Flying object

Abstract

To provide a flying object which can perform stable flight while keeping a center of gravity of the flying object low by suppressing excessive movements of a solution in a liquid tank.SOLUTION: A flying object 1 includes a body part 10, a wing part 20 attached to the body part 10, and a liquid tank 200 which is provided below the body part 10, houses a solution in the inside, and can discharge the housed solution from a discharge port 205. The inside of the liquid tank 200 is divided into a plurality of small chambers 201 by a plurality of partitioning plates 202. In the partitioning plate 202, a through hole 203 communicating two adjacent chambers 201 separated by the partitioning plate 202 is provided. The plurality of the partitioning plates 202 are arranged side by side in a vertical direction in the liquid tank 200, and in a plane view from an upper part of the liquid tank 200, each of the through holes 203 is provided in a position separated from a position of the through hole 203 of the partitioning plate 202 adjacent to the corresponding partitioning plate 202.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an aircraft equipped with a liquid tank for containing a liquid agent. [Background technology]

[0002] Many flying objects such as unmanned helicopters and drones are equipped with liquid tanks that store liquid agents. For example, some are equipped with a device that sprays liquid agents (see, for example, Patent Document 1), and some are equipped with a fuel tank that stores fuel for the flying object. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2019-170249 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In such an aircraft equipped with a liquid tank, the liquid agent in the liquid tank decreases as the liquid agent is sprayed or fuel is consumed, resulting in an empty space in the upper part of the liquid tank. If the aircraft tilts during flight in such a state, the liquid agent in the liquid tank may become biased, and the center of gravity of the entire aircraft may shift. For example, the center of gravity may become higher, which may deteriorate the stability of the aircraft during flight. In particular, if the aircraft tilts suddenly, the liquid agent in the liquid tank may become biased with force, and the stability of the aircraft during flight may further deteriorate due to the influence of inertia.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve such problems, and aims to provide an aircraft capable of stable flight by suppressing excessive movement of the liquid within the liquid tank, thereby lowering the aircraft's center of gravity. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, an aircraft A main body portion, A wing portion attached to the main body portion; a liquid tank provided inside or below the main body, configured to accommodate a liquid agent therein and to be capable of discharging the accommodated liquid agent from an outlet; Equipped with The inside of the liquid tank is divided into a plurality of small chambers by a plurality of partition plates, Each of the plurality of partition plates has a through hole communicating two adjacent small chambers separated by the partition plate, which is an aircraft.

[0007] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an aircraft A main body portion, A wing portion attached to the main body portion; A liquid tank provided inside or below the main body, configured to accommodate a liquid agent therein and to be capable of discharging the accommodated liquid agent; Equipped with The liquid tank includes: A plurality of flat liquid tanks stacked vertically; A plurality of communication pipes each connecting two of the flat liquid tanks adjacent to each other in the vertical direction; a discharge port provided on a side or bottom surface of the flat liquid tank at the lowest position in the vertical direction; It is an aircraft equipped with the following. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, by suppressing excessive movement of the liquid agent in the liquid tank, it is possible to provide an aircraft capable of keeping the center of gravity of the aircraft low and achieving stable flight. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an aircraft according to the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] 4 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid tank provided in the aircraft of the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid tank provided in an aircraft according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid tank provided in an aircraft according to a third embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] (Embodiment 1) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the invention according to the claims is not limited to the following embodiment. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the embodiment are necessarily essential as means for solving the problem. For clarity of explanation, the following description and drawings are omitted and simplified as appropriate. In each drawing, the same elements are given the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations are omitted as necessary.

[0011] <Aircraft configuration> First, the configuration of the aircraft according to the present embodiment will be briefly described. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram (perspective view) showing the overall configuration of the aircraft 1 according to the present embodiment. The configuration of the aircraft 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1.

[0012] As shown in Fig. 1, the aircraft 1 of this embodiment is a drone (multicopter) that is an unmanned aerial vehicle. The aircraft 1 includes a main body 10 disposed at approximately the center thereof, a plurality of arms 21 (six in this embodiment) extending horizontally at approximately the same angle from the upper portion of the main body 10, a plurality of wing portions (rotor blades) 20 (six in this embodiment) provided at approximately the tip of each arm 21, a liquid tank 100 provided at the lower portion of the main body 10, and a plurality of legs 30 (two in this embodiment) extending downward from the main body 10 to hold (grasp) the liquid tank 100. In this example, the two legs 30 hold the liquid tank 100 from its two side surfaces.

[0013] The liquid tank 100 is configured to store a liquid (in this embodiment, a liquid agent) therein and to be able to discharge the stored liquid agent. In this example, the liquid tank 100 is a tank that stores a chemical such as an agricultural chemical, and has a generally hexagonal shape when viewed from the front. The aircraft 1 is for spraying the chemical agent (spraying liquid) in the liquid tank 100 in the air. However, the aircraft 1 is not limited to a drone as shown in FIG. 1, and may be an unmanned helicopter having one wing, a propeller plane having wing portions on both wings, or the like.

[0014] In this example, the wing portion 20 is attached above the main body portion 10, but it may be attached to the side of the main body portion 10 like a propeller plane. Also, the wing portion 20 may be attached directly to the main body portion 10 without using the arm 21. Furthermore, the liquid tank 100 may be provided inside the main body portion 10 instead of being provided below the main body portion 10.

[0015] Here, the liquid agent contained in the liquid tank 100 is not limited to a drug. For example, if the aircraft 1 is equipped with an internal combustion engine driven by liquid fuel, the liquid tank 100 may be a fuel tank that supplies liquid fuel to the internal combustion engine.

[0016] <Tank configuration> Next, the configuration of the liquid tank 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid tank 100 provided in the aircraft 1 according to the first embodiment. The liquid tank 100 has a structure in which multiple (six in this embodiment) flat liquid tanks 101 are stacked vertically. Each flat liquid tank 101 has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape with a low height relative to the area of ​​its main surface. For ease of explanation, the flat liquid tanks 101 will be referred to as flat liquid tanks 101A to 101F from the top downward in the vertical direction.

[0017] 2, the liquid tank 100 of this embodiment includes six flat liquid tanks 101A-101F stacked vertically, a plurality of communication pipes 102 connecting each of two vertically adjacent flat liquid tanks 101A-101F, a liquid supply port 103 provided on the top surface of the flat liquid tank 101A that is the topmost in the vertical direction, and a discharge port 104 provided on the side surface of the flat liquid tank 101F that is the bottommost in the vertical direction. Note that the discharge port 104 may be provided on the bottom surface of the flat liquid tank 101F.

[0018] Here, the communicating pipes 102 are arranged alternately on two side surfaces of the liquid tank 100, for example, so that the two flat liquid tanks 101A, 101B communicate with each other on the left side of Fig. 2, and the two flat liquid tanks 101B, 101C communicate with each other on the right side of Fig. 2. In this way, by arranging the multiple communicating pipes 102 alternately on the two side surfaces, the multiple flat liquid tanks 101A to 101F are connected in series.

[0019] When the liquid is injected into the liquid tank 100, the liquid is filled from the lowest flat liquid tank 101F, and when the injection of the liquid is completed, a gas-liquid interface 105 between the air and the liquid is formed only in one of the flat liquid tanks 101. In the example of Fig. 2, the gas-liquid interface 105 is formed in the third flat liquid tank 101C from the top.

[0020] Thereafter, when the flying object 1 sprays the liquid agent during flight, the liquid agent is consumed starting from the liquid agent in the lowest flat liquid tank 101F. The gas-liquid interface 105 gradually drops in the flat liquid tank 101C, and moves to the next lower flat liquid tank 101D.

[0021] Here, in the state shown in FIG. 2, for example, when the flying object 1 is tilted so that the right side of the liquid tank 100 is lowered, the gas-liquid interface 105 is also tilted accordingly to maintain the vertical direction. However, since the free space in the flat liquid tank 101C where the gas-liquid interface 105 is formed is small, and the two adjacent flat liquid tanks 101C and 101B, and 101C and 101D are communicated by the communication pipe 102, a part of the gas-liquid interface 105 is hardly formed in the adjacent flat liquid tank 101B or 101D unless the flying object 1 is tilted at a considerable angle. In addition, even if the flying object 1 is suddenly tilted, the liquid agent in the liquid tank 100 does not move vigorously. Therefore, even if the flying object 1 is tilted, the remaining liquid agent does not move suddenly, and the center of gravity of the flying object 1 can be stabilized low. As a result, the flying object 1 of this embodiment can fly stably.

[0022] It should be noted that even if the aircraft 1 is tilted so that the left side of the liquid tank 100 is lowered, the inside of the liquid tank 100 will be in a similar state, with the left and right reversed, to that described above. Therefore, the aircraft 1 of this embodiment can achieve the same effects and advantages as those described above, regardless of the direction of tilt.

[0023] As described above, the flying object 1 according to this embodiment includes the main body 10, the wing 20 attached to the main body 10, and the liquid tank 100 that is provided at the bottom of the main body 10, contains a liquid agent therein, and is configured to be able to discharge the contained liquid agent from the outlet 104. Here, the liquid tank 100 is configured to include a plurality of flat liquid tanks 101A-101F stacked vertically, a plurality of communication pipes 102 that communicate each of the two flat liquid tanks 101A-101F adjacent to each other in the vertical direction in the plurality of flat liquid tanks 101A-101F, and an outlet 104 provided on the side of the flat liquid tank 101F that is at the bottom in the vertical direction. By configuring the liquid tank 100 of the flying object 1 in this way, even if the flying object 1 tilts, excessive movement of the liquid agent in the liquid tank 100 can be suppressed, and the flying object 1 can maintain its center of gravity low and fly stably.

[0024] Although not shown in the drawings, as a modified example, the liquid tank 100 may have a structure in which a plurality of flat liquid tanks 101 are stacked horizontally, i.e., stacked vertically. In this case, a liquid supply port 103 may be provided at the top of one of the flat liquid tanks 101 (for example, the rightmost flat liquid tank 101), and a plurality of communication pipes 102 that communicate with each of two adjacent flat liquid tanks 101 may be provided on the bottom surfaces of the plurality of flat liquid tanks 101. Then, a discharge port 104 may be provided on the bottom or side surface of a flat liquid tank 101 (for example, the leftmost flat liquid tank 101) other than the flat liquid tank 101 in which the liquid supply port 103 is provided.

[0025] Here, in this modification, a gas-liquid interface 105 between the air and the liquid agent is formed in each flat liquid tank 101. Compared to the liquid tank 100 according to the first embodiment, the free space in each flat liquid tank 101 is larger. However, depending on the airtightness of the liquid tank 100, the air pressure in each flat liquid tank 101 is maintained by the gas-liquid interface 105 formed in each flat tank 101, and the multiple communication pipes 102 are concentrated in the lower part of the liquid tank 100, which is equal to or lower than the outlet 104. As a result, even in the liquid tank 100 of the modification, the liquid agent in the liquid tank 100 does not move forcefully even if the aircraft 1 is suddenly tilted. Therefore, even if the liquid tank 100 of the aircraft 1 is configured as in the modification, the same effect as above can be achieved.

[0026] (Embodiment 2) Next, a description will be given of the liquid tank of the aircraft according to embodiment 2. Note that since the overall configuration of the aircraft is similar to that of embodiment 1, the description thereof will be omitted although reference numerals will be used.

[0027] <Tank configuration> The configuration of the liquid tank 200 will be described below with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid tank 200 provided in the aircraft 1 according to the embodiment 2. The liquid tank 200 has a structure in which the inside is divided into a plurality of small chambers (liquid tank small chambers) 201 by a plurality of partition plates 202.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3 , the liquid tank 200 of this embodiment comprises a plurality of partition plates 202 arranged in a vertical line within the liquid tank 200, a plurality of small chambers 201 divided by the plurality of partition plates 202, a plurality of through holes 203 provided in each of the plurality of partition plates 202, a liquid supply port 204 provided on the top surface of the liquid tank 200, and a discharge port 205 provided on the bottom surface of the liquid tank 200.

[0029] The outlet 205 may be provided on a side surface of the liquid tank 200, more specifically, on a side surface of the small chamber 201 located at the bottom in the vertical direction. In this case, the outlet 205 is preferably provided at a position as far away as possible from the through hole 203 provided in the partition plate 202 that divides the two small chambers 201 at the bottom in a plan view from above the liquid tank 200. This makes it possible to prevent the liquid agent from suddenly moving within the bottommost chamber 201 and the second small chamber 201 from the bottommost chamber.

[0030] Here, the liquid supply port 204 is provided on the left side in Fig. 3. In contrast, in the uppermost partition plate 202, the through hole 203 is provided on the right side in Fig. 3, and in the next partition plate 202, the through hole 203 is provided on the left side in Fig. 3. In this manner, each of the multiple through holes 203 is configured to be provided at a position away from the position of the through hole 203 of the partition plate 202 adjacent to the corresponding partition plate 202 in a plan view from above the liquid tank 200. Then, by arranging the multiple partition plates 202 and the corresponding through holes 203 alternately in a plan view, the multiple small chambers 201 are connected in a pseudo-series manner.

[0031] When the liquid is injected into the liquid tank 200, the liquid is filled from the lowest small chamber 201, and when the injection of the liquid is completed, a gas-liquid interface 206 between the air and the liquid is formed only in one of the small chambers 201. In the example of Fig. 3, the gas-liquid interface 206 is formed in the fourth small chamber 201 from the bottom.

[0032] Thereafter, when the flying object 1 sprays the liquid agent during flight, the liquid agent is consumed starting from the one in the bottom small chamber 201. The gas-liquid interface 206 gradually drops within the currently existing small chamber 201, and moves to the small chamber 201 one level below.

[0033] Here, in the state shown in FIG. 3, for example, when the flying object 1 is tilted so that the right side of the liquid tank 200 is lowered, the gas-liquid interface 206 is also tilted accordingly to maintain the vertical direction. However, since the free space in the small chamber 201 in which the gas-liquid interface 206 is formed is small, and the two adjacent small chambers 201, one above the other, are connected by the through hole 203, a part of the gas-liquid interface 206 will not be formed in the adjacent small chamber 201 unless the flying object 1 is tilted at a considerable angle. In addition, even if the flying object 1 is suddenly tilted, the liquid agent in the liquid tank 200 will not move between the small chambers 201 with force. Therefore, even if the flying object 1 is tilted, the remaining liquid agent will not move suddenly, and the center of gravity of the flying object 1 can be stabilized low. As a result, the flying object 1 of this embodiment can fly stably.

[0034] It should be noted that even if the aircraft 1 is tilted so that the left side of the liquid tank 200 is lowered, the inside of the liquid tank 200 will be in a similar state, with the left and right reversed, to that described above. Therefore, the aircraft 1 of this embodiment can achieve the same effects and advantages as those described above, regardless of the direction of tilt.

[0035] As described above, the flying object 1 according to this embodiment includes the main body 10, the wing 20 attached to the main body 10, and the liquid tank 200 that is provided at the bottom of the main body 10 and is configured to accommodate a liquid agent therein and to be able to discharge the accommodated liquid agent from the discharge port 205. Here, the inside of the liquid tank 200 is divided into a plurality of small chambers 201 by a plurality of partition plates 202 arranged so as to be aligned vertically within the liquid tank 200, and each of the plurality of partition plates 202 is configured to have a through hole 203 that communicates two adjacent small chambers 201 separated by the corresponding partition plate 202. Furthermore, each of the plurality of through holes 203 is configured to be provided at a position away from the position of the through hole 203 of the partition plate 202 adjacent to the corresponding partition plate 202 in a plan view from above the liquid tank 200. By configuring the liquid tank 200 of the aircraft 1 in this manner, excessive movement of the liquid agent in the liquid tank 200 can be suppressed, and the aircraft 1 can maintain its center of gravity low and fly stably.

[0036] (Embodiment 3) Next, a description will be given of the liquid tank of the flying object according to embodiment 3. Note that since the overall configuration of the flying object is similar to that of embodiment 1, the description thereof will be omitted although reference numerals will be used.

[0037] <Tank configuration> The configuration of the liquid tank 300 will be described below with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid tank 300 provided in the aircraft 1 according to the third embodiment. The liquid tank 300 has a structure in which the inside is divided into a plurality of small chambers (liquid tank small chambers) 301 by a plurality of partition plates 302.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 4 , the liquid tank 300 of this embodiment comprises a plurality of partition plates 302 arranged in a horizontal row within the liquid tank 300, a plurality of small chambers 301 divided by the plurality of partition plates 302, a plurality of through holes 303 provided in each of the plurality of partition plates 302, a liquid supply port 304 provided on the top surface of the liquid tank 300, and a discharge port 305 provided on the side of the liquid tank 300.

[0039] Here, each of the multiple through holes 303 is provided as far down as possible in the vertical direction of the corresponding partition plate 302, that is, near the bottom surface of the liquid tank 300. By configuring the partition plate 302 and the through holes 303 in this way, the movement of the liquid between the small chambers 301 is performed via the through holes 303, and the movement speed is suppressed by the viscous resistance of the liquid, etc.

[0040] 4, the liquid supply port 304 is provided at the top of the small chamber 301 formed by the side surface of the liquid tank 300 and the partition plate 302 adjacent to the side surface in the direction in which the partition plates 302 are arranged. The discharge port 305 is provided on the side surface of the small chamber 301 (i.e., the side surface of the liquid tank 300) that is as far away as possible from the small chamber 301 in which the liquid supply port 304 is provided. The discharge port 305 may be provided on the bottom surface of the small chamber 301 (i.e., the bottom surface of the liquid tank 300).

[0041] When the liquid agent is injected into the liquid tank 300, the liquid agent is injected into the small chamber 301 provided with the liquid supply port 304, and when the height of the liquid agent in the liquid tank 300 exceeds the position of the through hole 303, the liquid agent flows into the adjacent small chamber 301. When the injection of the liquid agent is completed, a gas-liquid interface 306 between the air and the liquid agent is formed in all the small chambers 301. When the aircraft 1 is in a stable state, the gas-liquid interface 306 has a substantially equal height in all the small chambers 301 so that the air pressure in the empty space at the upper part of the liquid tank 300 is substantially the same. Compared to the liquid tank 200 according to the second embodiment, the area of ​​the gas-liquid interface 306 in each small chamber 301 is small, but the empty space may be large.

[0042] Thereafter, when the flying object 1 sprays the liquid agent during flight, the liquid agent is discharged from the small chamber 301 having the discharge port 305, and the liquid agent moves between the small chambers 301 so that the gas-liquid interface 306 is at approximately the same height.

[0043] Here, in the state shown in FIG. 4, for example, if the aircraft 1 is tilted so that the right side of the liquid tank 300 is lowered, the gas-liquid interface 306 in each small chamber 301 is also tilted accordingly to maintain the vertical direction. However, since the airtightness in the liquid tank 300 is high and the air pressure in each small chamber 301 is approximately the same, the liquid agent in the liquid tank 300 does not move forcefully. Therefore, even if the aircraft 1 is tilted, the remaining liquid agent does not move suddenly, and the center of gravity of the aircraft 1 can be stabilized low. This allows the aircraft 1 of this embodiment to fly stably.

[0044] It should be noted that even if the aircraft 1 is tilted so that the left side of the liquid tank 300 is lowered, the inside of the liquid tank 300 will be in a similar state to that described above, with the left and right reversed. Therefore, the aircraft 1 of this embodiment can achieve the same effects and advantages, regardless of the direction of the tilt.

[0045] As described above, the flying object 1 according to this embodiment includes the main body 10, the wing 20 attached to the main body 10, and the liquid tank 300 that is provided at the bottom of the main body 10, contains a liquid agent therein, and is configured to be able to discharge the contained liquid agent from the discharge port 305. Here, the inside of the liquid tank 300 is divided into a plurality of small chambers 301 by a plurality of partition plates 302 arranged so as to be aligned horizontally within the liquid tank 300, and each of the plurality of partition plates 302 is configured to have a through hole 303 that communicates two adjacent small chambers 301 separated by the corresponding partition plate 302. Furthermore, each of the plurality of through holes 303 is configured to be provided near the bottom surface of the liquid tank 300. By configuring the liquid tank 300 of the flying object 1 in this manner, excessive movement of the liquid agent in the liquid tank 300 can be suppressed, and the flying object 1 can maintain its center of gravity low and fly stably.

[0046] It is desirable to make the height of the flat liquid tanks 101A-101F in the first embodiment and the distance between adjacent partitions 202, 302 in the second and third embodiments as small as possible within the limits permitted by the shape of the main body 10 of the aircraft 1, the shapes and rigidity of the liquid tanks 100, 200, and 300, and their manufacturing costs. By configuring in this way, the effects of the present disclosure can be further enhanced.

[0047] Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0048] The cross-sectional shape of the liquid tanks 100, 200, and 300 shown in Figures 2 to 4 when viewed from the front is hexagonal to match the appearance in Figure 1, but the cross-sectional shape is not limited to this. For example, the cross-sectional shape may be a horizontally long oval or a rectangle with rounded or sharp corners. Even if the liquid tanks 100, 200, and 300 have such a configuration, the same actions and effects as those described above can be achieved. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 1. Aircraft (drones) 10 Main body 20 Wings 21 Arm 30 Legs 100, 200, 300 Liquid Tank 101 Flat Liquid Tank 201, 301 (liquid tank) small rooms 102 Communication pipe 202, 302 Partition plate 203, 303 Through hole 103, 204, 304 Liquid supply port 104, 205, 305 outlet 105, 206, 306 Air-liquid interface

Claims

1. A main body portion, A wing portion attached to the main body portion; a liquid tank provided inside or below the main body, configured to accommodate a liquid agent therein and to be capable of discharging the accommodated liquid agent from an outlet; Equipped with The inside of the liquid tank is divided into a plurality of small chambers by a plurality of partition plates, Each of the plurality of partition plates is provided with a through hole that communicates two adjacent small chambers separated by the partition plate. Flying vehicle.

2. The plurality of partition plates are arranged in the liquid tank so as to be aligned in a vertical direction, each of the plurality of through holes is provided at a position away from a position of a through hole of the partition plate adjacent to the corresponding partition plate in a plan view from above the liquid tank; The flying vehicle according to claim 1.

3. The plurality of partition plates are arranged in the liquid tank so as to be aligned in a horizontal direction, Each of the plurality of through holes is provided near a bottom surface of the liquid tank. The flying vehicle according to claim 1.

4. A main body portion, A wing portion attached to the main body portion; A liquid tank provided inside or below the main body, configured to accommodate a liquid agent therein and to be capable of discharging the accommodated liquid agent; Equipped with The liquid tank includes: A plurality of flat liquid tanks stacked vertically; A plurality of communication pipes each connecting two of the flat liquid tanks adjacent to each other in a vertical direction in the plurality of flat liquid tanks; a discharge port provided on a side or bottom surface of the flat liquid tank at the lowest position in the vertical direction; An aircraft equipped with

5. The liquid tank is configured to contain fuel or a spray liquid for the vehicle.

5. An aircraft as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4.

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