CA2137278A1 - Airstrip for the transport of goods and passengers - Google Patents

Abstract

"Airship for the Transportation of Cargo and Passengers"

Abstract Airship for the transportation of cargo and passengers, with lattice structure made up of junction connectors with mounts into or onto which circumferential and longitudinal members are attached and guy wires engaging the junction connectors to guy the circumferential and longitudinal members in or on the mounts, which together with the lattice structure form a three-dimensional framework. The lattice structure is assembled from circumferential and longitudinal members cut to exact length.
with low tolerances and the junction connectors are guyed by means of guy wires cut exactly and at low tolerance to the length required to achieve the necessary pre-tension and fitted with hooks, whereby a suitable structure for varying sizes of the lattice structure can be made up from of uniform construc-tion components. The lattice structure may exhibit a cargo area in the lower section, gas bags suspended from rings inside the lattice structure, a contraction cable configuration running essentially radially and axially inside the envelope of at least one gas bag and a winch drive attached to the contraction cable configuration to adjust the volume of the gas bag. In the cargo area in the lower section of the lattice structure there may be located at least one intrinsically stiff, carriageable cargo platform, attached to the lattice structure so as to be lowerable, forming the floor of and closing off the cargo area, which makes possible rapid loading and discharging, particularly when using containers.

Description

'`` 2~37~'7~

No~ate~h GmbH

"Air~ip o~ th~ Tran~por~ation o~ ~a~go and Passengers"

~he inve~t.lon applies to an airship for the transporta~on of cargo and passengers, engi~eered as a composite ~igid air~h~p ~nd which, th~n~s to it~ design, is ~uitable ~or use as a la~ge~ .
cra*~ to transport ~pecial car~o a~d loads whiah can ~e mo~ed only wi~h di~ficulty or not ~t all with othe~ ~y~es of convey-ance. Moreover, such a~ air~hip is sui~a~le for ~t~e irl gene~al cargo ~nd passenger tra~f~, in ~der to transport such ~argo and/or pa~s~nge~s ~o remote areas without infrast~uctur~.

Airehip~ ~a~ricated a rigid airship.c exhibit a tattice ~trus-tur~ comprisin~ guyed struc~u~al r~ngs, a c?rg~ area in ~e ~-l~wer sectlon of the la~ti~e s~ruGture, a flight de~k ~n th~
a~ea o~ ~he bow with all the ~qu~pment, sys~ems and de~ic~s re~ui~ed ~o~ opera~ion ~nd ~he ~hru8t sy~tem lo ated iA the :~
~icinity o~ the tern.

Rigid a~rships ~itted ~ith a la~tice -~tructure o~ this ty~e we~e originally manu~c~ured from r~v~d aluminum p~ofiles, where~n the circum~eren~ial ~nd lo~gi~ud~al ~mbers ~e~e i~ th~ ~m o~

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-~ 2137278 tr~a~gul~r la~ice tsu~es. The fi~lds ~ormed ~etween the june~ions of th~ circumferenti 1 and longitu~inal ~embe~, and the plane~ o the majo~ s~ruc~ur~l r~ng~, were quyed with wir~s t n order to achieve ~ la~ ce ~uctu~e which wa~ as r~sistan~
~s po~ble to l~teral ~rc~, a~ well, and to ts~ns~er ~he buoyant l~t ~orces o~ the ga~ bag~ ~nd the load exer~d ~y ~he payloa~ as ~nifo~l~ as pos~i~le into the lattice ~ruc~ure and to distribute the same ove~ the entire leng~h. ~he fab~ication o$ such a latti~e s~ructu~e ~g extsemely i~ol~ed and re~ui~es great ~anual skills ~nd experience, ~o tha~ e~onomical man~ac-ture of a large ai~ship $o~ c rgo transp~rtation with a lattice ~ructu~e such as this would ~e i~possible now~days.

An ai~ship s desGribed in German publi~hed une~a~ined pa~ent speaifica~ion 2~ 5g 401; its la~tice s~ruc~u~e, made ~p o~ ~
junc~on co~nectors a~d o~ tub~la~ longitud~nal member~ loca~ed ~-in an e~sentially rhombold pa~tern bet~een structu~al ring-~ at a - :
dis~nce one from ano~hex, is ~ai~ ~o do without ~y wires in ~he thi~d dim2nsion. At tha most, guy wireR could extend be~
twe~n the rhcmb~d el~ment~ of the lat ice s~uctu~e along the .
di~ec~ion of the airship ~xi~. Located at ~th sldes of the làttics ~t~ucture a~e ai~ cham~sr~ ru~i~g along the longitudi~
n~1 dl~e¢tion ~rhi¢h ac~ like a me~rane and wh ch ar~ ~o t~ibu~e ~he loads ac~08~ go area o~ the ai~hip~ ~he ten-~ile force~ ~ne~ted in th~ ext~rn~l e~velope a~ a re~ult o~
~nfla~n~ the a~x ~ha~b~r~ as well as ~h~ ~or~e~ ec~lv~ on ~he out~ide are to b~ tran~err~d d~r~ctlY and indire~tly ~o ~he ~`
junction areas of the l~tticÆ t~uc~uro by ~pe~ially shap~d -~:

7 .~1 7 ~ -connector strips at the points where these strips a2~e attached 'co the la~tic~s s~ructu~e and a~e to pass thenc3 by mçans o straps to the inte~nal envel~pe, whe~e th~y a~ to be a~scrbed by ten-~ion ~ s ar~ fur~her -~trip~ and nlem~ranes ~hich ~unction a~ ~enslon rings ~n~ where these ~lements present re~istanc~ to Qaid ~rceg. ~he co~nec~or strips ~re ~o ac~ a~ s~iffenlng r~ngs for the airship and furthermore a~e to ~e~v~ t~ distribute the loz~ding to the membrane ~nvrelope. Most of ~he for~es to which the ai~ship is exposed a~e ther~fo~e 'co be a~sor~ed by ~he membrane e~velope ins~ead of by the latti~e strUctu~e. The re~ult is that this know~ ai~sh~p cou~d be char~cterized in the best case as sem~ri~id, implying considerable limitations as ~o the ove~all ~ize whi~h can be ach~ved~

~ore~ver, the junction ~onnecto~s are made of individual ele-men~s of complex chape ~hich ara bolted ~nd riveted toge~her, s~
that the assembly of ~he lattl~e structu~e ~r this ~own air-ship pre~on~ the same p~oblems as those ~or the rigid ai~hip mentioned at the ou~et. ~ :

~ift ls gene~ated ~y ~uoya~t g~s, namely hyd~ogen or ~efer~ly non-flamm~ helium, contained in gas bag~. The magni~ude o~ -the li~t ra~ul~s ~om Archimed~s' prlnciple, ~c.cordlng t~ which the buoyant li~t is oqual to th~ weight o~ the ~olume o~ a~
dls~lac~d. ~i~ ha~in~ a ~poci~ac weight ~ 1.~9~ ~ pe~ mB ~t ~ta~dard ~e~pera~e and the corre~pon~in~ 3pe~ific we~gh~ of hel~um being 0.178 kg per m3j ~he ~uoyant lif~ ~ith th~ ~s bags ~illed w~th heliu~ ~s ~out one kilog~a~ per cu~i~ meter o~ ~a~

: , ~. ' 2137~r~8 ~olume. ~he decrea~e in ai~ pres-~ure at g~e~te~ altitude mak~s it nece~-~ary i~ con~entlonal airships ~o val~e off buoyant gas at highe~ altitudes to ~o~pe~sate for the incre~se i~ b~oyancy ~nd t~ avoid o~er-~n~latian and po~sl~le bursting o~ ~h~ ga~
bag~. Te~perature fluctu~tions al50 cause change~ ~ the li~t, ~or which compensation must be mad~. Finally, fuel GOnsumptiOn du~ng a flight ~auses a ~han~e in the li~t, ~o~ which co~pensa-tion can be m~d~ in a number o~ ways. It has already been pso~sed, ~or example, to recover condensate ~rom the d~ive en~ine exhau~ gases. It is also poæsible ~o use as ~he fuel a gas exhibiting approximately the same specifi~ weight as ai~ and which wil~ not c~use any ~hange in li~ when deple~ed. E~pe~
q~ally dif~icult ~o ~op~ with are t~e changes in the loads exer~ed on the airship when di~charging an~ loa~ing, con~idering that load-~ of up to 200 t ~an be transpor~ed with modern-design airships.
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For engineesing ~easons i~ is a~vantageous in airs~ips o~ this --type to distribute th~ ma~s ~S ~ni~ormly as possible alo~g the entir~ keel ~f the hull. Ac~ordi~gly, starting in ~he bow, the ~ligh~ dec~ with all the equipment, 5ys~ems and devices re~ui~ed ;~
for ~peration may ~e located alon~ ~he keel, followed i~me~iate ~-ly ~y the cargo areas. Only the ~hrus~ ~ni~s m~st be located a~
the storn ~r in na~elles late~l to the hull, th~ b~ing dictat~
e~ by en~inee~in-~ consideratlon ! ~ .
'''.',"',.'~,~"'' The object of t~e invention is to i~rove a~ ai~ship of the type mentioned a~ the outse~ to .he e~ea~ th~ using a simple shape .

7 ~ -which nonetheless exhibit l~w dra~ it ¢an be fabricatea with l~w ef~ort from a ~ew, lar~ely ~t~nd~rdized components and tha~
~t ca~ a~om~odate a large payload a~ low net weight and at ~he ame ~ime exh~it a sufi~1ently ~ f st~cture. Further, ~t is to be ~os~ible to adjust ~he ~uoy~n~ lif~ in a ~imple fa~hion to ~d~ust t~ the ~a~omet~ic alt~tu~e, ~he tæmperature, the ~uel cons~mption and the loadin~ s~-tuation and the airshlp i~ to be enginee~ed ~or easy and con~enient loading and discharge ~ter landing ~

sa-~ed on this objectiv~ is proposed by way o~ i~ven~i~n that the aî~s~ip exhibit a lattice stsu~tt~re comp~ised of junction conneators and circuwfe~ential an~ longit-l~dinal mem~e~s att~ched in or on moun~s at the junc~n connecto~s ~nd which, together with ~he guy wi~e~ which keep ~he ai~cumferential ~nd lo~gitudi-nal mem~e~s un~er ten-~ion by en~agin~ the ~unc~ion connecto~s, ~orm a three-dimensi~nal framework.

~esigning the la~tice structure ,~o tha~ it is ~roken dow~ i~to a ~ew, 1a~g~ly ~tandardlzed constr~¢~i~n components suc~ a~ ~he ~unction conne¢~rs, the circumf~rential membe~s, the long~tudi-nal member~ and ~he guy w~re~, which can 4e m ~s-produced at ~avo~able qosts in la~e n~m~e~s, makes it possible to assemble the lat~ice structu~e qulc~ly ana ~imply at any desired ~ize.
~he leng~h~ o~ the clrcumfe~e~tial and th~ longitud~n~l melmberg and ~f t~e ~uy wires can ~e determined in ~dv~nce and advanta-geous~y cu~ exactly to these len~h$ with low tolerance~ so ~ha~

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137;'78 ~he re~uired pr~-tenslon is pr~duced when the guy wi~e~ are h40ked in pl~ce.

The circumfe~e~tial and longitudinal mem~ers can advantageously be ~ecigned as ~losed tri ngular hollow p~ofiles which ase atta~hed in or on ~tching mounts run~ing along ~he longit~d~nal and circum~erential d$r~ct~on o~ the lat~ice structurg, wher~in in each ~ase on~ ba~e o~ the triangular hollow profile ~aGes the outside of ~he lattice s~ructure~
~ ' This a~rang~ment of~e~s the opt~on to provide ~he corners of th~
base of the t~iangular longi~udinal membe~s ~ac~ng the Qutside ~ ~;
~ the lattice ~ructu~e with ~lot~ which w~den towa~d the ,: ,". . ~., in~ide and which align with matching slots at the o~t~ide ~ce -:~
~ the junction ~onnect~s ~nd wAich allow the web~, provided ;~
wit-h bead~ at ~he edges and fo~ming ~h~ airsh~p envelope, to be threaded into these slo~s.

~ his way the we~ for the airship envelope are in~egrated into the struc ural design ~f the lattice ~ ctur~, imp~o~e the se~bility o~ the lattice structure ~nd ~orm a p~rf~ctly 8mooth, :~
low-drag exte~nal surface which with the exception o~ the bow an~ ~te~n sectl~n i~ ~u~ed in ~wo dimensions only, and w~ch thus can ~ ~anufact~r~ and a~-~em~led si~ply and at ~arable cost~. ~hese web6 with ~heir e~ga beads c~n ~ily be ~led ~n -th~ ~lots s~ that the enti~e ~s~ship envelope can be des~gn~d 30 ~s to be lar~ely ~ ht and can be p~ac~ unde~ sli~ht p~
tive p~essure. This pro~des additional suppor~ ~or the ~amen~

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-~` 21~7~7~

sional ~tabili~y of th~ airship }~dy and prevents the air~hi p envelope f~lut~e::ihg ~n the air flow.

This design o~ 'che los~gi~lnal membe2~s and the webs whi~h ~o~m ~he air3hi~ envelope ca~ al~o b~ used ~or other a~rships with a la~t~ce 3t cucturo .

The junctlon ~onnectors can prefe~ably be fabric:ated as a ~3ingle pieae comp~sing mounts for the triangular hollow profiles, arrz~nged in ~ single pl~ ~nd at right ~ngles one to ~he othe~, the inwardly di~ec ed ribs p~otruding beyond the inwardly ~i-rected corners having attachm~nt eyele~s for the guy wire.c, along with ea~s wi~h attAchmen~ eyelets for the guy wire~ lyin~
approxi~ately in the plane of the e~elope and ~oinin~ the areas at ~he outwa~dly ~cing co~ne~s of the base of the mounts ~or the trian~ular hollow pro~ s. These ~u~ction connector3 are enti~ely identical along almoet the enti~e len~th of the latt~c:e struc~u~e and can be manu~c~red in a simple fashion as cast, in~ection moulded or pressed parts, wherein ~he structure and t~e st~eng~h of the mate2~ial used m~s~ be in accordance wi~ the ~oads encou~t~sea~ q~he ~unction connsctor3 can there~ore ~e pref~ably i~abricated fI~om ~ib~r-reinfo~ced plast~, whe~in th~:
re~in~orcing fiber may be one c~ the va~iety of well-knc~wn, high~
~t~eng~h f ~ ber~ . ~n th~s way ~he att~chment ~3yelRts ~o;e the guy wi~e~ c~n be mould~d directly in~o the junc~ion ~:onne¢tc~rs.

The ~ction connec~ors can pre~erably ~e guyed with the circum-~erent~ al members~ and ~he guy wire~ rming polygonal ~tru~:tural . _ . . ... .
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~ings, wh~rein the ~y wi~es i~ ~h~ plane of the structural ~ing are r~uted between junc~ions in such a way that a networ~ of ~nte~secting guy wis~ osmed which ~ovess a~out the ou~er thl~d o ~h~ su~a¢e a~e~ ~escsi~ed by the rin~, leaving the . ~-:
i~ne~ twc-th~ds of ~he ring d~amete~ open~ T~is .rrang~m~n~
sa~es weight, en~res suf~ 2nt ~lex~bili~y and a~oids individ- ;
~al ~Uy wir~s bein~ ov~rloa~ed by laad~ concen~ated at a si~gle point.

The fieldæ ~ormed in ~he lat~ice structure be~-ween ~roups of ~ ;
four junction connectors accepting two ci~cun~erential me~ er~
and two longitudinal mem~ers are stabilized by twa guy wire~
~ning diagonally a¢ro~s the ~ield~

The ent-ire l~ttiCF~ stsuc~lre can thus be ~seml~led ~?y inses~ing ~he circum~erent~al and longitudinal mem~er~ and the junct~ on conneators, wherei~ the retention an~ the exact alignment of the .-.~
parts thus assembl~d are ensured ~y the guy wires which ~an :-pref~ra~ly be of high-strength plastic ~iber cables ~ut b machine and under computer co~rol exactly to the len~h needed ~o~ ~he r~quired pre-tensian and ~itted wi~h hoo~ o~ attaah~
m~n~ at the a~tachmsnt eyelets. U~i~g ~hese ele~en~ ttic~
~tructures ca~ ~e as~embled ~or ex~ernally ~m~la~ Pi~ship o~
~asio~s s~zes.
' ~n the l~we~ seat~on o~ the lattic~ ~tructure may be loc~d a cargo area desi~ned as 2 aelf-3upporti~g lattice st~uc~ure wh~h ~ ~ ~ 7 h 7 ~ -ex~end~ along the g~ea~est pa~t o~ the length of the ai~hip ~nd which co~ribu~e~ add~$oQal ~tabili y to the lattice ~tructur~.

The latti¢~ structure p~e~era~ly comp~ises thr~e ~imple geom~t-ric comp~nents, namely a parabolic bow 3ection extendin~ al~ng about 15% of the o~rall leng~h o~ ~he airship, a centq~ ~ection in the ~orm o~ a ~runcated c~ne, ad~oining ~he forme~ wtth a ~mooth ~ransiti~n and w~dening toward the stern at a~ angle o~
~ro~ 1 to 8, i~s length ~presenting about GO% of the overall le~g~h of the a$rship, a~d ~ stern section in the ~orm o~ a truncated ~one tapering toward the rear ~t an angle o~ ~rom 12 to 28 and cov~ring about 25~ of the overall length, ~oined ~o ths cen~er section by means of a ~low-dis~up~iQn edge, which can be ~abr~cated without difficulty and nonetheles~ r~ult~ in a ~ery favo~ble dra~ coe~icien~. ~xamination~ have shown that u~ing section~ in the shape of truncated ~one~ co~bined at a ~low-di-~ruptio~ ~dge in c~n~unct~on with a pair o~ s~ern prop~l~
lers ~ot~ing in opposing directions, ~ conslderable reduc~on in drag ~an be achieved in comparison w~h earlier Gi~ shaped ~nd later ~e~odynamic,- drop-shaped airship hulls~

~here may be located at ~he at~rn a ~air of coaxial ~tern pro-peller~, rotating ~n oppo5in~ ectiqns and generating the p~imary ~orward t~an~la~i~nal ~h~us~ while t~e~e ~ay ~e locàt~d at the f~on~ and the rear of ~hB c~ntRr s~tion two pa~s o~
lateral, ~lewable propelle~ ~celles whic~ due their piv~t-ability imp~ove cons~d~r~ly the m~ne~erab~ f th~ air~hip.

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Retractable La~ding ge~ struts and tethesin~ cables may ~so be l~cated in the vici~i~y o~ the slew ble propeller nacelles.

~o be.able ~o t~ns~er wi~hout di~iculty the ~orc~s o the propeller nacelle~, the lanaing gear and the tether4ng ca~les ~:
into the la~tic~ stru~ture, reinforced, dou~le structu~al rings ~: :
may be located in the plane o~ ~he propeller nacellq~

J~st a~ i the caæe for the junction connectors and ~he guy wire~, the circumfe~en~ial and longitudin~l member~ ca~ als~ ~e made of ~ibes-reinforced plastic ~nd may possi~ly be punched to ;;:
~educe w~ight.

The web~ forming the ~irship en~lope may also be ~ab~iGa~ed of :~
plastic with reinforcement fibers being e~bedded a~ leas~ in the edge beads. The edge bead~ can be welded to ~he plastic we~

Depend~ng on the spacing botwee~ the st~uctur~l ring~ in the la~ e ~tructure, cou~li~gs can be lo~ate~ ln the area alo~g the longitud~nal mem~ers bet~een the Rtructural rin~s allowin~
~or the ~nsertion of tubular sections fo~in~ auxiliary rin~ ~
which tabilize the long~t~din~l me~bers and the ga~ ~ags.~ ~-S~ce the guy wires, as pse~ou~ly men~ianed, togeth~r with their hooks al~eady ~xhibl~ ~he len~th needed to produce ~he re~uired ~re-tension, th~re must ~e a way provided to attach ~he~ under te~sion in the a~chm~nt eyelets. For this pu~pose the guy wire~ can be attached to ~he hooks by mean~ o~ c~ rs ~` 213727~

and the5e collars can exhibi~ trans~er~e f1~ngec ~or the enqage-ment o~ a tens~oning ~e~ice~ The tensioning de~ice engagi~g the tran3~e~se fl~nges can advanta~eou~l~ be manuf~ctured fro~ a hous~ n~ with paralle~ si~e plates a~d ~ posit~oning loop ~x~end-~ng ~ro~ ~he si~ plat~s and whlch can be inserted in the ey~let at ~h~ j~ncttan conne~tor, ~l~ng wi~h an actuattn~ le~es which can ~e swung towa~d the hou~in~ with guides pos~tioned ~y means o~ st~ds riding i~ guide slot~ in the side pla~es, wherein the 3tuds reach ~ehi~d the trans~er~e ~lan~ at a hoo~ The ten-~ioning device is in~erted thu~ly in an eyelet b~ means o the positi~nin~ 140p ~0 that a hoo~ can ~e moved by operating the aGtuating lever into the vicinity of ~he e~-elet and ~e attached the~e. The tensionin~ device i8 then remo~ed.

The gulde slo~ can be U-sha~ed, ~y way ~f whi~-h the hook would be moved into the vscinity of the eyelet when ~he actuating lever ~s pi~oted and then inserted ~n the eyelet when the actu-ating le~er is pivoted furthe~. To achle~e this, the gu~des at t~ .ctuating Le~er can be mounted $n slots which allow ~ ~ear-ward m~ment o~ the studs ~eaching around th~ transve~e fla~ge of the hooks and o~ the ~des during the insertion ~ov~ment for the hook in the eyelet.

Since ~he des~ree of ~3~0yant lif ~ is equ~l tG the weisbt of the ~-~olume o air aisplace~ by the g~s bag~, the 1~ ft w~ll ch~nge ~her~ ~he volume o~ the gas bagg is ch~nged. ~he ~ol~ne o~ tho ç~as bags can be modif~ed }:~y ret~ctt n~ c:ontractios~ aable con~ig-u~ations located inside ~he ga ~ags.

-` 2~ 3727~ -- ~4 ~he ~essure in ~he gas bag~ do~s increa3e a~ ~ result of the :~
~eduction in volume, ~u~ ~hi3 ha~ a ~uppo~ti~g e~ect on the -~-~ed~c~ion o ~u~yant lift, since the Ypes~fic weigh~ o~ the buoy~t g~ ri~es aæ pr~ssure rise~, which ~esul~s in an addi~
tional ~eductio~ i~ t~

If one assumes for the pu~poees q~ approximation that a~ airship :.. :..
with a load-carr~ing c~p~a~ty of ~00 t will r~quire a volume of 4~0,000 m3 of ~as, this m~ans that total buoy~nt l~t of 400 t i5 present, si~ce one ean ~igure on 1 t of lift for e~e~y tOO m3 o~ ~s content. ~he net wei~h~ of the airship is thus o~ tho samo ~er of magnitude ~s the p~yload. If compen~ation is to be mad~ ~or the en~-re pa~load by reducing th~ volume o~ ~he gas bags, this ~eans that the volume would have to be reduced by not quite the half~ ~his ~ppear~ to be te hnically possible witho~
difficulty, si~e the intern~l pres~-.re in ~he ga~ bag will ri~e to less than twice the ~r~ginal p~e~su~e when reducl~g v~lu~e b~
not quito tha hal~ since th~ gas ~ags are filled on the grou~d at a~o~pheric pressure to achie~e a li~ factor of 1 t pe~ 1000 m3 of ga~ bag volu~e~ ~hiS means ~h~ e~uc~ion o~ the ~olume ~o slishtly mo~e than the h~lf o~ the o~ al v~Lume w~ mply an inc~ease in pressure to les~ than 2 bar, which can ~e achie~ed w~thout dif~culty u~ing the mat~rials avai~ble tod~y which may be ~tilized ~or ~a. ~a~. It is to be noted in pa~-in~ that th~ e~ e ea~yln~ cap~city will ~eve~ ha~e to be compensa~ed suddenly and qui~kly, ~ince one will always ~t~e~pt to load an~ di~charge a 5hip ~imult~ne~usly to achie~e c~ntinu-ous counterbalancing.

. _ _ . . _. ... _ .. __ . ._.. .__. .. ~_ .. _. ._ ...... _ .. ._ 2~7278 ~he ~olu~e ~f the gas ba~ c~n ~e modi~ied ~uickly ~d si~ply by m~ of cont~action ca~ls co~$i~u~tion~ runn~ng i~ide the gaR
ba~ e~enti~lly in radial and axi~l di~ection~ and to which winch d~i~eæ ar~ attached, by~ short ning ths cont~action ~able ~onfiguration ~o reduc~ the gas ba~ volu~ ~nd lengthen$ny ~he con~igurat~cn to i~csease the ~as ~a$ volume. These contract~on c~ble conf iguraticns absorb ~he qreatest part of the p~ess~re forces ~ising due to the reductio~ in volu~e, so that the ga~
bag~ env~lop~s and the c~ble~ in ~he qontract~ on ca~le c:on~igu~a-~ion will not ~e sub~ec~ed tc~ exceC:sive s~rain.

~f i~ is not necessary to c4~pensa~e ccnnpletely ~or the entire lifting capaci~y of the air hip, then not all the ~a-Q bagæ will have to be fit~ed with the buoyant lift compen~tion de~ice ac:cording to the inven~ion; ra~her it w ~11 be æu~icient to equ~ p only a numbes o~ g~s bags with this buoyant li:~t aompen~-t~ on device a~ i~ necessary to achieve the de3ir3d degree o*

compensation.

q~o ~c~hieve un~ ~orm loading o~ the cable:s ~n the ccn~raction c~ble coni~ uratlon, }1~ w~ nch dr~ v4 can be attached tc:~ the c~13~ via ~ev~sin~ ~olle~s.

q!he ga~ ba~ c~r~ 3dv~n~ sly ~e susl?ende~ ~o~ ~e st~otuxal rin~s by means ~ te~h~ing ca~s loc ~ad at ~gular i~te~al3 alc~n~ the~ erence oi~ the ~s b~ envelo~e ~a oxie~ed es:3enti~11y ~ad~ allly to ~he ts~an~ver~e ~en~er plan~ ol~ he qa~
l~gæ; ~ethe~in~ cables attachad to ad~ace:nt rin~s alons a lorlgi-~` 21 3727'~

~udin~l plane of the a~rship can ~e connected with each ~ther pa~rwi~e by means o~ ~ aable in~id~ the ~as bag ~o ~hat the~e ~a~les in-~ide the ~2S bag can be tighten~d r~aially ~y compe~sa~
t~on roll~r~ engaging with each o~ the cable~. ~hese tethering c~bles w~ll en~u~e ~ha~ the buoyant lift o~ces ~enerated by the gas b~gs will be txans~erred uniformly a~ound the entire ci~cum~
~erence o ~he ~truc~ural rings. ~hu~ the gas ~ags wtll not C ~loat in the upper hal~ o~ the s~u~tural rings, but ins~e~d : ;
will be kept ~uspended by these tether~ng ~able~r at uniform di~t~n~e to the structural rings.

~he compensation roller~ for the tethe~in~ cables can be tight- -ened at a ten~ioning ~in~ lo~ated inside the gas bag along the transverse ce~te~ plane o~ ~he gas bag or by means of a ring~
shaped tensioning cable located along the tran-~exse center ~;
plAne o~ the gag bag. Re~ersing rollers aan be located at ~hi~
tensioning ~in~ or ring-shape~ tensioning cable, over whlch th~
~bles 3f the contraction cable con~iguration used to adjust ~he gas bag volume are passed on their way to the winch. ~e~e the wiAch ~an be mounte~ cen~ally in the tensioning ~ o~ ~he -`-~g-shaped ~ens~onin~ cablo so as to re~ist ~ota~ion, wher~n c~ s taken to ens~re ~hat all the c~ble~ ~n the cont~a¢tion cablR configu~ation a~e ~oaded uni~ormly during tak~-up ~n o~do~
to avo-'d 4verloading lnd~vidual ~able~. The win~h drlve ~an ex~ibit multi-speed gearlng so as to be able to effec~ ~inor ch~n~os in ~ift quickly ~nd larger changeg ~n li~t, suc~ a~ ~h~t neces~ ted by dischar~in~ cargo, mc~e ~lowly. ~he ad~tmen~

~ 2137278 o~ ~h~ lift ~y ~hangin~ the volume of the ~as ba~s can be used ~n any rigid a~sship with a lat~lce structu~e.

The lat~ice s~ucture ~omprising guyed st~uct~ral rings and exhi~iting a ~a~go area in the lowex sec~ion of the la~tice structu~e can exhi~ t le~st one i~t2~in8iqzlly s'ciff, ~rriageable cargo platform~ ached at th~ lattice structure so as to be lowerable, ~o~ming the flaor of the cargo area ~nd closing off the c~go areaL

~n its raised position the ca~go plat$onm forms the floor of the c~rgo area a~d çloses o~ the same. The cargo pla~orm s~rves at the sa~e time to stif~en the car~o area and,the lattice ~ructure, whereby the structural strength o~ the airsh~p iB
incr~ased and the weight of the load resti~ on the c~r~o plat-f~ s tran~ferred uniformly i~to the lattice stru~ture.

h~ cargo area may adv~ntage~usly ~e engineer~d as a 8el~-~up-porting lat~ice-~ype struqture wh~ch i8 suspended a-~ an addi-~ional e~ement on the guying for the rings in the ~ at~ice struc-tuse ~r which may be in~eg~ted into the lower sec~ion of the lattice -~truct~e. In b~th ~ases the ~argo area ~erv6~s to stifen ~he lattic~ ~truCture~ parti~ularly wh~n po itiv~-aC~ion l~cking elements a~e adv~ntageous~y used ~etween the ~ndivi~ual cargo plat~orm3 whe~e ~e~eral are present and/or b~twee~ tho c~r~o Rl~tfor~ and the ~loor opening of the cargo area.

.-, -~~,: ?

`- ~1372~

::
The 100r o~ the car~o area can prefe~ably ~e formed ~y ~everal - :~
car~o platfo~ms which c~ be lowered ~ndependent one o~ the other, the wid~h ~orrespondin~ to that of th~ car~o ~rea and the lengt~ corresponding ~o ~he di~tan~e ~etween two ad~acent ~ing~
in the lat~i~e ~tructur~. If each cargo plat~onm is ~hen sus-pe~ded ~rom a Gable at e~ch o~ its fou~ ~rners and the ~ou~
cable~ can be ~aised and lowesed qynchronously by d~ive mean~, the ~es~1~ is tha~ ~he ~ranefer of the load ~om each cargo platform ~o the lattice 4tructure o~ ~he ¢argo area and to ~he lattice st~uature is co~gruent w~th the distances ~etween the ~ng~ in the 1 attic~ ~tructure, whereby uniorm loadin~ o~ the airship is achieved.

T~e ~ir~t and~o~ l~st car~o platfor~s along ~he lon~itudin21 axiR o~ the airship may advantageo~ly be designed as entry and exit ramps, making possible loading and di~chargin~ in ~he lo~git~dinal direction u~in~ mo~or ~ehicle~ or ~o~klift trucki.
~ - ~
~oading and discha~ging can however also be ef~ccted transverse-ly to the ~irship longitudinal axi~, whe~ein ~h~ cargo plat~o~ms may be fitted wi~h ~olles m~ts ~r other facili~ating ~ean~, allowing ~or quick di~charging at one side of ~he ai~sh~p and ~-alm~t simult~Reo~s ba¢kloading at the oth~r slae o~ the alr-ship.
';, ' ~
sy loadi~s ~nd discharging loads of app~oximately equ~l we~ght, ~he air~hip will alway~ be uniformly loa~e~, 50 that the on- :
board compensation system need not be utillzed. --` ~137278 -- lg al-eo po-~3i~1e to p~ovide anchc~in~ element$ botween one cargo platform in e~ah c~se ~nd the airship l~nding ~i~ld, :30 that the loading s~atus o~ the ~is~hip will not chanS~e, even i~
thRre i~ no loa~ on the ca~go pl~tfo~n.

The invention is desc~bed in detail be~ow o~ ~he ba~is of an ~mbodimen~ illu~;~rated in the d~:~wi~g. In ~h~ drawing~
'C
Fig. 1 shows a perspective vie~ of ar~ airqhip ln aacordance with the invention, in ~ligh~, Fi~. 2 show~ ~ sche~natic longi~udinal deta~l section throu~h the lattice structure ~f t}se airsh$p, Fig. 3 shows an enlarged detail of ~ struc:tu~l rin~ in the l~t~¢e stru~:tu~e, ~-F~g. 4 shc~w~ a sche~atic det~il view ol~ two junction areaC ~n the lattice stn~c~ux~ een f~om the iT~side o~ the hu7 1, .
Fig. ~ 'co Fig. 9 show varsous view~ o~ a junc~ion aonnector u~ed ~ n a~aembling th~ lattice st~ucture, F~ g. 10 show~ a par'cial view o~ the interior of the: lattice s~3:uctuse irl pe~specti~e, ~, -"~ 213727~

Fig. 11 shows an ext~:~ior riew ~i~ th~ ai~hip hull in perSpec-tive wi 'ch the pl3~tic w~:b pa~tlally cUt aw~y, F~ g. 12 shows an eJ.e~ation of a ~ensioning device to attac~ a guy wire, Fig. 13 showc a plan vi~w oi~ the tensioni~g~ device ~S per C Fig. 1~, Fig. 14 shows a schematic, partial lo~gitudinal sec~on through the lattice structure o ~he airship, $11us-t~a~ing a gas ~ag and the cont~action c~le co~fi~u t~on u~e~ to modify the volum~ of th~ gas bag, ~g. 15 ~hows the correspon~i~g ~ross section through the la~tce struc~re of the airship, and .

'~ ~ Fig. lG shows an enlarged, perspec~ive view of the d~scha~ging ~nd bac~l~ad~g proc~u~e ~o~ an a~rship. ~ .

~n a~ rship gene~ally. deaigslate~ wit~ re~e~en~e num~ral 1 exhib- ~ ~
..
its ~ l~t~ e ~t~ucture compr~s~ng guyed structural ringæ 2.
the s~ern o ~he alrahip 1 there a~e con~ol ~u~ac~3 3 and a pair o thrlsst propellers 4 ~otat~n~ in opposi'ce direct~ons and :
gene~at~n~ th~ p~i~a~y ~o~wa~d tran~lational th~u ~ ~or the a~rship 1. ~ocat~d la~erally along the hull o~ the ~$r-~hip 1 ars -~lewable propelle~ n~cell~æ 5, whiCh ~n be pivoted in sue~
a way that ~he airchlp can th~r~y be maneuvesed in all d~r~c---` 21~727~

tlons and can hover. ~ocated at the bow ~ ~he ai~Jhip 1 alon~
the ~eel is a flight de~ 6 cont~ ng all ~he equ~pment, sys-~em~ and device-c requi~ed for o~ratlon. ~ocat~d i~mediatoly behin~ the fllght d~c~ 6 ~ a ca~go a~ea 7 whi~h c~nt~nue~ at uni~c~m a~os~ ~c~i~n alon~ ne~rl~ the enti~e length o~ the aenter section 9 of ~he air~hip. The ~loor of th~ c~g~ ~rea 7 is form~d by sepa~a~e, ~el-supporting, low~rable ca~go plat-C ~o~m5 60, descri~ed ~n de~ail in refere~oe ~o Fi~ure 16. Loca~-ed in the ~ cini~y o the slewable prop~ller nacell~s 5 ara retractable l~nding ~ear strut~ and retractable tethering ca-41es, not illustrated.
.;. .
~he airship hull co~prises a para~olic bo~ section 8 extendin~
along about lS~ o the overall leng~h of ~hg air~hip. A~oinin~
thl~ bow se~tion 8 at a smoo~h t~ansition is ~ conical center sec~ 9 whi~h widens toward the ste~n at an an~le o from 1 ~o 8~. Its length rep~esents a~o~t 60~ of the o~erall leng~h o~
the air~hip 1. A s~ern se~tio~ 10 in th~ form of a tru~cated ~one tape~ing t~ward ~he rc~ at an angle of fro~ 12 to 28 ~nd co~ering abo~t 25~ of the oYer~l leng~h i~ ioin~d to t~e ¢e~ts~
8eotion 9 by ~aans of a ~low-disruption ~dg~ 11. This hull sh~pe with t}~e cent~2~ section 9 widen~ng to r~psesen~ a trun~a~-ed eone, t~ low-dis~:up~ion edgR 11 and the ~runca'c~d, ~ape~in~
starn sectic~n give~ re~uc~d drag since the ai~ a~ the ~ounda~y layer ~5 ~ccelerated continuou~ly through to the ~low-dl3~uptio~
edge 11 and t~uæ ~e~ains u~iformly ~is~cribu~ed aro~nd the a~r-~h~p hull. ~hi~ boundarY ~ayer will with ~ertainty ~eak up at the ~low-aisruption ed~e 11. ~Ue to ~e shoulder-like r~duc~ion --; 21~727~ -ln dia~etes at the ~low-di~rup~ion e~ge the ~xternal ~ur~ent w~ll penetrate into the sepa~ats~ or sev~rely decelerated bo~nd-ar~r layer, which wi~l thus ~e ac~elerated a~d become thinsler.
~hus there is no haza~d of b~rblinq along the ~er~ section with the assoalated increase ln dra~

~he cro~s seG~ion th~ough the lattice structure ~hown in Fl~
~ndlcates th~ j~nctian co~nector~ 12 which are connected ~y way of circum~re~tial members 13. Guy ~lres ~4 are s~retched f~om each juncti~n connecto~ 12 to a junction connector 12 some distance awa~, ro~ed in ~uch a w~y that a network cove~ing approxima~ely the ~utor ~hird of the r~ng surface area i~ creat ed by the in~ersecting guy wi~es 14. Integrated along th~ keel :: -o~ ~he s~ructural ring 2 is a car~o area 7 in ~he fo~m o~ a .
self-supporti~g lattice ~tructure, not shown in de~ail~ The struc~ural ~ings 2 made of fhe jun~tion conne~tors 1~ and the ;
ciraum~e~ential members 13 a~e jo~ned with ~ne ancther in paral~
lel by means of longitud~nal members 1~ and result i~ ~ lattice struct~e o$ g~eater or lesser size depending on the number ~nd dia~eter o~ ~he -~t~uctural ring~ and the length o~ th~ longitu-dlnal ~e~ber~ 15, wherein lattice str~ctures of ~aryin~ ~izes :~
~an be assem~led from si~ila~ element~. ~etween the s~ructural rings ~ auxiliary rings may be l~ated which ar~ formed ~y ~ouplings 1~ ~ttached to the longitudinal mem~er~ 1~ and into which tubul~ sections ~7 a~e inserted.

Two guy wi~es 14, preve~ting de~ormation o~ the~e fields 18, are located d~agon~lly ln qach ~ield 18 betwe~ eAch group o~ ~ou~

2~3727~

junction conn~ctor~ 12, acaeptin~ two circumferential mem~e~s 13 ~d two longitudinal members 1S.

The circum~erential ~embe~s 13 and long'tudinal me~ber~ 15 ~abricated ~rom hollow trian~ular ~ubing ~y be punched on al~
sides or only on the sides ~aoing towa~d the lnside o~ the lattice ~tructure in or~er to a¢hle~e a red~t~on in weight.
~he lon~itudinal ~embers 15 are ~itted a~ the corne~s ~f the outw~rdly fa~ base o~ the t~langle with slots ~6 which w~den towa~d thé inside, which are continued in and aligned with correcpo~ding slotc at the outside face of the ~un~tion co~nec-to~s 12. Edge beads 20 o~ plastic webs 19 ~2n be threaded into these slot~ ~ where~y t~e fields 18 are aove~ed and the airship hul~ en~elope is ~orm~d~
.
As can be seen in Fig. 11, these weba lg span with a smooth su~ace the space between the lon~itudinal m~ber~ 15, ~hich exh~bit elevation~ only in the are~ of ~he slotg 26 ~nd only in the longitudinal direotlon, ~o thai- th~ a~r~hip en~elope ~s a whole i~ smooth alGng the t~anslational direc~ion, ~unnin~
without t~an~versely pro~ruaing edges ~hrough to the flow-dis-ruption edge 11.

$he web~ 14 pre~a~ly aomp~s~ high-strength plastic which ~y be ~ibe~ rein~orced, 'co the edges o~ which 'ch~ be~ds 20, i`n which rein~orcement fi~ers may ~lso ~e embed~ed~ can be w~lded.
~he pla~tic webs 19 can also be manufactured in a s~nsl~ piece with inte~ted ed~ beads 20.

...... _ .
, . . . . . . . . . .

213727~

The edge beads ~0 make it pQssibl~ to ach~eve ln a simplç fash-i~n and with~ut ~u~ther sealin~ an ade~ua~e ~e~l o~ the ~lasti~
webs 1~ in the longi~udinal mombe~5 15. If ~ll C~O~Q seam-~ and co~nection points at the iunction connecto~s 12 are se~led in add~tion, the ai~hip hull as a whole c~n be made essentially a~ti~ht and the interior can b~ ~ressurized slightly. This positiv~ pressu~e keeps th~ plas~ic webs 19 ~om fluttering d~r~ng fligh~ and ~a~e~ an add~tional ¢ont~ibution to the st~-~ y of the ai~ship hull.
:: ,.
Just a~ is the case with the çtrcum~erentiAl ~embe~ 13 and the long~d~nal members 15, the junction conne¢tor~ ay be abricated ~om plastic. ~he ju~ctlon connec~ors 12 will pre~
e~a~ly be m~de o~ P~ber-rein$o~ced plasti¢ so that all ~he ~lementg i~ the junction connecto~S will have su~icien~
stren~h. Each ~unction co~ector 12 exh~itQ ~ou~ mounts arranged at angles of 90 one to another to accept the circum-fere~tial mem~e~s 13 and the longitudi~al ~embers 1~. ~hese moun~ 21 comprise ~ub~l~r exten-~ions with a c~o~s sectisn cor~esponding ~o the inside c~ ection o~ the ci~um~Rren~
membe~s 13 and-longitu~inal me~ber 15 w~ich are 3haped as holl~w tri~n~ular ~ubes~ To sti~fen ~he ~ntersectlng mounts ~
ther~ ~e located on the i~terior slde ri~s 22 whi~h also i~er- -æect and which exhi~it atta~hment eye~ 23. ~n addition, in ~h~
plane o~ ~he exterior surface o~ ~he junction connecto~s ~2 ther~ ~re ~rthe~ eass ~4 which also exhibit attach~en~ eye~ Z5.
Fu~her ribs ~8 projecting ~t riqht an~les fr~ the ears ~4 fo~m an additional box-shaped rein~orc~ment.

... _ ., .... , .. . _ ......... ..... ._ . . .................. . .
.. . . , , . . . . ~, . . .

---` 2137~78 - ~5 -~he moun~s ~1 or the circumferentia~ me~bers t3 are ~n~ledslightly in re~orence to the pl~ne of the mounts 21 ~or the longitudinal membe~s 1~ and indeed at an angle co~r~p~nding to that fo~m~d between ~he circum~rentia~ mombe~ 13 and the particula~ r~dius of the st~uc~ural ring ~ wh~ch in fact ~ep~-sen~s a polygon. ~ach junction connecto~ 12 exhibits a ~otal of eight a~tachment ~yelets 23, 2~, 48, of which the attachment eyelets 23 are used to guy adj~cen~ st~uctural rings 2, att~ch-men~ eyelet~ 25 to guy the fields 18 and the eyelets 48 to guy the structu~al rings 2 within thelr plane.

The ~uy wires 14 used for s~ab~lization are pre~erably made of high-strength cynthetic fibers ~ of plastic~ inorced w~th hi~h-~ren~h ~iber-~ and exhibit at each of the end-~ a per~a-nently atta~hed hook 30, attached by means of a collar 31 to the end o~ the guy ~i~e.

<
The ci~c~m~erential member~ 1~, the longitudinal member~ 15 and t~e guy wlres 14 are cut by machine~ un~er c~mputer ~ontrol to the exac~ lsn~ths which ~hey must exhibit at the location at which they are to be installed. When ~aking ue the guy wi~e~
the rsqu~red ~e-ten~l~n will be taken into account to deter~in~
the len~th of the guy wire 14 in~ludi~g the'hook 30. W~e~ the hoo~s 30 ar~ att~hed at th~ appropriate eyelets ~3, 25, 48, the latt~ce strUçture will be y~n the ~e~ul~e~ dimen~ion~l ~ta~
ity and the ci~cum~erential and longitudlnal ~e~bex~ 13, 15 will be ~ecu~ed under tension i~eparably with th~ junctis~ conn~c-~rs 12.

........ ... .''~'~ ~

--~ 213727~ -.

A tensioning de~ice 34 i$ used ~ attach a hook ~0 at the end of a guy wi~e 14 in ~n eyele~ 23, 25, 48. The ten~ionin~ de~icP 34 compr~C a housing 3g with pa~allel ~ia~ pla~e~ 36. Attached to these siae plates 3~ is a ~pecially shape~ positioning loop 37 ~hich cas~ be in~e2~ted in th~ eyelet Z3, 25, 48 wi~hout inte~-~eri~g with ~he h~o~ing of the hook 30.

Att~ched to the housin~ 35 in ~ pivot ~earing 34 is an actua~ing lever 38 which ~an be 3wung toward the ~ou-qing 35 either manual-ly or mechanically. When this is done tensi~ning claw~ 40 ~ ~-attached to the ac~ating le~e~ 3~ are moved in the dire~tion of the eyelet 23, 2$, 48. At the end of the tensioning alaws 40 which reach around ~he side plate~ 3~ ~re 3l0ts 41 in ~hich parallel g~ides 42 ar~ bo~ne 4y means o~ ~tuds 43. ~he ~reo ends of these g~ideB 4~ are guided in U-shaped guide sl~ts 45 in ~he s~de plates 3~ by means ~f studs 44. ~he stud~ 44 re~
through the side plates 36 and p~sitio~ them~elYes behind semi~
~i~cular notches 33 in a t~ansve~e ~lange 32 at the coll~r 31 on t~e guy wi~e ~4.

a~ter inserting the positioning loop 37 in the eyelst 23, ~-5, 48 and posi~ioning the trans~erse ~lan~e 32 on tho studs 44, the a~tuating l~v~r 38 i~ 8wu~ i~ the di~ec~ion ind~ca~d by ~ho ar~ow, ~he hook 30 wlll b~ moved tow~rd th~ ~ysl~t 23, 2~, ~8 while the tension~n~ ~evice 34 ~s ~uppo~t~d in the ~yslet 2~, 25, 48 by means of the pQs~tiO~in~ la~p 37. ~n æ~ doing the ~uy w~e 14 is pre-tensioned to the required degr~e~ 4~ce ~h~ hook 30 ha~ ~eached the pos~tion lndicated by the dotted line ~he .

~'''"'' ''' ' ~, ~ 2137278 stuas 44 backing agains~ the t~an~ers~ ~la~e 32 ~o~ in~o ~he reve~sing ~ec~ion o~ the guide 81~S 45 while the ~lots 41 ~OV8 into the ~s~ion ~hown with dotted line~. Thi~ c u8e3 the hook 30 to e~ocute ~ downwasd ~o~ement behind the eyele~ 23, 2~, 48, while the s~uds 44 to~ether with the parallel guides 4~ are moved ~ndes the ef~eat of ~ tension sp~in~ 46 attached pivotally to ~h~ 5ide plates 36 ~y means of stud~ 4~, ~earwa~d, rele~s~n~
the hook 30. Thus the guy wire t4 i-~ at~ached to the eyelet 23, 25, 48 at ~he req~ired p~e-tens~on leYel.

To be found ~t those seations of the lattice ~t~u~ture sub~ected to particular lo~s, ~ the plane of the slewabl~ p~opelle~
n~lle~ 5l are speci~lly reinforced double st~uctur~l rings ~, whi~h are not shown ~eparately. The control su~ es 3 are engineered in the ~on~entional way using ~o~mers and ~xhibit spars whi~h pass through ~he stern ~ection 10. The structu~al rings located in this section are app~op~iatel~F enginee~ed and ~e~ nforced and serve at the sa~e tin~e as the mounting locat~ ~n for the n~a~ n drive engine lo~ate~l here ~nd acting orl ~he Pai~ ~f fitern propellers ~ota~lng in oppo~ed directior s .

~he ~sem~aly of the ~ hi~ can be ef;eected in su~h a way tha~
~he ~W~CtiOIl eonne¢~or~ t 2, th~ circumf~rential mo~nbe~ 13 and the longitudinal r~embe~e 15 ~e a~seml~led to ~c~rm a ro~ of ~e~auential ~1elds 18 ru~ning along the l~ngth o~ t~e ~ir~hip and : .
the d~agonal suy wires 1~ are ~ached ln eaqh ~eld. ~he unit ~ hen ~otated around th~ lon~itudinal axis o. the airship ~n order to mount the ~e~t ~ow wi~ the ~ields 18 ~unning along the 21372~3 longitudina~ axis of the ~ir~hip, until fina~ the assembly of the flight dea~ ~ and the ~ar~o ~rea 7 conclude~ the ope~a~on.
The quy w~res 14 along the plan~ o the ~truc~uxa} rin~s 2 and the guy wi~es 14 ~unnin~ diason~ a~d ~hree-~imensionally b~tween neighbori~g stru~ural ~n~s 2 are inserte~ afte~ the lat~ic~ s~ucture, including the plastic we~ l9, ha~ been aomple~ely assem~led.
c Xn this ~shion the entire aarship hull a~n be as~mbled from ~imple individu~l eleme~ts at savings in time and ~oat and o~e~s great va~iation po$sibilities in regard to the airships o~ dif~erinq size~ which can be f~brica~ed from identical con-~ts~tion elemen~s.

The ~a~-tight g~s ~ags 29 located between pairs o~ ~d~a~ent stru~ural rings 2 are ~uspe~ded on tethering cables ~9 running approxim~te}y ra~ial to the transverse cen~er plane S0 o~ the gaR bag3 29. In the expa~ded ~epresentation the gas bag 29 exhibit-~ app~ox~mately its ma~imum ~rolllme ~nd thu~ its ~e~est lift o~pacity. ~ ~s apparent th~t due to the l~ge number Q~
angularly oriented te~hering c~bles ~9 the buoyant 1~ t of each ga3 be~g 2g is trans~e~red uni~ormly in~o ad~oining ~tructu~al rin~ 2 ~o tha~ ~ no point will the gas b~g en~el~pe be ~n contact with ~he structur~1 r~ng3 7 or th~ external enYelope o~
the airshlp a~d so that no~ only the upper hali~ o~ the a~.rsh~p will h~ve to a~sorb the li:Et ~orc:es, bu~ ~hat tll~ low~ ha~l~ of the lat~ice ~txuc~lre ~n particular will also co~t~ t~ ~o dis~s~ but~ ng the lift ~or~es . Front the ~astening po~ ~t:3 fo~ th~

2137~78 tethesing ~les 49 at th~ g~s bag envelope, these tetherin~
ca~les 4~ are ~oined one with another pairwi~e insiae the ~as bag en~lope in a radi~l longi~dlnal plan~ ~y mea~ of a ca~le ~2 which c~n be tighte~ed r~dially. This ~adial tightening ~
ef~ected ~n t~e-em~odiment s~own by ~eans o~ a tensionin~ ring 54 located along th~ t~ nsverse center plane 50 of the ~as b~g 2g. ~hi~ may be a ~igid tensioning ring 54.
c It is also pos~ible t~ tighten t~e ca~les ~2 by ~eans o~ a ring-shaped tensi~ning ca~le l~cated in t~e transve~se center plane 50 o~ the g~s bag 29, in which it will be s~~icient to shorten the l~ngth by ~eans o~ a turnbuckle in order to e~ec~ radial pre-lo~ in the cables 52.

~ocated at regular ~ntervals along the tensioning ri~g ~4 are reversin~ roller!~ 55 o~e~ which th~ axi~lly oriented cables 57 are reversed an~ route~ as radially or~ented cables S~ to a winch drive 58 mounted cent~all~ ~n the tension~ng ring S4 cO as to be re~istant ~o ~o~at~on. Addi~io~l radially o~iented cables 56 are ~o~te~ d~rec~ly Erom the wlnch driv~ ~ to the axea of the gas bag enve~opes along the transverse ~ent~ pl~ne 50 and ~ached there. If ~he radial c~les 56 and the ax~al c~ 57 a~e shortened by ~eans of the winch d~ive S8, the g~
bag ~g will contsact ~n ~ w2y indicated b~ the br~ken line. ~he volume of ~he ga~ ba~ 29 i-~ r~duced and i~s buoyant li~t i~
reduced. The p~es~ur~ in the g28 bag 29 doe~ in~e~ in~rease .
when th~ volume ~ reduced, ~ut the ~tr~in~ e~er~e~ the~eby on the envelope o~ the ga~ b~ a~e not so great that the~ ~or~

., . , . ~ , .. , , . . , . . ,,, ." .

`x "~

21~.~27g - 30 - :

could no~ be absorbed ~y su-~table materi~ls ma~e o~ hi~h~
stren~th ~ibers. ~he ca~les in the con~raction cable ¢~n~i~ura-t~n S6, $7 m y be sele~t~d 1~ rega~d to nu~bex and strength in such ~ way th~t the ~orces ~ising will certainly ~e ab~or~ed.

All th~ gas ~ags 2~ o~ the alr~hi~ 1 or o~ly a ¢ertaln number the~eof may itted wi~h t~e li~ adjustment features in ~ccor-da~c~ with the inve~tlon and with ~he winch drives 58 re~ui~ed ~or this p~rpose. The drive can comprise, by way o~ example, an el~c~ric moto~ which can be controlled ~rom the ~light de~k 6 fo~ ~he purpo~e o~ enlarging or reduaing the volume of th~ gas ~ag. An automati~ con~rol deviçe will preferably be utili~ed for thiC control fu~ctio~ which will automaticallY adj~st the vol~e of tho gas ba~s 29 in dependency on ~e loading sit~a- :
tion, flight st~us and atmosphe~c conditions. ~he ~earin~ of th~ winch ~rive 58 can be o~ a mu~ti-speed design to ~ah the te~si e for~e to the volume and thus the internal pressure o~ , the ~a~ ~ag~ 2g. -The li~t con~rol which is the sub~ect of the invcntion ob~iat29 the need ~o carry ballast, to valv~ off buoyant gas under q~r-ta~n ~ight condit~ons, or to provide compl~x conden~at~ recov-err plants, since all the ch~n~es ~ which may appear in ~ ht or on th~ ~ou~d can be aompen~a~ed or by adiusting the ga-~ bag volume, In ref~ence to Fig. 16 it is shown that the w~dth o~ the ~a~go plat~orms 60 ~o~responds to the width o~ ~ho cdrgo area 1 while ..... . .

l ~

l ~

the len~th corresponds to the distance 4etwe~n adjacent struc-tu~al rings ~ in the l~ e ætrunture.

0~ the car~o a~ea 7 enginee~ea a~ a self-suppor~ing grid-type structure only those long~tudinal me~ers 61 are illust~ed to wh~ch the cargo platfon~ 50 c n be locked posl~i~ely by mean~
o loc~lng elemen~s 64, ~5 so that the cargo plat~onm~ 60 m~ke a ¢~nsiderable ~ntr~ution to the stability and the ~tiX~nesg o~
the carg~ area 7 as well as o~ ~he airship I as a whole.

The car~o pla~orms 60 can also be joi~ed one with another with ~uitable loc~n~ devi~es in a ~a~hion not illu~t~ted, ~hi~h add~tionally i~c~eases st~ffness in ~he longi~udinal direction.
~hen the ~ar~o plat~orm3 60 are low~red, the locking elements ~4 could ser~e to engage ~ith ancho~ng elements, not illustsated, on the landing field for the airship 1 so t~at ~he hover~ng a~titude ~ ~he airship t would not be affe~ted ~y d~scharging and backloa~ing the cargo platf~ms G0 ! - ' '~

Attached ~o ~he ~ur corne~s o~ eaah ~ar~o platform S0 are;~
cable~ 14 attached to driv~ mean~ not illu~trated here. In this W~y each cargo pl~tform 60 can be raised and lowe~ed indepe~de~t ~ -o~ other eargo ~lat~orm~ ~0, --~ all ~argo platforms 50 a~e lo~e~ed at the sam~ t~m~, it ~s pos-~ible for motor vehicles or ~orkli~t truck~ to dri~e acro-~-C
them in ~he longitudina1 dlrectiQn~ Guide r~ils ~2 ~e lo~a~ed ., .
on the Gargo pl~t~mS ~0 ~or thi3 purpo~e.

.,.,: ~,:

3727~

~r~ acili~at2 a vehicle driv~ng onto and of ~ of ~} ~ load su~-ie~ce, the ~ rst and/or las~ of ~e ca:r~o plat~orms ~0 alon~ the longi'c~dinal di~ection could~ be ~lop~d in a ~a~hion not illus~
tr~ted t4 ~e~re as e~nJc~f a~d exit l:'amp5.

Since the 5ide~ of the c~go plati~orms 60 are coTnplet~ly unoh-str~Gted, they can be loaded and discharge~ late~ally, as shown. -:
Sta~dard con~ain.e~s 67 are prefera~ly utilized which can be e~sily mo~red by means o~ roll mats ~1 in~egrated into the carS~o plat~os~ms 60 and wh$oh a~e then la~;hed down gec~2~el~ on ~he cargo plat~orms 60 in p~eparation ~or tranSportatiOn in the ai:rshiR 1.

When handlin~ sm~ reak-bulk ~oods ~ences cc)uld ~e inserted in the ~arso platfo~n~ 60 and loading ~ould be by means of con~reyo~ belts . When handling heavy piece good and con~-a~ ners in part~ cular, handling would l~e with ~or~c~iPt tru~k~ c~r other loading ~quipment.

I:~uring simult~neous loadis~ a~ ~he one~ ~ide o~ the airship and co~e~p~ndi~ d$scharging on the othe~ slde af the ~ix~h~ with containers 67 exhibi~ng approximately equal w2ightg, i i~ ~o~
~e¢essa~y t~ ie ~ho cargo plat~oxm4 60 to the land~ng ~eld;
~either will the on-~oard load compensa~ion 3y8tem ~0 UtiliZea~ -I~ there ls no o~ only little ~etuxn ~reight on hand ~ heai~ship, containers lo~de~ with ballast ~ay be kept r~dy ~or this pu~pose and loaded suic~ly so that in such a ca~e, to~, . - . .

'"' ~Q ' ' , .... .

~ 213 7 2 7 ~

- 3~

utilizinq the on-~oard load comp~n~ation system is o~vi~ed, ~hereby ene~gy ~avings ~hich ~e no~ inconB~ de~able will be ~esl~2~a., h the ir~hip which is the ~bject a~ th~Zs in~en~ n a wide ~ariety o~ cargo can- be t2~an~p~r~ed, not ~nly such cargo a~ i~
suitable for tranæportation by ro~d, by r~ 1 and l:~y ai~plane, bu~ al-~o p~rti~ularly loa~g and bulky ~7ood~. A~ter removing ~he cargo E;~la~orm:~, such c~go can ~ u~per~ded dlrec:tly ~m the longitudi~al member~ 61 o~ th~ c:argo ar~a 7.

-' '' "''' ' ~"~

~, .''''' '`""'';
'~";~'.."~

' ~ "'~'' `" ~

Claims (34)

Claims

1. Airship for the transportation of cargo and passengers with - a lattice structure - made up from junction connectors (12), - circumferential and longitudinal members (13, 15) inserted in or on mounts (21) at the junction connec-tors (12) and - guy wires (14) which engage with the junction connec-tors, keeping the circumferential and longitudinal members under tension at the junction connectors and which - together with the lattice structure form a three-dimensional framework.

2. Airship according to Claim 1, characterized by the circum-ferential and longitudinal members (13, 15) being fabricated as closed triangular hollow profiles and inserted in or on matching mounts (21) oriented along the longitudinal and circumferential directions along the lattice structure.

3. Airship according to Claim 2, characterized by one base (27) of each of the triangular hollow profiles (13, 15) facing toward the outside of the lattice structure.

4. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 3, charac-terized by the junction connectors (12) being fabricated as a single piece from mounts (21) positioned in a single plane and at angles of 90° one to the other to accept the triangu-lar hollow profiles (13, 15) and by the ribs (22) extending inward beyond the corners being fitted with attachment eyelets (23) for the guy wires (14) as well as by the ears (24) lying approximately in the plane of the envelope and joining the areas at the corners of the outward facing base (27) of the mounts (21) for the circumferential and longitu-dinal members (13, 15) being provided with attachment eye-lets (25) for the guy wires (14).

5. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 4, charac-terized by the junction connectors (12) together with the circumferential members (13) and the guy wires (14) forming guyed polygonal structural rings (2), the pattern of the guying from one junction to another along the plane of the structural ring being such that a network made up of inter-secting guy wires (14) is formed, covering about the outer third of the surface area of the ring.

6. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 5, charac-terized by two guy wires (14) being located diagonally in each field (18) between each group of four junction connec-tors (12) accepting two circumferential members (13) and two longitudinal members (15).

7. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 6, charac-terized by a cargo area (7) designed as a self-supporting lattice structure and located in the lower section of the lattice structure.

8. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 7, charac-terized by a lattice structure comprising a parabolic bow section (8) extending along about 15% of the overall length, a truncated conical center section (9) joined thereto with a smooth transition and widening toward the stern at an angle of from 1° to 8°, its length representing about 60% of the overall length, a stern section (10) joined thereto by means of a flow-disruption edge (11) and exhibiting the shape of a truncated cone tapering toward the rear at an angle of from 12° to 28° and covering about 25% of the overall length, a pair of coaxial stern propellers (4) rotating in opposite directions and generating the primary forward translational thrust, two pair of slewable propeller nacelles (5) located at the front and the rear of the center section (9), and reinforced, double structural rings (2) in the plane of the propeller nacelles (5).

9. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 8, charac-terized by the junction connectors (12), the circumferential and longitudinal members (13, 15) and the guy wires (14) being made of fiber-reinforced plastic.

10. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 9, charac-terized by couplings (16) for the insertion of tubular sections (17) forming auxiliary rings located at the longi-tudinal members (15) in the area between the structural rings (2).

11. Airship according to one or more of Claims 1 to 10, charac-terized by the lattice structure being assembled from cir-cumferential and longitudinal members (13, 15) cut exactly to length with low tolerances and the junction connectors (12) being guyed by means of guy wires (14) cut exactly and with low tolerances to the length required to achieve the necessary tension and fitted with hooks (30).

12. Airship according to Claim 11, characterized by the guy wires (14) being attached to the hooks (30) by means of collars (31) and the collars exhibiting transverse flanges (32) for the engagement of a tensioning device (34).

13. Airship hull according to Claim 12, characterized by the tensioning device (34) comprising a housing (35) with paral-lel side plates (36) and a positioning loop (37) extending beyond the side plates and insertable in the attachment eyelets (23, 25) at the junction connectors (12) along with a pivoted actuating lever (38) which can be swung toward the housing (35), featuring parallel guides (42) held in guide slots (45) in the side plates by means of studs (44), where-in the studs reach behind the transverse flange (32) on a hook (30).

14. Airship according to Claim 13, characterized by the guide slots (45) having a U-shape and the parallel guides (42) at the transverse flange (32) riding in slots (41).

15. Airship with a lattice structure comprised of circumferen-tial and longitudinal members forming a three-dimensional framework, in particular according to one or more of Claims 1 to 14, characterized by the corners of the outwardly facing base (27) of the longitudinal member (15) in the form of a closed triangular profile being fitted with a longitu-dinal slot (26) widening toward the inside and aligning with matching slots (26) on the outward faces (27) or the junc-tion connectors (12) and by the plastic webs (19) forming the envelope of the airship and fitted with edge beads (20) being pulled into the slots (26).

16. Airship according to Claim 15, characterized by the webs (19) forming the airship envelope being made of plastic with reinforcement fibers embedded at least in the edge beads (20).

17. Airship according to Claim 15 or 16, characterized by the edge bead (20) being welded to the plastic webs (19).

18. Airship according to Claim 15, 16 or 17, characterized by the plastic webs (19) being sealed one to another and in the slots (26) at the longitudinal members (15) and at the junction connectors (12) and by the airship envelope being under slight positive pressure.

19. Airship with a lattice structure comprised of junction connectors and circumferential and longitudinal members forming a three-dimensional framework and featuring a cargo area in the lower section of the lattice structure, in particular according to one or more of Claims 1 to 18, characterized by the gas bags (29) being suspended from the structural rings within the lattice structure by means of tethering cables (49) spaced regularly around the circumfer-ence of the gas bag envelope and running essentially radial-ly to the transverse center plane (50), by a contraction cable configuration (56, 57, 59) for the gas bag envelope, running essentially radially and axially in at least one gas bag (29) and nx a winch drive (58) attached to the contraction cable configuration to adjust the volume of the gas bag.

20. Airship according to Claim 19, characterized by the winch drive (58) being attached to the cables (56, 57, 59) of the contraction cable configuration by means of reversing roll-ers (55).

21. Airship according to Claim 20, characterized by the tether-ing cables (49) fastened to adjacent circumferential rings (2) along a longitudinal plane (51) being connected pairwise one with another inside the gas bags (29) by means of a cable (52) and by these cables (52) inside the gas bags (29) being placed under tension radially.

22. Airship according to Claim 21, characterized by the cables (52) being tightened by means of a tensioning ring located inside the gas bags (29) in the transverse center plane (50) of the gas bag (29).

23. Airship according to Claim 21, characterized by the cables (20) being tightened by means of a ring-shaped tensioning cable located at the transverse center plane (50) of the gas bag (29).

24. Airship according to Claim 22 or 23, characterized by re-versing rollers (55) being located on the tensioning ring (54) or the ring-shaped tensioning cable and over which are passed to the winch drive (58) the cables (56, 57, 59) in the contraction cable configuration used to adjust gas bag volume.

25. Airship according to Claim 24, characterized by the winch drive (58) being mounted centrally and so as to resist rotation at the tensioning ring (54) or the ring-shaped tensioning cable.

26. Airship with a lattice structure comprised of guyed rings and a cargo area in the lower section of the lattice struc-ture, in particular according to one or more of Claims 1 to 25, characterized by at least one intrinsically stiff, carriageable cargo platform (60), attached to the lattice structure so as to be lowerable, and forming the floor of and closing off the cargo area (7).

27. Airship according to Claim 26, characterized by the cargo area (7) being engineered as a self-supporting lattice structure.

28. Airship according to Claim 27, characterized by the cargo area (7) being suspended from the guying cables of the structural rings (2).

29. Airship according to Claim 27, characterized by the cargo area (7) being integrated into the lower section of the lattice structure.

30. Airship according to one or more of Claims 26 to 29, charac-terized by the floor of the cargo area (7) being formed by multiple cargo platforms (60) which can be lowered indepen-dently one of the other, the width corresponding to that of the cargo area (7), the length corresponding to the distance between two adjacent rings (2) in the lattice structure.

31. Airship according to one or more of Claims 26 to 30, charac-terized by each cargo platform (60) being suspended at its four corners with one cable (66) each, the four cables being raisable and lowerable synchronously by drive means.

32. Airship according to one or more of Claims 26 to 31, charac-terized by positive-engagement locking elements (64, 65) between the cargo platforms (60) and/or between the cargo platforms and the floor opening in the cargo area (7).

33. Airship according to one or more of Claims 30 to 32, charac-terized by the first and/or last cargo platforms (60) along the longitudinal direction of the airframe being sloped for use as entry and exit ramps.

34. Airship according to one or more of Claims 26 to 33, charac-terized by anchoring elements between one cargo platform (60) each and the landing field for the airship (1).