Motor vehicles – Surface effect vehicles – Having propulsion or control means
Patent
1994-08-01
1995-10-03
Hill, Mitchell J.
Motor vehicles
Surface effect vehicles
Having propulsion or control means
180126, B60V 112
Patent
active
054544408
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to a sidewall air cushion vehicle or surface effect ship (SES).
European patent application 0 365 700 discloses a sidewall air cushion vehicle including a pair of body members which are connected to each other by a rigid structure above the water surface. The front and the rear of the vehicle each include a flexible skirt to prevent escape of air which has been fed from above by a fan. This allows the vehicle to be raised by an air cushion such that the inner portions of the body members are hardly immersed in the water. From this follows a reduced drag enabling to achieve high velocities of the vehicle at a low drive energy consumption rate. Unfortunately, this advantage is accompanied by the generation of substantial movement of the vehicle at rough sea, in particular due to the fact that substantial amounts of the air may escape from the air cushion to all sides due to movements of the vehicle.
Furthermore the sidewall air cushion vehicle of European patent specification 0 365 700 includes, between the bow and stern skirts, a transverse partition means dividing the air cushion space into a pair of compartments. At least one fan is provided to maintain the air cushion in each compartment. Furthermore, a flap valve or the like is provided to arbitrarily reduce the pressure of the air cushion. The partition means which generally comprise a skirt maintains a pressure difference between the compartments. It may be of a structure such that it is relatively soft and flexible when substantially the same pressures prevail in the compartments, while it becomes relatively stiff as a result of a pressure difference between the compartments. Such a partition means allows to control the pitch movements of the vehicle by controlling the pressure difference between the compartments. This may be obtained in a passive manner by having the pressure differentials generated as a result of vertical movements of the vehicle and wave movements within the air cushions dampen pitch movements of the vehicle. An active control is obtained by sensing control parameters such as vertical velocity or acceleration of the front of the vehicle or another parameter dependent on movements of the front of the vehicle, by sensing the wave contours or by sensing the air pressures in the compartments. An actively controlled dampening effect is obtained by arbitrary pressure increases or decreases in opposition to pitch movements of a vehicle.
However, it was found that control of the air pressures in the compartments results in substantial air losses.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a sidewall air cushion vehicle or surface effect ship which exhibits improved riding characteristics, in particular improved pitch attitude characteristics. A further object is to avoid or reduce air losses.
To this end the present invention provides a sidewall air cushion vehicle comprising a pair of parallel body members which are connected to each other by a rigid structure above the water surface, a flexible bow skirt in the front of the vehicle and a flexible stern skirt in the rear of the vehicle, an air cushion space between said bow and stern skirts, partition means extending transversely to the fore-aft-direction of the vehicle and dividing said space at substantially the mid thereof so as to provide a pair of compartments which are separated from each other by said partition means in a substantially fluid tight manner, at least one fan means for generating air cushions in said compartments, and sensor means for sensing the pitch angle or the pitch angle velocity of the vehicle to be used as control parameters for control of the pressure of the air in said compartments, said partition means including flow control means having an adjustable flow cross section and adapted to be actuated by actuating means, said actuating means being controlled by said sensor means so that said flow cross section of said flow control means is adjusted in response to the pitch angle and/or the pitch angle velocity of the vehicl
REFERENCES:
patent: 3850126 (1974-11-01), Leonard
patent: 4029036 (1977-06-01), Magnuson
Hill Mitchell J.
Hurley Kevin
MTG Marinetechnik GmbH
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