US2319967A - Airship - Google Patents

Description

m May 25, 1943. J. A. YAVDYNSKY 2,319,967

AIRSHIP Filed Sept. 6, 1941 INVENTOR. aim/us Ya voy/vs/ry ATTORNEY Patented May 25, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Amsmr Julius A.,Yavdynsky, New York, N. Y.

Application September 6, 1941, Serial No. 409,765

" 2 Claims. (01. 244-4).

My invention relates to airships and has particular reference to airships of a helicopter type.

My invention has for its object to provide an airship in which lifting force is produced by two propellers mounted at the upper and lower ends of a transverse vertical opening in the body of the airship, the propellers driving the air through the opening downwards. The propellers are made to rotate in the opposite directions, thereby balancing the torque reaction on the body. By mount ing the propellers at the ends of the tubular opening, an added advantage is obtained, as compared with ordinary double propellers used in helicopters, in that the propellers supplement each other, operating at their full efliciency.

Another object of my invention is to provide a substantial additional propelling force by so shaping the body around the upper propeller as to cause the airstream from the propeller to produce a zone of vacuum. This is accomplished in my device by extending outer portions of the propeller blades beyond the edges of the opening and deflecting the airstream produced by the outer portions of .the blade in a radial direction over an annular shoulder, vacuum being thereby formed under the shoulder.

Another object of my invention is to provide means to-enable the airship to glide for landin when the propeller is not operating. I provide for this purpose short wings, preferably of a tubular shape, tubular apertures in the'wings having additional propellers for the forward movement of the airship.

The vacuum-producing recess and shoulder on the body under the propeller can be also utilized for the horizontal propulsion and without the central tubular aperture.

My invention is more fully described in the accompanying specification and drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevationapview of my airship;

Fig. 2 is a front view of the same; and

Fig. 3 is a fractional top plan view of the same.

My airship consists of a body or fuselage I having a vertical rudder 2 and horizontal rudders 3. Wheels 4 are provided for taxiing the body over the ground. A round tower 5 is mounted at the middle of the body with a transverse tube forming an opening 6'. A shaft 1 is rotatively supported in the opening on brackets 8, mounting a propeller 9. The latter is of a substantially larger diameter than the diameter of the opening, so that only the middle portion of the propeller drives the air through the opening 6', the outer portions of the propeller blades driving the air over the upper end of the tower 5. The propeller shaft 1 is connected as by bevel gears [0, II with a power shaft l 2 extending from a motor I3. The opening 6 is of a frusto-conical shape, being of a larger diameter at the lower end. A second or pushing propeller I4 is mounted on a lower shaft IS, the latter having a bevel gear IS in mesh with the gear H. The two propellers rotate, therefore, in the opposite directions, so that their torque on the body isfully compensated.

The upper portion of the tower 5 has an annular concave recess I! so arranged that the airstream l8 from the upper propeller 9 is deflected in approximately radial directions, fiowing'over a shoulder IS. The shouldered portion 20 of the tower descends downward at a steep angle, so that vacuum is formed in a space 2! under the airstream. The body under the tower is again widened so that the vacuum in the space 2| causes the air pressure to lift the body.

The tower may be provided with observation windows 22 on all sides, making my aircraft convenient for use as an observation station in the air instead of a captive balloon, for directing and correcting artillery fire, for weather observation, etc.

For horizontal flying my aircraft is provided with additional propellers 23 on shafts 24 supported in tubes 25 at the sides of the body I serving as wings. The tubes are inclined forward and have airfoil surfaces26 on top in order to form vacuum above the tubes during horizontal flight of the machine. The shafts may be driven by the motor l3 by means of sprockets 21, 28 and chains 29. It is understood, of course, that all four propellers may be operated by individual motors if desired. Ailerons 30 of an ordinary type may be provided at the ends of the tubes 25.

The tubular wings have an added advantage in that the craft can be safely guided in a sliding descent if the motor fails to operate.

My aircraft is therefore especially suitable for scoutin duty on land, with a moving army when there are no airdromes available for ordinary airplanes; also for service with warships, since it can take off vertically from a deck of an ordinary ship or from any spot on the ground.

It is understood that for certain purposes the tubular wings may be replaced by solid wings of a narrow wing span and small aspect ratio.

For large transport airplanes,'the tubular wings may be modified so as to provide more room for windows in the fuselage.

It is understood that my airship may be further modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, as set forth in the appended claims.

tially smaller than the propellers so that only the inner portion of the top propeller can force the air stream into the opening, the outer portions of the propeller producing an airst ream flowing downward over the upper portion oi. the body; I

and means on the body to produce vacuum by the flowing airstream.

2. An airship comprising a body having a vertically extending transverse opening converging toward the top, the diameter at the top being substantially smaller than at the bottom, upper and lower propellers of substantially the same diameter rotatively supported alt-the top and bottom openings; means to rotate the propellers in opposite directions, the lower propeller being positioned inside the opening, the top propeller being positioned outside the top opening and at a distance therefrom; the top opening being substantially smaller than the propeller so that only the inner portion of the top propeller can force the airstream into the opening, the middle and outer portion of the upper propeller being adapted to produce a downward flowing airstream, the exposed outer portion ofthe body having an annular shoulder and recess for producing vacuum above the body by the action of the airstream.

JULIUS A. YAVDYNSKY.

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