Crash-resistant helicopter

Claim 2

A vehicle, comprising: a cabin, having a load-containing space and a thrust bearing; a rotary lifting impeller, subject to fluid-dynamic lifting force during its rotation in a fluid, having: a shaft in said thrust bearing, transmitting lift via said bEaring to said cabin; a plurality of resilient, fluid-dynamic blades, extending transversely of the axis of said shaft; and a hinge between each of said blades and the shaft, permitting upward pivoting of said blade away from a plane normal to the axis of the shaft, under said lifting force, and against centrifugal force on the blade, tending to position it in said plane; each of said blades comprising: a flexible, streamlined, skin; within said skin, a plurality of juxtaposed tubular members, each of which is circular in cross sections over a substantial portion of its length, said members having a plurality of different diameters in said circular-in-cross-section portions, with a smaller-diameter one of said portions being near the trailing edge of the blade, and at least one of said portions having a diameter larger than that of said smaller-diameter portion and located between the blade''s leading edge and said smaller-diameter portion; and gaseous material inside each of said tubular members.

Claim 3

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said gaseous material is gas at a pressure approximately equal to that of the atmosphere.

Claim 4

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said gaseous material is gas, under pressure well above that of the atmosphere.

Claim 5

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said gaseous material comprises gas that is lighter than air.

Claim 6

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said gaseous material comprises closed-gas-cell, foamed plastic.

Claim 7

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which each of said blades has a planar, platelike element, comprising metal, at its end adjacent to said hinge, and said hinge comprises: a rigid element, fixed to said platelike element; a rigid element, fixedly connected to said shaft; and a pivot bearing between said rigid elements.

Claim 8

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which each of said hinges comprises a flexible element of sufficient strength to withstand its disruption by said centrifugal force.

Claim 9

A vehicle as set forth in claim 7, in which: each of said blades comprises an elongated flexible tube, and said flexible element of each of said hinges comprises a flattened end portion of said tube and resilient adhesive bonding together the flat plies of said flattened end and sealing an end of the tube.

Claim 10

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1 in which each of said blades comprises an elongated flexible tube, having walls of impeller-strength-providing material, having a middle portion that is circular in cross sections and an end portion at each end of said middle portion, said end portion comprising: a curved part that has an integral junction with said middle portion, that, in a plane containing the longitudinal axis of the tube, curvingly flares outward on each side of the tube''s axis, and in a plane normal to said first-named plane curvingly tapers toward the said axis of the tube; and a flattened-end portion, integrally joined with the shaftward end of said curved part, comprising two parallel, flat edges of said curved-part end and bonding material between said flat edges, sealing said shaftward end of the tube.

Claim 11

A vehicle as set forth in clam 1, in which: said tubular members comprise tubes having flexible walls; each of said tubes is filled with a portion of said gaseous material; and said gaseous material imparts resiliency to said tube walls.

Claim 12

A vehicle as set forth in clam 1, in which: said tubular members comprise tubes having flexible walls; each of said tubes is filled with a portion of said gaseous material; and said gaseous material imparts resiliency to said tube walls.

Claim 13

A vehicle as set forth in claim 10, in which said gaseous material comprises gas under above-atmospheric pressure.

Claim 14

A vehicle as set forth in claim 10, in which said gaseous material comprises closed-gas-cell, foamed plastic.

Claim 15

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said cabin is round in cross sections normal to its longitudinal axis over a substantial portion of its length, and has a substantially rigid wall between its exterior and said load-containing space, said rigid wall comprising: a plurality of tubular cabin-frame members, connected together in a cabin-strength-providing framework; gaseous material In each of said members; and means strongly connecting said members together.

Claim 16

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which: said impeller blades are entirely located in ambient fluid above said cabin; at least their major portions, during their rotation come within the space between vertical projections of the ends of said round-in-cross section cabin portion; and, during their rotation, major portions of the blades extend outside the space between vertical projections of the sides of said round-in-cross section cabin portion, thus vertically moving fluid to and beyond and below the curved borders of said cabin portion.

Claim 17

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which each of said cabin-frame members is strongly jointed and comprises: a plurality of sealed, end-joined, curved container walls, each of which contains a portion of said gaseous material; connecting means between and strongly joined to the adjacent ends of each adjoining pair of said curved container walls, comprising at least one platelike element and means strongly bonding together said adjacent ends and said platelike element.

Claim 18

A vehicle as set forth in claim 15, in which cross sections thru the peripheries of said curved container walls are circular, and said peripheries in cross section comprise circles of different diameters. 11 17. A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which each of said cabin-frame members comprises a sealed, elongated tube having walls of dense material and containing a portion of said gaseous material.

Claim 19

A vehicle as set forth in claim 17, in which said walls have a thickness of less than 0.02 of an inch, and said gaseous material imparts strength to the walls.

Claim 20

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which said gaseous material comprises gas at a pressure above that of the atmosphere.

Claim 21

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which said gas is lighter than air.

Claim 22

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which the gaseous material in said cabin-frame members comprises closed-gas-cell, foamed plastic.

Claim 23

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which said cabin-frame tubular members comprise sealed tubular walls that have a thickness less than 0.02 of an inch and are of material comprising metal, and said gaseous material is gas at a pressure well above that of the atmosphere.

Claim 24

A vehicle as set forth in claim 22, in which said gas is lighter than air.

Claim 25

A vehicle as set forth in claim 13, in which said cabin-frame members comprise sealed tubes, each of which has a pair of flattened and sealed ends, and said gaseous material in the tubes has resiliency and adds strength to the walls of said tubes.

Claim 26

A vehicle as set forth in claim 1, in which said thrust bearing is in a middle portion of said cabin, said middle portion is below said impeller and has a maximum horizontal width that is less than the combined lengths of two of said impeller blades, and in which said vehicle further comprises a shock-absorbing cushion that is below and attached to said middle portion and has a maximum horizontal width that is no greater than that of said middle portion.

Claim 27

A vehicle as set forth in claim 25, comprising an aerostatic, balloon means above and attached to said cabin middle portion, and in which said vehicle comprises a flexible sheath of strong material which envelops the said balloon, cabin middle portion, and cushion.

Claim 28

A vehicle as set forth in claim 26, in which said cushion comprises fibrous material, and in which at least the portion of said sheath that covers said cushion comprises waterproof material and prevents the entry of water among said fibers. 28, A vehicle, having a load-carrying cabin, said cabin comprising: a cabin-strength-providing skin, comprising a sheet of stiffly flexible material; a middle cabin portion, having a load-containing space, round in cross sections normal to the longitudinal axis of the cabin, comprising, within a forward part of said skin: a substantially rigid forward wall, at the forward end of said middle portion; a substantially rigid after wall, at the after end of said portion; extending between said walls and inclosing said load-containing space, a curved side wall, endlessly curved in planes normal to said axis, having cabin-strenght-providing framework comprising a plurality of juxtaposed, tubular members, with their axes curvingly arranged around said axis; gaseous material in each of said tubular members; and foamed plastic around each of the tubular members and between them and said skin; a substantially streamlined nose portion of the cabin, comprising a nose-strength-providing skin; a substantially streamlined, generally fishtail-shaped cabin-stern portion, defined by a fishtail-shaped after part of said first-named skin, said after part having: integral, curving, top, side and bottom portions; a flattened, generally horizontal after end; and, in each cross section normal to the said longitudinal axis, a total peripheral extent that is at least as large as the total peripheral extent of the said after wall; said fishtail-shaped part of the cabin-strength-providing skin tending to hold its generally streamlined fishtail shape, with: its said flattened after end in planar horizontal condition; its top and bottom portions curvingly tapering in height from said flattened after end, forward and upward to said after wall: and its sidewalls curvingly flaring outward in increasing horizontal extent across said axis from said after wall to said flattened after end.

Claim 29

A vehicle as set forth in claim 28, adapted to move in a fluid which surrounds it, comprising means, connected to said cabin, for exerting a lift on the cabin.

Claim 30

A vehicle as set forth in claim 29, in which said lift-exerting means comprises a fluid-dynamic impeller.

Claim 31

A vehicle as set forth in claim 30, in which said fluid is air and said fluid-dynamic impeller is aerodynamic.

Claim 32

A device as set forth in claim 31, in which said vehicle is a vertical-takeoff aircraft, said impeller is a lifting propeller, and said vehicle comprises motive means and power-transmission means connected to said motive means and to said propeller.

Claim 33

A vehicle as set forth in claim 28, adapted to move in a fluid which surrounds it, comprising: a lifting impeller having a plurality of blades, each of which has a framework comprising hollow tubular members and gaseous material in said last-named tubular members; and a rotary shaft; said impeller further comprising hinge means between said shaft and each of said blades.

Claim 34

A vehicle as set forth in claim 33, further comprising aerostatic, balloon means, having a center of lift above the center of gravity of the vehicle.

Claim 35

A vehicle as set forth in claim 28, comprising aerostatic, balloon means, exerting a lift on said cabin that is centered above the center of gravity of the vehicle and provides an attitude-stabilizing force on the vehicle.

Claim 36

A vehicle as set forth in claim 28, comprising a shock-absorbing cushion, located below and attached to said middle cabin portion, having a maximum width not greater than that of said middle portion, and in which said vehicle comprises a flexible sheath of strong material that surrounds said middle portion and cushion.

Claim 37

A vehicle as set forth in claim 36, in which said cushion comprises fibrous material and at least the portion of said sheath that is below said longitudinal axis comprises waterproof material and protects said fibrous material from entry of water.

Claim 38

A vehicle as set forth in claim 32, in which an after part of said cabin-strength-providing skin has an opening at its top, elongated in a fore-and-aft direction, comprising: a propeller-supporting skin, closely fitting in said opening, having a streamlinedly-curved upper part that extends well above an upper part of said cabin-strength-providing skin and a bracing lower part that extends downward from said opening and within said last-named, cabin skin, into close proximity with a lower part of said cabiN skin; means strongly fastening said cabin and propeller-supporting skins together along the line of said opening and in the area of said close proximity; means for rotating a steering propeller; means strongly connecting said propeller-rotating means to said propeller-supporting skin; and a vehicle-steering propeller, supported and driven by said propeller-rotating means.

Claim 39

A vehicle as set forth in claim 38, in which the said means connecting the propeller and propeller-rotating means comprises streamlined struts, fixed to a generally toroidal inner portion of the said propeller-supporting skin.