UAV Catching and Launching Device with Elastic Hinge
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing devices for catching and launching unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face limitations in landing controllability, require separate means for launching, and are prone to damage due to mechanical oscillations and external forces, limiting their operational reliability and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A device with a supporting post and a lever that can rotate around a horizontal axis, featuring a coaxial engagement/disengagement mechanism with a hinge for elastic offset, and energy accumulation/dissipation means, allowing for both catching and launching without reconfiguration, reducing buff and vibrational loads and enhancing the UAV's movement trajectory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a separate launching means is used in addition to the catching mechanism, then the UAV can be both caught and launched, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lever mechanism serves dual purposes: during catching, it rotates to absorb kinetic energy and stop the UAV; during launching, it rotates in reverse to accelerate and eject the UAV. This single structure performs both functions without requiring separate mechanisms, resolving the contradiction between versatility and complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the catching and launching functions into a unified mechanism where the lever, shaft, and energy storage system work together for both operations. The same structural components are used for both decelerating the UAV during catching and accelerating it during launching, merging two functions into one integrated system.
2Strength
If the lever is made rigid to maintain structural strength, then the device can withstand catching forces, but mechanical oscillations and damage risk increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates energy accumulation means (such as springs or dampers) in the shaft that absorb and dissipate kinetic energy before it can cause damaging oscillations. This beforehand cushioning of the mechanical冲击 prevents excessive vibrations and reduces the risk of structural damage while maintaining the lever's rigidity for strength.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy accumulation and dissipation system changes the physical parameters of the force transmission by converting kinetic energy into stored potential energy and then dissipating it controlledly. This parameter transformation reduces the peak forces and oscillations that would otherwise damage the rigid lever structure, improving reliability without sacrificing strength.
3Productivity
If the lever rotates fully around the horizontal axis to enable both catching and launching, then the device can perform repeated cycles, but buff and vibrational loads increase
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft acts as an intermediary between the lever and the base, incorporating energy accumulation and dissipation mechanisms that mediate the mechanical oscillations. This intermediary system absorbs the harmful vibrations generated during full rotation cycles while allowing the lever to complete its catching and launching motions, enabling repeated operations without excessive buff and vibrational loads.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy dissipation system changes the temporal and amplitude parameters of the oscillations by converting mechanical energy into other forms (thermal, potential). This parameter transformation reduces the intensity and duration of buff and vibrational loads during each rotation cycle, allowing for repeated productive cycles without accumulating damaging forces.
4Strength
If the engagement/disengagement device is fixed rigidly to the lever, then the connection is strong, but the device is prone to damage from external forces
Solution Approach 1:
The engagement/disengagement device is segmented from the lever through a hinge connection, creating independent rotational degrees of freedom. This segmentation allows the device to accommodate external forces and oscillations without transmitting them directly to the lever structure, reducing damage risk while maintaining connection strength through the hinge mechanism.
Solution Approach 2:
The hinge connection introduces dynamic flexibility to the engagement device, allowing it to rotate and adapt to external forces rather than being rigidly fixed. This dynamic connection absorbs shocks and reduces stress concentrations, improving damage resistance while maintaining functional strength through controlled movement.
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
Enables reliable and efficient repeated cycles of UAV catching and launching, minimizing device and UAV damage, while stabilizing the UAV's trajectory and reducing external impact effects, thereby improving operational performance.
Implementation Method 1
the bar and the engagement/disengagement device are connected one relative to another one by means of a hinge with a possibility of fixation in the coaxial state and offset of the axis of the engagement/disengagement device relative to the axis of the bar only within the rotation plane of the lever
Implementation Method 2
The horizontal shaft is equipped with a means for accumulating and/or dissipating the kinetic energy of the UAV
Data Source
AI summary
A device for catching and launching a guided UAV, the device comprises a supporting post, a horizontal shaft mounted on the post, and a lever is mounted on the horizontal shaft and can make a full revolution around a horizontal axis within a vertical plane, the lever is equipped with an engagement/disengagement device a means for interaction with the UAV catching device and an optical member, preferably arranged on the lever, for determining a location of the lever interaction means by an optical guidance system of the UAV. The lever comprises two coaxial portions, one is the engagement/disengagement device, and the second is a bar, wherein one end of the bar is coupled to the horizontal shaft, while another end thereof is connected to the engagement/disengagement device. The bar and the engagement/disengagement device are connected by a hinge that enables their fixation in a coaxial state and allows offset the axis of the engagement/disengagement device relative to the axis of the bar within a rotation plane of the lever. The horizontal shaft is equipped with a means for accumulating and/or dissipating the kinetic energy of the UAV, the lever is fixed on the shaft and can provide an elastic offset of the interaction means of the engagement/disengagement device within a plane perpendicular to the rotation plane of the lever, the interaction means configured to provide mutual locking/unlocking with the UAV catching device.