Motor vehicles – Surface effect vehicles – Having propulsion or control means
Patent
1981-10-30
1983-11-08
Pekar, John A.
Motor vehicles
Surface effect vehicles
Having propulsion or control means
180127, B60V 104, B60V 115
Patent
active
044136978
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a vehicle intended to move on an air cushion, adapted to be propelled on land or water, comprising a central platform, lifting means for establishing an air cushion under said platform and for lifting it relative to the ground or the water surface, as well as propulsion means for assuring the gliding of said platform on the air cushion thus created.
In particular, the invention is directed to a vehicle using an air cushion which comprises on its periphery an inflatable skirt which ensures tightness with respect to the support (ground or water) on which the vehicle moves.
Vehicles of this type are already known but present, in general, the drawback of being conceived for only one particular utilization and not adapted for being converted to another usage.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a vehicle which moves on an air cushion, is of particularly simple construction and can without difficulty be transformed so as to be adapted to any desired mode of utilization. The same vehicle can thus be used for professional purposes and, by means of a simple change of the body, can be made ready for recreational purposes. As will be set forth below, this possibility of transformation is not only due to the inherent structure of the vehicle, but also to the particular arrangement of lifting and propulsion means in the structure.
The vehicle according to the invention which is intended for moving over ground or water, contains a central platform which is surrounded by an inflatable skirt, as well as lifting means for creating an air cushion under said platform, and propulsion means; it is characterized in that it comprises between said platform and said skirt a belt surrounding said platform and providing under the platform a first face directed obliquely toward the vertical central axis of the platform and downwards, extending outwardly of the platform by a second horizontal face, with said second face forming a support pad, and at least one nozzle connected to the lifting means, opening under the platform into said first oblique face of the belt for the formation of the air cushion, with said belt receiving on its outer periphery a shaped piece for fixing the skirt.
According to one feature of the invention, the first oblique face of the belt forms an angle between 50.degree. and 70.degree. with the horizontal, i.e., the plane of the central platform.
In a preferred embodiment the belt is constituted by a tube with a polygonal cross section, with two adjacent faces of the tube forming the first oblique face and the second horizontal support face.
Said belt which ensures the stiffening of the structure allows for an easy transformation of the vehicle in accordance with the desired use thereof.
Other objects and advantages will become clear upon reading the following description with attached drawings, giving non-limitative examples.
FIG. 1 is a perspective, lateral view of the unit, showing one embodiment of the vehicle according to the invention.
FIG. 2 shows the vehicle of FIG. 1, seen in a three-quarter rear view.
FIG. 3 is a transverse, sectional view of a portion of the structure of a vehicle according to the invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the lifting and propulsion means of this vehicle.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the means of FIG. 4 associated with the vehicle structure.
FIG. 6 shows in particular a way of fixing the tightness skirt of the vehicle.
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the vehicle according to the invention has in its preferred embodiment a body 10, forming a cabin 11 which is protected in front by a windshield 12, and is equipped in the rear with two annular housings 13, each surrounding a multiblade propeller, driven by a motor (not visible).
Behind said housings, in the path of the air stirred up by the propellers, rudders 15 are provided (here in two groups of three), which are, for example, actuated by the steering wheel through a suitable linkage.
At its periphery the body 10 carries an inflatable tightness skirt 20 which will be
REFERENCES:
patent: 3398809 (1968-08-01), Wood et al.
patent: 3473503 (1969-10-01), Gunther
patent: 3877542 (1975-04-01), Paoli
patent: 4111277 (1978-09-01), Peissel
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