Airship Mooring Device With Flexible Cable Guide
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mooring systems for airships face challenges in managing the safety cable's curvature and friction, particularly due to the variable direction and wind-induced movements of airships, leading to wear and breakage issues with traditional winches designed for automotive or nautical applications.
Innovation Solution
A portable mooring device with a modular design featuring a low-friction guide tip and flexible arms allowing rotation around both vertical and horizontal axes, utilizing materials like PTFE for reduced friction and a tubular support structure for easy portability, along with a winch system that includes a drum with a spring switch and rotary joint for energy/data transmission.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional winches designed for automotive or nautical applications are used, then the winch structure is simple and robust, but the cable experiences excessive friction and wear due to large normal forces from rigid cable guide structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible cable guide structure that can deform and adapt to cable movement, replacing rigid metal structures. This flexibility reduces the normal force exerted on the cable, thereby minimizing friction and wear while maintaining structural integrity
Solution Approach 2:
The cable guide structure is designed to be dynamic rather than static, allowing it to move and adjust in response to cable tension and direction changes. This dynamic adaptation reduces contact pressure and friction on the cable throughout the winching operation
2Manufacturing precision
If rigid cable guide structures are used to maintain minimum curvature radius, then the cable routing is controlled, but the friction and normal forces on the cable become excessively large
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cable guide maintains the necessary curvature radius while adapting its shape to minimize friction. Unlike rigid structures that impose fixed geometry, the flexible guide conforms to the cable's natural bending path, reducing contact friction while preserving minimum curvature requirements
3Adaptability or versatility
If the airship is allowed to move freely in any direction due to passive stabilization, then the airship can orient itself with the wind, but the cable output direction varies substantially in a large opening cone causing winch operating difficulties
Solution Approach 1:
The winch system incorporates dynamic cable guide structures that can rotate and adjust their orientation to track the moving airship. This dynamic adjustment keeps the cable output direction within a manageable angular range, simplifying winch operation while allowing the airship freedom of movement
Solution Approach 2:
A rotating cable guide structure acts as an intermediary between the fixed winch and the freely moving airship. This mediator absorbs the directional variations, maintaining a relatively stable cable payout angle while allowing the airship to move in any direction
4Use of energy by moving object
If electro-mechanical or electro-optical-mechanical cables are used, then energy and data transmission is enabled, but the minimum curvature radius requirement increases to preserve cable life
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible cable guide structure naturally accommodates the larger minimum curvature radius required by electro-mechanical and electro-optical-mechanical cables. The flexible design allows the cable to bend smoothly without sharp angles, preserving cable life while enabling energy and data transmission
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
The solution reduces cable friction and wear, enabling efficient winding with minimal curvature and maintaining the cable's integrity, while allowing for compact and versatile deployment on various substrates.
Implementation Method 1
utilizing materials like PTFE for reduced friction
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
Airship-mooring device (1) comprising an upper module (2) and a lower module (3) and having freedom of movement in respect of its horizontal and vertical axes.