Soft-Edge Propeller Blade Composite for Human-Impact Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Most multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicles lack effective protective measures for propeller blades, which can cause harm to humans due to their sharp nature, and existing protective covers provide limited protection.
Innovation Solution
Propeller blades are designed with a soft layer and an intermediate layer comprising a soft and hard component stacked together, increasing the contact area and bonding strength to reduce damage upon impact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If propeller blades are made hard for structural strength, then the blade strength is improved, but the harm to human body increases when the blade hits a human body
Solution Approach 1:
The propeller blade employs different material properties in different regions: the main body is made of hard material for structural strength, while the edge is made of soft material to reduce harm to human body. This local differentiation of material properties resolves the contradiction between needing strength and avoiding harm.
Solution Approach 2:
The propeller blade uses composite material construction with a hard main body and a soft edge layer. This composite structure allows the blade to simultaneously achieve the strength needed for structural integrity and the softness needed to minimize injury to human body upon contact.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a soft layer is added to the propeller blade edge to reduce harm, then the harm to human body is reduced, but the bonding strength between layers may be insufficient causing detachment
Solution Approach 1:
The blade uses a composite structure where a soft layer is bonded to a hard main body. The composite material design ensures that the bonding interface between the soft edge layer and hard main body maintains sufficient bonding strength to prevent detachment during operation while preserving the protective softness of the edge.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If protective covers are added to propeller blades to reduce harm, then the harm to human body is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protective function is merged directly into the propeller blade structure itself by making the edge soft, rather than adding separate protective covers. This integration eliminates the need for additional protective cover components, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining the protective function.
Solution Approach 2:
The protective quality is applied locally to the edge portion of the blade where contact with human body is most likely, rather than requiring full-coverage protective covers. This localized approach reduces the overall complexity of the protective system while maintaining effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
A blade includes a main body and an edge disposed around a periphery of the main body. A part of the edge includes a soft layer and an intermediate layer connected between the soft layer and the main body. The intermediate layer includes a soft component and a hard component stacked one on another when viewing in a cross-section along a width direction of the blade or along a length direction of the blade.