US3613821A - Load-supporting device - Google Patents

Load-supporting device Download PDF

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Publication number
US3613821A
US3613821A US802840*A US3613821DA US3613821A US 3613821 A US3613821 A US 3613821A US 3613821D A US3613821D A US 3613821DA US 3613821 A US3613821 A US 3613821A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
pad
compliant
elastomeric material
pads
ground
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
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US802840*A
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English (en)
Inventor
John Kerr
Ian Lasbrey
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NAT RES DEV
NATIONAL RESEARCH DEVELOPMENT CORP
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NAT RES DEV
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Publication date
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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60V—AIR-CUSHION VEHICLES
    • B60V3/00—Land vehicles, waterborne vessels, or aircraft, adapted or modified to travel on air cushions
    • B60V3/02—Land vehicles, e.g. road vehicles
    • B60V3/025—Land vehicles, e.g. road vehicles co-operating with a flat surface, e.g. transporting loads on platforms
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60V—AIR-CUSHION VEHICLES
    • B60V3/00—Land vehicles, waterborne vessels, or aircraft, adapted or modified to travel on air cushions
    • B60V3/02—Land vehicles, e.g. road vehicles
    • B60V3/04—Land vehicles, e.g. road vehicles co-operating with rails or other guiding means, e.g. with air cushion between rail and vehicle

Definitions

  • a load-supporting device comprising at least one air cushion lifting pad in combination with a compliant ground-effect surface provided by elastomeric material, and means for supplying pressurized fluidto each pad to form a fluid cushion between each pad and the compliant surface.
  • Air curtain contained cushions operate at very low specific loads, for example Ws p.s.i., compared with these systems.
  • the present invention provides a load-supporting device which comprises a fluid-cushion lifting pad in combination with a compliant surface, the device including means to supply fluid, preferably air under pressure, to the lifting pad, so that a cushion of air or a thin layer of air is formed between the under surface of the pad and the compliant surface.
  • the lifting pad is of the porous pad type rather than an open plenum chamber or air-curtain type.
  • the device includes a number of separate porous pads or discs.
  • the pads or discs may, for example, be supported at the ends of resilient legs, or they may be supported individually by springs.
  • the springs may be mechanical or they may be pneumatic or hydraulic.
  • the porous material may, for example, be sintered metal, compacted into a disc, such as sintered stainless steel or brass.
  • Neoprene registered trade mark
  • silicone rubbers and so on, including nonrubber-based materials.
  • Materials used satisfactorily with an air bearing according to the invention have had a hardness between 30 and 90 shore hardness and preferably between 50 and 60.
  • the degree of compliancy has been found to depend on the applied specific loading, and this is also related'to the shear modulus.
  • the ratio of specific load to shear modulus should lie in the range 0.05 to 1.0 or, more generally speaking, the specific load in pounds per square inch should be equal to the shear modulus in the same units, as a first approximation in choosing a compliant material.
  • sheets of the compliant material enable heavy loads to be moved across ground which would otherwise be too uneven, or too hard, to provide the necessary combination of compliance and smoothness to support the load with reasonably economical use of power.
  • the compliant material may be laid over a thin sheet of a stiffer material such as plastic or metal, in turn laid on a soft material such as foamed rubber or other foamed material.
  • a stiffer material such as plastic or metal
  • a soft material such as foamed rubber or other foamed material.
  • FIG. I shows an industrial pallet incorporating the invention
  • FIG. 2 is an enlarged section through one of the porous pads employed in both FIGS. 1 and 3;
  • FIG. 3 shows a cradle for transporting a gas turbine engine, the cradle embodying the invention
  • FIG. 4 shows a television camera modified in accordance with the present invention
  • FIG. 5 shows one of the porous supporting pads used at the lower ends of the legs of the television camera
  • FIG. 6 shows a tracked hovercraft in which the track and the hovercraft are modified to embody the invention
  • FIG. 7 shows, in section, an alternative form of load-supporting compliant surface for use with the invention
  • FIG. 8 is a side view of a trolley-type pallet embodying the invention.
  • FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the pallet shown in FIG. 8, taken on the line IX-IX in the latter figure.
  • FIG. 10 is a plan view of the pallet shown in FIG. 8.
  • FIG. 1 a pallet 10 which is supported at its four corners by legs ill. At the lower end of each leg is an aircushion pad 12 supplied with air from a bottle 13 controlled by a valve 14. The air is supplied to each of the four pads 12 through flexible pipes 15 and the pallet rests on a compliant surface made of quarter-inch-thick Neoprene sheeting 16.
  • each pad 12 consists of a housing 17 to which the pipe 15 is attached so that air can be supplied through passage 18 to an annular chamber 17a within the housing.
  • the lower end of the pad 12 is closed by a thin disc 19 of sintered stainless steel and the outer edge of the housing 17 is peened over at 20 to seal the edge and to make a smooth rounded edge to the pad.
  • Added support for the disc 19 is provided by a central lug 21 to which the disc is held by a screw 22.
  • the disc is attached to the adjacent inner surfaces of the housing, such as 23, by Araldite" (registered trademark). Air passes through the pipe 15 via passage 18 to the annular chamber and then through porous sintered metal disc 19 to form an air layer 24 between the lower face of the disc and the compliant surface of the sheet 16.
  • FIG. 3 the invention is shown applied to a lifting and transporting cradle for a jet engine 25.
  • the engine rests on the cradle 26 which has four legs 27 terminating in respective feet 28 from each of which extend six resilient fingers 29, and at the end of each of which fingers is a pad 30.
  • Each of the pads 30 is similar in construction to the one shown in section in FIG. 2, while each of the fingers 29 may be similar in construction to the pad-supporting means shown in FIG. 5.
  • the air supply for the pads is provided by a bottle 31 and controlled by a valve 32, the air passing through pipes 33 to each of the sets of pads 30.
  • the cradle is moved across a compliant surface such as 16 in FIG. I.
  • the compliant material can be laid permanently or it can be put down in strips as required.
  • FIG. 4 a television camera 34 which has tripod legs 35 terminating in support pads 36 resting on a compliant surface 37 formed of sheets of silicone rubber. As will be apparent from the drawing, the gaps between adjacent sections of the compliant surface 37 are small in relation to the dimensions of the pads 36.
  • Each of the pads 36 is of the form shown in FIG. 5 and is supported at the end of the leg 35 by means of a spring 38 and a flexible casing 38a therearound.
  • the casing 38a is airtight so that air passing down through a passage 39 in the leg 35 will enter a further passage 40 leading to an annular chamber 41.
  • the pad 36 is closed by a disc 42 of sintered brass.
  • This arrangement not only enables the camera 34 to be moved quickly and easily across a television studio floor, but also results in extremely quiet operation which is essential in such a studio, particularly if the studio is laid with a continuous compliant surface with no joints.
  • FIG. 6 the invention is shown as applied to a tracked ground-effect vehicle.
  • the vehicle 43 is shown supported on a track 44.
  • the ends of the track arms terminate in rectangular section members 45 carrying strips 46, 47 and 48 of compliant material such as Neoprene.”
  • the vehicle is supported by means of pads 50, 51 and 52, each pad being of the form shown in FIG. 2.
  • the pads 50 and 52 provide vertical movements and the pads 51 restrain sideways movement.
  • pads 52 there may be, say 25 pads 52 on each side of the craft and a corresponding number of pads 50 and 51, the pads being about inches in diameter.
  • FIG. 7 is shown an alternative form of compliant surface.
  • a sheet 53 of Neoprene" about a quarter-inch thick is laid on top of a sheet 54 of nonporous, stiffer material, such as a thin metal sheet or plastic sheet, aluminum being a possible material.
  • the aluminum sheet 54 rests on a 3-inch-thick layer of foamed rubber 55, which in turn is laid on the uneven ground 56.
  • the layer 53 provides the compliant surface
  • the aluminum sheet 54 spreads the load and the foamed rubber 55 smooths out unevenness in the ground surface.
  • FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 is shown an industrial-type pallet modified in accordance with this invention.
  • the pallet is in the form of a trolley which has a platform 60 supported through a number of bellows-type springs 61, each spring being attached to a supporting device 62 in the form of a circular member carrying a group of five symmetrically spaced porous pads 63, supplied from a common air supply.
  • the air supply can be through a flexible airhose reel 65.
  • the trolley has an end handle 66 for manual manipulation.
  • the trolley can either be used to support objects spaced on the platform 60, or, for example, two trolleys can be used, one being positioned under each end of a larger platform or any other large object which has to be moved.
  • compliant materials having correspondingly higher shear modulus values materials suitable for this purpose being textile or wire-reinforced elastomers, for example, such as are used in conveyor belts, etc., preferably with substantially homogeneous reinforcement.
  • a load-supporting system comprising at least one fluidcushion lifting pad in combination with a layer of compliant elastomeric material providing a ground-effect surface, the lifting pad including a housing having a fluid chamber therein, means for supplying fluid under pressure to said chamber, and a rigid porous member forming the outlet of said chamber through which said fluid passes to form a fluid cushion between the pad and the compliant surface, the ratio of the specific load applied to said compliant surface by said pad compared to the shear modulus of the elastomeric material being in the range 0.05 to 1.0.
  • porous member is made of compacted sintered metal.
  • a system according to claim 1 wherem the elastomeric material has a hardness in the range 30 to shore hardness.
  • said compliant surface is formed of a plurality of sections of said elastomeric material laid over an existing surface with gaps between adjacent sections which are small in relation to the dimensions of the lifting pad.
  • a load-supporting system comprising at least one fluidcushion lifting pad in combination with a compliant laminated ground-covering structure comprising a layer of elastomeric material providing a ground-effect surface, said layer of elastomeric material overlaying a sheet of stifi material which, in turn, overlays a layer of resilient material softer and thicker than the layer of elastomeric material, and means for supplying fluid under pressure to the pad so that a cushion of fluid is fonned between the pad the compliant surface.
  • a load-transporting system comprising a load-carrying body, a plurality of lifting-pad housings having chambers therein closed at their lower ends by respective porous members, resilient means connecting said pads to depend from said body, a layer of compliant elastomeric material providing a ground-effect surface for said pads, and means for supplying fluid under pressure to said chambers to form a fluid cushion between each of said pads and said surface, the ratio of the specific load applied to said compliant surface by each of said pads compared to the shear modulus of the elastomeric material being in the range 0.05 to 1.0.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Laminated Bodies (AREA)
  • Mattresses And Other Support Structures For Chairs And Beds (AREA)
  • Load-Engaging Elements For Cranes (AREA)
  • Vibration Prevention Devices (AREA)
US802840*A 1968-03-02 1969-02-27 Load-supporting device Expired - Lifetime US3613821A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1026868 1968-03-02

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3613821A true US3613821A (en) 1971-10-19

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ID=9964714

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US802840*A Expired - Lifetime US3613821A (en) 1968-03-02 1969-02-27 Load-supporting device

Country Status (4)

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US (1) US3613821A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
DE (1) DE1910340A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
FR (1) FR2003113B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1266331A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (11)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3760899A (en) * 1971-05-06 1973-09-25 Goodyear Aerospace Corp Inflated air bearing
US3780823A (en) * 1971-06-23 1973-12-25 Univ Sherbrooke Ground effect dolly
US3893538A (en) * 1970-08-10 1975-07-08 J Dale Thompson Ground effects vehicle and an air terminal
US4563926A (en) * 1983-11-28 1986-01-14 Deere & Company Conveyor system for shear discharge
US5090718A (en) * 1989-02-06 1992-02-25 Frank Kauffman Multi-function towing trailer
US20040262866A1 (en) * 2003-06-27 2004-12-30 Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung Trading As Carl Zeiss Displaceable support stand
US20070131839A1 (en) * 2005-12-13 2007-06-14 Dunn Jeffrey H Machine mounting system
US20110308422A1 (en) * 2008-07-01 2011-12-22 Research Foundation Of The City Of New York Propulsion vehicle which travels along a soft, porous track
US8800707B1 (en) * 2011-08-23 2014-08-12 The Boeing Company Modular system and methods for moving large heavy objects
US20200101591A1 (en) * 2018-09-28 2020-04-02 Nissan North America, Inc. Technician's work chair
US10925406B2 (en) 2018-09-28 2021-02-23 Nissan North America, Inc. Technician's work chair

Families Citing this family (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
ZA713358B (en) * 1970-05-27 1972-01-26 Dunlop Holdings Ltd Transporting apparatus
IT1142775B (it) * 1981-05-22 1986-10-15 Alitalia Spa Posizionatore idro-pneumatico per il cambio di motori alari di velivoli a simili
FR2538743B1 (fr) * 1982-12-29 1985-09-13 Renault Robot
RU2260556C2 (ru) * 2003-09-24 2005-09-20 Рыбин Виталий Львович Устройство для позиционирования длинномерного изделия при его монтаже

Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1874689A (en) * 1931-10-09 1932-08-30 Armstrong Cork Co Method of decorating metal surfaces
US2832986A (en) * 1956-04-06 1958-05-06 Hoover Co Convertible air supported suction cleaner
US2912952A (en) * 1955-04-08 1959-11-17 Morton A Simmons Aircraft carrier construction for hydro-ski seaplanes
US2990939A (en) * 1959-04-07 1961-07-04 Lamb Grays Harbor Co Inc Conveyor
US3022712A (en) * 1957-01-03 1962-02-27 Southern Chemicals Inc Shock absorbing structure
US3104496A (en) * 1958-05-26 1963-09-24 Macks Elmer Fred Apparatus for providing mobility of a figure toy
US3232366A (en) * 1961-06-13 1966-02-01 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Ground effect machine with permeable material support member
US3261418A (en) * 1960-04-14 1966-07-19 Bertin & Cie Air cushion track arrangement for vehicle
US3416626A (en) * 1967-03-09 1968-12-17 Brian H. Nagamatsu Ground effect vehicle
US3513934A (en) * 1967-04-19 1970-05-26 Boeing Co Air bearing devices

Patent Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US1874689A (en) * 1931-10-09 1932-08-30 Armstrong Cork Co Method of decorating metal surfaces
US2912952A (en) * 1955-04-08 1959-11-17 Morton A Simmons Aircraft carrier construction for hydro-ski seaplanes
US2832986A (en) * 1956-04-06 1958-05-06 Hoover Co Convertible air supported suction cleaner
US3022712A (en) * 1957-01-03 1962-02-27 Southern Chemicals Inc Shock absorbing structure
US3104496A (en) * 1958-05-26 1963-09-24 Macks Elmer Fred Apparatus for providing mobility of a figure toy
US2990939A (en) * 1959-04-07 1961-07-04 Lamb Grays Harbor Co Inc Conveyor
US3261418A (en) * 1960-04-14 1966-07-19 Bertin & Cie Air cushion track arrangement for vehicle
US3232366A (en) * 1961-06-13 1966-02-01 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Ground effect machine with permeable material support member
US3416626A (en) * 1967-03-09 1968-12-17 Brian H. Nagamatsu Ground effect vehicle
US3513934A (en) * 1967-04-19 1970-05-26 Boeing Co Air bearing devices

Cited By (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3893538A (en) * 1970-08-10 1975-07-08 J Dale Thompson Ground effects vehicle and an air terminal
US3760899A (en) * 1971-05-06 1973-09-25 Goodyear Aerospace Corp Inflated air bearing
US3780823A (en) * 1971-06-23 1973-12-25 Univ Sherbrooke Ground effect dolly
US4563926A (en) * 1983-11-28 1986-01-14 Deere & Company Conveyor system for shear discharge
US5090718A (en) * 1989-02-06 1992-02-25 Frank Kauffman Multi-function towing trailer
US7174982B2 (en) * 2003-06-27 2007-02-13 Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung Trading As Carl Zeiss Displaceable support stand
US20040262866A1 (en) * 2003-06-27 2004-12-30 Carl-Zeiss-Stiftung Trading As Carl Zeiss Displaceable support stand
US20070131839A1 (en) * 2005-12-13 2007-06-14 Dunn Jeffrey H Machine mounting system
US7552903B2 (en) 2005-12-13 2009-06-30 Solar Turbines Incorporated Machine mounting system
US20110308422A1 (en) * 2008-07-01 2011-12-22 Research Foundation Of The City Of New York Propulsion vehicle which travels along a soft, porous track
US8261668B2 (en) * 2008-07-01 2012-09-11 Research Foundation Of The City University Of New York Propulsion vehicle which travels along a soft, porous track
US8800707B1 (en) * 2011-08-23 2014-08-12 The Boeing Company Modular system and methods for moving large heavy objects
US20200101591A1 (en) * 2018-09-28 2020-04-02 Nissan North America, Inc. Technician's work chair
US10925406B2 (en) 2018-09-28 2021-02-23 Nissan North America, Inc. Technician's work chair
US10946511B2 (en) * 2018-09-28 2021-03-16 Nissan North America, Inc. Technician's work chair

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE1910340A1 (de) 1969-09-25
GB1266331A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1972-03-08
FR2003113B1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1974-03-15
FR2003113A1 (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1969-11-07

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