UAV Energy Storage Locking Mechanism for Secure Connection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles face a trade-off between flight duration and payload capacity due to the weight of energy storage, and existing connection mechanisms lack reliability, risking crashes if not properly secured.
Innovation Solution
An aircraft design with a locking element that secures the energy storage device mechanically and electrically, using a connector retainer and plug safety device to ensure proper engagement and prevent unintentional disconnection, allowing for quick replacement of energy stores.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of moving object
If the energy storage capacity is increased to extend flight duration, then the flight duration is improved, but the payload capacity deteriorates due to increased weight
Solution Approach 1:
The energy storage system is segmented into multiple detachable battery units that can be independently removed and replaced. This allows the aircraft to carry multiple energy stores, enabling extended operational duration through quick swaps without permanently increasing payload weight, as empty batteries can be replaced with charged ones during brief stopovers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables discarding depleted energy stores and recovering them for recharging while the aircraft operates. Multiple battery units are used in sequence, with exhausted ones removed and replaced by pre-charged units, allowing the aircraft to maintain payload capacity while achieving extended flight duration through cyclic use of multiple energy stores.
2Productivity
If the energy store is detachably connected to enable quick replacement, then the productivity is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to risk of improper connection
Solution Approach 1:
The mechanical connection and electrical connection are merged into a single integrated coupling action. When the energy store is mechanically attached to the aircraft structure, the electrical contacts automatically engage simultaneously. This combined design ensures that both mechanical and electrical connections are established together, eliminating the risk of one connecting while the other remains disconnected, thus maintaining reliability while enabling quick replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection system incorporates self-checking mechanisms that automatically verify proper engagement of both mechanical and electrical components. The coupling structure includes interlocked features and electrical contact verification that ensure correct connection without requiring manual inspection, allowing rapid replacement while maintaining high reliability through automatic self-verification.
3Reliability
If a locking element is added to secure both mechanical and electrical connections, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism simultaneously secures both the mechanical structure and electrical contacts through a single action. The coupling design integrates mechanical interlocking features with electrical contact engagement, so that one locking motion establishes both connections at the same time. This merged approach improves reliability by ensuring both connections are secured together while avoiding the complexity of separate locking mechanisms for mechanical and electrical components.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with an energy storage device (20) detachably connected to a structural component (29) of the UAV, and with a storage connector (32) through which electrical energy is transferred from the energy storage device (20) to a rotor drive (18) of the UAV. A locking element (25) locks the energy storage device (20) relative to the structural component (29) in an operating position and releases the energy storage device (20) in a maintenance position, simultaneously preventing full engagement of the storage connector (32). The invention also relates to an energy storage device for such an UAV and a method for connecting an energy storage device to such an UAV. The invention allows for easy verification of the correct connection of the energy storage device.