Receiver

Abstract

To attain improvement of safety by performing fail-safe processing compatibly with improvement of safety by preventing a sudden attitude change of a steered body and damage of a motor caused by actuation of the fail-safe processing.SOLUTION: A receiving device is mounted on a steered body which is remotely steered on the basis of a steering signal. The receiving device comprises: a receiving section which receives the steering signal from a transmitting device; and a control section which performs processing for outputting a motor drive instruction value corresponding to the steering signal received by the receiving section as a motor drive instruction signal for controlling a driving amount of a motor. In a case where the steering signal cannot be received, the control section executes hold processing for performing hold output of a value corresponding to a steering signal during a reception period as a motor drive instruction value and fail-safe gradual change processing for gradually changing the motor drive instruction signal from the value at the time of the hold processing toward a fail-safe value which is determined for fail safe in response to the hold output period reaching a certain duration.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a receiving device mounted on a controlled object that is remotely controlled based on a control signal transmitted from a transmitting device, and particularly relates to a technique for coping with the situation when the control signal cannot be received.

Background Art

[0002] For example, in a radio control system for remotely controlling a controlled object such as a model airplane, a drone, or a model vehicle, when the receiver mounted on the controlled object cannot receive the control signal from the transmitter, the drive amount of the motor mounted on the controlled object is controlled. A fail-safe process is performed to hold the motor drive instruction value for the value during the reception period, and if the reception failure state continues thereafter, a fail-safe value (for example, a low output value such as 0) determined in advance is output as the motor drive instruction value.

[0003] By such a fail-safe process, it is possible to prevent the controlled object from falling into a dangerous situation where it continues to operate in a high propulsion force state such as the maximum propulsion force state.

[0004] Regarding related prior arts, Patent Documents 1 and 2 below can be cited. Patent Document 1 below discloses a technique for outputting the immediately preceding operation command data when a radio control system in which a drone operates by receiving operation command data by radio waves experiences reception interruption of radio waves or reception of abnormal radio waves. Further, Patent Document 2 below discloses a radio control system for a model helicopter in which different motor drive instruction values are output for the same stick operation amount in the flight mode and the hovering mode. When changing the motor drive instruction value to a value corresponding to the mode after switching according to the switching between the flight mode and the hovering mode, instead of changing the value abruptly, the value is gradually changed (delayed).

Prior Art Documents

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 09-186615 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-024333 [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0006] While the fail-safe mechanisms described above are useful for improving safety, the sudden change in motor drive command values ​​when the fail-safe mechanism is activated could potentially cause a sudden change in the attitude of the controlled vehicle. Furthermore, a sudden change in the motor drive command value could potentially lead to motor damage due to the effects of back electromotive force.

[0007] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and aims to achieve both improved safety through fail-safe processing and improved safety by preventing sudden changes in the attitude of the controlled vehicle and motor damage caused by the operation of the fail-safe processing. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The receiving device according to the present invention is a receiving device mounted on a controlled body that is remotely controlled based on a control signal, and comprises a receiving unit that receives the control signal from a transmitting device, and a control unit that performs processing to output a motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal received by the receiving unit as a motor drive instruction value for controlling the amount of motor drive, wherein the control unit performs a hold process when the control signal becomes unreceivable, which holds and outputs a value corresponding to the control signal during the reception period as the motor drive instruction value, and a fail-safe gradual change process when the period of the hold output reaches a certain period, which gradually changes the motor drive instruction value from the value at the time of the hold process toward a fail-safe value determined for fail-safe purposes. The above fail-safe gradual change processing prevents the motor drive command value from changing abruptly when the fail-safe process is activated after the hold process, thereby preventing the pilot's attitude from changing abruptly or the motor from being damaged due to the activation of the fail-safe process. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to achieve both improved safety through fail-safe processing and improved safety by preventing sudden changes in the attitude of the controlled vehicle and motor damage caused by the activation of the fail-safe processing. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0010] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a radio control system as an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a diagram illustrating conventional fail-safe procedures. [Figure 3] This is an explanatory diagram of a fail-safe process as an embodiment. [Figure 4] This is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the receiving device as an embodiment. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram of the gradual recovery process in the embodiment. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram of the hold-time return process in the embodiment. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram of the post-failsafe recovery process in the embodiment. [Figure 8] This flowchart shows a specific example of a processing procedure for implementing a motor drive command value control method as an embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0011] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in the following order. <1. System Configuration> <2. Motor Drive Instruction Value Control Method as an Embodiment> <3. Processing Procedure> <4. Variation Example> <5. Summary of Embodiment>

[0012] <1. Regarding System Configuration> FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a radio control system configured to include a receiver 1 as an embodiment of a receiving device according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the radio control system includes a transmitter 20 and a controlled object 10. The transmitter 20 has a function of receiving an operation for control by a user as an operator and transmitting a control signal corresponding to the received operation. The controlled object 10 is an object that is controlled based on the control signal transmitted by the transmitter 20. Examples of the object include, for example, an object as a flying body such as a model airplane, a model helicopter, a drone, or an object such as a model vehicle or various robots. In this example, it is assumed that the controlled object 10 is a flying body, specifically a model airplane.

[0013] The transmitter 20 includes a control side control unit 21, an operation unit 22, a display unit 23, and a control side communication unit 24. The operation unit 22 has various operators for performing a control operation of the controlled object 10, specifically, for example, a stick-shaped operator for instructing the propulsion force of the controlled object, instructing braking, or instructing the direction and amount of turning, and various operation inputs related to the control of the controlled object other than the control operation, such as operators such as buttons and touch panels, and operators for the user to perform various operation inputs to the transmitter 20.

[0014] The display unit 23 is configured to have a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) or an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display, and displays various information to the user. Furthermore, if the operation unit 22 has a touch panel, it is conceivable to form the touch panel on the display screen of the display unit 23 and configure it to detect touch operations on various buttons, checkboxes, etc., displayed on the display screen.

[0015] The control unit 21 is configured with a microcomputer equipped with, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), etc., and the CPU performs overall control of the transmitter 20 by executing processing according to a program stored in the memory such as ROM. For example, the control unit 21 generates a control signal based on the operation of the control elements for control operations in the control unit 22. Furthermore, the control unit 21 performs corresponding setting processing based on operations performed on the various setting controls in the control unit 22.

[0016] The control unit 21 also processes various information to be displayed on the display unit 23 based on operations performed on predetermined controls in the control unit 22. For example, it processes the display unit 23 to display a setting menu screen related to control, or to display a setting screen for an item selected from the setting menu screen. Furthermore, on the setting screen, it processes the display of information such as values ​​instructed by the user through operations on the control unit 22, and processes setting operations corresponding to the instruction operations for setting.

[0017] The settings referred to here include not only the settings for the transmitter 20, but also the settings for the receiver 1. The control unit 21 processes the setting information for the receiver 1 to be transmitted to the receiver 1 via the antenna 20a by the control communication unit 24.

[0018] Furthermore, the control unit 21 processes the control signals generated based on the above-described control operations to be transmitted to the receiver 1 via the antenna 20a by the control communication unit 24.

[0019] The control-side communication unit 24 is a communication device configured to enable wireless communication with external devices using a predetermined frequency band, such as the 2.4 GHz band, via the antenna 20a. In this example, the control-side communication unit 24 is configured to send and receive information (data) with external devices, but in the present invention, the control-side communication unit 24 only needs to have at least the function of transmitting information to external devices.

[0020] The controlled vehicle 10 is equipped with a receiver 1 as part of this embodiment, as well as an ESC (Electronic Speed ​​Controller) 4, a motor 5, and a battery 6.

[0021] The receiver 1 includes a controlled-side communication unit 2 and a controlled-side control unit 3. The controlled communication unit 2 is a communication device configured to enable wireless communication with external devices via the antenna 1a using a predetermined frequency band, such as the 2.4GHz band (provided that the control unit 24 described above is capable of handling the frequency band). In this example, the controlled communication unit 2 is configured to send and receive information (data) to and from external devices, similar to the control unit 24 described above. However, in the present invention, the controlled communication unit 2 only needs to have the function of receiving information transmitted from external devices. This enables the controlled communication unit 2 (receiver 1) to receive control signals and setting information transmitted from the transmitter 20.

[0022] The controlled unit 3 is configured with a microcomputer, for example, equipped with a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and the CPU performs overall control of the receiver 1 by executing processing according to a program stored in memory such as ROM. The controlled unit 3 outputs a motor drive command value corresponding to the control signal received by the controlled communication unit 2 as a motor drive command value for controlling the amount of drive of the motor 5.

[0023] In this example, motor 5 is defined as a motor provided as a propulsion power source for the controlled body 10. When an engine is provided as the propulsion power source, the controlled vehicle 10 is equipped with a servo motor for controlling the engine's throttle. However, in this example, the motor 5 itself is mounted as the propulsion power source for the controlled vehicle. In this case, the motor drive command value from receiver 1 is not output directly to motor 5, but rather to ESC 4, also known as a speed controller. ESC 4 generates a drive signal for motor 5 based on the input motor drive command value and the power supplied from battery 6, and controls the motor 5 using this drive signal.

[0024] Although detailed diagrams are omitted, the battery 6 supplies operating power to the receiver 1, for example, via the ESC 4.

[0025] Furthermore, in reality, the piloted vehicle 10 is also equipped with actuators other than the motor 5 (for example, servo motors that drive mechanisms such as rudder and aileron in model airplanes, or servo motors that drive steering mechanisms in model vehicles) in order to realize changes in direction of movement such as turning and changes in attitude. However, the fact that these actuators are installed and the processing content of the drive control system in response to the control signals are publicly known, so an explanation has been omitted.

[0026] <2. Motor drive instruction value control method as an embodiment> Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional fail-safe process. As mentioned above, some radio control systems perform fail-safe processing in which, if the receiver mounted on the controlled vehicle becomes unable to receive control signals from the transmitter, the motor drive instruction value is held at the value during the reception period, and if the inability to receive signals continues thereafter, a predetermined fail-safe value (for example, a low output value such as 0) is output as the motor drive instruction value.

[0027] As shown in Figure 2, in conventional fail-safe processing, the motor drive command value is switched from the held value to a fail-safe value when a hold process for a certain period of time is completed. Specifically, at the processing timing following the processing timing in which the hold process is completed, the fail-safe value is output as the motor drive command value. Therefore, conventionally, when the fail-safe process was activated, the motor drive command value would change abruptly, potentially causing a sudden change in the attitude of the controlled vehicle (attitude disturbance), and there was also a possibility that the motor 5 would be damaged due to the effect of back electromotive force. In particular, in the case of a configuration in which the motor 5 is used as the propulsion power source for the controlled body 10, as in the controlled body 10 in this example, since the motor 5 is a relatively high-output motor, the attitude of the controlled body 10 tends to become more unstable as the motor drive command value changes rapidly to the fail-safe value, and the amount of back electromotive force also tends to increase, thus increasing the possibility of motor damage. Furthermore, if motor 5 is a motor used as a propulsion power source for the controlled body 10, the system may be configured such that a decrease in the motor drive command value acts as a deceleration (braking) command. In that case, the attitude disturbance of the controlled body 10 becomes more likely to occur due to a sudden change in the motor drive command value to a fail-safe value.

[0028] Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 3, a method is adopted in which the motor drive command value is gradually changed toward a fail-safe value in accordance with the completion of a hold process for a certain period of time.

[0029] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram illustrating the functions of the controlled control unit 3 in the receiver 1 as an embodiment. As shown in the figure, the controlled unit 3 has the functions of a hold processing unit F1 and a fail-safe gradual change processing unit F2.

[0030] The hold processing unit F1 performs a hold process when it becomes impossible to receive the control signal, and outputs a value corresponding to the control signal received during the reception period as a motor drive instruction value. In this example, the determination of whether or not the control signal is no longer receivable is made by checking whether or not the data for one transmission unit (e.g., one packet) from the transmitter 20 could not be fully received within the receivable period for that unit of data.

[0031] Furthermore, the determination of whether or not reception has failed could also be made by determining whether the number of consecutive times in which data for one transmission unit could not be fully received exceeded a predetermined number (i.e., whether or not the period in which data could not be received exceeded a predetermined period).

[0032] When the hold processing unit F1 determines that it is no longer possible to receive the control signal, it processes the motor drive instruction value to be held for a certain period of time, corresponding to the control signal received during the most recent reception timing, i.e., the period immediately preceding the period during which the data for one transmission unit for which it was determined that reception was impossible was received (in other words, the last control signal received). In the hold process, the "certain period" during which the motor drive instruction value is held can be arbitrarily determined, but from a safety perspective, it is desirable to set this "certain period" as short as possible.

[0033] Furthermore, the motor drive instruction value to be held during the hold process is not limited to the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the last received control signal. For example, it could be the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal received at the reception timing immediately preceding the reception timing of the last control signal, or it could be the average value of multiple motor drive instruction values, including the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the last received control signal and the motor drive instruction values ​​corresponding to control signals received at earlier reception timings. The motor drive instruction value to be held during the hold process should be at least the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal during the reception period.

[0034] The fail-safe gradual change processing unit F2 performs a fail-safe gradual change process in which, when the period of the hold output of the motor drive instruction value by the hold processing unit F1 reaches a certain period, the motor drive instruction value is gradually changed from the value at the time of the hold process toward a fail-safe value defined for fail-safe purposes (see the "gradual change" section in Figure 3).

[0035] Regarding the fail-safe gradual change process described above, the process of gradually changing the motor drive command value can also be described as a "delay process," meaning that it delays the timing at which the motor drive command value reaches the target value. Furthermore, the process of gradually changing the motor drive command value can also be described as a "delay process" in the sense that, when the motor drive command value is abruptly changed to the target value, the tracking speed of the motor 5 is slowed down compared to the reference tracking speed.

[0036] In this example, the radio control system allows for the variable setting of four items: whether to enable or disable the failsafe process (i.e., turn the failsafe process ON / OFF), whether to enable or disable the failsafe gradual change process (i.e., turn the failsafe gradual change process ON / OFF), the gradual change period of the motor drive instruction value in the failsafe gradual change process, and the failsafe value. The ON / OFF setting for failsafe processing corresponds to switching between performing only hold processing or changing the motor drive command value to a failsafe value after hold processing, as a response to the inability to receive control signals. When both failsafe processing and failsafe gradual change processing are set to ON, the failsafe gradual change processing and the failsafe hold processing (processing to hold the failsafe value), described later, are performed after hold processing. On the other hand, when both failsafe processing and failsafe gradual change processing are set to OFF, the same failsafe processing as before is performed after hold processing; that is, the motor drive command value is changed to a failsafe value without going through failsafe gradual change processing (see Figure 2).

[0037] In this example, the controlled unit 3 is capable of variably setting the above four items based on user input. Specifically, in this example, the above four items can be set by the user operating the transmitter 20. In this case, the transmitter 20 allows the user to perform instruction operations for the above four items on a setting screen displayed on the display unit 23, for example. The control unit 21 of the transmitter 20 transmits information (instruction information) indicating the ON / OFF status of the failsafe process, the ON / OFF status of the failsafe gradual change process, the gradual change period, and the failsafe value, as instructed by the user on the setting screen, to the receiver 1 via the control communication unit 24. Then, the controlled control unit 3 in the receiver 1 performs the process of setting the ON / OFF status of the failsafe process, the ON / OFF status of the failsafe gradual change process, the gradual change period, and the failsafe value according to the instruction information transmitted from the transmitter 20 and received by the controlled communication unit 2.

[0038] In this example, the control unit 21 repeatedly transmits the above four instruction information to the receiver 1 at predetermined intervals, and the controlled control unit 3, each time it receives the transmitted instruction information, performs the following processing to set the failsafe process ON / OFF, the failsafe gradual change process ON / OFF, the gradual change period, and the failsafe value according to the instruction information. With this configuration, the user, as the operator, can control the controlled object 10 while simultaneously turning the failsafe process ON / OFF, turning the failsafe gradual change process ON / OFF, changing the gradual change period, and changing the failsafe value.

[0039] In the example above, all four instruction pieces are repeatedly transmitted at predetermined intervals, and the controlled control unit 3 makes settings each time it receives instruction information. However, the repeated transmission and setting of instruction information can also be limited to only some of the four pieces.

[0040] Furthermore, while the above example shows that instruction information is transmitted to the receiver 1 via wireless communication from the transmitter 20, it is also conceivable that instruction information for at least some of the above four items could be transmitted via wired communication by connecting the transmitter 20 and the receiver 1 with a predetermined cable. Furthermore, it is conceivable that instructions for at least some of the above four items could be received by an external device other than the transmitter 20 (an external device of the receiver 1), such as an information processing device or setting tool, including a personal computer, smartphone, or tablet terminal, and that the instruction information could be transmitted from the external device to the receiver 1 via wired communication. Alternatively, it is conceivable that the instruction operations for at least some of the above four items be accepted by the receiver 1 if it is possible to input an operation to the receiver 1.

[0041] In addition, the above example shows variable settings for four items based on user instructions, but it is also possible to set at least some of the above four items independently of user instructions. For example, it is possible to set the gradual change period variably according to the magnitude of the motor drive instruction value. Specifically in this case, the controlled unit 3 variably sets the gradual change period such that the smaller the motor drive instruction value (i.e., the smaller the difference between the value during the hold process and the fail-safe value), the shorter the gradual change period becomes. Alternatively, the system could determine whether the motor drive command value is below a predetermined value. If the motor drive command value is not below a predetermined value, it could set the fail-safe process to ON and the fail-safe gradual change process to ON. If the motor drive command value is below a predetermined value, it could set the fail-safe process to OFF and the fail-safe gradual change process to OFF, or set the fail-safe process to ON and the fail-safe gradual change process to OFF. In other words, if the motor drive command value is not below a predetermined value and it is estimated that the difference between it and the fail-safe value at the end of the hold process is large, the system could be set to change to the fail-safe value via the fail-safe gradual change process. If the motor drive command value is below a predetermined value and it is expected that the difference between it and the fail-safe value at the end of the hold process will be small, the system could be set not to perform the fail-safe process itself, including the fail-safe gradual change process, or to change to the fail-safe value without going through the fail-safe gradual change process.

[0042] At this point, the controlled unit 3 performs a fail-safe hold process. The fail-safe hold process is the process of holding the motor drive command value at the fail-safe value after changing it to the fail-safe value through the fail-safe gradual change process described above (see the "Fail-Safe Value Hold" section in Figure 3). By performing this fail-safe hold process, it becomes possible to wait for reception to resume while the motor drive instruction value is kept at a fail-safe value. Therefore, it is possible to avoid waiting for reception to resume while the piloted vehicle's thrust is high, thereby improving safety.

[0043] For clarification, the term "fail-safe processing" in this embodiment includes both "fail-safe gradual change processing" and "fail-safe hold processing."

[0044] In the above explanation, the process of gradually changing the motor drive instruction value was described as a "fail-safe gradual change process" performed upon completion of the hold process. However, in this example, the controlled unit 3 also performs the process of gradually changing the motor drive instruction value upon resumption of reception of the control signal. Specifically, in this case, the gradual change process is a process of gradually changing the motor drive instruction value toward the "received value," which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception has resumed. This can be rephrased as performing the gradual change process when returning the motor drive instruction value to the received value.

[0045] In this example, the determination of whether or not reception should be resumed is made by determining whether or not the data for one transmission unit was successfully received within the reception period for one transmission unit as described above. In this example, the "received value" is assumed to be the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal received at the time when reception was determined to be resumed.

[0046] Furthermore, the determination of whether or not to resume reception may be based not only on a single reception but also on multiple consecutive receptions.

[0047] The controlled control unit 3 performs gradual change processing when returning to the received value as described above, including gradual change return processing, hold return processing, and failsafe return processing.

[0048] Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of the gradual recovery process. The gradual change recovery process is a process that gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value when the reception of control signals resumes during the fail-safe gradual change process. As shown in the diagram, if the control signal becomes unreceivable and a hold process is performed for a certain period, and then the control signal is received again during the failsafe gradual change process, the gradual change recovery process is performed. In this example, the gradual change period of the motor drive instruction value during the gradual change recovery process will be the same as the gradual change period set for the fail-safe gradual change process.

[0049] By performing the gradual recovery process described above, it is possible to avoid a sudden change in the motor drive instruction value from the value during the fail-safe gradual change process to the received value. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the attitude of the controlled body 10 from becoming unstable and to prevent damage to the motor 5.

[0050] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the recovery process during a hold. The hold-on recovery process is a process that gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value when the reception of control signals resumes during the hold process. If the motor drive instruction value held during the hold process is not within a certain period, and the reception of the control signal resumes, the hold recovery process will be performed. In this example, the gradual change period for the motor drive instruction value during the hold-back process will also inherit the gradual change period set for the fail-safe gradual change process.

[0051] The above-described hold-and-reset process prevents the motor drive command value from changing abruptly from the value during the hold process to the received value, thereby preventing the attitude of the controlled body 10 from being disturbed and preventing damage to the motor 5.

[0052] Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram of the recovery process after failsafe. The failsafe recovery process is a process that gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value when the reception of control signals resumes during the failsafe hold process. This type of failsafe recovery process prevents the motor drive instruction value from changing abruptly from the value during the failsafe hold process to the received value, thereby preventing the attitude of the controlled body 10 from being disturbed and preventing damage to the motor 5. In this example, the gradual change period for the motor drive instruction value during the post-failsafe recovery process will also inherit the gradual change period set for the failsafe gradual change process.

[0053] It should be noted that the gradual change period set for the fail-safe gradual change process is merely one example of how it can be carried over to the gradual change process during gradual change recovery, hold recovery, and post-fail-safe recovery. For example, it is also conceivable that users can individually set the gradual change period for each of these processes, allowing for the setting of a different gradual change period than that set for the fail-safe gradual change process. Here, the gradual change recovery process, the hold recovery process, and the failsafe recovery process correspond to the "reception restart gradual change process," which gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value when reception of the control signal resumes after the start of the hold process. Furthermore, the period of gradual change of the motor drive instruction value due to these gradual change recovery processes, hold recovery processes, and failsafe recovery processes can be expressed as the "reception restart gradual change period." It is conceivable that the controlled control unit 3 will set this reception restart gradual change period based on instructions from an external device of the receiver 1, such as the transmitter 20 or a personal computer.

[0054] <3. Processing Procedure> Figure 8 is a flowchart showing an example of specific processing steps to be performed in order to implement the motor drive instruction value control method as described above. The process shown in Figure 8 is executed by the CPU of the controlled control unit 3 based on a program stored in a memory device such as ROM in the controlled control unit 3. For the purposes of this explanation, the controlled control unit 3 is referred to as the entity that executes the process.

[0055] In step S101, the controlled unit 3 waits until it becomes unable to receive signals. That is, it waits until it becomes unable to receive control signals. As mentioned above, in this example, the determination of whether or not it is unable to receive signals is made by determining whether or not it was not possible to receive one transmission unit's worth of data within the period during which one transmission unit's worth of data can be received.

[0056] If a reception failure occurs in step S101, the controlled control unit 3 starts a time count in step S102 and starts a hold process in the following step S103. As described above, in this example, the controlled control unit 3 outputs a motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal received at the reception timing immediately preceding the reception timing in which the reception failure was determined to have occurred.

[0057] In step S104, following step S103, the controlled control unit 3 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed, that is, whether the count value calculated by the time count started in step S102 has reached a predetermined value. This determination process in step S104 is for determining the hold period of the "certain period" in the hold process.

[0058] If, in step S104, it is determined that the predetermined time has not elapsed, the controlled control unit 3 proceeds to step S105 to determine whether or not reception has resumed. In other words, it determines whether or not the reception of the control signal has resumed. If it is determined that reception has not resumed, the controlled control unit 3 returns to step S104. This causes the control unit to wait for either the "certain period" of the hold period to elapse or for reception to resume during the hold process.

[0059] If it is determined in step S105 that reception should resume, the controlled control unit 3 proceeds to step S112 to execute the hold recovery process described earlier, and completes the series of processes shown in Figure 8. Furthermore, during the hold-and-recovery process, the motor drive command value output at each processing timing during the gradual change can be calculated based on the difference between the motor drive command value during the hold process and the received value, the processing cycle, and the set gradual change period.

[0060] In step S104, if it is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed, the controlled-side control unit 3 proceeds to step S106 and starts the fail-safe gradual change process. That is, it performs a process to gradually change the motor drive instruction value from the value during the hold process toward the fail-safe value. As a result, the fail-safe gradual change process is started in accordance with the completion of the hold process for a certain period of time. In fail-safe gradual change processing, the motor drive command value at each processing timing during gradual change is determined based on the difference between the motor drive command value during hold processing and the fail-safe value, the processing cycle, and the set gradual change period.

[0061] In step S107, following step S106, the controlled unit 3 determines whether or not the fail-safe value has been reached. That is, as the fail-safe gradual change process that started in step S106 progresses, it determines whether or not the motor drive command value has reached the fail-safe value.

[0062] In step S107, if it is determined that the failsafe value has not been reached, the controlled control unit 3 proceeds to step S108 to determine whether to resume reception. If it is determined that reception should not be resumed, the controlled control unit 3 returns to step S107. In this way, during the failsafe gradual change process, the system waits for either the failuresafe value to be reached or reception to resume.

[0063] If the controlled control unit 3 determines in step S108 that reception should resume, it proceeds to step S113 to execute the gradual recovery process described earlier, and completes the series of processes shown in Figure 8. In the gradual change recovery process, the motor drive command value output at each processing timing during the gradual change is determined based on the difference between the motor drive command value output immediately before the start of the gradual change recovery process and the received value, the processing cycle, and the set gradual change period.

[0064] If the control unit 3 determines in step S107 that the fail-safe value has been reached, it proceeds to step S109 and starts the fail-safe hold process. That is, it starts the process of holding the motor drive command value at the fail-safe value.

[0065] In step S110, following step S109, the controlled control unit 3 determines whether reception has resumed or not. If it determines that reception has not resumed, it proceeds to step S111 to determine whether the process has ended or not. That is, it determines whether the processing termination conditions for the fail-safe hold process have been met. Various conditions can be considered for the processing termination conditions of the fail-safe hold process. For example, the processing termination condition could be the elapsed time from the start of the fail-safe hold process. Alternatively, the processing termination condition could be the input of a predetermined signal (for example, a signal corresponding to user operation) that instructs the termination of the fail-safe hold process.

[0066] If it is determined in step S111 that the process is not yet complete, the controlled control unit 3 returns to step S110. This causes it to wait for either the completion of the process or the resumption of reception during the fail-safe hold process. It should be noted that waiting for either the end of processing or the resumption of reception during the fail-safe hold process is not mandatory; a configuration that only waits for the resumption of reception is also conceivable.

[0067] If it is determined in step S110 that reception has resumed, the controlled control unit 3 proceeds to step S114 to execute the failsafe recovery process described earlier, and completes the series of processes shown in Figure 8. Furthermore, during the recovery process after failsafe operation, the motor drive command values ​​output at each processing timing during the gradual change are determined based on the difference between the failsafe value and the received value, the processing cycle, and the set gradual change period.

[0068] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S111 that the process is complete, the controlled control unit 3 will finish the series of processes shown in Figure 8.

[0069] <4. Variation> It should be noted that the embodiments are not limited to the specific examples described above, and various other modified configurations can be adopted. For example, in the above example, the motor to be controlled was motor 5 provided as the propulsion power source for the piloted body 10. However, in the present invention, the motor to be controlled is not limited to the motor that serves as the propulsion power source for the piloted body. For example, in a piloted body having an engine as a propulsion power source, it could be a servo motor provided to control the throttle of the engine. Alternatively, it could be a servo motor for control surfaces (e.g., ailerons, elevators, rudder, flaps) in the case of a model airplane, or a servo motor for steering in the case of a model vehicle. In this invention, the term "motor drive instruction value" is a concept that also includes the instruction value used to control the output of a motor when the motor to be controlled is a servo motor.

[0070] Furthermore, although the above description was based on the premise that the controlled object on which the receiving device according to the present invention is mounted is an aircraft, the receiving device according to the present invention can also be applied when the controlled object is an object other than an aircraft, such as a model vehicle or various robots.

[0071] <5. Summary of Embodiments> As described above, the receiving device (receiver 1) as an embodiment is a receiving device mounted on a controlled body (same 10) that is remotely controlled based on a control signal, and comprises a receiving unit (controlled body communication unit 2) that receives a control signal from a transmitting device (transmitter 20), and a control unit (controlled body control unit 3) that processes a motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal received by the receiving unit as a motor drive instruction value for controlling the amount of drive of the motor (same 5). The control unit then performs a hold process when it becomes unable to receive the control signal, which holds and outputs a value corresponding to the control signal during the reception period as the motor drive instruction value, and a fail-safe gradual change process when the period of hold output reaches a certain period, which gradually changes the motor drive instruction value from the value at the time of the hold process toward a fail-safe value determined for fail-safe purposes.

[0072] The above fail-safe gradual change processing prevents the motor drive command value from changing abruptly when the fail-safe process is activated after the hold process, thereby preventing the pilot's attitude from changing abruptly or the motor from being damaged due to the activation of the fail-safe process. Therefore, it is possible to achieve both improved safety through fail-safe procedures and improved safety by preventing sudden changes in the pilot's attitude and motor damage caused by the activation of the fail-safe procedures.

[0073] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the motor is provided as a propulsion power source for the controlled body. The motor used as the propulsion power source for the controlled vehicle is a relatively high-output motor. If the motor drive command value changes abruptly to the fail-safe value due to the fail-safe function, the vehicle's attitude is more likely to become unstable, and the amount of back electromotive force tends to increase, thus increasing the likelihood of motor damage. Therefore, it is preferable to perform a fail-safe gradual change process as an embodiment.

[0074] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the controlled object is an aircraft. Unlike model vehicles, which are primarily intended to move along a fixed-width track, piloted aircraft are expected to move in the air, an area with little to no width restriction. Therefore, there is a relatively high degree of time leeway in gradually changing the motor drive command value toward the fail-safe value through fail-safe gradual change processing. Therefore, it is preferable to perform fail-safe gradual change processing.

[0075] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit is capable of variably setting the gradual change period by the fail-safe gradual change processing. This makes it possible to customize the gradual change period according to the intended use of the controlled object, the characteristics of the motor, and other factors. Therefore, it is possible to improve the user experience related to the fail-safe gradual change processing function.

[0076] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit performs a fail-safe hold process to hold the motor drive instruction value at the fail-safe value after changing the motor drive instruction value to a fail-safe value through a fail-safe gradual change process. This makes it possible to wait for reception to resume while the motor drive command value is kept at a fail-safe value. Therefore, it is possible to avoid waiting for reception to resume while the piloted vehicle's thrust is high, thereby improving safety.

[0077] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit performs a gradual change recovery process in which, when reception of the control signal resumes during the fail-safe gradual change process, the motor drive instruction value is gradually changed toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception resumes (see Figure 5, etc.). This prevents the motor drive instruction value from changing abruptly from the value during the fail-safe gradual change process to the received value when the motor drive instruction value is restored to the received value in response to the resumption of reception during the fail-safe gradual change process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the attitude of the controlled vehicle from becoming unstable and to prevent damage to the motor.

[0078] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit performs a hold-time recovery process in which, when the reception of a control signal resumes during the hold process, the motor drive instruction value is gradually changed toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after the reception resumes (see Figure 6, etc.). This prevents the motor drive command value from changing abruptly from the value during hold processing to the received value when the motor drive command value is restored to the received value in response to the resumption of reception during hold processing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the attitude of the controlled vehicle from becoming unstable and to prevent damage to the motor.

[0079] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit performs a fail-safe recovery process in which, when the reception of a control signal resumes during the fail-safe hold process, the motor drive instruction value is gradually changed toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after the reception resumes (see Figure 7, etc.). This prevents a sudden change in the motor drive command value from the value during the fail-safe hold process to the received value when the motor drive command value is restored to the received value in response to the resumption of reception during the fail-safe hold process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the attitude of the controlled vehicle from becoming unstable and to prevent damage to the motor.

[0080] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit sets the enable / disable setting of the fail-safe gradual change processing, the fail-safe gradual change period which is the gradual change period of the motor drive instruction value due to the fail-safe gradual change processing, and the fail-safe value based on instructions made by an external device based on user operation. This allows the user to enable / disable the fail-safe gradual change process, set the gradual change period during the fail-safe gradual change, and instruct the receiving device to set the fail-safe value through operation.

[0081] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the external device is defined as a transmitting device (transmitter 20). This allows the user to set the enable / disable of fail-safe gradual change processing, the gradual change period during fail-safe gradual change, and the fail-safe value via the transmitting device to the receiving device.

[0082] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the external device is assumed to be a separate external device from the transmitting device. This allows the user to set the enable / disable of fail-safe gradual change processing, the gradual change period during fail-safe gradual change, and the fail-safe value via an external device separate from the transmitting device.

[0083] Furthermore, in the receiving device as an embodiment, the control unit performs a reception restart gradual change process to gradually change the motor drive instruction value toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception restart, when reception of the control signal resumes after the start of the hold process. The control unit also individually sets the reception restart gradual change period, which is the period of gradual change of the motor drive instruction value due to the reception restart gradual change process, and the fail-safe gradual change period, based on instructions from an external device. This allows the user to individually instruct the receiving device to set the fail-safe gradual change period and the gradual change period upon resumption of reception, provided the receiving device is capable of performing the gradual change process upon resumption of reception. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0084] 1 Receiver 1a Antenna 2. Controlled side communication unit 3. Controlled Control Unit 4 ESC (Speed ​​Controller) 5 Motors 6 batteries 10 Maneuvered object 20 Transmitters 20a antenna 21 Control Unit 22 Control section 23 Display section 24. Control Panel Communications Unit F1 Hold Processing Unit F2 Fail-safe Gradual Change Processing Unit

Claims

1. A receiving device mounted on a controlled vehicle that is remotely controlled based on control signals, A receiving unit that receives the control signal from the transmitting device, The system includes a control unit that processes a motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal received by the receiving unit, for controlling the amount of motor drive, The control unit, When the aforementioned control signal becomes unreceivable, a hold process is performed to output a value corresponding to the control signal during the reception period as the motor drive instruction value. In response to the duration of the hold output reaching a certain period, a fail-safe gradual change process is performed, which gradually changes the motor drive instruction value from the value at the time of the hold process toward a fail-safe value determined for fail-safe purposes. Receiving device.

2. The motor is a motor provided as a propulsion power source for the controlled vehicle. The receiving device according to claim 1.

3. The piloted entity is an aircraft. The receiving device according to claim 1.

4. The control unit is capable of variably setting the gradual change period by the fail-safe gradual change process. The receiving device according to claim 1.

5. The control unit, after changing the motor drive instruction value to the fail-safe value through the fail-safe gradual change process, performs a fail-safe hold process to hold the motor drive instruction value at the fail-safe value. The receiving device according to claim 1.

6. The control unit performs a gradual change recovery process when reception of the control signal resumes during the fail-safe gradual change process, which gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception resumes. A receiving device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The control unit performs a hold-time recovery process, which, when reception of the control signal resumes during the hold process, gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception resumes. A receiving device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

8. The control unit performs a fail-safe recovery process in which, if reception of the control signal resumes during the fail-safe hold process, it gradually changes the motor drive instruction value toward the received value, which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception resumes. The receiving device according to claim 5.

9. The control unit, based on user operation and instructions from an external device, sets the enable / disable setting of the fail-safe gradual change process, the fail-safe gradual change period which is the gradual change period of the motor drive instruction value due to the fail-safe gradual change process, and the fail-safe value. The receiving device according to claim 1.

10. The external device is the transmitting device. The receiving device according to claim 9.

11. The external device is a separate external device from the transmitting device. The receiving device according to claim 9.

12. The control unit, If reception of the control signal resumes after the start of the hold process, a reception resumption gradual change process is performed to gradually change the motor drive instruction value toward the received value which is the motor drive instruction value corresponding to the control signal after reception resumes. The gradual change period for the motor drive instruction value due to the gradual change processing when reception is resumed, and the gradual change period when the fail-safe gradual change are set individually based on instructions from the external device. A receiving device according to any one of claims 9 to 11.

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