Compact Anchoring Platform for Captive Aerostats
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing captive lighter-than-air aircraft anchoring systems require significant space and manual effort, are prone to mechanical stress, and often necessitate multiple personnel for operation, especially when using electromechanical or electro-optical-mechanical cables, which can lead to cable breakage and safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A compact anchoring platform featuring a cradle with a closed circular rim and an adjustable winch that allows for automatic operation by a single person, utilizing a rope configuration with soft eyelets and loops to manage the anchor cable, reducing the need for physical contact and minimizing space occupation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large anchoring platform with mast structure is used to securely anchor the aerostat, then the aerostat can be firmly fixed and operated, but the platform occupies space considerably larger than the aerostat itself and requires multiple personnel for operation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts the essential anchoring function from the complex mast structure and large platform system. The aerostat is anchored directly to a compact platform through a cable and winch system, eliminating the need for a tall mast and extensive platform structure while maintaining secure fixation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The winch system is designed to automatically wind the anchor cable and secure the aerostat without requiring multiple personnel for manual handling. The system performs the anchoring operation autonomously, reducing the need for human intervention while maintaining reliable fixation
2Ease of operation
If manual handling of the anchor cable is used to secure the aerostat, then the system can be operated with simple equipment, but it requires more than one person to handle the system and requires a lot of manual effort
Solution Approach 1:
The winch system automatically winds the anchor cable during the anchoring operation, eliminating the need for multiple personnel to manually handle the cable. The system performs the cable winding and securing functions autonomously, reducing personnel requirements from multiple people to a single operator who simply controls the winch
3Reliability
If the anchor cable is allowed to have high tension and sharp bends during anchoring, then the anchoring can be more secure, but it prevents core breakage and preserves service life of electromechanical or electro-optical-mechanical cables
Solution Approach 1:
The platform structure acts as an intermediary between the anchor cable and the aerostat. It provides a guided path for the cable that maintains appropriate bend radius and distributes mechanical stresses, preventing sharp bends and excessive localized tension that would damage the cable while still achieving secure anchoring
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls the mechanical parameters of cable tension and bend radius during anchoring operations. By maintaining the cable within safe operational parameters for tension and curvature, the system achieves secure anchoring without compromising cable service life or causing core breakage
4Area of stationary object
If a compact anchoring platform is used to reduce space occupation, then the platform occupies up to three times less space than traditional systems, but it must still withstand mechanical stresses when the balloon is flying and anchored
Solution Approach 1:
The compact platform concentrates structural strength at critical locations where mechanical stresses are highest, such as the winch mounting points and cable guide structures. Rather than uniformly strengthening the entire platform, the design provides localized reinforcement where needed to withstand anchoring forces while maintaining overall compactness
Data Source
AI summary
An anchoring platform is disclosed for captive aircraft that addresses problems when handling captive aerostats, including excessive workload required to switch between flying and anchored states. The anchoring platform includes an anchoring device. Cords, together with a confluence point, are wound into the anchoring device, by the winch. The structure for anchoring the captive aircraft is the cradle which bears the aerostat, while the winch exerts tension to hold same static in the structure.