Inflatable Tube Parachute Deployment for Aerial Vehicles
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional parachute systems for aerial vehicles often fail to deploy effectively during in-air failures due to sporadic and uncontrollable movements, leading to entanglement with the vehicle's components and increased risk of crashes, especially in variable environmental conditions.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising an aerodynamic decelerator, a housing, an inflatable tube, and an inflation mechanism that deploys the decelerator away from the vehicle upon detection of an uncontrolled descent, using an inflatable tube to create drag and prevent entanglement by maintaining the decelerator clear of the vehicle's components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional parachute system is deployed during in-air failure, then the aerial vehicle can slow its descent, but the parachute or its lines become entangled with the rotors, wings, or other components of the aerial vehicle due to sporadic and uncontrollable movement, preventing proper deployment
Solution Approach 1:
The parachute is extracted from the housing and launched away from the aerial vehicle using an inflatable tube. This separation removes the parachute from the harmful environment near the rotating components, eliminating the entanglement risk while maintaining the descent slowing function
Solution Approach 2:
The inflatable tube acts as an intermediary mechanism between the housing and the parachute. It provides a controlled deployment path that propels the parachute away from the vehicle, mediating the transition from stored state to deployed state without direct contact with vulnerable components
2Volume of moving object
If the parachute is stored in a compact housing attached to the aerial vehicle, then the system remains compact and portable, but the parachute cannot be deployed clear of the vehicle during uncontrolled descent
Solution Approach 1:
The parachute is nested within the housing in a folded state during normal operation, maintaining a compact profile. Upon deployment, the inflatable tube expands and propels the parachute outward, transitioning from the nested compact state to an extended deployed state clear of the vehicle
Solution Approach 2:
An inflatable tube uses pneumatic pressure to launch the parachute away from the housing. The inflation mechanism creates rapid air pressure buildup that propels the decelerator clear of the aerial vehicle, enabling effective deployment without requiring large initial housing volume
3Loss of time
If the parachute deployment is initiated during sporadic and uncontrollable vehicle movement, then the system responds quickly to failure conditions, but the parachute becomes entangled with vehicle components due to the uncontrolled motion
Solution Approach 1:
The parachute is pre-positioned in the housing with the inflatable tube ready for inflation. Upon detection of failure conditions, the system immediately inflates the tube to launch the parachute away from the vehicle before uncontrolled movement can cause entanglement. This preliminary positioning and rapid activation sequence minimizes exposure time to harmful motion
Solution Approach 2:
The system rushes through the deployment sequence by rapidly inflating the tube to propel the parachute away from the housing in a single swift action. This rapid deployment skips over the problematic phase where entanglement could occur during prolonged exposure to uncontrolled vehicle movement
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 velocity of the aerial vehicle and prevents entanglement, enhancing the chances of a safe landing by deploying the aerodynamic decelerator away from the vehicle, thereby minimizing damage and risk of injury or property damage.
Implementation Method 1
The aerodynamic decelerator is structured to create drag to reduce the velocity of the aerial vehicle in response to deployment of the aerodynamic decelerator
Implementation Method 2
The inflation mechanism is operable to inflate the inflatable tube in response to detection of an uncontrolled condition... The inflatable tube is inflated through the first end to force the second end of the inflatable tube and the aerodynamic decelerator away from the aerial vehicle
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for resisting an uncontrolled descent or uncontrolled flight condition of an aerial vehicle, the system including a parachute having shroud lines attached to a canopy, a housing to store the parachute, an inflatable tube that attaches to and is stored in the housing, the tube having a distal end with a connector that connects to the shroud lines, and a source of fluid that couples to the tube and selectively introduces fluid into the enclosed interior of the inflatable tube to inflate the tube and force the distal end of the tube and the attached parachute out of the housing and away from the aerial vehicle, wherein the tube tethers the parachute to the aerial vehicle.