An antenna folding mechanism, an antenna system and an unmanned aerial vehicle automatic airport

Abstract

This utility model relates to an antenna tilting mechanism, an antenna system, and an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), belonging to the field of aerospace technology. It solves the problems of weak environmental adaptability and poor operational reliability of antenna mechanisms in existing UAV airport technologies. This utility model includes a base assembly, a rotating assembly, and a heating component. The upper part of the base assembly is used to mount the antenna, and the rotating assembly is connected to the base assembly. The rotating assembly includes a rotating shaft, and the rotation of the rotating shaft drives the base assembly and the antenna to rotate, thereby tilting the antenna assembly. The heating component is disposed inside the base assembly and is used to heat the base assembly and the rotating shaft. This utility model can improve the environmental adaptability and operational reliability of the antenna in an UAV airport.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of aerospace technology, and in particular to an antenna collapse mechanism, an antenna system, and an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] Automated airports for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are core facilities of unmanned operation systems. The rapid development of UAV technology places higher demands on the communication support capabilities of automated airports for UAVs.

[0003] Communication antennas are one of the core components ensuring the safe and efficient operation of drones. Traditional fixed communication antennas are vertically mounted, making them susceptible to wind damage in adverse weather conditions and affecting drone takeoff and landing safety as well as airport space layout. Therefore, most drone airport manufacturers either separate the communication antenna from the airport itself or extend a pillar outward from the airport edge to place the antenna. This increases the size of the airport and the area it occupies during deployment, and may even necessitate sacrificing communication transmission distance (by replacing the antenna with a smaller one) to ensure drone takeoff and landing safety.

[0004] Existing communication antennas mostly use hydraulic or electric push rod driven collapsing mechanisms, which have high redundancy and slow response speed. They are not reliable enough in scenarios where drone airports are frequently opened and closed, and are prone to mechanical jamming in extreme environments such as low temperature, rain, snow, and icing. They have the defects of weak environmental adaptability and poor operational reliability. Utility Model Content

[0005] Based on the above analysis, the present invention aims to provide an antenna collapse mechanism, an antenna system, and an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to solve the problems of poor operational reliability and weak environmental adaptability of antenna mechanisms in the prior art.

[0006] The objective of this utility model is mainly achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0007] The first aspect of this utility model is to provide an antenna tilting mechanism, including a base assembly, a rotating assembly, and a heating component;

[0008] The base assembly is connected to the antenna, and the rotating assembly is connected to the base assembly; the rotating assembly includes a rotating shaft, and the rotating assembly drives the base assembly and the antenna to rotate through the rotation of the rotating shaft, so as to realize the tilting of the antenna assembly;

[0009] The heating element is disposed inside the base assembly.

[0010] Furthermore, the base assembly includes a housing with a through hole, and the rotating shaft extends into the through hole and connects to the base assembly, thereby driving the base assembly to rotate.

[0011] Furthermore, an annular groove is provided on the radially outer side of the through hole, and the heating component is disposed in the annular groove.

[0012] Furthermore, the rotating assembly includes a hollow rotating platform, which is a hollow structure; the hollow structure is used to pass through the cables of the antenna and the heating component.

[0013] Furthermore, the hollow rotating platform includes a fixed part and a rotating part, the rotating part is disposed inside the fixed part, the rotating part is connected to the rotating shaft, and the rotating part can drive the rotating shaft to rotate;

[0014] The rotating assembly also includes a drive motor, which is connected to the rotating part and is used to drive the rotating part to rotate.

[0015] Furthermore, it also includes a sensor assembly; the sensor assembly includes a first sensor and a second sensor, the first sensor and the second sensor being disposed on the outside of the fixing part;

[0016] The first sensor is used to detect whether the antenna assembly is erected in place; the second sensor is used to detect whether the antenna is bent down in place.

[0017] Furthermore, the sensor assembly also includes a sensing element disposed on the rotating part, the sensing element being able to rotate with the rotating part; the sensing element is used to sense the state of the antenna.

[0018] Furthermore, the sensing component also includes a limiting member disposed on the upper part of the fixing part, the limiting member being used to limit the rotation of the sensing sheet.

[0019] A second aspect of this utility model provides an antenna system, including an antenna assembly and the antenna tilting mechanism.

[0020] A third aspect of this utility model provides an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including the aforementioned antenna system.

[0021] Compared with the prior art, the present invention can achieve at least one of the following beneficial effects:

[0022] (1) The antenna of this invention is mounted on a base assembly, which is connected to a rotating assembly via a rotating shaft. The rotation of the rotating assembly drives the rotation of the base assembly and the antenna, enabling precise, rapid, and stable switching between the antenna's vertical operating state and its horizontally tilted state. Through a reliable and rapid tilting action, the antenna is safely lowered to a low position before the UAV takes off or lands, completely eliminating the potential interference of the antenna mast on the UAV's flight path and optimizing airport space layout. Compared to existing technologies, this invention includes a heating component located within the base. This component heats the base and rotating shaft in icy or snowy weather to melt the ice and snow, preventing mechanical jamming and ensuring normal tilting function under extreme conditions, thus improving the environmental adaptability and operational reliability of the tilted antenna.

[0023] (2) The hollow rotating platform includes a fixed part and a rotating part. A first sensor and a second sensor are disposed on the fixed part, and a sensing plate is disposed on the rotating part. The sensing plate interacts with the first sensor and the second sensor respectively through rotation. When the sensing plate rotates to the first sensor, it blocks the signal from the first sensor regarding the vertical state of the antenna assembly. When the sensing plate rotates to the second sensor, it blocks the signal from the second sensor regarding the vertical state of the antenna assembly, thereby transmitting the antenna state to the system. This utility model provides a limiting member on the upper part of the fixed part to limit the rotation of the sensing plate and prevent it from rotating excessively.

[0024] (3) This utility model monitors the position status of the first sensor and the second sensor to realize real-time perception and intelligent diagnosis of the mechanism's operating status and antenna attitude, and reliable and rapid tilting action. It ensures that the antenna can reach and accurately maintain the preset attitude angle when it is in the upright working state, avoids signal fluctuations caused by structural looseness or insufficient adjustment accuracy, ensures the stability and smooth flow of key communication links, realizes accurate, fast and stable switching between the upright working state and the horizontal tilting state of the antenna, reduces the failure rate, meets the long-term reliable operation requirements of high-frequency and unattended operation of UAV airport, and improves system maintenance efficiency and automation management level.

[0025] In this invention, the above-described technical solutions can be combined with each other to achieve more preferred combinations. Other features and advantages of this invention will be set forth in the following description, and some advantages will become apparent from the description or be learned by practicing this invention. The objectives and other advantages of this invention can be realized and obtained from the details specifically pointed out in the text and accompanying drawings. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

[0027] Figure 1 This is an exploded structural diagram of the antenna collapsing mechanism;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a rear view schematic diagram of the antenna collapsing mechanism;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the left-side structure of the antenna tilting mechanism;

[0030] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the antenna collapsing mechanism;

[0031] Figure 5 One of the structural schematic diagrams of an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs);

[0032] Figure 6 This is the second schematic diagram of an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles.

[0033] Figure label:

[0034] 1-Antenna assembly, 11-Antenna, 12-Fixing clamp, 13-Fixing bracket, 14-Connecting seat, 15-Connecting wire, 2-Base assembly, 21-Base housing, 211-Through hole, 22-Base cover plate, 23-Base waterproof ring, 3-Rotating assembly, 31-Rotating shaft, 311-Rotating shaft waterproof ring, 312-Waterproof ring cover, 32-Hollow rotating platform, 321-Fixing part, 322-Rotating part, 323-Manual wrench interface, 33-Drive motor, 34-Connecting plate, 341-Connecting plate waterproof ring, 35-Manual wrench, 4-Heating component, 5-Sensor assembly, 51-First sensor, 52-Second sensor, 53-Sensor mounting seat, 54-Induction plate, 55-Limiting component, 6-UAV airport, 61-Blocking plate, 7-UAV. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of the present invention and are used together with the embodiments of the present invention to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0036] Example 1

[0037] A specific embodiment of this utility model is as follows: Figures 1-4 As shown, an antenna tilting mechanism is disclosed, including a base assembly 2, a rotating assembly 3, and a heating component 4.

[0038] like Figures 2-4 As shown, the base assembly 2 is connected to the antenna 11, and the rotating assembly 3 is connected to the base assembly 2; the rotating assembly 3 includes a rotating shaft 31, and the rotating assembly 3 drives the base assembly 2 and the antenna 11 to rotate through the rotation of the rotating shaft 31, so as to realize the tilting of the antenna 11;

[0039] like Figure 1 As shown, the heating component 4 is disposed inside the base assembly 2 and is used to heat the base assembly 2 and the rotating shaft 31.

[0040] In this embodiment, the antenna 11 is mounted on the base assembly 2. The base assembly 2 and the rotating assembly 3 are connected by a rotating shaft 31. The rotation of the rotating assembly 3 drives the rotation of the base assembly 2 and the antenna 11, thus enabling the antenna 11 to tilt. Compared with the prior art, this embodiment includes a heating component 4, which is located inside the base assembly 2. This heating component 4 can heat the base assembly 2 and the rotating shaft 31 in icy or snowy weather to melt the ice and snow on them, preventing mechanical jamming, ensuring normal tilting function under extreme conditions, and improving the environmental adaptability and operational reliability of the tilted antenna 11.

[0041] The base assembly 2 is used to fix the antenna assembly 1 and connects to the rotation shaft 31. For example... Figure 3 As shown, the base assembly 2 includes a base housing 21 and a base cover plate 22.

[0042] The base cover plate 22 is disposed on the outside of the base assembly 2 and engages with the base housing 21 to form an accommodating cavity, used to protect the internal components of the base assembly 2. Figure 1 As shown, a base waterproof ring 23 is provided at the joint where the base cover plate 22 is fastened to the base housing 21 to prevent rainwater, dust and other substances from entering the interior from between the base housing 21 and the base cover plate 22.

[0043] The base housing 21 has a through hole 211 for inserting the rotating shaft 31. Figure 1 As shown, an annular groove is provided on the outer ring of the through hole 211. The heating component 4 is disposed within the annular groove. The heating component 4 is used to heat the rotating shaft 31 and the base assembly 2. Exemplarily, the heating component 4 is an annular heater, closely attached to the base housing 21, and concentrically arranged with the rotating shaft 31. Since the rotating shaft 31 is disposed between the base assembly 2 and the rotating assembly 3, the heating component 4 can eliminate rain, snow, and ice in cold weather through heating, avoid jamming during rotation, ensure the normal operation of the lodging mechanism, and improve the operational reliability of the lodging mechanism.

[0044] like Figure 3 As shown, the rotating assembly 3 includes a rotating shaft 31, a hollow rotating platform 32, and a drive motor 33. The rotating shaft 31 is located on one side of the hollow rotating platform 32 and extends into the through hole 211 of the base housing 21 to connect to the base assembly 2 and drive the base assembly 2 to rotate. The rotating shaft 31 has a hollow structure, and the heating component 4 and the cable of the connecting seat 14 can be passed through it. The rotating shaft 31 is provided with a rotating shaft waterproof ring 311 and a waterproof ring cover 312 on the outside to prevent dust and rainwater from entering the interior of the rotating shaft 31.

[0045] The hollow rotary platform 32 is a type of speed reducer in the field of industrial automation. It features a hollow structure design for easy installation of air pipes and electrical wires. Internally, it integrates a single-stage helical gear or planetary reduction mechanism. Structural forms include coaxial and off-axis types, enabling multi-angle output and torque requirements. In this embodiment, the hollow rotary platform 32 is an off-axis type, with the lower part housing the drive motor 33's shaft and the side housing the rotating shaft 31.

[0046] The hollow rotating platform 32 has a hollow structure, and the cables of the antenna 11 and the heating component 4 are routed through the hollow structure.

[0047] The hollow rotating platform 32 includes a fixed part 321 and a rotating part 322. The outer shell is the fixed part 321, and the interior of the shell is the rotating part 322. The rotating part 322 is connected to the rotating shaft 31. The rotating part 322 can drive the rotating shaft 31 to rotate, thereby driving the base assembly 2 and the antenna 11 to rotate, realizing the tilting function of the antenna 11.

[0048] The drive motor 33 is connected to the rotating part 322 and is used to drive the rotating part 322 to rotate. Figure 1 and Figure 3 As shown, a manual wrench interface 323 is provided on one side of the hollow rotating platform 32, and a manual wrench 35 is provided. When the drive motor 33 cannot be used normally, it can be manually rotated to make the tilting mechanism tilt up or down.

[0049] Furthermore, a connecting plate 34 is provided on one side of the rotating component 3. The connecting plate 34 is used to fix the hollow rotating platform 32 and the drive motor 33. Four pillars are provided on the upper part of the connecting plate 34, which are respectively fixed in the grooves at the four corners of the hollow rotating platform 32. A waterproof ring 341 is provided on the inner side of the connecting plate 34.

[0050] Furthermore, such as Figure 3 As shown, it also includes a sensor assembly 5. The sensor assembly 5 includes a first sensor 51 and a second sensor 52, which are disposed on the outside of the fixing part 321 via a sensor mounting base 53. The first sensor 51 is used to detect whether the antenna 11 is erected in place; the second sensor 52 is used to detect whether the antenna 11 is bent down in place.

[0051] The sensor assembly 5 also includes a sensing element 54, which is disposed on the rotating part 322 and can rotate with the rotating part 322. The sensing element 54 is used to sense the state of the antenna 11. The rotation of the sensing element 54 interacts with the first sensor 51 and the second sensor 52 respectively. When the sensing element 54 rotates to the first sensor 51, it blocks the signal from the first sensor 51 to the vertical state of the antenna 11; when the sensing element 54 rotates to the second sensor 52, it blocks the signal from the second sensor 52 to the vertical state of the antenna 11, so as to transmit the state of the antenna 11 to the control system.

[0052] Furthermore, the sensor assembly 5 also includes a limiting member 55, which is disposed on the upper part of the first sensor 51 to limit the rotation of the sensing sheet 54 and to act as a buffer.

[0053] Example 2

[0054] This embodiment discloses an antenna system, including an antenna assembly 1 and the antenna collapsing mechanism of Embodiment 1.

[0055] like Figure 2 As shown, the antenna assembly 1 includes an antenna 11, a fixed part, and a connecting part.

[0056] Two antennas 11 can be provided. The fixing part includes a fixing hoop 12 and a fixing frame 13. The fixing hoop 12 is set at the same height of the two parallel antennas 11, and the fixing frame 13 is provided between the two fixing hoops 12 to support the fixing hoop 12 and prevent the antennas 11 from swinging.

[0057] The connection part includes a connector 14 and a connecting wire 15. The connector 14 and the connecting wire 15 are located at the end of the antenna 11. The connector 14 is used to connect the antenna 11 to the base assembly 2, and to enable quick installation and replacement of the antenna 11. The connector 14 is provided with modular and standardized mounting interfaces of various diameters to accommodate different antennas 11.

[0058] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the antenna system of this utility model embodiment are the same as those of the antenna collapsing mechanism described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0059] Example 3

[0060] This embodiment discloses an automated airport for unmanned aerial vehicles, including the antenna system of Embodiment 2.

[0061] like Figure 5 As shown, the antenna collapsing mechanism is located at the edge of the UAV airport 6. A manual rotation port is provided on one side of the UAV airport 6, through which a manual wrench 35 passes, allowing manual operation of the collapsing mechanism when the drive motor 33 is unusable. A blocking plate 61 is provided inside the manual rotation port to block it when it is not in use.

[0062] When antenna 11 falls down, its height is lower than the edge of the UAV airport 6, so as to eliminate the potential interference of antenna 11 to the flight path of UAV 7 and optimize the airport space layout.

[0063] When using, such as Figure 5As shown, when the UAV 7 flies away from the UAV airport 6 and reaches the safe space where the antenna 11 is collapsed, the UAV 7 will communicate with the UAV airport 6. The UAV 7 informs the UAV airport 6 that it has flown to the safe space. When the UAV airport 6 receives the information from the UAV 7, the drive motor 33 drives the hollow rotating platform 32 to drive the base assembly 2 to make the antenna 11 stand up. When the sensing plate 54 rotates to the point where the first sensor 51 generates a signal, the drive motor 33 stops rotating, and the antenna 11 reaches the set standing position to communicate with the UAV 7.

[0064] like Figure 6 As shown, when the UAV 7 flies back to the UAV airport 6 and reaches the set safe space for the antenna 11 to fall over, the UAV 7 will communicate with the UAV airport 6. The UAV 7 informs the UAV airport 6 that it has flown back to the safe space. When the UAV airport 6 receives the information that the UAV 7 has flown to the safe space, the drive motor 33 drives the hollow rotating platform 32 to drive the base assembly 2 to fall over the antenna 11. When the sensor 54 rotates to the second sensor 52 and triggers the second sensor 52 to generate a signal, the drive motor 33 stops rotating. The antenna 11 reaches the set falling position to ensure the safe landing of the UAV 7.

[0065] This embodiment achieves real-time perception and intelligent diagnosis of the mechanism's operating status and the antenna 11's attitude by setting up position status monitoring sensors for the first sensor 51 and the second sensor 52. Through a reliable and rapid tilting action, the antenna 11 is safely tilted to a low position before the UAV 7 takes off and lands, completely eliminating the potential interference of the antenna 11 mast to the UAV 7's flight path, optimizing the airport space layout, and ensuring that the antenna 11 can reach and accurately maintain the preset attitude angle when in the upright working state. This enables precise, rapid, and stable switching of the antenna 11 between the vertical working state and the horizontal tilting state, reducing the failure rate, meeting the long-term reliable operation requirements of high-frequency, unattended UAV airport operations, and improving system maintenance efficiency and automation management level.

[0066] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the unmanned aerial vehicle automatic airport of this utility model embodiment are the same as those of the antenna system described above, and will not be repeated here.

[0067] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model, but the protection scope of the present utility model is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present utility model should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. An antenna folding mechanism, characterized by, It includes a base assembly (2), a rotating assembly (3), and a heating component (4); the base assembly (2) is connected to the antenna (11), and the rotating assembly (3) is connected to the base assembly (2); the rotating assembly (3) includes a rotating shaft (31), and the rotating assembly (3) drives the base assembly (2) and the antenna (11) to rotate through the rotation of the rotating shaft (31) so as to realize the collapse of the antenna (11); the heating component (4) is disposed inside the base assembly (2).

2. The antenna folding mechanism of claim 1, wherein, The base assembly (2) includes a base housing (21) with a through hole (211). The rotating shaft (31) extends into the through hole (211) and connects to the base assembly (2), thereby driving the base assembly (2) to rotate.

3. The antenna folding mechanism of claim 2, wherein, An annular groove is provided on the radial outer side of the through hole (211), and the heating component (4) is disposed in the annular groove.

4. The antenna folding mechanism of claim 1, wherein, The rotating assembly (3) also includes a hollow rotating platform (32), which is a hollow structure; the hollow structure is used to carry the cables of the antenna (11) and the heating component (4).

5. The antenna tilting mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, The hollow rotating platform (32) includes a fixed part (321) and a rotating part (322). The rotating part (322) is disposed inside the fixed part (321) and is connected to the rotating shaft (31). The rotating part (322) can drive the rotating shaft (31) to rotate. The rotating assembly (3) also includes a drive motor (33), which is connected to the rotating part (322) and is used to drive the rotating part (322) to rotate.

6. The antenna collapsing mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes a sensor assembly (5); the sensor assembly (5) includes a first sensor (51) and a second sensor (52), the first sensor (51) and the second sensor (52) being disposed outside the fixing part (321); the first sensor (51) is used to detect whether the antenna (11) is erected in place; the second sensor (52) is used to detect whether the antenna (11) is bent down in place.

7. The antenna folding mechanism of claim 6, wherein, The sensor assembly (5) further includes a sensing sheet (54), which is disposed on the rotating part (322) and can rotate with the rotating part (322); the sensing sheet (54) is used to sense the state of the antenna (11).

8. The antenna folding mechanism of claim 7, wherein, The sensor assembly also includes a limiting member (55), which is disposed on the upper part of the fixing part (321) and is used to limit the rotation of the sensing sheet (54).

9. An antenna system, characterized by It includes an antenna assembly (1) and an antenna collapsing mechanism as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. An unmanned aircraft automated airfield, characterized by, Includes the antenna system as described in claim 9.

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