EP1 591 356B1
3
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sociated inflatable container therein, and associatedmeans for expanding the gas and transferring it from thereceiver into the inflatable container so as to increasethe lift; and at least one opening in said shell for allowingair to pass into and out of each variable displacementcompartment.
[0019]
Embodiments of the present invention will nowbe described with reference to the accompanying draw-ings, in which:
Figures 1 and 2 show two conditions of a heliumballoon;Figure 3 is a sectional elevation of an airship; andFigure 4 is a sectional elevation of a diaphragmpump.
[0020]
Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a Helium balloonhas an outer balloon envelope 1 and an inflatable receiver2. A valve station 3 and a compressor 4 are suspendedunderneath the balloon envelope 1. By the use of thecompressor 4, the lift gas can be transferred from theballoon envelope 1 into the receiver 2. The receiver 2could be an inflatable inner balloon (as shown in Figures1 and 2) that requires pressure to inflate, or a fixed di-mension receptacle (not shown).
One arrangement is to have the outer balloon envelope1 manufactured from a suitable material that needs verylittle pressure to inflate it, with the receiver 2 as a secondballoon either inside or outside the balloon envelope 1,but for this illustration will be described as inside. Thereceiver balloon 2 would be smaller and manufacturedfrom a material that would stretch upon inflation andwould require pressure to inflate it so as to reduce thevolume of the inflating gas. The receiver balloon 2 wouldbe directly coupled to the outer balloon 1 via the valvestation 3 and compressor 4 so as to complete a closedloop system.
[0021]
For pressure regulation, for example in re-sponse to the heating of the outer balloon 1 contents bythe sun or air temperature, this can be controlled by thetransfer of the lift gas from the outer envelope 1 to theinner balloon 2 or vice versa by the compressor 4 andvalves 3.
[0022]
The compressor 4 could be driven directly, ei-ther by an engine, or an electric motor powered from anengine driven electric generator or battery or both Thecontrol of the transfer of the lift gas could be manual orby programmable controller via a key-
pad or other sys-tem.
[0023]
The condition of the balloon shown in Figure 1provides a reduced lift. Part of the lift gas has been trans-ferred from the balloon envelope 1 into the receiver 2 andis held under pressure reducing the displaced volume ofthe balloon envelope 1. The condition shown in Figure 2provides maximum lift. The lift gas has been transferredfrom the receiver 2 into the balloon envelope 1. On trans-fer the compression is removed and the gas expands togive the balloon envelope 1 a much larger displacementand therefore more lift.
[0024]
By control of the amount of transfer the lift maybe varied to suit the requirements of the operator. Thisprinciple of the invention could be used as a single unitin a balloon (as shown in Figures 1 and 2) or as multipleunits in compartments of a multi compartment air ship(as will be described in more detail below).
[0025]
Referring to Figure 3, a rigid body airship 10,has a metal body shell 12 formed of aluminium or light-weight alloy. A load-
bearing hold 14 is suspended un-derneath the body shell 12.
[0026]
C1, C2, C3 are fixed displacement compart-ments containing a lighter-
than-
air gas such as Helium,giving a combined lift just under the total weight of theairship 10. R1, R2, R3, R4 are rear variable displacementcompartments. Inside each of the variable displacementcompartments R1, R2, R3 and R4 is an inflatable. R1X,R2X, R3X, R4X are rear receivers with associated com-pressors. F1, F2, F3, F4 are front variable displacementcompartments, each with an inflatables, and F1X, F2X,F3X, F4X are the receivers with associated compressors.
[0027]
Each of the variable displacement compart-ments R1, R2, R3, R4, F1, F2, F3, F4 is provided with avent opening (not shown) through the shell 12 to allowair displaced from compartment to escape to the sur-roundings when the inflatable is inflated, and to allow airfrom the surroundings to enter the compartment whenthe inflatable is deflated. The vent openings are prefer-ably sited on the underside of the shell 12 because anyHelium escaping from an inflatable, being lighter than air,will rise towards the top of the compartment.
[0028]
The fixed displacements C1 and C3 are provid-ed to give sufficient lift to support the structure at eachend of the airship 10 to prevent cantilever loads to thestructure when the lift in the variable compartment is re-duced or removed.
[0029]
Helium gives a lift of 1 kilogram per cubic metre.Therefore, by mathematical calculation of the volume ofcompartments C1, C2, C3 with regard to the overallweight of the airship, a suitable ship can be constructed.Compartments F1, F2, F3, F4 and R1, R2, R3, R4 givefinal lift to include passengers and cargo.
[0030]
In the arrangement shown in Figure 3, the fixedcompartments C1, C2, C3 would have a lift force of anamount slightly lower than the weight of the airship 10,thus keeping the airship 10 firmly on the ground whenbeing loaded or out of use. The variable compartmentsF1, F2, F3, F4, R1, R2, R3, R4 would have compressedHelium (or other inert lighter than air gas) stored in thereceivers F1X, F2X, F3X, F4X, R1X, R2X, R3X, R4X.Each variable compartment F1, F2, F3, F4, R1, R2, R3,R4 has an inflatable fitted inside. Through the use of suit-able valves the Helium (or other lighter than air gas)would, in a controlled way, be transferred from a receiver(for example R1X) to the associated inflatable. As infla-tion takes place this would displace the air in that variable3 4
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