Drone storage box

Abstract

To provide a drone storage box capable of suppressing temperature rise of a drone even in such an environment that a storage environment of the drone deteriorates outdoors, and protecting a control unit and the like from rainwater, dust and the like.SOLUTION: A drone storage box comprises: a drone storage section S1 having a top plate 2 that performs opening and closing operations, allowing a drone D to be stored and retrieved through an opened ceiling; a charging device 7a for charging the stored drone D; and a drone control device 7 including a communication unit 7c for communicating with external systems and with the drone D. The periphery is covered by a closing plate 3. The top plate 2 and the closing plate 3 are covered with a heat-shielding plate 11. An exhaust fan 20 for suppressing temperature rise of at least the drone storage section S1 in the internal space is provided at an appropriate location of the closing plate 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a drone storage box for keeping a drone used for disaster situation investigation, monitoring of crop growth conditions, etc. on standby near the usage site at all times.

Background Art

[0002] Drones include multi-rotor or helicopter types that can perform vertical takeoff and landing and hover in the air, and airplane types that cannot perform vertical takeoff and landing or hover but can fly long distances. The former is suitable for disaster situation investigation and monitoring of crop growth conditions, and multi-rotor and helicopter drones are used for various investigations and monitoring. Drones used for such investigations and monitoring are popular because small ones are easy to handle, but their flight distance (flight time) is relatively short due to the limited capacity of the batteries they carry. Therefore, even if it is necessary to use them in an emergency, if the site is far away, it is necessary to transport the drone to the site, which takes time until it can actually be flown. Therefore, a method has been proposed in which a storage box is installed near the site where the investigation or monitoring is carried out and the drone is always stored in the storage box. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration having a function in which a drone stored with its ceiling open can automatically take off and can be charged while being stored and parked.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The conventional drone storage box disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be charged without connecting a charging cable when the drone is stored in the storage box, so the drone can be remotely operated. However, when installing the drone storage box outdoors, it is necessary to prevent the deterioration of the drone, which is an electronic device, due to long-term outdoor installation. Therefore, it is necessary to protect the drone from high temperatures caused by solar radiation and to protect the control device from rain, dust, etc., but such considerations were not sufficient.

[0005] Therefore, in view of such problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a drone storage box that can suppress the temperature rise of the drone due to solar radiation even in an environment where the storage environment of the drone is likely to deteriorate outdoors, and can further protect the control unit and the like from rain, dust, etc.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, the configuration of the present invention has a top plate that performs an opening and closing operation, a drone storage unit that allows the drone to enter and exit from the open ceiling, a charging device for charging the stored drone, and a communication unit that communicates with the outside and communicates with the drone. A drone storage box having a drone control device, wherein the periphery is covered with a closing plate, the top plate and the closing plate are covered with a heat insulating plate, and ventilation means for suppressing the temperature rise of at least the drone storage unit in the internal space is provided at an appropriate part of the closing plate. According to this configuration, since the top plate and the closing plate are covered with a heat insulating plate and ventilation means is provided at least in the drone storage unit, it is possible to suppress the drone storage unit from becoming high temperature.

[0007] Another aspect of the present invention is that, in the above configuration, the drone and the charging device have a non-contact charging function that enables non-contact charging, and the floor plate of the drone storage unit is formed of a plate body made of an insulating member, and the charging device is disposed directly below the floor plate. The drone in the stored state is charged non-contact by the charging device. According to this configuration, if the drone is stored in the drone storage unit, charging is performed, so there is no need to perform the operation of connecting to the charging device each time. In addition, since the drone storage unit and the equipment storage unit below it are separated, it is possible to protect the non-contact charging device from rain and the like.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is that, in the above configuration, the floor plate of the drone storage section is provided with a shielding member around its periphery to prevent the occurrence of gaps, and rainwater that has entered the drone storage section is prevented from flowing out to the equipment storage section provided below the drone storage section. According to this configuration, since the floor plate is shielded, even if dust or rainwater enters the drone storage section, it will not enter the space below. Therefore, even in a configuration where the top plate opens, it is possible to prevent electronic devices such as charging devices from malfunctioning due to rainwater or the like.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention is that, in the above configuration, the top plate is composed of two left and right plates, and is characterized in that it moves horizontally in opposite directions to each other to perform an opening and closing operation. According to this configuration, the opening and closing of the top plate can be carried out by the horizontal movement of the top plate, and even if the weight of the top plate increases due to snow accumulation or the like, it can be opened and closed with a relatively small driving force.

[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is that, in the above configuration, it has an environmental sensor that measures at least the wind speed and rainfall among the air temperature, wind speed, rainfall, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and a shipping judgment unit that judges whether a drone can be shipped based on the information acquired by the environmental sensor. The shipping judgment unit prohibits shipping if the measured value of any environmental sensor exceeds a set threshold value. According to this configuration, since it judges whether a drone can be shipped based on the weather conditions, it is possible to prevent a situation where the shipping fails.

Effects of the Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, since the closing plate is covered with a heat insulating plate and at least the drone storage section is provided with ventilation means, it is possible to suppress the drone storage section from becoming high temperature and suppress the deterioration of the drone.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an example of a drone storage box according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view, and FIG. 2 is a side explanatory view with the interior seen through. Both show the state of being attached to the support column. The drone storage box 1 has a top plate 2 that opens and closes, and the surrounding four sides are closed by a closing plate 3. A band 10 for fixing to the support column M is attached to one side surface. And, as shown in FIG. 2, it has a drone storage section S1 for housing the drone D at the upper part, and a device storage section S2 for housing a drone control device 7 composed of a charging device 7a, a control section 7b for controlling the drone, etc. is provided at the lower part thereof. Also, 9 is a handle for opening and closing the door 12 provided on the left side surface (shown in FIG. 3). For convenience of explanation, the direction in which the top plate 2 slopes downward is defined as the front, and the surface to which the band 10 is attached is defined as the back for explanation.

[0014] The closing plate 3 has a front plate 3a, a left side plate 3b, a right side plate 3c (shown in FIG. 3), and a back plate 3d (shown in FIG. 3), and is configured to close the surrounding. A heat insulating plate 11 covering the entire surface is attached to the front plate 3a, the left side plate 3b, the right side plate 3c, and the top plate 2. The connecting part of the heat shield 11 is formed with legs and is configured to be attached with a certain gap with respect to the object to be attached. Also, for a wide attachment surface, the connecting part also protrudes from the object to be connected, and is fixed by screwing from both sides. The heat shield 11 attached to the closing plate 3 is formed with side edges 11a for closing the gap with the object to be attached on the left and right sides, and holes for ventilation are provided at appropriate positions thereof.

[0015] Figure 3 shows a state where the top plate 2 and the left side plate 3b are opened. As shown in Figure 3, the top plate 2 is composed of two split plates 2a, 2a that are split left and right, and is configured to horizontally move in the left and right directions facing each other by a top plate driving device (not shown) to perform an opening and closing operation. By opening and opening the ceiling, the vertical movement of the drone D enables loading and unloading. On the other hand, in the lower equipment storage section S2, an opening 15 is formed in a part of the closing plate 3 on the left side surface. A door 12 that also serves as the closing plate 3 is provided at the opening 15, and by making it openable and closable, maintenance of the drone control device 7 is enabled.

[0016] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the drone storage box 1 excluding the heat shield 11 and the closing plate 3, and is a perspective view seen from the left side in a front view. On the right side surface of the drone storage box 1 on the left side in the front view, two exhaust fans 20 as ventilation means and two intake holes 21 are provided. One set of the exhaust fan 20 and the intake hole 21 is provided in the drone storage section S1, and the other set is provided in the equipment storage section S2. Incidentally, the exhaust fan 20 and the intake hole 21 are attached with louvers 20a to prevent the intrusion of insects and the like. The drone storage section S1 is formed without a gap. While the internal air is discharged by the exhaust fan 20, ventilation is achieved by the external air entering from the intake hole 21. Arrow B1 indicates the flow of the incoming outside air.

[0017] The equipment storage section S2 is provided with a shelf 13 for storing equipment. Here, it is provided in three tiers. Each shelf 13 is provided with a notch 13a on the right side where the exhaust fan 20 is arranged, and the upper and lower spaces of the storage section are communicated. Due to this notch 13a, the outside air (indicated by arrow B2) that has entered from the intake hole 21 flows into the entire equipment storage section S2, and is exhausted to the outside by the exhaust fan 20 to perform ventilation.

[0018] Incidentally, although the front of the exhaust fan 20 is blocked by the heat shield plate 11, the inner air is discharged downward by a louver 20a with a gap formed downward, and is discharged below the heat shield plate 11 through the gap between the heat shield plate 11 and the closing plate 3. Also, the positional relationship between the exhaust fan 20 and the intake hole 21 may be reversed, or a fan may be used for intake and the exhaust may be natural exhaust. Furthermore, fans may be used for both intake and exhaust.

[0019] Figure 5 is an enlarged view of part A1 in Figure 3, showing the structure of the part where the door 12 is arranged. As shown in Figure 5, a drain frame 14 is formed in the opening 15, and a rubber packing 16 is provided around the flat front surface of the drain frame 14. When the door 12 is closed, the packing 16 is in close contact with the door 12 so that no gap is generated. With this configuration, rainwater and the like do not enter from the opening 15 provided with the door 12.

[0020] Figure 6(a) shows an enlarged view of part A2 in Figure 4, and Figure 6(b) is a longitudinal sectional explanatory view for explaining the structure of part A2. The floor of the drone storage section S1 is provided with a floor plate 4 made of an acrylic plate, and is separated from the equipment storage section S2 by the acrylic plate. A mounting frame 31 for mounting the floor plate 4 is provided around the back surface of the closing plate 3 on which the floor plate 4 is arranged, and the floor plate 4 is mounted on this mounting frame 31. However, when mounting the floor plate 4, a shield member 17 for closely adhering to the mounting frame 31 is provided around the lower surface of the floor plate 4. As the shield member 17, for example, a double-sided tape with an adhesive applied on both sides can be used, but it is preferably formed of an elastic member to absorb the unevenness of the mounting surface and has a certain thickness. By attaching the bed board 4 in such a configuration, the drone storage section S1 and the equipment storage section S2 are completely separated.

[0021] And the charging device 7a is arranged directly below the bed board 4, enabling non-contact charging of the drone D. However, a drone D equipped with a non-contact charging function is also used. Note that non-contact charging includes electromagnetic induction method, magnetic field resonance method, electrolytic coupling method, radio wave reception method, etc. Also, the bed board does not have to be an acrylic board, and as long as it is an insulating member, non-contact charging of the drone is possible.

[0022] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of the drone control device 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the drone control device 7 includes, in addition to the charging device 7a and the control unit 7b, a communication unit 7c, a top plate driving device 7d, a fan driving circuit 7e that drives the exhaust fan 20, a power supply unit 7f to which an external power supply is connected to supply power to each part, and an environment sensor 8 installed outside to obtain information on the environment such as weather, etc. The communication unit 7c has a drone communication unit that performs wireless communication with the drone D and an external communication unit that performs wireless communication with the outside via a public communication network such as the Internet, enabling the operation of the drone from a remote location.

[0023] The environment sensor 8 is equipped with sensors that measure temperature, wind speed, rainfall, humidity, atmospheric pressure, etc., and notifies the control unit 7b of the measured information. The control unit 7b is a shipping determination unit, which receives the information from the environment sensor 8 and determines whether the drone D can fly. If possible, it receives a control signal from the outside and controls the flight of the drone D. The control unit 7b stores threshold information for temperature, wind speed, rainfall, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and does not perform flight control if any of the measured values exceeds the threshold. Note that the weather information obtained from the environment sensor 8 may only be wind speed and rainfall, and the flightability may be determined based on these two measured information.

[0024] In this way, since the closing plate 3 is covered by the heat insulation plate 11 and the exhaust fan 20 and the intake holes 21 are provided in the drone storage part S1 and the lower equipment storage part S2, it is possible to suppress the drone storage part S1 and the equipment storage part S2 from becoming high temperature, and it is possible to prevent deterioration of the drone D. And if the drone D is stored in the drone storage part S1, charging is carried out, so there is no need to perform the operation of connecting to the charging device 7a each time. In addition, since the floor plate 4 is shielded, even if dust or rainwater enters the drone storage part S1, it will not enter the equipment storage part S2 below. Even in the configuration where the top plate 2 opens, it is possible to prevent electronic devices such as the charging device 7a from malfunctioning due to rainwater or the like. Furthermore, since the opening and closing of the top plate 2 is carried out by the horizontal movement of the top plate 2, even if the weight of the top plate 2 increases due to snow accumulation or the like, it can be opened and closed with a relatively small driving force. In addition, in order to judge whether it is possible to take out according to the weather conditions, it is possible to prevent the situation of failure to take out.

[0025] In addition, in the above embodiment, the exhaust fans 20 are installed in the drone storage part S1 and the equipment storage part S2 respectively, but the number is arbitrary and it may be provided only in the drone storage part S1. The equipment storage part S2 may be provided with a slit-shaped opening for natural exhaust. Since the periphery is covered by the heat insulation plate 11, even if an opening for exhaust is provided on the side surface, it is possible to prevent the intrusion of rainwater. Also, although the exhaust fan 20 and the intake holes 21 are installed together on one surface, they may be installed separately on a plurality of surfaces, or a cooler for cooling the inside may be installed instead of the exhaust fan 20. Furthermore, although the form attached to the support column M is shown, a pedestal may be arranged and installed on it and installed independently.

Explanation of reference numerals

[0026] 1... Drone storage box, 2... Top plate, 3... Closing plate, 7... Drone control device, 7a... Charging device, 7b... Control unit (take-out judgment unit), 7c... Communication unit, 11... Heat insulation plate, 13... Shelf, 13a... Notch, 20... Exhaust fan (ventilation means), S1... Drone storage part, S2... Equipment storage part, D... Drone.

Claims

1. A drone storage box having a top plate that opens and closes, enabling the entry and exit of drones from an open ceiling, a charging device for charging the stored drones, and a communication unit that communicates with the outside and with the drones, and surrounded by a closing plate, wherein the top plate and the closing plate are covered with heat insulating plates, and ventilation means for suppressing the temperature rise of at least the drone storage part in the internal space is provided at an appropriate part of the closing plate, characterized by the drone storage box.

2. The drone and the charging device have a non-contact charging function enabling non-contact charging, and the floor plate of the drone storage part is formed of a plate body made of an insulating member, and the charging device is disposed directly below the floor plate, The drone storage box according to claim 1, wherein the drone in the stored state is charged non-contact by the charging device.

3. The floor plate of the drone storage part is surrounded by a shielding member to prevent the occurrence of gaps, The drone storage box according to claim 2, characterized in that rainwater entering the drone storage part is prevented from flowing out to an equipment storage part provided below the drone storage part.

4. The top plate is composed of two left and right plates, and moves horizontally in opposite directions to open and close, characterized by the drone storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

5. having an environmental sensor that measures at least wind speed and rainfall among temperature, wind speed, rainfall, humidity, and atmospheric pressure, and a storage determination unit that determines whether the drone can be taken out based on the information acquired by the environmental sensor, The drone storage box according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the storage determination unit prohibits taking out if the measured value of any of the environmental sensors exceeds a set threshold value.

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