WO2021190216A1 - Unmanned aerial vehicle capable of panoramic image capture - Google Patents

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle capable of panoramic image capture, comprising a fuselage (100) having a hollow structure, a plurality of cameras (200), stabilizers (310, 320, 330) and a main power device (400). The main power device can be configured as a manner of a first rotor system (410) and a first rotating mechanism (430), and the first rotating mechanism controls the first rotor system to rotate so as to generate a thrust force for flying of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The main power device can also be configured as a manner of a second rotor system (510), the second rotor system comprises a rotor (511) and a propeller disc tilting mechanism (512A), and the propeller disc tilting mechanism can control a propeller disc of a rotor to rotate relative to the fuselage so as to generate a thrust force for flying of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The first rotor system or the second rotor system is provided in the fuselage. The stabilizer is capable of outputting a torque enabling rotation of the fuselage and/or a thrust force enabling translation of the unmanned aerial vehicle. The unmanned aerial vehicle capable of panoramic image capture can perform panoramic image capture of 720°, and during flying, the attitude of the fuselage can be maintained within a preset range, ensuring stability of captured panoramic images.

Description

Panoramic camera drone

This application claims the priority of the Chinese patent application with application number 202010228831.X filed at the Chinese Patent Office on March 27, 2020, the entire content of which is incorporated into this application by reference.

Technical field

This application belongs to the technical field of drones, and in particular relates to a panoramic camera drone.

Background technique

With the development of microelectronics technology and new materials, consumer drones (mainly helicopter drones) are developing rapidly. The early consumer-grade UAVs were traditional helicopters, which mainly had two configurations: coaxial dual-rotor and single-rotor plus tail rotor. In recent years, multi-axis UAVs, mainly quad-rotor UAVs, have become the mainstream of the market. .

The main application of consumer drones is camera. With the rapid development of AR/VR applications, panoramic imaging is an important direction in the imaging field in the future. The shooting of panoramic images requires multiple cameras to be arranged around, all cameras are synchronized to shoot, and then image algorithms are used for stitching. The current method for drones to shoot panoramic images is: use a pan-tilt to hang a spherical pod, and set up multiple cameras around the pod to shoot. Because the pod is hung under the drone, it is not possible to shoot the scene above the pod, that is, 720° images cannot be captured.

In addition, according to the flight control principles of traditional helicopters and multi-rotor UAVs, the UAV is not stable during the flight. The UAV needs to make a pitching motion under the conditions of acceleration or deceleration, changes in wind speed, or changes in wind direction. And/or rolling motion can achieve flight control. For example, the drone needs to lower its head to generate forward thrust when flying forward, while the drone needs to tilt to generate lateral thrust when flying sideways or when there is wind on the side. Since the panoramic image is shot simultaneously by multiple cameras, the pitch and roll motion of the drone will affect the quality of the panoramic image.

technical problem

The purpose of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a panoramic camera drone to solve the technical problems that the existing drones cannot shoot 720° panoramic images and the panoramic images captured are low in stability.

Technical solutions

The embodiment of the application provides a panoramic camera drone, including:

The fuselage, which is a hollow structure;

At least two cameras installed on the fuselage for shooting panoramic images;

A stabilizer for outputting a torque for rotating the fuselage to control the attitude of the fuselage within a preset range and/or a thrust for translating the panoramic camera drone; and

The main power unit includes a first rotor system, a rotor support, and a first rotation mechanism. The first rotor system is installed on the rotor support, and the rotor support and the fuselage pass through the first rotation The mechanism is rotationally connected, the first rotor system is located inside the fuselage; the first rotation mechanism can control the first rotor system to rotate around the rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism to generate the The translational thrust of the panoramic camera drone along the first direction;

Alternatively, the main power plant includes a second rotor system, the second rotor system is installed inside the fuselage, the second rotor system includes a rotor and a paddle tilt mechanism, and the number of the rotor is one or There are multiple, the paddle tilting mechanism can control the paddle of at least one of the rotors to rotate relative to the fuselage to generate thrust for translation of the panoramic camera drone.

Optionally, at least one of the stabilizers can output a moment that causes the fuselage to pitch;

At least one of the stabilizers can output a torque that causes the fuselage to roll.

Optionally, at least one of the stabilizers can output a moment that causes the fuselage to make a yaw motion.

Optionally, when the main power unit includes a first rotor system, at least one of the stabilizers can output thrust that causes the panoramic camera drone to translate along a second direction, and the second direction is in line with the The first direction is not parallel.

Optionally, the angle between the first direction and the second direction ranges from 75° to 90°.

Optionally, the panoramic camera drone further includes a second rotation mechanism, and at least one of the stabilizers is connected to the fuselage or the rotor bracket through the second rotation mechanism; the second rotation mechanism can Control the rotation of the stabilizer to adjust the direction of the stabilizer's output torque and/or control the stabilizer to output the thrust that causes the panoramic camera drone to translate.

Optionally, at least one of the stabilizers includes a guide vane and a servo, the guide vane is arranged above or below the rotor, and the servo is used to control the rotation of the guide vane to control the The torque output by the stabilizer.

Optionally, at least one of the stabilizers is a rotor or a fan.

Optionally, the fuselage includes a first frame, a second frame, and a folding mechanism, and the first frame and the second frame are rotatably connected by the folding mechanism, so that the second frame The body is folded and unfolded relative to the first frame body.

Optionally, the fuselage includes a first frame, a second frame, and a rail mechanism, and the second frame is slidably connected to the first frame through the rail mechanism, so that the second frame The frame body is folded and opened relative to the first frame body.

Beneficial effect

Compared with the prior art, the technical effect of the panoramic camera drone provided by the embodiments of the present application is: the fuselage of the panoramic camera drone is a hollow structure, and multiple cameras are arranged around the fuselage to shoot 720° panoramic images; The panoramic camera drone includes a main power unit and a stabilizer. The main power unit can be configured in the manner of a first rotor system and a first rotation mechanism, and the first rotation mechanism controls the first rotor system to rotate around the rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism to generate a translational movement of the UAV in the first direction. thrust. The main power unit can also be configured as a second rotor system. The second rotor system includes a rotor and a paddle tilting mechanism. The paddle tilting mechanism can control the rotation of the rotor's paddle relative to the fuselage to generate thrust for translation of the UAV. ; At the same time, the stabilizer can also output the thrust that makes the UAV translate; therefore, the panoramic camera UAV can realize flight control without adjusting the posture of the fuselage. In addition, the panoramic camera drone is also equipped with a stabilizer, which can output the torque that causes the fuselage to rotate to control the fuselage posture within a preset range to ensure the stability of the panoramic image taken. Compared with multi-rotor drones of the same size, the panoramic camera drone has a large rotor size and high power supply efficiency.

Description of the drawings

In order to more clearly describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only of the present application. For some embodiments, for those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings may be obtained based on these drawings without creative labor.

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by an embodiment of the application;

Figure 2 is a three-dimensional exploded view of the panoramic camera drone of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by another embodiment of the application;

4 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by another embodiment of the application;

Figure 5 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by another embodiment of the application;

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by another embodiment of the application;

Figures 7(a) and 7(b) are respectively three-dimensional assembly diagrams of two second rotor systems that can be applied to the panoramic camera drone of Figure 6;

FIG. 8 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by another embodiment of the application;

FIG. 9 is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of a panoramic camera drone provided by another embodiment of the application;

Fig. 10 is a schematic structural diagram of the panoramic camera drone of Fig. 5 after being folded.

Embodiments of the present invention

In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions, and beneficial effects to be solved by the present application clearer, the following further describes the present application in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described here are only used to explain the present application, and are not used to limit the present application.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical" "," "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and other directions or positional relations are based on the positions or positional relations shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing and simplifying the embodiments of the present application. The description does not indicate or imply that the pointed device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation to the embodiments of the present application.

In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features. In the description of the present application, "multiple" means two or more than two, unless otherwise specifically defined.

In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installation", "connected", "connected", "fixed" and other terms should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it may be a fixed connection or a fixed connection. Disassembled connection, or integrated; it can be mechanical connection or electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal communication of two components or the interaction relationship between two components. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above-mentioned terms in the embodiments of the present application can be understood according to specific circumstances.

This application proposes a panoramic camera drone, please refer to FIG. The fuselage 100 is a hollow structure. The main power unit includes a rotor 411, which is located inside the fuselage 100. The main power unit 400 is the main power unit of the UAV, which provides most of the lift, translational thrust and yaw moment for the flight of the UAV. The stabilizer (310, 320, 330) is used to output at least one of the torque for rotating the fuselage 100 and the thrust for translating the drone, wherein the thrust for translating the drone is used to assist the main power unit The flight control of the drone is realized, and the torque of the fuselage 100 is used to control the attitude of the fuselage 100 within a preset range.

The fuselage 100 is provided with a plurality of cameras, and these cameras shoot simultaneously, and then the images captured by them can be synthesized into a panoramic image by using an image algorithm. However, if the posture of the body 100 frequently swings, the quality of the panoramic image will be affected. The posture of the fuselage includes the pitch angle, roll angle, and yaw angle of the fuselage 100. Assuming that the arrow of the X axis points to the direction of the nose, then, according to the description habits of the drone, the rotation of the drone around the Y axis is called pitch motion, the rotation around the X axis is called roll motion, and the rotation around the Z axis It is called yaw motion. Since the panoramic camera drone is equipped with multiple cameras 200 around the fuselage 100 for shooting, the stability of the yaw angle, pitch angle and roll angle has a greater impact on the panoramic image quality, that is, the fuselage 100 The pitch motion and roll motion of the camera have a greater impact on the quality of the panoramic image. Therefore, the primary goal of controlling the attitude of the fuselage is to control the swing range of the pitch and roll angle of the fuselage. For example, the control range of the pitch and roll angle of the fuselage 100 can be preset to ±3°, that is, to control the drone The Z axis is basically vertical upwards. The stabilizer (310, 320, 330) outputs the torque for rotating the fuselage 100, which is used to control the posture of the fuselage 100 within a preset range.

The fuselage 100 of the unmanned aerial vehicle in this application is a hollow structure, and multiple cameras 200 are arranged around the fuselage 100, which can shoot 720° panoramic images. The unmanned aerial vehicle of this application adopts tilting rotor technology, which can realize the flight control of the unmanned aerial vehicle while keeping the attitude of the fuselage 100 unchanged. At the same time, the unmanned aerial vehicle of this application is equipped with stabilizers (310, 320, 330), Used to offset external interference (such as wind) or motion inertia, and control the attitude of the fuselage 100 within a preset range. During the flight, the fuselage of the drone of the application has high attitude stability and is suitable for use as a camera platform , Especially suitable for shooting panoramic images.

Example set:

An example drone of this example group is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and includes a fuselage 100, multiple cameras 200, stabilizers (310, 320, and 330) and a main power unit 400. The main power plant 400 includes a first rotor system 410, a rotor support 420 and a first rotation mechanism 430.

The fuselage 100 is a hollow structure and can include a frame 110 and a movement 120. Usually the movement 120 is located inside the frame 110. The battery, main control circuit board, flight controller, and wireless communication module can usually be placed inside the movement 120. Etc., it has a relatively large weight, and the specific modules contained in the movement 120 are not limited by this application. The camera 200 is arranged around the body 100 and is usually arranged on the frame 110 for shooting panoramic images. The module inside the movement 120 and the camera 200 belong to the prior art.

The first rotor system 410 includes one or more rotors 411, which are the main power device of the UAV, and provide most of the lift, thrust, and yaw moment required for the flight of the UAV. The first rotor system 410 is installed on the rotor support 420 and is located inside the fuselage 100. There are multiple implementations of the first rotor system 410. One implementation is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The first rotor system 410 includes two rotors 411 and two motors 412. The two rotors 411 are respectively installed on the two motors 412, and the rotation directions are opposite. The rotation torque of the two rotors 411 can cancel each other or the difference can be used as the yaw moment. Another embodiment of the first rotor system 410 is that the first rotor system 410 includes a rotor, a motor, and a yaw mechanism. The rotor is installed on the motor, and the motor is installed on the rotor support 420; the yaw mechanism includes some rudder surfaces arranged under the rotor, the rudder surface can be installed on the rotor support 420, or can be installed on the fuselage 100, the rudder surface The downwash airflow of the rotor is used to generate a torque that causes the drone to rotate around the Z axis. The torque and the rotation torque of the rotor can cancel each other or the difference between them can be used to control the yaw motion of the drone. The yaw mechanism is an existing technology, which is commonly used in ducted drones, and will not be repeated in this application.

The rotor support 420 is rotatably connected to the fuselage 100 through the first rotation mechanism 430. The first rotation mechanism 430 can control the first rotor system 410 to rotate around the rotation axis (ie Y axis) of the first rotation mechanism 430 for generating the aircraft. The thrust of the body 100 in translation along a first direction, the first direction being the X-axis, which can control the drone to fly along the X-axis or offset the external force in the X-axis.

The two stabilizers (320, 330) are used to output the thrust that causes the fuselage 100 to translate along the second direction. The second direction is the Y axis, that is, the stabilizers (320, 330) can drive the drone along the Fly along the Y axis or counteract the external force in the Y axis. In principle, the flight control of the UAV can be realized if the second direction and the first direction are not parallel. Generally, the angle between the first direction and the second direction ranges from 75° to 90°, which is specifically set as required. Figure 1 shows a preferred solution, the second direction and the first direction are perpendicular to each other.

From the above, through the coordinated control of the main power unit and the two stabilizers (320, 330), the UAV of this embodiment is different from the traditional helicopter and multi-rotor UAV, and the fuselage 100 does not need to make pitching and rolling motions. The flight control can be realized by turning the movement.

The three stabilizers (310, 320, 330) are used to output the torque that causes the fuselage 100 to rotate to offset the motion inertia and external force, and control the posture of the fuselage 100 within a preset range. Assuming that the arrow of the X axis points to the direction of the nose, according to the description habits of the drone, the rotation of the drone around the Y axis is called pitch motion, and the rotation around the X axis is called roll motion, then the stabilizer 310 can output The moment that causes the drone to pitch motion is used to control the pitch angle of the fuselage 100, and the stabilizer 320 and the stabilizer 330 can output the moment that causes the drone to roll motion, which is used to control the roll angle of the fuselage 100. According to the current posture of the fuselage 100, controlling the magnitude of the torque output by the three stabilizers (310, 320, 330) can control the pitch and roll angle of the fuselage 100 within a preset range. There are many mature algorithms for calculating the output of the stabilizer (310, 320, 330) according to the posture of the fuselage 100, such as the traditional PID algorithm, which will not be repeated in this application.

It should be noted that the UAV shown in FIG. 1 is not equipped with a stabilizer that can output yaw moment, and the yaw angle of the fuselage is controlled by the first rotor system 410.

It should be noted that in the UAV shown in FIG. 1, the stabilizer 320 and the stabilizer 330 are used to output the thrust for translation of the UAV, and also to output the torque for controlling the attitude of the fuselage.

There are multiple implementations of the first rotation mechanism 430. In one implementation, the first rotation mechanism 430 is a shaft structure and includes a first bearing 431, a first rotation shaft 432, and a first rotation controller 433. The rotor bracket 420 is provided with a first rotating shaft 432, the fuselage 100 is provided with a first bearing 431, and the first rotating controller 433 is provided on the fuselage 100 and connected with the first rotating shaft 432. Alternatively, the rotor bracket 420 is provided with a first bearing 431, the fuselage 100 is provided with a first rotation shaft 432, and the first rotation controller 433 is provided on the rotor support 420 and connected with the first rotation shaft 432. The first rotation controller 430 may control the rotor bracket 420 to rotate around the rotation axis (ie, the Y axis) of the first rotation mechanism 430. The first rotation controller 433 has multiple implementations. One implementation includes a motor, a transmission deceleration component, a motor control assembly, etc. The motor 4331 and a gear set 4332 are illustrated in FIG. 2, which belongs to the prior art.

There are many implementations of the stabilizer. The stabilizer (310, 320, 330) of this embodiment is a rotor or a fan, as shown in FIG. 1. The stabilizer can be a small-sized rotor, containing 2 or more blades, usually the pitch of the blades is small; the stabilizer can also be a fan, containing 2 or more blades, usually the blades are relatively large. Many, the pitch of the blade is larger. Further, as shown in Fig. 1, the stabilizer based on the rotor or fan technology may also include a duct, which can improve the efficiency of the power supply. The stabilizer (310, 320, 330) can output unidirectional torque and/or thrust, and can also output bidirectional torque and/or thrust. One embodiment for outputting bidirectional torque and/or thrust is: two motors and two sets of blades are provided, and each motor drives a set of blades to rotate to output bidirectional wind power; another embodiment is: only one motor is provided And a set of blades, control the forward and reverse rotation of the motor to output bidirectional wind power.

Another embodiment of the unmanned aerial vehicle is shown in FIG. 3. The unmanned aerial vehicle includes a fuselage 100, multiple cameras 200, stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340, 350) and a main power unit 400. The main power plant 400 includes a first rotor system 410, a rotor support 420 and a first rotation mechanism 430. Among them, the fuselage 100, the camera 200, and the main power unit 400 are the same as those of the drone shown in FIG. 1 and will not be described again.

In the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. 3, the stabilizer 350 is used to output the thrust that causes the unmanned aerial vehicle to translate along the Y axis (ie, the second direction). Four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) are used to control the attitude of the fuselage 100. They use another embodiment of the stabilizer, including guide vanes (311, 321, 331, 341) and servos ( Not shown), the guide vanes (311, 321, 331, 341) are arranged under the rotor 411, and the downwash air of the rotor 411 flows through the guide vanes (311, 321, 331, 341) to cause the fuselage 100 to rotate The torque; the servo controls the rotation of the guide vanes (311, 321, 331, 341) to control the output torque, which can control the magnitude of the torque, and also control the direction of the torque. The server usually includes components such as a motor, a transmission deceleration component, and a motor control component, which belong to the prior art. There are many implementations of the guide vane. One implementation is based on the principle of a fixed wing. The airflow of the rotor wing flows through the guide vane, which will produce a pressure difference on both sides of the guide vane, thereby outputting torque; the other implementation is the guide vane. One surface of the flow vane faces the rotor airflow, and uses the pressure of the rotor airflow to the guide vane to output torque. The stabilizer (310, 320, 330, 340) shown in Fig. 3 adopts the latter embodiment, and its basic work The process is: assuming that the direction of the arrow on the X axis is the direction of the drone's nose, then the stabilizer 310 and the stabilizer 320 can output a rolling torque, even if the drone rotates around the X axis, for example, control the stabilizer 310 The guide vane 311 is opened outwards to increase the pressure of the rotor airflow on the guide vane 311, and the guide vane 321 of the stabilizer 320 is controlled to move inward to reduce the pressure of the rotor airflow on the guide vane 321. The body 100 rolls around the D1 direction of the X axis. Likewise, the stabilizer 330 and the stabilizer 340 can output pitching moment, even if the drone rotates around the Y-axis. It should be noted that the stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) shown in Fig. 3 all include two guide vanes, and it is actually feasible to include only one guide vane. It should be noted that the stabilizer (310, 320, 330, 340) can be set with two servos to control its two deflectors (311, 321, 331, 341) to output the yaw moment for controlling the fuselage Yaw angle.

There are other implementations of the stabilizer. In another embodiment of the stabilizer, the stabilizer includes a guide vane and a servo. The guide vane is arranged above the rotor, and the servo controls the rotation of the guide vane to control the air intake of the rotor. , So as to control its output torque.

Another embodiment of the drone is shown in Figure 4. The drone includes a fuselage 100, a plurality of cameras 200, a stabilizer (310, 320, 330, 340), and a main power unit 400. Among them, the fuselage 100, the camera The main power unit 200 and the main power unit 400 are basically the same as the unmanned aerial vehicle shown in FIG. The UAV includes four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340), of which two stabilizers (320, 330) output the rolling torque and output the thrust that makes the UAV translate along the Y axis (ie the second direction) Its function is the same as that of the stabilizer 320 and the stabilizer 330 of the UAV shown in FIG. 1. The other two stabilizers (310, 340) output pitching moments, which are used to control the pitch angle of the fuselage 100. By controlling the stabilizer 330 and the stabilizer 340 to output different magnitudes of wind force, they can also output the fuselage 100 around The yaw moment of the Z-axis rotation is used to control the stability of the yaw angle of the fuselage 100.

Another embodiment of the drone is shown in Figure 5. The drone includes a fuselage 100, a plurality of cameras 200, a stabilizer (310, 320, 330, 340, 350) and a main power unit 400, wherein the fuselage 100 The camera 200 and the main power unit 400 are basically the same as the UAV shown in FIG. 1, and will not be repeated here. The stabilizer 350 outputs the thrust that makes the fuselage 100 translate along the Y axis (ie, the second direction), and the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) are used to control the posture of the fuselage 100. In this embodiment, the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) are rotors or fans, which can be unidirectional or bidirectional. It should be noted that the torque output by any one of the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) has both a pitch component and a roll component. The four stabilizers need to cooperate to produce the required total torque. . For example, increase the downward wind output of the stabilizer 310 and the stabilizer 320, reduce the downward wind output of the stabilizer 330 and the stabilizer 340 or increase the upward wind output of the stabilizer, the total torque of the four stabilizers is pitch Torque can offset the uplift of the nose caused by external forces; increase the downward wind of stabilizer 310 and stabilizer 330, reduce the downward wind of stabilizer 320 and stabilizer 340 or increase their output of upward wind, four The total moment of the stabilizer is the rolling moment, which can offset the upward tilting of the fuselage 100 caused by the external force. The coordinated control process of the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) is similar to the flight control process of a four-rotor UAV, and will not be repeated. Further, by adjusting the speed difference of the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340), the yaw moment can be output to control the stability of the yaw angle of the fuselage 100.

It should be noted that if the weight of the first rotor system 410 is relatively large, the drone of this embodiment group can extend the rotor support 420 to the other end of the fuselage 100 and connect it to the fuselage 100 through another rotating mechanism, so that the rotor Both ends of the bracket 420 are connected to the fuselage 100, which can improve the load-bearing capacity.

Example two group:

An example drone of this example group is shown in FIG. 6 and includes a fuselage 100, multiple cameras 200, stabilizers (310, 320), and a main power unit 500.

The fuselage 100 includes a frame 110 and a movement 120, and the camera 200 is circumferentially arranged on the fuselage 100.

The main power plant 500 includes a second rotor system 510, and the second rotor system 510 is installed inside the fuselage 100. The second rotor system 510 includes a rotor 511 and a paddle tilt mechanism. There are one or more rotors 511. The paddle tilt mechanism can control the paddle of at least one of the rotors to rotate relative to the fuselage 100 to output The thrust of the machine translation. The main power unit 500 is the main power unit of the unmanned aerial vehicle, which provides most of the lift, translational thrust, and yaw moment.

The implementation of the stabilizer 310 and the stabilizer 320 is a rotor or a fan, and the direction of the arrow on the X axis is the nose of the drone. According to the description of the drone, the stabilizer 310 can output the drone to pitch The torque of the movement, the stabilizer 320 can output the torque that causes the drone to roll. According to the current posture of the fuselage 100, controlling the magnitude of the torque output by the two stabilizers (310, 320) can control the pitch and roll angles of the fuselage 100 within a preset range.

There are multiple implementations of the second rotor system. One implementation is shown in FIG. 7(a). The second rotor system 510A includes two rotors 511A and a paddle tilt mechanism 512A. The rotation axis of the two rotors 511A is the same, the rotation direction is opposite, and the rotation torque of the two rotors cancels each other or the difference is used for yaw control. Paddle tilt mechanism 512A adopts swash plate technology, including swash plate 5121A and servo (not shown). The rotor bracket 5111A with the blades is movably connected with the shaft that drives it to rotate. The servo controls the lever to pull the swash plate 5121A to tilt. The swash plate 5121A further drives the rotor support 5111A to tilt with respect to the rotating shaft driving it through the pull rod, thereby controlling the rotation of the paddle plate of the rotor 511A relative to the fuselage 100 to provide thrust for the drone to fly horizontally. The swash plate technology is an existing technology of the traditional helicopter airplane model, and will not be repeated in this application. It should be noted that this embodiment can be simplified as follows: the paddle tilt mechanism can only control one of the rotors (for example, the one below) to rotate relative to the fuselage 100, while the other rotor is fixedly connected to the rotating shaft that drives it to rotate.

Another embodiment of the second rotor system is shown in FIG. 7(b). The second rotor system 510B includes a rotor assembly 511B, a base 512B, and a paddle tilt mechanism 513B. The rotor assembly 511B includes two rotors 5111B, a rotating shaft 5112B, and a rotor support 5113B. The two rotors 5111B have the same rotation axis and opposite rotation directions. The rotation torques of the two rotors cancel each other or their difference is used for yaw control. The rotor support 5113B is fixedly connected with the rotating shaft that drives it to rotate. The paddle tilt mechanism 513B includes an adapter mechanism 5131B and a server (not shown). The rotor assembly 511B and the base 512B are movably connected through the adapter mechanism 5131B. For example, the adapter mechanism 5131B is a universal joint, and the base 512B is connected to the fuselage 100 is fixedly connected, and the servo controls the pull rod to pull the entire rotor assembly 511B to tilt with respect to the base 512B, thereby controlling the rotation of the paddle of the rotor 5111B relative to the fuselage 100 to provide the UAV's thrust for level flight.

In another embodiment of the second rotor system, the second rotor system 510 includes two sub-rotor assemblies, each sub-rotor assembly includes a rotor, and the two rotors rotate in opposite directions. Both of the two sub-rotor assemblies may include the paddle tilting mechanism, or only one sub-rotor assembly may include the paddle tilting mechanism. The paddle tilting mechanism may be implemented in any of the manners shown in FIG. 7(a) and FIG. 7(b). One of the sub-rotor components is installed on the lower half of the fuselage 100, such as on the core 120; the other sub-rotor component is installed on the upper half of the fuselage 100, and can extend from the top of the frame 110 downward. Bracket, hoist the sub-rotor assembly on the bracket.

It should be noted that it is also feasible for the second rotor system to include more than two rotors. The second rotor system can also include only one rotor, so a yaw mechanism is needed to offset the rotational torque of the rotor. The yaw mechanism can be a rudder surface arranged under the rotor, or the yaw mechanism can also be a fan.

Further, the paddle tilting mechanism (512A, 513B) of the second rotor system shown in Figures 7(a) and 7(b) can be simplified to only control the rotor's paddle to tilt around an axis, for example, it can only go around Tilt along an axis parallel to the Y axis. The UAV adopting the simplified second rotor system needs to be provided with a stabilizer capable of outputting thrust for translation of the UAV.

It should be noted that if the control sensitivity of the paddle tilt mechanism of the second rotor system 510 is not sufficient, the hovering stability of the fuselage 100 may be low, which will affect the panoramic image captured. The stabilizer of the thrust of the machine translation to improve the stability of the fuselage 100.

Example three groups:

The drone of this embodiment group also includes a second rotating mechanism. At least one stabilizer is connected to the fuselage or rotor bracket through the second rotating mechanism. The second rotating mechanism controls the rotation of the stabilizer and is used to control the direction of the torque output by the stabilizer. And/or control the stabilizer to output the thrust that makes the UAV translate.

An example drone of this embodiment group is shown in Figure 8. This embodiment is a modification of the drone shown in Figure 6. Compared to the drone shown in Figure 6, the drone in this embodiment only includes one The stabilizer 300 is rotatably connected to the fuselage 100 through the second rotating mechanism 600. The rotation axis of the second rotating mechanism 600 is parallel to the Z axis. By controlling the rotation of the stabilizer 300, the torque output by the stabilizer 300 can be controlled at the same time The fuselage 100 rotates around the X-axis and the Y-axis, so that a stabilizer is used to control the pitch and roll angles of the fuselage 100.

Another embodiment of the drone is shown in Figure 9. This embodiment is a modification of the drone shown in Figure 5. Compared with the drone shown in Figure 5, the difference lies in the configuration of the stabilizer. The machine has only four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340), which are rotatably connected to the fuselage 100 through a second rotating mechanism (not shown). The second rotating mechanism drives the stabilizer (310, 320, 330, 340) to rotate, and can control the stabilizer (310, 320, 330, 340) to output the thrust that makes the UAV translate. The stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) rotate as shown in Figure 9, and the output thrust direction is the same as that of the UAV stabilizer 350 shown in Figure 5, so the stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) While outputting the torque for controlling the posture of the fuselage, it can also output the thrust that makes the UAV translate. Therefore, compared with the UAV shown in Fig. 5, the UAV of this embodiment may not be set specifically for output translation. Thrust stabilizer (that is, the stabilizer 350 of the UAV shown in Figure 5). It is worth noting that, according to specific needs, only one or a few of the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) may be connected to the fuselage 100 through the second rotating mechanism.

It should be noted that the description of the torque direction or thrust direction output by the stabilizer in this application document is principled. The actual situation will be a little more complicated. Take the UAV shown in Figure 3 as an example. The stabilizer (310, 320) outputs not pure rolling torque, but may also have a pitching moment component or a yaw moment component. The stabilizer (330, 320) 340) The output is not a pure rolling moment, there may also be a rolling moment component or a yaw moment component. Therefore, four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) need to be coordinated to control the body attitude.

It should be noted that the types of stabilizers used by the drones in the embodiments of the present application are interoperable. For example, the stabilizer based on the deflector technology shown in Figure 3 in the first embodiment can also be used in the second embodiment. Set of drones described.

It should be noted that the number of stabilizers configured for the drone in each embodiment of the present application is principled, and can be further adjusted according to the needs of the application scenario, and more stabilizers can be set to improve the accuracy of control. For example, in the drone shown in Figure 6, a stabilizer that outputs rolling torque can be added to the lower part of the fuselage 100 (such as next to the stabilizer 310), and to the upper part of the fuselage (such as next to the stabilizer 320). A stabilizer that outputs pitching moment. Similarly, the number of stabilizers can also be reduced according to specific needs. For example, for the drone shown in Figure 3, the four stabilizers (310, 320, 330, 340) can only retain two of them, for example, only stabilizers.器310 and stabilizer 330.

It should be noted that the position of the stabilizer of the unmanned aerial vehicle in each embodiment of this application is in principle, and it can also be set in other feasible positions. It should be noted that the stabilizer used to output torque should be set as far as possible on the moment arm. A larger position is used to improve power efficiency, and the stabilizer can be arranged outside the body frame 110 without affecting the viewing angle of the camera.

Example four groups:

This embodiment group provides a foldable drone.

In one embodiment, the fuselage of the drone includes a first frame, a second frame, and a folding mechanism. The first frame and the second frame are rotatably connected by the folding mechanism. The folding mechanism may be a hinged structure. The rotation of the mechanism realizes the folding and unfolding of the fuselage. As shown in FIG. 5, the frame 110 of the fuselage 100 of the UAV includes a first frame 111, a second frame 112, and a folding mechanism 113. The second frame 112 may be one or more. The first frame 111 and the second frame 112 are movably connected by a folding mechanism 113, and the folding and unfolding of the fuselage is realized by the rotation of the folding mechanism 113, as shown in FIG. 10.

In another embodiment, the fuselage of the drone is a scalable structure, and includes a first frame, a second frame, and a guide rail mechanism, and the first frame and the second frame are slidably connected by the guide rail mechanism. There may be one or more second frames. The guide rail mechanism usually includes a guide rail and a sliding rod (or sliding block), the guide rail is arranged on the first frame, and the sliding rod is arranged on the second frame, or vice versa. The second frame can slide along the guide rail to the inside of the drone fuselage to realize the folding of the drone, and the second frame can slide outward along the guide rail mechanism to realize the opening of the drone.

It should be noted that the camera configuration of the drone in this application is the camera in the middle of the fuselage plus the next two cameras. To obtain a better panoramic image, you may need to configure more cameras. Some beams are added to the frame of the body to install the camera. However, drones are very sensitive to weight. When the structure is strong enough, the frame should be reduced as much as possible, and then a protective frame made of lightweight materials should be wrapped around the frame to protect the rotor. The frame of the UAV shown in 5 is lighter than the frame of the UAV shown in Fig. 1.

The fuselage of the panoramic camera drone proposed in this application is a hollow structure, and multiple cameras are arranged around the fuselage to shoot 720° panoramic images. The panoramic camera drone includes a main power unit and a stabilizer. The main power unit can be configured in the manner of a first rotor system and a first rotation mechanism, and the first rotation mechanism controls the first rotor system to rotate around the rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism to generate a translational movement of the UAV in the first direction. Thrust; the main power unit can also be configured as a second rotor system. The second rotor system includes a rotor and a paddle tilt mechanism. The paddle tilt mechanism can control the rotation of the rotor's paddle relative to the fuselage to produce translation of the drone At the same time, the stabilizer can also output the thrust that makes the UAV translate. Therefore, unlike multi-rotor drones, the panoramic camera drone can achieve flight control without adjusting the posture of the fuselage. The panoramic camera drone is also equipped with a stabilizer, which can output the torque that makes the fuselage rotate to offset the inertia and external force of the drone, and control the fuselage posture within a preset range to ensure the panoramic image taken. The stability.

Compared with multi-rotor drones of the same size, the panoramic camera drone proposed in this application has a larger rotor size and high power efficiency.

Further, the unmanned aerial vehicle of the present application can be a foldable structure or a zoom structure, which can further reduce the storage size of the unmanned aerial vehicle, is simple to retract, and is convenient to carry.

The above descriptions are only the preferred embodiments of this application and are not intended to limit this application. Any modification, equivalent replacement and improvement made within the spirit and principle of this application shall be included in the protection of this application. Within range.

Claims (10)

A panoramic camera drone, which is characterized in that it comprises: The fuselage, which is a hollow structure; At least two cameras installed on the fuselage for shooting panoramic images; A stabilizer for outputting a torque for rotating the fuselage to control the attitude of the fuselage within a preset range and/or a thrust for translating the panoramic camera drone; and The main power unit includes a first rotor system, a rotor support, and a first rotation mechanism. The first rotor system is installed on the rotor support, and the rotor support and the fuselage pass through the first rotation The mechanism is rotationally connected, the first rotor system is located inside the fuselage; the first rotation mechanism can control the first rotor system to rotate around the rotation axis of the first rotation mechanism to generate the The translational thrust of the panoramic camera drone along the first direction; Alternatively, the main power plant includes a second rotor system, the second rotor system is installed inside the fuselage, the second rotor system includes a rotor and a paddle tilt mechanism, and the number of the rotor is one or There are multiple, the paddle tilting mechanism can control the paddle of at least one of the rotors to rotate relative to the fuselage to generate thrust for translation of the panoramic camera drone. The panoramic camera drone of claim 1, wherein at least one of the stabilizers can output a moment that causes the fuselage to pitch; At least one of the stabilizers can output a torque that causes the fuselage to roll. The panoramic camera drone of claim 1, wherein at least one of the stabilizers can output a torque that causes the fuselage to make a yaw motion. The panoramic camera drone of claim 1, wherein when the main power device includes a first rotor system, at least one of the stabilizers can output the panoramic camera drone along the second rotor system. The thrust is translated in the direction, and the second direction is not parallel to the first direction. The panoramic camera drone of claim 4, wherein the angle between the first direction and the second direction ranges from 75° to 90°. The panoramic camera drone of claim 1, wherein the panoramic camera drone further comprises a second rotating mechanism, and at least one of the stabilizers is connected to the fuselage through the second rotating mechanism. The rotor bracket is connected; the second rotating mechanism can control the rotation of the stabilizer to adjust the direction of the stabilizer output torque and/or control the stabilizer to output the thrust that makes the panoramic camera drone translate . The panoramic camera drone according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the stabilizers includes a deflector and a servo, and the deflector is arranged above or below the rotor , The servo is used to control the rotation of the guide vane to control the torque output by the stabilizer. The panoramic camera drone according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein at least one of the stabilizers is a rotor or a fan. The panoramic camera drone according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the fuselage includes a first frame, a second frame, and a folding mechanism, and the first frame and the second frame The two frames are rotatably connected by the folding mechanism, so that the second frame is folded and unfolded relative to the first frame. The panoramic camera drone according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the fuselage includes a first frame, a second frame, and a guide rail mechanism, and the second frame passes through the guide rail. The mechanism is slidably connected to the first frame body, so that the second frame body is folded and opened relative to the first frame body.