JP2018135027A - Frying object for transporting unmanned aircraft - Google Patents

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle is suitably transported while safely protected to start flight.
A flying vehicle for transporting an unmanned aerial vehicle is for transporting an unmanned aerial vehicle UAV, and has an accommodating chamber 2a for accommodating the unmanned aircraft UAV, and an opening for allowing the unmanned aircraft UAV to be taken in and out of the accommodating chamber 2a. The canister 2 in which the portion 21 is formed, and an air that is configured to be inflatable / contractible by air in / out, is disposed between the inner surface of the storage chamber 2a and the drone UAV, and protects the drone UAV in an expanded state A bag 5 and an air supply / discharge device 6 for supplying and discharging air to and from the airbag 5 are provided.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a technology for transporting an unmanned aerial vehicle, and in particular, is a technology useful for suitably starting a flight after transporting the unmanned aircraft at a high speed to a target airspace while protecting it safely.

In general, an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of staying for a certain time does not have a structural strength that can withstand a high dynamic pressure environment in order to reduce weight and the like. For this reason, this type of unmanned aerial vehicle has a relatively slow flight speed and takes time to advance to the target airspace.
On the other hand, an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of high-speed flight can reach the target airspace in a short time, but due to its high weight, the hover time in the target airspace is shortened.
Therefore, in order to advance an unmanned aerial vehicle that can stay for a certain period of time to the target airspace in a short time, the unmanned aircraft is housed in a housing member and safely protected as seen in the launch of an artificial satellite by a rocket. The accommodation member needs to be transported (flyed) at high speed.

In this case, as a holding structure for the unmanned aerial vehicle during transportation, it is conceivable to apply a structure for holding the artificial satellite in the fairing (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In general, as shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b), an artificial satellite is held by the satellite separation unit by being clamped to a clamp band with the base end in contact with the satellite separation unit. . What is necessary is just to apply this holding structure to the unmanned aerial vehicle in the housing member.

JP-A-11-121100

By the way, since the lateral load does not act so much when the rocket is launched, the above-described artificial satellite holding structure is sufficient if it can withstand the axial load of the rocket including the strength of the artificial satellite itself.
However, when unmanned aerial vehicles are transported by flying objects, the load in the lateral direction acts greatly, unlike when a rocket is launched. For this reason, when the artificial satellite holding structure described above is simply applied to an unmanned aerial vehicle, the unmanned aerial vehicle is cantilevered and a large bending load acts on the unmanned aerial vehicle due to a lateral load. Since the unmanned aerial vehicle does not have a high structural strength as described above, the unmanned aircraft may be damaged by this bending load.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to start transportation by suitably transporting an unmanned aircraft while protecting it safely.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is an unmanned aerial vehicle for transporting an unmanned aerial vehicle,
A housing member having a housing room for housing the unmanned aerial vehicle, and having an opening for allowing the unmanned aircraft to be taken in and out of the housing room;
An expansion / contraction body configured to be inflatable / contractible by entering and exiting a fluid, disposed between an inner surface of the housing chamber and the unmanned aircraft, and protecting the unmanned aircraft in an expanded state;
Discharging means for discharging an internal fluid from the expanded / contracted body in an expanded state;
It is characterized by providing.

The invention described in claim 2 is the flying vehicle for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1,
The apparatus further comprises supply means for supplying a fluid to the expansion / contraction body.

The invention described in claim 3 is a flying object for transporting an unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 2,
The discharge means and the supply means are configured integrally.

The invention according to claim 4 is the unmanned aerial vehicle flying body according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The opening is opened in a direction opposite to the flight direction of the housing member.

According to the present invention, the unmanned aerial vehicle in the housing member is protected by the inflated and contracted body disposed between the inner surface of the housing room and the unmanned aircraft. As a result, the unmanned aerial vehicle receives the acting load as a compressive load on the outer skin surface via the expansion / contraction body, so that the bending load acting on the unmanned aerial vehicle can be made smaller than when the cantilever is supported at the end. Can do.
Further, when the unmanned aircraft is detached from the housing member, the discharging means discharges the internal fluid from the inflated and deflated body to bring the inflated and deflated body into the contracted state. As a result, the unmanned aircraft is released from the state of being restrained by the expansion / contraction body, and can be detached from the housing member.
Therefore, unlike the case where the artificial satellite holding structure is applied, the unmanned aerial vehicle can be transported and started to fly while being safely protected.

It is a figure which shows the flying body for unmanned aircraft transportation of the state which expanded the airbag, Comprising: (a) is a sectional side view, (b) is a rear view of the state which removed the cover member. It is a figure which shows the flying body for unmanned aircraft transportation of the state which contracted the airbag, Comprising: (a) is a sectional side view, (b) is a rear view. It is a figure which shows the flying body for drone transportation of the state which took out the drone from the canister. It is a figure for demonstrating the holding structure of an artificial satellite.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Configuration of flying vehicle for unmanned aircraft transport]
First, the configuration of an unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter simply referred to as a “transport vehicle”) 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a flying vehicle 1 in a state in which an air bag 5 described later is inflated, in which FIG. 1A is a side sectional view and FIG. 1B is a cover member 3 described later removed. It is a rear view of a state. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing the flying vehicle 1 in a state where the airbag 5 is contracted, where FIG. 2A is a side sectional view and FIG. 2B is a rear view. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the flying vehicle 1 in a state where the unmanned aircraft UAV is taken out from a canister 2 described later. In FIGS. 1 to 3, only the canister 2 is shown in cross section.

As shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b), the flying vehicle 1 is for transporting the unmanned aircraft UAV at high speed. More specifically, the flying vehicle 1 flies (flys) at a high speed by being put into a predetermined flight trajectory by an aircraft (not shown) that flies at a high speed, for example, and after reaching the target airspace, It is intended to start autonomous flight by leaving it alone. The unmanned aerial vehicle UAV is an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of autonomous flight, and is not particularly limited, but is an aircraft capable of flying at a low speed for a fixed time.
Specifically, the flying vehicle 1 includes a canister 2, a lid member 3, a plurality (eight in this embodiment) of airbags 5, and an air supply / discharge device 6.

The canister 2 is a housing member formed in a substantially conical shape, and the inside thereof is a housing chamber 2a for housing the drone UAV. An unmanned aerial vehicle UAV is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 2a with the wings folded and the rear of the machine body facing the front end side of the canister 2. This canister 2 has a wing corresponding to the flight direction with the tip side as the front side in the flight direction, and has sufficient strength to withstand high-speed flight.
In addition, a rear-facing opening 21 for mainly storing and taking out the unmanned aircraft UAV in the storage chamber 2a is formed on the bottom (rear end) of the canister 2 over substantially the entire bottom. However, the opening 21 may have a size that allows at least the drone UAV to be inserted.
In the following description, the front end side of the canister 2 is “front (front side)” and the bottom side is “rear (rear side) with respect to the direction of the flying vehicle 1 (canister 2). ) ”.

  The lid member 3 closes the opening 21 at the rear end of the canister 2 and rectifies the air flow downstream of the canister 2 during flight. The lid member 3 is coupled to the canister 2 so as to be separable from the canister 2 by a separation mechanism (not shown) such as gunpowder. And the said cover member 3 is isolate | separated from the canister 2, and the opening part 21 is opened, after the flying body 1 for transport reaches | attains a target airspace.

The plurality of airbags 5 are inflatable bodies that are configured to be inflatable and inflatable by the entry and exit of air, and are intended to protect the drone UAV in the inflated state in the accommodation chamber 2a. In the present embodiment, the plurality of airbags 5 include four front airbags 51 disposed at the front end of the storage chamber 2a and four rear portions disposed slightly rearward from the middle of the storage chamber 2a. It is comprised from the airbag 52. FIG.
Among these, the four front airbags 51 are disposed at the front end portion of the storage chamber 2a between the inner side surface (upper and lower left and right side surfaces) of the storage chamber 2a and the rear end portion of the drone UAV. The upper and lower left and right four locations of the rear end of the UAV are protected (FIGS. 1 and 2 show only two that protect the upper and lower two locations).
On the other hand, the four rear airbags 52 are arranged between the inner side surface (upper and lower left and right side surfaces) of the storage chamber 2a and the front side portion of the drone UAV slightly behind the middle of the storage chamber 2a. It protects the top, bottom, left, and right of the front part of the drone UAV.

  The air supply / discharge device 6 supplies and discharges air to and from the plurality of airbags 5 to expand and contract (expand and contract) the plurality of airbags 5. The air supply / discharge device 6 is provided at the front end of the storage chamber 2a of the canister 2 and is connected to a plurality of airbags 5 through an air tube (not shown) so that air can be supplied and discharged.

The operation of the air supply / discharge device 6 is controlled by control means (not shown) (or a control unit of the unmanned aircraft UAV).
Specifically, the air supply / exhaust device 6 first supplies air to the plurality of airbags 5 under the control of the control means before the flight of the transportation vehicle 1 is started, and the plurality of airbags 5 are inflated. To. Thereby, the plurality of airbags 5 are filled between the inner surface of the storage chamber 2a and the drone UAV, and the drone UAV is protected.
Thereafter, the flying vehicle 1 starts flying, the lid member 3 is separated from the flying vehicle 1 flying at high speed, the opening 21 of the canister 2 is opened, and a speed reduction mechanism (for example, dragging) After the canister 2 is sufficiently decelerated by a chute or the like (not shown), the air supply / discharge device 6 makes the unmanned aircraft UAV detachable from the canister 2.
More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the air supply / discharge device 6 is controlled by the control means to discharge air from the plurality of airbags 5 and contract the plurality of airbags 5. Put it in a state. As a result, the unmanned aircraft UAV is released from the state protected (restrained) by the plurality of airbags 5 and can be detached from the canister 2.
Then, as shown in FIG. 3, for example, the drone UAV is pushed backward from the opening 21 by moving the drone UAV backward by an unillustrated pushing mechanism or the like.
Thereby, the unmanned aerial vehicle UAV is separated from the canister 2 and can fly independently, and the folded wing is deployed to start autonomous flight.

[effect]
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the drone UAV in the canister 2 is protected by the inflated airbag 5 disposed between the inner surface of the storage chamber 2a and the drone UAV. Thereby, since the drone UAV receives the acting load as a compressive load on the outer skin surface via the airbag 5, the bending load acting on the drone UAV can be reduced as compared with the case where the end is cantilevered. can do.
Further, when the drone UAV is detached from the canister 2, the air supply / discharge device 6 discharges the internal air from the inflated airbag 5 to change the airbag 5 from the inflated state to the contracted state. As a result, the unmanned aircraft UAV is released from the state of being restrained by the airbag 5 and can be detached from the canister 2.
Therefore, unlike the case where the artificial satellite holding structure is applied, the drone UAV can be transported and started to fly while being safely protected. As a result, it is not necessary to increase the strength of the unmanned aerial vehicle UAV that can withstand a lateral load during high-speed transportation, and the unmanned aircraft UAV can be reduced in weight.

[Modification]
The embodiments to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, the quantity and the position of the airbag 5 that protects the drone UAV are not particularly limited to those of the above embodiment. For example, the entire drone UAV may be protected by one annular airbag. However, the airbag 5 is preferably arranged so as to abut on a relatively strong frame portion of the drone UAV.

Moreover, the inflatable body according to the present invention may not be an airbag as long as it can be inflated and inflated by entering and exiting a fluid. That is, an expansion / contraction body that expands / contracts with a gas or liquid other than air may be used.
When an expansion / contraction body that expands and contracts with liquid is used, the temperature of the drone UAV can be controlled by adjusting the temperature of the liquid with a heater or the like, and the drone UAV is cooled in a high altitude environment. Can be prevented.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, the flying vehicle 1 for transportation was equipped with the air supply / discharge device 6 which expands and shrinks the airbag 5. However, the flying vehicle for unmanned aerial vehicles according to the present invention only needs to include a discharging means capable of discharging a fluid from at least the expansion / contraction body. In this case, the expansion / contraction body may be inflated in advance using the ground facility before the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle is started. However, it is more preferable that a supply means for supplying fluid to the expansion / contraction body is provided in that it can cope with fluid leakage during flight.
Further, the discharging means may be a pump or the like that sucks out a fluid, or an explosive or the like that tears the expansion / contraction body and causes the internal fluid to flow out.

1 Flying vehicle for unmanned aerial vehicles 2 Canister (container)
2a Accommodating chamber 21 Opening 3 Lid member 5 Air bag (inflatable body)
6 Air supply / discharge device (discharge means, supply means)
UAV drone

Claims (4)

An unmanned aerial vehicle for transporting unmanned aerial vehicles,
A housing member having a housing room for housing the unmanned aerial vehicle, and having an opening for allowing the unmanned aircraft to be taken in and out of the housing room;
An expansion / contraction body configured to be inflatable / contractible by entering and exiting a fluid, disposed between an inner surface of the housing chamber and the unmanned aircraft, and protecting the unmanned aircraft in an expanded state;
Discharging means for discharging an internal fluid from the expanded / contracted body in an expanded state;
A flying vehicle for unmanned aerial vehicles, comprising:   The flying vehicle for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 1, further comprising supply means for supplying fluid to the expansion / contraction body.   The flying body for unmanned aerial vehicles according to claim 2, wherein the discharge means and the supply means are integrally formed.   The flying vehicle for unmanned aerial vehicles according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the opening is opened in a direction opposite to a flight direction of the housing member.

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