US1426726A

US1426726A - Dirigible balloon

Info

Publication number: US1426726A
Application number: US487283A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jesse W Gilbert
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1921-07-25
Filing date: 1921-07-25
Publication date: 1922-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1939-08-22

Description

J. W. GILBERT.

DIRIGIBLE BALLOON. APPLICATION FILED'JULY 25.1921.

1 26,726 P tented Aug. 22, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I Q m la,

J. w. GILBERT. DIRIGIBLE BALLOON.

APPLICATION FILED IULY 25.1921. 1 49 72 Patented Aug. 22, 1922.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. W. GILBERT. DlRIGlBLE BALLOON.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25.1921.

1,426,726. I P ntemg. 22, 1222.

. 5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

JESSE W. GILBERT, OF SALTNA, KANSAS.

DIBIGIBLE BALLOON.

aegan.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented r1ug.22, ices.

Application filed an 25, 1921. Seria1 racemes.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Jnssn W. GILBERT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Salina, in the county of Saline and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsjn Dirigible Balloons; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates. to an improved dirigible balloon and one object of the invention is to provide a balloon having improved construction in the supporting bag and to further provide improved means for supplying gas to the bag and means for drawing gas out of the bag and storing the gas in a storage receptacle until again to be used.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved construction in the supporting bag whereby a beam extending longitudinally through the bag may have a gas passage formed therein through which the gas may enter or leave the bag, a pipe being connected with the opening of the beam and having branches, leading, one to the storage tank and the other to a pump communicating with the tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved steering means for the dirigible balloon.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for suspending the car beneath the bag,.the car being suspended from the end portions of the beam which extends through the bag.

This invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View showing the improved d'irigible balloon in side elevation.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the dirigible balloon.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view showing the car in top plan.

Figure 4: is a view showing the dirigible balloon in vertical longitudinal section.

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse sec tional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken along the line 66 of Fig. 4.

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 77 of Fig. 4.

Figure Sis a sectional view taken along the line 88 of Fig. 1.

This improved dirigible balloon is provided wit-ha car 1 and a gas-bag 2. A beam 3 extends longitudinally through the bag and has its forward and rear end portions extended beyond the ends of the bag. Annular seats 4 are formed in the center beam 3 at proper points to receive clamping rings 5 which serve to securely clamp the end portions of the bag to the center beam. A netting 6 is provided about the gas bag and the end portions of the longitudinally extending strands of this netting are connected.

portion of this beam, and extends from the rear end longitudinally through the beam to a point within the gas bag. It will thus be seen that gas may enter or leave the bag through this opening.

The car 1 is beneath the bag and is provided with bolster means9 which extend beneath the car and have their end portions extending beyond the sides of the car. 10 and 11 are connected with the end portions of these bolsters 9 and extend upwardly in crossed relation and have their upper ends connected with the yokes 12 which are loose- Hanger rods ly mounted upon the end portions of the beam in the seats 13. By having the yokes 12 loose upon the end portions of the beam, the car will always hang properly beneath the bag and by having the suspending rods 10 and 11 extending upwardly in cr-ossed.

communicating with a pump 17 actuated from the motor 18 when a clutch of a conventional construction and controlled by the lever 19'is in an operative position. When the clutch is in an inoperative position, the motor can run without the pump being operated. A pipe 20 which is provided a check the rear end of the center beam.

valve 20 and controlling valve 21 extends from the pump and is connected with the pipe 15 of the tank 14:. A pipe 22 is connected with the coupling 15 at the junction of the pipes 20' and 15 and has its second end portion communicating with the passage 8 which leads through the rear end portion of the center beam 3. With the bag inflated, a reserve supply of gas will be placed in the cylinderv or tank 14. The valves will be closed and the reserve supply of gas willbe confined in the cylinder. ,When it is desired to admit additional gas to the bag, it is simply necessary to open the valve of the pipe 15 and the gas can flow through the

pipes

15 and 22 and through the passage 8 into the interior of the gas bag. After a sufhcient quantity of gas has entered the bag, the valve of the pipe '15 will be closed. lWhen it is desired to reduce the amount of gas in the bag so that a landing can be made, the valve 21 will be opened and the valve of the pipe 16 also opened. The clutch of the pump will be thrown into an operative position and the pump will draw the gas throughthe

pipes

22 and 20 and into the pump from which it will be forced through the pipe 16 into the tank 141-. It will thus be seen that by this arrangement, the gas may be causedto pass into or out of the bag through the pipe 22 and'passage 8. p

In order to steer the balloon, there has been provided a horizontal rudder at the forward end of the center beam 3 and a horizontal rudder and a vertical rudder at The forward rudder is provided with upper and lower planes or wings 23 which are connected by struts 24c and braced'by the braces 25. Certain of these braces 25 are at the ends of the planes or wings 23 and others are adjacent the center as shown in Fig. 7. From an inspection of Fig. 7, it willbe seen that clamp sections 26 are connected with the center braces and secured together about the forward end portion of the beam. By having the mounting clamp of the forward rudder positioned in the seat 27 adjacent the forward end of the beam 3, the rudder may remain in a horizontal position under ordinary circumstances. 4 This rudder is pivotally mounted by means of the bolts 28 which connect the clamp sections 26 with the center braces 25 and

steering wires

29 and 30 are connected with the arms 31 and 32 carried by the wheels 33 mounted upon the steering shaft 34:. This steering shaft 34 is provided with one or more hand wheels 35 so that the shaft 3 1 may be rotated when it is desired to tilt the forward rudder.

The rear horizontal rudders or stabilizers 36 are pivotally connected with a yoke-bar 37 which is secured in the seat 38 adjacent the rear ends of the center beam 3 by means of a clamp 39 as shown in Fig. 8. These rudders 36 are provided with the usual horns L0 and steering lines or wires 41 and 42 are connected with these horns and after being passed through guides 13 carried by the yoke 37 are connected with the end portions of the bars 1 1 carried by the steering shaft 45. This steering shaft 15 is provided with a turning handle d6 which extends between the seats 17 so that either driver may readily reach this handle or lever 426 to turn the steering shaft d5 and thus operate the rudders 36.

The vertical rudder 18 is pivotally mounted upon a Ushaped bracket {l9 which has one arm carried by the clamp 39 of the yoke 37 and: has its second arm carried by the clamp of the yoke 12. The usual horns 5O extend'from this rudder 48' andjare engaged by the steering lines or wires 51 which can tend through guides 52 and are carried downwardly over the guides 53 and beneath the body of the car. These steering wires are connected with the end portions of the bar 5 1 which is rigidly secured upon the lower end of the post 55 of the rudder bar 56. This rudder bar 56 is mounted in the floor of the car as shown in Figs. 3 and 6 and is positioned in front of the seats 4:7 so that it may be readily operated by the drivers.

When this balloon is. in use, the bag will be filled with a suitable gas andwhen released, will be carried up into the air. With the motor started, the dirigible balloon will be moved forwardly. By having the car hung from the center beam and the forward and rear rudders mounted loosely upon this beam, the car can at all times hangin a horizontal position and there will be no danger of the car being tilted transversely when the gas bag is struck'by a heavy wind and blown'side-ways. When itis desired to reach a higher altitude or desired to make a landing,the steering shaft will be rotated to actuate the forward and rear horizontal rudders so that the nose of the balloon will be tilted in the proper direction. lVhen the balloon is moving upwardly or downwardly at an incline, the car will still remain in a horizontal aosition since'thehan 'er rods 10 and 11 extend in crossed relation. It is often necessary 1n making a landing to let a certain amount of the gas out of the bag and it isfurther' often necessary to release a portion of the gas when the balloon reaches a certain altitude. Ordinarily a valve is opened and the gas escapes into the atmosphere and is lost; This loss of gaswhich is very expensive is overcome in the present balloon since the gas which is to be released from the bag is drawn through the pipe 22 by means of the pump and then forced into the reservoir tank l l. After a balloon has been at a high altitude and is brought down, it is necessary to replenish the gas. l Vhen this is necessary, the valve of the pipe 15 is opened ant gas in the reservoir can pass through the pipe 22 into the gas bag. It will thus be seen that there has been provided a dirigible balloon in which gas can be fed into the bag from a eservoir and when desired, gas withdrawn from the bag through the same pipe used in feeding the gas into the bag and this gas pumped into the reservoir tank sothat it is not wasted. It will be further noted that there has been provided a dirigible balloon in which the car will be suspended beneath the gas bag in very efficient manner and will remain in a horizontal position. It will further be noted that there has been provided improved means for mounting the horizontal and vertical rudders and improved actuating means for these rudders.

I claim:

1. A dirigible balloon comprising a gas bag, a beam extending through said bag, yolres loosely mounted upon said beam in front of and to the rear of said bag, a car beneath said bag, and hanger rods loosely connected with the forward and rear end portions of said car and extending upwardly in crossed relation and loosely con- .iectedwith said yolres.

2. A dirigible balloon comprising a gas bag, a beam extending longitudinally through the bag, supports loosely connected with the beam in front of and to the rear of said bag and extending transversely of the beam, a car beneath the bag, and hanger means loosely connected with the car and extending upwardly in crossed relation and connected with the supports.

3. A dirigible balloon comprising a gas bag, a car beneath said bag, supports extending transversely of the bag and loosely mounted adjacent the ends thereof, and hanger means connected with the end portions of the car and extending upwardly in crossed relation and connected with the supports.

at. A dirigible balloon comprising a gas bag, a beam extending through said bag and at one end provided witha passage leading from the interior of the bag to a point exteriorly of the bag, a car suspended beneath the bag from said beam, a gas reservoir carried by said car, a pump, a valve controlled pipe connecting the pump and reservoir, a valve controlled outlet pipe leading from said reservoir, a valve controlled inlet pipe for said pump, and a pipe leading from the gas passage of the beam and connected with the inlet pipe of the pump and outlet pipe of the reservoir.

5. A dirigible balloon comprising a gas bag, a beam extending longitudinally through the gas bag and beyond the ends thereof, a car suspended beneath the bag from said beam, a horizontal rudder adjacent the forward end of said beam and having upper and lower planes, supports connecting said planes, a bearing loosely mounted upon said beam and connectedl with certain of said supports to pivotally mount the rudder, and actuating means upon said car connected with the rudder.

6. A dirigible balloon comprising a gas bag, a beam extending longitudinally through the gas bag and beyond the ends thereof, yokes loosely mounted upon the end portions of said beam, a car suspended beneath the bag from said yokes, a front rudder, means pivotally connected with the rudder to mount the rudder for vertical tilting movement, said means being mounted upon the beam for turning movement thereon, and actuating means upon said car connected with the rudder for imparting tilting movement to the same.

7. A dirigible balloon comprising-a gas bag, a beam extending longitudinally through the gas bag and-beyond the ends thereof, yokes loosely mounted upon the end portions of said beam, a car suspended beneath the bag from said yokes, an additional yoke upon the rear end portion of said beam, a U-shaped bracket carried by and extending above the yokes upon the rear end portion of said beam, horizontal rudders carried by the last mentioned yoke, a vertical rudder carried by said bracket, and actuating means for the rudders carried by the car and connected with the rudders.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

JESSE W. GILBERT.