JP3524442B2 - Soft altitude airship and its operation control method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a soft high-altitude airship and its operation control method, and more specifically, to propelling power in the stratosphere such as photoelectric conversion of sunlight against wind. However, it is a giant LTA (Lighter-Than-Air) of all-soft type that conducts observations and wireless relays to protect the global environment.
The present invention relates to a high altitude airship effective for application to a platform airframe and an operation control method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Known scientific balloons do not exhaust air in their ascent, expand the balloon with helium and ascend with buoyancy, and let the wind move while throwing away the ballast during level flight, At the start of descent, a part of the balloon is torn and the loaded object is dropped by a parachute. On the other hand, the airspace in the lower stratosphere, which is about 20 km from the ground, is sunny all year round, and the wind is weak and calm.
It is effective to use the platform for long-term airborne and environment observation and information relay, but in this case, it is difficult to climb and process using the same means as the scientific balloon, A stable soft landing is required by simple means.

As a high-altitude airship that constitutes such a huge LTA platform, a multi-gas bladder airship having the construction shown in FIG. 4 has been proposed. This airship is provided with a movable and deformable gas chamber 22 which is divided into a large number from the head to the tail in an envelope 21, and these gas chambers 22 are filled with helium gas and the space 23 outside thereof is filled. As shown in FIG. 5, the helium gas inside and outside the deformable gas chamber 22 and the air are moved in the airframe to move the buoyancy center 24 by moving the helium gas inside and outside the deformable gas chamber 22. The configuration is such that the position of the center of gravity 25 is changed and the change is minimized.

In this multi-gas-bladder airship, as described above, the distance between the center of buoyancy 24 and the center of gravity 25 is small, so it is possible to take a nearly horizontal ascending posture by using the control wings of the tail fin. , The rising speed can be freely set by adjusting the surplus buoyancy, but since the gas chamber 22 is subdivided into a large number, the free boundary surface between air and helium gas becomes large, and the area of the film material becomes large. Since the film material that forms the free boundary surface is deformed due to changes in the attitude of the airframe due to flight and the like, material fatigue easily occurs and the structure is easily destroyed. There is a problem with that.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The technical problem of the present invention is basically a soft high-altitude airship whose airframe is composed of a soft pressure membrane structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a structure and an operation control method thereof that can easily and easily control descent. Another technical problem of the present invention is to provide a soft high-altitude airship in which the area and weight of the film material used are minimized to reduce the weight of the machine body and the destruction due to material fatigue is minimized. It is in. Another technical object of the present invention is to provide a soft high-altitude airship having a structure that achieves its purpose in the safest and cheapest manner.

[0006]

A soft high-altitude airship according to the present invention for solving the above problems includes an envelope and a tail formed by a pressure membrane structure, and the inside of the envelope is filled with air. The air chamber with a relatively small volume in the head and tail, the air chamber with a large volume in the lower center, the small gas chamber filled with levitation gas in the upper center, and the envelope other than the above air chamber and small gas chamber With a large gas tuft formed in the space of, each of the air tufts, while communicating with the outside atmosphere through a pressure regulating valve that opens when the difference between their internal pressure and atmospheric pressure exceeds a certain value, It is equipped with a pressure blower that is driven so that the difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure does not fall below a certain value, the small gas chamber is provided with gas discharge means for discharging floating gas when descending, and the large gas chamber is descended. Atmosphere It is characterized in the provision of the air infeed means fed.

Further, the operation control method of a soft high altitude airship according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is provided with an envelope and a tail formed by a pressure membrane structure, and the inside of the envelope is filled with air. The air chamber with a relatively small volume of the head and tail, the air chamber with a large volume in the center lower part, the small gas chamber filled with levitation gas in the upper center, and the inside of the envelope except the air chamber and the small gas chamber A method for controlling the operation of a soft high-altitude airship with a large gas chamber formed in a space.When the airship ascends, the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy rise upright due to the movement of levitation gas and air in the envelope. Maintaining the posture and discharging the air so that the pressure difference between the internal pressure of the air chamber and the atmospheric pressure is kept at a constant value, the surplus buoyancy of the levitation gas in the above large gas chamber raises the air to increase the mission altitude. Emits air and surplus levitation gas to the outside atmosphere and keeps the levitation gas in a horizontal position in a state where only the levitation gas in the envelope is almost expanded.When the airship descends, the levitation gas in the small gas chamber is discharged. In addition, the atmosphere is mixed with the levitation gas in the large gas chamber, and the air is lowered by its own weight while maintaining the shape and rigidity of the envelope.

According to the soft high-altitude airship having the above structure and the operation control method thereof, in the soft high-altitude airship whose body is composed of the soft pressure membrane structure, control of ascent, level flight and descent is achieved with an extremely simple structure. Also, the area and weight of the membrane material used can be minimized to reduce the weight of the aircraft, and damage due to material fatigue can be minimized, which is safe and inexpensive. Can have a structure that achieves the purpose.

[0009]

1 to 3 show an embodiment of a soft high-altitude airship according to the present invention. This soft high-altitude airship is provided with an envelope (airframe body) 1 and a tail 2, which are formed by a pressure film structure, and as described below, the inside of the envelope 1 is filled with air. The air bunches 11 to 13 and the gas bunches 14 and 15 filled with buoyant gas such as helium gas are provided, and the surplus buoyancy of the buoyant gas in these gas bunches raises them to a mission altitude of about 20 to 22 km above the ground. Airborne at low wind speed altitude, and the descent is to discharge part of the levitation gas and descend due to its own weight. That is, this soft-type high-altitude airship does not perform ascending / descending by power propulsion in principle, and only horizontal flight at high altitude is powered-propulsion, and can be called a power balloon.

The structure of the soft high-altitude airship will be described more specifically. As shown in FIG.
Is divided into five spaces, and the air chamber 11 has a relatively small volume of the head and tail filled with air,
12 and an air chamber 13 with a large volume in the lower center,
In addition, a small gas chamber 14 filled with levitation gas in the upper center
And a large gas chamber 15 formed in the space inside the envelope 1 excluding the air chambers 11 to 13 and the small gas chamber 14. The head and tail air chambers 11 and 12 have a volume of about 10% of the total volume, and the large air chamber 12 at the lower center has a volume of about 80%. The small upper gas chamber 14 is formed to have a volume of about 10% of the total volume. Further, when the large gas chamber 15 discharges all the air and the floating gas in the air chambers 11 to 13 and the small gas chamber 14,
As shown in, the volume is formed to be approximately the same as the volume of the space in the envelope 1.

In the above airship, in order to keep the differential pressure between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure at a constant value when it rises, air is discharged from all the air chambers and the pressurized film tail in the envelope, and when it descends, they are discharged. It is necessary to send the atmosphere into the air chamber of Therefore, the three air chambers 11 to 13 and the pressurizing film tail 2 are opened to the outside atmosphere via pressure adjusting valves (not shown). These pressure regulating valves are controlled so that the internal air is discharged to the outside atmosphere when the difference between the internal pressure of each of the air chambers 11 to 13 and the atmospheric pressure exceeds a certain value. At the same time, these three air chambers 1
1 to 13 and the pressure film tail 2 are provided with a pressure blower (not shown), and the pressure blower is driven so that the difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure does not become a certain value or less, and the pressure of the outside air is reduced. It is controlled so as to maintain a constant differential pressure and maintain rigidity.

The small gas chamber 14 at the upper center of the envelope 1 is about 10% of the total buoyancy when the descent is started from the level flight at the mission altitude.
It is for releasing the gas to the outside atmosphere and initiating the descent. Therefore, a valve that is sufficiently airtight is provided in this small gas chamber 14 and this valve is opened at the start of descent, or instead of this valve, the outer coating of the gas chamber 14 is perforated and helium
Gas releasing means such as a perforating mechanism for releasing gas is provided. If necessary, a pressure regulating valve for maintaining the pressure difference with the outside atmosphere at a certain value or less can be provided. Small gas bunch 1
The amount of helium gas to be filled in 4 is set in advance so that a prescribed amount can be filled with the volume of the gas chamber 14 kept constant. The inside of the small gas chamber 14 may be further divided into a plurality of small gas chambers, and each small gas chamber may be equipped with the valve and the like. These divided small gas chamber valves,
It is optional whether the airships are opened at the beginning of descent or partially sequentially to adjust the descent speed.

On the other hand, the air chambers 11 to 13 in the envelope 1
The levitation gas filled in the large gas chamber 15 formed by the space other than the small gas chamber 14 and the small gas chamber 14 is, in principle, in flight during the flight except for the gas discharge for maintaining the differential pressure with the outside atmosphere at a certain value or less. However, when the airship descends, the ambient air is mixed with the levitation gas of the large gas chamber 15 and is lowered by its own weight while maintaining the shape and rigidity of the envelope. The tuft 15 is provided with an air feeding means such as a pressure blower for feeding the outside atmosphere into the levitation gas.

As described above, the airship is descended by discharging the levitation gas from the small gas chamber 14, but if necessary, the amount of helium gas discharged from the small gas chamber 14 is changed to the gas discharge amount. The descent speed is adjusted by means, the levitation gas in the large gas chamber 15 is mixed with the external atmosphere, and air is sent into the optional air chambers 11 to 13 as necessary to balance the descent rate and the posture. While adjusting, the final descent speed is controlled so that the final descent speed does not become excessive and a danger such as a collision with a surface object does not occur and the user descends on the sea or on the surface.

The above-mentioned high-altitude airship is basically formed by a flexible pressure film structure, but for generating a propulsive force that stays in a fixed position against the wind at low wind speed altitude in the stratosphere. It goes without saying that a propulsion device, various devices for missions, a power generation device for generating power for driving them by photoelectric conversion of sunlight, and the above-mentioned pressure regulating valve and pressure blower are of course provided.

Next, the manner of ascent, level flight and descent of the above-mentioned high altitude airship will be described. FIG. 2 shows a state when the above-mentioned high altitude airship is elevated. In this case, the air in the air chamber 11 is discharged as necessary, but the buoyant gas filled in the large gas chamber 15 has an excess buoyancy, and in the envelope 1, the center of gravity 17 and the buoyant center are caused by the movement of the buoyant gas and air. Eighteen leave and naturally take an upright posture. When the airship ascends, air is discharged from the air chambers 11 to 13 and the pressure film tail 2 in the envelope via the pressure regulating valve in order to keep the pressure difference between the inner pressure and the atmospheric pressure at a constant value. Note that FIG.
In the multi-gas-bladder airship having the configuration shown in FIG. 5, the attitude is unstable because the distance between the buoyant center 24 and the center of gravity 25 at the time of ascent is small as shown in FIG. It is possible to take a climbing posture that is almost horizontal, but the climbing speed becomes extremely low as the aircraft becomes horizontal.

Since the ascending speed of the airship is basically proportional to the square root of the surplus buoyancy, in the above-mentioned high altitude airship, the ascending speed can be freely selected by adjusting the surplus buoyancy. And large gas bunch 15
The surplus buoyancy gas in
The inside of the envelope 1 is almost exclusively expanded helium. Therefore, if the positional relationship between the center of gravity 17 and the center of buoyancy 18 is set in advance so that the aircraft takes a horizontal posture, it is possible to proceed to horizontal flight as it is.

When the airship ascends to high altitude and reaches the stratosphere (mission altitude) of low wind speed altitude, as described above,
Since the inside of the envelope 1 is mostly expanded helium, and the aircraft takes a horizontal posture due to the positional relationship between the center of gravity 17 and the center of buoyancy 18, it is propelled by the photoelectric conversion power of sunlight against wind and maintains a fixed position. By doing so, it is possible to carry out missions such as monitoring for environmental protection and wireless relay of information.

FIG. 3 shows a state at the time of descending feedback after performing the mission. When the airship descends, basically, the levitation gas in the small gas chamber 14 is discharged, and the levitation gas in the large gas chamber 15 is mixed with the ambient atmosphere by the air feeding means, and further, if necessary. Air is blown into any of the air chambers 11 to 13 by a pressure blower and lowered by its own weight while maintaining the shape and rigidity of the envelope 1. However, by controlling the discharge of the levitation gas and the feeding of the external atmosphere, It is possible to control the descending speed in a wide speed range. As a result, the final subsidence speed is prevented from becoming excessive, and it is returned to the sea or the surface.

When the airship descends, it sucks the outside air and completely removes it from the levitation gas.
If separated into ~ 13, the center of gravity and the center of gravity become too far apart, making it difficult to raise the nose. Therefore, by sending the external air into the large gas chamber 15, mixing the levitation gas and air, and measuring the closeness of the positional relationship between the buoyant center and the center of gravity, it is possible to cause the fuselage on the tail control plate. . However, since the descent rate depends on the proportion of levitation gas released, if the descent rate is sufficiently slow, it is relatively safe to land on the ground with the nose down, and by using a parachute near the surface. The landing speed can be reduced. In particular, it is important to adjust the amount of levitation gas discharged so that the final settlement rate does not become excessive, and to control the landing so that there is no danger from collision with surface materials, etc. And the gas chamber is of the simplest construction and arrangement suitable for such control.

The above-mentioned high altitude airship whose airframe is composed of a soft pressure film structure can be landed in the same manner as a conventional balloon, and not only the load force applied to the ground surface is small, but also when it is accidentally landed. Also, the degree of damage to the aircraft itself and damage to the ground surface is insignificant. Moreover, the above-mentioned high-altitude airship is capable of climbing, leveling, and descending with the simplest structure and method, and can achieve the purpose safely and inexpensively.

[0022]

According to the present invention described in detail above, a high-altitude airship whose airframe is composed of a soft pressure membrane structure has an extremely simple structure and minimizes the area and weight of the membrane material used. ,
The weight of the airframe can be reduced, and the structure can be configured to minimize the damage due to material fatigue. Also,
It is possible to provide a configuration and an operation control method thereof that can easily and easily control ascent, level flight, and descent of the soft high-altitude airship.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a soft high altitude airship according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state of the soft type high altitude airship at the time of rising.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state when the soft high-altitude airship is descending.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a configuration of a previously proposed multi-gas bladders.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state in which the multi-gas-bladder airship is raised.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 envelope 2 tail 11-13 Air bunch 14 small gas bunch 15 large gas bunch

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Masahiko Onda, 1-chome, Namiki 1-2, Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Industrial Technology (72) Inventor, Hiroshi Sugimoto 1-7-15, Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Within Skypia Co., Ltd. (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B64B 1/38 B64B 1/62 B64B 1/58 B64B 1/60 B64B 1/02

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An envelope and a tail formed by a pressure membrane structure, wherein an air chamber having a relatively small volume of a head and a tail filled with air and a volume of a central lower part are provided inside the envelope. A large air tuft, a small gas tuft filled with levitation gas in the central upper portion, and a large gas tuft formed in a space inside the envelope excluding the air tuft and the small gas tuft, each of the air tufts When the difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure exceeds a certain value, it communicates with the outside atmosphere through a pressure regulating valve that is opened, and the pressure is driven so that the difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure does not fall below a certain value. A blower, the small gas chamber is provided with gas releasing means for releasing the floating gas when descending, and the large gas chamber is provided with air introducing means for injecting the outside atmosphere when descending. Soft high altitude airship. 2. An envelop and a tail formed by a pressure membrane structure, wherein the envelop has an air chamber in which a head and a tail filled with air are relatively small in volume, and a central lower part is large in volume. Control the operation of a soft high altitude airship that has an air chamber, a small gas chamber filled with levitation gas in the upper center, and a large gas chamber formed in the space inside the envelope excluding the air chamber and the small gas chamber. When the airship ascends, it maintains an upright posture in which the center of gravity and the center of buoyancy are separated by the movement of levitation gas and air in the envelope, and the differential pressure between the internal pressure of the air chamber and the atmospheric pressure is kept constant. The air and excess levitation gas are released almost to the outside atmosphere at the mission altitude while the air is exhausted so that the air is exhausted to increase the surplus buoyancy of the levitation gas in the above large gas chamber. When the airship is descended, the levitation gas in the small gas chamber is discharged, and the levitation gas in the large gas chamber is mixed with the external atmosphere to change the shape of the envelope. A method for controlling the operation of a soft-type high-altitude airship, characterized in that it is lowered by its own weight while maintaining rigidity.