Patent US4076188A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US4076188A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Blower and burner to produce superpressure in a thermal airship
Assignee: Raven Industries Inc
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Filing: 1976-05-19
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Granted: 1978-02-28
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Expires: 1996-05-19
Abstract
Abstract A thermal airship including an elongate gas envelope of a soft material providing a hull for the airship with tail members, a gondola carried below the hull, a power propelling system supported by the hull and a system for pressurizing the soft envelope through an inflation opening with the gondola adjoining the hull surrounding the inflation opening in a sealed manner. The system for pressurizing includes a blower mounted on the hull extending through the opening and directing a flow of air past a burner within the interior of the envelope and a lateral baffle between the burner and blower deflecting an amount of the air from the blower laterally directly into the envelope interior.
Inventors
- 👤 Douglas B. Obermoller
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-30 15:59
CPC Classifications
B; B64; B64B; B64B1/00; B64B1/58
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
173 words
A thermal hot air airship comprising in combination: a flexible elongate heated air lifting envelope aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the aft end of the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the hull for supporting a payload; power propelling means on the airship for propelling the airship horizontally; means defining a pressurizing inflation opening leading into the hull; hot air pressure generating means comprising an integral blower and controlled burner means interiorly of the pressurizing inflation opening and on the interior of the envelope for pressurizing and inflating the soft envelope with heated air to supply substantially the entire lift during flight, said blower being positioned at the hull inflation opening for moving a flow of air through the hull opening for inflating the envelope with a superpressure, said controlled burner means being positioned downstream of the blower in the interior of the envelope and in the path of air flow for heating the air passing into the envelope interior.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
173 words
A thermal hot air airship comprising in combination: a flexible elongate heated air lifting envelope aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the aft end of the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the hull for supporting a payload; power propelling means on the airship for propelling the airship horizontally; means defining a pressurizing inflation opening leading into the hull; hot air pressure generating means comprising an integral blower and controlled burner means interiorly of the pressurizing inflation opening and on the interior of the envelope for pressurizing and inflating the soft envelope with heated air to supply substantially the entire lift during flight, said blower being positioned at the hull inflation opening for moving a flow of air through the hull opening for inflating the envelope with a superpressure, said controlled burner means being positioned downstream of the blower in the interior of the envelope and in the path of air flow for heating the air passing into the envelope interior.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
28 words
A thermal airship constructed in accordance with claim 1: wherein said burner is surrounded by an annular shroud and said shroud and burner are located within the envelope.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
A thermal airship constructed in accordance with claim 1: wherein said inflation opening is located in an insert in the envelope with means securing the edge of the insert to the envelope and means securing the insert to the gondola.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
19 words
A thermal airship constructed in accordance with claim 3: wherein said blower and burner are supported on the gondola.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
36 words
The airship of claim 1 in which the hot air pressure generating means is mounted on a roof of the gondola and is surrounded by a protecting wall continuous between the gondola roof and the hull.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
165 words
A thermal airship comprising in combination: an elongate gas envelope aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the aft end of the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the hull for supporting a payload; power propelling means supported by the hull for propelling the airship horizontally; means defining a pressurizing inflation opening leading into the hull; hot air pressure generating means for pressurizing the soft envelope with heated air during flight including a blower carried on the hull positioned for moving a flow of air through the opening for inflating the envelope with a superpressure; a controlled burner within the hull envelope positioned in the path of air flow heating the air passing into the envelope interior; and a baffle positioned between the blower and burner for deflecting a portion of the air passing from the blower to the burner and located within the envelope so that the deflected portion passes within the envelope.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
165 words
A thermal airship comprising in combination: an elongate gas envelope aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the aft end of the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the hull for supporting a payload; power propelling means supported by the hull for propelling the airship horizontally; means defining a pressurizing inflation opening leading into the hull; hot air pressure generating means for pressurizing the soft envelope with heated air during flight including a blower carried on the hull positioned for moving a flow of air through the opening for inflating the envelope with a superpressure; a controlled burner within the hull envelope positioned in the path of air flow heating the air passing into the envelope interior; and a baffle positioned between the blower and burner for deflecting a portion of the air passing from the blower to the burner and located within the envelope so that the deflected portion passes within the envelope.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
A thermal airship constructed in accordance with claim 6: wherein said baffle includes a plate extending transversely of the flow of air with a plurality of openings therethrough.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
31 words
A thermal airship constructed in accordance with claim 7: wherein said baffle includes a flanged edge at an angle to the plate projecting toward the oncoming air flow from the blower.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
171 words
A thermal airship comprising in combination: an elongate gas envelope aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the aft end of the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the hull for supporting a payload; power propelling means supported by the hull for propelling the airship horizontally; means defining a pressurizing inflation opening leading into the hull; hot air pressure generating means for pressurizing the soft envelope with heated air during flight including a blower carried on the hull positioned for moving a flow of air through the opening for inflating the envelope with a superpressure; a controlled burner positioned in the path of air flow heating the air passing into the envelope interior; wherein said inflation opening is located in an insert in the envelope with means securing the edge of the insert to the envelope and means securing the insert to the gondola; and wherein said insert has a flap skirt forming a seal between the insert and gondola.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
171 words
A thermal airship comprising in combination: an elongate gas envelope aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the aft end of the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the hull for supporting a payload; power propelling means supported by the hull for propelling the airship horizontally; means defining a pressurizing inflation opening leading into the hull; hot air pressure generating means for pressurizing the soft envelope with heated air during flight including a blower carried on the hull positioned for moving a flow of air through the opening for inflating the envelope with a superpressure; a controlled burner positioned in the path of air flow heating the air passing into the envelope interior; wherein said inflation opening is located in an insert in the envelope with means securing the edge of the insert to the envelope and means securing the insert to the gondola; and wherein said insert has a flap skirt forming a seal between the insert and gondola.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
131 words
A thermal airship comprising in combination: an elongate gas envelope of a soft material aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the envelope for supporting a payload; power propelling means supported by the envelope for propelling the airship horizontally; a blower positioned on the envelope for directing a continual flow of air into the envelope interior for superpressurizing the envelope; a burner within the envelope mounted in the path of the stream of the air from the blower; and means between the blower and burner deflecting a portion of the air away from the burner so that a portion of the blower air pressurizes the airship without being directly heated by the burner.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
131 words
A thermal airship comprising in combination: an elongate gas envelope of a soft material aerodynamically shaped for horizontal flight providing a hull for the airship; tail members on the airship for controlling the horizontal flight; a gondola carried below the envelope for supporting a payload; power propelling means supported by the envelope for propelling the airship horizontally; a blower positioned on the envelope for directing a continual flow of air into the envelope interior for superpressurizing the envelope; a burner within the envelope mounted in the path of the stream of the air from the blower; and means between the blower and burner deflecting a portion of the air away from the burner so that a portion of the blower air pressurizes the airship without being directly heated by the burner.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
169 words
The method of pressurizing a thermal hot air airship of a soft material with the airship having an elongate aerodynamically shaped envelope, a pressurizing inflation opening, and having means for propelling the airship and a tail for guiding the airship with a gondola below the envelope, the method comprising: providing an integral blower and controlled burner interiorly of the pressurizing inflation opening in the interior of the envelope; directing a continual flow of air from the blower into the envelope interior for superpressurizing and supporting the envelope; positioning said burner within the interior of the envelope in the path of the air flowing into the envelope to heat the air and provide substantially the entire lift; and deflecting a portion of the air flowing into the envelope away from the burner so that the envelope is superpressurized by some air not directly heated by the burner and the burner within the envelope heats the air both by air passing thereover and by radiation and convection to the surrounding air.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
169 words
The method of pressurizing a thermal hot air airship of a soft material with the airship having an elongate aerodynamically shaped envelope, a pressurizing inflation opening, and having means for propelling the airship and a tail for guiding the airship with a gondola below the envelope, the method comprising: providing an integral blower and controlled burner interiorly of the pressurizing inflation opening in the interior of the envelope; directing a continual flow of air from the blower into the envelope interior for superpressurizing and supporting the envelope; positioning said burner within the interior of the envelope in the path of the air flowing into the envelope to heat the air and provide substantially the entire lift; and deflecting a portion of the air flowing into the envelope away from the burner so that the envelope is superpressurized by some air not directly heated by the burner and the burner within the envelope heats the air both by air passing thereover and by radiation and convection to the surrounding air.
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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) | 1981-02-27 | 1981-08-29 | 1982-02-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-02-27 | 1985-08-29 | 1986-02-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-02-27 | 1989-08-29 | 1990-02-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |