US 4,703,906 A · Airborne craft with an inclinable upper structure

Abstract

In a vehicle or device a fluid motor is employed to drive rotary members, such as wheels, propellers, tracks. The motor is provided with an arrangement which includes a control means and an axially moveable member. By utilizing the control means, for example, by a flow of fluid, the axially moveable member is used to apply an action, which is not common to the usual operation of fluid motors. The arrangement may be used to arrest the rotor of the motor from rotation when no pressure is in the driving fluid line. It may also be used to control the pitch of propellers with variable pitch arrangements. Also possible is to use the arrangement to automatically obtain an auto - rotation of rotor blades on vertical axes of vertically take off and landing vehicles, when the pressure in the fluid line to the motors for driving the motors drops below a predetermined minimum of pressure. The speciality of the preferred embodiment of the invention is to provide an upper structure of an airborne craft with a plurality of propellers with substantially vertical axes to carry pivotable on the mentioned structure a body of the craft below the mentioned structure, while the body contains the cabine and the power plant as well as the fluid flow supply means, the upper structure is pivotable in a limited extend relative to the body and the fluid under pressure is transferred from the fluid flow supply means in the body to the upper structure and to the fluid motors which drive the propellers of the upper structure.

Claims6

Dependent claims

A fluidborne craft, comprising, in combination, a upper portion and a bottom portion witha pivotable movement permitting holding means between said upper and bottom portion,

wherein said upper portion is provided with at least two propellers and said bottom portion is provided with a body, a cabin and a power plant,
wherein a transmission means is provided between said power plant and said propeller,
wherein inclination control means are provided to incline said upper portion relative to said bottom portion,
wherein said upper portion is a fluid pipe structure which carries thereon front and rear fluid motors,
wherein said power plant drives a fluid flows creation means, said transmission means include fluid lines from the outlets of said fluid flow creation means to the inlets of said fluid motors,
wherein flexible fluid line portions are provided between the respective fluid line portions of said upper and bottom portions of said vehicle,
wherein said upper portion is a pipe structure in which said pipes are portions of said fluid lines,
wherein said pipes of said upper structure hold on their outer ends said front and rear motors individually, and;
wherein said pivotal movement permitting holding means includes bearing portions and a shaft therein while said control means is a piston in a fluid cylinder with said piston and cylinder connected to said upper and bottom portions respectively and the length of the stroke of said piston is limited to prevent too stiff an angle of inclination of said upper structure relative to said bottom portion.

6 more elements

A fluidborne craft, comprising, in combination, a upper portion and a bottom portion with a pivotable movement permitting holding means between said upper and bottom portions,

wherein said upper portion is provided with at least four propellers and said bottom portion is provided with a body, a cabin and a power plant,
wherein a transmission means is provided between said power plant and said propeller,
wherein inclination control means are provided to incline said upper portion relative to said bottom portion,
wherein said upper portion is a fluid pipe structure which carries thereon front and rear fluid motors,
wherein said power plant drives a fluid flows creation means, said transmission means include fluid lines from the outlets of said fluid flow creation means to the inlets of said fluid motors,
wherein flexible fluid line portions are provided between the respective fluid line portions of said upper and bottom portions of said vehicle,
wherein said fluid flow producing means supplies four independent flows of fluid which are separately led through four separated fluid lines to four separated motors of said upper portion,
wherein said four motors of said upper portion includes two front motors and two rear motors,
wherein said upper portion is a pipe structure in which said pipes are portions of said fluid lines,
wherein said pipes of said upper structure hold on their outer ends said front and rear motors individually, and;
wherein said pivotal movement permitting holding means includes bearing portions and a shaft therein while said control means is a piston in a fluid cylinder with said piston and cylinder connected to said upper and bottom poritons respectively and the length of the stroke of said piston is limited to prevent too stiff an angle of inclination of said upper structure relative to said bottom portion.

8 more elements

A fluidborne craft, comprising, in combination, a upper portion and a bottom portion with a pivotable movement permitting holding means between said upper and bottom portions,

wherein said upper portion is provided with at least two propellers and said bottom portion is provided with a body, a cabin and a power plant,
wherein a transmission means is provided between said power plant and said propeller,
wherein inclination control means are provided to incline said upper portion relative to said bottom portion,
wherein said upper portion is a fluid pipe structure which carries thereon front and rear fluid motors,
wherein said power plant drives a fluid flows creation means, said transmission means include fluid lines from the outlets of said fluid flow creation means to the inlets of said fluid motors,
wherein flexible fluid line portions are provided between the respective fluid line portions of said upper and bottom portions of said vehicle,
wherein said upper portion is a pipe structure in which said pipes are portions of said fluid lines,
wherein said pipes of said upper structure hold on their outer ends said front and rear motors individually, and;
wherein said pivotal movement permitting holding means includes bearing portions and a shaft therein while said control means is a piston in a fluid cylinder with said piston and cylinder connected to said upper and bottom portions respectively and the length of the stroke of said piston is limited to prevent too stiff an angle of inclination of said upper structure relative to said bottom portion
wherein said pipes include individual delivery fluid lines and individual return fluid lines with said delivery fluid lines permanently and exclusively passing high pressure fluid to said motors while said return fluid lines exclusively and permanently return fluid from said motors at least indirectly to said fluid flow creation means,
wherein said holding means is a pin which is with its axis directed perpendicular to the plane between the axes of said motors borne in bearings on said bottom portion while it extends through at least one bearing on said upper structure, and,
wherein said pin is closely fitted in said bearings to direct said pivotal movement around said axis of said pin and thereby to limit the direction of inclination of said upper structure relative to said bottom portion exclusively in the direction of the fligh path of said fluidborne craft.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Airborne craft with an inclinable upper structure

Life of this patent

Airborne craft with an inclinable upper structure

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims6