JP7731164B2 - Winch System - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a winch system.

Conventionally, there is a known method of inspecting the interior of a facility by suspending a camera from above using a cable or similar device. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a device that suspends a camera from the top opening of a shaft to check the state of corrosion inside the shaft.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2016-223164

Furthermore, if a drone equipped with a camera is suspended by a cable to inspect inside a facility, it would be difficult to control the drone and perform operations such as winding and unwinding the cable at the same time.

This disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a winch system that makes it easy to control both the aircraft suspended by the cable and the cable itself.

According to the present disclosure, an electric winch connected to a cable that suspends an airframe having a thrust generating unit;
a receiving unit that receives a control signal from a control device;
a signal generating unit that generates a winch operation signal that instructs operation of the electric winch based on the operation signal received by the receiving unit,
the control signal includes information on an ascending instruction or a descending instruction for the aircraft,
A winch system is provided, characterized in that the signal generating unit generates the winch operation signal including winding instruction information based on the raising instruction, and generates the winch operation signal including payout instruction information based on the lowering instruction.

This disclosure provides a winch system that can easily control both the aircraft suspended by the cable and the cable itself.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the winch system according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a machine body according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a deflection suppression device according to the embodiment;

Preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that in this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configuration will be assigned the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

<Overview>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an inspection system 1 (hereinafter also simply referred to as the "system") according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system 1 according to this embodiment can be used for a variety of tasks, such as various inspections and repairs of chimneys, various manufacturing furnaces, structures, equipment, piping, etc., or checking instruments in factories, etc. The target facility is not particularly limited, but can be a facility with an opening at the top. In the example of FIG. 1, an interior wall W can be photographed and inspected using a camera mounted on a machine body 10 suspended in an interior space A of the target facility.

As shown in FIG. 1, the system 1 includes an aircraft 10, a cable 20 that suspends the aircraft 10 from above, an electric winch 30 that reels in and pays out the cable 20, and a control device 40 that controls the aircraft 10 and the electric winch 30.

The aircraft 10 in this example is an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) that can fly without being suspended by a cable 20 and can be controlled to any position and any attitude. The aircraft 10 is capable of ascending (levitating), descending, hovering (stopping in the air), horizontal movement such as forward, backward, left, and right, and turning using the thrust obtained from the thrust generating unit 11. Note that, because the aircraft 10 is supported by the cable 20, it is not necessary for it to obtain upward thrust from the thrust generating unit 11. The aircraft 10 is not limited to this and may have a structure that is unable to levitate under its own power.

The aircraft 10 comprises a thrust generating unit 11 and a main body 12 that supports the thrust generating unit 11. The main body has a frame as a support structure and a cover that protects electronic components mounted on the frame. The frame that constitutes the main body is not particularly limited, but may be made of any of the following materials, or a combination of these: carbon fiber resin, glass fiber resin, magnesium, magnesium alloy, aluminum, aluminum alloy, steel, titanium, or other materials.

The thrust generating unit 11 includes, for example, multiple rotors, a motor for rotating the rotors, a battery for supplying power, and the like. Each rotor that makes up the thrust generating unit can generate an upward thrust, and by changing the rotation direction of the rotor, a downward thrust can also be generated. The thrust generating unit can also generate thrust for parallel movement (horizontal movement) in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions. The thrust generating unit can also generate thrust in the turning direction. The thrust generating unit can also change the direction (attitude) and inclination of the aircraft. In this embodiment, the rotors are provided at four locations around the aircraft (one on each side of the front and rear), but the present invention is not limited to this example. For example, the rotors may be provided at six or eight locations around the aircraft. The number of rotors provided can be changed as appropriate depending on the structure, shape, equipment, size, etc. of the aircraft 1.

The frame of the aircraft 10 supports components related to rotor control and power, such as circuit boards, flight controllers, ESCs (electric speed controllers), sensors, and batteries. A control circuit including a flight controller may be mounted on the frame. The battery supplies power to the motor, camera, and sensors, and the flight controller controls the motor's rotation speed and other parameters. The flight controller may have one or more processors 23b, such as a central processing unit (CPU) or a programmable processor such as an FPGA (field-programmable gate array). The flight controller has and can access memory. The memory stores logic, code, and/or program instructions that the flight controller can execute to perform one or more steps. The memory or other storage unit may include a separable medium or an external storage device, such as an SD card or random access memory (RAM). Data acquired from the camera/sensor may be directly transmitted to and stored in memory. For example, still and video data captured by the camera may be recorded in an internal or external memory. The flight controller includes a control module configured to control the state of the airframe 10. For example, the control module controls the motors of the airframe 10 via the ESC to adjust the spatial orientation, velocity, and/or acceleration of the airframe 10, which has six degrees of freedom (translational motion x, y, and z, and rotational motion θx, θy, and θz). The sensors may include, for example, inertial sensors (inertial measurement units such as an IMU (Inertial Measurement Sensor)), acceleration sensors, gyro sensors, GPS sensors, wind sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, barometric pressure sensors, altitude sensors, proximity sensors such as LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging), or vision/image sensors other than cameras. The sensor may be mounted on the flight controller or may be provided externally to the flight controller. The camera may be any camera. For example, the camera may be a general camera, an infrared camera, a stereo camera, or the like. For example, the camera may include a camera for use in self-position estimation and a camera for capturing images of the subject.

The attitude of the aircraft 10 may be controlled by a flight controller based on inputs obtained from appropriate sensors. Furthermore, attitude control of the aircraft 10 may be performed by adjusting the thrust obtained from the thrust generating unit 11, or by moving the cable 20 vertically or horizontally (forward/backward/left/right, or diagonally), or both. Specifically, when a target value is set so that the aircraft 10's attitude relative to the horizontal direction is 0 degrees, attitude feedback control may involve controlling the rotation speed of each rotor, or may involve controlling the horizontal and vertical movement of the cable 20. This makes it possible to suppress horizontal movement of the aircraft 10 and more reliably maintain its attitude, even if the aircraft 10's attitude tilts due to wind or drift. Note that the number of rotors generating thrust is not particularly limited, but to further stabilize the attitude of the aircraft 10, four or more rotors are preferable. Furthermore, the thrust generating unit may be realized by a mechanism other than a rotor.

Furthermore, when rotating the aircraft 10 along a horizontal plane (so-called rotation around a yaw axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane), this may be achieved by twisting the cable 20 or by controlling the rotation of the rotors. Controlling rotation around the yaw axis using the rotors can be achieved, for example, by varying the rotation direction of each of the four rotors, thereby rotating the aircraft 10 around the yaw axis. Specifically, the rotation direction of the two rotors on the right front and left rear (first rotors) is set counterclockwise, and the rotation direction of the rotors on the left front and right rear (second rotors) is set clockwise, and the rotation speeds of the first rotor and second rotor are controlled to be different, thereby rotating the aircraft 10 around the yaw axis. The rotation directions of the first rotor and second rotor may be opposite to each other.

Aircraft 10 is equipped with one or more cameras, which can capture images of the area around aircraft 10 and acquire image data (including still images and video). The cameras may be installed facing up and down, front and back, left and right of aircraft 10, and there are no particular restrictions on their location on aircraft 10. For example, they may be installed on the front side of aircraft 10, facing forward (with the camera facing forward).

The aircraft 10 has a communication unit for sending and receiving signals to the control device 40 and other external devices. The aircraft 10 can transmit data acquired by cameras, sensors, etc. to external devices including the control device 40 via the communication unit. The data acquired by the aircraft 10 may be stored in a memory unit provided on the aircraft 10, or may be transmitted to and stored in an external device. The communication unit can use any appropriate communication means, such as wired communication or wireless communication. The communication unit can use one or more of any communication method, such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), infrared, wireless, Wi-Fi, point-to-point (P2P) network, telecommunications network, or cloud communication.

The flight controller receives control signals from the control device 40 via the communication unit, and controls the thrust generating unit 11 based on the control signals, thereby controlling operations such as movement and rotation. It is also possible to operate the camera in response to signals from the control device 40. Camera operation includes starting and stopping filming, zooming, changing the camera orientation, etc. It is also possible to control various sensors and lights provided on the aircraft 10 based on control signals from the control device 40. It is preferable that the center of gravity of the aircraft 10 is located approximately in the center of the aircraft 10 when viewed from above, but this is not limited to this.

As shown in Figure 3, a rotary joint 7 may be provided on the cable 20. The rotary joint 7 is configured to be freely rotatable, and rotation (twist) of the cable 20 connected to one side of the rotary joint 7 (e.g., the lower side in Figure 3) is not transmitted to the cable 20 connected to the other side of the rotary joint 7 (e.g., the upper side in Figure 3). With this configuration, even when the aircraft rotates around the yaw axis, the cable 20 does not twist, and is therefore not affected by reaction forces in the torsional direction, making it easier to control the aircraft. The position of the rotary joint 7 is not particularly limited and can be provided at any position, but it is preferably provided on the main section 50 near the connection section 52.

As shown in Figure 3, a weight 8 may also be attached to the cable 20. By providing the weight 8, the aircraft and cable 20 are less susceptible to air currents, improving stability. Furthermore, even if a weight 8 is provided, the aircraft is supported by the cable 20, so there is almost no effect on battery consumption when controlling the aircraft. The weight 8 may be located above or below the rotary joint 7, or may be integrated with the rotary joint 7. The location of the weight 8 is not particularly limited, and it may be located in one or more positions on the main portion 20a of the cable 20, each branch portion 20b, or connection portion 20c, or on the aircraft.

Also, as shown in Figure 3, the aircraft may be provided with a light 9 that emits light. The position and orientation of the light 9 are not particularly limited, but it is preferable that the light 9 be positioned so that it illuminates the shooting direction and shooting range of the camera 6. In the illustrated example, the light 9 is provided to illuminate the front of the aircraft, corresponding to the camera 6 that shoots images in front of the aircraft. In the illustrated example, the light 9 is located above the camera 6, but it may be located below, on the left, or right side of the camera 6.

One end of the cable 20 is connected to the aircraft 10, and the other end is connected to the electric winch 30. The cable 20 suspends and supports the aircraft 10. The cable 20 may, for example, branch midway and be connected to the four corners at the top of the main body 12 of the aircraft 10, or it may be connected to the center of the main body without branching.

The material from which cable 20 is made is not particularly limited. Cable 20 may be made of, for example, fiber, metal, or hard plastic, and may be made of different materials in parts, or may have other rods, plates, etc. installed in parts.

The cable 20 may include a power cable capable of supplying power, a communication cable capable of transmitting and receiving signals, etc. (see reference numeral 21 in Figure 3). This allows power to be supplied to the machine 10 from a power supply unit provided on the electric winch 30 side, data such as control signals to the machine 10 to be transmitted, and conversely, various data such as image data to be transmitted from the machine 10 to an information processing device provided on the electric winch 30 side.

The electric winch 30 constitutes a winch system S together with a communication unit (receiver) 31 that receives control signals from the control device 40 and a control unit (signal generator) 32 that generates winch operation signals that instruct the operation of the electric winch 30 based on the control signals received by the communication unit 31. The winch system S may also include other components, such as a memory unit. The communication unit 31 may be capable of transmitting signals from the electric winch 30 to the control device 40, the aircraft 10, and other external devices, or may be configured to only receive signals without transmitting them. The control unit 32 generates winch operation signals based on the control signals from the control device 40 while referencing information pre-stored in a memory unit (not shown), and controls the motor that constitutes the electric winch 30. The winch operation signals include information such as the motor's rotation direction, rotation speed, and rotation angle. Controlling the motor with the winch operation signal allows the cable 20 to be started, stopped, or its speed to be changed. The electric winch 30 includes a motor and a power supply unit for rotating the motor. The power supply may be, for example, an external power source or a rechargeable battery. The electric winch 30, electronic components, battery, etc. provided in the winch system S are preferably covered by a waterproof case, waterproof cover, etc.

The winch system S includes a support unit 33 that supports the electric winch 30 and a guide unit 34 that guides the cable 20. The support unit 33 includes a base unit 33a, such as a tripod, that can be placed on the ground, the top surface of a facility, etc., a support unit 33b extending from the base unit 33a, and an arm unit 33c extending from the support unit 33b. The support unit 33b and the arm unit 33c are provided with one or more guide rollers as the guide unit 34. In this example, guide rollers are provided at the connection between the support unit 33b and the arm unit 33c and at the tip of the arm unit 33c. The base unit 33a, the support unit 33b, and the arm unit 33c may be folded to make the entire system compact and portable. The support unit 33b and the arm unit 33c may each be able to extend and retract, rotate, tilt in any of the forward/backward, left/right, up/down directions, or bend. This allows the positions of the cable 20 and the aircraft 10 to be controlled in a planar view. The operation of the support section 33b and the arm section 33c may be controlled by the control section 32 based on control signals from the control device 40, or they may be manually extended, rotated, tilted, bent, etc. For example, by extending the arm section 33c in the direction in which the arm section 33c extends horizontally, the position of the aircraft 10 can be moved in the direction in which the arm section 33c extends. In this case, the electric winch 30 may be controlled to pay out the cable 20 so that the height of the aircraft 10 does not change.

The support post 33b is provided with a connecting portion to which a wire, string, etc. can be connected to prevent the support post 33 from tipping over. The connecting portion may be, for example, ring-shaped, hook-shaped, or have another connecting structure. By extending the wire connected to the connecting portion on the opposite side from the arm post 33c and connecting it to the ground or another heavy object, it is possible to prevent the support post 33 from tipping over toward the arm post 33c due to the weight of the arm post 33c and the aircraft body 10. The connecting portion is preferably provided in the upper portion from the center of the support post 33b.

Here, if the cable 20 sags when being wound by the electric winch 30, the cable 20 may become tangled and irregularly wound around the electric winch 30. Therefore, in this example, as shown in FIG. 4, a sag suppression device 35 is provided on the support column 33b to prevent the cable 20 from sagging when being wound by the electric winch 30. The sag suppression device 35 is located above the electric winch 30 and sandwiches the cable 20 between the first roller 35a and the second roller 35b, thereby maintaining tension in the cable 20 between the electric winch 30 and the sag suppression device 35. This suppresses sagging of the cable 20 being wound by the electric winch 30 and prevents irregular winding. In this example, the first roller 35a is rotatably fixed to the first support portion 35c, and the second roller 35b is rotatably fixed to the second support portion 35d. The second support portion 35d is held so as to be able to swing (rotate) around the rotation axis 35e relative to the first support portion 35c, and is biased toward the first support portion 35c by a biasing member such as a spring. By opening the second support portion 35d in a direction away from the first support portion 35c, the cable 20 can be sandwiched between the first roller 35a and the second roller 35b or removed. It is preferable that the outer surface of at least one of the first roller 35a and the second roller 35b be provided with an anti-slip portion made of rubber, elastomer, or the like.

The length of the cable 20 can be adjusted by winding and unwinding the electric winch 30. Depending on the length (unwinding amount) of the cable 20, the aircraft 10 moves up and down, allowing, for example, the camera's shooting height to be changed. The installation location of the electric winch 30 is not particularly limited and may be inside or outside the flight environment. Also, by installing guide rollers above the aircraft 10 to support the cable 20, for example, the electric winch 30 can be placed below the aircraft. For example, the electric winch 30 may be located on the ground outside or inside the facility to be inspected.

The electric winch 30 performs control of winding, unwinding, etc. based on input from the control device 40, but may also be partially controlled autonomously according to a program, etc.

The control signal from the control device 40 includes, for example, information instructing the aircraft 10 to ascend or descend. The signal generation unit 32 generates a winch operation signal including information instructing it to reel in based on an ascending instruction, and generates a winch operation signal including information instructing it to pay out based on a descending instruction. As a result, the electric winch 30 can automatically reel in the cable 20 and raise the aircraft 10 simply by the operator instructing the aircraft 10 to ascend by, for example, tilting the control stick provided on the control device 40 to one side or sliding an operation icon displayed on the touch panel to one side. Similarly, the electric winch 30 can automatically pay out the cable 20 and lower the aircraft 10 simply by the operator manually operating the control device 40 to instruct the aircraft 10 to descend.

The control device 40 transmits control signals to control the thrust generating unit 11 of the aircraft 10, and can be, for example, a transmitter/receiver (radio transmitter) for controlling a conventional unmanned aerial vehicle, or an information processing device such as a smartphone or tablet terminal, but is not limited to these.

The control device 40 can control the operation of the thrust generating unit 11 and the electric winch 30 of the aircraft 10. The control device 40 can transmit control signals (control instruction information) to the communication unit provided on the aircraft 10 and the receiving unit 31 connected to the electric winch 30. The control signals include information that instructs the aircraft 10 to ascend, descend, stop, move horizontally forward, backward, left, right, and diagonally, and turn left and right, etc. In other words, the control signals can include information to control the orientation of the aircraft 10 and information to control the parallel position (horizontal position) of the aircraft 10.

The control device 40 can also transmit signals to control the cameras, sensors, etc. installed on the aircraft 10, such as control instruction signals to start and stop recording, operate the zoom, change the camera orientation, control various sensors installed on the aircraft 10, and turn lights on and off.

The control device 40 has an input unit that accepts manual operation by the user (operator). The input unit can be, for example, a pair of rod-shaped control sticks (left and right), a rotary dial, a push button, various icons displayed on a touch panel screen, or a microphone for voice input, but is not particularly limited as long as it accepts input from the user. The control device 40 may also be capable of transmitting control signals based on travel route information or an autonomous flight program using sensing (e.g., a GCS (Ground Control Station)).

In the system of this embodiment, a single control device 40 can simultaneously control the aircraft 10 and the electric winch 30. This simplifies operations to control the position and attitude of the aircraft 10 suspended by the cable 20. Furthermore, by performing work with the aircraft 10 suspended by the cable 20, it is possible to prevent the aircraft 10 from falling or becoming unable to be recovered within the facility. Furthermore, by suspending the aircraft 10 by the cable 20, the thrust generating unit 11 of the aircraft 10 does not need to generate upward thrust greater than its own weight, reducing battery consumption and enabling extended use. Furthermore, there is no need to control the aircraft 10 when hovering in the air, making it easier to control.

The present embodiment has been described above, but the above embodiment is intended to facilitate understanding of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. The present invention may be modified or improved without departing from its spirit, and equivalents thereof are also included within the present invention.

In the above embodiment, when the aircraft is suspended by the tether, the thrust generating unit generates an upward force (thrust force DF2) that is smaller than the force of gravity G acting on the aircraft, thereby reducing the strain on the cable 20 (see Figure 3). However, this is not limited to this, and the thrust generating unit may also be configured to generate a downward force on the aircraft. Note that the thrust generating unit may also temporarily generate an upward force (thrust force DF2) that is greater than the force of gravity G acting on the aircraft.

In the above embodiment, autonomous control is described as being performed by the aircraft's flight controller, but the present technology is not limited to this example. In other words, this autonomous flight control method is not limited to edge processing on the aircraft, but may instead involve another autonomous control device remotely performing the above-mentioned correction processing, transmitting the processing results to the aircraft, and controlling the drive unit based on these results. In other words, the main hardware that executes this autonomous flight control method is not particularly limited, and the above-mentioned functional units may be executed by multiple pieces of hardware. The same applies to the control unit 32 of the electric winch 30.

Furthermore, the effects described in this specification are merely descriptive or exemplary and are not limiting. In other words, the technology disclosed herein may achieve other effects in addition to or in place of the above-mentioned effects that would be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description herein.

The following configurations also fall within the technical scope of the present disclosure.
(Item 1)
an electric winch connected to a cable that suspends the airframe having the thrust generating unit;
a receiving unit that receives a control signal from a control device;
a signal generating unit that generates a winch operation signal that instructs operation of the electric winch based on the operation signal received by the receiving unit,
the control signal includes information on an ascending instruction or a descending instruction for the aircraft,
The winch system is characterized in that the signal generating unit generates the winch operation signal including winding instruction information based on the ascending instruction, and generates the winch operation signal including payout instruction information based on the descending instruction.
(Item 2)
a support portion that supports the electric winch;
The winch system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a guide portion that guides the cable.
(Item 3)
The winch system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control signal includes information for controlling the orientation of the aircraft.
(Item 4)
The winch system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control signal includes information for controlling the parallel position of the aircraft body.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Winch system 10 Airframe 20 Cable 30 Electric winch 31 Receiving unit 32 Signal generating unit 40 Control device

Claims (7)

an electric winch connected to a cable that suspends and supports a vehicle body including a thrust generating unit;
a receiving unit that receives a control signal transmitted from a control device to a communication unit of the aircraft without passing through the cable;
a signal generating unit that generates a winch operation signal that instructs operation of the electric winch based on the operation signal received by the receiving unit,
the control signal includes information on an ascending instruction or a descending instruction for the aircraft,
the signal generating unit generates the winch operation signal including information on a winding instruction based on the raising instruction, and generates the winch operation signal including information on a payout instruction based on the lowering instruction,
the thrust generating unit generates an upward thrust or a downward thrust that is smaller than the gravity acting on the airframe ,
a deflection restraint device is provided that is located between the aircraft body and the electric winch;
A winch system characterized in that the deflection suppression device prevents deflection of the cable by maintaining tension in the cable between the electric winch and the deflection suppression device when the cable is wound by the electric winch . a support portion that supports the electric winch;
The winch system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a guide portion that guides the cable. A winch system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control signal includes information for controlling the orientation of the aircraft. A winch system as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the control signal includes information for controlling the parallel position of the aircraft. The winch system of claim 1, wherein the cable is not a power cable. The winch system described in claim 1, wherein the thrust generating unit generates an upward thrust that is smaller than the gravity acting on the aircraft. the deflection suppression device includes a pair of rollers that sandwich the cable between the electric winch and the deflection suppression device,
The winch system according to claim 1 , wherein an outer surface of at least one of the pair of rollers is provided with an anti-slip portion .