US993987A - Flying-machine. - Google Patents

Description

J. W.. HARRISON.

FLYING MACHINE. ArPLIoA'rIon rum) 110117.12, 1910.

Pand May ao, "1911.

z 'summa-#snm 1.

,Ziek/era fd/wiz ZZ. afnam?.

J. W. HARRISON.

FLYING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.12, 1910.

Patented May 30, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

l 4 l mf UNITED STATES PATENT 'oE-EroE.

JG'HN W. HARRISON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

FLYING-MACHINE.

To aZZ whom 'it may concern:

Be it knownth'at I, JOHN W. HARRISON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, in theState of Missouri, have invented ccrtainnew and useful Improvements in Flying-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

"This invention relates to aeroplanes and has forits primary object to provide an 1o improved construction, combination and arrangement` of parts in devices of vthis character. f

lOne'of 'the objects "of the present invention is to rovide: an improved construction lwhere 'y-a fiyin machine may be adapted to `aintain iev sustaining plane horizontal. 'Another' object', is to-'provideiniproved Il: meanswhereby` the 'filying machine is' enabled to""'descen d slow eventfof the Another Objectis to 'provideailying nia.-

chine' of improved construction according "'tol whiclifs'aidfyi'ng --machine may be lv"adapted to takefit's'flight from a sheet of water orjfrom land., Another object is to *l provide improved propulsion means embodying separate and distinct propellers` 'for drivin the machine ,over vthe Awater andthrong l the air respectively.

Another object isto provide improved steering means and disposition of'the same. Other and further objects will appear 'in the specification and be specifically pointed out in the claims, reference being had to the accompanyin drawings 'exempliying the y-'an'd easily, in the inventlon an in which Figure 1 is a perspective view taken fromabove of a lym machineembodying my im rovements., Fig. 2 'is a rear elevation o the'same. Fi 3.is a longitudinal section through the ying machine, parts being shown m elevation. Fig. 4 is a' section on the line IV-IVof Fic. 5

F1 3 isa detail section on theline -:V of ig..

3.' Fig. 6 is a detail section vof the slideway for the aperture closures in ythe-top or 59 sustaining' plane. Referring rticularlyto the drawings and tothe ein dimento-shown therein, `the'flyin'grmachine is provided above with a large sustainin tIl fectly fiat from ont. to back andhas its lateral curved downwardly slightly.,

I parte? Plant g beaming displane 1 which is. perV Specification of Letters Patent. Application illed November 12, 1810, Serial No. 591,942.

Figs. l, 2 and 3,

4the center of the sustainin' plane. T 1e -which is secured a Patent-eu May 3o, i911.

as shown .best in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Suspend-,

ed from the sustaining plane-1 by means of a plurality of lateralsuppor't-s Orba-rs 2 symmetrically disposed with respect-to the central longitudinal plane" of the flying machine, is a carrier or 'our 3 which, in the present embodiment of vthe invention, is in the form ofa boat orvessel adapted to travel through water. 4By an inspection of it will be noted that the carrier or vessel 3 `is of relatively small beam and length compared tothe sustaining plane 1 and is suspended from the sustaining plane a considerable distance there- D 7o below.

In orderto'impart a maximumde ee of stability to the flying machine un ery all conditions,- the disposition and arrangement of Aall' the 4 parts offthe Viiyingj machine have v been so planned'as to bring the oenterl of gravity 'of the-entire 'machine as 'low as possible andl in a lvertical lin'e' throu h powerplant represented in e present embodirn'ent by an internal combustion motor 4,'is disposed 'a little forward of the` cen-' ter of the vessel or carrier 3 to counterbalance the operating parts inthe rear. It will be seen therefore that the carrier 3 with its burden provides a species of pendulum which constantly exerts a tendency to return the flying machine to upright position when it is displaced therefrom;

Extending rearwardly from the engine 4 is a propeller shaft 5 to the rear end of y propeller 6 for propelling the vessel 3 through water. Said shaft 5 isconnected to the engine shaft 7 of the motor by means of a clutch 8 of any suitable description, whereby said pro ller 6 may be made operative or inoperative at pleasure, Disposed centrally with respect to the sustaining plane land between it and the vessel 3, is 'a large air propeller 9 disposed between the vessel 3 and the sustain'- ing plane 1 and which preferablycovers the greater ortion of the distance therebetween. Said) pro ller 9 is mounted u l`n a longitudinal sha t 10 journaled in suitable transverse.. supports 11 carried by the upright bars'e, Powerv may be transmitted from the gine shaft 7 to the'propeller'- sha-ftd() by means of an endless drive 12 7,.. running over pulleys carried by said shafts 7 andf ',-10, respectively. Disposed immediately ,to the rear of the propeller 9,- is a vertical rudder plane 13 which is carried by a vertical shaft 14 journaled in contiguous' rigidparts `on the machine frame. Said plane-13 is mounted to have the larger portion of its width in the rear of the shaft 14tso as to make it easier to swing the saine vagainst the resistance of the wind. The plane is arranged to receive the full force of the wind from the propeller 9. Carried by a liorizoiitalshaft 15 disposed to the rear of on opposite ends with lever arms 19,a fromv which lead the tillergropes or cables 20.

.Referring now to. Fig. 5, a pair of til'ler I- gil'wlieels 21, 22 are disposed .in the forward -end of the vessel 3, said 'tiller wheels. be-

ingrigidly secured to winding ` drums 23,

,24, respectively. In the present embodiment, the winding drum l23 has wound thereon the tillcr rope 20 leading to and from the lever arms 19 on the horizontal rudder shaft 15.4 The winding drum 24, on 'the other hand, has wound thereon the tiller ropes 19 which lead to and from the tiller'bar 18 carried by the upright shaft v1li. It will thus be seen that the aviator is enabled to control the vertical movement with his right hand and the lateral movementof the aeroplane with his left hand.

, 4o As shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the

` sustaining plane 1 is provided with a series of apertures which may be opened and closed by means of shutters 25 slidably mounted in therunways formed in the framework` of the top plane l. Said shutters or closures 25ans connected to move in unison by suitable connecting means and the end closures or shutters 25 have secured thereto an opetating rope or cable 2G which passes over a series of guide pulleys to and from the drum 27 (see Fig. 5) mounted on the right side of the carrier or vessel 3. A crank lever E28 carried by the drum 27 enables the operating rope 26 to be moved baclrvvardly and forwardly to open and close the apertures in the top plane 1 to any desired extent.

As details of construction, the sustaining plane 1 is constructed of a plurality of structural sections 29 extending longitudinally of' the machine, said longitudinal sections being connected at suitable intervals by transverse sections 3() of any suitable material. By this means, the sustaining plane may be strengthened to such a degree as to A avoid the employment of guy lines from the eeaeev carrier suspending framework to the outer edges of the sustaining plane.

To adapt the machine to begin its Hight from theground and to alight again on I the ground land wheels 31 of any suitable con- 70 struction are mounted on .the body. of the boat in any suitable manner.

The operation of the iyin machine will now be readily understood an briefly 4statedf is as follows: Then it is desired to-have the machine rise .into the air from the surface of a 'sheet' of water upon which the vessel 3 is floating, the en ine 4 having been set in operation, the cluto 8 is thrown into position to drive the propeller shaft 5' which S0 propels the veel 43 'through 4the i water. Simultaneously with the operation of the water propeller 6, the air propeller 9 lis operated to ivean added impetus forward and by manipulating the horizontal rudder plane 16 ini a `well knownmannen-the'r in a-` chine is gradually lifted into the'air, after which it may be conducted upon its-course vby successively 'manipulating the',4 vertical rudder plane 13and the` horlzontalrudder 90 plane 1G according to the desires 'of the aviator'. 4Aliglit'from the land takesplae in an exactly similar manner exec t thatthe water propeller is not made use ofi i During the progress of the yiug' machine, .it is'- maintained in upright'position by reason of the relatively low Ydis osition of thelieavierv portionsof the mac inc and the arrangement of the center' of gravity ofthe entire mass at a point approximately vertically be-V neath thecenter of the sustaining planeV 1 In the event of a mishap, such as a disability of the power plant or propeller mechanism, the entire flying machine may 'be transformed into a parachute, during which the closures 25 in the top plane are open to any degree corresponding' to the desired rate of descent to permit the passage of the air upwardly through the center ofthe sustaining plane. y i 11 llVhat I claim is:

1. Iii a flying machine, the combination with a top plane, of a carrier suspended therefrom, a power plant mounted on said carrier, a propeller between said top plane l] and carrier, a vertical rudder plane, and a horizontal rudder plane,said rudder vplanes being mounted with the center lines of their mid-lengths coincidin and passing through the axis of saidprope ler. 2. I n a flying machine, the combination l with atop plane, of a carrier suspended therefrom, a. motor mounted in said carrier A forward of the center of said top plane, a propeller driven by said motor,l said ro-y peller being disposed between the'top-p ane and said carrier to the rear of the center of said top` plane, a vertical rudderl plane, and a horizontal rudder plane, said rudder planes being disposed between the propeller and the rear end of the top plane andv having their turning axes respectively bisected by the axis of said propeller.

3. 4In a flying machine, the combination with va top plane, of a. carrier suspended from said top plane, a power lant mounted on said carrier, a propeller d) power plant, a vertical rudder plane extending approximately across the space between said `top pla-ne and carrier and behind said propeller, a horizontal rudder plane extending beyond the sides of said carrier, ysaid rudder planes being mounted so that the center lines of their midlengths coincide and pass through the axis of said propeller. i

al. In a flying machine, the combination with a sustaining plane, of a carrier, a power plant mounted on said carrier, a propeller driven. by said power plant, said propeller being disposed adjacent the center of said sustaining planeand the carrier, a vertical rudder plane disposed in the rear of and adjacent topsaid propeller, and a horizontal rudder plane dis osedin the rear of and adjacent to said vertical rudder plane, both of said rudder planes being centrally disposed with respect to the axis of said propeller. I

5. In a iying machine, the combination with a sustaining plane, of acarrie'r suspended from said plane, a power plant mounted' on said carrier approximately central with respect to said sustaining plane, a propeller driven by said power plant, said propeller being disposed adjacent the center rivenr by said of said sustaining plane and the carrier, a vertical rudder `plane disposed in the rear' of and adjacent to said propeller, a horizontal rudder plane disposed in the rear of and adjacent said vertical rudder plane, and means disposed at the forward end of said carrier for operating each of said rudder planes, said means being operatably connected to said rudder planes.

6. In a flying machine, the combination with an aeroplane, of a water displacing carrier suspended from said aeroplane, a power plant mounted in said carrier,` the center of gravity of said carrier and power plant being a proximately under the center of pressure o said aeroplane and carrier, a propeller operatively connected to said power plant, a vertical rudder plane adjacent to said propeller, said rudder plane reaching approximately across Athe space between said aeroplane and carrier, a horizontal rudder plane oscillatably mounted upon an axis in the same horizontal plane lwith the axis of said propeller, said hori'1 zontal plane being extended beyond the sides of said carrier, a tiller mounted in the forward end of the carrier and operatably connected to said vertical rudder plane, and

an independent tillermounted in the forward end of said carrier adjacent to the lirst said tiller and operatably connectedto said horizontal rudder plane.

' JOHN lV.' HARRISON. In the presence of- E MARlE C. HAMMON, J. B. MEGowN.

lire cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.v Washington, D. C.

Images