Anchoring platform for captive lighter-than-air aircraft
AssigneeAltave Industria, Comercio Exportacao De Aeronaves S.A.
InventorsBruno Avena De Azevedo, Jônatas Sant'Anna Santos, Michelle Bueno Garcia
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An anchoring platform is disclosed for captive aircraft that addresses problems when handling captive aerostats, including excessive workload required to switch between flying and anchored states. The anchoring platform includes an anchoring device. Cords, together with a confluence point, are wound into the anchoring device, by the winch. The structure for anchoring the captive aircraft is the cradle which bears the aerostat, while the winch exerts tension to hold same static in the structure.
Claims18
An anchoring platform for a captive lighter-than-air aircraft that is configured as an oblate spheroid shaped aerostat type captive aircraft having a gondola or cigar-shaped aerostat captive aircraft having a gondola, the anchoring platform configured to enable the captive lighter-than-air aircraft to switch from captive flight to anchored conditions and from anchored to captive flight conditions without physical contact between an operator and the anchoring platform, the anchoring platform comprising:
- a cradle configured as a supporting anchor for the captive lighter-than-air aircraft, wherein the cradle includes a circular closed rim that is supported by cylindrical rods;
- a winch positioned within the cradle and configured to withdraw and lift the captive lighter-than-air aircraft;
- cords each having a first end fixed to the to the captive lighter-than-air aircraft and a second end;
- an anchor cable having a first end attached to the captive lighter-than-air aircraft and a second end attached to the second end of the cords to define a confluence point, thereby distributing a thrust of aerodynamic forces of the captive lighter-than-air aircraft forces during operation and concentrating such forces at the confluence point and facilitating withdrawing and rewinding the confluence point by the winch;
- and
- a ferrule positioned at an end of the winch and configured to support a withdrawal of the anchor cable and receive the confluence point,
- wherein the anchor cable and confluence point are configured to enter the winch through the ferrule when the captive lighter-than-air aircraft is in an anchored condition.
An anchoring platform for captive lighter-than-air aircrafts, the platform configured to enable the captive lighter-than-air aircrafts to switch from captive flight to anchored conditions and from anchored conditions to captive flight conditions without physical contact between an operator and the anchoring platform, the anchoring platform comprising:
- a captive lighter-than-air aircraft that is configured to switch from captive flight to anchored conditions and from anchored conditions;
- a cradle configured as a supporting anchor for the captive lighter-than-air aircraft, wherein the cradle includes a circular closed rim that is supported by cylindrical rods;
- a winch positioned within the cradle and configured to withdraw and lift the captive lighter-than-air aircraft;
- cords each having a first end fixed to the to the captive lighter-than-air aircraft and a second end;
- an anchor cable having a first end attached to the captive lighter-than-air aircraft and a second end attached to the second end of the cords to define a confluence point, thereby distributing a thrust of aerodynamic forces of the captive lighter-than-air aircraft forces during operation and concentrating such forces at the confluence point and facilitating withdrawing and rewinding the confluence point by the winch;
- a ferrule positioned at an end of the winch and configured to support a withdrawal of the anchor cable and receive the confluence point,
- wherein the anchor cable and confluence point are configured to enter the winch through the ferrule when the captive lighter-than-air aircraft is in an anchored condition.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.