Airship Harness Structure for Lightweight Solar-Powered Flight

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current stratospheric airships face challenges in achieving a practical and cost-effective design for small, lightweight configurations due to the need for solar energy collection, which increases weight and limits lifting capacity, while large airships are impractical and costly.

Innovation Solution

A lightweight airship design featuring a gas-filled flexible hull with a harness-structure made of bendable materials that carries solar cells, batteries, and propeller engines externally, minimizing weight and preventing hull leakage, with a ring-belt and side-bands that adjust to the hull's shape and provide structural support without extending through the hull material.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Duration of action of moving object

If solar cells and energy storage systems are added to enable long-term stratospheric operation, then the airship can operate autonomously for extended periods, but the weight of the airship increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoperational durationVSAvoidairship weight

Core Design Contradiction:

Duration of action of moving objectVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The airship is divided into functional modules: a lightweight hull for buoyancy, a separate harness structure for carrying solar cells and batteries, and a gondola for payload. This segmentation allows the energy collection system to be added without significantly increasing the core structural weight, as components are attached externally rather than integrated into the hull structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The airship uses a flexible thin-film hull made of lightweight material that provides buoyancy while minimizing weight. The harness structure also employs flexible materials that can be wrapped around the hull, allowing energy storage components to be mounted without adding substantial structural weight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

2Force

If the airship size is increased to provide more lifting capacity, then the lifting force increases, but the cost and practicability decrease

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvelifting forceVSAvoidmanufacturing cost and practicability

Core Design Contradiction:

ForceVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent employs a flexible thin-film hull that can be manufactured in smaller, more practical sizes compared to traditional rigid airship structures. This flexibility enables cost-effective production of compact airships while maintaining sufficient lifting capacity for stratospheric applications.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

By segmenting the airship into a compact hull, external harness structure, and detachable gondola, the design achieves efficient use of limited volume. The modular approach allows the airship to provide adequate lifting force for specific payloads without requiring excessive overall size, thereby improving manufacturing practicality and cost-effectiveness.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

3Strength

If a rigid frame is used around the hull for structural support, then the structural strength is improved, but the weight of the airship increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural strengthVSAvoidairship weight

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSWeight of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces traditional rigid frames with a flexible thin-film harness structure that wraps around the hull. This flexible structure provides necessary structural support and component mounting capabilities while minimizing weight, as it eliminates the need for heavy rigid framing materials.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #30Flexible shells and thin films

Solution Approach 2:

The harness structure is extracted as a separate component from the hull, allowing it to provide structural support and component mounting functions without being integrated into the hull itself. This separation enables the use of lightweight flexible materials for the harness while maintaining hull integrity and minimizing overall weight.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Applied Scientific Principles

This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.

Function Achieved in This Case

This design allows for a stable and efficient stratospheric airship that minimizes weight, reduces the risk of leakage, and enables flexible integration of components, making it suitable for small, practical, and cost-effective operations.

Implementation Method 1

The airship is filled with Helium or Hydrogen gas so that the airship is lighter than air

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectBuoyancy: Archimedes' Principle (Buoyancy)

Data Source

PatentUS12139249B2Airship construction and method where a harness-structure is fastened around a hull

Publication Date: 2024.11.12 SCEYE SA

AI summary

A lighter than air airship (1) comprising a gas-filled flexible hull (2) which is elongate with a longitudinal axis (1′) and with a front end (4) and a rear end (5), wherein a harness-structure (3) is abutting an outer side of the hull (2) and not perturbing the hull and not extending through the hull, the harness-structure (3) is made of a bendable material and carries a propeller engine (10) for forward thrust of the airship (1), rechargeable batteries (11) for providing electrical power to the propeller engine (10), and a solar panel for providing electrical power to recharge the batteries (11).