Drone station

Abstract

The present invention relates to a drone station in which a drone is stored when the drone is not operated. The present invention provides the drone station comprising: a housing (100) which has an inner space (S) for storing a drone (10) and which has an opening through which the drone (10) enters and exits; a drone loading part (340) which is linearly moved between a storage position set in the inner space (S) of the housing (100) and a takeoff and landing position set on the outside so that the drone (10) can take off or land outside the housing (100), and on which the drone (10) is loaded; a linear driving part (350) provided in the housing (100) so as to linearly drive the drone loading part (340) between the storage position and the takeoff and landing position; and a temperature and humidity control part (230) provided in the housing (100) so as to maintain the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S) according to a preset condition.

Description

Drone Station

[0001] The present invention relates to a drone station for storing a drone inside when the drone is not in operation.

[0002] A drone is an unmanned aircraft shaped like an airplane or helicopter that can fly and be controlled by radio guidance without a pilot on board.

[0003] The word drone, meaning a low buzzing sound, was named after the buzzing sound of bees flying around. It was originally created for military use, but is now used in a variety of fields, including high-altitude video and photography, delivery, weather information collection, and pesticide spraying.

[0004] Meanwhile, depending on the field of use of the drone, foreign substances may attach to the body, blades, etc. during operation, and depending on the age of use, there may be problems such as a decline in flight performance or the need for maintenance such as parts replacement due to contamination.

[0005] Additionally, drones use secondary batteries, but secondary batteries have a problem in that their performance can deteriorate depending on the ambient temperature.

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a drone station that enables optimized storage of a drone when not in operation by storing the drone in an internal space isolated from the outside and under preset conditions in order to solve the above problems.

[0007] The present invention has been created to achieve the above-described object of the present invention, and discloses a drone station characterized by including a housing (100) which forms an internal space (S) for storing a drone (10) and has an opening for entering and exiting a drone (10); a drone mounting portion (340) which linearly moves between a storage position set in the internal space (S) of the housing (100) and a takeoff and landing position set externally so that the drone (10) can take off or land outside the housing (100) and on which the drone (10) is mounted; a linear driving portion (350) which is installed in the housing (100) and linearly drives the drone mounting portion (340) between the storage position and the takeoff and landing position; and a temperature and humidity control portion (230) which is installed in the housing (100) and maintains the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S) at preset conditions.

[0008] The housing (100) may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and include an upper surface (112) and a lower surface (111) arranged with a vertical gap therebetween, and a side wall (113) that vertically connects the upper surface (112) and the lower surface (111).

[0009] The above side wall portion (113) has an opening formed for entry and exit of the drone mounting portion (340) on which the drone (10) is mounted, and the opening can be opened and closed by one or more door members (120).

[0010] An air spray unit (240) that sprays air to remove foreign substances from a drone (10) passing through the above opening may be installed adjacent to the above opening.

[0011] The housing (100) may be installed at a position corresponding to the blade (11) of the drone (10) when the drone mounting portion (340) is positioned in the storage position, and a blade drying portion (250) that sprays air to the blade (11) of the drone (10) to dry it may be installed.

[0012] A partition wall (130) is installed at a position opposite to the opening to divide the internal space (S) and the electric field space (E), and the electric field space (E) may be equipped with a main control unit (310) for driving control of the linear drive unit (350) and an information exchange unit (320) for exchanging data with the drone (10).

[0013] The above-mentioned electric field space (E) is partitioned by an auxiliary bulkhead member (140) and may include a first electric field space (E1) for installing the main control unit (310) and the information exchange unit (320) and a second electric field space (E2) for installing the temperature and humidity control unit (230).

[0014] The above auxiliary bulkhead member (140) can partition the above-mentioned electric space (E) at least horizontally and vertically.

[0015] The housing (100) is formed with an air inlet (210) through which external air is introduced adjacent to the temperature and humidity control unit (230), and an air outlet (220) through which air is discharged from the internal space (S) to the outside, and the temperature and humidity control unit (230) may include a thermoelectric module installed on the path of the air inlet (210) to control the temperature and humidity of the introduced air.

[0016] The temperature and humidity control unit (230) may be installed in at least one of the air inlet (210) and the air outlet (220) to induce air flow inside and outside the internal space (S).

[0017] Each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the above thermoelectric module can be placed in the flow path of the air inlet (210) and the flow path of the air outlet (220).

[0018] The drone station according to the present invention has the advantage of enabling optimized storage of the drone when not in operation by storing the drone in an internal space isolated from the outside and under preset conditions.

[0019] In addition, the drone station according to the present invention has the advantage of being able to provide an optimal storage environment for drones by being equipped with a temperature and humidity control unit for controlling the temperature and humidity of the internal space.

[0020] Furthermore, there is an advantage in that it can provide an optimal storage environment for drones by maintaining them at preset temperature conditions while considering heat generation during battery charging and data transmission / reception while the drone is stored in an internal space.

[0021] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a drone station according to the present invention.

[0022] FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B are cross-sectional views showing the drone station of FIG. 1, respectively. FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drone is stored in an internal space, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drone mounting portion is ejected to the outside for takeoff and landing.

[0023] FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b are cross-sectional views taken along the line Ⅲ-Ⅲ in FIG. 2a and FIG. 2b, respectively. FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drone is stored in an internal space, and FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a drone mounting portion is ejected to the outside for takeoff and landing.

[0024] Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the drone stations of Figure 1 in a stacked state.

[0025] Hereinafter, a drone station according to the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.

[0026] The drone station (10) according to the present invention comprises, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, a housing (100) which forms an internal space (S) for storing a drone (10) and has an opening for entering and exiting the drone (10); a drone mounting portion (340) which linearly moves between a storage position set in the internal space (S) of the housing (100) and a takeoff and landing position set externally so that the drone (10) can take off or land outside the housing (100) and on which the drone (10) is mounted; a linear driving portion (350) which is installed in the housing (100) and linearly drives the drone mounting portion (340) between the storage position and the takeoff and landing position; and a temperature and humidity control portion (230) which is installed in the housing (100) and maintains the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S) at preset conditions.

[0027] Here, the drone (10) is a freely flying module equipped with multiple blades, and can be configured in various ways depending on the purpose of use.

[0028] For example, the drone (10) may be equipped with one or more cameras (not shown) to take pictures of the ground by ascending to a preset altitude, such as for aerial photography.

[0029] In addition, the drone (10) may be equipped with multiple sensors for measuring weather conditions such as fine dust measurement and atmospheric pressure measurement.

[0030] In addition, the drone (10) can also be used as a device for spraying pesticides over a wide area, such as for pesticide spraying.

[0031] Meanwhile, the drone (10) may be composed of a main body, an arm extending laterally from the main body, and a blade (11) installed in the arm to generate air flow in the up-and-down direction.

[0032] The above housing (100) forms an internal space (S) for storing a drone (10) and has an opening for entering and exiting the drone (10), and various configurations are possible.

[0033] Here, the internal space (S) can have any structure as long as it is a space where a drone (10) can be stored.

[0034] For example, the housing (100) may have a rectangular parallelepiped shape and include an upper surface (112) and a lower surface (111) arranged with a vertical gap therebetween, and a side wall (113) that vertically connects the upper surface (112) and the lower surface (111).

[0035] The upper surface (112) and the lower surface (111) may be formed integrally or partially integrally with the side wall (113).

[0036] Additionally, the upper surface (112) and the lower surface (111) may be assembled and joined by a side wall (113) and a plurality of plates.

[0037] Meanwhile, the side wall portion (113) has an opening formed for entry and exit of the drone mounting portion (340) on which the drone (10) is mounted, and the opening can be opened and closed by one or more door members (120).

[0038] The above door member (120) is configured to open and close an opening formed in a side wall portion (113), and can be configured in various ways, such as being configured as a pair or as one, as shown in FIGS. 2a and 2b.

[0039] And the door member (120) can be installed so that the hinge can rotate with respect to the side wall (113), and although not shown, it can be automatically opened and closed by an opening and closing means.

[0040] The above opening / closing means is configured to open and close an opening formed in a side wall portion (113) by moving a door member (120), and various configurations are possible depending on the method of moving the door member (120), such as a rotary motor.

[0041] Meanwhile, an air spray unit (240) that sprays air to remove foreign substances from a drone (10) passing through the opening may be installed adjacent to the opening.

[0042] The above air injection unit (240) is installed adjacent to the opening and is configured to remove foreign substances by injecting air toward a drone (10) passing through the opening, and various configurations are possible.

[0043] For example, the air injection unit (240) may be configured as a so-called air knife, which is formed across the opening so that air is injected across the drone (10) passing through the opening.

[0044] Meanwhile, the blade (11) of the drone (10) needs to have moisture, etc. removed from it as it is connected to the rotation motor.

[0045] Accordingly, the housing (100) may be installed at a position corresponding to the blade (11) of the drone (10) when the drone mounting portion (340) is positioned in the storage position, and a blade drying portion (250) that sprays air to the blade (11) of the drone (10) to dry it may be installed.

[0046] The above blade drying unit (250) is installed at a position corresponding to the blade (11) of the drone (10) when the drone mounting unit (340) is positioned in the storage position, and is configured to dry the blade (11) of the drone (10) by spraying air onto it, and may be configured with a turbo fan, ring blower, etc.

[0047] Meanwhile, a partition wall (130) is installed at a position opposite to the opening to divide the internal space (S) and the electric field space (E), and the electric field space (E) may be equipped with a main control unit (310) for driving control of the linear drive unit (350) and an information exchange unit (320) for exchanging data with the drone (10).

[0048] The above-mentioned bulkhead (130) is installed in the housing (100) to divide the internal space (S) and the electric space (E) at a position opposite to the opening, and various configurations such as plate materials are possible.

[0049] In addition, the above-described bulkhead (130) may be formed with a first opening (131) and a second opening (132) so as to connect the flow path of the air inlet (210) and the flow path of the air outlet (220) described later with the internal space (S).

[0050] Meanwhile, the above-mentioned battle space (E) is a space where the main control unit (310) for driving control of the linear drive unit (350) and the information exchange unit (320) for exchanging data with the drone (10) are installed, and can be formed in various structures depending on the configuration of the main control unit (310) and the information exchange unit (320).

[0051] The above main control unit (310) is configured to control the operation of the linear driving unit (350) and further, the clamping module (not shown) installed in the drone mounting unit (340), and may be configured with one or more PCBs, etc., in a circuit configuration rather than a physical configuration.

[0052] The above information exchange unit (320) is configured for information exchange with the drone mounting unit (340), and can be configured in various ways, such as being configured as a terminal equipped with a wired and / or wireless communication module.

[0053] The above terminal can be configured in various ways, such as being a ready-made product such as a PC or tablet, or including a configuration at a level necessary for information exchange with a drone (10).

[0054] The above-mentioned electric field space (E) is additionally partitioned by an auxiliary bulkhead member (140), and may include a first electric field space (E1) for installing the main control unit (310) and the information exchange unit (320), and a second electric field space (E2) for installing the temperature and humidity control unit (230).

[0055] The above auxiliary bulkhead member (140) can be partitioned by various structures, such as partitioning the above-mentioned electric space (E) at least horizontally and vertically.

[0056] The above temperature and humidity control unit (230) is installed in the housing (100) and is configured to maintain the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S) at preset conditions. Any configuration that allows temperature and humidity control, such as a thermoelectric module, is possible.

[0057] Meanwhile, the housing (100) is formed with an air inlet (210) through which external air is introduced adjacent to the temperature and humidity control unit (230), and an air outlet (220) through which air is discharged from the internal space (S) to the outside, and the temperature and humidity control unit (230) may include a thermoelectric module installed on the path of the air inlet (210) to control the temperature and humidity of the introduced air.

[0058] The above air inlet (210) is an opening through which outside air is introduced adjacent to the temperature and humidity control unit (230), and the above air outlet (220) is an opening through which air is discharged from the inside space (S) to the outside, and can be formed in various positions depending on the air flow structure with the inside space (S).

[0059] And, at least one of the air inlet (210) and the air outlet (220), particularly the air inlet (210), may be installed with a filter (211, 221) to remove foreign substances contained in the outside air.

[0060] In the lower part, the thermoelectric module is configured to be installed on the air path of the air inlet (210) to maintain the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S) at preset conditions, and may include a thermoelectric plate on which a number of thermoelectric elements are installed, and a first heat exchange unit and a second heat exchange unit respectively coupled to the first surface and the second surface of the thermoelectric plate.

[0061] Here, the housing (100) may be equipped with a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor to control the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S).

[0062] The above first heat exchange unit and the above second heat exchange unit perform the roles of a heat absorption unit and a heat dissipation unit depending on the application of electricity to the thermoelectric plate.

[0063] And, the first heat exchange unit and the second heat exchange unit can have various structures, such as having heat pipes and fins, for heat exchange effect.

[0064] In particular, each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the thermoelectric module may be arranged in the flow path of the air inlet (210) and the flow path of the air outlet (220).

[0065] Meanwhile, the temperature and humidity control unit (230) is installed in at least one of the air inlet (210) and the air outlet (220), and at this time, an air flow forming unit (not shown) that induces air flow inside and outside the internal space (S) may be installed.

[0066] The above air flow forming unit is a configuration that induces air flow inside and outside the internal space (S), and may be configured with a fan or the like.

[0067] The above drone mounting portion (340) is configured to move linearly between a storage position set in the internal space (S) of the housing (100) and a takeoff and landing position set externally so that the drone (10) can take off or land outside the housing (100), and a drone (10) is mounted thereon, and various configurations are possible.

[0068] For example, the drone mounting portion (340) may have various structures, such as a flat plate structure or a basket structure formed with concave grooves.

[0069] And, the drone mounting portion (340) may be equipped with a clamping device (350) to fix the drone (10) in a mounted state for stable support of the drone (10).

[0070] The above clamping device (350) can be configured in various ways depending on the method of fixing the drone (10) to fix the drone (10) in a settled state for stable support of the drone (10).

[0071] In addition, the drone mounting portion (340) may be equipped with a wireless charging portion (not shown) so that the drone (10) can be wirelessly charged while mounted.

[0072] The above wireless charging unit is installed in the drone mounting unit (340) so that the drone (10) can be charged wirelessly while it is mounted, and various configurations are possible.

[0073] In addition, the drone mounting portion (340) may be equipped with a charging terminal so that the drone (10) can be charged by a wired charging method rather than a wireless charging method, and for this purpose, an electrical connection can be made to a charging terminal (not shown) installed in the drone (10).

[0074] In addition, when information is exchanged with a drone (10) through a wired connection with the information exchange unit (320) described above, the drone mounting unit (340) may be provided with a second connection terminal connected to the first connection terminal (not shown) of the drone (10).

[0075] The linear driving unit (350) is installed in the housing (100) and is configured to linearly drive the drone mounting unit (340) between the storage position and the takeoff and landing position, and various configurations are possible depending on the linear driving method.

[0076] In particular, the linear drive unit (350) may be provided with a telescopic pinner (or line, rail) having a plurality of rails (351, 352, 353) so that it can be installed in a small internal space (S) and move over a relatively long distance between the storage position and the take-off and landing position.

[0077] Meanwhile, the drone station according to the present invention can conveniently manage and store a plurality of drones (10) by being stacked in multiple layers vertically as shown in FIG. 4.

[0078] In addition, the drone station according to the present invention can efficiently perform program input, data input / output, etc. for a plurality of drones (10) by being stacked in multiple layers vertically.

[0079]

[0080] The above is only a description of some of the preferred embodiments that can be implemented by the present invention, and as is well known, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the above embodiments, and the technical ideas of the present invention described above and the technical ideas underlying them are all included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A housing (100) that forms an internal space (S) for storing a drone (10) and has an opening for entering and exiting the drone (10); A drone mounting portion (340) that moves linearly between a storage location set in the internal space (S) of the housing (100) and a takeoff and landing location set externally so that the drone (10) can take off or land outside the housing (100) and on which the drone (10) is mounted; A linear driving unit (350) installed in the housing (100) and linearly driving the drone mounting unit (340) between the storage position and the takeoff and landing position; A drone station characterized by including a temperature and humidity control unit (230) installed in the housing (100) to maintain the temperature and humidity of the internal space (S) at preset conditions.

2. In claim 1, The above housing (100) has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, The upper surface (112) and the lower surface (111) are arranged with a vertical gap, A drone station characterized by including a side wall portion (113) that vertically connects the upper surface portion (112) and the lower surface portion (111).

3. In claim 2, The above side wall portion (113) has an opening formed for entry and exit of the drone mounting portion (340) on which the drone (10) is mounted. A drone station characterized in that the above opening is opened and closed by one or more door members (120).

4. In claim 3, A drone station characterized in that an air spray unit (240) for spraying air to remove foreign substances from a drone (10) passing through the opening is installed adjacent to the opening.

5. In claim 3, The above housing (100) is, A drone station characterized in that a blade drying unit (250) is installed at a position corresponding to the blade (11) of the drone (10) when the drone mounting unit (340) is positioned in the storage position and sprays air onto the blade (11) of the drone (10) to dry it.

6. In claim 3, A partition wall (130) is installed at a position opposite to the above opening to divide the internal space (S) and the electric space (E), A drone station characterized in that the above-mentioned battle space (E) is equipped with a main control unit (310) for driving control of the linear drive unit (350) and an information exchange unit (320) for exchanging data with a drone (10).

7. In claim 6, A drone station characterized in that the above-mentioned electric field space (E) is partitioned by an auxiliary bulkhead member (140) and includes a first electric field space (E1) for installing the main control unit (310) and the information exchange unit (320) and a second electric field space (E2) for installing the temperature and humidity control unit (230).

8. In claim 7, A drone station characterized in that the above auxiliary bulkhead member (140) divides the above-mentioned electric space (E) into at least one of horizontal and vertical sections.

9. In any one of claims 1 to 8, The above housing (100) is, An air inlet (210) through which outside air is introduced and an air outlet (220) through which air is discharged from the inside space (S) to the outside are formed adjacent to the temperature and humidity control unit (230). A drone station characterized in that the temperature and humidity control unit (230) includes a thermoelectric module installed on the air inlet (210) passage to control the temperature and humidity of the incoming air.

10. In claim 9, The above temperature and humidity control unit (230) is a drone station characterized in that an air flow forming unit is installed in at least one of the air inlet (210) flow path and the air outlet (220) flow path to induce air flow inside and outside the internal space (S).

11. In claim 10, A drone station characterized in that each of the first heat exchanger and the second heat exchanger of the thermoelectric module is arranged in the flow path of the air inlet (210) and the flow path of the air outlet (220).

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