Rotorcraft landing device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11747829-B2
Application number	US-202017070913-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2020
Priority date	Jul 6, 2015
Publication date	Sep 5, 2023
Grant date	Sep 5, 2023

Abstract

A drone loaded with a package takes off from a takeoff device and uses a GPS system to fly to a user house that is a delivery destination of the package as the destination. Further, when the drone approaches the user house that is the destination, the flight of the drones is switched from autonomous navigation using the GPS system to remote control performed by a landing device and an in-house control device installed in the user house. The drone lands on the landing device by remote control from the landing device and the in-house control device, separates the package, and then returns to the warehouse using the GPS system and lands on the takeoff device.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A rotorcraft landing device comprising:
a landing portion on which a rotorcraft lands, the landing portion provided at a position higher than a human living space;
a position recognition portion that recognizes a position of the rotorcraft with respect to the landing portion; and
a remote control portion that remotely controls, on a basis of a result of recognition performed by the position recognition portion, the rotorcraft such that the rotorcraft not provided with an image capturing function lands on the landing portion,
wherein the position recognition portion includes a plurality of image capturing portions, and at least two of the plurality of image capturing portions are provided at edges of the landing portion to be symmetric with respect to a center of the landing portion.

2. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 1 , comprising an opening/closing mechanism including the landing portion,
wherein the landing portion is formed in a portion that is inside the opening/closing mechanism when the opening/closing mechanism is closed, and
wherein the landing portion takes a horizontal posture at a position a space above which is open when the opening/closing mechanism is open.

3. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 2 , comprising a movable member capable of taking a first posture of extending vertically upward from a periphery of the landing portion and a second posture of extending further to an outside from the periphery of the landing portion,
wherein the movable member takes the first posture when the opening/closing mechanism is closed, and the movable member takes the second posture when the opening/closing mechanism is open and the rotorcraft lands on the landing portion.

4. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 3 , wherein, in a state in which the movable member is in contact with a load released from the rotorcraft that has landed on the landing portion, the movable member is movable in such a direction as to move the load to a position closer to a center of the landing portion.

5. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 1 , comprising an opening/closing mechanism,
wherein the landing portion is accommodated in an inner space when the opening/closing mechanism is closed, and wherein a space above the landing portion is open when the opening/closing mechanism is open.

6. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 1 , comprising a distance measuring portion that measures a distance from the landing portion to the rotorcraft, wherein the remote control portion controls a descending speed of the rotorcraft on a basis of a result of measurement performed by the distance measuring portion.

7. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the remote control portion obtains identification information of the rotorcraft that has approached the landing portion from the rotorcraft, remotely controls the rotorcraft such that the rotorcraft lands on the landing portion in a case where the obtained identification information matches identification information of a rotorcraft that has already gained permission to land on the landing portion, and does not perform remote control in a case where the obtained identification information does not match.

8. The rotorcraft landing device according to claim 1 , comprising an ascending/descending mechanism capable of descending to a residential space for humans in a state of carrying a load received from the rotorcraft that has landed on the landing portion and ascending again to a position at which the ascending/descending mechanism receives a load.

Assignees

• Aeronext Inc

Inventors

• Suzuki Youichi

Classifications

• G08G5/57

  for unmanned aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/55

  for a single aircraft · CPC title

• G08G5/54

  for approach or landing · CPC title

• G05D1/6545

  during descent or approach phase · CPC title

• G05D1/654

  Landing (docking at a base station G05D1/661) · CPC title