Improvements in Air Ships.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Feb., 1899-- Accepted, 20th May, 1899
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Air Ships.
I, HEINRICH SUTER, of Kappel, Canton Zürich, Switzerland, Machinery Agent,
lo hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
tatement:
This invention relates to improvements in air ships consisting chiefly of a
balloon for equalizing the dead weight, from which is suspended a car rendered
movable in any direction required and containing propellors and means for
actuating the same and of a rudder which can be set at will around the vertical
axis of the said car, so that the balloon can be steered in any direction and pro-
pelled without the aid of motor power.
And in order that my invention may be more fully understood I have caused
to be appended hereunto two sheets of drawings marked with letters of reference
indicating like parts in the various figures.
Fig. 1, Sheet I, is an elevation of the balloon and the propelling and steering
mechanism suspended therefrom, Fig. 1 is a front view of the balloon separately.
Figs. 2, 3 & 4 show at an enlarged scale the propelling and steering mechanism
fixed into the car.
Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10, Sheet II, show the construction of the driving, pro-
pelling and steering mechanism at a still larger scale.
The balloon a employed, is preferably cigar shaped and may be formed in com-
partments, its back end, Fig. 1^, being furnished with fins 61, 62, 63 well stayed
and with a tubular rail underneath to which is secured a tubular joint d reaching
into the interior of the balloon and having suspended by means of a tubular ball-
joint the car e rendered movable around its axis.
The continuation d² of the ball-joint is furnished with a flexible tube ³.
The said car is formed of suitable light piping secured together by sockets and
stiffened at the top and bottom by stays which join at e¹, e².
At eis mounted a tubular pillar f suitably stayed by wires and having openings
in which are mounted the chain wheels g¹, g², of which g' is actuated by pedals g³
and transmits rotary motion by means of the chain g to the wheel g².
Upon the shaft of the wheel is secured a bevel wheel h gearing into another
bevel wheel i, the boss of which is formed with another bevel wheel k.
The bevel wheel k is in gear with the bevel wheel which is mounted upon the
same shaft as the bevel wheel m and transmits motion through the latter to the
5 bevel wheel n and also direct to the bevel wheel o.
The shaft n¹ of the bevel wheel n is mounted in the head p formed with a
tubular extension p¹ which forms a support for the said shaft and the boss o¹ of the
bevel wheel o.
The friction between the moving parts described is minimized as much as
O possible by the use of suitable ball bearings as will be readily seen from the
drawings.
The shaft n¹ and the boss o¹ of the bevel wheel o reach from the middle of to

page_text: near the side of the car and carry at their outer ends the propellor wheels q', q³,
and q, q between which are respectively fitted the propellor vanes 1, 2 and,
set at opposite angles to each other.
The head is pivoted to the shank S and the latter adapted to turn in the
pillar f. On the head p are arranged two quadrant like levers t¹, t2 whereby the
head together with the shaft n' and tubular extension o¹ mounted therein and
the propellor wheels q¹, q, q³, gt, secured on the latter can be moved in a vertical
and horizontal plane.
The pillars of the car e are furnished at the top and bottom with pinions u¹-12
adapted to gear into the internally toothed rings v¹, 2 surrounding the car e and
carrying the rudder w.
The pinions & u are secured upon the same shaft and adapted to be rotated
by means of chain gearing and the hand lever r¹.
The hand lever is locked in position to a perforated disc y secured to the
pillar f, by a stud placed under the influence of a spring which enters the
.said disc when releasing the grip on the handle a².
The whole of the propelling and steering mechanism described is manipulated
by the navigator from the saddle z.
After the balloon has been sufficiently filled with gas through the pipe ds, the
navigator sitting on the saddle z, brings the propellors to into an upwardly
inclined position, rotating the same by means of the pedals g³ and the medium of
the chain gearing previously referred to, in the direction corresponding with the
hand of the propellors. The said propellor being driven right and left the air is
compressed by the front propellor against the back propellor and the latter thus
caused to rotate in a denser current of air which renders same more effective and
causes the ship to ascend.
During the ascent the pressure of air upon the back of the balloon a, the surface
of which is increased by the oross fins 6 & 63, causes the back of the balloon to
sink and its point to rise and thus the balloon to ascend in an inclined position.
Having arrived at the desired height the axis of the propellors is brought
into a less inclined position, so that the air ship will move in an inclined plain,
the rudder of the balloon being during all these movements positioned in the rear
of the direction in which the balloon moves.
If it is desired to turn to the right or left the rudder must be moved accordingly
and to shorten the curve of the turn, the axis of the propellors is set to the
side to which it is intended to turn; the air pressure upon the back fin 62 created
thereby, causes the ship to move in the direction corresponding with the said turn.
The side and top fins bring the balloon always into the air current and pre-
senting little resistance the ship is able to move against moderate currents.
When descending, the position of the propellor axis is the same as at the be-
ginning of the ascent but the propellors must be turned in an opposite direction.
In case the driving chain should break, the descent can be accomplished by
reducing the gas pressure and the propellors being suitably braked they then
serve as a parachute as also in case of accidental loss of gas.
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:-
-
1st. An air ship consisting of a balloon which equalizes the dead weight and
from which is suspended a car rendered movable in the direction required and
containing adjustable propellors and means for actuating the same and of a rudder
rendered movable around the vertical centre axis of the car so that the ship can
be steered in any direction, substantially as set forth.
2nd. In an air ship such as specified in Claim 1, a balloon preferably cigar
shaped having top and side fins adapted to retain the ship in the air current or
direction in which it is to move, all substantially as set forth.

page_text: 3rd. In an air ship, such as specified in Claim 1, the balloon specified in
Claim 2, secured to the car by means of a tubular ball-joint whereby communi-
cation is established with the interior of the balloon and the car rendered movable
independent of the balloon, all substantially as set forth.
4th In an air ship such as specified in Claim 1, a car formed of light material
offering little resistance to the air and suspended from the balloon specified in
Claim 2, by means of the ball-joint, specified in Claim 3, all substantially as set
forth.
5th. In an air ship, such as specified in Claim 1, a propelling device rendered
adjustable in any direction required consisting of propellors adapted to rotate
in opposite directions around the same axis and vanes inclined in opposite direc-
tion, the front propellor vanes being adapted to compress the air backwards so
that the rear propellor vanes rotate in denser air and thus are more effective, sub-
stantially as set forth.
6th. In an air ship, such as specified in Claim 1, a mechanism for driving the
propellors specified in Claim 5, without the aid of a motor, consisting of pedals
and chain and bevel wheel gearing which remain always geared up with the
adjustable propellor shaft in any of its positions substantially as set forth.
7th. In an air ship such as specified in the preceding claim, a rudder, fixed to
internally toothed rings gearing into and carried by toothed pinions and rendered
adjustable around the axis of the car by means of an adjustable handle and chain
gearing, substantially as set forth.
Dated this 31st day of Tonuan 1200
F. BOSSHARDT & Co.,
4, Corporation Street, Manchester, Agents to Applicant.