Projectile Envelope Pivoting for Wing Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing projectile designs with deployable sail plans face challenges in optimizing air flow and aerodynamic behavior due to complex motor control requirements and imperfect closure mechanisms, particularly for rudder-type sail plans and control surfaces that pivot relative to the projectile axis.
Innovation Solution
A projectile with an envelope that surrounds the body and pivots around the longitudinal axis, featuring openings with two zones: a first zone for deployment and a second zone providing lateral clearance perpendicular to the first, allowing sail planes to deploy and lock in place without folding, simplifying the opening and closing process and requiring only a single motor for all housings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If hatches are equipped at the level of each housing opening to allow plane deployment, then the planes can be deployed outside the body, but the problem of requiring as many motors as there are hatches and controlling them in different directions of rotation arises
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple individual hatch operations into a single envelope operation. The envelope simultaneously covers multiple housings and controls the deployment of multiple planes through one unified structure, eliminating the need for separate motors at each hatch location.
Solution Approach 2:
The envelope serves multiple functions: it acts as a protective cover for the housings, a deployment mechanism for the planes, and an aerodynamic fairing. This single multi-functional component replaces what would otherwise require multiple specialized components with individual motors.
2Device complexity
If the envelope pivots in a single direction to deploy all planes, then the motor control is simplified, but the closure of the housings must be achieved without disrupting airflow
Solution Approach 1:
The envelope is designed with a curved, aerodynamic profile that contours to the projectile body. This curved shape allows the envelope to pivot smoothly while maintaining airflow attachment, preventing flow separation and reducing drag that would occur with flat or angular closure surfaces.
Solution Approach 2:
The envelope changes its angular parameter (rotation angle) to transition between the open and closed positions. By controlling the rotation angle, the system achieves both complete plane deployment and aerodynamic closure, with the envelope covering all housings at the final position to restore smooth airflow.
3Ease of operation
If the second zone provides lateral clearance for the foot of the sail plan, then the plane can deploy and lock without folding, but the opening design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The opening in the envelope is segmented into two distinct zones: a first zone for the main body of the plane and a second zone providing lateral clearance for the foot. This segmentation allows each zone to serve its specific function independently, enabling the plane to deploy and lock without folding while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Data Source
Figure 1a~1b
Figure 1c
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a projectile (100) comprising at least one pair of wing surfaces (5), deployable from housings (4) located inside the body (2) and opening outwards from the projectile (100). The projectile comprises a casing (1) surrounding the body (2) of the projectile and whose outer surface is continuous in profile with the body (2). The casing (1) can pivot around the body (2) about the longitudinal axis (X) and comprises, for each surface (5), an opening (6) having two zones (Z1, Z2).A first zone (Z1) is positioned by pivoting the casing (1) opposite a housing (4) to allow the panel (5) to pass through and unfold. A second zone (Z2) is located laterally to the first zone (Z1), with this clearance oriented in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the first zone (Z1). The second zone (Z2) has a width (L) allowing the passage of one foot (5a) of the unfolded panel (5). The casing (1) covers the housing (4) by continuing its pivoting to prevent the panel (5) from folding.