A tethered balloon kite of airfoil configuration

By combining airfoil structure and tethered balloon design, and using components such as airfoil airbags, tail suffixes and vertical tails, the load-bearing and stability problems of traditional tethered balloons and kites under different wind speed environments have been solved, achieving a high load-bearing ratio and improved stability.

CN224409594UActive Publication Date: 2026-06-26LINZHOU (NINGBO) TECH CO LTD

Patent Information

Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Utility models(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
LINZHOU (NINGBO) TECH CO LTD
Filing Date
2025-04-27
Publication Date
2026-06-26

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Traditional tethered balloons and kites each have problems with weak load-bearing capacity or insufficient resistance to crosswinds, making it difficult to maintain stability and a high load-bearing ratio under different wind speeds.

Method used

Combining the advantages of airfoil structures and tethered balloons, components such as airfoil airbags, tail fins, and vertical tails are used to enhance stability and load-bearing ratio by utilizing both buoyancy and aerodynamic lift and adjusting the shape and material combination of the airbags.

Benefits of technology

It relies on buoyancy to suspend at low wind speeds and uses aerodynamic lift to supplement lift at high wind speeds, thereby improving the load-bearing ratio and stability, and enhancing the platform system's wind resistance and attitude control.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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Abstract

The utility model provides a kind of tethered balloon kite of airfoil structure belongs to novel aerostat field, the tethered balloon kite of airfoil structure includes airfoil air bag, load cabin, tail, tail fin, horizontal rod, vertical rod, string, release line.The tethered balloon shape adopts airfoil structure, can be cooperated by airfoil aerodynamic lift and helium buoyancy, effectively reduce air bag volume, improve platform system load ratio, and match tail and tail fin and other aerodynamic stabilizer structure, under 6 grade wind speed environment, still can be according to incoming flow direction adjustment platform system orientation, suppress airflow disturbance, ensure platform system stability.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of novel air-floating vehicles, and in particular to a tethered balloon with an airfoil-shaped structure. Background Technology

[0002] Tethered balloons are a type of aerostat that uses a gas lighter than air to generate buoyancy and float in the air. Due to their long aloft time and low cost, tethered balloons have become a common long-term fixed-point monitoring aerial platform, widely used in both military and civilian fields. According to market demand, tethered balloons with a large payload ratio are more competitive in the market.

[0003] Traditional tethered balloons mostly adopt a streamlined rotating body structure, which has low aerodynamic efficiency, weak resistance to crosswinds, and poor airborne stability, but has a strong load-bearing capacity.

[0004] Traditional kites rely on aerodynamics for lift, allowing them to hover in strong winds. They are highly wind-resistant and have good airborne stability, but their load-bearing capacity is weak. Utility Model Content

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to propose a tethered balloon with a high load-to-weight ratio and stable hovering. By combining the functional advantages of airfoil structure, tethered balloon and kite, it achieves hovering operation with dual lift from buoyancy (such as helium) and aerodynamics. It can effectively reduce the volume of helium filling the tethered balloon, thereby reducing the total weight of the platform system and effectively improving the load-to-weight ratio. It can be used for buoyancy-based operation in low wind speeds, while in high winds, the aerodynamic lift generated by the airfoil structure can supplement and increase the total lift of the platform system, enhance the stability of the platform system, and improve the problem of insufficient stability of conventional rotating tethered balloon systems.

[0006] The tethered balloon with the airfoil structure described in this utility model includes: an airfoil airbag, a payload compartment, a tail styling, a vertical tail, a horizontal rod, a vertical rod, a lifting line, and a launch line.

[0007] Preferably, the tethered balloon has an airfoil-shaped exterior and internal structural ribs to form multiple through-cell air chambers.

[0008] Preferably, the wing-shaped airbag is made of a high-strength, ultra-lightweight covering material.

[0009] Preferably, the tail is made of ultra-light and flexible material, with its front end connected to the rear end of the airfoil. Through the support of the rear end of the airfoil and the horizontal rod, the front half of the tail forms a tensioned membrane horizontal stabilizer, while the unsupported rear half of the tail can swing freely under aerodynamic action, assisting in adjusting the platform's attitude.

[0010] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the tail suffix can adopt a "airbag + ultra-light flexible material" combined structure. A non-rotating airbag with a mask structure is connected to the rear end of the airfoil airbag 1 as a horizontal stabilizer, and the tail suffix 2 is connected to the rear end of the non-rotating airbag to assist in adjusting the attitude of the platform.

[0011] Preferably, the bottom of the airfoil is fixed with a vertical tail, which is made of ultra-light flexible material. The flexible material of the vertical tail is tensioned by horizontal and vertical rods to form a vertical stabilizing surface.

[0012] Preferably, a pod is installed at the bottom of the airfoil.

[0013] In summary, the advantages of this utility model are as follows: under the condition of a certain total buoyancy of the platform system, the inflation volume of the air-shaped non-rotating system balloon is relatively smaller, thereby effectively improving the platform's load-bearing ratio. Furthermore, by using the air-shaped structure in conjunction with the stabilizer, the operational stability of the platform system can be effectively improved. Attached Figure Description

[0014] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are provided to illustrate preferred embodiments and other obvious embodiments, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention; throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same parts.

[0015] Figure 1 This is an isometric schematic diagram of the overall structure of the tethered balloon kite with the airfoil structure described in this utility model;

[0016] Figure 2 This is a front view schematic diagram of the overall structure of the tethered balloon kite with the airfoil structure described in this utility model;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the wing-shaped airbag described in this utility model;

[0018] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the present invention, with a triangle as the suffix.

[0019] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a tethered balloon kite with multiple vertical tails based on another embodiment of the airfoil structure described in this utility model.

[0020] Figure 6 A three-view diagram illustrating another embodiment of the present invention, wherein the suffix adopts a combination structure of "airbag + ultra-light flexible material";

[0021] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the tethered balloon kite with an airfoil structure, without a tail or a vertical tail. Detailed Implementation

[0022] Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. While exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present disclosure may be implemented in various forms and should not be limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

[0023] According to one embodiment of this utility model, a tethered balloon kite with an airfoil structure is proposed. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the overall structure of the tethered balloon kite of this utility model includes: wing-shaped airbag 1, load chamber 7, tail styling 2, vertical tail 4, horizontal rod 3, vertical rod 5, lifting line 6, and launching line 8.

[0024] The airfoil airbag 1 provided by this utility model adopts an airfoil structure. Its airfoil structure features a pressure difference formed by airflow across the upper and lower surfaces of the airfoil in windy conditions, generating lift and supplementing buoyancy. Simultaneously, the lower surface of the airfoil can act as a kite hood, enhancing the stability of the platform system. Figure 3 As shown, the airfoil airbag 1 maintains its cross-sectional shape through stiffeners 14, 15, 16, and 17, ensuring that the airbag maintains its airfoil shape when inflated. Simultaneously, it divides the internal space of the airbag into multiple through-cells 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13. The airfoil airbag 1 can adjust its shape after inflation by adding or removing stiffeners, reducing drag caused by inflation deformation.

[0025] According to one embodiment provided by this utility model, such as Figure 1 As shown, the front end of the tail stylist 2 is connected to the rear end of the airfoil 1, and the horizontal rod 3 is fixed to the rear end of the airfoil 1. The front half of the tail stylist 2 covers the horizontal rod 3 and is fixedly connected. The horizontal rod 3 acts as a cantilever support for the membrane surface of the front half of the tail stylist 2, forming a tensioned membrane structure in the front half of the tail stylist 2, which acts as a horizontal stabilizer, increases vertical wind resistance, generates restoring torque, suppresses the pitch of the airfoil in the vertical wind, and ensures the pitch stability of the system. The tail stylist 2 can be implemented in various shapes and sizes, not limited to conventional shapes such as rectangles, trapezoids, and triangles, with a length of 0 to 10 times the length of the airfoil and a width of 0 to 3 times the width of the airfoil. The unsupported rear half of the membrane surface of the tail stylist 2 can freely dampen and swing under the action of airflow, assisting in adjusting the attitude of the airfoil. According to another embodiment provided by this utility model, as Figure 6As shown, the tail suffix 2 can adopt a combination structure of "airbag + ultra-light flexible material". A non-rotating airbag 18 with a mask structure is connected to the rear end of the airfoil airbag 1 as a horizontal stabilizer, and the tail suffix 2 is connected to the rear end of the non-rotating airbag 18.

[0026] According to one embodiment provided by this utility model, such as Figure 1 As shown, a vertical tail 4 is fixed to the bottom of the airfoil 1. The flexible material of the vertical tail 4 is tensioned by horizontal rods 3 and vertical rods 5 to form a vertical stabilizing surface. The vertical tail 4 can be of various shapes and sizes, not limited to conventional shapes such as rectangles, trapezoids, and triangles. Its length is 0 to 10 times the length of the airfoil, and its width is 0 to 3 times the width of the airfoil. According to another embodiment of this utility model, as... Figure 5 As shown, the lower surface of the airfoil 1 and the lifting line 6 form a support boundary, and the flexible material is tensioned to form multiple vertical tails 4. The platform system increases crosswind drag through the vertical tails 4, generates a restoring torque, suppresses the left and right swaying of the airfoil in the crosswind, ensures the yaw stability of the system, and enables the platform system to adjust its orientation according to the direction of the incoming flow, ensuring that the payload compartment 7 is always facing the wind and reducing wind resistance.

[0027] The pod 7 provided by this utility model is fixedly installed at the bottom of the wing-shaped airbag 1, which can reduce the vibration of the mounted equipment and improve the data quality by improving the stability of the platform system.

[0028] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model, but the protection scope of this utility model is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in this invention should be included within the protection scope of this utility model. Therefore, the protection scope of this utility model should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A tethered balloon kite of airfoil configuration, characterized by: The tethered balloon with the airfoil structure includes an airfoil airbag, a payload compartment, a tail styling, a vertical tail, a horizontal rod, a vertical rod, a lifting line, and a launch line; The airfoil-shaped airbag has airfoil-shaped structural features; The rear end of the airfoil is fitted with a tail fin, which serves as a horizontal stabilizer. The airfoil airbag is fitted with a vertical tail at the bottom, which serves as a vertical stabilizer. The airfoil-shaped airbag has a load compartment installed at its bottom. The airbag is connected to the launch line via a lifting line.

2. A tethered balloon kite of the wing type according to claim 1, characterized in that, The airfoil is covered with a high-strength, ultra-lightweight veneer, and the interior of the balloon maintains its cross-sectional shape through an airfoil rib structure.

3. A tethered balloon kite of the wing type according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tail suffix acts as a horizontal aerodynamic stabilizer and can be achieved in various shapes and sizes, not limited to rectangular, trapezoidal, or triangular shapes. Its length is 0 to 10 times the length of the airbag, and its width is 0 to 3 times the width of the airbag.

4. A tethered balloon kite of the wing type according to claim 1, characterized in that, The vertical tail acts as a vertical aerodynamic stabilizer and can be achieved in various shapes and sizes, not limited to rectangular, trapezoidal, or triangular shapes. Its length is 0 to 10 times the length of the airbag, and its width is 0 to 3 times the width of the airbag.