A drone cluster launching box

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of unmanned aerial vehicle cluster launch box, including hollow launch box assembly, launch box assembly is by box, the lid of hinged connection in the top of this box and the bottom box connected in the bottom of this box constitute;Located the front and rear outer wall of box is respectively equipped with symmetrical mounting rib and mounting sliding slot, and mounting rib and mounting sliding slot between adaptation, any adjacent launch box assembly is connected after being formed cluster nest by mounting rib and mounting sliding slot;Electric push rod, continuous push rod, unmanned aerial vehicle fixing base, ascending sliding slot, charging module and self-checking module are respectively installed in box, the present application is to provide a kind of unmanned aerial vehicle cluster launch box, by structure optimization and function integration, with quick cluster installation deployment, intelligent charging self-checking, lightweight high-reliability structure etc. Characteristics, effectively realize the technical effects of cluster collaborative adaptation, automated quick response, integrated operation and stable and reliable structure.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology, specifically a UAV swarm launch box. Background Technology

[0002] With the widespread application of drones in security, countermeasures, reconnaissance and other fields, higher requirements are being placed on their rapid deployment, high-frequency use and swarm combat capabilities.

[0003] Most common drone swarm launchers are designed as a one-to-one fixed unit, which has the following drawbacks: 1. Low deployment efficiency: Most launch boxes are single, independent designs, lacking standardized assembly structures, making it impossible to quickly assemble them into clusters and hindering the coordinated deployment and rapid response of multiple drones. 2. Low level of intelligence: Opening and closing the boxes is mostly manual, resulting in delayed response. In emergency drone launch scenarios, the time spent preparing to open the boxes is excessive, affecting the drone's operational response efficiency. 3. Lack of integrated charging and self-testing functions: Drones need to be removed separately for charging and connected to dedicated equipment for self-testing, making the maintenance process cumbersome and unable to meet the rapid replenishment needs of high-frequency launch missions, requiring frequent manual intervention. 4. Unbalanced structural design: either sacrificing structural strength for lightweighting or making the boxes bulky to ensure stability, making transportation and rapid deployment inconvenient. 5. Inadequate takeoff guidance mechanisms: prone to drone collisions or loss of attitude control during takeoff, posing safety hazards. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the aforementioned defects and shortcomings, this utility model discloses the following technical solution: a drone swarm launch box, comprising a hollow launch box assembly, the launch box assembly consisting of a box body, a box cover connected to the top of the box body via hinges, and a bottom box connected to the bottom of the box body; symmetrical mounting ribs and mounting grooves are respectively provided on the front and rear outer walls of the box body, and the mounting ribs and mounting grooves are compatible with each other, and any adjacent launch box assembly forms a swarm of drones after being connected through the mounting ribs and mounting grooves; The box contains an electric push rod, a connecting push rod, a drone mounting base, a launch slide, a charging module, and a self-testing module. The electric push rod is mounted upright on the inner wall of the box via a bracket, and its output end is hinged to the connecting push rod. The end of the connecting push rod away from the electric push rod is hinged to the box cover. The electric push rod drives the box cover to rotate around the hinge through the connecting push rod, thereby opening and closing the box cover. The drone mounting base is installed at the center of the bottom of the box, with a hollowed-out design below it containing the drone charging port and self-test port; the lifting slide is an arc-shaped vertical installation around the drone mounting base and extends along the height of the box to the opening at the top of the box to limit the drone's movement. Weight reduction grooves are provided along the inner side wall of the box, and cross-shaped reinforcing ribs are provided at the bottom of the box. The charging module and self-test module are symmetrically arranged inside the reinforcing ribs.

[0005] Furthermore, the charging module is located inside the base box, with one end electrically connected to the charging port of the drone mount and the other end detachably connected to an external power input. The charging module includes a voltage conversion unit, an overload protection unit, and a charging management unit. The charging module can convert 220V AC mains input to the drone's compatible voltage and has overcharge, over-temperature, and overcurrent protection functions. It has high charging efficiency and meets the needs of rapid replenishment.

[0006] Furthermore, the self-test module is located inside the bottom box, with one end connected to the self-test port of the drone mounting base via a data cable, and the other end communicating with the remote ground station via at least one wired or wireless method. The self-test module includes a data reading unit, a signal processing unit, and a communication unit. It can read the drone's satellite reception status, current battery level, and whether there are fault codes, and transmit the data to the remote ground station via 4G / 5G or wired Ethernet to achieve real-time monitoring and fault warning of the drone's status.

[0007] Furthermore, both the charging port and the self-test port are quick-connect interfaces, and are respectively compatible with the drone's charging interface and data interface; this allows for automatic docking after the drone is placed in the port, without the need for additional wiring.

[0008] Furthermore, the takeoff chutes are arranged symmetrically in pairs around the drone's mounting base. The walls of the chutes are lined with wear-resistant pads. The width of the chutes is adapted to the width of the drone's fuselage and the distance between its arms, reducing frictional resistance during takeoff and effectively limiting the drone's lateral deviation, thus preventing tipping and collisions between the propeller and the housing.

[0009] Furthermore, the mounting ribs are long, T-shaped protrusions, and the mounting grooves are long, grooved grooves that fit the cross-section of the mounting ribs. Both the mounting ribs and the mounting grooves are integrally formed with the housing. This allows for the rapid assembly of multiple housings, which together form a unified cluster of machines, facilitating centralized management.

[0010] Furthermore, the electric actuator is located on the central axis of the case, and the extension and retraction stroke of the electric actuator is adapted to the opening and closing angle of the connecting rod and the case cover. The opening and closing angle range is 0~110°, ensuring that the case cover does not obstruct the take-off path of the drone when fully opened. In addition, the electric drive has a fast response speed, and the opening time can be controlled within 3 seconds.

[0011] Furthermore, the launch box assembly is made of either ABS or carbon fiber composite material. The weight reduction grooves are multiple evenly distributed rectangular grooves, which can effectively reduce the weight of the box, balancing lightweight and structural strength. The overall weight is no more than 15kg, making it easy for individual soldiers to carry or for vehicle transport. The reinforcing ribs are cross-shaped U-shaped structures, made of the same material as the box, ensuring that the box is lightweight while effectively improving impact resistance and meeting the structural stability requirements for outdoor deployment.

[0012] Furthermore, a sealing strip is provided at the junction of the lower surface of the cover and the box body. The rear wall of the bottom box has a cable outlet hole corresponding to the position of the charging module and the self-test module. The side wall of the bottom box has heat dissipation holes, and the rear wall has a cable outlet hole, which corresponds to the position of the internal charging module and the self-test module. This ensures normal wiring inside the module box and meets the heat dissipation requirements during operation, avoiding overheating failure.

[0013] Because of the adoption of the above technical solution, this utility model has the following beneficial effects: 1. This application enables the rapid assembly of multiple boxes into a cluster of drones through standardized adaptation of front and rear mounting ribs and mounting grooves. It also supports the simultaneous deployment and coordinated launch of multiple drones, solving the pain point that existing launch boxes are difficult to adapt to cluster operations.

[0014] 2. Compared with the traditional manual launch box, this application adopts an electric opening and closing structure of electric push rod + connecting push rod + hinge, with an opening / closing time of no more than 3 seconds. It can quickly respond to the UAV launch command, buy time for emergency missions, and has a higher degree of automation.

[0015] 3. Compared with the existing launch boxes that lack integrated operation and maintenance functions, this application integrates the charging module and the self-test module into the bottom box. After the UAV is placed in the fixed seat, it automatically connects to the charging interface and the self-test interface to realize charging and status self-testing in the box. Moreover, the self-test data is transmitted back to the ground station in real time, which greatly improves the operation and maintenance efficiency.

[0016] 4. The UAV mounting base in this application adopts a cylindrical hollow structure, which not only ensures the reliability of the fixation, but also fits the tail structure of the UAV fuselage; the symmetrical arc-shaped take-off slide around the center, combined with wear-resistant pads, effectively limits the fuselage offset, avoids overturning and blade collision, effectively reduces the take-off failure rate, and avoids the UAV overturning or the propeller colliding with the inner wall of the box when taking off inside the box.

[0017] 5. This application uses a combination design of evenly distributed weight-reducing grooves on the inner wall and cross-shaped reinforcing ribs at the bottom to reduce the weight of the box and improve portability while ensuring the structural stability for outdoor deployment. This solves the problem of balancing lightweight and reliability and eliminates the contradiction of "lightweight means insufficient strength, and high strength means bulky". Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of this utility model; Figure 2 This utility model Figure 1 Top view; Figure 3 This utility model Figure 1 Rear view; Figure 4 This utility model Figure 1A schematic diagram of the unfolded shape; Figure 5 This is a utility model Figure 4 A partial schematic diagram of the middle box; Figure 6 This is a utility model Figure 4 A partial schematic diagram of the midsole box; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the cluster nest after splicing according to this utility model.

[0019] In the diagram: 1. Cover; 2. Body; 3. Base; 4. Mounting rib; 5. Mounting slide; 6. Electric push rod; 7. Connecting push rod; 8. Reinforcing rib; 9. UAV mounting base; 901. Charging port; 902. Self-test port; 10. Ascent slide; 11. Charging module; 12. Self-test module; 13. Weight reduction slot. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, not all embodiments. In addition, the terms "first," "second," "third," "upper," "lower," "left," and "right," etc., are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present utility model.

[0021] Please refer to the instruction manual appendix. Figure 1-7 As shown, this application provides a drone swarm launch box, including a hollow launch box assembly. The launch box assembly consists of a box body 2, a box cover 1 connected to the top of the box body 2 by hinges, and a bottom box 3 connected to the bottom of the box body 2. Symmetrical mounting ribs 4 and mounting grooves 5 are respectively provided on the front and rear outer walls of the box body 2, and the mounting ribs 4 and mounting grooves 5 are compatible with each other. Any adjacent launch box assembly can form a swarm nest after being connected by the mounting ribs 4 and the mounting grooves 5. When adjacent boxes are spliced, the mounting ribs 4 of the previous box are inserted into the mounting grooves 5 of the next box. No other parts are required for fixation, so that multiple boxes can be quickly spliced ​​to form a swarm nest, which can meet the needs of multiple drones launching together.

[0022] The housing 2 contains an electric actuator 6, a connecting actuator 7, a drone mounting base 9, a launch slide 10, a charging module 11, and a self-test module 12. The electric actuator 6 is mounted upright on the inner wall of the housing 2 via a bracket, and its output end is hinged to the connecting actuator 7. The end of the connecting actuator 7 away from the electric actuator 6 is hinged to the housing cover 1. The electric actuator 6 drives the housing cover 1 to rotate around the hinge through the connecting actuator 7, thereby opening and closing the housing cover 1. The electric actuator 6 is a 24V DC electric actuator with a rated thrust of 100. The electric actuator is fixed to the inner wall of the box by screws and clamping mechanism 61. The connecting rod 7 is made of aluminum alloy and its two ends are respectively connected to the output end of the electric actuator 6 and the box cover 1 by pins. The hinge 8 is made of stainless steel and is located at the top edge of the box cover 1 and the box body 2. When the electric actuator 6 extends or retracts, it drives the box cover 1 to rotate around the hinge 8 through the connecting rod 7, realizing electric opening and closing of the box within the range of 0~110°. The opening / closing time is controlled within 3 seconds to meet the requirements of rapid response.

[0023] The drone mounting base 9 is installed at the center of the bottom of the housing 2. It has a hollow design below and is equipped with a drone charging port 901 and a self-test port 902. The lifting slide 10 is an arc-shaped vertical installation around the drone mounting base 9 and extends along the height of the housing 2 to the top opening of the housing 2 to limit the drone's movement. The drone mounting base 9 is made of ABS material or 3D printed. It has a hollow design below and is equipped with a quick-connect Type-C charging port 901 and a self-test port 902. It has built-in charging pins and data pins, which correspond to the drone's charging interface and data interface, respectively. The drone can automatically connect after being placed in the mounting base without the need for additional wiring.

[0024] The takeoff chute 10 is symmetrically arranged around the UAV mounting base 9, extending along the height of the housing 2 to the top opening of the housing 2. It has an arc-shaped structure, and the chute wall can be glued with a 1-3mm thick polytetrafluoroethylene wear-resistant pad. The outer wall of the chute is equipped with reinforcing ribs. The chute width is adapted to the width of the UAV fuselage and the distance between the arms. It is used to limit the UAV during takeoff, prevent the fuselage from shifting to the left or right, and reduce frictional resistance to prevent the propeller from colliding with the housing.

[0025] The charging module 11 is located inside the bottom box 3 on the left side and includes a voltage conversion unit, an overload protection unit, and a charging management unit. It is electrically connected to the charging port 901 of the drone mounting base 9 via a wire. The input end is pluggable and detachable connected to the 220V AC mains via a power cord. It has overcharge, over-temperature, and overcurrent protection functions, high charging efficiency, and can quickly replenish the drone's power.

[0026] The self-test module 12 is located inside the bottom box 3 on the right side (the symmetrical position of the charging module 11). It includes an STM32 main control chip (data reading unit) and a 4G communication module (communication unit). It is connected to the data pin of the self-test port 902 via a data cable. It can read the number of satellites received by the drone, the current battery level, and whether there are fault codes. It can also communicate with the remote ground station via 4G network or wired Ethernet to realize real-time transmission of drone status information and fault warning.

[0027] The inner wall of the box 2 has 10-12 evenly distributed weight-reducing grooves 13, which can effectively reduce the weight of the box; the bottom of the bottom box 3 has cross-shaped reinforcing ribs 8, and the charging module 11 and the self-test module 12 are symmetrically arranged inside the reinforcing ribs 8. The reinforcing ribs 8 are designed with a height of 30-50mm and a thickness of 2-5mm, which can effectively improve the impact resistance of the box and ensure structural stability while reducing weight.

[0028] A sealing strip is provided at the junction of the lower surface of the cover 1 and the box body 2, with a protection level of IP54, which can prevent dust and water, and adapt to complex outdoor environments; the rear wall of the bottom box 3 has a cable outlet hole corresponding to the position of the charging module 11 and the self-test module 12. At the same time, two rectangular heat dissipation holes are opened on each of the left and right side walls of the bottom box 3 to ensure normal wiring inside the module box, meet the heat dissipation requirements during operation, and avoid overheating failure.

[0029] The launch box assembly is made of either ABS or carbon fiber composite material. The overall length, width and height can be adjusted according to the size of the UAV inside the box. The overall weight is no more than 15kg. The weight reduction slot 13 consists of multiple evenly distributed rectangular slots, which balances lightweight and structural strength, making it easy for individual soldiers to carry or for vehicle transport.

[0030] In practical applications, the operation process is as follows: First, deploy the launch boxes: Deploy launch boxes according to mission requirements. If it is necessary to launch drones in clusters, multiple launch boxes are spliced ​​together with mounting ribs 4 and mounting slots 5 to form a cluster nest. Connect a unified external power supply and ground station communication link to complete a certain number of deployments. The cluster size can be flexibly adjusted according to the protection range. Next, pre-launch preparations are carried out: the drone is placed into the drone mounting base 9 of the housing 2 along the launch slide 10, and the charging port 901 and self-test port 902 are automatically connected to the drone interface; the charging module 11 is activated to charge the drone battery, while the self-test module 12 reads the drone status information (satellite reception status, battery level, fault codes, etc.) and transmits it back to the remote ground station in real time; after the ground station displays "charging complete" and "no fault", the drone is in the ready-to-launch state; When the UAV is launched: After receiving the interception command, the ground station sends an opening command, the electric actuator 6 extends, and pushes the cover 1 around the hinge 8 to rotate upward to the open position through the connecting actuator 7 to complete the opening without obstructing the UAV's takeoff path; after the UAV starts, it slides forward along the ascent slide 10. The slide 10 limits the left and right deviation of the fuselage to avoid overturning and the propeller colliding with the box. After the UAV successfully flies out of the box, the ground station sends a closing command, the electric actuator 6 retracts, and drives the cover 1 to close, waiting for the next loading and launch mission; Finally, routine operation and maintenance are carried out: After the mission is completed, the recovered drone is put into the launch box, and the charging and self-testing process is repeated to quickly complete the resupply; if internal modules need to be maintained, the connecting bolts between the base box 3 and the box body 2 can be removed to take out the charging module 11 or the self-testing module 12 for maintenance, which is convenient.

[0031] In summary, this utility model features rapid deployment, intelligent management, cluster expansion, lightweight structure, and high reliability, making it suitable for high-frequency, multi-spin-off UAV launch missions. More importantly, through structural optimization and functional integration, this application achieves rapid cluster installation and deployment, intelligent charging self-testing, and a lightweight, highly reliable structure, effectively realizing the technical effects of cluster collaborative adaptation, automated rapid response, integrated operation and maintenance, and structural stability and reliability.

[0032] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that this invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above, and that it can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics of this invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of this invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. Thus, it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of equivalents of the claims be included within this invention.

Claims

1. A drone swarm launcher, characterized in that, The system includes a hollow launch box assembly, which consists of a box body (2), a box cover (1) connected to the top of the box body (2) by a hinge, and a bottom box (3) connected to the bottom of the box body (2). Symmetrical mounting ribs (4) and mounting grooves (5) are provided on the front and rear outer walls of the box body (2), and the mounting ribs (4) and the mounting grooves (5) are compatible with each other. Any adjacent launch box assemblies can form a cluster nest after being connected by the mounting ribs (4) and the mounting grooves (5). The housing (2) is equipped with an electric push rod (6), a connecting push rod (7), a drone mounting base (9), an ascent chute (10), a charging module (11), and a self-testing module (12). The electric push rod (6) is mounted upright on the inner wall of the housing (2) by a bracket, and its output end is hinged to the connecting push rod (7). The end of the connecting push rod (7) away from the electric push rod (6) is hinged to the housing cover (1). The electric push rod (6) drives the housing cover (1) to rotate around the hinge through the connecting push rod (7) to realize the opening and closing of the housing cover (1). The drone mounting base (9) is installed at the center of the bottom of the box (2), and its lower part is hollowed out and has a drone charging port (901) and a self-test port (902); the lifting slide (10) is an arc-shaped vertical installation around the drone mounting base (9) and extends along the height direction of the box (2) to the top opening of the box (2) to limit the drone; A weight-reducing groove (13) is provided along the inner wall of the box (2), and a cross-shaped reinforcing rib (8) is provided at the bottom of the bottom box (3). The charging module (11) and the self-testing module (12) are symmetrically arranged inside the reinforcing rib (8).

2. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The charging module (11) is located inside the base box (3), and one end is electrically connected to the charging port (901) of the drone mounting base (9), while the other end is detachably connected to an external input power supply. The charging module (11) includes a voltage conversion unit, an overload protection unit, and a charging management unit.

3. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The self-test module (12) is located inside the bottom box (3), and one end is connected to the self-test port (902) of the UAV mounting base (9) via a data cable. The other end communicates with the remote ground station via at least one wired or wireless method. The self-test module (12) includes a data reading unit, a signal processing unit and a communication unit.

4. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The charging port (901) and self-test port (902) are both quick-connect interfaces, and are respectively adapted to the charging interface and data interface of the drone.

5. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lift-up chute (10) is arranged symmetrically around the UAV mounting base (9) in pairs. The chute wall of the lift-up chute (10) is provided with wear-resistant pads. The width of the lift-up chute (10) is adapted to the width of the UAV body and the distance between the arms.

6. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mounting rib (4) is a long strip T-shaped protrusion structure, and the mounting groove (5) is a long strip groove that matches the cross section of the mounting rib (4). Both the mounting rib (4) and the mounting groove (5) are integrally formed with the box body (2).

7. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The electric push rod (6) is located on the central axis of the box (2), and the extension stroke of the electric push rod (6) is adapted to the opening and closing angle of the connecting push rod (7) and the box cover (1).

8. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, The launch box assembly is made of either ABS or carbon fiber composite material, and the weight reduction groove (13) consists of multiple uniformly distributed rectangular grooves.

9. The UAV swarm launcher according to claim 1, characterized in that, A sealing strip is provided at the junction of the lower surface of the cover (1) and the box body (2), and a cable outlet hole corresponding to the position of the charging module (11) and the self-test module (12) is provided on the rear wall of the bottom box (3).

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