Flight device, flight method thrown by user and storage medium

• US 10,086,309 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2016
• Issued: 10/02/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2015
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Casio Computer Company Limited
• Inventors: Yamada, Shunsuke, Mizushina, Takahiro, Matsuda, Hideaki, Takahashi, Toshihiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Badii, Behrang
• Assistant Examiner(s): Testardi, David A
• Application Number:
  US15/278,791
• Publication Number:
  US 20170144078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/12 Helicopters A63H27/04 takes precedence; Flying tops
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 27/14 Starting or launching devices for toy aircraft; Arrangements on toy aircraft for starting or launching for launching objects from an aircraft A63H27/004
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 29/24 Details or accessories for drive mechanisms, e.g. means for winding-up or starting toy engines
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/18 Throwing or slinging toys, e.g. flying disc toys discs used in athletics A63B65/10as part of a game A63F9/02; sling weapons F41B3/00; spring toy guns F41B7/08
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2101/30 for imaging, photography or videography
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/10 autonomous, i.e. by navigating independently from ground or air stations, e.g. by using inertial navigation systems [INS]
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/26 Ducted or shrouded rotors
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/19 using electrically powered motors
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/00 Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/10 for releasing or capturing UAVs by hand
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/80 Vertical take-off or landing, e.g. using rockets rotorcrafts B64U10/10; VTOL aircraft B64U10/20
• CPC Class Codes: G03B 15/006 Apparatus mounted on flying objects

Abstract

A flight device includes at least one propelling unit and a controller unit for flying in the air, and the flight device is thrown by a user. The controller unit drives the propelling unit after throwing is performed by the user, such that the flight device flies based on a state of the flight device at a moment when the throwing is performed.

Claims

1. A flight device which has at least one propelling unit for flying in the air and which is throwable by a user, said flight device comprising:

a controller that drives the propelling unit after throwing is performed by the user, such that the flight device flies based on a state of the flight device at a moment when the throwing is performed;

a flight sensor that detects acceleration values; and

a touch detection sensor that detects a touch of the flight device by the user and a release of the flight device by the user;

wherein the controller calculates velocities of directions of individual coordinate axes of a predetermined absolute coordinate system at a moment after the throwing is performed, and calculates an initial velocity, a horizontal angle of the throwing on a coordinate plane parallel to the ground, and a vertical angle of the throwing on a coordinate plane perpendicular to the ground, based on the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes; and

wherein the controller calculates the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes at the moment when the throwing is performed, by integrating an acceleration value of the direction of each of coordinate axes output from the flight sensor, from a time when the acceleration value of the direction of the corresponding coordinate axis exceeds a predetermined threshold, to a time when the touch detection sensor detects that the flight device is released by the user based on the acceleration value of the direction of the corresponding coordinate axis.

2. The flight device according to claim 1, wherein:

the coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system having an x axis, a y axis and a z axis each of which is perpendicular to one another; and

when the time when the acceleration value of the direction of each coordinate axis output from the flight sensor exceeds the predetermined threshold is ts, the time when the touch detection sensor unit detects that the flight device is released by the user is tr, the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes are Vx, Vy, and Vz, and the acceleration values of the directions of the individual coordinate axes output from the flight sensor are ax, ay, and az, the controller calculates the velocities Vx, Vy, and Vz of the directions of the individual coordinate axes by operations equivalent to the following Expressions 12, 13, and 14;

V_x=∫

_ts^tra_xΔ

t, 

 

[Expression 12]

V_y=∫

_ts^tra_yΔ

t, and 

 

[Expression 13]

V_z=∫

_ts^tra_zΔ

t. 

 

[Expression 14]

3. The flight device according to claim 1, wherein:

the coordinate system is a three-dimensional coordinate system having an x axis, a y axis and a z axis each of which is perpendicular to one another;

when the horizontal angle is α

, and the vertical angle is β

, the controller calculates the horizontal angle α

by an operation equivalent to the following Expression 15;

4. The flight device according to claim 3, wherein:

when the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes are Vx, Vy, and Vz, and the initial velocity is Vini, the controller calculates the initial velocity Vini by an operation equivalent to the following Expression 17;

V_ini=√

{square root over (V_x²+V_y²+V_z²)}, 

 

[Expression 17]

when a release time when the flight device is released by the user is tr, an elapsed time from the release time is t, a flight altitude and a horizontal flight distance from a location at the release time tr are H and L, respectively, the acceleration of gravity is g, and a throwing correction coefficient is K, the controller calculates the flight altitude H by an operation equivalent to the following Expression 18;

5. The flight device according to claim 3, further comprising:

a destination location table that contains a plurality of destination location information items determined by horizontal angles θ

between an initial location and destination locations, vertical angles φ

between the initial location and the destination locations, and horizontal movement distances “

D”

from the initial location to the destination locations,

wherein, when the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes are Vx, Vy, and Vz, and the initial velocity is Vini, the controller calculates the initial velocity Vini by an operation equivalent to the following Expression 20;

V_ini=√

{square root over (V_x²+V_y²)}, 

 

[Expression 20]

when h is a coefficient, the controller calculates an estimated horizontal throw “

d”

by an operation equivalent to the following Expression 21;

d=h×

V_ini, 

 

[Expression 21]

the controller compares the horizontal angle α

calculated by the operation equivalent to Expression 15, the vertical angle β

calculated by the operation equivalent to Expression 16, and the estimated horizontal throw “

d”

calculated by the operation equivalent to Expression 20, with the horizontal angle θ

, the vertical angle φ

, and the horizontal movement distance “

D”

corresponding to each of the plurality of destination location information items contained in the destination location table, and selects a destination location information item closest to the horizontal angle α

, the vertical angle β

, and the estimated horizontal throw “

d”

, as the destination point, from the plurality of destination location information items; and

the controller drives the propelling unit such that the flight device flies at the horizontal angle θ and

the vertical angle φ

by the horizontal movement distance “

D”

, according to the selected destination location information item.

6. The flight device according to claim 5, wherein:

when a circumference ratio is π

, the horizontal angle, the vertical angle, and the horizontal movement distance corresponding to each destination location information item are θ

i, φ

i, and Di, respectively, weighting coefficients for the horizontal angle, the vertical angle, and the horizontal movement distance are “

a”

, “

b”

, and “

c”

, respectively, and a maximum distance of the flight in the horizontal direction is Dmax, with respect to each of the plurality of destination location information items contained in the destination location table, the controller calculates an error “

E”

between the horizontal angle α

, the vertical angle β

, and the estimated horizontal throw “

d”

, and the horizontal angle θ

i, the vertical angle φ

i, and the horizontal movement distance “

Di”

corresponding to the corresponding destination location information item, by an operation equivalent to the following Expression 22;

7. The flight device according to claim 5, wherein:

the controller has information on latitude, longitude, and altitude of the corresponding destination location, with respect to each of the plurality of destination locations; and

based on at least one of outputs of a GPS sensor and a pressure sensor at the release time when the flight device is released by the user, the controller acquires the latitude, the longitude, and the altitude at the release time, as the initial location;

with respect to each of the plurality of destination locations, based on the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the corresponding destination location and the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the initial location, the controller calculates the horizontal angle θ

between the initial location and the corresponding destination location, the vertical angle φ

between the initial location and the corresponding destination location, and the horizontal movement distance “

D”

from the initial location to the corresponding destination location; and

the controller generates the destination location table containing the horizontal angles θ

, the vertical angles φ

, and the horizontal movement distances “

D”

calculated with respect to the plurality of destination locations, as parameters, in association with the destination locations.

8. The flight device according to claim 1, wherein:

the controller includes an estimating unit which estimates a destination point based on the state of the flight device at the moment after the throwing is performed by the user;

after the moment of throwing, the controller drives the propelling unit such that the flight device flies to the destination point estimated by the estimating unit.

9. The flight device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a digital camera unit,

wherein the controller includes a trajectory calculating unit which calculates a trajectory based on the state of the flight device at the moment after the throwing is performed by the user;

wherein, after the flight device reaches a highest altitude point of the trajectory or reaches a destination point, the controller performs imaging by using the digital camera unit.

10. The flight device according to claim 1, wherein:

the propelling unit includes a plurality of motors and rotor blades configured to be rotated by the motors.

11. A flight method of a flight device which has at least one propelling unit for flying in the air and which is throwable by a user, said flight method comprising:

driving the propelling unit after throwing is performed by the user, such that the flight device flies based on a state of the flight device at a moment when the throwing is performed;

acquiring acceleration values output from a flight sensor; and

detecting, by a touch detection sensor, a touch of the flight device by the user and a release of the flight device by the user,

wherein the driving comprises calculating velocities of directions of individual coordinate axes of a predetermined absolute coordinate system at a moment after the throwing is performed, and calculating an initial velocity, a horizontal angle of the throwing on a coordinate plane parallel to the ground, and a vertical angle of the throwing on a coordinate plane perpendicular to the ground, based on the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes, and

wherein the calculating comprises calculating the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes at the moment when the throwing is performed, by integrating an acceleration value of the direction of each of coordinate axes output from the flight sensor, from a time when the acceleration value of the direction of the corresponding coordinate axis exceeds a predetermined threshold, to a time when the touch detection sensor detects that the flight device is released by the user based on the acceleration value of the direction of the corresponding coordinate axis.

12. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having a program stored thereon for controlling a flight device, which has at least one propelling unit for flying in the air and which is throwable by a user, to perform operations including:

driving the propelling unit after throwing is performed by the user, such that the flight device flies based on a state of the flight device at a moment when the throwing is performed;

acquiring acceleration values output from a flight sensor; and

detecting, by a touch detection sensor, a touch of the flight device by the user and a release of the flight device by the user,

wherein the driving comprises calculating velocities of directions of individual coordinate axes of a predetermined absolute coordinate system at a moment after the throwing is performed, and calculating an initial velocity, a horizontal angle of the throwing on a coordinate plane parallel to the ground, and a vertical angle of the throwing on a coordinate plane perpendicular to the ground, based on the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes, and

wherein the calculating comprises calculating the velocities of the directions of the individual coordinate axes at the moment when the throwing is performed, by integrating an acceleration value of the direction of each of coordinate axes output from the flight sensor, from a time when the acceleration value of the direction of the corresponding coordinate axis exceeds a predetermined threshold, to a time when the touch detection sensor detects that the flight device is released by the user based on the acceleration value of the direction of the corresponding coordinate axis.