US-12618508-B2 - Gimbal, leveling method and control method thereof, leveling motor and gimbal assembly

US12618508B2US 12618508 B2US12618508 B2US 12618508B2US-12618508-B2

Abstract

A gimbal, a balancing method, a control method, a balancing motor and a gimbal assembly are provided. The balancing method includes: controlling a driving motor to rotate, and obtain a first electric signal parameter of the driving motor, where the gimbal includes a rotating assembly and a balancing motor, and the rotating assembly includes a gimbal component, a transmission mechanism and a driving motor. The driving motor is configured to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to adjust the attitude of the gimbal. The balancing motor is configured to drive at least part of the gimbal component to move via the transmission mechanism so as to adjust the center of gravity of the gimbal. The operation of the balancing motor may be controlled based on the first electrical signal parameter to make the gimbal in a balanced state in an adjustment direction of the balancing motor.

Inventors

Guoyao LIU
Shanguang Guo
Wenjie Wang
Wenlin XIE
Huipeng YIN

Assignees

SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230622

Claims (20)

1 . A balancing method for a gimbal, wherein the gimbal comprises: at least one rotation assembly, each comprising a gimbal component, a transmission mechanism, and a driving motor, wherein the driving motor is configured to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to adjust an attitude of the gimbal; at least one balancing motor corresponding to the at least one rotation assembly, each balancing motor being configured to drive, via the transmission mechanism, at least part of the gimbal component to move along a balancing direction so as to adjust a center of gravity of the gimbal; and at least one locking structure corresponding to the at least one rotation assembly; wherein each rotation assembly corresponds to one or more balancing directions, and each balancing direction corresponds to the at least one locking structure, so that the at least part of the gimbal component is allowed to move or remain fixed in a corresponding balancing direction of the one or more balancing directions; the method comprising: controlling at least one driving motor to rotate; obtaining a first electric signal parameter of the at least one driving motor; and controlling the at least one balancing motor to operate based on the first electric signal parameter so as to enable the gimbal to be in a balanced state in a direction adjusted by the at least one balancing motor.
2 . The balancing method according to claim 1 , wherein the gimbal comprises: at least two rotation assemblies, correspondingly comprising at least two driving motors; and at least two balancing motors corresponding to the at least two rotation assemblies, each configured to drive a corresponding at least part of the gimbal component to move along the corresponding balancing direction; the method further comprising: adjusting, according to a first preset sequence, the gimbal to be in the balanced state in the balancing directions adjusted by the at least two balancing motors.
3 . The balancing method according to claim 2 , wherein the at least two rotation assemblies comprise: a first rotation assembly, configured to mount a load; a second rotation assembly, connected to the first rotation assembly; and a third rotation assembly, connected to the second rotation assembly and to a support mechanism, wherein the first preset sequence comprises a sequence from the first rotation assembly, the second rotation assembly to the third rotation assembly.
4 . The balancing method according to claim 2 , wherein the gimbal further comprises: a locking structure for each of the at least two rotation assemblies, wherein the locking structure is configured to lock the corresponding at least part of the gimbal component so as to fix the at least part of the gimbal component relative to a rotation part of the at least one driving motor, or unlock the corresponding at least part of the gimbal component so as to allow the at least part of the gimbal component to move relative to the rotation part of the at least one driving motor; the method further comprising: prior to starting a balancing operation in a first target direction of the balancing directions, locking, by the locking structure, the at least part of the gimbal component of a next rotation assembly of the at least two rotation assemblies; and after finishing the balancing operation in the first target direction, or within a preset period of time after the starting of the balancing operation in the first target direction, prompting a user to unlock the at least part of the gimbal component of the next rotation assembly of the at least two rotation assemblies, or controlling to unlock the at least part of the gimbal component of the next rotation assembly.
5 . The balancing method according to claim 4 , wherein a triggering condition for performing the balancing operation in a second target direction of the balancing directions corresponding to the next rotation assembly-comprises: receiving an unlocking instruction for the at least part of the gimbal component of the next rotation assembly.
6 . The balancing method according to claim 2 , wherein the gimbal further comprises: a motor locking structure for each of the at least two rotation assemblies, configured to selectively lock or unlock a rotation part of the at least two driving motors to allow the rotation part to be fixed or rotate relative to a fixed part of the at least two driving motors; and the method comprising: after finishing a balancing operation in a first target direction of at least two balancing directions corresponding to a current one of the at least two rotation assemblies and prior to starting the balancing operation in a second target direction of the at least two balancing directions corresponding to a next rotation assembly of the at least two rotation assemblies, controlling the motor locking structure to lock the rotation part of the at least one driving motor corresponding to the current rotation assembly having finished the balancing operation.
7 . The balancing method according to claim 6 , further comprising: after finishing the balancing operation in all of the at least two balancing directions, controlling the motor locking structure to unlock the rotation part of the at least two driving motors having finished the balancing operation thereof.
8 . The balancing method according to claim 6 , wherein the rotation part of the at least one driving motor having finished a corresponding balancing operation thereof is positioned at a predetermined angle within a preset working rotation range of the gimbal.
9 . The balancing method according to claim 2 , further comprising: when the gimbal is in the balanced state in at least two balancing directions, controlling the gimbal to issue a prompt for balancing completion, or controlling the gimbal to notify a preset terminal to issue a prompt for the balancing completion.
10 . The balancing method according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one locking structure comprises: an accommodation part, configured to accommodate the at least part of the gimbal component, wherein at least one of the accommodation part or the gimbal component comprises a friction pad in contact with the accommodation part and the gimbal component, and the friction pad is configured to provide a frictional force for the gimbal component to lock the at least part of the gimbal component from moving when the at least one balancing motor stop driving the at least part of the gimbal component.
11 . The balancing method according to claim 1 , further comprising: upon receiving a preset instruction, controlling the at least one balancing motor to drive the at least part of the gimbal component to move the at least part of the gimbal component to a storage position, wherein the storage position enables the gimbal to switch from an unfolded state to a folded state.
12 . The balancing method according to claim 11 , further comprising: when the at least part of the gimbal component is in the storage position, controlling the at least one driving motor to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to switch the gimbal component to the folded state.
13 . The balancing method according to claim 12 , wherein the gimbal further comprising a motor locking structure; and the method further comprising: when the gimbal is in the folded state, controlling the motor locking structure to lock the at least part of the gimbal component.
14 . The balancing method according to claim 13 , further comprising: when the gimbal is in the folded state, controlling the gimbal to turn off.
15 . The balancing method according to claim 11 , further comprising: upon receiving the preset instruction, waiting for a period of time, and then controlling the gimbal to turn off; or upon receiving the preset instruction, keeping electrical components related to balancing powered and turning off electrical components unrelated to balancing, waiting for a period of time, and then controlling the electrical components related to balancing to turn off.
16 . The balancing method according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling of the at least one balancing motor to operate based on the first electric signal parameter comprises: in response to a decrease of the first electric signal parameter during a rotation of the at least one driving motor, controlling the at least one balancing motor to drive corresponding at least part of the gimbal component to move along an original balancing direction; in response to an increase of the first electric signal parameter during the rotation of the at least one driving motor, controlling the at least one balancing motor to drive the corresponding at least part of the gimbal component to move along an opposite direction of the original balancing direction; or in response to the first electric signal parameter being smaller than a preset value, controlling the at least one balancing motor to stop driving the corresponding at least part of the gimbal component.
17 . The balancing method according to claim 1 , wherein the controlling of the at least one balancing motor to operate comprises: controlling the at least one balancing motor to drive the at least part of the gimbal component to move.
18 . The balancing method according to claim 1 , wherein the first electric signal parameter is associate with torque of the at least one driving motor.
19 . A gimbal, comprising: at least one rotation assembly, each comprising a gimbal component, a transmission mechanism and a driving motor configured to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to adjust an attitude of the gimbal; at least one balancing motor corresponding to the at least one rotation assembly, each balancing motor being configured to drive, via the transmission mechanism, at least part of the gimbal component to move along a balancing direction to adjust a center of gravity of the gimbal; at least one locking structure corresponding to the at least one rotation assembly, wherein each rotation assembly corresponds to one or more balancing directions, and each balancing direction corresponds to the at least one locking structure, so that the at least part of the gimbal component is allowed to move or remain fixed in a corresponding balancing direction of the one or more balancing directions; and a controller configured to: control at least one driving motor to rotate, obtain a first electric signal parameter of the at least one driving motor, and control the at least one balancing motor to operate based on the first electric signal parameter so as to enable the gimbal to be in a balanced state in a direction adjusted by the at least one balancing motor.
20 . A balancing method for a gimbal, wherein the gimbal comprises: at least one rotation assembly, each comprising a gimbal component, a transmission mechanism, and a driving motor, wherein the driving motor is configured to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to adjust an attitude of the gimbal; at least one balancing motor corresponding to the at least one rotation assembly, each balancing motor being configured to drive, via the transmission mechanism, at least part of the gimbal component to move along a balancing direction so as to adjust a center of gravity of the gimbal; and at least one locking structure corresponding to the at least one rotation assembly; wherein each rotation assembly corresponds to one or more balancing directions, and each balancing direction corresponds to the at least one locking structure, so that the at least part of the gimbal component is allowed to move or remain fixed in a corresponding balancing direction of the one or more balancing directions; the method comprising: controlling at least one driving motor to rotate; obtaining a first electric signal parameter of the at least one driving motor, wherein the first electric signal parameter corresponds to a torque output by the driving motor; and conducting a balancing operation according to a change of the torque, wherein the balancing operation comprises: in response to the change of the torque, controlling the at least one balancing motor to move the corresponding at least part of the gimbal component to adjust a center of gravity of the gimbal, thereby adjusting the change of the torque.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation application of PCT application No. PCT/CN2020/142293, filed on Dec. 31, 2020, and the content of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. COPYRIGHT NOTICE A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of gimbal stabilization technologies, and in particular to a gimbal, a leveling method and a control method thereof, a leveling motor and a gimbal assembly. BACKGROUND At present, a load, such as a camera or a mobile phone, can be installed on a gimbal to achieve stabilization and attitude adjustment without the load. When the load installed on the gimbal is not well-balanced or the balance is poor, it may cause a motor of the gimbal to continue to output force; as a result, the motor becomes hot, the power consumption increases, the battery life is shortened, and the stabilization performance is reduced. This may affect the control accuracy of the gimbal, and the reliability and service life of the gimbal may be reduced. Moreover, in the case where a user manually performs balancing, it usually needs repeated testing and repeated balancing, which may affect the experience and the accuracy may be poor. SUMMARY Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a gimbal, a leveling method and a control method thereof, a leveling motor and a gimbal assembly (the leveling herein refers to balancing a gimbal or a gimbal assembly so that the gimbal or gimbal assembly is balanced and thus leveled). Some exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provide a balancing method for a gimbal, and the balancing method includes: controlling a driving motor to rotate and obtaining a first electric signal parameter of the driving motor, wherein the gimbal includes at least one rotation assembly and a balancing motor, the at least one rotation assembly each includes a gimbal component, a transmission mechanism, and the driving motor, the driving motor is configured to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to adjust an attitude of the gimbal, the balancing motor each is configured to drive, via the transmission mechanism, at least part of the gimbal component to move so as to adjusting a center of gravity of the gimbal; and controlling the balancing motor to operate based on the first electric signal parameter of the driving motor so as to enable the gimbal to be in a balanced state in a direction adjusted by the balancing motor. Some exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure provide a gimbal, including: a rotation assembly including a gimbal component, a transmission mechanism and a driving motor configured to drive the gimbal component to rotate so as to adjust an attitude of the gimbal; a balancing motor configured to drive, via the transmission mechanism, at least part of the gimbal component to move so as to adjust a center of gravity of the gimbal; and a controller configured to: control the driving motor to rotate and obtain a first electrical signal parameter of the driving motor, and control the balancing motor to operate based on the first electric signal parameter of the driving motor so as to enable the gimbal to be in a balanced state in a direction adjusted by the balancing motor. According to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, by adjusting the center of gravity of the gimbal with a balancing motor and adjusting the attitude of the gimbal with a driving motor, the gimbal may automatically adjust its balance during a moving process, so that manual adjustment is not required, which results in convenient operation and can improve the accuracy. Moreover, the transmission mechanism is detachably connected to the balancing motor. In this way, after the balancing motor completes the balancing operation of the gimbal, the balancing motor and cables can be removed from the gimbal. It prevents the cables from winding the gimbal when the gimbal is in operation or storage, avoiding unnecessary damage to the gimbal, the balancing motor, or the cables. Some additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and some of them will be apparent based on the description, or may be learned by practice of the present disclosure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and/or additional aspects and advantages of the present disclosure will become apparent and understandable based on the description of some exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the following drawings. In the drawings: FIG. 1 is a perspective schematic view of a gimbal according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclos