US1524266A - Airplane construction - Google Patents

Description

1,524,266 A. A. LONGAKER AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 10 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 A. A. LONGAKER AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 10, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan. 27. 1925. 1,524,266

' A. A. LONGAKER AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 10, 1923 4 SheetsSheet 5 1 uil erjflfgyw A. A. LONGAKER AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION Filed July 10, 1923 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Jan. 27, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT A. LONGAKER, OF CHAMBERSIBURG, PENNSYLVANIA AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed July 10, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. LoNGAKEn, a citizen of the United States, residing at (.hambersburg, in the county of Franklin. and Stateof Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Airplane Construc The main purpose of my invention is toprovide propulsion and steering mechanism at once easy and inexpensive to manufacture and well suited to the needs of service.

A further purpose is to mount driving impellers in tubes trunnioned horizontally and at the discharge epds of these tubes, within the discharge, to provide steering vanes trunnioned in a vertical plane.

A further purpose is to provide each tube with a diagonal intake and to mount the impeller in the intake.

A further purpose is to have the tubes in pairs with the diagonal intakes oppositely and outwardly directed so as to be in relative balance and to secure a larger field of air supply.

A further purpose is to obtain great flexibility and reliability of control of impellers within swivelled tubes by providing them with individual electric motor drive mounted upon the respective tubes.

A further purpose is to mount the impeller and its motor upon the same shaft.

Further purposes will appear in the specification and in the claims.

I have selected for illustration only one of the various forms of my invention, with a slight variation in mounting, selecting a form which particularly well illustrates the principles involved, which principles are shown somewhat diagrammatically.

Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Figure 2- is a plan, partl in section along Serial No. 650,627.

Describing in illustration and notin limitation and referring to the drawings Hitherto it has been usual to have gasoline drive for the impellers of an air ship and many fatalities have resulted from something temporarily going wrong with the engine. I endeavor to correct this con dition by providing the impellers with individual electric motor drive, generating the current by means of a dynamo operated by a central gasoline engine of high efiiciency, such as a Diesel engine, and further providing a small storage battery adapted to supply enough power to land the ship in case of temporary accident to the generating engine.

Planes are now equipped with engines up to 250 horse power and larger, and with these large units the combination of a central self-contained generator set and an individual motor at each impeller may even be made to eti'ect a saving in weight, andin addition to this and the increased freedom from accidents and the greater ease with which the combination may be taken care of, I obtain greatly increased flexibility by mounting individual motors on the impeller shafts of swivelled tubes.

in this arrangement the motors can be made reversible and the ship can be steered like ocean liners having multiple propellers. One side may be slowed down and the other given full speed forward or reverse; and for banking all motors may be reversed.

I provide the plane with balanced pairs of tubes, each pair having outwardly flaring intakes to secure an easier supply of air and greater stability of plane. I also provide steering vanes mounted in the discharge blasts of the tubes.

Some of these advantages may be obtained with non-electric motors, and particularly so if the motors are reversible.

- In the illustration, the framework 10 rigidly supports the outer air tubes 11 and 12 and pivotally supports the inner air tubes 13 and 14:. It 'is provided with operators platform 15, air plane 16, -forward wheels 17 and rearward shoes 18.

The impellers 19 are mounted in the inlet ends of the tubes which advantageously flare diagonally outward, thereby facing a larger field of air supply and permittingthe shafts 20 of the impellers to be diagonal with respect to the tubes and to'extend rearwardly through the inside walls of the tubes to motors 21 mounted on the tubes. The impellers and their respective motors are thus axially in line, each individual tube having its individual power unit of impeller and motor.

age battery 23.

In the drawings the impeller and motor of'each individual tube are mounted upon the same shaft and I usually prefer to do this. In practice however special circumstances may make it desirable to have a cou pling connection between each motor audits impeller;. so that each motor-impeller unit may, according to circumstance, be mounted upon a single shaft or upon shafts in line coupled together.

Electrical energy for the motors is supplied through suitable wiring, not shown, from the central gasoline-driven electrical generator 22 and from the emergency stor- These electrical units are not described in detail as they do not in themselves form, part of the present invention. The generator charges the battery and the battery is available at all times for emergency use.

The outer air-tubes 11 and 12 are. rigidly fastened to the frame work by brackets 24 and struts 25 and each carries one of the bearin 26 for the adjacent pivoted tube. The 0t er bearings 27 for the pivoted tubes are supported by brackets 28 from the operator s platform.

The inner tubes 13 and 14 are provided with trunnion projections 29 turning in bearings 26'and 27. These tubes are rotatable upon their trunnions and may be set to any angle with respect to the outer tubes by means of handwheels 30 and 31 respectively keyed to plinion shafts 32 and 33. The pinions on t-ese shafts mesh with spur gears 34 and 35 rigidly mounted on the trunnions of the tubes.

Normallythe trunnioned tubes will turn as one in order that the tubes may be in'relative balance, but under special conditions it may be desirable tosetthem at different angles and clutch mechanisl n 36 is provided whereby the shafts 32 and 33 may be relatively' locked or relatively free. lVhen the shafts are locked to ether the tubes may be angularly positione, by either handwheel; while when the shafts are relatively free the handwheel adjustments to the tubes are relatively independent. j

The steering sections of the tubes are shown at 37, where in each tube the vane 38 is mounted upon a pivotedshaft 39 carrying at its middle a sheave 40 for adjusting the vane. The shaft 39 is pivotally carried in the tube at 41 and 42. i

The steering control comprises a hand- .ly spacednear opposite sides of the tube but they mayif desired be upon a common shaft, and under certain conditions are preferably upon a common shaft, and are thus shown in the outer tubes. The wire .rope 46 may be individual rope for each tube or a common rope passing successively around the sheave 40 of each tube.

Suitable mechanism is provided for locking the handwheels 30 and 31 of the tubes and the handwheel 43 of the steering vanes at any temporarily desirable settings. This mechanism may conveniently comprise for the handwheels 30 and 31 clutches 50 and 51 between the spur gears 34 and 35 and the bearings for the trunnions of the tubes, and for the steering wheel may comprise a clutch 52 between the steeringwheel shaft and its bearing.

In Figures 1 to 4 the motors for the impellers are shown outside of the tubes and in Figure 5 I show an alternative form in which the motor and impeller are mounted together within the outer end of the tube. The impeller is shown here rigidly fastened to the shaft of the motor and close to the motor, and the motor is rigidly fastened within the enlarged outer end of the tube by brackets 53.

lVhile this arrangement will obviously somewhat change the balance of the tubes in View of the greater weight at the forward end of the tube, it has advantages, such as compactness which may under certain circumstances make it the preferable form.

The rudder vanes are normally pivoted in vertical planes longitudinal of the tubes and perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the inner tubes.

In this arrangement variation in the angular position of the vanes steers the plane sideways without affecting its vertical direction. and variation in the vertical setting of the innertubes steers vertically, changing the vertical inclination of the plane without afl'eeting its sideway direction.

It is thus evident that the combination of tubes and vanes pivoted relatively at right angles is one adapted to easy steering in any direction whatever; and it is normally preferable to have the vanes permanently set to pivot at right angles to the pivots of the tubes, in that there is then mutual independence of horizontal and vertical steermg.

It will be evident that the impulse of the high speed discharge is of considerable advantage and that it is more advantageous in that the reaction of the escaping jet is obtained along with the steadying effect of the diagonal intake.

It will be noted that the'rear of the tube isenlarged to protect against restriction of opening when the steering vane is turned; and that it is not merely made larger but is given a generally oval shape having its minor axis parallel to the pivot of the vane in order that when the vane isturned to its extreme lateral position, the discharge opening at the rear at a minimum may have substantially the same cross section as that of the intermediate length of the tube and that the outlet shape may then be nearly the shape of the cross section of the tube.

I am aware however that special circumstances may arise making it desirable to have the vane pivot in one or more of the tubes axially adjustable in respect to its inclination with the tube pivot.

This can readily be done for any tube having the whole steering section of the tube and therefore the pivot of its steering vane carried by the section adjustably turning within the tube.

The requisite mechanism to thus make one 36 or more of the vane pivots adjustable in respect to its inclination to the tube pivot, and to have the'adjustmcnt control at the operators platform is shown for the vanes of the outer tubes in Figure 2.

The steering sections of the outer tubes are adjustably turned away to any desired setting by changing the position of the handwheel' 54, which, a unit with the small sprocket wheel 55 is loosely mounted upon the shaft 33 along side of the handwheel 31. Any suitable clutch mechanism 56 between this unit and. the platform is provided to maintainthewheel at any setting.

The position of the wheel 54 determines the angular positions-of the steering sections of the outer tubes, these-sections being provided with teeth 57 meshing with cars 58 upon shaft 59, and the sprocket c ain 6O gearing with the wheel 61 on the shaft 5 to the wheel 55 of the handwheel.

Obviously variation in the position of the handwheel 54 steers diagonally sideways upward or diagonally sideways downward; variation in the position of the wheel'BO or -of 31 changes the vertical inclination without changing the horizontal direction; and finally turning the wheel 43 steers sideways without changing the vertical inclination.-

Of a number of further anticipated advantages one is the stabilizing influence up drivin on the plane of the rush of air to the out-v wardly flaring intakes of the relatively balto meet individual whim or particular need,

and I claim all such in so far as they fall within the reasonable spirit and scope of my claims.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is '1. In an air ship, an air tube, a diagonal inlet thereto, an impeller mounted in the inlet to rotate in planes transverse thereto, a driving shaft for the impeller extending through the wall of the tube andgenerally parallel to the access of the inlet, andmeans Without the tube for driving the shaft,

2. In an air ship, a trunnioned air tube, a diagonal inlet section thereon, an impeller mounted in the section, a driving shaft from the impeller extending through the wall of the tube, and driving means in direct connection therewith mounted upon the trunnioned tube.

3. In an air ship, a pair of tubes -located toward opposite sides of the ship, pivot supports therefor substantially axiall' in line, an intake for each tube directe di agonally outward, and means for passing air through the tubes.

4. In an air ship, a pair of tubes located toward opposite sides ofthe ship, a pivot support for each tube, an intake for each tube directed diagonally outward, and means for passing air through the tubes.

5. In an air ship, a pair of substantially parallel tubes on opposite sides of the center line of the ship, an intake for each tube di-' rected diagonally outward, an impeller mounted in each intake and rotating in planes transverse thereto, a driving shaft for the impeller extending through the outer wall of the corresponding tube, and means Without the tubes for driving the-shafts.

6. In an air ship, a pair of tubes located on opposite sides of the center line of the ship, trunnion supports therefor substantially axially in line, an intake section on each tube directed diagonally outward, an impeller in each section having a driving shaft extending through the tube outer wall, and means directly connected therewith carrie by the tube.

7. In an air ship, a pair of substantially parallel tubes located on opposite sides of the ship, an intake for each tube directed diagonally outward, asecond pair of substantially parallel tubes between the first having oppositely directed diagonal intakes, trunnion supports therefor axially in line, and means for passing 'airthrough all the tubes.

8. In an air ship, a pair of tubes located on opposite sides of the center line of the ship and trunuioned as a unit, an intake for each tube directed diagonally outward, and means for passing air thrbugh the tubes.

9. In an air ship, a trunuioned tube, an impeller pivotally supported thereby and adapted to pass air therethrough, anda reversible motor supported by the tube and adapted to drive the impeller.

10. In an airship, an air tube, a discharge tube at the end thereof and axial therewith, a connection between the tubes adapting the discharge'tube to be adjustably turned on its axis, avane pivoted across the discharge tube, means for adjusting the inclination of the vane with respect to the axis of the tube, and means for passing air through the tubes.

11. In an air ship, a pivoted air tube having a hollow trunnion, a steering vane pivoted across the tube in the'discharge end thereof, a wheelupon the vane pivot connected to the vane, a steering shaft to one side of the tube, a. pulley rigidly mounted thereon, flexible connection between the wheel and pulley through the trunnion adapting the shaft to position the wheel and thereby .to adjust the vane.

12. In an air ship, a pair of pivoted air tubes, a hollow trunnion on each tube, a steering vane pivoted across each tube in the discharge end thereof, a wheel upon each pivot positioning its vane, a steering shaft between the tubes, a pulley rigidly mounting thereon, flexible connection between the wheelsand pulley through the trunnions adapting the shaft to position the Wheels and thereby angularly adjust the vanes.

.13. In an air ship,a pair of relatively spaced and stationary air tubes, a discharge tube at the end of each tube, co-axial therewith, and adapted to be turned on its own axis, a vane in the discharge end thereof, and common means for angularly positioning the discharge tubes upon their axes.

14. In an air ship, a pair of relatively spaced and stationary air tubes, a discharge tube at the end of each tube, co-axial therewith and adapted to be turned with respect to its own axis, a vane pivoted across each discharge tube, common means for angularly positioning the vane with respect to their pivotal axes, and common means for angularly positioning the discharge tubes w th respect to their own-axes.

'15. In an air ship, a pair of relatively spaced and stationary air tubes, a discharge tube at the end of each tube, co-axial therewith and adapted to be turned on its own axis, a vane in each discharge tube, and common means for angularly positioning the discharge tubes with respect to their own axes, comprising circumferential teeth around each discharge tube, a pair of gears having a common shaft 'and respectively meshing with the teeth of each discharge tube, and means for angularly positioning the shaft with respect to its own axis.

16. In an air ship, a body, in combination with parallel trunnion-mounted air pipes adapted for adjustment together to different directions of intake and discharge and having considerably larger intake openings than discharge outlets, impellers for the tubes and motors driving the impellers.

17. In an air ship, a body, in combination with parallel trunuioned air tubes, considerably larger at the inlet ends than at the discharges, having inlet openings diagonal to the axes of the tubes and impellers within the enlarged ends of the tubes, with means for turning the tubes together to discharge in different directions and motors connected with and driving the impellers.

18. In an air ship, a body, in combination with a plurality of parallel trunuioned air tubes having enlarged diagonal inlet openings varying from the axes of the tubes in opposite directions, impellers in the enlarged ends of the tubes, motors for the impellers and means for turning the tubes.

19. In an air ship, a body, in combination with a plurality of fixed impeller tubes upon opposite sides of the center and a plurality of trunuioned impeller tubes having coaxial trunnions on opposite sides of the center, the fixed and trunuioned tubes having enlarged diagonal openings facing differently on opposite sides of the center, impellers within the enlarged ends of the tubes, motors for the impellers and means for positively turning the tubes on their trunnions.

20.'In an air ship, an air ship body, in combination with a pair of impeller tubes on opposite sides of the center of the ship, having enlarged inlet openings, impellers in the tubes, means for driving the impellers, steering vanes within the discharges from the tubes, means for turning the steering vanes to diverge the discharges and enlargements in the discharge outlets of the tubes adapted to give full discharge openings when the vanes are turned.

Dated, June 19, 1923.

ALBERT A. LONGAKER.

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