WO2009153588A1 - Compact unmanned aerial vehicle - Google Patents

Compact unmanned aerial vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2009153588A1
WO2009153588A1 PCT/GB2009/050661 GB2009050661W WO2009153588A1 WO 2009153588 A1 WO2009153588 A1 WO 2009153588A1 GB 2009050661 W GB2009050661 W GB 2009050661W WO 2009153588 A1 WO2009153588 A1 WO 2009153588A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
uav
rotor
rotors
airframe
undercarriage
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/GB2009/050661
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Stephen Dominic Prior
Tom Foran
Mehmet Ali Erbil
Siddharth Odedra
Mehmet Karamanoglu
Original Assignee
Middlesex University Higher Education Corporation
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Middlesex University Higher Education Corporation filed Critical Middlesex University Higher Education Corporation
Publication of WO2009153588A1 publication Critical patent/WO2009153588A1/en

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C27/00—Rotorcraft; Rotors peculiar thereto
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U10/00—Type of UAV
    • B64U10/10—Rotorcrafts
    • B64U10/13—Flying platforms
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64C—AEROPLANES; HELICOPTERS
    • B64C29/00—Aircraft capable of landing or taking-off vertically, e.g. vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft
    • B64C29/0008—Aircraft capable of landing or taking-off vertically, e.g. vertical take-off and landing [VTOL] aircraft having its flight directional axis horizontal when grounded
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U20/00—Constructional aspects of UAVs
    • B64U20/60—UAVs characterised by the material
    • B64U20/65—Composite materials
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U30/00—Means for producing lift; Empennages; Arrangements thereof
    • B64U30/20—Rotors; Rotor supports
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U80/00—Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs
    • B64U80/60—Transport or storage specially adapted for UAVs by wearable objects, e.g. garments or helmets
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U2101/00—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications
    • B64U2101/30—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography
    • B64U2101/31—UAVs specially adapted for particular uses or applications for imaging, photography or videography for surveillance
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B64—AIRCRAFT; AVIATION; COSMONAUTICS
    • B64U—UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES [UAV]; EQUIPMENT THEREFOR
    • B64U60/00—Undercarriages
    • B64U60/40—Undercarriages foldable or retractable

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to unmanned aerial vehicles, hereinafter called UAVs. It is particularly concerned with such vehicles employed in surveillance operations when the vehicle is required to be relatively manoeuvrable.
  • UAVs are employed in a growing variety of contexts. Although perhaps their primary use has been in the fields of military security and policing, their use is growing in such fields as animal migration watching, land and crop surveying and resource or lost item searching and search and rescue operations
  • the present invention provides a UAV which combines valuable payload/endurance parameters with compactness.
  • a UAV according to the present invention has an airframe supporting a tri-rotor triangular array, each tri-rotor comprising a pair of rotors on the same axis and arranged to contra-rotate. In this way lift may be maximised and dynamic problems reduced.
  • each rotor has three blades.
  • the layout of the triangular array may be that of an isosceles triangle, but for maximum manoeuvrability an equilateral triangle layout is preferred.
  • the airframe may comprise three arms with one of said pair of rotors at each extremity thereof. Accordingly therefore the array may be seen to comprise an upper rotor bank and a lower rotor bank.
  • the airframe is preferably formed from a material having a high strength to weight ratio.
  • a material based on woven carbon fibre is accordingly a strong candidate. It can be particularly valuable from the point of view of stowage for the airframe arms to be detachable one from the other or each from a central body portion.
  • the rotors are advantageously detachable for stowage, and preferably detachably mountable upon the central body portion.
  • the UAV incorporates antennae these too are preferably arranged to be stowable.
  • the airframe may also incorporate an undercarriage in the form, for example of three legs, which also are preferably stowable.
  • UAV in accordance with the present invention which can lift a payload of up to 1 kg for 15 minutes. Either of these parameters may be increased if the UAV flies on a wire bringing power from a battery not mounted thereon.
  • the UAV may otherwise be controlled remotely by an operator, or even perform certain tasks, for example "nightwatchman tasks" autonomously. That is to say that it can be arranged for control in the directions up, down, forward, backward, pitch and yaw (as distinct from say a quadrilateral rotor system where roll control may also be required).
  • a UAV in accordance with the invention may carry are infra-red, thermal imaging and digital cameras, a video camera and a mini synthetic aperture radar (mini SAR). Any of these may be mounted on a gimballed base associated with a central portion of the airframe. Miniature camera devices may be mounted at the extremity of each arm.
  • the UAV may also incorporate global positioning (GPS) apparatus.
  • GPS global positioning
  • a typical inventory of uses to which a UAV in accordance with the invention may be put includes:
  • a UAV in accordance with the invention may incorporate a parachute or helium inflatable balloon to reduce the rate of descent in an emergency.
  • each rotor has a discrete motor. In this way, with each rotor station comprising two rotors, the failure of one, for example at one station, may be arranged to cause all motors at that level to stop and the three remaining rotors to allow the UAV to make a controlled descent.
  • a preferred embodiment of a UAV in accordance with the invention constructed as above described, can be made with a maximum lateral dimension of the order of 70cm and a maximum deployed height of 30cm, using three bladed rotors of blade length 5 inches (12.7cm) can carry 1 kg for up to 15 minutes in an autonomous context.
  • a digital camera weighs 144 grams and a thermal imaging camera of the order of 153 grams.
  • Figure 1 is a schematic isometric sketch of a compact UAV
  • Figure 2 is front elevation sketch of the compact UAV
  • Figure 3 is a plan view of the compact UAV.
  • a UAV having an airframe comprising three double arms, an upper set 10a, 10b, 10c, and a lower set 1 1a, 1 1 b, 1 1c, a battery box 12, a guidance dome 13 and a payload carrier 14.
  • the three arms are in equilateral triangle array.
  • the payload carrier 14 is gimballed so that it can pan and tilt its payload with respect to the airframe.
  • Servos 15 control the pan and tilt of the payload carrier.
  • each upper arm Mounted on the end of each upper arm is an outrunner motor 20 having an associated upward facing rotor 21. Mounted below the end of each lower arm is an outrunner motor 22 with an associated rotor 23. Mounted on the airframe arms inboard of the motors 20, 22 are electronic speed controllers 24.
  • the rotors 21 , 23 are three bladed and formed of a plastics material.
  • the battery box 12 contains a rechargeable battery for powering the motors.
  • a video camera 27 At the extremity of the lower arm 1 1a, deemed the lead arm, is a video camera 27.
  • the camera 27 is powered by a battery 28 mounted on an arm 11.
  • This UAV embodiment is shewn with a video camera 30 and a thermal camera 31 carried on the payload carrier. These cameras are readily interchangeable with others, for example digital still and infra red cameras.
  • Ground support legs branch out from each lower arm 11.
  • a ground controller (not shewn) provides signals via one of the antennae 26 to the flight control device 25.
  • the flight of the UAV is controlled, with the speed controllers 24 controlling the speed of the motors 20, 22. This affects the attitude, rise and descent, forward motion and turn of the UAV.
  • the rotors 21 , 23 contra- rotate with respect one to the other.
  • the cameras 27, 30 and 31 may be operating and transmitting pictures back to the ground controller and/or elsewhere, via one of the antennae 26.
  • the MicropilotTM is arranged to switch off the other two motors at that level. This enables the UAV to descend at a controlled rate.
  • the airframe arms and battery box are formed from woven carbon fibre sheet 2mm thick.
  • the motors 20, 22 are Axi 2217/20 brushless motors each weighing 71.2 grams.
  • the rotors 21 , 23 are GWS 1060 plastics rotors with three 5" (12.7cm) long blades. The rotors each weigh 15.9 grams.
  • the rotors are mounted to the motors via Axi Prop saver devices 32.
  • the miniature UAV autopilot is a MicropilotTM MP2028, which weighs 28 grams. This features GPS waypoint navigation with altitude and airspeed hold and is susceptible of completely independent operation. Thus it can be both preprogrammed to fly a particular flight envelope or be guided by a "ground-based" operator, such as one employing HORIZONTM ground control software.
  • the electronic speed controllers (ESCs) 24 are YGE-18i ESC devices. These weigh 14 grams each.
  • Suitable rechargeable batteries are preferably lithium based, eg lithium-iron, Li-poly or Li-metal. Of these, Li-poly batteries are preferred because they are easy to manufacture in small sizes and have a very low self-discharge rate. At typical example therefore is a MaxxAmp 14.8v (S) 800OmAh Li-poly 4S2P battery.
  • the camera control batteries may be commercial 9v batteries each weighing 47.8 grams.
  • the servos 15 are Hitec HS-77BB servo devices. They weigh 35 grams.
  • the camera 27 is a Black Widow KV 141/90/PAL 480 line camera. Typical other cameras for mounting in the payload carrier may be a Photon thermal camera, a 310 line colour CMOS camera, and a Pentax S60 6MP digital camera.
  • This embodiment of the invention can have a maximum breadth dimension of the order of 70 cm and a depth of less than 30 cm with the legs and antennae stowed. It can carry a payload of up to 1 kg for 15 minutes, with payload and endurance being somewhat interchangeable.
  • the rotors 21 , 23 can be readily detached, and the legs and antennae folded outwards for stowage purposes.
  • the airframe may have stays or struts between the upper and lower arms 10 and 11. These arms, or one or two sets thereof may be detachable for stowage purposes.
  • the undercarriage may have the form of a ring or horseshoe and could be retractable for stowage.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Composite Materials (AREA)
  • Materials Engineering (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Toys (AREA)

Abstract

A UAV having an airframe supporting a tri-rotor triangular array, each tri-rotor comprising a pair of rotors (21,23) on the same axis, withan individual motor (20,22) for each rotor, the pairs of rotors being arrangedto contra-rotate.

Description

COMPACT UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE
Field of Invention
The present invention relates to unmanned aerial vehicles, hereinafter called UAVs. It is particularly concerned with such vehicles employed in surveillance operations when the vehicle is required to be relatively manoeuvrable.
Background to the Invention
UAVs are employed in a growing variety of contexts. Although perhaps their primary use has been in the fields of military security and policing, their use is growing in such fields as animal migration watching, land and crop surveying and resource or lost item searching and search and rescue operations
In many of these contexts it can be very valuable to maximise the payload or endurance of a UAV and yet to do so with the most compact UAV possible.
The present invention provides a UAV which combines valuable payload/endurance parameters with compactness.
Statements of Invention
A UAV according to the present invention has an airframe supporting a tri-rotor triangular array, each tri-rotor comprising a pair of rotors on the same axis and arranged to contra-rotate. In this way lift may be maximised and dynamic problems reduced. Preferably each rotor has three blades. The layout of the triangular array may be that of an isosceles triangle, but for maximum manoeuvrability an equilateral triangle layout is preferred.
The airframe may comprise three arms with one of said pair of rotors at each extremity thereof. Accordingly therefore the array may be seen to comprise an upper rotor bank and a lower rotor bank.
The airframe is preferably formed from a material having a high strength to weight ratio. A material based on woven carbon fibre is accordingly a strong candidate. It can be particularly valuable from the point of view of stowage for the airframe arms to be detachable one from the other or each from a central body portion. Likewise the rotors are advantageously detachable for stowage, and preferably detachably mountable upon the central body portion. Moreover, where the UAV incorporates antennae these too are preferably arranged to be stowable. The airframe may also incorporate an undercarriage in the form, for example of three legs, which also are preferably stowable.
It has been found possible to construct a UAV in accordance with the present invention which can lift a payload of up to 1 kg for 15 minutes. Either of these parameters may be increased if the UAV flies on a wire bringing power from a battery not mounted thereon. The UAV may otherwise be controlled remotely by an operator, or even perform certain tasks, for example "nightwatchman tasks" autonomously. That is to say that it can be arranged for control in the directions up, down, forward, backward, pitch and yaw (as distinct from say a quadrilateral rotor system where roll control may also be required).
Where relatively continuous operation is required in a context where there is no mechanical link between an operator and the UAV, there may be a suite of interchangeable rechargeable batteries, with one battery or group thereof being on charge "on the ground" whilst another is flying.
Among the payloads which a UAV in accordance with the invention may carry are infra-red, thermal imaging and digital cameras, a video camera and a mini synthetic aperture radar (mini SAR). Any of these may be mounted on a gimballed base associated with a central portion of the airframe. Miniature camera devices may be mounted at the extremity of each arm. The UAV may also incorporate global positioning (GPS) apparatus.
A typical inventory of uses to which a UAV in accordance with the invention may be put includes:
a) Border interdiction. Patrol of borders by aerial platforms; b) Search and rescue. Looking for survivors from shipwrecks, aircraft accidents etc.; c) Wild fire suppression. UAVs equipped with infrared sensors can detect fire in forests and notify the fire brigade on time; d) Communications relay. High altitude long endurance UAVs can be used as satellites; e) Law enforcement: VTOL UAVs can take the role of police helicopters in a cost effective way; f) Disaster and emergency management. Aerial platforms with cameras can provide real time surveillance in hazardous situations such as earthquakes; g) Research. Scientific research of any nature (environmental, atmospheric, archaeological, pollution etc) can be carried out by UAVs equipped with the appropriate payloads; h) Industrial applications: Such applications can be crops; spraying, nuclear factory surveillance, surveillance of pipelines etc.: i) Wildlife observation.
There can be a concern about safety. That is, it may not be desirable for a UAV to drop out of the sky and perhaps cause damage to property or person. A UAV in accordance with the invention may incorporate a parachute or helium inflatable balloon to reduce the rate of descent in an emergency. However it is a preferred feature of the invention that each rotor has a discrete motor. In this way, with each rotor station comprising two rotors, the failure of one, for example at one station, may be arranged to cause all motors at that level to stop and the three remaining rotors to allow the UAV to make a controlled descent.
It has been found that a preferred embodiment of a UAV in accordance with the invention, constructed as above described, can be made with a maximum lateral dimension of the order of 70cm and a maximum deployed height of 30cm, using three bladed rotors of blade length 5 inches (12.7cm) can carry 1 kg for up to 15 minutes in an autonomous context. Typically a digital camera weighs 144 grams and a thermal imaging camera of the order of 153 grams.
The use of electric motors and rotors makes for a device substantially silent in operation. Description of the Drawings
An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Figure 1 is a schematic isometric sketch of a compact UAV; Figure 2 is front elevation sketch of the compact UAV; and Figure 3 is a plan view of the compact UAV.
Description of Preferred Embodiments
Shewn in the drawing is a UAV having an airframe comprising three double arms, an upper set 10a, 10b, 10c, and a lower set 1 1a, 1 1 b, 1 1c, a battery box 12, a guidance dome 13 and a payload carrier 14. The three arms are in equilateral triangle array. The payload carrier 14 is gimballed so that it can pan and tilt its payload with respect to the airframe. Servos 15 control the pan and tilt of the payload carrier.
Mounted on the end of each upper arm is an outrunner motor 20 having an associated upward facing rotor 21. Mounted below the end of each lower arm is an outrunner motor 22 with an associated rotor 23. Mounted on the airframe arms inboard of the motors 20, 22 are electronic speed controllers 24.
The rotors 21 , 23 are three bladed and formed of a plastics material.
The battery box 12 contains a rechargeable battery for powering the motors.
Within the guidance dome 13 is a miniature UAV autopilot flight control device 25 while stowable antennae 26 are mounted on the dome 13.
At the extremity of the lower arm 1 1a, deemed the lead arm, is a video camera 27. The camera 27 is powered by a battery 28 mounted on an arm 11.
This UAV embodiment is shewn with a video camera 30 and a thermal camera 31 carried on the payload carrier. These cameras are readily interchangeable with others, for example digital still and infra red cameras.
Ground support legs (not shewn) branch out from each lower arm 11. In use with the required equipment mounted on the payload carrier a ground controller (not shewn) provides signals via one of the antennae 26 to the flight control device 25. By this means the flight of the UAV is controlled, with the speed controllers 24 controlling the speed of the motors 20, 22. This affects the attitude, rise and descent, forward motion and turn of the UAV. The rotors 21 , 23 contra- rotate with respect one to the other.
During the operation the cameras 27, 30 and 31 may be operating and transmitting pictures back to the ground controller and/or elsewhere, via one of the antennae 26.
In the event of failure of one of the motor/rotor combinations the Micropilot™ is arranged to switch off the other two motors at that level. This enables the UAV to descend at a controlled rate.
In a particular example of this embodiment of the invention, the airframe arms and battery box are formed from woven carbon fibre sheet 2mm thick. The motors 20, 22 are Axi 2217/20 brushless motors each weighing 71.2 grams. The rotors 21 , 23 are GWS 1060 plastics rotors with three 5" (12.7cm) long blades. The rotors each weigh 15.9 grams. The rotors are mounted to the motors via Axi Prop saver devices 32.
The miniature UAV autopilot is a Micropilot™ MP2028, which weighs 28 grams. This features GPS waypoint navigation with altitude and airspeed hold and is susceptible of completely independent operation. Thus it can be both preprogrammed to fly a particular flight envelope or be guided by a "ground-based" operator, such as one employing HORIZON™ ground control software.
The electronic speed controllers (ESCs) 24 are YGE-18i ESC devices. These weigh 14 grams each.
Suitable rechargeable batteries are preferably lithium based, eg lithium-iron, Li-poly or Li-metal. Of these, Li-poly batteries are preferred because they are easy to manufacture in small sizes and have a very low self-discharge rate. At typical example therefore is a MaxxAmp 14.8v (S) 800OmAh Li-poly 4S2P battery. The camera control batteries may be commercial 9v batteries each weighing 47.8 grams.
The servos 15 are Hitec HS-77BB servo devices. They weigh 35 grams. The camera 27 is a Black Widow KV 141/90/PAL 480 line camera. Typical other cameras for mounting in the payload carrier may be a Photon thermal camera, a 310 line colour CMOS camera, and a Pentax S60 6MP digital camera.
This embodiment of the invention can have a maximum breadth dimension of the order of 70 cm and a depth of less than 30 cm with the legs and antennae stowed. It can carry a payload of up to 1 kg for 15 minutes, with payload and endurance being somewhat interchangeable.
The rotors 21 , 23 can be readily detached, and the legs and antennae folded outwards for stowage purposes.
In alternative embodiments the airframe may have stays or struts between the upper and lower arms 10 and 11. These arms, or one or two sets thereof may be detachable for stowage purposes. The undercarriage may have the form of a ring or horseshoe and could be retractable for stowage.

Claims

Claims
1. A UAV having an airframe supporting a tri-rotor triangular array and wherein each tri-rotor comprises a pair of rotors on the same axis and arranged to contra- rotate.
2. A UAV as claimed in claim 1 and having an individual motor for each rotor.
3. A UAV as claimed in claim 2 and arranged in the event of motor failure at one rotor level to switch off the other motors at that level.
4. A UAV as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 and wherein each rotor has three blades.
5. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and wherein the rotor blade length is of the order of 5 inches (12.7cm).
6. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and wherein the layout of the triangular array is that of an equilateral triangle.
7. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and wherein the airframe comprises three arms with one of said pair of rotors at each extremity thereof.
8. A UAV as claimed in claim 7 and wherein one or more of said arms is detachable or foldable for stowage purposes.
9. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and wherein the airframe is formed from a carbon fibre reinforced material.
10. A UAV as claimed in claim 9 and wherein the material is based upon woven carbon fibre
1 1. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and wherein the rotors are readily detachable for stowage purposes.
12. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and having a stowable antenna.
13. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and having an undercarriage.
14. A UAV as claimed in claim 13 and wherein the undercarriage comprises three legs.
15. A UAV as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14 and wherein the undercarriage is stowable.
16. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and which is autonomous.
17. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and arranged to carry a video camera, to transmit images to a controller and to be guided as to trajectory and field of view.
18. A UAV as claimed in any one of the preceding claims and having a maximum breadth less than 70cm.
PCT/GB2009/050661 2008-06-16 2009-06-11 Compact unmanned aerial vehicle WO2009153588A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB0810886.2 2008-06-16
GB0810886A GB2455374B (en) 2008-06-16 2008-06-16 Unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a triangular array of rotors

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WO2009153588A1 true WO2009153588A1 (en) 2009-12-23

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