CN110588422B

CN110588422B - Automatic positioning device, automatic positioning system and automatic positioning method

Info

Publication number: CN110588422B
Application number: CN201910843715.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王哲; 贺凡波; 陆钧; 葛俊杰; 马俊超
Original assignee: Hefei Yougan Technology Co ltd; Beijing Invispower Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hefei Yougan Technology Co ltd; Beijing Invispower Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-09-06
Filing date: 2019-09-06
Publication date: 2025-07-04
Anticipated expiration: 2039-09-06
Also published as: CN110588422A

Abstract

The present invention discloses an automatic positioning device, an automatic positioning system and an automatic positioning method, wherein the device comprises: a first plate, a second plate, a magnetic metal conductive ball and a controller; the first plate has a reference point and a plurality of first conductive lines arranged along a straight line; a conductive part is formed on the second plate, and the conductive part is arranged opposite to the first conductive line; the magnetic metal conductive ball is movably located between the first plate and the second plate, and can conduct the first conductive line and the conductive part. In the present invention, the magnetic metal conductive ball is attracted by magnetic force, moves between the first plate and the second plate, and can connect different first conductive lines at different moving positions, that is, connect the first conductive line and the conductive part, and the controller can adjust the direction during positioning through the connection relationship. In this way, positioning can be performed automatically and conveniently without manual operation. It can be applied to wireless charging of mobile devices such as drones, and has a wide range of applications.

Description

Automatic positioning device, automatic positioning system and automatic positioning method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of automatic positioning, in particular to an automatic positioning device, an automatic positioning system and an automatic positioning method.

Background

With the development of charging technology, wireless charging technology has become mature, and can be realized by automobiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, mobile phones and watches.

For wireless charging of small objects such as mobile phones, the small objects can be charged by placing the small objects on a wireless charging seat, and for large-sized equipment such as automobiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, how to realize positioning during wireless charging, namely how to align a coil at the equipment end with a coil at the charging end, becomes a problem to be solved urgently.

For electric automobile, can also realize the location through driver's operation, for example install the camera at the bottom of the car, with the counterpoint influence of bottom of the car coil and ground coil transmission to the driver, make the driver counterpoint by oneself.

And unmanned aerial vehicle's etc. equipment has just influenced its efficiency greatly if all rely on operating personnel manual charging. Moreover, based on the current technical development, the field of unmanned aerial vehicle use is also more and more extensive, from influencing shooting, to delivering goods, to agricultural and forestry's pesticide sprays, fire fighting rescue etc. in the fire control field all have unmanned aerial vehicle's use, how to realize unmanned aerial vehicle automatic positioning charges is the problem that needs to solve.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the foregoing, the present invention is intended to provide an automatic positioning device, an automatic positioning system, and an automatic positioning method, which can conveniently and rapidly implement automatic positioning.

The automatic positioning device comprises a first plate, a second plate, a magnetic metal conductive ball and a controller, wherein the first plate is provided with a datum point, a plurality of first conductive lines are arranged outside the datum point and are arranged along a straight line, a conductive part is formed on the second plate and is opposite to the first conductive lines, the magnetic metal conductive ball is movably arranged between the first plate and the second plate and can conduct the first conductive lines and the conductive part, and the controller is communicated with the first conductive lines and/or the conductive part and judges the direction of positioning to be adjusted through conducting different first conductive lines and conductive parts.

Preferably, the conductive portion is a conductive plate.

Preferably, the conductive part is a second conductive line corresponding to the first conductive line in position and distribution.

Preferably, the reference point is used as a circle center to form a reference circle, and the first conductive circuit is arranged along the radial direction of the reference circle.

Preferably, the controller further comprises a first communicator electrically connected with the controller.

The automatic positioning system comprises a fixed device and a mobile device, wherein a positioning magnet is arranged on the fixed device, the mobile device comprises the automatic positioning device, and the positioning magnet moves between the first plate and the second plate through magnetic driving of a magnetic metal conductive ball.

Preferably, the fixing device further comprises a second communicator, the positioning magnet is an electromagnet and is electrically connected with the second communicator, and when the second communicator receives a positioning instruction, the electromagnet starts to generate electromagnetic force.

The automatic positioning method comprises the steps that an automatic positioning device reaches an area to be positioned, a magnetic metal conductive ball is attracted by a positioning magnet to move between a first plate and a second plate to conduct different first conductive lines and conductive parts, a controller receives conduction signals of the first conductive lines and the conductive parts to form a direction adjustment control signal, and the direction adjustment signal is that when the first conductive lines and the conductive parts are conducted, the direction of the first conductive lines conducted is taken as a reference direction, and the direction of the first conductive lines conducted is adjusted to be the same as the reference direction.

According to the automatic positioning device, the automatic positioning system and the automatic positioning method, the magnetic metal conductive balls are attracted by magnetic force and move between the first plate and the second plate, different first conductive circuits can be communicated at different moving positions, namely the first conductive circuits are communicated with the conductive parts, and the controller can adjust the direction during positioning through the communication relation. Thus, the positioning can be automatically and conveniently performed without manual operation. The wireless charging device can be applied to wireless charging of mobile equipment such as unmanned aerial vehicles and the like, and the application range is wide.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an automatic positioning device according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the automatic positioning device of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a first schematic view of the first plate of the automatic positioning device according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a second construction of a first plate in the automatic positioning device of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a third construction of a first plate in the automatic positioning device of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an automatic positioning system according to the present invention.

Reference numerals:

the magnetic circuit comprises a first plate 1, a second plate 3, magnetic metal conductive balls 5, a positioning magnet 6, a controller 7, a first conductive line 11, a first communicator 91 and a second communicator 92.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals refer to like or similar elements or elements having like or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are illustrative only and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.

The invention provides an automatic positioning device, which is hereinafter referred to as a device, and comprises a first plate 1, a second plate 3, magnetic metal conductive balls 5 (hereinafter referred to as conductive balls 5 or balls 5) and a controller 7. The device can be installed and used on various devices, such as an unmanned aerial vehicle, and can realize automatic positioning of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the applications are described later.

The first plate 1 and the second plate 3 are disposed opposite to each other, and the magnetic metal conductive balls 5 are movably sandwiched between the first plate 1 and the second plate 3. The first board 1 has a reference point on a surface facing the second board 3, and a plurality of first conductive traces 11 disposed along a straight line are disposed outside the reference point. The reference point is generally selected at the center of the first plate 1. The second plate 3 is formed with a conductive portion on a side facing the first plate 1. I.e. the conductive portions are facing the first conductive tracks 11. The magnetic metal conductive balls 5 can conduct different first conductive lines 11 to the conductive portions between the first plate 1 and the second plate 3.

The controller 7 is communicated with the first conductive lines and/or the conductive parts, and judges the direction of the positioning to be adjusted by conducting different first conductive lines 11 and the conductive parts. In short, the controller 7 can obtain which first conductive line 11 is conducted with the conductive portion, so that the position of the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 can be known, and the direction of the offset of the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is the adjusting direction. Typically, the direction is the direction of the connection between the reference point and the magnetic metal conductive ball 5.

When the device is used, the magnetic force mechanism is generally positioned, for example, when the device is applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle, the magnetic force mechanism, such as a magnet, is arranged on a unit for charging the unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle is close to the magnet with the device, the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is attracted and deflected by the magnet, so that the first conductive line 11 and the conductive part at the corresponding positions are conducted, and the controller 7 sends out corresponding displacement signals. The displacement signal can directly control the position movement, or give a prompt of the position movement. For example, when the unmanned aerial vehicle is automatically charged, the signal can directly control the unmanned aerial vehicle to move. But may be an indication of movement to the driver, for example, when used in an automobile parking assist.

The conductive portion may be a conductive plate, or may be a second conductive line corresponding to the position and distribution of the first conductive line 11.

The reference circle is formed by taking the reference point as the center of the circle, and the first conductive line 11 is arranged along the radial direction of the reference circle. If the conductive part is a bit with the first conductive trace 11

The arrangement and distribution are the same, so should be the same.

Referring to fig. 3 to 5, schematic layout diagrams of the first conductive trace 11 are shown.

The first conductive tracks 11 shown in fig. 3 are distributed in an emission shape, their starting points being located on the same circle. And each of the first conductive traces 11 does not cross each other. I.e. they are all arranged along the radius of the reference circle and their end points are all on the reference circle. Based on this arrangement, the closer to the reference circle, the denser the first conductive traces 11 are arranged, and the more sparse the farther they are. In order to avoid that there is no distribution of the first conductive tracks 11 away from the reference circle, which affects the positioning, an arrangement is formed as shown in fig. 4, at which an additional first conductive track 11 is inserted away from the reference circle. For convenience of description, we refer to the first conductive line 11 with the end point on the reference as a long line, and the additionally inserted first conductive line 11 as a short line, which is sandwiched between two adjacent long lines, for filling the gap of the portion far from the reference circle. The first conductive line 11 may be further added at other empty portions as needed, for example, a gap between a long line and a short line, and the specific number may be set according to the actual size.

In addition to the two arrangements shown in fig. 3 and 4, there may be a plurality of segments of the first conductive traces 11 as shown in fig. 5-there are a plurality of first conductive traces 11 each other disposed in each radial direction of the reference circle. When the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is positioned, the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is attracted by magnetic force, and by adopting the arrangement mode, the position away from the target point can be judged by conducting different first conductive lines 11 through the magnetic metal conductive ball 5.

For example, the first conductive trace 11 is the outermost one in a radial direction, indicating that the distance is far, and if the innermost one is already close to the target. It should be noted that positioning in the present application refers to accurate positioning in a small range, not positioning in a large range. When the unmanned aerial vehicle is charged in a large range, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be realized through the GPS, and the unmanned aerial vehicle can find a large range of areas where the charger is located to see and can stop nearby. The small-range positioning of the application is known in how to find an accurate charging position on the charger, when in wireless charging, the coil of the charged equipment (unmanned aerial vehicle) is required to be aligned with the coil of the charger, or the coil is in a reasonable matching range, otherwise, the charging cannot be performed or the charging efficiency is low. It can be seen that the small-scale positioning of the present application is to enable the drone to accurately align the charging coil.

From the above, it is clear that the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is already in a range that can be attracted by the magnetic force of the target point when the positioning to be performed by the present application is carried out.

There may be a case where the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is not sufficiently attracted to the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 due to the long distance when the arrangement as in fig. 5 is used, but the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 may not move to the outermost side although the distance is long, and the outermost first conductive line 11 is conducted, which may exist, but the positioning of the present application is not affected, and as the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 moves in the corresponding direction, the first conductive line 11 gradually conducted to the outer side (approaching the target point, magnetic force is enhanced) may appear, and gradually conducted to the inner side (the target point has moved to the reference circle through the outer side). This occurs, and it can be determined that the influence of the distance is due. Of course, this special case will not generally occur, since, as mentioned above, the small-scale positioning of the application is already in the range of magnetic attraction, and the device is not required to be too large in size, and the magnetic metal conductive balls 5 are also lighter in mass, and thus can be attracted by magnetic force to achieve positioning.

Preferably, the automatic positioning device further comprises a first communicator 91, and the first communicator 91 may be used to communicate with a second communicator 92 of the target point, and when the automatic positioning device is used for wireless charging, the charger end may be made ready for charging. The first communicator 91 may be electrically connected to the controller 7, and the controller 7 may control the operation.

The invention also discloses an automatic positioning system, which comprises a fixed device A and a mobile device B, wherein the fixed device A is provided with a positioning magnet 6, the mobile device B comprises the automatic positioning device, and the positioning magnet 6 moves between the first plate 1 and the second plate 3 through magnetic driving of a magnetic metal conductive ball 5. The automatic positioning device is arranged on the mobile device B to be used for positioning with the fixed device A, and the purposes of positioning can be various, for example, the automatic positioning device can be used for parking the mobile device B, charging the mobile device B and the like.

The fixture a is shown in fig. 6 as a charging dock whose placement is not limited, and may be located on the ground, for example, and in some embodiments, on top of a street light or utility pole to charge the drone. Mobile device B is shown as a drone.

Taking fig. 6 as an example for explanation, the unmanned aerial vehicle realizes the positioning of the charging seat through the automatic positioning equipment installed by the unmanned aerial vehicle so as to perform wireless charging. Fig. 6 also shows a charging coil A1 on the fixed device a and a power receiving coil B1 on the mobile device B, which are necessary structures for realizing wireless charging, and of course, other relevant parts of wireless charging, which are not described in detail herein. The area of the charging stand is generally larger than the effective charging area.

The fixing device a further comprises a second communicator 92, and the positioning magnet 6 is an electromagnet and is electrically connected with the second communicator 92, and when the second communicator 92 receives a positioning instruction, the electromagnet starts to generate electromagnetic force.

To illustrate an example, when the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to be charged, firstly, a large-scale positioning is performed through a device such as a GPS to move and land on the charging stand, and then, a small-scale positioning is performed through an automatic positioning system, that is, the power receiving coil B1 and the charging coil A1 are aligned or are in a matched position, so that the unmanned aerial vehicle can be charged. It should be noted that the use of drones herein is by way of example only. For example, the automatic positioning system of the application can also be used for automatic parking of a vehicle, and the position of the vehicle-mounted coil (namely the power receiving coil B1) and the position of the charging coil A1 at the ground end are corresponding through the automatic positioning system by a driver or automatic driving to the corresponding charging position.

The first communicator 91 will send a charging signal and the second communicator 92 will receive the signal and position the magnet 6 to start operation. When the positioning magnet 6 is not an electromagnet but a permanent magnet is used, the first communicator 91 is not used. The operation of whether or not positioning is to be performed may be performed directly by the controller 7. For example, the unmanned aerial vehicle does not need to be charged, and only needs to be parked, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be positioned in a large range only through the GPS and parked at a designated position. When no charging is required, the controller 7 may cut off the power supply between the first conductive trace 11 and the conductive part, and the first conductive trace 11 may not be turned on even if the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 moves.

Taking the case of having an electromagnet as an example, the second communicator 92 receives the signal from the first communicator 91, and charges the electromagnet to have a magnetic force to attract the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 to move. After that, positioning is realized, and the above description is omitted.

The invention also provides an automatic positioning method, which comprises the following steps:

The automatic positioning device reaches the area to be positioned, the magnetic metal conductive ball 5 is attracted by the positioning magnet 6 to move between the first plate 1 and the second plate 3 so as to conduct different first conductive lines 11 and conductive parts, the controller 7 receives conduction signals of the first conductive lines 11 and the conductive parts to form a direction adjustment control signal, and the direction adjustment signal is that when the first conductive lines 11 and the conductive parts are conducted, the direction of the conducted first conductive lines 11 is taken as a reference direction, and the direction is adjusted to be the same as the reference direction.

The construction, features and effects of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, but the above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the drawings, all changes, or modifications to the teachings of the invention, which fall within the meaning and range of equivalents are intended to be embraced therein, are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims

1. An automatic positioning device, characterized in that it comprises:

A first plate (1), a second plate (3), a magnetic metal conductive ball (5) and a controller (7); wherein:

The first plate (1) has a reference point, and outside the reference point, has a plurality of first conductive lines (11) arranged along a straight line; the first conductive lines (11) are distributed in a radial shape;

A conductive portion is formed on the second plate (3), and the conductive portion and the first conductive line (11) are arranged facing each other;

The magnetic metal conductive ball (5) is movably located between the first plate (1) and the second plate (3), and is capable of conducting the first conductive line (11) and the conductive part;

The controller (7) is connected to the first conductive circuit and/or the conductive part, and determines the direction in which the positioning needs to be adjusted by conducting different first conductive circuits (11) and the conductive part.

2. The automatic positioning device according to claim 1, characterized in that:

The conductive part is a conductive plate.

3. The automatic positioning device according to claim 1, characterized in that:

The conductive portion is a second conductive circuit (31) corresponding to the position and distribution of the first conductive circuit (11).

4. The automatic positioning device according to claim 1 or 3, characterized in that:

Taking the reference point as the center, a reference circle is formed;

The first conductive circuit (11) is arranged along the radius direction of the reference circle.

5. The automatic positioning device according to claim 1, characterized in that:

It also includes a first communicator (91) electrically connected to the controller (7).

6. An automatic positioning system, characterized in that it comprises:

Fixed equipment (A) and mobile equipment (B);

The fixing device (A) is provided with a positioning magnet (6);

The mobile device (B) comprises the automatic positioning device according to any one of claims 1 to 5;

The positioning magnet (6) drives the magnetic metal conductive ball (5) to move between the first plate (1) and the second plate (3) through magnetic means.

7. The automatic positioning system according to claim 6, characterized in that:

The fixed device (A) further comprises a second communicator (92);

The positioning magnet (6) is an electromagnet, which is electrically connected to the second communicator (92). When the second communicator (92) receives a positioning instruction, the electromagnet starts to generate electromagnetic force.

8. An automatic positioning method, characterized by comprising:

The automatic positioning device arrives at the area that needs to be positioned;

The magnetic metal conductive ball (5) is attracted by the positioning magnet (6) and moves between the first plate (1) and the second plate (3) to conduct different first conductive circuits (11) and conductive parts; the first conductive circuits (11) are distributed in a radial shape;

The controller (7) receives the conduction signal between the first conductive line (11) and the conductive part to form a direction adjustment control signal;

The direction adjustment signal is: when the first conductive circuit (11) and the conductive part are connected, the direction of the connected first conductive circuit (11) is taken as the reference direction, and the direction is adjusted to the same direction as the reference direction.