Unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system and control method

• US 10,287,033 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2016
• Issued: 05/14/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Goertek Technology Co., Ltd. (Goertek Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Goertek Technology Co., Ltd. (Goertek Incorporated)
• Inventors: Hu, Tengfei
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Hara, Brian M
• Application Number:
  US16/060,888
• Publication Number:
  US 20190009926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 873 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B64C 39/024 of the remote controlled vehicle type, i.e. RPV
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/02 for arresting aircraft, e.g. nets or cables
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/04 for launching aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64F 1/362 Installations for supplying conditioned air to parked aircraft
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 10/25 Fixed-wing aircraft VTOL aircraft B64U10/20
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 30/20 Rotors; Rotor supports
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 50/34 In-flight charging photovoltaics B64U50/31
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 70/00 Launching, take-off or landing arrangements
• 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: B64U 70/99 Means for retaining the UAV on the platform, e.g. dogs or magnets
• CPC Class Codes: B64U 80/86 Land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: H01F 7/202 Electromagnets for high magnetic field strength for superconducting electromagnets H01F6/00; for transformers or inductances without a magnetic core H01F30/08
• CPC Class Codes: H02N 15/00 Holding or levitation devices using magnetic attraction or repulsion, not otherwise provided for electric or magnetic devices for holding work on machine tools B23Q3/15 ; monorail vehicle propulsion or suspension B60L13/00; sliding or levitation devices for railway systems B61B13/08; material handling devices associated with conveyors incorporating devices with electrostatic or magnetic grippers B65G47/92; separating thin or filamentary articles from piles using magnetic force B65H3/16; delivering thin or filamentary articles from magnetic holders by air blast or suction B65H29/24; bearings using magnetic or electric supporting means F16C32/04; relieving bearing loads using magnetic means F16C39/06; magnets H01F7/00; dynamo-electric clutches or brakes H02K49/00 ; electric furnaces with simultaneous levitation and heating H05B6/32

Abstract

Disclosed is an unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system and a control method. The system comprises a magnet assembly at the side of an unmanned aerial vehicle and a magnetic field assembly at the side of a parking platform. An electrified coil is provided in the magnetic field assembly and current is supplied into the coil. A magnetic field is generated by the magnetic field assembly, to form a thrust force acting on the unmanned aerial vehicle. A resultant force is formed by the thrust force and a lift or resistance force in the process of take-off or landing of the unmanned aerial vehicle to supplement the lift force or resistance. In this process, the current in the coil is changed to form a uniform magnetic field, the thrust force acting on the unmanned aerial vehicle is generated to supplement the lift force or the resistance.

Claims

1. An unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system, comprising:

an unmanned aerial vehicle having a contact surface provided with a magnet assembly, the unmanned aerial vehicle having;

a wing configured to rotate to generate lift force, and

a rotational speed measuring device configured to generate a rotational speed detection value;

a landing platform provided with a magnetic field assembly;

an electrified coil provided in the magnetic field assembly;

a controller;

wherein the controller is configured to control the electrified coil to be supplied with a current, and the magnetic field assembly generates a supporting magnetic field to form a thrust force that acts on the magnetic assembly so the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a magnetic levitation state, and

wherein the controller is configured to receive the rotational speed detection value and decrease the current supplied to the electrified coil when the rotational speed value is equal to a preset rotation speed value.

2. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 1, further comprising a distance measuring device, wherein:

the rotational speed measuring device is configured to measure a rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle,

the distance measuring device is configured to measure a distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and a predetermined parking location, and

the controller is configured to change a direction and a magnitude of the current supplied into the electrified coil according to the rotational speed measured by the rotational speed measuring device and/or the distance measured by the distance measuring device.

3. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 2, wherein

the controller is configured to receive a take-off instruction with which to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a forward current which is increased, and thus control the supporting magnetic field generated by the magnetic field assembly such that the thrust force that the supporting magnetic field generated is an upward thrust force that acts on the unmanned aerial vehicle, and

the controller is configured to supply the electrified coil with a forward current wherein an air gap is formed when the upward thrust force acting on the unmanned aerial vehicle by the supporting magnetic field is equal to a gravity of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and the forward current supplied to the electrified coil reaches a maximum forward current.

4. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 3, wherein:

the controller is configured to receive a landing instruction,

the distance measuring device is configured to detect whether the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the predetermined parking location is within a landing allowable range, and

the controller is configured to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a reverse current to drag the unmanned aerial vehicle to right above the predetermined parking location and the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle is maintained unchanged if the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing platform is detected to be within the landing allowable range.

5. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 4, wherein:

the controller is configured to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a forward current which is increased after the unmanned aerial vehicle is dragged right above the predetermined parking location, and

the controller is configured to stop supplying the current to the electrified coil when the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle is measured by the rotational speed measuring device to be zero and the distance measuring device detects that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the predetermined parking location is zero.

6. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 5, wherein:

the unmanned aerial vehicle further includes an energy storage device and a charge coil provided on an undercarriage of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the energy storage device and the charge coil being electrically connected, unless the unmanned aerial vehicle is flying during which time the energy storage device and the charge coil are disconnected,

the controller is configured to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a charging current when the unmanned aerial vehicle is parked on the landing platform, to control the magnetic field assembly to generate a varying charging magnetic field at a side of the landing platform, and to control the energy storage device and the charge coil to be connected to charge the energy storage device when the charging current is supplied.

7. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 6, wherein the distance measuring device comprises an infrared distance measuring device provided in the unmanned aerial vehicle and an infrared receiving device provided at the side of the landing platform, and a width of the infrared receiving device is greater than a width of the infrared distance measuring device.

8. The unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system according to claim 7, wherein the magnet assembly comprises a permanent magnet, and the magnetic field assembly comprises an iron core and the electrified coil is wound around the iron core.

9. A control method for controlling take-off and landing of an unmanned aerial vehicle by using an unmanned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system comprising the unmanned aerial vehicle having a contact surface provided with a magnet assembly, the unmanned aerial vehicle further having a wing configured to rotate to generate lift force, a rotational speed measuring device, an energy storage device, and a charge coil, the manned aerial vehicle take-off and landing control system further comprising a landing platform provided with a magnetic field assembly, an electrified coil provided in the magnetic field assembly, a distance measuring device, and a controller, wherein the controller is configured to control the electrified coil to be supplied with a current, and the magnetic field assembly generates a supporting magnetic field to form a thrust force that acts on the magnetic assembly so the unmanned aerial vehicle is in a magnetic levitation state, the method comprises the following steps:

receiving, by the controller, a take-off instruction, which is used by the controller to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a forward current which is increased; and

when the thrust force acting on the unmanned aerial vehicle by the supporting magnetic field is equal to a gravity of the unmanned aerial vehicle, the forward current supplied to the electrified coil reaches a maximum forward current, and an air gap is formed between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing platform;

controlling, by the controller and after the air gap is formed between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing platform, the maximum forward current supplied to the electrified coil to be unchanged, and the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle to start to rotate, feeding back a rotational speed detection signal by the rotational speed measuring device to an input end of the controller, and the controller providing a controlling signal according to the inputted rotational speed detection signal to control the forward current supplied to the electrified coil to decrease with the increasing of the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and when the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle is equal to a preset rotational speed, the controller controlling the current supplied to the electrified coil to decrease to zero;

receiving, by the controller, a landing instruction, and detecting by the distance measuring device whether a distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing platform is within a landing allowable range;

after detecting by the distance measuring device that a distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing platform is within the landing allowable range, providing by the controller a controlling signal to keep the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle unchanged; and

to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a reverse current to drag the unmanned aerial vehicle to right above a predetermined parking location;

controlling, by the controller, the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a forward current which is increased, such that the thrust force formed by the supporting magnetic field acts on the unmanned aerial vehicle to supplement the loss of a resistance force caused by the decreasing of the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle, and when the rotational speed of the wing of the unmanned aerial vehicle is zero and the distance measuring device detects that the distance between the unmanned aerial vehicle and the landing platform is zero, providing by the controller a controlling signal to stop supplying the current to the electrified coil; and

disconnecting, when the unmanned aerial vehicle is working, the energy storage device and the charge coil, and when the unmanned aerial vehicle is parked on the landing platform, providing by the controller a controlling signal to control the current supplied to the electrified coil to be a charging current, to control the magnetic field assembly to generate a varying charging magnetic field at a side of the landing platform, and to control the energy storage device and the charge coil to be connected to charge the energy storage device when the charging current is supplied.