Aerial greening methods

Abstract

To provide an aerial greening method that reduces risks and minimizes energy and time loss in aerial greening of blind areas below obstructions that are not visible from above due to the obstructions. [Solution] The aerial greening method comprises a drone flying at a higher position than the obstacle, a suspension rope connected to the drone, and a bucket suspended by the suspension rope at a position lower than the obstacle. The drone hovers above the obstacle, approaching it within a range where the suspension rope approaches the obstacle but there is no risk of contact, and sprays greening material from the bucket into the blind area.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an aerial afforestation method for blind areas below occlusions that are not visible from the sky due to topographical features such as overhangs and occlusions such as obstacles including trees. Background Art

[0002] As a means for afforesting devastated mountainous areas, aerial afforestation is known, in which plant seeds and other afforestation materials are transported by aircraft and scattered from the air. Previously, manned helicopters have been exclusively used as the aircraft, and side-mounted tanks or suspended buckets have been used as the scattering devices (Non-Patent Document 1, page 72).

[0003] In some devastated mountainous areas, due to occlusions such as topographical features where rock walls or the like overhang and incline beyond the vertical (so-called overhangs) and obstacles such as trees, the areas below may become blind areas that cannot be visually observed from the sky.

[0004] On the other hand, to ensure safety, helicopters generally must fly at a certain distance from obstacles that pose a risk of contact, such as the ground, slopes, and trees. Figure 1 shows an example of a conventional aerial afforestation method 30 below an occlusion (overhang) 12.

[0005] The helicopter 11 cannot hover near the obstruction 12 that it may collide with, and must fly along a flight path 13 that maintains a certain distance D from the obstruction 12, while passing near the obstruction 12 at a constant speed and scattering the greening material 15 from the bucket 14. Furthermore, in order to attach equipment to the helicopter 11, safety certifications must be obtained, but it is not easy to obtain certification for and attach monitoring equipment to a helicopter 11 that has obtained certification for suspending the bucket 14 for aerial greening, in order to monitor its approach to the obstruction 12, the condition of the bucket 14, and the scattering of the greening material 15. In a helicopter 11 without monitoring equipment, the range that the pilot can directly monitor is limited, so even if the helicopter approaches the obstruction 12 while slowing down or hovering, there are limits, and the scattering of the greening material 15 relies largely on the pilot's intuition. For these reasons, it was difficult to scatter the greening material 15 using the helicopter 11 in the blind area 16 below the obstruction 12, which is not visible from above due to the obstruction 12. The blind area 16 is an area that cannot be seen from above due to the obstruction 12, and includes slopes that are above or below the vertical, as well as the ground surface below the obstruction 12. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2023-029116 [Non-patent literature]

[0007] [Non-Patent Document 1] Guidelines and Commentary on the Planning, Design, and Construction of Aerial Greening Works, Japan Erosion Control and Flood Control Association, September 15, 1980. [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] In recent years, attempts have been made to utilize drones in agriculture. In this specification, "drone" refers to a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with one or more rotors. Drones are typically equipped with downward-facing and / or forward-facing cameras as standard, and the drone operator can control the aircraft while monitoring the images from the cameras. The cameras may consist of one downward-facing or forward-facing camera, one downward-facing and one forward-facing camera (a total of two cameras), or a camera whose field of view can be changed between downward-facing and forward-facing, or a single wide-angle camera that includes both fields of view.

[0009] Patent Document 1 discloses an agricultural drone that disperses granular materials such as seeds and fertilizer from a dispersal tank mounted beneath the aircraft. Figure 2 shows the agricultural drone described in Patent Document 1 (Figure 1).

[0010] If this drone is used to spray greening materials in blind areas below obstacles that are not visible from above, the drone must be lowered below the obstacles after arriving above the spraying area, which involves the risk of contact as well as loss of energy and time. Also, approaching the spraying area at a lower altitude than the obstacles makes it difficult to secure a view towards the obstacles above, which also carries the risk of contact.

[0011] This disclosure is made in view of the above circumstances, and the purpose of this disclosure is to provide an aerial greening method that can reduce danger and reduce energy and time loss in aerial greening of blind areas below obstructions that cannot be seen from above due to the obstructions. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] One aspect of this disclosure is, A method for aerial greening of a blind area below an obstruction that cannot be seen from above due to the obstruction, The system comprises a drone flying at a position higher than the aforementioned obstacle, a suspension rope connected to the drone, and a bucket suspended by the suspension rope at a position lower than the aforementioned obstacle. The present invention relates to an aerial greening method characterized in that the drone approaches the obstacle and hovers above it, within a range where the suspension rope approaches the obstacle but does not pose a risk of contact, and sprays greening material from the bucket into the blind area.

[0013] Since the greening material is scattered into the blind area from a bucket suspended below the level of the obstacle, aerial greening of the blind area is possible without being obstructed by the obstacle. In addition, the drone flies above the obstacle, and although the suspension rope approaches the obstacle, it hovers above the obstacle at a distance where there is no risk of contact, thus reducing the risk of contact with the obstacle and eliminating the need to descend for scattering, thus reducing energy and time loss.

[0014] In one aspect of this disclosure, The bucket may be equipped with a downward-facing monitoring device at its bottom. This allows monitoring of the spraying status in blind areas without obstruction, thereby improving the accuracy of spraying in blind areas.

[0015] In one aspect of this disclosure, The suspension rope may be adjustable in length. This allows the distance between the drone and the bucket to be appropriately adjusted according to the height of the obstacle, thereby reducing energy and time losses caused by raising the drone excessively when the distance is long.

[0016] In one aspect of this disclosure, The operator may wirelessly control the opening and closing of the discharge port from the bucket that dispenses the greening material. This eliminates the need to extend a signal cable for opening and closing the discharge port from the bucket to the operator, thereby improving work efficiency. In particular, if the length of the suspension rope is adjusted, the length of the signal cable does not need to be adjusted, further improving work efficiency.

[0017] In one aspect of this disclosure, The operator of the drone and / or the spraying worker may spray the greening material while visually checking the blind area. Thereby, the spraying efficiency and spraying accuracy of the greening material to the blind area can be improved. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0018] [Figure 1] Shows a conventional aerial greening method below an obstacle. [Figure 2] Shows an example of an agricultural drone. [Figure 3] Shows the aerial greening method below an obstacle of the present disclosure. Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0019] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail. Note that the embodiments described below do not unduly limit the content of the present disclosure stated in the claims, and not all configurations described in the present embodiments are necessarily essential as the solution means of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 3 shows the aerial greening method 10 below the obstacle 12 of the present disclosure. The aerial greening method 10 of the present disclosure includes a drone 17 flying at a position higher than the obstacle (overhang) 12, a suspension rope 18 connected to the drone 17, and a bucket 14 suspended at a position lower than the obstacle 12 by the suspension rope 18. The drone 17 approaches and hovers above the obstacle 12 within a range where the suspension rope 18 approaches the obstacle 12 but has no risk of contact, and sprays the greening material 15 from the bucket 14 to the blind area 16 below the obstacle 12 that is not visible from above due to the obstacle 12.

[0021] Since the greening material 15 is scattered into the blind area 16 from a bucket 14 suspended at a position lower than the obstruction (overhang) 12, aerial greening of the blind area 16 is possible without being obstructed by the obstruction 12. In addition, the drone 17 flies at a position higher than the obstruction 12, and the suspension rope 18 approaches the obstruction 12 but hovers above the obstruction 12 within a range where there is no risk of contact, thus reducing the risk of contact with the obstruction 12, and also reducing energy and time loss as there is no need to descend for scattering. The obstruction 12 is not limited to an overhang, but may also be a ground surface or obstacle such as trees, as long as it is something that is not visible from above and creates a blind area 16 below. The bucket 14 is not particularly limited as long as it can scatter the greening material 15, for example, it may be equipped with a hopper at the bottom, or a rotating plate or impeller at the discharge port at the tip of the hopper. The material of the suspension rope 18 is not particularly limited as long as it can suspend the bucket 14; for example, it may be a bundle of natural or synthetic fibers, or a bundle of thin metal wires (so-called wire).

[0022] The aerial greening method 10 of this disclosure may include a downward-facing monitoring device 19 at the bottom of the bucket 14. This allows monitoring of the spraying status in the blind area 16 without being obstructed by the obstacle 12, thereby improving the accuracy of spraying in the blind area 16. The monitoring device 19 is not particularly limited as long as it can monitor the spraying status, and examples include cameras, LiDAR, etc. Monitoring of the monitoring device 19 may be performed by either the spraying worker or the drone operator 17, or by both.

[0023] In the aerial greening method 10 of this disclosure, the suspension rope 18 may be adjustable in length. This allows the distance between the drone 17 and the bucket 14 to be appropriately adjusted according to the height of the obstacle 12, thereby reducing energy and time loss due to raising the drone 17 excessively when the distance is long, and reducing the risk of the drone 17 approaching or contacting the obstacle 12 when the distance is short.

[0024] In the aerial greening method 10 of this disclosure, the sprayer may wirelessly operate the opening and closing of the discharge port from the bucket 14 for spraying the greening material 15. This eliminates the need to extend a signal cable for opening and closing the discharge port from the bucket 14 to the sprayer, thereby improving work efficiency. In particular, when the length of the suspension rope 18 is adjusted, the length of the signal cable does not need to be adjusted, further improving work efficiency. The sprayer may be a different person from the drone operator 17, or they may be the same person (the same applies hereinafter).

[0025] In the aerial greening method 10 of this disclosure, the operator of the drone 17 and / or the sprayer may spray the greening material 15 while visually inspecting the blind area 16. This can improve the efficiency and accuracy of spraying the greening material 15 onto the blind area 16.

[0026] Although this embodiment has been described in detail above, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications are possible without substantially departing from the novelty and effects of this disclosure. Therefore, all such modifications are included within the scope of this disclosure. For example, any term that appears at least once in the specification or drawings together with a broader or synonymous term may be replaced with that different term anywhere in the specification or drawings. Furthermore, the configuration of this embodiment is not limited to that described herein, and various modifications are possible. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 10 Aerial greening methods, 11 Helicopter, 12 Obstacles (overhangs), 13 Flight path, 14 Bucket, 15 Greening materials, 16 Blind area, 17 Drone, 18 Suspension rope, 19 Monitoring equipment, 30 Conventional aerial greening methods

Claims

1. A method for aerial greening of a blind area below an obstruction that cannot be seen from above due to the obstruction, The system comprises a drone flying at a position higher than the aforementioned obstacle, a suspension rope connected to the drone, and a bucket suspended by the suspension rope at a position lower than the aforementioned obstacle. The drone approaches the obstacle and hovers above it, within a range where the suspension rope approaches the obstacle but there is no risk of contact, and scatters greening material, including plant seeds, from the bucket into the blind area. An aerial greening method characterized in that the number of suspension ropes is one, and there are no other wirings or pipes connecting the drone and the bucket besides the suspension rope.

2. In the aerial greening method described in claim 1, The aforementioned shield is a rock face overhanging in a degraded mountainous area or a tree in the degraded mountainous area. An aerial greening method characterized in that the opening and closing of the discharge port for dispensing the greening material from the bucket is wirelessly operated by a spraying worker, who is a separate person from the drone operator, using a device different from the drone's control system, while visually observing the blind area, thereby dispensing the greening material.

Images