US1656137A

US1656137A - Airship

Info

Publication number: US1656137A
Application number: US83759A
Authority: US
Inventors: Bradford Allen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1926-01-25
Filing date: 1926-01-25
Publication date: 1928-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1945-01-10

Description

Jam.. 10 W. l,656,137

A. BRAM'ORD AIRSHIP A yT rfmmm y floor (15). When the varnish is dry and materials of scaffold removed, the fabric may be allowed to collapse onto door (l5) excluding all air. It is then ready toinflate with gas. A sufficient number of relief valves may be fixed between the upper ends of the frames (24) arranged to open automatical lyfwhenever the internal pressure become unsa e.

Another way to reduce pressure, without losing gas, is provided by the gas pump (28) Fig. 4 and suction pipe (33) by means of which gas may be pumped from the gas holder and stored above the diaphragm in cylinders (2Q-22). (16) is av floor over the car, which lalso stiffens the car against lateral strains, and with floor (39) Fig. 4 affords storage room.

The circular T shaped uprights (45) secure the car to the frame before described. All of the lower part of the ship below (17) bow and stern frame work to be cov ered on the Outside with thin sheet metal to present a smooth surface to the atmosphere.

The reservoir cylinders (22--22) before mentioned are made principally of thin sheet duralumin strengthened with ribs (23) to prevent collapse when the internal pressure is too weak to sustain the weight of the upper part butthe duralumin must be strong enough to prevent bursting by internal pressure.

IThe diaphragms (34) are of Athe right width to form a close fitting lining for the lower half of the cylinder when filled with gas, or to be a similar lining for the upper half when the cylinders are filled with air. These air-gas-tight partitions do not require great strength as the pressure is always equal on each side. (3f) is one'of the air inlet pipes and (32) is one of the gas inlets. (43) seen in dotted lines behind one of the wood segment supports, in Fig. 6 is one of the self-closing ballast discharge pipes, each having a cord or wire connection to a handle convenient for the engineer. vThe valve I near the top of pipe (32) Fig. 4 is only opened when it is required to allow some gas to pass from the reservoir cylinders to the gas holder. The air pump or compressor (29) Fig. 4 compresses air in the reservoir cylinders below the diaphragms. ,If there be gas in the cylinders above the diaphragms it is reduced in volume. The gasoline motors (27) are geared to the shafts (25) which are supported on brackets secured to the car and to the segtenais? ment frames (24) as seen in ligs. 4 and 3 and in dotted lines in Fig. l. `Propellers 26 are fixed on the shafts 25 and rotated therewith.

lThe pipe has a. mercury gauge 3G connected to indicate the pressure of air in the cylinders, and the pipe (33) has a mercury gauge 35 to indicate the pressure in the gas holder'.

lt is, of course, understood that in a plant equipped to build airships there is likely to be a compressed air system of large capacity which will be used to inflate the holder 19 for varnishing and testing although obviously a smaller pump may be used if such a large capacity plant is not available.

Having described my invention what I wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. In an air ship of the buoyant type, one or more long cylinders of light weight construction, made in two halves, upper and lower, bolted together with the edges of a flexible diaphragm or partition of sufficient width to fit against either half cylinder.

2. ln an air ship of the buoyant type, the combination of the segment frames (24) with the floor (l5) having joists crosswise of the ship secured at both ends to the frames (24) and covered with a light weight, strong floor (l5), and the longitudinal truss and stem and stern posts, and rigidly attached long car, making a rigid frame for the ship.

3. An airship comprising a longitudinal truss, -end frames connected to the ends of the truss and offset upwardly therefrom, side frames connected to the truss and curving upwardly and outwardly from the truss, a floor connected to the truss and to the curved side frames below the upper edges of the side frames, a gas-tight covering for the fioor and side frames, and a flexible gas holder connected to the upper edges of the side frames and co-acting therewith to define a gas space, the forward and rearward ends of the flexible gas holder beingengaged by the end frames. I

4. An airship comprising a longitudinal truss, side frames curving outwardly and upwardly from the truss, a floor connected to the truss and also connected to the side frames below their upper ends, a gas-tight covering for the floor and the side frames, and a collapsible gas holder connected to the u per ends of the side frames and co-act ing t erewith to define a gas space.

ALLEN BRADFORD.