FOLLOWING REMOTE CONTROLLING METHOD FOR AIRCRAFT

• US 20170349280A1
• Filed: 06/02/2017
• Published: 12/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2016
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Baltek Co., Limited
• Original Assignee: Baltek Co., Limited
• Inventors: LIAO, Tzu-Chuan
• Application Number:
  US15/611,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20170349280A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/14 with four distinct rotor axes, e.g. quadcopters
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 2201/20 Remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0011 associated with a remote control arrangement
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0016 characterised by the operator's input device input arrangements for computing systems in general G06F3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0033 by having the operator tracking the vehicle either by direct line of sight or via one or more cameras located remotely from the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/0094 involving pointing a payload, e.g. camera, weapon, sensor, towards a fixed or moving target

Abstract

A following remote controlling method for aircraft is provided. The method includes following steps of: receiving a pointing operation which moves a remote control device (22) to face an expectant direction (E1, E2) at the remote controlling device (22); generating and sending a pointing signal to outside; receiving the pointing signal and moving toward the expectant direction (E1, E2) according to the pointing signal at an aircraft (20); and controlling the aircraft (20) to keep a following distance (D1-D6) from a target device (24) according to a target signal received from the target device (24) during moving. The present disclosed example can effectively reduce a probability of inputting erroneously operation via controlling the aircraft (20) by point operations.

Claims

1. A following remote controlling method for aircraft, comprising:

a) receiving a pointing operation at a remote controlling device (22), wherein the pointing operation is to move the remote control device (22) to face an expectant direction (E1, E2);

b) generating a pointing signal according to the pointing operation;

c) sending the pointing signal to outside;

d) receiving the pointing signal from the remote controlling device (22) and a target signal from a target device (24) at an aircraft (20);

e) controlling the aircraft (20) to move toward the expectant direction (E1, E2) according to the pointing signal; and

f) controlling the aircraft (20) to keep a following distance (D1-D6) from the target device (24) according to the target signal during moving.

2. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the pointing signal comprises a pointing azimuth angle;

the step b) comprises a step b1) detecting the pointing azimuth angle via a magnetometer module (224) of the remote controlling device (22);

the step e) comprises;

e1) determining a moving direction according to the pointing azimuth angle and a flying azimuth angle of the aircraft (20) when the pointing azimuth angle is not matched with the flying azimuth angle; and

e2) controlling the aircraft (20) to move toward the moving direction and front the target device (24).

3. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 2, wherein the pointing signal further comprises a pointing elevation angle;

the step b) further comprises a step b2) detecting a tilt angle via a gyro module (262) of the remote controlling device (22), and calculating the pointing elevation angle according to the tilt angle;

the step e1) is configured to determine the moving direction and a destination coordinate according to the following distance (D1-D6), the pointing elevation angle, and an azimuth angle difference between the pointing azimuth angle and the flying azimuth angle;

the step e2) is configured to controlling the aircraft (20) to move toward the moving direction until reaching the destination coordinate.

4. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 2, wherein the pointing signal further comprises a pointing elevation angle;

the step b) further comprises a step b3) detecting a moving vector via an accelerometer module (228) of the remote controlling device (22), calculating the pointing elevation angle according to the moving vector;

the step e1) is configured to determine the moving direction and a destination coordinate according to the following distance (D1-D6), the pointing elevation angle, and an azimuth angle difference between the pointing azimuth angle and the flying azimuth angle;

the step e2) is configured to controlling the aircraft (20) to move toward the moving direction until reaching the destination coordinate.

5. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 2, wherein the target signal comprises a target coordinate;

the step e1) comprises;

e11) retrieving a flying coordinate via a locator (212) of the aircraft (20); and

e12) determining the moving direction and a destination coordinate according to the target coordinate, the flying coordinate, the pointing azimuth angle and the flying azimuth angle;

the step e2) is configured to controlling the aircraft (20) to move toward the moving direction until reaching the destination coordinate.

6. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the step f) comprises:

f1) receiving the target signal and recording a receiving time, wherein the target signal instructs a sending time;

f2) calculating an actual distance between the aircraft (20) and the target device (24) according to the receiving time, the sending time and a signal propagation velocity; and

f3) controlling the aircraft (20) to approach the target device (24) when the actual distance is greater than the following distance (D1-D6), and controlling the aircraft (20) to keep away the target device (24) when the actual distance is less than the following distance (D1-D6).

7. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the target signal comprises a target altitude of the target device (24);

the step f) comprises;

f4) retrieving a flying altitude of the aircraft (20), and calculating an actual vertical distance between the aircraft (20) the target device (24); and

f5) controlling the aircraft (20) to descend for reducing altitude when the actual vertical distance is greater than a following vertical distance, and controlling the aircraft (20) to climb for increasing altitude when the actual vertical distance is less than the following vertical distance.

8. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the following remote controlling method for aircraft further comprises:

g1) receiving the same target signal via a plurality of transceivers (202,2020,2022) of the aircraft (20) and recording a plurality of receiving time of the plurality of the transceivers (202,2020,2022); and

g2) controlling the aircraft (20) to wheel around for fronting the target device (24) when a receiving time difference between the plurality of the receiving time is not matched with a default time difference.

9. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the following remote controlling method for aircraft comprises:

h1) recording a flying track of the aircraft (20) based on time-domain during moving;

h2) loading the flying track when receiving a track-following signal; and

h3) controlling the aircraft (20) to move along the flying track.

10. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the following remote controlling method for aircraft further comprises a step i) determining a plane corresponding to the expectant direction (E1, E2) when receiving a plane-fixed operation signal, and configuring the plane as a movable range of the aircraft (20) for making the aircraft (20) be limited to moving in the plane.

11. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the step a) is configured to receiving the pointing operation during a pointing operation button of the remote controlling device (22) being pressed.

12. The following remote controlling method for aircraft according to claim 1, wherein the following remote controlling method for aircraft further comprises:

j1) controlling the aircraft (20) to move bias toward a fine-tuning direction according to a fine-tuning operation signal when receiving the fine-tuning operation signal;

j2) adjusting the following distance (D1-D6) according to a distance-adjusting signal when receiving the distance-adjusting signal from the remote controlling device (22); and

j3) controlling a camera (214) of the aircraft (20) to start to record video and a flying track of the aircraft (20) based on time-domain.