Urban roof automatic charging and battery swapping system for low-altitude aircraft and control method

Abstract

This invention discloses an automated rooftop charging and swapping system and control method for low-altitude aircraft. The system includes: multiple charging and swapping stations, each station comprising at least one landing pad located on a building rooftop, a positioning and guidance device for guiding the low-altitude aircraft to land and anchor, and an energy replenishment device for charging or swapping the low-altitude aircraft; at least one low-altitude aircraft equipped with a standardized charging interface compatible with the energy replenishment device; and a cloud-based network scheduling platform for receiving energy replenishment requests and planning flight routes for the low-altitude aircraft based on its mission route, the location of the charging and swapping stations, and the real-time status of the stations. Compared to existing technologies, this invention transforms rooftop resources into distributed energy stations, forming a high-density service network that enables anytime, anywhere energy replenishment for low-altitude aircraft.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of low-altitude aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) infrastructure technology, and in particular to an automatic charging and swapping system and control method for urban rooftops for low-altitude aircraft. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for logistics, inspection, emergency rescue, and future manned low-altitude aircraft, insufficient endurance has become a core bottleneck restricting their large-scale commercial application. Currently, the energy replenishment of low-altitude aircraft mainly faces the following problems:

[0003] 1. Limited range: Due to current battery technology, most low-altitude aircraft have an effective flight time of 30 minutes to 1 hour, making it difficult to complete medium- and long-distance missions;

[0004] 2. Reliance on fixed bases: Existing charging stations are mostly located in suburban areas or specific sites, which cannot form an effective coverage network in urban airspace with dense missions, causing low-altitude aircraft to have to return frequently, resulting in low efficiency;

[0005] 3. Primarily manual intervention: Most existing charging or battery swapping processes require manual operation and cannot achieve full automation. This not only increases operating costs but also limits the ability to provide 24 / 7 uninterrupted service.

[0006] 4. Space utilization conflict: Building a large number of charging facilities on the ground will occupy valuable ground space and conflict with ground traffic and human activities.

[0007] Therefore, how to design an automatic charging and swapping system and control method for urban rooftops for low-altitude aircraft is a technical problem that the industry urgently needs to solve. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the problems with energy replenishment for low-altitude aircraft in existing technologies, this invention proposes an automatic rooftop charging and swapping system and control method for low-altitude aircraft.

[0009] The technical solution of the present invention is to propose an automatic charging and swapping system for urban rooftops for low-altitude aircraft, comprising: multiple charging and swapping stations 1, each of the charging and swapping stations 1 including at least one landing pad 2 located on the roof of a building, a positioning and guidance device 3 for guiding the low-altitude aircraft 4 to land and be fixed, and an energy supply device for charging or swapping the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0010] At least one low-altitude aircraft 4, the low-altitude aircraft 4 being equipped with a standardized charging interface adapted to the energy replenishment device;

[0011] A cloud-based network scheduling platform is used to receive energy replenishment requests and plan flight routes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 based on the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft 4, the location of the charging and swapping station 1, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station 1.

[0012] Furthermore, the energy replenishment device is an automatic battery swapping device, which includes:

[0013] A multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm;

[0014] A battery compartment 8 for storing a fully charged battery 9;

[0015] And a charging stand 5 for charging the depleted battery 7;

[0016] The robotic arm 6 is configured to remove a depleted battery 7 from the low-altitude aircraft 4 and place it on the charging rack 5, and to retrieve a fully charged battery 9 from the battery compartment 8 and install it onto the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0017] Furthermore, the energy replenishment device is an automatic charging device, which includes at least one charging pile 10 that can be connected to the charging interface on the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0018] The charging pile 10 is equipped with a docking mechanism, which is used to enable the charging pile 10 to perform wired physical docking or wireless inductive docking with the charging interface when the low-altitude aircraft 4 lands and is fixed on the take-off and landing pad 2.

[0019] Furthermore, the positioning guidance device 3 employs at least one of visual guidance signs, LED light arrays, and UWB ultra-wideband beacons.

[0020] This invention also discloses a control method for an automatic charging and swapping system on urban rooftops for low-altitude aircraft, comprising the following steps:

[0021] When the low-altitude aircraft 4 receives a mission request, the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is obtained;

[0022] Determine whether the remaining battery power of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is higher than the threshold battery power.

[0023] If the determination is no, then the flight route of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is planned according to the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft 4, the location of the charging and swapping station 1, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station 1.

[0024] The threshold power is configured to be sufficient for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to complete the mission request.

[0025] Furthermore, based on the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft 4, the location of the charging and swapping station 1, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station 1, a flight route is planned for the low-altitude aircraft 4, including the following steps:

[0026] Calculate the vertical distance from all the charging and swapping stations 1 to the task route, and sort them from nearest to farthest in terms of distance;

[0027] According to the sorting order, determine whether the charging station 1 meets the charging conditions, and obtain the first target charging station that meets the charging conditions;

[0028] The target charging and swapping station is added as a transit point to the mission route and used as the flight route of the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0029] Furthermore, the energy replenishment device can perform battery swapping mode and charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft 4. When the energy replenishment device performs battery swapping mode, the charging condition is set to have at least one fully charged battery 9 in the battery compartment 8 of the automatic battery swapping device.

[0030] When the energy replenishment device is in charging mode, the charging condition is set such that the charging pile 10 in the automatic charging device has a charging position for charging the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0031] Furthermore, the battery swapping mode and the charging mode are set according to the spare time of the low-altitude aircraft 4, and the spare time of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is set as the difference between the final required time to execute the mission request and the time required for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to execute the mission request.

[0032] When the reserve time of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is less than the threshold time, the energy supply device executes the charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0033] When the reserve time of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is greater than the threshold time, the energy supply device executes the charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0034] The threshold time is set as the time required for the charging pile 10 to complete charging of the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0035] Furthermore, while the low-altitude aircraft 4 is executing the mission request, the control method for the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for the low-altitude aircraft 4 also includes:

[0036] When the remaining power of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is insufficient to complete the mission request, it sends an energy replenishment request to the cloud network scheduling platform.

[0037] When the cloud network scheduling platform receives the energy replenishment request, it obtains the real-time position of the low-altitude aircraft 4, calculates the straight-line distance from all the charging and swapping stations 1 to the real-time position, and sorts them from near to far according to the distance length.

[0038] According to the sorting order, determine whether the charging station 1 meets the charging conditions, and obtain the first target charging station that meets the charging conditions;

[0039] Control the low-altitude aircraft 4 to travel to the target charging and battery swapping station, and execute charging mode or battery swapping mode for it;

[0040] When the charging mode or the battery swapping mode is completed, control the low-altitude aircraft 4 to re-execute the mission request.

[0041] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0042] 1. Efficient use of space resources: Make full use of the rooftop space of buildings in the city that are not effectively used, without occupying ground resources, to form a high-density network of "space refueling stations";

[0043] 2. Significantly extended range: Low-altitude aircraft can perform "relay" flights, and through multiple mid-course refuelings, they can theoretically achieve unlimited range, completely breaking the range limitations of battery technology.

[0044] 3. Fully automated and highly efficient: No manual intervention is required throughout the process. The battery swapping mode is highly efficient, reducing the waiting time for charging from several hours to just a few minutes, which greatly improves the operational efficiency of low-altitude aircraft.

[0045] 4. Networking and Intelligence: The cloud-based network scheduling platform can achieve optimal resource allocation, enabling the entire system to operate as a comprehensive energy-saving smart grid and logistics network;

[0046] 5. Promote standardization: Promoting the standardization of battery interfaces for low-altitude aircraft is beneficial to the planned development of the entire industry. Attached Figure Description

[0047] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0048] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram showing the distribution of charging and swapping stations on city rooftops in this invention;

[0049] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the charging and swapping station set up on the roof of a building in this invention;

[0050] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the process of executing the battery swapping mode in this invention;

[0051] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the process of executing the charging mode in this invention;

[0052] Figure 5 This is the overall control flowchart of the present invention;

[0053] Among them, 1 is a charging and swapping station, 2 is a take-off and landing pad, 3 is a positioning and guidance device, 4 is a low-altitude aircraft, 5 is a charging rack, 6 is a robotic arm, 7 is a depleted battery, 8 is a battery compartment, 9 is a fully charged battery, and 10 is a charging pile. Detailed Implementation

[0054] To make the technical problems to be solved, the technical solutions, and the beneficial effects of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the present invention and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0055] Therefore, a feature pointed out in this specification is used to describe one feature of one embodiment of the invention, and does not imply that every embodiment of the invention must have the described feature. Furthermore, it should be noted that this specification describes many features. Although certain features may be combined to illustrate possible system designs, these features may also be used in other combinations not explicitly stated. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the described combinations are not intended to be limiting.

[0056] The principles and structure of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0057] Currently, the main problems facing the energy resupply of low-altitude aircraft are as follows:

[0058] 1. Limited range: Due to current battery technology, most low-altitude aircraft have an effective flight time of 30 minutes to 1 hour, making it difficult to complete medium- and long-distance missions;

[0059] 2. Reliance on fixed bases: Existing charging stations are mostly located in suburban areas or specific sites, which cannot form an effective coverage network in urban airspace with dense missions, causing low-altitude aircraft to have to return frequently, resulting in low efficiency;

[0060] 3. Primarily manual intervention: Most existing charging or battery swapping processes require manual operation and cannot achieve full automation. This not only increases operating costs but also limits the ability to provide 24 / 7 uninterrupted service.

[0061] 4. Space utilization conflict: Building a large number of charging facilities on the ground will occupy valuable ground space and conflict with ground traffic and human activities.

[0062] To address the aforementioned issues, this invention proposes an automated rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft, aiming to convert rooftop resources into distributed energy stations, forming a high-density service network and breaking the range limitations of battery technology.

[0063] The automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft proposed in this invention includes:

[0064] Multiple charging and battery swapping stations, each including at least one landing pad located on the roof of a building, a positioning and guidance device for guiding low-altitude aircraft to land and anchor, and an energy supply device for charging or swapping batteries for low-altitude aircraft.

[0065] At least one low-altitude aircraft equipped with a standardized charging interface adapted to the energy replenishment device;

[0066] The cloud-based network dispatch platform is used to receive energy replenishment requests and plan flight routes for low-altitude aircraft based on their mission routes, the locations of charging and swapping stations, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping stations.

[0067] Based on the above design, the present invention can plan flight routes through a cloud network scheduling platform. If the low-altitude aircraft has insufficient range, the flight route can pass through the nearest charging station, ensuring the long-range operation of the low-altitude aircraft without affecting its mission.

[0068] Please see Figure 1 In this invention, multiple charging and swapping stations 1 are set up and distributed on the rooftops of urban buildings to form a high-density service network. Each charging and swapping station 1 can perform charging or swapping modes for the low-altitude aircraft 4, making full use of the rooftop space of the buildings and ensuring the long-endurance operation of the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0069] Each charging and swapping station 1 includes at least a landing pad 2, a positioning and guidance device 3, and an energy supply device. The landing pad 2 is a leveled and reinforced area located on the roof of a building, used for the landing and anchoring of low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0070] Positioning and guidance device 3 is used to guide the landing of low-altitude aircraft 4, ensuring that low-altitude aircraft 4 can land accurately on the landing pad 2, with the following features: Figure 2In this embodiment, the positioning guidance device 3 is configured as an LED light array. In other embodiments of the present invention, the positioning guidance device 3 may also be configured as one or more combinations of visual guidance signs (such as QR codes), LED light arrays, and UWB ultra-wideband beacons.

[0071] The energy replenishment device is used to enable the low-altitude aircraft 4 to operate in charging or battery swapping mode, ensuring its long-term operation. The charging and battery swapping modes can be set according to the low-altitude aircraft 4's spare time. If the low-altitude aircraft 4 has sufficient spare time, the charging mode will be executed first, otherwise the battery swapping mode will be executed first.

[0072] In charging mode, the energy replenishment device directly charges the depleted battery 7 in the low-altitude aircraft 4. In battery swapping mode, the energy replenishment device directly replaces the depleted battery 7 in the low-altitude aircraft 4 with a fully charged battery 9. Both schemes can ensure the low-altitude aircraft 4 can be powered back on. To implement the battery swapping mode, the energy replenishment device in this invention can be an automatic battery swapping device, and the automatic battery swapping device includes at least the following:

[0073] A multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm;

[0074] A battery compartment 8 for storing a fully charged battery 9;

[0075] And a charging stand 5 for charging the depleted battery 7;

[0076] The robotic arm 6 is configured to remove the depleted battery 7 from the low-altitude aircraft 4 and place it in the charging rack 5, and to take a fully charged battery 9 from the battery compartment 8 and install it into the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0077] In this configuration, the robotic arm 6 can replace the depleted battery 7 in the low-altitude aircraft 4 with a fully charged battery 9, so that the low-altitude aircraft 4 can be put into use immediately. The above battery swapping mode only takes 1 to 3 minutes to execute, ensuring maximum time reserve. At the same time, the depleted battery 7 taken out from the low-altitude aircraft 4 can be placed on the charging rack 5 for recharging, turning it into a fully charged battery 9, which can be used in the next battery swapping mode, realizing the recycling of batteries.

[0078] Please see Figure 3 The operation process of the automatic battery swapping device in battery swapping mode is as follows: after the low-altitude aircraft 4 lands and is fixed on the take-off and landing pad 2, the depleted battery 7 is first taken out from the low-altitude aircraft 4 by the robotic arm 6, and then the depleted battery 7 is placed on the charging rack 5 for charging.

[0079] Then, the robotic arm 6 takes out the fully charged battery 9 from the battery compartment 8 and installs it into the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0080] Finally, the restraints on low-altitude aircraft 4 were released, allowing low-altitude aircraft 4 to continue performing its mission.

[0081] The above process takes only 1 to 3 minutes, allowing the low-altitude aircraft 4 to quickly return to the mission and ensure the successful completion of the mission request.

[0082] To achieve the charging mode, the energy replenishment device in this invention can be an automatic charging device, and the automatic charging device includes at least: at least one charging pile 10 that can be connected to the charging interface on the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0083] The charging pile 10 is equipped with a docking mechanism, which is used to enable the charging pile 10 to perform wired physical docking or wireless inductive docking with the charging interface when the low-altitude aircraft 4 lands and is fixed on the take-off and landing pad 2.

[0084] The charging mode takes longer than the battery swapping mode and is generally used when the low-altitude aircraft 4 has a lot of spare time. By performing the charging action on the low-altitude aircraft 4, damage to the battery that may be caused during the battery replacement process can be avoided.

[0085] Please see Figure 4 The procedure for the automatic charging device to execute the charging mode is as follows: After the low-altitude aircraft 4 lands and is secured to the landing pad 2, the charging pile 10 is docked with the charging structure through the docking mechanism. After docking is completed, the charging mode can be executed. Figure 4 The docking method used in this embodiment is a wired physical docking method. In other embodiments of the present invention, the docking method can also be a wireless inductive docking method.

[0086] The charging and swapping station 1 in this invention also includes a station control box, which has a built-in local controller responsible for managing the energy supply device of the charging and swapping station 1, and communicating with the low-altitude aircraft 4 and the cloud network server to ensure smooth mission docking.

[0087] In this invention, the low-altitude aircraft 4 can be a multi-rotor drone, a vertical take-off and landing aircraft, etc. After adaptive modification, its battery compartment 8 is set to support standardized, quick-release battery modules, or designed to have a charging interface that can be connected to the charging pile 10, for the execution of battery swapping mode and charging mode respectively.

[0088] Furthermore, the cloud-based network scheduling platform in this invention may include the following components:

[0089] The task and path planning module is designed to receive task requests from the low-altitude aircraft 4 (such as transporting goods from point A to point B) and plan flight routes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 based on the location of each charging and swapping station 1, the inventory of the battery compartment 8, and the queuing situation.

[0090] The station status monitoring module is designed to monitor the working status of all charging and swapping stations 1, the inventory of battery compartment 8, the queuing situation, and the health status of low-altitude aircraft 4 in real time, so as to provide data support for flight route planning.

[0091] The user and service settlement module is designed to process users' charging and battery swapping requests and complete billing and payment actions.

[0092] Based on the aforementioned automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft, this invention also proposes a control method for the same system. This method is used to plan the flight path of the low-altitude aircraft 4 and select between charging and swapping modes for the aircraft. The method includes the following steps:

[0093] When the low-altitude aircraft 4 receives a mission request, obtain the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0094] Determine whether the remaining battery power of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is higher than the threshold battery power.

[0095] If the determination is no, then the flight route of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is planned according to the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft 4, the location of the charging and swapping station 1, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station 1.

[0096] The threshold power is configured to be sufficient for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to complete the mission request.

[0097] This section outlines the overall steps for flight path planning of the low-altitude aircraft 4 in this invention. The steps are described in detail below.

[0098] The process of planning a flight route for the low-altitude aircraft 4 based on its mission route, the location of the charging and swapping station 1, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station 1 includes the following steps:

[0099] Calculate the vertical distance from all charging and swapping stations 1 to the mission route, and sort them from nearest to farthest in terms of distance;

[0100] Determine whether each charging and battery swapping station meets the charging conditions in the sorting order, and obtain the first target charging and battery swapping station that meets the charging conditions.

[0101] The target charging and swapping station will be added to the mission route as a transit point, and will also be used as the flight route for low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0102] When the low-altitude aircraft 4 performs a mission, its mission route generally includes a starting point and a mission endpoint. The mission route is essentially a line connecting the starting point and the mission endpoint. In this invention, the vertical distance from all charging and swapping stations 1 to the mission route is calculated and sorted from near to far according to the distance length. This determines the shortest route that the low-altitude aircraft 4 can travel under the premise of being able to perform charging or swapping modes for the low-altitude aircraft 4. By planning the shortest route, the time required for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to perform mission requests can be saved as much as possible.

[0103] The use of vertical distance for planning, rather than distance from the starting point or mission endpoint, is to take into account the length of the entire flight path. In some cases, the distance between the charging station 1 and the starting point may be relatively close, but the vertical distance may be relatively far. If the charging station 1 is used as the target charging station, it will actually increase the distance of the flight path. However, the vertical distance approach can shorten the flight path of the low-altitude aircraft 4 to the greatest extent and avoid wasting time.

[0104] The charging conditions mentioned above are used to determine whether the charging station 1 can complete the charging mode or the battery swapping mode. If the battery swapping mode needs to be executed, there is no fully charged battery 9 in the battery compartment 8 of the charging station 1 that is closest to the mission route. In this case, although the shortest flight route can be achieved by using the charging station 1 as the target charging station, the battery swapping mode cannot be executed when the target charging station is reached, or waiting is required, which will waste time. Therefore, when selecting the target charging station, it is necessary to ensure that it meets the charging conditions first.

[0105] When the energy replenishment device is in battery swapping mode, the charging condition is set so that the battery compartment 8 in the automatic battery swapping device has at least one fully charged battery 9.

[0106] When the energy replenishment device is in charging mode, the charging conditions are set such that the charging pile 10 in the automatic charging device has a charging position for charging the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0107] Under the premise of meeting the charging conditions, the low-altitude aircraft 4 can travel to the target charging and battery swapping station and immediately start the charging or battery swapping mode, thus avoiding wasting time.

[0108] In addition, in other embodiments of the present invention, the time it takes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to travel to the charging station 1 and the waiting time at the charging station 1 can be taken into account to make better flight route planning. For example, in terms of charging mode, the time it takes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to fly to the charging station 1 is greater than the waiting time required for charging at the charging station 1. In this way, after the low-altitude aircraft 4 flies to the charging station 1, it can directly enter the charging mode. Therefore, the charging station 1 can be considered to meet the charging conditions and listed as the target charging station.

[0109] When comparing the distances between multiple charging stations 1, the time it takes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to fly to each charging station 1 and the waiting time required for the charging station 1 to enter charging mode can also be included. For example, if the time it takes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to fly to the first charging station 1 is 'a' and the time it takes to fly to the second charging station 1 is 'b', where 'a' is less than 'b', but the first charging station 1 requires a waiting time 'c' before it can enter charging mode, then we can compare the value of 'a+c' with 'b'. If 'a+c' is less than 'b', it means that the time it takes for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to fly to the first charging station 1 and wait until it enters charging mode is less than the time it takes to fly to the second charging station 1. In this case, although the first charging station 1 needs to wait for charging, the overall time is shorter, so the first charging station 1 can be used as the target charging station.

[0110] When planning the flight route of the charging and swapping station 1 using the above-mentioned scheme, the present invention takes into account multiple factors such as flight time, waiting time, and vertical distance, which can ensure the maximum time saving.

[0111] As mentioned above, the control method for the automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft proposed in this invention is also used to determine the selection of the swapping mode and the charging mode. The specific scheme is as follows:

[0112] The battery swapping mode and charging mode are set according to the spare time of the low-altitude aircraft 4. The spare time of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is set as the difference between the final required time for executing the mission request and the time required for the low-altitude aircraft 4 to execute the mission request.

[0113] When the reserve time of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is less than the threshold time, the energy supply device will activate the charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0114] When the reserve time of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is greater than the threshold time, the energy supply device will activate the charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0115] The threshold time is set to the time required for charging pile 10 to complete charging of low-altitude aircraft 4.

[0116] By setting up this part of the scheme, the present invention can reasonably select the charging mode and the battery swapping mode, and ensure that the low-altitude aircraft 4 can achieve long-endurance operation without affecting the completion of mission requests.

[0117] The above schemes are all executed when the low-altitude aircraft 4 receives a mission request. At this time, the low-altitude aircraft 4 has not yet taken off and can be planned in advance through a cloud network scheduling platform. In some unforeseen circumstances, the low-altitude aircraft 4 may run out of power while executing the mission request. In this case, the control method of the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft proposed in this invention includes: when the low-altitude aircraft 4 is executing a mission request, the control method of the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft further includes:

[0118] When the remaining power of the low-altitude aircraft 4 is insufficient to complete the mission request, it sends an energy replenishment request to the cloud network scheduling platform.

[0119] When the cloud network dispatch platform receives an energy replenishment request, it obtains the real-time position of the low-altitude aircraft 4, calculates the straight-line distance from all charging and swapping stations 1 to the real-time position, and sorts them from near to far according to the distance.

[0120] Determine whether each charging and battery swapping station meets the charging conditions in the sorting order, and obtain the first target charging and battery swapping station that meets the charging conditions.

[0121] Control the low-altitude aircraft 4 to travel to the target charging and battery swapping station, and execute charging or battery swapping mode for it;

[0122] When the charging mode or battery swapping mode is completed, control the low-altitude aircraft 4 to re-execute the mission request.

[0123] Compared to the previous approach where the low-altitude aircraft 4 plans its route upon receiving a mission request, this approach takes into account the real-time straight-line distance between the charging / swapping station 1 and the low-altitude aircraft 4. This is because the low-altitude aircraft 4's remaining battery power is insufficient to execute the mission request. Therefore, the remaining battery power of the low-altitude aircraft 4 needs to be prioritized. Thus, the charging / swapping station 1, which is closest to the low-altitude aircraft 4 and can perform charging or battery swapping modes, is directly selected as the target charging / swapping station. This ensures that the low-altitude aircraft 4 can be recharged in the shortest possible time and put back into use, avoiding delays that could negatively impact the user experience.

[0124] Please see Figure 4 Based on the control method of the above-mentioned urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft, the specific working process of the low-altitude aircraft in this invention is as follows:

[0125] S1, the low-altitude aircraft or the cloud network scheduling platform generates an energy replenishment requirement; for the low-altitude aircraft, if it detects that the remaining battery power is insufficient to complete the mission request during the execution of the request, it can directly generate an energy replenishment requirement and inform the cloud network scheduling platform. When performing long-distance missions, this energy replenishment requirement can also be generated when the cloud network scheduling platform plans the flight route.

[0126] S2, the cloud network dispatch platform selects the target charging and swapping station; after obtaining the energy replenishment requirement, the cloud network dispatch platform calculates and recommends the optimal charging and swapping station for flight route planning based on the low-altitude aircraft's mission route, the location of the charging and swapping station, and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station. At the same time, after the low-altitude aircraft receives and confirms the instruction, the cloud network dispatch platform sends a service reservation to the charging and swapping station.

[0127] S3, the low-altitude aircraft navigates to the target charging and swapping station; after acquiring the target charging and swapping station, the low-altitude aircraft activates its navigation device and runs to the target charging and swapping station.

[0128] S4, Precision Positioning and Landing: The low-altitude aircraft lands precisely on the designated landing pad according to the positioning guidance device and is secured by a locking mechanism to prevent wind damage.

[0129] S5, Authentication and Service Confirmation: The local controller in the low-altitude aircraft and the charging / swapping station completes authentication and billing information confirmation through near-field communication (such as RFID, Bluetooth).

[0130] S6, execute either battery swapping mode or charging mode; Battery swapping mode: The robotic arm moves to the battery compartment of the low-altitude aircraft, opens the battery compartment, takes out the depleted battery, and places it on the charging rack for charging. Then, it takes out a fully charged battery from the battery compartment of the energy replenishment device, puts it into the battery compartment of the low-altitude aircraft, and locks it. The whole process is completed within 1-3 minutes; Charging mode: The docking mechanism of the charging pile (such as the charging head held by the robotic arm) automatically locates and docks with the charging interface of the low-altitude aircraft to start charging. It automatically disconnects after charging is completed.

[0131] S7, energy replenishment complete, low-altitude aircraft take off and continue mission; after low-altitude aircraft has finished charging or swapping batteries, unlock, take off and continue mission.

[0132] S8, the charging and swapping station updates its status and resets; in the charging and swapping station, the robotic arm places the depleted battery onto the charging rack for charging, updates the battery storage status, and resets to await the next service.

[0133] Based on the above settings, the present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0134] 1. Efficient use of space resources: Make full use of the rooftop space of buildings in the city that are not effectively used, without occupying ground resources, to form a high-density network of "space refueling stations";

[0135] 2. Significantly extended range: Low-altitude aircraft can perform "relay" flights, and through multiple mid-course refuelings, they can theoretically achieve unlimited range, completely breaking the range limitations of battery technology.

[0136] 3. Fully automated and highly efficient: No manual intervention is required throughout the process. The battery swapping mode is highly efficient, reducing the waiting time for charging from several hours to just a few minutes, which greatly improves the operational efficiency of low-altitude aircraft.

[0137] 4. Networking and Intelligence: The cloud-based network scheduling platform can achieve optimal resource allocation, enabling the entire system to operate as a comprehensive energy-saving smart grid and logistics network;

[0138] 5. Promote standardization: Promoting the standardization of battery interfaces for low-altitude aircraft is beneficial to the planned development of the entire industry.

[0139] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention, and such modifications or substitutions should all be covered within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic charging and swapping system for urban rooftops for low-altitude aircraft, characterized in that, include: Multiple charging and swapping stations (1), each of the charging and swapping stations (1) includes at least one landing pad (2) located on the roof of a building, a positioning and guidance device (3) for guiding the landing and fixing of a low-altitude aircraft (4), and an energy supply device for charging or swapping the low-altitude aircraft (4). At least one low-altitude aircraft (4) is equipped with a standardized charging interface adapted to the energy replenishment device; The cloud network scheduling platform is used to receive energy replenishment requests and plan flight routes for the low-altitude aircraft (4) based on the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft (4), the location of the charging and swapping station (1), and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station (1).

2. The automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that, The energy replenishment device is an automatic battery swapping device, which includes: A multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm (5); A battery compartment (8) for storing a fully charged battery (9); And a charging rack (5) for charging the depleted battery (7); The robotic arm (5) is configured to remove the depleted battery (7) from the low-altitude aircraft (4) and place it on the charging rack (5), and to take a fully charged battery (9) from the battery compartment (8) and install it on the low-altitude aircraft (4).

3. The automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that, The energy supply device is an automatic charging device, which includes at least one charging pile (10) that can be connected to the charging interface on the low-altitude aircraft (4). The charging pile (10) is provided with a docking mechanism, which is used to enable the charging pile (10) to perform wired physical docking or wireless inductive docking with the charging interface when the low-altitude aircraft (4) lands and is fixed on the take-off and landing pad (2).

4. The automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning guidance device (3) adopts at least one of visual guidance signs, LED light array, and UWB ultra-wideband beacon.

5. A control method for an automatic rooftop charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: When the low-altitude aircraft (4) receives a travel mission request, the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is obtained; Determine whether the remaining power of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is higher than the threshold power. If the determination is no, then the flight route of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is planned according to the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft (4), the location of the charging and swapping station (1), and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station (1). The threshold power is configured to be sufficient for the low-altitude aircraft (4) to complete the mission request.

6. The control method for the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 5, characterized in that, The flight route of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is planned based on the mission route of the low-altitude aircraft (4), the location of the charging and swapping station (1), and the real-time status of the charging and swapping station (1), including the following steps: Calculate the vertical distance from all the charging and swapping stations (1) to the task route, and sort them from nearest to farthest in terms of distance; According to the sorting order, determine whether the charging and swapping station (1) meets the charging conditions, and obtain the first target charging and swapping station that meets the charging conditions; The target charging and swapping station is added to the mission route as a transit point and used as the flight route of the low-altitude aircraft (4).

7. The control method for the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 6, characterized in that, The energy replenishment device can perform battery swapping mode and charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft (4). When the energy replenishment device performs battery swapping mode, the charging condition is set to have at least one fully charged battery (9) in the battery compartment (8) of the automatic battery swapping device. When the energy supply device is in charging mode, the charging condition is set such that the charging pile (10) in the automatic charging device has a charging position for charging the low-altitude aircraft (4).

8. The control method for the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 7, characterized in that, The battery swapping mode and the charging mode are set according to the spare time of the low-altitude aircraft (4), and the spare time of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is set as the difference between the final required time to execute the mission request and the time required for the low-altitude aircraft (4) to execute the mission request. When the surplus time of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is less than the threshold time, the energy supply device performs a charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft (4); When the surplus time of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is greater than the threshold time, the energy supply device performs a charging mode for the low-altitude aircraft (4); The threshold time is set as the time required for the charging pile (10) to complete charging of the low-altitude aircraft (4).

9. The control method for the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for low-altitude aircraft according to claim 5, characterized in that, While the low-altitude aircraft (4) is executing the mission request, the control method for the urban rooftop automatic charging and swapping system for the low-altitude aircraft (4) further includes: When the remaining power of the low-altitude aircraft (4) is insufficient to complete the mission request, an energy replenishment request is sent to the cloud network scheduling platform; When the cloud network scheduling platform receives the energy replenishment request, it obtains the real-time position of the low-altitude aircraft (4), calculates the straight-line distance from all the charging and swapping stations (1) to the real-time position, and sorts them from near to far according to the distance length; According to the sorting order, determine whether the charging and swapping station (1) meets the charging conditions, and obtain the first target charging and swapping station that meets the charging conditions; Control the low-altitude aircraft (4) to travel to the target charging and battery swapping station, and execute charging mode or battery swapping mode for it; When the charging mode or the battery swapping mode is completed, control the low-altitude aircraft (4) to re-execute the mission request.

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