UAS Enclosure with Movable Lids for Vehicle Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Military ground vehicles face challenges in carrying unmanned aerial systems (UAS) due to harsh operating conditions such as high temperatures, vibrations, and the need for rugged and compact storage solutions that do not compromise vehicle performance.
Innovation Solution
A rugged, automated enclosure with a small footprint designed for mounting on ground vehicles, featuring a housing with movable lids and a platform that can be controlled to stow or deploy the UAS, along with airflow management, power connectors, and guides to secure the UAS, ensuring protection and easy operation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a UAS is carried on a military ground vehicle, then situational awareness and surveillance capabilities are improved, but the vehicle is exposed to harsh operating conditions (high temperatures, vibrations, sand, winds) that can damage the UAS
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure is divided into a housing structure with separate movable lids for each opening, allowing independent protection and access to different UAS components. This segmentation enables targeted protection against environmental stressors while maintaining access capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure housing provides pre-established protection against harsh operating conditions (high temperatures, vibrations, sand, winds) before the UAS is deployed. The enclosed structure acts as a protective barrier that cushions the UAS from environmental stressors during transport and storage on the ground vehicle.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a rugged enclosure is designed for military use, then protection against environmental stressors is improved, but the enclosure may have large footprint and complex mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure employs movable lids that can be dynamically opened and closed based on operational needs. This dynamic capability allows the enclosure to transition between protected (closed) and accessible (open) states, providing rugged protection when needed while enabling easy UAS deployment and retrieval without requiring complex fixed protective structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure design allows for straightforward operation where the movable lids can be opened and closed to deploy and store the UAS. The structure serves itself by providing inherent protection through its enclosed housing while allowing simple access mechanisms that do not require additional complex operational systems.
3Area of stationary object
If the enclosure is designed with a small footprint for vehicle mounting, then vehicle integration is improved, but the interior volume for UAS storage may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The enclosure utilizes vertical space by extending upward from the ground vehicle surface, rather than expanding horizontally. This dimensional approach allows the enclosure to achieve a small footprint (area) while providing sufficient interior volume through vertical height, effectively resolving the contradiction between compact ground footprint and adequate storage capacity.
Data Source
AI summary
An enclosure for a UAS includes a housing having a base and a plurality of sidewalls coupled to the base, a motive apparatus coupled to the housing, a platform coupled to the motive apparatus, and a plurality of lids pivotably coupled to the sidewalls and the platform. The platform and the plurality of lids move collectively under control of the motive apparatus (e.g., a linear actuator). Driving the motive apparatus in a first direction causes the platform to raise from a stowed position toward a deployed position and causes each of the plurality of lids to pivot from a closed position toward an open position. Conversely, driving the motive apparatus in a second direction opposite the first direction causes the platform to lower from the deployed position toward the stowed position and causes each of the plurality of lids to pivot from the open position toward the closed position.