CN211956225U

CN211956225U - Flight control equipment, system and unmanned aerial vehicle

Info

Publication number: CN211956225U
Application number: CN202020949557.0U
Authority: CN
Inventors: 王少平
Original assignee: Chongqing Yifei Zhilian Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Chongqing Yifei Zhilian Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-05-29
Filing date: 2020-05-29
Publication date: 2020-11-17
Anticipated expiration: 2030-05-29

Abstract

The application relates to flight control equipment, system and unmanned aerial vehicle. The flight control apparatus includes: the device comprises a flight control module, a differential positioning module and a radio frequency transceiver module. Wherein, flight control module includes at least: the control system comprises a control bottom plate and a main control module arranged on the control bottom plate, wherein a first inter-plate interface and a second inter-plate interface are also arranged on the control bottom plate; the radio frequency transceiver module is electrically connected with the main control module through the first inter-board interface. The differential positioning module is electrically connected with the main control module through the second inter-board interface. The radio frequency transceiver module and the differential positioning module are respectively arranged at the upper side and the lower side of the control bottom plate. According to the technical scheme, the flight control module, the differential positioning module and the radio frequency transceiver module are integrated, so that the size of the flight control equipment is reduced by half under the condition of meeting the electrical function, and meanwhile, the weight is also reduced greatly. The working conditions that the unmanned aerial vehicle body is compact and the load capacity is not strong are met.

Description

Flight control equipment, system and unmanned aerial vehicle

Technical Field

The application relates to the technical field of unmanned aerial vehicles, in particular to flight control equipment, a system and an unmanned aerial vehicle.

Background

The pilotless aircraft is an autonomous aircraft capable of performing multiple tasks and being used for multiple times. Along with the progress of the unmanned aerial vehicle technology, the unmanned aerial vehicle has wide application prospect in the military and civil fields.

The current unmanned aerial vehicle avionics equipment is an independent module, such as an independent flight control module, an independent positioning module, an independent radio station and the like. These separate devices are mounted on the drone as separate electronic devices. When the fuselage of the drone is relatively compact or the load capacity is not strong, it is not possible to install these separate devices inside the cabin. Greatly limits the application scene of the avionics equipment. Therefore, a new flight control device is needed to adapt to the application scenario.

Disclosure of Invention

In view of this, the main objective of the present application is to provide a flight control device, a system and an unmanned aerial vehicle with small volume and weight, so as to be able to adapt to the application scenario when the fuselage of the unmanned aerial vehicle is relatively compact or the load capacity is not strong.

The application provides a flight control equipment carries unmanned aerial vehicle, includes:

the system comprises a flight control module, a differential positioning module and a radio frequency transceiving module;

wherein the flight control module comprises at least: the control system comprises a control bottom plate and a main control module arranged on the control bottom plate, wherein a first inter-plate interface and a second inter-plate interface are also arranged on the control bottom plate;

the radio frequency transceiver module is electrically connected with the main control module through the first inter-board interface to realize bidirectional communication between the radio frequency transceiver module and the main control module; the radio frequency transceiver module is electrically connected with the differential positioning module through a first signal wire and used for feeding back positioning information from a ground end to the differential positioning module so that the differential positioning module can determine the positioning information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the positioning information of the ground end;

the differential positioning module is electrically connected with the main control module through the second inter-board interface and used for sending the positioning information of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the main control module, and the main control module executes corresponding control operation according to the positioning information of the unmanned aerial vehicle;

the radio frequency transceiver module and the differential positioning module are respectively arranged on the upper side and the lower side of the control bottom plate.

According to the technical scheme, the first inter-board interface and the second inter-board interface are arranged on the control bottom board, the radio frequency transceiver module is connected to the first inter-board interface, the differential positioning module is connected to the second inter-board interface, and the radio frequency transceiver module is connected with the differential positioning module through the first signal wire, so that integration among the differential positioning module, the radio frequency transceiver module and the flight control module is realized, and through the arrangement, the weight and the size of the flight control equipment are greatly reduced under the condition of meeting the electrical function. Therefore, even when the fuselage structure of unmanned aerial vehicle itself is comparatively compact or the load ability of unmanned aerial vehicle itself is not strong, the flight control equipment that this application provided still can be carried on, unmanned aerial vehicle's flight control quality has been guaranteed.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the flight control apparatus further includes:

an inertial measurement unit IMU disposed on the control backplane;

the radio frequency transceiver module and the inertial measurement unit IMU are located on the same side of the control bottom plate.

Therefore, in order to make the structure of the flight control device as compact as possible and make the volume of the flight control device as small as possible, the radio frequency transceiver module and the inertial measurement unit IMU may be disposed on the same side of the control bottom plate.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the first inter-board interface includes: the COM interface is arranged on the control bottom plate; the radio frequency transceiver module is provided with a UART interface corresponding to the COM interface.

Therefore, the radio frequency transceiver module is integrated on the control bottom plate through the COM interface and the UART interface arranged on the radio frequency transceiver module, which are arranged on the control bottom plate.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the second inter-board interface is a board-to-board connector, and the second inter-board interface includes a COM interface; and the differential positioning module is provided with a UART interface corresponding to the COM interface. When the original differential positioning module is separated from the flight control module, the differential positioning module cannot directly communicate with the flight control module, for example, a UART signal needs to be processed by a processor and then transmitted to the flight control module through a CAN bus, and in the mode, the signal processing is realized by an additional processor, and the signal CAN be transmitted through the bus. Compared with the mode, the UART signals of the differential positioning module can be directly sent to the flight control module, and the data transmission and processing paths are optimized.

In the above way, the interface between the second boards is set as the board-to-board connector, so that multiple paths of signals can be integrated in the same connector for transmission, the overall circuit layout of the device is simpler, and the transmission capability of data between the differential positioning module and the flight control module is improved; in addition, the board-to-board connector is adopted, so that the fixation between the boards is realized while the signals are transmitted, and the whole body is more convenient to install.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the second inter-board interface includes a reset interface, and the flight control module sends a reset signal to the differential positioning module through the reset interface to restart the differential positioning module.

Therefore, the problem that reset and restart cannot be performed when the differential positioning module crashes can be solved. Specifically, the method comprises the following steps: when the prior art adopts discrete equipment, the flight control module cannot directly control the board card of the differential positioning module, so that when the differential positioning module has problems and needs to be reset and restarted, the flight control module cannot carry out reset control on the differential positioning module. According to the technical scheme, the reset interface is arranged on the interface between the second plates, when the differential positioning module needs to be reset and restarted, the reset signal can be directly sent to the differential positioning module through the flight control module, and the differential positioning module is controlled to reset.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the main control module is further configured to generate track data according to the positioning information from the second inter-board interface, and send the track data and other information to the radio frequency transceiver module through the first inter-board interface; the other information is information sent to the ground end by the master control module, such as a control instruction, flight state data and the like.

In the prior art, when the separate devices are adopted, the differential positioning module needs a separate CPU to process and distribute data, so that the MCU built in the differential positioning module transmits data to the flight control module through the CAN bus via the built-in MCU. According to the method, the differential positioning module and the flight control module are directly interconnected through the interface between the second boards on the control bottom board of the differential positioning module to transmit data such as an MB2 protocol, positioning data and course data, the differential positioning module is directly controlled or operated through the flight control module, an MCU (micro control unit) is not required to be arranged in the differential positioning module, and therefore the cost of the MCU and related circuits is saved.

On the other hand, when the prior art adopts discrete devices, the positioning data (PPK data) of the ground end is transmitted from the ground end to the differential positioning module, and then is fed to the flight control module by the differential positioning module through the MCU thereof through the CAN bus. According to the technical scheme, the PPK data of the ground end is obtained from the radio frequency transceiving module, and the radio frequency transceiving module directly sends the PPK data to the differential positioning module, so that data transmission and processing paths are different, one-time data packaging and distribution can be reduced, and the operation amount is reduced.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the flight control module further includes a slave control module disposed on the control bottom plate, and the master control module and the slave control module are electrically connected through a PCB line of the control bottom plate to implement bidirectional communication therebetween;

the radio frequency transceiver module is connected with the first inter-board interface through a second signal line so as to realize the electrical connection between the radio frequency transceiver module and the master control module, and the slave control module monitors the transmission data of the master control module on the second signal line, intercepts the transmission data, obtains track data and stores the track data.

In the prior art, when the discrete devices are used, the master control module needs to send the track information to the slave control module through an additional communication link, so that the slave control module reads and writes the track information. According to the technical scheme, the burden of the master control module is reduced, the flight path does not need to be sent to the slave control module, and the received flight path and TX data of COM3 radio station data are combined on a communication link (a second signal line) and sent to a radio station; the slave control module can continuously monitor the first inter-board interface of the master control module, intercept the flight path data and then actively store the flight path data into the SD card of the slave control module. The technical effect is that the existing master control module does not need to send track information to the slave control module independently, the technical scheme provided by the application can reduce one path of serial ports connected with hardware between the master control module and the slave control module, and in addition, the calculation of one-time data packaging distribution and analysis between the master control module and the slave control module can be reduced.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, a first interface board for inputting and/or outputting an external signal is disposed on the control backplane, and the first interface board is located at an end of the control backplane, which is far away from the radio frequency transceiver module.

Therefore, the first interface board provided with the external signal input and output is far away from the radio frequency transceiver module, so that the interference of the radio frequency transceiver module on the signals can be avoided, and the control precision is improved.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the first interface board includes an SMBUS interface, a PPS interface, and/or a station signal interface; the SMBUS interface is electrically connected with the slave control module; the PPS interface is electrically connected with the differential positioning module; the radio station signal interface is electrically connected with the radio frequency transceiving module.

From the above, the SMBUS (System Management Bus) is used as a protocol of the standard smart battery, and the SMBUS interface is provided on the first interface board, so that the customer can directly use the smart battery with the SMBUS interface.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the control backplane is further provided with a second interface board, and the second interface board is at least provided with a power interface, a bus interface, and a control load interface.

Optionally, the second interface board is disposed away from the first interface board, for example, at an end of the control backplane opposite to the first interface board, so as to avoid interference between signals, for example, interference of a power supply to signals on the first interface board.

Therefore, the second interface board is provided with a plurality of interfaces commonly used by flight control equipment, so that different application scenes can be met.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the differential positioning module includes an RTK antenna interface, and the RTK antenna interface obtains satellite positioning data, and determines positioning information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the positioning data and the ground-side positioning information;

the radio frequency transceiving module comprises a radio station antenna interface, and is electrically connected with a radio station antenna through the radio station antenna interface to realize communication with the ground end.

Optionally, the RTK antenna interface and the radio antenna interface are arranged away from the first interface board to avoid signal interference.

Optionally, in order to save the device space, the RTK antenna interface, the radio antenna interface, and the second interface board are all disposed at an end of the control backplane opposite to the first interface board.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the radio frequency transceiver module is fixedly connected with the control bottom plate through a first fixing piece, and is fixedly connected with a shell of the flight control device through a second fixing piece; and/or the differential positioning module is fixedly connected with the shell of the flight control equipment through a third fixing piece.

By the aid of the fixing pieces, the modules can be stably fixed on the control bottom plate.

If the signals of the radio frequency transceiver module and the control bottom plate are transmitted through the signal line instead of adopting the plate-to-plate connector, the radio frequency transceiver module is fixed in the equipment through the first fixing piece and the second fixing piece. Similarly, if the differential positioning module does not adopt a board-to-board connector, the board can be fixed by adopting the above mode. If the differential positioning module adopts a board-to-board connector, the differential positioning module and the control bottom board can be fixed through the board-to-board connector, and then the fixation between the flight control equipment and the equipment shell can be realized through the third fixing piece. Through the fixing mode, the fixing between each board card and the equipment shell is realized, the vibration of the unmanned aerial vehicle in flight is avoided, and the risk that the operation cannot be carried out due to dislocation between the board cards and poor contact of signal interfaces is caused.

As an implementation manner of the first aspect, the radio frequency transceiver module and/or the control backplane includes an indicator light assembly, and displays a light signal through a light guide column; and a through hole corresponding to the light guide column is formed in the shell of the flight control equipment.

By the above, through the arrangement of the indicating lamp component on the control bottom plate, signals such as whether the differential positioning module is in a positioning state and whether the digital compass is normal can be displayed through the indicating lamp, so that a user can determine the current running state of the flight control device through the indicating lamp signals when debugging, installing and equipment maintaining.

The radio frequency transceiver module is provided with an indicator lamp assembly, so that whether transmission data pass through the radio frequency transceiver module and/or information such as signal intensity of the radio frequency transceiver module can be displayed through the indicator lamp, and a user can know whether the radio frequency transceiver module can work normally and/or the range of the signal intensity of the radio frequency transceiver module.

A flight control apparatus comprising: the device comprises a processing unit, a storage unit, a data bus unit and a data interface unit;

the data interface unit includes at least: the system comprises a power supply interface unit, a steering engine interface unit, a motor interface unit, a GPS equipment interface unit, a task load interface unit, an airspeed tube interface unit, an RTK antenna interface unit and a radio station antenna interface unit; the steering engine interface unit is an optional unit and is determined according to the architecture of an unmanned aerial vehicle power system;

the processing unit determines current positioning information according to the ground end positioning information fed back by the radio station antenna interface unit and/or the positioning information fed back by the GPS equipment interface unit;

the processing unit is also used for controlling the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the steering engine interface unit and the motor interface unit according to the current positioning information;

the processing unit is also used for realizing the control of the load through the task load interface unit.

The flight control equipment is different from the flight control equipment in the prior art in that the flight control equipment can realize the control of the flight attitude of an unmanned aerial vehicle, also integrates the functions of differential positioning and wireless signal receiving and sending, is provided with an RTK antenna interface and a radio station antenna interface, and can be connected with an RTK antenna and a radio station antenna through the interfaces respectively. After the unmanned aerial vehicle carries on the flight control equipment, the line of the whole carrying equipment is simplified, and the whole volume and the weight can be correspondingly optimized.

Optionally, the flight control device further includes an acousto-optic unit, which is used for reflecting the operation state of various functions in the flight control device through an acoustic or optic signal, so as to facilitate the relevant debugging or control of a user; the reputation unit also can reflect unmanned aerial vehicle's self or external environment's state, and convenience of customers knows unmanned aerial vehicle's flight state from the sense organ when operation unmanned aerial vehicle flies.

As an implementation manner of the second aspect, the data interface unit further includes: an SMBUS interface unit, a PPS interface unit, and/or a station signal interface unit.

Therefore, by arranging the SMBUS interface unit, a user can directly use the intelligent battery with the SMBUS interface.

By arranging the PPS interface unit, clock synchronization can be carried out with other equipment so as to reduce data delay.

Through setting up radio station signal interface unit, can connect outside radio station, and the outside radio station that connects is not restricted by the model, can satisfy user's diversified demand.

A flight control system comprises the flight control device.

As an implementation manner of the third aspect, the method further includes: the system comprises a tracking device, an image shooting device, a GPS device, a power device and a control surface, wherein the tracking device, the image shooting device, the GPS device, the power device and the control surface are respectively connected with the flight control device, and the tracking device is connected with the image shooting device so as to realize the tracking control operation on a target. The control surface is optional and is determined according to the architecture of the unmanned aerial vehicle power system.

Therefore, the target can be tracked by the matching use of the tracking device and the image shooting device.

As an implementation manner of the third aspect, the method further includes: the system comprises a drawing transmission device, a tracking device, an image shooting device, a GPS device, a power device and a control surface; then the process of the first step is carried out,

the image transmission equipment is connected with the flight control equipment so as to realize data interaction between the flight control equipment and the ground station;

the image shooting equipment is connected with the tracking equipment, and the tracking equipment is connected with the flight control equipment through the image transmission equipment;

and the flight control equipment is respectively connected with the image shooting equipment, the GPS equipment, the power equipment and the control surface so as to realize the tracking control operation on the target. The control surface is optional and is determined according to the architecture of the unmanned aerial vehicle power system.

Therefore, the image transmission device is arranged to meet the application environment when the image data is transmitted. The tracking device is matched with the image shooting device to realize the tracking of the target. And the power equipment is arranged to provide power for the flight control system.

As an implementation manner of the third aspect, the flight control system further includes an acousto-optic indication device, and the acousto-optic indication device is connected with the flight control device.

Whether the corresponding device works normally or not or the strength of a visual reaction signal can be visually reflected by arranging the acousto-optic indicating equipment.

An unmanned aerial vehicle, includes above-mentioned flight control equipment or flight control system.

To sum up, the technical scheme that this application provided integrates the processing with independent avionics equipment under the condition of guaranteeing electric function, has reduced the weight and the volume of equipment, can adapt to more application occasions of unmanned aerial vehicle.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a flight control apparatus provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 2a, 2b, and 2c are schematic diagrams of a rear view, a front view, and a top view of an internal hardware board architecture of a flight control device according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data transmission process between a master control module, a slave control module and a radio station according to an embodiment of the present application and the prior art;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a housing of a first flight control device provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another flight control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a flight control system provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 7 is a schematic structural diagram of an unmanned aerial vehicle provided in an embodiment of the present application;

fig. 8 is an overall hardware circuit schematic diagram of a flight control device provided in an embodiment of the present application.

Reference numerals:

10-first flight control device, 100-flight control module, 200-differential positioning module, 300-radio frequency transceiver module, 110-master control module, 120-slave control module, 2000-second flight control device, 2010-processing unit, 2020-storage unit, 2030-data bus unit, 2040-data interface unit

Detailed Description

To facilitate an understanding of the present application, the present application will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Preferred embodiments of the present application are shown in the drawings. This application may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete.

It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being "connected" to another element, it can be directly connected to the other element and be integral therewith, or intervening elements may also be present.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application belongs. The terminology used in the description of the present application herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the application. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

Complete unmanned aerial vehicle avionics equipment is the basic guarantee of unmanned aerial vehicle safe flight. However, placing multiple independent avionics in a drone not only takes up a significant amount of space in the drone, but may affect the normal flight of the drone due to the additional significant amount of weight. Therefore, this application provides flight control equipment integrates a plurality of independent avionics equipment and handles, has reduced the weight and the volume of equipment, can be better be applied to in the unmanned aerial vehicle.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 2a, fig. 2b and fig. 2c, the first flight control apparatus 10 provided in this embodiment includes a flight control module 100, a differential positioning module (RTK)200 and a radio frequency transceiver module (station) 300. The flight control module at least includes a control base plate and a main control module 110 disposed on the control base plate. The control bottom plate is also provided with a first inter-board interface and a second inter-board interface. Specifically, the first inter-board interface is an interface located on the control backplane, which realizes the connection between the rf transceiver module 300 and the main control module 110. The second inter-board interface is an interface located on the control backplane, which realizes the connection between the differential positioning module 200 and the main control module 110. For example, the first inter-board interface and the second inter-board interface can both adopt serial ports. The rf transceiver module 300 is electrically connected to the main control module 110 through the first inter-board interface to implement bidirectional communication therebetween. The rf transceiver module 300 is electrically connected to the differential positioning module 200 through a first signal line, and is configured to feed back the positioning information from the ground end to the differential positioning module 200, and the differential positioning module 200 determines the positioning information of the drone according to the positioning information of the ground end. The differential positioning module 200 is electrically connected to the main control module 110 through the second inter-board interface, and is configured to send positioning information of the drone, the MB2 protocol, and the heading data to the main control module 110, and the main control module 110 executes a corresponding control operation according to the information. The radio frequency transceiver module 300 and the differential positioning module 200 are respectively arranged at the upper side and the lower side of the control bottom plate, so as to prevent the radio frequency transceiver module 300 from interfering with the differential positioning module 200 and influencing the positioning accuracy,

wherein, the process that the differential positioning module 200 determines the positioning information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the ground end positioning information may include: when the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to be positioned, the differential positioning module 200 receives the ground end positioning data fed back by the radio frequency transceiver module 300 and the satellite positioning data received by the ground end positioning data, and resolves and determines the current geographic coordinate information. When the drone needs to be oriented (does not need to be precisely positioned), the differential positioning module 200 receives the satellite positioning data and determines the current orientation information.

In this embodiment, the differential positioning module 200 is selected to greatly improve the positioning accuracy. In addition, a corresponding interface may be disposed on the control backplane of the flight control module 100 to be compatible with RTK boards of multiple manufacturers. For example, two sets of interfaces may be disposed on the control backplane, wherein one set of interfaces may access RTKs of two mainstream manufacturers by adjusting the line sequence, and the other set of interfaces is adapted to RTKs of another manufacturer. In the present embodiment, the model of the differential positioning module is preferably MB2& K726& UB482& topcon-B111. In practical application, other types of positioning modules can be selected according to different working conditions.

Specifically, when the prior art uses discrete devices, the differential positioning module needs a separate processor to process and distribute data, so that the differential positioning module CAN have a built-in MCU (micro control unit) to transmit data via the CAN bus and the flight control module via the built-in MCU, and this form needs an additional processor to implement signal processing. However, in this embodiment, the differential positioning module 200 and the flight control module 100 are directly interconnected through the second inter-board interface on the control bottom board thereof to transmit data such as the MB2 protocol, positioning data, and heading data, so that the flight control module 100 directly controls the differential positioning module without the MCU built in the differential positioning module, thereby saving the cost of the MCU and related circuits, optimizing the path of data transmission and processing, and achieving the effects of reducing weight and saving space.

On the other hand, when the prior art adopts discrete devices, the positioning data (PPK data) of the ground end is transmitted from the ground end to the differential positioning module, and then is fed to the flight control module by the differential positioning module through the MCU thereof through the CAN bus. According to the technical scheme, the radio frequency transceiver module 300 is electrically connected with the differential positioning module 200 through the first signal line, so that the PPK data of the ground end is obtained from the radio frequency transceiver module 300, and the radio frequency transceiver module 300 directly sends the PPK data to the differential positioning module 200, so that data transmission and processing paths are different, one-time data packaging and distribution can be reduced, the operation amount is reduced, and the operation speed is increased.

The first inter-board interface includes a COM interface disposed on the control backplane, and since the first inter-board interface is a connection interface between the main control module 110 and the radio frequency transceiver module 300, a UART interface corresponding to the COM interface is disposed on the radio frequency transceiver module 300. The second interface board also includes a COM interface, and since the second inter-board interface is a connection interface between the main control module 110 and the differential positioning module 200, a UART interface corresponding to the COM interface is provided on the differential positioning module 200. In addition, the second inter-board interface also comprises a reset interface. The flight control module 100 may send a reset signal to the differential positioning module 200 through the reset interface to restart the differential positioning module 200. In addition, in the embodiment, the second board-to-board interface is a board-to-board connector, for example, the board-to-board connector in the embodiment may be a pin-gang connector, a female-gang connector, a conventional bullhorn connector, and/or a simple bullhorn connector. In this embodiment, the second interface is set as a board-to-board connector, so that multiple channels of signals can be integrated in the same connector for transmission, the overall circuit layout of the device is simpler, and the transmission capability between the differential positioning module 200 and the flight control module 100 is improved; in addition, the board-to-board connector is adopted, so that the fixation between the boards is realized while the signals are transmitted, and the whole body is more convenient to install.

Specifically, when the differential positioning module 200 fails and needs to be reset and restarted, the differential positioning module and the flight control module in the prior art are independently arranged, so that the CPU in the flight control module cannot perform reset control on the differential positioning module. In this embodiment, by setting a reset interface at the second inter-board interface between the differential positioning module 200 and the flight control module 100, when the differential positioning module 200 needs to be reset, the flight control module 100 sends a reset signal to the differential positioning module 200 through the reset interface, and controls the reset and restart of the differential positioning module 200.

In the present embodiment, the integration of the rf transceiver module 300 into the first flight control device 10 is optional. Therefore, the rf transceiver module 300 may be integrated into the first flight control device 10, or may be an external device. When the transmitted data includes image data, the unmanned aerial vehicle needs to use the image transmission data link at this time, and then does not need to integrate the radio frequency transceiver module 300 into the first flight control device 10, and at this time, the radio frequency transceiver module 300 may be selected to be externally arranged or the image transmission data link may be directly used to replace the radio frequency transceiver module 300 to complete the transceiving of digital and image information according to the actual application working condition. When the radio frequency transceiver module 300 is replaced by an image transmission data chain, the image transmission data chain is connected with a COM interface of a control bottom plate in the flight control module through the COM interface of the image transmission data chain.

The main control module 110 is configured to generate track data according to the positioning information from the second inter-board interface, and send the track data and other information to the radio frequency transceiver module 300 through the first inter-board interface. Wherein, the other information is the information sent to the ground end by the main control module. Specifically, the rf transceiver module 300 is equivalent to a transfer station for communicating between a ground end and an unmanned aerial vehicle end.

Flight control module 100 also includes a slave control module 120 disposed on the control floor. The slave control module 120 is electrically connected to the master control module 110 through a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) of the control Board, so as to implement bidirectional communication between the two modules. The rf transceiver module 300 is connected to the first inter-board interface through the second signal line, so as to electrically connect the rf transceiver module 300 to the main control module 110, monitor the transmission data of the main control module 110 on the second signal line from the slave control module 120, and intercept and obtain the track data from the transmission data and store the track data. The intercepting means may connect the third signal line to the second signal line, and connect the other end of the third signal line to the slave control module 120.

Specifically, referring to fig. 3, in the existing independent avionic device, all track information is dominated by the main control module, so that the load of the main control module is large. In addition, the master control module needs to send the track information to the slave control module, and the slave control module stores the track information into the SD card, so that an additional communication link needs to be separately provided at this time, as shown by a dotted line in fig. 3. In the technical solution provided in this embodiment, the master control module 110 does not need to send the track information to the slave control module 120, but combines the received track and TX data of COM3 radio station data on a communication link and sends the combined data to the radio frequency transceiver module 300, and the slave control module 120 continuously monitors COM3 data of the master control module 110, intercepts the track data, and then actively stores the data in the SD card of the slave control module 120. Through the mutual cooperation operation of the master control module 110 and the slave control module 120, one path of hardware connection serial ports can be reduced, and meanwhile, the packing distribution and the analytic calculation of data can be reduced once, and the efficiency is improved. In addition, the main control module 110 in this embodiment mainly performs core algorithm control, such as controlling take-off and landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle, controlling the attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle, controlling autonomous flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the like. The slave control module mainly processes some things with low priority level to assist the master control module to work. For example: the slave control module can be used for controlling the on and off of the unmanned aerial vehicle end indicator lamp.

The control backplane is provided with a first interface board for inputting and/or outputting external signals, and the first interface board is located at one end of the control backplane, which is far away from the radio frequency transceiver module 300. By disposing the first interface board at an end far away from the rf transceiver module 300, interference of the rf transceiver module 300 on input and/or output signals on the first interface board can be reduced. Specifically, the first interface board at least comprises an SMBUS interface, a PPS interface and/or a radio station signal interface. The SMBUS interface is electrically connected with the slave control module 120, the PPS interface is electrically connected with the differential positioning module 200, and the radio station signal interface is electrically connected with the radio frequency transceiver module. Specifically, the SMBUS (System Management Bus) is used as a protocol of the standard intelligent battery, and the SMBUS interface is arranged on the first interface board, so that a customer can directly use the intelligent battery with the SMBUS interface, and the experience of the user is improved. In addition, the interface of the first interface board can be customized according to the requirements of users or different application conditions, wherein the customized change comprises but is not limited to the number of interfaces and the form of connectors. A PPS (Pulse PerSecond) interface may be used to clock synchronize with other devices to reduce data delay. Wherein 1 pps-1 Hz-1 times/second. The radio station signal interface is a radio station interface reserved by the first flight control device 10, and the interface can be connected with radio stations of unlimited models so as to meet diversified requirements of users.

The control bottom plate is also provided with a second interface board, and the second interface board is at least provided with one of the following interfaces: power source interface, pilot lamp interface, bus interface and control load interface. For example, the control load interface may include a pod interface, a motor interface, a steering engine interface. Optionally, the second interface board is disposed away from the first interface board, for example, at an end of the control backplane opposite to the first interface board, so as to avoid interference between signals, for example, interference of a power supply to signals on the first interface board.

The differential positioning module 200 includes an RTK antenna interface, and obtains satellite positioning data through the RTK antenna interface, and determines positioning information of the unmanned aerial vehicle according to the positioning data and ground terminal positioning information. The rf transceiver module 300 includes a radio antenna interface, and is electrically connected to a radio antenna through the radio antenna interface to implement communication with the ground. Optionally, the RTK antenna interface and the radio antenna interface should be disposed at a position away from the first interface board, so as to ensure that signals input and/or output on the first interface board are not interfered. In addition, optionally, in order to save the device space, the RTK antenna interface, the radio antenna interface, and the second interface board are all disposed at an end of the control backplane opposite to the first interface board.

The rf transceiver module 300 is fixedly connected to the control backplane via a first fastener, fixedly connected to the housing of the first flight control device 10 via a second fastener, and/or the differential positioning module 200 is fixedly connected to the housing of the flight control device 10 via a third fastener. Through setting up the mounting, can make each module be firm be fixed in on the control bottom plate. If the signals of the rf transceiver module 300 and the control backplane are transmitted through the signal line instead of using the board-to-board connector, the rf transceiver module 300 is fixed in the device through the first fixing member and the second fixing member. Similarly, if the differential positioning module 200 does not use a board-to-board connector, the board can be fixed by using the above method. If the differential positioning module 200 is a board-to-board connector, the differential positioning module and the control backplane may be fixed by the board-to-board connector, and then the flight control device 10 may be fixed to the device housing by the third fixing element. Through the fixing mode, the fixing between each board card and the equipment shell is realized, the vibration of the unmanned aerial vehicle in flight is avoided, and the risk that the operation cannot be carried out due to dislocation between the board cards and poor contact of signal interfaces is caused. Specifically, the various fixing members may be fixedly connected by bolts and/or screws.

The rf transceiver module 300 and/or the control panel include an indicator light assembly and display light signals through the light guide pillar, and thus, the housing of the first flight control device 10 is provided with a through hole corresponding to the light guide pillar. In this embodiment, through setting up the pilot lamp subassembly on the control bottom plate, can show the signal such as whether differential orientation module is in the location state, whether digital compass is normal through the pilot lamp to the user can confirm the current operating condition of flight control equipment through this pilot lamp signal when debugging installation, equipment maintenance. The radio frequency transceiver module is provided with an indicator lamp assembly, so that whether transmission data pass through the radio frequency transceiver module and/or information such as signal intensity of the radio frequency transceiver module can be displayed through the indicator lamp, and a user can know whether the radio frequency transceiver module can work normally and/or the range of the signal intensity of the radio frequency transceiver module.

As shown in fig. 4, a schematic view of a housing of the first flight control device provided in this embodiment is shown. The system comprises a power supply interface PWR IN8V-26V, an indicator light interface LED, a CAN1, a CAN bus interface, an ANT1 and an ANT2 which are both RTK antenna interfaces, a DT-ANT which is a radio station antenna interface, a CFG which is a radio station configuration key, a TX which is a serial port data sending pin, an RX which is a serial port data receiving pin, an RSSLL which is a signal strength indicator, a CH1-CHn which is a control load interface, an AD1-AD3 which is a voltage acquisition interface, an SBUS which is a remote controller interface, an SMBUS which is a system management bus interface, a P which is a PPS, an E which is an EVENT, a COM1 and a COM3 which are serial ports, and a DT-CFG which is a configuration serial port.

In this embodiment, the first flight control device 10 further includes an inertial measurement unit IMU disposed on the control floor, and the inertial measurement unit IMU is mounted through a damping member to reduce the influence of jolts caused by air pressure changes or other factors on the inertial measurement sensor, thereby improving measurement accuracy. The radio frequency transceiver module 300 and the inertial measurement unit IMU are located on the same side of the control bottom plate and are not coplanar, so that the structure of the first flight control device 10 can be more compact on the premise of ensuring the measurement accuracy of the inertial measurement unit IMU. Additionally, the first flight control device 10 may also include an airspeed measurement sensor, an air pressure measurement sensor, and the like. The type of the sensor included in the flight control device can be selected correspondingly according to the task content of the executed task or the geographical region where the unmanned aerial vehicle flies.

Referring to fig. 5, another embodiment of the present application provides a second flight control apparatus 2000 comprising: a processing unit 2010, a memory unit 2020, a data bus unit 2030 and a data interface unit 2040. The data interface unit 2040 includes a power interface unit, a steering engine interface unit, a motor interface unit, a GPS device interface unit, a task load interface unit, an airspeed tube interface unit, an RTK antenna interface unit, and a radio antenna interface unit. In addition, the data interface unit further includes: an SMBUS interface unit, a PPS interface unit, and/or a station signal interface unit. The processing unit 2010 determines current positioning information according to the ground end positioning information fed back by the radio antenna interface unit and/or the positioning information fed back by the GPS device interface unit. The processing unit 2010 is further configured to control the attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the steering engine interface unit and the motor interface unit according to the current positioning information. The processing unit 2010 is also configured to implement control of the task load through the task load interface unit.

The second flight control device 2000 provided by this embodiment is different from the flight control devices in the prior art in that the flight control device provided by this embodiment not only can realize the control of the flight attitude of the unmanned aerial vehicle, but also integrates the functions of differential positioning and wireless signal transceiving, and an RTK antenna interface and a radio station antenna interface are provided on the flight control device, and can be connected with an RTK antenna and a radio station antenna through these interfaces, respectively. After the unmanned aerial vehicle carries on the second flight control device 2000, the line routing of the whole carrying device is simplified, and the whole volume and the weight can be correspondingly optimized.

Optionally, the second flight control device 2000 further includes an acousto-optic unit, which is used for reflecting the operation states of various functions in the flight control device through an acoustic or optic signal, so as to facilitate the user to perform related debugging or control; the reputation unit also can reflect unmanned aerial vehicle's self or external environment's state, and convenience of customers knows unmanned aerial vehicle's flight state from the sense organ when operation unmanned aerial vehicle flies.

Referring to fig. 6, another embodiment of the present application provides a flight control system including the first flight control device 10 or the second flight control device 2000 of the above-described embodiments.

In this embodiment, the flight control system may include a tracking device, an image capture device, a GPS device, and an unmanned aerial vehicle attitude control device connected to the first flight control device 10 or the second flight control device 2000, respectively. In addition, in the present embodiment, a tracking device is connected to the image capturing device for realizing a tracking control operation on the target. In this embodiment, the flight control system may further include a map transmission device, a tracking device, an image capturing device, a GPS device, and an unmanned aerial vehicle attitude control device. At the moment, the image transmission equipment is connected with the flight control equipment and is used for realizing data image interaction between the flight control equipment and the ground station. The image shooting equipment is connected with the tracking equipment, and the tracking equipment is connected with the flight control equipment through the image transmission equipment. The flight control equipment is respectively connected with the image shooting equipment, the GPS equipment and the unmanned aerial vehicle attitude control equipment so as to realize the tracking control operation on the target. The flight control system provided by the embodiment further comprises an acousto-optic indicating device, and the acousto-optic indicating device is connected with the flight control device.

Referring to fig. 7, an unmanned aerial vehicle is provided for another embodiment of the present application. Including the flight control devices or flight control systems of the above embodiments. In this embodiment, a mode of using a graph-based data link instead of a radio station is selected. Specifically, the pod is connected to the tracking module via a UART interface, and the pod communicates with the flight control device or system via a graphical data link (shown as data link ET 100). The flight control equipment or the flight control system is connected with and controls the load, the motor, the steering engine, the GPS and/or the indicator light through the corresponding external interface.

In another embodiment of the present application, taking the working process of the flight control device mounted in the unmanned aerial vehicle as an example, referring to the schematic circuit diagram shown in fig. 8, the working principle of the present application is further described in detail:

during the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the differential positioning module 200 (in this example, RTK) receives positioning data (such as positioning data of GPS) of a satellite through its antenna in real time;

on the other hand, the radio frequency transceiver module 300 (in this example, a P400 radio station) receives the positioning data transmitted from the ground end in real time through its antenna, and transmits the positioning data from the ground end to the differential positioning module 200 through the receiving serial port (MB2_ UART2 PPK) of the differential positioning module 200 shown in fig. 8;

the differential positioning module 200 calculates high-precision positioning data by using a carrier phase differential technique based on the positioning data from the satellite and the ground, and transmits the high-precision positioning data to the RTK serial port of the main control module 110 shown in fig. 8;

the main control module 110 receives the high-precision positioning data, the three-axis attitude angle (or angular velocity) and acceleration data from the 3-redundancy IMU, and data from other sensors of the corresponding ports (such as air pressure data, airspeed data, intelligent battery information, etc.), and controls the flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle accordingly;

on the other hand, the main control module 110 generates current track data, and sends the current track data to a Serial port (Serial TXD) of the rf transceiver module 300, so that the rf transceiver module 300 transmits the current track data to the ground through an antenna thereof;

and, the slave control module 120 monitors the flight path data transmitted from the master control module 110 to the Serial TXD (Serial TXD) of the rf transceiver module 300, and captures and stores the flight path data in the SD card.

The technical features of the embodiments described above may be arbitrarily combined, and for the sake of brevity, all possible combinations of the technical features in the embodiments described above are not described, but should be considered as being within the scope of the present specification as long as there is no contradiction between the combinations of the technical features.

The above-mentioned embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and the description thereof is more specific and detailed, but not construed as limiting the claims. It should be noted that, for a person skilled in the art, several variations and modifications can be made without departing from the concept of the present application, which falls within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present patent shall be subject to the appended claims.

Claims

1. A flight control device, carried on an unmanned aerial vehicle, comprising:

the radio frequency transceiver module and the differential positioning module are respectively arranged at the upper side and the lower side of the control bottom plate.

2. The flight control apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an inertial measurement unit IMU disposed on the control backplane;

3. The flight control apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first inter-board interface comprises: the COM interface is arranged on the control bottom plate; the radio frequency transceiver module is provided with a UART interface corresponding to the COM interface.

4. The flight control device of claim 1, wherein the second inter-board interface is a board-to-board connector, the second inter-board interface comprising a COM interface; and the differential positioning module is provided with a UART interface corresponding to the COM interface.

5. The flight control device of claim 1, wherein the second inter-board interface comprises a reset interface, and the flight control module sends a reset signal to the differential positioning module via the reset interface to restart the differential positioning module.

6. The flight control device according to claim 1, wherein the main control module is further configured to generate track data according to the positioning information from the second inter-board interface, and send the track data and other information to the radio frequency transceiver module through the first inter-board interface; and the other information is the information sent to the ground end by the master control module.

7. The flight control device of claim 6, wherein the flight control module further comprises a slave control module disposed on the control backplane, and the master control module and the slave control module are electrically connected through a PCB line of the control backplane to realize bidirectional communication therebetween;

8. The flight control device according to claim 7, wherein a first interface board for inputting and/or outputting external signals is disposed on the control backplane, and the first interface board is located at an end of the control backplane, which is far away from the radio frequency transceiver module.

9. The flight control device of claim 8, wherein the first interface board comprises an SMBUS interface, a PPS interface, and/or a station signal interface; the SMBUS interface is electrically connected with the slave control module; the PPS interface is electrically connected with the differential positioning module; the radio station signal interface is electrically connected with the radio frequency transceiving module.

10. The flight control device of claim 8, wherein the control backplane is further provided with a second interface board, and the second interface board is provided with at least a power interface, a bus interface, and a control load interface.

11. The flight control apparatus of claim 8, wherein the differential positioning module includes an RTK antenna interface, and the RTK antenna interface obtains satellite positioning data, and determines positioning information of the drone according to the positioning data and the ground-side positioning information;

12. The flight control device of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the radio frequency transceiver module is fixedly connected to the control backplane by a first fastener and fixedly connected to the housing of the flight control device by a second fastener; and/or the differential positioning module is fixedly connected with the shell of the flight control equipment through a third fixing piece.

13. The flight control device of claim 12, wherein the rf transceiver module and/or the control backplane include an indicator light assembly and display of a light signal is performed via a light guide; and a through hole corresponding to the light guide column is formed in the shell of the flight control equipment.

14. A flight control apparatus, comprising: a processing unit and a data interface unit;

the data interface unit includes at least: the system comprises a power supply interface unit, a motor interface unit, a GPS equipment interface unit, a task load interface unit, an airspeed tube interface unit, an RTK antenna interface unit and a radio station antenna interface unit;

the processing unit is also used for controlling the flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle through the motor interface unit according to the current positioning information;

15. The flight control device of claim 14, wherein the data interface unit further comprises: an SMBUS interface unit, a PPS interface unit, and/or a station signal interface unit.

16. A flight control system, comprising: the flight control device of any one of claims 1-15.

17. The flight control system of claim 16, further comprising: the device comprises a tracking device, an image shooting device, a GPS device and a power device, wherein the tracking device, the image shooting device, the GPS device and the power device are respectively electrically connected with the flight control device, and the tracking device is connected with the image shooting device so as to realize the tracking control operation on a target.

18. The flight control system of claim 16, further comprising: the system comprises image transmission equipment, tracking equipment, image shooting equipment, GPS equipment and power equipment; then the process of the first step is carried out,

the image transmission equipment is electrically connected with the flight control equipment so as to realize data interaction between the flight control equipment and the ground station;

the image shooting equipment is electrically connected with the tracking equipment, and the tracking equipment is connected with the flight control equipment through the image transmission equipment;

the flight control equipment is electrically connected with the image shooting equipment, the GPS equipment and the power equipment respectively so as to realize the tracking control operation on the target.

19. The flight control system of any one of claims 16-18, further comprising an audible and visual indicator device electrically coupled to the flight control device.

20. A drone, characterized in that it comprises a flight control device according to any one of claims 1 to 15, or a flight control system according to claims 16 to 19.