Rotary wing device and method for operating same

Claim 1

IN A ROTARY WING DEVICE, A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED WINGS EACH HAVING A HUB END AND A TOP END AT OPPOSITE ENDS OF ITS ELONGATE EXTENT, HUB MEANS CONNECTED TO THE HUB END OF EACH WING FOR ROTATABLY MOUNTING THE WINGS FOR ROTATION OF THE WINGS AND THE HUB MEANS ABOUT AN AXIS OF ROTATION SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE ELONGATE EXTENT OF THE WINGS WITH THE WINGS EXTENDING RADIALLY OUTWARDLY FROM SUCH AXIS OF ROTATION AND SPACED FROM EACH OTHER ABOUT SUCH AXIS OF ROTATION, FLEXIBLE GAS-IMPERMEABLE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER AND DEFINING THE EXTERIOR SURFACES OF EACH WING AND ALSO DEFINING A GASIMPERMEABLE SPACE WITHIN THE WING BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS EXTENDING THE LENGTH AND WIDTH OF THE WING, A PLURALITY OF FLEXIBLE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS DISPOSED WITHIN EACH WING AND EXTENDING BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS OF THE WING, MEANS FOR CONNECTING THE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS TO THE FIRST SHEET AND TO THE SECOND SHEET, THE EXTENT OF THE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS LYING IN A PLANE TRANSVERSE AND NORMAL TO THE ELONGATE EXTENT OF THE WING AND THE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER IN A DIRECTION EXTENDING BETWEEN THE ELONGATE EDGES OF THE WING, THE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS BEING COMPRISED OF PLURAL PAIRS OF SUBSTANTIALLY COPLANAR OPPOSITELY INCLINED CROSSED CHORD BRACE MEMBERS WITH THE ENDS OF EACH SUCH PAIR OF CHORD BRACE MEMBERS WHICH ARE CONNECTED TO THE SAME SHEET OF THE WING BEING SPACED FROM EACH OTHER A LESS AMOUNT THAN THE ENDS OF THE SAME PAIR OF CHORD BRACE MEMBERS CONNECTED ONE TO THE FIRST SHEET AND THE OTHER TO THE SECOND SHEET SO THAT EXPANDING GAS PRESSURE IN THE GAS-IMPERMEABLE SPACE WITHIN THE WING RESULTS IN TENSIONING BOTH THE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS AND THE PORTION OF EACH OF THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS EXTENDING BETWEEN THE ENDS OF EACH PAIR OF CROSSED CHORD BRACE MEMBERS ATTACHED TO THAT SHEET, THE EXTENT OF THE PAIRS OF CROSSED CHORD BRACE MEMBERS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS OF EACH WING VARYING AS THEY ARE SPACED FROM THE ELONGATE EDGES OF THE WING TO DEFINE AN AIRFOIL CONFIGURATION OF THE FIRST AND SECOND SHEETS IN A PLANE NORMAL TO THE ELONGATE EXTENT OF THE WING RESPONSIVE TO LINEAR ERECTION OF THE CHORD BRACE MEMBERS, AND MEANS FOR SUPPLYING GAS TO THE GAS-IMPERMEABLE SPACE WITHIN EACH WING.