JP2001030995A - Flying body having membrane structure reinforced by bending tension of elastic body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a flying body having high rigidity of a balloon and an air bag of an airship, high stability of a shape of a parachute wind, safer against a gust or a wind pressure, light weight, simple structure and easiness in storage. SOLUTION: A parachute wing 2 is fitted around a balloon and an airship, an elastic body 3 is fitted to an outer peripheral part of the parachute wing 2, the parachute wing 2 is expanded by the bending tension of the elastic body 3 and reinforced, an air bag 1 is pulled from the outside by the bending tension of the elastic body 3 to give the rigidity, and a resistance against the gust and the wind pressure is given to the parachute wing 2 and the air bag 1. The elastic body 3 can be attached/detached and stored in a divided manner, it can be easily and rapidly assembled and stored.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a balloon having a film-like structure,
It relates to a flying object such as an airship.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional balloon or airship, the membrane of the air sac is supported from the inside by the inflation pressure of the gas inside the air sac or the like, and its shape is maintained. In a paraglider, the cells were inflated by the air pressure flowing from the traveling direction to maintain the wing shape.

[0003]

Conventional balloons and air bladders of airships have low resistance to the wind simply because their rigidity is supported by the turgor pressure of the internal gas. Wind pressure has also caused the tip to collapse, and there were concerns about safety. For this reason, the thermal airship seals the air sac to increase the rigidity, but if the air sac is sealed, there is a problem that the burner fire is easily extinguished because oxygen tends to be insufficient. When gliding a hot air balloon or airship with a parachute wing, it is necessary to take measures to prevent the wing or the tip of the air sac from collapsing against wind pressure from the traveling direction. In particular, in paragliding, there are many accidents in which the amount of air flowing into the cell on the turning side is reduced during the turn, the cell is crushed, the lift is lost, and the vehicle crashes.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks,
The purpose is to easily enhance the rigidity of wings, air sacs, and other membrane structures, and to increase resistance to wind and wind pressure.

The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention will become more apparent when the following description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the drawings are for explanation only, and do not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a rod-like elastic body is attached to the tip of a wing, a side surface of an air sac, or a periphery thereof by bending it in an arc shape or a circumferential shape, and a parachute is formed by the repulsive tension. Reinforce the shape of the wing or increase the rigidity of the air bag to ensure resistance to wind pressure and gusts.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, some of the support ropes have been omitted for the sake of simplicity of the drawing, so long as they do not interfere with the description.

FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show a UFO hot air balloon according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an air sac that heats the air by a burner 6 to float the gondola 5 in the air. The air sac 1 has a slightly flat spherical shape, and has a parachute wing 2 around it so that it can glide. An elastic body a is attached to the outer end of the parachute blade 2 so that the shape of the parachute blade 2 is maintained by the bending tension, and the tip of the blade does not collapse even with wind pressure from the traveling direction. I have. The position of the elastic body 3 is fixed by the parachute wings 2 and the support ropes 4, so that the shape and rigidity of the air sac 1 are also maintained.
At the rear end of the parachute wing 2, there is a notch 21, to which a flap 8 is attached, and by operating a steering cable 7 attached to this flap 8 from the gondola 5, air that escapes from the notch 21 is removed. Control the direction and adjust the direction of travel.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the second embodiment of the present invention. The elastic body 3 has a perfect circular shape, and the parachute blades 2 have direction control air ports 22 at positions 90 degrees to each other. The direction control air port 22 is provided with an air port opening / closing valve 23, which is operated from the gondola 5 by the steering cable 7 to control the flight direction. That is, the air port opening / closing valve 23 of one direction control air port 22
When you open, air escapes from it and the balloon goes in the opposite direction.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a side sectional view thereof. The shape and position of the elastic body 3 are fixed by a support cable 4 from above and below, and the parachute blade 2 has slack. In this example, at the time of normal descent, the parachute wing 2 glides upwardly as shown by a solid line in the figure, but becomes convex downwardly as shown by a broken line 2b in the figure when the balloon rises with the burner 6 cooked. The flow of air escaping therefrom can be adjusted by the flap 8 to control the upward direction in any direction.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
The parachute wing is semicircular and has a long wing, making it more suitable for gliding. The tip of the parachute wing 2 or the air sac 1 in the traveling direction is reinforced by an elastic body 3 and a support cable 4 connected thereto.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The elastic body 3 has a shape obtained by combining two open arcs, and the parachute wing 2 has a shape more suitable for gliding. The elastic body 3 may have either a single structure or a combination of two bows. In any case, in order to strengthen the elastic body 3, an elastic body reinforcing cable 16 is attached to strengthen and stabilize the shape. The elastic body 3 can appropriately adjust the bending method (curvature) with the same bending force by changing the elasticity (material, thickness, etc.).

FIG. 10 is a top view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The configuration is substantially the same as that of the first embodiment, except that the shape of the parachute wing 2 and the air sac 1 is not a circle or a sphere, but is stretched back and forth to approximate an ellipse.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a thermal airship according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention. A parachute wing 2 whose outer periphery is reinforced by an elastic body 3 is attached to the periphery of the equator of the cigar-type air sac 1, and the position of the elastic body 3 is fixed by the cloth of the parachute wing 2 and the support rope 4. I have. A flap 8 is provided at the rear end of the parachute wing 2, and is operated to control the flight direction.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show an airplane-type thermal airship according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention. The main wing is an arc-shaped parachute wing 2 having a retreating wing shape. In order to reinforce the tip of the wing, an elastic reinforcing cord 16 connects the tips of the wing. The horizontal stabilizer 11 and the rudder 9 also have a simple structure in which a single-layer film is stretched between the arcs of the small elastic body 3.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show a paraglider according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. Harness is omitted. The canopy of this paraglider is not a cell structure but a parachute blade 2 made of a single-layer cloth stretched between the arcs of the elastic body 3. The parachute blade 2 naturally has a shape bulging upward due to the load and the air resistance. If the material of the elastic body 3 is devised, the paraglider is lighter than the existing one and does not have a fear that the canopy will be broken even when turning. It is also possible to use a wing having such a structure for a hang glider.

FIG. 17 shows a paraglider according to a tenth embodiment of the present invention. In order to make the parachute wing 2 more convex upward, the small elastic body 3a previously formed in an arc shape by the elastic body reinforcing cable 16 is appropriately installed between the main elastic body 3 and its chord, and the cross section of the parachute wing 2 is reduced. This is to maintain the shape bulging upward.

FIG. 18 shows an eleventh embodiment of the present invention, in which a parachute blade 2 is attached to an existing hot air balloon. An elastic body 3 is attached to the outer peripheral portion of the parachute wing 2, and its position is fixed by the cloth of the parachute wing 2 and the support rope 4. Due to the tension of the elastic body 3, the air sac 1 pulls the lower part of the air sac, which is particularly vulnerable to wind, from the outside, and is safer against gusts and the like. The direction control during gliding is performed by operating the same flap as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows a jellyfish-type balloon according to a twelfth embodiment of the present invention. It is almost the same as the previous example except that the parachute wing 2 is larger than the previous example and the air sac 1 is more spherical.

The above examples are all examples in which an elastic body made of fiberglass, carbon rod, or the like is formed in a rod shape or a pipe shape. good.

FIG. 20 shows a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention in which an air tube is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the wing with a cloth or the like, and air is forcibly sent to the air tube by a compressor or the like to give tension to the elastic body 3. I have. Others are almost the same as Example 1. In this example, the point is to give tension to the air tube, and the operation and effect are greatly different from the case where air is simply fed to form a cartilage type skeleton.

FIG. 21 shows a connection example of the elastic body 3 in the present invention. In this example, the elastic body 3 is a hollow pipe, and the joint 12 is inserted into and connected to the elastic body 3 having an appropriate length. The joint 12 is provided with a spring-type latch 17 for preventing falling off, which is pushed into a latch hole 18 of the mating elastic body 3 to stabilize the connection. In addition, as a connection method, there is a connection method such as a screw-in method in addition to the insertion method.

FIG. 22 shows an example of attachment of the elastic body 3 according to the present invention. A load tape 13 connected to the load tape of the air sac is attached to the parachute wing 2, and is further connected to a support cord 4. Parachute wing 2
An elastic support strap 14 is attached to the load tape 13 at the lower end 15 of the elastic member 3, and the elastic body 3 is fixed through a hole formed by the load tape 13 and the elastic support strap 14. At the time of storage, the elastic body 3 is divided by removing the joint 12 of FIG. 21 and then the elastic body 3 is removed from the elastic body support strap 14 and stored.

As is apparent from the above description, the following effects can be obtained in the present invention.

(1) Since the wings are stretched by the tension of the elastic body,
The shape of the wings is maintained stably, and there is great resistance to gusts and wind pressure.

(2) Since the wings are stretched by the tension of the elastic body,
The wings may be a single layer of fabric and are extremely simple and lightweight.

(3) Since the air sac is supported by the tension of the elastic body, the shape of the air sac is stably maintained, and there is a large resistance to gusts and wind pressure.

(4) Since the air sac can be supported from the lateral direction by the tension of the elastic body, the lower part of the air sac does not need to be stretched in the shape of an inverted droplet, and the shape can be made more spherical. That is, the required air capacity can be secured more efficiently.

(5) When gliding with a parachute wing on a balloon or airship, the tip of the wing does not collapse due to wind pressure.

(6) When gliding with a parachute wing on a balloon or airship, the tip of the air bag does not collapse or dent due to wind pressure.

(7) Since the elastic body can be divided and detached, it does not become an obstacle when the wings or the air sac are stored.

(8) Since the elastic body can be divided and detached, transportation can be facilitated.

(9) There is no need to expel air from the tubes during storage, compared to a method in which tubes are attached vertically and horizontally to the inner surface or wing surface of the air sac and inflated by blowing air into the sac to form a cartilage type skeleton. Fewer, easier and quicker storage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side external view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a side sectional view of a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a top view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a top view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a top view of the seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a side view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a top view of the eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side view of an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a top view of the ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side sectional view of a ninth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a side sectional view of a tenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a side sectional view of an eleventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is a side sectional view of a twelfth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is a side external view of a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a connection example of an elastic body according to the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a view showing an example of attachment of an elastic body according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1: air sac 2: parachute wing 2b: parachute wing when ascending 3: elastic body 3a: small elastic body 4: support cable 5: gondola 6: burner 7: steering cable 8: flap 9: rudder 10: exhaust valve 11: horizontal Tail 12: Joint 13: Road tape 14: Elastic body support strap 15: Lower end of parachute wing 16: Elastic body reinforced cable 17: Spring latch 18: Latch hole 19: Air tube 20: Compressor 21: Notch of wing 22 : Direction control air port 23: Air hole opening / closing valve 24: Lower opening of air sac

Claims (4)

[Claims] An air vehicle having a membrane wing reinforced by the bending tension of an elastic body. 2. A balloon or airship having a film-like wing reinforced by the bending tension of an elastic body. 3. A balloon or airship having an air sac reinforced by the bending tension of an elastic body. 4. An elastic body according to claim 1, wherein said elastic body can be detachably mounted and separately stored.
The flying object described in 2, 3.