Rotorcraft Landing Guide Rods and Rings

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Solution Overview

Problem

Flight vehicles with rotor blades face instability during landing due to reduced rotor blade rotations, making them susceptible to environmental changes and surface effects, leading to difficult and unstable landing postures.

Innovation Solution

A takeoff and landing assist apparatus using guide rods and guide rings, where the guide rods with varying lengths and tapered shapes are inserted into the guide rings to stabilize the flight vehicle's posture, with detectors ensuring proper alignment and restriction, allowing for accurate and stable takeoff and landing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Speed

If the number of rotor blade rotations is decreased for landing, then the flight vehicle can descend and land, but the lifting power decreases and posture control becomes difficult

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedescent speedVSAvoidposture stability
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces guide rods and guide rings as intermediary mechanical structures that physically constrain the flight vehicle's posture during landing. The guide rods insert into the guide rings to form a mechanical guidance system that stabilizes the vehicle, allowing slow descent with reduced rotor speed while maintaining controlled posture through the guidance mechanism rather than relying solely on aerodynamic forces.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Speed

If the flight vehicle descends at lower speed for stable landing, then the lifting power decreases, but the vehicle becomes more susceptible to environmental changes and surface effects

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedescent speedVSAvoidlanding stability
Core Design Contradiction:
SpeedVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The guide rod and guide ring assembly acts as a mechanical intermediary that isolates the flight vehicle from environmental disturbances during the critical slow-descent landing phase. By providing a rigid guidance structure, the system reliably controls posture and position regardless of wind conditions or surface effects, enabling stable landing at low speeds that would otherwise be unreliable.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Stability of the object's composition

If guide rods with different lengths are used for stable guidance, then the flight vehicle can be guided in stable posture, but the device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveguidance stabilityVSAvoidguide rod configuration
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by configuring guide rods with different lengths suited to their specific positions and functions within the guidance system. This differentiation allows each guide rod to optimally perform its local guidance function, achieving overall system stability through localized structural optimization rather than requiring all components to be identical.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

4Stability of the object's composition

If the guide rods are inserted into the guide rings for posture restriction, then the flight vehicle can take off and land stably on target point, but the interference between rotor blades and guide rods increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetakeoff and landing stabilityVSAvoidinterference between rotor blades and guide rods
Core Design Contradiction:
Stability of the object's compositionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent resolves the interference problem by transitioning the guide rods from a horizontal configuration to a vertical arrangement. This dimensional change positions the guide rods in a different spatial dimension relative to the rotor blade rotation plane, allowing the guidance function to be performed without the guide rods obstructing or interfering with rotor blade operation during takeoff and landing.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentEP3421376B1Flying body take-off and landing assistance device
Publication Date: 2022.04.06 MITSUBISHI HEAVY IND LTD
  • EP3421376B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3421376B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3421376B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

In a takeoff and landing assist apparatus for a flight vehicle, and a flight device, a takeoff and landing assist apparatus (10) for a flight vehicle (11) with rotor blades (33) that causes the flight vehicle (11) to take off from or be landed on a target point (12) includes a plurality of guide rods (21, 22) that are provided to the flight vehicle (11) in parallel to each other, and a plurality of guide rings (23, 24) that are provided to the target point (12) and into which the guide rods (21, 22) can be inserted. By setting the center-to-center distance between the guide rods (21, 22) and the center-to-center distance between the guide rings (23, 24) to be the same, the flight vehicle can take off and be landed stably.