maintenance.

[0024] like Figure 2 As shown, the fixed frame includes a fixed outer shell 110, a vertical circulation system 120, and a guide rail frame 130. The fixed outer shell 110 is a hollow rectangle and serves as the load-bearing component of the hangar as a whole. The guide rail frame 130 adopts a grid structure and is fixedly connected to the fixed outer shell 110. The load-bearing transfer plate 200 can move horizontally through the toothed grooves of the guide rail frame 130 to realize the horizontal transfer operation of the hangar. The vertical circulation system 120 is installed in the gaps of the guide rail frame 130 and is fixedly connected to the guide rail frame 130.

[0025] The circulation system 120 includes a circulation guide rail 121 and a circulation slider 122. The circulation guide rail 121 is elliptical and is the main component of the vertical circulation system 120, providing a closed circulation path for the circulation slider 122. The circulation slider 122 is L-shaped with toothed surfaces and is mounted on the circulation guide rail 121. It complements the slotted gap of the guide rail frame 130, and can support the load-bearing transfer plate 200 while lifting the load-bearing transfer plate 200 to realize the vertical transfer operation of the hangar. Four circulation sliders 122 are installed for each circulation guide rail 121.

[0026] like Figure 3 As shown, the guide rail frame 130 includes a long straight guide rail 131, a short straight guide rail 133, a cross guide rail 132, and a T-shaped guide rail 134. The guide rails have toothed grooves inside, and the cross guide rail 132 and the T-shaped guide rail 134 have hollow structures inside. The toothed grooves inside the guide rails can cooperate with the bearing plate surface 200 to achieve horizontal transportation. All guide rail components are standardized, which facilitates maintenance and enables rapid assembly of the hangar according to actual needs, thereby improving the efficiency of hangar construction.

[0027] like Figure 4As shown, the carrier transfer plate 200 includes a carrier plate surface 210, positioning grooves 220, and drive wheels 230. There are two L-shaped long strips of carrier plate surface 210 located on both sides of the carrier transfer plate 200, serving as the main carrier of the UAV. The surface is textured to increase friction between the plate and the UAV, maintaining the stability of the UAV during transfer. There are two semi-circular positioning grooves 220 located between the two carrier plate surfaces 210. They are fixedly connected to the carrier plate surface 210 via connecting arms, and the positioning grooves 220 lock the position of the UAV, further ensuring the stability of the UAV during transfer while providing additional support. There are four drive wheels 230 fixedly connected to the bottom of the carrier transfer plate 200. They are driven by a motor to rotate gears, which mesh with the toothed grooves of the guide rail frame 130 and the circulating slider 122. Together with the guide rail frame 130 and the circulation system 120, they realize the overall transfer of the UAV hangar.

[0028] The overall transfer strategy process for scalable multi-functional drone hangars is as follows: Figure 5 As shown, after entering the hangar, the drones are transported according to their status and needs. If no adjustment is needed, they are directly stored in the storage area; if adjustment is required, they are moved to the functional area for operation. The hangar is initially equipped with three interconnected modules: energy replenishment, payload replacement, and airframe maintenance, to meet the diverse needs of drones. At the same time, the hangar can flexibly add expanded functional areas through expansion interfaces to adapt to the personalized needs of drones. The storage area is connected to the hangar exit, ultimately forming a complete closed loop of "entry-storage-adjustment-storage-exit".

[0029] Expandable multi-functional drone hangar transfer and storage routes, such as Figure 7 As shown, the core of this system lies in constructing a loop-shaped path formed by the horizontal movement of the carrier-transfer plate 200 and the vertical circulation of the circulating slider 122. The carrier-transfer plate 200 is driven by a bottom motor, with gears meshing with the toothed grooves of the guide rail frame 130, enabling precise horizontal movement. The circulating slider 122 supports the carrier-transfer plate 200 in vertical movement along the circulating guide rail 121. When the carrier-transfer plate 200 moves horizontally away from the circulating slider 122, the circulating slider 122 automatically completes its self-circulation reset along the closed-loop path of the circulating guide rail 121 (after the upper layer moves away, it loops downwards back to the lower layer; after the lower layer moves away, it loops upwards back to the upper layer). The precise coordination between the horizontal movement of the carrier-transfer plate 200 and the vertical movement of the circulating slider 122 ultimately forms an efficient, closed-loop circulation circuit.

[0030] When the drone arrives at the hangar entrance, the carrier transfer plate 200 first rises to its recovery height. After the drone is stably received and placed, the transfer plate 200 returns to its initial position. The system then guides the drone to the storage area, functional area, or hangar exit according to its status and mission requirements: if it needs to be guided to the storage area or hangar exit, the carrier transfer plate 200 will move quickly along the loop path to the storage area or directly to the hangar exit for storage or retrieval preparation; if it needs to be guided to the functional area, the carrier transfer plate 200 will move horizontally into the storage area at the designated location; simultaneously, the system automatically retrieves an empty carrier transfer plate 200 from the storage area and moves it into the loop system, completing dynamic replacement and ensuring the integrity of the loop path and the efficient circulation of the carrier transfer plates 200.

[0031] There are many specific ways to implement this invention. The above description is only a preferred embodiment of this invention. It should be noted that for those skilled in the art, several improvements can be made without departing from the principle of this invention, and these improvements should also be considered within the scope of protection of this invention.

Claims

1. An expandable multi-functional drone hangar, characterized in that, The expandable multi-functional hangar includes a hangar shell (100), which includes a fixed frame and an expansion interface (140). The expansion interface (140) is located on both sides of the fixed frame. The fixed frame includes a fixed shell (110), a vertical circulation system (120), and a guide rail frame (130). The fixed shell (110) is a hollow rectangle with rectangular windows on the top and front sides. The top is the inlet and the front is the outlet. There are two guide rail frames (130) in a grid structure, which are symmetrically distributed on both sides inside the fixed shell (110) and fixedly connected to the fixed shell (110). There are four vertical circulation systems (120) in groups of two, which are symmetrically installed in the gaps of the guide rail frames (130) and fixedly connected to the guide rail frames (130). The fixed frame houses multiple horizontally arranged load-bearing transfer plates (200), which can move within the guide rail frame (130) and reciprocate up and down under the drive of the vertical circulation system (120). The fixed frame also includes a workstation, which includes a support platform (300) on which different devices are installed.

2. The expandable multi-functional UAV hangar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The fixed outer shell (110) consists of four panels, which are hollow rectangles in total. There are four rectangular protrusions on each side surface, and an expansion interface (140) is provided between two protrusions.

3. The expandable multi-functional drone hangar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The guide rail frame (130) includes a long straight guide rail (131), a short straight guide rail (133), a cross guide rail (132), and a T-shaped guide rail (134). The fixed frame is divided into an exit area, a middle area, and an entrance area from front to back. Multiple parallel short straight guide rails (133) are fixedly installed in the exit area and the entrance area. Multiple parallel long straight guide rails (131) are fixedly installed in the middle area. The two ends of the long straight guide rail (131) are fixedly connected to the short straight guide rail (133) through the cross guide rail (132). The end of the short straight guide rail (133) away from the long straight guide rail (131) is fixedly connected to the T-shaped guide rail (134). The long straight guide rail (131) and the short straight guide rail (133) both have straight tracks inside, and both have tooth marks inside. The cross guide rail (132) has a cross-shaped track, and the horizontal part of the cross-shaped track has tooth marks inside. The T-shaped guide rail (134) has a T-shaped track, and the horizontal part of the T-shaped track has tooth marks inside. The vertical part of the cross-shaped track and the vertical part of the T-shaped track are the accommodating areas of the vertical circulation system (120). A long straight guide rail (131) and two short straight guide rails (133) form a layer. Multiple layers are set in the fixed frame, each layer being a storage area or a functional area. The load-bearing transfer plate (200) is raised and lowered between layers through a vertical circulation system (120).

4. The expandable multi-functional drone hangar according to claim 3, characterized in that, The circulation system (120) includes a circulation guide rail (121) and a circulation slider (122). The circulation guide rail (121) is elliptical and is the main component of the vertical circulation system (120). It is fixedly installed in the slot of the guide rail frame (130). The circulation slider (122) is L-shaped with toothed marks on its surface. It is installed on the circulation guide rail (121) and is located in the vertical part of the cross-shaped track and the vertical part of the T-shaped track. One circulation guide rail (121) is equipped with multiple circulation sliders (122). The circulation guide rail (121) is driven by a motor to move circumferentially back and forth, thereby driving the circulation slider (122) to move back and forth.

5. The expandable multi-functional drone hangar according to claim 4, characterized in that, The carrier transfer plate (200) includes a carrier plate surface (210), a positioning groove (220), and a drive wheel (230). The carrier plate surface (210) is symmetrically arranged in two L-shaped strips with rough texture on the surface. The pair of carrier plates (210) are fixedly connected as one unit by a connecting arm. The positioning groove (220) is semi-circular and is opened on the connecting arm. There are four drive wheels (230), which are respectively installed at the bottom of the pair of carrier plates (210) and move back and forth in the long straight guide rail (131) or the short straight guide rail (133) under the drive of the drive motor.

6. The expandable multi-functional drone hangar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The workstation includes a support platform (300) and functional equipment. The support platform (300) is installed in the middle of the hangar shell (100), with the same width as the hangar shell (100), dividing the hangar shell (100) vertically. Its length is narrower than the hangar shell (100), leaving vertical movement space on both sides of the hangar shell (100). It is installed offset from the guide rail frame (130), with its installation height slightly lower than the guide rail frame (130). The functional equipment includes various types and is installed above the support platform.

7. A transfer, storage, and scheduling strategy based on the scalable multi-functional UAV hangar as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The implementation steps of this transfer and storage scheduling strategy are as follows: Step 1: The carrier transfer plate (200) in the entrance area is raised to the recovery height by the circulation system (120). After the drone is stably received, the carrier drone returns to the initial position and enters the hangar entrance. Step 2: The system will plan the optimal path based on the specific mission requirements of the UAV and the real-time status of each area of ​​the hangar. The transport board (200) will then accurately guide the UAV to the floor where the functional area or storage area is located, and complete the positioning and parking. Step 3: After the UAV completes its maintenance work, the system issues an exit command to the carrier transfer plate (200). The carrier transfer plate (200) moves the UAV along the optimized path to the designated position at the hangar exit, waiting for the UAV to take off.

8. A transfer and storage scheduling strategy according to claim 7, characterized in that, In step 2, if the UAV needs to be directed to the storage area or the hangar exit, the carrier transfer plate (200) will move quickly along the loop path to the storage area or directly to the hangar exit; if the UAV needs to be directed to the functional area, the carrier transfer plate (200) will move into the storage area through horizontal movement at the designated position; at the same time, the system automatically retrieves an empty carrier transfer plate (200) from the storage area and moves it into the loop system to complete the dynamic replacement.

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