Expandable Drone Blades for Stable Flight and Compact Storage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The smaller size of drones makes them unstable in windy conditions, necessitating a solution that balances size for stability and convenience in various operational modes.
Innovation Solution
A vehicle-compatible drone with expandable blades and an expansion device that reconfigures blade positions from a retracted to an expanded configuration, allowing the drone to transition between flight and onboard modes, enhancing stability during flight while facilitating storage and specific functionalities like cooling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the drone size is reduced for easier storage and use, then the drone becomes more portable and easier to store, but the drone stability deteriorates in windy conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements variable blade configurations that allow the drone to dynamically adjust its size. The expansion device enables blades to transition between retracted and extended positions, allowing the drone to be compact for storage and extended for stable flight, thus resolving the contradiction between small size for portability and large size for stability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of blade position and configuration. By adjusting the blade extension state (retracted vs. extended), the drone can optimize its size for different operational conditions, achieving both compact storage and stable flight performance
2Stability of the object's composition
If the drone size is increased for better stability in wind, then the drone stability improves, but the ease of storage and use deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The expandable blade mechanism allows the drone to be compact for storage and easily deployable for flight. The dynamic reconfiguration capability enables the drone to transition from a compact stored state to an expanded stable flight state, resolving the contradiction between ease of storage and flight stability
3Device complexity
If the drone has fixed blade configuration, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to different operational modes deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements multiple blade configurations (first configuration with all blades in first position, second configuration with all blades in second position, and intermediate configurations) that enable the drone to perform different functions. The expansion device allows the same drone structure to adapt to various operational requirements, achieving multi-functionality without requiring multiple separate drones
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for a vehicle-compatible drone. In one embodiment, a computer-implemented method includes providing a drone having a plurality of blades and an expansion device. The expansion device is adapted to reconfigure the position of at least one blade of the plurality of blades from a first configuration of the drone to a second configuration of the drone. The computer-implemented method also includes identifying the drone being in a first mode that is associated with the first configuration. The computer-implemented method further includes detecting a trigger signal based on an event. The computer-implemented method includes transmitting a transition signal configured to cause the drone to transition to the second mode that is associated with the second configuration.