Meteorological balloon inflating and shaping device and inflating and shaping method

Abstract

The invention provides a meteorological balloon inflating and shaping device and an inflating and shaping method. The meteorological balloon inflating and shaping device comprises a shaping box filled with a liquid medium. A plurality of layers of floating balls are laid in the shaping box body; an assembly notch is formed in one end of the shaping box body, and an inflation assembly is slidably assembled in the assembly notch; the inflation assembly comprises positioning sliding blocks, positioning shafts connected with the positioning sliding blocks and an inflation head connected between the two positioning shafts in a damping mode. And an inflation adjusting valve is assembled on the inflation head. According to the meteorological balloon, the bottom contact points of the meteorological balloon are supported through the multiple layers of floating balls, so that the meteorological balloon has a flexible expansion space in the inflation process, comprehensive expansion is achieved, the meteorological balloon is not wetted by a liquid medium, the inflation angle of the inflation head changes along with expansion, manual intervention is reduced, and the overall thickness uniformity rate meets the standard requirement. In addition, the invention further provides an air inflation shaping method, by means of the method, the workload of workers is greatly reduced, the manufacturing cost is reduced, and the qualified rate of finished products is increased.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of weather balloon inflation and shaping technology, and in particular to a weather balloon inflation and shaping device and method. Background Technology

[0002] Weather balloons are a commonly used transport vehicle for detecting atmospheric meteorological elements. They are not only used by meteorological departments to detect meteorological elements and provide meteorological support, but also are an indispensable meteorological testing tool for the military when carrying out national defense scientific research and military operations in aerospace, aviation, navigation, and combat. With the development of science and technology, the widespread use of new electronic radiosondes and the application of new radars have placed higher demands on the ascent altitude of weather balloons. Based on the altitude detected, weather balloons can be divided into: wind and cloud measuring balloons, mid-to-high altitude weather balloons, and high-altitude weather balloons.

[0003] In the current technology for manufacturing weather balloons, the main manufacturing processes are injection molding and ion deposition. Regardless of the method used, large-sized weather balloons are made using relatively small molds, and the semi-finished products need to be inflated and shaped to achieve the required dimensions. Currently, ground-based inflation and shaping are the most common methods used in China for weather balloon inflation and shaping, while some countries, such as Japan, use suspended inflation and shaping. Both suspended and ground-based inflation and shaping have different operational drawbacks that affect inflation quality and the uniform expansion rate of the weather balloon. Suspended inflation and shaping requires a large site and space (the inflation and shaping diameter of the weather balloon is greater than 6 meters), and also requires the design of an ascent and descent transmission mechanism. Workers operating the inflation and shaping process face risks due to working at height, and the required investment costs are high. Traditional ground-based inflation and shaping methods involve direct contact between the weather balloon and the operating ground. Since the balloon's membrane is still in a wet gel state, there is strong friction between the ground and the bottom surface of the balloon. During inflation, as the balloon expands, the upper part, which lacks contact friction, expands first. Only when the tension exceeds the friction does the balloon begin to slide. However, in actual production, operators need to repeatedly guide the balloon to help it roll and reduce the contact area between the balloon and the ground during inflation. This is labor-intensive and cannot guarantee complete inflation. Furthermore, operators need to adjust the connection angle of the inflation port in real time to prevent bending caused by expansion deformation, which affects the inflation flow. Therefore, weather balloons using ground-based inflation and shaping methods are labor-intensive for employees, and after vulcanization, they often exhibit varying degrees of balloon misalignment. Specifically, this is due to incomplete expansion at the contact point with the ground during inflation and shaping, resulting in uneven thickness and affecting the balloon's ascent height. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a weather balloon inflation and shaping device and a method that uses buoyancy to support the bottom contact point of the weather balloon, allowing the weather balloon to fully inflate and expand, reducing employee intervention, enabling timely and autonomous adjustment and shaping, reducing production costs, and ensuring high inflation and shaping quality.

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a weather balloon inflation and shaping device comprising a shaping box containing a liquid medium; the interior of the shaping box is lined with multiple layers of floating spheres, and the multiple layers of floating spheres cover the liquid medium without any dead corners; a rubber chamfer block is provided on the top circumference of the shaping box; an assembly notch is provided at one end of the shaping box, and an inflation component is slidably assembled inside the assembly notch; wherein, the inflation component comprises: a positioning slider that magnetically engages with the assembly notch, a positioning shaft connecting the positioning slider, and an inflation head damped between the two positioning shafts; an inflation regulating valve is mounted on the inflation head.

[0006] In this application, by employing multi-layered floating spheres to support the bottom contact points of the weather balloon, a flexible expansion space is created at the bottom of the balloon during inflation. The multi-layered floating spheres completely cover the liquid medium without any blind spots, preventing adhesion between the outer surface of the weather balloon and the liquid medium. This prevents impurities from adhering to the liquid medium on the surface of the weather balloon during subsequent static placement, which could affect the vulcanization effect. Simultaneously, the multi-layered floating spheres are not adhered to the weather balloon's film during flexible support, and they maintain rolling contact during inflation, achieving full expansion. Furthermore, for weather balloons of different sizes, the sliding height of the inflation head can be adjusted using a simple and convenient magnetic method. The inflation head adjusts the inflation angle with damping as the weather balloon expands, avoiding bending dead angles between the inflation head and the inflation port, reducing worker intervention, achieving standard uniformity of thickness, lowering production costs, and accelerating inflation and shaping efficiency.

[0007] In one specific implementation, the bottom of the assembly notch is higher than the highest point of the multi-layered floating sphere.

[0008] In one specific implementation, a sliding groove is provided on the assembly notch, and the positioning slider is slidably connected to the sliding groove.

[0009] In one specific implementation, the positioning slider is a magnetic slider that is magnetically connected to the groove.

[0010] In one specific implementation, the positioning shaft is connected to the inflation head via a damping bearing.

[0011] In one specific feasible implementation, each layer of floating spheres comprises multiple regularly arranged floating sphere bodies; The weight of each of the aforementioned floating spheres is greater than the weight of the adhesive film adhering to the surface of the weather balloon.

[0012] In one specific implementation, each of the floating ball bodies is a PP polypropylene plastic ball or a hollow metal ball with a diameter of 5-8 mm.

[0013] In one specific implementation, the inflation head is connected to an inflation hose for pumping in a gaseous medium at a set temperature.

[0014] In one specific implementation, the bottom of the shaping box is equipped with a drain valve for discharging the liquid medium.

[0015] Secondly, an inflation and shaping method includes a method for inflating and shaping a weather balloon inside the aforementioned inflation and shaping device, the method comprising the following steps: Step 1: Inject a liquid medium with a set water level into the shaping tank and lay multiple layers of floating spheres until the liquid medium is completely covered. Step 2: Lay the weather balloon flat on the upper floating sphere, inflate the head, adjust its position, and then attach the air inlet of the weather balloon to the inflator. Step 3: Open the inflation regulating valve and inject constant temperature gas of 30℃~40℃ into the weather balloon; Step 4: During the gas expansion process, the bottom of the weather balloon is deformed by applying pressure to the multi-layered floating sphere, and the inflation angle of the inflation head rotates with damping as the weather balloon expands. Step 5: After the set amount of gas is filled into the interior of the weather balloon, the upper part of the weather balloon overflows from the shaping box. After tying the inflation port, close the inflation regulating valve. Step 6: Move the inflated weather balloon to an open area along the rubber chamfered block and let it stand for 60 to 120 minutes. Step 7: After the shaping is completed, start the vulcanization process.

[0016] In the above methods, buoyancy is used to support the bottom contact point of the weather balloon, allowing the weather balloon to fully inflate and expand, reducing employee intervention, enabling timely and autonomous adjustment and shaping, reducing production costs, and ensuring high inflation and shaping quality. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the weather balloon inflation and shaping device provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of the weather balloon inflation and shaping device provided in the embodiments of this application; Figure 3 A flowchart illustrating the steps of the inflation and shaping method provided in this application embodiment.

[0018] Icon labels: Shaping box-10, rubber chamfer block-11, drain valve-12, slide groove-13; Inflation head-20, positioning shaft-21, damping bearing-22, positioning slider-23, inflation regulating valve-24, inflation hose-25; Floating sphere -30; Liquid medium-40. Detailed Implementation

[0019] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this disclosure clearer, the following detailed description is provided in conjunction with specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0020] It should be noted that, unless otherwise defined, the technical or scientific terms used in one or more embodiments of this specification should have the ordinary meaning understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. The terms "first," "second," and similar words used in one or more embodiments of this specification do not indicate any order, quantity, or importance, but are merely used to distinguish different components. Terms such as "comprising" or "including" mean that the element or object preceding the word encompasses the elements or objects listed following the word and their equivalents, without excluding other elements or objects. Terms such as "connected" or "linked" are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but can include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. Terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" are used only to indicate relative positional relationships; when the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

[0021] To facilitate understanding of the weather balloon inflation and shaping device and method provided in this application embodiment, its application scenario is first explained. In the existing technology for manufacturing weather balloons, the manufacturing process is mainly divided into injection molding rotational molding and ion deposition. Regardless of the process method used, large-sized weather balloons are made using smaller molds, and the semi-finished products need to be inflated and shaped to achieve the required dimensions. Currently, the inflation and shaping methods for weather balloons mostly employ suspension inflation and shaping and ground inflation and shaping. Both suspension and ground inflation and shaping have different operational drawbacks that affect the inflation quality and the uniform expansion rate of the weather balloon. Suspension inflation and shaping requires a large site and space (the inflation and shaping diameter of the weather balloon is greater than 6 meters), and it also requires the design of an ascending and descending transmission mechanism. Workers operating the inflation and shaping process face the risk of working at height, and the required investment cost is high. Traditional ground-based inflation and shaping methods involve direct contact between the weather balloon and the ground. Since the balloon's membrane is still a wet gel, there is significant friction between the ground and the balloon's contact surface. During inflation, as the balloon expands, the upper part, which lacks contact friction, expands first. Only when the tension exceeds the friction does the balloon begin to slide. However, in actual production, operators must repeatedly guide the balloon to assist its rolling and reduce the contact area with the ground during inflation. This is labor-intensive and cannot guarantee complete inflation. Furthermore, operators must constantly adjust the connection angle of the inflation port to prevent bending caused by expansion deformation, which could affect the inflation flow. Therefore, balloons using ground-based inflation and shaping methods require high labor intensity, and after vulcanization, they often exhibit varying degrees of balloon misalignment. Specifically, this is due to incomplete expansion at the contact point with the ground during inflation and shaping, resulting in uneven thickness and affecting the balloon's ascent height. In view of this, this application provides a weather balloon inflation and shaping device and a method that uses buoyancy to support the bottom contact point of the weather balloon, so that the weather balloon is fully inflated, reducing employee intervention and allowing timely and autonomous adjustment and shaping, thereby reducing production costs and ensuring high inflation and shaping quality.

[0022] refer to Figure 1As shown in the illustration, the weather balloon inflation and shaping device provided in this application includes a shaping box 10 containing a liquid medium 40. The shaping box 10 is fixedly installed at each inflation and shaping station, and the shaping box 10 can be rectangular, circular, hemispherical, or other shapes. In a specific embodiment of this application, the shaping box 10 is a rectangular box, and the shaping box 10 is used to carry the liquid medium 40. The inner cavity of the shaping box 10 is filled with liquid medium 40 that is more than half its volume. The liquid medium 40 is preferably water. Using everyday water as the liquid medium 40 reduces production costs and ensures stable overall buoyancy. The bottom of the shaping box 10 is equipped with a drain valve 12 for discharging the liquid medium 40. The drain valve 12 is used to adjust the water level or replace the liquid medium 40. In one specific embodiment of this application, the length of the shaping box 10 is not less than 5m, the width of the shaping box 10 is not less than 3.3m, and the height of the shaping box 10 is between 0.5m and 1.5m, thus accommodating the inflation and shaping of various types of weather balloons. When the standard diameter of the weather balloon during inflation and shaping is 6m, the weather balloon sinks into the interior of the shaping box 10 and is supported by multiple layers of floating spheres 30. Most of the weather balloon is exposed above the shaping box 10, which facilitates the removal and stationary placement of the weather balloon after inflation and shaping.

[0023] In this application, in order to prevent the weather balloon from being scratched during the inflation process, a rubber chamfer block 11 is provided on the top circumference of the shaping box 10; the rubber chamfer block 11 is used to form an arc surface contact during the gradual inflation of the weather balloon to prevent scratches on the surface of the weather balloon, and at the same time, it is more convenient to remove the weather balloon.

[0024] After the weather balloon is inflated, it needs to be left to stand and set in an open area. This open area may contain dust, and the surface film of the weather balloon gradually dries during inflation. To prevent the weather balloon from coming into contact with the liquid medium 40 and causing wet, sticky dust, this application employs a method of laying multiple layers of floating spheres 30 inside the shaping box 10. These floating spheres 30 isolate the liquid medium 40 from the weather balloon. In one specific embodiment of this application, the floating spheres 30 are laid in 2-3 layers, achieving complete coverage of the liquid medium 40 and completely isolating the weather balloon from the liquid medium 40. Simultaneously, buoyancy supports the bottom of the weather balloon. During inflation, there is no frictional contact between the weather balloon and the multiple layers of floating spheres 30. As the weather balloon expands, its deformation causes the contacting floating spheres 30 to roll, allowing the bottom of the weather balloon to fully expand. There is no frictional resistance, reducing worker intervention and lowering workload.

[0025] Continue reading Figure 1 and Figure 2After demolding, the weather balloon is in a wet gel state. During inflation and shaping, the gel film adheres to the floating spheres 30. To prevent some of the floating spheres 30 from being carried out of the shaping box 10 when the weather balloon is detached and left to stand, this application firstly employs a dense arrangement of floating spheres 30, ensuring close contact between them. When they roll together, adjacent floating spheres 30 will push them off. Furthermore, the weight of each individual floating sphere 30 is increased to maintain the adhesion of the gel film. Specifically, each layer of floating spheres 30 includes multiple regularly arranged floating sphere bodies; the weight of each floating sphere body is greater than the weight of the surface gel film adhering to the weather balloon. Each floating sphere body is a PP polypropylene plastic sphere or a hollow metal sphere with a diameter of 5-8 mm. In one specific embodiment of this application, the floating sphere 30 is made of PP polypropylene plastic, which has a lower economic cost. Multiple layers of floating spheres 30 are densely arranged to isolate the liquid medium 40 from the weather balloon, and buoyancy is used to support the weather balloon, giving it flexible expansion space and reducing the problem of localized drying or deformation of the sphere membrane caused by contact between the weather balloon and the liquid medium 40. Of course, it should be understood that in other embodiments of this application, the floating sphere body can also be made of stainless steel hollow spheres or other floating spheres 30, as long as the buoyancy support for the weather balloon is met.

[0026] In addition, to prevent the inflation head 20 from becoming unstable and to avoid frequent adjustments to its rolling position for weather balloons with different inflation volumes, thus preventing the air inlet from forming a bending dead angle, the inflation head 20 is designed to rotate with damped angle and has a small amount of vertical sliding space, thereby meeting the stable air supply requirements of the weather balloon. Specifically, one end of the shaping box 10 has an assembly notch, the bottom of which is higher than the highest point of the multi-layer floating sphere 30.

[0027] An inflation assembly is slidably fitted inside the assembly notch; the inflation assembly includes a positioning slider 23 that magnetically engages with the assembly notch; a groove 13 is provided opposite to the assembly notch, and the positioning slider 23 is slidably connected to the groove 13. The positioning slider 23 is a magnetic slider that is magnetically connected to the groove 13. In this application, the inflation height of the inflation head 20 is positioned by magnetic connection, making operation simple and convenient.

[0028] The inflation assembly also connects to the positioning shaft 21 of the positioning slider 23 and the inflation head 20, which is damped and connected between the two positioning shafts 21; the positioning shaft 21 is connected to the inflation head 20 via a damping bearing 22. An inflation regulating valve 24 is mounted on the inflation head 20. The inflation head 20 is connected to an inflation hose 25 for pumping in a gaseous medium at a set temperature. This set temperature is achieved by injecting air at 30°C to 40°C into the interior of the weather balloon, which dries and solidifies during the weather balloon's static setting process.

[0029] As can be seen from the above structure, after the weather balloon is demolded, it is laid flat on the multi-layer floating spheres 30. The height of the inflation head 20 is adjusted according to the height for easy operation by workers or according to the different inflation diameters of the weather balloon. The inflation head 20 is placed flat or slightly tilted downwards to connect to the inflation port. The inflation regulating valve 24 is opened, and gas flows into the weather balloon to make it expand. Under the action of the liquid medium 40 and the multi-layer floating spheres 30, the bottom contact point of the weather balloon has low friction to achieve overall expansion. During the gradual expansion, the floating sphere body in contact with the pressure phase rotates or shifts irregularly. At the same time, due to the rise in the position of the inflation port, the damping angle of the inflation head 20 changes. The inflation flow rate is not affected during the overall inflation process, which is convenient for monitoring and management.

[0030] In this application, by using multi-layered floating spheres 30 to support the bottom contact points of the weather balloon, a flexible expansion space is provided at the bottom of the weather balloon during inflation. The multi-layered floating spheres 30 completely cover the liquid medium 40 without any dead angles, preventing adhesion between the outer surface of the weather balloon and the liquid medium 40. This prevents impurities from adhering to the liquid medium 40 on the surface of the weather balloon during subsequent static placement, which would affect the subsequent vulcanization effect. Simultaneously, the multi-layered floating spheres 30 are not adhered to the weather balloon's film during flexible support, and have rolling contact during inflation, achieving full expansion. Furthermore, for weather balloons of different specifications, the sliding height of the inflation head 20 can be adjusted using a simple and convenient magnetic attraction method. The inflation head 20 adjusts the inflation angle with the expansion of the weather balloon, avoiding bending dead angles between the inflation head 20 and the inflation port, reducing worker intervention, achieving standard uniformity of thickness, reducing manufacturing costs, and accelerating inflation and shaping efficiency.

[0031] Combination Figure 3 As shown in the figure, this application also provides an inflation and shaping method, including a method for inflating and shaping a weather balloon inside the aforementioned inflation and shaping device, the method comprising the following steps: S1. Inject a set level of liquid medium into the molding box and lay multiple layers of floating spheres until the liquid medium is completely covered. S2. The weather balloon is laid flat on the upper floating sphere. After the inflation head is adjusted up and down, the inflation port of the weather balloon is fitted onto the inflation head. S3. Open the inflation regulating valve to inject constant temperature gas of 30℃~40℃ into the interior of the weather balloon; S4. During the gas expansion process, the bottom of the weather balloon is deformed by applying pressure to the multi-layered floating sphere, and the inflation angle of the inflation head rotates with damping as the weather balloon expands. S5. After the set amount of gas is filled into the interior of the weather balloon, the upper part of the weather balloon overflows from the shaping box. After tying the inflation port, close the inflation regulating valve. S6. Move the fully inflated weather balloon to an open area along the rubber chamfer block and let it stand for 20 to 30 minutes. S7. After the shaping is completed, start the vulcanization process.

[0032] In the above methods, buoyancy is used to support the bottom contact point of the weather balloon, allowing the weather balloon to fully inflate and expand, reducing employee intervention, enabling timely and autonomous adjustment and shaping, reducing production costs, and ensuring high inflation and shaping quality.

[0033] Those skilled in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is merely exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of this disclosure (including the claims) is limited to these examples; within the framework of this disclosure, the technical features of the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, the steps can be implemented in any order, and there are many other variations of different aspects of one or more embodiments of this specification, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity.

[0034] Additionally, to simplify the description and discussion, and to avoid obscuring one or more embodiments of this specification, well-known power / ground connections for other components may or may not be shown in the provided drawings. Furthermore, the apparatus may be illustrated in block diagram form to avoid obscuring one or more embodiments of this specification, and this also takes into account the fact that the details of implementation of these block diagram apparatuses are highly dependent on the platform on which one or more embodiments of this specification will be implemented (i.e., these details should be fully understood by those skilled in the art). While specific details have been set forth to describe exemplary embodiments of this disclosure, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that one or more embodiments of this specification may be implemented without these specific details or with variations thereof. Therefore, these descriptions should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0035] One or more embodiments of this specification are intended to cover all such substitutions, modifications, and variations that fall within the broad scope of the appended claims. Therefore, any omissions, modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of one or more embodiments of this specification should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A weather balloon inflation and shaping device, comprising a shaping chamber containing a liquid medium; characterized in that, The interior of the shaped box is lined with multiple layers of floating spheres, and the multiple layers of floating spheres cover the liquid medium without any blind spots; The top circumference of the shaping box is provided with rubber chamfer blocks; One end of the shaping box has an assembly notch, and an inflation component is slidably fitted inside the assembly notch; wherein... The inflation assembly includes: a positioning slider that magnetically engages with the assembly notch, a positioning shaft connecting the positioning slider, and an inflation head damped between the two positioning shafts. The inflation head is equipped with an inflation regulating valve.

2. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the assembly notch is higher than the highest point of the multi-layered floating sphere.

3. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The assembly notch is provided with a sliding groove, and the positioning slider is slidably connected to the sliding groove.

4. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The positioning slider is a magnetic slider that is magnetically connected to the groove.

5. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The positioning shaft is connected to the inflation head via a damping bearing.

6. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, Each layer of floating spheres consists of multiple regularly spaced floating spheres. The weight of each of the aforementioned floating spheres is greater than the weight of the adhesive material on the surface of the weather balloon.

7. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 6, characterized in that, Each of the aforementioned floating spheres is a PP polypropylene plastic sphere or a hollow metal sphere with a diameter of 5-8 mm.

8. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inflation head is connected to an inflation hose for pumping in a gaseous medium at a set temperature.

9. The weather balloon inflation and shaping device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the shaping box is equipped with a drain valve for discharging the liquid medium.

10. An inflation and shaping method, comprising a method for inflating and shaping a weather balloon inside an inflation and shaping device as described in any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that, The method includes the following steps: Inject a set level of liquid medium into the molded box and lay multiple layers of floating spheres until the liquid medium is completely covered. The weather balloon is laid flat on the upper floating sphere. After the inflation head is adjusted up and down, the air inlet of the weather balloon is fitted onto the inflation head. Open the inflation regulating valve to inject constant temperature gas of 30℃~40℃ into the weather balloon; During the expansion of the gas, the bottom of the weather balloon is deformed by applying pressure to the multi-layered floating sphere, and the inflation angle of the inflation head rotates with damping as the weather balloon expands. After the set amount of gas is filled into the meteorological balloon, the upper part of the meteorological balloon overflows from the shaping box. After the inflation port is tied, the inflation regulating valve is closed. Move the fully inflated weather balloon to an open area along the rubber chamfered block and let it stand for 60-120 minutes. After the shaping is completed, the vulcanization process begins.

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