Control device, unmanned aerial vehicle, and control method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12545404-B2
Application number	US-202218276127-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2022
Priority date	Aug 19, 2022
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

An unmanned aerial vehicle includes: a mooring member capable of mooring an article; a linear member connected to the mooring member; a reel around which the linear member is wound. The unmanned aerial vehicle acquires information relating to wind strength around the article when the article is to be lowered from the unmanned aerial vehicle by controlling the reel; and controls the reel so as to provide a feeding amount of the linear member in dependence on the wind strength, on the basis of the acquired information.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A control device configured to control a reel to lower an article from an unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a mooring member enabling mooring of the article, a linear member connected to the mooring member, and the reel on which the linear member is wound, the control device comprising:
at least one memory configured to store program code; and at least one processor configured to access the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code including: acquisition code configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire information relating to wind strength around the article when the article is to be lowered, wherein the information relating to wind strength comprises a displacement amount of the article in a horizontal direction with respect to a vertical direction; and control code configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel, on the basis of the acquired information, so as to provide a feeding amount of the linear member in dependence on the wind strength, wherein the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel so as to feed the linear member at a first predetermined speed to a first feeding amount in a case where the displacement amount is equal to or less than a first threshold value.

2 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel such that the feeding amount of the linear member decreases as the displacement amount increases.

3 . The control device according to claim 1 , wherein the acquisition code is configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire the displacement amount detected at a time of a second feeding amount of the linear member which is less than a first feeding amount thereof when the article is detached.

4 . The control device according to claim 3 , wherein the second feeding amount is greater than a minimum feeding amount.

5 . The control device according to claim 3 ,
wherein the acquisition code is configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire the displacement amount, which is continuously detected while the linear member is fed from the second feeding amount to the first feeding amount, and wherein, in a case where the displacement amount is greater than the first threshold value and equal to or less than a second threshold value, the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel so as to feed the linear member gradually and by taking the first feeding amount as a target value, unless the displacement amount exceeds the second threshold value.

6 . The control device according to claim 4 , wherein, in a case where the displacement amount is greater than a second threshold value, the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to fly to another location without detaching the article.

7 . The control device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the acquisition code is configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire the displacement amount detected when the linear member is fed to the first feeding amount, and wherein the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the horizontal direction such that the article lies within a range constituting a drop target of the article, on the basis of the displacement amount detected when the linear member is fed to the first feeding amount.

8 . The control device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the acquisition code is configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire the displacement amount, which is continuously detected while the linear member is fed from the second feeding amount to the first feeding amount, and wherein, in a case where the displacement amount is greater than the first threshold value and equal to or less than a second threshold value, the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel so as to feed the linear member at a second predetermined speed lower than the first predetermined speed and by taking the first feeding amount as a target value, unless the displacement amount exceeds the second threshold value.

9 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the position of the unmanned aerial vehicle in the horizontal direction such that the article lies within a range constituting a drop target of the article, on the basis of the displacement amount detected when the linear member is fed to the first feeding amount.

10 . The control device according to claim 8 , wherein the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel so as to stop the feeding of the linear member at the moment when the displacement amount exceeds the second threshold value.

11 . The control device according to claim 10 , wherein, in a case where the feeding of the linear member is stopped at a midpoint toward the first feeding amount, the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to descend on the basis of a difference between the feeding amount of the linear member when the feeding is stopped and the first feeding amount.

12 . The control device according to claim 11 ,
wherein, in a case where an altitude of the descending unmanned aerial vehicle reaches a lower limit value for safety, the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to cause the unmanned aerial vehicle to hover, the program code including: determination code configured to cause the at least one processor to determine whether or not the article is detachable from the unmanned aerial vehicle whose altitude has reached the lower limit value for safety.

13 . The control device according to claim 12 , wherein the determination code is configured to cause the at least one processor to determine whether or not the article is detachable on the basis of a type of the article.

14 . The control device according to claim 12 , wherein the determination code is configured to cause the at least one processor to determine whether or not the article is detachable on the basis of a distance from the article to a ground.

15 . The control device according to claim 12 , wherein, in response to determining that the article is detachable, the control code is configured to cause the at least one processor to cause the article to be detached from the unmanned aerial vehicle.

16 . An unmanned aerial vehicle comprising:
a mooring member capable of mooring an article; a linear member connected to the mooring member; a reel around which the linear member is wound; at least one memory configured to store program code; and at least one processor configured to access the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code including: acquisition code configured to cause the at least one processor to acquire information relating to wind strength around the article when the article is to be lowered from the unmanned aerial vehicle by controlling the reel, wherein the information relating to wind strength comprises a displacement amount of the article in a horizontal direction with respect to a vertical direction; and control code configured to cause the at least one processor to control the reel so as to provide a feeding amount of the linear member in dependence on the wind strength, on the basis of the acq

Assignees

• Rakuten Group Inc

Inventors

• Seki Tatsuhiro
• MATSUMOTO Asaki
• INUMA Takayoshi

Classifications

• B66D1/485

  electrical · CPC title

• G05D2105/28

  of freight · CPC title

• G05D2109/254

  Flying platforms, e.g. multicopters · CPC title

• G05D1/667

  Delivering or retrieving payloads · CPC title

• B64U2101/67

  the UAVs comprising tethers for lowering the goods · CPC title