Combined mooring airship anchoring platform

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of combination tethered airship anchoring platform, adopt combination structure, into three parts, respectively, two ends of inflatable part, middle power supply communication part and tethered part.Inflatable part of two ends can be simultaneously inflated for tethered airship, middle part is tethered to airship by cable, power supply and establish communication with ground.The tethered part is automatically unfolded on the anchoring platform, and the airbag is inflated after unfolding, so that automatic release can be realized.When recovering, the tethered airship descends, and the automatic recovery mechanism is designed to trigger the limit stop by the photoelectric slip ring on the cable, so that the equipment is powered off.After connecting the inflation pipe to recover the gas, the automatic unfolding structure is folded, and the recovery is completed.The present application adopts split structure and can be transported separately, which is convenient to pass through.The air supply device is set at both ends to supply air for airship simultaneously, which improves the release efficiency and has automatic release and recovery functions, simple operation and reduces personnel participation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of aircraft technology, and in particular to a combined tethered airship anchoring platform. Background Technology

[0002] Tethered spheres have been widely used since the last century. Over time, as a space-suspended platform mechanism, tethered spheres have been gradually applied in fields such as communications, atmospheric and geographical environment monitoring, security monitoring of large-scale events and gatherings, military reconnaissance, electronic information warfare, and tourism. A tethered system platform mainly consists of two parts: the tethered sphere in the sky and the ground anchoring platform. Tethered airships, as a type of aircraft, are mainly used in emergency situations. The anchoring equipment is relatively large and is usually placed as a whole on a frame structure. Although the one-piece structure is convenient for loading, large equipment cannot enter after special geological disasters such as earthquakes and mudslides. Therefore, a modular anchoring platform was invented to facilitate segmented transportation. However, currently, tethered airships have low launch efficiency, require a large number of personnel, and are complex to operate. Therefore, an anchoring platform device with automatic deployment and retrieval functions has been invented. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the aforementioned problems, this invention proposes a combined moored airship mooring platform that significantly improves utilization efficiency, as existing mooring platforms suffer from low launch and recovery efficiency, require a large number of manual personnel, are complex to operate, and are inconvenient to transport.

[0004] The present invention relates to a modular structure consisting of three parts: an inflatable section on the left and right sides, a mooring section in the middle, and a power supply and communication section in the middle. All three parts are mounted on a mooring support.

[0005] The inflation section stores gas cylinders that provide lift to the tethered airship. The tethering section includes a winch, an automatic deployment frame, and an automatic recovery frame for deploying and retrieving the tethering cable. The power supply and communication equipment controls the winch's cable deployment and retrieval, and provides power to various electrical devices, including a generator, inverter, high-voltage power supply, battery, and communication module.

[0006] The anchor support design consists of three supports of equal height: a left support, a right support, and a middle support, arranged side by side and fitted together. The interiors of the left and right supports are used to house the inflatable parts.

[0007] Rotating rods are installed at the four corners of the top surface of the anchor support to form an automatic deployment frame. By rotating the rotating rods outward, the space between each rotating rod is formed to house the airbag of the tethered airship, thus restricting the lateral swing of the airbag.

[0008] A partition is horizontally installed inside the central support, forming a two-layer structure. The upper layer has a smaller space than the lower layer and is used to house the automatic recycling rack and communication module. All other equipment is located in the lower layer.

[0009] The winch is powered by a generator, which drives the winch's rope drum to rotate via a drive motor. One end of the tethering cable is the winch end, wound around the rope drum; the other end of the tethering cable is the airship end, which is divided into several strands by a bundler after passing through various partitions and an automatic recovery frame, and then connected to the tethered airship.

[0010] The excess electrical energy from the generator is stored in a battery. Meanwhile, an inverter is used to convert the current. The 220V output from the inverter is converted to 750V by a high-voltage power supply and then supplied to the equipment on the load via the main cable.

[0011] An automatic recycling rack is installed in the upper layer of the central support, including a retainer, a touch baffle, a photoelectric slip ring, and a limit switch.

[0012] The system comprises a retainer fixedly mounted within a central support frame; a bowl-shaped guide structure at the top of the retainer; a limit switch at the bottom of the retainer, with its contacts positioned on the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped guide structure and fixed to the upper surface of the platform via a hole in the retainer; a cable perforation at the center of the bowl-shaped guide structure, through which the cable connects to the airship; and an photoelectric slip ring fixedly mounted on the mooring cable of the moored airship, with a coaxially fixed sleeve on its outer wall contacting a baffle. When the airship is recovered, the cable retracts, causing the photoelectric slip ring and the moored airship to descend together until the contact baffle on the photoelectric slip ring contacts the limit switch contacts, at which point the winch automatically stops and cuts off power. Simultaneously, the photoelectric slip ring is positioned within the bowl-shaped guide structure, and the contact baffle falls into a groove designed on the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped guide structure for positioning, thus achieving the storage of the photoelectric slip ring.

[0013] The advantages of this invention are:

[0014] 1. The present invention is a combined moored airship anchoring platform, which adopts a three-section split structure. The two ends are inflation devices, and the middle is the main frame for power supply and communication. The inflation devices are connected to the moored airship by two inflation pipes at the same time, which has a high inflation efficiency.

[0015] 2. The combined moored airship anchoring platform of this invention provides more convenient transportation in special geological disasters such as earthquakes and mudslides;

[0016] 3. This invention provides a combined moored airship platform with automatic launch and recovery functions. The equipment automatically launches upon power-up; upon completion of launch, a slip ring triggers a limit switch, de-energizing the equipment. Slip ring retrieval eliminates the need for removal, reducing manual operation and saving manpower.

[0017] 4. The modular mooring platform for tethered airships of this invention has an automatic deployment structure with windproof function. When the airship is close to the ground, it prevents the airship from swinging around and protects the airship from being scratched. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the combined moored airship anchoring platform structure of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic deployment frame structure in the combined moored airship anchoring platform of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the airship connection in the combined moored airship anchoring platform of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the automatic recovery frame structure in the combined moored airship anchoring platform of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the retainer structure in an automated recycling rack.

[0023] In the composition diagram:

[0024] 1-Inflation section 2-Middle tethering section 3-Power supply and communication section

[0025] 4-Anchorage support 201-Wind 202-Automatic deployment frame

[0026] 203-Automatic Recycling Shelf; 301-Generator; 302-Inverter

[0027] 303 - High Voltage Power Supply; 304 - Battery; 305 - Communication Module

[0028] 401 - Left side bracket; 402 - Right side bracket; 404 - Cover plate

[0029] 403a - Cage; 403b - Touch baffle; 403c - Photoelectric slip ring

[0030] 403d - Limit switch; 403a1 - Crossbeam; 403a2 - Longitudinal beam

[0031] 403a3-bowl-shaped guide structure forms 403a4-support 403a5-platform

[0032] 403a6 - Cable Roller; 202a - Base; 202b - Hydraulic Cylinder

[0033] 202c-Rotating plate; 202d-Stop lever; 202e-Top rod Detailed Implementation

[0034] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] This invention relates to a combined moored airship anchoring platform, such as... Figure 1 , Figure 2 As shown, this is a modular structure composed of three parts: the left and right inflation sections, the middle mooring section, and the middle power supply and communication section, all mounted on the anchoring support. The inflation sections are gas cylinders 1 used to store hydrogen, helium, or other gases that provide lift to the moored airship. The mooring section includes a winch 201, an automatic deployment frame 202, and an automatic recovery frame 203, used for deploying and retrieving the mooring cable. The power supply and communication equipment 3 controls the winch 201's cable deployment and retrieval, and provides power to various electrical devices, including a generator, inverter, high-voltage power supply, battery, and communication module.

[0036] The anchorage support adopts a modular design, with a left support 401, a right support 402 and a middle support 403, all three of which are of equal height and are arranged side by side on the ground.

[0037] The left support 401 and the right support 402 are respectively used to install the aforementioned inflatable parts 1 on the left and right sides. The top surfaces of the left support 401 and the right support 402 are used to install the automatic deployment frame 202.

[0038] In this invention, two partitions are longitudinally arranged inside the left support 401 and the right support 402, forming a three-layer structure as a gas cylinder container. Each layer can hold three gas cylinders side-by-side. Placing the gas cylinders enhances the stability of the left support 401 and the right support 402, thereby enhancing the stability of the entire mooring platform. Simultaneously, longitudinally arranged limiting beams are installed on the left and right sides of the left support 401 and the right support 402 to restrict the lateral rolling of the gas cylinders in each layer. Furthermore, longitudinally arranged reinforcing beams are installed in the middle of the front and rear sides of the left support 401 and the right support 402 to strengthen the overall frame structure. The two sides of these reinforcing beams serve as inlets and outlets for loading and unloading gas cylinders. When the tethered airship's capsule needs inflation, the gas cylinders are connected to the capsule via inflation pipes, and the capsule is filled with helium or hydrogen to provide lift. The inflation volume is controlled by pressure gauges on the gas cylinders. Once the airship is fully inflated, it is automatically released.

[0039] The automatic unfolding frame 202 includes four rotating rods, each consisting of a mounting base 202a, a hydraulic cylinder 202b, a rotating plate 202c, and a stop bar 202d. Figure 2As shown. The mounting base 202a has a flat bottom and a slot at the top. A hinged seat is installed in the slot, hinged to the fixed end of the hydraulic cylinder 202c to form a rotating pair A. The end of the rotating plate 202c is hinged to the end of the mounting base 202a to form a rotating pair B. A slot is also installed on the inner side of the mounting base 202a, with a hinged seat installed in the slot, hinged to the output end of the hydraulic cylinder 202c to form a rotating pair C; the rotation axes of rotating pairs C, A, and B are parallel. A stop rod 202d is fixedly installed on the back side of the rotating plate 202c. The axis of the stop rod 202d is perpendicular to the rotation axis of rotating pair A, and a top rod 202e with an axis perpendicular to the axis of the stop rod 202d is designed at the top of the stop rod 202d.

[0040] The mounting bases 202a of the four rotating rods in the above structure are fixed to the four corners of the top surface of the entire anchorage support 4, namely the included angles at the left ends of the left support 401 and the right ends of the right support 402; and the axis of the middle stop rod 202d of the transmission rod is coplanar with the bisector of the included angle and the axis of the hydraulic cylinder 202c. Thus, the movement of the hydraulic cylinder in the four rotating rods can be controlled by the hydraulic station. The hydraulic cylinder 202c drives the middle stop rods 202d of the four rotating rods to rotate simultaneously inward or outward around the rotating joint B, causing the space enclosed by the four stop rods 202d to shrink or expand. Therefore, by controlling the unfolding of the four rotating rods and adjusting the size of the space enclosed by the four stop rods, the inflation process of the tethered balloon and the deflation process after retrieval can both take place within the space enclosed by the four stop rods. Furthermore, the lateral swing limitation during inflation or deflation of the tethered balloon can be achieved through the middle stop rod 202d of the four rotating rods. When the four rotating rods rotate in opposite directions, they are retracted until the stop bar 202d contacts the top edge of the front end of the mounting base 202a. At this point, they are retracted into place, and the four rotating rods are parallel to the top surface of the entire anchor bracket 4.

[0041] The central support 403 has a horizontal partition inside, forming a two-layer structure. The upper layer is smaller than the lower layer and is used to house the automatic recycling rack 203 and small devices such as communication modules. Other large devices, such as winches, batteries, and generators, are located in the lower layer.

[0042] The winch 201 is powered by a generator 301, which drives the winch's rope drum to rotate via a drive motor. One end of the tethering cable is the winch end, wound around the rope drum; the other end is the airship end, and after passing through various partitions and the automatic recovery frame 203, it is divided into several strands by a bundler. The top of each strand of the tethering cable is fixedly connected to the tethered airship by a welding patch. Thus, by driving the rope drum to rotate forward and backward, the cable is unwound and retracted. Figure 3 As shown.

[0043] Since the generator 301 does not need to operate continuously, its excess electrical energy is stored in the battery 304 to prevent power supply disruptions in case of sudden generator failure or fuel shortage. Simultaneously, the entire power supply and communication system, along with the winch, requires both AC and DC power; therefore, an inverter is used for current conversion. Furthermore, because the tethered balloon needs to supply power to aerial equipment at a high altitude and with a long cable distance, there will be energy loss. Therefore, low-voltage electricity needs to be converted to high-voltage electricity. A high-voltage power supply is installed to convert the 220V output from the inverter to 750V, supplying power to the equipment on the mounted load via the main cable, thus reducing energy loss.

[0044] The upper front wall of the central support 403 is designed with a control panel, which is hinged to the top edge of the front side of the central support 403 to form an openable and closable control panel for easy inspection and maintenance. The control panel includes a high-voltage power supply control section, an emergency operation control section, an air switch control section, and a communication control section. The high-voltage power supply control section controls the opening and closing of the high-voltage power supply. The emergency operation control section is used to shut down the winch drive motor in emergency situations (such as a sudden breakage of the mooring cable), achieving emergency braking of the winch. The air switch control section is used for power supply and leakage protection, as well as short-circuit protection for the entire equipment. The communication control section is used to receive real-time data on the airship's altitude, attitude, and heading transmitted back to the bottom control console; it also receives control signals sent by the control console to control the airship's altitude, attitude, and heading.

[0045] An automatic recycling rack is installed in the upper layer of the central support 403, including a retainer 403a, a touch baffle 403b, a photoelectric slip ring 403c, and a limit switch 403d, such as... Figure 4 As shown.

[0046] The retainer 403a consists of two crossbeams 403a1, two longitudinal beams 403a2, and a bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 on the two crossbeams 403a1. The two crossbeams 403a1 are fixed at both ends to the side walls of the intermediate support 403. The two longitudinal beams 403a2 are arranged parallel to each other, with their ends fixed between the two crossbeams 403a1, and are positioned below the top plane of the intermediate support 403. The bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 is mounted on a platform 403a5 supported by four pillars 403a4. The four pillars 403a4 are arranged in pairs, fixedly mounted on the two crossbeams 403a1, ensuring that the platform 403a5 is parallel to the top plane of the intermediate support 403. The bottom surface of the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 is fixedly mounted to the upper surface of the platform 403a5 with bolts; at the same time, a through hole is opened at the center position of the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 and the platform 403a5 for the mooring cable to pass through. After the above-mentioned retainer 403 is installed, the axis of the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 coincides with the center point of the top plane of the middle support 403.

[0047] A limit switch 403d is fixedly installed on the bottom surface of the platform 403a4. The contacts of the limit switch 403d pass through the pre-drilled holes on the bottom surfaces of the platform 403a4 and the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a5, so that the contacts of the limit switch 403d are located inside the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a5.

[0048] The photoelectric slip ring 403c is fixedly installed on the top of the tethering cable of the tethered airship, and the photoelectric slip ring 403d has a coaxial fixed sleeve on its outer wall that contacts the contact baffle 403b. Since the cable is connected to the tethered airship via a winch, when the airship recovery begins, ground personnel start the motor or remotely control the motor to start operation. The cable retracts, causing the photoelectric slip ring 403c and the tethered airship to descend continuously until the contact baffle 403b on the photoelectric slip ring 403c contacts the limit switch 403d. The winch 201 automatically stops and cuts off power, completing the tethered airship recovery. Simultaneously, the photoelectric slip ring 403c is placed inside the bowl-shaped guide structure, and the contact baffle 403b is guided by the inner wall of the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3, falling into the groove on the inner wall of the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 for positioning. The photoelectric slip ring 403c is then stored inside the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3, eliminating the need for separate manual handling. Figure 5 As shown.

[0049] Lugs are installed at corresponding positions on the two longitudinal beams 403a2, with two sets of opposite lugs. Cable rollers 403a6 are installed between the opposite lugs, with both ends of the roller's shaft fixed to the opposite lugs. The area enclosed by the two cable rollers 403a6 and the two longitudinal beams 403a2 is for the mooring cable to pass through. At the same time, the two cable rollers 403a6 contact the mooring cable to prevent the mooring cable from swinging arbitrarily and to restrict its movement without affecting its movement.

[0050] The top surface of the aforementioned intermediate support 403 is equipped with four cover plates 404, such as... Figure 3 As shown, the four cover plates 404 are hinged to the side walls of the intermediate support 403. The four cover plates 404 can be opened and closed by rotating along the hinge axis. When the four cover plates 404 are closed, they together form a flat plate structure with a rectangular notch in the middle, covering the top surface of the intermediate support 403. All four cover plates 404 are in contact with and limited by the two crossbeams 403a1 in the retainer. The notch in the middle of the four cover plates 404 is used to avoid the bowl-shaped guide structure 403a3 in the retainer 403a when the four cover plates 404 are closed. Thus, the four cover plates 404 protect the internal equipment on the upper layer of the intermediate support 403 and facilitate equipment maintenance. At the same time, the four cover plates 404 form a supporting plane on the top surface of the upper layer of the intermediate support 403, allowing workers to stand on it for tethered balloon inspection and adjustment work.

[0051] The automatic unfolding process of this invention is as follows:

[0052] Step 1: Release the limit switch 403d;

[0053] Step 2: Power on the equipment, and the hydraulic cylinders on the automatic unfolding frame 202 will operate to control the unfolding of the automatic unfolding frame;

[0054] Step 3: After unfolding, connect the inflation tube between the inflation device and the bladder to inflate the bladder;

[0055] Step 4: After inflation is complete, the winch is powered on, and the bladder is lifted into the air;

[0056] Step 5: Activate the communication module and establish a communication connection between the air and ground ends.

[0057] The automatic recycling process is as follows:

[0058] Step 1: Control the winch motor to reverse, and pull the tethered airship down via the tethering cable;

[0059] Step 2: The photoelectric slip ring 403c triggers the limit switch 403d to control the winch motor to cut off power;

[0060] Step 3: Connect the inflation tube between the capsule and the inflation device to recover the gas;

[0061] Step 4: After the gas recovery is completed, the hydraulic cylinder on the automatic unfolding frame 202 operates, the automatic unfolding frame retracts, and the recovery is completed.

Claims

1. A combined moored airship anchoring platform, characterized in that: It is a modular structure composed of three parts: the inflatable parts on the left and right sides, the mooring part in the middle, and the power supply and communication part in the middle. All three parts are installed on the anchor support. The inflation section is used to store gas cylinders that provide lift to the tethered airship; the tethering section includes a winch, an automatic deployment frame and an automatic recovery frame for raising and lowering the tethering cable; the power supply and communication equipment is used to control the raising and lowering of the winch cable and to supply power to various electrical devices, including generators, inverters, high-voltage power supplies, batteries and communication modules. The anchor support design consists of three equal-height left support, right support, and middle support arranged side by side; the interior of the left and right supports is used to house the inflatable parts. Rotating rods are installed at the four corners of the top surface of the anchor support to form an automatic deployment frame; by rotating the rotating rods outward, the space between each rotating rod is formed to set up the airbag of the tethered airship, thus restricting the lateral swing of the airbag. A partition is horizontally installed inside the intermediate support, forming a two-layer structure. The upper layer has a smaller space than the lower layer and is used to house the automatic recycling rack and communication module. All other equipment is located in the lower layer. The winch is powered by a generator, which drives the winch's rope drum to rotate via the winch's drive motor; one end of the tethering cable is the winch end, which is wound around the rope drum; the other end of the tethering cable is the airship end, which is divided into several strands by a clustering plate after passing through various partitions and an automatic recovery frame, and then connected to the tethered airship. The excess electrical energy of the generator is stored in a battery; at the same time, the current is converted by an inverter, and the 220V output of the inverter is converted into 750V by a high-voltage power supply, and the electrical energy is supplied to the equipment in the load through the main cable. An automatic recycling rack is installed in the upper layer of the intermediate support, including a retainer, a touch baffle, a photoelectric slip ring, and a limit switch; The cage is fixedly installed within the intermediate support. The top of the cage has a bowl-shaped guide structure. A limit switch is installed at the bottom of the cage, and through a hole in the cage, the contact of the limit switch is fixedly mounted on the upper surface of the platform at the bottom of the bowl-shaped guide structure. Simultaneously, a cable through-hole is located in the center of the bowl-shaped guide structure, through which the cable connects to the airship. An photoelectric slip ring is fixedly installed on the mooring cable of the moored airship, and a coaxial fixed sleeve on the outer wall of the photoelectric slip ring contacts a contact baffle. When the airship is recovered, the cable is retracted, causing the photoelectric slip ring and the moored airship to descend continuously until the contact baffle on the photoelectric slip ring contacts the contact of the limit switch, at which point the winch automatically stops and cuts off power. Simultaneously, the photoelectric slip ring is placed inside the bowl-shaped guide structure, and the contact baffle falls into a groove designed on the bottom surface of the bowl-shaped guide structure for positioning, thus achieving the storage of the photoelectric slip ring.

2. The combined moored airship anchoring platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The left and right supports have two longitudinally arranged partitions inside, forming a three-layer structure as a gas cylinder container; each layer holds gas cylinders side by side; at the same time, longitudinally arranged limiting beams are installed on the left and right sides of the left and right supports to restrict the rolling of gas cylinders in each layer; at the same time, longitudinally arranged reinforcing beams are installed in the middle of the front and rear sides of the left and right supports to strengthen the overall frame structure; the two sides of the reinforcing beams are inlets and outlets for loading and unloading gas cylinders.

3. The combined moored airship anchoring platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating rod consists of a mounting base, a hydraulic cylinder, a rotating plate, and a stop bar. The mounting base has a flat bottom and a slot at the top. A hinge seat is installed in the slot, which is hinged to the fixed end of the hydraulic cylinder to form a rotating pair A. The end of the rotating plate is hinged to the end of the mounting base to form a rotating pair B. The inner side of the rotating plate has a slot, and a hinge seat is installed in the slot, which is hinged to the output end of the hydraulic cylinder to form a rotating pair C. The rotation axes of rotating pair C, rotating pair A, and rotating pair B are parallel. A stop bar is fixedly installed on the back side of the rotating plate. The axis of the stop bar is perpendicular to the rotation axis of rotating pair A, and a top rod with an axis perpendicular to the axis of the stop bar is designed at the top of the stop bar.

4. The combined moored airship anchoring platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The upper front wall of the intermediate support is designed with a control panel, including a high-voltage power supply control section, an emergency operation control section, an air switch control section, and a communication control section. The high-voltage power supply control section is used to control the opening and closing of the high-voltage power supply; the emergency operation control section is used to control the winch emergency braking; the air switch control section is used for power supply and leakage protection and short circuit protection of the entire equipment; the communication control section is used to receive real-time data on the airship's flight altitude, attitude, and heading transmitted back to the bottom control console; at the same time, it receives control signals sent by the control console to achieve altitude, attitude, and heading control of the airship.

5. The combined moored airship anchoring platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The bottom surface of the cage has two parallel beams, and a pair of cable rollers are mounted on the bottom surface of the cage, with the axis of the cable rollers perpendicular to the beams; so that the two cable rollers and the two beams form a tethering cable passage area.

6. The combined moored airship anchoring platform as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The top surface of the intermediate support is sealed by multiple hinged cover plates. When the multiple cover plates are closed, they together form a flat plate structure with a notch in the middle, which is used to avoid the bowl-shaped guide structure.

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