STATIC CONVERTER FOR CONTROLLING ELEMENTS OF A MULTI-AGENT POWER PLANT OF AN UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE

Abstract

This utility model relates to static converters. The technical result consists of expanding the arsenal of technical means for a static converter for controlling elements of a multi-agent propulsion system of an unmanned aerial vehicle with multiple primary electrical power sources and additional DC / DC converters. The static converter with a universal control system for a multi-agent propulsion system of an unmanned aerial vehicle consists of a power unit and a control system with an extensive set of digital interfaces and a power source, all housed in a single housing. 2 fig.

Description

[0001] The utility model relates to static converters that provide control of electrical energy as part of a multi-agent power plant of unmanned aerial vehicles with several primary sources of electrical energy and additional DC voltage converters.

[0002] The Flier 22S 200A ESC electronic speed controller for a brushless electric motor is known from the prior art (source http: / / www.fliermodel.com / en / fixed-wing-electrically-regulated-22s-200a.html), which is designed to operate as part of the power plant of an unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter UAV) with an internal combustion engine (hereinafter ICE). The controller has a power section based on semiconductor switches with full control for controlling the propeller thrust by means of a brushless electric motor. The controller control system is implemented digitally on the basis of a microcontroller. Control pulses generated by the control system are sent to the semiconductor switches through a power amplifier. The controller control system has equipment for controlling the throttle valve of the ICE. The specified controller with a brushless electric motor, a battery, and an ICE form a hybrid power plant.The controller has a USB interface for software configuration of the ESC mode. This device is limited to interaction with the UAV's onboard equipment via a PWM interface for setting the propeller thrust and does not have interfaces for controlling additional DC-DC converters for creating a multi-agent propulsion system with multiple primary power sources.

[0003] The closest in technical essence is the AMPX 120A (12-24S) HV Drone ESC speed controller (source https: / / rcdrone.top / ru / products / mad-ampx-120a-12-24s-hv-drone-esc), designed for operation as part of a hybrid power plant with an internal combustion engine, made in a splash-proof design. The controller has a power section based on semiconductor switches with full control for controlling the propeller thrust using a brushless electric motor. The controller control system is implemented digitally on the basis of a microcontroller. Control pulses generated by the control system are sent to semiconductor switches through a power amplifier. The controller control system has equipment for controlling the internal combustion engine throttle. The controller has a recuperation function for rapid speed reduction. It has a digital CAN and analog PWM interfaces for controlling the digital throttle valve of the internal combustion engine.The presence of one type of digital CAN interface, used only for digital throttle control, limits the scope of application of this device to UAV hybrid power plants and does not allow the creation of a multi-agent system with different types of interfaces for interaction between UAV onboard equipment and several primary sources of electrical energy and additional DC voltage converters.

[0004] The technical problem that the utility model is aimed at solving is the implementation of electrical energy control modes as part of a multi-agent power plant of unmanned aerial vehicles with several primary sources of electrical energy and additional DC voltage converters with various types of interfaces for interaction of the on-board equipment of the UAV in order to increase the reliability of the UAV and the possibility of creating an aircraft with a high-speed vertical takeoff or with an ultra-short takeoff strip, increasing the autonomy of the UAV, longer flight duration, and increasing the carrying capacity.

[0005] The technical result provided by the given set of features is the expansion of the arsenal of technical means of a static converter for controlling elements of a multi-agent power plant of an unmanned aerial vehicle with several primary sources of electrical energy and additional DC voltage converters.

[0006] The technical result is achieved in that the static converter with a universal control system for a multi-agent power plant of an unmanned aerial vehicle with several primary sources of electrical energy and additional DC voltage converters consists of a power section and a control system with an advanced set of digital interfaces, a power source, located in one housing, wherein the control system includes a power amplifier for the control signals of the semiconductor keys of the power section of the static converter, a microcontroller module, a DC sensor, a DC voltage sensor, an AC sensor, an AC voltage sensor, a matching unit, a one-time command level generation module, a PWM signal level generation module, a universal asynchronous USB interface transceiver module, a universal asynchronous UART interface transceiver module,an RS485 interface transceiver module, an RS232 interface transceiver module, a CAN interface transceiver module, configured to be connected to elements of the on-board equipment of the UAV, the power source is configured to be connected to a battery key, an AC voltage sensor and an AC current sensor are configured to be connected to an electric machine, a DC current sensor and a DC voltage sensor are configured to be connected to a battery contactor, and the power section is a three-phase, two-level, bidirectional voltage inverter based on semiconductor keys with full control.

[0007] The static converter with a universal control system is designed to control the elements of a multi-agent power plant of unmanned aerial vehicles, consisting of several independent primary sources of direct voltage (battery, solar batteries, fuel cells, etc.), additional direct voltage converters and an internal combustion engine.

[0008] The essence of the utility model is explained by drawings, which depict:

[0009] - Fig. 1 - structural diagram of the device,

[0010] - Fig. 2 - a sectional view of the device from above.

[0011] The static converter with a universal control system for a multi-agent UAV power plant consists of a power unit 1, a control system 2 with an advanced set of digital interfaces and a power source 3, located in a single housing 22.

[0012] The static converter with a control system includes a power source 3 for the static converter circuits with a control system, a power plant microcontroller module 4, a power amplifier 5 for controlling signals of the semiconductor keys of the power section of the static converter, a direct current sensor 6, a direct voltage sensor 7, an alternating current sensor 8, an alternating voltage sensor 9, a matching unit 10, a module for generating levels of one-time commands 11, a module for generating levels of PWM signals 12, a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter of the USB interface 13, a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter of the UART interface 14, a transceiver of the RS485 interface 15, a transceiver of the RS232 interface 16, a transceiver of the CAN interface 17, a connection with the contactor of the storage battery (hereinafter referred to as the battery) 18, a connection with the battery key 19, a connection with the electric machine 20, a connection with the elements of the on-board equipment UAV 21.

[0013] The control system 2 includes a power plant microcontroller module 4, a power amplifier 5 for controlling signals of the semiconductor keys of the power section of the static converter, a direct current sensor 6, a direct voltage sensor 7, an alternating current sensor 8, an alternating voltage sensor 9, a matching unit 10, a module for generating levels of one-time commands 11, a module for generating levels of PWM signals 12, a universal asynchronous USB interface transceiver module 13, a universal asynchronous UART interface transceiver module 14, an RS485 interface transceiver module 15, an RS232 interface transceiver module 16, a CAN interface transceiver module 17, and a connection with elements of the on-board equipment of the UAV 21.

[0014] Power section 1 and control system 2 are located on a single printed circuit board. The electronic components of these elements are connected via printed conductors on the printed circuit board. Connection wires 18 and 20 are connected to the board by soldering into holes. Power supply 3 of the static converter circuits with the control system is implemented as a separate printed circuit board, the electronic components of which are connected via printed conductors on the printed circuit board. Connection wires 19 are connected to the board of element 3 by soldering into holes. The two boards of the device are connected by wires soldered into holes. Both boards are housed in a housing, the cover of which is made with cooling fins, and the base of the housing has holes for connectors.

[0015] The battery is connected to the power source 3 via the key. The battery is connected via the contactor through the DC current sensor 6 to the DC voltage terminals of the power section of the static converter 1. The DC voltage of the battery is measured by the DC voltage sensor 7.

[0016] The power section of static converter 1 is a three-phase, two-level, bidirectional voltage inverter based on fully controlled MOSFET semiconductor switches. The power section provides bidirectional control of electrical energy in both electronic regulator and battery charging modes.

[0017] The AC voltage terminals of the static converter's power section are connected via AC sensor 8 to the propeller shaft's rotating electric machine. The AC voltage of the static converter's power section is measured by AC voltage sensor 9.

[0018] The output signals from the DC and AC current sensors and the DC and AC voltage sensors are sent to the microcontroller module 4 for digital implementation of the control laws for the power section of the static converter in the required operating modes, including emergency ones.

[0019] The output control signals of the semiconductor switches of the power section of the static converter, generated by the microcontroller module, are fed to the power amplifier 5, which amplifies the power of the specified control signals to generate the required voltage and current levels of the switching signals of the semiconductor switches of the power section of the static converter.

[0020] The microcontroller module 4 uses an integrated microcontroller chip with the necessary set of peripheral devices: general-purpose digital inputs / outputs, pulse duration control units for the semiconductor keys of the power section of the static converter, analog-to-digital converters of the measured signals, and digital interfaces.

[0021] The matching unit 10 is a set of electronic components of the signal level matching circuits of the connection 21 and the microcontroller module 4.

[0022] The input of matching unit 10 receives signals from the UAV's multi-agent powertrain component status sensors, such as the battery, electric machine, and internal combustion engine temperature sensors. The matching unit's output signals are fed to the microcontroller. The matching unit matches the signal levels of the UAV's multi-agent powertrain component status sensors with the acceptable signal levels of the microcontroller hardware.

[0023] The module for generating levels of one-time commands 11 is a set of electronic components of the signal level matching circuits of connection 21 and microcontroller module 4.

[0024] One-time command generation module 11 implements: 1) one-time command circuits in the "open collector" format for controlling the battery contactor and generating logical commands about the state of the UAV's multi-agent power plant components; 2) circuits for matching logical commands for starting the required operating modes of the static converter. Commands according to item 1) are received by the one-time command generation module from the microcontroller. Commands according to item 2) are received by the one-time command generation module from the UAV's onboard equipment, for example, from the flight controller. The output signals of the one-time command module are sent to the microcontroller via this channel. The matching circuits of the one-time command module in this section match the logical signal levels of the UAV's onboard equipment with the required input signal level of the microcontroller.

[0025] The PWM 12 module implements a PWM signal circuit for controlling the engine throttle servo and a logic-level matching circuit for the PWM thrust reference signal (propeller shaft speed), which is achieved by regulating the frequency of the first harmonic of the AC voltage of the static converter's power section. The PWM thrust reference signal is received from the UAV's onboard equipment, such as the flight controller.

[0026] Module 13 of the universal asynchronous USB receiver / transmitter implements protection circuits for the bidirectional protocol lines of the USB digital interface, which is used to connect to a personal computer for the purpose of configuring and updating the software of the microcontroller.

[0027] Universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) module 14 implements line protection circuits for the bidirectional UART digital interface protocol, which is used to implement the MAVLink protocol for transmitting telemetry over a radio channel, configuring components, and updating software.

[0028] The RS485 interface transceiver module 15 is a set of electronic components for implementing a digital RS485 interface based on an integrated circuit (IC) for the RS485 interface transceiver. The digital RS485 interface is used to transmit data via the MODBUS protocol for configuration, control, and status reading both on the client side (e.g., a flight controller) and as a client for controlling additional DC-DC converters in a multi-agent power system with multiple primary power sources.

[0029] The RS232 interface transceiver module 16 is a set of electronic components for implementing a digital RS232 interface based on an integrated circuit (IC) of the RS232 interface transceiver. The digital RS232 interface duplicates the data transmission via the MAVLink protocol.

[0030] The CAN 17 module is a bidirectional digital interface protocol transceiver (CAN) used to implement several protocols, including DroneCAN, CANopen, UAVCAN, and Cyphal. The CAN interface allows the static converter to receive control commands from the flight controller via the CAN bus and control additional DC-DC converters in a multi-agent propulsion system with multiple primary power sources.

[0031] Power supply 3 generates the required set of supply voltages for all nodes of the static converter.

[0032] The power amplifier for 5 control signals of semiconductor switches of the power section of the static converter is a set of electronic components of power amplifiers (based on integrated driver microcircuits) of control signals for generating the required voltage and current levels of switching signals of semiconductor switches of the power section of the static converter.

[0033] Connection with UAV on-board equipment elements 21 is a set of detachable connections for connecting the control system equipment and on-board equipment of the UAV.

[0034] The static converter with a universal control system is capable of operating in the following modes:

[0035] - electronic speed controller (ESC),

[0036] - battery charge,

[0037] - starter mode of starting the internal combustion engine using an electric machine of a hybrid power plant,

[0038] - warming up the internal combustion engine,

[0039] - stabilization of the nominal engine speed,

[0040] - emergency mode testing,

[0041] - control of bidirectional DC / DC converters, additional primary DC voltage sources (at least two) of a multi-agent power plant,

[0042] - interaction with the onboard equipment of the UAV using digital interfaces and one-time commands.

[0043] Static converter interfaces include:

[0044] - PWM signal for thrust setting (rotation speed of propellers),

[0045] - PWM signal for controlling the throttle valve of the internal combustion engine,

[0046] - one-time commands for interaction with the equipment of an unmanned aerial vehicle,

[0047] - USB,

[0048] - UART,

[0049] - CAN,

[0050] - RS-485,

[0051] - RS-232.

Claims

A static converter with a universal control system for a multi-agent power plant of an unmanned aerial vehicle, consisting of a power section and a control system with an advanced set of digital interfaces, a power source, located in a single housing, wherein the control system includes a power amplifier for the control signals of the semiconductor keys of the power section of the static converter, a microcontroller module, characterized in that the control system also includes a DC sensor, a DC voltage sensor, an AC current sensor, an AC voltage sensor, a matching unit, a one-time command level generation module, a PWM signal level generation module, a universal asynchronous USB interface transceiver module, a universal asynchronous UART interface transceiver module, an RS485 interface transceiver module, an RS232 interface transceiver module, a CAN interface transceiver module,designed with the possibility of connection with the elements of the on-board equipment of the UAV, the power source is designed with the possibility of connection with the battery key, the AC voltage sensor and the AC current sensor are designed with the possibility of connection with an electric machine, the DC current sensor and the DC voltage sensor are designed with the possibility of connection with the battery contactor, and the power section is a three-phase two-level bidirectional voltage inverter based on semiconductor keys with full control.

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