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Patent 2557771 Summary

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(12) Patent Application: (11) CA 2557771
(54) English Title: HYBRID AIRSHIP
(54) French Title: DIRIGEABLE HYBRIDE
Status: Dead
Bibliographic Data
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC):
  • B64C 37/00 (2006.01)
  • B64B 1/06 (2006.01)
  • B64C 25/56 (2006.01)
  • B64C 31/00 (2006.01)
(72) Inventors :
  • DANG, PETER (Canada)
(73) Owners :
  • DANG, PETER (Canada)
(71) Applicants :
  • DANG, PETER (Canada)
(74) Agent: NA
(74) Associate agent: NA
(45) Issued:
(22) Filed Date: 2006-08-21
(41) Open to Public Inspection: 2008-02-21
Examination requested: 2006-08-21
Availability of licence: N/A
(25) Language of filing: English

Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT): No

(30) Application Priority Data: None

Abstracts

English Abstract




This invention is related to a hybrid airship having a hard shell body and a
deployable soft skin blimp, combining with a multipurpose air cushion landing
system.


Claims

Note: Claims are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.





CLAIMS


Having thus described the invention, it is now claimed:

1. An airship comprising of hard shell body.
2. The airship of claim 1 further states that it is of a blended wing-body
construction.
3. The airship of claim 1 further comprised a deployable and retractable blimp-
like soft
skin envelope.
4. The airship of claim 1 further comprised a swiveling propulsion system.
5. The airship in claim 1 further comprised an internal cargo hull.
6. The airship in claim 1 further comprised a storage compartment that is
adapted to
receive and hold a deflated blimp-like envelope.
7. The airship in claim 1 comprised a landing air cushion.
8. The airship in claim 7 landing air cushion is adapted to contain numerous
buoyant gas
storing cells.
9. The airship in claim 8 further comprised a piping system connecting the
buoyant gas
storage cells in the landing air cushion to the soft skin blimp-like envelope.
10. The airship in claim 1 comprised of at least a mean of regulating buoyant
gas and air
pressure.
11. The airship in claim1 comprised a top hatch and at least a hatch's door.

Description

Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.



CA 02557771 2006-08-21
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

BACKGROUND
Large airships have the capacity to transport much heavier load than the
largest transport
plane built, but large airships have their limitations. Adverse weather
condition has been
the cause of destruction of numerous large airships in the past and it
continues to be a
major limiting factor in their operation. Moreover, nearly all conventional
airships are
made of soft skin fabric that doesn't last long when exposed even to normal
weather.
Currently, there is a growing need for the transportation of outsized cargoes
by air. Big
transport airplanes with large wingspan that require long runway are limited
to large
airports that can accommodate them. These large airports are fast becoming
congested.
Typical airships and airplanes are shown, for example, in the following
Canadian patents:
2137278 GELHARD
2207362 HAMILTON
2117098 FERGUSON
2391252 COLTING

And United States of America patents:
6427943 YOKOMAKU
6581873 MC DERMOTT
6142414 DOOLITTLE
5823468 BOTHE
6311925 RIST

A hybrid airship having a hard shell body but with a deployable and
retractable blimp can
sustain windy condition better than conventional airships and can carry
heavier load than
transport airplanes without the need for a large wingspan or long runway.


CA 02557771 2006-08-21

2
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention pertains to a hybrid hard-shell/soft-shell airship that combines
aerodynamic
surface lift, powered lift and buoyant lift to transport air cargoes.
Accordingly, an
aerodynamic hard-shell embodiment containing buoyant gas cells is equipped
with a
deployable soft skin blimp-like envelope containing a buoyant gas. This soft
skin
envelope, when deflated, is advantageously stored in an overhead compartment
within the
hard shell embodiment for protection from weather while the airship is on the
ground or
when it flies light.
Another aspect of the invention is that the airship does not carry ballast, it
is built to be
heavier than air when its blimp-like envelope is not deployed. When its blimp
is deployed
and filled with a buoyant gas, the airship is lighter than air.

In the drawings, which form a part of this specification,

FIG. I is the side view of the airship, showing the blimp-like envelope
deployed and with
the loading ramp extended.
FIG. 2 is the top plan view of the airship with the top hatch closed.
FIG. 3 is the side view of the airship with the blimp-like envelope deflated
and contained
within the overhead compartment.
FIG. 4 is the front view of the airship.
FIG. 5 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the airship with its blimp
deployed.
FIG. 6 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the airship with its blimp
tucked away.


CA 02557771 2006-08-21

3
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

With reference to the drawings, in particular FIG.1 comprises a hard shell
blended wing-
body, indicated generally at 1. It is typically fabricated with aluminum alloy
for frame and
carbon fiber for shell. A blimp-like envelope 2 extends the length and
encompasses the
upper portion of the hard shell body 1. The blimp-like envelope 2 is made with
a durable
material having low gas permeability such as Tedlar. The airship
advantageously uses a
swiveling propulsion system 3 to also provide vertical powered lift. The
thrust of tail-
mounted rotors 4 together with the rudder 5 controls the airship's general
direction of
travel.

As depicted in FIG. 2, a top hatch 6 is provided for the deployment of the
blimp-like
envelope 2. Accordingly, it extends along the length and at the upper portion
of the hard
shell body. The hatch doors 6 would close snuggly around the stem of the blimp
once it
has been deployed to preserve overall aerodynamic form of the embodiment.

To economize weight, the invention is provided with a landing air cushion 7 as
shown in
FIGS. 1, 2, 3 and 4. This configuration of the landing system contributes
advantageously to
the airship's operation and will be discussed in more detail next with FIGS. 5
and 6.

As revealed in the exemplary cross sectional view in FIGS. 5 and 6. The
construction of
the frame of the hard shell blended-wing body is similar to the construction
of
conventional aircraft's wings, with spars-like members and dividing ribs-like
members
bracing its entire length and form a rigid stress supporting frame 8. As
illustrated therein, a
central passageway forms the cargo hul19 with a blimp storage compartment 10
situated
overhead. Also illustrated therein are numerous interconnecting buoyant gas
cells 11. The
airship performs demanding maneuvers such as pitch or roll by varying the
volume of
buoyant gas within these cells 11, thus, causing a shift of its center of
gravity while it is in
motion which results in a change in the direction of travel. The functions of
buoyant gas
cells in flight control of airship are well understood to person in the art.


CA 02557771 2006-08-21

4
Further more in FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross sectional view of the landing air
cushion. Within
the landing air cushion are numerous buoyant gas storing cells 12, these
storing cells 12
are directly connected to the blimp 2 through piping. As the airship ascends,
buoyant gas
within the blimp above expends. To maintain the blimp desirable pressure, the
excess
buoyant gas volume is pumped down to storing cells 12 inside the landing air
cushion
below, while excess air volume within the air cushion is being vented into the
atmosphere.
As the airship descends, the process is reversed. This advantageous
configuration allows
the numbers of air ballonets within the deployable blimp-like envelope to be
drastically
reduced or even eliminated altogether.

Although the invention has been described in connection with a preferred
embodiment, it
should be understood that various modifications, additions and alterations may
be made to
the invention by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and
scope of the
invention as defined in the appended claims.

Representative Drawing
A single figure which represents the drawing illustrating the invention.
Administrative Status

For a clearer understanding of the status of the application/patent presented on this page, the site Disclaimer , as well as the definitions for Patent , Administrative Status , Maintenance Fee  and Payment History  should be consulted.

Administrative Status

Title Date
Forecasted Issue Date Unavailable
(22) Filed 2006-08-21
Examination Requested 2006-08-21
(41) Open to Public Inspection 2008-02-21
Dead Application 2010-08-23

Abandonment History

Abandonment Date Reason Reinstatement Date
2009-08-21 FAILURE TO PAY APPLICATION MAINTENANCE FEE
2009-11-09 R30(2) - Failure to Respond

Payment History

Fee Type Anniversary Year Due Date Amount Paid Paid Date
Request for Examination $400.00 2006-08-21
Application Fee $200.00 2006-08-21
Maintenance Fee - Application - New Act 2 2008-08-21 $50.00 2008-03-26
Owners on Record

Note: Records showing the ownership history in alphabetical order.

Current Owners on Record
DANG, PETER
Past Owners on Record
None
Past Owners that do not appear in the "Owners on Record" listing will appear in other documentation within the application.
Documents

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Document
Description 
Date
(yyyy-mm-dd) 
Number of pages   Size of Image (KB) 
Abstract 2006-08-21 1 6
Claims 2006-08-21 1 25
Description 2006-08-21 4 138
Drawings 2006-08-21 2 32
Representative Drawing 2006-11-30 1 6
Cover Page 2008-02-07 1 25
Assignment 2006-08-21 3 166
Correspondence 2006-09-26 1 8
Prosecution-Amendment 2006-10-26 4 138
Prosecution-Amendment 2009-05-08 3 100