US3886884A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Control system for hydrofoil
Assignee: Boeing Co
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Filing: 1972-10-31
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Granted: 1975-06-03
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Expires: 1992-10-31
Abstract
Abstract A control system for a hydrofoil of the type having forward and aft submerged foils for supporting the craft while foil borne. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, separate pairs of starboard and port control flaps are provided on the aft foil; while the forward foil, also provided with flap means, is carried at the lower end of a pivoted strut which acts as a rudder. The system incorporates a high degree of redundancy for safety and failproof operation. Craft motions are sensed by gyroscopes and accelerometers which produce signals for controlling the flaps to provide smooth riding characteristics and a minimum of acceleration on passengers and crew for all seaway conditions. Turning of the craft is achieved by initially activating the flaps to bank the craft about its roll axis, followed by a rudder action. Pitch is controlled by both the forward and aft flaps; motions about the roll axis are controlled by the aft flaps only; while the height of the craft while foil-borne is controlled by the forward flap means only.
Inventors
- 👤 Donald R Stark
- 👤 Irving A Hirsch
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 10:12
CPC Classifications
G; G05; G05D; G05D1/00; G05D1/08; G05D1/0875; B; B63; B63B; B63B1/00; B63B1/16; B63B1/24; B63B1/28; B63B1/285; B63B1/286; B63B39/00; B63B39/06
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 22
Claim 1
Independent Claim
118 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of separate port and starboard flap means on at least one of said foils, rudder means associated with said foils, means for generating a command signal for turning said craft, means responsive to said command signal for initially actuating said separate flap means to cause said craft to bank about its roll axis in the direction of a desired turn, means for sensing banking of the craft about its roll axis in response to actuation of the separate flap means, and apparatus coupled to said sensing means for thereafter actuating the rudder means to turn the craft in said direction of desired turn.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
118 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of separate port and starboard flap means on at least one of said foils, rudder means associated with said foils, means for generating a command signal for turning said craft, means responsive to said command signal for initially actuating said separate flap means to cause said craft to bank about its roll axis in the direction of a desired turn, means for sensing banking of the craft about its roll axis in response to actuation of the separate flap means, and apparatus coupled to said sensing means for thereafter actuating the rudder means to turn the craft in said direction of desired turn.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
51 words
The control system of claim 1 wherein said separate port and starboard flap means are on the aft foil, and including control flap means on the forward foil, the rudder means comprising a strut extending downwardly from the bow of the craft and carrying at its lower end said forward foil.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
50 words
The control system of claim 1 wherein said command signal is generated by a helm and wherein said means for sensing banking of the craft about its roll axis comprises a gyroscope adapted to produce an output signal which varies as a function of the roll angle of said craft.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
47 words
The control system of claim 3 including means for producing two identical and redundant command signals from said helm, means for producing two identical and redundant signals from the gyroscope, and means for applying both roll signals and both command signals to both of said derivative amplifiers.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
69 words
The control system of claim 1 wherein said means for sensing banking of the craft about its roll axis includes a gyroscope for producing an electrical roll signal which varies as a function of the roll angle of said craft, and including derivative amplifier means responsive to said command signal and to said electrical signal produced by the gyroscope for generating an electrical signal for controlling said separate flaps.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
62 words
The control system of claim 5 wherein said derivative amplifier means includes two derivative amplifiers both responsive to said command signal and to said electrical signal produced By the gyroscope, the output of one of said derivative amplifiers being used to control the port flap means and the output of the other derivative amplifier being used to control the starboard flap means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
75 words
The control system of claim 1 wherein said means for sensing banking of the craft about its roll axis also senses roll of the craft about its roll axis due to an undulating motion of the water beneath the craft, said apparatus for actuating the rudder means being effective to rotate the rudder means in response to such undulating motion as well as to banking of the craft in response to a turning command signal.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
43 words
The control system of claim 1 including a yaw rate gyro mounted on said craft, and means operatively connecting said yaw rate gyro to said rudder means to limit the rate of turning of the rudder means as a function of yaw rate.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
45 words
The control system of claim 8 including a lateral accelerometer mounted on said craft, and means operatively connecting said yaw rate gyro to said rudder means to limit the rate of turning of the rudder means as a function of lateral acceleration of the craft.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
22 words
The control system of claim 9 wherein the rudder means is positioned at the bow of the ship above said forward foil.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of control flap means on the forward foil, flap means on the aft foil, means for sensing the height of said craft above the surface of the water when it is foil-borne and for producing an electrical signal proportional to said height, means for producing an electrical signal proportional to desired height of said craft above the water, means for comparing said first and second electrical signals to derive an error signal when the first and second signals are not the same, and means responsive to said error signal for controlling the position of only the control flap means on the forward foil to cause the hydrofoil craft to rise or descend until said error signal is zero.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of control flap means on the forward foil, flap means on the aft foil, means for sensing the height of said craft above the surface of the water when it is foil-borne and for producing an electrical signal proportional to said height, means for producing an electrical signal proportional to desired height of said craft above the water, means for comparing said first and second electrical signals to derive an error signal when the first and second signals are not the same, and means responsive to said error signal for controlling the position of only the control flap means on the forward foil to cause the hydrofoil craft to rise or descend until said error signal is zero.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
58 words
The control system of claim 11 including vertical accelerometer means mounted at the bow of said craft for producing an electrical signal proportional to vertical acceleration of the bow, and means responsive to said last-named electrical signal for varying the position of said control flap means on the forward foil as a function of vertical acceleration thus sensed.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
46 words
The control system of claim 11 including gyroscope means for producing an electrical signal which varies as a function of the pitch angle of said craft, and means responsive to said last-named electrical signal for varying the position of the flap means on said forward foil.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
200 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of control flap means on the forward foil, separate port and starboard flap means on the aft foil, means including a gyroscope for producing an electrical signal which varies as a function of both the pitch angle of said craft as well as a function of the rate of change of said pitch angle, means responsive to said electrical signal for controlling both the control flap means on the forward foil as well as the flap means on the aft foil to counteract any pitching action of the craft, an aft port vertical accelerometer above the aft port foil, an aft starboard vertical accelerometer above the aft starboard foil, means operatively connecting the aft port vertical accelerometer to the port flap means on the aft foil whereby the port flap means will be actuated to counteract vertical acceleration forces on the port side of the craft, and means operatively connecting the aft starboard vertical accelerometer to the starboard flap means on the aft foil whereby the aft starboard flap means will be actuated to counteract vertical acceleration forces on the starboard side of the craft.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
200 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of control flap means on the forward foil, separate port and starboard flap means on the aft foil, means including a gyroscope for producing an electrical signal which varies as a function of both the pitch angle of said craft as well as a function of the rate of change of said pitch angle, means responsive to said electrical signal for controlling both the control flap means on the forward foil as well as the flap means on the aft foil to counteract any pitching action of the craft, an aft port vertical accelerometer above the aft port foil, an aft starboard vertical accelerometer above the aft starboard foil, means operatively connecting the aft port vertical accelerometer to the port flap means on the aft foil whereby the port flap means will be actuated to counteract vertical acceleration forces on the port side of the craft, and means operatively connecting the aft starboard vertical accelerometer to the starboard flap means on the aft foil whereby the aft starboard flap means will be actuated to counteract vertical acceleration forces on the starboard side of the craft.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of flap means on the forward foil, separate pairs of port and starBoard flaps on the aft foil, a first pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating one port and one starboard flap of each pair, a second pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating the other flap of each pair of port and starboard flaps, a single hydraulic actuator for the forward flap means, a first source of fluid under pressure for actuating the first pair of hydraulic actuators, a second source of fluid under pressure for actuating the second pair of hydraulic actuators, and shuttle valve means for connecting said single actuator for the forward flap means to either the first or second source of fluid under pressure.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of flap means on the forward foil, separate pairs of port and starBoard flaps on the aft foil, a first pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating one port and one starboard flap of each pair, a second pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating the other flap of each pair of port and starboard flaps, a single hydraulic actuator for the forward flap means, a first source of fluid under pressure for actuating the first pair of hydraulic actuators, a second source of fluid under pressure for actuating the second pair of hydraulic actuators, and shuttle valve means for connecting said single actuator for the forward flap means to either the first or second source of fluid under pressure.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of flap means on the forward foil, separate pairs of port and starBoard flaps on the aft foil, a first pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating one port and one starboard flap of each pair, a second pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating the other flap of each pair of port and starboard flaps, a single hydraulic actuator for the forward flap means, a first source of fluid under pressure for actuating the first pair of hydraulic actuators, a second source of fluid under pressure for actuating the second pair of hydraulic actuators, and shuttle valve means for connecting said single actuator for the forward flap means to either the first or second source of fluid under pressure.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
133 words
In a control system for a hydrofoil craft having forward and aft foils, the combination of flap means on the forward foil, separate pairs of port and starBoard flaps on the aft foil, a first pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating one port and one starboard flap of each pair, a second pair of hydraulic actuators for actuating the other flap of each pair of port and starboard flaps, a single hydraulic actuator for the forward flap means, a first source of fluid under pressure for actuating the first pair of hydraulic actuators, a second source of fluid under pressure for actuating the second pair of hydraulic actuators, and shuttle valve means for connecting said single actuator for the forward flap means to either the first or second source of fluid under pressure.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
40 words
The control system of claim 15 including a rudder for the hydrofoil, a single actuator for actuating said rudder, and shuttle valve means for connecting said single rudder actuator to either the first or second source of fluid under pressure.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-06-02 | 1978-12-02 | 1979-06-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-06-02 | 1982-12-02 | 1983-06-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-06-02 | 1986-12-02 | 1987-06-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |