Maximum Strength, Reduce Weight Telescoping Mast with Interlocking Structural Elements

Abstract

A telescoping mast for deploying, retracting and securing a payload of equipment. The mast is formulated using advantaged geometry and comprises interlocking support legs and relatively lightweight skins mounted between the support legs as its base structure. In addition, some embodiments of the disclosed apparatus provide a secure channel through the mast for cables necessary for the operation of equipment mounted in a payload. Still further, some embodiments of the disclosed apparatus provide a wire rope and pulley system to raise and lower the mast and include structural flexibility to enable the telescoping mast to be used at various intermediate heights in between full extension and fully retracted.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A mast for deploying and retracting a payload, the mast comprising:
 a) a plurality of interlocking support legs, at least one interlocking support leg being vertically adjacent to another and at least one interlocking support leg being horizontally adjacent to another, each interlocking support leg having an interlocking section to secure the support leg to each vertically adjacent support leg in a manner that allows each support leg to slide axially past each of the vertically adjacent support legs and thus deploy the mast; and   b) at least one skin, each skin secured to a horizontally adjacent support leg.   
     
     
         2 . The mast of  claim 1 , wherein the interlocking section securely supports the mast at any height between fully a retracted state and a fully deployed state. 
     
     
         3 . The mast of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of interlocking support legs comprises four such support legs and the plurality of skins comprises four skins. 
     
     
         4 . The mast of  claim 1 , wherein the interlocking section is an essentially S-shaped structure. 
     
     
         5 . The mast of  claim 4 , wherein the support leg has an inner surface and an outer surface and wherein the S-shaped structure comprises a protrusion from the inner surface of the support leg and an outwardly curling end to form a hook, the protrusion from the inner surface engaging the hook of a vertically adjacent support leg to securely interlock the first support leg to the vertically adjacent support leg. 
     
     
         6 . The mast of  claim 5 , wherein the interlocking section runs essentially the entire length of the support leg. 
     
     
         7 . The mast of  claim 5 , wherein the protrusion is partially enclosed by a covering. 
     
     
         8 . The mast of  claim 7 , wherein the covering is replaceable. 
     
     
         9 . The mast of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of interlocking support legs comprises two such support legs and the plurality of skins comprises two skins. 
     
     
         10 . The mast of  claim 9 , wherein the two skins are essentially V-shaped such that the cross-section of the mast is essentially hexagonal. 
     
     
         11 . The mast of  claim 9 , wherein the two skins are essentially U-shaped. 
     
     
         12 . The mast of  claim 1 , further comprising a section top cap mounted across the top of each support leg and extending inwardly. 
     
     
         13 . The mast of  claim 12 , further comprising an L-bracket mounted to the top of each skin. 
     
     
         14 . The mast of  claim 1 , wherein each group of horizontally adjacent support legs and the horizontally adjacent skins mounted thereon form a mast section, at least one such mast section being the inner mast section and at least one mast section being an outer mast section, each mast section comprising at least one channel running through the mast section to allow cables to run from the outer mast section to the inner mast section. 
     
     
         15 . The mast of  claim 14 , wherein the cables are payload cables enclosed within the mast. 
     
     
         16 . A mast comprising:
 a) telescoping mast sections, the mast sections including an inner mast section, an outer mast section and at least one intermediate mast section, wherein when the mast is retracted, the inner mast section is nested within one of the intermediate mast sections and each of the intermediate mast sections are nested within the outer mast section such that the mast can be deployed by at least partially withdrawing each mast section from an adjacent mast section;   b) at least one upper pulley mounted near an upper portion of each intermediate mast section;   c) at least one upper pulley mounted near an upper portion of the outer mast section;   d) at least one lower pulley mounted near the lower portion of each intermediate mast section in an opening through the intermediate mast section;   e) a wire rope fixed at a tie down point near the bottom of the inner mast section and routed up to the upper pulley mounted on the interior of a vertically adjacent intermediate mast section, the upper pulley redirecting the wire rope downward to the lower pulley mounted on the vertically adjacent intermediate mast section, the lower pulley redirecting the wire rope through the opening in the vertically adjacent intermediate mast section and up to a next vertically adjacent mast section, the wire rope continuing in similar fashion through each of the at least one intermediate mast sections, the wire rope being redirected by the lower pulley on the outer most intermediate mast section to the upper pulley on the outer mast section, the upper pulley mounted on the outer mast section redirecting the wire rope down to the lower pulley mounted on the outer mast section, the lower pulley mounted on the outer mast section redirecting the wire rope to a take up mechanism.   
     
     
         17 . The mast of  claim 16 , further including at least one lower pulley mounted near the lower portion of the outer mast section, the lower pulley mounted on the outer mast section being mounted in an opening through the outer mast section. 
     
     
         18 . The mast of  claim 16 , wherein each mast section comprises at least two support legs and at least two skins mounted between the support legs, the upper and lower pulleys being mounted on the support legs. 
     
     
         19 . The mast of  claim 16 , wherein:
 a) the inner mast section further comprises a lower block mounted near the bottom of the inner mast section;   b) each intermediate mast section further comprising an upper block and a lower block; and   c) the outer mast section further comprising an upper block and a lower block;   wherein the lower block mounted near the bottom of the inner mast section comes into contact with the upper block mounted on a vertically adjacent intermediate mast section restraining any relative motion between the inner mast section and the vertically adjacent intermediate mast section beyond the point at which contact is made.   
     
     
         20 . The mast of  claim 19 , wherein the lower block is a bracket on which the lower pulley is mounted. 
     
     
         21 . The mast of  claim 19 , wherein the upper block is a bracket on which the upper pulley is mounted. 
     
     
         22 . The mast of  claim 19 , wherein the point at which contact is made between the upper block and the lower block ensures that a predetermined amount of overlap remains between vertically adjacent mast sections. 
     
     
         23 . The mast of  claim 16 , wherein the mast can be deployed to any height between the fully deployed height and the fully retracted height. 
     
     
         24 . The mast of  claim 16 , wherein the wire rope is conductive and carries electrical signals between the base of the mast and the payload. 
     
     
         25 . The mast of  claim 16 , wherein the wire rope is conductive and carries electrical power to the payload. 
     
     
         26 . A telescoping mast for deploying and retracting a payload, the mast comprising:
 a) A plurality of interlocking support legs, at least one interlocking support leg being vertically adjacent to another and at least one interlocking support leg being horizontally adjacent to another, each interlocking support leg having an interlocking section to secure the support leg to each vertically adjacent support leg in a manner that allows each support leg to slide axially past each of the vertically adjacent support legs and thus to deploy the mast; and   b) support members connected between the horizontally adjacent support legs to provide structural support for the mast.   
     
     
         27 . A telescoping mast comprising:
 a) a first mast section having at least one support leg and at least one skin secured to the support leg; and   b) a second mast section having at least one support leg, each support leg of the second mast being interlocked to a corresponding support leg of the first mast section to allow for axial extension of the mast.   
     
     
         28 . The telescoping mast of  claim 27 , wherein the first mast section comprises four support legs and four skins forming an octagonal outer perimeter to the mast.