IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVIGABLE BALLOONS
Year: 1884

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert and Company, Patent Agents,
of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the
nature of said Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVIGABLE BALLOONS, to be as
follows:
This invention relates to navigable balloons and has for its object the easy
steering of such balloons by changing the position of screws.
For this purpose a light frame work is secured to the underside of the balloon
proper, which frame work carries three adjustable horizontal screw-shafts, two of
the shafts being normally in the same line, right and left of the centre, while the
third screw shaft is in the centre and normally at a right angle to the others.
Each shaft is pivoted at or near the centre, and supported at or near each end in
a movable bearing adapted to slide on a rail or guide forming the arc of a circle,
so as to turn the shaft on its pivot and change its angle to the other shafts.
The steering of each screw shaft is effected by means of cords attached at one
end to the movable bearings and at the other end to a drum the turning of which
causes the cords to be wound on or off, thereby moving the bearings either to the
right or to the left of their normal position.
The two steering drums are preferably mounted on the same vertical shaft near
the centre and may be turned together or separately.
The screw shafts may be set in motion from a horizontal crank-shaft situated
below the screw shafts and driving a vertical shaft by means of a pair of bevel
wheels, said vertical shaft being situated in the centre of the frame (or in the
vertical axis of the balloon) and guided at the top in a bearing adapted to turn on
the same,vertical axis as the shaft.
•
The latter drives the third screw shaft (that which is perpendicular to the others)
by a pair of bevel wheels. Each of the two first (or right and left) screw shafts is
set in motion from the crank shaft by a pair of oblique shafts, the lower one of
which is driven from the crank shaft by a pair of bevel wheels and drives the
LDS21

page_text: upper oblique shaft by a universal coupling, while the upper shaft receiving motion
from the said coupling drives the screw-shaft by a pair of bevel wheels.
The universal coupling or the lower shaft is guided by a bracket adapted to run
with rollers on a rail curved concentrically to the crank shaft.
Another way of driving the two first screw shafts is to mount a vertical shaft
above each pivot of the screw shaft and drive the said vertical shafts from the top
by a pair of bevel wheels and a horizontal shaft, the latter receiving its motion
from the central vertical shaft which is driven at the lower end from the crank
shaft by a pair of bevel wheels.

page_text: .
I, HERBERT JOHN HADDAN, of the firm of Herbert and Company, Patent
Agents, of 67, Strand, in the city of Westminster, Civil Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN NAVIGABLE BALLOONS,"
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates more particularly to the means of propelling and steering
Balloons.
In the accompanying drawings, Fig 1 is an elevation, and Fig 2 & plan of a
propelling and steering apparatus embodying the invention, while Figs 3 to 12
show details and modifications.
From the oblong balloon B are suspended by means of a system of straps the
longitudinal main beams A A¹ connected with each other by stays and serving to
support the machinery and the gondola or car.
Right and left of the car and parallel with the beams A. A' are suspended tho
shafts W W¹ provided with screw propellers S¹, and S2, S3, and S.
Rectangularly to the beams A and A' (Fig 2) and fixed to the same is a cross
beam D carrying the circularly curved tracks and G₁ wliich again support the
bearings of the screw shaft W
The shafts W, W₁ are supported partly by the bearings 11, 12, 13, 14, adapted to
slide on the curved tracks G-
G, and partly by the central bearings L
and I, pivoted to the cross beams R and R¹.
The shafts are steered from the inner bearings 12 and provided with lateral
eyelets 1, 2, 3, 4 (see Fig 3) for attaching the ropes C¹ C', serving to set
the said bearings in motion and retain them in the desired position. The opposite
ends of the ropes are attached to the drum T at the points 11, 21, 31, 41.
By turning the drum in the direction of the arrow E, the ropes C₁ and Care
wound on, while the ropes C and C are wound off: Consequently, the bearings
and l³ are shifted in the direction of the arrow J, and the shafts W and W¹ turned
on the pivotal bearings L and L'.
The shaft W is supported in the centre by the pivotal bearing L³, and at the
ends by the bearings and adapted to slide on the tracks G and G. The latter
bearings have eyelets 5, 6, 7 and 8, as shown by Fig 4, for attaching ropes J, Jo, J7.
and Js, the opposite ends of which are attached to the drum U at the points 51, 61,
71, 81. By turning the drum U in the direction of the arrow H, the shaft W is
shifted in the direction of the arrows M and M¹, the ropes Jo and J' being wound
on the drum U; and simultaneously the ropes J and Ja wound off. By turning
the drum U in the direction of the arrow K, the shaft W is pivoted with its
central bearing in the direction of the arrows N and N¹.
The two drums T and U are mounted on the same shaft, as shown in Fig 1,
but coupled with the same in such a manner, that each drum may be turned
independently of the other.
The crank shaft V (Fig 1) is set in motion by any suitable engine or by hand,
and transmits its motion to the shaft W' by means of the bevel wheels a and b, the
shaft E (see Figs 1 and 5) and the bevel wheels c, d, the shaft E being held at its
upper end in a pivotal bearing. L' which also forms a bearing for the shaft W' and
is secured to the beam D by a pivot the axis of which coincides with that of the
shaft E
1.40:
ALM
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page_text: the end bearings of the shaft W' are shifted horizontally along their curved
track, the bearing L' is turned, and the wheel & rolls on the wheel c.
Fig 6 illustrates the method of driving the screw shafts W and W¹ from the
crank shaft V. The shaft V sets in motion a pair of bevel wheels e and f, the latter
being mounted on the shaft g connected with the shaft h by a universal coupling o.
The shaft h drives the propeller shafts W or W1 by means of a pair of bevel
wheels i, k. The lower end of the shaft g is supported by a step bearing r, forming
also a bearing for the horizontal shaft V and being adapted to pivot on the same.
To prevent the shaft g from leaving the bearing r, that part which enters the said
bearing has an annular groove y turned on, (as shown in Fig 7) through which
pass a pair of pins and driven into the bearing r, as shown by Figs 7 and 8.
In the same manner as the shaft g is connected with shaft V, the shaft h is also
connected with shaft W. Consequently, the shaft W, may be shifted with its
bearing along the track or slide G to the right or left, until the axes of the shafts g
and h form one straight line. The upper extremity of the shaft g is held in a
bearing provided with rollers m and n, adapted to run along a T shaped rail or
track p forming a circular arc with the shaft as a centre, and fixed to an angle
iron g, which is secured to the frame carrying the car.
The rollers m and n are grooved, in order to prevent a deviation of the shaft g
perpendicularly to the plane of the track p.
Fig. 9 shows in detail the pivotal bearing L or L'. The base-plate B attached to
the cross beams R and R¹ (Figs 1 and 2) carries the pivot C of the forked bearing F¹.
A pair of collars p¹ and prevent the shaft W from being longitudinally shifted in
the bearing F¹.
The rising and falling of the vessel or balloon is effected by the screws X and Y
shown in Figs 1 and 2.
Fig 10 illustrates a method of transmitting motive power from the main driving
shaft V to the screw shafts by means of bevel wheels r and shaft X¹.
On the shaft X is also mounted the bevel wheel gearing into the wheel w
mounted on the screw shaft W'. Immediately over the wheel is fixed to the
shaft X¹ the small wheel &', gearing into the wheels mounted on the shaft Y¹. The
latter sets in motion the vertical shafts Z, Z1, by means of bevel wheels t, t¹, and
the shafts Z, Z, turn the shafts W and W¹ by means of bevel wheels u and u¹.
The upper ends of the shafts Z, Z¹, are guided in bearings attached to the
longitudinal beams, while the lower ends are held in the covers of the bearings L
and L', which may be turned about the shafts W and W¹.
The steering of the shafts W, W', is effected by the same means, as described
above with reference to Figs 3 and 4, so as to alter their angle with the beams A A¹
as may be desired.
Figs 11 to 13 illustrate a convenient method of securing the vanes of the screw
propeller in their relative position, which consists in connecting them with each
other or with the propeller shaft by wires.
Each of the vanes a, b and c, Fig 11, is attached at the inner end to one of the
arms of a boss or core mounted on the shaft w, while two points of its outer
extremity are held fast by wires, cords or other ties.
As shown in Fig 13, two flat irons are rivetted to opposite sides of each vane,
and to these flat irons are rivetted two eyelets o, o¹.
The corresponding points 1, 2 and 3, of the vanes a, b and o are connected with
each other by three wires 81, 82, 83, so as to form a triangle, while the corresponding
points 4, 5 and 6 of the same vanes are connected with each other by wires 8*,
so as to form a second triangle, as shown in Fig 11.
80, 8
In order to prevent a lateral deflection of the vanes, the shaft w (Fig 12) is
provided with a pair of carriers m and m³, which are connected with the vanes a, b
and c by wires d¹.
The points 1 and 4 of the vane a are joined to the carrier m by wires d' and d³,
and to the carrier m² by wires d', ds. Each of the other vanes 6 and o is also
connected with the carriers m and m¹ by four wires in the same manner,

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is,
In aerial vehicles or vessels:
1. A pair of horizontally adjustable screw shafts W, W₁, for the purpose of
steering the vehicle, substantially as described.
2. The combination of the concentrically curved tracks G³, Gʻ mounted on
beams A, A¹ and D, with screw shaft W2 pivoted in the centre of the track and
provided near its extremities with bearings adapted to slide on the said curved
tracks, for the purpose of setting the screw shaft at any desired angle, substantially
as described.
3. The combination of screw shafts W, W', with pivotal bearings L, L³ for the
centres of the said shafts, and circularly curved tracks or slides adapted to support
the extremities of the shafts, substantially as described.
4. The mechanism for setting in motion the screw shaft W or W₁, comprising the
shaft g and h, bevel wheels e, f, bevel wheels i, k, coupling o, double bearings r,
movable bearing 1, and curved guide p, substantially as described.
-
5. The appliance for simultaneously controlling the angle of the screw shafts W, W₁
and W, consisting of ropes C,. Cand ropes J³ - - - - - J³, connected with
the end bearings of the screw shafts, and rope drums T and U mounted on the same
shaft, substantially as described.
6. The combination of vanes a, b, c, with wires or ties 8¹.
as described.
---8, substantially