Unmanned aerial vehicle

#The present invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle technique.

#In recent years, there have been improvements in sensors and software used in posture control and/or autonomous flight of unmanned aerial vehicles. As a result, performance and manipulability of unmanned aerial vehicles have improved to a significant degree. In particular, multi-copters that fly using a plurality of fixed pitch propellers are simpler in rotor structure than helicopters and thus easier to design and maintain. As such, multi-copters are expected to be applied to various missions in a wide range of industrial fields.

#Patent literature 1, listed below, discloses a multi-copter provided with a variable pitch mechanism for a rotor.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exterior of a multi-copter according to this embodiment.

#FIG. 2 is a see-through perspective view of the multi-copter of FIG. 1 illustrating an internal configuration of a center frame.

#FIG. 3 is a see-through perspective view of the multi-copter illustrating a configuration of a pitch changing mechanism of the multi-copter.

#An embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The following embodiment is an example of a multi-copter 10, which is an unmanned aerial vehicle provided with a plurality of rotors. It is to be noted that in the following description, the terms “upper”, “upward”, “lower”, “downward”, and “perpendicular” refer to directions parallel to the Z axis of the coordinate system representation illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the term “upper” referring to the arrow-headed direction of the Z axis. It is to be noted that the term “horizontal” refers to the X-Y plane (directions) in the coordinate system representation.

#(Configuration Outline)

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exterior of the multi-copter 10 according to this embodiment (hereinafter also referred to as “this example”). FIG. 2 is a see-through perspective view of the multi-copter 10 illustrating an internal configuration of a center frame 11 illustrated in FIG. 1. FIGS. 1 and 2 are for describing mechanical structures associated with driving and control of rotors 43, which are provided in the multi-copter 10. In actual situations, a flight controller FC, an ESC 24, and a battery 60, among other elements described later, are incorporated in the multi-copter 10. Other possible examples of elements include a cover member covering the center frame 11, a landing gear, and external devices that may be necessary in particular applications.