An unmanned aerial vehicle adaptive suspension leveling mechanism

Abstract

The application discloses an unmanned aerial vehicle adaptive suspension leveling mechanism, which comprises a leveling frame used for being fixedly connected with the bottom of the unmanned aerial vehicle body and a leveling actuating mechanism used for being connected with the leg of the unmanned aerial vehicle, wherein the leveling actuating mechanism comprises an upper control arm, a lower control arm and a damping arm; the upper control arm and the lower control arm are arranged in parallel in the up-down direction, and one end of each of the upper control arm and the lower control arm is hingedly connected with the leveling frame, and the other end of each of the upper control arm and the lower control arm is hingedly connected with the leg of the unmanned aerial vehicle, so as to jointly form a parallelogram mechanism; one end of the damping arm is hingedly connected with the upper part of the leveling frame, and the other end of the damping arm is hingedly connected with one end of the lower control arm which is close to the leg of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle adaptive suspension leveling mechanism can automatically level and has the damping function, so that the landing safety of the unmanned aerial vehicle on the complex terrain is ensured.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, and more particularly to an adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism for UAVs. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of drone technology, its application scenarios have expanded to diversified fields such as agricultural plant protection, geological exploration, and emergency rescue. In actual operations, drones often need to land on uneven terrain (such as slopes or uneven ground in the field), but the landing gear of traditional drones is mostly a fixed support structure, which can only adapt to flat horizontal surfaces and cannot adjust its attitude according to changes in terrain.

[0003] When drones land on uneven terrain, fixed landing gear is prone to one-sided suspension or tilting, causing the fuselage to become unbalanced. This not only affects landing stability but may also cause the drone to tip over or damage its onboard equipment. Furthermore, existing drones lack effective shock absorption designs, and the impact during landing is easily transmitted to the fuselage, accelerating structural fatigue, shortening equipment lifespan, and failing to meet the needs of drones operating across uneven terrain.

[0004] In summary, existing UAV landing gears have significant shortcomings in attitude adaptability and shock absorption capacity on uneven terrain. Therefore, this utility model proposes an adaptive suspension leveling mechanism for UAVs. Utility Model Content

[0005] This application provides an adaptive suspension leveling mechanism for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which enables automatic leveling and has shock absorption functions, thereby ensuring the safe landing of UAVs in complex terrain.

[0006] In view of this, this application provides an adaptive suspension leveling mechanism for a drone, comprising: 1. a leveling frame for fixed connection to the bottom of the drone fuselage and a leveling actuator for connection to the drone landing gear;

[0007] The leveling actuator includes an upper control arm, a lower control arm, and a shock-absorbing arm;

[0008] The upper control arm and the lower control arm are arranged parallel to each other, and one end of each is hinged to the leveling frame, and the other end is hinged to the UAV foot frame, together forming a parallelogram mechanism.

[0009] One end of the shock-absorbing arm is hinged to the upper part of the leveling frame, and the other end is hinged to the end of the lower control arm near the UAV footplate.

[0010] Optionally, the number of the drone tripods is at least two;

[0011] At least two of the aforementioned drone landing gears are symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides of the leveling frame;

[0012] The number of leveling actuators is equal to the number of UAV landing gear, and they are set in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0013] Optionally, the leveling frame is a four-bar linkage formed by four components hinged end to end.

[0014] Optionally, the four components include an upper transverse stabilizing plate, a lower transverse stabilizing plate, and two L-shaped connecting plates on the left and right.

[0015] Optionally, one end of the upper control arm is hinged to the L-shaped connecting plate of the leveling frame, and the other end is hinged to the upper part of the UAV landing gear.

[0016] One end of the lower control arm is hinged to the L-shaped connecting plate of the leveling frame, and the hinge point is located below the hinge point of the upper control arm; the other end is hinged to the middle of the drone footplate.

[0017] The upper control arm, the lower control arm, the L-shaped connecting plate of the leveling frame, and the UAV landing gear together constitute a parallelogram mechanism.

[0018] Optionally, the shock absorber arm includes an upper shock absorber link, a lower shock absorber link, and a shock absorber spring;

[0019] A sliding cylinder is provided at one end of the upper shock-absorbing connecting rod;

[0020] The lower shock absorber connecting rod is provided with a sliding rod that is slidably inserted into the sliding cylinder at one end near the upper shock absorber connecting rod;

[0021] The upper shock-absorbing link and the lower shock-absorbing link are respectively provided with a first boss and a second boss for limiting the shock-absorbing spring.

[0022] The shock-absorbing spring is sleeved on the slide cylinder, and one end of the shock-absorbing spring is connected to the first boss and the other end is connected to the second boss.

[0023] Optionally, a mounting plate is fixed to the top of the upper transverse stabilizing plate;

[0024] The mounting plate has mounting holes for connecting to the bottom of the drone fuselage with bolts.

[0025] Optionally, a storage slot is provided on one side of the bottom of the drone tripod;

[0026] The storage slot is equipped with a suction cup that can rotate to the bottom of the drone's landing gear.

[0027] Optionally, an extension plate for increasing the contact area with the ground is rotatably connected to one side of the bottom of the drone's landing gear.

[0028] Optionally, the end of the extension plate away from the drone footplate is bent upwards.

[0029] As can be seen from the above technical solutions, the embodiments of this application have the following advantages: This UAV adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism, by setting the upper and lower control arms to be parallel vertically and hinged at both ends to the leveling frame and the UAV landing gear respectively, together forms a parallelogram mechanism, which solves the problem that traditional fixed landing gear cannot adjust its attitude according to the terrain. When the UAV lands on uneven terrain such as slopes or uneven ground in the wild, the parallelogram mechanism, in conjunction with the leveling frame, can adaptively adjust the attitude of the landing gear according to the terrain height difference and always keep the UAV body horizontal, avoiding one-sided suspension or tilting, effectively preventing the body from becoming unbalanced and tipping over, and ensuring the safety of the carried equipment; at the same time, by adding a shock-absorbing arm that is hinged at one end to the upper part of the leveling frame and at the other end to the lower control arm near the landing gear, the deficiency of existing UAVs lacking effective shock absorption design is made up for. It can absorb impact energy during landing, reduce the transmission of impact to the body, avoid accelerating the fatigue of the body structure, extend the service life of the equipment, and ultimately enable the UAV to have attitude adaptability and shock absorption capabilities for operation across uneven terrain, meeting the needs of safe and stable landing in diverse scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0030] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the adaptive suspension leveling mechanism for the UAV in the embodiments of this application;

[0031] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism after it is connected to the UAV landing gear in the embodiments of this application;

[0032] Figure 3 This is a front view of the UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism connected to the UAV landing gear in the embodiments of this application.

[0033] Figure 4 This is a top view of the UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism connected to the UAV landing gear in the embodiments of this application;

[0034] Figure 5 This is a left view of the UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism connected to the UAV landing gear in this embodiment of the application.

[0035] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the first usage of the UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism after it is connected to the UAV landing gear in this application embodiment;

[0036] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the second use of the UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism after it is connected to the UAV landing gear in this application embodiment.

[0037] The attached figures are labeled as follows:

[0038] 1-Leveling frame, 11-Upper transverse stabilizing plate, 12-Lower transverse stabilizing plate, 13-L-shaped connecting plate, 14-Mounting plate, 2-Leveling actuator, 21-Upper control arm, 22-Lower control arm, 23-Shock-absorbing arm, 231-Shock-absorbing upper connecting rod, 232-Shock-absorbing lower connecting rod, 233-Shock-absorbing spring, 234-First boss, 235-Second boss, 3-UAV footrest, 4-Extension plate, 5-Suction cup. Detailed Implementation

[0039] To enable those skilled in the art to better understand the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present application.

[0040] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0041] Unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections, detachable connections, or integral connections; they can refer to mechanical connections or electrical connections; they can refer to direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0042] This application provides an embodiment of an adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Please refer to [link / reference needed] for details. Figures 1 to 7 .

[0043] The adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism for the UAV in this embodiment includes: a leveling frame 1 for fixed connection to the bottom of the UAV fuselage and a leveling actuator 2 for connection to the UAV landing gear 3. The leveling actuator 2 includes an upper control arm 21, a lower control arm 22 and a shock-absorbing arm 23. The upper control arm 21 and the lower control arm 22 are arranged parallel to each other, and one end of each is hinged to the leveling frame 1 and the other end is hinged to the UAV landing gear 3, forming a parallelogram mechanism. One end of the shock-absorbing arm 23 is hinged to the upper part of the leveling frame 1 and the other end is hinged to the end of the lower control arm 22 near the UAV landing gear 3.

[0044] It should be noted that this UAV adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism, through the parallel arrangement of the upper control arm 21 and lower control arm 22, with each end hinged to the leveling frame 1 and the UAV landing gear 3 respectively, forms a parallelogram mechanism. This solves the problem that traditional fixed landing gear cannot adjust its attitude according to terrain. When the UAV lands on uneven terrain such as slopes or uneven ground in the field, the parallelogram mechanism, in conjunction with the leveling frame 1, can adaptively adjust the landing gear attitude according to the terrain height difference and always keep the UAV body level, avoiding one-sided suspension or tilting, effectively preventing the body from becoming unbalanced and tipping over, and ensuring the safety of the carried equipment. At the same time, by adding a shock-absorbing arm 23, with one end hinged to the upper part of the leveling frame 1 and the other end hinged to the lower control arm 22 near the landing gear, the deficiency of existing UAVs lacking effective shock absorption design is compensated for. It can absorb impact energy during landing, reduce the transmission of impact to the body, avoid accelerating the fatigue of the body structure, extend the service life of the equipment, and ultimately enable the UAV to have attitude adaptability and shock absorption capabilities for operation across uneven terrain, meeting the needs of safe and stable landing in diverse scenarios.

[0045] The above is Embodiment 1 of an adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism for a UAV provided in this application. The following is Embodiment 2 of the same mechanism. Please refer to the following for details. Figures 1 to 7 .

[0046] The adaptive suspension leveling mechanism for the UAV in this embodiment includes: a leveling frame 1 for fixed connection to the bottom of the UAV fuselage and a leveling actuator 2 for connection to the UAV landing gear 3. The leveling actuator 2 includes an upper control arm 21, a lower control arm 22 and a shock-absorbing arm 23. The upper control arm 21 and the lower control arm 22 are arranged parallel to each other, and one end of each is hinged to the leveling frame 1 and the other end is hinged to the UAV landing gear 3, forming a parallelogram mechanism. One end of the shock-absorbing arm 23 is hinged to the upper part of the leveling frame 1 and the other end is hinged to the end of the lower control arm 22 near the UAV landing gear 3, for transmitting and buffering the impact force from the ground.

[0047] Specifically, there are at least two drone tripods 3, which are symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides of the leveling frame 1; the number of leveling actuators 2 is equal to the number of drone tripods 3, and they are set up in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0048] The leveling frame 1 is a four-bar linkage mechanism formed by four components hinged end to end; the four components include an upper transverse stabilizing plate 11, a lower transverse stabilizing plate 12, and two L-shaped connecting plates 13 on the left and right. Specifically, the upper transverse stabilizing plate 11 and the lower transverse stabilizing plate 12 are arranged in parallel, and the two L-shaped connecting plates 13 are symmetrically distributed at both ends of the upper transverse stabilizing plate 11 and the lower transverse stabilizing plate 12, and the upper and lower ends of each L-shaped connecting plate 13 are hinged to the ends of the upper transverse stabilizing plate 11 and the lower transverse stabilizing plate 12, respectively.

[0049] Specifically, one end of the upper control arm 21 is hinged to the L-shaped connecting plate 13 of the leveling frame 1, and the other end is hinged to the upper part of the drone footrest 3; one end of the lower control arm 22 is hinged to the L-shaped connecting plate 13 of the leveling frame 1, and the hinge point is located below the hinge point of the upper control arm 21, and the other end is hinged to the middle of the drone footrest 3; the upper control arm 21, the lower control arm 22, the L-shaped connecting plate 13 of the leveling frame 1 and the drone footrest 3 together form a parallelogram mechanism.

[0050] The shock absorber arm 23 includes an upper shock absorber link 231, a lower shock absorber link 232, and a shock absorber spring 233. One end of the upper shock absorber link 231 is provided with a slide cylinder. The end of the lower shock absorber link 232 near the upper shock absorber link 231 is provided with a slide rod that slides into the slide cylinder. The upper and lower shock absorber links 231 and 232 are respectively provided with a first boss 234 and a second boss 235 for limiting the position of the shock absorber spring 233. The shock absorber spring 233 is sleeved on the slide cylinder, with one end connected to the first boss 234 and the other end connected to the second boss 235. Specifically, the end of the upper shock absorber link 231 away from the slide cylinder is hinged to the upper end of its adjacent L-shaped connecting plate 13.

[0051] A mounting plate 14 is fixed to the top of the upper horizontal stabilizing plate 11. The mounting plate 14 has mounting holes for bolt connection with the bottom of the drone fuselage.

[0052] The drone tripod 3 has a storage slot on one side of its bottom, and a suction cup 5 that can rotate to the bottom of the drone tripod 3 is installed in the storage slot.

[0053] An extension plate 4 for increasing the contact area with the ground is rotatably connected to one side of the bottom of the drone tripod 3. Preferably, the end of the extension plate 4 away from the drone tripod 3 is bent upward.

[0054] It is understandable that the drone tripod 3 can be equipped with a first drive device for driving the suction cup 5 to rotate and a second drive device for driving the extension plate 4 to rotate. Alternatively, the same drive device can be used to drive the suction cup 5 and the extension plate 4 simultaneously. When the suction cup 5 rotates to the bottom of the drone tripod 3, the extension plate 4 rotates and retracts. When the extension plate 4 rotates to unfold, the suction cup 5 rotates into the storage slot.

[0055] In practical implementation, the adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism of this drone is installed on the drone. When the drone is in flight, the extension plate 4 at the bottom of the drone landing gear 3 is in a retracted state, and the suction cup 5 is also stored in the storage slot at the bottom of the drone landing gear 3 to reduce air resistance. When the drone begins to execute the landing procedure and approaches the ground, according to the pre-programmed instructions or the judgment of the onboard terrain recognition system, if the preset landing is on a hard or uneven surface, the suction cup 5 can be driven to rotate to the bottom of the drone landing gear 3, making it the main grounding component; if the preset landing is on a soft surface such as sand or snow, the extension plate 4 can be driven to rotate and unfold to the bottom of the drone landing gear 3 to increase the grounding area, and the suction cup 5 is simultaneously retracted into the storage slot.

[0056] As the drone continues its descent, the drone landing gear 3 eventually contacts the ground. When the ground is level, both drone landing gear 3s touch down simultaneously, and the ground reaction force is transmitted through the drone landing gear 3s to the upper control arm 21 and the lower control arm 22. At this time, the deformation of the parallelogram mechanisms on both sides is symmetrical and minimal, and the main energy absorption is accomplished by the shock-absorbing arm 23: the impact force is transmitted to the shock-absorbing arm 23 through the lower control arm 22, pushing the slide bar of the lower shock-absorbing link 232 to slide within the slide cylinder of the upper shock-absorbing link 231, thereby compressing the shock-absorbing spring 233, effectively buffering the impact force, and achieving a smooth landing.

[0057] When the ground is sloping or uneven, the drone's adaptive leveling process is initiated. Typically, the drone landing gear 3 on the higher side will contact the ground first and be supported, while the drone landing gear 3 on the other side (lower side) continues to descend. The drone landing gear 3 that contacts the ground first forces the parallelogram mechanism on that side to deform, that is, the upper control arm 21 and the lower control arm 22 rotate around their hinge points with the L-shaped connecting plate 13 of the leveling frame 1 and the drone landing gear 3. In essence, this raises the still-descending lower side of the fuselage and makes minor adjustments to the supported higher side of the fuselage until all drone landing gear 3 are firmly in contact with the ground. During this dynamic leveling process, the leveling frame 1 (which is hinged to the upper horizontal stabilizing plate 11, the lower horizontal stabilizing plate 12, and the left and right L-shaped connecting plates 13) which is fixedly connected to the bottom of the drone body adaptively generates deflection and displacement to ensure that the drone body always maintains a horizontal attitude. At the same time, the shock-absorbing arms 23 on the left and right sides work independently, compressing their shock-absorbing springs 233 respectively to buffer the asymmetrical impact borne by their respective drone feet 3, ensuring that the entire leveling process is stable, smooth, and without rigid impact.

[0058] After the leveling process is complete, the drone remains horizontal and stably stationary on the ground. On hard ground, the suction cup 5 adheres fully to the ground, providing additional suction friction to enhance stability; on soft ground, the extended plate 4 provides buoyancy support, preventing the drone landing gear 3 from sinking. When the mission is complete and takeoff is required, the extended plate 4 can be retracted and the suction cup 5 can be reset to reduce flight drag. After the drone landing gear 3 leaves the ground, the entire leveling mechanism returns to its initial natural state under the restoring force of the shock-absorbing spring 233 and the mechanism's own weight, preparing for the next landing operation.

[0059] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of this application, and are not intended to limit them. Although this application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some of the technical features. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application.

Claims

1. An adaptive suspension and leveling mechanism for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), characterized in that, include: A leveling frame for fixed connection to the bottom of the drone fuselage and a leveling actuator for connection to the drone landing gear; The leveling actuator includes an upper control arm, a lower control arm, and a shock-absorbing arm; The upper control arm and the lower control arm are arranged parallel to each other, and one end of each is hinged to the leveling frame, and the other end is hinged to the UAV foot frame, together forming a parallelogram mechanism. One end of the shock-absorbing arm is hinged to the upper part of the leveling frame, and the other end is hinged to the end of the lower control arm near the UAV footplate.

2. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The number of drone tripods is at least two; At least two of the aforementioned drone landing gears are symmetrically distributed on the left and right sides of the leveling frame; The number of leveling actuators is equal to the number of UAV landing gear, and they are set in a one-to-one correspondence.

3. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The leveling frame is a four-bar linkage mechanism formed by four components hinged end to end.

4. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that, The four components include an upper transverse stabilizing plate, a lower transverse stabilizing plate, and two L-shaped connecting plates on the left and right.

5. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, One end of the upper control arm is hinged to the L-shaped connecting plate of the leveling frame, and the other end is hinged to the upper part of the UAV footplate. One end of the lower control arm is hinged to the L-shaped connecting plate of the leveling frame, and the hinge point is located below the hinge point of the upper control arm; the other end is hinged to the middle of the drone footplate. The upper control arm, the lower control arm, the L-shaped connecting plate of the leveling frame, and the UAV landing gear together constitute a parallelogram mechanism.

6. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The shock-absorbing arm includes an upper shock-absorbing link, a lower shock-absorbing link, and a shock-absorbing spring; A sliding cylinder is provided at one end of the upper shock-absorbing connecting rod; The lower shock absorber connecting rod is provided with a sliding rod that is slidably inserted into the sliding cylinder at one end near the upper shock absorber connecting rod; The upper shock-absorbing link and the lower shock-absorbing link are respectively provided with a first boss and a second boss for limiting the shock-absorbing spring. The shock-absorbing spring is sleeved on the slide cylinder, and one end of the shock-absorbing spring is connected to the first boss and the other end is connected to the second boss.

7. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 4, characterized in that, The top of the upper transverse stabilizing plate is fixed with a mounting plate; The mounting plate has mounting holes for connecting to the bottom of the drone fuselage with bolts.

8. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drone tripod has a storage slot on one side of its bottom. The storage slot is equipped with a suction cup that can rotate to the bottom of the drone's landing gear.

9. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drone's landing gear has an extension plate rotatably connected to one side of its bottom to increase the contact area with the ground.

10. The UAV adaptive suspension leveling mechanism according to claim 9, characterized in that, The extension plate is bent upwards at the end furthest from the drone landing gear.

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