Water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle
Through the new structural design of the water-air amphibious drone, combined with streamlined shape and tail pit perforation, the problem of drone's resistance to travel underwater is solved, and both aerial flight and underwater navigation are achieved.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422419709.7
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-08
- Publication Date
- 2025-08-19
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-10-08
AI Technical Summary
The existing drone designs are unable to take into account the travel underwater while maintaining a long air stagnation time. The lightweight appearance in the air becomes a burden in the environment of high resistance in water.
It adopts a new structural design, including the drone body, body arm, tilt part, rotor sheet and stable tail wing, combined with the parabolic and ellipsoid streamlined shapes, the tail is designed with pits and perforations to reduce underwater resistance, and a motor control attitude is built into the tilt part.
It has achieved that while maintaining good aerial flight capabilities, drones can better navigate underwater, reduce underwater drag and enhance control stability.
Smart Images

Figure CN223237922U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The utility model belongs to the field of UAV design, in particular to an amphibious UAV. Background Art
[0002] Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have experienced rapid development in recent years. With the convergence and mutual support of various technologies, UAVs are no longer limited to land and air environments; they are even trending towards sea, land, and air. However, existing UAV designs utilize lightweight materials and simple structures to maximize airborne time. However, such designs are not suitable for underwater operation. Conversely, the lightweight design in air becomes cumbersome in the high drag environment of water. Therefore, a novel design for amphibious UAVs, both airborne and underwater, is needed to address these issues. Utility Model Content
[0003] The utility model provides an amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of both water and air transportation.
[0004] The technical solution for achieving the purpose of the utility model is: a water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising a unmanned aerial vehicle body, two main body arms, a left tilting part, a right tilting part, a left-rotating wing blade, a right-rotating wing blade and four stabilizing tail wings, the two main body arms are arranged on both sides of the unmanned aerial vehicle body and are symmetrical about the axis of the unmanned aerial vehicle body; the left tilting part and the right tilting part are respectively arranged in a one-to-one correspondence at one end of the two main arms away from the unmanned aerial vehicle body, and the left tilting part and the right tilting part are adjusted by placing a motor for tilting angle; the left-rotating wing blade and the right-rotating wing blade are respectively arranged in a one-to-one correspondence at one end of the left tilting part and the right tilting part away from the two main arms, and the stabilizing tail wing is installed symmetrically about the axis of the unmanned aerial vehicle body at the tail of the unmanned aerial vehicle body.
[0005] Preferably, a section of the tail of the drone body is cut off and a pit is formed at the tail.
[0006] Preferably, the tail of the drone body is provided with eight through-holes.
[0007] Preferably, the eight perforations are symmetrically arranged along the axis of the water-air amphibious drone, and the perforations are in contact with the pit wall of the pit.
[0008] Preferably, the angle between the axis of each through-hole and the axis of the drone body is between 30° and 50°.
[0009] Preferably, the stabilizing tail is a flat plate with the same shape and a thickness less than a set threshold.
[0010] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following significant advantages:
[0011] Through a novel structural design, this amphibious drone maintains excellent aerial flight capabilities while also enabling improved underwater navigation. The streamlined shape, composed of a parabola and an ellipsoid, significantly reduces the drone's underwater drag. The removal of the slender tail reduces unused volume, further reducing the drone's weight and making it more suitable for aerial flight. However, the loss of streamlined design due to the tail removal can cause vortices to form around the drone's tail during underwater navigation, increasing drag. Therefore, drawing inspiration from the design of a concave-bottomed bomb, a concave recess is designed in the tail, surrounded by eight perforations. These eight perforations and the concave recess significantly reduce the vortices around the drone's tail during underwater navigation. Furthermore, the recess can be modified to accommodate various requirements, allowing the eight perforations to function as drainage channels when the drone enters the air or returns from the water.
[0012] The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the utility model.
[0014] Figure 2 It is the left view of the utility model.
[0015] Figure 3 It is a top view of the utility model.
[0016] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the coordinate system for controlling the amphibious drone in the air and underwater respectively.
[0017] Figure 5 To follow Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the pits and perforations on the bottom of the amphibious water-air drone cut along the GG line.
[0018] Figure 6 To follow Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the left and right tilting parts of the water-air amphibious drone cut along the center HH line.
[0019] In the figure, 1-UAV body, 2-body arm, 3-left tilting part, 4-right tilting part, 5-left rotor blade, 6-right rotor blade, 7-stabilizing tail, 8-pit, 9-perforation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0020] like Figures 1 to 6As shown, a water-air amphibious drone includes a drone body 1, two main arms 2, a left-tilt turning part 3, a right-tilt turning part 4, a left-rotating blade 5, a right-rotating blade 6 and four stabilizing tail wings 7. The two main arms 2 are arranged on both sides of the drone body 1 and are symmetrical about the axis of the drone body 1; the left-tilt turning part 3 and the right-tilt turning part 4 are respectively arranged in a one-to-one correspondence at one end of the two main arms 2 away from the drone body 1, and the left-tilt turning part 3 and the right-tilt turning part 4 are adjusted in tilt angle by being placed in a motor; the left-rotating blade 5 and the right-rotating blade 6 are respectively arranged in a one-to-one correspondence at one end of the left-tilt turning part 3 and the right-tilt turning part 4 away from the two main arms 2, and the stabilizing tail wing 7 is symmetrically installed at the tail of the drone body 1 about the axis of the drone body 1.
[0021] The above-mentioned amphibious drone is derived from a tilt-rotor drone. Its attitude control in the air is similar to that of a normal dual-rotor drone. However, in the water, the main resistance changes from gravity to the resistance of the water during cruising. Therefore, the control method is different from that in the air. Figure 2 The y-axis shown is rotated 90 degrees. Therefore, the flight control of the amphibious drone needs to have two attitude control modes at the same time, namely air cruise mode and underwater cruise mode.
[0022] The above-mentioned water-air amphibious drone has a spindle-shaped main body, and both the head and tail are partial paraboloids, with the purpose of minimizing the resistance of the water-air amphibious drone when traveling in the water. The middle part is partially ellipsoidal, with the purpose of minimizing resistance while increasing the volume and ensuring a smooth transition zone, thereby further reducing resistance. However, in order to reduce resistance, the tail is slender, which will make the water-air amphibious drone too long. At the same time, the slender tail will make it impossible to fit useful components, resulting in a lack of space utilization. Therefore, part of the parabola is cut off at the tail. This will lead to increased resistance. After weighing the pros and cons, it was decided to use the drag reduction idea of a bottom concave bomb, open a pit at the bottom, and do the following Figure 3 The eight perforations shown divert part of the liquid into the recess, thereby weakening the vortex caused by the truncated tail section.
[0023] The main arm of the amphibious drone connects the drone's main body to the left and right tilting parts. Its shape is an elliptical cylinder, which reduces resistance during underwater navigation while ensuring that the wires are wrapped in the main arm and are not affected by water.
[0024] The aforementioned amphibious drone features symmetrical left and right tilting arms, each shaped like two tangential ellipses. The rear portion is longer than the front. This design offers the advantages of maintaining low underwater drag and allowing the motors controlling the tilting angles of the left and right tilting arms to be housed within the arms. This minimizes the size of the main arm, reducing underwater drag.
[0025] For the aforementioned amphibious drone, there are no specific requirements for left-hand and right-hand rotor blades. Using wide blades can better adapt to underwater environments.
[0026] The stabilizing tail of the aforementioned amphibious drone consists of four identical, approximately 1mm thin plates. When airborne, these serve as a support for takeoff and landing. While submerged, the drone's attitude can be adjusted by the water flow, maintaining the correct position.
[0027] [Example 1]
[0028] An amphibious drone comprises a drone body 1 and two main arms 2 extending from the front end of the elliptical portion of the drone body 1. The arms 2 are symmetrically arranged 120 degrees about the axis of the drone body 1. The two arms 2 should be identical in shape. The drone body 1 and the arms 2 should form a relatively rigid body; otherwise, their flight performance in the air and their waterproofness during underwater navigation will be affected. A left-hand tilting unit 3 and a right-hand tilting unit 4 are connected to the two arms 2, respectively. The motors that control the tilt angles of the left and right tilting units 3 and 4 should be located inside the left and right tilting units 3 and 4. Therefore, the arms 2 should be as small as possible to reduce weight during airborne flight and resistance during underwater navigation, but at least they should be large enough to accommodate control cables and provide adequate waterproofing. The front halves of the left and right tilting units 3 and 4 are used to mount and secure the motors that control the blades. Left-hand rotor blades 5 are mounted at the head of the left-hand tilting unit 3 and connected to the motor inside the unit, which provides torque for the left-hand rotor blades 5. The right-hand rotor blades 6 should be installed symmetrically in front of the right tilting section 4, similar to the installation method for the left-hand rotor blades 5. It should be noted that the connections between the left-hand and right-hand rotor blades 5 and 6 and the left and right tilting sections 3 and 4 must be airtight to prevent malfunctions caused by water ingress during underwater navigation. Amphibious drones should regularly inspect the seals of these connections. The stabilizer fins 7 are thin plates of identical shape and symmetrically placed on the bottom of the amphibious drone. If the stabilizer fins 7 are installed on the drone body 1, the four stabilizer fins 7 should be checked to ensure they are level within the required tolerances. The four stabilizer fins 7 not only provide support for the amphibious drone during landing but also help maintain stability during underwater navigation. The method for maintaining stability will be explained in detail later. The recess 8 at the rear of the amphibious drone should not be too shallow, otherwise it will not be able to maintain internal pressure, affecting the amphibious drone's underwater navigation performance. However, the recess 8 should also not be too long, otherwise it will significantly reduce the effective internal space of the amphibious drone. The eight perforations 9 should be arranged symmetrically along the axis of the amphibious drone, otherwise it will affect the control of the amphibious drone underwater. The angle between each perforation 9 and the axis of the amphibious drone should be maintained between 30° and 50°, in order to ensure that water continuously enters the pit 8 when the amphibious drone is sailing underwater. The perforations 9 should be in contact with the pit wall of the pit 8, so that when other devices are installed in the pit, some water can still enter the pit 8 through the perforations 9. The above-mentioned drone body 1, main arm 2, and stabilizing tail wing 7 can be manufactured separately and then assembled together, but such installation should take into account the correctness, stability and sealing of the installation. Correspondingly, it can also be integrally formed by 3D printing technology. Such manufacturing requires ensuring that the printing accuracy meets the requirements and that there are no defects that can allow water to enter.
[0029] [Example 2]
[0030] The coordinate system of an amphibious drone when navigating underwater should be Figure 4The coordinate system displayed underwater. The X direction represents the forward direction of the amphibious drone when navigating underwater, while the Y direction represents the left direction and the Z direction represents the upward direction. The control methods and principles of the various movements of the amphibious drone underwater will be explained below. During normal forward navigation, the left-hand and right-hand rotor blades 5 and 6 provide forward force. The left-hand and right-hand rotor blades 5 and 6 rotate at the same speed but in opposite directions, and the amphibious drone's stabilizing tail 7 ensures that the amphibious drone corrects any deflection underwater. The amphibious drone's roll motion underwater is controlled by the left and right tilting units 3 and 4. Tilting the left and right tilting units 3 and 4 in the same direction generates a torque along the X-axis, driving the amphibious drone's roll motion underwater. Pitch motion is similarly controlled by the left and right tilting units 3 and 4. Simply tilting the left and right tilting parts 3 and 4 in the same direction generates a torque along the Y-axis, driving the underwater amphibious drone's pitch motion. Yaw motion is controlled by the left-hand and right-hand rotor blades 5 and 6. By making the left-hand and right-hand rotor blades 5 and 6 rotate at different speeds, a torque along the Z-axis is generated, driving the underwater amphibious drone's yaw motion. The above is the method and principle of how amphibious drones move underwater.
[0031] [Example 3]
[0032] An amphibious drone, the drone body 1, can be modified according to specific needs. For example, the head of the drone body 1 can be replaced with a transparent cover to accommodate a camera, recording the environment during aerial flight and underwater navigation. Alternatively, a scanning radar can be installed in the middle of the drone body 1 to scan and model the environment the amphibious drone is in while in the air. Alternatively, when the amphibious drone is in turbid water or unknown waters, a float can be installed in the recess 8 at the rear of the drone body 1 to connect the signal line to the float. If the amphibious drone loses signal, the float can be released, bringing the signal line to the surface, reestablishing communication with the amphibious drone and enabling emergency evacuation. All of the above modifications should be performed without affecting the amphibious drone's normal aerial and underwater flight capabilities. The low-drag design of the drone body 1, main arm 2, left tilting swivel 3, and right tilting swivel 4 should not be significantly altered. Furthermore, all modifications must ensure that the waterproof performance meets requirements before they are implemented.
Claims
1. A water-air amphibious drone, characterized in that: The invention comprises a drone body (1), two main body arms (2), a left-hand tilting part (3), a right-hand tilting part (4), a left-hand rotor blade (5), a right-hand rotor blade (6) and four stabilizing tail wings (7). The two main body arms (2) are arranged on both sides of the drone body (1) and are symmetrical about the axis of the drone body (1); the left-hand tilting part (3) and the right-hand tilting part (4) are respectively arranged on one end of the two main body arms (2) away from the drone body (1) in a one-to-one correspondence; the left-hand rotor blade (5) and the right-hand rotor blade (6) are respectively arranged on one end of the left-hand tilting part (3) and the right-hand tilting part (4) away from the two main body arms (2) in a one-to-one correspondence; and the stabilizing tail wing (7) is symmetrically mounted on the tail of the drone body (1) about the axis of the drone body (1).
2. The amphibious drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: A section of the tail of the drone body (1) is cut off and a recess (8) is formed at the tail.
3. The amphibious drone according to claim 2, characterized in that: The tail of the drone body (1) is provided with eight through-holes (9).
4. The amphibious drone according to claim 3, characterized in that: The eight perforations (9) are symmetrically arranged along the axis of the water-air amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle, and the perforations (9) are in contact with the pit wall of the pit (8).
5. The amphibious drone according to claim 3, characterized in that: The angle between the axis of each through hole (9) and the axis of the drone body (1) is between 30° and 50°.
6. The amphibious drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stabilizing tail (7) is a flat plate with the same shape and a thickness less than a set threshold.
7. The amphibious drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The left-leaning turning portion (3) and the right-leaning turning portion (4) have the same outer shape, both of which are two ellipses that are tangent to each other, and the rear ellipse is longer than the front ellipse.
8. The amphibious drone according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drone body (1) is shaped like a spindle, with the head and tail being partially parabolic and the middle being partially ellipsoidal.
Citation Information
Cited By
An amphibious unmanned aerial vehicle for monitoring marine industrial facilities
CN224576806U