Drone Battery Swap Base Station With Alignment and Precharged Packs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Inventory management in storage sites is complex and labor-intensive, with issues such as misplaced items and inefficient power management for autonomous systems.
Innovation Solution
A base station system that includes a parking plate with pushers to align and secure drones, a gripper to hold the drone in place, and an alignment sensor to ensure proper positioning, along with a battery swapping system for efficient power management.
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
Solution Approach 1:
The base station system is divided into distinct functional modules: pushers for drone alignment, grippers for securing, alignment sensors for positioning detection, and battery swap mechanisms. Each module performs a specific function, allowing the complex automation task to be broken down into manageable components that can be independently controlled and maintained.
Solution Approach 2:
The base station integrates multiple functions into a single system: drone reception, alignment, securing, and battery swapping. The pushers and grippers work together to handle both positioning and securing operations, while the alignment sensor serves both alignment detection and positioning verification functions, reducing the need for separate specialized devices.
2Productivity
If battery charging is performed sequentially, then power management is simplified, but time consumption and productivity decrease
Solution Approach 1:
Battery packs are pre-charged at the base station before the drone returns. When the drone lands, it receives a fully charged battery immediately through the swap mechanism, eliminating waiting time. The base station maintains a inventory of pre-charged batteries ready for instant exchange.
Solution Approach 2:
The battery swap operation is designed to be continuous and rapid. The mechanical swap mechanism completes the battery exchange in a single continuous motion without interruption, and the base station continuously maintains charged batteries in the queue, ensuring the drone can immediately resume operations after swapping.
3Manufacturing precision
If precise drone alignment is implemented, then battery swap accuracy is improved, but system complexity and adjustment time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment sensor replaces complex mechanical alignment adjustment mechanisms. Instead of using motors or actuators to physically adjust the drone position, the system uses optical or electromagnetic sensors to detect the drone's position and provides feedback for automatic correction, achieving high precision without mechanical complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment sensor enables the system to automatically detect and correct drone positioning errors without human intervention. The sensor continuously monitors the drone's position relative to the optimal landing spot and automatically guides the pushers and grippers to achieve precise alignment, making the system self-correcting.
Data Source
AI summary
A base station may include a parking plate for receiving a drone. The base station may include a gripper carried by the parking plate, the gripper configured to secure the drone in place at a parking position at the parking plate. The base station may include a plurality of chargers, each charger comprising a battery latch and a power port, the battery latch configured to mechanically hold a battery pack in place with the charger and the power port configured to provide power to the battery pack being charged. The base station may include a battery pack carrier movable among the plurality of chargers and the parking position, the battery pack carrier configured to: remove a first battery pack from the drone and move the first battery pack to a first charger, and carry and install a second battery pack to the drone.