JP2001139000A - Docking method and device for airship - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a docking method and device for an airship permitting the docking of a large airship flying in the stratosphere and another airship. SOLUTION: A coupler 10a connected to a vacuum suction hose 10b and a wire 10d is delivered from the rear of a tug airship 11 and connected to the tip of a large airship 12. The tug airship 11 is then drawn close to the large airship 12 by a winch 10e to dock in the state of the rear end outline of the tug airship 11 being recessed in conformity to the tip outline of the large airship 12. Two airships 11, 12 can thereby dock in the air of safe altitude, and even the large airship for the stratosphere can be controlled in attitude near the ground for safe taking-off, landing, and the like without causing the weight increase of the large airship itself by using a propulsion device of the docked airship.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and a device for docking an airship, and more particularly to an airship equipped with a capture line, which captures and connects docked airships, draws them together, and docks them together. This is suitable for safely performing takeoff and landing with a large airship and an airship docked in the vicinity where attitude control is difficult.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Airships are of a rigid type (based on a soft skin whose shape is maintained by internal pressure) or a rigid type (having a rigidity capable of maintaining its shape regardless of the presence of floating gas inside) depending on the structure of a buoyancy generating portion called a hull. It is classified into semi-rigid type (soft hull with keel which is intermediate between both types).

[0003] Among such airships, for example, as shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. A baronet 2 serving as a bag is provided, and air is sucked and exhausted by a valve and a blower, so that the pressure is adjusted, the front-rear movement is performed, and the operation of the elevator is performed, so that the amount of air in the baronet 2 is increased. The buoyancy is adjusted by changing the volume of the buoyant gas.

[0004]

However, in such an airship, the sum of the volumes of the baronets 2 is usually
It is about 25% of the total volume of the envelope 1 that composes the hull, and when adding the weight of the valve and the blower that sucks and exhausts air to and from the baronet 2, it becomes about 25% of the total weight of the airship. I will.

[0005] In particular, in an airship flying in a super-high rise, for example, in the stratosphere, the air pressure changes greatly from the ground, and the volume of the baronet 2 must be further increased. I will.

On the other hand, in a large airship, it is difficult to control the attitude near the ground, and a propulsion device such as a propeller with a large power for a large air resistance is required. Therefore, the large airship itself takes off and land like a conventional airship. Then, there is a problem that the weight of the propulsion device with high power greatly reduces the mounting weight for equipment and occupants.

Therefore, it is conceivable to mount a propulsion device necessary for steering such as attitude control near the ground on another airship, such as a ship and a tug boat. There is no method or device for docking, and its development is desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned state of the art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a docking method for an airship capable of docking an airship other than a large airship flying in the stratosphere and a device therefor. It is.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for docking an airship, comprising: pulling out an airship from a certain airship, connecting the airship to a docked airship, and pulling the capture line. The outer shape of the airship is recessed in accordance with the outer shape of the docked airship.

According to this docking method for an airship, a docking line is pulled out from a certain airship and connected to the docked airship, and then the capture line is drawn to make the outer shape of the airship concave to match the outer shape of the docked airship. So that the two airships can be docked in the air at a safe altitude.

[0011] Thus, the attitude control in the vicinity of the ground such as takeoff and landing can be performed safely without increasing the weight of the large airship itself by using the propulsion device of the docked airship even in a large airship for the stratosphere. Become.

The docking method for an airship according to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration according to the first aspect, further comprises a holding frame provided at a rear end of the airship so as to correspond to a tip end shape of the airship to be docked. The tip portion of the docked airship is brought into close contact with the airship.

According to this docking method for an airship, the tip of the docked airship is brought into close contact with a holding frame provided at the rear end of the airship in correspondence with the tip shape of the docked airship. By bringing the two airships into close contact with the holding frame, the docking state of the two airships can be more reliably maintained.

Further, the docking device for an airship according to a third aspect of the present invention is provided at a wind-up device mounted on the airship, a capture rope fed out and wound by the wind-up device, and a tip of the capture rope. It is a connecting means for connecting to the docked airship.

According to the docking device for an airship, a winding device mounted on the airship, a capture cable fed out and wound by the winding device, and a connection provided at the tip of the capture cable and connected to the docked airship. After pulling out a capture line from the back of the airship and connecting it to the tip of the docked airship, this capture line is pulled by the winding device and the rear end of the airship is adjusted to the tip shape of the docked airship. The two airships can be docked in the air at a safe altitude.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, in addition to the configuration of the third aspect, the tip of the airship is closely attached to the rear end of the airship in accordance with the tip shape of the docked airship. It is characterized in that a holding frame is provided.

According to this docking device for an airship, a holding frame is provided at the rear end of the airship so as to correspond to the tip shape of the docked airship and closely contact the tip end. By letting
The docking state of the two airships can be more reliably maintained.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an airship docking apparatus according to the present invention, in which (a) is a schematic perspective view of the entire airship, (b) is a schematic perspective view of the docking apparatus, and (c).
3 is a detailed view of a propulsion device.

The docking device 10 for an airship is mounted on an airship corresponding to a tug boat in the case of a ship, and is used to integrally connect a large airship such as a stratospheric airship as a docked airship. From the ground to a safe altitude by an airship with
For example, maneuvers such as attitude control from 500 to 1000 m from the ground are performed so that takeoff or landing of the docked airship can be performed safely.

A tag airship 11 as an airship on which the docking device 10 is mounted, for example, flies between the ground and a safe altitude, docks with a large airship 12 as a docked airship, and carries out attitude control with the large airship 12. As shown in FIG.
Propulsion devices 14 each having one tilt mechanism 13 are provided vertically and horizontally, and the combination of these four propulsion devices 14 allows the tag airship 11 to fly while controlling the attitude in all directions.

The propulsion device 14 includes, for example, a ducted fan and a propeller 14a.
Depending on the size, weight, etc., for example, four of about 1000 ps are mounted. As shown in FIG. 1 (c), for example, a bracket 13b is attached to a side of a tilt shaft 13a to rotatably support a case of a motor 13c. The ball screw 13d is driven to rotate by 13c, and the ball nut 13e screwed into the ball screw 13d is fixed to the hull 11a of the tag airship 11.

Therefore, by driving the motor 13c to rotate the ball screw 13d, the ball screw 13d reciprocates with respect to the ball nut 13e fixed to the hull 11a, and rotates the tilt shaft 13a around its central axis. Thus, the ducted fan and the propeller 14a integrated with the tilt shaft 13a can be tilted.

The tag airship 11 has a winch as a winding device installed on the ground as shown in FIG. 3 in order to make the takeoff and landing of the large airship 12 safer and easier. 11b and connected to
Alternatively, tether 11c as a retractable mooring line
The tag airship 11 and the large airship 12 that fly from the ground to a safe altitude can be drawn by pulling out or winding up the tether 11c by the winch 11b.

The docking device 10 mounted on such a tag airship 11 is mounted on the rear end of the tag airship 11 opposite to the connecting portion of the tether 11c, and has a conical cone-shaped coupler constituting the coupling means. A vacuum suction hose 10b constituting a capture line is connected to 10a, and can be connected to the large airship 12 by vacuum suction using a vacuum suction pump 10c mounted on the hull 11a of the tag airship 11. Further, a wire 10d forming a capture line is connected to the connector 10a, and the connector 10a is wound up together with a vacuum suction hose 10b by a winch 10e forming a winding device mounted on the hull 11a of the tag airship 11.
The large airship 12 connected to the vehicle can be drawn.

The rear end 11d of the tag airship 11 is
It is an annular soft hull having a through hole formed in the center so that the vacuum suction hose 10b and the wire 10d can pass therethrough.
The nose cone 12 of the large airship 12
a, and the gas inside the hull 1
1a.

Further, in the tag airship 11, a holding frame 10f corresponding to the nose cone 12a of the large airship 12 is provided.
Is attached to the rear end 11d of the hull 11a so that the nose cone 12a can be brought into close contact therewith.

On the other hand, the large airship 12 docked with the tag airship 11 is, for example, a stratosphere airship that flies in the stratosphere, and is required to fly in the range of 500 to 1000 m (safe altitude) from the ground to the stratosphere. A propulsion device is mounted, and a propulsion device required for self-propelled flight in a portion lower than the safe altitude is not mounted, so that weight is reduced.

Next, a method of docking the tag airship 11 and the large airship 12 using the airship docking device 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

The tug airship 11 is operated and the large airship 12
Go to the vicinity, and vacuum suction hose 1 of the docking device 10
0b and the wire 10d are unreeled from the winch 10e, and the coupler 10a is brought into contact with the nose cone 12a at the tip of the large airship 12, and is vacuum-suctioned by the vacuum suction pump 10c to establish a connected state (see FIG. 2A).

Thereafter, the large-sized airship 12 is drawn by winding the vacuum suction hose 10b and the wire 10d by the winch 10e, and the rear end 11d of the tag airship 11 is recessed to be in close contact with the holding frame 10f.

By using such an airship docking device 10, the large airship 12 and the tag airship 11 can be easily docked and integrated with each other at a safe altitude, and the propulsion device 14 of the tag airship 11 allows the large airship 12 to be grounded. Attitude control in the vicinity can be performed.

The takeoff and landing using the tag airship 11 are performed, for example, as follows.

(1) In case of takeoff: The coupler 10a of the docking device 10 of the tag airship 11 is connected to the large airship 12 moored at a mooring post or the like on the ground, and the tether 11c is pulled out while the tether 11c is extended from the winch 11b. The large airship 12 is taken from the ground to the safe altitude by the propulsion device 14 and the tilt mechanism 13, the docking device 10 is separated at the safe altitude, the large airship 12 is released, and the large airship 12 itself is allowed to fly by its own propulsion device. Take off is complete.

(2) Landing The tag airship 11 is flown by the propulsion device 14 and the tilt mechanism 13 while the tether 11c is extended from the winch 11b to the large airship 12 waiting at a safe altitude. After the large airship 12 is captured by the docking device 10 mounted on the
The tether 11c is taken up by b, the tagging airship 11 and the large airship 12 are drawn to the ground, and moored at a mooring post or the like, and the landing is completed.

By using such a tag airship 11, there is no need to mount a propulsion device or the like for self-flighting to the ground on the large airship 12 itself, and a large airship without a large and heavy propulsion device. 12 can be safely taken off and landed.

As a result, even if the airship itself becomes large like a stratospheric airship, it is possible to sufficiently secure the mounting weight of the equipment and the like.

[0038]

As described above in detail with one embodiment, according to the method for docking an airship according to the first aspect of the present invention, after a catching rope is extended from a certain airship and connected to a docked airship. However, since this catching line is drawn and the outer shape of the airship is recessed and docked according to the outer shape of the docked airship, the two airships can be docked in the air at a safe altitude, and the outer shapes of the two airships can be matched. Can be connected together.

This makes it possible to safely control the attitude of the large airship near the ground, such as takeoff and landing, without increasing the weight of the large airship itself by using the propulsion device of the docked airship. it can.

According to the docking method for an airship according to the second aspect of the present invention, the tip of the airship to be docked is closely attached to the holding frame provided at the rear end of the airship so as to correspond to the tip shape of the airship to be docked. Since the docked airship is brought into close contact with the holding frame, the docking state of the two airships can be more reliably maintained,
Attitude control can be performed more reliably.

Further, according to the docking device for an airship according to the third aspect of the present invention, a winding device mounted on the airship, a capture cable fed and wound by the winding device,
Since it is composed of the connecting means provided at the tip of the capture line and connected to the docked airship, the capture line is drawn out from the back of the airship and connected to the tip of the docked airship, and then the capture line is pulled by the winding device. The rear end of the airship can be recessed and fitted in close contact with the tip shape of the docked airship, and the two airships can be docked in the air at a safe altitude.

Further, according to the docking device for an airship according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since a holding frame is provided at the rear end of the airship to correspond to the shape of the tip of the docked airship and closely attach the tip to the docked airship. By bringing the docking airship into close contact with the holding frame, the docking state of the two airships can be more reliably maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airship docking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, wherein FIG.
(B) is a schematic perspective view of the docking device, and (c) is a detailed view of the propulsion device.

FIG. 2 is a process chart according to an embodiment of the airship docking method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of takeoff and landing of an airship according to an embodiment of the airship docking device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view of a conventional airship.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 docking device for airship 10a coupling device (connection means) 10b vacuum suction hose (capture line) 10c vacuum suction pump 10d wire (capture line) 10e winch (winding device) 10f holding frame 11 tag airship (airship) 11a hull 11b winch 11c Tether 11d Rear end 12 Large airship (docked airship) 12a Nose cone (tip) 13 Tilt mechanism 14 Propulsion device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kosuke Isomura 3-5-1 Mukodaicho, Tanashi-shi, Tokyo Ishikawa Shima-Harima Heavy Industries, Ltd. Tanashi Plant

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An airship that pulls out a capture line from a certain airship and connects it to a docked airship, and then pulls the capture line so that the outer shape of the airship is depressed in accordance with the external shape of the docked airship. How to dock an airship. 2. The docking airship according to claim 1, wherein the tip of the docked airship is brought into close contact with a holding frame provided at the rear end of the airship corresponding to the tip shape of the docked airship. Airship docking method. 3. A take-up device mounted on an airship, a capture cable fed out and wound by the take-up device, and a connecting means provided at the tip of the capture cable and connected to a docked airship. And the docking device of the airship. 4. A docking device for an airship according to claim 3, wherein a holding frame is provided at a rear end of the airship so as to correspond to the tip shape of the airship to be docked and closely contact the front end.