AIRCRAFT

• US 20150346721A1
• Filed: 05/30/2014
• Published: 12/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/30/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Aibotix GmbH (Hexagon AB)
• Original Assignee: Aibotix GmbH (Hexagon AB)
• Inventors: WERNER, Carsten, CHALAS, Uwe
• Application Number:
  US14/292,653
• Publication Number:
  US 20150346721A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/10 Rotorcrafts
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/16 with five or more distinct rotor axes, e.g. octocopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/104 using satellite radio beacon positioning systems, e.g. GPS
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00

Abstract

A flight system comprising an aircraft equipped with at least four rotors and having a payload, a number of rotors rotating in one direction and a number of rotors rotating in the other direction, as well as a remote control, the aircraft being connected to the remote control, so as to transmit data, via respective transmitter/receiver units, both the aircraft and the remote control having a data processing device connected to the respective transmitter/receiver unit, both the aircraft and the remote control having the same sensors for flight attitude detection, where, when there is an angle change in the remote control around its X- and/or Y- and/or Z-axis, the amount of the angle change correlates with a definable speed of the aircraft, the speed specified according to the angle change being transmitted as a target value of the data processing device of the aircraft and/or of the remote control.

Claims

1. A flight system comprising:

an aircraft equipped with at least four rotors and having a payload, a number of rotors rotating in one direction and a number of rotors rotating in the other direction; and

a remote control, the aircraft being connected to the remote control so as to transmit data via respective transmitter/receiver units, both the aircraft and the remote control having a data processing device connected to the respective transmitter/receiver unit, both the aircraft and the remote control having the same sensors for flight attitude detection,

where in the event of a change in angle in the remote control around its X-, and/or Y-, and/or Z-axis, the amount of the angle change correlates with a definable speed of the aircraft,

the speed defined according to the angle change being transmitted as the target value of the data processing device of the aircraft and/or the remote control, the actual value of the speed of the aircraft being determined and compared with the target value in the data processing device,

where, by controlling the rotational speed of the rotors, the thrust is modified to such an extent that the target value of the speed matches the actual speed of the aircraft.

2. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the target speed of the aircraft over ground is carried out using GPS, radar sensors, or an optical method, such as the optical flow method.

3. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the data for determining the actual speed of the aircraft is transmitted to the remote control, the data processing device of the remote control calculates the values required for the control for thrust and flight attitude through a target-actual comparison, the calculated thrust and flight attitude values are transmitted to the data processing device of the aircraft, the data processing device of the aircraft converting these specifications for the flight attitude and thrust into the required rotational speeds of the individual rotors.

4. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the target speed specified according to the angle change in the remote control is transmitted to the data processing device of the aircraft, the control being implemented in the data processing device of the aircraft and modifying the rotational speed of the rotors to the extent that the target value of the speed matches the actual value transmitted.

5. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the determination of the current rotational speed of the aircraft around the Z-axis is done using flight attitude sensors.

6. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the data processing device for aligning the aircraft in a horizontal position has a positioning control that is connected to the sensors for flight attitude detection and to the rotors.

7. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the sensors for flight attitude detection comprise accelerators and/or gyroscopes.

8. The flight system according to claim 7, wherein the aircraft and the remote control contain three accelerators, each of which is aligned in a spatial direction.

9. The flight system according to claim 7, wherein the aircraft and the remote control contain at least one, but preferably three gyroscopes, each of which is allocated to a spatial direction.

10. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the sensors for flight attitude detection comprise at least one magnetometer.

11. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the remote control has a touchscreen monitor as an input and display device.

12. The flight system according to claim 11, wherein the rate of ascent and/or descent is pre-definable via the input device.

13. The flight system according to claim 12, wherein the rate of descent of the aircraft does not exceed a pre-definable value starting at a certain altitude.

14. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft has sensors for determining altitude (altitude sensors).

15. The flight system according to claim 14, wherein the altitude sensors comprise ultrasound sensors and sensors for determining the air pressure.

16. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft has lateral distance sensors.

17. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft has a plurality of operating modes.

18. The flight system according to claim 17, wherein in a first operating mode, the flight directions of the aircraft are defined through the coordinate system of the remote control.

19. The flight system according to claim 17, wherein in a second operating mode, the flight directions of the aircraft are defined through a coordinate system in the aircraft (First Person View system).

20. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the aircraft has at least one GPS receiver, which is connected to the data processing device of the aircraft and/or the remote control.

21. The flight system according to claim 1, wherein the remote control has at least one GPS receiver, which is connected to the data processing device of the remote control.