US1990308A - Airplane - Google Patents

Description

-5, 3 I 'B. B. PHILLIPS 1,990,308

AIRPLANE Filed ma 11, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 z QWMN- B. B, PHILLIPS Feb. 5, 1935- IRPLA 3 Sheet 2 Filed May 1933 c. (WA? B. B. PHILLIPS Feb. 5, 1935.

AIRPLANE Filed May 11, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Feb. 5, 1935 v UNITED STATES.

PATENT. FlcEf 7 I A A E]...

Byron B. Phillips. Stuyvesant Fal1s,- N.-Y. [Application May 1i, 1933, "seml ivoievosoi v'ol'aihis. (o1. 2:14-18) This invention relatesto improvements in airplanes.

As is well known, the forces which sustain an improvementsin airplane principles and design" have provided ships which do-not require relatively long landing fields, no ship has been developed ;,which satisfactorily permits vertical rising and landing. a An important object of the present invention is to provide an airplane embodying" novel principles of operation which permit the develop ment'of the necessary differential sustaining pressures on the upper and lower surfaces of the plane without any forward movement of the ship. v A fur'therobject is'to provide 'an'airplane having a power source which is operative when the plane is at rest for generating a suflicien't lift to cause the plane to rise from the ground; andwherein the power source is opera'tive'for imparting forward movement to" the plane. n

A further object is to provide novelbalanced propelling means operative formaterially reduc ing pressures adjacent the upper surfacesof the plane to impart a lifting force thereto for moving the plane horizontally, and to provide means for unbalancing the propelling forces to effect forward movement of the ship.

A further object is to provide means for vary 40 ing the reduction in air pressures above the ship:

to efiect lateral stabilization thereof.

A further object is to provide a vertically movable stabilizer operative whenthe ship isnot moving forwardly to effect longitudinal stabilization.

mg propellers adapted to act in oppo 'sitionto each other to effect a reduction in pressure therebe tween and to utilize such pressure'reduction to assist in sustaining the plane. and to provide 5 following description."

A further object "is to provide'an airplane hav-L means for utilizing the propellers to move the In thedrawingsfhave shown several embodiments of the invention. ,In this'showin Figure 1, is a front elevation of'fa plane embodying one form of the inventiofu v a Figure Z'isa side elevation of the same; 5

Figure Sis a plan view, g 1 Figured-is a section on line 4-4 of Figure 3, the rearstructure of the ship being omitted,

. Figure 5 is a similarview taken substantially m online 55 of '-Figure '3, i a Figure 6 is'a similar view on line 6-6 of Fig- -ure 3,

Figure 7 isa sectional view similar to Figure 5 showing a somewhat modified form of plane,

Figure 8 is a detail view of one form of propeller, V f i a Figure 9 is a plan view of a further modified form of ship, and, e T

' Figure 10 is'a front elevation of the same.

Referring to'Figures 1, 2 and 3, the numeral 10 designates the body of theship having oppositely extending wings 11 connected thereto.. The body 10 forms the fuselage of the ship and may be sup: ported on the ground in any suitable or conventional manner,- such as by the use of forward landing wheels 12 and a tail skid 13. j The body 10 is in the form of a'longitudinally extending tube having a passageway 14 extending throughoutits length and open at both ends. The passage 14 forms a tunnel and at opposite end's of-this' tunnel are arranged forward and rear propellers 15 and 16 of types to be; referred to later. Referring to Figure 4fthe propellers are shown as being driven by suitable motors 1'] and 18 supported inthe tube may suitable supporting frames 19.

The wings 11 are hollow, as'shown in Figures 5, and 6 and communicate'with the interior of the tube IO'through openings 20. These openings are controlledby shutters '21 so that the relative de gree of communication between the two wings 11 and the tube 10 may be varied for a purpose to a be described. The controls for the shutters have not been shown in detail, but it will be notedthat each shutter is pivoted as at 22 and maybe provided witha crank arm 23. The crank arms of the shutters at each side of the tube 10 aiepreferably connected together for simultaneous operation. i

Referring to Figures 3, 5 and 6, it will benoted that each wing 11 is provided with a plurality of suitably distributed openings24 toward. the forward portions of the wings and preferably elongated openings 25are arranged rearwardly of the openings 24.." All of these openings are provided for the same purpose, and the reason for distributing them will become apparent. Each of the upper wing openings 24 and 25, is provided with a plurality of shutters 26, and each shutter is pivoted as at 2'7. Each shutter is further provided with an operating arm 28, and the arms of each set of shutters are connected by a link 29. The forward end of each link 29 is connected by a link 30 to one end of an arm 31 rotatable by a shaft 32, and the-various shafts 32 are connected together fonsimultaneous operation from the cockpit in any desired manner.

The fuselage is provided above its forward end with a cockpit or drivers compartment 33 having. a window 34 at its forward end. Rearwardly' of the cockpit, the fuselage is providedwith anelon rear ends .of:the wall-36. Each opening38 and 39.

is provided witha'pluralitylof shutters 40 each of which is pivoted asat 41 and-provided with a depending arm 42. The lower ends of the arms 42 of each set of shutters 40 are connected by a link 43 and each oftheselinks'is pivotally connectfedto the upper end ofan arm 44carried by av rod 45 extending forwardly into the cockpit and controlled by a suitable'operating lever 46. The

lever 46 also is preferably connected toithe shafts- 32 previously describedwhereby the shutters 26 of the wingsandtheshutters- 40 of the top of the fuselage will be simultaneously opened and closed upon operation of the lever 46. a

The forward end of the fuselage adjacent the, drivers compartment is curved or sloped downwardly as .at 47, and beneath the wall 47 isarranged -a-hood 48. The hood 48 is connected at its ends to a shaft 49 -having an operating arm 50 within'the tube .10. A, similar hood 51 is arranged-rearwardly of thefuselage, andis nor- P as mally disposed withinthe recess 35. The rear hocd 5 1 isconnected-at its ends toa shaft; 52

having an arm 5 3 depending therefromv The arms 50 and 53 are-connected by a link 54 for simultaneous operation. Such operation may be effected by a rod 55projecting downwardly from the drivers compartment and connected at its lowerend to an" arm 56extending rearwardly from the shaft 49.

The-wings- 11 are provided with the usualailerons 57 which.are employed only when, theship is'moving forwardly, and theseailerons are subject to conventionalcontrol. Asternstructure 58 projectsrearwardly of the fuselage and carries 'stabilizer s59and arudder 60. These elements also ,are subject .to-: conventionalcontrol,

but they are not employed when the shipv'isj-ri'sing .or landing vertically inasmuchias their operation obviously depends on horizontal motion of the ship, Instationary, flight, lateral stabilization is secured by controlling the shutters 20 zinga mannerto be described while longitudinal'stabi lization is accomplished through a stabilizer 61 arranged at the rear endof the fuselage and con,-

trolled by a lever 62 having suitable connection 24 and 25 and, their controlling shutters. In

Figure 7, it; will be noted that a tube or fuselage operating arm 68. The arm 68 may be suitably controlled from the. drivers compartment.

' A further modified form of the invention is shown in Figures 9 and 10, and except for the features to be referred to, this structure is similar to the plane shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive and need not be referred to in detail. The only differences involved lie in the provision of dual tunnels or fuselages 69 each ofwhich is similar to the fuselage; 10 except that the top wall 36 extends throughout the length of each fuselage. The driver's compartment may be made substantially'longer as at '70 and is arranged centrally of the width of the ship. Q

As will become apparent,conventional propellers of the fixed blade type cannot be employed with the present invention, The forward propellers 15 are of the variable pitch reversible type,

while the rear-propellers 16 are 'variable'in pitch,

but need not be reversible. The present invention does not relate to the propellers per se, and any satisfactorytypes of reversible and variable pitch propellers may be employed. One such propeller has been illustrated conventionallyin Figure 8 as comprising a hub '71 and blades 72. Each blade is provided with a bevel gear 73 meshing with a third bevel gear '74 whichjmay be rotated in any suitable mannervto alter the pitchof the blades or to reverse the pitch when'the propeller is used at the forward end of, the ship. As previous ly stated, the propeller in Figure 8 is merely a conventional representation, and any of the 1 well known types of variable pitch and reversible propellers may be used. 1 It also will be apparent that the blades of the propellers will becontrolled from the cockpit oftheship.

shown in Figures 1 to6 inclusive is as follows:

The motors are placed in operation and when it is desired to take-off, the propellers 15 and 16 are suitably adjustedto pump air outwardly from the tunnel14. Where, one motor is employed amidshipswithboth propellers rotating in the same direction, it will be apparent thatthe blades of the propeller 15;will be arranged withtheir pitch opposite and equal to the pitch of the blades 16. Where two motors are employed, they may rotate in the same or in opposite direction's, and in the latter case, the blades of the propellers 15 The operation of the form of thefinvention and 16 will'be similarly and equally pitched since they will-be rotating in opposite directions.

Under the conditions referred to, it will be apparent that the propellers will have no longitudinal propelling effect on the ship since their horizontal reactions will be equal. Prior to takingoff,

theaviator will open all of the shutters 26 and 40, thus affording communication between the fuselage and ,the interiors of therecess 35 andwings 11. The pumping of air from the tunnel 14 by the oppositely, acting propellers. materially reduces the pressure in the tunnel, and this pressure. is communicated to the recess 35 and to the interiors of the wings 11. Thus air will be drawn downwardly through the shutters, 26 and 4( ito r ammo materially reduce the 'pressur" e-adasmmhmp:

per surfaces of the planefthus creating the saine effect as is present with a conventtonal' loiirpiane in horiz'ontalflight. ain other words-differential lifting arid sustaining prem be nreated" "above and below 'the' plane,- whereby-the air ipres sure beneaththe' plane will canseiit .torisei' verti- 33,1151; I'Zfll'i Y .Q' .12 Vivi '5. The total lifting-force developed wlll depend upon the pitches andsizesof the propellers, and the. speed or -rotation,?and: -:in night,- the pltches and speed of rotation' a're' varied eocoidingto"the height to which the plan 'e 'iselevatedw When the desired elevation is' reachedpthe operator will slowly reduce the pitch" of the. blades ofthe' 'probeen turned so that their pitch is substantially,

zero, the plane will be in horizontal flight, at which time the shutters 26 and 40 may be closed. The

blades of the propeller 15 then may be turned to correspond in pitch to the blades of the propeller 16 whereby their reactions are added to increase the horizontal speed of the ship. Inasmuch as air will be moving rearwardly through the tunnel 14 at a relatively great velocity under such conditions, the blades of the propeller 16 may be turned to increase their pitch beyond the pitch of the blades of the propeller 15 to increase the reactionary effect of the propeller 16 and further add to the speed of the vehicle.

It will be noted that the use of the hoods 48 and 51 is not essential to the operation of the'plane, but their use is desirable to increase the lifting effect as the plane rises vertically from the ground. By swinging the hoods downwardly, the outwardly moving air projected by the propeller when the plane is ready to take-off, strikes against the hood and is deflected downwardly to create a direct vertical reaction tending to lift the plane from the ground.

To secure lateral stabilization, the shutters of the two wings may be separately controlled to vary the effective openings through the wings and thus vary the lifting force on one side of the plane. It is preferred however, that the wing shutters be operated simultaneously with each other and with the shutters 40, and accordingly the shutters 21 are provided. These shutters are normally open and if one wing tends to rise as the plane moves vertically, the shutters 21 on the rising side of the plane are closed or partially closed to reduce the differential pressure acting on the upper and lower surfaces of the rising wing, thus laterally stabilizing the plane. The same effect is secured in the form of the invention shown in Figure 7 by selectively opening and closing the shutters 66, the shutter on the rising side of the plane being opened to reduce the pressure acting beneath such side of the plane. It will be apparent that when the ship is moving horizontally under full headway, lateral stabilization is accomplished through the usual ailerons 57.

When the plane is moving vertically, longitudiversible blades.

ma stabilizationisvs'ecuredthrough the stabilizer 61. If the plane :tends to upwardly; the

upon pressure -from'ithei'rearwardlyxmoving column of air from-the propeller:"1B will cause an up 3 wardreaetion at therear end-.oftheplane. If-the plane inclines downwardlyi and; forwardly, .it? will be imparent that the stabilizer '61 will be turned upwardly. During forward flight,-:.however,:the stabilizers: 59 may :be; employed to secure .longitudinal stabilization; and ytheystabilizer 61:;n'eed not beoperatedi.-,-: 1

Frornithe foregoing will be that the present invention provides a plane wherein differential elevating and sustaining pressures are 'secured; without any forward motion of the "plane, thus permitting the ishipv to 1 land and take-"off vertically-"z Thus the plane "is able [to utilize a flying; field-mot substantially :larger than its I own size. It also will be apparent -.that after the proper. elevation has been attained, the plane is readily cmisedto'imove f-orwardly merely by. distributing'the counteractingforces of the forward and" rear propellers the manner previously stated. As the plane-approachesits landing "field, its headway-readily :s'lackened merely by the adjustment ofxthe blades of: the forward propeller so that the ship will be partially sustained through its forward motion and partially through the reduced pressures above the plane when the forward propellers are adjusted inthe manner just described and the shutters 26 and 40 are opened. Thus the greatest possible degree of maneuverability is provided. In the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, a single motor may be used amidships, or forward and aft motors may be,

Moreover, it will be ap-' pitches simultaneously changed to secure the de- 3 sired results. 1

It is to be understood that the forms of the invention herewith shown and described are to be,

tween said tunnel and the atmosphere, means for controlling communication through said openings, sustaining surfaces conneotedto said body, and propellers arranged within said tunnel adjacent opposite ends thereof and equally and oppositely operative for exhausting "air therefrom, the forward propeller having variable pitch re- 2. An aircraft comprising a body structure including supporting wings and a substantially horizontal longitudinal tunnel open at both ends,

ings communicating with said tunnel, and propellers arranged in said tunnel adjacent opposite I endsthereof and operative for exhausting air therefrom at equal rates, and means for adjust- I ing one of said propellers to cause the rear propeller to exhaust air at a greater rate than the forward propeller.

3. An aircraft comprising a body structure intially horizontal tunnel extending longitudinally cluding' hollow supportingwings'and a substan of a the aircraft and open at both ends, said wings communicating, with said 'tunnel' and being pro:- vided with top openings, and propellers arranged in said tunnel adjacent opposite ends thereof and operative for exhausting air Ltherei-rom,"-the forward propeller being provided with variable pitch reversible blades. i y X 4. An aircraftcomprising'a body structure including hollowsupporting wings and a substantially horizontal tunnel extending longitudinally of the aircraft and open at both ends, said -wings communicating with said tunneland being'pro vided with'top openings; andpropellersarranged in said tunnel adjacentopposite' ends thereof-and operative for exhausting airtherefrom, the forward propeller being provided with variable pitch reversible blades, theprear propeller having variable pitch blades. r 1

5. An aircraft comprising sustaining-wings and a hollow body having a longitudinal tunnel therethrough of substantially uniform cross-sectional area from end'to endfand open" at both" ends, the aircraft being provided with vtop openings communicating with saddtunneL-and a propeller arranged within said turmel adjacent each end thereof, saidpropellers being equally and ppov,

w ;?90308 I t v sitelyoperatiyeetorexhaustin'g airiromsaid-tunv I nel," the i'orward prdpeller having variable'pitch reversiblebladesry-r \Anaircraft; comprising may, includinga horizontal tunnel: open at its endap said bodybeing provided with top openings communicating between said tunnel: and the'uatmospheragmeans for controlling communication through said openings, sustaining surfaces ,-connected' toisaid body, and propellers; arrangediwithin, said tunnel adjacent opposite? ends thereof and oppositely operative exhausting ,airv therefrom; the forward propelierbeingsreversiblm r 17. AnaircraIt' comprising-a a horizontal tunnel open at both ends, hollow sustaining surfaces. connected to said body and .com-

municating therewith, said said sus-p ings for affording communication between r'said tunnel and thev atmosphere; means for controlling suchcommunication; and propellers arranged within said tunnel adjacent opposite ends-thereof: and oppositely operative for creating the passage ofair through said openings for increasing the ditl'erential pressure above and'below the aircraft tending :to sustain being reversible.

- BYRON -B'.'PHILL]1='S.

it, one of said propellers

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