Unmanned aerial vehicle nest folding, unfolding and centering device and folding, unfolding and centering system

Abstract

The utility model relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle nest folding and unfolding centering device and a folding and unfolding centering system. The device comprises a parking apron, and a sliding groove is formed in the parking apron; a driving guide groove plate is arranged below a parking apron, an arc-shaped guide groove is formed in the driving guide groove plate, the driving guide groove plate and the parking apron are connected through a follower, the follower comprises a main body, a guide column and a push rod, the guide column is rotationally arranged on the main body, the push rod is fixedly arranged on the main body, and the guide column is installed in the arc-shaped guide groove of the driving guide groove plate in a sliding mode. The push rod penetrates through a sliding groove in the parking apron and slides in the sliding groove. And an output shaft of the rotating platform is fixedly connected with the driving guide groove plate. When the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to land on the parking apron, firstly, the rotating platform controls and drives the guide groove plate to rotate, the guide column moves in the arc-shaped guide groove, then the guide column drives the push rod on the main body to slide along the sliding groove in the parking apron, the unmanned aerial vehicle is positioned to the center position of the parking apron through the pressing rod, and the whole device is not provided with an outward telescopic mechanism; and the space occupation of the device is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operation technology, and in particular to a UAV nest deployment and retraction device and system. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of the national economy, heavy-haul railways, as an important logistics channel, play a crucial role in the transportation of bulk commodities such as coal and ore. However, the frequent passage of heavy-haul trains causes significant impact and wear on bridges and tunnels along the railway lines, which not only increases maintenance costs but also affects the safety and reliability of transportation. Traditional railway bridge and tunnel inspection methods rely on manual inspection, which has many shortcomings, such as low work efficiency, limited inspection frequency, and difficulty in detecting hidden defects.

[0003] In recent years, with the advancement of drone technology and its widespread application in various fields, the automated inspection of railway bridges and tunnels using drones has become a new trend. Drones can not only improve the efficiency and frequency of inspection work, but also reduce the safety risks associated with manual inspections, and can cover locations that are difficult for humans to reach. To support the long-term operation of drones along railway lines, a reliable drone nesting system needs to be established to facilitate the automatic take-off, landing, charging, and maintenance of drones.

[0004] Most existing drone nests are equipped with charging devices and centering mechanisms, the latter ensuring that the drone can accurately return to the center of the nest for subsequent charging and maintenance. However, in practical applications, especially in space-constrained railway tunnels, traditional centering mechanisms are too large to fit into confined working environments. Utility Model Content

[0005] This utility model provides a drone nest deployment and retraction device and system to solve the problem of large space occupation of drone deployment and retraction devices in the background art.

[0006] This utility model provides a device for the deployment and retraction of a drone's nest, comprising:

[0007] A helipad is used to park drones, and the helipad is equipped with chutes;

[0008] A drive guide plate, wherein an arc-shaped guide groove is provided on the drive guide plate;

[0009] A follower, comprising a main body, a guide post, and a push rod, wherein the guide post is rotatably mounted on the main body, the push rod is fixedly mounted on the main body, the guide post is slidably mounted in the arc-shaped guide groove, the push rod passes through the groove, and the push rod is operable to slide in the groove;

[0010] A pressure bar, located above the landing pad, is fixedly connected to a push rod;

[0011] A rotating platform, wherein the output shaft of the rotating platform is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate.

[0012] In one embodiment, the retraction and retraction device further includes:

[0013] The track is fixedly installed on the lower end surface of the helipad, and the track is parallel to the chute;

[0014] The slider is fixedly mounted on the main body and slidably mounted on the track.

[0015] In one embodiment, at least four arc-shaped guide grooves are provided, and each arc-shaped guide groove is provided with a corresponding follower. The pressure rod forms a parking area on the parking apron. The arc-shaped guide grooves are bent towards the outside of the drive guide plate. The arc-shaped guide grooves are arranged from the inside of the drive guide plate to the outside. There is no intersection between adjacent arc-shaped guide grooves.

[0016] In one embodiment, the arc-shaped guide groove is suspended at one end away from the center of the drive guide plate, and the arc-shaped guide groove is arranged around the circumference of the drive guide plate.

[0017] In one embodiment, the two ends of the arc-shaped guide groove are sealed, a boss is provided on the outer side of the guide post, and a groove is provided on the inner side of the arc-shaped guide groove. The guide post and the arc-shaped guide groove are engaged by the boss and the groove.

[0018] In one embodiment, the push rod is U-shaped, and each push rod is provided with two corresponding sliding grooves. The two side rods of the push rod are slidably disposed in the sliding grooves. The crossbar of the push rod is fixedly connected to the main body, and the pressure rod is fixedly connected to the ends of the two side rods of the push rod.

[0019] In one embodiment, a contact magnetic charging head is fixedly mounted on the pressure rod.

[0020] In one embodiment, the output shaft of the rotating platform passes through the drive guide plate, the output shaft of the rotating platform is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate, and the output shaft of the rotating platform is rotatably connected to the helipad.

[0021] In one embodiment, supports are provided at the four corners of the lower end face of the helipad, and a height-lowering nut base is provided below the supports. A first positioning groove is provided on the side of the supports, and a second positioning groove is provided on the side of the height-lowering nut base. A positioning rod is operably inserted into the first positioning groove and the second positioning groove.

[0022] A drone deployment and retraction system includes the deployment and retraction device described in any of the above technical solutions, and also includes a base. The landing pad is installed on the base, and the rotating platform is fixedly connected or snapped into the base.

[0023] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of this utility model are:

[0024] 1. When the drone needs to land on the landing pad, the rotating platform first controls the drive guide plate to rotate. As the drive guide plate rotates, the position of the arc-shaped guide groove set on it changes, causing the guide column to move in the arc-shaped guide groove. This causes the guide column to drive the push rod on the main body to slide along the slide groove on the landing pad, ultimately realizing the linear movement of the pressure rod on the landing pad. This allows the pressure rod to position the drone in the center of the landing pad. The entire device has no outward extension mechanism, reducing the space occupied by the device.

[0025] 2. When the drone lands on the helipad, the lever moves horizontally to center the drone, allowing the magnetic charging head on the lever to precisely align with the charging port on the drone. This enables automatic docking and charging of the drone, improving the success rate and stability of charging, and enhancing the system's automation level and overall operating efficiency. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The present invention will be described in more detail below based on embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0027] Figure 1 This is one of the overall structural schematic diagrams of the drone nest deployment and retraction device of this application;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the cooperation between the drive guide plate and the follower in the deployment and retraction device of the UAV nest in this application;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the follower in the deployment and retraction device of the UAV nest in this application;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the deployment and retraction of the drone nest deployment and retraction device of this application;

[0031] Figure 5 This is the second schematic diagram of the overall structure of the drone nest deployment and retraction device of this application.

[0032] Figure label:

[0033] 1-Helipad; 2-Slideway; 3-Drive guide plate; 4-Arc-shaped guide channel; 5-Follower; 51-Main body; 52-Guide column; 53-Push rod; 6-Rotating platform; 7-Pressure rod; 8-Railway; 9-Slider; 10-Contact magnetic charging head; 11-Support; 12-High and low nut base; 13-First positioning groove; 14-Second positioning groove; 15-Positioning rod. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] like Figures 1-4 As shown, this utility model provides a device for the deployment and retraction of a drone's nest, including a landing pad 1 for parking the drone. A chute 2 is provided on the landing pad 1. A drive guide plate 3 is provided below the landing pad 1, and an arc-shaped guide groove 4 is provided on the drive guide plate 3. The drive guide plate 3 and the landing pad 1 are connected by a follower 5. Specifically, the follower 5 includes a main body 51, a guide post 52, and a push rod 53. The guide post 52 is rotatably mounted on the main body 51, and the push rod 53 is fixedly mounted on the main body 51. The guide post 52 is slidably installed in the arc-shaped guide groove 4 of the drive guide plate 3, and the push rod 53 passes through and slides within the chute 2 on the landing pad 1. A pressure rod 7 is also present. The rotating platform 6 is located above the helipad 1 and fixedly connected to the push rod 53. The rotating platform 6 is located below the drive guide plate 3. The output shaft of the rotating platform 6 is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate 3, so that the output shaft of the rotating platform 6 can drive the drive guide plate 3 to rotate synchronously. In this embodiment, the rotating platform includes a housing, a servo motor and a reducer. The servo motor is installed in the housing, and then the servo motor is connected to the reducer. The output shaft of the reducer is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate 3. The rotating platform 6 can take many forms. This embodiment only illustrates one of them. The specific structure of the rotating platform is not the focus of this application. Therefore, it will not be described in detail in the specification and drawings.

[0036] When the drone needs to land on the landing pad 1, the rotating platform 6 first controls the drive guide plate 3 to rotate. As the drive guide plate 3 rotates, the position of the arc-shaped guide groove 4 set on it changes, causing the guide post 52 to move in the arc-shaped guide groove 4. This causes the guide post 52 to drive the push rod 53 on the main body 51 to slide along the slide groove 2 on the landing pad 1, ultimately achieving the linear motion of the pressure rod 7 on the landing pad 1. Only one servo rotating platform 6 is needed to achieve synchronous motion in the X and Y directions, so that the pressure rod 7 positions the drone at the center of the landing pad 1, converting the rotation into the translation of the push rod 53. This provides high-precision positioning while effectively reducing the size of the drone nest, meeting the parking requirements of drones in tunnels and culverts.

[0037] Furthermore, such as Figure 2 , Figure 3As shown, the drone nest retraction and centering device also includes a track 8 and a slider 9. The track 8 is fixedly installed on the lower end face of the landing pad 1. In this embodiment, the track 8 is fixedly connected to the landing pad 1 by bolts, and the track 8 is parallel to the slide 2. The slider 9 is fixedly installed on the main body 51 and slides on the track 8, so that the push rod 53 can move stably along the slide 2 through the cooperation of the slider 9 and the track 8, thereby improving the stability of the entire retraction and centering device.

[0038] Specifically, at least four arc-shaped guide grooves 4 are provided, and each arc-shaped guide groove 4 is equipped with a corresponding follower 5. The pressure rod 7 forms a parking area on the apron. The arc-shaped guide grooves 4 bend outwards towards the drive guide plate 3, and all the arc-shaped guide grooves 4 bend in the same direction. The arc-shaped guide grooves 4 are set from the inside to the outside of the drive guide plate 3, and there is no intersection between adjacent arc-shaped guide grooves 4, so that the follower 5 will not interfere when moving in the arc-shaped guide grooves 4.

[0039] In this embodiment, the device is equipped with four arc-shaped guide grooves 4, each arc-shaped guide groove 4 corresponding to a follower 5. The pressure rods 7 form a square parking area on the landing pad 1. The push rods 53 of the follower 5 are designed in U-shape, and each U-shaped push rod 53 is equipped with two sliding grooves 2. The two side rods are respectively slidably set in the two corresponding sliding grooves 2 on the landing pad 1. The crossbar of the U-shaped push rod 53 is fixedly connected to the main body 51, and the pressure rods 7 are fixedly connected to the two side rod ends of the push rods 53. The four arc-shaped guide grooves 4 drive the four pressure rods 7, realizing the simultaneous retraction and centering of the UAV in four directions, which greatly improves the efficiency of UAV retraction and centering. The rotation of the rotating platform 6 is converted into the translational movement of the pressure rods 7, resulting in higher synchronization and better centering effect.

[0040] By setting different heights for adjacent pressure rods 7, interference between the pressure rods 7 during movement can be avoided, allowing the pressure rods 7 to be centered more accurately, making it suitable for drones of different sizes.

[0041] Furthermore, the arc-shaped guide groove 4 is suspended at one end away from the center of the drive guide plate 3, and the arc-shaped guide groove 4 is arranged around the circumference of the drive guide plate 3. This arrangement can reduce the size of the drive guide plate 3, thereby reducing the overall weight of the device and reducing material waste.

[0042] Furthermore, the two ends of the arc-shaped guide groove 4 are sealed, a ring of bosses is provided on the outer side of the guide post 52, and a groove is provided on the inner side of the arc-shaped guide groove 4. The guide post 52 and the arc-shaped guide groove 4 cooperate through the bosses and grooves. When relative displacement occurs between the follower 5 and the drive guide plate 3, the guide post 52 can slide stably in the arc-shaped guide groove 4, preventing the guide post 52 from coming out of the arc-shaped guide groove 4.

[0043] More preferably, such as Figure 5As shown, a contact magnetic charging head 10 is fixedly installed on the pressure rod 7. The installation position of the contact magnetic charging head 10 depends on the charging position of the drone. It can be installed on other pressure rods 7 or push rods 53. When the drone lands on the landing pad 1, the pressure rod 7 moves horizontally to center the drone, so that the magnetic charging head on the pressure rod 7 accurately docks with the charging port on the drone. This enables the drone to be quickly and accurately centered, positioned and charged in a limited working space, improving the automation level and overall operating efficiency of the system.

[0044] The push rod 53, the pressure rod 7, and the contact magnetic charging head 10 can be individually sized according to different drone sizes to meet the needs of the drone nest for centering and positioning drones of different sizes.

[0045] Furthermore, the output shaft of the rotating platform 6 passes through the drive guide plate 3, and the output shaft of the rotating platform 6 is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate 3. The output shaft of the rotating platform 6 is rotatably connected to the helipad 1. In specific assembly, a polygonal rod, such as a square rod, can be fixedly connected to the output shaft of the rotating platform 6. The square rod passes through the drive guide plate 3, so that the square rod cooperates with the drive guide plate 3 and the two rotate synchronously. Then, the square rod is connected to the helipad 1 through a bearing. During the process of the rotating platform 6 driving the drive guide plate 3 to rotate, the rotating platform 6 will not drive the helipad 1 to rotate together. The connection relationship of the entire structure can not only achieve the stable rotation of the drive guide plate 3, but also improve the structural stability between the helipad 1 and the drive guide plate 3.

[0046] Preferred, such as Figure 1 As shown, supports 11 are provided at the four corners of the lower end face of the helipad 1. The supports 11 provide support for the helipad 1 and the structures that cooperate with the helipad 1.

[0047] Furthermore, such as Figure 5 As shown, a high and low nut base 12 is provided below the support 11, a first positioning groove 13 is provided on the side of the support 11, and a second positioning groove 14 is provided on the side of the high and low nut base 12. A positioning rod 15 is operably inserted into the first positioning groove 13 and the second positioning groove 14.

[0048] The drive guide plate 3, push rod 53, pressure rod 7, support 11, and high and low nut base 12 are all made of aluminum alloy and manufactured by CNC machine tool milling to ensure that the retraction and centering device has high motion accuracy.

[0049] When it is necessary to adjust the height of a certain corner of the helipad 1, the support 11 is raised or lowered by adjusting the height-lowering nut base 12, thereby adjusting the helipad 1. After the adjustment is completed, the positioning rod 15 is inserted into the first positioning groove 13 and the second positioning groove 14 to prevent the height-lowering nut base 12 from rotating.

[0050] A drone deployment and recovery system includes the deployment and recovery device described in any of the above technical solutions, and also includes a base. The landing pad is installed on the base, and the rotating platform is fixedly connected to or snapped into the base. By installing the landing pad on the base, the structure below the landing pad is protected. Furthermore, the fixed connection or snapping of the rotating platform to the base provides a fixing and limiting effect on the rotating platform as it drives the guide plate to rotate.

[0051] Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, various modifications can be made thereto and components can be replaced with equivalents without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the technical features mentioned in the various embodiments can be combined in any manner, provided there is no structural conflict. The present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed herein, but includes all technical solutions falling within the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A device for deploying and retracting a drone's nest, characterized in that, include: A helipad is used to park drones, and the helipad is equipped with chutes; A drive guide plate, wherein an arc-shaped guide groove is provided on the drive guide plate; A follower, comprising a main body, a guide post, and a push rod, wherein the guide post is rotatably mounted on the main body, the push rod is fixedly mounted on the main body, the guide post is slidably mounted in the arc-shaped guide groove, the push rod passes through the groove, and the push rod is operable to slide in the groove; A pressure bar, located above the landing pad, is fixedly connected to a push rod; A rotating platform, wherein the output shaft of the rotating platform is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate.

2. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: The track is fixedly installed on the lower end surface of the helipad, and the track is parallel to the chute; The slider is fixedly mounted on the main body and slidably mounted on the track.

3. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The number of arc-shaped guide grooves is at least four, and each arc-shaped guide groove is provided with a corresponding follower. The pressure rod forms a parking area on the parking apron. The arc-shaped guide grooves are bent towards the outside of the drive guide plate. The arc-shaped guide grooves are arranged from the inside to the outside of the drive guide plate. There is no intersection between adjacent arc-shaped guide grooves.

4. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The arc-shaped guide groove is suspended at one end away from the center of the drive guide plate, and the arc-shaped guide groove is arranged around the circumference of the drive guide plate.

5. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The two ends of the arc-shaped guide groove are sealed, a boss is provided on the outer side of the guide post, and a groove is provided on the inner side of the arc-shaped guide groove. The guide post and the arc-shaped guide groove are engaged by the boss and the groove.

6. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The push rod is U-shaped, and each push rod is provided with two corresponding sliding grooves. The two side rods of the push rod are slidably disposed in the sliding grooves. The crossbar of the push rod is fixedly connected to the main body, and the pressure rod is fixedly connected to the ends of the two side rods of the push rod.

7. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, A contact-type magnetic charging head is fixedly installed on the pressure rod.

8. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1, characterized in that, The output shaft of the rotating platform passes through the drive guide plate, the output shaft of the rotating platform is fixedly connected to the drive guide plate, and the output shaft of the rotating platform is rotatably connected to the helipad.

9. The device for deploying and retracting a drone nest according to claim 1, characterized in that, Supports are provided at the four corners of the lower end face of the helipad, and a height-lowering nut base is provided below the support. A first positioning groove is provided on the side of the support, and a second positioning groove is provided on the side of the height-lowering nut base. A positioning rod is operably inserted into the first positioning groove and the second positioning groove.

10. A drone deployment and recovery system, characterized in that, The device includes the retraction and centering device according to any one of claims 1-9, and also includes a base, wherein the landing pad of the retraction and centering device is installed on the base, and the rotating platform of the retraction and centering device is fixedly connected or snapped into the base.

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