WO2017188041A1

WO2017188041A1 - Drop-release device

Info

Publication number: WO2017188041A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/015434
Authority: WO
Inventors: 紀代一菅木
Original assignee: 株式会社プロドローン
Priority date: 2016-04-26
Filing date: 2017-04-17
Publication date: 2017-11-02
Also published as: JP2017196949A; JP6536996B2

Abstract

Provided is a drop-release device capable of drop-releasing a payload on a target location from a small unmanned aircraft. This drop-release device comprises a small unmanned aircraft equipped with a plurality of rotor blades, a carrier container which is capable of housing and dropping a payload, and an actuator for operating the carrier container, and this drop-release device is characterized in that: the carrier container is fixed to the bottom of the small unmanned aircraft so as to be immovable relative thereto; the bottom of the carrier container is composed of two bottom plates arranged side by side in the width direction thereof; the top faces of the bottom plates are inclined downwardly at the same inclination angle from the respective rear end thereof to the leading end, the leading end of each bottom plate being the end thereof toward the other bottom plate and the rear end being the end on the opposite side therefrom; and the two bottom plates can be opened simultaneously along a symmetric path.

Description

Vertical drop device

The present invention relates to a vertical dropping device, and more particularly, to a technique for dropping a dropped object vertically downward from a small unmanned airplane having a plurality of rotor blades.

Conventionally, small unmanned aerial vehicles represented by industrial unmanned helicopters have been expensive and difficult to obtain and require skill to operate in order to fly stably. However, in recent years, improvements in sensors and software used for unmanned aerial vehicle attitude control and autonomous flight have made significant progress, and this has significantly improved the operability of unmanned aircraft and made it possible to obtain high-performance aircraft at low cost. . From such a background, the application of a small multi-copter to various missions in a wide range of fields is now being tried, not only for hobby purposes.

Multicopter is a type of helicopter equipped with multiple rotors, and it flies while balancing the aircraft by adjusting the rotational speed of each rotor. Since the multicopter has a simple structure unlike the helicopter, it has excellent maintainability, and the aircraft can be configured at a relatively low cost.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-324499

Patent Document 1 discloses an apparatus for dropping a fire extinguisher made of water or chemicals from a helicopter on which a pilot is boarded to a fire spot. The extinguishing agent dropping device of Patent Document 1 includes an infrared camera attached to a helicopter so as to face downward and a laser distance measuring device attached so as to face directly below, and the output of the laser ranging device and the helicopter The extinguishing agent is automatically dropped when the arrival point of the extinguishing agent calculated from the flight speed coincides with the infrared radiation point of the fire captured by the infrared camera.

The fire extinguishing agent dropping device of Patent Document 1 is arranged such that an infrared camera for photographing a fire point faces the lower front of the helicopter (Claim 1). This means that the extinguishing agent dropping device of Patent Document 1 is based on the idea of dropping the extinguishing agent in a parabolic shape while flying the helicopter. Moreover, since the extinguishing agent dropped by the extinguishing agent dropping device of Patent Document 1 is water or chemicals (Claim 1), it is estimated that the dropped extinguishing agent diffuses widely.

場合 When a fire extinguisher is dropped parabolically from above, it is expected that an error will occur between the theoretical fall trajectory and the actual fall trajectory. When the fire extinguishing agent is dropped to spread over a wide range of fire points as in the extinguishing agent dropping device of Patent Document 1, the influence of such an error of the dropping trajectory is relatively small. However, for example, when a solid fire bomb is dropped on a small fire point, such an error greatly affects the fire extinguishing efficiency. In addition, manned helicopters generally fly with gasoline and kerosene fuels, and even pilot helicopters for disaster countermeasures should respect pilot safety. Therefore, the distance at which the helicopter of Patent Document 1 can approach the fire point and the time during which the helicopter can stay are limited to a range in which the safety of the pilot can be ensured.

In view of the above problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a vertical dropping device capable of dropping a dropped object vertically downward from a small unmanned airplane to a target point.

In order to solve the above problems, a vertical dropping device of the present invention includes a small unmanned airplane including a plurality of rotor blades, a transport container that can store and drop a dropped object, and an actuator that operates the transport container. The transport container is fixed to the lower part of the small unmanned aerial vehicle so that it cannot move relative to each other, and the bottom part of the transport container is composed of two bottom plate parts arranged side by side in the width direction. When the other end on the bottom plate portion side is the front end and the opposite end is the rear end, each bottom plate portion is inclined downward at the same inclination angle from the rear end toward the front end. The two bottom plate portions can be developed simultaneously and in a symmetrical locus.

Two bottom plate parts constituting the bottom of the transport container in a state where the transport container that can be deployed at the bottom is fixed to a small unmanned airplane having a plurality of rotor blades and the small unmanned airplane is hovered directly above the target point Are deployed in a simultaneous and symmetrical locus, the dropped object accommodated in the transport container can be dropped vertically downward. In addition, by tilting each bottom plate portion downward from the rear end to the tip at the same inclination angle, the dropped object in the transport container can be stably placed around the boundary line of these bottom plate portions, and the bottom portion is developed. It is possible to prevent the dropped article from rolling down from one of the half cylinders. Further, by fixing the transport container to the lower part of the small unmanned aerial vehicle so as not to be relatively movable, the swing of the transport container during hovering can be minimized.

The transport container has a main body having a cylindrical outer shape when the bottom is closed, and two lids that close the openings at both ends of the main body, and the main body is either Two half cylinders divided into left and right when viewed from the opening, the lower half of the two half cylinders constitutes the bottom, and the upper end of each half cylinder is the The fixed shaft, which is a common shaft body arranged in parallel with the upper end portion, is supported so as to be rotatable along the circumferential direction of the fixed shaft, and the two half cylinders are symmetrical at the same time. It is preferable that development is possible with a locus.

By supporting the two half cylinders (and the bottom plate part) so as to be rotatable by one fixed shaft, the structure is simplified as compared with the case where each half cylinder is supported by a different shaft. It becomes easy to control the unfolding operation of these half cylinders at one place.

The main body has a rectangular tube-shaped outer shape when the bottom is closed, and each of the half cylinders has an L-shaped cross section viewed from one of the openings, and the two bottom plates It is preferable that convex teeth that are alternately provided along the longitudinal direction are formed at the tip of the portion, and the teeth of the two bottom plate portions are meshed when the bottom is closed.

The main body portion is constituted by two half cylinders having a L-shaped cross section, and the tooth portions provided at the tips of the bottom plate portions mesh with each other, so that the bending rigidity of the main body portion in each plane direction is enhanced. .

The transport container further includes a synchronization mechanism that synchronizes opening and closing operations of the two half cylinders, and the synchronization mechanism includes a fixed link piece and two movable link pieces that are link pieces in which elongated holes are formed. And a movable shaft that is a common shaft inserted through the long holes of all the link pieces, the fixed link piece is on the fixed shaft, and the two movable link pieces are on the half cylinders. Each of the fixed link pieces is disposed at an angle in which the elongated hole extends in the vertical direction, and each movable link piece includes the movable shaft of the elongated hole. It is preferable that they are disposed at a symmetrical angle with respect to the fixed link piece so that only the inserted portion overlaps the elongated hole of the fixed link piece.

Since the transport container has the above-described synchronization mechanism, the opening and closing angles of the two half-cylinders are determined in a unified manner by the position of the movable shaft in the long hole of the fixed link. Thus, when one of the half cylinders is opened and closed, the other half cylinder is also opened and closed in synchronization with the operation, and the opening and closing timing, opening and closing speed, and opening and closing angle of these two half cylinders are synchronized. Structurally secured.

Further, two fixed link pieces are arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the fixed shaft, and each movable link piece is arranged between the two fixed link pieces in the axial direction. It is preferable that

By adopting a configuration in which each movable link piece is sandwiched between two fixed link pieces, the inclination of the movable shaft can be prevented and the stability of the operation of the synchronization mechanism can be improved.

In addition, it is preferable that the actuator is connected to only one of the two half cylinders.

Only one of the half cylinders is opened and closed by the actuator, and the other half cylinder is configured to follow the operation of the one half cylinder by the synchronization mechanism. The bottom plate part can be opened and closed simultaneously and in a symmetrical locus.

In addition, at least one of the two lid bodies is a rotary lid supported on the fixed shaft so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction around the fixed shaft, and the rotary lid is formed by an elastic member. The rotating lid is always urged toward the main body, the rotation of the rotating lid is restricted at a position where the opening is closed, and the rotating lid is separated from the transport container against the urging force of the elastic member. It is preferable that the rotation is possible.

When storing the dropped object in the transport container, if it is necessary to open the semi-cylinder of the transport container and store the dropped object, either work by turning the small unmanned airplane upside down or remove the transport container from the small unmanned airplane. Have to work. When the transport container is provided with the rotating lid, the dropped object can be accommodated in the transport container from the opening in which the rotating lid is opened, and the dropped object can be stored efficiently.

Further, it is preferable that a camera that faces vertically downward when the bottom is closed is disposed on the bottom.

The dropped object accommodated in the transport container is dropped vertically below the bottom as the bottom develops. A camera that shoots vertically below the bottom of the transport container allows the operator to adjust the airborne position of the small unmanned airplane while confirming the drop position of the dropped object from the image taken by the camera. It becomes. Thereby, the hit accuracy of the dropped object can be remarkably improved.

As described above, according to the vertical dropping device according to the present invention, it is possible to drop a dropped object vertically from a small unmanned airplane to a target point.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the vertical dropping apparatus concerning embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of a vertical dropping apparatus. It is a perspective view of a conveyance container. It is a front view of a conveyance container. It is a side view of a conveyance container. It is a front view which shows the expansion | deployment operation | movement of a conveyance container. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure and opening / closing operation | movement of a cover body. It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the vertical dropping apparatus concerning other embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the function structure of the vertical dropping apparatus concerning other embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of a vertical dropping apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The vertical drop device of the present embodiment is a device that moves to a fire point by remote control by wireless communication and drops a fire bomb vertically downward from the sky to the fire point.

(Outline of vertical drop device configuration)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a vertical dropping device 90 according to the present embodiment. The vertical dropping device 90 is mainly composed of a multicopter 91 which is a small unmanned airplane including a plurality of rotor blades 911 and a transport container 92 fixed to the lower part thereof so as not to be relatively movable. The multicopter 91 moves to a position directly above the fire point according to the operator's instruction, and expands the transport container 92 in the air while hovering, so that a spherical fire extinguisher 93 (dropped object) accommodated in the transport container 92 is obtained. To the fire point. Here, “relatively impossible” means that the multicopter 91 and the transport container 92 are integrally connected by a non-deformable member, and there is no room for each to move independently. Thereby, the swinging of the transport container 92 during the hovering of the multicopter 91 is minimized. In addition, although the multicopter 91 in this embodiment is provided with the six rotary blades 911, the number of the rotary blades 911 may be four.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the vertical dropping device 90. The multicopter 91 is mainly composed of a flight controller 83 that controls the attitude and flight operation of the multicopter 91 in the air, a plurality of rotor blades 911 that generate lift by rotating the multicopter 91, and a pilot (transceiver 81). Are configured by a transmitter / receiver 82 that performs wireless communication with the battery, and a battery 84 that supplies electric power thereto.

The flight controller 83 includes a control device 831 that is a microcontroller. The control device 831 includes a CPU that is a central processing unit, a RAM / ROM that is a storage device, and a PWM controller that controls the DC motor 86. The DC motor 86 is a plurality of outer rotor type DC brushless motors, and a rotary blade 911 is attached to the output shaft of each DC motor 86. An ESC (Electric Speed Controller) 85 is disposed for each DC motor 86 and controls the rotational speed of each DC motor 86 based on an instruction from the PWM controller.

The flight controller 83 includes a sensor group 832 and a GPS receiver 833, which are connected to the control device 831. The sensor group 832 of the multicopter 91 includes an acceleration sensor, a gyro sensor (angular velocity sensor), an atmospheric pressure sensor, a geomagnetic sensor (electronic compass), and the like.

The RAM / ROM of the control device 831 stores a flight control program in which a flight control algorithm during the flight of the multicopter 91 is implemented. The control device 831 uses the information acquired from the sensor group 832 to control the attitude of the multicopter 91 with a flight control program. The flight operation of the multicopter 91 may be performed manually by the operator, or an autonomous flight program in which a flight plan such as GPS coordinates, altitude, flight route, etc. is parameterized is separately implemented and allowed to fly autonomously. Also good.

Servo 70 (actuator) that is a drive source for opening and closing the transport container 92 is disposed in the transport container 92. The servo 70 is connected to the PWM controller of the control device 831. The drop control program registered in the RAM / ROM of the control device 831 operates the servo 70 according to an instruction from the operator (transmitter / receiver 81) to open and close the transport container 92. The unfolding operation of the transport container 92 by the servo 70 may be automatically performed on condition that, for example, the multicopter 91 has arrived at a preset coordinate position.

(Configuration outline of transport container)
The configuration of the transport container 92 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 is a perspective view of the transport container 92, FIG. 4 is a front view of the transport container 92, and FIG. Note that “front” and “rear” in the transport container of the present invention mean a relative positional relationship in the Z-axis direction indicated by the coordinate axis display in each figure, and the transport container 92 shown in FIG. Then, “front” refers to the left side, and “rear” refers to the right side. Similarly, “left” and “right” are relative positional relationships in the X-axis direction and mean the left and right sides of the transport container 92 shown in FIG. “Upper” and “lower” are relative positional relationships in the Y-axis direction, and mean the upper and lower sides of the transport container 92 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The transport container 92 mainly includes a main body 20 having a rectangular tube-shaped outer shape, a lid 30 that is two rectangular plate-like members that block openings at both ends of the main body 20, and a drive that opens and closes the main body 20. A servo 70 as a source, a synchronization mechanism 60 that synchronizes the opening and closing operations of the right half cylinder 21 and the left half cylinder 22 described later, and a fixed unit 50 that connects the transport container 92 and the multicopter 91 so as not to move relative to each other. It is configured.

(Body structure)
The main body 20 has a right half cylinder 21 and a left half cylinder 22 which are two half cylinders divided into left and right when viewed from any opening of the main body 20, and these half cylinders 21. , 22 each have a L-shaped cross section viewed from the opening (see FIG. 6).

The right bottom plate portion 21a and the left bottom plate portion 22a, which are lower halves of the right half cylinder body 21 and the left half cylinder body 22, constitute the bottom portion 20a of the transport container 92. In each of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a, when the end on the other side of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a is the front end and the opposite end is the rear end, the upper surfaces of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a are the rear ends. It is inclined downward at the same inclination angle from the tip to the tip. Further,

convex tooth portions

21d and 22d provided alternately along the longitudinal direction are formed at the tips of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a, and these

tooth portions

21d and 22d are closed on the bottom portion 20a. Sometimes they are engaged with each other.

In the present embodiment, the inclination angle of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a is 45 degrees. However, the inclination angle is determined on the condition that the two bottom plate portions have the same inclination angle. You may change suitably according to a magnitude | size. Moreover, in order to improve the bending rigidity with respect to each plane direction of the main-body part 20a, each

semi-cylinder body

21 and 22 in this embodiment is formed in an L-shaped cross section, and a tooth part in the front-end | tip of each

baseplate part

21a, 22a Although 21d and 22d are configured to mesh, such a shape and structure are not essential. Each semi-cylindrical body may have a semicircular or polygonal cross section depending on the shape and size of the dropped object, provided that the semi-cylindrical body has a cylindrical shape when the bottom is closed. Similarly, the upper surfaces of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a do not have to be flat surfaces, and there are curved surfaces or a plurality of flat surfaces whose inclination angles are gradually reduced from the rear end toward the front end (approaching the horizontal angle stepwise). It may be a continuous surface.

The fixed shaft 40 which is a common shaft body arranged in parallel with these upper end portions is provided at the upper end portions of the

half cylinders

21 and 22. In the vicinity of the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of each

half cylinder

21, 21, connecting

pieces

21c, 22c made of three plate-like members are located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of each

half cylinder

21, 22 and the center thereof. Each is arranged. The upper end portions of the

half cylinders

21 and 22 are rotatably supported on the fixed shaft 40 by the connecting

pieces

21c and 22c. Since the two

half cylinders

21 and 22 are rotatably supported by one fixed shaft 40, the structure of the main body portion 20 is simplified and the unfolding operation of the

half cylinders

21 and 22 is reduced. It is easy to control in places.

Further, on the outer peripheral surfaces of the

half cylinders

21 and 22, a plate-like member that extends to the lower end surrounding the corners of the

half cylinders

21 and 22 at the same position as the connecting

pieces

21c and 22c in the longitudinal direction thereof. The reinforcing

ribs

21b and 22b are provided, and the rigidity of the

half cylinders

21 and 22 is reinforced by the reinforcing

ribs

21b and 22b.

(Configuration of fixed unit)
The fixing unit 50 of the present embodiment includes an arm portion 52, a rod-like body 51, a horizontal plate 53, and a servo fixing plate 54 described below. The arm portion 52 is two plate-like members fixed to both end portions in the axial direction of the fixed shaft 40, and has two pieces extending obliquely upward and leftward to the left and right with the fixed shaft 40 as a base end. It has an arm part. The rod-shaped body 51 is two round pipes arranged in parallel with the axial direction of the fixed shaft 40, and both ends thereof are supported by the front ends of the arm portions 52 of the front and rear arms 52, respectively. The horizontal plate 53 is two plate-like members that are arranged behind the rod-like bodies 51 and connect the rod-like bodies 51 in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. The servo fixing plate 54 is a plate-like member that is disposed in the middle of the horizontal plate 53 in the longitudinal direction so that the end surface faces the longitudinal direction. The position of the servo 70 is fixed by being attached to the servo fixing plate 54. The fixing unit 50 may be any unit as long as it can fix the transport container 92 to the lower portion of the multicopter 91 so as not to be relatively movable, and can be appropriately changed according to the outer shape of the multicopter 91.

(Servo configuration)
The servo 70 is a drive source that opens and closes the transport container 92 as described above. An arm portion 71 that extends radially outward is attached to the output shaft of the servo 70. The arm portion 71 (and the output shaft) rotates in the vertical direction within a predetermined angle range in response to an instruction from the multicopter 91. The distal end of the arm part 71 is connected to the right half cylinder 21 via the connecting shaft 72, whereby the right half cylinder 21 rotates in the opening direction and the closing direction in conjunction with the vertical movement of the arm part 71. To do. The left half cylinder 22 is rotated in the opening direction and the closing direction in conjunction with the operation of the right half cylinder 21 by a synchronization mechanism 60 described later.

Both ends of the connecting shaft 72 are connected to the tip of the arm portion 71 and the connecting piece 21c on the rear side of the right half cylinder 21 by ball joints. Furthermore, the shaft body of the connecting shaft 72 is formed by connecting two halves divided at the center in the axial direction so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction, whereby the ball joints at both ends can be relatively rotated in the circumferential direction. It is said that. Due to the connecting shaft 72, the driving force of the servo 70 is converted from the vertical movement of the arm portion 71 about the output shaft of the servo 70 to the vertical movement of the right half cylinder 21 about the fixed shaft 40. To be transmitted.

(Configuration of synchronization mechanism)
The synchronization mechanism 60 includes a fixed link piece 61 and a movable link piece 62 which are flat link pieces in which long holes are formed along the longitudinal direction, and a common shaft body inserted through the long holes of all the link pieces. The fixed link piece 61 is fixed to the fixed shaft 40, and the movable link piece 62 is fixed to the vicinity of the upper end of the outer peripheral surfaces of the

half cylinders

21 and 22, respectively.

The fixed link piece 61 includes a front fixed link piece 611 and a rear fixed link piece 612 that are arranged at a predetermined interval along the axial direction of the fixed shaft 40. The fixed

link pieces

611 and 612 have their lengths. The holes 611a and 612a (612a is not shown) are arranged at an angle extending in the vertical direction.

The right movable link piece 621, which is the movable link piece 62 of the right half cylinder 21, and the left movable link piece 622, which is the movable link piece 62 of the left half cylinder 22, are connected pieces 21c of the

half cylinders

21, 22. , 22c is formed integrally with the

half cylinders

21, 22 arranged at the center in the longitudinal direction. Thereby, the right movable link piece 621 and the left movable link piece 622 rotate in the circumferential direction of the fixed shaft 40 around the fixed shaft 40 when the

half cylinders

21 and 22 are opened and closed.

The right movable link piece 621 and the left movable link piece 622 are disposed between the two fixed

link pieces

611 and 612 in the axial direction of the fixed shaft 40. Each of the

movable link pieces

621 and 622 has a main body portion such that only the portion of the

elongated holes

621a and 622a through which the movable shaft 63 is inserted overlaps the elongated holes 611a and 612a of the two fixed

link pieces

611 and 612. They are arranged at symmetrical angles in 20 circumferential directions. By disposing these

movable link pieces

621 and 622 between the two fixed

link pieces

611 and 612, the inclination of the movable shaft 63 is prevented, and the stability of the operation of the synchronization mechanism 60 is enhanced.

(Structure of the lid)
The structure of the lid 30 that closes the openings at both ends of the main body 20 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 7. The lid body 30 is composed of two plate-like members having substantially the same shape as the opening of the main body portion 20, and these lid bodies 30 are rotatably supported at both ends of the fixed shaft 40. The lid 30 includes a front rotary lid 31 disposed at the front end of the fixed shaft 40 and a rear rotary lid 32 disposed at the rear end. The

rotary lids

31 and 32 are elastic members. The coil springs 311 and 321 are always biased toward the main body 20 side.

Hereinafter, the front rotary lid 31 will be mainly described. However, the structure of the front rotary lid 31 described below is the same for the rear rotary lid 32. A connecting piece 31 a having a hole through which the fixed shaft 40 is inserted is formed at the upper end of the front rotary lid 31. The front rotary lid 31 is supported so as to be rotatable about the fixed shaft 40 in the circumferential direction by inserting the fixed shaft 40 through the connecting piece 31a.

As shown in FIG. 7, a positioning protrusion 313 that is a protrusion protruding toward the connection piece 31 a is formed on the end face of the base end portion of the arm portion 52 on the connection piece 31 a side (the front rotation lid 31 side). . When the front rotary lid 31 is arranged at an angle that closes the opening of the main body 20, a positioning hole 312 in which the positioning protrusion 313 is fitted is formed at a portion of the connecting piece 31 a corresponding to the position where the positioning protrusion 313 is formed. Is formed. Thereby, when the opening of the main body portion 20 is closed, the rotation of the front rotary lid 31 is restricted, and the front rotary lid 31 can be rotated by being separated from the transfer container 92 against the urging force of the coil spring 311.

When the fire extinguishing bullet 93 is accommodated in the transport container 92, when the main body portion 20 of the transport container 92 must be expanded and the fire extinguishing bullet 93 must be accommodated, the multicopter 91 is turned over together with the fuselage or the multicopter 91 is operated. It is necessary to remove the transfer container 92 from 91 and work. Since the transport container 92 includes the

rotary lids

31 and 32, the fire extinguishing bullets 93 can be accommodated in the transport container 92 from the opening in which the

rotary lids

31 and 32 are opened. Has been. In the present embodiment, both of the two lid bodies 30 are rotatable lids that can be opened and closed, but only one of these may be used as the rotary lid.

(Unfolding operation of transport container)
The unfolding operation of the transport container 92 will be described below with reference to FIG. In the transport container 92 in FIG. 6, the front rotary lid 31 that is the front lid body 30 and the display of the fixed unit 50 are omitted for convenience of explanation.

In the state where the multicopter 91 has landed, either one of the

rotary lids

31 and 32 of the transport container 92 is opened, the fire bomb 93 is accommodated in the transport container 92, and the multicopter 91 is caused to fly to the fire point. As described above, the flight to the fire point may be performed manually by the operator using the transceiver 81, or may be performed automatically by an autonomous flight program.

When the multicopter 91 arrives directly above the position where the fire bomb 93 is dropped at the fire point, the multi copter 91 is hovered at that position until the position of the fire bomb 93 within the transport container 92 is settled. Since the multicopter 91 is an unmanned airplane, there is no restriction for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the pilot regarding the approach to the fire point. Therefore, the multicopter 91 can be brought close to the fire point to the limit as long as the airframe does not deform or burn out.

Since the upper surfaces of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a in the present embodiment are inclined surfaces that are entirely flat, and these inclined surfaces are inclined at the same inclination angle, the fire extinguishing bullet 93 has two

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a. It is stably placed on the boundary line. When the position of the fire bomb 93 in the transport container 92 has settled, the drop control program read into the RAM of the control device 831 is sent to the servo 70 via the PWM controller in accordance with an instruction from the operator (transmitter / receiver 81). Send.

When the servo 70 receives the deployment signal, the servo 70 pulls the right half cylinder 21 upward through the arm portion 71 and the connecting shaft 72. When the right half cylinder 21 is pulled upward, the right movable link piece 621 of the right half cylinder 21 tilts toward the left half cylinder 22 so that the angle of the elongated hole 621a approaches the horizontal position, thereby The movable shaft 63 is pushed downward in the long holes 611a and 612a of the fixed link piece 61. When the movable shaft 63 moves downward through the long holes 611a and 612a of the fixed link piece 61, the left movable link piece 622 of the left half cylinder 22 is also interlocked with it so that the angle of the long hole 622a approaches the horizontal position. Tilt to the right half cylinder 21 side. As a result, the two half cylinders 21 and 22 (two

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a) are developed simultaneously and symmetrically.

Since the transport container 92 has the synchronization mechanism 60, the opening / closing angles of the two half-

cylinders

21 and 22 are determined in a unified manner by the position of the movable shaft 63 in the long holes 612 a and 622 a of the fixed link 61. Become. Thereby, when one of the two

half cylinders

21 and 22 is opened and closed, the other half cylinder is also opened and closed in conjunction with the operation, and the opening and closing timing of these two

half cylinders

21 and 22; The synchronization of the opening / closing speed and the opening / closing angle is structurally ensured.

Thus, the same inclination which comprises bottom 20a of conveyance container 92 from the state where transfer container 92 which can develop bottom 20a is fixed to multicopter 91 provided with a plurality of rotary blades 911, and multicopter 91 is hovered. By deploying the two

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a inclined at an angle in a simultaneous and symmetrical locus, the fire bomb 93 is prevented from rolling off from any of the

bottom plate portions

21a and 22a when the bottom portion 20a is deployed. The fire extinguishing bullet 93 accommodated in the transport container 92 can be dropped vertically downward.

In the transport container 92 of this embodiment, in order to avoid providing a plurality of drive sources, the servo 70 is connected only to the right half cylinder 21, and the left half cylinder 22 is synchronized with the right half cylinder by the synchronization mechanism 60. However, naturally, each of the

half cylinders

21 and 22 may be provided with a servo 70, and the synchronization mechanism 60 may be omitted and a rotary encoder, for example, may be used. It is also possible to electronically control the synchronization of the two

half cylinders

21 and 22 separately by feedback control or the like.

(Other embodiments)
Below, other embodiment concerning the vertical dropping apparatus of this invention is described. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a vertical dropping device 90b according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the vertical dropping device 90b. In the following description, components having the same or the same functions as those of the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the previous embodiment, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In addition to the configuration of the vertical drop device 90 according to the previous embodiment, the vertical drop device 90b is provided with a camera unit 88 that is directed vertically downward when the bottom portion 20a is closed on the right bottom plate portion 21a of the right half cylinder 21. Yes. As a result, the operator can adjust the dropping position while visually confirming the position where the fire bullet 93 is expected to drop at the fire point with the video taken by the camera unit 88. Thereby, it is possible to remarkably improve the accuracy of hitting the fire bomb 93 during manual operation.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the vertical dropping devices 90 and 90b in the embodiment are used for dropping fire extinguishing bombs 93 to a fire point, but the dropped object of the vertical dropping device of the present invention is not limited to the fire extinguishing bomb 93, and its use is also fire. It is not limited to fire extinguishing. The vertical dropping device of the present invention can be widely applied to a predetermined position on land or water in applications where it is necessary to drop solid matter from the sky with a certain degree of accuracy.

Claims

A small unmanned aerial vehicle with a plurality of rotor blades;
A transport container capable of containing and dropping a dropped article;
An actuator for operating the transport container, and a vertical dropping device comprising:
The transport container is fixed to the lower part of the small unmanned aerial vehicle so as not to move relative to it.
The bottom part of the transport container is composed of two bottom plate parts arranged side by side in the width direction,
In each of the bottom plate portions, when the end portion on the bottom plate portion side which is the other is the front end and the opposite end portion is the rear end,
The upper surface of each bottom plate portion is inclined downward at the same inclination angle from the rear end toward the tip,
The vertical dropping device characterized in that the two bottom plate portions can be developed simultaneously and in a symmetrical locus.
The transport container has a main body having a cylindrical outer shape when the bottom is closed, and two lids that close the openings at both ends of the main body,
The main body has two half-cylinders divided into left and right as viewed from any of the openings,
The lower half of the two half cylinders constitutes the bottom,
The upper end of each half cylinder is supported by a fixed shaft, which is a common shaft disposed in parallel with the upper end, so as to be rotatable along the circumferential direction of the fixed shaft,
The vertical dropping device according to claim 1, wherein the two half cylinders can be deployed simultaneously and in a symmetrical locus.
The main body has a rectangular tube-shaped outer shape when the bottom is closed,
Each of the half cylinders has an L-shaped cross section viewed from any of the openings,
At the tips of the two bottom plate portions, convex tooth portions provided alternately along the longitudinal direction are formed,
The vertical dropping device according to claim 2, wherein when the bottom portion is closed, teeth of the two bottom plate portions are engaged with each other.
The transport container further includes a synchronization mechanism that synchronizes opening and closing operations of the two half cylinders,
The synchronization mechanism has a fixed link piece and two movable link pieces which are link pieces in which long holes are formed, and a movable shaft which is a common shaft body inserted through the long holes of all the link pieces. ,
The fixed link piece is fixed to the fixed shaft, and the two movable link pieces are fixed to the vicinity of the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of each half cylinder,
The fixed link piece is arranged at an angle that the elongated hole extends in the vertical direction,
Each movable link piece is arranged at a symmetrical angle with respect to the fixed link piece so that only the portion of the elongated hole through which the movable shaft is inserted overlaps the elongated hole of the fixed link piece. The vertical dropping device according to claim 2, wherein the vertical dropping device is provided.
Two of the fixed link pieces are arranged at a predetermined interval along the axial direction of the fixed shaft,
The vertical dropping device according to claim 4, wherein each movable link piece is disposed between the two fixed link pieces in the axial direction.
The vertical dropping device according to claim 4, wherein the actuator is connected to only one of the two half cylinders.
At least one of the two lids is a rotary lid supported on the fixed shaft so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction around the fixed shaft,
The rotating lid is constantly urged toward the main body by an elastic member,
The rotation of the rotating lid is restricted at a position where the opening is blocked,
The vertical dropping device according to claim 2, wherein the rotary lid is rotatable by being pulled away from the transfer container against an urging force of the elastic member.
The vertical dropping device according to claim 1, wherein a camera that faces vertically downward when the bottom is closed is disposed on the bottom.