Spring-Thrust Drone Launcher With Gas-Pressure Release
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing drone launch devices with motorized mechanisms increase cost and weight, limiting compactness and available volume for drones.
Innovation Solution
A launch device using a gas pressure-driven release mechanism and a separate tool for rearming, which reduces cost and weight by eliminating the need for integrated motors, allowing for increased volume within the launch tube.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If motorized mechanisms are used for releasing and rearming the launch device, then automation and ease of operation are improved, but cost and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces motorized mechanisms with a purely mechanical release system. A spring-loaded ejection mechanism is used to automatically eject the drone, and a manual tool with a releasing element is used to compress the spring and reset the device. This eliminates motors and electrical systems, significantly reducing weight and cost while maintaining operational functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the motorized components from the launch device entirely. The release and rearming functions are decoupled from the main device structure and implemented through a separate manual tool. This extraction removes the weight and cost burden of motors while preserving the essential launch functionality through mechanical means.
2Adaptability or versatility
If motorized mechanisms are integrated into the launch tube, then functionality is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the launch device into distinct functional components: a simple launch tube for drone placement, a separate ejection mechanism with spring and retaining element, and an external manual tool for rearming. This segmentation allows each component to be simple and inexpensive while the system as a whole provides complete functionality. The manual tool is separated from the launch tube, reducing the complexity of the integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the rearming function from the launch tube itself and implements it through a separate manual tool. This extraction simplifies the launch tube structure by removing motors and complex control systems, while the external tool provides the necessary rearming capability. The result is a simpler, less complex launch device that maintains full functionality.
3Ease of operation
If the launch device includes integrated motors for spring compression, then ease of operation is improved, but the volume available for the drone in the launch tube decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the spring compression function from the launch tube and implements it through a separate manual tool. The tool includes a compression element that manually compresses the spring and positions the retaining element. This extraction eliminates the need for integrated motors within the launch tube, maximizing the internal volume available for the drone while maintaining ease of operation through the manual tool.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of having the launch tube actively compress the spring through integrated motors, the patent inverts the approach: the manual tool externally compresses the spring and sets the mechanism. This inversion allows the launch tube to remain simple and voluminous, while the rearming function is performed externally, achieving both goals of ease of operation and maximum drone volume.
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 cost-effective, lightweight, and compact drone launch system that efficiently ejects drones using spring thrust, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing the device's overall size.
Implementation Method 1
a compression spring, referred to as an ejection spring, having a longitudinal axis coaxial with the longitudinal axis of the launch tube and a first end of which bears on the rear end of the launch tube and a second end of which bears against the ejection element
Implementation Method 2
at least one release element which, together with the release housing, delimits the release chamber and is movable, under the action of a gas pressure introduced into the release chamber, from a rest position in which the at least one release element allows the at least one retaining element to remain in the locking position
Data Source
AI summary
A device for launching a drone using spring thrust, in which the means that control the unlocking of an ejection assembly from its armed position include a release housing containing a release chamber, at least one release element which, with the housing, delimits the chamber and is able to move, under the action of the pressure of a gas introduced into the chamber, from a position of rest to a release position in which the at least one release element unlocks the ejection assembly, and return means for returning the at least one release element to the position of rest. The invention also relates to a method for launching drones using the device and to a tool for implementing this method.