US1879345A - Dirigible air sailing craft - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 27, 1932- A. H. LAWRENCE DIRIGIBLE AIR-SA/LING CRAFT Filed April 15. 1929 Attorney Patented Sept. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES yanvar: H. LAWRENCE,

DIRIGIBLE AIR ,'Appneation med April 15,

My invention relates to improvements in dirigible air sailing craft and it more especially consists of the features pointed out in the annexed claims.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a lighter than air craft which will aord a high degree of efficiency in creating a vacuum in front of the air ship to reduce resistance to its forward movementand at the same time utilize the density of the air at the rear or sides of the ship to propel it; that combines with a ship water floatable cabins and water sailing propellers and rudder; that may arrange air propellers alongside of the i ship adjustable in a horizontal and vertical that may be held motionless in the7 air; that may be directly raised or lowered; that may be bodily moved sideways; that may be steered by the cooperation of the different motors; that uses the motors positioned at the extreme outer angles of transverse quadrilatyeral or other angularity frames so as to be in free air without having their efficient operation reduced bythe near proximity of the ships body;'.that may if desired have the cabin within the body; and that through 85 the use of my propelling system the ship can be raised vertically without loosing ballast and lowered vertically without the lossof gas from the buoyancy cells.

With these and other ends in View. I'.

illustrate on the accompanying drawing such instances of adaptation as will disclose the broad underlying features of my invention without limiting myself to the speci fie details shown thereon and described herein.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation.

Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic front elevation showing the main Aframes in dotted lines.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of an adjustable propeller drive.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic representation of OF HAMLET, INDIANA SAILING CRAFT 1929. Serial No. 355,110.

a simple form of motor controls located in the pilots cabin.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic plan view of Fig. l.

Inl carrying my invention into commercial use I may employ whatever equivalents or alternatives of construction that the varying eXigencies of different conditions may demand without departing from the broad spirit of the invention.

The air ship comprises an air floatable body 1 to which is suspended a water floatable cabin 2. Near the bow at the top of the body a pilots cabin 3 is placed. A power plant 4 may be located at the rear 65 end of the cabin 2. This power plant furnishes light for the ship and power fo-r the air propellers. It also has connected therewith a water propeller 5 placed in advance 'of a water steering rudder 6. This arrangement serves as an emergency equipment, in case the air ship for any reason is obliged to descend onto a body of water. It may be controlled in the air by a steering rudder 7 and altitude wings 8. These conventional meansare accessory to. universally mounted, individually driven air pronellers 14 which by reason of their being adjustable both in a horizontal and vertical direction simultaneously throughout 360 degrees on two planes at right angles to each other assist in driving the shin straight ahead. right or left. and up ory down. as desired. In the use of the words. through 360 degrees. or throughout 360 degrees, or throughout 85 more than 360 degrees. in the claims or in the specification. I do not limit myself to these exact degrees as an approximation .of them falls within the scope of my invention.

An important feature of my invention is the use of a puller air propeller 10 placed at the bow of the ship, in order to -create a vacuum by the rapid removal of the air from in front of the bow through the longitudinal tube 9. On each side of the ship at its stern is placed a pushing air propeller 11 which cooperates withv the propeller 10 at the bow, the latter reducing the air 100 resistance and the former acting against the dense air at the rear.

The body 1 maybe formed of any desired number of tetrahedral frames 12,'of which only four'are shown in Fig. 1.' The center square of each frame forms an opening through which the lengthwise air shaft 9 passes. The interior ofthe body ma be arranged as desired for the reception o theA gas containers. lStairways, passageways, etc., from one part of the ship to another may be placed where most needed to afford communication between the pilotsA cabin, the adjustable propellers, the main cabin, the power plant, the pulling and pushing propellers, etc., etc., (not shown).

A main supply line 13 extends from the power plant 4 to the pilots cabin, .and distributing lines 21 lead from there to the different motor drives. Any desired type of switching system, exemplified only diagrammatically in Fig. 4, may be used. This feed line 22 serves the horizontally adjusting motor 17 feed line 23 serves the vertically adjusting motor 18, and feed line 24 serves the motor Vwhich drives the propeller 14. The propellers 14 may be directed up or down by motors 18, and to the right or left by motors 17, from the pilots cabin, as needed. The connections may comprise any `form f of remote controls that are well known so `as to start, stop, and reverse the motors 17 and 18, and the driving motors for the sailing propellers 14, and the driving propellers 10 and 11. This type of connections with the cooperative motor windings is so well known that they are not shown.4

The motors 17 and 18 are suitably supported in frames 15.' Motor 17 is supported by the frame 15 which turns on vertical pivots 20. In the frame 16 the motor for the propeller 14 is positioned. It has movement on the horizontal pivots 19. Each of the motors 17 and 18 may be connected to the respective pivots 20 and 19 byi'any form of well known worm drive.

If desired, any form of control 25 may be placed in the air shaft 9, as a door or otherwise, to retard the passage of air through the shaft or tunnel, close it entirely Yor leave it wide open. A separate motor 26 isl indicated diagrammatically in Fig. 1 for operating the door in either directionthe motor being under remote control from the pilots cabin, in a well known manner, similar to the controls for motors 17 and 18. rlLhe motors for the propellers 10 and 11 may v'also be controlled for stopping, starting, andl reversing,Y

into service. The frames 16 may-be made large enough so that the propellers 14 can be' set to rotate in a horizontal plane to assist in raising or lowerin the ship. By reason of this expedient the s 'p can be maneuvered with great certainty and safety. Motors 17 and 18 may be positioned wherever desired on the body 1, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 they are supplemented by vertical and horizontal air rudders.

The motors 17 and 18 have been referred to as capable of being stopped, started and Vreversed. `The motors need not however be reversedas the frame 16 can be rotated 360 degrees, and the motor 28 can also be swung on the pivots 19 throughout 360 degrees, which facility may be taken advantage of instead of reversing the motors, it being onlyl 10, as well as the motor 31 for the turbine or propeller 27, may all'be reversible as desired.4

It is understood that though I have shown propellers driven by electric motors I do not limit myself to the exclusive use of electricity as any other source of power may be used.

What I claim is:

1. In lighter than air ships, an'air floatable body, a longitudinal air passage extending throughout the length of the ship, a propeller at the bow of the ship positioned in front of the air passage for pulling purposes, and a pair of propellers at the stern of the ship positioned `one on each side of the air passage and at the rear of the horizontal rud' ders.

2. In air traversing ships, an air oatable body, a cabin and a power plant suspended therefrom, a plurality of electric `motors and propellers attached to the ship, and means for swinging the motors vertically through -each other at right angles to each other, and

a power plant in common for the motors.

4. In 'loatable air ships, an air fioatable body, propellers for driving the ship, separate propellers operable independently on separate -planes throughout 360 degrees at right angles to each other adapted to accelerate, retard, directly raise and lower the ship,

and accessory air rudders attached to the ship whereby during cruising the main propellers will move the ship forward and the separate propellers will directly raise or lower it or bodily move it sideways or hold it at rest or in movement at a given elevation, or counteract the main propellers in stopping. 5. In combination, an air iioatable body, a supporting water loatable cabin, `a plurality of quadrilateral frames to whichy the body and cabin are attached, and a plurality of motors positioned at the extreme outer angles of the frames.

6. In air ships, an air iloatable body having an air shaft extending throughout the length thereof such shaft being enlarged conically at the bow of the ship, two separate` systems for moving the ship, one comprising a propeller positioned in advance of the air shaft and on each side horizontally of the shaft at the stern of the ship,- and independent propellers positioned adjacent the sides ofthe ship adapted to operate throughout 360 degrees in more than one plane and adapted to move the ship up or down sidewise and forward or backward independently of the cruising propellers.

7. In air ships, an air 4iloatable body, a supporting water iloatable cabin, two separate systems for moving the ship, one comprising a propeller positioned at the bow of the ship and on each side horizontally at the stem of the ship for cruising urposes, and another comprising indepen ent propellers positioned adjacent the sides of the ship on the plane ofthe bottom and the top adapted to operate throughout more lthan i 360 degrees in more than one plane independently of each other for moving the ship up or down, sidewise or forward or backward independentl of the cruising prop ellers or holding t e ship motionless in the air. In testimony whereof I aix ALVAH H.

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