Drone recovery equipment

Abstract

Providing drone recovery equipment. [Solution] The drone recovery equipment 100 of the present invention is applied to a ship 10 to perform recovery operations for a drone 20, and comprises a flight platform 110 including a landing platform having a drone capture area 111a used to secure the drone to the landing platform 111 when the drone's landing gear comes into contact with it, and a recovery and release device 120 attached to the ship and having a connecting member 121 of variable length and a base 122 to which the connecting member is fixed, one end of the connecting member being fixed to the base and the other end being fixed to the flight platform, the base being capable of releasing or recovering the connecting member.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drone recovery system, and more particularly to a drone recovery system for ships. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional drones often face the following challenges when landing on ships: the rocking of the ship makes the landing unstable; the narrow landing space makes precise positioning difficult; and strong winds and rough seas cause the automatic landing system to fail. Furthermore, conventional drone recovery methods include capturing the drone with a net, tethering it with a rope, or navigating the landing using GPS. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0003] However, these drone recovery methods are passive, high-risk, and lack the ability to actively capture the drone.

[0004] Therefore, the inventors of the present invention believed that the above drawbacks could be improved, and after extensive research, they came up with the present invention, which effectively improves the above issues through rational design.

[0005] The present invention was developed through intensive research by the inventor in consideration of the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a drone recovery facility.

[0006] The first objective of this invention is to provide a drone recovery system for ships that can automatically recover stationary drones using an aerial platform, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems, and that can stably capture stationary drones even when the ship is rocking in the waves.

[0007] The second object of the present invention is to provide a drone recovery facility for ships, which solves the above-mentioned problems by releasing a variable-length connecting member using a recovery and release device to allow the flying platform to fly toward the stationary drone, and recovering the connecting member so that the flying platform with the stationary drone on it can be pulled back to the ship, thereby enabling the stationary drone to be stably captured even when the ship is rocking with waves.

[0008] The third objective of the present invention is to provide a drone recovery device for ships, in which the release length of the connecting member can be flexibly determined in response to the swaying of the ship's hull, thereby eliminating the possibility of the flying platform being pulled and displaced.

[0009] The fourth objective of the present invention is to provide a drone recovery equipment for ships, which can solve the above-mentioned problems by using a shock absorber attached to the ship to land the flying platform, thereby preventing the flying platform from colliding with the deck of the ship.

[0010] The fifth objective of the present invention is to provide a drone recovery equipment for ships, which can use image recognition function to assist the drone recovery operation of the flying platform, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0011] The sixth objective of the present invention is to provide a drone recovery device for ships, which uses a laser distance measurement function to assist the drone recovery operation of the flying platform, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems.

[0012] The seventh objective of the present invention is to provide a drone recovery equipment for ships, which solves the above-mentioned problems by using the magnetic attraction function of the flying platform to easily capture the stationary drone.

[0013] The eighth object of the present invention is to provide a ship-mounted drone recovery equipment that solves the above-mentioned problems by utilizing the mechanical engagement function of the flying platform to facilitate the capture of the stalled drone.

[0014] The ninth object of the present invention is to provide a ship-mounted drone recovery equipment in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in which the drone is charged by a wireless charging module of the flying platform. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] In order to achieve the above object, a drone recovery device according to one aspect of the present invention is applied to a ship to perform a drone recovery operation, and a flight platform including a landing platform having a drone capture area adapted to secure the drone to the landing platform when the drone's landing gear is contacted; The vessel is equipped with a connecting member having a variable length and a base to which the connecting member is fixed, one end of the connecting member being fixed to the base and the other end being fixed to the flying platform, and the base is equipped with a recovery / release device that can release or recover the connecting member.

[0016] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone capture area has a magnetic attraction function to fix the drone to the landing platform.

[0017] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone capture area has a mechanical engagement device whose engagement portion is released when the landing gear of the drone is contacted so that the drone engages with the landing platform.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flying platform is equipped with an image identification module to assist the recovery operation.

[0019] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flying platform is equipped with a laser distance measurement module to assist in the recovery operation.

[0020] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the flying platform is equipped with a wireless communication module for communicating with the drone to facilitate the recovery operation.

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the flying platform includes a wireless charging module for charging the drone.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recovery operation includes hovering the drone in the air and moving the flying platform toward the drone.

[0023] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recovery operation includes hovering the flying platform in the air and landing the drone on the flying platform.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the recovery operation includes directing the flying platform toward the drone and landing the drone on the flying platform.

[0025] In a possible embodiment, the connecting member is a cable or a robot arm.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the drone recovery equipment further includes a shock absorber attached to the ship for landing the flying platform, preventing the flying platform from colliding with the deck of the ship.

[0027] At least the following points will become clear from the description and drawings to be described later. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a drone recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2a] 2 is a schematic diagram of the drone recovery equipment shown in FIG. 1 releasing the connecting member, allowing the flying platform to move toward the drone. [Figure 2b] This is a schematic diagram of the drone recovery equipment shown in Figure 1, in which the magnetic attraction function is activated when a drone approaches within the drone capture area, or the mechanical engagement function is activated when the drone comes into contact with the drone capture area to capture the drone. [Figure 2c] This is a schematic diagram of the drone recovery equipment shown in Figure 1 using a base to recover a connecting member, thereby pulling an air platform carrying a drone back onto a ship. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0030] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a drone recovery system according to one embodiment of the present invention. In the example of FIG. 1, the drone recovery system 100 is applied to a ship 10 for recovering a drone 20, and includes an air platform 110 and a recovery and release device 120.

[0031] The flying platform 110 includes a landing platform 111, which includes a drone capture area 111a that is used to secure the drone 20 to the landing platform 111 when the landing gear of the drone 20 contacts the landing platform 111. The drone capture area 111a has a magnetic attraction function or a mechanical engagement device that is used to secure the drone 20 to the landing platform 111. The magnetic attraction function is provided by an electromagnet (not shown). The mechanical engagement device has an elastic energy storage element (not shown) and an engagement portion (not shown) that is linked to the elastic energy storage element. When the landing gear of the drone contacts the mechanical engagement device, the elastic energy storage element releases potential energy to drive the engagement portion, thereby engaging the drone 20 to the landing platform 111. The electromagnet and the mechanical engagement device are both conventional technologies, and therefore will not be described again here.

[0032] The flying platform 110 may also be equipped with an image identification module or a laser distance measurement module to automatically track the drone 20 to assist in the recovery operation.

[0033] The flying platform 110 may also include a wireless communication module for communicating with the drone 20 to assist in the recovery operation.

[0034] The flight platform 110 also has a wireless charging module that charges the drone 20.

[0035] The recovery and release device 120 is attached to the vessel 10 and includes a connecting member 121 with a variable length and a base 122 to which the connecting member 121 is fixed. One end of the connecting member 121 is fixed to the base 122, and the other end is fixed to the flying platform 110. The base 122 can release or recover the connecting member 121. In this embodiment, the connecting member 121 is implemented as a cable, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The connecting member 121 may also be implemented by other means, such as a robot arm. More specifically, the base 122 releases the connecting member 121 to allow the flying platform 110 to fly toward the stationary drone 20, and recovers the connecting member 121 to pull the flying platform 110 with the drone 20 mounted back toward the vessel 10. This allows the stationary drone 20 to be stably captured even when the vessel 10 is rocking with waves. It should be noted that the base 122 flexibly determines the release length of the connecting member 121 in response to the swaying of the hull of the ship 10, thereby eliminating the possibility of the flying platform 110 being displaced by being pulled.

[0036] The drone recovery facility 100 also includes a shock absorber (not shown) that is attached to the ship 10 to land the flying platform 110, thereby preventing the flying platform 110 from colliding with the deck of the ship 10.

[0037] The recovery operation may also include hovering the drone 20 in the air and sending the flying platform 110 towards the drone 20, or hovering the flying platform 110 in the air and landing the drone 20 on the flying platform 110, or sending the flying platform 110 towards the drone 20 and landing the drone 20 on the flying platform 110.

[0038] 2a to 2c are schematic diagrams illustrating drone recovery operations performed by drone recovery equipment 100. When drone 20 is a stationary VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) drone or a rotary wing drone, release connection member 121 allows flight platform 110 to fly toward drone 20 while it is parked above ship 10 (see FIG. 2a). When drone capture area 111a approaches drone 20, a magnetic attraction function is activated, or when drone capture area 111a comes into contact with drone 20, a mechanical engagement function is activated, thereby capturing drone 20 (see FIG. 2b). Base 122 retrieves connection member 121 so that flight platform 110 carrying drone 20 can be pulled back to ship 10 (see FIG. 2c).

[0039] Incidentally, during the process of retrieving the drone 20 by the drone retrieval equipment 100, the ship 10 will be tilted and rocked by waves, but in the present invention, the flying platform 110 is equipped with a calm landing platform, so the retrieval of the drone 20 is not affected by rocking from waves.

[0040] The present invention is configured as described above and therefore has the following advantages. 1. The drone recovery equipment for ships of this invention automatically recovers stationary drones using an aerial platform, making it possible to stably capture stationary drones even when the ship is rocking in the waves. Second, the drone recovery equipment for ships of the present invention releases a variable-length connecting member using a recovery and release device to allow the flying platform to fly toward the stationary drone, and recovers the connecting member so that the flying platform with the stationary drone on it can be pulled back to the ship, making it possible to stably capture the stationary drone even when the ship is rocking with waves. Third, the release length of the connecting member of the ship-mounted drone recovery equipment of the present invention can be flexibly determined in response to the swaying of the ship, thereby eliminating the possibility of the flying platform being pulled and displaced. Fourth, the drone recovery equipment for ships of this invention uses a shock absorber attached to the ship to land the flying platform, preventing the flying platform from colliding with the deck of the ship. 5. The drone recovery equipment for ships of the present invention utilizes an image recognition function to assist the drone recovery operation of the flying platform. Sixth, the drone recovery equipment for ships of the present invention utilizes a laser distance measurement function to assist the drone recovery operation of the flying platform. Seventh, the drone recovery equipment for ships of the present invention utilizes the magnetic attraction function of the flying platform to easily capture stationary drones. 8. The drone recovery equipment for ships of the present invention makes it easy to capture stationary drones through the mechanical engagement function of the flying platform. 9. In the ship-mounted drone recovery equipment of the present invention, the drone is charged by the wireless charging module of the flight platform.

[0041] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design modifications and the like are also included within the scope of the present invention without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0042] 10 ships 20 Drone 100 Drone Recovery Facility 110 Flying Platform 111 Landing Platform 111a Drone Capture Area 120 Recovery and Release Device 121 Connecting member 122 base

Claims

1. A drone recovery system applied to a vessel to perform a drone recovery operation, a flight platform including a landing platform having a drone capture area adapted to secure the drone to the landing platform when the drone's landing gear is contacted; A drone recovery facility comprising: a connecting member attached to a ship, the connecting member having a variable length, and a base to which the connecting member is fixed; one end of the connecting member being fixed to the base and the other end being fixed to the flying platform; and a recovery / release device on the base that can release or recover the connecting member.

2. The drone recovery facility according to claim 1 , wherein the drone capture area has a magnetic adsorption function for fixing the drone to the landing platform.

3. The drone recovery facility of claim 1, wherein the drone capture area has a mechanical engagement device whose engagement portion is released when the landing gear of the drone comes into contact with the mechanical engagement device so that the drone can engage with the landing platform.

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