A rappelling device and an aircraft containing the same.

Abstract

This application relates to the field of aircraft technology and discloses a rappelling device for an aircraft, comprising: a rotating disk rotatably mounted on a fixed device, the rotating disk having at least one spiral track; and a rope threaded through the spiral track, the first end of the rope being connected to a dropped material, and the other end of the rope being an unrestrained free end; wherein, when the dropped material falls freely under the action of gravity, the rope generates friction with the spiral track, driving the rotating disk to rotate around its axis, converting the free-fall kinetic energy of the dropped material into the rotational inertia of the rotating disk, thereby reducing the falling speed of the dropped material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of powered aircraft technology, and in particular to a rappelling device and an aircraft. Background Technology

[0002] When dropping supplies, it is crucial to ensure the supplies remain intact and that the drop location is not too far off. Currently feasible parachute descent methods have too large a location deviation, while rappelling is limited by the electric winch that lowers the supplies at a uniform speed. The electric winch requires a power supply connection, which increases power consumption and is also prone to electrical faults. In addition, the motor harness of the electric winch significantly increases the weight of the equipment and occupies space, resulting in a reduction in the weight of the dropped supplies and limited space. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this application is to provide a rappelling device for an aircraft, comprising: A rotating disk is rotatably mounted on a fixed device, and the rotating disk is provided with at least one spiral track; A rope is threaded through the spiral chute, with one end of the rope used to connect to the material being dropped, and the other end of the rope being an unrestrained free end. When the material is in free fall under the action of gravity, the rope and the spiral slide generate friction, which drives the rotating disk to rotate around its axis, converting the kinetic energy of the material in free fall into the rotational inertia of the rotating disk, thereby reducing the falling speed of the material.

[0004] Optionally, the rotating disk includes a top disk, an intermediate disk, and a bottom disk; Bearings are disposed at both axial ends of the rotating disk to restrict the degree of freedom of the rotating disk, so that the rotating disk can only rotate around its central axis; The rope travels between the rotating discs along a preset spiral track, with the spiral tracks of adjacent intermediate discs rotating in opposite directions to achieve an alternating inward and outward travel path.

[0005] Optionally, flying balls are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the rotating disk. The flying balls are used to convert part of the free fall kinetic energy of the dropped materials into the centripetal rotational inertial potential energy of the flying balls.

[0006] Optionally, the spiral slide has a rounded corner structure at the tangential intersection.

[0007] Optionally, one end of the rope is an unrestrained free end, and the rope can be separated from the deployed material after it lands.

[0008] Optionally, the rappelling device is driven by the mechanical friction between the rope and the spiral track.

[0009] Optionally, the rotating disk can adapt to materials of different weights and placement heights by combining the number of layers and materials of the intermediate disk.

[0010] Optionally, the rotating disk is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene or nylon material, providing specific self-lubricating properties and friction.

[0011] Optionally, the fixing device fixes the top plate, the intermediate plate, and the base plate into a single unit.

[0012] Optionally, the rotating disk has a segmented structure, with each slide alternating between the inner and outer diameters, and adjacent segments smoothly transitioning and connecting.

[0013] This application also provides an aircraft, including: body; The rappelling device described in the above scheme is placed inside the aircraft; The rappelling device is used to deliver the deployed materials.

[0014] Optionally, the flying balls are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the rotating disk, and their mass is selected according to the target weight of the released material and the preset release height.

[0015] Optionally, the specific number of stacked layers of the rotating disk is determined according to the deceleration torque or speed limit required for the target material.

[0016] Optionally, the inner wall of the slide of the rotating disk is provided with microstructures to increase friction.

[0017] Optionally, the rotation axis of the rotating disk is arranged vertically, and the rope passes downward from the top unrestrained end through the spiral slide and connects to the material to be placed at the bottom, so that the direction of gravity of the material to be placed is parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating disk. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 The diagram shown is an overall schematic diagram of the rope descent device according to an embodiment of this application. Figure 2 This is another schematic diagram of the rope descent device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 3 This is another schematic diagram of the rope descent device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 4 This is another schematic diagram of the rope descent device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 5 This is another schematic diagram of the rope descent device according to an embodiment of this application; Figure 6 This is another schematic diagram of the rope descent device according to an embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0019] The following embodiments further illustrate the technical solutions of this application. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely for explaining this application. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to this application are shown in the accompanying drawings, not all of them.

[0020] In the description of this application, it should be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," and "linking" should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to fixed connections or detachable connections; mechanical connections or electrical connections; direct connections or indirect connections through an intermediate medium; and internal connections between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this application based on the specific circumstances.

[0021] In this application, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature being directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature being directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0022] The term "aircraft" is defined as an air transport system of any size having at least one lift propeller as its propulsion source. The term "aircraft" can include both "manned" and "unmanned" air transport systems. A manned aircraft can mean an air transport system carrying one or more human passengers, none of whom have control over the aircraft. A manned aircraft can also mean an air transport system carrying one or more human passengers, some of whom, or one of whom, has partial or full control over the aircraft. An unmanned aircraft can mean an air transport system that does not carry any human passengers and flies autonomously or is remotely controlled by someone at a distance.

[0023] In this specification, "aircraft" includes manned aircraft and any unmanned vehicle, such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aircraft, remote-controlled aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems, any aircraft classified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) under cycle 328AN / 190, and so on. As an example, a drone can take the form of a single- or multi-rotor helicopter (such as a quadcopter) or a fixed-wing aircraft. Furthermore, certain portions of this disclosure can be used in conjunction with drones in the form of other types of unmanned vehicles (e.g., wheeled, tracked, and / or watercraft).

[0024] Embodiments of this application are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, such as Figures 1-5 As shown, Figures 1 to 5 This application comprehensively and thoroughly demonstrates, from both the overall structure and working principle perspectives, a rappelling device specifically designed for aircraft proposed in the first embodiment of this application.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, the rappelling device mainly includes the following core components: a rotating disk 100 and a rope 400. The rotating disk 100 is rotatably mounted on the fixing device 600, and the rotating disk 100 is provided with at least one spirally extending slide. The rope 400 passes through the spiral slide. One end of the rope 400 is used to connect to the material to be dropped, and the other end is a completely unrestrained free end that is not fixedly connected to any structure.

[0026] Please refer to now. Figures 1-2 ,like Figures 1-2 As shown, in this embodiment, the rotating disk 100 is composed of three main parts: a top disk 1001 at the top, a middle disk 1002 in the middle, and a bottom disk 1003 at the bottom. The top disk 1001 and the bottom disk 1003 are highly similar in structural design; their cross-sections form a convex shape, and they are hollow inside. This hollow structure provides a through-pass for the rotating shaft 700. Specifically, the rotating shaft 700 can enter from the center of the top disk 1001 and pass through the entire rotating disk 100, allowing the top disk 1001 and the bottom disk 1003 to rotate around the rotating shaft 700 as the center of rotation.

[0027] Please refer to now. Figure 2Of course, it should be noted that the above description of the "convex" shape of the cross-section of the top plate 1001 and the chassis 1003 is only for the specific implementation of this embodiment. In other possible embodiments, the cross-sectional shape of the top plate 1001 and the chassis 1003 can adopt other geometric configurations, such as circles, squares, polygons or other irregular but functionally equivalent shapes, as long as they can meet the requirements of structural strength, assembly and rotation function in conjunction with the rotating shaft 700. Therefore, this application does not further limit or constrain the specific cross-sectional shape of the top plate 1001 and the chassis 1003.

[0028] Please refer to now. Figure 2 Similarly, in this embodiment, the intermediate disc 1002 has a rectangular cross-section and is composed of multiple independent discs stacked sequentially along the axial direction. These discs are arranged between the top disc 1001 and the bottom disc 1003, and together they form a continuous and spiraling slide structure, referred to as the "spiral slide" in this embodiment, through orderly stacking. The main function of this spiral slide is to guide the rope to descend smoothly along its path, thereby realizing the delivery of materials.

[0029] Please refer to now. Figure 2 Furthermore, the intermediate disk 1002 also adopts a hollow design concept, with a through hole reserved in its central area so that the rotating shaft 700 can pass through smoothly. In this way, the intermediate disk 1002 can also rotate synchronously with the top disk 1001 and the bottom disk 1003 around the same rotating shaft 700, ensuring that the entire rotating disk 100 maintains structural consistency and motion coordination during operation.

[0030] Please refer to now. Figure 2 Of course, similar to the top plate 1001 and bottom plate 1003, the cross-sectional shape of the middle plate 1002 is not necessarily limited to a rectangle. In other feasible embodiments, as long as the shape adopted can support the stable stacking of multiple plates, form an effective spiral slide, and allow the rotation axis 700 to pass through it to achieve the function of rotating around the axis, then the shape is considered to be within the scope of the technical solution covered by this application. Therefore, this application does not impose further restrictions on the specific cross-sectional shape of the middle plate 1002.

[0031] Please refer to now. Figure 1Furthermore, the fixing device 600 is fixed to the interior of the aircraft cabin or the outer wall of the cabin door, and the rotating shaft 700 is fixed vertically to the fixing device 600, ensuring that the rotating disk 100 can rotate stably around the rotating shaft 700 without shifting. When supplies need to be dropped, under the pull of the supplies' own weight, the rope 400 will gradually slide outward along the spiral track, causing the rotating disk 100 to rotate around the rotating shaft 700. The rotation of the rotating disk 100 can provide damping for the rope's slide-out, preventing the rope from being lowered too quickly.

[0032] Please refer to now. Figure 1 It is worth noting that in this embodiment, when the dropped material begins to fall freely due to gravity, the rope 400 will slide along the spiral slide and generate continuous friction with the inner wall of the slide. This friction will then drive the rotating disk 100 to rotate around its own central axis, thereby effectively converting the kinetic energy originally generated by the free fall of the material into the rotational inertia of the rotating disk 100, achieving effective buffering and control of the falling speed of the material, and significantly reducing its landing impact force.

[0033] Please refer to now. Figure 3 ,like Figure 3 As shown, high-precision bearings 800 are respectively installed at both ends of the axial direction of the rotating disk 100. The function of these bearings 800 is to precisely limit the horizontal degree of freedom of the rotating disk 100 during rotation, ensuring that it can only rotate around the central axis and avoid swaying or deviation. In addition, when the rope 400 passes through the rotating disk 100, it does not travel along a straight path, but strictly follows the preset spiral slide trajectory to shuttle between the layers of disks. In particular, the spiral slides on adjacent intermediate disks are designed to rotate in opposite directions (e.g., one clockwise and one counterclockwise), namely the first spiral track 200 and the second spiral track 300. The first spiral track 200 and the second spiral track 300 together form a complex passage path with alternating inside and outside and changing directions, which further enhances the friction effect between the rope and the slide and improves the deceleration performance.

[0034] Specifically, please continue to refer to... Figure 3 ,like Figure 3As shown, the bearing 800 consists of two parts: an upper bearing 810 and a lower bearing 820. The upper bearing 810 is precisely installed at the end of the rotating shaft 700 furthest from the material delivery point. In other words, with the sky as a reference, it is located above the rotating shaft 700, far from the material delivery position. The lower bearing 820 is correspondingly located at the end of the rotating shaft 700 closer to the material delivery point, i.e., below the rotating shaft 700, which is closer to the actual material delivery position. These two bearings, the upper bearing 810 and the lower bearing 820, work together to effectively constrain the horizontal displacement that the rotating shaft 700 may generate during operation. This significantly limits the horizontal freedom of the rotating shaft 700 during rotation, ensuring smooth operation and preventing the entire device from being affected by shaking or deviation.

[0035] Please continue reading now. Figure 3 Specifically, the rotating shaft 700 passes through the inner rings of the upper bearing 810 and the lower bearing 820 and is interference-fitted with the inner rings of the two bearings, while the outer ring of the bearing is fixed to the inner wall of the device housing. This ensures that when the rotating shaft 700 drives the rotating disk to rotate, it always maintains stable rotational accuracy and will not affect the rope release speed due to axial movement or radial offset.

[0036] Please continue reading now. Figure 3 Of course, in other embodiments, the fit between the rotating shaft 700 and the inner rings of the upper bearing 810 and the lower bearing 820 is not limited to an interference fit. Specifically, fits such as clearance fits and transition fits can also be used depending on the actual working conditions and assembly requirements. It should be noted that this application does not impose a mandatory limitation on the specific fit between the rotating shaft 700 and the inner rings of the upper bearing 810 and the lower bearing 820. Therefore, all the above-mentioned feasible fits should be considered within the scope of the technical solutions covered by this application.

[0037] Please refer to now. Figure 4 Furthermore, the spiral chute extends continuously across the surface of each layer of the rotating disk 100. The inner wall of the chute is polished to ensure smooth passage of the rope 400 while continuously generating stable resistance through the contact surface. This prevents the rope 400 from being released too quickly, which could lead to loss of control over the deployed materials. Combined with the alternating design of opposite spiral directions, the rope 400 continuously changes its bending direction during passage, further increasing the frictional resistance torque and achieving a more stable deceleration effect. The device has a compact overall structure and can be directly integrated into the aircraft's delivery bay without occupying excessive fuselage space. It can also automatically adjust the magnitude of the frictional resistance according to the weight of the deployed materials, ensuring a smooth and controllable descent process and stable completion of the delivery operation.

[0038] Please continue reading now. Figure 4 ,like Figure 4 As shown, furthermore, the flying balls 500 can be selectively and symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the rotating disk 100. This symmetrical layout not only ensures the structural stability of the entire rotating system but also significantly improves the balance performance during dynamic operation. Specifically, these flying balls 500 can actively participate in the energy conversion process. That is, when the deployed material falls freely under the action of gravity, if the falling speed of the material is too fast, it will cause the rotating disk 100 to rotate too fast, causing the flying balls originally stored on the left and right sides of the rotating disk 100 to be thrown out. Since the flying balls 500 themselves have gravity, when the flying balls are thrown out, their weight will directly act on the left and right sides of the rotating disk 100, thereby reducing the rotation speed of the rotating disk 100. Some of the kinetic energy of the rotating disk 100 will be efficiently absorbed by the flying balls 500. This mechanism enables the flying balls 500 and the rotating disk 100 to form a cooperative working mechanism, thereby significantly optimizing the deceleration efficiency of the entire system and improving the overall stability and reliability of operation.

[0039] Please continue reading now. Figure 5 Furthermore, in order to effectively reduce the wear, breakage, or jamming that may be caused by local stress concentration during high-speed sliding of the rope 400, this embodiment features a finely rounded corner structure in the tangential transition area of ​​the spiral slide. This rounded corner not only smooths the slide profile and eliminates sharp inflection points, but also significantly reduces the frictional resistance and impact load borne by the rope during turning and acceleration phases, enabling the rope to maintain a smoother and more fluid sliding state throughout the entire running trajectory, thereby extending the service life of the rope.

[0040] Please continue reading now. Figure 5 ,like Figure 5 As shown, it is worth mentioning that the end of the rope 400 connected to the dropped material is a movable connection. This allows the rope to automatically or manually detach from the material after it successfully touches the ground, completing the separation operation without human intervention. This greatly improves operational efficiency and safety. The power source of the entire rappelling device relies entirely on the mechanical friction generated between the rope 400 and the inner wall of the spiral slide, requiring no additional energy input. The structure is simple and highly reliable.

[0041] Please continue reading now. Figure 5 Furthermore, the rotating disk 100 in this embodiment can be flexibly adapted to the material delivery needs at different delivery heights by adjusting the number of intermediate disks (i.e., the number of stacked layers) and using different materials. For example, for heavier materials or materials that need to be delivered from a higher altitude, the number of intermediate disk layers can be increased to provide a larger friction area and stronger braking torque, while for lightweight or low-altitude delivery scenarios, the number of layers can be reduced accordingly to avoid excessive deceleration.

[0042] Preferably, the rotating disk 100 is made entirely of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) or high-strength nylon. These materials not only have excellent self-lubricating properties, but also significantly reduce the wear rate while ensuring a sufficient coefficient of friction, thus extending the service life of the device.

[0043] Please refer to now. Figure 6 ,like Figure 6 As shown, the fixing device firmly connects the top plate 1001, the middle plate 1002, and the base plate 1003 into a single structure, namely the rotating device in this embodiment, ensuring that each component maintains structural integrity and coaxiality under high-speed rotation and complex stress conditions. It is worth noting that each segment of the spiral slide of the rotating plate 100 is arranged alternately between the inner and outer diameters, and adjacent segments achieve a smooth transition and seamless connection through precision machining, effectively preventing the rope from jumping or jamming during reversal.

[0044] This application also provides an aircraft equipped with the above-mentioned rappelling device, which specifically includes the aircraft fuselage and the rappelling device described in the above scheme.

[0045] Preferably, the rappelling device can be fixed inside the aircraft fuselage and used to accurately deliver various materials during missions.

[0046] It is worth noting that, in this embodiment, the symmetrical arrangement of the flying ball 500 on both sides of the rotating disk 100 is not arbitrarily set. Its mass parameters need to be scientifically calculated and matched according to the specific weight of the target material and the preset throwing height to ensure that the energy conversion efficiency and system stability reach the optimal balance.

[0047] Similarly, the actual number of stacked layers of the rotating disk 100 is not fixed, but is dynamically adjusted according to the speed required by the target material or the maximum falling speed.

[0048] Furthermore, to enhance the friction effect, the inner wall surface of the spiral slide inside the rotating disk 100 can also be processed with specific microstructures (such as micro-pits or rough textures) to increase the effective contact area and friction coefficient between the rope and the slide.

[0049] Finally, the rotation axis of the entire rotating disk 100 is set to be arranged in a vertical direction (i.e., perpendicular to the ground). The rope 400 passes vertically downward from the unrestrained free end at the top through each layer of spiral slides and finally connects to the material to be placed at the bottom. This layout ensures that the direction of gravity on the material is completely parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating disk 100, thereby maximizing the use of gravitational potential energy to drive the system operation, improving energy conversion efficiency and the stability of the device operation.

[0050] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of this application. Any person skilled in the art can modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the purpose of this application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by those skilled in the art without departing from the purpose disclosed in this application should still be covered by the claims of this application.

Claims

1. A rappelling device for an aircraft, characterized in that, include: A rotating disk is rotatably mounted on a fixed device, and the rotating disk is provided with at least one spiral track; A rope is threaded through the spiral chute, with one end of the rope used to connect to the material being dropped, and the other end of the rope being an unrestrained free end. When the material is in free fall under the action of gravity, the rope and the spiral slide generate friction, which drives the rotating disk to rotate around its axis, converting the kinetic energy of the material in free fall into the rotational inertia of the rotating disk, thereby reducing the falling speed of the material.

2. The rope descent device according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating disk includes a top disk, a middle disk, and a bottom disk; Bearings are disposed at both axial ends of the rotating disk to restrict the degree of freedom of the rotating disk, so that the rotating disk can only rotate around its central axis; The rope travels between the rotating discs along a preset spiral track, with the spiral tracks of adjacent intermediate discs rotating in opposite directions to achieve an alternating inward and outward travel path.

3. The rope descent device according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rotating disk is symmetrically equipped with flying balls on both sides. The flying balls are used to convert part of the free fall kinetic energy of the dropped materials into the centripetal rotational inertial potential energy of the flying balls.

4. The rope descent device according to claim 3, characterized in that, The spiral slide has a rounded corner structure at the tangent intersection.

5. The rope descent device according to claim 4, characterized in that, One end of the rope is an unrestrained free end, and the rope can be separated from the deployed material after it lands.

6. The rope descent device according to claim 5, characterized in that, The rappelling device is driven by the mechanical friction between the rope and the spiral slide.

7. The rope descent device according to claim 6, characterized in that, The rotating disk, through the combination of the number of layers and materials of the intermediate disk, can adapt to the delivery of materials of different weights and delivery heights.

8. The rope descent device according to claim 7, characterized in that, The rotating disk is made of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene or nylon material, providing specific self-lubricating properties and friction.

9. The rope descent device according to claim 8, characterized in that, The fixing device securely connects the top plate, the middle plate, and the base plate into a single unit.

10. The rope descent device according to claim 9, characterized in that, The rotating disk has a segmented structure, with each slide alternating between the inner and outer diameters, and adjacent segments smoothly transitioning and connecting.

11. An aircraft, characterized in that: include: body; The rappelling device as described in any one of claims 1-10, wherein the rappelling device is placed inside the aircraft; The rappelling device is used to deliver the deployed materials.

12. The aircraft according to claim 11, characterized in that, The flying balls are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the rotating disk, and their mass is selected according to the target weight of the material to be released and the preset release height.

13. The aircraft according to claim 12, characterized in that, The specific number of stacked layers of the rotating disk is determined based on the deceleration torque or speed limit required for the target material.

14. The aircraft according to claim 13, characterized in that, The inner wall of the slide of the rotating disk is provided with microstructures to increase friction.

15. The aircraft according to claim 14, characterized in that, The rotation axis of the rotating disk is arranged vertically, and the rope passes downward from the top unrestrained end through the spiral slide and connects to the material to be placed at the bottom, so that the direction of gravity of the material to be placed is parallel to the rotation axis of the rotating disk.

Images