Return home mode supporting system and method for drone utilized on ship

Abstract

To provide a method that can accurately return a drone utilized on a ship to a power charging station on the ship being operated.SOLUTION: In a return home mode supporting system and method for a drone, GPS received signal strength information is received at a first GPS receiver incorporating a drone adjustment device. tf the GPS received signal strength is equal to a set strength or higher, drone takeoff available information is displayed on a display unit of the drone adjustment device. When a control unit installed in the drone receives return home information at the drone adjustment device after the takeoff of the drone is performed, the control unit is configured to control a drone driving motor by generating a drone driving motor control signal on the basis of ship position information received by the drone adjustment device and drone position information received by a second GPS receiver installed in the drone, and to stop the drone driving motor if a difference between a position of the drone and the ship position is equal to a set distance or less.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system and method for supporting a return home mode of a drone used on a ship, and more particularly, to a system and method for supporting a return home mode of a drone used on a ship, which can issue a return home mode command to the drone while performing work after the drone takes off from the ship operating at sea, and can accurately return the drone to a charging station of the ship when the battery voltage level of the drone falls below a set level regardless of the operation of the ship. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally speaking, a drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle that can be controlled by radio waves and is equipped with cameras, sensors, and communication systems, and comes in a wide range of weights and sizes, from 25g to 1,200kg. Drones first appeared for military purposes, but their use has recently expanded to high-altitude photography and deliveries. Drones have also been reborn as inexpensive kidult products, ushering in an era where individuals can easily purchase drones. They are used in a wide range of applications, including spraying pesticides and measuring air quality.

[0003] Among the drone operation modes is the Return Home or Auto Return mode, which is a function that returns to the initial take-off position. As the maximum operating time of a drone is usually only about 30 minutes to an hour, there is a problem that the drone must be returned to a ground location where a charging device is located to charge the drone battery.

[0004] To solve these problems, Korean Patent Registration No. 1700396 (hereinafter referred to as the prior art) discloses a drone for cracking down on violations of laws and regulations, a drone charging station, and a system for cracking down on violations of laws and regulations. This drone for cracking down on violations of laws and regulations, a drone charging station, and a system for cracking down on violations of laws and regulations, are used to crack down on illegal acts that harm public order and vehicles that violate traffic laws, and to grasp the occurrence of emergency situations, by installing drone charging stations that support the charging of drones at various distance facilities and on police officers' vehicles, and charging drones with short flight times whenever necessary, thereby presenting a method for cracking down on violations of laws and regulations and grasping the occurrence of emergency situations using drones without restrictions on place and time.

[0005] However, while this conventional technology is effective when the charging station where the drone returns to is fixed and does not move, if the charging station is installed on a ship operating at sea, there is a problem that the drone may fall into the sea when the ship moves when returning to the ground. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Korean Patent No. 1700396 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for supporting a return home mode of a drone used on a ship, which can accurately return to a charging station of the ship operating regardless of the movement of the ship. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a drone return home mode support system used on a ship includes a drone coordination device disposed on a ship to wirelessly communicate with the drone and return the drone to a charging station of the ship. The drone coordination device is configured to display drone takeoff availability information on a display unit when a GPS signal strength received by a built-in first GPS receiver is equal to or greater than a set strength, and to provide return home information and ship position information to the drone after the drone has taken off. The drone coordination device includes a second GPS receiver installed on the drone and receives GPS signals from GPS satellites and generates drone position information, and a control unit installed on the drone and receives return home information from the drone coordination device, or generates a drone drive motor control signal based on the ship position information and drone position information to control the drone drive motor if the battery voltage level of the drone is equal to or less than a set level, and stops the drone drive motor if the difference between the drone position and the ship position is equal to or less than a set distance.

[0009] The drone return home mode support system utilized on a ship according to the embodiment may further include a communication unit installed on the drone to provide an environment for wireless communication with the drone remote control device.

[0010] The drone return home mode support system utilized on a ship according to the embodiment may further include a drone motor driving unit that is installed on the drone, receives a drone driving motor control signal from the control unit, and performs a switching operation to control the operation of the drone driving motor.

[0011] In order to achieve the above object, a return home mode support method using a drone return home mode support system utilized in a ship according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a step of receiving GPS reception signal strength information at a first GPS receiver built in a drone coordination device, a step of the drone coordination device determining whether the GPS reception signal strength is equal to or greater than a set strength, and if the GPS reception signal strength is equal to or greater than the set strength, a step of displaying drone takeoff possible information on a display unit of the drone coordination device, a step of a control unit installed in the drone determining whether return home information is received from the drone coordination device after the drone has taken off, a step of the control unit receiving ship position information at the drone coordination device and receiving drone position information from a second GPS receiver installed in the drone when the return home information is received, a step of the control unit generating a drone drive motor control signal based on the ship position information and the drone position information and controlling a drone drive motor, a step of the control unit determining whether a difference between a position of the drone and a position of the ship is equal to or less than a set distance, and if a difference between a position of the drone and a position of the ship is equal to or less than the set distance, the control unit stopping the drone drive motor.

[0012] The return home mode support method according to another embodiment may further include a step of determining whether the return home information is received, and if the return home information is not received, the control unit may determine whether a battery voltage level of the drone is below a set level, and if the battery voltage level of the drone is below a set level, the method may proceed to the ship position information and drone position information receiving step. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the system and method for supporting return home mode of a drone used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention, a first GPS receiver built into a drone coordination device receives GPS reception signal strength information, and if the GPS reception signal strength is equal to or greater than a set strength, information indicating that the drone can take off is displayed on a display unit of the drone coordination device. After the drone takes off, a control unit installed on the drone receives return home information from the drone coordination device, and generates a drone drive motor control signal based on the ship position information received by the drone coordination device and the drone position information received from a second GPS receiver installed on the drone to control the drone drive motor. If the difference between the drone position and the ship position is equal to or less than a set distance, the control unit is configured to stop the drone drive motor, thereby providing an excellent effect of enabling the ship to accurately return to a charging station regardless of the movement of the ship. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a drone return home mode support system used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] 1 is a flowchart illustrating a method for supporting a return home mode using a return home mode support system for a drone utilized on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] In describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a specific description of a known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description will be omitted. The terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions in the present invention, and may vary depending on the intention or practice of the user or operator. For this reason, the definitions should be based on the entire contents of this specification. The terms used in the detailed description are merely for describing the embodiments of the present invention and should not be interpreted as being restrictive. Unless otherwise specified, expressions in the singular form include the plural form. In this description, expressions such as "including" or "having" are intended to refer to certain characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof, and should not be interpreted as excluding the presence or possibility of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof other than those described.

[0016] In each system shown in the drawings, elements in some cases may have the same or different reference numbers, respectively, to indicate that the depicted elements may be different or similar. However, the elements may have different implementations and operate with some or all of the systems disclosed or described herein. The various elements shown in the drawings may be the same or different. Which elements are referred to as first elements and which are referred to as second elements is arbitrary.

[0017] As used herein, a component "transmitting," "conveying," or "providing" data or signals to another component includes not only the component transmitting the data or signals directly to the other component, but also the component transmitting the data or signals to the other component via at least one other component.

[0018] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0019] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a drone return home mode support system used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] The drone return home mode support system used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention is configured so that a drone control device (100) installed on a ship (S) to be operated wirelessly communicates with a drone (D) and returns the drone (D) to a charging station on the ship (S) as shown in Fig. 1. The communication method between the drone (D) and the drone control device (100) may be, for example, CDMA, LTE, LTE-M, etc., and is not particularly limited as long as it is a wireless communication method.

[0021] The drone control device (100) includes a first GPS receiver (110) that receives GPS signals from GPS satellites and generates drone position information, and a display unit (120) that displays drone takeoff readiness information (various display information such as letters, symbols, etc. indicating that the drone is able to take off).

[0022] The drone coordination device (100) receives GPS reception signal strength information with the first GPS receiver (110), and if the GPS signal strength is equal to or greater than a set strength, displays drone takeoff availability information on the display unit (120) to inform the drone coordinator that the drone can take off. The reason for displaying drone takeoff availability information when the GPS reception strength is equal to or greater than a set strength to inform the drone coordinator that the drone can take off is to allow the drone (D) to return accurately to the charging station of the ship (S). In other words, if the drone (D) is taken off under conditions where the return position of the drone (D) is accurately recognized (conditions where the GPS reception strength is equal to or greater than a set strength), the accuracy of the return home mode of the drone (D) may increase.

[0023] The drone (D) is equipped with a communication unit (210), a second GPS receiver (220), a control unit (230) and a drone motor driving unit (240).

[0024] The communication unit (210) serves to provide an environment for wireless communication with the drone remote control device (100).

[0025] The second GPS receiver (220) receives GPS signals from GPS satellites, generates drone position information, and provides it to the control unit (230).

[0026] The control unit (230) wirelessly communicates with the drone control device (100) to control the drone (D) to take off or return to the charging station of the ship (S).

[0027] When the control unit (230) receives return home information from the drone control device (100) or the battery (B) voltage level is below a set level, it generates a drone drive motor control signal based on the ship position information [provided by the drone control device (100)] and the drone position information [provided by the second GPS receiver (220)] and provides the generated drone drive motor control signal to the drone motor drive unit (240) to control the operation of the drone drive motor (M). The control unit (230) continues to receive drone position information and ship position information, calculates the difference between the drone (D) position and the ship (S) position, and stops the drone drive motor (M) if the difference between the drone (D) position and the ship (S) position is below a set distance (i.e., when the ship's charging stage is reached).

[0028] The drone motor driving unit 240 receives a drone driving motor control signal from the control unit 230 and performs switching operation to control the operation of the drone driving motor M.

[0029] Hereinafter, a method for supporting a return home mode using a drone return home mode support system used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described.

[0030] FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method for supporting a return home mode using a drone return home mode support system used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention, where S indicates a step.

[0031] First, the drone control device (100) receives GPS reception signal strength information using a first GPS receiver (110) built in (S10).

[0032] Next, the drone coordinating device (100) determines whether the GPS received signal strength is greater than or equal to a set strength (S20).

[0033] Next, if the GPS reception signal strength is equal to or greater than the set strength in step (S20) (Y), information indicating that the drone is ready to take off is displayed on the display unit (120) of the drone coordination device (100) (S30), informing the drone coordination engineer that the drone is ready to take off.

[0034] Next, after the drone (D) takes off (S40), the control unit (230) determines whether return home information is received from the drone coordinating device (100) (S50).

[0035] If the return home information is received in the above step (S50) (Y), the control unit (230) receives the ship position information from the drone coordination device (100) and receives the drone position information from the second GPS receiver (220) (S60).

[0036] Next, the control unit (230) generates a drone driving motor control signal based on the ship position information and drone position information received in step (S60), and controls the drone driving motor (M) using the generated drone driving motor control signal (S70) to perform the return home mode of the drone (D).

[0037] Next, the control unit (230) obtains a difference between the drone position and the ship position based on the received drone position information and ship position information, and determines whether the difference is within a set distance (S80).

[0038] If the difference between the drone's position and the ship's position is less than the set distance (Y) in step S80, the control unit (230) stops the drone's driving motor (M) (S90).

[0039] On the other hand, if the GPS receiving signal strength is less than the set strength in step S20 (N), the process proceeds to step S10.

[0040] On the other hand, if the return home information is not received in step S50 (N), the control unit (230) determines whether the voltage level of the battery (B) of the drone (D) is below a set level (S100).

[0041] If the battery voltage level of the drone (D) is below the set level (Y) in step (S100), the process proceeds to step (S60).

[0042] On the other hand, if the difference between the drone's position and the ship's position is greater than the set distance in step S80 (N), the process proceeds to step S60.

[0043] According to the system and method for supporting return home mode of a drone used on a ship according to an embodiment of the present invention, a first GPS receiver built into a drone coordination device receives GPS reception signal strength information, and if the GPS reception signal strength is equal to or greater than a set strength, information that the drone can take off is displayed on a display unit of the drone coordination device. After the drone takes off, a control unit installed on the drone receives return home information from the drone coordination device and generates a drone drive motor control signal based on the ship position information received by the drone coordination device and the drone position information received from a second GPS receiver installed on the drone, to control the drone drive motor. If the difference between the drone position and the ship position is equal to or less than a set distance, the control unit is configured to stop the drone drive motor, thereby enabling the ship to accurately return to a charging station regardless of the movement of the ship.

[0044] The drawings and the specification disclose the best mode for carrying out the present invention, and specific terms are used, but these terms are used only for the purpose of describing the mode for carrying out the present invention, and are not used to limit the meaning or the scope of the present invention described in the claims. Therefore, a person having ordinary knowledge in the art can understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical ideas of the attached claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] S ship B. Battery D. Drone 100 Drone Adjustment Device 110 1st GPS receiver 120 Display section 210 Communications Department 220 Second GPS receiver 230 Control Unit 240 Drone motor drive unit M Drone Drive Motor

Claims

1. A drone return home mode support system for use on a ship, in which a drone control device (100) arranged on a ship to be operated wirelessly communicates with a drone (D) and returns the drone to a charging station on the ship, The drone control device is configured to display drone takeoff availability information on a display unit (120) when the GPS signal strength received by a built-in first GPS receiver (110) is equal to or greater than a set strength, and to provide the drone with return home information and ship position information after the drone has taken off, a second GPS receiver (220) installed on the drone and configured to receive GPS signals from GPS satellites and generate drone position information; a control unit (230) that is installed on the drone and receives return home information from the drone adjustment device, and if the voltage level of the drone's battery (B) is below a set level, generates a drone drive motor control signal based on the ship position information and the drone position information to control the drone drive motor (M), and if the difference between the drone's position and the ship position is below a set distance, stops the drone drive motor.

2. The drone return home mode support system for use on a ship as described in claim 1, further comprising a communication unit (210) installed on the drone (D) and providing an environment for wireless communication with the drone remote control device (100).

3. The drone return home mode support system for use on a ship as described in claim 1 further includes a drone motor driving unit (240) that is installed on the drone and receives a drone driving motor control signal from the control unit (230) to perform a switching operation and control the operation of the drone driving motor (M).

4. As a method of supporting return home mode using a drone return home mode support system used on ships, Receiving GPS signal strength information using a first GPS receiver (110) built into the drone control device (100); The drone control device determines whether the GPS reception signal strength is equal to or greater than a set strength; If the GPS receiving signal strength is equal to or greater than a set strength, a display unit (120) of the drone control device displays drone takeoff availability information; After the drone takes off, a control unit (230) installed in the drone determines whether return home information is received from the drone coordinating device; When the return home information is received, the control unit receives ship position information from the drone control device and receives drone position information from a second GPS receiver (220) installed on the drone; The control unit generates a drone driving motor control signal based on the ship position information and the drone position information, and controls a drone driving motor (M); determining whether a difference between the position of the drone and the position of the ship is less than or equal to a set distance; If a difference between the position of the drone and the position of the ship is less than a set distance, the control unit stops the drone driving motor.

5. In the step of determining whether return home information is received, If the return home information is not received, the control unit (230) may further include determining whether a voltage level of a battery (B) of the drone is below a set level; 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the ship position information and drone position information receiving step is performed if the battery voltage level of the drone is equal to or lower than a set level.

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