UAV Payload Hook Release Using Elastic Ground-Contact Detachment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Payload release from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) poses challenges such as potential injury from spinning blades, parachute deployment failures, and tether entanglement or malicious tugging, leading to delivery inefficiencies and safety risks.
Innovation Solution
A payload release apparatus (PRA) with a hook and elastic member, where the elastic member is stretched by the payload's weight to automatically release the payload upon contact with the ground, eliminating the need for sensors and reducing power consumption.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a parachute is deployed for payload release, then the payload can descend at safe speeds, but the parachute may not deploy fast enough when the drone is hovering too low
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the payload from the drone using a mechanical release mechanism with a hook and elastic member, eliminating the need for parachute deployment. The elastic member stores potential energy during ascent and automatically converts it to kinetic energy for rapid payload ejection at the destination, solving the deployment time issue while maintaining safe descent speeds through controlled release geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic member is pre-loaded with potential energy during the drone's ascent phase. This preliminary energy storage allows the payload to be rapidly ejected at the destination without requiring active deployment mechanisms or sensors, effectively preparing the release system in advance to overcome the time constraint when hovering at low altitudes.
2Reliability
If a winch system is used to release the payload, then the payload can be lowered safely, but the tether may become tangled or be pulled maliciously
Solution Approach 1:
The patent completely removes the tether from the payload release mechanism, using instead a hook-based mechanical release with an elastic member. The payload is ejected through a controlled mechanical action that propels it away from the drone without requiring a tether, thereby eliminating tether entanglement and malicious interference risks while maintaining release safety through the elastic member's controlled energy release.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic member acts as an intermediary energy storage device that replaces the tether's function of controlling payload descent. By storing and releasing elastic potential energy, it provides a controlled, tether-free release mechanism that achieves safe payload delivery without the complexity and vulnerability of tether management systems.
3Measurement precision
If sensor-based intervention is used for payload release, then the release timing can be controlled, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic member serves itself by automatically converting its stored potential energy into kinetic energy at the appropriate moment based on the drone's flight phase. The system uses the drone's own motion and the elastic member's inherent energy storage properties to time the release, eliminating the need for external sensors or active control systems while maintaining precise release timing through passive mechanical means.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic member is pre-loaded with potential energy during ascent, and the release timing is determined by the natural expiration of this stored energy at the destination point. This preliminary energy storage and passive timing mechanism eliminates the need for continuous power consumption by sensors and control systems, achieving accurate release timing through pre-prepared mechanical energy rather than active electronic control.
4Reliability
If the drone lands to deliver the payload, then the payload can be delivered safely, but the spinning blades pose a risk to nearby persons
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the payload from the drone using a mechanical ejection mechanism with a hook and elastic member, allowing the payload to be delivered without the drone landing. The elastic member propels the payload away from the drone in a controlled manner, enabling safe delivery while the drone maintains its position in the air, thereby eliminating the blade injury risk associated with landing near persons.
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
Ensures safe and efficient payload detachment without requiring intervention, allowing UAVs to maneuver more effectively and increase delivery capacity.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic member, the elastic member blocking the gap defined between the high point and the shank of the hook portion, the elastic member having a relaxed position and a stretched position
Implementation Method 2
automatically releases the payload upon contact with the ground, utilizing gravity to contract the elastic member and detach the payload
Data Source
AI summary
A payload release apparatus (PRA) is configured to expel the payload efficiently at a delivery location. In an embodiment, the PRA includes a top portion, the top portion including a connector adapted to connect to a first end of a tether; a hook portion connected to the top portion, the hook portion including: a shank, a vertex, a high point, and a gap defined between the high point and the shank; and an elastic member, the elastic member blocking the gap defined between the high point and the shank of the hook portion, the elastic member having a relaxed position and a stretched position.