Lighting Balloon with Elastic Shape-Maintaining Rings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional lighting balloons require continuous fan operation to maintain inflation, leading to energy consumption and potential damage from outdoor conditions like wind, which complicates storage and reuse.
Innovation Solution
A lighting balloon design featuring a deformable envelope with a support and tensioning system using a plate and spacing element, along with elastic shape maintaining rings that allow for automatic deployment and folding, eliminating the need for a fan and motor, and enabling easy storage and assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fan driven by an electric motor is used to maintain inflation of the envelope, then the balloon can be kept inflated, but continuous operation of the fan is required leading to energy consumption and increased device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the fan and electric motor from the system entirely, replacing the active inflation mechanism with a passive structural solution. The envelope is designed to maintain its shape through the spacing element and tensioning system without requiring continuous mechanical intervention, thus eliminating energy consumption while preserving inflation maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The spacing element and tensioning system automatically maintain the envelope's inflated shape through their rigid structure and geometric configuration. The system serves itself by using the inherent properties of the spacing element to keep the envelope taut and maintainable without external power input.
2Ease of manufacture
If the envelope is deflated and left outdoors, then storage is possible, but the envelope rubs against the pole causing damage or tears requiring repair
Solution Approach 1:
The shape maintaining means is pre-installed on the envelope before deployment. This preliminary structural reinforcement ensures that when the envelope is deflated for storage, the shape maintaining means prevents the envelope material from rubbing against the pole, thereby preventing damage before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape maintaining means acts as a protective structure that cushions the envelope from direct contact with the pole during deflated storage. This beforehand protection prevents mechanical damage and extends the envelope's service life without requiring repair interventions.
3Shape
If a rigid support structure is used to maintain envelope shape, then shape stability is improved, but the balloon cannot be stored in a compact form and becomes difficult to transport
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is divided into modular components: the spacing element and the shape maintaining means can be detached from the envelope. This segmentation allows the support structure to provide rigid shape stabilization during operation while enabling compact folding and storage by separating the envelope from its support elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The support system transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic, reconfigurable system. The shape maintaining means can be folded and detached, allowing the envelope to be compacted for storage, then reassembled to provide rigid shape support when deployed, adapting to different operational and storage states.
4Illumination intensity
If the balloon uses conventional inflation with a fan, then lighting function is achieved, but the device complexity increases due to motor and continuous operation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the fan and electric motor components from the lighting balloon system. The lighting function is maintained through the envelope structure and spacing element that provide the necessary form factor without requiring active mechanical inflation, thereby simplifying the overall device architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The envelope is designed as a flexible structure that maintains its shape through the spacing element rather than requiring mechanical inflation. This flexible shell approach eliminates the need for complex motorized fan systems while preserving the lighting balloon's functional form and illumination capabilities.
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 solution provides a low-energy, easy-to-assemble, and durable lighting balloon that can be efficiently stored and deployed, with a simplified structure that maintains shape without continuous power, reducing damage from outdoor conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The shape maintaining means is elastic so as to be able to be folded when the envelope is separated from the support and tensioning means and to be deployed automatically in the transversal direction when the envelope is unfolded
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting balloon including a deformable envelope, at least one lighting mechanism mounted inside the envelope, and a supporting and stretching mechanism for the envelope, including a plate carrying the lighting mechanism and with a longitudinally extending distancing element mounted on the plate. The supporting and stretching mechanism cooperates with an apex and a base of the envelope to stretch the envelope in the longitudinal direction. The balloon further includes at least one shape-maintaining mechanism mounted on the envelope and arranged transversely in relation to the distancing element.