US989786A - Flying-machine. - Google Patents

Description

F4598 XE. 9899786 g i U. G. LEE & W. A. DARRAH. FLYING MACHINE.

APYLIGATIDN FILED FEB. 15,1910.

} 989,786. Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

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F Ulysses mnZfLee WL'lLL'zJm Austin Don-ah.

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0AM 35w U. G. LEE & W. A. DARRAH.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION TILED FBB.15, 1910.

- Patented Apr. 18, 1911.

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ULYSSES GRANT LEE AND WILLIAM AUSTIN DARRAl-I, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

FLYING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

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Kpplication filed February 15, 1910. Serial No. 544,148.

To all whom it may comer/i:

.lic it known that we, l nvsses GRANT LEE and Human AUs'rL-X' 1).-\RR.\H, citizens of the United States of America, and both residing at 1164; Forty-fourth street, in the city of Brooklyn, county of Kings, and

State of New York, have invented certain,

, new and useful I1ll)l(W8lll6lllS in F lying- The objects of our invention are: 1st, to provide a supporting surface of such de; sign that it will'tend to return, automati=' cally, to the-normal position if temporarily displaced; 2d, to provide additional means for maintaining lateral stability, or for regaining the same; and 3d, to provide means for directing the machine bothvertically and horizontally; and formaintaining such direction; and suchv other purposes as-are set forth.

' To accomplish these ends, our invention consists of certain novel features which are.

shown in the accompanying drawings, described in the specification, and thendetinitely pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying dra 'ings, Figure l is a perspective view of a flying machine embodying our invention in one form. Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the devices for directing the motion ofthe machine. Fig. 3 is aplen view showing the mechanism for operating the vertical rudder. Fig. q is asection on line a?; showing the auxiliary means forregaining transverse equilibrium.

Our invention relates to those flying machines in which the weight is supported by the reactions resulting from the movement of one or more surfaces through the air. the said surfaces being or" such shape and inclined at such. an angle that the air adjacent to said surfaces is accelerated. in a downward direction. I

- Experience has shown that it is not difficult to lift a comparatively large weight by the reaction between the supporting surface and the air, but with all types of machines which have previously been devised, it is a very diificult matter to maintain etpiilibrium, requiring the vconstant attem tion of the operator.

It is the object :of our invent-ion to provide a supporting surfacewhich, as "a re sult of its shape, will, tend to automatically regain its equilibrium if d i's'turbed, and

which will nothave its :eq'uilibrii'un disturbecLbychanges of the relative velocity of the machine and the air, 0r by changes of direction. To. best j obtain these ends it is preferable, though not abscflutely riecessary, that the means for directing the motion of the machine be constructed ashrein described. 4 .v a

Turning-nowto the" drawings, Fig. 1

shows in perspective-one type of surface having the features which we have discov ered to be necessary to insure an automaticmaintenance of equilibrium, a constant position for the center of upward pressure,

and the other advantages which we claimr Our surface is built on a keeh'l, to which the ribs 2, are rigidly fastened at their lower ends. In the construction which we prefer the ribs arevbent on arcs of circles, increasing in size from front to rear, so that the resultant surface is substantially cone-shaped. "To the outer ends of the ribs and to the forward end of the keel, longitudinal. strips 3, are attached. At the rear extremity of the surface formed by covering the framework 'just described with any suitable material, two floating ribs 4 are attached. The floating ribs 4., are fastened at their outer ends to longitudinal strips 3, while at their inner end they are fastened together and pivoted to the bell-crank..5, by. piv0t'6. The lower cnd'o'f the hell crank 5, is pivoted by 'pin 7 to the rear end of connecting" rod 8, a which at its forward end is pivoted to lever 9. One end of lever 9 is pivoted to the keel 1 whilethe other end is formed into a handle 10. The frame composed of ribsB and 4, longitudinal pieces 3 and keel 1 is covered with any suitable material as for instance canvas, tightly stretched in place. Two similacsections of a conical surface are thus formed, the sections being joined together along an element at the keel. i he two parts of this supporting surface are held in their relative positions by spacing. means 11 and 12 which are fastened to ribs 2 and 4 at their highestpoints. A'seat 13, is fastened to the heel for the convenienceof the operator. v

A rudder for steering the flying machine in a horizontal plane is shown at 14:, p1voted on pins 15, the said pins being held on rods 16 and 17 which are fastened respec-- tively to the keel and to the spacing strut 12. The axis of the rudder-is situatedin the vertical plane through the center of the keel.

. angle though for .obvious reasons we do not the operator.

limit ourselves to this angle. The rudder bar 18 is fastened at right angles to the plane of the rudder through its forward edge. Rudder-ropes 19, are fastened to the rudder bar 18" and pass through rings 20 to horizontal lever 21 to which the ropes are fastened by rings 22. p The lever 21 is pivoted to the keel at 23. The end of lever 21 is formed into a handle'at the end adjacent to bearings 24% is a rod 25 carrying a rocker 26 and a lever 27. Cords 27 are connected from the longitudinal strips 3 at points adjacent to the ribs 2 to the rocker arm and firmly fastened to the center of the rocker. From the above description-of the supporting surface, together with the drawings,

it is clearthat the cutting edges of said surface, or the edges which first cleave the air, extend diagonally from front torear, substantially the len th ofthe machine. Now.

it is a well established fact that the greater part of the lifting power of any surface which moves relatively to, the air is concentrated within a short distance from the cutting edge. It is further well known that for difi'crent angles of inclination and for different speeds with the same inclination the position of the resultant upward pres- .sure is very diii'erenh. An approximate rule is that as the angle of inclination varies from 90 degrees or a position perpendicular to the direction of flight) to 0 degrees (or a position parallel to the direction offlight) the center of upward pressure,varies from the geometrical center of the surface to the forward or cutting edge. A similar shifting.

takes place as the relative speed of the air and the surface is varied. It is understood that the above shiftin of the benter'of pressure takes place chie y in surfaces, the cutting edge of which is substantially perpendicular to the direction of motion. It is also common knowledge that the above described phenomena of the shifting of the center of upward-pressure is due to the fact that the cutting edge supplies alarger and larger part (if the total lifting power as the speed increases and as the angle of inclination decreases.

As a result of the shifting of the center of Supported belowthe keel by upward pressure all flying machines employing surfaces in which the cutting edge is substantially perpendicular to the direction of flight, experience a continual tendency to dive upward or downward as the changes of equilibrium require the constant attention of theoperator to. overcome them. If, however, the cutting'edge extends substantially the entire length of the surface from front to rear, any increase or decrease in the lifting force at the cutting edge will porting surface with the-result that the cen-v ter of pressure will be substantially unchanged in position. equipped with a supporting surface of the tudinally "or about ahorizontal transverse axis. 1:

' Turning now to Fig; 4 and considering surface it will be seen that there are two -to its normal position when displaced for any reason. The first cause isdue to the fact that as the machine tilts over, as for example toward the left side, the projected area of the left side upon a horizontal plane increases while the projected area of the right side decreases. Since the supporting power of any surface is proportional to the the upward, force on the left side increases while that ofthe right side decreases with the .resultthat the flying machine will tend to right itself. The second cause which contributes to automatic stability is due to the the center of downward pressure due' to the weight, is shifted to the other side, thereby creating a couple tending to right the machine. It therefore follows that a flying machine equipped with a supporting surface of the type here described 18 in a condition of stable equilibrium both transversely and longitudinally. I As an auxi iary means of re aining transverse equilibrium we provide t e means con? sisting of rod 25, rocker 26 rigidly fixed thereto, and flexible connections. 27* which are fastened tothe rocker and to the supporting surface at the rearward end of strips 3. By turning down lever 27 as shown in the dotted lines in Fig. at one side of the supporting surface is pulled down while the other side is allowed to move upward, thereby accomplishing the face about a longitudinal axis, namely decreasing the royected area on the side which has turned ewnward, and increasing the upward, thus producing a couple which acts to restore the machine to its normal position.

- speed or angle of inclination changes. Such be distributed the entire length of the sup-- the transverse stability of the supporting fact that as the surface tilts toward one side,

same end as the bodily rotation of the sur-" projected area. on the/side which has rotated The machine when character described'is therefore stable longicauses which operate: to return the machine projected area, other conditions being equal,

usages In order to direct the machine in a vertiearl plane, and as an auxiliary means of maintaining longitudinal stability wehave provided the means shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The said means consists of two floating ribs et, at the rear extremity of the-supporting surface, the said ribs being fastened together at their inner and lower ends, and pivoted at this point to the bell crank 5 which is connectedby rod 8 to lever 9. .If lever 9 be moved into the position shown in the dotted lines in Fig. 2 the bell crank will be rotated as shown, and the rear end of the supporting surface will be depressed into the position shown by the dotted lines. We preier to depend upon the flexibility of the .material forming the framework of our 1113.-

' chine to allow this deflection, though hinges or any, suitable pivots may be used. The deflection of the rear end of the supporting surface increases the pressure of the air upon this portion, thus shiftingthe center of upward pressure backward with the result that the machine will be directed downward. A movement of the lever in a reverse direction will cause the rear margin of the supporting surface to be raised, with the re-. sult that the center of upward pressure will be shifted forward thus causing the machine to be directed upward. It is obvious that the means of directing the machine in a vertical plane may be used as an auxiliary means of maintaining equilibrium.

Coming next to the means-for directing the flying machine in a horizontal plane,

we have found that there 'are two forces.

which act to tend to over-turn a machine which is turning about a vertical axis. The

first is the centrifugal force due to the mass of the machine. Since the center of mass is below the center ofupward pressure, the

- centrifugal force produced when the meto the vertical rudder provides means for so chine-turns about a vertical axis will act to throw the weight outward, thus'depressmg the side of the supporting surface, toward which the machine is-turning. A slight movement in this direction is advantageous as it prevents the machine fromslidmg s1dewise through the air. There is a second force which is caused by the backward travel of the center-of upward pressure as the machine turns. This force act-s to depress the forward end of the machine causing it to tend to dive forward. a

The partof our invention which relates designing the rudder that the forces upon it are sufficient in magnitude and in the proper direction to overcome the forces which tud to defray the equlllbriuin of the flying machine. Onesrrangement which accomplishes these ends is shown in Figs. 1,2, and 3. This consists of a rudder 14; which maybe most satisfactorily formed by stretching any suitable covering over a frame work of the shape shown. Ye have found it preferable to pivot the rudder on an ax s passin g through its front edge though I this IS not. necessary. As shown in the drawlogs the rudder is pivoted by p ns 15 on an axis inclined abopt 45 degrees, the said axis ;sloping from the lower and'forwa-rd edge ,upward and rearwardly to the upper and back edge. A cross-bar is connected to. the :forwai'd edge ofthe rudder and to wires 19 .which pass through rings 20 to lever 21; 5 Thus when lever 21 is moved to the position shown in thedottedlines in Figs 2 and 3, the rudder is rotated as shown in the dotted T'lines. It will be noted that the center of pressure of the rudder is above the center jof weight of the flying machine. Asa re- ,s-ult, when the rudder is turned about. its

; inclined axis its surface will deflect currents Q of air upward andbaclrward-and will thus 5 By making the surfacd'of the rudder suificien'tly large the downward force will have a sufficient value to automatically overcome the tendency of the machine to dive forward sharpness of the turn, and consequently the tendency to dive increases, the effective angle jcally correcting .the diving tendency and hence automatically maintaining equilibrinm. The tendency to overturn due to the centrifugal force exerted-by the mass of the the side thrust of the air on the rudder due frudder is turned. From an inspection of the "figures itwill readily be seen that the side thrust ofthe air is exerted on the side ofthe rudder toward which the machine is turning. Since this side thrust is in the same direciii-g description that there are a number of differently shaped surfaces which may have the cl'iaracteristics enumerated, and which will therefore possess automatic stability both about. a central longitudinal axis and also about a transverse axis which is horizontal, and we do not desire to be understood to limit ourselves to any particular detail of construction.

The features which we have discovered to necessary for automatic stabilitgy central longitudinal axis are as ollows:- 1. At least one vertical surface or ltccl extending from front to rear of the machine,

anu symmetrically located. 2. much a disposition of weight and supporting surface that the center of weight of the machine is on turning. It will also be noted that as the flying machine in turning is counteracted by ytoitiieisideward deflection f the air when the It will now be evident from the foregofhave a downwarol force upon itSsurface.

of inclinatiori also increases, thus uutomatition as the centrifugal force butabove-the' machines.

v esense below the center of upward force of the supporting surface. The feature which we have discovered to be necessary for securing automatic stability about a transverse, horizontal axis is a supporting surface the cutting edge of which extends from 'front to rear either by subdividing the surface into a number of planes placed one behind the other, by a cutting edge which extends diagonally from front to rear, or some equivalent. It is a supporting surface combining these characteristics which we desire to claim and we do not wish to be understood as limiting ourselves to the exact construction described, as this is merely the form which We have found successful with relatively small Having now described the features of our invention we make the following. claims. We do not wish to be understood to limit ourselves to the exact details shown as it is obvious that many modifications can be made therefrom, and still come within the scope of our invention. 7We do not limit ourselves to curved surfaces, though from structural reasons they are much simpler to build than plane-surfaces. W'e include under the term ,c nical'surface and substantially conical surface as used in the following claims and in the specification,.

those surfaces which are composed of several individual elements or surfaces so combined that the lines of intersection of the component adjacent elements with each other, or these lines of intersection continued, converge toward the forward part of the machine. In the limiting case when the indiofa pyramidal wedge.

' vidual surfaces are made numerous enough this structure becomes a cone but we desire to include also the surface of a pyramidand It is of course understood that the lines of intersection or these lines continued do not necessarily converge to a mathematical point, as a considei-able variation is allowable and still secure the results of our invention. By the term element as used in the following claims we refer to a line situated in the lifting surface and extending from the front to-the 'rear of said surface. In case a strictly conical surface were employed it would be the line which would generate the surface mathematically, though for obvious reasons we do not desire to confine ourselves to-the single case of the mathematical element.

By supporting surfaces we refer to that surface of the flying machine which by reason of its reaction with the air sustains the weight of the machine. By the term cutting edge we'refer to the edge of the supporting surface which initially enters the air.

Having now fully described our invention,

whatwe claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. In a flying machine, the combination of a compound supporting surface, composed of symmetrical, substantially conical surfaces, concave downward and joined along an element, the outer or cuttin edges of said supporting surfaces being dlsposed below the central elements of said surfaces, and a rudder for directing the course of the machine,.the axisgf said rudder being dis posed in a vertical plane and inclined from front to rear.

2. In a flying machine a compound surface composed of symmetrical, substantially conical surfaces, concave downward and disposed side by side, the said surfaces converging toward the forward part of the machine.

3. In a flying machine a compoundsupporting surface, composed of symmetrical, conical surfaces, concave downward, and joined alongmari element, the outer or cut? ting edges of said conical surfaces being disposed below the central elements of said surfaces. I

4. .In a flying machine a supporting surface havingsubstantially the shape of the surface of a segment of a cone, the apex of the cone being in the direction of the forward partof the surface.

5. In a flying machine, an automatically stable supportingsurface composed of two syn'unetrical portions of substantially conical surfaces said surfaces being concave downward and disposed side by side, the inner edges of said surfaces being continued to form a vertical portion or keel extending longitudinally. the length of the machine.

In testimony .whereof, we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this eleventh day of February 1910.

ULYSSES GRANT LEE. WILLIAM AUSTIN DARRAI'I. Witnesses: I

Fnnnmnnn LEE, ADAH HARDY.

Copies 0! this patent may be obtained. for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner pt Patents, Washington, I). C.

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