US1004662A - Airship. - Google Patents

Description

- 01. A. KUENZEL.

AIRSHIP. I APPLIUATION FILED APR.21,19101 Patented 0013,1911.

5 SHEETS-$31231 1.

WITNESSES 1%? (1. A. 'KUENZEL AIRSHIP. APPLICATION IILBI) APB.21,1910.

4 Patented Oct. 3, 1911.

6 BEEETS-SHEET 3.

G. A. KUENZEL AIRSHIP.

APPLICATION .IILBD APR. 21,1910. 1,004,662; 7 Patented 0ct.3, 1911.

6 SHEETBSHEET 4.

0.11. KUENZEL.

. AIRSHIP. I APPLICATION FILED APRfZl, 1910.

1,04 6%, Patented 0013,1911.

- ES PATENT. OFFICE.

1&94562 Specification of {Letters Patent. Patented 1 ,13, 1911, p *Applieation filed April 21, 1910. Serial No. 556,798.

c "To all whom it may concern: with the main balloon in the middle and one ..Be it known that I, CHARLES A. KUENZEL, auxiliary' balloon in front and the other to 'awcitizen-of the United States, residing at the rear of the main balloon. Metallic Buena Vista, in' the county of Chalice, State bands 5'encircle the balloons at the poinls of 60 5 of Colorado, have invented a new and use- :their greatest diameter, and thebands of the ful Airship, of which the following is a auxiliary balloons are secured at their outer specification. sides to the ends of a curved yoke 6, gen y invention consists of a dirigible balerally conforming to the outlines of the tops loon or air-ship constructed to be capable of .of the balloons,'and the central arch of the 5 10 movement in the air and on water. yoke has its ends secured to the opposite It furtherconsists'in improved construcpoints of the band of the main balloon. tibia and arrangement of the supporting bal-, Upon reference to Fig. 1 it will be noted loens.

thatthe band 5 has attached thereto in any it also consists of 'improved means for suitable manner at diametrically opposed-7o controlling" the elevation or depression of the ipoints rings or eyes 5 to which the central air-ship. p k :arch of the yoke 6 is attached by suitable 2 It further consists of improved means for means as bolts 6, provided upon their outer propelling the ship'.. ends with nuts 6". By this ineans the large It also consists-of improved means for. and auxiliary balloons are retained in tan- 0 steering and directing the ship while in dem' yet provision is made for any necessary motion; y movement of the parts relatively, to each It furthermore consists of additional other to prevent twisting or bending or dismeagds fer'controlling the direction of travel tortion to such extent as to injure thebalof the ship. I ;loons or their connections. It is tobenot'ed 25 It also consists of improved details of that this connection between the central arch i construction and arrangement of the several of the" yoke and the band 5 of the fcentral instrumentalities for propelling and controlballoon 2 is in addition to and independent ling the ship. of the straps 7 now to be described, said c011- For the purpose of explaining the invennection being somewhat flexible and yielding 3Q tion, the accompanying drawings "illustrate jso as to avoid dead strain on the band of the a satisfactory reduction ofthe same to, prac- {central bag should the side bags tend to turn tice, but the important instrum'entalities' or twist'the yokes 6 as they are subjected to thereof may be -varied, and so it is to be currents of air independent of the central understood-that the invention is not limited bag. Q l 35 to the specific arrangement and organiza- Straps 7 are seouredat their lower'endstion fshown and described to the/inner sides of the bands o f -'the aux- Q' Figure 1- represents a side elevation of my iliary "balloons and at their upper-lends to improved'air-ship. Fig. 2 represents a 1011- the band of the main balloon and to the yoke g 'itudinal vertical section of the bull or body forming links, so that the tandem ali'nement 9. 4o of theair-ship. F 3 represents a lon iof the balloons is thus maintained by the tudinal horizontal sectionof the hull. Fig. yoke and the bands! Bolts 8 are secured in a rcpresentsa top plan view of the deck of the yoke and into the tops of the balloons thefihi'ill' 'with parts of the deck broken away and have ropes 9 attached to them which pass and removed. Fig. 5 represents a vertical axially thrt-ugh the three balloons and have 45 section of one of the propelling wheels. their lower ends secured to bolts 10, in the Fig. 6 represents a side view of the stern lower ends of the same, suitable reinforcerudder. Fig. 7 represents a transverse verment belng provided at-the polnts of attachtical section of the same. ment of the bolts to form tight joints and to Similar numerals of reference indicate firmly secure the balloons upon the bolts. 50 corresponding parts in the figures. The lower bolts are secured to the tops of Referring to the drawingszl designates arched frames 11, the ends of which are sea boatishaped bull or body which is supcured to an oblong frame 12, fr0m.which three preferably pear-shaped balthe hull or body is supported by suitable 'i-toons or properly gas bags, one large main rods 13, ropes or similar suspension means. w inlloon :2 and two. auxiliary balloons 3 aid Relief valves 14" are provided in the domed 4,crfsuitablematerial andarranged'tandem tops of the-balloons t'oadl'n'it of the 'ga's is tubes connected to them for charging the auxiliary balloons with gas. At or about at a level with these charging couplings are connected two pipes 19 to opposite sides of the main balloon and to the inner sides of the auxiliary balloons, whichpipes have suitably controlled valves 20, one at each end, and the interiors of the main balloon and auxiliary balloons are thus connected, so that gas charged into the latter may flow into the former and the gas pressure in all three balloons will be equalized.

The hull or body of the air-ship is preferably built on the lines of the' hull of a vessel, so as to be able to float and be propelled on water, and said hull has a deck 21, surrounded by a rail 22 supported by stanchions 23, 'from-which deck the Various c0ntrolling and directing means are preferably operated.

Below the deck the hull is preferably partitioned into berth cabin 24, and mess and engine room 25, crime more or less extensive subdivisions according to the capacity of the hull or the requirements for the ship. An engine 26,,preferably. of the internal combustion type andemploying liquid fuel, such as gasolene, is mounted in the engine rooms and connected to drive a crank-shaft 27, transversely journaled' upon the bed frame of the engine. The crank-shaft has a fly-wheel 28 and suitable connections to pumps and valve mechanism of the engine, all of which form no specific part of my present invention. I

The crank-shaft has two cog-wheels 29 which mesh with cog-wheels 30, loose upon two transverse and alined shafts3l, the

their outer ends and to one brace-ring of the;

outer ends of which project through and are journaled in the sides of the hull and have cogrwheels 32 secured upon their outer ends. Suitable clutches'33 actuated by levers 34 or similar means, slide upon .and revolve with these shaft-sections 31, and engage corresponding clutch-portions upon the loose cog-wheel's 30, so that said shaft-sections maybe individually or jointly revolved from theengine-shaft. One of theloose cog-wheels has a bevel gear-wheel 35, secured to its inner side, and said gearrmay mesh with bevel gears 36 and 37, respectively, sliding upon and revolving with the inner ends. of two axially alined vertical shafts 38 and 39, journaled in suitable bearings and respectively projecting through the deck and the keel of the hull and respectively carrying upon their outerv ends propellers or helicopters 4:0 and 41, one a distance above the deck and-the other below the keel.

A curved guard 42. is secured to the keel to protect the lower helicopter from injury in landing the air-ship upon the ground, or when getting in shoal water when the ship is floated in water. The bevel gears of the helicopter shafts are moved into and out of engagement with the driving gear by siiit able levers 43 and 4 or other suitable means. y

Two. propelling or paddle-wheels 4t5 are journaled upon the ends of a transverse stationary shaft 46, or upon two stationary stub-shafts, and each of said wheels has two hub sections 47, revolving upon the shaftends and'each having radiating spokes .48, to the middle of which are secured bracerings 49, and to the ends of which .are secured rims 50. The two sections of each wheel are spaced apart and secured together by spacing bolts 51, having their ends.secured 'inthe brace-rings and in the rims. A cog-wheel 52 is secured upon the inner side of each wheel and meshes with the cog-wheel 32 upon the driven shaft-section 31, so that the paddle wheels may be revolved from said shaft-sections. r

A- cam 53 is secured upon the wheel-shaft between the inner ends of the hub-sections and has -a bulge 54 extending over about one third of the periphery of the cam and' about two thirds of the periphery concentric with the shaft, Blades or vanes 55 are pivoted at the middles of their side-edges bethe present case between four pairs of spokes, and said vanes have ears 56, to which ears 57, upon radially movable bars or rods 58 are pivoted, so that the vanes may be tilted to stand at right angles to their pair of supporting spokes when the bar is tween pairs of the spokes of the wheel, in

moved inward and in, a plane with said spokes when the bar is moved outward.

Springs 59 are secured to the bars near.

wheelto draw the bars radially inward, and rollers 60, are journaled in'the inner ends of the bars and bear against the periphery of the cam, the bulge of which acts upon the rollers and bars against the inward pull'of the springs. The cam is so adjusted upon faces in this position until they have passed secured to its lower end piece." Vanes 66 are pivoted at the of the hull in the usual or any preferred manner, upon pintles 62 and 'said rudder consists gt a' rectangular frame 63, having a yoke 64; transversely secured to its upper end-piece and a smaller yoke 65 transversely middles of their Sideedges in the vertical side-pieces of the rudder-frame, in the same manner as the vanes of the propeller wheels, and these vanes have ears 67, to which ears 68, upon a bar 69, are pivotally connected, so that the vanes lnay'ioe set vertically or horizontally by moving the bar down or up.

A spring 70 has one end secured to the bar and the other end to the upper yoke, to

' upper yoke, down and 40 normally draw thebar upward to tilt the vanesinto horizontal position at right angles to the plane of the rudder. The rudder is actuated by means of two tiller cords or ropes 71, suitably disposed of in 'the hull or upon the deck of the same, and passing down through openings in the ends of the through openings in the ends ofthe lower yoke and again up through an opening 72 in the yoke, whence they pass to an eye 73' or other fastening means, upon the bar, to which theirends are secured.

It will thus be clear that a pullupon either of the tiller ropes will pull the bar down and vertically tilt the vanes, so that the rudder will offer a solid surface to the medium through which the hull travels Whenever it is swung to either side to guide the hull, while the vanes will resume their horizontal position and offer no resistance iii their edgewise movement through the air or water when'the pull upon the tiller rope or ropes is released.

For the purpose of'insuring perfect horizontal steerage of the ship and particularly when the latter is propelled through the air, one or more steering sails or planes 7% are vertically pivoted on each side of the hull and preferably at or near the'bow. planes have pintles 7 5 which are pivoted in brackets 7 6 upon the sides of the hull. lVhile the planes may be formed from integral boards or plates, the planes here disclosed vanes of the ropelling.

Said.

are constructed with rectangular frames 77 same with their outer ends and slide in guides 81, on the deck of the hull, clamping screws 82 or similar locking means being provided for securing the rods and maintaining the planes in their adjusted position. It will be evident-that when one or more of the planes are swung outward on one side of the hull, the. resistance from the same will direct the air-ship toward that side.

In practice, the inflating gas for the balloons is admitted to the auxiliary balloons through the valves 17, {and thence the gas flows through the connecting pipes into the main balloon, so that the gas-pressure within all of the balloons is equalized. The capacity of the balloons is adjusted to their required lifting capacity. I provide the horizontal propellers or helicopters above and below the hull, so that by revolving the upper helicopter, the lifting power of the balloons will be assisted'without discharge of ballast from the ship, and by revolving the lower helicopter the ship may be lowered againstthe lifting power of the balloons without discharging and Ifwasting gas from the balloons. The feathering propelling wheels or paddle Wheels will propel the ship through the air when raised by the balloons, and through water, when the hull is floating upon water, and the vanes in said wheel will only meet with resistance of the supporting medium at the points where they will elfect propulsion, being feathered and only presenting their edges during the remainder of their revolution.

The feathering vanes of the rudder admit of the same returning from any operative position to which it has been moved by pulling upon a tiller rope, without resistance .to such return, as the vanes in the rudder only present their edges in such return movement. Absolute promptness and certainty of steerage' are attained by the steering planes on the sides of the hull. All cont-rolling devices for .the propelling vertical adjustment and horizontal steel-age of the ship are within convenient access on deck and in the engine room, so that the ship may be manipulated by a minimum of crew.-

The ship is capable of use and propulsion in the air and on water, and the same propelling and steering means employed for aerial navigation perform the same function on the water. I

As each propeller wheel has an independ-- ent and controllable connection, by means of the clutches and their levers, in the present instance, horizontal steering of the ship may also be performed by individual manipulationof such Wheels, and the ship may be turned on a comparatively short radius curve by revolving one Wheel and either stopping or backing the other.

Tanks or receptacles for oxygen'for use in high altitudes, fuel for the engine, and other supplies may be suitably disposed in the hull.

By preference all parts of the ship and engine are made of aluminum, to insure the least possible Weight of the ship and consequent greatest possible carrying capacity proportionate to the cubic dimensions and capacity of the gas bags or balloons.

vHaving thus described my invention, what,

I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is y 1. In an airship, a plurality of gas bags arranged side by side, a yoke above said bags, bands adapted to encircle said bags, means for securing said bags with said yoke at the top of each bag and at the terminals of said yoke, straps connected with the bands of the outside bags and extending upward to the band of the intermediate bag, and means yieldingly and firmly connecting the band of the intermediate bag Within the sides of said yoke.

2. In an airship, a large main balloon, two smaller auxiliary balloons arranged at opposite sides of said main balloon, bands around said balloons, a yoke attached to the tops of said balloons, and having itsends secured to the outer sides of the bands of the auxiliary balloons, bolts on said yoke and rings on the band of the main balloon, said rings being connected with said bolts forming a flexible but firm connection for the band of the central balloon With the side of said yoke.

CHARLES A. KUENZEL.

lVitnesses: WM. H. HEOKLER,

CHAs. HERRLE.

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