Patent Application
20240034488
The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same.
This application claims the benefit of priority based on Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0101622 dated Aug. 13, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
In main attack targets, such as tactical vehicles or armored vehicles, by self-destruct drones, the upper part is relatively more vulnerable to attacks than the side part, so that many missiles and self-destruct drones are developed for upper attacks, but because it is difficult for multicopter or helicopter-type drones to fly down at high speeds, they are difficult to attack the upper part of the enemy at high speeds. Therefore, there are restrictions in using self-destruct drones, so that there is a limit to uses of self-destruct drones.
Meanwhile, in order to transmit the location of the target to the self-destruct drone, the target search and accurate estimation of the location are required.
Recently, as operations using drones have increased in the military, the demand for accurate global coordinate acquisition of targets for operating drones has increased. However, in relation to existing targeting equipment for missiles, a method of continuously designating positions using a laser target designator, or a method of searching for a target using a TADS (Target Acquisition & Designation System), and then estimating its relative position with the target was all.
It is an object to be solved by the present invention to provide a target location estimation device capable of estimating a position of a target by measuring an azimuth angle and an elevation angle using a moving baseline of a GPS system using two GPS antennas, and measuring the distance to the target using a laser range finder (LRF), and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same.
Also, it is an object to be solved by the present invention to provide an unmanned aerial vehicle capable of performing a high-speed descending attack that conventional rotary wings could not do by controlling an airframe in the direction of gravitational force, and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same.
In addition, it is an object to be solved by the present invention to provide a self-destruct drone operating system capable of estimating location information of a target, transmitting the location information and mission start command to an unmanned aerial vehicle, and performing a strike guidance flight with the unmanned aerial vehicle.
In order to solve the above-described objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising a plurality of rotors capable of rotating in forward and reverse directions, and a flight control part provided to control the rotors, and to receive an operation command from an external device, wherein each rotor comprises a plurality of blades, the airfoil of which has a bilaterally symmetrical shape, is provided.
In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, a self-destruct drone operating system comprising the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a target observation-and-location estimation device for transmitting target location information and operation commands to the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided.
Here, the unmanned aerial vehicle comprises a plurality of rotors capable of rotating in forward and reverse directions, and a flight control part provided to control the rotors, and to receive an operation command from an external device, wherein each rotor comprises a plurality of blades, the airfoil of which has a bilaterally symmetrical shape. Also, the target observation-and-location estimation device comprises a range finder for measuring the distance (D) to the target, a GPS module provided to measure north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target, an observation control part provided to calculate location information of the target including the latitude, longitude and altitude of the target, based on the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target measured in the GPS module, and to transmit the distance to the target and the location information of the target to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a display part provided to display image information and location information of the target. In addition, the GPS module comprises a first GPS antenna and a second GPS antenna positioned apart from the first GPS antenna by a predetermined distance (d), and the GPS module is provided to measure north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) based on the relative positions of the first and second GPS antennas.
Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, a target observation-and-location estimation device comprising a range finder for measuring the distance (D) to the target, a GPS module provided to measure north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target, an observation control part provided to calculate location information of the target including the latitude, longitude and altitude of the target, based on the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target measured in the GPS module, and to transmit the distance to the target and the location information of the target to an external device, and a display part provided to display image information and location information of the target is provided.
Also, the GPS module comprises a first GPS antenna and a second GPS antenna positioned apart from the first GPS antenna by a predetermined distance (d).
In addition, the GPS module is provided to measure north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) based on the relative positions of the first and second GPS antennas.
Furthermore, according to another aspect of the present invention, a firearm equipped with the target observation-and-location estimation device is provided.
Also, according to another aspect of the present invention, it is a control method of the target observation-and-location estimation device, and thus a method of controlling the target observation-and-location estimation device, comprising steps of measuring the position of the target with the first GPS antenna, measuring the position of the target with the second GPS antenna, and calculating location information of the target including the latitude, longitude and altitude of the target, based on the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target measured using the respective positions of the first GPS antenna and the second GPS antenna, and the distance (D) to the target measured by the range finder, is provided.
In addition, according to another aspect of the present invention, a self-destruct drone operating system comprising an unmanned aerial vehicle, and the target observation-and-location estimation device provided to provide location information of the target to the unmanned aerial vehicle is provided. Here, the target observation-and-location estimation device comprises a range finder for measuring the distance (D) to the target, a GPS module provided to measure the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target, a flight control part provided to calculate location information of the target including the latitude, longitude and altitude of the target, based on the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target measured in the GPS module, and to transmit the distance to the target and the location information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and a display part provided to display image information and location information of the target. Furthermore, the GPS module comprises a first GPS antenna and a second GPS antenna positioned apart from the first GPS antenna by a predetermined distance (d), and the GPS module is provided to measure north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) based on the relative positions of the first and second GPS antennas.
As discussed above, an unmanned aerial vehicle and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same, which are related to at least one example of the present invention, have the following effects.
If a target is designated using an EO camera and/or an IR camera, the target observation-and-location estimation device can estimate the position of the target using a method of measuring azimuth and elevation angles using a moving baseline of a GPS system which measures azimuth and elevation angles, or azimuth and roll angles using two GPS antennas, measuring the distance to the target using a laser range finder (LRF), and then inversely estimating three-dimensional coordinates using the same.
In addition, by rotating the propeller of the rotor in the reverse direction, the unmanned aerial vehicle can overcome gravity, descend vertically to the target at high speeds, and be precisely guided.
Unlike the conventional rotary wing, particularly, the unmanned aerial vehicle reversely converts the rotational direction of the rotor while the aerial vehicle performs vertical descent attacks, thereby generating no vortex ring; it can descend at a very high speed, since it accelerates in the downward direction rather than free fall; and very precise strikes are possible, since it controls the attitude and position using the thrust force in the downward direction.
Hereinafter, a target observation-and-location estimation device, an unmanned aerial vehicle, and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same, according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In addition, regardless of the reference numerals, the same or corresponding components are assigned the same or similar reference numerals, where duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted, and for convenience of description, the size and shape of each component shown can be exaggerated or reduced.
One example of the present invention comprises a target observation-and-location estimation device (100), and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same.
In the present invention, a target observation-and-location estimation device (hereinafter, also referred to as a ‘TADS’) is provided to measure and calculate location information of the target, and to transmit the location information of the target to an external device. In addition, the external device comprises an unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter, also referred to as a ‘drone’).
Furthermore, the self-destruct drone operating system comprises a target observation-and-location estimation device (100), and an unmanned aerial vehicle (200). The range finder (140) comprises a laser range finder.
Referring to
Specifically, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) comprises a range finder (140) for measuring the distance (D) to the target (T). In addition, the range finder comprises a laser range finder (140).
Furthermore, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) comprises a GPS module (120) provided to measure the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target. In this document, the GPS module is configured in a way to measure azimuth and elevation angles using a moving baseline, which may be referred to as a moving baseline GPS.
That is, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) uses a moving baseline method of arranging two GPS antennas apart from each other at a certain distance, and calculating the position and angle of the location estimation device using a difference between two different GPS data.
In addition, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) comprises an observation control part provided to calculate location information of the target including the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the target (T) based on the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target (T) measured in the GPS module (120), and to transmit the distance to the target and the location information of the target to an external device.
Furthermore, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) may comprise a display part (150) provided to display image information and location information of the target. The display part (150) may be a scope used in general observation equipment.
Meanwhile, the GPS module (120) comprises a first GPS antenna (121) and a second GPS antenna (122) positioned apart from the first GPS antenna (121) by a predetermined distance (d).
The observation control part calculates the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the target (T) in each of the first GPS antenna (121) and the second GPS antenna (122) based on the north-based azimuth angles (Ψ) and elevation angles (θ) of the target (T) measured in the first GPS antenna (121) and the second GPS antenna (122). In addition, the observation control part calculates the location information including the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the target (T) based on the relative positions (e.g., altitude difference) of the first and second GPS antennas (121, 122).
In addition, the GPS module (120) is provided to measure the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target based on the relative positions of the first and second GPS antennas (121, 122).
The location information of the target may be calculated through the following general equations 1 to 8.
lat_coefficient=111132.95−559.822×cos(2×lat)+1.175×cos(4×lat) [General Equation 1]
lon_coefficient=111412.88×cos(lat)−93.5×cos(3×lat)+0.12×cos(5×lat) [General Equation 2]
DistN=LRF_dist×cos(pitch)×cos(MBheading) [General Equation 3]
DistE=LRF_dist×cos(pitch)×sin(MBheading) [General Equation 4]
deltaH=LRF_dist×sin(pitch) [General Equation 5]
TargetLat=DistN/lat_coefficient+lat [General Equation 6]
TargetLon=DistE/lon_coefficient+lon [General Equation 7]
TargetAlt=deltaH+height [General Equation 8]
Meanwhile, in the target observation-and-location estimation device (100), the antenna located on the side where the distance to the target (T) is relatively close is the first GPS antenna (121), and the antenna located on the side where the distance to the target (T) is relatively far is the second GPS antenna (121).
In addition, the first GPS antenna (121) and the second GPS antenna (122) may be disposed coaxially with respect to an imaginary axis parallel to the laser irradiation axis of the laser range finder (140).
In General Equations 1 to 8 above, the lat represents the latitude measured in the second GPS antenna (122) in the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) (hereinafter, referred to as a ‘TADS’), and the lon represents the longitude measured in the second GPS antenna (122) of the TADS.
Also, the pitch represents the pitch angle of the TADS (100), and the pitch angle is an elevation angle (θ), which is determined by the altitude difference between the first GPS antenna (121) and the second GPS antenna (122).
In addition, the MBheading is a moving base heading, which represents a north-based azimuth angle (Ψ). As described above, the azimuth angle of the imaginary axis connecting the first GPS antenna (121) and the second GPS antenna (122) is a moving base heading in [General Equation 3] and [General Equation 4], which is determined by the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ).
Furthermore, the lat coefficient represents the distance value (unit: m) per degree of latitude reflecting the curvature of the earth according to the latitude, and the lon coefficient represents the distance value (unit: m) per degree of longitude reflecting the curvature of the earth according to the latitude.
Also, the DistN represents the north-based distance difference (unit: m) between the TADS (100) and the target; the DistE represents the east-based distance difference (unit: m) between the TADS (100) and the target; and the deltaH represents the altitude difference (unit: m) between the TADS (100) and the target.
In addition, the TargetLat represents the latitude (unit: degree) of the target; the TargetLon represents the longitude (unit: degree) of the target; the TargetAlt represents the altitude (unit: m) of the target; and the LRF_dist represents the distance value (unit: m) to the target measured in the laser range finder (140).
Furthermore, the observation control part may be provided to transmit an operation command of an external device upon transmitting the distance (D) to the target (T), and the location information of the target to the external device. In this case, the external device may comprise an unmanned aerial vehicle, and the operation command may comprise a movement command of the unmanned aerial vehicle toward the target based on the transmitted location information.
Also, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) may further comprise an inertial navigation device (110) for updating location information. The update rate of location information may be increased by a method of combining the position value and speed value information of the target measured using the GPS module (120), and the attitude and speed information of the inertial navigation device (100) using a Kalman filter to derive the position.
In addition, the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) may further comprise one or more of an EO (electronic optical) camera and an IR (infrared ray) camera (130) for selecting a target.
Meanwhile, referring to
Also, referring to
A control method of the target observation-and-location estimation device having such a structure is as follows.
Referring to
Also, referring to
In addition, referring to
As described through
In addition, the GPS module (120) comprises a first GPS antenna (121), and a second GPS antenna (122) positioned apart from the first GPS antenna (121) by a predetermined distance (d), and the GPS module (120) is provided to measure the north-based azimuth angle (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target based on the relative positions of the first and second GPS antennas (121, 122).
As described above, the observation control part of the target observation-and-location estimation device (100) is provided to transmit an operation command of the unmanned aerial vehicle upon transmitting the distance (D) to the target (T) and the location information of the target to the unmanned aerial vehicle. The operation command may comprise a movement command of the unmanned aerial vehicle (200) toward the target based on the transmitted location information.
When the operation command is transmitted from the target observation-and-location estimation device (100), the unmanned aerial vehicle performs takeoffs, accesses to the target location, and strikes.
The control method of the self-destruct drone operating system comprises steps of allowing for the unmanned aerial vehicle (100) to take off at a higher altitude than the relative position with the target (T) received from the location estimation device (100) (TADS), approaching the unmanned aerial vehicle (100) to the position of the target received from the TADS (100) while maintaining a certain altitude, and performing its position control while the unmanned aerial vehicle flies toward the target in a reverse propulsion method that if the distance between the target (T) and the unmanned aerial vehicle is within a certain range, its rotor is rotated in the opposite direction.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (200) related to one example of the present invention comprises a plurality of rotors (210) capable of rotating in forward and reverse directions, and a flight control part (202) provided to control the rotors (210), and to receive an operation command from an external device (100). In this document, the unmanned aerial vehicle (200) may be operated as a self-destruct drone.
The unmanned aerial vehicle (200) comprises a main body (201), and a plurality of support members (202) each extending along the radial direction of the main body (201) and disposed apart from each other along the circumferential direction of the main body.
The rotor (210) is provided at the end of the support member (202). For example, the number of support members (202) may be the same as the number of rotors (210).
Referring to
The plurality of rotors (210) may comprise 2 to 8 rotors, and preferably, the plurality of rotors may comprise 3 to 4 rotors.
The rotor (210) may comprise 2 to 4 blades, and preferably, referring to
The rotor (210) comprises a body (211) equipped with a driving source for rotating the blades, and the unexplained symbol C denotes a central axis of rotation of the blades (21, 212).
The blade (211) has a fixed end (211a) mounted on the body (211) of the rotor (210), and a free end (211b) in a direction opposite to the fixed end (211a). In this document, the direction from the fixed end (211a) of the blade toward the free end (211b) may be referred to as the longitudinal direction. At this time, in the blade (211), the airfoil of the entire region may have a bilaterally symmetrical shape along the longitudinal direction.
In the case of a general propulsion propeller for drones, the airfoil (blade cross section) is formed to have a bilaterally asymmetrical shape for one-way rotation, that is, the forward direction rotation, and in order to minimize turbulence in the forward direction airflow and to generate no vortex, the entire blade has a shape twisted in the forward direction.
As a result, in the sequence of falling from the target position point, there is a problem that efficiency and stability are lowered because turbulences and vortexes are generated in the operation of rotating the conventional forward direction propeller in the reverse direction to propel the fall acceleration.
In order to solve the above problem, the present invention provides a propeller having a shape capable of producing the same thrust force stability and efficiency even in the rotation situation of the reverse direction as well as the forward direction, that is, a shape in which the airfoil of the blade has a bilaterally symmetrical shape for bidirectional rotation.
In addition, referring to
In this document, referring to
In addition, the unmanned aerial vehicle (200) may comprise one or more bullets (230).
That is, when the location information of the target is received from the external device (target observation-and-location estimation device), the flight control part (220) is provided such that the rotor (210) is rotated in the forward direction to move toward the target (take-off and approach), and upon approaching the received target position, the rotor (210) is rotated in the reverse direction.
Also, the flight control part (220) may control the flight to be made above the target at the received position.
In addition, the flight control part (220) may be provided to rotate the rotor (210) in the reverse direction when the distance to the target is a predetermined distance or less at the received position.
Furthermore, the self-destruct drone operating system related to one example of the present invention comprises the unmanned aerial vehicle (200) explained through
The target observation-and-location estimation device (100) is as explained through
Also, as described above, the GPS module (120) comprises a first GPS antenna (121), and a second GPS antenna (122) positioned apart from the first GPS antenna (121) by a predetermined distance (d). In addition, the GPS module (120) is provided to measure the north-based azimuth (Ψ) and elevation angle (θ) of the target based on the relative positions of the first and second GPS antennas.
Furthermore, the control method of the self-destruct drone operating system is as follows.
The control method comprises steps of: measuring and calculating location information of the target in the location estimation device (100), and transmitting the location information of the target, and operation commands to the unmanned aerial vehicle (100); and performing missions in the unmanned aerial vehicle (100) according to the operation commands.
Specifically, the control method may comprises, in the position estimation device (100), a step of measuring a distance value ( ) to the target, north-based azimuth angle (heading angle, Ψ) and elevation angle (pitch angle, θ) (S101), a step of calculating the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the target using the measured Ψ and θ (S102), a step of transmitting the calculated latitude, longitude, and altitude information to the unmanned aerial vehicle, and transmitting the mission start command of the unmanned aerial vehicle (S103, S104).
Also, the control method comprises, in the unmanned aerial vehicle (200), a step of receiving the latitude, longitude, and altitude information of the target received from the TADS (100) (S201), and a step of receiving the mission start command in the TADS (100) (S202). At this time, in a state where the mission start command is not received, the safe mode state is maintained (S204).
In addition, when the mission start command is received, it comprises a step of performing takeoff in place at the location where the mission start command is received (S203), a step of taking off at a height where the ground surface-based altitude is higher than a predetermined height (e.g., 150 m) (S205), a step of starting a flight to the target location (S206), a step of approaching the distance to the target within a predetermined distance (e.g., 3 m) (S207), a step of checking the stationary flight state of the unmanned aerial vehicle (S208), and a step of performing rotor reverse propulsion of the unmanned aerial vehicle to the target position, and starting a precision strike induction flight through the control of the position, speed, and attitude (S209).
The preferred examples of the present invention as described above have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, and those skilled in the art having ordinary knowledge of the present invention will be able to make various modifications, changes, and additions within the spirit and scope of the present invention, and such modifications, changes and additions are intended to fall within the scope of the following claims.
As discussed above, an unmanned aerial vehicle and a self-destruct drone operating system including the same, which are related to at least one example of the present invention, have the following effects.
By rotating the propeller of the rotor in the reverse direction, the unmanned aerial vehicle can overcome gravity, descend vertically to the target at high speeds, and be precisely guided.
In addition, unlike the conventional rotary wing, particularly, the unmanned aerial vehicle reversely converts the rotational direction of the rotor while the aerial vehicle performs vertical descent attacks, thereby generating no vortex ring; it can descend at a very high speed, since it accelerates in the downward direction rather than free fall; and very precise strikes are possible, since it controls the attitude and position using the thrust force in the downward direction.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10-2020-0101622 | Aug 2020 | KR | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/KR2020/011018 | 8/19/2020 | WO |
