US2117360A - Aeroplane structure - Google Patents

Description

May 17, 1938. R. R. RAND, JR

AEROPLANE STRUCTURE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed. Jan. 14, 1932 May 17, 1938. R. R. RAND. JR

AEROPLANE STRUCTURE Original Filed Jan. 14, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 y 17, 9 R. R. RAND, JR 2,117,360

AEROPLANE STRUCTURE Original Filed Ja'n. 14, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 jmlenf fiun/s 71? 751/1117 J? May 1 "7, 1938,

R. R. RAND. JR

AEROPLANE STRUCTURE Original Filed Jan. 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4' I I l l NW"? W I 1272/0750) Farms 77? ifn/w JR Patented May 17, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Divided and this application March 13, 1935, Serial No. 10,821

10 Claims.

This invention relates to an aeroplane and particularly to an aeroplane of the amphibian type. The invention is furthermore particularly directed to the landing gear of said aeroplane and the structure of the hull with which said landing gear is associated.

It is an object of this invention to provide an aeroplane which may be supported on wheels when landing on the ground and which has a hull comprising compartments into which said wheels may be moved and said compartments closed by hinged doors when said aeroplane is to land upon the water.

It is a further object of the invention to provide simple and efficient means for operating said doors mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an aeroplane having a hull and a landing gear comprising wheels together with resilient means carrying said wheels so that said hull may be resiliently supported.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an aeroplane having a hull and a landing gear comprising wheels, said hull having compartments into which said wheels are movable together with simple and efficient means for moving said wheels into and partially out of said compartments.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an aeroplane having a central main frame, a hull connected to and suspended from said frame and a landing gear connected to said frame for supporting said hull.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be fully set forth in the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a partial plan view of the aeroplane;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken transversely through one of the wheel receiving compartments of the hull;

Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section taken substantially on line 3--3 of Fig. 2 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a partial longitudinal section taken substantially on line 4-4 of Fig. l as indicated by the arrow;

Fig. 5 is a partial view in side elevation of a portion of the hull and landing gear, some parts being broken away and others shown in vertical section;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken on line 6--6 of Fig. 5 as indicated by the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a partial view similar to Fig. 6 shown on an enlarged scale;

Fig 8 is a view in vertical section through certain parts shown in Fig. 5 and shown on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 9 is a vertical section taken substantially on line 95 of Fig. '7 as indicated by the arrow;

Fig. 10 is a vertical section taken substantially on line l-H) of Fig. and

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section taken on line IIH of Fig. as indicated by the arrow.

This application is a division of applicants copending application S. N. 586,597, filed January 14, 1932, on Amphibianairplane which matured into Patent No. 2,003,975 granted June 4,. 1935.

Referring to the drawings, an aeroplane is shown comprising a hull 20. .As fully described in said prior application said hull is carried by and suspended from a central main frame 2|, certain parts of which are shown in Figs. 1 and 4. Said hull is fully described in said prior application and the same comprises a central watertight compartment a and compartments 291) at each side of compartment 20a. construction of said hull forms no part of the claimed matter in this application, it may be stated that said hull,comprises longitudinally extending members 2llc-and 29d and partition walls 20c and 20], which walls will be formed of some suitable thin material such as plywood. Additional and auxiliary longitudinally extending members 209' are also shown as well as vertically extending bows 2th and 262'. The bottom of the hull is also shown as 207. Bearings 22 are provided on hull 2i] and a tube 23 extends between and through bearings 22, being journaled therein. The bearings 22 form part of a plate 22a secured to hull 2B and said bearings have caps 22?). Plate 22a has a portion or flange 22c extending at right angles thereto and this forms part of the connecting means between frame 2| and the hull, said frame having a flange 2m extending from one of its tubular members which is bolted between flange 22c and another flange 24a of a plate 24 also secured to the hull. Bolts 25 and 26 connect the flanges 22c and 24a, some of which extend through the longitudinal members of the hull. Plate 24 is additionally secured to a flange or plate 26a also secured to frame 2| as shown in Fig. 4. It is thus seen that hull 20 is suspended from the main frame and that member or tube 23 extends transversely at the top of the hull. Member 23 has secured thereto adjacent either end a pair of tubular members or.

While the specific sockets 2?, these being disposed at the top of the compartments 261). Members 2'! will be welded or brazed to member 23. Members 28 have their upper ends disposed in and secured in members 27 by brazing or by pins 23, or both, and said members have thereon respectively collars 28a. Members 28 continue below said collars and have their lower ends received in and slidable in members 33 which are of tubular form, the same having their lower ends bifurcated and embracing flanges am extending centrally respectively of bearings 3!. Bearings 3! have journaled therein the axle 32 of a Wheel 33 shown as having a rim 33a on which is mounted the pneumatic tire 332). Members 3!] are each divided intermediate their ends and hinged together by hinge 35. of hinge 34 are welded or brazed to the parts of member 3!]. Members 38 also have collars 33a.

secured thereto and a plurality of washers 35 are disposed between the collars 28a and 33a, which washers will be of some resilient material such as rubber. The inner bearing 3! also has secured thereto a rod 35 illustrated as of tubular form, the same being welded or otherwise suitably secured to said bearing 3!. Rod 36 has a hub at its other end journaled on a stud 31 secured in a bracket 38, in turn secured to partition 29c. Said hub is held in place by a washer 39 secured to stud 3'! by a headed bolt or screw 40. An arcuate bar or plate 6! is secured to the outer side of partition 20c by a plurality of rivets 42 and the same has its lower end bent into U-shape forming a bearing and stop in which bearing Bl is received when wheel 33 is in its lowest position. Said member 4! is also curved at its upper end to be engaged by bearing 3! and form a stop for the upper position of wheel 33.

Member 23 has secured thereto an upwardly extending arm 43 wlnch is pivotally connected at its upper end to one end of a link 45, which link is pivotally connected at its other end by a pivot 46 to a screw 4?. Screw 3'! extends through and engages a nut 48 journaled in a bearing 59 secured to the top of hull 2D. Nut 48 has flanges engaging each end of bearing 49 and extends from said bearing in tubular form, the same extending to and being journaled in another bearing 50 secured to the top of hull 25. Bearing 50 is of rectangular form in plan and has journaled in one end a beveled gear secured to member 48. Gear 5! meshes with another beveled gear 52 secured to a shaft journaled in one side of bearing 58, to which shaft is secured a hand crank 53 which is disposed at one side of the central compartment of the hull which at this point forms the cockpit.

A door 55 is provided to close the bottom of compartment 202), the same being hinged by a hinge 56 to the member 200 of the hull. Said door has secured to its inner side a bracket 5'! comprising closely disposed parallel flanges having slots 51a therein. A lever 58 is pivotally mounted at one end by pivot 59 in a bearing 6!] secured to partition 20c adjacent member 230 of the hull. Lever 58 is curved and has a hub at its other end disposed and movable between the flanges of bracket 5! as shown in Figs. 5 and 11. A pin 6! is secured in said hub of lever 58 and projects at each end thereof into the slots 51a substantially fitting in said slots. Lever 58 is bifurcated at its pivoted end and has disposed on the pivot 59 a pulley 62, bearing 66 having spaced flanges between which lever 53 is disposed. A flexible member or cable 53 is secured to a pin 64a carried in lever 58 and runs over pulley 62 The parts upwardly between the flanges of bearing 60, the same being secured at its upper end to the outer end of an arm 63 which is secured to and projects radially from member 23. The outer member 30 has secured to its lower end a bracket 55 having a U-shaped portion in which is disposed a pulley 36 journaled on a stud. 6'! secured in bracket 65. A flexible member or cable 58 which may be a rather stifif wire, such as a woven wire cable, runs over the top of pulley 6B and under a pair of pulleys 63 disposed at either side of pulley 66 when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 5, said pulleys '69 being rotatably mounted in small bearings it! secured to the hull member 20d. Cable 38 extends from pulleys 59 over other pulleys rotatably mounted in small brackets 12 secured to the inner side of member 23d. The ends of cable 58 are secured to headed pins 73 arranged to travel in slots 74a formed in the spaced parallel flanges of brackets 14 secured to the inner side of door 55. A tube 75 of U-shape is secured in each compartment 26b. Said tube is secured to the outer side of partition 206 by a clip bracket "E5. The rear end of tube 15 is disposed a slight distance above the bottom of compartment 20b or above door 55. The forward end of the tube has a flange 75a thereon and the opening in the tube alines with an opening 20k in the bottom 23y of compartment 201) in front of the door 55. A spout Tl having a rearwardly directed open end is disposed beneath opening 20k alining therewith and having a flange 'l'la disposed against the under side of bottom 297' and connected through said bottom to flange 150. by circumferentially spaced bolts I8.

In operation, when the plane is to be used to land on the ground, the wheels 33 will be in the position shown in Fig. 5. They can be moved to this position by the operator turning crank 53, thus rotating beveled gears 5! and 52 and member 48. Rotation of member 48 moves screw t! rearwardly, oscillating arm 44 and member 23. Members 28 and 33 are oscillated with member 23 and the wheels move downwardly until bearings 3! engage the lower ends of members 4!. At this time the parts of member 30 are in longitudinal alinement and any upward thrust on the wheels 33 is transmitted directly to members 33 and to resilient washers 35 by collars 33a. The thrust is transmitted directly to the frame 2! through member 23 which is directly connected to the frame. As member 23 is oscillated by arm Ml arm. 64 is also moved in a clockwise direction thus pulling upwardly on cable 63. This oscillates lever 58 about pivot 59 swinging the same This movement of downwardly and inwardly. lever 53 through the pin 6! acting on bracket 5! swings open the door 55, the same being moved to the position shown in Figs. 6 and '7 where it is substantially parallel to the bottom 207' of the hull.

If the aeroplane is to make a landing upon water the operator will rotate crank 53, thus rotating nut 48 and moving screw 4! forwardly. This swings arm M and oscillates member 23. Members 28 and 30 are thus swung in a counterclockwise direction and pull upon bearings 3!, causing the same to swing upwardly with rod 36 about the axis of stud 37. The wheels are thus swung upwardly until bearings 3! engage the upper ends of bars 4!. In this movement it will be seen that the parts of member 3!! swing about the axis of hinge 34 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 5. When member 23 is oscillated arm 64 is also oscillated thus slacking the cable 63. Door fit) tends to move downwardly by gravity and thus partly closes. As members 38 are swung upwardly pulley 66 is moved forwardly thus pulling on cable 68. Pins '53 move along in the slots 14a and after the wheel 33 is sufficiently raised pins I3 act on brackets 14 to move door 55 upwardly to closed position. Pins 13 as door 55 approaches closed position again move outwardly or toward the outer ends of slots Ma and when the door is tightly closed pins 73 are in the outer ends of slots I la. as shown in Fig. 10. The wheels are now disposed completely in the compartments till) and will not engage the water when the plane lands.

When the plane alights on the water the water will enter the compartments 2% substantially to the depth of the draft of the plane, such water being indicated as 80 in Fig. 3. As the plane moves forward on the water after the doors 55 are closed, the water will be siphoned out through the pipe 15. This action will take place since there will be an area of low pressure in the rear of spout Ti and the water will be drawn through pipe 15 as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3. The amount of water in compartments 2% will therefore be materially lessened as the plane moves forward.

From the above description it is seen that applicant has provided a very simple and efiicient structure of aeroplane provided with means for landing either on the ground or on the water. The wheels can be easily and quickly projected or retracted and as described the doors 55 will be simultaneously operated. The landing gear is effectively supported fromv the frame to which all main stresses are transmitted.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts, without departing from the scope of applicant's invention, which generally stated, consists in a device capable of carrying out the objects above set forth in the parts and combinations of parts disclosed and defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull having a compartment at one side thereof having an open bottom, a door hinged to close said bottom, a wheel arranged to be partly disposed in said compartment or to be moved upwardly to be disposed entirely in said compartment and means for closing said door including a flexible cable attached to said door, guide means for said cable and means movable with and carried by said wheel for moving said flexible cable.

2. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull, said hull having a compartment at one side, a wheel for supporting said hull, means carrying said wheel and swingable therewith to swing said wheel into said compartment, a door for closing the bottom of said compartment, a member oscillatable in said hull to which said means is connected for swinging said means and wheel, means manipulated by the operator for swinging said member, a lever pivoted at the side of said compartment and adjacent the lower end thereof connected to said door for swinging the same, a flexible means connected to said lever and to said last mentioned member for swinging said lever, a second flexible member secured to said door for moving the same to closed position and means movable with said wheel over which said second flexible member moves to pull upon said flexible member and close said door.

3. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull having a compartment therein, a wheel for supporting said hull, means carrying said wheel and swingable therewith to swing said wheel into said compartment, said compartment having an open lower end, a door for closing said open end of said compartment, a bracket secured to said door having a slot therein, a second bracket secured to the wall of said compartment at its lower end, an arm pivoted to said second bracket and extending to said first mentioned bracket, said arm having means secured thereto and disposed in said slot and means manipulable by the operator for swinging said arm to cause the same to swing said door to open position.

4. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull having a compartment therein, a wheel for supporting said hull, means carrying said wheel and swingable therewith to swing said wheel into said compartment, said compartment having an open lower end, a door hinged to said hull about an axis extending longitudinally thereof for closing said compartment, brackets extending transversely of said door adjacent its ends, a flexible member having ends secured in said brackets respectively, pulleys carried by said door adjacent its hinged side over which said flexible member runs and a pulley carried by said wheel over which said flexible member runs whereby when said wheel is swung into said compartment said door will be closed.

5. The structure set forth in claim 4, said brackets having elongated slots therein and members movable in said slots to which the ends of said flexible member are secured.

6. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull having a compartment at one side having an open bottom, a door hinged to close said bottom, a wheel constructed and arranged to be moved into said compartment or projected therefrom, a flexible member connected at its ends to spaced points on said door, means carried by said wheel over which said flexible member passes so that as said wheel is moved into said compartment, said door is swung to closed position.

7. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull having a compartment at one side having an open bottom, a door hinged to close said bottom, a wheel constructed and arranged to be moved into said compartment or projected therefrom, a flexible cable secured at its ends to spaced points on said door, a pulley carried by said wheel over which said cable runs between its ends and guide pulleys on said wheel and door for said cable whereby when said wheel is moved into said compartment said door is swung to closed position.

8. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull, said hull having a compartment at one side, a wheel for supporting said hull, a shaft extending transversely of said hull, a compartment adjacent the top thereof, a pair of struts secured at one end of said shaft and having bearings at their other ends in which said wheel is mounted between said struts, each of said struts comprising a pair of hinged sections having abutting ends, hinges connecting said sections, a shock absorber carried by each. strut above the hinge thereof, a rod secured to one of said bearings and swingable about a fixed axis at its other end, a fixed guide concentric with said axis for guiding said wheel, an arm secured to said shaft and means manipulable by the operator connected to said arm for oscillating said shaft and swinging said struts and wheel whereby said sections are folded about said hinges and said wheel is swung into said compartment.

9. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull, said hull having a compartment at one side adapted to receive a wheel, a door hinged at one side of said compartment about an axis extending generally longitudinally of said aeroplane, a member pivoted at one side of said compartment adjacent the bottom thereof and connected at one end to said door, means manipulable by the operator and comprising flexible means secured to said member for oscillating the same and moving said door to open position, a second flexible means secured to said door and means for moving said flexible means to move said door to closed position.

10. An aeroplane having in combination, a hull, said hull having a compartment at one side, a wheel for supporting said hull, a shaft extending transversely of said hull and said compartment adjacent the top thereof, a pair of struts secured at one end to said shaft and having bearings at their other ends in which said wheel is mounted between said struts, each of said struts comprising a pair of hinged sections having abutting ends, hinges connecting said sections, a shock absorber carried by each strut above the hinge thereof, an arm secured to said shaft, means manipulable by the operator connected to said arm for oscillating said shaft and swinging said struts and wheel to cause said struts to lift and swing said wheel into said compartment, a rod secured to one of said bearings and swingable about a fixed axis at its other end, said rod extending substantially at right angles to said struts when the wheel is in projected position and swinging substantially-through 90 degrees When the wheel is swung into said compartment, a guide for said Wheel and means carried on said last mentioned bearing for engaging said guide.

RUFUS R. RAND, JR.

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