Drone Accessory Housing Passive Retraction Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drone accessory systems face risks during take-off and landing due to complex mechanisms that fail to manage potential errors, leading to accidental exposure and damage from obstacles, which can impair the drone's mission and require costly repairs.
Innovation Solution
A support system with a mobile housing module that can be selectively extracted and automatically retracted using a passive movement mechanism activated by external stress, featuring rotating connection means and elastic return means to transition between maximum and minimum encumbrance configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If complex mechanisms are used to extract the accessory system from inside the drone, then the accessory can be positioned for maximum visibility, but the system reliability deteriorates due to potential malfunction or failure during critical phases
Solution Approach 1:
The accessory system is equipped with a passive retraction mechanism that automatically activates upon detecting external stress or impact, eliminating the need for active control during critical phases. The spring-loaded mechanism self-activates when the drone encounters obstacles during take-off or landing, retracting the accessory without pilot intervention or complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates a passive retraction mechanism with spring elements that are pre-configured to automatically retract the accessory upon detecting impact or external stress. This beforehand preparation ensures that if an obstacle is encountered during critical phases, the accessory will be automatically retracted without requiring complex active control systems.
2Productivity
If the accessory system remains in extracted position during critical phases, then operational capability is maintained, but damage from obstacles increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system converts the harmful effect of external stress or impact into a beneficial automatic retraction action. When the drone encounters an obstacle during take-off or landing, the impact force itself triggers the passive retraction mechanism, causing the accessory to automatically retract into the fuselage, thereby protecting it from damage while maintaining operational capability during normal phases.
3Device complexity
If passive movement mechanism is used for retraction, then system complexity is reduced, but control precision over movement angle may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static positioning to dynamic adaptive positioning. The passive retraction mechanism allows the accessory to move freely during normal operation at the optimal extraction angle, then dynamically retracts upon detecting impact. This dynamic approach eliminates the need for complex active control systems while maintaining positioning precision through the natural stability of the extracted position and the protective retraction upon need.
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 system effectively reduces the risk of damage by automatically retracting the accessory during obstacle encounters, ensuring the drone's safety and operational integrity by leveraging passive activation and traditional drive mechanisms for controlled movement.
Implementation Method 1
a movement mechanism, which comprises rotating connection means (3) of the housing module (2) to a frame element (5) of the system, and elastic return means (4) operatively associated with the rotating connection means (3)
Implementation Method 2
the configuration of the support assembly is such that when the housing module (2) is in an extracted configuration and an external stress with an intensity higher than a predetermined threshold value is applied thereto, the rotating connection means (3) is configured to rotate
Data Source
Figure 9~10
Figure 11~12
Figure 13~14
AI summary
The present invention relates to a support system (1) of an accessory element (11) of a drone, which comprises moving mechanism of the accessory (11) activatable in a passive way. The passive activation is obtained by applying an external force with predetermined direction and intensity on a housing module (2) of said accessory (11). The application of such force causes the actuation of the mechanisms, such that to move the support system (1) from an extracted configuration to a retracted configuration with respect to the drone.