US1035794A - Aeroplane. - Google Patents

Description

G. H. KELLOGG.

AEROPLANE.

APPLIUATION FILED JAN.27,1909.

1,035,794, Patented Aug. 13,1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W/'T/vsssss G. H. KELLOGG.

AEBOPLANB.

APPLICATION FILED Imm?, 1909.

1,035,794. Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WTA/55555 f/V VEN TU@ ATm/m/'Emm n' G. H. KELLOGG.

AEROPLANE.

APPLIOATION PILBD JAN. 27, 1909.

1,035,794. Patented Aug. 13,1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

WI'T/VE'SSES GEORGE HERBERT KELLOG'G, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YDRK.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 27, 1909.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

Serial No. 474,484.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE H. KELLOGG, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Aeroplanes, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvements in aeroplanes or navigable air ships, carrying their own motive power, and 1nvolving the use of one or more horizontal supporting planes and movable guiding planes for directing the course of fiight and maintaining their equilibrium and steadincss of action in varying movements of the air or shifting of the center of gravity of the machine, and refers more particularly to means for automatically positioning the movable planes so as to maintain the balance orequilibrium of the machine without specialfattention from the operator.

In other words the prlmary object of my invention is 'to automatically prevent sudden or excessive dipping of the machine in either direction through the medium of swinging weights or pendulums connected to the guiding mediums, and of sufficient Oravity to automatically position such guidiiig mediums 'to counteract any tendency of the machine toA dip or deflect from a safe` courseor equilibrium, and at the same time to enable said guiding mediums to be operated manually at the will of the operator.

Other objects and uses relating -to the speciiic parts of the machine will be brought out in the .following description.,

In the drawings-Figure l is a perspective view of a bi-plane airship, involving the various features of-tmy invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively, a side elevation and a frontl elevation ofthe same machine. Fig. i isa rear elevation of the swinging weight or pendulum for automatically controllin the position of .the side wings and rudder, s owmg the motor and propelling mechanism mounted thereon, the motor serving in this instance as a weight to maintain the vertical position of the pendulum. Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the rear lportion of the swinging weight or pendulum, showin particularly the manually operated means or controlling the position of the side wings and rudder. Fig. 6 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a portion of the rudder operatin mechanism, .including the .steering whe Fig. 7 is an enlarged sectional view of the steering mechanism shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 is a sectional view of a modified form of mechanism for automatically controlling the movement of the front and rear planes, which determines the vertical angle of the flight.

In order that my invention may beclearly understood I have shown what is commonly known as a bi-plane machine comprising a lower horizontal plane -1- and an upper horizontal plane -2-, spaced a suiiicient distance above the lower plane -1- to allow free movement of the operator and one or more passengers in the intervening space, and also for the reception of the swinging pendulums, motor, seat and other mechanisms which may be necessary to control the movement of the guiding planes, the main supporting planes -1 and 2- being held in fixed relation to each other by suitable `upright posts or rods 3- and diagonal truss rods -4- which, together with the upright posts or rods -3- constitute a portion of the main sup ort-ing frame to resist torsional strains an hold the lower and upper planes wl and 2 in parallelism.

The lower and upper planes 1 and 2- as well as the various guiding andsteerin planes, hereinafter described, are made up o any suitable but light tenacious material such as water proof fabnic, which are secured in suitable, more or less, rigid frames capable of maintaining the lform of the planes, such frames being reinforced at intervals when necessary.

The frame for the upper plane -2-- is provided wit-h a central lengthwise bar 5- extending laterally some distance beyond the sides of the lower and-upperplanes -1 and 2 for receiving and supporting vertically balancing wings -6- of uniform area, which when disposed in a horizontal plane form continuations of the upper plane 2-, and are centrally pivoted upon transverse 4horizontal pivots forming the o posite ends of the vframe bar -5-. T ese wings -6- therefore constitute the movable ends of the upper sup orting plane -2-, but are tiltable upon t eir swinging axes manually and also automatically by suitable mechanism hereinafter described for the purpose of changing the angle of defiection of said wings with the direction of flight in such manner as to produce added lifting resistance to the dip side and additional lowering resistance to the opposite side of the machine until the latter is brought to a horizontal or level keel, both wings being operated simultaneously but in opposite directions to more quickly restore the equilibrium or balance of the machine.

For example, assuming that the machiney should dip sidewise in the direction indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3, while in Hight, then by tilting the wings -6- in opposite directions from a horizontal plane sothat the wing at the low side is inclined downwardly trom its front edge while that at the high side is inclined upwardly from its front edge, then the increased resistance of the air operating against the under side of the low wing would tend to lift this end of the machine, while similar air resistance against the upper side of the opposite wing would tend to lower that end of the machine thus quickly restoring the machine to its normal equilibrium. As previously stated, this shifting of the planes or wings 6 may be accomplished manually or automatically through the medium vof a sliding bar -7- and suitablev connections as rods yor cables -8 and a hand lever -9, which is mounted upon a swinging frame or pendulum. -10-, the-latter being pivotally suspended at its upper end upon a forwardly and rearwardly extending frame bar -11-, which is secured to the frame of the upper plane -2-, as best seen in Figs. 1-.2' and 4.

The lever L9- is-fulcrumed intermediate of its ends at -fl2'- to a toothed segment -13- on lthe lower side of the swinging frame or pendulunr10 and is provided with a pawl -14-f. movable into and out of `engagement with the rack to lock the lever -9- in its adjusted position.

The rods or cables 8- are attached to the lower end of the lever -9- and diverge forwardly from eachother to the sliding rod -7- to which they are secured in any suit able manner, not necessary to herein illustrate or describe, preferably an equal distance from the longitudinal center of the machine in which the lever .7 9- is normally located.

The swinging frame or pendulum -lOf preferably consists of an equilateral quadrangle in front elevation and is pivot-ally suspended at oneA of its corners upon and from the bar 11-, so that in elevation the lower side of the apex which is weighted will always tend to assume a position in the same vertical plane as, or directly under the swinging axis of the trame,` even though the supporting planes of the machine may dip laterally 'in one direction or another from a horizontal position. This independentmovement of theframe of the machine relative to the swinging frame or pendulum H10- is utilized to automatically control the tilting of the planes or wings -6- in the manner previously described to right the machine to a level keel, and in order to establish this automatic control, the sliding bar -7- is guided in suitable ways --15--l Figs. 1, 2 and 3 on the opposite ends of the front side of the lower plane -1- and is provided with upwardly inclined ends -l6- which are connected, in this instance, to the extreme outer front corners of the Wings 6 as clearly shown in Fig. 1 so that by shifting the sliding bar -7- in one direction or the other, the wings 6- in the direction of such shift will be tilted so as to incline downwardly and rearwardly from its front edge, while the opposite Wing will be tilted to the same incline in the opposite direction, or upwardly and rearwardly from its front edge. This shifting of the wings -6- may be accomplished mechanically at the will of the operator whenever necessary as in lateral deflections of the machine in flight by simply rocking the lever *9- upon its fulcrum around the toothed segment 13 where it may be temporarily held by hand or locked by the pawl 11isuch'movement of thelever being transmitted to the sliding bar 7` through the mediums of the rods or cables -8-. On the other hand this action may be entirely automatic by simply locking the lever -9- in its normal position centrally of the segment- -l3- whereupon the lateral dip of the machine, in either direction, will bring the dipping edge of the machine closer to the center of gravity of the weighted frame or pendulum --l0-, so that the inertia of said swinging frame, acting through the medium of the lever -9- and connections -8-, will shift the sliding rod --7- endwise in the direction of the dipping end of the machine, thereby rocking the front edge of the dipping wing 6 upwardly and at the same time depressing the front edge of the opposite wing, thusl adding additional lifting vower to the lower end of the machine an corresponding depressing power to the higher end of the machine, and quickly restoring said machine to its normal equilibrium; This increased angle of resistance at the low side of the machine tends to retard the velocity of flight of such side,

thereby causing the machine to move in? the arc of a circle toward that side until the machine regains a level keel, and in order to overcome this tendency, and at the same time to enable the machine to be guided in its y horizontal direct-ion of flight, I provide a vertical rudder or steering blade -18-,

which is connected by opposite cables -19- to the opposite ends of a sliding rack `--20-, the latter being mounted in suitable bearings -21- on the swinging frame or pendulum -10- a considerable distance below the swinging axis 11- and just above the rack -'-13-. This sliding bar 4-20' is provided with suitable teeth which mesh with the pinion -22, the latter being mounted upon a rearwardly extending shaft 2B, having at its rear end a steering wheel -24-.

As best seen in Fig. -7 the shaft 23 is provided with a radial pin -25, which projects through an elongated slot 26- 1n a sleeve -27. This sleeve is movable lengthwise of the shaft 23 and for this purpose is provided -at its rear end with a hand wheel -28- within easy reaching distance of the hand wheel 24eand is operated endwise, by the fingers, while the hand is resting upon the steering wheel.

The inner or front end of the sleeve -27 is provided with clutch teeth -29-, which are movable. into and out of locking enga ement with similar clutch teeth -30- on t e adjacent end of a fixed bracket -31-, the latter being secured to one of the central upright bars -32' of the swing frame -10--, as best seen in Figs. 4-5- and 7.

When it is desired to operate the rudder -18- to steer the machine manually in the course desired, it is simply necessary for the operator to engage the hand wheel -28- and draw the same, together with the sleeve -27- toward the steering wheel -24 thereby withdrawing the clutch section -29- from locking engagement with the fixed clutch section 3G- and permitting the shaft -23- to be rotated by simply rotating the steering wheel, in the desired direction. This latter operation rotates the pinion -22- and imparts endwise movement in one direction or the other, according to the direction of the rotation of the steering Wheel to the sliding bar or toothed rack 20-.

The cables or cords -19-, which lead from opposite ends of the sliding bar 20- are passed around suitable sheaves or guides in the central upright end posts -3 of the main supporting frame and are then connected to opposite sides of the steering rudder -18-, so that when the steering wheel 2liis operated in one direction the sliding bar 20 is moved in the same direction, preferably sidewise of themachine and therebyv swings the steering rudder or blade -18- in the same direction.

The automatic control of, the rudder yis regulated by the same mechanism, exclusive of the steering Wheel, by simply moving the hand wheel -28- inwardly so as to engage the clutch section 29- with the clutch section -30, thereby locking the steering shaft 23- against rotation and prevent ing sliding movement of the b ar -20- relatively to the swinging frame -10-. Under such conditions any lateral dip of either side of the frame will bring such side nearer to the base of the swinging 'frame -10, thus causing the wing -6 at such side to tilt downwardly and rearwardly from its front edge, while the op osite wing will be tilted in the op osite irection as previously described, andp the additional resistance to forward flight offered by the increased angle of the wing at the low side tends to turn the machine in that direction, thus shifting the rudder blade -18- in the opposite direction to automatically offset such tendency until the machine returns to its equilibrium or balance, thus permitting the rudder to automatically return toits normal position.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the inertia of the pendulum, together with its connections with the wings -6- and rudder -18 automatically and instantly counteracts any tendenc of the machine to dip laterally in either irection, and also counteracts any tendency of the machine to turn from its direct course of flight during such dip.

have now described the means for me chanically and automatically reventing excessive lateral dip of the mac ine, or rather have mechanically or automatically restored such machine to its equilibrium, or balance.

I will now proceed to describe the means for mechanically and automatically controlling the dip ing motion in the direction of the line of' ight as distinguished from the lateral dipping action. In order to accomplish this I provide a second and independent weighted pendulum -40- consisting, in this instance, of a swinging seat for the operator suspended by suitable bars -41-, which are pivoted at their u per ends to one of the frame bars -43- o the upper plane -2- and with its swinging axls at substantially right angles to the line of flight, so that the weighted end of the 4pendulum may swing backwardly and forwardly relative to the machine, or rather the latter may dip backwardly and forwardly relatively to the pendulum, which normally remains in the same vertical position. The frame of the lower plane or sup ort- 1 extends forwardly some distance eyond the front edge of such plane and upon this extension is mounted a pair of lanes or horizontal blades +44- of su stantially the same area, and superposed one above the other for re latin the angle or di of the vertical iii t of t e machine, sai planes being, in t is instance, pivotally connected at their four corners to links -45-, the lower plane 114- being centrally pivoted upon the free ends of the forward extension -46 of the main supporting frame. The upper lane 44- is also centrally pivoted upon t e upper ends .of the upright frame bars -47 which are connected to the upright posts -3- of the main supporting frame by brace bars -48- as best seen in Figs. 1 and 2.

As shown in Fig. 1, the upper plane -44- is centrally secured to a rock shaft, -49-, having at one end a -crank arm .-50-, which is connected by a link 5lto a lever -52- and is also extended some distance to the rear of said lever where it is connected by a link -53- to a crank arm *54- of a rock shaft v--55-- upon which latter is cent1-ally mounted a rear horizontal rudder or plane 56. The rock shaft 55- upon which the rear horizontal rudder or plane -56 is centrally mounted is jour naled in the rear ends of suitable braces -57'- projecting from two of the rear upright posts -f3- of the main supporting frame. The lever 52H is fulcrumed intermediate its .ends at -58- to one side of the base or seat of the pendulum ,-110- within easy reaching distance of the operator when sitting upon the seat and is provided with a suitable pawl -60- movablev around and adapted to interlock with the teeth of a toothed segment w61- which is concentric with the axis or fulcrum of the lever. It is now clear that the operator sitting upon the seat of the pendulum a-40- may by simply withdrawing the pawl -60- from locklng engagelnent with the rack 61 and rocking said lever by hand, tilt or rock the guiding planes 44:- and -56- to direct the vertical inclination of flight of the machine, the connections between the lever 52- and said front and vrear horizontal planes beingarranged so as to tilt the planes in opposite directions in order to more speedily bring the machine to the desired level without excessive tilting of such blades. Now by locking the pawl -60- to the rack -61-','which also locks the lever -52- against movement relatively to the swinging seat or pendulum 4U- the blades 44- and 56- may be controlled automatically to prevent excessive dip of the front or rear end ofthe machine, such automatic control being effected through the same connections between the blades and swinging pendulum`-40-. For example, assuming that the front end of the machine should suddenly dip or tilt downwardly, under these conditions the weighted pendulum a0- would maintain a vertical position by its own inertia, thereby bringing the front end of the machine nearer to the base of the pendulum and through the medium of the links 5l-- and 5B- and lever 5E- the front blades 44.- would be tilted upwardly and rearwardly, thus increasing the lifting angle of resistance of the front blades to the air and at fthe same time increasing the depressing angle of resistance of the rear blades -56- which quickly restores the ma.- chine to its normal balance or equilibrium. The reverse action of the front and rear blades takes place, when the machine tilts or dips in the opposite direction.

The pendulum -l0-, which automatically controls the lateral dip and deflection of the machine through its course of flight through the medium of the wings -6- and rudder 18- is weighted by suitable motors which are secured in the lower portion of the swinging frame -10- and are connected by suitable belts and pulleys -1 and -72- to propellers -74- by which the machine is driven forwardly, the propeller shafts -73- being journaled in suitable bearings in the lateral corners or apexes of the quadrangle frames -10- and vbeing therefore located at equal distance from and at opposite sides of the plane of the swinging axis of said frame.

The engine or motor -70- which may consist oit' one or more combustion engines is disposed so `that the center of gravity is in a vertical plane directly under the swinging axis of the frame lO, and it will be readily seen that the entire motor and propeller mechanism is mounted upon this swinging frame -10-, which maintains at all times a substantially vertical position while the body of the machine, exclusive of the frame -10- and parts carried thereon, is free to swing or dip laterally about the axis of said frame. In like manner the pendulum -40- is, in this inst-ance weighted by the operator sitting therein, but it is evident that the swinging frames may be otherwise weighted and the motor and seat for the operator located in other parts of the machine if desired, but the arrangement of the motor and propeller mechanisms upon the swinging frame -10- simplifies and reduces the weight of the machine and atthe same time the weight of the operator in the swinging pendulum performs the same function.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modified form of device for automatically controlling any one, or more, of the tilting blades or rudders of flying machines of this character and it consists of a cylinder -eand a valve chamber -bwhich is connected by ports -c to opposite ends of the vcylinder and by an additional port -aZ- to any suitable liuid pressure device capable of supplying air or other fluid under pressure sufficient to operate a piston -awhich is movable in the cylinder -e-. The piston -ais secured to a piston rod -fextending through suitable glands gin the ends I01E the cylinder -eand connected to one or more crank arms -zfor operating corresponding blades -z'- and -j-. Movable in the valve chamber -b-- are suitable valves or pistons 7cwhich are connected by a stem mand are spaced a art a suiicient distance to include between t em the inlet ports and one of the ports somewhat similar to the slide valve ofl a steam lengine. One end of the valve rod fmis connected by a link fnto a weighted pendulum -o-, having at its lower end a weightfw-, while its upper end is pivoted to a bracket -son the cylinder a. This cylinder may be rigidly secured in an desired manner to the frame of the mac ine in such relation as may be most convenient to operate one 6r more of the guide wings or rudders. The opposite ends of the piston chamber -6- are open to the atmosphere, but the intervening space between valves -kis also in connection with the inlet -dfand one of the ports --c-, thereby admitting the liuid under pressure into one or the other ends of the cylinder, which is preferably placed in a horizontal position in the machine. The valves -care s aced apart corresponding to the distance etween orts c and are of suilicient face widt to cover said ports when the flying machine is in its normally horizontal osition, but any deviation or di from suc horizontal position will cause t e weighted pendulum oto swing in the corresponding direction thereby moving the valves -cto connect the port -cat the low side of the machine with the inlet port ct-1 which allows the Huid under pressure to iiow into the corresponding end of the cylinder and thereby shift the iston to the opposite end of the cylinder or tilting the blades and -,jto the desired incline to restore the equilibrium of the machine, the tilting of said wings or blades depending upon the de ee of dip of the machine.

at I claim is 1. In a navigable air ship, a horizontal plane, tiltable wings at opposite sides of the plane, a vertical rudder at the rear of the plane, a swinging frame pivotally suspended from said plane, connections between the swinging frame and wings for tilting the latter, and additional connections between the swinging frame and rudder.

2. In a navigable air ship, a main supporting plane, wings at opposite sides of and movable relatively to the supporting plane, a vertical rudder, a pendulum, slparate devices movable independently of e pendulum for lperating the wings and rudder at will, an additional se arate devices for locking the first named evices to the endulum for o erating the wings and ruder automatical y as t e lane and pendulum move relatively to eac other.

3. In a navigab e air Ship, a main supportin plane, wings mounted upon and movab e relatively1 to the supporting plane at opposite sides t ereof, a laterally movable steering rudder also connected to the supporting plane, tiltable blades at the front and rear of and connected to the supporting plane, a swingin frame hinged to and'ldepending from t e main supportin plane and having its swinging axis exten ing in the direction of flight of the machine, connections between said swinging frame and wings for automatically moving the latter as t e plane tilts laterally, additional connecf tions between said swinging frame and rudder, a swingin seat hin ed to and depending from the p ane and having its axis disposed at substantially right angles to that of the swinging frame, and connections between said swinging seat and blades for automatically tilting the latter as the angle of the plane is varled relatively to the swin ing seat, and propelling mechanism for t e machine mounted upon and movable with the swingin frame.

4. In a yin machine and in combination, a main p ane provided with a tip on each side, automatic gravity means for inclining said tips, the one reverse to the other and in relation to said main planes, means for operating said tips independent of said automatic means, ropellers for propelling said machine, sma ler guide planes in the front and rear of said plane adapted to be tilted to diii'erent angles from that of said main plane, automat1c gravity means for tilting said smaller planes simultaneously with the tilting of the machine endwise, and means for operating said smaller planes inde endent of said automatic means.

n witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 23d da of J anua 1909.

GEORGE HER Enr KE hoes. lVitnesses;

H. E. CHASE, Zon MILLER.

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