JP2016007899A - Captive balloon - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a moored balloon that is less likely to be unstable in posture even when subjected to a strong wind. A mooring balloon 1 includes a balloon 10, a scoop 20, and one or more tethers 30 to 33, one end of which is connected to the surface of the balloon 10 and at least one of which is connected to the scoop 20. The scoop 20 has a first film portion 21 that transmits air from one surface to the other surface, and a second film portion 22 that transmits air from one surface to the other surface in a smaller ratio than the first film portion 21. And a part is bonded to the surface of the balloon 10. [Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a mooring balloon.

  When the operation of the base station is stopped due to a disaster or the like, a communication failure that prevents communication of a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone occurs in an area covered by the base station that has stopped the operation. When a communication failure occurs, it is required to quickly recover the base station that has stopped operating to eliminate the communication failure. However, there are cases where it is difficult to quickly restore the functions of the base station, such as when the base station collapses.

  On the other hand, a mooring balloon having a balloon and a mooring line connected to the balloon for mooring the balloon is known. Moored balloons are used for surveying the wind speed in the sky when constructing large structures such as wind power generators, surveying the vertical distribution of wind speed and temperature, etc., and taking pictures to check the damage situation at the time of disaster It is known. However, the mooring balloon may not be able to maintain an appropriate position when subjected to strong winds.

  Patent Document 1 describes a mooring balloon that can be positioned appropriately even when subjected to strong winds. The mooring balloon described in Patent Document 1 includes a balloon and a mooring line connected to the balloon, and also has a scoop that functions to keep the balloon in an appropriate position even when the balloon receives a strong wind. The scoop is formed of a porous material so as to provide the balloon with the appropriate air resistance to keep the balloon in place.

US Pat. No. 5,065,163

  The inventor of the present application covers a base station that has stopped operating by installing a relay station that replaces the function of the base station in a balloon when it is difficult to quickly recover the base station that has stopped operating due to a disaster or the like. I found that I could quickly recover from the communication failure in my area. By raising the balloon carrying the relay station to an altitude of about 100 [m] and mooring it, a relay station covering an area with a radius of 3 [km] or more can be realized.

  However, there is a problem that when the moored balloon receives a strong wind, the attitude of the balloon is disturbed. For example, when the balloon receives a strong crosswind, a rotational motion that rotates in one direction is started by a rotational moment applied to the balloon, and the mooring line mooring the balloon may be entangled, and the attitude of the balloon may become unstable.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a moored balloon that has a low possibility that the attitude of the balloon becomes unstable even when a strong wind is received.

  In order to achieve the above object, a mooring balloon according to the present invention has a balloon, a first film portion that transmits air from one surface to the other surface, and a ratio that transmits air from one surface to the other surface. A scoop having a second membrane portion smaller than the first membrane portion and partially joined to the surface of the balloon, and one or more scoops having one end connected to the balloon surface and at least one connected to the scoop A tethering line.

  In the mooring balloon according to the present invention, the scoop is preferably formed in an isosceles triangle shape with a base corner portion notched.

  Moreover, in the mooring balloon according to the present invention, it is preferable that the second film part is disposed so as to include the apex angle of the scoop.

  In the moored balloon according to the present invention, the transmittance indicating the ratio of air passing from one surface of the first film part to the other surface is preferably 0.5 or more and 0.9 or less.

  In the moored balloon according to the present invention, the transmittance indicating the ratio of air passing from one surface of the second film portion to the other surface is preferably 0 or more and 0.3 or less.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a moored balloon that has a low possibility that the posture of the balloon becomes unstable even when a strong wind is received.

It is a perspective view of the mooring balloon based on embodiment located in the air. (A) is a partial cross-sectional side view of the balloon shown in FIG. 1, and (b) is a bottom view of the balloon shown in (a). It is a top view of the scoop shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the effect of the scoop shown in FIG. It is a front view of the mooring balloon shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the comparison with the generation stress of the scoop shown in FIG. 1, and the generation stress of another scoop. (A) is a figure which shows the scoop which concerns on 2nd Embodiment, (b) is a figure which shows the scoop which concerns on 3rd Embodiment.

  A mooring balloon according to the present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings. However, it should be noted that the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and extends to equivalents to the invention described in the claims.

  The moored balloon scoop according to the embodiment includes a first film part having a relatively high transmittance and a second film part having a relatively low transmittance. Since the scoop has the second film part having a relatively low transmittance, even when the wind speed of the airflow received by the balloon is increased, the scoop can generate a moment larger than the moment generated in the balloon by receiving the airflow. Since the scoop can generate a moment larger than the moment generated in the balloon, the moored balloon is not likely to become unstable even under strong winds, and can maintain a stable weather.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a mooring balloon according to an embodiment located in the air.

  The mooring balloon 1 includes a balloon 10, a scoop 20, first to third mooring lines 30 to 32, a main mooring line 33, and a relay station 40.

  FIG. 2A is a partial cross-sectional side view of the balloon 10 filled with gas inside, and FIG. 2B is a bottom view of the balloon 10 filled with gas inside.

  The balloon 10 includes an outer bag 11, a helium storage bag 12, an air storage bag 13, a payload dome 14, and three mooring line attachment portions 15. Since the balloon 10 has a double structure of the helium storage bag 12 and the air storage bag 13 and the outer bag 11, the outer bag 11 does not need to be formed of a material having gas barrier properties. The outer bag 11 is formed of a rigid, lightweight and air-tight material such as synthetic fiber. The helium storage bag 12 is a bag filled with helium, and is formed of a material that is lower in strength and durability than the outer bag 11 and is light in weight. For example, the helium storage bag 12 is formed by welding a plastic film. The air storage bag 13 is made of a lightweight material that has lower strength and durability than the outer bag 11. Similar to the helium storage bag 12, the air storage bag 13 is formed by welding a plastic film. The payload dome 14 is a cylindrical member with a bottom, and is arranged so that the bottom is in contact with the air storage bag 13. The payload dome 14 is made of a rigid and lightweight material such as polystyrene foam. A relay station 40 is disposed in the concave portion of the payload dome 14.

  The balloon 10 has a spheroid shape having a minor axis in the height direction when the helium storage bag 12 is filled with helium and the air storage bag 13 is filled with air. That is, when the inside is filled with gas, the balloon 10 has a flat shape having a circular plane shape and an elliptical front shape. In one example, the balloon 10 has a circular planar shape with a diameter of 4.6 [m], and an elliptical front shape with a major axis of 4.6 [m] and a minor axis of 2.66 [m].

  The three mooring line attachment portions 15 are arranged on the surface of the balloon 10 so as to follow the long diameter when viewed from the front. Each of the three mooring line attachment portions 15 is connected to one end of any one of the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32. One end of the first mooring line 30 is connected to the mooring line attachment part 15 arranged at a position close to the part to which the scoop 20 is joined, and the second mooring line 31 is connected to the other two mooring line attachment parts 15. And one end of the 3rd mooring line 32 is connected, respectively.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the scoop 20.

  The scoop 20 is also called a posture stabilizing film, and is a flexible film material having a first film part 21 and a second film part 22 that transmit air from one surface to the other surface. The scoop 20 includes a base 23, a first equilateral 24 and a second equilateral 25 having one end connected at an apex angle 28 positioned opposite to the base 23, and the first equilateral 24 and the second equilateral 25 from both ends of the base 23. It has a shape surrounded by a first cut-out side 26 and a second cut-out side 27 respectively extending at the ends. The first equal side 24 and the second equal side 25 are equal in length to each other, and the first cut-out side 26 and the second cut-out side 27 are equal in length to each other. That is, the scoop 20 is formed in an isosceles triangle shape with a base corner portion notched. A connection line 29 that connects the scoop 20 and the first mooring line 30 is connected to the apex angle 28 of the scoop 20. By connecting the apex angle 28 of the scoop 20 and the first mooring line 30 via the connection line 29, when the mooring balloon 1 is raised in the air, the scoop 20 receives wind like a sail of a yacht. Thus, the mooring balloon 1 is stabilized in the wind so that the scoop 20 becomes leeward.

  The first film portion 21 is formed of polyester knitted so as to transmit air from one surface to the other surface. The first film portion 21 includes a base 23, a portion excluding a portion in the vicinity of the apex angle 28 of the first equal side 24 and the second equal side 25, a first notched side 26 and a second notched side 27, and a second film portion. 22 and a shape surrounded by a side in contact with 22. The first film part 21 is joined to the balloon 10 in the vicinity of the base 23, the first cut-out side 26, and the second cut-out side 27. The ratio of transmitting air from one surface of the first film portion 21 to the other surface is 0.5.

  In this specification, the ratio of air permeating from one surface of the membrane material to the other surface is referred to as transmittance ρ. The transmittance ρ is the wind speed [m / s] of the wind blown from the blower and the wind speed when the wind blown from the blower is measured with an anemometer after passing from one surface of the film material to the other surface. From the ratio with [m / s], it is shown by the following formula.

  When the transmittance ρ is measured, the membrane material for which the transmittance ρ is measured is between the blower opening of the blower that blows the wind and the detection unit of the anemometer that measures the wind speed after passing through the membrane material. Placed at the midpoint of a straight line connecting

  The second film part 22 is formed by sewing a nylon film formed of nylon having a transmittance of 0 to a polyester formed in the same manner as the first film part 21. By sewing a nylon membrane having a transmittance of 0, the transmittance of the second membrane portion 22 becomes zero. The second film part 22 is formed in an isosceles triangle shape and is disposed so as to include the apex angle 28 of the scoop 20.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the mooring balloon 1 for explaining the operational effect of the scoop 20. In FIG. 4, an arrow A is a horizontal component of the airflow received by the balloon 10, and Ir is a rotational moment generated in the balloon 10 by the horizontal component of the airflow indicated by the arrow A. Further, Fs is a drag generated by the horizontal component of the airflow indicated by the arrow A in the scoop 20, Rs is a distance between the center of gravity of the scoop 20 and an action point of the drag Fs, and θ is a difference between Fs and Rs. The angle between the corners. The angle θ between the angle Fs and Rs is 90 degrees when the mooring balloon 1 is wind-stable so that the scoop 20 is located on the leeward side, and becomes smaller as the scoop 20 moves away from the leeward side. It becomes 0 degree when it becomes a position orthogonal to the direction of the horizontal component of the airflow.

When the horizontal component of the air flow indicated by the arrow A acts on the scoop 20, the moment Is generated by the scoop 20 so as to cancel the rotational moment Ir is:
Is = Fs · Rs · cos θ (1)
Indicated by cos θ becomes 0 when the mooring balloon 1 is stable in the wind, and increases as the scoop 20 moves away from the leeward, so that the mooring balloon 1 is feedback-controlled so that the wind is stable by the moment Is.

The mooring balloon 1
Ir <Is (2)
When the above relationship is satisfied, the scoop 20 is set on the leeward side to stabilize the wind. However, for example, when the magnitude of the horizontal component of the airflow received by the balloon 10 indicated by the arrow A exceeds 5 [m / s], for example, the rotational moment Ir generated in the balloon 10 having a larger wind receiving area is changed to the scoop 20. Is greater than the moment Is generated by. That is,
Ir> Is (3)
Thus, the moment Is generated by the scoop 20 cannot cancel the rotational moment Ir generated in the balloon 10. When the moment Is generated by the scoop 20 cannot cancel the rotational moment Ir generated in the balloon 10 as shown in Expression (3), the mooring balloon 1 deviates from the weather-stable state and starts rotating.

The scoop 20 has a first film portion 21 that transmits air from one surface to the other surface, and a ratio that transmits air is higher than a ratio that transmits air from one surface of the first film portion 21 to the other surface. A small second film portion 22. The second film portion 22 has a smaller ratio of air permeating from one surface to the other surface than the first film portion 21, and therefore the drag Fs ₂ per unit area generated by the second film portion 22 is the first film. It becomes larger than the drag Fs ₁ per unit area generated by the portion 21. That is, since the drag per unit area of the scoop 20 can be increased by arranging the second film portion 22 as compared with the case where only the first film portion 21 is formed, the scoop 20 is generated in the scoop 20. The drag Fs becomes larger. When the drag force Fs generated in the scoop 20 increases, the moment Is generated by the scoop 20 expressed by the formula (1) also increases.

  FIG. 5 is a front view of the mooring balloon 1. In FIG. 5, the balloon 10 and the scoop 20 are shown, and the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32, the main mooring line 33, and the relay station 40 are omitted. In FIG. 5, a indicates the short diameter when the balloon 10 is viewed from the front, and b indicates the long diameter when the balloon 10 is viewed from the front. In FIG. 5, an arrow A indicates a portion that is visible without being blocked by the balloon 10 of the scoop 20, and an arrow B indicates a portion that is not visible by being blocked by the balloon 10 of the scoop 20.

  As described above, when the scoop 20 satisfies the condition shown in the equation (2), the scoop 20 is stabilized with the scoop 20 as the leeward side. Therefore, FIG. FIG. When the mooring balloon 1 is weather-stable, the part indicated by the arrow A of the scoop 20 contributes to wind-stable stability. On the other hand, the portion indicated by the arrow B of the scoop 20 is close to the back surface of the balloon 10 and thus contributes little to the weather stability. As shown in FIG. 1, when the size of the horizontal component of the airflow received by the balloon 10 is increased, the wind upper end of the balloon 10 is located above the wind lower end where the scoop 20 is disposed and the head is raised. The portion of the scoop 20 that contributes to weather stability is increased. The scoop 20 is arranged so that the height of the portion indicated by the arrow A is 0.5 times the short diameter of the balloon 10 and the width is 0.7 times the short diameter of the balloon 10. The second film portion 22 is arranged so that the height is 0.25 times the minor axis and the bottom is 0.3 times the minor axis of the balloon 10.

  In the mooring balloon 1, the second film part 22 having a lower drag than the first film part 21 and having a large drag is arranged so as to include the apex angle of the isosceles scoop 20 with the base angle part notched. As a result, the moment Is generated in the scoop 20 is effectively increased. That is, since the vicinity of the apex angle of the scoop 20 in which the second film part 22 is arranged is located opposite to the bottom side of the scoop 20 that is a joint part with the balloon 10, the horizontal component of the airflow regardless of the attitude of the moored balloon 1 Therefore, the drag can be generated with certainty. Further, the vicinity of the apex angle of the scoop 20 where the second film part 22 is arranged has a longer distance from the center of gravity than the vicinity of the equal side of the scoop 20, so that the moment generated by the second film part 22 is more growing.

  FIG. 6 shows the generated stress of the scoop 20 and the generated stress of a scoop formed of a film material formed in the same manner as the first film portion 21 and having the same shape as the scoop 20 (hereinafter referred to as a comparative scoop). It is a figure which shows comparison of these. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis indicates the wind speed [m / s] of the horizontal component of the air flow received by the balloon from the front of the balloon shown in FIG. 5, and the vertical axis indicates the stress Fs [N] generated in the scoop. In FIG. 6, the solid line indicates the generated stress of the scoop 20, and the broken line indicates the generated stress of the comparative scoop.

  The generated stress of the scoop 20 where the second film part 22 is arranged is about 1.2 times the generated stress of the comparative scoop. As the generated stress Fs of the scoop 20 becomes 1.2 times, the moment Is generated by the scoop 20 represented by the formula (1) also becomes 1.2 times the moment generated by the comparative scoop.

  Each of the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32 is formed of a material that is not cut by the tension caused by the airflow received when the mooring balloon 1 is in the air. One end of the first mooring line 30 is connected to the mooring line attaching part 15 disposed at a position close to the portion where the scoop 20 is joined, and one end of each of the second mooring line 31 and the third mooring line 32 is the other. Connected to the two mooring line attachment portions 15. The other ends of the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32 are connected to one end of the main mooring line 33 at the node 34. In one example, the other end of each of the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32 at the node 34 and one end of the main mooring line 33 are connected via a connection fitting. The first mooring line 30 is connected to the apex angle of the scoop 20 via the connection line 29. In one example, the first mooring line 30 and the connection line 29 are connected via a connection fitting.

  Similar to the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32, the main mooring line 33 is formed of a material that is not cut by the tension caused by the airflow received when the mooring balloon 1 is in the air. The other end of the main mooring line 33 is connected to a winch (not shown). When the main mooring line 33 is unwound from the winch connected to the other end of the main mooring line 33, the mooring balloon 1 rises in the air according to the unwinding amount, and when the main mooring line 33 is wound from the winch, The mooring balloon 1 descends from the air according to the rewind amount.

  The relay station 40 has a relay antenna and a mobile station antenna (not shown), and is between a base station connected to the mobile communication network and a mobile terminal located in an area covered by the base station. A communication network.

  The tethered balloon 1 has a scoop 20 having an isosceles triangle shape with a base corner portion cut out and a relatively low transmittance of the second film portion 22 disposed so as to include the apex angle. Even if it happens, there is a low possibility that the posture will be disturbed. In one example, the mooring balloon 1 is maintained in a stable posture without rotating even in a strong wind having a horizontal wind speed of 20 [m / s].

  However, the shape of the scoop and the arrangement of the portion having a relatively low transmittance inside the scoop are not limited to those of the scoop 20.

  FIG. 7A is a diagram showing a scoop according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 7B is a diagram showing a scoop according to the third embodiment.

  The scoop 50 is different from the scoop 20 in that it is not an isosceles triangle shape with a base corner portion cut out but an arc shape with both end portions cut out. The scoop 50 includes a first film part 51 having a relatively high transmittance and a second film part 52 having a relatively low transmittance. The second film portion 52 is disposed so as to include the top 58 of the arc 54 of the arc-shaped scoop 50. The first film part 51 includes a straight part 55 opposite to the top 58 of the scoop 50 on which the second film part 52 is disposed, and a first notch side 56 and a second part extending from both ends of the straight part to both ends of the arc part, respectively. Joined to the balloon 10 in the vicinity of each of the cut-out sides 57.

  The scoop 60 is different from the scoop 20 in that the second film part having a relatively low transmittance is not arranged so as to include the apex angle. The scoop 60 has a first film part 61 having a relatively high transmittance and a second film part 62 having a relatively low transmittance. The second film part 62 is disposed at a position closer to the apex angle 68 between the base 63 and the apex angle 68. The second film part 62 is arranged so as to be symmetric with respect to the center line of the scoop 60 that is a perpendicular line connecting the apex angle 68 and the base 63. In other words, the second film unit 62 is disposed so that the distance between the first equal side 64 and the distance between the second equal side 65 is equal. The first film unit 61 is joined to the balloon 10 in the vicinity of the bottom 63, the first cut-out side 66, and the second cut-out side 67.

  In the mooring balloon 10, the transmittance of the first membrane portion 21 is 0.5 and the transmittance of the second membrane portion 22 is 0. However, the scoop has a relatively high transmittance with the first membrane portion. It is only necessary to have a relatively low second film portion.

  The transmittance of the first film portion having a relatively high transmittance is preferably 0.5 or more and 0.9 or less. When the transmittance of the first film part is smaller than 0.5, the moment generated by the scoop receiving the airflow becomes smaller than the moment generated by receiving the airflow generated in the balloon 10, and the balloon 10 can not be stably weathered. Absent. If the transmittance of the first membrane part is greater than 0.9, the Karman vortex generated on the leeward side of the scoop increases when the scoop receives an air current, and the posture of the balloon 10 becomes unstable, which is not preferable.

  The transmittance of the second film portion having a relatively low transmittance is preferably 0 or more and 0.3 or less. When the transmittance of the second film portion is closer to 0, the stress generated by the scoop receiving airflow increases, and the moment at which the scoop is generated increases.

  Further, in the mooring balloon 10, the second film part 22 having a transmittance of 0 is arranged so that the height is 0.25 times the minor axis and the bottom is 0.3 times the minor axis of the balloon 10. However, the area of the second film part arranged to include the apex angle of the scoop may be changed according to the transmittance of the second film part.

  In the mooring balloon 1, the second membrane portion 22 having a relatively low transmittance is formed by sewing a nylon membrane formed of nylon on a polyester formed in the same manner as the first membrane portion 21, The second film portion having a relatively low rate may be formed by other methods. For example, the second film part having a relatively low transmittance may be formed by attaching a film formed of a material other than nylon. Alternatively, the second film portion having a relatively low transmittance may be formed by braiding polyester more densely than the first film portion having a relatively high transmittance. When the first film part having a relatively high transmittance is coarsely knitted and the second film part having a relatively low transmittance is closely knitted, the insides of the first film part and the second film part may be knitted uniformly. May be knitted. Moreover, you may form the part from which the transmittance | permeability differs by knitting so that it may become dense gradually toward the vertex from the base of a scoop. When a scoop is formed by weaving so that it gradually becomes dense from the bottom to the top, the transmittance per unit area at any part of the scoop surface is compared, and the transmittance is relatively high. One film part and a second film part having a relatively low transmittance can be determined.

  In the moored balloon 1, the balloon 10 has a spheroid shape having a minor axis in the height direction when the inside is filled with gas, but the shape of the balloon has a minor axis in the height direction. The shape is not limited to a spheroid shape. For example, the balloon may have a spheroid shape having a minor axis in the width direction, a spherical shape, a donut shape, or any other suitable shape.

  In the mooring balloon 1, the balloon 10 is moored in a winch (not shown) by the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32 and the main mooring line 33, but the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32 are provided. Instead, the balloon 10 may be moored on the winch only by the main mooring line 33. In this case, the scoop 20 is connected to the main mooring line 33 via the connection line 29. Moreover, you may arrange | position two or four or more mooring lines instead of the 1st-3rd mooring lines 30-32. In this case, the scoop 20 is connected to either two or four or more mooring lines via the connection line 29. When arranging four or more mooring lines instead of the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32, the scoop 20 may be connected to any two or more of the four or more mooring lines. When the scoop 20 is connected to any two or more of four or more mooring lines, the shape of the scoop may be a square. The balloon 10 may be moored on the winch by the first to third mooring lines 30 to 32 without having the main mooring line 33.

1 Mooring balloon 10 Balloon 20, 50, 60 Scoop 30-34 Mooring cable

Claims (5)

With balloons,
A first film portion that transmits air from one surface to the other surface, and a second film portion that transmits air from one surface to the other surface that is smaller than the first film portion, and A scoop partially joined to the surface of the balloon;
One or more tethers with one end connected to the surface of the balloon and at least one connected to the scoop;
A mooring balloon characterized by comprising:   The mooring balloon according to claim 1, wherein the scoop is formed in an isosceles triangle shape with a base corner portion cut out.   The mooring balloon according to claim 2, wherein the second film part is disposed so as to include an apex angle of the scoop.   The mooring according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a transmittance indicating a ratio of transmitting air from one surface of the first film portion to the other surface is 0.5 or more and 0.9 or less. balloon.   The mooring balloon according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a transmittance indicating a ratio of air passing from one surface of the second film part to the other surface is 0 or more and 0.3 or less.

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