Makani Technologies LLC

Abhimanyu Belani

Elias Wolfgang Patten

Brian Hachtmann

Robert J Nelson

Gabriel Murphy

A tether guide operable through a wide range of tether/fleeting angles while causing minimal wear and having a reduced size compared to a levelwind wheel. The tether guide may include a series of rollers approximating the curved shape and radius of levelwind wheel. The tether guide may include downward facing guide wings matched to a curved roller profile, but flaring out to capture and guide tether into rollers. Sensors may be included on the tether guide to provide information about tether location, including whether the tether is engaged in the tether guide.

Sensor equipped tether guide with open tether channel

A system for carrying a tether guide, including a counter-balanced support system with two pivot points, where a first pivot allows the tether guide to travel up and down and the second pivot allows the tether guide to match the tether angle. Both pivots may be passive pivots. A shuttle that carries the tether guide may be electronically cammed to follow variable pitch helical grooves of a winch drum as the tether guide traverses across the drum length.

Growing community of inventors

Mountain View, CA, United States of America

Abhimanyu Belani