US1874468A - Aeroplane - Google Patents

Description

H. A. DOUGLAS Aug. 30, 1932.

I I AEROPLANE Filed March 5. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 30, 1932. H. A. DOUGLAS AEROPLANE I Filed March 5. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 30, 1932. H. A. DOUGLAS 1,374,468

AEROPLANE Filed March 5. 1930 s Sheets-Sheet 3 Evy x9. Wagiaa Patented Aug. 30, 1932 PATENT OFFICE HARRY A. DOUGLAS, OF BRONSON, MICHIGAN AEROPLANE Application filed March 5,

My invention relates to-aeroplanes and has for its general object the provision of an improved skeleton framework for supporting the walls of the wings and fuselages and the provision of construction whereby the aeroplane may carry buoying gas such as helium gas.

In the preferredembodiment of the invention the wings and fuselages are formed .to constitute buoying gas containers and the struts, or some of them, which unite the wings and fuselages are desirably hollow to establish communication between the wings and fuselages whereby the buoying gas may be evenly distributed and will be assuredly supplied to the wings, even though it may be deficient in other places. The fuselage is desirably divided into two compartments, one normally sealed from communication with the external air and holding the buoying gas and the other normally open to the external air and containing the power plant, the pilot seat and the various conrolling equipment and indicating instruments. The sealed compartment is desirably U- shaped, the open compartment being at the fore part of the aeroplane and in the space between the sides of the U-shaped sealed compartment.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the aeroplane, thus buoyed, is provided with propellers whose plane of rotation may be varied to aid and direct the aeroplane in .the ascent andguide and retard it in descending. To accomplish this result the engine and propellersare desirably together swingingly mounted.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, with parts in elevation, of an aeroplane constructed in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention; Fig.2 is a sectional View online 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. '3 is an enlargement of a portion of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 illustrates another form of the structure shown in Fig. 3, the structure of Fig. 4 being referred. Fig. 5 is a front end View of a part of the aeroplane; Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation on line 66 of Fig. 1, parts being 1930. Serial 1%.433309.

shown in plan and parts being broken away; Fig. 7 is a front elevation taken throughout the extent of the wing; Fig. 8 is a plan view of the structure as it appears in Fig. 7 Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 99 of Fig. 1, parts being broken away and other parts being shown in elevation; and Fig. 10 is a view ta en on line 1010 of Fig. 1 parts being shown in plan and other parts broken away. The fuselage is inclusive of metallic side plates 1 and a third plate which is formed and disposed to constitute the bottom 2 of the fuselage, the fuselage nose or front wall 3 and the fuselage top wall 4. The side walls are converged to nearly meet at the rear end of the fuselage, the upright rear edges of these Walls being united through the intermediation of a metallic T member 5. The stem of this T member is embraced between the rear upright portions of said side walls with strips 6 of rubber or other sealing material interposed between the stem of the member 5 and the adjacent portions of the walls 1. Rivets 7 are passed through the stem of the member 5, the strips 6 and the contiguous portions of the side walls 1, these rivets compressing the sealing strips 6 to make the union between the member 5 and the walls 1 fluid tight. The corners defined by the parts 1, 2, 3 and 4 receive the angle iron 8 which is bent to conform to the contour of these corners. angle sealing member 9, shaped similarly to the angle iron 8, receives the said iron 8 and is received in the corners defined by the part'. 1, 2, 3 and 4. Rivets 10 are passed through the angle iron 8 and through the sealing strip 9 and the contiguous portions of the parts 1, 2, 3 and 4. All of the outside corner portlons of the fuselage are thus thoroughlysealed by the strips 6 and 9. The fuselage 1s thus: a metallic shell within which the internal combustion engine 11 of the power plant 1s disposed together with the pilot seat 12, the control stick 13 and the rudder pedal 14. An inner shell contains the parts 11, 12, 13 and 14 and includes a downwardly and forwardly sloping metallic plate 15 located between the upright metallic side plates 16 of the inner shell and about midway in the length of the fuselage.v The plates 16 of the inner shell are located between and are spaced apartfrom the fuselage side walls. The fuselage top wall 4 is discontinued in the region of the shell walls 16 and is inwardly bent, indicated at 17, to form an instrument board upon which the various instruments 18 are mounted within view of the pilot occupying the seat 12. Angular sealing pieces 19 are received in the transverse horizontal corners which are defined by the metallic walls 15, 2 and 4 and receive the angle irons 20, rivets being passed through these angle irons, the strips 19 and the contiguous portions of the parts 2, 4 and 15. The angular sealing members 21 receive the corners defined by the walls and 16 and are received in the angle irons 22, rivets being passed through these angle irons and the contiguous portions of the walls 15 and 16. Inwardly extending metallic plates 23 are joined with the front edge portions of the walls 16. Longitudinal wall portions 24 are joined -with the inner edge portions of the parts 23 and are, themselves, joined with the nose 3. The corners defined by the meeting edge portions of the parts 16, 23, 24 and 2 are also sealed by suitable anguflar sealing strips 25 and the angle irons 26 which are riveted against said sealing strips and by such riveting hold the sealing strips in sealing engagement with the wall portions 16, 23, 24 and 2. An angle iron 27 extends between the fuselage side walls 1 and is received within the corner defined by the top fuselage wall 4 and the instrument board 17 the parts 17 being between the inner shell wall 16. Sealing strips 28 are received in the corners defined by the wall portions 4 and 23 and these sealing strips receive angle irons 29. Without further description it may be mentioned that all corners of the inner shell, all corners of the fuselage and all corners defined by the inner shell and fuselage are similarly sealed fluid tight. The inner shell is thus sealed from communication with the balance of the fuselage interior. All of the upright walls of the inner shell being spaced apart from the side fuselage walls 1 deline with said side walls and the remaining walls of the fuselage a U-shaped space which is effectively sealed from the interior of the inner shell.

Buoying gas, such as helium gas, fills this U-shaped space to counteract the weight of the aeroplane. Such buoying gas is desirably also received within the hollow aeroplane wing 30. The gas'may be admitted through a valve 31 in the top wall of the fuselage and some of it, after entering the fuselage, passes through the hollow struts 32 which assemble the wing and fuselage. The buoying gas thus not only fills the fuselage but also said wing and struts to further increase the volume of such gas to further counteract the weight of the aeroplane- The struts and wing, similarly to the fuselage .40 which join the beams.

masses and inner shell, are desirably formed of m n throughout. The holes in the bottom waii w the wing where communication is estahiis with the interior of the struts are suriw/ by sealing washers a; which are clamp tween the flanges at the up mrcmlsoitthe at. and the bottom wall of the wing by mean rivets. The holes in the top wall -l- 0 ll" fuselage where communication is established with the interior of the struts are surroumled by sealing washers 34 which are clamped between the flanges at the lower ends of the struts and the fuselage wall 4 also by rivet all joints through which the buoying might pass to the internal atmosphere being thoroughly closed. Where a number of me tallic plates compose the wing, as illustrated in Fig. 9, such plates are in lapping relation, where they are contiguous, and sealing strips 35 are clamped between the lapping portions of these plates by means of rivets, it being important that no joints through which the buoying gas might escape are left unsealed. The top and bottom metallic wall plates of the wing are braced apart by joist members 36 which may be in the form of plates having numerous openings 37 therethrough and provided with marginal flanges which are riveted to the wing plates or otherwise secured thereto. The joist members 36 extend longitudinally of the fuselage and crosswise of the wing and maintain the wing surfaces in sh ape. Two trusses extend lengthwise of the wing for further strengthening the same, each truss comprising two beams 38 which meet in the side edges of the wing, the connecting bars 39 uniting the contiguous ends of the beams 38 and sloping bracing members The beams 38 and the parts '39 of each truss thus constitute a frame which surrounds the struts 36, the bracing members 40 being in the spaces between these struts. The struts 36 are desirably formed with pockets which snugly receive the beams 38, these beams being T-shaped in cross section.

The sheet metal plates composing the walls of the fuselage are desirably corrugated throughout as much of their areas as possible. as illustrated in Fig. 4, the corrugation being omitted where the walls are contiguous. The entire'engine 11 is desirably fulcrumed upon fulcrum bearings 41 which are mounted upon the wall portions 24 of the inner shell by means of bolts 'or rivets 42 which pass through flanges upon the trunnion bearings, said wall portions 24 and the angle irons 43 which are provided to strengthen the walls 24 where the trunnion bearings are disposed. Suitable sealing strips 44 are interposed between these angle irons and walls to seal the openings through which the bolts or rivets 42 pass. The engine casing is provided with lateral extensions 45 which carry the shafts 46 that are received in the aforewithin a gear casing 53. This gear casing is bolted upon a forward continuation 54 of the engine casing that surrounds the engine shaft and supports a forward bearing 55 for said shaft. The shafts that carry the beveled pinions 49 and 50 also carry beveled pinions 56 and 57 that are at the outer ends of these shafts, The beveled pinions 49, 50, 56 and 57 are upon a common horizontal axis that is disposed transversely of the axis of the fuselage and the engine shaft 47. Shafts 58 and 59 carry beveled pinions 60 and 61 that are respectively in mesh with the pinions 56 and 57. These shafts are journaled in bearings that are carried by the gear casing 53 and extend lengthwise of the fuselage, the

axes of the shafts 47, 58 and 59 being paral-* lel and coplanar. Propellers 62 and 63 are provided upon the forward ends of the shafts 58 and 59, these propellers being foremost parts of-the aeroplane structure. The plane of rotation of these propellers are coincident, normally upright and transverse to the axis of the fuselage in the engine shaft. The propellers 62 and 63 are so angularly related that they, so to speak, intermesh as they rotate. The engine may be partly swung upon its trunnion bearings and maintained in the position to which it is swung for which purpose I may provide the engine* with an ad]usting arm 64 carrying a spring pressed holding dog 65 which may be received in the notches of a holding segment 66 that is mounted upon one of the walls 24 of the inner shell and in spaced apart relation to the shell walls. In order that the engine may be swung the nose 3 of the fuselage is provided with an arcuate slot 67 which extends above and below the normal axis of the engine shaft, that is above and below the axis of the fuselage. The engine may be turned to shift the propellers from their normal planes of rotation which are at right angles a to the fuselage axis to planes that are oblique with'respect to this axis.

the engine is adjusted counterclockwise from its normal position the plane of rotation of the propellers slope downwardly and rearwardly, whereby the propellers may take part in guiding the descent of the aeroplane. The engine and the propellers driven thereby may thus supplement the function of the elevators 68 which are hinged at the rear margins of the stabilizers 69. To avoid a draft through the slot 67 I provide a closure 67 which engages the portions of the nose 3 that margin said slot. The meeting faces of the closure 67 and nose. are curved and coaxial with the trunnion axis about which the engine is turned,.so that said slot is closed in all positions to which the engine is swung. Said elevators are governed by the stick 13 through the intermediation of the horizontal transversely arranged shaft 70 which turn within bearings 71. The outer ends of these shafts are'conncted with the eleyators by cables. 72. The bearings 70 pass through the side walls 16 of the inner shell across the space between these walls and the side walls 1 of the fuselage and through these latter side walls. The openings in these slots through which these hearings pass are sealed by sealing gaskets 73 of rubber or other suitable packing material to preserve the separation of the interior of the inner shell from the surrounding space in the fuselage. The stick 13 also governs the ailerons 4 through the intermediation of the sides of the forked lever 7 5. This lever is journaled upon a bearing 76 that defines the horizontal axis of rotation that extends along the fuselage. The cables 77 connect the lever with the ailerons. The

stick 13, which is given a fore and aft movement to regulate'the elevators 68 is given a sidewise movement to regulate the. ailerons, the stick being universally mounted at its lower end at 78 as is well understood. The cables 77 pass through tubular housings which pass through the walls 16 of the inner shell and the side walls 1 of the fuselage, these housings being flanged and in sealed connection with these walls 16 and 1 to preserve the separation between the sealed space of the fuselage and the interior of the inner shell, gaskets 8 surround the said housings and are clamped between flanges upon the housings and the walls 16 and 1 respectively adjacent these flanges. The rudder pedal is connected in a manner well understood with the'rudder 81 by means of the cable 82. The

wall 15 of the inner shell may be provided with a front wooden facing 83, ena ling the seat 12 to be readily positioned. A flooring 84 may be provided within the inner shell I and struts of the aeroplane lightens the aero plane and lessens the duty of the engine and enables the employment of a lighter engine which is thus more adapted to be adjustable to alter the planes of rotation of the propellers to enable the propellers to cooperate with the aeroplane wing in effecting the travel and selecting the direction of travel of the aeroplane. Features not herein claimed are claimed in my copending application Serial No. Stilt-3,310 filed March 5, 1930.

Changes may be made without departing from the invention.

Having thus. described my invention, ll claim:

1. in aeroplane inclusive ofits fuselage and wing portions and hollow struts supporting said wing portions on said fuselage, the fuselage having a sealed compartment containing buoying gas and the wing structure being hollow and sealed and in communication through said hollow struts with the sealed compartment of the fuselage.

2. An aeroplane whose fuselage is divided into two compartments, one compartment being U-shaped with the sides thereof at the fore portion of the fuselage and the other compartment being between the sides of the Ushaped compartment which is sealed from said other compartment and the external atmosphere, the latter compartment containing the pilot seat, the engine of the power plant and the controlling devices and indieating instruments.

3. An aeroplane whose fuselage is divided into two compartments, one compartment being U-shaped with the sides thereof at the fore portion of the fuselage and the other compartment being between the sides of the U-shaped compartment which is sealed from said other compartment and the external atmosphere, the latter compartment containing the pilot seat, the engine of the power plant and the controlling devices .and indicating instruments, bearings passing through the sides of the U-shaped compartment and in sealed assembly with the wall portions of these compartments through which the bearings pass and a shaft accessible for operation within the compartment that is between the sides of the U-shaped compartment and borne within said bearings and connected with the elevator of the aeroplane.

4. An aeroplane whose fuselage is divided into two compartments, one compartment being U-shaped with the sides thereof at the fore portion of the fuselage and the other compartment being between the sides of the U-shaped compartment which is sealed from said other compartment and the external atmosphere, the latter compartment containing the pilot seat, the engine of the power plant and the controlling devices and indicating instruments, housings passing through the sides of the U-shaped compartment and in sealed assembly with the wall portions of these compartments through which the housings pass and the controlling cables that are connected with the ailerons passing through these housings from the ailerons and into connection with controlling mechanism that is provided within the pilot seat containing compartment.

5. [in aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage; wings carried by said fuselage; a single ongine; a plurality of laterally spaced propellers driven by said engine; a compartment in said aeroplane for containing a buoyant gas; and means for varying the angle of said engine and propellers relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage so as to cooperate with said gas when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aeroplane to descend.

6. An aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage; wings carried by said fuselage; an engine; a propeller driven by said engine; compartments in said fuselage and Wings for containing a buoyant gas; means for establishing communication between said compartments; and means for varying the angle of said engine and propeller relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage so as to cooperate with said gas when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aeroplane to descend.

7. An aeroplane, comprisin a fuselage; wings carried by said fuselage; an engine; a. propeller driven by said engine; compartments in said fuselage and wings for containing a buoyant gas; a hollow strut for establishing communication between said compartments; and means for varying the angle of said propeller relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage so as to cooperate with said gas when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aeroplane to descend.

8. An aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage: wings carried by said fuselage; an engine; a propeller driven by said engine; compartments in said fuselage and wings for containing a buoyant gas; a plurality of hollow struts connecting the forward and trailing edges of said wings to said fuselage and for establishing communication between said compartments; and means for varying the angle of said propeller relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage so, as to cooperate with said gas when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aeroplane to descend. i

9. A11 aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage; wings carried by said fuselage; an engine; a propeller driven by said engine; compartnents in said fuselage and said Wings for containing a buoyant gas; a plurality of hollow struts connectin the forward and trailing edges of said wmgs to said fuselage on opposite sides of said fuselage, and for establishing communication between said compartments; and means for varying the angle of said propellers relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage so as to cooperate with said gas when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aeroplane to descend.

10. An aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage; wings carried by said fuselage; a single engine; a plurality of propellers driven by said engine; compartments in said fuselage and said wings for containing a buoyant gas; hollow struts for establishing communication between said compartments; and means \for varying the angle of said propeller relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage so as to cooperate with said gas when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aeroplane to descend.

11. An aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage; wings carried y said fuselage; a single engine; a plurality of propellers driven by said engine and mounted for rotation about laterally spaced axes the distance between the axes of rotation of said propellers being less than the diameter of said propellers; compartments in said fuselage and wings for containing a buoyant gas; means for establishing communication between said oompartments; and means for varying the angle of said propellers in unison relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage to change the direction of flight of said aeroplane.

12. An aeroplane, comprising: a fuselage; wings carried by said fuselage; a single en-' gine; a plurality of angularly offset propellers driven by said engine, and mounted for rotation in substantially the same plane about axes spaced laterally from one another a distance less than the diameter of said propellers; compartments in said fuselage and wings for containing a buoyant gas; means my name.

plane to descend.

for establishing communication between said compartments; and means for varying the angle'of the axes of said ropellers relative to the longitudinal axis of said fuselage, so as to cooperatewith said as when in certain positions in lifting said aeroplane and to oppose the buoyancy of said gas when in certain other positions in causing said aero- In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe HARRY A. nouems.

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