US1894245A

US1894245A - Airship

Info

Publication number: US1894245A
Application number: US503985A
Authority: US
Inventors: Schirmer Max
Original assignee: Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH
Current assignee: Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH
Priority date: 1929-12-23
Filing date: 1930-12-22
Publication date: 1933-01-10
Anticipated expiration: 1950-01-10

Description

Jan' 10, 1933. M. SCHIRMER 1,894,245

' AIRSHIP Filed Dec. 22, 1930 Patented Jan. 10, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAX SCHIRMER, OF

.FRIEDRICHSHAFEN, BODENSEE, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO LUFT- SCHIFFBAU ZEPPELIN GESELLSCHAFT MIT BESCHRANKTER HAFTUNG, OF FBIED- l RICHSHAFEN, BODENSEE, GERMANY AIRSHIP Application led. December 22, 1930, Serial No. 509,985, and in Germany December 23, 1929.

My invention relates to airships and has special reference to the stabilizing fins of such ships which generally are alfixed thereto in their rear part for the purpose of stabilizing the ship in flight.

The main object of my invention is to increase the eciency of such a fin in a most simple way and without increasing the surface or area thereof.

According to my invention I interrupt the surface of the fin by a slit and I prefer to arrange this slit so as to be substantially parallel to the root edge of the iin, that is the edge where the iin meets the airship body.

This interruption in the surface of the stabilizing iin has the eifect of materially increasing its stabilizing efiiciency as compared with that of airship fins which are not provided with such a slit because the pressure on the iin at its edges is reduced, especially with fins of large area. Of course, in certain cases it may be advisable to have not only one slit but several of such slits arranged in one iin.

Furthermore, according to my invention, this slit which runs more or less parallel to the airships longitudinal direction at its rear end portion is broadened, so the slit is of substantially greater width at its rear end than over the main portion of its length.

This new feature is of special importance with airships having fins with rudder or elevator surfaces arranged in continuation of the lin surfaces, as this is usual now-adays. A further increase in eihciency is attained thereby.

It has become usual to make the construetion of such fins so that they are more or less self-supporting, which means that they have a certain thickness at their root where they are fixed to the airship body and taper towards their outer edge. In surfaces of this kind the interrupting slits, according to the invention, are also provided with more or less tapered edges.

The relative tests of my new fin construction in the wind tunnel as compared with the old known kind have proved a considerable increase of stabilizing eiiiciency.

Having .given a general description of my invention I now want to point it out more in detail having reference to the drawing which represents an example embodying my invention.

Fig. l is a view on the rear portion or stern ofV an airship. It may be taken as an elevation or as a plan View; in the following part of the specification it is considered to be a side view.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through lower fin, taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1; whereas Fig. 3 is a horizontal section through the rear portion of the lower iin, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. l.

The rear portion of the airship is designated by the numeral l. There is a lower vertical fin 4 and an upper vertical iin 5. A horizontal fin is indicated at 6. rThe edge where the lins meet the airship body is shown at l.

There is a slit 8 in each of the fins running substantially parallel to edge 7 at a comparatively small distance therefrom. This slit at its rear end has a portion 9 which is considerably wider than the main portion of the slit which has substantially parallel edges. In the example represented this wider portion extends to the very root of the fin. There are rudders l() arranged in the continuation of

tins

4, 5, 6.

As may be seen from Fig. 2 the fins are assumed to be of so-called bodily self-supporting construction, having a certain thickness at their root edges 7 and tapering towards their outer edges. In the same figure the edges of slit 8 are shown rounded or tapered; and also the rear edge of the wider portion 9 is tapered, as can be taken from Fig. 3.

This wider rear portion 9 of slit 8 allows for a greater amount of air to iiow from one side of the iin to its other side just in front of the following rudder (or elevator).

I do not want to be limited to the details described or shown in the drawing as many variations will occur to those skilled in the art.

What I claim is:

l. An airship iin being provided with a substantially longitudinally extending slit,

the

the main portion of said slit having substantially parallel edges, the rear portion being of considerably greater width than the main portion.

2. An airship lin of self-supporting body construction and having a substantially longitudinally extending slit, said slit having tapered edges.

' 3. The stern of an airship comprising; the mrportion of the airship body; a stabilizing n fixed to said body; a plane adapted to be positioned at different angles relative to said lin and fastened to the rear edge thereof; said fin being provided with a slit of comparatively small Width running substantially parallel to the edge in which said airshjp body and said lin meet and in relatively Small distance from said edge; said slit at its rear end being of considerably broader Width than over its main length.

MAX SCHIRMER.