Patent Description:
In recent years, with the development of an autonomous control technology and a flight control technology, an industrial use of an aerial vehicle provided with a plurality of rotor blades called a drone, for example, has been accelerating. The drone flies, for example, by simultaneously rotating a plurality of rotor blades in a well-balanced manner, ascends and descends by increasing or decreasing a rotation speed of the rotor blades, and can advance and retreat by tilting an airframe by increasing and decreasing the rotation speed of the rotor blades. Such aerial vehicles are expected to spread worldwide in the future.

Meanwhile, the risk of fall accidents of the aerial vehicles as described above is considered to be dangerous and hinders spread of the aerial vehicles. In order to reduce the risk of such fall accidents, parachute apparatuses for aerial vehicles have been commercialized as safety apparatuses.

As an example of the parachute safety apparatus, the applicant(s) filed an application according to Patent Literature <NUM> below. As illustrated in <FIG> of Patent Literature <NUM>, a safety apparatus of Patent Literature <NUM> includes a piston member (sliding member), a cylinder that accommodates the piston member and is provided with a bore through which the piston member protrudes to the outside during operation, a push-up member pushed up in one direction by the piston member, an ejected object pushed up while being supported by the push-up member, and a gas generator that moves the piston member in the cylinder, in which the push-up member has a support disposed at a terminal end of the piston member with respect to a distal end of the piston member in a moving direction of the piston member. A bottom of the push-up member is fixed to the distal end of the piston member.

As a method of fixing the distal end of the piston member to the bottom of the push-up member in Patent Literature <NUM>, there is considered a method of joining and fixing the distal end of the piston member using an adhesive or the like, or a method of fastening and fixing a bolt having an external thread by screwing the bolt into an internal thread provided from the bottom of the push-up member to the distal end of the piston member. However, when bonding and fixing are performed using an adhesive, for example, when an inner diameter of the bottomed cylindrical portion of the push-up member is larger than an outer diameter of the cylinder to generate a gap, it may be difficult to position a center between the bottom of the bottomed cylindrical portion of the push-up member and the distal end of the piston member. When the fastening and fixing are performed as described above, the piston may rotate together in the cylinder to make assembling difficult.

An object of the present invention is to provide a safety apparatus that is easier to assemble than a conventional art, and an aerial vehicle including the safety apparatus.

Disclosed is a deployable safety apparatus as defined in appended claim <NUM>. Dependent claims define further embodiments.

The present invention can provide a safety apparatus that is easier to assemble before operation than a conventional art, and an aerial vehicle including the safety apparatus.

Hereinafter, a safety apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, a safety apparatus <NUM> according to the present embodiment includes a piston member <NUM> as a sliding member, a cylinder <NUM> that accommodates the piston member <NUM> and is provided with a bore <NUM> through which the piston member <NUM> protrudes to the outside (upward in <FIG>) during operation, a push-up member <NUM> that is pushed up in one direction (upward in <FIG>) by the piston member <NUM>, an ejected object <NUM> that is pushed up while being supported by the push-up member <NUM>, a gas generator (micro gas generator or the like) <NUM> as a power source that moves the piston member <NUM> in the cylinder <NUM>, a bottomed cylindrical container <NUM> that accommodates the piston member <NUM>, the cylinder <NUM>, the push-up member <NUM>, the ejected object <NUM>, and the gas generator <NUM>, and a lid <NUM> that closes an opening end of the container <NUM>.

In the present embodiment, the ejected object <NUM> is a parachute or a paraglider. The gas generator <NUM> is disposed below a body <NUM> (described later) of the piston member <NUM> in a state of being press-fitted into an opening end below the cylinder <NUM>. A lower part of the cylinder <NUM> is fixed to a bottom of the container <NUM>.

The piston member <NUM> includes the body <NUM> having a part with an outer diameter substantially equal to an inner diameter of the cylinder <NUM>, and includes a rod <NUM> connected to the body <NUM>, extending upward, and having a smaller diameter than the body <NUM>.

An internal thread 12a is formed from a distal end to a midway along a central axis at an upper end of the rod <NUM>. At least the upper end of the rod <NUM> has a non-circular (here, square as illustrated in <FIG>) cross section. Here, the non-circular shape is, for example, a polygonal shape (for example, <FIG>), an elliptical shape (for example, <FIG>), a star shape (for example, <FIG>), a gear shape (for example, <FIG>), or the like, and includes any shape as long as being a non-circular shape. An external thread 50b of a bolt member <NUM> (described later) can be screwed with the internal thread 12a.

A stopper <NUM> disposed so as to surround a part of the rod <NUM> of the piston member <NUM> is provided in an upper inner part of the cylinder <NUM>. That is, the rod <NUM> is disposed in a state of being inserted through the stopper <NUM>. As a result, when the piston member <NUM> moves upward, the body <NUM> comes into contact with the stopper <NUM> and stops, and thus the body <NUM> is not released to the outside from the inside of the cylinder <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the push-up member <NUM> includes a bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> disposed so as to cover a part of the cylinder <NUM>, that is, an outer part of the cylinder <NUM> except for a vicinity of the opening end at which the gas generator <NUM> is disposed, and the push-up member <NUM> includes a support <NUM> having a disc shape, provided as a flange at an opening of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM>, and supporting the ejected object <NUM>.

The bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> includes a bottom 19a having a substantially flat plate shape or a substantially columnar shape (substantially columnar shape in the present embodiment), a hole <NUM> formed in the bottom 19a close to the lid <NUM>, a hole <NUM> (second hole) having a diameter smaller than a diameter of the hole <NUM>, and a hole <NUM> (first hole) communicating with the hole <NUM> through the hole <NUM> and having a diameter larger than the diameter of the hole <NUM>. The hole <NUM> has a diameter larger than a diameter of a head 50a of the bolt member <NUM>. The hole <NUM> has a diameter smaller than the diameter of the head 50a, and can guide the external thread 50b of the bolt member <NUM> inserted from the hole <NUM> to the hole <NUM>. The hole <NUM> has a substantially identical shape to a shape of one end (upper end) of the rod <NUM>, and is a fitting portion into which one end of the rod <NUM> is fitted by inserting the one end of the rod <NUM> from an insertion opening 53a provided in the bottom 19a of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM>, close to the cylinder <NUM>.

The bolt member <NUM> couples the rod <NUM> and the push-up member <NUM> by inserting the external thread 50b into the hole <NUM> from the hole <NUM> and screwing the external thread 50b with the internal thread 12a of the rod <NUM> fitted in the hole <NUM>. At this time, since the one end of the rod <NUM> has a non-circular shape and is fitted in the hole <NUM> having a substantially identical shape to the one end, the rod <NUM> does not rotate together when the bolt member <NUM> is threaded with the internal thread 12a. Specifically, a distal end of the push-up member <NUM> and a distal end of the piston member <NUM>, which are non-circular and fitted to each other, can be rotated with the push-up member <NUM> fixed when being fastened by the bolt member <NUM>, and the piston member <NUM> can be fastened toward the gas generator <NUM> and can be fastened without being rotated together.

The support <NUM> is provided apart from an inner surface of the bottom of the container <NUM> in an initial state. The support <NUM> has a vent hole <NUM> for reducing an influence of a negative pressure generated between the bottom of the ejected object <NUM> and the support <NUM> during operation to facilitate ejection of the ejected object <NUM>. An outer periphery of the support <NUM> is formed so as not to be in contact with an inner side of the container <NUM>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the lid <NUM> includes a cylindrical projection 21a extending from an edge toward the container <NUM>, a receiving member 21b provided so as to protrude toward the container <NUM> at a position facing the projection 21a and sandwiching the opening end of the container <NUM>, and a reinforcing member 21e reinforcing a top surface of the lid <NUM>.

The projection 21a has a through hole 21c penetrating toward a center of the lid <NUM>. A pin member <NUM> is inserted into the through hole 21c and a through hole 18a (described later) to configure an engagement mechanism that engages the opening end of the container <NUM> and the projection 21a. Here, the projection 21a has a cylindrical shape, but may be any projection (such as a protrusion) provided so as to face the receiving member 21b and having the through hole 21c, and need not have a cylindrical shape.

The receiving member 21b has a through hole 21d penetrating toward the center of the lid <NUM>. When the pin member <NUM> is inserted into the through hole 21c and the through hole 18a, the through hole 21d receives a distal end of the pin member <NUM> (the distal end of the pin member <NUM> is inserted), and the opening end of the container <NUM> and the lid <NUM> can be more firmly fixed.

The pin member <NUM> includes a head 22a having a diameter larger than a diameter of the through hole 21c, and a rod 22b provided with the head 22a at one end and inserted into and fitted to the through holes 18a, 21c, and 21d. The pin member <NUM> is provided with a locking portion that prevents the pin member from coming off after being inserted into the through holes 18a, 21c, and 21d before operation. Specific examples of the pin member <NUM> include a brush clip pin, a trim clip pin, and the like, but are not limited thereto, and any pin member may be used as long as having a locking portion (including a locking portion having a relatively high frictional force on a surface of the rod 22b) that prevents the pin member from coming off after being inserted into the through holes 18a, 21c, and 21d.

The reinforcing member 21e is provided inside the top surface of the lid <NUM> at a position not in contact with the upper end of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> of the push-up member <NUM>. Here, as a modification, the reinforcing member 21e may have any shape as long as being reinforceable without being in contact with the upper end of bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> of the push-up member <NUM>, and a plurality of reinforcing members may be provided radially outward from the center of the lid, may be in a spiral shape, or may be provided outside the top surface of the lid <NUM>.

The container <NUM> has the through hole 18a and a breakable portion 18b near the opening end. The breakable portion 18b is a portion of the through hole 18a that breaks when a predetermined force or more is applied toward a top of the drawing of <FIG>.

As illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>, the bottom of the container <NUM> is provided with a plurality of vent holes <NUM> communicating the inside and the outside of the container <NUM>. A side wall of the container <NUM> is provided with a plurality of vent holes <NUM> communicating the inside and the outside of the container <NUM>. When the push-up member <NUM> rapidly moves in the container <NUM>, a negative pressure is generated in a region between the push-up member <NUM> and a bottom surface of the container <NUM>. The negative pressure makes it difficult to move the push-up member <NUM>. Therefore, by providing the vent holes <NUM> and <NUM>, the phenomenon of negative pressure can be reduced, and the push-up member <NUM> can be smoothly moved.

The ejected object <NUM> is accommodated in the container <NUM> between an inner surface of the container <NUM> and an outer surface of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> of the push-up member <NUM>, for example, so as to surround the outer surface of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM>. The ejected object <NUM> is folded such that an outer side of the ejected object <NUM> is not in contact with the inner side of the container <NUM>. Note that the ejected object <NUM> is connected to, for example, one end of a string (not shown), and the other end of the string is connected to the inside of the container <NUM> or an airframe <NUM> of an aerial vehicle <NUM> (described later).

As the gas generator <NUM>, only an igniter may be used, or a gas generator including an igniter and a gas generating agent may be used. Alternatively, a hybrid or a stored gas generator that cleaves a sealing plate in a small gas cylinder by a gunpowder igniter and discharges internal gas to the outside may be used. In this case, as a pressurized gas in the gas cylinder, a non-flammable gas such as argon, helium, nitrogen, or carbon dioxide, or a mixture thereof can be used. In order to reliably propel a piston when the pressurized gas is released, the gas generator may be provided with a heating element including a gas generating agent composition, a thermite composition, or the like.

The piston member <NUM>, the cylinder <NUM>, the push-up member <NUM>, the gas generator <NUM>, and the like mainly constitute an ejector that ejects the ejected object <NUM>.

In the above configuration, when the gas generator <NUM> is operated, for example, at time of a fall of the aerial vehicle or the like equipped with the safety apparatus <NUM>, the piston member <NUM> is propelled upward in the cylinder <NUM> by pressure of gas generated by the operation. Thus, the push-up member <NUM> having the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> connected to the rod <NUM> of the piston member <NUM> is propelled (projects) upward in the container <NUM>. As a result, the lid <NUM> is pushed up by an upper part of the push-up member <NUM>, and the pin member <NUM> breaks the breakable portion 18b of the container <NUM>. Then, the lid <NUM> is detached, the opening end of the container <NUM> is opened, and the ejected object <NUM> is ejected to the outside (toward a top of the drawing of <FIG>) from the inside of the container <NUM>. In a case where the ejected object <NUM> is a parachute or a paraglider, the ejected object <NUM> is ejected from the container <NUM> and then deployed.

As illustrated in <FIG>, the safety apparatus <NUM> is coupled and fixed to the airframe <NUM> of the aerial vehicle <NUM> via a coupling member <NUM>. At this time, as illustrated in <FIG>, the coupling member <NUM> couples the container <NUM> and the airframe <NUM> at a position not to close the vent holes <NUM>. Therefore, the aerial vehicle <NUM> includes the airframe <NUM>, the safety apparatus <NUM> joined to the airframe <NUM>, one or more propulsion mechanisms (for example, propellers) <NUM> joined to the airframe <NUM> to propel the airframe <NUM>, and a plurality of legs <NUM> provided in a lower part of the airframe <NUM>. Here, in practice, a socket for energization is fitted to an electrode in a lower part of the gas generator <NUM>, but for convenience of description, the socket is omitted in <FIG> and <FIG>.

As described above, the present embodiment not only facilitates the positioning of the center of the bottom 19a of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> of the push-up member <NUM> and the distal end of the rod <NUM> of the piston member <NUM>, but also prevents the piston member <NUM> from rotating together in the cylinder <NUM>. It is therefore possible to provide the safety apparatus <NUM> which is easier to assemble than a conventional art. It is also possible to obtain the aerial vehicle <NUM> including the safety apparatus <NUM>.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration of the present invention should not be interpreted as to be limited to the embodiment. The scope of the present invention is defined not by the above embodiment but by claims set forth below, and shall encompass every modification within the scope of the claims.

For example, the present invention includes the following modifications. The hole <NUM> need not be formed in the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> according to the embodiment. At this time, the head of the bolt member projects from the bottomed cylindrical portion of the push-up member, but the head only needs to be designed by adjusting a height position of the bottom of the bottomed cylindrical portion so as not to obstruct the lid being attached to the container (for example, not to be located at a position where the head pushes up the lid in the initial state).

In the embodiment, the push-up member and the rod of the piston member are coupled using the bolt member, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, an adhesive may be applied to the hole (corresponding to the hole <NUM> according to the embodiment) of the push-up member or the rod of the piston member to bond and couple the push-up member and the rod of the piston member. For example, an external thread may be formed at a distal end of the rod of the piston member, the rod may be passed through the hole of the push-up member, and a nut member having an internal thread may be tightened to the external thread to couple the push-up member and the rod of the piston member.

In the embodiment, the support <NUM> of the push-up member <NUM> extends from an edge of an opening of the push-up member <NUM>, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. Depending on a design such as matching the size of the ejected object <NUM>, the support <NUM> may be extended from a midway of the bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> of the push-up member <NUM>.

In the embodiment, the gas generator is adopted as the power source, but the configuration is not limited as long as the sliding member can apply a driving force for propelling the inside of the cylinder to the sliding member. For example, an elastic body such as a spring may be adopted.

In the embodiment, the container <NUM> has a cylindrical shape. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the container <NUM> may have another shape such as a quadrangular cylinder.

The piston member <NUM> in the embodiment may be configured as a telescopic structure.

In each embodiment, when a parachute or a paraglider is adopted as the ejected object, the parachute or the paraglider may be packed. The packing is configured to be broken or peeled off during operation.

In each embodiment, the parachute or paraglider have been described as the ejected object, but the present invention is not limited thereto. An ejected object including a lift generation member may be ejected as the ejected object. Examples of the lift generation member include a parafoil, a Rogallo parachute, a single surface parachute, an airplane wing, a propeller, and a balloon. When the lift generation member has a control line, the safety apparatus desirably includes a steering mechanism capable of changing an inclination angle of the ejected lift generation member using the control line. This steering mechanism includes a plurality of reels for winding up a plurality of control lines coupled to the lift generation member and includes a motor serving as power of the reels, for example. By winding up or pulling out the control lines by driving the motor, it is possible to appropriately pull the lift generation member or loosen a tension.

The cylinder, the power source, and the container are preferably coupled or fixed to the airframe by a rubber band, a belt, a string, or other means (mechanical joint, bolt, fastener, or adhesive) in the embodiment.

In the embodiment, one end of the rod <NUM> is fitted into the hole <NUM> by inserting the one end of the rod <NUM> from the insertion opening 53a, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, a part up to a midway of the hole <NUM> may be a simple through hole (having a circular cross section, for example), and may have a non-circular shape to which one end of the rod <NUM> is fitted from the midway.

Instead of the embodiment, a safety apparatus according to a modification illustrated in <FIG> may be used. Hereinafter, the safety apparatus according to the present modification will be specifically described. Unless otherwise specified, parts similar to those in the embodiment are denoted by the same reference signs in the last two digits, and the description thereof may be omitted. In the present modification, the same components as those in the embodiment are used unless otherwise specified.

A safety apparatus <NUM> according to the present modification is different from the safety apparatus <NUM> mainly in that (<NUM>) a bottom <NUM> of a bottomed cylindrical portion <NUM> includes a part <NUM> having a substantially flat plate shape or a substantially columnar shape (substantially flat plate shape in the present modification) and a cylindrical member <NUM> fixed to the part <NUM> on a side opposite to a cylinder <NUM>, (<NUM>) a first hole <NUM> having an insertion opening 153a is constituted by a hole 162a provided in the part <NUM> and an inner side 161a of the cylindrical member <NUM>, (<NUM>) one end of a rod <NUM> passes through the part <NUM> from the cylinder <NUM> toward outside, and (<NUM>) a shape of the inner side 161a of the cylindrical member <NUM> and a shape of the one end of the rod <NUM> are substantially identical, and the one end of the rod <NUM> is fitted into the inner side 161a of the cylindrical member <NUM> (the inner side 161a of the cylindrical member <NUM> is a fitting portion) by inserting the one end of the rod <NUM> from the insertion opening 153a provided on a bottom <NUM> close to the cylinder <NUM> through the hole 162a to the inner side 161a of the cylindrical member <NUM>, and (<NUM>) a rod <NUM> and a push-up member <NUM> are coupled by inserting an external thread 150b of a bolt member <NUM> into a hole <NUM> through a hole 161b provided in the cylindrical member <NUM> and screwing the external thread 161b with an internal thread 712a of the rod <NUM>.

Claim 1:
A deployable safety apparatus (<NUM>, <NUM>) comprising:
a sliding member (<NUM>, <NUM>);
a cylinder (<NUM>, <NUM>) that accommodates the sliding member (<NUM>, <NUM>) in an axially extending bore (<NUM>, <NUM>) having an opening through which the sliding member (<NUM>, <NUM>) increasingly protrudes from the bore (<NUM>, <NUM>) during deployment;
a push-up member (<NUM>, <NUM>) including a cylindrical portion (<NUM>, <NUM>) open at an end so as to be disposed before deployment to cover at least a part of the cylinder (<NUM>, <NUM>) and a flange (<NUM>) extending in a radially outward direction from the opening at the open end of the cylindrical portion (<NUM>, <NUM>) or from an outer periphery of the cylindrical portion (<NUM>, <NUM>), the push-up member (<NUM>, <NUM>) during deployment being pushed up in one direction by the sliding member (<NUM>, <NUM>);
an ejected object (<NUM>, <NUM>) that is pushed up during deployment while being supported by the flange (<NUM>) of the push-up member (<NUM>, <NUM>) ; and
a power source (<NUM>, <NUM>) that during deployment moves the sliding member (<NUM>, <NUM>) in the cylinder (<NUM>, <NUM>) to increasingly protrude from the bore (<NUM>, <NUM>),
wherein the sliding member (<NUM>, <NUM>) has one end in the direction of increasing protrusion during deployment, and the cylindrical portion (<NUM>, <NUM>) opposite its open end includes an end part (19a),
characterised in that the sliding member end has a cross-section of a non-circular shape and in that the end part (19a) of the cylindrical portion (<NUM>, <NUM>) is provided with a first hole (<NUM>, <NUM>) having an insertion opening (53a, 153a) into which the sliding member end is inserted from the cylinder (<NUM>), and
at least a part of the length of the first hole (<NUM>, <NUM>) is provided with a fitting portion to which the sliding member end is fitted, the fitting portion having a substantially identical cross-section to the cross-section of a non-circular shape of the sliding member end.