Drone Sensor Rod and Guard Structure for Base Station Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inventory management in storage sites is complex and labor-intensive, with misplaced items causing inefficiencies and space occupancy issues, and existing power management solutions for autonomous systems are inadequate.
Innovation Solution
A base station system with a parking plate, pushers, gripper, and alignment sensor to secure and manage drones, including a battery pack swapping mechanism with chargers and a carrier for efficient battery replacement and temperature regulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Extent of automation
If manual inventory management is used, then flexibility and adaptability are maintained, but labor intensity and time consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The autonomous drone performs inventory management tasks independently, navigating autonomously through the storage site, scanning items, and returning to base station for recharging without continuous human intervention. The base station automatically manages battery swapping and charging operations
Solution Approach 2:
The inventory management system is divided into separate functional modules: autonomous navigation, item scanning, battery management, and data processing. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while reducing overall system complexity through modular design
2Productivity
If continuous operation of autonomous drone is ensured, then productivity increases, but power management complexity and battery replacement time increase
Solution Approach 1:
Battery packs are pre-charged at the base station before the drone needs them. When the drone returns with depleted batteries, already-charged replacement batteries are immediately available, eliminating waiting time and enabling rapid battery swapping for continuous operation
Solution Approach 2:
The base station acts as an intermediary that manages battery charging and swapping operations. It receives depleted batteries from the drone, charges them using dedicated chargers, and provides charged batteries back to the drone, decoupling the drone's operational continuity from direct human intervention
3Measurement precision
If precise drone alignment is achieved, then battery connection accuracy improves, but alignment detection complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Visual markers with distinct colors or patterns are placed on the drone and corresponding detection zones on the base station. The alignment sensor detects these visual markers to determine precise alignment status, transforming a complex positional measurement into a simpler optical recognition task
Data Source
AI summary
An aerial drone may include a drone body having a longitudinal housing carrying a processing circuit and a battery, the longitudinal housing extending in a first direction. The drone may include a sensor rod carried by the drone body and extending from the drone body in a second direction different from the first direction, the sensor rod carrying a sensor at a distal end of the sensor rod. The drone may include a propeller guard connected to the distal end of the sensor rod and supported at least partially by the sensor rod, the propeller guard forming part of a periphery of the aerial drone.