Drone system
The present invention relates a drone system for transporting liquid or gas from a remote area to a demand area. The drone system ( 100 ) includes: a transport pipe ( 10 ) for flowing the liquid or the gas; a pump device ( 201 ) for suppling the liquid or the gas to the transport pipe ( 10 ); a top drone ( 1 ) for holding a nozzle ( 11 ) coupled to a tip end of the transport pipe ( 10 ); a plurality of pump drones ( 6 A, 6 B), each of which incorporates a pump ( 40 A, 40 B); and a power supply unit ( 3 ) for suppling a power to the top drone ( 1 ) and the pump drones ( 6 A, 6 B) through power cables ( 5 ). Each of the pump drones ( 6 A, 6 B) has a coupling mechanism ( 35 ) for tiltably and rotatably coupling the pump ( 40 A, 40 B) to a pump drone body ( 30 ).
1. A drone system for suppling liquid or gas from a remote area to a demand area, comprising:
a transport pipe for flowing the liquid or the gas;
a pump device located at the remote area to supply the liquid or the gas to the transport pipe;
a top drone for holding a nozzle coupled to a tip end of the transport pipe;
a plurality of pump drones which are located in the middle of the transport pipe, and each of which incorporates a pump for increasing a pressure of the liquid or the gas flowing through the transport pipe; and
a power supply unit for suppling a power to the top drone and the plurality of pump drones through power cables;
wherein the transport pipe is formed by coupling a plurality of conduits through pumps of the pump drones,
each of the pump drones has:
a pump drone body; and
a coupling mechanism for tiltably and rotatably coupling the pump to the pump drone body, and
wherein the coupling mechanism includes:
a coupling shaft fixed to the pump; and
a rotating member for rotatably supporting the pump around the coupling shaft; and
the rotating member is rotatably supported by the pump drone body.
2. The drone system according to claim 1 , wherein an inlet pipe and a discharge pipe of the pump are coupled to the conduits through swivel joints, respectively.