US1946351A - Wind indicating aeronautical searchlight beacon - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 6, 1934. BOYLE 1,946,351

WIND INDICATING AERONAUTICAL SEARCHLIGHT BEACON Filed July 18, 1929 Patented Feb. 6, 1934 UNITED STTES rsr .0 rice WIND INDICATING AERONAUTICAL SEARCHLIGHT BEACON 5 Claims.

This invention relates to aeronautical searchlight beacons of that general type spaced from ten to twenty-five miles apart to designate night airways, and has for an object to provide a beacon of this type which will indicate to a night pilot, as soon as he arrives within range of the beacon, the exact direction toward which the wind is blowing at the beacon so that he may have this necessary information available all along his route in the event of a forced landing.

In the absence of confusing lights, aeronautical search-light beacons are visible on a clear night at distances of from seventeen to twenty-five miles or more, according to the altitude of the airplane and the angle of elevation of the beam, 2 elevation of the beam above the horizontal being generally used to give greatest distance or visibility to a low cruising pilot. The white search-light beam of the beacon may be seen to sweep obliquely upward around the horizon during about a nine second period alternating with a flash of about one second duration visible as the lens faces directly toward the airplane.

The present invention contemplated, modifying by coloring or otherwise this search-light beam periodically as it sweeps around the horizon, so that a modified ray or flash will appear at about ten second intervals. This modified ray or flash is preferably projected in the direction toward which the wind is blowing at the beacon and furnishes, at a great distance from the beacon, a visible indication of wind direction. The pilot may fly in the direction of the flash to effect a landing into the wind in the event of a forced landing between beacons, and dispensewith the usual drifting flare to determine his wind direction.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which- Figure l is a side elevation of the device;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary front elevation of the color screen.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, a revolving aeronautical starch-light beacon is shown of the usual type installed on high buildings, water towers, or spe cial' steel towers to guide pilots on night airways. The beacon comprises a drum casing which surrounds a reflector and a source of light comprising a running lamp and a spare lamp which is automatically lighted upon failure of the running lamp in the usual manner. The drum casing is provided with a lens 2 which is equipped with a set of louver for eliminating stray light.

The drum casing is revolved by a yoke 3 and is clamped in tilted or elevated position by set screws 4 to direct the light beam, indicated at 5, obliquely upward at any desired angle, 2 above the horizontal usually being suflicient to clear surrounding trees and buildings and give greatest distance of visibility to the night pilot. A cylindrical base 6 incloses slip rings and brush rigging which carry the projecting current, as well as an electric motor and gearing which rotates the yoke 3 in its bearing '7 on a vertical axis of rotation which passes through the drum casing l. The drum usually revolves in an azimuth of 360 at about six revolutions per minute.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention I employ a standard 3 which is equipped at the bottom with a flange base 9, which may be bolted or otherwise securely fastened near the base of the beacon. A horizontal arm 10 extends from the top of the standard towards the beacon and is spaced considerably above the beacon so as not to interfere with the proper operation of the latter. The armterminates in a bearing 11 in which is journaled a vertical shaft 12, which is bolted at the upper end, as shown at 13, or otherwise fixed to, and serves as a pivot for a wind vane 14, which swings around freely above the arm 10 under impulse of the wind. Care must be taken to locate the bearing 11 in alinement with the self-contained vertical axis of rotation of the drum casing heretofore mentioned when mounting the standard.

The pivot shaft 12 carries at its lower end a horizontal rod 15 which extends parallel with and rearwardly along the vane 14 below the arm 10. The rod 15 is adjustably secured to the pivot shaft 12 by means of a horizontal eye 16 on the shaft and a set screw 17, and moves as a unit with the shaft.

Suspended from the free end of the rod is a color screen. 18, preferably formed of transparent tinted material, such as for instance, green or other colored glass. The screen is mounted in a yoke 19 and may be clamped in various tilted positions parallel with the lens 2 of the beacon by set screws 20. The stem 21 of the yoke is adjustable vertically on the rod 15 to permit of the screen being placed to completely mask the lenses 2 by means of a vertical eye 22 on the rod and a set screw 23. The pivot shaft 12 is in alinement with the vertical axis of rotation of the beacon, so that when the wind vane swings, the color screen is moved in a curved path concentric with the axis of rotation of the beacon and is properly spaced laterally from the beacon to intercept and color the search-light beam each time the revolving beacon registers with the screen.

The color screen is disposed in a plane intersecting the plane of the wind vane at a right angle, that is, it is disposed with its axis of light projection in the plane of the wind vane so that the screen is maintained by the vane transversely across the wind. The screen is also spaced rearwardly from the vertical pivot shaft of the vane and disposed near the tail of the wind vane so that it will be maintained by the vane in leeward of the beacon. Thus the screen is maintained by the vane at all times transversely across the wind in leeward of the beacon so that it intercepts and colors the search-light beam in the direction toward which the wind blows at the beacon. Also, in this leeward position of the screen, the beacon serves as a wind break for the screen, spaced at a few inches distant from the screen at all times, which feature is most important where high prevailing winds would tend to shear off the pivot of the screen due to vibration. Due to the beacon being shown diagrammatically in the drawing, this wind break feature may not be at once apparent, but it will be here pointed out that in practice airway beacons of 24 diameter lens have a drum or casing of about 22 in thickness from the lens to the back of the drum, thus the search-light drum is just about the same in thickness as in length and in breadth. Hence a 24" screen for example, will be shielded from wind regardless of whether the lens, the side, or the back of the beacon drum faces the screen.

If desired, the screen may be disposed to windward of the beacon by loosening the set screw 17, inserting the rod 15 in the eye 16 from the opposite direction to that shown in the drawing, then tightening the set screw. In this arrangement the screen will counter-balance the vane and this will be advantageous in locations where extreme delicacy of construction is necessary to permit the vane to respond to light breezes.

The color screen may be formed of any desired material and may be given any desired color or combination of colors, or may be constructed in any manner to modify the beam, so long as there is imparted to the beacon search-light beam a noticeably different characteristic at some point in its sweep to indicate wind direction at the beacon.

In operation the wind vane 14 maintains the color screen 18 at all times transversely across the wind in leeward of the beacon. Consequently the screen intercepts and colors the searchlight beam, in the direction toward which the wind blows, once during each revolution of the beacon. The resultant colored light ray or flash projected from the beacon obliquely upward will be visible once every ten seconds, and endure for about one second, according to the timing of the beacon. By noting the compass direction of the colored wind indicating rays or flashes as he passes over successive beacons, the pilot will have his wind direction information available all along his route in the event of a forced landing.

An effect of the color screen, which is most noticeable when flying over the beacon, is the dimming of the light beam in its down-wind position. This is due to the absorption of light at the instant that the beam is passing through the screen. The Wind direction indication thus afforded is available at close range, whereas coloring of the flash is the best long range indication.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is- 1. As an article of manufacture, a wind operated color screen embodying a standard, a wind vane, a pivot shaft for the wind vane carried by the standard, a member extending from the pivot shaft and movable as a unit with the shaft and the vane, a color screen carried by said member and movable by the vane in a curved 1 path concentric with the pivot shaft, means for clamping the color screen in tilted position with respect to said shaft, and means for securing the color screen in adjusted positions near to or remote from said shaft.

2. In a wind direction indicating beacon, the combination with a revoluble search light having a light source, a drum casing surrounding the light source and projecting a beam away from the axis of rotation of the search light, and a rotatable yoke supporting the drum casing on a vertical axis of rotation passing through the drum casing, of a standard disposed laterally of the axis of rotation of the search light, a bearing rigidly supported by the standard in superposed position relative to the drum casing and in vertical alinement with said axis of rotation, a wind vane, a pivot shaft for the vane journaled in the bearing, and a screen operatively connected with the shaft and maintained by the vane laterally of the drum casing to intercept the projected beam at a point in its sweep.

3. In a wind direction indicating beacon, the combination with a revoluble search light having a light source, a drum casing surrounding the light source and projecting a beam away from the axis of rotation of the search light, and a rotatable yoke supporting the drum casing on a vertical axis of rotation passing through the drum casing, of a standard disposed laterally of the axis of rotation of the searth light, a supporting bearing on the standard superposed relative to the drum casing and in vertical alinement with said axis of rotation, a wind vane, a pivot shaft for the vane journaled in the bearing and connected to the vane at a point near one end thereof so that major and minor areas of the vane are disposed on opposite sides of the pivot shaft, a transverse rod carried by the shaft, a screen disposed laterally of the drum casing, and means operatively connecting the screen to the rod on the same side of the pivot shaft as the major area of the vane so that the screen is maintained by the vane to leeward of the drum casing to intercept the projected beam at a down wind point in its sweep.

4. In a wind direction indicating beacon, the combination with a revoluble search light having a light source, a drum casing surrounding the light source and projecting a beam away from the axis of rotation of the search light and a rotatable yoke supporting the drum casing on a vertical axis of rotation passing through the drum casing, of a standard disposed laterally of the drum casing, a supporting bearing on the standard superposed relative to the drum casing and in vertical alinement with said axis of rotation, a screen, a wind vane, means operatively connecting the screen and vane together to move as a unit, said means rotatably supporting the screen on said bearing to move in a path around the drum casing and intercept the projected beam at a point in its sweep and. including means for adjusting the screen laterally to space the screen a minimum distance from the drum casing.

5. In a wind direction indicating beacon, the combination with a revoluble search light having a light source, a drum casing surrounding the light source and projecting a beam away from the axis of rotation of the search light, a rotatable yoke supporting the drum casing upon a vertical axis of rotation passing through the drum casing, and a pivotal connection between the drum casing and the yoke upon which the drum casing may be tilted on said yoke to project the beam from the light source at an angle above the horizontal, of as standard disposed laterally of the drum casing, a supporting bearing on the standard superposed relative to the drum casing and in vertical alinement with said axis of rotation, a wind vane, a screen, means operatively connecting the screen and vane together to move as a unit, said means rotatably supporting the screen on said bearing to be moved by the vane in a circular path around the drum casing to intercept the projected beam at a point in its sweep and including operative connections adapted to hold the screen tilted to correspond to the angle of tilt of the drum casing and means for adjusting the screen vertically to raise the screen into the tilted beam.

FRANCIS BOYLE.

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