Non-contact type charge system for on-water navigation body

Abstract

To provide a non-contact type charge system for an on-water navigation body capable of improving charge efficiency without complicating a circuit configuration even in a small-sized and lightweight on-water navigation body such as an on-water drone and also capable of sufficiently meeting a social requirement of a marine guard, etc., for long-time operation.SOLUTION: A non-contact type charge system 2 for an on-water navigation body comprises: an on-water drone 4 including a water jet propeller; and a floating structure 6 which is positioned in a landing bridge 12 so as to be vertically movable in response to a change of a tidal level. An inclined landing part 6c-1 which is used also as position fixing means is formed in the floating structure 6, and a power feeding coil 22 of a power supply device 8 is disposed in the landing part 6c-1. Upon landing on the landing part 6c-1 after controlled navigation toward the floating structure 6, the on-water drone 4 is positionally fixed by frictional force, and subjected to non-contact charging, with a power receiving coil 26 of a charge device disposed on a bottom face of a distal end portion of the on-water drone 4 facing the power feeding coil 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a non-contact charging system for a marine vehicle. [Background technology]

[0002] Labor shortages due to a declining birthrate and aging population are urgent social issues, and the use of drones, which contribute to reducing manpower and automating operations, is an effective way to solve this problem. In the field of aerial drones, demonstration experiments are being conducted widely as a means of transporting goods, and their use is also progressing.

[0003] Similarly, development and spread is expected in the field of water-based drones (including the concepts of sea and ocean). They are expected to be used in situations where manned water vehicles such as motorboats have been difficult to operate for long periods of time due to labor costs and safety issues, such as maritime security, measures against illegal fishing and suspicious ships, and nighttime sea rescue. The range of uses for water-based drones is particularly vast in the Japanese archipelago, which is surrounded by sea on all sides.

[0004] In order to prevent global warming, there is a rapid shift to EVs in land mobility, and the trend is also toward electrification of power sources at sea. Charging is necessary for long-term operation, but charging with a wired cable is not practical because the charging cable becomes covered in seawater and corrodes, and it is very dangerous if it leaks electricity, and replacing heavy batteries is also not realistic. Therefore, contactless charging technology at sea is an important technology in terms of long-term operation and safety.

[0005] Fig. 18 (embodiment 5) of Patent Document 1 discloses a contactless power transmission system for charging a boat tied to a quay. This system is an electric field and magnetic field resonance type system that, in order to address the problem that the electromagnetic induction type has a simple circuit configuration but a short power transmission distance, forms a power receiving space between the power transmitting coil and the auxiliary coil facing it, and places the power receiving coil provided on the dock side in this power receiving space, making it possible to transmit power even if the boat rocks, i.e., there is a fluctuation such as the movement or rotation of the power receiving coil. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-188002 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The contactless power transfer system described in Patent Document 1 is designed to prevent a decrease in power transfer efficiency caused by the boat's rocking due to waves and changes in the tide level, but it employs an electrical measure to create a power receiving space, which inevitably results in a complex circuit configuration.

[0008] Compared to ordinary boats, water drones used for maritime security and the like require high maneuverability and are therefore small and lightweight (for example, about 60 kg). For this reason, they are highly susceptible to the effects of changes in waves and tides, and are highly likely to deviate from the power receiving space in the configuration described in Patent Document 1.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned points, and its purpose is to provide a non-contact charging system for a surface vehicle that can improve charging efficiency without complicating the circuit configuration, even in small and lightweight surface vehicles such as surface drones, and can fully meet social demands such as maritime security requiring long-term operation. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the non-contact charging system (2) for a surface vehicle of the present invention is characterized by comprising a surface vehicle (4), a floating structure (6) for temporarily anchoring the surface vehicle (4), a power supply member (22) provided on the floating structure (6) for supplying electric power, a charging device (10) provided on the surface vehicle (4) for contactlessly receiving electric power supplied from the power supply member (22), a control unit (58) provided on the surface vehicle (4) for controlling the drive of the surface vehicle (4) based on position information of the floating structure (6) and position information of the surface vehicle (4) to position it at a predetermined charging position on the floating structure (6), and a position fixing means (6c-1) for fixing the surface vehicle (4) positioned at the charging position to the floating structure (6) during charging.

[0011] According to the non-contact charging system for a surface vehicle of the present invention, charging is performed while the surface vehicle is fixed in position at a predetermined charging position on the floating structure, so that charging efficiency can be improved even in small and lightweight surface vehicles such as surface drones without complicating the circuit configuration.

[0012] In the non-contact charging system (2) for the surface vehicle, the floating structure (6) may have a beaching portion (6c-1) on which at least a part of the surface vehicle (4) beaches, and the beaching portion (6c-1) may also function as a position fixing means. In this way, the position of the surface vehicle is fixed simply by beaching it, so that the structure of the position fixing means can be simplified.

[0013] In the non-contact charging system (3) for the surface vehicle, the floating structure (5) may have a run-up section (5c) on which at least a part of the surface vehicle (4) runs, and the position fixing means (11) may hold the surface vehicle (4) that has run up on the run-up section (5c) by elastic force and / or friction force. This allows the surface vehicle to be reliably fixed in position during charging, thereby improving the accuracy of charging efficiency.

[0014] In the non-contact charging system (62) for the surface vehicle, the position fixing means (75) may be configured to fix the position by magnetic force, which makes it extremely easy to control the approaching and leaving of the surface vehicle for charging the floating structure.

[0015] In the non-contact charging system (62) for the surface vehicle, the position fixing means (75) may be configured to include an electromagnet (72) provided on the floating structure (64) and an attractable portion (76) provided on the surface vehicle (74) and attracted by magnetic force to the electromagnet (72). This makes it extremely easy to control the approaching and leaving of the surface vehicle for charging the floating structure.

[0016] In the non-contact charging system (62) for the watercraft, the control unit (58) may have a function of controlling the on / off of the current to the electromagnet (72) and may turn off the current to the electromagnet (72) after charging is completed. This can prevent unnecessary charging time from occurring.

[0017] In the non-contact charging system (2, 62) for the above-mentioned surface vehicle, the floating structure (6, 64) and the surface vehicle (4, 74) may each have a receiver (48) compatible with GNSS satellite signals, and the control unit (58) may have an RTK-GNSS positioning function that estimates the positions of the floating structure (6, 64) and the surface vehicle (4, 74) by RTK-GNSS positioning. This allows positioning to the charging position with an error level of several centimeters, and stable charging efficiency can be obtained.

[0018] In addition, in the non-contact charging system (2, 62) for the above-mentioned surface vehicle, the surface vehicle may be a surface drone (4, 74). This can fully meet social demands such as maritime security through long-term operation.

[0019] In addition, in the non-contact charging system (2, 62) for the above-mentioned surface vehicle, the main power source of the surface drone (4, 74) may be the sail unit and / or the electric motor (42). This allows the main power source to be selected according to the usage environment and purpose of the surface drone (4, 74), and allows for more efficient use of electricity. Effect of the Invention

[0020] According to the present invention, charging efficiency can be improved without complicating the circuit configuration even in small and lightweight water vehicles such as water drones, and social demands such as maritime security requiring long-term operation can be fully met. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic plan view of a non-contact charging system for a watercraft according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line X1-X1 of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 shows the water drone shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a schematic diagram from a side view, and (b) is a schematic plan view. [Figure 4] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the control configuration of the non-contact charging system for the surface vehicle shown in FIG. 1, where (a) is a block diagram showing the control configuration for the floating structure, and (b) is a block diagram showing the control configuration for the surface drone. [Diagram 5] This is a schematic cross-sectional view of the floating structure taken along line X2 in Figure 1, where (a) shows the state before the surface drone is beached, and (b) shows the state when the surface drone has beached itself at the designated charging position. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a floating structure in a non-contact charging system for a watercraft according to a second embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line X3-X3 in FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a schematic plan view in the state shown in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is a schematic side view showing a portion of a non-contact charging system for a watercraft according to a third embodiment. [Figure 10] 10 is a plan view, partially in cross section, of a floating structure in the non-contact charging system for the watercraft shown in FIG. 9. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 shows a water drone in the non-contact charging system for the water vehicle shown in FIG. 9, where (a) is a schematic configuration diagram from a side view and (b) is a schematic plan view. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams showing the control configuration of the non-contact charging system for the surface vehicle shown in FIG. 9, where (a) is a block diagram showing the control configuration for the floating structure, and (b) is a block diagram showing the control configuration for the surface drone. [Figure 13] This is an overview plan view showing the positioning operation of the surface drone during charging in the non-contact charging system of the surface vehicle shown in Figure 9, where (a) is a diagram showing the state in which the surface drone is approaching the floating structure, and (b) is a diagram showing the state in which the surface drone is magnetically fixed in position at the charging position of the floating structure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0023] [First embodiment] The first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 5. As shown in Fig. 1, the non-contact charging system 2 for the water vehicle according to this embodiment includes a water drone 4 as the water vehicle, a floating structure 6 for temporarily holding the water drone 4, a power supply coil 22 provided on the floating structure 6 as a power supply member for supplying power, a charging device 10 provided on the water drone 4 for contactlessly receiving power supply from the power supply coil 22 (see Fig. 3(a)), a control unit 58 provided on the water drone 4 for controlling the driving of the water drone 4 based on position information of the floating structure 6 and position information of the water drone 4 to position the water drone 4 at a predetermined charging position on the floating structure 6 (see Fig. 4(b)), and an inclined riding part 6c-1 as a position fixing means for fixing the water drone 4 positioned at the charging position to the floating structure 6 during charging.

[0024] The floating structure 6 is fixed to a pier 12, which is an immovable structure. As shown in Fig. 2, two U-shaped mooring hooks 14 are fixed to the pier 12 at a distance in the longitudinal direction of the pier 12, and the free ends of each mooring hook 14 penetrate one end of the floating structure 6 (left side in the figure), allowing the floating structure 6 to slide (move) up and down (in the direction of arrow D), which is the depth direction of the water surface. This allows the floating structure 6 to move up and down in response to changes in the tide level while its orientation is positioned. The movement range H of the floating structure 6 is large enough to accommodate the maximum displacement during high and low tides.

[0025] The floating structure 6 has a U-shaped cross section with vertical walls 6a and 6b on both sides, and the free end side of each mooring hook 14 penetrates the vertical wall 6a. A gently sloping landing section 6c-1 is formed on the front side of the bottom surface 6c of the floating structure 6 where the water drone 4 enters, and guide surfaces 6a-1 and 6b-1 that curve outward are formed at the front ends of the vertical walls 6a and 6b in the landing section 6c-1 to facilitate the entry and guidance of the water drone 4 (see FIG. 1). A power supply coil 22 as a power supply member is arranged on the inclined landing section 6c-1, which is a waterproof structure, in a state of being slightly buried from the surface (see FIG. 5(a)). In FIG. 2, reference numeral 16 denotes a support supporting the pier 12, and WL denotes the water surface. The floating structure 6 can also be called a "floating pier".

[0026] A power supply device 8 is installed on the pier 12. The power supply device 8 includes a commercial power source 18, a converter 20 connected to the commercial power source 18, and a power supply coil 22 arranged on the beached portion 6c-1 of the floating structure 6, and the converter 20 and the power supply coil 22 are connected by a power supply cable 24, part of which is submerged below the water surface. The converter 20 is a device that converts AC power supplied by the commercial power source 18 into AC power suitable for the power supply coil 22.

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, the charging device 10 includes a receiving coil 26 arranged inside the underside of the tip of the surface drone 4, a battery 28, and a conversion device 30 that converts the AC power received by the receiving coil 26 into AC power compatible with the battery 28, all of which are electrically connected.

[0028] The water drone 4 is equipped with two water jet propellers 32 and four thrusters 34 as shown in FIG. 3(b). In FIG. 3(a), reference numeral 36 denotes an inlet duct, 38 denotes an impeller, 40 denotes an impeller drive shaft, 42 denotes an electric motor as a main drive source that receives power from the battery 28 and drives the impeller drive shaft 40 to rotate, 44 denotes a nozzle, and 46 denotes a transmitting / receiving antenna. In addition, reference numeral 34W in FIG. 3(b) denotes the water flow direction of the thruster 34. The water jet propeller 32's reverser (not shown) allows the water drone 4 to move forward, in neutral, and backward. In addition, the water drone 4 can be turned left and right by a deflector (not shown), and the direction can be finely adjusted by each thruster 34. FIG. 3(a) is not shown in cross section in order to make the arrangement of the charging device 10 and the like easier to understand.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 4(a), the floating structure 6 includes a GNSS receiver 48 that is a receiver compatible with GNSS satellite signals, a floating structure information transmitter 50 for transmitting position information of the floating structure 6, and a control unit 52 that transmits the position information of the floating structure 6 received by the GNSS receiver 48 to the surface drone 4 via the floating structure information transmitter 50. The control unit 52 is a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, an I / O interface, etc.

[0030] The term "GNSS" used here refers to the Global Navigation Satellite System. In this embodiment, the GNSS may be any one of the satellite positioning systems such as the US GPS, the Japanese QZSS, the Russian GLONASS, and the European Union Galileo, or may be a combination of two or more of these satellite positioning systems.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4(b), the surface drone 4 includes a GNSS receiver 54 that is a receiver compatible with GNSS satellite signals, a floating structure information receiver 56 that receives position information from the floating structure 6, a control unit 58, and a geomagnetic sensor 60. The control unit 58 controls the driving of the surface drone 4, i.e., the driving of the water jet propeller 32, based on the received position information of the floating structure 6, the position information of the surface drone 4 received by the GNSS receiver 56, and the orientation information of the surface drone 4 by the geomagnetic sensor 60, to control the positioning of the surface drone 4 at a predetermined charging position of the floating structure 6. The control unit 58 is a microcomputer equipped with a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, an I / O interface, and the like. The control of positioning the surface drone 4 at a predetermined charging position of the floating structure 6 is executed based on, for example, a navigational electronic chart and a predetermined program that have been downloaded in advance and stored in the ROM.

[0032] As described above, since the floating structure 6 is fixed to the pier 12, its position and orientation can be identified. Therefore, this information may be stored in advance as known information in the ROM of the control unit 58 of the upper drone 4, in which case the above-mentioned control configuration of the floating structure 6 is not necessary. Here, the configuration is provided with a GNSS receiver 48, etc., so that it can also be used in a configuration in which the floating structure 6 is movably tethered to the pier 12 by a rope.

[0033] The control unit 58 of the surface drone 4 has an RTK-GNSS positioning function that estimates the positions of the floating structure 6 and the surface drone 4 by RTK-GNSS positioning, that is, a known positioning calculation function. The direction of the surface drone 4 (bow direction) is estimated by information from the geomagnetic sensor 60.

[0034] The control unit 58 monitors the amount of charge in the battery 28 during maritime security operations, etc., and determines the timing of charging from the relationship between the remaining charge and the distance from the floating structure 6 with a margin of error, i.e., a timing when the remaining charge will not prevent the drone from reaching the floating structure 6. When it is determined that the drone is ready to charge, the control unit 58 controls the drone 4 to move toward the floating structure 6. As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 58 controls the drone 4 to slow down when it approaches the floating structure 6, so that the tip of the drone 4 runs onto the run-up portion 6c-1 at an appropriate run-up speed determined in advance by experiments, etc. Since the floating structure 6 is fixed in position to the pier 12, the floating structure 6 does not move back even if a pushing force is applied by the drone 4.

[0035] FIG. 5(b) shows the state where the tip of the surface drone 4 has landed on the landing part 6c-1. When the tip of the surface drone 4 has landed on the landing part 6c-1, the power supply coil 22 on the floating structure 6 side and the power receiving coil 26 on the surface drone 4 side face each other in a tight contact state. The position where the power supply coil 22 and the power receiving coil 26 face each other is the specified charging position. In this state, charging by the electromagnetic induction method is started. A frictional force is generated between the landing part 6c-1 and the surface drone 4 due to the landing load of the tip of the surface drone 4, and the surface drone 4 is fixed in position at the specified charging position by this frictional force. In other words, the landing part 6c-1 also serves as a position fixing means.

[0036] Since the rear end side of the surface drone 4 floats on the water surface, depending on the degree of wave sway, the surface drone 4 is likely to slip down and shift from the charging position. In this case, the control unit 58 drives the water jet propeller 32 during charging to generate a weak forward water force WF that does not cause the surface drone 4 to slip down, and presses the surface drone 4 against the floating structure 6. The shift in the width direction of the surface drone 4 is suppressed by both vertical walls 6a and 6b of the floating structure 6. In order to prevent the surface drone 4 from entering beyond the predetermined charging position, in other words, to ensure that it stops at the charging position, for example, stoppers protruding inward from both vertical walls 6a and 6b may be provided.

[0037] When charging is completed, the control unit 58 drives the water jet propeller 32 and controls the reverser to move the surface drone 4 backward to leave the floating structure 6 and return it to the mission route for maritime security, etc. In the case of a 24-hour system, this charging control is repeated.

[0038] As described above, in this embodiment, charging is performed while the surface drone 4 is fixed (restrained) at a predetermined charging position by a physical or mechanical position fixing means of providing the floating structure 6 with the riding part 6c-1, so that even a small and lightweight surface drone 4 can be reliably charged by the electromagnetic induction method, and charging efficiency can be improved without complicating the circuit configuration. In other words, since the power supply coil 22 and the power receiving coil 26 are fixed in position in a close contact state, it is possible to suppress a decrease in mutual inductance (increase in reactive current) caused by an increase in the distance between the coils, which is likely to occur in the electromagnetic induction method, and charging efficiency can be improved.

[0039] [Second embodiment] The second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 6 to 8. The same parts as those in the first embodiment or parts that can be considered to be the same are indicated by the same reference numerals, and the above-mentioned structural and functional explanations will be omitted as appropriate (the same applies to the other embodiments described below).

[0040] As shown in FIG. 6, the floating structure 5 in the non-contact charging system 3 of the water vehicle according to this embodiment is formed in a block shape that accommodates and holds the tip of the water drone 4. The configuration for fixing the position to the pier 12 is the same as that of the first embodiment. The floating structure 5 has a storage recess 7 that accommodates the tip of the water drone 4. At the entrance side of the storage recess 7, guide surfaces 5a and 5b are formed that are curved outward to facilitate the entry and guidance of the water drone 4, and the width w of the inner part of the storage recess 7 is set to be slightly larger than the width of the water drone 4. On both side surfaces of the inner part of the storage recess 7, a sheet-like friction material 9 that holds the water drone 4 by frictional force is attached. The position fixing means 11 in this embodiment is composed of two friction materials 9. Urethane foam, urethane sponge, etc. can be used as the material of the friction material 9. At the very back of the storage recess 7, a mechanical switch 13 that turns on and off when the tip of the water drone 4 abuts against and separates from the water drone 4 is provided. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 15 denotes an insertion hole for the mooring hook.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 7, an inclined run-up portion 5c is formed on the bottom side of the storage recess 7, and the power supply coil 22 is embedded in the run-up portion 5c. When the tip of the surface drone 4 enters the storage recess 7, it receives frictional forces from the frictional materials 9 on both sides as shown in FIG. 8, but the propulsive force of the water jet propeller 32 exceeds the frictional force from the frictional materials 9. The control unit 58 of the surface drone 4 advances the surface drone 4 until it receives an on signal from the mechanical switch 13 from the floating structure 5. The position where the on signal from the mechanical switch 13 is received is a predetermined charging position, and at the charging position, the power supply coil 22 and the power receiving coil 26 face each other in a close contact state. In this embodiment, the surface drone 4 is held by the frictional force of the frictional material 9, so the surface drone 4 does not move from the charging position when it is run-up, and there is no need to apply forward water force from the water jet propeller 32 during charging to prevent positional displacement.

[0042] When charging is completed, the control unit 58 drives the water jet propeller 32 and controls the reverser to move the surface drone 4 backward, take off from the floating structure 5, and return it to the mission route for maritime security, etc. When the surface drone 4 is moving backward, the floating structure 5 is fixed in position to the pier 12, so the backward thrust of the water jet propeller 32 overcomes the frictional holding force of the position fixing means 11, and the surface drone 4 can smoothly take off from the floating structure 5, which can also be called a charging dock.

[0043] The friction material 9 constituting the position fixing means 11 may be provided only on one side of the storage recess 7. Also, as the position fixing means, a member protruding inward in the width direction by elastic force may be provided on at least one of both sides of the storage recess 7, and the water drone 4 that has run onto the run-up portion 5c may be pressed and held by elastic force and friction force. In other words, it may be held by elastic force and / or friction force. Also, a photoelectric switch may be used instead of the mechanical switch 13 as a means for detecting that the water drone 4 has been positioned at the charging position. These detection means are not necessarily required.

[0044] [Third embodiment] The third embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 9 to 13. In the first and second embodiments, the floating structures 5 and 6 are fixed to the pier 12, but in this embodiment, the floating structures are not fixed.

[0045] 9 , in a non-contact charging system 62 for a surface vehicle according to this embodiment, a floating structure 64 is moored by a rope 70 to a mooring post 68 fixed to a quay 66, which is an immovable structure. The power supply cable 24 of the power supply device 8 is tied to the rope 70 and introduced into the floating structure 64.

[0046] 10 is a plan view, partially in cross section, of the floating structure 64. The charging side 64a of the floating structure 64 is a flat surface, and the power supply coil 22 is disposed inside the charging side 64a, with electromagnets 72 disposed on both sides of the power supply coil 22. Power is supplied to the electromagnets 72 via a branch cord 24a from the power supply cable 24.

[0047] As shown in Fig. 11, the surface drone 74 in the non-contact charging system 62 for the surface vehicle has a power receiving coil 26 at its rear end, and protruding attracted parts 76 made of a magnetic material are provided on both sides of the power receiving coil 26 at positions corresponding to the electromagnet 72. The protruding amount of the attracted parts 76 is set to be slightly larger (by dimension δ) than the protruding amount of the power receiving coil 26. The electromagnet 72 of the floating structure 64 and the attracted parts 76 of the surface drone 4 constitute a position fixing means 75. In other words, the position fixing means 75 has a configuration in which the position is fixed by magnetic force.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 12(a), the floating structure 64 has a geomagnetic sensor 61 for detecting its orientation since it is not fixed in position on the water surface, and is also provided with an electromagnet control information receiver 78. As shown in Fig. 12(b), the water drone 74 has an electromagnet information transmitter 80, and the control unit 58 has a function of controlling the on / off of the power supply to the electromagnet 72. When the control unit 58 transmits an on signal for power supply to the electromagnet 72 to the floating structure 64 via the electromagnet information transmitter 80, the electromagnet control information receiver 78 of the floating structure 64 receives the signal, and the control unit 52 of the floating structure 64 powers the electromagnet 72 based on the received signal.

[0049] As in the first and second embodiments, the control unit 58 of the surface drone 74 monitors the charge level of the battery 28 during navigation such as maritime security, and determines the timing of charging with a margin based on the relationship between the remaining charge and the distance from the floating structure 64, i.e., a timing when the remaining charge will not prevent the drone from reaching the floating structure 64, and when it is determined that it is time to charge, it controls the surface drone 4 to move toward the floating structure 64. Until the drone approaches the floating structure 64, normal navigation control is performed with the bow facing forward.

[0050] When the surface drone 74 approaches the floating structure 64, as shown in FIG. 13(a), the water jet propeller 32, for example, is controlled to turn the surface drone 74 over and bring the rear end closer to the floating structure 64 while aligning it with the direction of the floating structure 64. When the power supply coil 22 of the floating structure 64 and the power receiving coil 26 of the surface drone 74 reach a predetermined charging position facing each other while fine-tuning with the thruster 34, the control unit 58 of the surface drone 74 sends an ON signal to energize the electromagnet 72. When the electromagnet control information receiver 78 of the floating structure 64 receives the ON signal, the control unit 52 energizes the electromagnet 72.

[0051] When the electromagnets 72 are energized, each of the attracted portions 76 of the surface drone 74 is attracted to each of the electromagnets 72 by magnetic force, and the surface drone 4 is fixed in position to the floating structure 64. Charging is performed in this state. When charging is completed, the control unit 58 of the surface drone 4 transmits an OFF signal to the electromagnet 72. When the electromagnet control information receiver 78 of the floating structure 64 receives the OFF signal, the control unit 52 turns off the power to the electromagnet 72. This separates each of the attracted portions 76 from each of the electromagnets 72.

[0052] After the electromagnet 72 is de-energized, the control unit 58 of the surface drone 74 drives the water jet propeller 32 and controls the reverser to cause the surface drone 74 to leave the floating structure 64 and return to its mission route for maritime security, etc. This charging control is repeated 24 hours a day.

[0053] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims and the technical ideas described in the specification and drawings. For example, in the first embodiment, a configuration in which charging is performed with a part of the surface drone 4 on the floating structure 6 is exemplified, but the surface drone 4 may be charged with the surface drone 4 completely on the floating structure 6, and when charging is completed, the surface drone 4 may be returned to the water by a return mechanism provided on the pier 12 or the floating structure 6. In this case, if a stopper that limits the forward movement of the surface drone 4 is provided on the floating structure 6, it can be positioned at a predetermined charging position with high accuracy.

[0054] In the above embodiments, the main power source for the navigation of the surface drones 4 and 74 is an electric motor, but the main power source may be a sail unit driven by an electric motor, or a hybrid system in which an electric motor is provided as the main power source. In the above embodiments, the charging system for the unmanned surface drone 4 is exemplified, but the charging system for a surface vehicle such as a manned motorboat may be exemplified. In the first and second embodiments, the floating structures 5 and 6 are fixed to the pier 12 so that they can move up and down according to the change in tide level, but they may be fixed to the quay 66 or a mother ship offshore in the same manner. In the third embodiment, the floating structure 64 is moored to the quay 66 with a rope 70, but it may be moored to the pier 12 or a mother ship offshore in the same manner.

[0055] Furthermore, the non-contact charging method is not limited to the electromagnetic induction method described above, and other methods such as a magnetic resonance method may be adopted. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 2, 3, 62 Non-contact charging system for water vehicles 4.74 Water drone (water vehicle) 5, 6, 64 Floating structure 5c, 6c-1 Riding part (position fixing means) 6a, 6b Vertical wall section 7 Recessed portion 8 Power supply device 9 Friction material 10 Charging device 11, 75 Position fixing means 12 Pier 14 Mooring hook 18 Commercial power supply 20, 30 Conversion device 22 Power supply coil (power supply component) 24 Power supply cable 26 Receiving coil 28 Battery 32 Water jet propeller 34 Thruster 36 Inlet Duct 38 Impeller 40 Impeller drive shaft 42 Electric motor 44 Nozzle 46 Transmitting and receiving antenna 48, 54 GNSS receiver (receiver) 50 Floating Structure Information Transmitter 52, 58 Control section 56 Floating structure information receiver 60, 61 Geomagnetic sensor 64a Charging side 66 Quay 68 Moorings 70 Rope 72 Electromagnet 76 Adsorbed part 78 Electromagnetic Control Information Receiver 80 Electromagnetic Control Information Transmitter

Claims

1. Surface vehicles, a floating structure for temporarily anchoring the water vehicle; A power supply member provided on the floating structure and supplying power; a charging device provided on the watercraft and configured to wirelessly receive power from the power supply member; a control unit provided on the surface vehicle, which controls the drive of the surface vehicle based on position information of the floating structure and position information of the surface vehicle to position the floating structure at a predetermined charging position; a position fixing means for fixing the water vehicle positioned at the charging position to the floating structure during charging; A non-contact charging system for a watercraft comprising:

2. 2. The non-contact charging system for a surface vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that the floating structure has a landing portion on which at least a portion of the surface vehicle runs, the landing portion also serving as the position fixing means.

3. The non-contact charging system for the water vehicle described in claim 1, characterized in that the floating structure has a landing portion on which at least a portion of the water vehicle runs, and the position fixing means is configured to hold the water vehicle that has run onto the landing portion using elastic force and / or frictional force.

4. 2. The non-contact charging system for a watercraft according to claim 1, wherein the position fixing means has a configuration for fixing the position by magnetic force.

5. The non-contact charging system for the surface vehicle as described in claim 4, characterized in that the position fixing means is composed of an electromagnet provided on the floating structure and an attractable portion provided on the surface vehicle and attracted to the electromagnet by magnetic force.

6. The non-contact charging system for a surface vehicle as described in claim 5, characterized in that the control unit has a function of controlling the on / off of the power supply to the electromagnet, and turns off the power supply to the electromagnet after charging is completed.

7. The non-contact charging system for the surface vehicle described in claim 1, characterized in that the floating structure and the surface vehicle are each equipped with a receiver compatible with GNSS satellite signals, and the control unit has an RTK-GNSS positioning function that estimates the positions of the floating structure and the surface vehicle using RTK-GNSS positioning.

8. The non-contact charging system for a surface vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the surface vehicle is a surface drone.

9. The non-contact charging system for a surface vehicle as described in claim 8, characterized in that the main power source of the surface drone is a sail unit and / or an electric motor.

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