Tethered airship, method for operating a tethered airship

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of airships, and provides a mooring and flying integrated airship and a running method of the mooring and flying integrated airship. The mooring and flying integrated airship comprises a body, a power nacelle and an inflatable tail wing. The power nacelle is located below the body and is used for providing flying power. The inflatable tail wing is located at the tail of the body, is inflated when being moored, and is deflated when flying. Through integrated structural design and system configuration, the airship has the following functions on the same platform: long-time fixed-point hovering capability in the mooring mode; autonomous flight and maneuvering cruising capability in the flying mode, and the comprehensive use efficiency of the airship in communication, monitoring and emergency application scenarios is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of airships, and more particularly to a tethered airship and a method for operating a tethered airship. Background Technology

[0002] Airships, as aircraft that utilize buoyancy gases to generate lift, have advantages such as long loiter time, high payload capacity, and low operating costs, and have been widely used in fields such as communication relay, aerial monitoring, emergency rescue, and environmental detection.

[0003] Based on their different operating methods, existing airships are mainly divided into two categories: tethered airships and cruise (powered) airships.

[0004] Tethered airships are typically connected to ground systems via tethering cables and rely on continuous ground power to achieve long-term stationary flight, making them suitable for tasks such as communication relay and fixed-area monitoring. Cruise airships, on the other hand, rely on their own power systems to fly and can maneuver over a wider range of areas, making them suitable for applications such as patrol, search and dynamic monitoring.

[0005] Existing tethered airships are connected to a ground-based mooring system via a main tether cable. This cable typically integrates power cables and fiber optic communication fibers, allowing the ground system to continuously supply power to the onboard equipment, enabling long-duration, stationary aerial operations. While these airships offer the advantage of long loiter times, they lack autonomous flight capabilities, limiting their operation to the vicinity of the tethered point and hindering rapid, mobile coverage of emergencies or temporary targets. Furthermore, when the operational area changes, the entire ground system must be relocated, resulting in poor deployment flexibility.

[0006] Unmanned cruise airships utilize their own propulsion and energy systems to take off, cruise, and return, and can perform missions along preset routes, exhibiting a certain degree of maneuverability. However, because cruise airships rely entirely on onboard fuel or batteries for energy, their loiter time is limited, making it difficult to achieve ultra-long-term continuous operation; furthermore, when performing fixed-point communication or monitoring missions, their energy utilization efficiency is low, resulting in high operating costs.

[0007] Therefore, there is an urgent need to provide a tethered-fly integrated airship and its operation method. Through integrated structural design and system configuration, the airship can possess, on a single platform, the ability to remain stationary for extended periods in tethered mode, and the ability to fly autonomously and maneuver while in flight mode. This would solve the problems of separation of tethering and flight functions, poor platform versatility, and insufficient mission adaptability in existing airship systems, and improve the overall efficiency of airships in communication, monitoring, and emergency application scenarios.

[0008] The information disclosed in the background section is only intended to enhance the understanding of the background of this application, and therefore may include information that does not constitute prior art known to those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0009] The main purpose of this invention is to overcome the problems of separation of tethering and flight functions, poor platform versatility, and insufficient mission adaptability in existing airship systems. It provides a tethered-flight integrated airship and its operation method. Through integrated structural design and system configuration, the airship can have the following on the same platform: long-term stationary hovering capability in tethered mode; autonomous flight and maneuvering cruise capability in flight mode, thereby improving the comprehensive utilization efficiency of the airship in communication, monitoring, and emergency application scenarios.

[0010] To achieve the above objectives, the first aspect of the present invention provides a tethered airship, comprising: a hull, a power pod, and an inflatable tail fin; The power pod is located below the hull and is used to provide flight power; The inflatable tail fin is located at the stern of the hull, and is inflated when moored and deflated when in flight.

[0011] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the tethered airship further includes a ground tethering vehicle and a tethering connection system; The ground-tethered vehicle is used to generate energy and transmit it to the airship; The mooring connection system is used to connect the ground mooring vehicle and the hull, and to transmit energy.

[0012] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the tethered airship further includes an equipment pod located below the hull for loading onboard equipment.

[0013] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the hull includes an onboard power unit that supplies power to the airship when it is in flight.

[0014] According to a second aspect of the present invention, the present invention provides a method for operating a tethered airship, comprising the following steps: The aforementioned tethered airship is adopted; When in flight mode, the inflatable tail fin deflates, and the power pod provides flight power for the tethered airship. When in tethered mode, the inflatable tail fin inflates and the power pod is deactivated.

[0015] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when in flight mode, the onboard energy unit supplies power to the airship.

[0016] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when in tethered mode, the airship is stationary above the tethering support system, and the ground tethering vehicle transmits energy to the airship through the tethering connection system.

[0017] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, when in flight mode, the tethered airship communicates wirelessly with the ground; when in tethered mode, the tethered airship communicates with the ground via wired or hybrid communication, wherein the hybrid communication includes both wireless and wired communication.

[0018] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the operation method of the tethered airship further includes: when the airship switches from flight mode to tethered mode, the following steps are performed: C1: Determine if the task conditions for entering tethered mode are met; C2: Control the airship to decelerate and descend to the predetermined tethering altitude; C3: Establish cable connections for the mooring connection system; C4: Switch the energy supply from the onboard power unit to the mooring and support system; C5: The communication link switches from wireless communication to wired or hybrid communication; C6: Power pod decommissioned; C7: Deploy and inflate the inflatable tail wing; C8: Adjust the position of the equipment pods to bring the airship into a balanced state; C9: Mode switch complete, entering tethered mode.

[0019] According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the operation method of the tethered airship further includes: when the airship switches from tethered mode to airship mode, the following steps are performed: D1: Determine if the mission conditions for entering airship mode are met; D2: Adjust the position of the equipment pod and start the onboard power unit; D3: Start the power pod and conduct a thrust test; D4: Deflate and retract the inflatable tail wing; D5: Release the mooring cables; D6: Switch the communication mode to wireless communication; D7: Control the airship's attitude and adjust it to the flight configuration; D8: Gradually increase thrust to enter flight mode.

[0020] The beneficial effects of this plan are: Through integrated design, the airship possesses both long-duration loitering and autonomous flight capabilities, improving platform versatility; reducing redundant development and configuration of different types of airships, lowering system complexity and operating costs; allowing flexible switching of operating modes according to mission requirements, significantly enhancing adaptability in communication, monitoring, and emergency scenarios; and facilitating transportation, deployment, maintenance, and upgrades through modular structural design. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The above and other objects, features, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the detailed description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings described below are merely some embodiments of this application, and those skilled in the art can obtain other drawings based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0022] Figure 1 The schematic diagram shows the system structure of the tethered airship.

[0023] Figure 2 The schematic diagram shows the structure of the airship in flight mode.

[0024] Figure 3 The schematic diagram shows the structure of the airship in tethered mode.

[0025] Among them, 1—hull, 3—power pod, 4—equipment pod, 5—ground mooring vehicle, 6—rudder surface tail fin, 7—mooring connection system, and 8—inflatable tail fin. Detailed Implementation

[0026] Exemplary embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, these exemplary embodiments can be implemented in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, they are provided so that this application will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the exemplary embodiments to those skilled in the art. The same reference numerals in the drawings denote the same or similar parts, and therefore repeated descriptions of them will be omitted.

[0027] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. Numerous specific details are provided in the following description to give a thorough understanding of embodiments of this application. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the technical solutions of this application can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or other methods, components, apparatuses, steps, etc., can be employed. In other instances, well-known methods, apparatuses, implementations, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring various aspects of this application.

[0028] The block diagrams shown in the accompanying drawings are merely functional entities and do not necessarily correspond to physically independent entities. That is, these functional entities can be implemented in software, in one or more hardware modules or integrated circuits, or in different network and / or processor devices and / or microcontroller devices.

[0029] The flowcharts shown in the accompanying drawings are merely illustrative and do not necessarily include all content and operations / steps, nor do they necessarily have to be performed in the described order. For example, some operations / steps can be broken down, while others can be combined or partially combined; therefore, the actual execution order may change depending on the specific circumstances.

[0030] It should be understood that although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various components, these components should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one component from another. Therefore, the first component discussed below may be referred to as the second component without departing from the teachings of this application. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes all combinations of any one and more of the associated listed items.

[0031] Those skilled in the art will understand that the accompanying drawings are merely schematic diagrams of exemplary embodiments, and the modules or processes in the drawings are not necessarily essential for implementing this application, and therefore cannot be used to limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] According to a first specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a tethered airship, such as... Figure 1-3 As shown, it includes: hull 1, power pod 3, inflatable tail fin 8, equipment pod 4, ground mooring vehicle 5, mooring connection system 7, and rudder tail fin 6.

[0033] The hull 1 includes an onboard energy unit that supplies power to the airship when it is in flight.

[0034] The power pod 3 is located below the hull 1 and is used to provide flight power.

[0035] The inflatable tail fin 8 is located at the stern of the hull 1. It is inflated when moored and deflated when in flight.

[0036] Ground tethered vehicle 5 is used to generate energy and transmit it to the airship.

[0037] The mooring connection system 7 is used to connect the ground mooring vehicle 5 and the hull 1 and to transmit energy, and includes mooring cables.

[0038] The ground tethering vehicle 5 and the tethering connection system together form the tethering support system.

[0039] The equipment pod 4 is located below the hull 1 and is used to load onboard equipment, including equipment related to propulsion.

[0040] The rudder tail fin 6 is located at the stern of the hull 1.

[0041] The tail fin design, propulsion method, and energy configuration can all be replaced with functionally equivalent alternatives; the tethering cable of the tethering connection system 7 can be a composite cable with different structural forms; the avionics and control system can be implemented using different algorithms or hardware architectures. All of the above alternatives should be considered equivalent variations of this application and fall within the scope of protection of this application.

[0042] The payload system is selected according to mission requirements; avionics and environmental control equipment is placed in equipment pods. When switching modes, the pods need to be adjusted, but the equipment does not require any additional processing; in tethered mode, the submarine and vehicle chassis use wired transmission for energy and data transmission, while in flight mode, the submarine and vehicle use wireless transmission.

[0043] As a second specific embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a method for operating a tethered airship, comprising the following steps: The first specific implementation method is used for the tethered airship; the tethered airship switches back and forth between flight mode and tethered mode.

[0044] When in flight mode, the inflatable tail fin deflates, the power pod provides flight power for the tethered airship, the onboard energy unit supplies power to the airship, and the tethered airship communicates wirelessly with the ground.

[0045] In flight mode, the tethered airship is in autonomous flight. The hull 1 is equipped with a power pod 2 and an equipment pod 3. The power pod 2 can be an onboard energy unit, an electric propulsion device, or a combination thereof, used to provide propulsion, attitude control and energy for the airship. The equipment pod 3 can be composed of onboard equipment.

[0046] In this mode, the airship's energy requirements are provided by its onboard energy unit, which supplies power to the avionics system, control system, and mission payload. The airship communicates with ground support equipment or ground control stations via wireless communication for data transmission and control command exchange, enabling remote control of the airship's flight status and mission payload. In this mode, the inflatable tail fin 8 is not inflated and is retracted into the airship's tail section. The specific implementation steps are as follows: A1: Powered onboard energy system (i.e., onboard energy unit), which supplies power to the avionics system, control system and mission payload; A2: Power pod 3 starts the propulsion power unit and establishes propulsion output; A3: Control the airship to complete takeoff and enter the climb phase; A4: Establish a communication connection with the ground control station via a wireless communication link; A5: Perform cruise or maneuver flight missions according to preset routes or mission instructions; A6: Monitor the airship's attitude, energy status, and mission payload operation status in real time during flight; A7: When the recovery conditions are met (including mission completion, insufficient energy, or receiving a recovery command), the airship enters the recovery phase; A8: Control the airship to fly back to the pre-set recovery area and gradually decrease its flight altitude; A9: Adjust the airship's attitude and speed to align it with the ground tethered vehicle 5; A10: The ground tethering vehicle releases the tethering cable and establishes a connection with the airship's tethering interface; A11: After establishing a tethered connection, gradually reduce the propulsion output to bring the airship into a controlled tethered state; A12: Complete airship recovery and enter tethered mode or ground support status.

[0047] When in tethered mode, the airship is stationary above the tethering support system. The ground tethering vehicle transmits energy to the airship through the tethering connection system. The inflatable tail fin is inflated, the power pod is deactivated, and the tethered airship communicates with the ground via wired or hybrid communication, which includes both wireless and wired communication.

[0048] In tethered mode, the tethered airship establishes a physical connection with the ground tethering vehicle 5 through the tethering connection system 7, and is in a fixed-point stationary working state. In this mode, the power pod 2 is not mounted or is in a deactivated state, and the airship does not rely on propulsion power for displacement flight.

[0049] The tethering connection system 7 includes at least a load-bearing component and a connection assembly for energy and / or signal transmission. While providing physical constraints for the airship, the tethering connection system 7 also transmits energy generated by the ground tethering vehicle 5 to the airship, continuously powering its onboard avionics, control systems, and mission payloads. Simultaneously, communication signals can be transmitted between the airship and the ground tethering vehicle 5 through the tethering connection system 7. In this state, the inflatable tail fin 8 inflates to maintain the airship's attitude stability. The specific implementation steps are as follows: B1: Deploy the airship and fill it with buoyancy gas to give it basic buoyancy capabilities.

[0050] B2: Control the deployment and inflation of the inflatable tail fin 8 to improve the airship's attitude stability in low-speed wind fields.

[0051] B3: Release the tether cable via the ground tether vehicle and establish a connection with the airship's tethering interface.

[0052] B4: After the mooring cable is connected, the length of the cable is controlled by the mooring vehicle to raise the airship to the predetermined working height.

[0053] B5: Establish the tether cable tension control state to enable the airship to form a stable constrained position in space.

[0054] B6: Powers the airship via an electrical transmission component in the tether cable, providing continuous energy for the avionics, control systems, and mission payloads.

[0055] B7: Establish a wired communication connection between the airship and the ground system via the communication link in the mooring cable.

[0056] B8: The airship enters a stationary operational state to perform communication relay, area monitoring, or other tasks.

[0057] B9: During the hovering process, monitor the tension of the mooring cable, the attitude of the airship, the ambient wind speed, and the power supply status in real time.

[0058] B10: Based on monitoring data, stable control can be achieved by adjusting the following parameters: Length or tension of the mooring cable; The inflation state of the inflatable tail wing 8; Airship attitude control surfaces or trim devices.

[0059] In the tethered state, the airship relies on the wind vane effect generated by the tail fin to maintain stability against the wind. When switching from flight mode to tethered mode, the inflation of the auxiliary gasbags is adjusted to adjust the airship's center of buoyancy so that the position of the airship's center of buoyancy meets the tethering requirements. At the same time, the ground tethering vehicle adjusts the length and tension of the cable through the winch mechanism to balance the force on the cable and suppress the hull oscillation, so as to achieve a smooth transition of the airship from flight state to stable tethered state.

[0060] B11: When the conditions for recovery or mission completion are met, the tethering vehicle retrieves the tethering cable, causing the airship to descend gradually.

[0061] B12: The airship lands on the ground or tethered vehicle platform, completes recovery, and enters standby mode.

[0062] When the airship switches from flight mode to tethered mode, the following steps are taken: C1: Determine whether the task conditions for entering tethered mode are met (task command or energy threshold trigger).

[0063] C2: Control the airship to decelerate and descend to the predetermined tethering altitude.

[0064] C3: Establish cable connections for the mooring connection system.

[0065] C4: Switch the energy supply from the onboard power unit to the mooring and support system.

[0066] C5: The communication link switches from wireless communication to wired or hybrid communication.

[0067] C6: Shut down the propulsion unit and disable the power pod 3; disabling the power pod 2 can mean that it is not carried (removed) or is disabled, and the airship does not rely on propulsion power for displacement flight.

[0068] C7: Deploy and inflate the inflatable tail fin to improve stability.

[0069] C8: Adjust the position of equipment pod 4 to bring the airship into a balanced state.

[0070] C9: Complete mode switching, enter tethered mode, and achieve tethered resident state.

[0071] When the airship switches from tethered mode to airship mode, the following steps are performed: D1: Determine whether the mission conditions for entering airship mode are met (receiving flight mission instructions or meeting the conditions for releasing tethers).

[0072] D2: Adjust the position of equipment pod 3, install power pod 2, start the onboard energy unit, and establish independent power supply capability.

[0073] D3: Start the power pod 8, open the propulsion unit, and conduct a thrust test.

[0074] D4: Deflate and retract the inflatable tail wing 8.

[0075] D5: Release the cable of the mooring connection system 7 to remove the mechanical restraint.

[0076] D6: Switch the communication mode to wireless communication.

[0077] D7: Control the airship's attitude to adjust to the flight configuration.

[0078] D8: Gradually increase thrust to enter flight mode and complete takeoff or transition to cruise mode.

[0079] Through the above configuration adjustments, the integrated airship can achieve both cruise flight operations and long-term stationary aerial operations on the same platform, thereby meeting the usage requirements of different application scenarios.

[0080] In summary, the integrated design enables airships to simultaneously possess long-duration loiter and autonomous flight capabilities, improving platform versatility; it reduces the duplication of development and configuration of different types of airships, lowering system complexity and operating costs; it allows for flexible switching of operating modes according to mission requirements, significantly enhancing adaptability in communication, monitoring, and emergency scenarios; and its modular structural design facilitates transportation, deployment, maintenance, and upgrades.

[0081] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been specifically shown and described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the detailed structures, arrangements, or implementations described herein; rather, the present invention is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements contained within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A tethered airship, characterized in that, include: Hull, power pod, inflatable tail fin; The power pod is located below the hull and is used to provide flight power; The inflatable tail fin is located at the stern of the hull, and is inflated when moored and deflated when in flight.

2. The tethered airship according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes ground tethering vehicles and tethering connection systems; The ground-tethered vehicle is used to generate energy and transmit it to the airship; The mooring connection system is used to connect the ground mooring vehicle and the hull, and to transmit energy.

3. The tethered airship according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes equipment pods, located below the hull, for loading onboard equipment.

4. The tethered airship according to claim 1, characterized in that, The hull includes an onboard energy unit that supplies power to the airship when it is in flight.

5. The method for operating a tethered airship according to claim 1, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: The tethered airship as described in any one of claims 1-4 is adopted; When in flight mode, the inflatable tail fin deflates, and the power pod provides flight power for the tethered airship. When in tethered mode, the inflatable tail fin inflates and the power pod is deactivated.

6. The method for operating a tethered airship according to claim 5, characterized in that, When in flight mode, the onboard energy unit supplies power to the airship.

7. The method for operating a tethered airship according to claim 5, characterized in that, When in tethered mode, the airship is stationary above the tethered support system, and the ground tethering vehicle transmits energy to the airship through the tethering connection system.

8. The method for operating a tethered airship according to claim 5, characterized in that, When in flight mode, the tethered airship communicates wirelessly with the ground; when in tethered mode, the tethered airship communicates with the ground via wired or hybrid communication, which includes both wireless and wired communication.

9. The method for operating a tethered airship according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: When the airship switches from flight mode to tethered mode, the following steps are taken: C1: Determine if the task conditions for entering tethered mode are met; C2: Control the airship to decelerate and descend to the predetermined tethering altitude; C3: Establish cable connections for the mooring connection system; C4: Switch the energy supply from the onboard power unit to the mooring and support system; C5: The communication link switches from wireless communication to wired or hybrid communication; C6: Power pod decommissioned; C7: Deploy and inflate the inflatable tail wing; C8: Adjust the position of the equipment pods to bring the airship into a balanced state; C9: Mode switch complete, entering tethered mode.

10. The method for operating a tethered airship according to claim 5, characterized in that, Also includes: When the airship switches from tethered mode to flight mode, the following steps are performed: D1: Determine if the mission conditions for entering flight mode are met; D2: Adjust the position of the equipment pod and start the onboard power unit; D3: Start the power pod and conduct a thrust test; D4: Deflate and retract the inflatable tail wing; D5: Release the mooring cables; D6: Switch the communication mode to wireless communication; D7: Control the airship's attitude and adjust it to the flight configuration; D8: Gradually increase thrust to enter flight mode.

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