AERIAL VEHICLE TAKEOFF AND LANDING SYSTEM, AERIAL VEHICLE TAKEOFF AND LANDING APPARATUS, AND AERIAL VEHICLE

Abstract

An aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system, an aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus, and an aerial vehicle capable of reducing the influence of the ground effect and capable of taking off and landing smoothly even in a comparatively small and limited space. A pair of rails are arranged side by side with a gap therebetween, and are arranged with a space in an extension direction on at least an under side and one end side. An aerial vehicle has a suspension portion provided at an upper portion thereof so as to be inserted between the rails from the one end side. With the suspension portion is inserted between the rails, the aerial vehicle can be suspended at a predetermined landing position of the rails, and the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position can take off.

Claims

1. An aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system comprising: a pair of rails arranged side by side with a gap therebetween and arranged with a space in an extension direction on at least an under side and one end side; and an aerial vehicle having a suspension portion provided at an upper portion thereof so as to be inserted between the rails from the one end side, wherein with the suspension portion inserted between the rails, the aerial vehicle can be suspended at a predetermined landing position of the rails, and the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position can take off.

2. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 1, wherein the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position is configured to be able to take off from the one end side.

3. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 1, wherein the rails are also arranged with a space in the extension direction on the other end side, and the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position is configured to be able to take off from the other end side.

4. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 1, wherein the rails are arranged at intervals in a left-right direction.

5. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 1, wherein the rails are provided so that a distance between the rails increases from the landing position toward the one end side.

6. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 1, wherein the suspension portion has an arm provided so as to extend upward from the aerial vehicle and an engagement portion provided at a distal end of the arm so as to be movable in a state of being inserted between the rails and be able to engage between the rails at the landing position.

7. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 6, wherein the arm is provided so as to be deformable between a protruding state of extending toward an upper side of the aerial vehicle and a retracted state in which an amount of protrusion toward the upper side from the aerial vehicle is smaller than that of the protruding state.

8. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to claim 1, wherein the aerial vehicle is provided so as to be able to fly by remote control or automatic control.

9. An aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus for landing an aerial vehicle, comprising: a pair of rails arranged side by side with a gap therebetween and arranged with a space in an extension direction on at least an under side and one end side, the aerial vehicle having a suspension portion provided at an upper portion thereof so as to be inserted between the rails from the one end side, wherein with the suspension portion inserted between the rails, the aerial vehicle can be suspended at a predetermined landing position of the rails, and the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position can take off.

10. The aerial vehicle aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position is configured to be able to take off from the one end side.

11. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the rails are also arranged with a space in the extension direction on the other end side, and the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position is configured to be able to take off from the other end side.

12. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the rails are arranged at intervals in a left-right direction.

13. The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the rails are provided so that a distance between the rails increases from the landing position toward the one end side.

14. An aerial vehicle that takes off and lands using a pair of rails, comprising: a suspension portion at an upper portion thereof, the rails being arranged side by side with a gap therebetween and arranged with a space in an extension direction on at least an under side and one end side, the suspension portion being provided so as to be inserted between the rails from the one end side, wherein with the suspension portion inserted between the rails, the aerial vehicle can be suspended at a predetermined landing position of the rails, and the aerial vehicle suspended at the landing position can take off.

15. The aerial vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the suspension portion has an arm provided so as to extend upward and an engagement portion provided at a distal end of the arm so as to be movable in a state of being inserted between the rails and be able to engage between the rails at the landing position.

16. The aerial vehicle according to claim 15, wherein the arm is provided so as to be deformable between a protruding state of extending toward an upper side of the aerial vehicle and a retracted state in which an amount of protrusion toward the upper side from the aerial vehicle is smaller than that of the protruding state.

17. The aerial vehicle according to claim 14, wherein the aerial vehicle is provided so as to be able to fly by remote control or automatic control.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIGS. 1A and 1B are a side view and a front view, respectively, showing a state of use of an aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the side wall of a rail body is omitted.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an aerial vehicle of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a modified example of an arm of the aerial vehicle of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a side view showing a modified example in which the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention has a transport means, in which the side wall of the rail body is omitted.

[0029] FIG. 5 is a side view showing a modified example in which the rail body of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention is tilted, in which the side wall of the rail body is omitted.

[0030] FIGS. 6A and 6B are plan views showing first and second modified examples, respectively, of the shape of the rail body of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the ceiling portion of the rail body is omitted.

[0031] FIG. 7 is a plan view showing a modified example in which the rail body of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention is branched.

[0032] FIGS. 8A and 8B are side views showing modified examples in which the rail body is attached to the ceiling and the pole, respectively, of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which the side wall of the rail body is omitted.

[0033] FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are side views shows modified examples in which the rail body is attached to a land moving object, a water moving object, and an aerial moving object, respectively, of the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the embodiment of the present invention in which the side wall of the rail body is omitted.

[0034] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a conventional aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0036] FIGS. 1 to 9 show an aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system, an aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus, and an aerial vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, an aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has a rail body 11, a pair of side walls, a ceiling portion, and an aerial vehicle 12.

[0038] As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the rail body 11 is elongated and is installed for example, on the ceiling or under the eaves of a factory, a house, or a building with a space in an extension direction on at least an under side and one end side. The rail body 11 has a pair of rails 11a, a pair of side walls 11b, and a ceiling portion 11c. The rail body 11 is formed by integrating the rails 11a together with the side walls 11b and the ceiling portion 11c. The rails 11a are arranged side by side with a space therebetween in the left-right direction. The side walls 11b are provided so as to extend upward along the outer side edges of the rails 11a. The ceiling portion 11c is provided by connecting the upper portions of the side walls 11b so as to cover the upper portions of the rails 11a.

[0039] The rail body 11 is arranged so that the distance between the rails 11a gradually narrows from one end side toward the center portion, and the same distance is maintained from the middle to the other end side. The rail body 11 is provided with a landing position of the aerial vehicle 12 within a range of a predetermined point or a predetermined length within a range of maintaining the same distance between the rails 11a. As a result, the rails 11a are provided so that the distance between the rails increases from the landing position toward one end side. The rail body 11 may be installed in any place as long as a space can be created in the extension direction on at least the under side and one end side. The rail body 11 forms an aerial vehicle takeoff and landing apparatus for landing the aerial vehicle 12.

[0040] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the aerial vehicle 12 has a suspension portion 21 provided at an upper portion thereof so as to extend upward. The suspension portion 21 has an arm 21a provided so as to extend upward from the aerial vehicle 12 and an engagement portion 21b provided at the distal end of the arm 21a. The engagement portion 21b is formed of a pair of rollers provided on both the left and right sides of the distal end of the arm 21a so as to be rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the extension direction of the arm 21a. The suspension portion 21 is configured to be movable between the rails 11a in such a way that the arm 21a is inserted between the rails 11a from one end side of the rail body 11, the rollers of the engagement portion 21b are inserted into and engage with the inside of the rail body 11, and the rollers rotate and travel along the upper surfaces of the left and right rails 11a. The suspension portion 21 is configured to be movable to the landing position of the rail body 11 and be stopped between the rails 11a at the landing position. As a result, the aerial vehicle 12 is configured so that it can be suspended at a predetermined landing position of the rail body 11 with the suspension portion 21 inserted between the rails 11a, and can take off from the state of being suspended at the landing position.

[0041] In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the aerial vehicle 12 is a drone, but may be any flying object such as an unmanned aerial vehicle. The aerial vehicle 12 may be able to fly by remote control or may be able to fly by automatic control. The engagement portion 21b is formed of a pair of rollers, but may be configured to engage with the rail body 11 in any configuration as long as the aerial vehicle 12 can be suspended. The engagement portion 21b may be formed of, for example, a hook provided to be engageable with the rail body 11 by hooking thereon and may configure to be engageable with the rail body 11 by being attached thereto by magnetic force.

[0042] Next, the operation will be described.

[0043] The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10 can take off and land the aerial vehicle 12 as follows. That is, when landing, the aerial vehicle 12 flies from one end side of the rail body 11 toward the under side of the rail body 11, and the arm 21a provided on the upper portion of the aerial vehicle 12 is inserted between the rails 11a from one end side of the rail body 11, and the rollers of the engagement portion 21b are inserted into the rail body 11 from one end side of the rail body 11. At this time, since the distance on one end side of the rails 11a is widened, it is easy to insert the arm 21a of the aerial vehicle 12 between the rails 11a. By moving the aerial vehicle 12 to the landing position of the rail body 11 with the engagement portion 21b inserted inside the rail body 11, the aerial vehicle 12 can be suspended and landed. At this time, by arranging the rail body 11 so that a sufficient space is provided below the aerial vehicle 12, the influence of the ground effect can be reduced to be almost negligible. Further, since there is almost no influence of the ground effect, the aerial vehicle 12 can be stably landed even in a relatively small and limited space.

[0044] When taking off, the aerial vehicle 12 is moved along the rail body 11 toward one end side of the rail body 11 in the state of being suspended at the landing position whereby the suspension portion 21 can be pulled out from between the rails 11a and the aerial vehicle 12 can take off. In this way, the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10 can smoothly take off and land the aerial vehicle 12.

[0045] In the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10, the aerial vehicle 12 can easily move to the landing position along the rail body 11 by inserting the suspension portion 21 between the rails 11a from one end side only with the urging force of the aerial vehicle 12 during the insertion or only with the force applied to the aerial vehicle 12 from one end side of the rail body 11 toward the other end side. Therefore, after the engagement portion 21b is inserted into the rail body 11, fine flight control is not required, and it is possible to stop a propulsion means such as a propeller of the aerial vehicle 12.

[0046] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10 can be suitably used, for example, when a luggage or the like is attached to the lower portion of the aerial vehicle 12 and carried. When the aerial vehicle 12 is suspended at the landing position, since there is a space under the aerial vehicle 12, the work of attaching a luggage to the lower portion of the aerial vehicle 12 or unloading the luggage attached to the lower portion of the aerial vehicle 12 can be easily performed. At this time, for example, as shown in FIG. 1A, by installing a belt conveyor 31 below the aerial vehicle 12 suspended at the landing position, the luggage 32 unloaded sequentially from the aerial vehicles 12 coming one after another can be conveyed by the belt conveyor 32. Moreover, the luggage 32 conveyed by the belt conveyor 31 can be sequentially attached to the lower portions of the aerial vehicles 12 and be carried by the individual aerial vehicles 12.

[0047] In the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10, the arm 21a of the aerial vehicle 12 may have a telescopic structure that slides in the length direction along the vertical direction of the aerial vehicle 12 and extends and contracts, and may be configured to be deformable between a protruding state of extending toward the upper side of the aerial vehicle 12 and a retracted state in which the amount of protrusion toward the upper side from the aerial vehicle 12 is smaller than that of the protruding state. As shown in FIG. 3, the arm 21a may be attached to the upper portion of the aerial vehicle 12 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis, and may be configured such that by rotating the arm 21a, the arm 21a is deformed between a protruding state of extending toward the upper side of the aerial vehicle 12 and a retracted state in which the amount of protrusion toward the upper side from the aerial vehicle 12 is smaller than that of the protruding state. In these cases, it is possible to facilitate landing by putting the arm 21a into the protruding state at the time of landing. Further, by putting the arm 21a into the retracted state during flight, it is possible to prevent the suspension portion 21 from colliding with or being caught at something during flight.

[0048] The rail body 11 may be arranged with a space in the extension direction on the other end side, and the aerial vehicle 12 suspended at the landing position may be configured to be able to take off from the other end side. In this case, since the direction in which the aerial vehicle 12 enters the rail body 11 at the time of landing and the direction in which the aerial vehicle 12 exits the rail body 11 at the time of takeoff are different, the aerial vehicles 12 landing one after another can take off in order, and a plurality of aerial vehicles 12 can take off and land in succession.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 4, the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10 may include a transport means 41 provided in the rail body 11 so as to allow the aerial vehicle 12 having the engagement portion 21b inserted into the rail body 11 to move along the rail body 11. In this case, the aerial vehicle 12 can be moved toward the other end side of the rail body 11 in a stopped state, and for example, luggage can be loaded and unloaded during the movement. The transport means 41 may be, for example, any of a belt conveyor shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of active wheels, a plurality of rotating bodies having irregularities on the surface, a transport means by vibration, a transport means by wave feed transport, and the like. When the transport means 41 is formed of the belt conveyor shown in FIG. 4, protrusions are provided on the belt at predetermined intervals, and only one aerial vehicle 12 is arranged between the protrusions, so that the aerial vehicles 12 adjacent to each other during transport can be prevented from coming into contact with each other. In addition to such transport means, the rollers of the engagement portion 21b of the aerial vehicle 12 may be formed of active wheels and may be self-propelled.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 5, the rail body 11 may be arranged so as to form a downward inclination from one end portion toward the landing position. In this case, the aerial vehicle 12 having the engagement portion 21b inserted into the rail body 11 from one end side can be moved toward the landing position along the inclination of the rails 11a in a stopped state.

[0051] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, when the aerial vehicle 12 is automatically moved along the rail body 11, the aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system 10 may have a stopper provided at an arbitrary place of the rail body 11 so as to be able to temporarily stop the aerial vehicle 12. In this case, for example, luggage can be easily loaded and unloaded at the position of the stopper. As a result, for example, the rail body 11 can be attached to the ceiling of the corridor on each floor of a condominium, and a stopper can be provided in front of the door of each house so that the luggage can be unloaded in front of the door of each house.

[0052] The rail body 11 may be provided in a straight line in a plan view, but if the aerial vehicle 12 can move smoothly, the rail body 11 may be provided in any shape such as a U-shape, an S-shape, a meandering shape, or the like as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Also in this case, the aerial vehicles 12 that land one after another can take off in order, and a plurality of aerial vehicles 12 can take off and land in succession.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 7, the rail body 11 may be provided so as to branch halfway into a plurality of rail bodies 11. In this case, the branched rail bodies 11d can be assigned according to the contents of various work such as unloading the luggage from the aerial vehicle 12, attaching the luggage to the aerial vehicle 12, and maintenance work of the aerial vehicle 12. In order to guide the aerial vehicle 12 to a desired branch rail body 11d, a point switching means 11e that can be remotely controlled may be provided at the branch positions of the branch rail bodies 11d.

[0054] The rail body 11 may be installed on the ceiling 42, under the eaves, or the side wall of a factory, a house, a building, and the like, as shown in FIG. 8A, and the rail body 11 may be fixed to the upper portion of the pole 43 or suspended from above a crane or the like as shown in FIG. 8B. As shown in FIG. 9A, the rail body 11 may be provided on a land moving object 44 that moves on the ground such as an automobile. As shown in FIG. 9B, the rail body 11 may be provided on a water moving object 45 that moves on the water such as a ship or the like. As shown in FIG. 9C, the rail body 11 may be provided on an aerial moving object 46 that moves in the air such as a large drone, an airplane, or an airship.

[0055] The aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system according to the present invention can be used not only in an aerial vehicle but also in an underwater moving object body by installing the rails underwater, and can be extended as the takeoff and landing system thereof.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

[0056] 10 Aerial vehicle takeoff and landing system [0057] 11 Rail body [0058] 11a Rail [0059] 11b Side wall [0060] 11c Ceiling portion [0061] 12 Aerial vehicle [0062] 21 Suspension portion [0063] 21a Arm [0064] 21b Engagement portion [0065] 31 Belt conveyor [0066] 32 Luggage [0067] 11d Branch rail body [0068] 11e Point switching means [0069] 41 Transport means [0070] 42 Ceiling [0071] 43 Pole [0072] 44 Land moving object [0073] 45 Water moving object [0074] 46 Aerial moving object [0075] 51 Aerial vehicle [0076] 52 Landing platform [0077] 53 Luggage