Patent Application
20240017811
The present technology is in the field of airborne platforms and, more specifically, airships.
A vacuum airship is a hypothetical airship that is evacuated rather than filled with a lighter-than-air gas, such as hydrogen or helium. By eliminating the mass of hydrogen or helium, a vacuum airship has the potential to provide far greater lifting power per volume of air displaced. Therefore, was is needed is a vacuum airship that includes an envelope and a means for controlling a vacuum within an envelope.
In accordance with various embodiments and aspects herein, a vacuum airship includes an envelope and means for creating and controlling a vacuum (or vacuum level) within the envelope. The envelope is defined by and includes skin and a frame for supporting the skin, such that the frame is under compression and the skin is in tension during operation of the airship. The frame includes a plurality of rigid tube-like frame elements.
In order to understand the vacuum airship herein more fully, reference is made to the accompanying drawings. The vacuum airship is described in accordance with the aspects and embodiments in the following description with reference to the drawings or figures, in which like numbers represent the same or similar elements. Understanding that these drawings are not to be considered limitations in the claimed scope of the vacuum airship, the presently described aspects and embodiments of the vacuum airship are described with additional detail through use of the accompanying drawings.
The following describes various examples of the present technology that illustrate various aspects and embodiments herein. Generally, examples can use the described aspects in any combination. All statements herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments as well as specific examples thereof, are intended to encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof. Additionally, it is intended that such equivalents include both currently known equivalents and equivalents developed in the future, i.e., any elements developed that perform the same function, regardless of structure.
It is noted that, as used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “certain embodiment,” “various aspects and embodiments,” “various embodiments,” or similar language means that a particular aspect, feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment herein. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment,” “in at least one embodiment,” “in an aspect and embodiment,” “in certain embodiments,” and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment or similar embodiments. Furthermore, aspects and embodiments described herein are merely exemplary, and should not be construed as limiting of the scope or spirit of the claims as appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including”, “includes”, “having”, “has”, “with”, or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a similar manner to the term “comprising.”
Referring now to
The envelope 120 may have a substantially outer shape of a Platonic solid. As used herein, a Platonic solid refers to a convex, regular polyhedron in three-dimensional Euclidean space. Faces of the Platonic solid are congruent (identical in shape and size) regular polygons, and the same number of faces meet at each vertex.
The envelope 120 includes a rigid frame that defines edges of the Platonic solid, and an airtight skin that defines faces of the Platonic solid. The skin is supported by the frame in accordance with the various aspects and embodiments of the invention. The skin surrounds the frame in accordance with the various aspects and embodiments of the invention. Examples of the envelope 120 are described below.
The vacuum airship 110 may further include a gondola 140 and a propulsion system 150 coupled to the envelope 120. The gondola 140 may be an external equipment or passenger compartment that s attached to the envelope 120.
The propulsion system 150 may include one or more propulsion engines that are carried in the gondola 140 or placed in separate nacelles. The nacelles may be mounted to the envelope 120. The vacuum airship 110 may also include flight control surfaces (not shown) for adjusting attitude of the vacuum airship 110 during flight.
The vacuum airship 110 may be configured for any number of applications. Examples include, but are not limited to, an urban vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicle (e.g., a taxi), an air crane for loading and unloading cargo in seaports and railway stations, a vehicle for moving cargo across land and sea, a truck for moving cargo, a high-altitude spacecraft launch vehicle.
Reference is made to
As used herein buoyant force refers to an upward force that at is proportional to the weight of air displaced from the envelope 120. The buoyant force increases as air is removed from the envelope 120. As used herein, lift or lift capability of the airship 100 is equal to the buoyant force minus the weight of the airship 100.
At block 220, the propulsion system 150 is operated. Force generated by the propulsion system 150, in combination with the buoyant force generated by the envelope 120, moves the vacuum airship 110 in a desired direction.
At block 230, the vacuum within the envelope 120 is controlled. The vacuum pump 130 may remove air from the envelope 120 to compensate for any air leakage into the envelope 120. During ascent, the vacuum pump 130 may remove additional air from the envelope 120 to increase the buoyant force. During descent, air may be allowed to enter the envelope 120 to reduce the buoyant force. Entry of the air may be allowed by the vacuum pump 130 and/or by one or more valves (not shown).
Reference is now made to
The dodecahedron envelope 120 has a rigid frame 310 and skin 320. The frame 310 defines the edges of the dodecahedron envelope 120. The frame 310 may include a plurality of individual frame elements 330, where each frame element 330 is located at an edge of the dodecahedron envelope 120 and extends between two vertices. The frame 310 is preferably made of a lightweight material that is strong in compression, such as titanium.
The skin 320 is airtight, and it defines the faces of the dodecahedron envelope 120. The skin is supported by the frame 310.
Additional reference is made to
The skin 320 is made of a thin sheet of a material that is strong in tension. A better ratio of (tensile strength)/density is preferred. For example, thin-gauged steel sheets or sheets of a composite such as Kevlar may be used. If the skin material is not airtight, it can be made airtight with an outer coating of a plastic material.
In some configurations, the skin 320 is not bound to any of the elements 330 of the frame. In other configurations, the skin 320 may be bound to the frame 310 at a single location, such as where the gondola 140 attaches to the envelope 120.
Additional reference is made to
Additional reference is made to
During operation of the airship 110, there is a substantial pressure differential between atmospheric pressure (outside the envelope 120) and vacuum pressure (inside the envelope 120). This pressure differential places the frame 310 under compression. It also causes the skin 320 to dimple and to be placed in tension. The dimpling might have the effect of reducing damping from air friction.
The size of the envelope 120 depends in part on the intended lift requirements. For instance, an envelope 120 in the range of ten (10) to twelve (12) meters would be sufficient for VTOL vehicle carrying four people.
The vacuum airship 110 is not limited to the examples described above. The geometry of the envelope 120 is not limited to a dodecahedron. For example, the envelope 120 may have the geometry of an icosahedron.
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
Reference is now made to
In each of these examples, the skin is sufficiently large so as not to be torn by the structural strain of the frame. This in turn increases the surface area exposed to the atmosphere and the force borne by the frame.
In those configurations where the skin is not bound to the frame, there is not a problem of tearing of the skin under frame stress.
Not all elements of the frame need be equally thick. Thickness will be dictated by the structural loads placed on the frame elements. Main sources of the structural loads include buoyancy, atmospheric pressure, and useful mass that is being transported (for instance, by the gondola 140). Lesser sources of the structural loads include mass of the frame and the skin, and wind. In configurations where the gondola 140 is suspended from the envelope, those frame elements supporting the gondola 140 will be thicker because they carry the buoyancy and useful mass loads.
Means for creating and controlling a vacuum in the envelope is not limited to the vacuum pump 130. The vacuum pump 130 is but one example. As a second example of such means, a second, inner skin, much thinner and more versatile, may be installed inside the frame to vary the volume of the envelope 120. To increase the vacuum within the envelope 120, this second skin is partially or totally pulled out. To reduce the vacuum, the second skin is pulled in.
As a third example, an umbrella-like structure can be used instead of the second skin. Closing the umbrella-like structure forces air out of the envelope 120 to decrease the volume to zero, and then opening the umbrella-like structure creates the evacuated envelope 120.
Certain examples have been described herein and it will be noted that different combinations of different components from different examples may be possible. Salient features are presented to better explain examples; however, it is clear that certain features may be added, modified, and/or omitted without modifying the functional aspects of these examples as described. Practitioners skilled in the art will recognize many modifications and variations. The modifications and variations include any relevant combination of the disclosed features. Descriptions herein reciting principles, aspects, and embodiments encompass both structural and functional equivalents thereof.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other various modifications could be made to the device without parting from the spirit and scope of this disclosure (especially various programmable features and architecture). All such modifications and changes fall within the scope of the claims and are intended to be covered thereby.
The scope of the invention, therefore, is not intended to be limited to the exemplary embodiments and aspects that are shown and described herein. Rather, the scope and spirit of the invention is embodied by the appended claims.
