US1763584A - Wire netting for airships - Google Patents

Description

June 10, 1930. P. HELMA ET AL WIRE NETTING FOR AIRSHIPS .Filed March 7. 1929 Patented June 10, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PAUL HELMA AND KURT BAUGH, OF AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO GOODYEAR-ZEPPIE- LIN CORPORATION, OF AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE WIRE NETTING Application filed March 7,

This invention relates to Wire netting, and it has particular relation to wire netting adapted to support portions of the gas cells employed in rigi airships.

One object of the invention is to provide a netting which is so constructed that the gas cells of an airship will not be injured by impinging against them.-

Another object of the invention is to provide a wire netting, the several elements of which are connected together in such manner as to prevent crossing of the wires, as well as to avoid injury of gas cells which engage it.

Heretofore, wire nettings employed for supporting the gas cells of airships have been composed of relatively stiff wires which were interwoven. In order to provide proper connection between the several 2 interwoven wires, the intersecting portions thereof were bound with suitable material and thereafter soldered. Such construction of nettings required much labor and also extensive working space. By binding or soldering the intersecting portions of the wires, uneven joints resulted which were likely to injure the fabric, and there was also danger of the fabric being caught and torn at the corners of the meshes of the netting. These disadvantages are obviated by providing a construction in which the binding and the crossing of the wires is obviated.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may now be had to the accompany drawings, forming a part of the specification, of which;

Figure 1 is an elevational View of a portion of a netting, the wires of which are connected together according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the line 11-11 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an edge elevational view of another form of connection for a wire netting;

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional View taken substantially along the line IV-IV of Figure 3; and

FOR AIRSHIPS 1929. Serial No. 345,035.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational View, on a smaller scale, of a netting installed in the hull of an airship.

In practicing the invention, a netting 10 constituting a bulkhead is provided, which includes identical wires 11 and 12. In Figure 5 one of the wires 12 is shown separately for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which it is bent alternately in opposite directions in the same plane to provide a zig-zag shape. This shape may be effected before or after the wires are assembled in net form. The central portion of the netting is provided with a ring 13 for securing the inner ends of the Wires 11 and 12, and the outer ends of the latter are connected by means of bridles 14 to a main ring 15 of an airship hull 16.

Adjacent bent portions of the wires 11 and 12 are connected by means of clamps 17 which firmly engage the wires and maintain their contiguous portions in a common plane. Each of the clamps 17 is composed of two sections 18 and 19, one of which is provided with a pair of curved grooves 20 and 22 for receiving the contiguous similarly curved portions of the wires 11 and 12, respectively. Also, the section 18 is provided with ribs 23 which fit within grooves 24 of greater depth than the thickness of the ribs, for the purpose of properly centering the two sections of the clamp in assembled relation. A securing bolt 25 having a head 26 counter-sunk within a recess 27 of the section 19 is screw-threaded into the section 18. A polygonal opening 28 is provided in the head 26 for the purpose of receiving a suitable tool that can be employed to turn the bolt. It will be observed that the curved portions of the grooves 20 and 22 receive corresponding curved portions of the wires 11 and 12 circumferentially about opposite sides of the bolt 25, thereby providing a connection which positively prevents sliding of the wires with 95 respect to each other and with respect to the clamp.

Another form of clamping device 30, shown by Figures 3 and 4:, comprises two sections 32 and 33 provided with grooves 100 34 that are curved as indicated at 35 for the purpose of receiving in the same plane curved contiguous portions 36 of the wires 11 and 12. The sections 32 and 33 of the clamp are secured rigidly together by means of a rivet 37. Interfitting complementary portions 40 and 41 maintain the sections 32 and 33 in proper registering relation. The entire outer surfaces of both of the clamps 17 and 30 are rounded in order to obviate sharp corners. Also, it will be observed that the clamps are sufficiently large to cover the corners of the meshes of the netting, thereby avoiding the possibility of injury to. mate.- rial such as fabric which might be caught therein.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the invention provides a relatively smoothly jointed netting which requires a relatively small space for the as: sembling thereof, and which can be assembled without involving complicated operations at the place where the. netting is to be employed. I

Although we have illustrated only the pre ferred forms which the inventionv may assume and have described those forms in de tail, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not so limited, but that'various modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit H of the invention or from the scope of the ap pended claims.

r What we claim is:

1. A bulkhead adapted to be installed in an airship main ring, comprising wires of zig-zag configuration connected to the main ring, adjacent zig-zag wire portions being connected together in uncrossed relation to present a relatively smooth contact surface upon which gas cells are adapted to bulge;

2. A bulkhead adapted to be installed in an airship main ring comprising wires of zig-zag configuration connected to the main ring, clamps connecting together contiguous zig-zag portions of the wires, said clamps presenting a smooth and rounded configuration to prevent injury to gas cells adapted to contact therewith. A I

3. A bulkhead adapted to be installed in an airship main ring comprising a central connection, a plurality of wires radiating from the central connection, each wire being zig-zag in configuration, adjacent wires being connected together at spaced intervals in uncrossed relation, and means for connecting the outer ends of the wires to the main ring.

4. A bulkhead adapted to be installed in an airship main ring, comprising a central connection, a pluralityof wires radiating from the central connection, each wire being zig-zag in configuration, clamps connecting the wires in uncrossed relation at the bight portions of zig-zag configurations, said signed our names.

PAUL HELMA. KURT BAUCH.

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