DE2953229A1 - THRUSTERS FOR AIRSHIP CONTROL - Google Patents

Description

PATENT ADVOCATE DR. HERMANN O. TH. DIEHL · DI PLOMPH YSI KER D-8000 MONKS 19 - ELOG GENE TRASSE 17 · TELEPHONE = O 8 9/17 70 61

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19.6.198ο · D / bJ

Applicant:, "

Airships International Inc.,

Tustin / USA

Thrust units for controlling airships

Reference to related applications

The registration is related to the following listed, corresponding registrations that relate to different aspects of airships provided with metal cladding are directed:

- US Serial No. 932,223 filed August 9, 1978 with the Title "Gradation of Skin Thickness of Metal-Clad Airship Hulls";

- US Serial No. 932,131, filed Aug. 9, 1978, entitled "Apparatus for Attaching Fabric to Walls";

US Serial No. 932,222 filed August 9, 1978 entitled "Gas Cells for Metal-Clad Airships";

- US Serial No. 932,286 filed Aug. 9, 1978, entitled "Method of Assembly of Airship Hull"; and

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Postal checking account Munich No. 948 54-807 Reuechelbank Munich (BLZ 700 30300) Account No. 423.11343 Telex 5215145 Zeus Telegram Adresse / Cable Adress: Zeuepatent

- US Serial No. 932,221 filed Aug. 9, 1978 entitled "Metal-Clad Airship Hull Construction".

The subject matter and disclosure of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.

Field of invention

The present invention is concerned with airships, in particular with the use of thrust units to control the movement of such airships.

Background of the invention

Historically, large airships have been characterized by a complete lack of control at low ones Velocities and at a standstill before the airship is attached to an anchor mast. Conventional fins and moving surfaces did not provide sufficient control even at increased speeds because of the controls were too slow to respond.

The basic idea of airships through the motive power of Controlling nozzles or thrust units was first introduced by Forlanini, a designer of semi-rigid airships in the first area of the 2o. Suggested century. Forlanini built a small airship that could be steered in all directions by a central fan, from the air to the stern and buy of the airship and released there through valves at appropriate times in the form of air currents. The control these measures proved to be sufficiently effective to get the airship into the hangar without the aid of a

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Maneuver ground crew. However, the use of a central fan as the source of air currents is for one use in airships / especially in large airships awkward and difficult.

Conventional control arrangements and mechanisms also prove to be unsatisfactory in the effective operation of airships, especially for airships with a metal casing. Such conventional control surfaces have a negative Influence on the performance of the airship and in particular are not able to provide a fully reliable and effective control of the ship at all speeds, from zero speed to maximum speed, to ensure. They are likewise essentially completely ineffective in controlling the airship in turbulent weather, where they lack reliability and sensitive responsiveness.

Summary of the invention

The present invention creates possibilities for the use of thrust units for flight control of airships, in particular Airships with a rigid metal cladding. The integration of thrust units in the construction of such Airships serve two special purposes. The first is to create a control system that is effective and effective is as well as completely replaced the fins and movable surfaces of conventional airships, the inadequacy the control and the weight and flow resistance of such control surfaces can be avoided. Thrust units of a special construction are also provided to increase the static buoyancy of an airship when this is always needed.

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Such lifting-thrust units are able to provide a long-lasting Operate, and are driven either directly by a gas turbine engine or by electric motors, which are supplied with electricity from a central energy supply system. In the presently preferred embodiment, the control and lift-thrust units are from one counter-rotating electric asynchronous motor driven.

With regard to an embodiment, the invention is an airship created that includes a hull with bow and stern. The first thrust devices are arranged in the bow of the hull, which serve to influence the attitude of the forward end of the airship, and second thrusters are in the Arranged stern, which serve to control the attitude of the ..backward To influence the end of the airship. Control devices connect an operator control station to the first and second second thrusters to control the operation of the thrust units.

In accordance with another feature, the invention provides one Thrust unit for controlling the direction of movement of an airship, which motor means is mounted inside the airship contains. Propeller means are mounted inside the airship on a shaft which extends from the motor means extends out, and air inlet means open in the exterior of the airship to supply air to the propellers. Air outlet means establish a connection between the propeller means and the outside area of the airship, to allow a directed flow of control air to exit the airship.

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An airship fuselage is usually unstable as it moves forward. This makes it necessary to make continuous corrections to provide for deviations from a fixed flight direction. The conventional control technology uses fixed Fins and moveable surfaces attached to the hull for making these corrections. The disadvantage of such Control elements are due to their relatively high weight and their flow resistance in calm weather. With the present Invention replace control thrust units, which are attached to a front and a rear station in the fuselage are, these fins and surfaces. To generate the control torque, two thrust units are normally in operation, one in the bow and one in the stern.

To achieve stable flight in an airship, almost continuous operation is required at any given point in time of at least two thrust units are necessary. The intensity or level of performance is low in calm weather, whereby the operating periods are interrupted. With increasingly turbulent weather, the operating periods become more frequent and longer and are at higher energy levels. In extremely turbulent weather, all thrust units are operated almost continuously and run essentially continuously. The advantage of using the thrust units is that the used Total energy is significantly lower than total energy, which is necessary to overcome the flow resistance of control surfaces and fins. The weight of the control thrust units and the corresponding power generation system is also less than the total weight the fins and the controls used with them.

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Brief description of the drawings

The foregoing and other advantages of the present invention will be better understood with reference to the drawings, in which:

1 shows a side view of an airship, which is equipped with the thrust units according to the present invention;

Fig.2A is a front vertical view of that shown in Fig.1 Airship is;

2B is a vertical plan view of the rear of the in Fig.1 is the airship shown;

3 shows a detailed view of the thrust unit and air intake arrangement is in the bow of the airship;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a typical one of the present Invention used is thrust unit;

5 shows a sectional view of the first rotor of a thrust unit is;

6 shows a sectional view of the second rotor of the thrust unit is;

7 shows a sectional view of a thrust unit in the bow of a Airship is; and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view of one in the stern of the airship mounted thrust unit.

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Detailed description

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1 ^, assigned to ^ jvund, in a corresponding mannerieirl · canal 36 ^ which is assigned to a bottom side pushing unit 14. The air outlet for the control air jet from the thrust unit 12 is an upwardly directed tube 38. In a corresponding manner the air outlet for the control air jet from the thrust unit 14 is a downwardly directed tube 4o. The pipe 38 is of

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a strut 4 2 supported / while the tube 4o is supported by a strut 44 which extends out of the fuselage. The construction of the other channels in the bow and stern of the airship is similar to that shown in Figure 3.

The details of the flow path of air entering through the intake line to a typical bow thruster unit and from there to the exit are in the detailed sectional vertical view shown by Fig.7. A channel 36 is - as shown there - In connection with a suction box or a compression chamber 38, in which the motor and propeller run in opposite directions driven thrust unit 48 are attached. The thrust unit 48 includes a counter rotating electrical Asynchronous motor 5o, and on one extending from the motor 5o A first propeller 52 and a second propeller 54 are mounted on the shaft. A housing 58 holds the motor in a Orientation, as shown in Figure 7, in such a way that the control air flow from the thrust unit 48 is directed downwards is.

During operation, a mass of air 56 is sucked into the housing 58 by the propellers 52 and 54 rotating in opposite directions, which each have three blades. The propeller 54 increases the air mass speed to a high absolute value in the space between the propellers 52 and 54. This increase in speed takes place up to a value which is greater than the speed at the outlet from the nozzle. The air then enters the space determined by the propeller 54, which has the effect of reducing the final velocity of the air mass to the initial velocities, while at the same time reducing the sub-atmospheric pressure in the space between the two propellers to the ambient pressure outside of the trunk rises.

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The housing 58 contains circular walls 62 which are connected by inclined, radial rods 64. Walls 6o define a horn-shaped structure 66 in which the counter-rotating electrical asynchronous motor 5o is held. That The volume of space inside the horn 66 surrounding the motor 5o provides the street, whereby cooling air 68 is drawn into the horn from the Suction on the propeller hub 52 is drawn in. The air flow 68 cools the engine inside and out. The propeller 52 is on a shaft 7o, the propeller 54 on a shaft 72 which extends through and over the end of the shaft 7o. The propellers 52 and 54 rotate in an exhaust duct 74, and the shafts are held in this space by radially extending rods 76 which hold the shaft. the mechanical forces exerted by the thrust units are generated by the radially extending rods 64, the housing 74 of the channel and a support column 78.

A detailed sectional view of the installation of a typical control thrust unit in the stern of the metal casing Airship is shown in Fig.8. A channel 8o creates the opening through which air enters a chamber 82 which supplies air to the thrust unit. The thrust unit 81 is supported in such a way that that it is directed vertically upwards, being carried by radially extending struts 84 and on the side walls an outlet channel 86, which is delimited by inclined walls 88. The thrust unit 81 contains a counter rotating asynchronous electric motor 9o supported inside a horn-shaped housing 92. Of the Motor 9o extends a shaft 94 and a second shaft 96 which extends through the shaft 94 and beyond it. A propeller 98 is supported on the shaft 94, and a propeller 100 driven in opposite directions is supported on the shaft 96. An air mass 1o1 is drawn into the intermediate propeller space between the propellers 94 and 96 and through it.

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pulled through so that an air flow for the control function of the Pushing unit 81 is created. In this case, when the thrust unit 81 is in operation, it exerts a force which the stern of the airship rotates downward about an axis passing through the center of the airship perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the Body goes through. Cooling air 1o4 is drawn into horn 92 to provide cooling for motor 9o. The thrust assembly is, as shown in Fig.8, inside a main frame part 106, which is described in more detail in pending U.S. application serial no. 932,221 dated August 9, 1978 is described.

The mechanical and electrical structure of a control thrust unit of the present invention is shown in Figs shown. As shown, the thrust unit contains an electric motor 1o8, the two rotors 11o and 112 rotating in opposite directions contains. In the currently preferred embodiment, rotors 11o and 112 have a different number of Poles, the rotor 11o with ten poles, the Roto 112 with eight poles is equipped. This arrangement and the number of poles are provided in order to achieve that of the second motor 112 turns faster. By means of a cable 114, a Electric current supplied through the stator 116 to with brushes 118 in contact with the inner diameter of the rotor 11o and to the outer diameter of the rotor 112 through contact rings 12o and 122, respectively. The rings 12o, 122 conduct the electrical current to anchors 124 or 126, each armature generating an electromagnetic rotating field, which rotate in opposite directions to one another to have. The armature 124 is mechanically connected to the shaft 128, and in a corresponding manner the armature 126 is mechanically connected to the shaft 13o. When a current to the motor is supplied, the shafts 128 and 13o rotate in opposite directions

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set directions, and the propellers 132 do the same and 134 mechanically connected to shafts 128 and 13o, respectively are. The rotors 11o and 112 rotate on radial pressure, bearings 136 and 138 on the motor end of the thrust unit. At the propeller end of the thrust unit are shafts 128 and 13o of Axial bearings 14o, 142 supported, which are mounted in the stator hub 144. The stator hub 144 is in turn made up of bars or Struts 76 supported.

The propeller blades 132, 134 are with the shafts connected by means of incisions provided with rotor hubs 146,148 and each locked to their respective rotor hub by means of pins 15o which are axially engaged by the standing teeth of the hub and the inner end of the propeller extend. The engine is internal and external cooled by air 152 passing through opening 154 by the low static pressure on the hub of propeller 132 is sucked into it.

The steering thrust units run at wind screw speeds, if no service is provided to them. When used for steering, the thrust units are accelerated, in some cases to full speed, by electrical signals from sensor devices such as accelerometers, on the airship or by commands from the control organs 156 of the pilot. The thrust units run on three-phase current with an increased frequency. In the preferred embodiment and for the best controllability, it is desirable to provide electronic control circuitry to control the rotors to excite and also to modulate the frequency of the current driving them.

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In addition to the control thrust units, the present one pulls Invention the attachment of lifting-thrust units of a similar construction into consideration to the lifting capacity of airships to support, ie. to increase its buoyancy.

In Figure 1, for example, two lifting-thrust units 152 and 154 are shown, which are mounted inside the airship and after directed downwards. Air is introduced into the housing of the thrust units through channels 156, 158. In Fig.1 is only a pair of lift-push units is shown. However, it is contemplated / that in a normal embodiment of the airship according to the invention at least one additional pair of lifting-thrust units symmetrically on the opposite side of the airship is attached. The use of four lifting and thrust units is just one example. The airship can be provided with additional thrust units in the manner according to the invention, usually in symmetrical pairs, to create symmetrical buoyancy in addition to the basic static climbing abilities of the airship. Such Lifting-thrust units would typically be used when the airship according to the invention is used as a freighter will. The purpose of such lifting-thrust units is to create an assisted lift at the highest possible level Fuel efficiency efficiency. Since a high efficiency in terms of fuel efficiency is of such importance is, in the currently preferred embodiment, the Lifting thrust units directly from individual gas turbine engines 16o, 162 driven. It is believed that electrically powered thrust units, which resemble a power supply system Use the electric drive for the control thrust units described above instead of the turbine-driven ones Thrust units can be used as soon as power plants or engines with high thermal efficiency are available will.

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In the embodiment shown in Figure 1, there are two thrust units permanently attached to the fuselage floor in the bow compartment and two in the stern compartment. All four thrust units are permanent Structural elements of the fuselage and directed downwards. The ones from the Air used in thrust units is drawn in on the port and starboard sides to compensate for suction forces caused by the influx and through the bottom of a main frame fed to the thrust units. The main frame holds the thrust units and also distributes the forces from them to the outer skin of the trunk.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention The thrust unit are the rotor shafts 128,13ο and the stator housing of the motor 1o8 made of a titanium alloy, for example C-12oAV. The rotor hubs with incisions 146,148 are hollow cylinders which are provided with grooves on their edge. Fit into the circumferential grooves or recesses the downward projections of the propeller blades bwz. blades containing the tabs and bores that mate with the tabs and bores of the hub. Every shovel contains a lowest part or a root from a 12o ° - Segment with three pins 15o which anchor it to the hub.

The rotor shafts 128,13ο are cylindrical sleeves with the propellers 132, 143 at one end and the electrical armatures 124, 126 at the other end. The electrical armatures 124,126 are made of thin sheets (with a maximum thickness of about o, 127 mm (o, o5 inch)) made of non-oriented steel with low hysteresis, enamel insulated and baked. The thin laminates or sheets are riveted together between thicker end laminates for protection. After being placed in the slots of the rotor, the windings are baked out in a vacuum to create a fixed arrangement of all components to form, which are connected to a monolytic unit. All windings are stripped or wound and wrapped

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braided around every possibility before painting and baking avoid wire vibrations. The armatures can be removed from the rotor housings by axially displacing them will.

Ventilation of the rotors for the purpose of cooling the armature is achieved by two air currents which enter from the surrounding space through an opening 154 in the stator housing. The air flow is then split into an external air flow, which is in direct contact with the housing of the rotor 11 o, and an internal air flow, which enters the interior of the rotor through bores in the rotor 11 o, flows in the direction of the aerodynamic rotors and while the rotor 112 cools. The movement of the cooling air is achieved by inflow from the main air flow.

The stator housing of the thrust unit is made of an aluminum alloy manufactured, for example 7o5o or 7187, with a thickness of about 0.16256 cm (0.064 inches). Stabilizing the surface Longitudinal stiffeners or stringers are with the stator housing connected to keep it in its proper position. The rotors of the thrust units are in the exhaust ducts 74,88 mounted and are in turn of radially extending Ribs or bars or struts 64,84 supported.

What has been described is a control thrust unit, for one full, reliable and effective flight control of an airship, such as a metal-clad airship, at all operating speeds from a speed of zero compared to the ground up to the maximum speed, wherein the thrust unit is capable of steering the airship in all types of weather conditions. As well as electric motors as well as gas turbines are suitable as thrusters for such thrust units. When using too

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Lifting or climbing purposes are such thrust units in the La ge, the usable static buoyancy of an airship fuselage to double.

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Claims (18)

-η- Claims Steerable airship containing an airship fuselage with a bow and a stern, first thrusters attached to the bow and serve to influence the movements of the forward end of the airship, second thrust devices, which are attached to the stern of the airship and serve to the movements of the rear End of the airship influence, and control devices operating between an operational control station and the first thrust unit and the second thrust unit are connected and serve to operate the thrust units to control. 2. Airship according to claim 1, characterized in that that the first pusher and the second pusher are each four perimetrically spaced from each other attached pairs of pusher units, each pair of pusher units being oriented such that it sends out a controlled flow of air in a direction that is 90 degrees to the direction of the controlled flow of air from the adjacent pair of thrust units. 3. Airship according to claim 2, characterized in that the thrust unit of each pair of Thrust units is arranged on opposite sides of a median plane which bisects the hull of the airship. 030605/0097 4. Airship according to claim 3, characterized in that that the pairs of pusher units include a first pusher which includes four pairs of contains thrusters arranged perimetrically at 90 ° intervals around the hull adjacent to the bow of the airship, corresponding pairs of the thrust units being arranged to have controlled air flows up, down, left and let it exit to the right of the airship. 5. Airship according to claim 4, characterized in that the pairs of thrust units a second pusher which includes four pairs of pusher units perimetrically spaced 9o µm the hull at a predetermined distance from the stern of the airship are arranged, with respective pairs of the thrust units being arranged to provide controlled air flows up, down, to the right and to the left of the airship let out. 6. Airship according to claim 5, characterized in that that with the first pushing device and the second pushing device air guide devices are connected are. 7. Airship according to claim 6, characterized in that the air guiding devices contain an individual air supply associated with each thrust unit. 03 0 605/0097 8. Airship according to claim 7, characterized in that the first thrust device associated air ducts between adjacent pairs of the thrust units are arranged on the same circumference around the fuselage are on which the first thrust device is arranged. 9. Airship according to claim 8, characterized in that that the air ducts assigned to the second thrust device are aligned with their longitudinal lines associated pairs of the thrust units arranged and arranged at intervals on a line extending around the hull which is displaced inwardly relative to the thrust units with respect to the stern of the airship. ' 1o. The airship of claim 1 including third thrusters directed downwardly from the hull of the airship and serve to improve the lifting capacity or the buoyancy of the airship. 11. Airship according to claim 1o, characterized in that the first, the second and the third thrust device are driven by motor means. 12. Airship according to claim 11, characterized in that that the motor means are electric motors. 030605/0097 -JlO- 13. Airship according to claim 11, characterized in that that the engine means are gas turbine engines. 14. Thrust unit for controlling the direction of movement of an airship, containing Engine means held inside the airship, Propeller means installed inside the airship and are supported on a shaft extending from the motor means, Air suction means, which are in the interior of the airship open to supply air to the propellers, and - air outlet means which connect between the Propeller means and the exterior of the 'airship, to release a controlled flow of air from the airship. 15. Thrust unit according to claim 14, characterized in that the propeller devices a Included in a first direction rotating propeller and a second propeller, the second propeller on the same axis as the first propeller in a direction of rotation opposite to the direction of rotation of the first propeller turns. 16. Thrust unit according to claim 15, characterized in that the motor means are counter-rotating Engine are. 030605/0097 17. Thrust unit according to claim 16, characterized ge indicates that the counter-rotating motor is an electric asynchronous motor. 18. Thrust unit according to claim 16, characterized ge indicates that the counter-rotating engine is a gas turbine engine.