Patent ID: 9676496
Date: 2017-06-13
CPC Classifications: B64F,B66D

Claim:
1. A ground station comprising: a platform; a winch base rigidly coupled to the platform; one or more support arms rigidly coupled to the winch base; an axle rotatably coupled to the one or more support arms; a winch drum coupled to the axle; a lateral drive mechanism coupled to the winch drum, wherein the lateral drive mechanism is configured to move the winch drum along the axle in a lateral direction relative to the platform; a tether adapted to be wound about the winch drum when the winch drum is rotated in a first direction; and a levelwind rigidly coupled to the platform, wherein the tether passes through the levelwind during winding, and wherein the levelwind is configured to position the tether at a substantially fixed location relative to the platform such that as the tether is wound onto the rotating and laterally moving winch drum, the tether accumulates on the winch drum in a repeating pattern.