JPH0328100A - Lightweight buoy - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a sufficient pay-load, provide a lesser air resistance, and accomplish a stable flight even under bad weather by forming a lightweight floating body from a wing structure supporting a heavy object suspendedly and a pressure holding means to hold a pressure a little higher than the atmospheric pressure around closed spaces of this wing structure. CONSTITUTION:A wing 1 of a floating body is made from a sheet or film, and the inside of this wing 1 is divided into a plurality of closed spaces 1d by a plurality of bulkheads 1c arranged at a certain spacing in the direction across the wing width. The shape of the wing is maintained by holding the pressure in each closed space 1d at a value a little higher than the ambient atmospheric pressure by a pressure holding means, and a lift is generated by the air stream in the direction fore and aft. Because a heavy object is borne suspendedly by cords fixed to the bulkheads 1c of the wing structure, no excessive bending moment will be generated in the wing structure. This enables increasing the share of the pay-load. Provision of no opening at the front edge generates a small air resistance, which should ensure stable flight even under bad weather.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a lightweight floating body that flies at low speed in the air or is moored in the air.

[Prior art]

Aircraft flying at low speeds at high altitudes in thin air require extremely large wing areas. In a typical aircraft structure, the bending moment due to the lift force increases, which increases the proportion of structural weight and reduces the proportion of payload, which greatly reduces economic efficiency.

This problem is known to occur similarly in the case of winged tethered balloons. Also, as such a flying vehicle, the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6
No. 4-74199 discloses a so-called paraglider in which the leading edge of the wing is opened and used as an air intake, but this method has poor flight performance because of the large air resistance at the leading edge opening. If part of the wing stalls due to vertical or crosswinds, the air intake port collapses and the required lift cannot be maintained.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention solves the problem that the bay load ratio decreases in light floating bodies such as low-speed flying vehicles and winged tethered balloons, and makes it possible to obtain sufficient bay load. The aim is to provide a lightweight floating body that can fly stably.

[Means to solve the problem]

the above! ! In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, the wings of a floating body are constructed with upper and lower outer skins made of thin films or thin plates, and partition walls arranged at intervals in the direction of the wing radius between them. A closed space is formed between each partition, and means are provided for maintaining the pressure in the closed space at a value slightly higher than the surrounding atmospheric pressure.

A string is attached to each bulkhead, and a heavy object is suspended and supported from the string.

Examples of suspended heavy objects include the propulsion engine and fuel for propelling the floating body forward in the case of airships, but in the case of energy-propelled aircraft using solar cells or microwaves, the propulsion power Examples include Gai motor. In addition, moored balloons have a wide range of uses as suspended heavy objects, and one example is a wind turbine for power generation.

[For production]

In the present invention, the wings of the floating body are formed of thin films or thin plates, and the inside of the wing is divided into a plurality of closed spaces by a plurality of partition walls arranged at intervals in the direction of the wing radius. The shape of the wing is maintained by maintaining the pressure inside the closed space at a value slightly higher than the surrounding atmospheric pressure, and lift is generated by the airflow flowing in the front and back direction. Since the heavy objects are suspended and supported by strings attached to each bulkhead of the wing structure, the wing structure is not subjected to excessive bending moments. Therefore, it becomes possible to increase the payload ratio.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a free-flying floating body having umbrella-shaped wings. This floating body has wings 1 and a body 3 suspended from the wings 1 by strings 2. Within 3 degrees of the fuselage is the propulsion motor as shown in Figure 2! a5 is arranged, and a propulsion propeller 4 is placed at the tip of the drive shaft of the nuclear engine 5.
is installed.

FIG. 3 shows details of the structure of the wing 1. The wing 1 consists of an upper skin 1a and a lower skin 1b.
Partition walls IC are disposed at intervals in the blade radius direction between b. The partition wall 1C divides the inside of the wing 1 into a plurality of closed spaces 1d. As shown in FIG. 2, a bomb 6° is disposed inside the body 3, and a discharge port of the pump 6 is communicated with a closed space 1d through a hose 7. In this embodiment, each partition IC is formed with a small hole 8 as shown in FIG. 2, and each closed space 1d communicates with each other through this small hole 8.

In this embodiment, by sending air from the pump 6 to the blade 1, the pressure inside the closed space ld of x1 is maintained at a pressure slightly higher than the surrounding atmospheric pressure, and the shape of the blade 1 can be maintained. When the floating body changes its altitude, the atmospheric pressure changes, so it is necessary to change the pressure within the closed space ld of the wing 1. For this purpose, a solenoid valve 9 is provided on the blade 1 to reduce the pressure 1 (sometimes the solenoid valve 9 discharges the pressure in the closed space ld, and when the pressure needs to be increased, air is replenished by the bomb 6). The string 2 is connected to the wing 1 at the location of the bulkhead IC.At this time, the string 2 may be directly connected to the bulkhead,
It may also be bonded to the lower integument 1b.

Figures 4 and 5 show an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a moored floating body. As shown, the floating body of this embodiment has wings 1 and suspension strings 2 as in the previous embodiment. A structure 10 is suspended from the string 2, and a windmill type power generation unit 11 is supported on this structure 10. Structure 10
A control box 12 is supported at the lower end of the control box 12, and equipment for controlling the base, power generation, and power transmission is housed within the control box 12. The floating body of this embodiment is moored to the ground, and the structure 10 is moored by mooring cables 13.
moored to the ground.

Referring to FIG. 5, in this embodiment as well, the closed space inside the blade l is filled with a lightweight gas such as helium, and the bulkhead IC
They communicate with each other through small holes 8 shaped like , and lightweight gas is sent from the bomb 6 to the hose 7 into one closed space. Moreover, a ballonet 14 made of a flexible material bag is arranged in each closed space, and air is sent to this ballonet 14 from a bomb 6a via a hose 7a. By appropriately adjusting the pressure of the air sent to the ballonet 14, the volume of the ballonet 14 can be adjusted, and as a result, the pressure within the closed space of the blade l can be adjusted.

In either embodiment, the adjustment of the pressure in the closed space within the blade 1 can be automatically controlled by providing a pressure sensor that detects the surrounding atmospheric pressure and the pressure within the closed space.

In addition, the structural material of the wing is not limited to flexible membrane materials.
It is also possible to use a thin metal plate or the like. Further, the gas filled in the blades can be selected from air or a lightweight gas such as helium depending on the purpose.

〔effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a wing structure that is extremely light compared to a normal aircraft, and heavy objects can be suspended by strings from bulkheads provided at intervals in the wingspan direction. Since the wing is supported, a large bending moment is not applied to the wing, making it possible to increase the proportion of the payload. Also, unlike a paraglider, there is no opening on the leading edge, which reduces air resistance and allows for stable flight even in bad weather.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a free-flying floating body showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 1, and FIG.
4 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 1' showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to FIG. 2 of the embodiment of FIG. 4. FIG. 1... Wing, 1b... Lower skin, 1d... Closed space, 3... Fuselage, 5... Prime mover, 7... Hose. 1a... Upper skin, IC... Bulkhead, 2... String, 4... Propeller, 6... Pump, Figure 1 Figure 3 Figure 5 1 M2 Figure 7 2 5-1

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of partition walls are arranged at intervals in the spanwise direction between the upper and lower outer skins of the thin film or thin plate to form a closed space between these partition walls, and suspension strings are attached to the partition walls to suspend and support heavy objects. 1. A lightweight floating body comprising: a wing structure configured as described above; and pressure holding means that always maintains a pressure slightly higher than the surrounding atmospheric pressure in the closed space of the wing structure.