Modular Bonded Airframe Structure for Lightweight UAV Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Design, manufacturing, and assembly of aerial vehicles are complex, costly, and require improvements in weight, stiffness, and fabrication.
Innovation Solution
An aerial vehicle airframe design comprising bonded components such as struts, bulkheads, wing sections, and motor mounts, formed from materials like carbon fiber, to create a lightweight, cost-effective, and robust structure with improved stiffness and assembly features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If traditional aerial vehicle designs are used, then structural strength and stiffness can be maintained, but weight increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies composite materials, specifically carbon fiber reinforced polymers, to manufacture airframe components. This allows the structure to maintain high strength and stiffness requirements while significantly reducing weight compared to traditional materials like aluminum or steel. The composite material approach directly resolves the contradiction by providing equivalent mechanical properties with lower density.
Solution Approach 2:
The airframe is divided into modular components that can be separately manufactured and then assembled. This segmentation allows for optimized material usage in each component, reducing overall weight while maintaining structural integrity through strategic placement of high-strength materials only where needed, rather than uniformly across the entire airframe.
2Reliability
If traditional manufacturing methods are used, then structural integrity can be ensured, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs preliminary action by pre-manufacturing airframe components off-site in controlled environments with optimized tooling and processes. Components are prepared in advance with precise machining and material placement before final assembly, which simplifies the on-site manufacturing process and reduces overall complexity while ensuring structural integrity through consistent quality control.
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple manufacturing operations are merged into integrated processes, such as combining material laying, structural shaping, and initial curing in single continuous operations. This merging reduces the number of discrete manufacturing steps, lowers complexity, and maintains structural integrity through continuous process control rather than multiple handoff points.
3Force
If conventional airframe designs are used, then load-bearing capacity can be maintained, but assembly difficulty and maintenance complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The airframe is segmented into modular components with standardized interfaces and attachment points. This segmentation enables simplified assembly through pre-configured modules that can be quickly connected, while each module maintains the necessary load-bearing capacity through optimized internal structure and material distribution.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements universal attachment interfaces and standardized connection points across different airframe components. These multi-functional interfaces can accommodate various loading conditions and component configurations while simplifying assembly procedures, reducing the need for custom fabrication, and facilitating easier maintenance and replacement of individual components.
Data Source
AI summary
An airframe design may include a frame or assembly, and one or more components that may be removably attached to the frame. The frame may include struts, central bulkheads, a tail section, a plurality of wing sections, and motor mounts that are attached together. The one or more attachable components may include a forward fuselage, motors, propellers, motor pod fairings, stabilizer fins, and landing gear that are attached using fasteners. The frame may reduce the number of parts of the airframe design and may also reduce complexity, cost, and weight, while also increasing stiffness and strength. Further, the various attachable components may facilitate fabrication, assembly, and maintenance of an aerial vehicle having the airframe design.