US3698506A - Trimming a ground-effect machine - Google Patents

Trimming a ground-effect machine Download PDF

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Publication number
US3698506A
US3698506A US77598A US3698506DA US3698506A US 3698506 A US3698506 A US 3698506A US 77598 A US77598 A US 77598A US 3698506D A US3698506D A US 3698506DA US 3698506 A US3698506 A US 3698506A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
cushion
pressure
movable plate
frame
space
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
Application number
US77598A
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English (en)
Inventor
Francis Jean Croix-Marie
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Bertin Technologies SAS
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Bertin et Cie SA
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Filing date
Publication date
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Publication of US3698506A publication Critical patent/US3698506A/en
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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
    • B60V3/04—Land vehicles, e.g. road vehicles co-operating with rails or other guiding means, e.g. with air cushion between rail and vehicle

Definitions

  • This invention relates to a corrector or rather a trimming facility for an air cushion vehicle .(ACV) or like ground-effect machine moving along a surface with the interposition of pressure fluid cushions, the invention serving to maintain a substantially constant spatial relationship between the vehicle frame and such surface notwithstanding, e.g., an uneven and possibly varying distribution of vehicle loading.
  • trim stabilization is provided automatically by the manner in which the pressure fluid cushion facility is mounted on the vehicle.
  • the cushion facility is secured to a bearing plate movable relatively to the vehicle frame and connected thereto by mechanical variable-spacer means adapted to move the bearing plate relatively to the frame to compensate for possible variations in the distance between the bearing plate and the surface, the variable-spacer means being associated with means for delaying the compensation provided by the variable-spacer means.
  • H denotes the distance between the vehicle frame and the bearing surface
  • h denotes the spacing between the bearing plate and the vehicle frame
  • h denotes the spacing between the bearing plate and the bearing surface
  • the bearing plate can make universal movements relatively to the vehicle frame i.e., it can shift and rotate and the variable-spacer means are sufficiently flexible or deformable to permit the universal movements.
  • the mechanical variable-spacer means can be a pneumatic jack operating under the control of a detector of the distance H or of any other value dependent thereon, such as the cushion pressure.
  • a member providing a resilient connection between the bearing plate and the vehicle frame is associated with the jack, which applies to the bearing plate a force such that the resultant force arising therefrom and from the force applied to the bearing plate by the cushion is directed so as to increase the spacing h between the bearing plate and the vehicle frame, the resultant force being balanced by a return force produced by the resilient member.
  • the pneumatic jack is a deformable chamber to which the cushion pressure is transmitted.
  • the cushion is at least partly bounded by at least one solid andpossibly flexible wall or skirt or the like terminating in a free edge near the vehicle bearing surface, the free edge preferably being movable relatively to the bearing plate
  • the chamber is bounded by two opposite end member, one of which forms part of the vehicle frame and the other of which forme part of the bearing plate, and the bearing plate area to which the pressure of the fluid in the chamber is applied is larger than the projection on the bearing plate of the area bounded by the free edge.
  • the chamber is also bounded laterally by a continuous flexible diaphragm, such as bellows, extending between the vehicle frame and the bearing plate and providing sealing-tightness.
  • FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view in partial section of an ACV co-operating with a fluidified track-and having a system according to this invention
  • FIG. 2 is a view in section on the line Il-ll of FIG. 1;
  • FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but of a different outline
  • FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing a constructional variant of a constructional detail of the system
  • FIG.- 5 and 6 are views in section showing the operation of the trim stabilizer
  • FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation of an ACV running on an inverted-T-section track and shows how the invention can be used to trim vehicle pitch
  • FIG. 8 is a view in section of a machine of the kind shown in FIG. 7 to show how the invention can be used for roll trim.
  • FIGS. 1-6 refer to the case of an ACV co-operating with a fluidified or active track 1 which outputs the pressure fluid required for cushion formation'through a large number of nozzles 2 having individual valves 3 and being opened by means (not shown) near the cushion to be energized when the vehicle passes by, the fluid going through line 4 to nozzles 2.
  • a fluidified or active track 1 which outputs the pressure fluid required for cushion formation'through a large number of nozzles 2 having individual valves 3 and being opened by means (not shown) near the cushion to be energized when the vehicle passes by, the fluid going through line 4 to nozzles 2.
  • FIGS. 7 and 8 refer to an ACV borne and guided by an inverted-T-section track or way or the like 5, the vehicle co-operating with the way 5 through the agency of bearing and guiding cushions energized with pressure fluid independently, for instance, from sources 6.
  • This invention relates more particularly to the actual cushion facility and not particularly to cushion energization and track outline.
  • the system according to this invention is mounted on a frame part 7 of an ACV.
  • the system according to the invention comprises a bearing plate 8 disposed opposite frame 7 which can be the vehicle platform and co-operating with frame 7 to bound a chamber 9 which is sealed laterally by a flexible diaphragm 10, for instance, of canvas, secured at its periphery at places ll, 12 to frame 7 and plate 8 respectively.
  • the latter is also secured to frame 7 by a central cable 13 which has one end 14 secured to frame 7 and which extends freely through aperture 15 in plate 8; at its opposite end the cable 13 has an abutment 16 which keeps a helical spring 17 compressed between abutment l6 and plate 8.
  • cushion 19 Secured to plate 8 is at least one flexible wall 18 which serves to bound a cushion 19 laterally and which flares outwardly towards its free edge 20 near surface 1.
  • Cushion l9 communicates with chamber 9 through apertures 21 in plate 8 and possibly too through the aperture 15 for cable 13.
  • Chamber 9 and cushion 19 can be in shape substantially polygonal, for instance, rectangular, as shown in FIG. 2, the diaphragm l0 and the wall 18 each being formed by four elements substantially perpendicular to one another.
  • flexible sealing means are provided at the corners where the elements meet, for instance, in the form of bellows 22 for diaphragm and of sliding straddlers 23 for wall 18.
  • the general shape used can be a shape of revolution as shown in FIG. 3, in which case diaphragm 10 and wall 18 are continuous and no seal is required.
  • bellows 10a which can be seen in FIG. 4 and which, with advantage, have substantially zero selfstiffness can be used instead of the semicylindrical or semitoroidal section plain diaphragm 10.
  • the area S on which the pressure P in chamber 9 acts to apply to plate 8 a force tending to increase the spacing h between plate 8 and frame 7 is always greater than the area S which is the sum of that area of plate 8 which is allotted to cushion 19 plus the projection on plate 8 of the wall 18 i.e., the area S is substantially the area on which the pressure P in cushion 19 acts to apply to the plate 8 a force tending to reduce the spacing h between plate 8 and vehicle frame 7. Since the two pressures P and P are normally equal due to the presence of the communicating apertures 21, the effect of the excess AS of the area S over the area S is to create a resultant force P. AS then moves the plate 8 away from the frame 7.
  • the effect of the cushion system according to the invention is that an intermediate member namely the bearing plate 8 takes over the control of substantially all motions arising from pressure variations and thus keeps the same virtually completely away from the vehicle frame 7.
  • trim alterations due to disturbances affect, so to speak, only the plate 8 and do not react to any great extent on the vehicle frame 7.
  • the system according to the invention may therefore properly be called not a suspension nor damping system, although it performs these functions, but above all a trim corrector or stabilizer.
  • FIGS. 5-8 show clearly the trim stabilization properties of the cushion system according to the invention.
  • FIG. 5 is of a continuous or at least lengthy disturbance illustrated by way of example as an uneven distribution of the load over the frame 7, which is loaded more heavily on the right of FIG. 5' than on the left, as made clear by the masses 25, 26 and the dissymmetrical position of an arrow X denoting the local over loading.
  • the flexible wall 18 of the right-hand facility is bent more than the flexible wall 18 of the left-hand facility but the bearing plate 8 of the right-hand facility is further away from the frame 7 than in the left-hand facility, because the pressure in the cushion 19 and chamber 9 is higher on the right than on the left.
  • h is therefore larger on the right than on the left but h is larger on the left than on the right; whatever happens, the sum H h h remains constant.
  • Trim stabilization of the vehicle frame 7 despite uneven load distribution illustrated by dissymmetrically located arrow X can be provided lengthwise (see FIG. 7) and transversely (see FIG. 8).
  • FIG. 8 there can be seen lift cushion facilities bearing on horizontal surfaces 27 of an inverted T-section track 5 and guide cushion facilities bearing against vertical surfaces28 of track 5.
  • An arrow Y represents a horizontal axis along which a prolonged stress is applied, for instance, due to centrifugal force on a curve or due to a side wind.
  • the stress acts from left to right in FIG. 8 and so causes the flexible guide wall 18' of the guide cushion 19 on the left to bend more than the flexible wall of the guide cushion 19' on the right and, conversely, causes the bearing plate 8' on the left to be further away from the frame 7 than on ,the right, for the chamber 9' is more compressed on the right than on the left.
  • these variations have substantially no effect on the horizontal distance H between the frame 7 and the respective vertical surfaces 28 of the track 5.
  • none of the embodiments is there any continuous fluid flow through chambers 9,9, which are merely connected to the pressure of the cushion 19 or 19 via the apertures 21 or 21'.
  • the apertures 1 can comprise adjustable valves 21a.
  • the valves 21a are opened in the event of a prolonged disturbance, for instance during vehicle loading and unloading.
  • the swivel connection 13, 14 enables the bearing plate 8 to tilt relatively to the frame 7 if necessary, more particularly when the vehicle passes over an unevenness inthe surface of the track 1, represented in FIG. 6 by a change of slope at a place 29.
  • a cushion 19 is bounded by one or more flexible walls 18 which flare out towards the track surface 1.
  • Other cushion seals surface can of course be interposed between the bearing plate 8 and the vehicle bearing surface 1.
  • a ground effect machine having a rigid frame movable along but at a distance from a surface with the interposition of a pressure fluid cushion formed against said surface within a space confined by cushion-seal means and fed with a permanent supply of pressure fluid, the improvement which includes a system for stabilizing said distance comprising:
  • a cushion-seal means carrier plate extending intermediate said frame and said surface and movable towards and away relatively thereto, said plate bounding endwise said cushion space opposite to said surface;
  • said cushion-seal means define an effective area (S) on said surface which is wetted by said pressure fluid cushion, (S) being substantially larger than (S 3.
  • said cushion-seal means comprises a cushion-skirting arrangement projecting from said movable plate towards said surface and ending with a free edge adjacent said surface, said cushion wetted area (8') being bounded by said free edge.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Aviation & Aerospace Engineering (AREA)
  • Transportation (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Combined Devices Of Dampers And Springs (AREA)
  • Current-Collector Devices For Electrically Propelled Vehicles (AREA)
  • Advancing Webs (AREA)
  • Vibration Prevention Devices (AREA)
US77598A 1969-10-02 1970-10-02 Trimming a ground-effect machine Expired - Lifetime US3698506A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
FR6933700A FR2091844B1 (es) 1969-10-02 1969-10-02

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3698506A true US3698506A (en) 1972-10-17

Family

ID=9040957

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US77598A Expired - Lifetime US3698506A (en) 1969-10-02 1970-10-02 Trimming a ground-effect machine

Country Status (5)

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US (1) US3698506A (es)
DE (1) DE2048069A1 (es)
FR (1) FR2091844B1 (es)
GB (1) GB1327248A (es)
NL (1) NL7014468A (es)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4896610A (en) * 1986-07-11 1990-01-30 Super X Limited Fluid cushion device
US5909710A (en) * 1997-08-15 1999-06-08 Cummins; Richard D. Air-levitated train
US10293803B2 (en) * 2011-02-21 2019-05-21 Novus Finitor B.V. Levitation system for a train

Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3013505A (en) * 1960-04-14 1961-12-19 Texaco Experiment Inc Ground effect vehicle
US3121401A (en) * 1962-11-13 1964-02-18 Ford Motor Co Air supported vehicle
US3253667A (en) * 1963-08-06 1966-05-31 Gen Motors Corp Multiple elevation air bearing device
US3318406A (en) * 1965-05-11 1967-05-09 Gen Motors Corp Load compensating air cushion support
US3332361A (en) * 1964-03-10 1967-07-25 L Aerotrain Soc Et Pressure fluid cushion guiding system for tracked ground effect machines
US3340943A (en) * 1965-05-07 1967-09-12 Bertin & Cie Air cushion stability control device with adjustable plenum chamber volume
US3540378A (en) * 1968-03-19 1970-11-17 Aerotrain Fluidic track for ground-effect transportation
US3559759A (en) * 1967-12-20 1971-02-02 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Air cushion vehicles having increased roll stiffness

Family Cites Families (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR1525647A (fr) * 1968-10-23 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Appareil de soutien de charge
FR1344904A (fr) * 1962-06-26 1963-12-06 Bertin & Cie Perfectionnements aux véhicules associés à une voie de guidage
FR1371776A (fr) * 1963-01-24 1964-09-11 Vickers Armstrongs Ltd Perfectionnements apportés aux véhicules se déplaçant sur des coussins d'air
GB1075636A (en) * 1963-07-31 1967-07-12 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Load supporting unit
FR1448071A (fr) * 1965-04-30 1966-08-05 Bertin & Cie Perfectionnements aux dispositifs à coussins de gaz destinés à supporter ou à guider une charge mobile
FR1492364A (fr) * 1965-07-22 1967-08-18 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Perfectionnement aux véhicules
GB1192014A (en) * 1966-06-15 1970-05-13 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Improvements relating to Gas-Cushioned Load-Carrying Devices
FR1577166A (es) * 1967-09-14 1969-08-01
DE1800325A1 (de) * 1967-10-03 1969-06-19 Nat Res Dev Gaskissenfahrzeug

Patent Citations (8)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3013505A (en) * 1960-04-14 1961-12-19 Texaco Experiment Inc Ground effect vehicle
US3121401A (en) * 1962-11-13 1964-02-18 Ford Motor Co Air supported vehicle
US3253667A (en) * 1963-08-06 1966-05-31 Gen Motors Corp Multiple elevation air bearing device
US3332361A (en) * 1964-03-10 1967-07-25 L Aerotrain Soc Et Pressure fluid cushion guiding system for tracked ground effect machines
US3340943A (en) * 1965-05-07 1967-09-12 Bertin & Cie Air cushion stability control device with adjustable plenum chamber volume
US3318406A (en) * 1965-05-11 1967-05-09 Gen Motors Corp Load compensating air cushion support
US3559759A (en) * 1967-12-20 1971-02-02 Hovercraft Dev Ltd Air cushion vehicles having increased roll stiffness
US3540378A (en) * 1968-03-19 1970-11-17 Aerotrain Fluidic track for ground-effect transportation

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4896610A (en) * 1986-07-11 1990-01-30 Super X Limited Fluid cushion device
US5909710A (en) * 1997-08-15 1999-06-08 Cummins; Richard D. Air-levitated train
US10293803B2 (en) * 2011-02-21 2019-05-21 Novus Finitor B.V. Levitation system for a train

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
GB1327248A (en) 1973-08-15
FR2091844B1 (es) 1973-10-19
DE2048069A1 (de) 1971-04-29
NL7014468A (es) 1971-04-06
FR2091844A1 (es) 1971-01-21

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