GB2194829A

GB2194829A - Thrust producing apparatus with rotary input

Info

Publication number: GB2194829A
Application number: GB08718110A
Authority: GB
Inventors: William Duncan Gordon
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-08-21
Filing date: 1987-07-30
Publication date: 1988-03-16
Also published as: GB8620313D0; GB8718110D0

Abstract

Thrust producing apparatus (2) comprises rotary drive means (4), thrust means (6), and drive transfer means (8) for transferring rotational movement from the drive means (4) to the thrust means (6), the drive means (4) being mounted for rotation in the thrust producing apparatus (2). The drive transfer means (8) comprises at least one striker member (10) which is mounted on the drive means (4), and at least one resilient member (14) which is mounted on the thrust means (6) such that during use of the thrust producing apparatus (2) the striker member (10) maintains a set compression in the resilient member (14) and the compressed resilient member (14) acts on the thrust means (6) thereby to transfer rotational energy from the drive means (4) into maintaining thrust for the thrust means (6) which is mounted on a boat etc. Each member (10) may consist of a ball or a needle bearing which intermittently engages a spring-loaded cap 52. The apparatus is stated to be of wide applicability. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Thrust producing apparatus This invention relates to thrust producing apparatus.

Thrust producing apparatus in the form of jet engines and rocket motors is well known.

Such thrust producing apparatus is however complex in design, expensive to produce and it has a limited operational life. Thrust producing apparatus in the form of ship propellors and aircraft airscrews convert power from rotating shafts into thrust, the power being supplied by engines which are themselves not originally designed to produce direct thrust.

It is an aim of the present invention to provide thrust producing apparatus which can be used in a wide variety of situations and which is relatively simple in design and inexpensive to produce.

Accordingly, this invention provides thrust producing apparatus comprising drive means, thrust means, and drive transfer means for transferring rotational movement from the drive means to the thrust means, the drive means being mounted for rotation in the thrust producing apparatus, and the drive transfer means comprising at least one striker member which is mounted on the drive means, and at least one resilient member which is mounted on the thrust means such that during use of the thrust producing apparatus the striker member maintains a set compression in the resilient member and the compressed resilient member acts on the thrust means thereby to transfer rotational energy from the drive means into maintaining thrust for the thrust means.

Preferably, the thrust producing apparatus is one in which the drive means is mounted for rotation in the thrust producing apparatus, and in which the compressed resilient member acts on the thrust means such that the drive means is caused to rotate during use of the thrust producing apparatus.

The drive means may have a disc portion, and a plurality of the striker members may be mounted in a circle on the disc portion. The striker members may each be mounted in a recess in the disc portion. Other means of mounting the striker members on the disc portion may be employed.

The drive means may have an input shaft for enabling the drive means to be rotateably driven. Alternatively, the drive means may have an input socket for enabling the drive means to be rotateably driven.

The thrust means may comprise a frame, cage or housing. Generally, the thrust means may be of any suitable construction and de sign. Usually, the drive means will be arranged to rotate inside the thrust means but other constructional arrangements may be employed if desired.

Preferably, the or each striker member is a ball. The balls are thus able to rotate as they strike the resilient members and this helps to avoid undue wear on the balls. If desired, the or each striker member may be a roller bearing, such for example as a needle bearing.

Non-rotational striker members may also be employed if desired. Such non-rotational members could be formed as a plurality of protuberances projecting outwardly from the drive means.

Preferably, there are a plurality of resilient members preferably in the form of a plurality of coil springs.

Each coil spring may be mounted on a guide rod, the guide rods acting to prevent the coil springs from collapsing during use of the thrust producing apparatus.

The end of each coil spring nearest the striker members may abut against a cap, the caps being engaged by the striker members as the drive means rotates during use of the thrust producing apparatus.

The end of each coil spring remote from the striker members may be housed in a recess in a disc member, the disc member being connected to the thrust means.

Advantageously, the thrust producing apparatus includes adjustor means for adjusting the compression of the or each resilient member.

The adjustor means may comprise a screw threaded device which acts on the disc member.

The thrust producing apparatus may include a drive device for driving the drive means.

The drive device may be an electric motor, an internal combustion engine, a hydraulic drive device, or a pneumatic drive device.

The present invention also provides an object when provided with the thrust producing apparatus of the invention.

The object may be any desired and suitable type of object that requires a thrust action.

Thus, for example, the object may be a battery powered electric vehicle such for example as a milk float, an electric car, van or taxi, or an electric fork lift truck. The object may also be an invalid wheel chair, a golf cart, a tram or trolley bus, an electrified rail transport arrangement, or a canal barge. The object can also be various types of saw with the thrust producing apparatus providing the motor of the saw. The thrust producing apparatus may also be used to form part of tree up-rooters, apparatus for shooting emergency lines for example from ship to ship, and in luggage and parcel vehicles. The thrust producing apparatus can be used to replace existing motors, for example outboard motors in boats.

The thrust producing unit can also be used where power or braking apparatus is required.

The thrust producing apparatus can be used in lightweight aircraft and gliders. The thrust pro ducing apparatus may be especially useful in providing a braking and arresting action ih air craft and boats. Road vehicles can benefit from the dual facility of emergency drive and braking in, for example, adverse road conditions such for example as when there is snow and/or ice. The thrust producing apparatus can also be used to actuate aircraft undercarriage aircraft arrangements.

Orthodox. land vehicles relying on rotating shafts connected to their wheels or tracks can conveniently be propelled or arrested by the thrust producing apparatus which, as indicated above, in adverse conditions would provide reliable traction and braking. With a suitably designed thrust producing apparatus, holes could be punched through solid materials. The thrust producing apparatus could also be used in lifting arrangements. When the thrust producing apparatus is mounted around the periphery of a wheel, a driving torque can be produced.

The power required to drive the thrust producing apparatus may be considerably less than the power required to produce other types of apparatus giving similar results using conventionally known methods.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described solely by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross section through thrust producing apparatus; Figure 2 illustrates the use of a mounting plate shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 illustrates how a plurality of striker members shown in Figure 1 are mounted on a drive means; Figure 4 shows a boat with a conventional outboard motor; and Figure 5 shows the boat of Figure 4 having the conventional outboard motor replaced by thrust producing apparatus of the invention.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, there is shown thrust producing apparatus 2 comprising drive means 4, thrust means 6, and drive transfer means 8 for transferring rotational movement feom the drive means 4 to the thrust means 6.

The drive means 4 is mounted for rotation in the thrust producing apparatus 2, as will be described in more detail hereinbelow.

The drive transfer means 8 comprises a plurality of striker members in the form of balls 10 which are mounted on the drive means 4 by being mounted in recesses 12. The drive transfer means 8 also comprises a plurality of resilient members in the form of coil springs 14 which are mounted on the thrust means 6 such that during use of the thrust producing apparatus 2,the balls 10 maintain the com pression in the coil springs 14, which com pression is determined by adjustor means 60 to be described hereinbelow. The compressed coil springs 14 act on the thrust means 6, thereby to transfer rotational energy from the drive means 4 into thrust for the thrust means 6.

The thrust means 6 is securely mounted on an object together with non-rotating members of the thrust producing apparatus 2. The coil springs 14 act on the thrust means 6 as will be described in more detail hereinbelow such that the thrust means 6 will transfer this thrust through its mounting to an object during use of the thrust producing apparatus 2.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 3, the drive means 4 has a disc portion 16. The recesses 12 are provided in a circle on the disc portion 16 so that the balls 10 are mounted in a circle as can be seen from Figure 3. An input shaft 18 extends from one side of the disc portion 16 as shown and this input shaft 18 may be rotated by any drive device such for example as an electric motor (not shown). The direction of rotation of the input shaft 18 is shown by the arrow 20.

The thrust means 6 comprises a frame having disc members 22,24,26 and 28. The disc members 22,24,26 are mounted on rods 30 as shown. Ihe disc members 22,24,26 are spaced as desired from each other by sleeves 32,34 which are provided over the rods 30 as shown. The disc members 22,24,26 are secured together on the rods 30 by means of nuts 36,38 screwing over screw threaded ends 40,42 respectively on the rod 30.

Washers 44 are provided between the nuts 36 and the disc member 22. Washers 46 are provided between the nuts 38 and the disc member 24.

The coil springs 14 are each mounted on a guide rod 48. The guide rods 48 act to prevent the coil springs 14 from collapsing during use of the thrust producing apparatus 2.

The disc member 28 is provided with apertures 50. The guide rods 48 pass through the apertures 50 so that the disc member 28 is a sliding fit along the guide rods 48.

The end 52 of each coil spring 14 nearest the balls 10 abuts against a cap 54. The caps 54 are engaged by the balls 10 as the drive means 4 rotates during use of the thrust producing apparatus 2. More specifically, as the disc portion 16 rotates, the balls 10 are also caused to rotate and they pass sequentially over the caps 54 since the balls 10 and the caps 54 are both arranged in circles having the same diameter.

The end 56 of each coil spring 14 remote from the balls 10 is housed in a recess 58 in the disc member 28.

The thrust producing apparatus 2 includes adjustor means 60 for adjusting the compression of the coil springs 14. The adjustor means 60 comprises a rotateable knob 62 and a screw threaded shaft 64. The shaft 64 can be screwed through a screw threaded aperture 66 in the disc member 22. The shaft 64 bears on the disc member 28 so that it can force the disc member 28 to the left as shown in Figure 1, against the pressure of the coil springs 14, thereby to adjust the compression of the coil springs 14.

The drive means 4 is able to rotate because the input shaft 18 rotates in a bearing 68.

The bearing 68 has balls 70, a first bearing part 72 recessed into the disc member 24, and a second bearing part 74 recessed into the disc portion 16. A stub axle 76 extends from the disc portion 16 as shown and this stub axle 76 rotates in a bearing 78 having balls 80. The drive means 4 is held in position by means of a nut 82 and a washer 84, the nut 82 screwing over a screw threaded end 86 of the stub axle 76.

During use of the thrust producing apparatus 2, the input shaft 18 is caused to rotate in the direction of the arrow 20. This causes the disc portion 16 to rotate. Rotation of the disc portion 16 causes the balls 10 to rotate and to sequentially pass over the caps 54. The caps 54 then are maintained in a position flush with the bearing face of the disc member 26 by the rotating balls 10 as the compression of the coil springs 14 is adjusted to a required amount by the adjustor means 60.

The deflection or compression of the coil springs 14 is constantly maintained by the periodic touch from the balls 10 as they rotate over the caps 54.

The frequency of the balls 10 touching the caps 54 depends upon the natural frequency of the coil springs 14 under prevailing working conditions, and also upon the deviation from a preset deflection of the coil springs 14 that can be tolerated before the coil springs 14 return to their working set length. The ends 52 of the coil springs 14 are subject to momentary loads as the caps 54 are engaged by the balls 10, the caps 54 then moving to the right as shown in Figure 1 to load the coil springs 14. The thrust available from the thrust producing apparatus 2 is the difference between the recurring momentary load on the caps 54 at one end of the apparatus and a constant load at the other end of the apparatus. The constant load can be adjusted by the adjustor means 60 described above.As the load is transferred from the coil springs 14 to the disc member 28, it is transferred to the disc member 22 via the shaft 64 which connects to the disc member 28. As the load is transferred to the disc member 22, the disc member 22 transfers the thrust through a mounting arrangement to an object, either directly from a mounting to the disc member 22 or to other fixed members such for example as members 26 and/or 46. Generally, members 22,30 etc are fixed members to be attached to the object towhich a thrust is to be applied. Usually, only the ball carrier with its shaft 18 will rotate.

Referring now to Figure 4, there is shown a boat 88 which is powered by a conventional outboard motor 90. The outboard motor 90 has a propellor 92 and a rudder steering arm 94.

In Figure 5, the outboard motor 90 for the boat 88 has been replaced by thrust producing apparatus 96. The thrust producing apparatus 96 operates on the general principle shown for the thrust producing apparatus 2. It will be seen that the thrust producing apparatus 96 is provided in a cylindrical housing 98 and that the thrust producing apparatus 96 has a clamp 100 for enabling the thrust producing apparatus 96 to fit over a recessed part 102 at the stern 104 of the boat 88.

The closed cylindrical housing 98 is inclined to the horizontal as shown to give the boat 88 the same trim as the outboard motor 90 would give.

It is to be appreciated that the embodiments of the invention described above have been given by way of example only and that modifications may be effected. Thus, for example, more or less coil springs 14 may be employed than have been shown and other types of resilient means than coil springs may also be employed. Needle bearings may be employed instead of the balls 10. Instead of employing an input shaft 18, an input socket could be employed. The direction of rotation can be opposite to that shown by the arrow 20 since the direction of rotation is not important.

The thrust producing apparatus 2 operates such that advantage is taken of the natural inertia or reluctance of each compressed coil spring 14 to expand immediately when a ball is not holding it momentarily in compression.

Ihis means that a period of time elapses when a load is exerted by the spring, at the thrust means end of the apparatus 2, on to the disc member 28 when the capped end is completely free and cannot exert a load. Thus, with a load at one end of the apparatus and none at the other end of the apparatus, movement can be expected from the imbalance.

The speed of movement of each spring in attempting to relieve its compressed condition when a ball 10 is not in position on its cap 54 depends on the spring design, that is the stiffness or spring rate of the spring. The amount of movement that can be tolerated as a spring cap 52 is pushed into the path of an oncoming ball' 10 and is pushed back into position as the ball 10 passes over the cap 52, will determine the frequency with which a ball 10 must pass over the cap 52. The result during operation of the apparatus 2 is that of a pre-compressed spring exerting a constant load or thrust at one end. The other end is just maintained in its compressed length by tuning to an optimum frequency of contact as the spring slowly overcomes its natural inertia.

Claims

1. Thrust producing apparatus comprising drive means, thrust means, and drive transfer means for transferring rotational movement from the drive means to the thrust means, the drive means being mounted for rotation in the thrust producing apparatus, and the drive transfer means comprising at least one striker member which is mounted on the drive means, and at least one resilient member which is mounted on the thrust means such that during use of the thrust producing appa ratus the striker member maintains a set com pression in the resilient member and the com pressed resilient member acts on the thrust means thereby to transfer rotational energy from the drive means into maintaining thrust for the thrust means.

2. Thrust producing apparatus according to claim 1 in which the drive means is mounted for rotation in the thrust producing apparatus, and in which the compressed resilient member acts on the thrust means such that the drive means is caused to rotate during use of the thrust producing apparatus.

3. Thrust producing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the drive means has a disc portion, and in which a plurality of the striker members are mounted in a circle on the disc portion.

4. Thrust producing apparatus according to claim 3 in which the striker members are each mounted in a recess in the disc portion.

5. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the drive means has an input shaft.

6. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the drive means is an input socket.

7. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the thrust means comprises a frame, cage or housing.

8. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the or each striker member is a ball.

9. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 in which the or each striker member is a roller bearing.

10. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which there is a plurality of resilient members in the form of a plurality of coil springes.

11. Thrust producing apparatus according to claim 10 in which the coil springs are each mounted on a guide rod, the guide rod acting to prevent the coil springs from collapsing during use of the thrust producing apparatus.

12. Thrust producing apparatus according to claim 10 or claim 11 in which the end of each coil spring nearest the striker members abuts against a cap, the caps being engaged by the striker members as the drive means rotates during use of the thrust producing apparatus.

13. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12 in which the end of each coil spring remote from the striker members is housed in a recess in a disc member, the disc member being connected to the thrust means.

14. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including adjustor means for adjusting the compression of the or each resilient member.

15. Thrust producing apparatus according to claims 13 and 14 in which the adjustor means comprises a screw threaded device which acts on the disc member.

16. Thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims and including a drive device for driving the drive means.

17. Thrust producing apparatus according to claim 16 in which the drive device is an electric motor, an internal combustion engine, a hydraulic drive device, or a pneumatic drive device.

18. Thrust producing apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

19. An object when provided with thrust producing apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.