US1498411A - Airship - Google Patents

Description

June 17, 1924. 1498411 1-1. WHITESIDE AIRSHIP Original Filed July 20, 1916 5 Sheets-Sheet l June 17 1924. 1,498,41 l

H. A. WHITESIDE AIRSHIP Original ile ly 20. 1916 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 IIEIEiIIlWTElEJIEIIEIIEIIQJEII 3/ 47 IQIEJIElL-AJIQJEQ June 17 1924. Q 1,498,41 l

H. A. WHITESIDE AIRSHIP Original Filed July 20. 1916 s Sheets-Sheet 5 June 17 1924. 1,498,411

H. A, WHITESIDE AIRSHIP Original Filed July 20, 1916 5 sh s 4 //award fl l l/b/i' side $591 attozmem June 17 1924.

H. A. WHITESIDE AIRSHIP Original Filed July 20,

1916 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented June 17, 1924..

HOWARD A. WHITESIDE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AIRSHIP.

Application filed July 20, 1916, Serial No. 110,325.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HowARD A. VVHITE- SIDE, a citizen of the United States, and resi dent of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Airships, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to air ships and has for its object the construction of a vessel which is easy to operate and which is steady while afloat in the air. Other objects of my invention are to mount the propellers in such a manner that they may be readily shifted to a position to act as helicopters,

and to provide a means for automatically maintaining the ship at an even keel. The invention will be fully described hereinafter and the features of novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved air ship.

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a detail perspective view of the mechanism for automatically operating the rudder.

Figure 5 is a detail plan view of a portion of the aeroplanes.

Figure 6 is an elevation thereof.

Figure 7 is a detail view of the mechanism for shifting the position of the propellers, and

Figure 8 is a sectional detail thereof.

In the drawings is shown the body or hull 1 of the vessel, in the upper portion of which is secured a stationary platform 2 on which the aeroplanes, or wings, 3 are located. The said wings each comprise a rod 4 having its opposite ends secured at 5 and 6 upon supports 6 secured to the platform 2. Additional rods, 7, 8 and 9 are pivotally mounted at 10 upon shafts 11, secured in suitable journals. The said rods 7, 8 and 9 extend outwardly from said center 10 and serve to carry the sails 3 which are suitably secured thereto. The shafts 11 each carry at their upper ends and at an intermediate point, sectors 14 adapted to engage pinions 15 and 16 which mesh with each other as clearly shown in Fig. 5. The pinions 15 and 16 are mounted on shafts 17 journalled in suitable bearings 18, one shaft Renewed March 1, 1924.

17 being extended through a journal 19 located on the platform 2 and carrying a hand wheel 20. It is to be understood that there are two sets of two wings, each set being located in difierent horizontal planes. The wings are all of the same construction and may be folded and unfolded by means of the hand wheel 20, sectors 14 and pinions 15 and 16. In their extended position the wings are each fan shaped and are easily and quickly folded through the medium of the mechanism just described.

Motors 21 and 21 are suitably supported in the body 1 and have bevelled gears 22 mounted on the driving shafts thereof. These bevelled gears 22 mesh with oppositely arranged bevel pinions 23, each secured to a separate shaft 24 mounted in suitable bearings 25 carried by the body 1. Each shaft 24 extends into an outwardly projecting sleeve 26 rotatably mounted on the body 1 and terminating in a gear case 27. Abevel pinion 28 is secured to the outer endof each shaft 24 in engagement with similar bevel gears 29 each carried by a countershaft 3O journalled in the gear casing 27 at an angle to the axis of the shaft 24 on which countershafts 30 are mounted the combined propellers and helicopters 31. The sleeves 26 are each formed with a pinion 32 which mesh with horizontally movable racks 33 arranged in suitable supports 34 at opposite sides of the body 1 and connected to move in unison by cross bars 35. One of the racks 33 also engages with a pinion 36 carried by a short shaft 37 to which an operating lever 38 is secured. This operating lever is provided with a handle 39 and a spring catch 40 adapted to co-operate with a stationary notched segment 41 to lock the lever in any adjusted position.

By swinging the lever 38 in the arc of a i I circle in one direction or the other, the pinion 36 is correspondingly moved and transmits its motion to the racks 33 which are connected to move in unison as before stated. The horizontal movement of said racks in turn rotates the pinion 32 and with them the sleeves 26, thus changing the direction of the axis of each propeller or helicopter 31 to any desired position as from the horizontal to the vertical. The propellers 31 may thus first be adjusted with their axis in a vertical. plane to act as helicopters and after wards swung to a position with their axis in a horizontal plane to propel the vessel. All

mounted at 47 to swing about a horizontal axis in a fork 48 which is itself bodily rotatable on a vertical axis. The said rudder is thus capable of moving up and down as well as from right to left. The rod 49 of the rudder is provided with an elongated loop 50 at an intermediate point and has its free end projecting through a loop 51 forming part of or secured to a stem 52 carried by a rack 53 vertically movable on a stationary rod 54. The said rack 53 engages with a segment 55 loosely mounted on a shaft 56 extending crosswise of the body of the vessel and carrying a depending weight 57. A suitable clutch, moved by the arm 56, is provided for throwing the segment 55 into and out of engagement with the shaft 56. A similar rack 08 is mounted to slide on a cross bar 59 and meshes with a segment 60 loosely mounted on a shaft 61 which extends longitudinally of the body. This shaft 61 also carries a depending weight 62 the stem of which projects through the loop 50. A clutch 63 is provided for engaging and disengaging said segment from the shaft 61, said clutch being moved by the arm 63 and otherwise identical in construction with the clutch on shaft 56 above referred to. The rack 58 is provided with a downwardly extending rod 64 terminating in a loop 65 through which the rod 49 of the rudder projects. Each rack has its opposite ends connected by means of cords or wires 58 and 58 which pass over suitable pulleys and are connected with hand wheels 53 and 58. When the rudder is to be operated manually the clutch 63 and the clutch on the shaft 56 are thrown out to leave the racks free to be operated by turning the hand wheels 53 and 58 in either direction. This turning of the hand wheels will cause a pull to be exerted on the racks in either direction, and in one case through the medium of the rod and loop 65 will swing the rudder in a horizontal plane and in the other instance through the medium of the loop 51 will raise or lower said rudder During these movements of the racks the segments 55 and 60 will be oscillated but owing to the fact that bot-h these segments are loosely mounted on their respective shafts, the clutches having been thrown out, this oscillation will have no effect on the said shafts and the depending weights.

When the clutches are thrown in, the devices operate automatically in the following manner: Should the vessel rock about its lcngitudinal axis the weight 62 will swing accordingly and will rock the shaft 61 and with it the segment 60. This movement is thus communicated to the rack 58 which is thus moved in a direction at an angle to the rod 49 of the rudder and through the medium of the downwardly extending rod 64 and loop wil swing said rudder in a horizontal plane. Should the vessel rock about its lateral axis the weight 57 will move and rock the shaft 56 and with it the segment 55. This will cause the rack 53 and with it the loop 51 to be raised or lowered, which loop will accordingly engage and raise or lower the end of the rudder rod 49. Thus no matter in which direction the vessel moves from the normal position the rudder will be moved accordingly to immediately bring the vessel back to an even keel. The automatic balancing mechanisms operate freely and independently of each other.

Tn operation the propellers 31 are shifted so as to revolve in a horizontal plane to act as helicopters, after which the motors are started to raise the vessel. After the de sired height has been reached the wings are unfolded to sustain the vessel in the air and the propellers are shifted to a position to revolve in a vertical plane and, drive the vessel. The rear propellers in the meantime all exert a driving or propelling ac tion. On descending, the wings may be folded, the propellers having first been brought back to their initial position to revolve in a horizontal plane thus permitting the vessel to slowly settle toward the ground.

The weights 57 and 62 with their suspending rods and fulcrums constitute pendulums. When the ship lists to either side by the automatic action of the segment 60 a circular motion is immediately imparted to the air ship, the ship leaning towards the centre of the arc formed by its motion, whereby through the action of centrifugal force the ship is caused to assume a level position.

It is evident that the ship may be steered laterally or vertically without detaching the clutches. In such cases as the pendulums are being lifted the leverage becomes greater and they offer progressively greater opposition to the movement of the rudder. This feature is a means of the greatest safety as it prevents too sharp or dangerous turns. Furthermore the automatic action of the pendulum mechanisms may instantly be brought into play, merely by letting loose the hand wheels. Thus, if a turn should be made that in the least degree jeopardizes the stability of the ship the deviation from the perpendicular may be instantly and automatically rectified simply by loosening the hand wheels.

In the automatic balancing by the pendulum 62 and the horizontal part of the rudder, the latter is shifted towards the high side of the machine when the nose tips down. When the nose turns up, the horizontal part of the rudder is turned down. In a vertical plane whenthe nose turns to the right, the vertical rudder is turned to the left, and when the nose turns to theleft the horizontal rudder is turned to the right.

Various modifications of the elements shown may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and some of the elements shown may be omitted without interfering with the co-operation of the remaining ones.

For convenience of illustration, many of the elements of the aeroplane have been shown on a reduced scale.

WVhat I claim as new is:

1. In'an air ship, heavier than air, a rudder mounted to swing about a vertical and a horizontal axis, mechanism for automatically swinging said rudder about either of its axes, means for disconnecting said automatic mechanism, and mechanism for manually operating said rudder when said automatic mechanism is disconnected.

2. In an air ship, a rudder provided with horizontal and vertical blades, mounted to swing about a horizontal and a vertical axis, manual operating means for each of said blades, automatic operating means for each of said blades associated with each of said manual operating means, and clutch means interposed between each manual operating means and its respective associate automatic operating means.

3. In an airship, in combination, sustaining wings for said air ship adapted to be folded to decrease resistance to upward or downward movement or to be unfolded to present a greater sustaining area, a plurality ofpropellers adapted to be adjusted to exert driving or lifting effort upon said airship,

and a stabilizing rudder operated automatically to keep said airship on an even keel.

4. In an airship, in combination, sustaining wings and a body suspended therefrom, propellers arranged at opposite sides of said body, a motor for driving said propellers,

additional propellers similarly arranged to said first propellers but spaced longitudinally of said body, a second motor for driving said additional propellers, means for adjusting said propellers to exert a lifting effort or a driving efiort'on said airship, and a propeller fixed in position to exert a driving effort on said airship and driven by one of said motors.

5. An airship heavier than air including, in combination, a body, wings, and propellers, one or more of said propellers adapted to be disposed toexert either a lifting or a driving eflect on said body, a rudder, including horizontal and vertical blades, mounted to swing about a vertical and a horizontal axis, and means for automatically swinging said rudder about either axis as the ship assumes positions other than the normal.

6. An airship heavier than air including, in combination, a body, wings, and propellers, one or more of said propellers adapted to be disposed to exert either a lifting or a driving effect on said body, said wings including sections movable to provide more or less horizontal area, a rudder, including horizontal and Vertical blades, mounted to swing about a vertical and a horizontal axis, and means for automatically swinging said rudder about either axis as the ship assumes positions other than the normal.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of N. Y., this 18th day of July A. D. 1916.

HOWARD A. WHITESIDE.

IVitnesses:

C. A. O. ROSELL,

GEORGIA PARKS.

Images