CN101712379B - A small, foldable drone - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a folding small-sized unmanned aerial vehicle, which comprises a wing-fuselage blended body, a pair of airfoils, an empennage and a tail boom, wherein the airfoils are respectively arranged on both sides of the wing-fuselage blended body; a connection position of each airfoil and the wing-fuselage blended body is provided with a first folding mechanism; the first folding mechanisms are used for folding the airfoils downwards relative to the wing-fuselage blended body and locking the unfolded airfoils in an unfolded state; one end of the tail boom is connected with the empennage, while the other end is connected with the wing-fuselage blended body through a second folding mechanism; and the second folding mechanism is used for folding the tail boom downwards relative to the wing-fuselage blended body and locking the unfolded tail boom in an unfolded state. After being folded, an airframe structure of the small-sized unmanned aerial vehicle can be accommodated in a cuboid packing chest; and the folding small-sized unmanned aerial vehicle can unfold to the flight condition automatically by utilizing an air-powered actuating device to execute flight tasks of air delivery and the like, and simultaneously, the small-sized unmanned aerial vehicle is short in assembly and disassembly time and convenient in transportation.

Description

A small, foldable drone

technical field

The invention relates to an aviation vehicle, in particular to a foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle.

Background technique

Unmanned aircraft, referred to as unmanned aerial vehicle, is a powered, unmanned, reusable aircraft. In recent years, due to the rapid development of material science, microelectronics technology, and computer technology, the UAV technology has been greatly promoted. The field of drones has become a field that countries are vying for development. UAVs are generally classified by weight, among which those below 20kg are called micro or small UAVs, such as the "pointer" UAV and "Silver Fox" UAV in the United States, which are generally used to perform battlefield reconnaissance, damage Military tasks such as assessment and target guidance, as well as non-military tasks such as flight tests, aerial surveying and mapping, search and rescue as an aircraft platform.

Due to the low take-off weight of the drone itself and the limited fuel carrying capacity (for electric drones, it is the capacity limit of the power battery), the range and flight time indicators of the drone will be affected to varying degrees. In some cases, such as performing wartime reconnaissance of the enemy in depth, attack target guidance, search and rescue of major geological disasters, etc., when large aircraft are vulnerable to attack due to large targets or do not have sufficient attendance, small drones are required. Man-machines perform these tasks with high-altitude or long-distance requirements, and the existing conventional small UAVs generally cannot meet the requirements of such tasks.

Taking the earthquake search and rescue mission as an example, it is assumed that at the initial moment of an earthquake and other geological disasters, external personnel cannot quickly enter the earthquake area to understand the loss situation. It is an economical and effective means to use small drones to carry out surveys on the earthquake area in azimuth. However, due to the limitation of the take-off weight of the existing small drones, the range and flight time indicators cannot meet the requirements of taking off from the outside of the earthquake zone to investigate the earthquake zone. If the small drone is transported from the ground to the earthquake zone or the earthquake zone Nearby, it will be affected by irresistible factors such as ground traffic barriers and delay time, and the effect of rapid response will be lost. If multiple small UAVs can be transported to the sky over the earthquake area at one time by a large aircraft at this time, and launched in different areas, the small UAVs can spontaneously enter the normal flight mode after the launch, and complete the corresponding search and rescue and earthquake area survey task, then it will provide strong assistance to the work of earthquake relief.

In addition, today's small UAVs are generally designed in a detachable form. The whole machine can be disassembled into multiple parts such as wings, fuselage, empennage, and landing gear for packing to facilitate transportation. However, such a decomposition method makes it necessary for the UAV to perform tasks such as connecting control lines and pipelines, installing and fastening components, etc. after reaching the destination, in order to reach the ready-to-fly state. This process is cumbersome and time-consuming; The same time and steps are needed to complete the dismantling and packing work in the future. In military operations, it is generally required that the equipment can meet the requirements of rapid response in order to grasp fleeting fighters; in search and rescue missions, every second counts, in order to minimize the loss of disasters; similarly in the civilian and scientific fields, Efficiency is an important indicator to measure products and results. This puts forward requirements for the design of UAVs, which should meet the requirements of fast loading and unloading and convenient transportation at the same time.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problem that the existing small unmanned aerial vehicles are weak in performing tasks with high-altitude and long-distance requirements, and to overcome the shortcomings of the "disassembly-installation" mode, which takes a long time and the process is cumbersome, and provides a A foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle, its body structure can be folded and stored in a packing box with regular shape. The folded small UAV can be transferred to the normal flight state to perform tasks through steps such as air launch and automatic unfolding, and the idea of the folding body is applied to the small UAV to shorten the loading and unloading time and make transportation more convenient.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle is provided, which includes: a wing-body fusion body; a pair of wings, respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the wing-body fusion body, each of which A first folding mechanism is arranged at the joint between the wing and the wing-body fusion body, and the first folding mechanism is configured so that the wing can be folded downward relative to the wing-body fusion body and can be unfolded. The wing is locked in the unfolded state; an empennage; a tailstay, one end of which is connected to the empennage, and the other end is connected to the fusion body of the wing body through a second folding mechanism, and the second folding mechanism is configured to be able to The tail boom is folded down relative to the wing-body fusion body and the unfolded tail boom can be locked in an unfolded state.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first folding mechanism is configured to enable the wing to be folded downward by 90° relative to the wing-body fusion body, and the second folding mechanism is configured to enable the The tailstay folds down 100° relative to the wing-body fusion.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the principle of the first folding mechanism is the same as that of the second folding mechanism, and its structure includes: a first hinge fixedly connected with the wing or the tail brace, and a The second hinge is fixedly connected with the fusion body of the wing body; the first hinge and the second hinge are hinged at the lower part through a pin shaft, and the upper part of the first hinge is provided with an ear piece, There is a barb on the ear piece, a boss is arranged on the upper part of the second hinge, and a gap is arranged on the upper part of the boss, in which a dead bolt and a spring against the dead bolt are arranged. The locking tongue is arranged corresponding to the barb, so that when the wing or the tailstay is unfolded, the upper surface of the first hinge is attached to the upper surface of the boss, and the lock The tongue springs out and catches the barb.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a first deployment actuating mechanism is further provided between the wing and the wing-body fusion body, and a second deployment mechanism is further disposed between the tail brace and the wing-body fusion body. Expand the actuator.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the principle of the first deployment actuation mechanism is the same as that of the second deployment actuation mechanism, and its structure includes: a pneumatic cylinder fixed on the fusion body of the wing body, the The front end of the actuating rod on the pneumatic cylinder is provided with a second pin shaft; a support arm, one end of which is fixed on the wing or the tail support, and a chute is opened at the other end, and the chute can accommodate The second pin slides therein.

Preferably, the wing-body fusion body is a flat lifting body with a certain airfoil shape, and its two sides are fused with the wing through reasonable curves.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, two electric motors with propellers are installed on both sides of the rear end of the wing-body fusion body.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the plane shape of the wing is trapezoidal, its leading edge is swept back, and its trailing edge is swept forward. An aileron is arranged on the outer trailing edge of the stabilizer surface of each wing, and the wing is a conventional single Beam structure, a main beam is provided at 30% of the chord length of the wing, and a rear wall is provided at 75% of the chord length, wherein the main beam is perpendicular to the axis of the wing-body fusion body, and the wing It is connected with the wing-body fusion body through two joints at the main beam and the rear wall, wherein the joint at the main beam has the first folding mechanism; the joint at the rear wall is a hinge.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the empennage is a V-shaped empennage, the left and right empennages are 110° to each other, and the rear edge of the empennage stabilizer is provided with a control surface.

The beneficial effects of the present invention are mainly reflected in:

1) The small unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention can be released in the air in a folded state. During the descent process, the body is automatically unfolded through the folding-expanding action and the locking mechanism, and returns to the normal aerodynamic shape, and then enters the normal flight state. It can be used to complete special missions such as high-altitude and long-distance flight;

2) The small unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention adopts the layout form of wing-body fusion, single tail brace, and V-shaped tail, which can well meet the requirements of body folding and has excellent aerodynamic characteristics, especially wing-body fusion The body design increases the lift area of the whole aircraft, which helps to improve the lift of the aircraft, and at the same time can effectively reduce the interference resistance between the wing and the fuselage, thereby increasing the lift-to-drag ratio of the aircraft;

3) the present invention is used for the design of the folding mechanism of folding wing and tail support and has shortened the required preparation time of this type UAV from storage packing state to ready-to-fly state, when needing to fly, the UAV of folded state Take it out, lift up the wings and tailstays on both sides to the position where the folding mechanism automatically locks; after completing the flight, just press the locking safety at the folding mechanism (for example, disengage the locking tongue of the folding mechanism from the barb) , the wings and tailstays can be folded down, and the UAV can be restored to the storage state;

4) The small drone of the present invention can be stored in a rectangular box in a folded state, which greatly saves space and is convenient for transportation and storage.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is the overall appearance of a small UAV in flight state;

Figure 2 is the overall appearance of the small UAV in the folded state;

Fig. 3 is a structural schematic diagram of the actuation and locking mechanism required for folding and unfolding of the small UAV.

Detailed ways

The overall layout, folding method, folding-unfolding required action and locking mechanism of the foldable small UAV of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

1) The overall layout of the small UAV

The small UAV has a conventional aerodynamic layout, as shown in Figure 1, with a wing-body fusion design and a single tail brace with a V-shaped tail. The body composition of this small unmanned aerial vehicle includes wing-body fusion body 8, wing 6, 7, empennage 4, 5, tail support 3, power system 1, 2, the actuating and locking mechanism required for folding-expanding, can be in Install tricycle landing gear if necessary.

Wherein, the wing-body fusion body 8 is a flat lifting body with a certain airfoil shape, a cabin cover is provided on the upper surface, and a large-capacity cabin is inside for installation of airborne equipment. Both sides of the wing-body fusion body 8 are fused with the wings 6 and 7 through reasonable curves to ensure better aerodynamic characteristics. For example, two electric motors 1 with propellers 2 are installed on both sides of the rear end of the wing-body fusion body 8 to provide the small UAV with the power required for flight.

Wing 6,7 planar shape is trapezoid, its leading edge is swept back, and trailing edge is swept forward. An aileron 6 is provided on the outer trailing edge of each wing stabilizer 7 . The wing is a conventional single-girder structure, with a main beam 106 at 30% of the chord length of the wing, and a rear wall 11 at 75% of the chord length, wherein the wing main beam 106 is perpendicular to the axis of the wing-body fusion body 8 . The entire wing is connected with the wing-body fusion body 8 through two joints at the main beam 106 and the rear wall 11 for load transfer. According to the following specific embodiments, the joint 10 at the main beam can be a folding mechanism or a combination of a folding mechanism and an unfolding drive mechanism, capable of transmitting shear force, bending moment and partial torque; the joint 12 at the rear wall can be It is a simple hinge that transmits shear force and transmits torque together with the girder joint.

The left and right tails of the V-shaped tails 4 and 5 are 110° to each other, and the rear edge of the tail stabilizer 4 is provided with a control surface 5. The functions of the elevator and rudder can be realized through the V-tail mixed control mode, that is to say, the rudder surfaces of the left and right tails are simultaneously upward. Or deflect downward to play the role of the elevator, and the rudder surfaces of the left and right empennages are turned up and the other is turned down to play the role of the rudder.

The connection of the empennage 4, 5 and the fusion body 8 of the wing body is realized through the tail brace 3. The tail brace 3 is made of a tapered carbon fiber composite tube, and the end with a smaller diameter is used to install the V-shaped tail fin 4, 5. The larger end is connected with the wing-body fusion body 8 through the tail folding mechanism 9 .

2) Folded form

When the small UAV is folded, the wings 6 and 7 are folded down about 90° along the rotating shaft of the wing folding mechanism 10 connected to the wing-body fusion body 8, and the tail support 3 is along the rotating shaft of the tail folding mechanism 9. Fold down about 100 °, now the tail brace 3 and the V-shaped tail 4,5 are located in the middle of the left and right wings 6,7 in the folded state, as shown in Figure 2. The UAV in the folded state can be stored in a rectangular box. In practical application, when the folding aircraft is packed into the packaging box, the folding aircraft is fixed by the corresponding support structure to prevent the vibration and bumping of the aircraft from causing structural damage. Therefore, the folding angle is relatively free, which is mainly affected by the packaging box and its internal support. structural constraints.

3) Actuation and locking mechanism required for folding-unfolding

Preferably, in the foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention, the connecting structure 10 provided at the connecting portion of the wings 6, 7 and the wing-body fusion body 8 is a combination of a folding mechanism and an unfolding drive mechanism, hereinafter referred to as The folding-deploying action and locking mechanism 10 is provided with another combination of folding mechanism and unfolding drive mechanism at the connecting part of the tail brace 3 and the wing-body fusion body 8, hereinafter referred to as the folding-deploying action and locking mechanism 9 . The folding-expanding actuation and locking mechanisms 9, 10 include a folding mechanism and an unfolding actuation mechanism, and its specific structure can adopt various forms, and FIG. 3 only shows an example of one structure.

Since the folding-deploying action and the principle of the locking mechanisms 9 and 10 set at the two places are exactly the same, here only the action and locking required for the folding-deploying used between the wings 6, 7 and the wing-body fusion body 8 are used. Institution 10 is taken as an example for illustration.

As shown in Figure 3, the main body of the folding mechanism is two hinges, that is, the first hinge 104 and the second hinge 102, the first hinge 104 is connected to the main beam 106 of the wing, and the second hinge 102 is connected to the main beam 106 of the wing. The main beam 101 of the body fusion body 8 is connected. The first hinge 104 and the second hinge 102 are hinged at the bottom through the pin shaft 103 . There is an ear piece 107 on the top of the first hinge 104, and the barb 105 for locking is provided on the ear piece 107. The upper part of the second hinge 102 is a boss 113. When the mechanism is closed (that is, the wing is unfolded), the upper surface of the first hinge 104 just fits on the upper surface of the boss 113 to ensure that the wing the dihedral. There is a gap on the upper part of the boss 113, in which a spring and a deadbolt 110 are arranged, and the deadbolt 110 is acted by the elastic force of the spring. When the folding mechanism is from the open state to the closed state, the first hinge 104 rotates around the pin shaft 103, and the lug 107 presses the dead bolt 110 until the first hinge 104 and the second hinge 102 are completely closed, and the dead bolt 110 is pressed. The spring action pops up and hooks the barb 105 on the ear piece, so far the folding mechanism is locked, ensuring a stable aerodynamic shape of the drone during flight.

The deployment mechanism mainly includes a pneumatic cylinder 112 installed on the side of the main beam 101 of the wing-body fusion body 8, and an arm 108 installed on the side of the wing main beam 106, which is used to automatically unfold the UAV in the folded state. to flight status. A chute 109 is formed on the support arm 108 , and the pin shaft 114 at the actuator joint can slide in the chute 109 . When the pneumatic cylinder is affected by the compressed gas, the actuating rod 111 is retracted, and the actuating rod joint drives the support arm 108 through the pin shaft 114, so that the main beam 106 of the wing rotates upward around the pin shaft 103 of the folding mechanism until the folding mechanism reaches its full height. closed state.

In practical application, the foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle of the present invention, wherein the folding mechanism and the unfolding mechanism can be configured according to specific conditions, for example:

Example 1: Carrying out the flight mission of launching an air drop

The small drone in this state is equipped with a folding mechanism and an unfolding mechanism at the same time. When carrying out the flight mission of launching in the air, the small UAV equipped with the corresponding payload is first in the folded state as shown in Figure 2, and is stored in a rectangular packing box, which can be used by hot air balloons, airships, helicopters, etc. Or large transport aircraft and other methods to carry and transport to the predetermined height and airspace for air delivery. A parachute and an automatic device for opening the hatch are installed in the rectangular packing box used to accommodate small drones. After being launched in the air, the parachute will automatically open and stabilize and descend, and then the hatch will be automatically opened to release the drone in the folded state inside.

After the UAV in the folded state slides out of the packaging box, its left and right wings 6, 7 and tail support 3 are automatically deployed and locked in the normal flight configuration as shown in Figure 1 under the action of the pneumatic deployment mechanism. The mission flight is carried out under the control of the UAV airborne equipment.

Example 2, rapid transition from storage state to ready-to-fly state in routine tasks

The small drone in this form can only be equipped with a folding mechanism and omit the unfolding mechanism. The left and right wings 6, 7 and the tail brace 3 are respectively connected with the wing-body fusion body 8 through a set of folding mechanisms. The wings and tailstays are folded in the storage and transportation state. When the drone arrives at the destination, take the folded drone out of the packing box, and pull the left and right wings and tailstays upward until the folding mechanism is automatically locked. The aircraft can reach the ready-to-fly state. After completing the flight mission, the drone can be restored to storage by simply pressing back the latch 110 of the folding mechanism, freeing it from the barbs 105, and folding the wings and tailstays down and packing them into the case status, the entire implementation process is simple and convenient.

The above are only specific application examples of the present invention, and do not constitute any limitation to the protection scope of the present invention. All technical solutions formed by equivalent transformation or equivalent replacement fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

1. A foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle, characterized in that it comprises: A wing-body fusion (8); A pair of wings (6, 7) are respectively arranged on the left and right sides of the fusion body (8), and each of the wings (6, 7) is connected to the fusion body (8) A first folding mechanism (10) is provided, and the first folding mechanism (10) is configured so that the wings (6, 7) can be folded down relative to the wing-body fusion body (8) and the The deployed wings (6, 7) are locked in the deployed state; A tail (4, 5); A tail brace (3), one end of which is connected to the empennage (4, 5), and the other end is connected to the wing-body fusion body (8) through a second folding mechanism (9), and the second folding mechanism (9 ) is configured so that the tail brace (3) can be folded downward relative to the wing-body fusion body (8) and the unfolded tail brace (3) can be locked in an unfolded state; A first deployment actuating mechanism (10) arranged between the wings (6, 7) and the wing-body fusion body (8); a second deployment actuating mechanism (9) arranged between the tail brace (3) and the wing-body fusion body (8); Wherein, the first deployment mechanism (10) includes: A pneumatic actuator (112), fixed on the wing-body fusion body (8), the front end of the actuator rod (111) on the pneumatic actuator (112) is provided with a second pin (114); A support arm (108), one end of which is fixed on the wing (6, 7), and a chute (109) is opened at the other end, and the chute (109) can accommodate the second pin shaft (114 ) to slide through. 2. The foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, the first folding mechanism (10) is configured to make the wings (6, 7) The fusion body (8) is folded downward by 90°, and the second folding mechanism (9) is configured to enable the tail support (3) to fold downward by 100° relative to the wing-body fusion body (8). 3. The foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, wherein the first folding mechanism (10) comprises: a first hinge (104), which is fixedly connected to said wings (6, 7), and a second hinge (102), which is fixedly connected with the wing-body fusion body (8); The first hinge (104) and the second hinge (102) are hinged at the lower part through a pin shaft (103), The upper part of the first hinge (104) is provided with an ear piece (107), the ear piece (107) has a barb (105), and the upper part of the second hinge (102) is provided with a boss , the upper part of the boss is provided with a gap, in which a lock tongue (110) and a spring against the lock tongue (110) are arranged, and the lock tongue (110) is set correspondingly to the barb (105) , thus, in the unfolded state of the wings (6, 7), the upper surface of the first hinge (104) is attached to the upper surface of the boss (113), and the locking tongue (110 ) is ejected by the action of the spring, hooking the barb (105). 4. The foldable small UAV according to claim 1, wherein the second folding mechanism (9) comprises: A first hinge (104), which is fixedly connected with the tail support (3), and a second hinge (102), which is fixedly connected with the wing-body fusion body (8); The first hinge (104) and the second hinge (102) are hinged at the lower part through a pin shaft (103), The upper part of the first hinge (104) is provided with an ear piece (107), the ear piece (107) has a barb (105), and the upper part of the second hinge (102) is provided with a boss , the upper part of the boss is provided with a gap, in which a lock tongue (110) and a spring against the lock tongue (110) are arranged, and the lock tongue (110) is set correspondingly to the barb (105) , thus, when the tail support (3) is unfolded, the upper surface of the first hinge (104) is attached to the upper surface of the boss (113), and the lock tongue (110) is Spring action pops out, hooking the barb (105). 5. The foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, the second deployment mechanism (9) comprises: A pneumatic actuator (112), fixed on the wing-body fusion body (8), the front end of the actuator rod (111) on the pneumatic actuator (112) is provided with a second pin (114); A support arm (108), one end of which is fixed on the tail support (3), the other end has a chute (109), and the chute (109) can accommodate the second bearing pin (114) in the which slides. 6. The foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, the wing-body fusion body (8) is a flat lifting body with a certain airfoil, and its two sides pass through reasonable curves with the Said wing (6,7) fusion. 7. The foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that two motors (1) with propellers (2) are installed on both sides of the rear end of the wing-body fusion body (8). 8. The foldable small unmanned aerial vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that, The planar shape of the wings (6, 7) is trapezoidal, its leading edge is swept back and its trailing edge is swept forward, and an aileron (6) is arranged on the outer trailing edge of each wing stabilizer (7). (6,7) is a conventional single beam structure, a main beam (106) is provided at the 30% chord length of the wing, and a rear wall (11) is provided at the 75% chord length, wherein the main beam (106) is perpendicular to the axis of the wing-body fusion body (8), and the wings (6, 7) are connected to the wing-body fusion body (8) through two joints at the main beam (106) and the rear wall (11). ) connection, wherein the joint at the main beam place has the first folding mechanism (10); the joint at the rear wall place (12) is a hinge; Described empennage (4,5) is a V-shaped empennage (4,5), and its left and right empennages mutually form 110 °, and empennage stabilizer (4) trailing edge is provided with control surface (5).

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