US1307826A - matthews and c - Google Patents

Description

c. MATTHEWS AND c.- S. HALL.

AEROPLAN E.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24, 1918.

Patentd June 24, 1919.

'2 suns-sum y,

INVENTORS,

C. MATTHEWS AND C. S. HALL.

AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 24. I918.

"Patented J 11116-24, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

I ve UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHRIS MATTHEWS, OF SAN PEDRO, AND CHARLES S. HALL, OF LOS ANGELES,

- CALIFORNIA.

AEROPLANE.

' Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J 119 24, 1919 Application filed October 24, 1918. Serial No. 259,488.

for aeroplanes in the form of a lifting or stabilizing device. I

An object of our invention is to provide an attachment for aeroplanes which will enable the machine to rise more directly from the ground than is possible with aeroplanes as presently equipped' Another object is to provide a stabilizer for an aeroplane in case one of its Wings becomes broken. 1 i

Another object is to provide a retarding device by means of which the lighting of an aeroplane may be more easily and-more safely effected.

With these and other objects in view our invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a plan view of an aeroplane with its right wing broken away,,showing the arrangement of our lifting device as seen from above.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1 with a part of the body shell broken away to show the connec tions between the lifting propeller and the engine, and also their position in the aeroplane.

Fig. 3 is a reduced view of the aeroplane shown in Fig. 2 illustrating the action of the propellers and the air currents produced by them.,

Fig. 4c is a view in front elevation of the aeroplane shown in Fig. 1, looking in the direction indicated by arrow 4 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figs. 1 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a still further enlarged sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5 and showing the mechanism for tilting the planes endwise.

The aeroplane shown in the drawings represents a common form having a body 10, a propeller ll, wing planes 1.2 and 13 and the usual guiding planes. An engine 14 is fixed to the forward part of the body shell and the propeller 11 mounted on the forward end of the shaft in the usual way. The engine shaft-hasan extension 15 on its rear end and to this extension is connected, by a'universal coupling 16, a rearwardly extending shaft 17.. The rear end of the shaft 17 1s journa-led in a bracket 18 fixed to the floor of the body shell and has a miter gear 19 keyed on its'extreme'rear end. A companion miter gear 20 is fixed to a vertical shaft 21 which has its lower end journaled in the bracket 18. The vertical shaft 21 extends upwardly through the top of the body shell and has fixed to its upper end outside the shell, a propeller 22, thenpper end of thevertical shaft 21 being journaled in a thrust bearing 23 fixed in the roof of the sh'ell. The pro: peller 22 is so placed that it is above the center of gravity of the aeroplane as a Whole, and at the same time its shaft approximately coincides with the longitudinal balancing point of the machine, so that in flying the upward lift or pull is such as to hold the aeroplane in an approximately horizontal position vWithout any tendency to tip endwlse.

Attached to the vertical struts 24 and 25 on each side of the aeroplane body by means of arms 26, 27, 28 and 29 are two swivel members 30 and 31 which surround-the acreplane body and in which the aeroplane body is adapted to turn. Each of the swivel members consists of two vertical,.;. ring plates 32 and 33 held in parallel relation to each other by a series of spool shaped rollers 34 mount ed between them on pivot pins 35 which extend through the rollers and ring lates. The ends of the pivot pins are fixed 1n the ring plates so as to hold them in fixed relation to each other, and the rollers are adapted to turn on the pivot pins in engagement with a'beaded ring 36 .fixed around the-body of the aeroplane. A segment of the upper part of the forward beaded ring is cut away to provide for an arcuate rack 37 which is tends rearwardly and is journaled in an" instrument board 42 extending across the body shell. A hand wheel 43 is fixed on the rearmost end of shaft 40 in a position easily accessible to the aeronaut when in the seat 44 of the aeroplane. A rack slot 45 is cut in the body shell to provide for the rack and its movements in relation to the body.

()peration: As readily may be seen the engine drives both propellers simultaneously and the front propeller operates to pull the machine forwardly While the top propeller at right angles to it operates to lift the machine straight upwardly. There are, therefore, two forces at right angles to each other, the resultant of which is a force acting between them along the line roughly indicated by arrow a. In other words, as shown in Fig. 3, the air currents produced by the vertical and horizontal propellers, interfere and take a direction indicated by arrow '-b, and the reaction of this resultant current lifts the machine in the direction indicated by arrow a. Inmaking a turn it is desirable to tilt the planes endwise while the body is maintained in its upright position because of the gyroscopic stabllizing action of the rapidly revolving horizontal propeller. In order to do this the hand wheel l3 is operated to turn shaft 41 and the bevel gear 39 which engages with the rack teeth 38. The ring plates 32 and 33 of the swivel members 30 and 31 are thus pulled around on the body shell, the rollers 34: of the swivel members traveling on the beaded ring 36. The planes 12 and 13 which are rigidly attached to the ring plates 32 and 33 by arms 26, 27, 28 and 29 move with the ring plates, so that their ends on one side of the body are raised while those on the other side are lowered.

It is evident that the combined effect of the two propellers is to lift the aeroplane much more directly upward than is possible with one propeller. The ascent can therefore be made much more quickly with the lifting propeller. It is evident also that in descending, though the speed of the propellers will necessarily be reduced, the lifting propeller will revent the machine from falling as rapi ly' as it otherwise would, and consequently the descent can be made more easily and safely. The rapid rotation of the lifting ropeller in a horizontal plane, also acts on the principle of a gyroscope to stabilize the machine for which reason the mechanism for tilting the planes is a desirable, if not a necessary, provision for safety and convenient management of the machine in making turns.

l Vhile we have shown the preferred construction of our lifting propeller in its application to an aeroplane, it will be understood that various changes in construction and arrangement of parts may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of our invention as claimed.

We claim:

1. The combination with an aeroplane, having a body equipped with an engine and wing planes of a lifting propeller comprising, an extension shaft adapted to be coupled to the aeroplane engine shaft, a vertical shaft adjacent said extension shaft, a bearing bracket in which said extension shaft and vertical shaft are journaled, a lifting propeller fixed to-the upper end of said vertical shaft and a steering device comprising swivel members each of which include a roove ring provided with rollers which are fixed to the win planes and a beaded ring fixed to the body of the aeroplane in cooperative relation with the grooved ring, an arcuate rack fixed in one of the grooved rings, a shaft adjacent said arcuate rack, a bevel gear fixed on the end of said shaft in operative relation with said rack, and a hand wheel fixed to the opposite end of said shaft, said lifting propeller operating to lift the aeroplane and said steering device being adapted to tilt the wing planes longitudinally in cooperation with said lifting propeller when making a turn.

2. In an aeroplane, an aeroplane body, swivel members connected to the aeroplane body, wing planes connected to the swivel members, each of said swivel members including a grooved ring provided with rollers fixed to the wing planes, fixed to the body in coiiperative relation with the grooved ring, an arcuate rack fixed in one of the grooved rings, a shaft adjacent said arcuate rack, a bevel gear fixed on the end of the shaft in operative relation with the rack, and a hand wheel fixed to the opposite end of the shaft.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification.

CHRIS MATTHEWS. CHARLES S. HALL.

a beaded ring

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