Telescoping Mast UAV for Compact Transport and Rapid Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional UAVs face challenges in transportation due to their fixed geometric construction, which makes them difficult to pack and deploy efficiently, limiting their portability and operational flexibility.
Innovation Solution
The UAV employs a telescoping tubular mast system for its wing and tail, allowing it to be stowed in a significantly smaller volume than its fully assembled state, enabling rapid deployment and varying wing span and fuselage length based on intended use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed geometric construction is used for the UAV, then the structural integrity and aerodynamic performance are maintained, but the transportation difficulty and portability increase
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV is divided into multiple segments including telescoping mast sections for the wing and tail, allowing each segment to be independently retracted or extended. This segmentation enables the UAV to transition between a compact stowed configuration for easy transportation and a fully deployed configuration for reliable flight operations, directly resolving the contradiction between structural integrity and transportation difficulty.
Solution Approach 2:
The UAV employs dynamic structural elements such as telescoping masts and articulated joints that allow the geometry to change based on operational needs. The mast sections can extend or retract, and the wing/tail can be positioned at different angles, enabling the structure to adapt between a compact form for transport and a stable form for flight, thus maintaining reliability while improving ease of operation.
2Reliability
If the UAV is designed with a fixed geometry, then the aerodynamic performance is optimized, but the volume for transportation and storage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV structure is segmented into telescoping mast sections and articulated components that can be compacted. The wing and tail are mounted on telescoping masts that can be retracted to a fraction of their extended length, dramatically reducing the volume required for transportation and storage while maintaining the ability to deploy the full aerodynamic surface area when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping mast design allows one mast section to be nested within another when retracted, similar to nested dolls. This nesting capability enables the UAV to be compacted into a small volume for transport while maintaining the full extended geometry for flight, directly addressing the contradiction between aerodynamic performance volume and transportation volume.
3Productivity
If the UAV uses a compact stowed configuration, then the portability and deployment speed improve, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV employs dynamic structural elements such as telescoping masts and articulated joints that allow the geometry to change based on operational needs. The mast sections can extend or retract, and the wing/tail can be positioned at different angles, enabling the structure to adapt between a compact form for transport and a stable form for flight, thus maintaining reliability while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescoping mast system and articulated joints are designed to be manually operated without requiring complex mechanical systems or multiple personnel. The structure serves itself by allowing simple manual manipulation to extend or retract sections, reducing the operational complexity despite the inherent structural complexity of the telescoping mechanism.
4Ease of operation
If the UAV is made highly portable with a compact design, then the ease of transportation improves, but the flight performance and span are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The UAV employs dynamic structural elements such as telescoping masts and articulated joints that allow the geometry to change based on operational needs. The mast sections can extend or retract, and the wing/tail can be positioned at different angles, enabling the structure to adapt between a compact form for transport and a stable form for flight, thus maintaining reliability while improving ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The UAV is divided into multiple segments including telescoping mast sections for the wing and tail, allowing each segment to be independently retracted or extended. This segmentation enables the UAV to transition between a compact stowed configuration for easy transportation and a fully deployed configuration for reliable flight operations, directly resolving the contradiction between structural integrity and transportation difficulty.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1C
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3D
AI summary
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) can be deployed from a small stowed package for flight and stowed back into the package after the flight is complete is disclosed. The UAV is retracted to a volume that is less than half of its fully deployed volume. This allows the UAV to be transported to any desired field position on a truck or other convenient transportation. The UAV may also be launched from a ship deck. In a further aspect, the flexible deployment of the UAV will allow a single UAV to be used in place of multiple types of UAVs.