US1963715A - Cylindrical flying ship - Google Patents

Description

June 19, 1934. PANDOLFI ,7

CYLINDRIGAL FLYING SHIP Filed Ndv. 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 19, 1934. L, PANDOLFI 1,963,715

CYLINDRICAL FLYING SHIP FiledNov. 29, 1952 '2 sheets-sheet 2" Patented June 19, 1934 cruNDarcAL rmrmq smr Luigi Pandolfl, New York, N. .Y., assignor of onethird to Francesco Pandolfi, New York, N. Y.

- Application November 29,1932, Serial No. 644,896

' Glaims. ((1244-18) 'lhis invention relates to a cylindrical flying ship and has for an object to provide an improved air ship withimproved safety features. A further object of this invention is to pro- I vide an improved air ship having a plurality of propellers and a plurality of motors, all of which are so interconnected that all the propellers will keep operating providing at least one of the motors continues to function.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved air ship having a cylinder or 'tube extending therethrough and having one of the propellers forcing a constant stream of air through said cylinder or tube.

Still a further object of this invention is to providean improved airship having an increased carrying capacity both for passengers and for fuel.

Still a further object of this invention is 'to .20 provide an improved air ship having tail landing wheels which are provided with rudder surfaces, which rudder surfaces are connected to the rudder. of the ship so as to act simultaneously thererudder operwith whereby the operation of the as the rear .25 ates the rudder surfaces as well wheels. I

Yet an additional object of this invention is to provide an improved air ship having a cylinder or tube extending .30 ing a longitudinal controlling fin extending through said cylinder or tube.

Yet a further object of this invention is to provide an improved air ship having a tube provided with a plurality of rigid fins extending 1' through said tube to prevent the air stream from rotating through said tu Still a further object of this provide a cylinder or tube whose ends or mouth is always open so as to freely permit the force of the air passing there'through. g

Still an additional object of this invention is to provide an air ship having the main rudder and the elevator operating in the stream passing through the tube.

Still a further object 'ofthis invention is to provide an air ship having a; pair of stub wings having a somewhat pointed leading edge and having the propeller shaft projecting through the apex of said leading edge with the blades 5b bent backwardlyat an angle corresponding to the angle of the leading edge.

A further object of this invention isto' pro- .vlde an improved air ship having a cylindrical tube extending. therethrough and a propeller opl6 crating forwardly and centrally of. said tube,

therethrough and havinvention is to the tips of the propeller blades being bent backwardly toward the tube and out of the plane at right angles to the propeller shaft.

Yet an additional object of this invention is to provide an improved air ship having the above 00 objects, which air ship is preferably of the heavier than air variety, but which may obviously also be of the lighter than air variety.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, as will hereinafter become apparent, this 'invention comprises the constructions, combinations and arrangements ofparts, hereinafter set forth, disclosed and shown on the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, Figure 1 is-a' side elevation of the air ship, Figure2 is a top plan view of the air ship showing three propellers operated by two motors, Figure 3 is a front view of the air ship showing clearly the arrangement of the propellers and center hollow tube,

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the rear controls of the air ship, I Figure 5 is an enlarged elevational view of the rear wheels and lower portion of the rudder showing the said wheels connected to the rudder by means of a tie rod,

Figure 6 is an elevational view of the top portion of the hollow tube showing a controlling fin therein,

Figure '1 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-! of Figure 4,

Figure 8 is a diagrammatic view showing the three propellers operated by two motors,

Figure 9 is a front elevation of one of the propellers,

Figure 10 is a side elevation of the same, and Figure 11 is a'sectional view-taken on line 11-11 of Figure 8 showing meanspermitting the center shaft to revolve when either motor is dead, whereby the other. motor may still operate the propellers.- v

There is shown at 15 the air ship constituting this invention. This air ship does not have a fuselage in the conventional sense of the term, but instead is provided with a pair ofcabins 16 separated from and secured to each other through the medium of a cylinder or tube 1'1.

As will be observed, the cylinder 1'1 is provided with a 'mouth as at 18 being at the entrance end of the tube, while the cabins merge as 106 at 19 toward the front tip of the cylinder.

As will be observed in Figure 1, the bottoms 20 of the cabins 16 provide air supporting surfaces. Depending from the bottoms 20 of the cabins are a pair. of front landin wheels 21 conventionally shown, which may be of the usual shock absorbing construction. A pair of rear wheels 22 are also provided, the wheels 22 being mounted on the bifurcated lower ends 23 of rudder surfaces 24, which are hinged as at 25 to vertical fixed members 26 depending from the rear of the bottom of the cabins adjacent each side of the cylinder 17.

The rudder surfaces 24 are connected to each other and to a main rudder 27 by means of connecting rod 28 provided with universal joints 29 permitting simultaneous action. The rudder 27 it will be observed is hinged at 28 to the stabilizer 26 placed in the rear end of the cylinder or tube 17. As will be obvious operation of the rudder 27 in the conventional manner also serves to simultaneously steer the rudder surfaces 24 and the rear Wheels 22 thus providing additional control in the air as well as positive control on the ground. Similarly, the elevator 30 is hinged as at 31 to a stabilizer 32, which stabilizer 32 it will be observed extends horizontally across the rear of the cylinder or tube 17.

Stub wings 33 are provided on each side of the cabin 16, the leading edge of the stub wings 33 being somewhat V-shaped as at 34. A propeller shaft 35 is mounted to project through the apex of the V leading edge 34 and a propeller 36 is mounted on this shaft.

As will be observed, particularly from Figures 9 and 10, the blades 37 of the propeller 36 are bent backwardly as at 38 causing the ends 39 of the blade to be closer to the leading edge 34 than they would if the conventional blade were used. The propellers 36 used on the stub wings 33 are preferably two-bladed affairs, but a fourbladed propeller 40 is preferably provided for the cylinder or tube 17. The edges 41 of the blades .42 of propeller 40 are bent backward in a similar manner to that of the other propeller, thereby tending to draw more air into the mouth 18 of the cylinder 17 and thus increase the efficiency. It will be noted that the propeller 40 is so bent and constructed as to produce an air stream of the same diameter as that of cylinder 17. The shaft 43 of the propeller 40 extends into the tube or cylinder 17 where it is jointed as by bevel gears 44 to a transverse shaft 45. The shafts 35 of propeller 36 are similarly connected to the said transverse shaft 45 by means of the bevel gears 46. A plurality of motors 47 are mounted along the shaft 45, in this instance two motors being shown, although it will be obvious that a greater number may be provided. Each of these motors is so connected to the shaft 45 that the operation of the motor will cause rotation-of the shaft, but that the failure of the motor to operate will not cause the shaft to stop. This is schematically shown in Figure 11, wherein the shaft 45 LS provided with a collar 48 having a plurality of recesses in its periphery as at 49 into which hinged pawls may project from the motor fly wheel 50 of the motor 47. With this construction or any equivalent construction, the motors 47 may operate independently of each other causing the power to flow through the shaft 45 to each of the three propellers, while the failure of any one motor of the plurality of motors provided will not interfere with the rotation of all the three propellers so long as one or more of the remaining motors continues to operate.

To assist in maintaining the airship on an even keel the cylinder-tube 17 is provided with a plurality of rigid internal fins 51 about the internal periphery thereof and a flexible controllable fin 52 which is controlled by the pilot in the same manner as the rudder and elevators. The rigid fins 51 tend to keep the air ship flying along at the desired angle of stability, but in case of a side flip the flexible control 52 enables the pilot to bring the ship back to the horizontal position.

The cabins 16 are each provided with a plurality of windows 53 on the front, side and back thereof, .and a door 54 with window 54a on the outer side thereof. A trap door 55 is provided in the top of each cabin 16 and a guide rail 56 leads from one trap door to the other over the top of the tube or cylinder 17 enabling the pilot and mechanics to go from one cabin to the other while in flight or to secure access to the motors outside of the cabins for adjustments if necessary.

As will be obvious, this guide rail 56 may also act as a fixed aerial for the conventional radio on board the ship. In addition to the usual fuel compartments that may be provided or in lieu thereof the space in the cabin 16 closely adjacent the bottom and top of the tube 17 shown at 57 and 58 may be used for fuel tanks as well as luggage or freight compartments.

The novel features and the operation of this device will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail, it is obvious that this is not to be considered limited to the exact form disclosed, and that changes may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention. 7

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of thisinvention, what is claimed is:

1. An air ship comprising a pair of cabins, a

cylindrical tube uniting said cabins into a fuselage, a stabilizing stub wing projecting from opposite sides of the pair of cabins, and a plurality of stabilizing fins extending longitudinally the full length of said cylindrical tube.

2. An air ship comprising a pair of cabins, a

cylindrical tubeuniting said cabins into a fuselage, a stabilizing stub wing projecting from opposite sides of the pair of cabins, and a control fin extending longitudinally the full length of said cylindrical tube.

, 3. An air ship comprising a pair of cabins, a cylindrical tube uniting said cabins into a fuselage, and a stabilizing stub wing projecting from opposite sides of the pair of cabins, the leading edge of each of said stub wings being V-shaped in' gtop plan view.

4. An air ship comprising a pair of cabins, a cylindrical tube uniting said cabins into a fuselage, a stabilizing stub wing projecting from opposite sides of the pair of cabins, the leading edge of each of said stub wings being V-shaped in top plan view, a propeller shaft mounted in eachstub wing and projecting through the apex of the V, and a propeller on each propeller shaft, the blades of said propeller being bent backwardly to more closely approach said leading edge of said V-shaped wing.

5. In an air ship comprising a pair of cabins, a cylindrical tube uniting said cabins into a fuselage, a mouth on said cylindrical tube and a stabilizing stub wing projecting from opposite sides of the pair of cabins; a propeller shaft in said cylindrical tube, and a propeller extending beyond said mouth of said cylindrical tube, the tips of the propeller blades being bent backwardly to more closely approach said tube mouth and force a greater quantity of air through said tube.

LUIGI PANDOLFI.

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