Modular Landing Platform Coupling for Aircraft
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing modular landing platforms for vertical landing aircraft face challenges in easy and robust installation, often requiring on-site welding and tool-assisted assembly, which complicates the process and may lead to module disconnection under vertical loads or on uneven ground.
Innovation Solution
The modular landing platform uses press-folded metal profiles and extruded aluminum alloy construction modules with male-female coupling portions, allowing tool-free assembly and a robust connection through elastically flexible fins and tapered ribs, eliminating the need for welding and enhancing stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If male-female coupling elements are used to connect construction modules, then the landing platform can be assembled relatively quickly, but the connection is not sufficiently robust and may disconnect under vertical loads
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is divided into two independent coupling elements: a first coupling element for horizontal connection and a second coupling element for vertical connection. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized for its specific function, with the first element providing quick horizontal assembly and the second element providing robust vertical load resistance through weldless connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a vertical coupling dimension by adding the second coupling element that extends in the vertical direction, perpendicular to the first horizontal coupling element. This dimensional addition allows the system to handle vertical loads independently from horizontal assembly operations, resolving the contradiction between assembly speed and vertical load resistance.
2Reliability
If welds are made at joint areas to ensure robust connection, then the modules remain connected under vertical loads, but the installation process is significantly complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the welding process (thermal/chemical joining) with a mechanical coupling system consisting of interlocking elements. The first coupling element features a protrusion that fits into a recess, and the second coupling element provides vertical interlocking, creating a purely mechanical connection that eliminates the need for welding equipment and operations while maintaining connection robustness.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling elements are designed to self-align and self-lock through their geometric features. The protrusion-recess geometry automatically guides the modules into proper alignment during assembly, and the interlocking shapes maintain the connection without requiring additional fastening operations or welding, making the system self-sufficient.
3Ease of manufacture
If the lower male-female interconnecting elements are used without welds, then the installation process is simplified, but the coupling is not sufficiently robust under vertical loads
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is divided into two independent coupling elements: a first coupling element for horizontal connection and a second coupling element for vertical connection. This segmentation allows each element to be optimized for its specific function, with the first element providing quick horizontal assembly and the second element providing robust vertical load resistance through weldless connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges two different coupling mechanisms (horizontal protrusion-recess coupling and vertical interlocking coupling) into a single integrated system. By combining these two coupling elements at the interface between modules, the system achieves both ease of installation (through the simple horizontal coupling) and vertical load resistance (through the reinforced vertical coupling) simultaneously.
4Reliability
If tool-assisted assembly is used to insert male interconnecting elements into pocket-shaped elements, then the connection can be made, but the process requires additional tools and time
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of forcing a male element into a female element (which requires tools), the patent inverts the coupling approach by having the male protrusion passively engage with the female recess through gravity and alignment. The geometric features are designed so that the modules self-align during assembly, eliminating the need for hammering or tool-assisted insertion while ensuring reliable connection establishment.
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
This solution enables faster, easier, and more reliable assembly of modular landing platforms, providing a robust and stable surface for vertical landing aircraft without the need for on-site welding, while minimizing wear from thermal expansion and ensuring secure coupling even on uneven surfaces.
Implementation Method 1
The coupling portions 16, 17, 18, 19 may comprise male-female coupling portions 17, 19, wherein the female coupling portion 17 comprises an elastically flexible fin 17C configured to be elastically deformed and apply pressure on the longitudinal rib 19 to retain the rib 19 when the modules 10A, 10B are coupled together
Implementation Method 2
The longitudinal rib 19, in a cross-sectional view, has a ratio of the respective height HR (measured at the base of the rib 19) to the respective length LR generally comprised in the 0.64-0.66 range... configured to be inserted into the longitudinal groove 17A
Implementation Method 3
The body 11 may comprise or consist of an extruded aluminum alloy profile... configured to couple two adjacent modules 10A, 10B to one another in a horizontal direction F1... ensuring a particularly robust coupling
Implementation Method 4
can also lead to particularly high wear of the interconnecting elements due to the thermal expansion of the material of which the construction modules are made
Data Source
AI summary
A first construction module for a modular landing platform is for vertical landing aircraft. The module includes a module body with a resting wall placed on a supporting surface. A landing wall opposite to the resting wall is adapted be contacted by the aircraft during the landing step. First and second interconnecting walls are opposite to each other and interposed between the resting wall and the landing wall. First and second coupling portions protrude laterally outwards from the first interconnecting wall, the first and second coupling portions being of a different type and mutually spaced apart. Third and fourth coupling portions protrude laterally outwards from the second interconnecting wall, and are of a different type and spaced apart. The third and fourth coupling portions of the first module are adapted to couple respectively with the first and second coupling portions of a second module identical to the first module.