KR101707130B1 - Flight-Unit Based Freight Falling Apparatus and System thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a flight unit-based cargo dropping apparatus and system, and more particularly, to a device and a system capable of safely transporting a cargo to a designated destination using a flight unit defined as an unmanned aerial vehicle will be.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a cargo dropping device comprising: a main board for receiving a drop and a return command to control the operation of a cargo dropping device; a cargo mounting portion provided to mount the cargo; And a first motor unit that adjusts the lifting speed of the cargo dropping device.

Description

[0001] Flight-Unit Based Freight Falling Apparatus and System [

The present invention relates to a flight unit-based cargo dropping device and system, and more particularly, to a device capable of safely transporting a cargo to a designated destination using a flight unit such as a drone, And a system.

As the sales volume of online commodities such as TV home shopping, e-commerce through internet shopping, and mail-order sales have increased sharply, the size of the courier service industry is also gradually increasing. The most important issue in the recent courier service business is the speedy delivery considering the needs of the customer like the same day delivery system.

The courier service is collected at the central logistics center located in each zone and has a system for transporting the goods to the delivery site based on the delivery information provided by the shopping company.

However, in the case of courier transportation using a vans, the shipping environment may change due to varying traffic conditions and road speed limit. In the case that delivery is difficult due to inconvenience in transportation, or roads are lost due to disasters, There is a problem that the delivery is delayed.

As a conventional technique suitable for overcoming such a problem, there is a cargo delivering device using an unmanned aerial vehicle. As unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned robot drones are widely used.

Although the unmanned robot drones were originally developed for military use, they are widely used for civil and commercial purposes due to their ease of operation and miniaturization. In recent years, drones for image shooting and leisure have been actively developed.

Conventionally known drones for cargo transportation have a problem of loadable weight and a problem of poor scalability due to the development of a technology for securing the drones in a stable manner even if the load weight is increased.

In addition, Korean Patent No. 10-1654799, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2014-0038495, Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2015-0011273, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 10-2016-0052238 disclose a cargo drop device , It is necessary to descend to a low altitude, that is, to a near distance where the recipient can receive it, in order to land directly near the destination or to be picked up by the receiver. In such a landing or descent, the fuel consumption of the dron There is a problem in that the safety of the recipient is threatened by the rotor rotating at a high speed.

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Korean Patent No. 10-1654799 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2014-0038495 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2015-0011273 Korean Patent Publication No. 10-2016-0052238

The present invention provides a delivery system using an unmanned aerial vehicle that provides a flight unit-based cargo dropper to prevent delay in delivery due to natural disasters or intercity shipping.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cargo dropping device that allows the cargo carrying flight unit to firmly bind heavy cargo.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a cargo dropper capable of safely delivering a cargo to a receiver without a direct landing of the flight unit or descent to a low elevation.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cargo dropping device comprising: a main board for receiving a drop and a recovery command to control an operation of a cargo dropping device; And a lifting and driving unit for lifting and lowering the lifting and lowering device of the cargo dropping device by winding a cable connected to a lower portion of the flying unit, wherein the lifting and lowering driving unit includes a first motor unit for providing a driving force, Based cargo dropping device.

The cargo mounting part applied to the present invention mounts the cargo through the mounting pin attached to the cargo, and the cargo mounting part may be formed with an insertion hole for mounting and detaching the mounting pin.

And a second motor part for fastening or separating the insertion pin with the mounting pin in such a manner that the rod moves forward and backward in the insertion hole.

At this time, the center of the insertion hole may be arranged to coincide with the center of gravity of the cargo dropper.

Meanwhile, the cargo dropping device applied to the present invention may include a reverse limit switch spaced apart from the second motor part by a predetermined distance, and located on the opposite side of the insertion hole with respect to the second motor part.

The lifting and lowering driving unit may include a plurality of guide roller units formed at regular intervals with reference to the center of the cargo dropping apparatus and a pulley unit for winding the cable.

The pulley portion may be formed in a plurality of stages corresponding to the plurality of guide roller portions.

In addition, the pulley portion is formed by a plurality of stages, and each stage is fixedly installed so as to have the same rotation axis, so that the cables are unwound or wound at the same speed at all stages.

The lifting and lowering driving unit may include a plurality of induction guards fixed between the guide roller unit and the pulley unit so that the cable is not twisted,

And a lifting / lowering limit switch for stopping the operation of the lifting / lowering driving unit when the cargo dropping device is in contact with the flying unit.

Meanwhile, the first motor unit may provide a driving force to the elevation driving unit.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to prevent a delay in delivery due to natural disasters or mountain-to-mountain delivery by providing a flight-unit-based cargo dropping device. Also, a heavy cargo can be firmly bound to the flight unit, Thereby providing a device.

In addition, it is possible to provide a cargo dropping device capable of safely delivering cargo to a receiver without a direct landing of the flight unit or descent to a low elevation.

In addition, automation of the cargo dropper can reduce unnecessary operations in flight unit operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an operation concept of a flight unit-based cargo dropping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
Fig. 2 is a view showing a state in which the cargo dropping device descends in Fig. 1; Fig.
3 is a view showing a state in which the cargo dropping device shown in Fig. 2 drops a cargo; Fig.
FIG. 4 is a top view showing a flight unit-based cargo dropping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.
5 is a right side view of a cargo dropper according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 is a left side view of a cargo dropping device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
7 is a perspective view illustrating a mounting pin according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 8 illustrates a plurality of insertion holes according to one embodiment of the present invention.
9 is a view illustrating a cargo dropping device provided with elastic bands according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a view showing a state in which the cargo falling apparatus shown in Fig. 9 drops a cargo; Fig.
11 is a view illustrating a cargo dropping apparatus provided with a tightening means according to an embodiment of the present invention.
12 is a view showing a state in which the cargo falling apparatus shown in Fig. 11 falls a cargo. Fig.
13 is a block diagram showing a method of operating a cargo dropper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments of the present invention described below are to be understood as mutually exclusive. The position or arrangement of the individual components in each disclosed embodiment may be varied, and the reference numerals in the drawings are for convenience only and do not limit the scope of the rights. It should also be noted that the length, area, thickness, etc. of the individual components of the present invention may be exaggerated for convenience.

Also, the expression " comprising " is intended to merely denote that such elements are present as an expression of " open ", and should not be understood to exclude additional elements.

Further, when a component is referred to as being connected or connected to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it should be understood that there may be other components in between.

FIG. 1 is a view for illustrating a concept of operation of a flight unit-based cargo dropping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which a cargo dropping apparatus descends in FIG. 3 is a view showing a state in which the cargo dropping device shown in FIG. 2 drops a cargo.

1 to 3, a cargo dropping apparatus 100 based on a flying unit 1 according to the present invention is connected to a lower side of a flying unit 1, and a cargo 10 ) Can be connected. In other words, the cargo dropping apparatus 100 of the present invention is placed between the flight unit 1 and the cargo 10, and can be said to be a device for helping the cargo 10 to ascend and descend. If the flight unit 1 can not land directly due to an obstacle located at the dropping point of the cargo 10 or if it is difficult to fly at a low altitude sufficient to deliver the cargo 10 to the receiver The cargo 10 can be normally dropped using the cargo dropping apparatus 100 while staying at a predetermined altitude or more.

For reference, "connection" as used herein means a direct connection or indirect connection between a member and another member, and may mean all physical connections such as adhesion, attachment, fastening, joining, and coupling. It should also be noted that the flight unit 1 of the present invention may be any unmanned aerial vehicle suitable for transporting the cargo 10, regardless of size and shape. In addition, the flight unit 1 of the present invention may be applicable to a fixed-wing aircraft, but it is more preferable that the flywheel unit is capable of flying in terms of stability of operation. For example, the flight unit 1 of the present invention may be a rotor blade unit having a drone or other multi-rotor.

A method of operating the cargo dropping apparatus 100 based on the flight unit 1 will be described below. First, referring to Figs. 4 to 7, the detailed structure of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 of the present invention will be described.

4 is a top view illustrating a flight unit-based cargo dropping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a right side view of a cargo dropping apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a left side view of a cargo dropping device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a mounting pin according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cargo dropping apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a main board 140 that receives a drop and recovery command to control the operation of the cargo dropping apparatus 100, A lifting and lowering driving part 120 for winding up the lifting and lowering of the cargo dropping device 100 by winding up a cable 131 connected to a lower part of the flying unit and a driving force is provided to the lifting driving part 120, And a first motor unit 132 that adjusts the elevation speed of the apparatus 100. [

The housing 101 may be made of a combination of an aluminum alloy or a plastic organic compound to ensure durability and light weight of the cargo dropping apparatus 100, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, the housing 101 may be configured such that the cargo mounting portion 110, the elevation driving portion 120, the first motor portion 132, and the guide roller portion 130, which will be described later, have. In addition, the housing 101 is preferably a hexahedron having a flat shape as a whole, but is not limited thereto. 4, the main board 140 may be disposed on one side of the housing 101, and the cargo mount 110 may be mounted on the lower side of the housing 101 to mount the cargo 10 .

The cargo mounting portion 110 may be positioned at the lower end side of the inside of the housing 101 for mounting the cargo and may include an insertion hole 111 formed at a lower side of the cargo mounting portion 110, And a second motor portion 112 for coupling or separating the mounting pin 200 with the insertion hole 111 in such a manner that the rod 113 moves forward and backward.

The mounting pin 200 according to an embodiment of the present invention is a component attached to the cargo 10 and means a component for fastening the cargo dropping apparatus 100 and the cargo 10 via the mounting pin 200 can do. 7, the mounting pin 200 has a shape corresponding to the rod 113 so that the rod 113 can be fastened when the rod 113 moves back and forth in the horizontal direction of the cargo dropping apparatus 100, And a hollow portion 201 of a size larger than that of the hollow portion 201. [ A mounting plate 210 may be formed on the lower portion of the mounting pin 200 so as to be firmly fixed to the cargo 10. When the mounting pin 200 is inserted and inserted into the insertion hole 111 formed at the lower end of the housing 101, the rod 113 advances in the horizontal direction by the operation of the second motor portion 112, So that the flight unit 1 can stably fly even when the cargo 10 having a considerable weight is hanged.

4 to 6, the mounting pin 200 is shown as having one set. However, the weight, the quality, the durability and the durability of the cargo 10 in terms of securing stability when the cargo 10 is transported, A plurality of mounting pins 200 may be provided in consideration of the shape and the like. In this case, a single cargo mounting portion 110 may be provided, and a plurality of mounting pins 200 may be coupled with a single rod 113 arranged in a row. Alternatively, A plurality of loads 113 may be fastened to the corresponding mounting pins 200 by providing a plurality of load mounts 110. In this case, however, the flying unit 1 should be arranged so as not to cause a deviation in one direction in consideration of the loads of the cargo 10 and the cargo dropping apparatus 100.

Next, the cargo mounting portion 110 will be described in detail.

The position of the insertion hole 111 of the present invention can be located at the center side of the cargo dropping apparatus 100. More specifically, the center of the insertion hole 111 may be arranged to coincide with the center of gravity of the cargo dropping apparatus 100. So as to evenly distribute the weight of the cargo 10 to be loaded. It is important that the components of the present invention prevent the entire center of gravity including the cargo dropping device 100 from being biased to either side when the cargo 10 is loaded. The cargo mounting portion 110 and the elevation driving portion 120 may be located on the opposite sides with respect to the insertion hole 111 and the main board 140 and the battery portion 160 may be disposed As shown in FIG.

4, the cargo mounting part 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention is spaced apart from the second motor part 112 by a predetermined distance and is inserted into the insertion hole 111 And a reverse limit switch 114 located on the opposite side of the limit switch 114. When the load 113 inserted in the mounting pin 200 is retracted when the load 10 is to be dropped, the load 10 falls in a state of being fastened to the mounting pin 200. At this time, by providing the backward limit switch 114, retraction of the rod 113 can be restricted and the operation of the second motor unit can be stopped.

The lifting and lowering driving unit 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of guide roller units 130 formed at regular intervals with reference to the center of the cargo dropping apparatus 100, And may include a pulley portion 121. The guide roller unit 130 is fixed to one side of the housing 101 and is supported by a cable 131 suspended vertically from the flight unit 1 so that the cable 131 is bent 90 degrees in the horizontal direction from the vertical direction A rotatable roller is provided at the center. Accordingly, the lifting and lowering driving unit 120 according to the embodiment of the present invention can function as a pulley for changing the direction of the tension acting on the cable 131, To be raised or lowered.

Since the guide roller unit 130 must be able to descend while the cargo dropping apparatus 100 is substantially horizontal when the cargo 10 falls, a plurality of guide roller units 130 are formed at regular intervals with reference to the center of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 desirable. 4 to 6, four guide roller units 130 are installed in the corners of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 from the center. When the length of the cable 131 wound or unwound is equal in each guide roller unit 130, the center of gravity of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 can be stably lowered without becoming eccentric. The cable 131 is distributedly connected to the plurality of guide roller portions 130, thereby exerting an effect of dividing the center load.

The pulley portion 121 may have a plurality of stages corresponding to the plurality of guide roller portions 130 according to an embodiment of the present invention in which the cable 131 is wound around the lifting and driving portion 120. 4 to 6, when four guide roller portions 130 are provided, the pulley portion 121 may be formed in four stages.

Here, the pulley portion 121 is formed of a plurality of stages, and each stage has the same rotation axis and is fixedly installed, so that the cables 131 can be unwound or wound at the same speed at all the stages. If the plurality of stages constituting the pulley portion 121 are moved separately, a deviation may occur in the length of the cable 131 per each guide roller portion 130 so that the center of gravity may be eccentric. So that it can be prevented.

Accordingly, the cables 131 connected to the guide roller portion 130 are adjusted to be wound or unwound simultaneously by using the pulley portion 121, so that the cargo dropping apparatus 100 can be stably lifted and lowered.

The elevation driving unit 120 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of induction guards 122 fixedly installed between the guide roller unit 130 and the pulley unit 120 so that the cable 131 is not twisted . At least one induction guard 122 may be disposed for each cable 131 connecting the guide roller unit 130 and the pulley unit 120. As shown in FIG. 4, is a component provided to keep the tension at a point where the cable 131 is bent and / or a straight line extending from the cable 131, and to prevent a plurality of cables 131 from being mutually twisted .

The induction guard 122 may be a compact clamp, a small roller or a pin type, but it must be constructed so as to give less friction to the cable 131.

The guide roller portion 130 and the induction guard 122 are included so that the cable 131 is extended from the lower side of the flight unit 1 to be connected to the pulley portion 121, So that the cargo dropping apparatus 100 can be stably lifted and lowered.

The first motor unit 132 mentioned above controls the lifting speed of the cargo dropping apparatus 100, and may be a DC motor having low power consumption and noise, for example. Further, it is possible to provide the power necessary for winding the cable as well as adjusting the ascending / descending speed through the first motor portion 132. That is, the driving force of the elevation driving unit 120 may be provided by the first motor unit 132 of the present invention. In the case where a separate motor is provided to provide the driving force for moving the elevation driving unit 120 to the flight unit 1, the configuration of the flight unit 1 becomes complicated and not only the weight of the flight unit 1 increases, Movement can be slowed down. However, when the first motor unit 132 provides the driving force required by the lifting drive unit 120, the advantage of being able to simplify the configuration of the flight unit 1 and secure the flexibility and the operationality of driving the cargo dropping apparatus 100 have.

The main board 140 controls the cargo loading unit 110 and the elevation driving unit 120 of the present invention and the battery unit 160 supplies power to the cargo dropping apparatus 100. The positions of the main board 140 and the battery unit 160 are not limited to those shown in the drawings and may be variously changed. In this case, it is preferable that the center of gravity coincides with the center of the insertion hole 111 as much as possible considering the weight of each component.

The cargo dropping apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a lifting and lowering limit switch 150 for stopping the operation of the lifting and lowering driving unit 120 when the lifting and lowering driving unit 120 is in contact with the upper portion of the housing 101 . The lift limit switch 150 can limit the winding operation of the cable 131 of the elevation driving unit 120 by a principle similar to that of the above-described reverse limit switch 114 described above. Thus, by virtually automating the operation of the cargo dropping apparatus 100, the convenience of operation of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 based on the flight unit 1 can be maximized.

Next, the cargo dropping apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 3 and the cargo dropping apparatus 100 according to another embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9 shows a cargo dropping apparatus provided with elastic bands according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 shows a state in which the cargo dropping apparatus shown in FIG. 9 drops a cargo. FIG. 11 shows a cargo dropping apparatus provided with a tightening means according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 shows a state in which the cargo dropping apparatus shown in FIG. 11 drops a cargo.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one elastic band 300 is provided in the cargo dropping apparatus 100 to stably transport the cargo. That is, the cargo 10 can be transported to the cargo mounting part 110 through the mounting method of the elastic band 300 rather than the mounting pin 200, (300) mounting method to transport the cargo (10). The elastic band 300 is installed to one side 170 and the other side 171 of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 and surrounds the cargo 10 and elastically supports the elastic band 300. A cutter 172 is provided on the other side of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 so that the elastic band 300 can be cut when the cargo 10 falls. The elastic band 300 is preferably made of a material having appropriate elastic modulus and hardness in consideration of influences due to various factors such as flying vibration and weather.

In another embodiment, at least one tightening means 300 'may protrude from the lower surface of the cargo dropping apparatus 100 to provide a supporting force to the side surface of the cargo 10. The tightening means 300 'may be applied to the mounting pin 200 in a similar manner to the elastic band 300 or may be used together with the mounting pin 200 as means for enhancing the stability of the transportation of the cargo 10.

As shown in various embodiments above, the cargo dropping apparatus 100 of the present invention is equipped with various safeguards capable of ensuring the stability of the transportation of the cargo 10, minimizing the vibration when the flight unit 1 is flying , Accidental falling of cargo due to aerodynamic resistance, and the like can be prevented.

Finally, a description will be given of a method of operating the above-described flight unit (1) -based cargo dropping apparatus (100). 13 is a block diagram showing a method of operating a cargo dropper according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the mounting pin 200 is fixed to the top of the object to be transported. As described above, the mounting plate 210 may be provided under the mounting pin 200. For example, the mounting plate 210 may be formed with an attachable portion such as a lock ring, a velcro type, .

As described above, the cargo dropping apparatus 100 may be provided with a main board 140 for receiving a control command, and the second motor unit 112 may be operated through the main board 140 to move the rod 113 forward So that the cargo dropping apparatus 100 and the mounting pin 200 can be coupled.

Thereafter, when the flying unit 1 is flying and reaches the transportation target, the load drop device 100 can be instructed to descend through the main board 140. At this time, the first motor unit is operated and the rotating force of the motor is transmitted through the pulley unit, and the cable 131 is loosened, so that the load drop device 100 is lowered while maintaining parallelism.

When the cargo dropping apparatus 100 reaches an appropriate level, the second motor section 112 is operated from the outside or a pre-inputted drop command to move the load 113 backward, So that the mounting pin 200 is separated. Accordingly, the cargo suspended in the cargo dropping apparatus 100 together with the mounting pin 200 is dropped to the target point.

The cable 131 is wound on the lifting and lowering driving part 120 by the reverse rotation of the first motor part 132, and the cargo dropping device 100 is restored to its original state. At this time, the rotation of the first motor part 132 in the reverse direction can be stopped by the lift limit switch 150 installed at the upper end of the housing 101.

As described above, according to the cargo dropping apparatus 100 based on the flight unit 1 of the present invention, the cargo 10 can be stably fixed so that it does not shake even when the flight unit 1 is flying.

In addition, by providing a device capable of lowering the cargo in a state in which the car is kept on a certain level without landing directly, the convenience and efficiency of cargo transportation using the cargo unit 1 can be enhanced.

According to the cargo dropping apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the lifting and lowering driving unit 120 including the guide roller unit 130 and the pulley unit 121 is provided, So that the delivery of the cargo 10 can be performed stably.

In the foregoing detailed description of the present invention, only specific embodiments thereof have been described. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not to be limited to the specific forms thereof, which are to be considered as being limited to the specific embodiments, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. .

1: Flying unit
10: Freight
100: Freight falling device
101: Housing
110: cargo mount
111: insertion hole
112: second motor section
113: Load
114: Reverse limit switch
120:
121: Pulley portion
122: induction guard
130: guide roller portion
131: Cable
132: first motor section
140: Motherboard
150: Lift limit switch
200: Mounting pin
201: hollow part
210: attachment plate
300: elastic band
300 ': tightening means

Claims (11)

A main board for receiving the drop and return commands and controlling the operation of the cargo drop device,
A cargo mounting portion provided to mount the cargo; And
And a lifting and driving unit for lifting and lowering the lifting and lowering of the cargo dropping device by winding a cable connected to a lower portion of the flying unit,
Wherein the lifting and lowering driving unit includes a first motor unit that provides a driving force and adjusts a lifting speed,
Wherein the cargo mounting portion mounts the cargo through a mounting pin attached to the cargo, and the cargo mounting portion is formed with an insertion hole for detachment of the mounting pin.
delete The method according to claim 1,
And a second motor unit for engaging or disengaging the load pin with the mounting pin in such a manner that the rod moves forward and backward in the insertion hole.
The method according to claim 1,
And the center of the insertion hole is arranged to coincide with the center of gravity of the cargo dropping device.
The method of claim 3,
And a reverse limit switch spaced apart from the second motor unit by a predetermined distance and positioned opposite the insertion hole with respect to the second motor unit.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lifting and lowering driving unit includes a plurality of guide roller units spaced apart from each other with reference to a center of the cargo dropping device,
And a pulley portion for winding the cable.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the pulley portion is formed in a plurality of stages corresponding to the plurality of guide roller portions.
8. The method of claim 7,
Wherein the pulley portion is formed by a plurality of stages, and each end is fixedly installed so as to have the same rotation axis, so that the cables are unwound or wound at the same speed at all the stages.
The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the lifting and lowering driving unit includes a plurality of induction guards fixed between the guide roller unit and the pulley unit so that the cable is not twisted.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lifting / lowering limit switch is provided to stop the operation of the lifting / lowering driving unit when the cargo falling apparatus is in contact with the flying unit.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first motor unit provides a driving force to the elevation driving unit.

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