Patent Description:
With the continuous development of UAV technology, more and more industries and individuals use a UAV for transportation and the delivery of items. The existing UAVs usually use electronic-controlled delivery mechanism to lift the pieces to be transported and release them when they arrive at the destination. However, the control signal is easily affected by obstacles, and the electronically controlled delivery mechanism increases the weight and manufacturing cost of UAV.

As a result, some UAVs use an automatic mechanical delivery structure. Mechanical delivery structures often include a mounting pieces and a reset pieces. During UAV transportation, the mounting piece lifts the piece to be transported, and the reset piece deforms under the weight of the piece to be transported. When the UAV reaches the designated location and the piece to be transported touches the ground, the force of the piece to be transported on the reset assembly disappears. The reset assembly makes the piece to be transported break away from the mounting piece, thus automatic decoupling is realized.

However, the UAV has not yet lifted the piece to be transported which it is just hooked up to the mounting piece, and the piece to be transported still touches with the ground, and the piece to be transported is located near the opening of the mounting groove. At this time, the piece to be transported can be easily separated from the mounting piece under the action of the reset assembly. Thus, an operator needs to press the piece to be transported, which affects UAV operation and transportation efficiency.

<CIT> relates to a UAV, which includes a chassis, a power supply mounted to the chassis, a control system operable to receive power from the power supply, at least one rotor operable to generate lift under control of the control system, and a winch mounted to the chassis. <CIT> relates to a rescuing highaltitude hook device, which comprises a hook body and a pivotally connected retaining arm, and wherein via wireless remote control the open-close state of the hook shall be controlled in order to fix the hook device to a high altitude object without manual climbing. <CIT> relates to a disconnectable coupling particularly for connecting a load to a parachute. <CIT> relates to a payload retrieval apparatus.

The invention aims to provide a UAV, which can realize the automatic delivery of the piece to be transported, and at the same time can conveniently hook the piece to be transported to the delivery structure to ensure UAV transportation efficiency.

To this end, the invention uses the following technical solution:.

Moreover, the second end of the limiting piece can be provided with a first magnetic piece, a second magnetic piece opposite the magnetism of the first magnetic piece can be arranged on the mounting piece.

Moreover, the first magnetic piece and the limiting piece can be detachable; and/or the second magnetic piece and the mounting piece can be detachable.

Moreover, the first end of the limiting piece and the reset piece can be rotationally connected.

Moreover, a chute connected with the mounting groove can also be provided on the mounting piece, the reset assembly can be arranged in the chute, the reset piece can include a connected reset piece and a slide block; the reset piece can be located between the slide block and the bottom of the chute; the slide block and the chute can slide together and can be abutted against the piece to be transported, the limiting piece can be connected with the slide block.

Moreover, a guide hole can be arranged on the slide block, one side of the reset piece near the slide block can be penetrated into the guide hole and can be abutted against the top wall of the guide hole.

Moreover, the reset assembly can further include a guide piece arranged at the bottom of the chute, the end of the reset piece away from the slide block can be sleeved on the guide piece.

Moreover, the upper side wall of the mounting groove can further be provided with an avoidance groove to ensure the automatic decoupling of the piece to be transported.

Moreover, one of the side wall of the slide block and the side wall of the slide groove can be provided with a protrusion, and the other of the two can be provided with a guide groove, the protrusion can slide and fit in the guide groove.

Moreover, there can be at least two delivery structures, and each delivery structure is connected to the UAV body.

The benefit of the invention:
The invention discloses a UAV, which comprises a UAV body and a delivery structure, the delivery structure comprises a mounting piece, a reset assembly and a limiting piece. The reset assembly is contacted to the UAV body. The mounting groove is arranged on the mounting piece. The opening direction of the mounting groove extends upward, and the piece to be transported can be hooked into the mounting groove. The reset assembly is configured to deform under the weight of the piece to be transported when it is lifted, and reset to drive the piece to be transported away from the mounting groove when the piece to be transported touches the ground. The first end of the limiting piece is connected to the reset assembly when the piece to be transported is not lifted, and the second end of the limiting piece can be connected with the mounting piece by magnetic adsorption to seal the opening of the mounting groove. When the piece to be transported is lifted, the reset assembly can drive the limiting piece to move so as to separate the second end from the mounting piece. The UAV can realize the automatic release of the piece to be transported, and limit the position when the piece to be transported is not lifted, so as to avoid the piece to be transported fall from the mounting slot. The limiting piece can open the mounting slot after the UAV lifts the piece to be transported. The invention can enable automatic decoupling of the piece to be transported after landing, thereby enabling the UAV convenience and high transportation efficiency.

Legends in the figures:<NUM>-mounting piece, <NUM>-mounting groove, <NUM>-chute, <NUM>-avoidance part; <NUM>-guide groove; <NUM>-avoidance groove;.

The presently claimed invention is further described in detail in combination with the attached drawings. Obviously, the embodiments described are only a part of the embodiments of the invention rather than all embodiments. Based on the embodiment of the invention, other embodiments may be obtained by technical personnel in the field without making creative labor, said other embodiments belonging to the scope of the invention as far as they fall within the scope of the appended claims.

The invention provides a UAV for transporting a piece to be transported <NUM>, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. The UAV includes a UAV body and a delivery structure. The delivery structure comprises a mounting piece <NUM>, a reset assembly <NUM> and a limiting piece <NUM>. The mounting piece <NUM> is connected to the UAV body, and an mounting groove <NUM> is arranged on the mounting piece <NUM>, and the opening direction of the mounting groove <NUM> extends upward, the piece to be transported <NUM> can be hooked into the mounting groove <NUM>; and the reset assembly <NUM> is configured to deform under the weight of the piece to be transported <NUM> when the piece to be transported <NUM> is lifted, when the piece to be transported <NUM> touches the ground, the reset assembly <NUM> resets to drive the piece to be transported <NUM> move towards the opening direction of the mounting groove <NUM> and to leave from the mounting groove <NUM>. The first end of the limiting piece <NUM> is connected to the reset assembly <NUM>, when the piece to be transported <NUM> is not lifted, the second end of the limiting piece can be connected to the mounting piece <NUM> by magnetic adsorption to seal the opening of the mounting groove <NUM>, and when the piece to be transported <NUM> is lifted, the reset assembly <NUM> can drive the limiting piece <NUM> to move so that the second end of the limiting piece <NUM> is separated from the mounting piece <NUM>. Before transporting the piece to be transported <NUM>, the piece to be transported <NUM> is hooked up to the mounting piece <NUM>, the piece to be transported <NUM> is not lifted during the process, the limiting piece <NUM> is then made to block the mounting groove <NUM> to prevent the piece to be transported <NUM> to be separated from the mounting groove <NUM> by the reset action of the reset assembly <NUM>. When the UAV lifts the piece to be transported <NUM>, the piece to be transported <NUM> moves to the bottom of the mounting groove <NUM> and deforms the reset assembly <NUM> under the weight of the piece to be transported <NUM>. The reset assembly <NUM> drives the limiting piece <NUM> to move and the second end of the limiting piece <NUM> is separated from the mounting piece <NUM>, thereby opening the opening of mounting groove <NUM>. When the piece to be transported <NUM> is being delivered and touches the ground, the force acting on the reset assembly <NUM> disappears, and the reset assembly <NUM> resets and drives the piece to be transported <NUM> to detach from the delivery structure by the mounting groove <NUM>. The UAV can realize the automatic release of the piece to be transported <NUM>, and limit the position by the limiting piece <NUM> when the piece to be transported <NUM> is not lifted, so as to avoid the piece to be transported <NUM> fall from the mounting groove <NUM>. It is no need for the operator to limit the piece to be transported <NUM> manually. The limiting piece <NUM> can still open the opening of the mounting groove <NUM> after lifting so as to enable automatic decoupling of the piece to be transported <NUM> after landing, thereby enabling the UAV convenience and high transportation efficiency.

In this embodiment, the piece to be transported <NUM> can be a cargo holder, a rescue container, or a cargo to be transported, and can be customized according to actual needs. It is not restricted in this embodiment.

In particular, the second end of the limiting piece <NUM> is provided with the first magnetic piece, and the mounting piece <NUM> is provided with a second magnetic piece which is opposite to the magnetism of the first magnetic piece, so that when the piece to be transported <NUM> is not lifted, the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are able to attract each other so that the limiting piece <NUM> seals the opening of the mounting groove <NUM>.

Moreover, the first magnetic piece and the second magnetic piece are both permanent magnets, with simple structures and high reliability.

Further, the first magnetic piece and the limiting piece <NUM> are detachably connected, so that the first magnetic piece can be replaced when it is necessary, and thus reducing the maintenance cost of the delivery structure. Similarly, the second magnetic piece is also detachably connected to mounting piece <NUM> so that it can be replaced when it is necessary.

Furthermore, the angle between the extending direction of the mounting groove <NUM> and the vertical direction is <NUM> ° -<NUM> °, on one hand it can ensure the reliable transportation of the piece to be transported <NUM> and prevent the piece to be transported <NUM> to be separated from the mounting groove <NUM> during transportation, and on the other hand, when the piece to be transported <NUM> touches the ground, the piece to be transported <NUM> can be smoothly separated from the mounting groove <NUM> under the reset action of the reset assembly <NUM>.

Furthermore, the first end of the limiting piece <NUM> is rotationally connected with the reset assembly <NUM> so that the limiting piece <NUM> can rotate and cause the first magnetic piece and the second magnetic piece to attract each other when the piece to be transported <NUM> is not lifted. When the piece to be transported <NUM> is lifted, the reset assembly <NUM> deforms and drives the limiting piece <NUM> away from the second magnetic piece. At the same time, the second end of the limiting piece <NUM> rotates downward under the weight of itself, and thus will not affect the automatic delivery of the piece to be transported <NUM>.

Of course, the connection mode of the limiting piece <NUM> and the reset assembly <NUM> is not limited. In other embodiments, the limiting piece <NUM> may also be an elastic arm etc.. The first end of the elastic arm is fixed to the reset assembly <NUM>, the first magnetic piece is arranged at the second end of the elastic arm to simplify the connection between the limiting piece <NUM> and the reset assembly <NUM>. The structure can be customized according to actual needs. The structure is not restricted in this embodiment.

The settings for reset assembly <NUM> are described below.

In the present embodiment, as shown in <FIG>, a chute <NUM> in connection with the mounting groove <NUM> is further arranged on the mounting piece <NUM>, and the reset assembly <NUM> is arranged in the chute <NUM> and is abutted against the piece to be transported <NUM>. The mounting groove <NUM> can provide a limiting effect on the piece to be transported <NUM> by providing an additional chute <NUM> to accommodate the reset assembly <NUM>. That is, the piece to be transported <NUM> can be hooked into the bottom of the mounting groove <NUM>, and at the same time, the installation of the chute <NUM> can further reduce the weight of the delivery structure, thereby improving the endurance of the UAV.

Of course, the setting location for the reset assembly <NUM> is not limited herein. In other embodiments, the reset assembly <NUM> may be arranged in the mounting groove <NUM>, and both two ends of the reset assembly <NUM> can be connected with the bottom of the mounting groove <NUM> and the piece to be transported <NUM> respectively. The invention can be customized according to actual needs, and this embodiment makes no restriction on this.

Furthermore, the chute <NUM> extends along the vertical direction, and a larger size of the chute <NUM> can be obtained when the size of the mounting piece <NUM> is fixed, comparing with the case where the chute <NUM> extends in an angle with the horizontal direction, the invention can provide a larger installation space for the reset assembly <NUM> and further reduce the weight of the delivery structure.

Furthermore, as shown in <FIG>, the reset assembly <NUM> includes a connected reset piece <NUM> and a slide block <NUM>, and the reset piece <NUM> is located between the bottom of the slide block <NUM> and the chute <NUM>. The slide block <NUM> slides with the chute <NUM> and can be connected with the piece to be transported <NUM>, and the limiting piece <NUM> is connected with the slide block <NUM>. The reliability and stability of the connection of the reset assembly <NUM> and the piece to be transported <NUM> can be guaranteed by the connection of the slide block <NUM> and the piece to be transported <NUM>, and the piece to be transported <NUM> can be automatically released upon landing. Wherein, the side wall of the slide chute <NUM> may be provided with an avoidance part <NUM> to evade the limiting piece <NUM> when the limiting piece <NUM> slides with the slide block <NUM>.

In details, as shown in <FIG>, the first end of the limiting piece <NUM> is provided with two spaced lug parts <NUM>, each of which is provided with a first connecting hole, and the slide block <NUM> is provided with a holding slot <NUM>. The two opposite side walls of the holding slot <NUM> are respectively provided with a second connecting hole. The delivery structure also comprises a connecting shaft, which passes through a first connecting hole, two of second connecting holes and another second connecting hole in turn, thus the rotary connection of the limiting piece <NUM> and the slide block <NUM> is realized. Wherein, because two lug parts <NUM> are arranged, the two lug parts <NUM> can be slightly close to each other under the action of external force when the limiting piece <NUM> is installed, thus the limiting piece <NUM> can be conveniently installed on the slide block <NUM>. In addition, the arrangement of the two lug parts <NUM> also facilitates to reduce the overall weight of the delivery structure.

As an example, the reset piece <NUM> is a spring.

It is understood that the reset piece <NUM> has a preset stiffness to enable the reset piece <NUM> to be compressed under the gravity of the piece to be transported <NUM> during transport. The piece to be transported <NUM> can approach to the bottom of the mounting groove <NUM> with a high transportation reliability. When the piece to be transported <NUM> touches the ground, the reset action of the reset piece <NUM> can also drive the piece to be transported <NUM> to remove from the mounting groove <NUM>, then achieve automatic decoupling.

Furthermore, a guide hole is arranged on the slide block <NUM>, and one end of the reset piece <NUM> near the slide block <NUM> is sleeved in the guide hole and is abutted against the top wall of the guide hole. On one hand it can provide a limiting effect to the reset piece <NUM>, to ensure the reset effect of the reset piece <NUM>, so that the piece to be transported <NUM> can automatically unhook, and on the other hand, the connection of the reset piece <NUM> and the slide block <NUM> can be simply realized, the number if components used for connection can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the delivery structure can be cut.

To further improve the guiding effect on the reset piece <NUM>, the reset assembly <NUM> also includes a guide piece <NUM>, which is arranged at the bottom of the mounting groove <NUM>. The end of the reset piece <NUM> which is far from the slide block <NUM> is sleeved on the guide piece <NUM>. The setting of the guide piece <NUM> can further improve the guiding function to the reset piece <NUM>, thus further ensuring the reset effect of the reset piece <NUM>. It is understood that the setting of the guide piece <NUM> will not affect the formation of the slide piece <NUM> along the vertical direction, since the guide piece <NUM> can extend into the guide hole when the slide block <NUM> moves down.

Specifically, the guide piece <NUM> comprises a thread part and a guide part which are connected sequentially. The first thread hole is arranged on the mounting piece <NUM>; the thread part is matched with the first thread hole, and the reset piece <NUM> is set on the guide part. The connection of the guide piece <NUM> and the mounting piece <NUM> is realized by the matching thread, which can facilitate the assembly of the delivery structure and reduce the manufacturing cost.

Furthermore, the number of the reset piece <NUM> is at least two, and each reset piece <NUM> is connected with the slide block <NUM> to improve the stability of the slide block <NUM> when sliding in the mounting groove <NUM>, thus further improving the stability and reliability of the contact between the slide block <NUM> and the piece to be transported <NUM>. In the present embodiment, the number of the reset pieces <NUM> is two. Two reset pieces <NUM> are spaced arranged in the mounting groove <NUM>, and the guide hole and the guide piece <NUM> are respectively arranged one by one with the reset piece <NUM>.

Furthermore, as shown in <FIG>, one of the side walls of the slide block <NUM> and the chute <NUM> is provided with a protrusion <NUM>, and the other of the side walls of the slide block <NUM> and the slide chute <NUM> is provided with a guide chute <NUM>, the protrusion <NUM> can slide and fit in the guide groove <NUM> to further provide a guide for the slide block <NUM>, thereby increasing the sliding smoothness of the slide block <NUM> and ensuring the abutting effect of the piece to be transported <NUM>.

In the present embodiment, at least two protrusions <NUM> are arranged on both sides of the slide block <NUM>, and the guide grooves <NUM> are arranged on the two side walls of the chute <NUM>. Each protrusion <NUM> can slide and fit in the corresponding guide groove <NUM> to further improve the guiding function of the slide block <NUM>.

Furthermore, the upper side wall of the mounting groove <NUM> is further provided with an avoidance groove <NUM> to avoid the sliding of the slide block <NUM>, thereby ensuring the automatic decoupling of the piece to be transported <NUM>. In addition, the avoidance groove <NUM> can further reduce the weight of the delivery structure.

Furthermore, the mounting piece <NUM> comprises two shells arranged opposite each other, which are enclosed to form the chute <NUM>, the mounting groove <NUM>, and the avoidance groove <NUM> to facilitate the processing and assembly of the reset assembly <NUM>.

In particular, at least one second thread hole is arranged on a shell, and a hole corresponding to the second thread hole is arranged on the other shell. The delivery structure still comprises a fastener <NUM>. The fastener <NUM> can pass by the through hole and be threaded into the second thread hole, thereby realizing the connection of the two shells.

Furthermore, there are at least two delivery structures, and each delivery structure is connected with the UAV body to improve the UAV transport capability and expand UAV range of usage.

It is understood that each delivery structure may be used to lift or deliver a piece to be transported <NUM>, and each delivery structure may also be used to lift or deliver at least two pieces to be transported <NUM>. The structure can be set according to the actual transportation needs, and this embodiment makes no restrictions on this.

In the description of the description, it should be noted that, the terms "Center", "Top", "Bottom", "Left", "Right", "Vertical", "Level", "Inside", "Outside" indicate a position or position relationship based on the position or position relationship shown in the attached drawings, for the sole purpose of facilitating and simplifying the description of the embodiment. The terms do not indicate or imply that the device or structure referred to must have a specific orientation or must be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, it cannot be understood as a restriction to the invention. In addition, the terms "First" and "Second" are used only to describe the purpose and cannot be understood as indicating the importance level. Wherein, the terms "First position" and "Second position" are two different positions.

The terms "Installed", "Connected", "Combined", "Fixed" should be understood in a broad understanding unless otherwise specified. For example, they may be fixed or dismountable connections; mechanical or electrical connections; direct or indirect connections through an intermediary; an internal connection between two elements or interactions between two elements. For the ordinary technical personnel in the field, the concrete meaning of the above-mentioned terms in the invention shall be understood according to specific conditions.

Unless otherwise specified, the first feature "Up" or "Down" on the second feature may include direct contact between the first feature and the second feature; it may also include first features and second features that are not in direct contact but are in contact with each other through additional features. Moreover, that the first feature is "Above", "Over" and "On" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or it simply means that that the first feature has a higher horizontal height than the second feature. Moreover, that the first feature is "Below", "Underneath" and "Under" the second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or it simply means that the first feature has a lower horizontal height than the second feature.

Claim 1:
A UAV for delivering a piece to be transported (<NUM>), wherein the UAV includes a UAV body and a delivery structure, wherein delivery structure comprises:
a mounting piece (<NUM>) connected to the UAV body, and a mounting groove (<NUM>) arranged on the mounting piece (<NUM>), wherein a direction of an opening of the mounting groove (<NUM>) extends upwards, and the piece to be transported (<NUM>) is configured to be hooked into the mounting groove (<NUM>); and
a reset assembly (<NUM>)configured to deform under a weight of the piece to be transported (<NUM>) when the piece to be transported (<NUM>) is lifted, and reset to drive the piece to be transported (<NUM>) away from the mounting groove (<NUM>) when the piece to be transported (<NUM>) touches the ground;
characterized in that
the delivery structure further comprises:
a limiting piece (<NUM>), a first end of the limiting piece (<NUM>) being connected to the reset assembly (<NUM>), and a second end of the limiting piece (<NUM>) configured to be connected with the mounting piece (<NUM>) by magnetic adsorption to seal the opening of the mounting groove (<NUM>) when the piece to be transported (<NUM>) is hooked but not lifted, wherein when the piece to be transported (<NUM>) is lifted, the reset assembly (<NUM>) is configured to drive the limiting piece (<NUM>) to move so as to separate the second end from the mounting piece (<NUM>).