FLIGHT BODY AND MaaS PROVISION METHOD

Abstract

To improve a technique regarding wireless charging related to a flight body driven by a battery.SOLUTION: Provided is a flight body driven by a battery. When the flight body takes off while being wirelessly charged, a time of staying in a wireless chargeable area is made longer than that when the flight body takes off while not being wireless charged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a battery-powered flying vehicle and a MaaS provision method. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a technology has been disclosed in which an aircraft is provided with a power receiving device that receives power through a magnetic resonance type contactless power supply, and a thrust generating mechanism that obtains thrust for flight using the power received by the power receiving device (for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017 / 203590 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Until now, there has been no consideration of charging technology for battery-powered aircraft during takeoff, meaning there is room for improvement in wireless charging technology for aircraft.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to improve the technology related to wireless charging for battery-powered flying objects. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An aircraft according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes: A battery-powered flying vehicle, A control unit; Battery and Equipped with When the aircraft takes off while being wirelessly charged, the control unit performs flight control so that the aircraft stays in a wirelessly chargeable area for a longer period of time compared to when the aircraft takes off without being wirelessly charged. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the technology related to wireless charging for battery-powered flying objects is improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.

[0010] (Overview of the Embodiment) Referring to FIG. 1, the overview of the system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described. The system 1 includes a flying object 10 and a flight station 20.

[0011] The flying object 10 according to the present embodiment has electric rotary wings and flies by battery drive. For example, the flying object 10 is an eVTOL (electric Vertical Take Off and Landing). An eVTOL has a cabin approximately the same size as a passenger vehicle that can accommodate one or more passengers, and a mechanism including one or more electric rotary wings for generating lift and thrust. The eVTOL is at least partially controlled by a visual flight rules (VFR) method. Note that the flying object 10 is not limited to an eVTOL, and includes helicopters, drones, etc. The flying object 10 has a drive mechanism including a motor for driving the electric rotary wings, a control unit thereof, and a battery for supplying power to the drive mechanism. The battery is, for example, a lithium-ion battery. The flying object 10 may be controlled, for example, by an instrument flight rules (IFR) method.

[0012] The aircraft 10 can be wirelessly charged (hereinafter also referred to as non-contact power supply) at the time of takeoff. As the method of wireless charging, any method such as magnetic resonance method, electromagnetic induction method, electric field coupling method, radio wave reception method, etc. may be adopted. When wirelessly charging at the time of takeoff, the aircraft 10 takes off from the flight station 20. The flight station 20 includes a power transmission device 30, and the power transmission device 30 can perform wireless charging on the aircraft 10.

[0013] The power transmission device 30 can perform wireless charging on the aircraft 10 when the aircraft 10 is flying in the wireless charging enabled area 200. In other words, the wireless charging enabled area 200 is an area where wireless charging can be performed by the power transmission device 30. The wireless charging enabled area 200 is defined by a boundary 210 in the height direction and a boundary 220 in the width direction. The boundary 210 in the height direction and the boundary 220 in the width direction are determined by the output of the power transmission device 30.

[0014] First, the outline of this embodiment will be described, and the details will be described later. The aircraft 10 according to this embodiment is battery-driven, and when the aircraft 10 takes off while being wirelessly charged, the time it stays in the wireless charging enabled area 200 is longer compared to the case where the aircraft 10 takes off without being wirelessly charged.

[0015] Thus, according to this embodiment, when the aircraft 10 takes off while being wirelessly charged, the time the aircraft 10 stays in the wireless charging enabled area is lengthened. Therefore, the battery consumption of the aircraft 10 at the time of takeoff can be suppressed, and in this way, the technology related to wireless charging for battery-driven aircraft is improved in that the sustainable flight distance can be made longer.

[0016] Next, each component of the aircraft 10 will be described in detail.

[0017] (Configuration of the aircraft) As shown in FIG. 2, the flying object 10 includes a control unit 11, a storage unit 12, an input unit 13, an output unit 14, a communication unit 15, a positioning unit 16, a detection unit 17, and a battery 18.

[0018] The control unit 11 includes at least one processor, at least one dedicated circuit, or a combination thereof. The processor is a general-purpose processor such as a CPU (central processing unit) or a GPU (graphics processing unit), or a dedicated processor specialized for specific processing. The dedicated circuit is, for example, an FPGA (field-programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit). The control unit 11 executes processing related to the operation of the flying object 10 while controlling each part of the flying object 10. For example, the control unit 11 controls a drive mechanism including a motor for driving an electric rotary wing.

[0019] The storage unit 12 includes at least one semiconductor memory, at least one magnetic memory, at least one optical memory, or a combination of at least two of these. The semiconductor memory is, for example, a RAM (random access memory) or a ROM (read only memory). The RAM is, for example, an SRAM (static random access memory) or a DRAM (dynamic random access memory). The ROM is, for example, an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). The storage unit 12 functions as, for example, a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, or a cache memory. The storage unit 12 stores data used for the operation of the flying object 10 and data obtained by the operation of the flying object 10.

[0020] The input unit 13 includes at least one input interface. The input interface is, for example, a physical key, a capacitive key, a pointing device, or a touch screen provided integrally with the display. The input interface may also be, for example, a sound sensor that receives voice input, or a camera that receives gesture input. The input unit 13 receives an operation for inputting data used for the operation of the aircraft 10. Instead of being provided in the aircraft 10, the input unit 13 may be connected to the aircraft 10 as an external input device. As a connection method, for example, any method such as USB (Universal Serial Bus), HDMI (Registered Trademark) (High-Definition Multimedia Interface), or Bluetooth (Registered Trademark) can be used.

[0021] The output unit 14 includes at least one output interface. The output interface is, for example, a display that outputs information as video, or a speaker that outputs information as sound. The display is, for example, an LCD (liquid crystal display) or an organic EL (electro luminescence) display. The output unit 14 displays and outputs data obtained by the operation of the aircraft 10. Instead of being provided in the aircraft 10, the output unit 14 may be connected to the aircraft 10 as an external output device. As a connection method, for example, any method such as USB, HDMI (Registered Trademark), or Bluetooth (Registered Trademark) can be used.

[0022] The communication unit 15 includes at least one interface for external communication. The communication interface may be either a wired communication interface or a wireless communication interface. In the case of wired communication, the communication interface is, for example, a LAN (Local Area Network) interface or a USB (Universal Serial Bus). In the case of wireless communication, the communication interface is, for example, an interface corresponding to a mobile communication standard such as LTE (Long Term Evolution), 4G (4th generation), or 5G (5th generation), or an interface corresponding to short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark). The communication unit 15 receives data used for the operation of the aircraft 10 and transmits data obtained by the operation of the aircraft 10.

[0023] The positioning unit 16 includes sensors or receivers for obtaining the position of the aircraft 10 by means of autonomous navigation, inertial navigation, GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), etc. Sensors for autonomous navigation include, for example, acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, azimuth magnets, altimeters, etc. Receivers for inertial navigation include, for example, receivers for receiving radio waves from ground radio facilities such as VOR (VHF omni-directional radio range) and ILS (Instrument Landing System). Furthermore, the GNSS receiver includes, for example, at least one of GPS (Global Positioning System), QZSS (Quasi-Zenith Satellite System), BeiDou, GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System), and Galileo. The positioning unit 16 obtains the position information of the aircraft 10 and sends the position information to the control unit 11. Here, the position information includes the altitude information of the aircraft 10.

[0024] The detection unit 17 has one or more sensors for detecting the state or operation of each part of the aircraft 10, or an interface with the sensors, and sends information indicating the detection results by the sensors to the control unit 11. The sensors include sensors for detecting the state or operation such as a drive mechanism including a motor, the rotation speed of the propeller, the remaining charge of the battery 18, temperature, charging speed, etc. Further, the sensors include a wind speed sensor, a wind direction sensor, an air temperature sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, an illuminance sensor, a rainfall sensor, a camera, etc. for detecting the state of the external environment of the aircraft 10.

[0025] The battery 18 supplies power to the drive mechanism of the aircraft 10. The battery 18 may be, for example, a lithium-ion battery, a solid electrolyte battery, a nickel-metal hydride battery, or the like. The battery 18 can be wirelessly charged from the power transmission device 30.

[0026] (Operation of the aircraft) With reference to FIG. 3, the operation of the system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0027] Step S10: The control unit 11 of the aircraft 10 determines whether the aircraft 10 takes off while being wirelessly charged. Any method can be adopted for such determination processing. For example, the control unit 11 may perform the above determination processing based on a selection operation by the operator of the aircraft 10. Such a selection operation is a selection operation of either taking off while being wirelessly charged or taking off without being wirelessly charged. Alternatively, the control unit 11 may automatically determine whether to take off while being wirelessly charged based on the planned flight route information of the aircraft 10, the remaining charge of the battery detected by the detection unit 17, the state of the external environment, etc. If it is determined that the aircraft 10 takes off while being wirelessly charged, the process proceeds to step S20. On the other hand, if it is determined that the aircraft 10 does not take off while being wirelessly charged (if it is determined to take off without being wirelessly charged), the process ends.

[0028] Step S20: The control unit 11 increases the time of staying in the wireless charging enabled area 200 as compared with the case where the aircraft 10 takes off without being wirelessly charged.

[0029] In order to increase the time that the aircraft 10 stays in the wireless charging area 200, any method can be adopted. For example, usually at the time of takeoff, it ascends while moving forward in the direction of the destination. Therefore, for example, the control unit 11 may increase the time that the aircraft 10 stays in the wireless charging area 200 by reducing the forward speed of the aircraft 10. That is, when the aircraft 10 takes off while wirelessly charging, the control unit 11 may control so that the forward speed is slower compared to the case where the aircraft 10 takes off without wirelessly charging.

[0030] Alternatively, the control unit 11 may increase the time that the aircraft 10 stays in the wireless charging area 200 by reducing the ascending speed of the aircraft 10. That is, when the aircraft 10 takes off while wirelessly charging, the control unit 11 controls so that the ascending speed is slower compared to the case where the aircraft 10 takes off without wirelessly charging.

[0031] Alternatively, the control unit 11 may use the altitude information of the aircraft 10 acquired by the positioning unit 16 to increase the time that the aircraft 10 stays in the wireless charging area 200. For example, when the aircraft 10 takes off while wirelessly charging, the control unit 11 may perform flight control so that the forward speed is less than a predetermined speed until a predetermined altitude is reached. The predetermined altitude may be determined based on, for example, the altitude of the boundary 210 in the height direction of the wireless charging area 200. For example, the predetermined altitude may be the same as the altitude of the boundary 210 in the height direction of the wireless charging area 200. In this case, the forward speed of the aircraft 10 may be any forward speed as long as the aircraft 10 does not deviate from the wireless charging area 200 until the predetermined altitude is reached. Also, for example, when the aircraft 10 takes off while wirelessly charging, the control unit 11 may perform flight control so that the ascending speed is less than a predetermined speed until a predetermined altitude is reached.

[0032] As described above, when the flying object 10 of the present embodiment takes off while being wirelessly charged, the time that the flying object 10 stays in the wireless charging available area is extended. Therefore, the battery consumption of the flying object 10 at the time of takeoff can be suppressed, and thus the technology related to wireless charging for a battery-driven flying object is improved in that the sustainable flight distance can be made longer.

[0033] Although the present disclosure has been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art may make various modifications and alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, the functions etc. included in each component or each step etc. can be rearranged so as not to be logically contradictory, and it is possible to combine a plurality of components or steps etc. into one or divide them.

[0034] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an embodiment in which the configuration and operation of the flying object 10 are distributed to a plurality of computers capable of communicating with each other is also possible. For example, an embodiment in which some components of the flying object 10 are provided in an external server device is also possible.

[0035] Also, for example, the directivity and output of wireless charging may be controlled. For example, the power transmission device 30 may be controlled to direct the directivity of wireless charging in the direction of the flying object 10 in accordance with the moving direction of the flying object 10 based on a control instruction etc. from the flying object 10. Also, for example, the power transmission device 30 may be controlled to increase the output of wireless charging when the flying object 10 is at a predetermined distance away from the power transmission device 30.

[0036] In one example, the flying object 10 may be used for providing MaaS (Mobility as a Service), which is a service utilizing mobility. In one example, the processing procedure in the flowchart of FIG. 3 may be executed when providing a service (MaaS) using the flying object 10. In this case, the information processing method by the above processing procedure is an example of a method for providing a service (MaaS) using the flying object 10.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0037] 1 System 10 Aircraft 11 Control Unit 12 Memory Unit 13 Input Unit 14 Output Unit 15 Communication Unit 16 Positioning Unit 17 Detection Unit 18 Battery 20 Flight Station 200 Wireless Charging Area 210, 220 Boundary 30 Power Transmission Device

Claims

1. A battery-powered flying object, comprising a control unit, a battery, wherein when the flying object takes off while wirelessly charging, the control unit executes flight control so as to increase the stay time in the wireless charging available area as compared with the case where the flying object takes off without wireless charging.

2. The flying object according to Claim 1, wherein when the flying object takes off while wirelessly charging, the forward speed is slower as compared with the case where the flying object takes off without wireless charging.

3. The flying object according to Claim 1, wherein when the flying object takes off while wirelessly charging, the ascending speed is slower as compared with the case where the flying object takes off without wireless charging.

4. The flying object according to Claim 1, wherein when the flying object takes off while wirelessly charging, the forward speed is less than a predetermined speed until a predetermined altitude is reached.

5. The flying object according to Claim 1, wherein when the flying object takes off while wirelessly charging, the ascending speed is less than a predetermined speed until a predetermined altitude is reached.

6. A method for providing MaaS (Mobility as a Service) using the flying object according to Claim 1. ​

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