Tendon sleeve for high-altitude balloon and system for making the same

Abstract

A system for forming a tendon sleeve on an atmospheric balloon is described herein, the system comprising a coupling assembly including a seam coupling mechanism that forms a seam joint between a first gore panel and a second gore panel, the seam joint is spaced from respective first and second lateral edges of the first and second gore panels to form first and second edge flanges, and an edge coupling mechanism that forms an edge joint between the first and second edge flanges and closes a tendon sleeve, the edge joint spaced from the seam joint, the tendon sleeve includes a tendon sleeve passage between the seam joint and the edge joint and between the first and second edge flanges. The system also includes a tendon positioning mechanism that positions a tendon within the tendon sleeve passage. A tendon sleeve formed by this system is also described herein.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An atmospheric balloon system comprising:
 a balloon comprising a balloon membrane having a plurality of gore panels;   a plurality of tendons extending from near an upper apex of the balloon to near a lower apex of the balloon; and   a plurality of tendon sleeves each located at an intersection between adjacent gore panels, each of the plurality of tendon sleeves including:
 first and second edge flanges of respective adjacent gore panels, a seam joint coupling the first and second edge flanges, and an edge joint coupling the first and second edge flanges, the edge joint spaced from the seam joint to form a tendon sleeve passage between the seam joint and the edge joint and between the first and second edge flanges, wherein one of the plurality of tendons is received within the tendon sleeve passage. 
   
     
     
         2 . The atmospheric balloon system of  claim 1 , wherein the edge joint is near to respective lateral edges of the first and second edge flanges, and the seam joint is spaced from the respective lateral edges, relatively. 
     
     
         3 . The atmospheric balloon system of  claim 1 , wherein the seam joint includes a seam seal at the intersection between respective adjacent gore panels. 
     
     
         4 . The atmospheric balloon system of  claim 1 , the edge joint includes an edge seal between the first and second edge flanges. 
     
     
         5 . A system for securing a tendon on an atmospheric balloon, the system comprising:
 a coupling assembly comprising:
 a seam coupling mechanism that forms a seam joint between a first gore panel and a second gore panel, the seam joint is spaced from respective first and second lateral edges of the first gore panel and the second gore panel to form first and second edge flanges; and 
 an edge coupling mechanism that forms an edge joint between the first and second edge flanges and closes a tendon sleeve, the edge joint spaced from the seam joint, the tendon sleeve including a tendon sleeve passage between the seam joint and the edge joint and between the first and second edge flanges; and 
   a tendon positioning mechanism that positions the tendon within the tendon sleeve passage.   
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the coupling assembly forms the seam joint and the edge joint substantially simultaneously with the tendon positioning mechanism positioning the tendon in the tendon sleeve passage. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the seam coupling mechanism comprises a seam sealing mechanism that forms a seam seal between the first gore panel and the second gore panel. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein the edge coupling mechanism comprises an edge sealing mechanism to form an edge seal between the first and second edge flanges. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the tendon positioning mechanism comprises a tendon positioning guide, wherein the tendon positioning guide guides the tendon into position between the first and second edge flanges and between the seam joint and the edge joint to secure the tendon within the tendon sleeve. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 9 , wherein the seam coupling mechanism is adjacent to the edge coupling mechanism and at least a portion of the tendon positioning guide is between the seam coupling mechanism and the edge coupling mechanism. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 5 , further comprising a cutting station, the cutting station cuts an excess portion of each of the first and second edge flanges. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 5 , wherein the edge coupling mechanism cuts excess portions of the first and second edge flanges while coupling the first and second edge flanges together at the edge joint. 
     
     
         13 . The system of claim.  5 , wherein the coupling assembly comprises a gore panel divider that separates a portion of the first gore panel and a corresponding portion of the second gore panel adjacent to the seam coupling mechanism. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the gore panel divider separates the first gore panel and the second gore panel adjacent to the edge coupling mechanism. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 13 , wherein the tendon positioning mechanism extends from the gore panel divider between the seam coupling mechanism and the edge coupling mechanism. 
     
     
         16 . A method for forming a tendon sleeve on an atmospheric balloon, the method comprising:
 coupling a first gore panel having a first lateral edge to a second gore panel having a second lateral edge at a seam joint spaced from the first and second lateral edges to form respective first and second edge flanges from the first and second gore panels;   coupling the first and second edge flanges together at an edge joint spaced from the seam joint to form the tendon sleeve with a tendon sleeve passage between the seam joint and between the edge joint and the first and second edge flanges; and   positioning a tendon within the tendon sleeve passage.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein coupling the first and second gore panels, coupling the first and second edge flanges, and positioning the tendon are substantially simultaneous. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the seam joint includes a seam seal, and coupling the first and second gore panels at the seam joint includes sealing the first gore panel to the second gore panel to form the seam seal. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein coupling the first and second edge flanges together at the edge joint includes coupling the first and second edge flanges near the first and second lateral edges. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising cutting the tendon to a specified length before positioning the tendon in the tendon sleeve passage.