US1188849A - Dirigible airship. - Google Patents

Description

E. E. SMITH.

DIRIGIBLE AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 1. 90a. RENEWED SEPT.26, 1911.

Patented June 27, 1916.

W5 It" @0080 STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD E. SMITH, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

DIBIGIBLE AIRSHIP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Patented Juli 27, 1916.

Application filed January 7, 1908, Serial No. 409,616. Renewed September 26, 1911. Serial No. 651,461.

To all whom it may concern:

' construction and Be it known that I, EDWARD E. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at the city of Providence, in the'county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dirigible Airships, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the-accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to dirigible airships, and has for its object to produce a ship having a specially constructed tubular frame or car which is provided with adjustable wings or vanes for supporting the same while in flight.

A feature of the invention is to so construct the wings that the free ends may be raised or lowered and set at the required angle.

tubular frame, the upper portion only, or the whole of said frame may be covered to present an extended area to assist the wings in supporting the car. This body is preferably constructed of a series of hoops connected together by slats or stringers, and having the propelling and steering mechanism supported and operated within the same.

I do not confine myself to the wings or vanes for supporting this car as gas-bags may be employed to lend buoyancy to the same, if desired.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure lis a central sectional side elevation of my improved air-ship showing the general arrangement of the mechanism therein contained. Fig. 2is an end view of the ship showing the general shape of the car and one set of Wings as being spread, also showing the supports for the shaft bearing. Fig. 3illustrates the car with the wings folded around the body of the same, and showing the passenger platform as being suspended from its roof.

feature of the invention is that the car or body is made in the form of a,

Fig. 4.is a diagram illustrating a second set of wings located above the first set and,

indicating both of said sets in dotted lines as be ng ra1 se d on an angle to the body, in which position they are placed when it is desired to lower the car to drop the same bodily to a lower level. Fig: 5is a perspective view of the car showing the gentail in perspective showing the manner of attaching the slats or ribs to the hoops.

Fig. 7is a plan view showing the rearv end of the car, its rudder for steering the same to the rightand left, and the connecting tiller ropes. Fig. 8is a detail showing the pair of rudders for steering the ship either up or down while the same is being forced ahead.

The body of the car is a frame work con- 'structed of a plurality of hoops 1-1 which are spaced apart or set'close to each other throughout itslength. These hoops may be constructed of wood, or other suitable light springy or resilient material, and are preferably made in a circular form. As it is desirable 'in this particular construction to take the same apart quickly and reduce the car to the smallest possible space for the purpose of facilitating the storage or ship- ;ment I have provided slats or stringers 22 which tie these hoo s together and form the whole into a cylin rical body which is stiff and durable in construction and extremely light in weight. In order to attach these slats to the hoops in a s' ple and effective manner, whereby the same may be quickly detached therefrom, said slats are provided with short slots 3 having a hole at one end thereof as at t for the purpose of admit-, ting the bolt head 5 which projectsfrom the face of the hoop. By this means it is only necessary to place the slats over the bolt heads and then by moving them endwise they are securely locked to the hoops after which a thumb screw 6- may be mserted into their ends securely locking the whole together, and by overlapping these slats one beyond the other the car body may be constructed any desired length by the use of comparatively short stringers.

In order to form an extended surface or area to assist in supporting the car while inthe air I cover the top of this body portion with silk or other suitable material 7, but the bottom portion may also be covered if desired. If desired this car may be formed into a dirigible balloon by provid ing a gas-bag 8 for supporting it, or the same may be formed into an aeroplane by omitting the said gas-bag and attaching wings 99 thereto. These wings may be made in any desired form but in Fig. 2 I illustrate the ribs of the wings as being constructed of a light flexible material and attached to the upper portion of the car, the outer or free ends of the same being connected by means of the cords 10-l0 around the pulleys 11-11 to the reel 12 which is adapted to be rotated to wind up said cords to draw the wings in and wrap them about the body in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3.

Another manner of connecting and operating these wings is illustrated in Fig. 4 in which is shown an extra set of wings 13 which are connected to the car body by the standard or rib 14 which may extend along the top of the car body. Both sets of these wings are pivoted at their inner ends at 15 and 16 respectively, their outer ends being retained by cords 10 and 17 respectively, and when it is desired to drop the car bodily from one level to another these cords may be slackened permitting the wings to rise into the position shown in dotted lines, which quickly decreases their effective area. After the car has dropped to the desired level the wings are drawn back again to their original position.

The ship may be rapidly propelled either forward or backward by means of the propelling fans 18-18 which are mounted on the shaft 19 and connected thereto by means of clutches 37 and 38 and driven by the motor 20 through the sprocket chain 21.

When it is desired to raise the ship directly from the ground the vertical motion is given to the same through two sets of propelling fans 22 and 23, one set being arranged at'each end of the car. These fans are arranged in pairs, the fans of each pair being driven in opposite directions by the gears 24, 25 and 26 and shaft 19 which is connected through the clutches 35 and 36.

A hole 27 of sufiicient size, see Fig. 5, is cut through the roof of the car above each of these sets of fans so that their lifting action on the car may be more effective.

A rudder 28 is made in a semi-circular form so as to just fit into one of the hoops when not in use, the same being located at the rear end of the" ship and provided with a tiller 29 and tiller ropes 303O whereby the ship may be guided to the right or to the left by the pilot in charge.

At 31 and 32 are rudders or vanes set on a horizontal plane both of which are connected together by means of the tiller ropes 32*, as shown in Fig. 8, whereby both may be operated simultaneously to change the course of the car either up or down while in its flight.

A novel feature of this invention is the suspending of a passenger platform 33 from the upper portion of the car by means of the cords 34, the object of this construction being that the passengers will not receive the direct effect of the shock should the car land with unusual force, as this shock would be taken up or absorbed, to a great degree, by the spring of the resilient hoops and only a small portion of the same transmitted to the passengers on the platform.

Wheels 40-40 are located at each end of the car to facilitate moving the car about on the ground when desired, and also when it is desired to start the same from the ground by running it forward.

The operation of my improved air-ship may be further described as follows: The operator may be seated in any convenient place in the car and all of the controlling and operating levers (not shown) will be within easy reach. When the ship is at rest and it is desired to start by raising directly upward it will be first necessary to throw in the clutches 35 and 36 and start the upwardly propelling fans 22 and 23. The ship will then rise vertically until it is at the desired elevation When'the clutches 37 and 38 will be thrown into mesh to rotate the fans 1818 when the ship will start ahead. By tipping the vanes or steering device 31 and 32 at the proper angle to the horizontal plane of the car the ship may be guided either up or down, while the rudder at the rear serves to steer the ship to the right or left.

By the construction shown, which is that of a series of hoops held together by detachable slats, the car may be quickly taken apart and reduced to an extremely small space for the purpose of shipping and storing.

The ship is extremely simple and comparatively inexpensive in its construction, it is effective in its operation and by the mechanism shown can be easily managed and nicely controlled.

I have shown 1 and described the hoops which form the ribs of the body as set at substantially a right angle to the axis of the body, but these hoops may be set on an incline to this axis and instead of being formed separate and independent of each other may be connected to each other in the form of a helix.

I have also shown and described these hoops as connected together by means of slats laid longitudinally or parallel with the axis of the body and readily removable therefrom, but I do not wish to be restricted to this construction as these slats may be bent into the desired form to obtain the greatest buoyancy or lifting power, any means for supporting these planes so that their outer portions may be curved downwardly and adjusted to the required curvature will fall within the spirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is: V I

1. An air ship comprising a carbody made of lattice work construction, yieldable ribbed wings supporting said body and stays leading from the ribs in the wings to said car body and means whereby said wings may be adjusted and retained in the position desired.

2. An air ship comprising a tubular car body made of strips of light resilient material spaced apart, means for propelling the ship located in said body, and .wings or planes for sustaining said body while in flight.

3. An air ship comprising a circular tubular car body, made of strips of light resilient material spaced apart, means for propelling the ship located in said body, and wings for sustaining said body while in flight.

4. An air ship comprising a tubular car body, said body being constructed of longitudinal strips supported by circular strips or hoops, rotary means for propelling the ship, a motor within said car body for actu-.

ating said propelling means, means within said car body for carrying the passengers, and means above said car for supporting the same while in flight.

5. An air ship comprising a tubular car body, said body being constructed of longitudinal strips supported by circular resilient strips or hoops, means for propelling the ship, a motor within said car body for actuating said propelling means, means within said car body for carrying the passengers, and means above said body forsupporting the car while in flight.

6. An air ship comprising a tubular car body, said body being constructed of longitudinal strips supported by circular resilient strips or hoops, means for propelling the ship, a motor within said body for actuating said propelling means, means within said body for carrying the passengers, and a plurality of wings above said car for supporting the car while in flight.

7 An air ship comprising a tubularv car body, said body being constructed of longitudinal strips supported by circular flexible strips or hoops, rotary means located within said body by which said ship is propelled, a motor supported within said body for actuating said propelling means, means within said body for carrying the passen-' gers, and wings attached to said body for supporting the car while in flight.

8. An air ship comprising a tubular car body supporting wings therefor, resilient ribs in sald wings, a car suspended from said mugs, and means leadlng from said rlbs whereby the same may be curved downward and retained in the position desired.

9. An air ship comprising supporting wings, resilient ribs in said wings, a car provided with a tubular body suspended from said wings, means attached near the outer end of said ribs and leading to said car whereby said wings may be bent downward shaping the wings to the curvature desired.

10. An air ship comprising supporting wings, resilient ribs in said wings, a car sus pended from said wings, and means at- .tached near the outer portions of said ribs and leading around beneath the car body to support both the ribs and the body, said means being also adapted to be adjusted to shape said ribs to the curvature desired.

11.- An air ship comprising a plurality of sets of superimposed supporting wings. Y resilient IlbS 1n sald wings, a car suspended from said wings, and means leading from said ribs whereby the same may be curved downward and retained in the position desired.

12. An air ship comprising'a car a plurality of sets of superimposed supporting wings above said car. resilient ribs in said wings, a car suspended from said wings, and

means attached near the outer portions of said ribs and leading around beneath said car to assist in supporting said car from said wings and said ribs may be bent downward and shaped to the curvature desired.

13. An air ship comprising a tubular car body, said body being constructed of longitudinal strips supported by circular strips or hoops, supporting wings, resilient ribs in said wings, said car being suspended from said wings, and means leading from said ribs whereby the same may be curved downward and'retained in the position desired.

14. An air ship comprising a tubular car body, said body being constructed of longitudinal strips supported by circular strips or hoops, supporting wings, and means leading from said wings around beneath said car body to assist in supporting and stiflening both said body and said wings, said supporting means being adjustable to shape said wings to the curvature desired.

15. In an air-ship, a passenger carrying car constructed of an elongated collapsible frame, means within said frame for propelling the ship, and means for supporting the car while in flight. 1

16. In an air-ship, an elongated car or frame formed of a plurality of yieldable hoops spaced apart and held in position by a series of removable longitudinal slats or strips, mechanical means for raising the ship bodily, means for forcing the same ahead, and means attached to said car for supporting the same while in flight.

14. In an air-ship, an elongated tubular collapsible car or frame formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart and held in position by a series of longitudinal slats or strips, mechanical means for raising the ship bodily, means for forcing the same ahead, and wings attached to said car for supporting the same while in flight.

18. In an air-ship, an elongated car or frame formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart and held in position by a series of longitudinal slats or strips, a covering on the upper portion of said car forming an extra surface to assist in supporting the same, mechanical means for raising the ship bodily, means for forcing the same ahead, and wings attached to said car for supporting the same while in flight.

19. In an air-ship, an elongated car or frame formed of a plurality of hoops spaced apart and held in position by a series of longitudinal slats or strips, mechanical means for raising the ship bodily, means for forcing the same ahead, and wings attached to said car and adapted to be folded around the body of the same.

20. In an air-ship, a tubular collapsible car body formed of a plurality of hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, means for forcing the ship ahead, and wings attached to said car for supporting the same while in flight.

21. In an air-ship, a tubular collapsible car body formed of a plurality of hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, means for forcing the ship ahead, means for raising the ship bodily, and wings'attached to said car and adapted to be folded around the body of the same.

22. In an air-ship, an elongated car body formed of a'plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart and held in position by a series of longitudinal slats or strips, a passenger platform suspended from the upper portion of said car, means for forcing the car ahead, and means above the car for supporting the same while in flight. I 23. In an air-ship, a tubular cylindrical collapsible car body formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, a passenger platform suspended from the upper portion of said car, means for forcing the ship ahead, and wings attached to said car and adapted to be folded around the body of the same.

24. In an air-ship, a tubular collapsible car body formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, means for forcing the ship ahead, means for raising the ship. bodily, wings attached to said car and adapted to be folded around the body of the same.

25. In an air-ship, a collapsible car body formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably se cured to said hoops, rotatable fans for forcing the ship ahead, rotatable fans for raising the ship bodily, and means attached to 1s laicl1 car for supporting the same while in 26. In an air-ship, a collapsible car body formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, rotatable fans for forcing-the ship ahead and backward, rotatable fans for raising the ship bodily, means for guiding the ship to right and left, means for guiding the ship both up or down, and means attached to said car for supporting the same while in flight.

27. In an air-ship, a tubular collapsible car body formed of a plurality of resilient hoops spaced apart, a'series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, rotatable fans for forcing the ship ahead and backward, rotatable fans for raising the ship bodily, means for controlling the action of said fans, means for guiding the ship to right and left, means for guiding the ship both up or down, and wings attached to said car and adapted to be folded around the body of the same.

28. In an air-ship, a collapsible car body formed of a plurality of hoops spaced apart, a series of longitudinal slats or strips spaced apart and removably secured to said hoops, a supporting covering on the upper portion of said hoops, rotatable fans for forcing the ship ahead and backward, rotatable fans for raising the ship bodily, means for controlling the action of said fans, means for guiding the ship to right and left, means for guiding the ship both up or down, wings attached to said car and adapted to be folded around the body of the same.

29. In an air-ship, a car body made in a tubular form, resilient hoop-shaped supporting ribs in said body rotatable means within said tube for driving the ship ahead, means for guiding the ship up and down and to the right and left, and means above said car for supporting the same While in flight.

20 means for supporting the car while in flight.

In an air-ship, an elongated tubular car body open at its ends, rotatable fans mounted within said tube for driving the ship ahead, rotatable fans within said tube for raising or lowering the same, means within said tube for driving said fans, and wings or planes attached to said tube for supporting the same while in flight.

31. In an air-ship, a car body made in a tubular form, rotatable means within said tube for driving the ship ahead, means for guiding the ship up and down and to the right and left, flexible wings on said tube for supporting the same, and means whereby the free ends of said wings may be ,drawn in around the body of the car.

32. An air-ship comprising a car body having yieldable hoops passenger support-- ing means suspended from said hoops, and

33. An air ship comprising a car body supporting wingstherefor, means carried by the body .for' propelling the ship, resilient ribs in said wings and means whereby the ends of said wings may be curved downward at the will of the operator against the resiliency of said ribs.

supporting wings therefor, means carried by the body for justable resilient ribs in said' wings and means leading from said'ribs whereby the ends of said wings may be curved downward at the will of the operator against the resiliency of said ribs.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD E. SMITH. Witnesses:

HOWARD BARLOW, E. I. OGDEN.

propelling the ship, ad-

34. An air ship comprising a car body

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