TRANSFORMABLE STRATOSPHERIC AIRSHIP

Abstract

A transformable stratospheric airship includes an upper shell, a lower shell, a foldable hull, and a plurality of cable control mechanisms provided on the upper shell and the lower shell. The foldable hull includes a sealed body, a plurality of guide holes arranged outside the sealed body and a cable which passes through the guide holes according to a predetermined order. The cable is configured to keep a shape of the sealed body and connected to the cable control mechanisms to fix the sealed body to the upper shell and the lower shell. The foldable hull is foldable and extendable along a vertical direction of the transformable stratospheric airship by controlling a length of the cable via the cable control mechanisms.

Claims

1. A transformable stratospheric airship, comprising: an upper shell; a lower shell; a foldable hull; and a plurality of cable control mechanisms provided on the upper shell and the lower shell; wherein the foldable hull comprises a sealed body, a plurality of guide holes arranged outside the sealed body, and a cable which passes through the guide holes according to a predetermined order; the cable is configured to keep the shape of the sealed body, and is connected to the cable control mechanisms to fix the sealed body to the upper shell and the lower shell; and the foldable hull is foldable and extendable along a vertical direction of the transformable stratospheric airship by controlling a length of the cable via the cable control mechanisms; the upper shell and the lower shell each comprise an envelope and a rigid support framework configured to support the envelope; the rigid support framework comprises an annular truss, a plurality of transverse keels and a plurality of longitudinal keels; the transformable stratospheric airship further comprises a tail fin, a propeller, a valve and a battery which are mounted on a top of the upper shell; and the cable control mechanisms are provided on the annular truss of the rigid support framework, and the cable control mechanisms are connected with each other through the cable.

2. The transformable stratospheric airship of claim 1, wherein a fabric is arranged outside the sealed body, and the guide holes are arranged on the fabric.

3. The transformable stratospheric airship of claim 1, wherein the annular truss, the transverse keels and the longitudinal keels are made of carbon fiber frame structures.

4. The transformable stratospheric airship of claim 1, wherein the envelope is a flexible layer or a rigid sheet.

5. The transformable stratospheric airship of claim 1, wherein the battery is a solar battery.

6. The transformable stratospheric airship of claim 1, further comprising a gondola, a landing gear, and a mission payload which are provided at the bottom of the lower shell.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a transformable stratospheric airship in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a foldable hull in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a rigid support framework in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 4 is a top view of an upper shell of the transformable stratospheric airship in accordance with the present disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 5 schematically shows transformation of the transformable stratospheric airship in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0030] The invention will be further described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, a transformable stratospheric airship includes an upper shell 1, a lower shell 2, a foldable hull 3, and a plurality of cable control mechanisms 4 provided on the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2.

[0032] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 2, the foldable hull 3 includes a sealed body 31, a plurality of guide holes 7 arranged outside the sealed body 31 and a cable 6 which passes through the guide holes 7 according to a predetermined order.

[0033] The cable 6 is configured to keep the shape of the sealed body 31, and is connected to the cable control mechanisms 4 to fix the sealed body 31 to the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2. The foldable hull 3 is foldable and extendable along a vertical direction of the transformable stratospheric airship by controlling the length of the cable 6 via the cable control mechanisms 4.

[0034] In some embodiments, a fabric 32 is arranged outside the sealed body 31, and the guide holes 7 are arranged on the fabric 32. The cable 6 passes through the guide holes 7 according to a predetermined order, and the foldable hull 31 is vertically foldable and extendable by controlling the length of the cable 6 via the cable control mechanisms 4. In the present application, the cable 6 passes through the guide holes 7 to play a guiding role, thereby prevent the shake of the foldable hull 3 during flight.

[0035] In some embodiments, the upper shell 1 and the lower shell 2 each include an envelope and a rigid support framework configured to support the envelope. As shown in FIG. 3, the rigid support framework includes an annular truss 15, a plurality of transverse keels 14, and a plurality of longitudinal keels 13. Considering the engineering feasibility, the annular truss 15, the transverse keels 14, and the longitudinal keels 13 are made of carbon fiber frame structures for the ease of assemble and disassemble. Furthermore, the envelope is a flexible layer or a rigid sheet according to the practical need.

[0036] In some embodiments, the cable control mechanisms 4 are provided on the annular truss 15 of the rigid support framework, and connected with each other through the cable 6.

[0037] In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the transformable stratospheric airship of the present embodiment also includes a tail fin 11, a propeller 8, a valve 9 and a battery 12, which are mounted on the top of the upper shell 1. In an embodiment, the battery 12 is a solar battery, which is arranged on the flat part outside the upper shell 1.

[0038] In some embodiments, the tail fin 11 is configured to control the motion of the airship such as roll, yaw and pitch. The propeller is configured to drive the airship. The valve 9 is configured to exhaust lifting gas (helium or hydrogen) in the sealed body.

[0039] In some embodiments, the bottom of the lower shell 2 of the transformable stratospheric airship is also provided with a gondola 5, and some common devices such as an inflation inlet, a landing gear and a mission payload, which are not shown in the figures.

[0040] The present embodiment provides a transformable stratospheric airship, as shown in FIG. 5. At the high flying height, the lifting gas in the hull expands and the cable control mechanisms release the cable to unfold the hull vertically, and thus the volume of the airship increases. When the airship needs to land or fly at the low altitude, the cable is tightened by the cable control mechanisms to gradually fold the hull until the airship is completely folded, at this time, the airship has a flat shape with low aerodynamic drag.

[0041] The airship of the present application has the advantages of simple design, light structure and convenient operation. In addition, the airship adopts the sealed body which is integral, and maintains the shape through the controlled cable, so that the hull hardly deforms, thereby rendering the use of the airship safe and reliable.

[0042] The above are only the preferred embodiments of the present disclosure, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Any changes, equivalent modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present disclosure shall fall within the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the present disclosure is defined by the appended claims.