Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[001] The present disclosure generally relates to remotely-controlled aerial vehicles, and more particularly to systems and methods for utilizing Drone for Fire Fighting Operation in emergency situations.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[002] Rescues are responsive operations that usually involve in the saving of lives or the prevention of injury following an incident or dangerous situation. Many different tools are used by trained first responders to allow them to help injured or endangered persons in ways that are as fast and safe as humanly possible. These tools generally include, but are not limited to, search and rescue vehicles such as EMS rescue vehicles, fire engines, helicopters, and police cars, search and rescue dogs, and hydraulic cutting and spreading tools such as the “jaws of life.”
[003] Unfortunately, there are circumstances where common rescue tools are not sufficient to perform the rescue in a sufficiently timely manner. In many instances, roadways may be blocked by trees or other fallen debris which make it difficult for the responder to arrive at the incident site in a timely manner. Such delays may result in unnecessarily aggravated injuries or possibly death of the injured person(s).
[004] Such components make a flying drone relatively expensive and relatively fragile in view of potential risks it is exposed to, such as crashs. In fact, when a drone crash on the ground or hurt an obstacle, exposed pieces such as directional means or chipboards with positioning system can be damaged which is not satisfying for consumers because of the maintenance costs .
[005] In recent years, the military has increasingly relied on drones. Drones are remotely-controlled aerial vehicles which may perform surveillance and missile launches in a manner that does not unnecessarily risk the lives of our soldiers. There are no current drones adapted for emergency, rescue, or first-aid situations. A remotely-controlled aerial vehicle designed to assist in rescue by providing on-site assistance to the rescuers or endangered persons is needed.

SUMMARY
[006] This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts. These concepts are further described below in the Detailed Description section. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of this disclosure's subject matter, nor is this Summary intended as an aid in determining the scope of the disclosed subject matter.
[007] Aspects of the present disclosure meet the above-identified needs by providing systems and methods for utilizing remotely-controlled aerial vehicles in emergency situations. The remotely-controlled aerial vehicle is sufficiently structured to allow an operator to perform the process of locating people and/or dangerous situations in a timely manner and provide on-site assistance to endangered persons without introducing the rescuers into unnecessary dangers. The remotely-controlled aerial vehicle is constructed of a lightweight, but durable, material such as, but not limited to carbon fiber or aluminum, and comprises equipment such as, but not limited to, a search light, a camera, a blade configuration, a rotor, a cable tow which comprises a cable and an attachment device, and any other equipment necessary to perform the task desired by the operator.
[008] In an aspect, the blade configuration will be interchangeable depending on the amount of power needed and/or desired by the operator. The blade configuration may be attached to a rotary disk attached to the rotor which will be readily interchangeable. In another aspect, the blade configuration may be permanently attached to the rotor and the rotor itself would be the interchangeable portion of the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle.
[009] In an aspect, the rotor would be a specialized rotor equipped with a spring collar to measure the weight being towed and/or lifted by the operator. The spring collar would send a signal to the operator, via a wireless signal to the control panel being used by the operator, indicating that remotely-controlled aerial vehicle is approaching the device's maximum weight load limit. The control panel can be located in a specialized trailer, but may be a hand held remote device.
[0010] In an aspect, the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle may be equipped with an explosive device dropping mechanism. The mechanism would be attached to the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle and would be designed to drop explosive devices to, for example, clear obstacles on a path, clear snow mounds on a mountain, scare sharks swimming too close to shore, or the like. The mechanism would be attached to the body of the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle and would be designed to hold one or more explosive devices capable of performing the necessary and/or desired task.
[0011] In an aspect, the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle would be accompanied by a specialized trailer. The specialized trailer would be designed to expedite the process by utilizing an electric motor system and a ramp designed with rollers which would assist with loading and unloading the device. The trailer would also be equipped with a control panel which will allow the operator to more efficiently operate the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle. The control panel will include a screen which will display the camera footage being captured by the remotely-controlled aerial vehicles on-board camera system.
[0012] In another aspect, the remotely-controlled aerial vehicle would consist of an attached pressure gun. The pressure gun would be capable of firing a bail of nylon to assist in rescue situations occurring on the face of a mountain which is not easily accessible. This deployment of excess nylon would ensure that rescue personnel are not unnecessarily exposed to more danger than necessary while performing life-saving rescues in dangerous situations.
[0013] Further features and advantages of the present disclosure, as well as the structure and operation of various aspects of the present disclosure, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings
[0014] To further clarify advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which is illustrated in the appended drawings. It is appreciated that these drawings depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The accompanying drawings illustrate various embodiments of systems, method s , and other aspects of the disclosure. Any person having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. It may be that in some examples, one element may be designed as multiple elements or that multiple elements may be designed as one element. In some examples, an element shown as an internal component of one element may be implemented as an external component in another, and vice versa. Furthermore, elements may not be drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0015] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended, such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated therein being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the invention relates. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skilled in the art to which this invention belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are illustrative only and not intended to be limiting.
[0016] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0017] It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are explanatory of the invention and are not intended to be restrictive thereof.
[0018] Reference throughout this specification to “an aspect”, “another aspect” or similar language means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrase “in an embodiment”, “in another embodiment” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment.
[0019] The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a nonexclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or subsystems or elements or structures or components proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices or other sub-systems or other elements or other structures or other components or additional devices or additional sub-systems or additional elements or additional structures or additional components.
[0020] Reference is made herein to some “embodiments.” It should be understood that an embodiment is an example of a possible implementation of any features and/or elements presented in the attached claims. Some embodiments have been described for the purpose of illuminating one or more of the potential ways in which the specific features and/or elements of the attached claims fulfil the requirements of uniqueness, utility and non-obviousness.
[0021] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0022] The drone unit 110 is provided to move the first hose unit 120 upward so that the fire fighting drone 100 is flying. To this end, the drone unit 110 includes a plurality of propellers 112. In addition, a temperature sensor 114 and an image sensor 116 (or a camera) may be installed on one side of the front side of the drone unit 110. In addition, a control unit 118 for controlling the propeller 112, the temperature sensor 114, and the image sensor 116 may be provided inside, and a battery 119 for supplying power therein may be provided. Can.
[0023] As such, the drone unit 110 transfers the first hose unit 120 to the location where the fire occurred, and water is fired from the first hose unit 120 for the region where the fire occurred. You can put out a fire.
[0024] As shown in the plurality of propellers 112, four may be provided, and the fire fighting drone 100 may be moved to a desired position by the control of the control unit 118. In this embodiment, a plurality of propellers 112 will be described as having a shape surrounded by the drone unit 110, but the present invention is not limited thereto. If necessary, the plurality of propellers 112 may be exposed to the outside. have. In addition, the shape of the drone portion 110 may have a variety of shapes, unlike shown. That is, the drone unit 110 may be provided with a temperature sensor 114, an image sensor 116, a control unit 118, a battery 119, and the like, and the first hose unit 120 is installed below. If possible, the shape of the drone 110 can be freely deformed.
[0025] The temperature sensor 114 can sense the temperature of the surroundings of the fire fighting drone 100, and information about the temperature sensed by the control unit 118 so that the fire fighting drone 100 can move to a position where a certain temperature or higher is detected. Can send. In this embodiment, the temperature sensor 114 may be installed on one or more drone units 110, and a plurality of temperature sensors 114 may be installed as necessary.
[0026] The image sensor 116 may take an image of a location where the fire fighting drone 100 is located, and transmit the captured image to the user's control device through the control unit 118. Therefore, the user can acquire information about the location where the fire occurred through the image captured by the image sensor 116. And the location of the fire fighting drone 100 can be remotely moved by the user. In addition, in this embodiment, although the image sensor 116 is illustrated as having one, a plurality of images may be disposed on the drone unit 110 as necessary.
[0027] The control unit 118 receives the information collected from the temperature sensor 114 and the image sensor 116, can move the position of the drone unit 110 according to the collected information, or controls the collected information by the user Device. In addition, as will be described later, power may be supplied through the wiring 134 connected through the second hose unit 130 and the first hose unit 120, or through wired communication with the user's control device through the corresponding wiring 134. This can also be done. Of course, the control unit 118 may be in wireless communication with the steering device.
[0028] The battery 119 is provided to supply power to the drone unit 110. In this embodiment, the battery 119 does not always operate, and can be controlled so that the operation is performed only when the second hose unit 130 is separated. This can be controlled by the controller 118 whether the battery 119 is operated.
[0029] As shown in the drawing, the first hose part 120 is disposed under the draw part, one end is disposed to face the lateral direction of the drone part 110, and the other end is disposed to be directed toward the lower direction of the drone part 110. do. That is, when water is supplied from the lower direction, water may be launched toward the lateral direction of the drone unit 110. In this embodiment, one end of the first hose portion 120 may have a shape protruding outward than the side surface of the drone portion 110.
[0030] The other end of the first hose unit 120 may be disposed toward the lower direction of the drone unit 110, and the first connection unit 122 may be disposed at the end. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a plurality of clasps 124 may be disposed on the first connection part 122. The plurality of clasps 124 may be coupled by hinges to the tops of the first connecting portions 122, respectively. Therefore, each of the plurality of clasps 124 may be coupled to the first connection portion 122 to be rotated upward by a hinge disposed on the top of the first connection portion 122.
[0031] The second hose part 130 is disposed under the first hose part 120, and the second connection part 132 is disposed at the upper end. The second connection part 132 may be connected to the first connection part 122, and in this case, the second connection part 132 may be maintained connected to the first connection part 122 by a plurality of clasp parts 124. .
[0032] First, referring to FIG. 4, the second connection portion 132 may be formed to be larger than the diameter of the second hose portion 130, and the outer diameter of the second connection portion 132 is the outer diameter of the first connection portion 122 Can be the same as A wiring terminal 136 may be formed at an upper end of the second connection unit 132. The wiring terminal 136 is electrically connected to the wiring 134 formed in the longitudinal direction of the second hose portion 130, and as shown, may be formed in a circular rim shape along the upper end of the second connecting portion 132. Can. In addition, although not illustrated, a wiring terminal (not shown) having the same shape as the second connection unit 132 may be formed at the lower end of the first connection unit 122. Therefore, when the first connection portion 122 and the second connection portion 132 are combined, the wiring terminal of the first connection portion 122 and the wiring terminal 136 of the second connection portion 132 may be electrically connected to each other.
[0033] In addition, a wiring (not shown) may be disposed in the first hose unit 120, and the wiring disposed in the first hose unit 120 may be electrically connected to a wiring terminal formed in the first hose unit 120. . In addition, the wiring disposed in the first hose unit 120 may be electrically connected to the control unit 118 disposed inside the drone unit 110.
[0034] At this time, a plurality of wiring terminals 136 formed on the second connection portion 132 and wiring terminals formed on the first connection portion 122 may be formed as necessary. The plurality of wiring terminals 136 may be formed to be spaced apart from each other so that they are electrically insulated from each other. When one wiring terminal 136 is disposed inside, the other wiring terminal 136 is a wiring terminal disposed therein ( It may be disposed insulated from each other in a manner that is disposed on the outside to surround 136).
[0035] In addition, an inner tube 138 may be disposed in the second connection part 132. The inner tube 138 is disposed inside the wiring terminal 136 and may have a shape protruding upward. Accordingly, when the second connecting portion 132 is coupled to the first connecting portion 122, the inner tube 138 may be inserted into the first connecting portion 122. Therefore, even if water flows through the first connection portion 122 and the second connection portion 132, it is possible to prevent water from coming into contact with the wiring terminal 136 by the inner tube 138.
[0036] Referring to FIG. 3 again, the second connection portion 132 may be coupled to the first connection portion 122 by a plurality of clasp portions 124. The second connection portion 132 has a larger outer diameter than the second hose portion 130. In addition, the outer diameter of the second connecting portion 132 may be the same as the outer diameter of the first connecting portion 122. Clasp portion 124, as shown, one side is disposed to be rotated by a hinge on the top of the first connection portion (122). The clasp portion 124 has a shape extending in the longitudinal direction of the first connection portion 122 and the second connection portion 132, and the other end is bent toward the center direction of the second connection portion 132 to form a hanging end. have.
[0037] Therefore, in the state in which the first connecting portion 122 and the second connecting portion 132 are coupled, the clasp portion 124 has a locking end 124a of the clasp portion 124 at the lower end of the second connecting portion 132 in the normal condition. It becomes stuck. Accordingly, the first connection portion 122 and the second connection portion 132 may be connected to each other.
[0038] The plurality of clasps 124 are operated under the control of the control unit 118. To this end, a hinge connected to the plurality of clasps may be connected to a separate motor or controller. The plurality of clasps 124 are operated to rotate, as shown in FIG. 3 under the control of the control unit 118. That is, the plurality of clasps 124 are rotated about 90 degrees, and the locking end 124a of the clasp 124 is released from the lower end of the second connecting portion 132 according to the rotation.
[0039] The plurality of clasps 124 may be rotated simultaneously as described above under the control of the control unit 118. As the plurality of clasps 124 are operated, the force maintaining the coupling between the second connection portion 132 and the first connection portion is removed, and the second connection portion is separated from the first connection portion Can be. The force that separates the second connection portion from the first connection portion may be separated as the force due to gravity is applied. Therefore, the second hose part is separated from the first hose part, and the drone part is separated from the second hose part 130 and can move freely.
[0040] As described above, separating the second hose unit from the first hose unit may be a state in which the fire has been suppressed to a certain extent at the location where the fire has occurred, and accordingly the fire fighting drone is added. This is to reconnaissance, such as checking the location where the fire occurred or checking if there is a person trapped around or where the fire occurred. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to be supplied with water through the second hose unit, and because the second hose unit may restrict movement, in this embodiment, the fire fighting drone is the second hose In the state in which the unit 130 is removed, it is configured to move.
[0041] Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts necessarily need to be performed. Also, those acts that are not dependent on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples. Numerous variations, whether explicitly given in the specification or not, such as differences in structure, dimension, and use of material, are possible. The scope of embodiments is at least as broad as given by the following claims.
[0042] Benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described above with regard to specific embodiments. However, the benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any component(s) that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced are not to be construed as a critical, required, or essential feature or component of any or all the claims.
[0043] While specific language has been used to describe the present subject matter, any limitations arising on account thereto, are not intended. As would be apparent to a person in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein. The drawings and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. , Claims: We claim:
A drone unit for flying to a location where a fire has occurred;
A first hose part disposed under the drone part and spraying the supplied water to a location where a fire occurs; And
It is connected to the second hose portion, and includes a second hose portion for supplying water to the first hose portion,
The first hose portion includes a first connection portion and at least one clasp portion rotatably connected to an upper end of the first connection portion,
The second hose portion includes a second connection portion connected to the first connection portion,
The one or more clasps are fire-fighting drones hanging on the second connecting portion so that the second connecting portion is connected to the first connecting portion.
The method according to claim 1,
The drone unit includes a temperature sensor for sensing ambient temperature, an image sensor for photographing surroundings, and a control unit for receiving information collected from the temperature sensor and the image sensor and controlling the drone unit.
The method according to claim 2,
The control unit controls the one or more clasps so that the second hose portion is separated from the first hose portion.
The method according to claim 1,
A fire drone having wirings for supplying signals or power to the drone unit in the first and second hose units.
The method according to claim 4,
A wiring terminal in which the wiring formed in the first hose portion is electrically connected is formed at a lower end of the first connection portion,
A wiring terminal formed by connecting the wiring formed in the second hose portion to the upper end of the second connection portion is formed,
A fire fighting drone in which the wiring terminals formed in the first connection portion and the wiring terminals formed in the second connection portion are electrically connected to each other as the first and second connection portions are connected to each other.
The method according to claim 5,
The second connection portion is a fire-fighting drone formed by protruding an inner tube inserted into the first connection portion inside the wiring terminal in an upward direction.
The method according to claim 3,
The drone unit is a fire fighting drone equipped with a battery for supplying power to the temperature sensor, image sensor, and control unit.