US1757687A

US1757687A - Wheel attachment for seaplanes

Info

Publication number: US1757687A
Application number: US347054A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Frank N Silva
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1929-03-14
Filing date: 1929-03-14
Publication date: 1930-05-06
Anticipated expiration: 1947-05-06

Description

May 6, 1930. F. N. SILVA, JR

` WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR SEAPLANES Filed March`14, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet. 2

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May 6, 1,930. F. N. SILVA. JR

WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR sEAPLANEs Filed March 14, 1929 4 Sheets-Sheet r Il; IIIIIII (lllllnlilllllllllllllnl lli; 4r.

May 6, 1930. v |='.v N. SILVA, JR v 1,757,687-

T WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR 'SEPLANES- Filed March 14, 1929 4 Sheets'-Sl le`t 4 f JVS lva, Jr.

. /vauwmp Patented May 6, 1930 einen FRANK N.-SILVA, JR., F SANTA. MARIA, CAIFORNIA.

WHEEL ATTACHMENT FOR SEAPLANES Application led March 14, 1929. Serial No. 347,054.

This invention relates to aircraft and hasfor its object the provision of means under the control of the pilot whereby a seapla'ne Inay be arranged to eil'ect a landing or a take oil' upon land as well as upon the water. The invention provides landing gear which will be normally housed within the pontoons or floats of the seaplane so as to avoid-excessive head resistance but which may be easily projected to working position by fluid pressure manipulated from the cock pit of the fuselage. The invention provides means whereby the landing wheels may be projected through the bottom of the pontoons or floats and when the landingwheels are Withdrawn the bottoms of the floats or pontoons will be closed so as to avoid wind resistance; Other objects of the invention will appear incidentally in the course of the following description, and the invention resides in certa-in novel features which will be particularly pointed out in thelappended claims.

In the annexed drawings: Figure 1 is a view somewhat diagrammatic in character showing a seaplane having the present invention embodied therein,

Fig.-2 is a similar view showing the Sea-l plane in side elevation, v

Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal vertical section of a landing wheel and the parts im mediately associated therewith. j

Fig. 4 is a view, partly in front elevation and partly in section, on the line 4-4 of 1g. 3 Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic viewshowing the means for controlling the pressure luid,'and Figi 6 is an enlarged/detail section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4. f

In the drawings, the reference numeral 1 indicates the fuselage of a seaplane and the numeral 2 indicates ioatskorpontoons which' may be ofany approved form and which are connected with the fuselage by struts, indicated conventionally at 3. In carrying out the present invention, the pontoon or float is provided in its bottom with an opening through which the landing wheel 4 may be projected and this opening is'normally closed by doors 5 hinged to the side portions of the -bottom ofthe oat to swing on axes extending longitudinally of the float. Adjacent the doors and near the side walls of the float or pontoon, bracing posts 6 are secured in vertical position rigidly to the pontoon, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4. Pivoted to each bracing post 6 is the front end ol a link 7, the links converging inwardly and rearwardly,

vas will be understood upon reference to Fig.

4, and having ltheir rear ends fitted to the ends of the axle 8 upon which the landing wheel 4 is mounted, and also pivotally engaged with the ends of said axle is a fork 9 which extends upwardly and spans the wheel. and passes through a longitudinal slot l0 in the top of the lioat, the crown of the fork being enlarged to acquire strength and being welded i or otherwise intimately united with the lower end of a piston rod 11. The piston rod 11 'carries a piston 12 on its upper end and said piston plays in a cylinder 13 which is supported on the top of the float and is provided with ports 14 in its upper and'lower ends. The lower end portion of the cylinder is enlarged, as indicated at 15, so as to provide the requisite strength and upon' this venlarged portion at diametrically opposlte points are formed or permanently attached spherical lugs 16 on the outer ends of short studs 12' which project laterally lfrom the cylinder. The knobs or spherical enlargements 16 are .fitted within casings 18 having longitudinal slots 19 in their sides presented to the cylinder 13, the stems 17 passing through the said slots and being adapted to play along the same.` l' Both ends of the casings 18 are closed and, above and below the knobs 16,

springsV

20 and 21 are mounted in said casings, the upper springs 20 being stronger than Athe lower springs 21. The casings 18 are rigidly secured tov or formed integral with pedestals or brackets 22 which are rigidly secured upon then-top of the oat and the cylinder 13 is disposed between the casings and out of contact therewith soV that it may have a rocking movement about the knobs 16 as a center to accommodate the angular movement of the piston rod and the fork 9 as the landing wheel .is 'projected orlretracted.

Hose 23 are fitted to the respective ports 14 in the heads of the cylinder 13 and said hose 1n and the opposite ends of the cylinder are in direct communication with the respective branch lines25, as shown in Fig. 5. The piston 27 is'secured upon a piston rod 28 extending through one end o the cylinder and connected to a crosshead 29 slidably mounted in ways 30. The crosshead 29 has pivoted theretoa pitman 31 which has its -outer end connected to a crank disk 32 driven from a motor, indicated conventionally at 33.V Within the cock pit of the fuselage, the branch lines 25 are each formed with or connected to a lateral pipe' 34 and interposed in the pipes are three-way valves 35 which ma be of any well known form and are operab e in av well understood manner to control the direction of flow of the pressure Huid.

As shown in'Figs. 3`and 4, the landing wheel 4 is normally housed within the float and rests upon the doors 5 at the meeting edges of the latter. On its inner side adjacent its hinged edge each dooris provided with a tapered enlargement 36 and immediately adjacent the lower side of 'said enlargement the lower end of a tension spring 37 1s connected to the door. The upper end of each tension spring is secured to 'a cable 38 which extends upwardly and is attached to a retracting spring reel 39 mounted in any convenient manner upon the respective link 7.

The spring reel exerts a constant pull upon the cable 38 to hold the attached door 5 raised and closed and the tension spring 3 7 serves to keep the cable taut so that the desired action will be attained with certainty. When the landing wheel is projected, the doors will doors, as indicated automatically swing downwardl links 7 will also swing downward y, as indicated by the dotted l1n`es in Fig. 3, and will l project through the door opening and engage against. the inner sides of the respective b 4. The doors will gh'usbe held open when and as'long as the landing wheel is projected;

When-the landing wheel is retracted, the

cables 38 are automaticallyretraeted so that' the doors will closea-s the landing wheel moves upwardly. The enlargements 36 on the doors are so located relative to the springs 37 and cables 38that, when the doors are.

opened and the landing wheel 'is in its work- V...ingpositiQIl,1511?.springs and cables will be curved over said Yenlargements and, consequently, be so disposed as to readily exert the and the the dotted lines in Fig.

desired withdrawing pull upon the doors las the wheel is raised.

It will be readily noted that the pipe lines carrying .the oil or other pressure fluid are connected with the opposite ends of the cylinder 13, checkvalves 40 being provided in the couplings which connect the pipes with the cylinder, and a similar valve 41 being provided in the piston. When the piston moves toward the motor, the oil may ilow through the piston but when the piston moves in the opposite direction, the'oil will be subjected to pressure and caused to circulate. The direction of ow to and from the cylinders 13 is controlled by the valves 35 which may be mounted upon a common control post or board within the cock pit. VVhenthe valves are set to direct-the flow into the upper end of the cylinder, the pressure of the oil or other fluid will cause the piston 12 to move downwardly 5 and the wheel will be projected, the oil below the piston 12 simultaneouslyr moving out through the lower end of the cylinder and returning into` the circulating system.I Of

course, a reverse flow of the oilwill raise the landingwheel. As the landing whl'eel moves downwardly, it will swing in an arc having the front ends of the links 7 as a center and will, therefore, have a slight relative rearward movement, which movementv is accommodated by the mountin of the cylinder 13 with the knobs 16 and t e provision of the slot 10 in the to of the float. When the wheel is projecte and a lan .ing effected on the ground, the landing shoclc is absorbed by the oil or other .pressure fluid within the cylinder13 above the piston 12 and also by the springs 12 in the casings 18, the cylinder 13 being permitted to yield upwardlyto the i111- operating mechanisms are duplicates. The 4 mechanism embodying my invention 4is very simllle and is highly elicient.- When the lan g wheels are in their inoperative positions, they are entirely'housed within the pontoonsso that they do not add to the wind resistance in any degree and the cylinders and vsupporting pedestals upon each pontoon f or oat may vbe Aenclosed 1n a lstream line casing so that the wind resistance offered by these arts will be minimized. In the drawings, owever, I have not illustrated a hous- `ing around these cylinders in order that the `pontoon having a door opening in its bottom,

of swinging doors arranged to close said opening and each provided onits inner s1de with anenlargement having a convex sur# face, links pivotally mounted within the pontoon, a landing wheel carried by said links, means connected with the links for lowering and raising the wheel, and exible connections between the links and the doors whereby the doors will be closed as the wheelis raised, said flexible connections beng located whereby .to`lower and raise the landing wheel. f

e 5. In a seaplane, the combination with av pontoon, of a andin wheel normally house'd .1n the pontoon, a uid-pressure controlled piston operatively connected with the wheel for' lowering and raising the same, and a cylinder mounted on the pontoon and housing the piston, the cylinder being mounted to rock for accommodating angular movement of the wheel in raising and lowering.

6. In a seaplane, the combination with a pontoon, of a landing wheel normally housed -therein, a pair of casings mounted on the pontoon'having longitudinal slots in' their opposed sides, a fluid-pressure cylinder disposed between the casings, projections on the cylinder extending through the slots in the casings, expansion springs in the casingsv above and belowsaid pro]ections, and a piston mounted in the cylinder'and operatively connected with the landing wheel.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature.

FRANK N. SILVA, JR. [Las] A l l adjacent the enlargement on the doors whereby to rest on said enlargements when the doors are opened and the links being arranged to extend through the door opening and bear against the-doors at the sides of the wheel when the wheel is lowered.

' 3.. In a seaplane, the combination with a pontoon, of, links pivotally mounted at their front ends within the pontoon, a wheel carried by the rear ends of the links and adapted to move downwardly and upwardly through 'the bottom of the pontoon, a cylinder supported on the. pontoon for rocking move-- ment, a piston mounted in said cylinder, a

.piston rod extending from the piston through the lower end of the cylinder, afork carried by the lower end of the (psistonrod and con-` l nected with the rear en ofthe links, and

means :for supplyin fluid preure to the cylinder through eit er en d thereof to play upon the piston.

4. In 4a seaplane, the combination with a,v pontoon, of pedestals mounted on the top of the pontoon, casings fixed to the inner sides. of said pedestals and provided with longitudinal slots in their inner sides, a cylinder disposed between said casings and having v lateral stems projecting through the slots in the casings, knobs on the outer ends of said stems within the casings,'expansion springs within the casings above and below said knobs, a landing wheel disposed within the pontoon, a swinging support for said wheel,

a pstonrmounted within the cylinder, connections between the piston and the swinging support for the wheel, and means for dey' livel-ingamepresursto-thecy1inderth5ough either end thereof toplay upon the piston