drone landing gear

Abstract

This application discloses a drone landing gear, which includes a load-bearing part and a support part connected to the load-bearing part; the load-bearing part is used to connect to the fuselage of a target drone; the support part includes multiple legs and an opening and closing control component connected between each of the legs. When the target drone lands, the opening and closing control component touches the ground first relative to the legs, and opens under the ground resistance force to drive the multiple legs to switch to the support state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, and in particular to a UAV landing gear. Background Technology

[0002] Against the backdrop of the country's vigorous promotion of the development of the low-altitude economy, drones, as a core category in the civilian sector, have experienced explosive growth, with various types of drone products with diversified positioning and more functions emerging one after another.

[0003] Currently, most drones use a front-mounted antenna module support structure as the front fulcrum for landing, combined with a rigid protrusion on the rear of the fuselage as the rear fulcrum, in their original landing configuration. However, this design is highly susceptible to scratches and damage to the bottom of the fuselage, and because obstacle avoidance sensors are usually densely distributed on the drone's belly, these sensors are easily damaged. To address these issues, two main landing gear designs have emerged in the market: one is a belly-mounted bracket, which is convenient to install and has a strong overall integrity, but the main body of the bracket will cover the sensor area on the drone's belly, easily affecting the normal operation of the obstacle avoidance sensors, and will obstruct the field of view when the camera rotates to a certain angle; the other is a split cantilever mounting bracket, which avoids obstruction of the field of view by independently installing brackets on each rotor arm, but each bracket must be disassembled individually for each storage, making the operation cumbersome.

[0004] Designing a drone landing gear that combines convenient storage with unobstructed visibility has become a pressing problem for the industry. Utility Model Content

[0005] To address the existing technical problems, this application provides a drone landing gear that combines convenient storage with unobstructed field of vision.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution of this application embodiment is implemented as follows:

[0007] A drone landing gear includes a load-bearing part and a support part connected to the load-bearing part;

[0008] The supporting part is used to connect with the fuselage of the target UAV;

[0009] The support unit includes multiple legs and an opening and closing control component connected between each of the legs. When the target UAV lands, the opening and closing control component touches the ground first relative to the legs, and opens under the ground resistance force to drive the multiple legs to switch to the support state.

[0010] Optionally, when the target drone takes off, after the support part leaves the ground, the opening and closing control component closes under the gravity of the multiple legs, thereby driving the multiple legs to switch to the retracted state.

[0011] Optionally, the opening and closing control assembly includes a linkage base and a plurality of linkages, one end of each linkage being connected to the linkage base and the other end being rotatably connected to the corresponding support leg;

[0012] When the opening and closing control component is opened, the plurality of the connecting rods extend outward in a radial pattern around the outer periphery of the connecting rod base.

[0013] Optionally, the connecting rod base has a sliding shaft at one end facing the bearing portion, and the connecting rod has an annular sleeve at one end connected to the connecting rod base. The sleeve is fitted onto the sliding shaft and can slide up and down along the sliding shaft; and / or, the connecting rod base has a sliding groove at one end facing the bearing portion, and the connecting rod has a sliding block at one end connected to the connecting rod base. The sliding block is embedded in the sliding groove and can slide up and down along the sliding groove.

[0014] Optionally, the connecting rod base has a ground contact cone at the end opposite to the sliding shaft;

[0015] When the opening and closing control component is closed, the bottom end of the ground contact cone protrudes beyond the bottom end of the support leg.

[0016] Optionally, the support portion further includes a fixing member and a pivot member disposed on the fixing member;

[0017] The fastener is connected to the bearing portion;

[0018] The pivot is ring-shaped, and each of the legs is rotatably connected to the pivot at one end near the bearing portion.

[0019] Optionally, the drone landing gear further includes a strap-type connector, which is used to wrap around the upper part of the target drone and is connected to the support part at both ends.

[0020] Optionally, the supporting part includes a bottom wall and side walls extending from opposite sides of the bottom wall in a direction away from the legs, and a storage space for accommodating the fuselage of the target drone is formed between the bottom wall and the side walls.

[0021] Optionally, the support portion includes multiple portions, which are respectively disposed at intervals at the bottom of the bearing portion.

[0022] Optionally, the drone landing gear further includes a first arm and a second arm respectively disposed on both sides of the support portion. The first arm and the second arm are respectively used to carry different drone accessories. The drone landing gear provided in the above embodiment includes a support portion and a support portion. The support portion acts as a connecting bridge, securely connecting to the fuselage of the target drone. The support portion is connected to the support portion and includes multiple legs and an opening / closing control assembly connected between the legs. During the landing of the target drone, the opening / closing control assembly is in a lower position relative to the legs and will first contact the ground. Under the action of the ground contact force, the opening / closing control assembly triggers an opening mechanism, driving the multiple legs to unfold and switch to a supporting state, providing support for the smooth landing of the drone. This design effectively realizes the unpowered automatic support function of the drone landing gear. Attached Figure Description

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the landing gear of a drone in one embodiment, where the legs are in a supporting state;

[0024] Figure 2 for Figure 1 Another structural diagram of the UAV landing gear, showing the legs in a retracted state;

[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the drone landing gear in another embodiment, where both sets of legs are in a supporting state;

[0026] Figure 4 for Figure 3 The diagram shows another structural schematic of the drone's landing gear, in which both sets of legs are in a retracted state.

[0027] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the landing gear structure of a drone in another embodiment.

[0028] Component Symbol Explanation

[0029] 10 bearing component, 11 bottom wall, 12 side wall, 20 support component, 21 outrigger, 22 fixing component, 23 pivot component, 30 opening and closing control assembly, 31 connecting rod base, 32 connecting rod, 33 sliding shaft, 34 sleeve component, 35 ground contact cone, 40 strap-type connector, 41 connecting structure, 42 buckle hole, 51 first support arm, 52 second support arm, 53 camera module, 54 main control module Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solution of this utility model will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0031] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the ways in which the invention may be implemented. The term "and / or" as used herein includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0032] In the description of this utility model, it should be understood that the terms "center," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing this utility model 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, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this utility model. In the description of this utility model, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0033] In the description of this utility model, it should be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "joining" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this utility model based on the specific circumstances.

[0034] In the following description, the phrase "some embodiments" refers to a subset of all possible embodiments. It should be noted that "some embodiments" can be the same subset or different subsets of all possible embodiments, and can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0035] In the following description, the terms "first, second, and third" are used merely to distinguish similar objects and do not represent a specific ordering of objects. It is understood that "first, second, and third" may be interchanged in a specific order or sequence where permitted, so that the embodiments of this application described herein can be implemented in an order other than that illustrated or described herein.

[0036] Please refer to the following: Figure 1 and Figure 2This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a drone landing gear according to an embodiment of this application. The drone landing gear includes a load-bearing part 10 and a support part 20 connected to the load-bearing part 10; the load-bearing part 10 is used to connect to the fuselage of the target drone; the support part 20 includes a plurality of outriggers 21 and an opening and closing control assembly 30 connected between each outrigger 21. When the target drone lands, the opening and closing control assembly 30 touches the ground first relative to the outriggers 21, and opens under the ground resistance force to drive the plurality of outriggers 21 to switch to the support state.

[0037] The load-bearing part 10 is a structure in the UAV landing gear that connects to the UAV fuselage. The support part 20 is connected to the load-bearing part 10 and automatically deploys during the UAV's descent to provide stable support for a stable landing.

[0038] The target drone can be any known model of drone. In this embodiment, the design of the support part 10 in the drone landing gear can be tailored to the shape and size of any known model of drone, so that the drone landing gear can be well adapted to any known model of drone product, and has strong practical applicability.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the UAV landing gear includes a load-bearing part 10 and a support part 20. The load-bearing part 10 serves as a connecting bridge, securely connecting to the fuselage of the target UAV. The support part 20 is connected to the load-bearing part 10 and includes multiple outriggers 21 and an opening / closing control assembly 30 connected between the outriggers 21. During the landing of the target UAV, the opening / closing control assembly 30 is positioned lower than the outriggers 21 and makes initial contact with the ground. Under the influence of the ground's resistance, the opening / closing control assembly triggers an opening mechanism, driving the multiple outriggers 21 to unfold and switch to a support state, providing support for the smooth landing of the UAV. This design eliminates the need for power drive, effectively achieving a non-powered automatic support function for the UAV landing gear.

[0040] In some embodiments, when the target drone takes off, after the support 20 leaves the ground, the opening and closing control component 30 closes under the gravity of the multiple outriggers 21, causing the multiple outriggers 21 to switch to the retracted state. Specifically, when the target drone enters the takeoff state, after the support 20 leaves the ground along with the drone fuselage, the opening and closing control component 30 is no longer subject to ground resistance, and the mechanical balance between it and the outriggers 21 is broken. At this time, the multiple outriggers 21 tend to droop downwards due to their own gravity, causing the opening and closing control component 30 connected between the outriggers 21 to retract inwards and automatically complete the closing action. The entire process requires no power drive; the drone landing gear can be automatically retracted without power by relying on the self-weight of the outriggers 21, avoiding obstruction of the drone's view, effectively reducing the drone's flight drag and improving aerodynamic efficiency.

[0041] In other embodiments, the opening and closing control component 30 includes a linkage base 31 and multiple linkages 32. The linkage base 31 can serve as the main component of the opening and closing control component 30. One end of each linkage 32 is connected to the linkage base 31, and the other end is rotatably connected to the inner end of the corresponding support leg 21. When the opening and closing control component 30 is opened, the multiple linkages 32 extend outward radially around the outer periphery of the linkage base 31. When the opening and closing control component 30 triggers the opening mechanism, the multiple linkages 32 expand outward radially around the linkage base 31. Each linkage 32 is evenly distributed around the outer periphery of the linkage base 31. The extension of the linkages 32 and their mechanical linkage with the support leg 21 enable the support leg 21 to expand outward synchronously under the thrust of the linkage 32, ultimately forming a stable support frame for the UAV fuselage. In this way, the uniformity of force on the support leg 21 during expansion is ensured, and the synchronization and reliability of the opening and closing action are achieved through mechanical linkage.

[0042] In some embodiments, the connecting rod base 31 has a sliding shaft 33 at one end facing the support portion 10, and each connecting rod 32 has an annular sleeve portion 34 at the end connected to the connecting rod base 31. The sleeve portion 34 is sleeved on the sliding shaft 33 and can slide up and down along the sliding shaft 33. When the sleeve portion 34 slides down along the sliding shaft 33, the connecting rod 32 extends outward in a radial pattern with the sliding shaft 33 as the center, simultaneously pushing the corresponding support leg 21 to unfold outward; when the sleeve portion 34 slides up along the sliding shaft 33, the sleeve portion 34 moves and drives the connecting rod 32 to retract inward, pulling the support leg 21 to the retracted state. In this way, through the cooperation of the sliding shaft 33 and the sleeve portion 34, the connecting rod 32 is provided with motion guidance, and the symmetry and consistency of the opening and closing actions of the multiple support legs 21 are achieved through the synchronous axial sliding of multiple connecting rods 32.

[0043] Optionally, the connecting rod base 31 has a sliding groove at one end facing the bearing part 10, and the connecting rod 32 has a sliding block at the end connected to the connecting rod base 31. The sliding block is embedded in the sliding groove and can slide up and down along the sliding groove.

[0044] The connecting rod base 31 has a vertically extending sliding groove at one end facing the bearing portion 20, and the connecting rod 32 has a sliding block adapted to the sliding groove at the end connected to the connecting rod base 31. During assembly, the sliding block is embedded in the sliding groove, and the two maintain a clearance fit. This ensures that the sliding block will not fall out of the sliding groove, and allows the sliding block to slide smoothly up and down along the length of the sliding groove, thereby realizing the vertical position adjustment of the connecting rod 32 relative to the connecting rod base 31.

[0045] In other embodiments, the connecting rod base 31 has a ground contact cone 35 at the end opposite to the sliding shaft 33; when the opening and closing control assembly 30 is closed, the bottom end of the ground contact cone 35 protrudes beyond the bottom end of the support leg 21. The connecting rod base 31 has a sliding shaft 33 at the end facing the bearing portion 10, and a conical ground contact cone 35 at the other end opposite the sliding shaft 33 and facing the ground. When the opening and closing control assembly 30 closes and drives the support leg 21 to retract inward, the bottom end of the ground contact cone 35 protrudes from the enclosure of the support leg 21 and extends beyond the end of the support leg 21, with the end of the ground contact cone 35 extending beyond the bottom plane of the support leg 21. The design of the ground contact cone 35 allows the UAV landing gear to make contact with the ground first when in the retracted state, providing a precise contact point for the initial stage of UAV landing.

[0046] In some embodiments, the support portion 20 further includes a fixing member 22 and a pivot member 23 disposed on the fixing member 22; the fixing member 22 is connected to the bearing portion 10; the pivot member 23 is annular, and each leg 21 is rotatably connected to the pivot member 23 at one end near the bearing portion 10. The support portion 20 can be securely connected to the bottom end face of the bearing portion 10 using the fixing member 22 via known connection and assembly methods such as bolting or welding, thus establishing an installation reference for the support portion 20. The pivot member 23 is annular and coaxially assembled at the lower end of the fixing member 22. Each leg 21, near the proximal end of the bearing part 10, i.e. the upper end of the leg 21, is connected to the pivot 23 at equal intervals along the circumference of the pivot 23 via rotatable connection structures such as hinge shafts and rotating shafts. This design provides a precise and stable pivot point for the unfolding and retracting movements of the legs 21, enabling the legs 21 to swing outward or fold inward with the pivot 23 as the center, ensuring the synchronicity of the movements of multiple legs 21.

[0047] In other embodiments, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The drone landing gear also includes strap-type connectors 40, which are used to wrap around the upper part of the target drone's fuselage and are connected at both ends to the support portion 10. In one example, the support portion 10 has a connecting structure 41 on one or both sides. By further equipping the drone landing gear with strap-type connectors 40, the drone landing gear can be wrapped around the upper part of the target drone's fuselage, and its ends are connected to the connecting structure 41 of the support portion 10. In this way, the design of the strap-type connectors 40 achieves a more reliable and stable connection between the drone landing gear and the drone, further ensuring the stability of the drone fuselage mounted on the support portion 10 during flight.

[0048] The connecting structure 41 can adopt a snap-fit ​​design, and the matching strap-type connector 40 is a flexible strip structure with buckle holes 42 at both ends. The strap-type connector 40 directly engages with the snap-fit ​​part of the support part 10 through the buckle holes 42 at both ends, achieving a fixed connection with the connecting structure 41. In another embodiment, a snap-fit ​​part can be provided on the strap-type connector 40, and correspondingly, buckle holes 42 are provided at both ends of the support part 10 to achieve a mating connection. Alternatively, the support part 10 can have a quick-release connecting structure 41 at only one end, with one end of the strap-type connector 40 fixedly connected to the support part 10, and the other end of the strap-type connector 40 configured as a movable end that can engage with the connecting structure 41. This allows it to bypass the tail of the target drone and connect to the connecting structure 41 of the support part 10 for locking, thereby achieving a connection with the drone. It should be noted that, in addition to the connection methods described above, other feasible connection methods can be used between the support part 10 and the strap-type connector 40.

[0049] The design of the buckle and the buckle hole 42 utilizes the flexible strap material of the strap-type connector 40 to adapt to different fuselage contours, and achieves convenient installation through the quick-locking of the buckle structure. While ensuring connection strength, it provides an efficient, flexible, and stable connection solution for drone mounting operations. The buckle hole 42 at both ends of the strap-type connector 40 can include multiple holes spaced apart. The tightness of the strap-type connector 40 when attached to the drone can be adjusted by adjusting the engagement of the buckle hole 42 at different positions with the buckle. The material of the strap-type connector 40 can be a strip structure made of a known flexible, easily deformable, and tough material, such as rubber, silicone, latex, or soft leather. It should be noted that the length design of the strap connector 40 allows it to be better compatible with the size of different drone models. The strap connector 40 is wrapped around the top of the drone's fuselage, while the space of the support part 10 can be equivalent to the part that wraps around the bottom of the drone. The strap connector 40 and the support part 10, through a combination of flexibility and rigidity, together form an assembly structure that wraps around the drone's fuselage, which can further improve the stability of the drone landing gear after it is installed on the drone. The design of this flexible part of the strap connector 40 also helps the drone landing gear to adapt to drones of different models and sizes.

[0050] Furthermore, the number of strap-type connectors 40 can be one or more. In one optional specific example, the number of strap-type connectors 40 is one, and it is wrapped around the middle section of the drone fuselage, which further improves the stability and balance of the drone landing gear after it is installed on the drone. In some embodiments, the support portion 10 includes a bottom wall 11 and side walls 12 extending from opposite sides of the bottom wall 11 in a direction away from the outrigger 21, with a storage space formed between the bottom wall 11 and the side walls 12 for mounting the drone fuselage. This design, through the combined construction of the bottom wall 11 and the side walls 12, provides a stable mounting base and storage space for the drone fuselage, ensuring effective load-bearing during drone operation. It should be noted that the bottom wall 11 and side wall 12 refer to structures that define the outline shape of the supporting part 10. These can be, but are not limited to, solid plates. For example, in some examples, the bottom wall 11 and side wall 12 can be plates with one or more openwork areas. In other examples, the bottom wall 11 and side wall 12 can even be frame structures with rectangular outlines formed by bending rod-shaped objects. For further embodiments, please refer to [reference needed]. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The support portion 20 comprises multiple parts, which are spaced apart and disposed at the bottom of the load-bearing portion 10. In some examples, the support portion 20 may adopt a multiple parallel design scheme. For example, several support portions 20 are installed in the bottom area of ​​the load-bearing portion 10 in a uniformly spaced layout. This method of arranging multiple support portions 20 at intervals allows each support portion 20 to evenly distribute the weight of the fuselage during the landing of the UAV, avoiding excessive local stress that could damage the structure and effectively improving the overall support stability of the UAV landing gear.

[0051] In some embodiments, please refer to Figure 5 The drone landing gear also includes a first arm 51 and a second arm 52 located on both sides of the support section 10, respectively for mounting different drone accessories. For example, in a specific embodiment, one of the first arm 51 and the second arm 52 is used to mount and connect a camera module 53, while the other is used to mount and connect a main control module 54. The camera module 53 and the main control module 54 are connected by communication, that is, the camera module 53 and the main control module 54 interact with each other through a communication link, such as image acquisition, signal processing, and command transmission. The camera module 53 can be an additional camera module 53 adapted to different scenarios, which is added to the original camera function of the drone to upgrade the camera function. Moreover, the design of the first arm 51 and the second arm 52 located on opposite sides of the support section 10 can better balance the overall balance of the drone landing gear after mounting the camera module 53 and the main control module 54.

[0052] The above are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A landing gear for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), characterized in that, It includes a support portion (10) and a support portion (20) connected to the support portion (10); The support part (10) is used to connect with the fuselage of the target UAV; The support (20) includes multiple legs (21) and an opening and closing control assembly (30) connected between each of the legs (21). When the target UAV lands, the opening and closing control assembly (30) touches the ground first relative to the legs (21), and opens under the ground resistance force to drive the multiple legs (21) to switch to the support state.

2. The UAV landing gear according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the target drone takes off, after the support part (20) leaves the ground, the opening and closing control component (30) closes under the gravity of the multiple legs (21) and drives the multiple legs (21) to switch to the retracted state.

3. The UAV landing gear according to claim 1, characterized in that, The opening and closing control assembly (30) includes a connecting rod base (31) and a plurality of connecting rods (32). One end of each connecting rod (32) is connected to the connecting rod base (31), and the other end is rotatably connected to the corresponding support leg (21). When the opening and closing control assembly (30) is opened, the plurality of links (32) extend outward in a radial pattern around the outer periphery of the link base (31).

4. The UAV landing gear according to claim 3, characterized in that, The connecting rod base (31) has a sliding shaft (33) at one end facing the bearing part (10), and the connecting rod (32) has an annular sleeve part (34) at the end connected to the connecting rod base (31). The sleeve part (34) is sleeved on the sliding shaft (33) and can slide up and down along the sliding shaft (33); and / or, The connecting rod base (31) has a sliding groove at one end facing the bearing part (10), and the connecting rod (32) has a sliding block at the end connected to the connecting rod base (31). The sliding block is embedded in the sliding groove and can slide up and down along the sliding groove.

5. The UAV landing gear according to claim 4, characterized in that, The bottom of the connecting rod base (31) is provided with a ground contact cone (35); When the opening and closing control component (30) is closed, the bottom end of the ground contact cone (35) protrudes beyond the bottom end of the support leg (21).

6. The UAV landing gear according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support (20) further includes a fixing member (22) and a pivot member (23) disposed on the fixing member (22); The fastener (22) is connected to the bearing portion (10); The pivot (23) is ring-shaped, and each of the legs (21) is rotatably connected to the pivot (23) at one end near the bearing (10).

7. The UAV landing gear according to claim 1, characterized in that, The UAV landing gear also includes a strap-type connector (40), which is used to wrap around the upper part of the target UAV and is connected at both ends to the support part (10).

8. The UAV landing gear according to claim 7, characterized in that, The support portion (10) includes a bottom wall (11) and side walls (12) extending from opposite sides of the bottom wall (11) toward the direction away from the support leg (21), and a storage space for accommodating the fuselage of the target UAV is formed between the bottom wall (11) and the side walls (12).

9. The UAV landing gear according to claim 1, characterized in that, The support portion (20) includes a plurality of portions, which are respectively disposed at intervals at the bottom of the bearing portion (10).

10. The UAV landing gear according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drone landing gear also includes a first arm (51) and a second arm (52) respectively disposed on both sides of the bearing part (10). The first arm (51) and the second arm (52) are respectively used to carry different drone accessories.

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