Foldable Protective Cage for Drone Cargo Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drones lack effective protection for users and cargo during transportation, with unshielded propellers posing injury risks and limited space for cargo, making them unsuitable for safe delivery of fragile items and larger payloads.
Innovation Solution
A foldable protective cage integrated with a multicopter that can be opened for cargo loading, featuring a safety mechanism to disengage propellers and a parachute for protection, allowing safe handling and storage while minimizing volume and weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a protective cage is added to the drone, then safety for users and cargo is improved, but device complexity and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The protective cage is designed to be foldable rather than fixed, allowing it to transition between a compact configuration for transport and a protective configuration during operation. This dynamic structure provides safety when needed while minimizing complexity and volume during storage.
Solution Approach 2:
The foldable cage structure allows the protective elements to be nested within each other when not in use, similar to nested dolls. The cage components can be folded inward and stored within the drone body or in a compact form, reducing the overall device volume and complexity when protection is not required.
2Reliability
If a protective cage is added to the drone, then cargo protection is improved, but weight increases
Solution Approach 1:
The foldable cage provides protective coverage only when deployed during operation, while remaining compact and minimizing weight penalty during transport. The dynamic deployment allows the system to achieve cargo protection without permanently carrying the full weight burden of a fixed cage structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cage structure utilizes thin-walled tubular elements that provide adequate protection for cargo while minimizing material usage and overall weight. The thin-walled design maintains structural integrity for protection while reducing the weight penalty compared to thicker, more robust protective structures.
3Quantity of substance
If the drone dimensions are increased for bigger cargo, then cargo capacity is improved, but storage and transportability worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The foldable cage allows the drone to expand its effective cargo capacity when needed by deploying the protective structure, while maintaining a compact form factor for storage and transport when the cage is folded. This dynamic volume adjustment enables the drone to accommodate bigger cargo without permanently increasing its storage volume requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective cage is divided into multiple foldable segments or modular components that can be assembled or deployed as needed. This segmentation allows the cage to be compact during transport but expandable to provide adequate protection and capacity for larger cargo when deployed.
4Reliability
If lightweight hulls are added around propellers, then side collision protection is improved, but protection against other collisions remains limited
Solution Approach 1:
The foldable protective cage serves multiple functions: it provides side collision protection like traditional hulls, but also protects against front and rear collisions, shields the entire cargo area, and offers protection during landing and takeoff operations. This multi-functional structure addresses various collision scenarios that lightweight hulls alone cannot handle.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
An aerial vehicle, configured to transport cargo, and including a propulsion system and a foldable cage (204) is described. The foldable cage is substantially linear while in a folded configuration, and substantially circular while in a deployed configuration. Moreover, the foldable cage includes rods (406, 412) that form isosceles triangles. The rods are coupled together by flexible joints (207).