JPH03164396A - Airship - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an airship which can take off and land in a small space by composing a gas container to be long vertically and almost of a similar size horizontally to the horizontal size of a main body part to float. CONSTITUTION:Compressed air of a sufficient volume is put into an air bag 16 in a main body part to float 4 to make the buoyancy of a gas container 2 small to stay on the ground, and the volume of the air bag 16 is reduced by removing the compressed air properly to increase the volume of helium gas to float and take off. In this case, when a propeller 22 is actuated to be directed up, a larger buoyancy can be obtained. When a predetermined height is reached, the propeller 22 is directed forward for propulsion to fly horizontally. For landing, compressed air is supplied into the air bag 16 under pressure to reduce the buoyancy of the gas container 2 to land. In this case, the propeller 22 can be directed down for propulsion to increase the down going speed. The down propulsion, however, is stopped just before landing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an airship, and particularly to a small airship suitable for leisure and rescue purposes.

[Problems to be solved by conventional techniques and inventions] In recent years,
Airships are attracting attention as slow-speed, low-noise, and energy-saving aircraft. Conventional airships have a spheroid-shaped levitation gas container arranged horizontally with the longitudinal direction in the front-back direction, helium gas sealed in the gas container, and a levitating main body equipped with an engine, propeller, crew cabin, etc. is suspended from the bottom of the gas container.

Therefore, the gas container requires a sufficiently larger volume than the main body to be levitated, and in particular, its length is considerably larger. Therefore, the above-mentioned conventional airship requires a considerably larger space for takeoff and landing than the levitating body. Incidentally, in recent years, leisure activities such as flying in the sky using hot air balloons, hang gliders, etc. have become popular, and airships can also be used for this purpose. It is also possible to use airships for rescue purposes. However, in order for airships to be widely used for these purposes, it is desirable to be able to take off and land in as narrow a space as possible.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an airship that can take off and land in a narrow space.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided a gas container filled with floating gas, and a cover that is suspended below the gas container and is equipped with an engine and a propeller. An airship having a buoyant main body, wherein the gas container has a vertically elongated shape, and the horizontal dimension is approximately the same as the horizontal dimension of the buoyant main body. be done.

In the present invention, there is a configuration in which the hanging attitude of the levitating main body with respect to the gas container can be changed.

In the present invention, there is a form in which the levitating main body can be separated from the gas container.

In the present invention, the propulsion direction of the propeller is directed upward,
There are configurations that can be switched forward and downward.

[Example] Hereinafter, specific examples of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of an airship according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a partially omitted plan view thereof.

In these figures, 2 is a gas container filled with levitation gas, and 4 is a levitated main body suspended below the gas container.

The gas container 2 is a vertically elongated cylindrical body, and has an oval cross section in the horizontal plane that is elongated in the front-rear direction. The gas container 2 is hermetically filled with helium gas, which is a levitation gas. The gas container is a bag made of a sheet 12 with good airtightness, and a reinforcing band 14 is provided on the surface thereof. The reinforcing bands are not only vertical and horizontal but also diagonal, and such composite reinforcement prevents the gas container 2 from deforming. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the surface of the gas container.

An air bag (ballonet) 16 is located at the bottom of the gas container 2.
is built-in. The air bladder is communicated with the outside of the gas container 2 through a hose 18, through which compressed air can be forced into the air bladder 16 and compressed air can be discharged from the air bladder 16.

The air bag 16 is a deformable bag with good airtightness. still,
In the drawing, the air bag 16 is shown in its most expanded state (the state in which the compressed air is maximized) by the broken line. The levitating main body 4 is located below the gas container 2. An engine is mounted on the levitating main body 4, and 2
2 is a propeller driven by the engine. The propeller can rotate 180 degrees horizontally and horizontally, and the propulsion direction can be switched upward, forward, and downward.

Further, the main body 4 to be floated is equipped with a compressor for producing compressed air, and the compressor is connected to the hose 18. Reference numeral 24 denotes a passenger compartment, where the rotation and propulsion direction of the propeller 22, the entry and exit of compressed air into the air bag 16, etc. can be controlled.

As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, the dimensions of the gas container 2 in the horizontal direction (front-rear direction and left-right direction) are approximately the same as the horizontal dimensions of the main body 4 to be levitated. Here, "comparable" means that the horizontal dimension of the gas container 2 is twice or less the horizontal dimension of the main body 4 to be levitated.

A coupling post 26 is provided at the upper part of the levitating main body 4, and the lower ends of a plurality of hanging lobes 28 are connected to the upper end of the coupling post 26 via a universal joint. The upper ends of these lobes are connected to the lower peripheral part of the gas container 2.

Incidentally, the main body part 4 to be floated and the lower peripheral part of the gas container 2 are also directly connected by the hanging lobe 30 without using the connection post 26 mentioned above.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a working lobe that is suspended from the upper part of the gas container 2, and its lower end is locked to the main body 4 to be floated.

It goes without saying that the levitated main body part 4 has legs for grounding.

The manner in which the airship of the above embodiment is used will be explained below.

By putting a sufficient volume of compressed air into the air bag 16, the buoyancy of the gas container 2 is reduced, and from the state where it is on the ground, the compressed air is appropriately removed from the air bag 16 to reduce the volume of the air bag. This increases the volume of helium gas, causing the aircraft to levitate and take off. In this case, propeller 22
By switching the propeller to upward propulsion and then operating the propeller, greater buoyancy can be obtained.

When a predetermined altitude is reached, the propeller 22 is switched to forward propulsion to fly horizontally. In this case, since the gas container 2 is long in the vertical direction, the upper part of the gas container may be tilted backward, but flight is possible. Furthermore, by appropriately letting out or winding up each of the lobes 30 when the gas container is tilted backward, it is possible to fly with the main body 4 to be levitated maintained almost horizontally, as shown in FIG. .

At the time of landing, compressed air is injected into the air bag 16 to reduce the buoyancy of the gas container 2 and the aircraft lands on the ground. At this time, the propeller 22 can be switched to downward propulsion to increase the descending speed. However, just before landing, the downward propulsion is stopped.

Temporary mooring is performed by connecting the buoyant main body portion 4 to an anchor using a mooring lobe.

Next, operations during long-term mooring will be explained.

FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the mooring operation after landing.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), the working robe 32
The lower end of the right-hand booby 42 is fed out from the winch 40.
It is connected to the tip of a lobe 44 wrapped around the lobes.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the winch 4
0 to wind up the lobe 44. This causes the gas container 2 to fall down. In this case, the connection between the main body 4 to be levitated and the gas container 2 by the lobe 30 is disconnected.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(C), the gas container 2 is completely collapsed, and the upper and lower portions of the gas container, as well as appropriate portions, are secured to the anchor by the lobes 46. At this time,
The levitating main body 4 and the gas container 2 are separated at a universal joint.

In the airship of this embodiment as described above, an extremely narrow space (for example, a space approximately the same size as the main body part 4 to be floated) is used.
Since it can land on the boat, it can be widely used as a small rescue boat and for leisure purposes.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the airship according to the present invention, and (a). (b). (c) is a side view, respectively.
These are a front view and a plain view. In these figures, the same reference numerals are given to the same members as in FIGS. 1 to 6 above. In addition, dimensions are indicated in m units.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the airship according to the present invention, and (a). (b) and (c) are side views, respectively.
They are a front view and a plan view. In these figures, the same members as in FIGS. 1 to 6 are given the same reference numerals. In addition, dimensions are indicated in m units.

In this third embodiment, a solar cell 50 is attached to a portion of the top and side surfaces of the gas container 2. The battery can be charged with electricity generated by the battery, which is preferable in terms of energy saving.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention as described above, a levitation gas container that is long in the vertical direction and whose horizontal dimension is comparable to the horizontal dimension of the main body to be levitated is used, so it can be used in difficult places. In this case, the possibility of using the fin wakabachi is increased.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing the first embodiment of the airship according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is its front view, Fig. 3 is its partially omitted plan view, and Fig. 4 is its gas FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the surface of the container. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the flight state of the first embodiment of the airship according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the mooring operation after landing. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the airship according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the airship according to the present invention. 2: Gas container, 4: Floating main body, 14: Reinforcement band,
16: Air bag, 18: Hose, 22: Propeller, 26: Connection post, 28, 30: Lobe. Figure l Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In an airship having a gas container filled with levitation gas and a levitating main body suspended below the gas container and equipped with an engine and a propeller, the gas container is long in the vertical direction and horizontally An airship characterized in that the dimensions of the buoyant main body are approximately the same as the horizontal dimensions of the buoyant main body. (2) The airship according to claim 1, wherein the suspended attitude of the buoyant main body with respect to the gas container can be changed. (3) The airship according to claim 1, wherein the buoyant main body can be separated from the gas container. (4) The airship according to claim 1, wherein the propulsion direction of the propeller can be switched between upward, forward, and downward.