Patent GB-116301-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Air-craft for Mechanical Flight and Automatic Soaring.
Inventor: PERRY THOMAS OSBORNE
IPC: B64C27/10
Filed: 1916-12-11
Abstract: 116,301. Perry, T. O. Dec. 11, 1916 Aerial machines without aerostats: steering and balancing.-In helicopters having two superposed propellers driven in opposite directions, the pitch of the blades of one propeller may be adjusted in the same sense as that of the blades of the other for varying the lift, or in the opposite sense for causing a rotation of the car and of the forward-propelling means for steering, and the blades of each propeller may be feathered to provide the forward-propelling effort. Fig. 5 shows a machine provided with superposed propellers A, B each comprising two blades carried by arms A<1>, B<1> pivotally mounted at their inner ends in drums D which rotate on a fixed standard C, stays d', d<11> extending from the lower ends of the drums to the arms A<1>, B<1>. Fig. 6 shows the propeller B, the arms B' being fitted with crank-arms B<11> extending in opposite directions. The outer ends of the cranks B<11>, and of corresponding cranks on the propeller A, are connected to links L, Fig. 12, carrying at their lower ends rollers l running in feathering-races W mounted on pivots q<1>, Q<1> carried by pairs of telescoping rods q, Q, Figs. 17 and 18. The rods Q are connected together by plates Q<11> carrying bearings Q<111> for the shaft U<1> of a worm U gearing with sector levers I<1> connected by links i to a rod q<11> connecting the rods q. The races W may be raised or lowered bodily in the same direction to vary the propeller pitches in the same sense, by means of a hand-lever F which slides the shaft U<1> bodily by means of a rod f<1> and lever X connected to the lower end of the shaft U'. The races may be moved bodily in opposite directions to vary the pitches oppositely, by rotation of the worm U by means of bevel-gear s and a hand-wheel S. The feathering of the blades is obtained by inclining the races W about their pivots, as shown in Fig. 12, by means of connexions W<11> sliding in blocks J carried by parallel links j, j<11>, the former of which has an arm j<1> connected by a rod t' to a hand-lever T, the arrangement being such that the upper and lower sets of wings attain their maximum pitch at opposite sides of the machine so as to give a forward propulsion. When the motor stops, the propeller blades serve as supporting-planes, and may be rotated by means of the starting handlever of the motor, until parallel to each other and at right-angles to the direction of fight, for volplaning. A rudder V, Fig. 5, is carried by an arm V<1> pivoted on the axis of a castor wheel p. Propelling.-The motor M, Fig. 11, drives a pinion M<1> which drives shafts N' in the same direction through gear-wheels m, and shafts O<1> in the opposite direction to the shafts N<1> by means of gearing N, O. The shafts N<1>, O<1> carry at their upper ends pinions engaging internal gearing at the lower ends of the drums D. A hand-crank and pinion provided for starting the motor may be used to rotate the propellers by hand. Cars; land wheels.-The car P of circular form surrounds a central housing for the motor, and is fitted with two wheels p<1> and a single castor wheel p.