US1022793A - Automatic balancing mechanism for flying-machines. - Google Patents

Description

L.LUKAG& AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLYING MAGHINBS.

A APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1911. 1,022,793, A

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBKA PLANOORAPH CU\VI\SHINGTON n. c.

24 2-! AERONAUTIUS L. LUKACS.

AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1911.

1,022,793. Patented Apr.9,1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES NVENTOR ATTORNEY L. LUKA GS.

AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLYING MACHINES.-

APPLIOATION FILED SEPT. 7, 191 1. 1 ,022,793. Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

' 6 SHEETS-SHBBT 3. a Q

(Wu L W I TN 5 5 E 5 Z44! AtHUNAUHUS L. LUKACS.

AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLYING MACHINES.

' APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7 1911. 1,022,793. I Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

HYHE- I s L [U] [A Y Y INVENTOR i a g/ ,2 ATTORNEY L. LUKA GS.

AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR. FLYING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1911.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

aL/IUORNEY ZHw HEHUNHU l lbb L. LUKA'OS.

AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLYING MACHINES.

APPLIGATION FILED SEPT. 7, 1911. 1,022,793, Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON. u. c.

m: MALQEHUIH STATES P LAZAR mines, on NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR or ONE-FOURTH 'ro'JoHN sztics, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC BALANCING MECHANISM FOR FLYING-MACHINES.

7 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, LAZAK LUKAcs, a subject of the King of Hungary, and resident of the city of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Balancing Mechanism for Flying-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to aeroplanes, and has for one of its objects to generally improve and simplify the construction of the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide means, whereby the aerial vessel will be automatically returned to a horizontal position, or in other words, whereby its equilibrium will be automatically maintained.

lVith these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invent-ion is better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter fully described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several parts and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

A few of the many possible embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an aerial vessel constructed in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a. similar elevat-ion of a modified device; Fig. 3 is a plan view of a detail of construction of the vessel shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 1 is a side elevation of another modification; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a portion of the vessel shown in Fig. -41; Fig. 6 is a plan view of a detail of construction; Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the detail shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a side elevation of still another modification of the vessel; Fig. 9 is a side elevation of a further modification of the invention; Fig. 10 is a front elevation of a detail of the vessel shown in Fig. 9; Fig. 11 is aside elevation of a still further modification of the invention; Fig. 12 is a side elevation of a detail of construction of the device shown in Fig. 11; Fig. 13 is a section taken on line 1313 Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 7, 1911.

Patented Apr. 9, 1912.

Serial No. 648,084.

of Fig. 12; Fig. 14 is a section taken on line 14l1t of Fig. 12; Fig. 15 is a plan view of a portion of the frame of the vessel shown in Fig. 11; Fig. 16 is a side elevation of a11- other modification of an aerial vessel constructed according to this invention; Fig. 17 is a detail of construction of the vessel shown in Fig. 16; Fig. 18 is a side elevation of a further modification; and Fig. 19 is a front elevation of part of the vessel shown in Fig. 18.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings, the numeral 21 designates the frame of the vessel, made of a suitable light and rigid material, and mounted upon wheels 22, 22, facilitating the transportation of the vessel and aiding the ascent of the same. The frame is usually made in the form of a cage, and to its top is attached the glider frame of the machine, comprising a frame 23 of light and rigid material, pro vided with a covering of silk or other suitable material, forming thereby an aeroplane. The glider frame is properly strengthened by vertical rods 24, which are connected to the frame by stay- wires 25, 25, to give the glider frame the required rigidness. Obviously one or more glider frames may be used according to the requirements.

A suitable source of power for actuating the propelling means of the vessel is provided, said source of power comprising in the present case an internal combustion engine 26, which is diagrammatically shown in the drawings. This internal combustion engine includes, for instance, a horizontally arranged cylinder 27, provided with trunnions 28, which are journaled in bearings 29, carried by longitudinal bars 30 of the frame. Upon the horizontal crankshaft 31 of the engine is mounted a screw propeller 32 of the required size and pitch, and acting in a manner and for the purpose to be described.

The automatic balancing mechanism of the vessel comprises a pendulum 33, having at its upper end a spindle 33, which is oscillatably mounted in the frame of the machine, its lower end, which extends as near as possible to the bottom of the vessel, being made in the form of a seat 33", upon which the aviator, and, if necessary, the passengers can be carried. The pendulum is provided with a rigid vertical extension 34;, to which is pivoted an actuating rod 35,

extending to the front of the machine, and being there pivoted to a lug 27 upon the cylinder 27 of the motor 26.

In the rear of the machine is arranged an auxiliary poiser plane 36, attached to a spindle 36, which is oscillatably arranged in the frame of the vessel, and carries fixedly attached thereto a sheave 37, over which runs an endless cord or wire 37, extending over a sheave 37", which is fixedly attached to the spindle 33 of the pendulum 33.

To guide the vessel in the horizontal plane a steering plane 38 is pivoted at 38 to an extension 21 of the frame of the vessel, said plane being connected by means of wires 39 with the shaft 40 of a steering wheel 40, which is arranged in front of the operators seat. Similar means may be employed for steering the vessel in the vertical plane, the same has not been shown, however, as it does not form part of this invention.

The operation of this device is as follows: It seems it is necessary to describe only the function and operation of the balancing means, since the operations of the other elements of the vessel are well known. The motion of the pendulum 33 is utilized for controlling the positions of the propeller 32 and of the poiser plane 36 relative to the frame 21 of the vessel. If, for instance, the front of the machine tilts downward, the pendulum will maintain substantially its vertical position. It will thereby vary by the intermediary of the actuating rod 35 the angular position of the propeller 32 relative to the frame of the vessel, and also the relative position of the auxiliary poiser plane 36 to the main frame 21, and to such an extent as to restore the equilibrium of the aerial vessel. The same conditions will, of course, exist when the back of the machine tilts downward.

In Fig. 2 of the drawings a modification of the device is shown, which difiers from the one illustrated in Fig. 1 in that the pendulum 33 is arranged centrally upon the main frame 21, and furthermore that the front wheel 22 of the frame is utilized as the steering means of the machine. For this purpose a portion of this front wheel is covered by a suitable fabric 22 and its fork 41 is oscillatably arranged in a tubular member 41 in the frame, and provided with an operating rod 41 extending backward within the reach of the operator. This rod is provided with a handle andis adapted to be shifted into notches;42, 42, of an arc-shaped support 42, whereby the front wheel 22 will be held in predetermined posit-ions. The operation of this de--- vice is, otherwise, in all respects identical 'with that shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings.

Another modification of the device is shown in Figs. 4 to 7, inclusive, in which the main frame of the apparatus is indicated by the numeral 43, and rests upon wheels 44 and 44. The front wheel 44 serves at the same time as a steering means in the horizontal plane, its construction need not be described, however, as it has been fully explained in connection with Fig. 2 of the drawings. The equilibrating means comprises in this case also a pendulum, indicated by the numeral 45 and provided at its lower end with a seat 46. This pendulum projects through a longitudinal slot 47 in a spindle 48 above the plane of the glider frames 49, which latter are rigidly fastened to the frame 43 of the vessel. The spindle 48 is oscillatably journaled in brackets 50, 50, which are attached in any suitable mannor to the frame 43, and the pendulum 45 is connected with the spindle 48 by means of a pivot 51, which extends at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the spindle 48. Obviously the pendulum is permitted thus to swing forward and backward, and also laterally. An upwardly extending bar 52 is rigidly attached to the spindle 48, and connected by means of an operating rod 53 with the engine cylinder 54, the latter being oscillatably mounted upon the main frame of the machine in a manner hereinbefore described. The crankshaft of the engine is denoted by the numeral 55, and carries the propeller 56. The end of the pendulum, which projects above the glider frames, is connected with the latter in the following manner: To the outer side of each glider frame are attached the ends of a flexible wire or rope 57, in engagement wit-h a sheave 58, the block of which is connected by a wire 59 with the upper end. of the pendulum 45.

The operation of this device is as follows: When the machine tilts in front or in back downward, the pendulum, acting upon the screw propeller 56, will cause the machine to return to its normal position. In this case, however, no movement is imparted by the pendulum to the aeroplanes 49. If the machine tilts laterally, the pendulum will swing around its pivot 51 and shift the aeroplanes 49 with the frame back to their normal positions. When tilting forward or backward, the sheaves 58 will simply be shifted upon the wires or ropes 57 without influencing the positions of the aeroplanes 49.

A further modification is illustrated in Fig. 8 of the drawings, in which a frame 60 is supported by wheels 61 and 62. The propeller is denoted by the numeral 63, its shaft 64 being journaled in bearings 65, 65. Upon this'shaft' is mounted a sprocket wheel 66, meshing with a chain 67, the latter engaging a sprocket wheel 68 upon the crankshaft 69 upon the motor 70, which is in this case mounted upon the bottom bars of the frame 60. The aeroplane 71 is pivoted at 72 to the top frame members of the frame 60, and upon one of its trunnions 73 is mounted a worm gear 74, meshing with a worm 75 upon an operating rod 76, which is rotatably journaled in bearings 77, carried by the main frame. The lower end of this operating rod is provided with a hand-wheel 78, which is located within the reach of the operator, who is carried by a seat 79 upon the pendulum 80, the latter being mounted upon the frame in the same manner as the pendulum 45 upon the device, shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The upper end of the pendulum which extends above the aeroplanes is connected with the latter in the manner shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings. The spindle 48 of the pendulum 80 is in this case provided with two upwardly projecting extensions 52, 52', which are connected by means of ropes or wires 81, 81 with the rear and front portions of the frame 80.

In starting the ascent of this machine, the hand-wheel 78 is turned so that the front of the aeroplane 71 will be elevated. When the proper height is attained, the aeroplane is brought back to its normal substantially horizontal position. lVhen the front or back of the machine tilts downward, the pendulum 80 will bring the vessel back to its normal position by reason of the extensions 52 being connected with the frame. When tilting laterally, the same conditions will exist which had been described in connection with the aeroplane shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings.

In the modification shown in Figs. 9 and 10 0f the drawings, the frame of the machine is indicated by the numeral 82. This frame is mounted upon wheels 83, 83, and carries on its front top portion a motor 84, to the shaft 85 of which is keyed a screw propeller 86. The glider frame 87 is mounted upon a shaft 88, which is oscillatably journaled in the frame portions 89, 89. To this shaft is attached a pendulum 90, carrying upon its lower end a seat 91. In front of this seat is arranged a stationary transverse bar 92.

In starting the glide of this machine, the operator takes hold of the stationary bar 92 and draws the pendulum toward said bar, whereby the front portion of the glider frame 87 will be raised. When at the proper height, the operator brings the aeroplane back to its normal position by letting the transverse bar go. When the frame of this machine tilts downward in front or rear, the aeroplane 87, which is governed by the pendulum 90, will tend to bring the frame with the parts thereon back to their normal positions.

Referring now to the modification shown in Figs. 11 to 15, inclusive, the numeral 93 denotes the main frame of the apparatus, mounted upon wheels 94 and 95. A screw propeller 96 is provided, its shaft 97 carries a sprocket wheel 98, engaged by a chain 99, meshing with a sprocket wheel 100, mounted upon the crankshaft of the motor 101. The glider frame 102 is pivoted at 103 to the frame of the apparatus, and upon one of its pivots is arranged a worm gear 104, meshing with a worm 105, which is made integral with or attached to an operating rod 106, the lower end of which is provided with a hand-wheel 107, in front of the operators seat 108, which is carried by the pendulum 109. The upper end of this pendulum is fork-shaped, and in its prongs 110, 110 is oscillatably mounted a cross 111. The arms 112, 112 of the cross, which extend at right angles to those arms which are mounted upon the prongs 110, are oscillatably journaled in the prongs 113, 113 of a fork 114. This fork is fulcrumed at 115 to lugs 116, 116, carried by the main frame of the vessel. The fulcrum 115 of the fork 114 is in the plane of the upper ends of the prongs 110, 110 of the pendulum 109 for a purpose which will be presently described. The upper end of the fork 114 is connected by wires 117, 117 with the front and rear portions of the frame 93, while the upper ends of the prongs 110, 110 are connected by wires 118,118 with the side bars 119, 119 of the frame 93.

When the machine tilts in front or in the back downward, the pendulum will swing around the fulcrum 116 of the fork 114. The flexible connection 117, being connected with the front and rear portions of the frame, will thereby tend to restore the equilibrium of the vessel. Since the connections 118 lead to the plane of the fulcrum 115, the side frame members 119 will not be influenced by this movement of the pendulum. lVhen the machine tilts laterally, the pendulum will swing around those pivots which are journaled in the prongs 110, 110, whereby, due to the connections 118 with the side frames 119, the vessel will be brought back to its normal position. When swinging laterally, of course, the connections 117, 117 are not acted upon by the pendulum.

It is to be noted that owing to the weight of the pendulum, the center of gravity of the apparatus is low, whereby the said pendulum tends to keep the frame stable.

A further modification is shown in Figs. 16 and 17, in which a frame 120 is mounted upon wheels 121. The screw propeller 122 is keyed to a shaft 123, which is journaled in bearings 124. A sprocket wheel 125 is attached to the shaft 123 and meshes with a chain 126, engaging a sprocket wheel 127 upon the shaft 128 of a motor 129. The aeroplane 130 is provided with trunmons 131, which are rotatably journaled in the top portion of the frame 120. A pinion 132, attached to one of the trunnions 131, meshes with a rack 133 out upon a bar 134, which is slidably arranged in guides 134. The lower end of the bar 134 is provided with a series of holes 135, adapted to be engaged by a peg 136, which can be seated in a recess 137 of a bracket 138. By means of this arrangement, the aeroplane can be shifted around its trunnions 131, and held in any desired positions.

The aeroplane 130 is curved, as clearly shown in Fig. 16, and is provided upon the underside of its front portion with a secondary plane 139, which is located substantially parallel with the front portion of the aeroplane. The purpose of this secondary aeroplane is to guide the air below the aeroplane in the proper direction to the lower surface of the same.

Upon the bottom bars of the frame is arranged a substantially horizontal support 140, upon which is shiftably mounted a seat 141 adapted to be held in position by a set screw 142, engaging said seat and the support 140. The purpose of this arrangement of the seat is to properly balance the aeroplane. Of course, the proper position of the seat 141 can be found by experimenting onl The device shown in Figs. 18 and 19 differs from the one shown in Figs. 16 and 17 in that two sets of glider frames 143, 143 are provided, one set being arranged above the other, and connected at their rear and front portions by flexible connections 144, 1.44. The trunnions 145 of the two sets of aeroplanes are oscillatably arranged in the main frame of the apparatus, and provided with worm gears 146, 146, which mesh with worms 147, 147, carried by an operating rod 148, which is rotatably journaled in bearings 149. The lower end of the operating rod is provided with a hand-wheel 150, which is, of course, arranged within the reach of the operator, who occupies the seat 151, mounted in the same manner upon the vessel as the seat shown in Fig. 16 of the drawings.

When the aerial vessel descends to the ground, it is desirable to support the glider frames 143 if they are of large dimensions. For this purpose a bar 152 is attached to each lower glider frame 143, the lower end of said bar carrying wheels 153 which are adapted to rest upon the ground to properly support the lower glider frames when reaching the ground.

To protect the aviator from air currents, a wind-shield 154 may be employed in front of the machine, which shield may be substantially wedge-shaped to direct the air currents above and under the aviator.

It is obvious that more than one screw propeller may be employed, and that in such cases all of the same may be acted upon by the pendulum; for instance propellers may be mounted in front and in the rear of the vessels, and shifted in the manner described by a pendulum.

lVhat I claim is 1. In an aerial vessel, the combination with a main frame, of a glider frame arranged thereon, a motor pivotally attached to said main frame, a screw propeller secured to the crankshaft of said motor, an auxiliary poiser frame fulcrumed to said main frame, a pendulum supported by said main frame, the lower free end of said pendulum being formed as a seat for the open ator, and connections between said pendulum, said motor and said auxiliary poiser frame, respectively, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In an aerial vessel, the combination with a main frame, of a glider frame arranged thereon, a motor pivotally attached to said main frame, a screw propeller attached to the crankshaft of said motor, a pendulum supported by said main frame and adapted to swing in directions at right angles to each other around two pivots, an upwardly extending bar rigidly fastened to one of said pivots, a connecting rod pivoted to said bar and said motor, and connections between said pendulum and said glider frame, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 30th day of August, A. D. 1911.

LAZAR LUKAos.

W'itnesses W. KLINK, SIGMUND Hnnzoe.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

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