Combination road and air vehicle having a lowerable chassis
First Claim
1. A vehicle capable of travel on the ground including highways and in the air, comprising a body including a cabin, a chassis including a substructure with wheels adapted for lowering and retraction within a certain distance below said body, cantilever extensions projecting from said body in the traveling direction both forwardly and backwardly relative to said cabin and forming trifurcate supporting arms defining propulsion spaces, a plurality of propeller shroud members defining air ducts hinged to said supporting arms within said propulsion spaces and adjacent each other and adapted to be adjusted in any angular position in the travel direction within a suitable range,a rotary hydraulic motor mounted in each of said shroud members and comprising an output shaft and at least one rotor for driving said shaft, a propeller mounted on each of said shafts within said shroud member, means for simultaneously adjusting said shroud members in their angular position, hydraulic pump means for producing a plurality of separate fluid flows non-communicating with one another and constituting self-contained hydraulic circuits equal in number to the number of said rotors and having proportional rates of flow, each of said rotors being connected in a single one of said separate hydraulic circuits, said hydraulic pump means including at least one driving engine being located on said lowerable substructure for improving the stability of the vehicle in the air, means for lowering, and retracting said substructure permitting the lowering of the center of gravity of the vehicle while in the air and to land smoothly on a highway, means for adjusting said shroud members in their angular position connected to said body, a plurality of inlet and outlet connection means on said pump means and motors corresponding to the number of said hydraulic circuits, hydraulic conduits interconnecting said inlet and outlet connection means, and means for steering the vehicle and controlling said engines, hydraulic pump means, hydraulic motors, adjustment of said shroud members, and lowering or retraction of said substructure.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle for traveling in the air and/or on the ground is equipped with two, four, or eight propellers on vertical shafts, each driven by a rotary hydraulic motor of the radial-piston type. The motor may comprise two rotors which are connected in individual hydraulic circuits supplied with fluid from different hydraulic pumps. One embodiment of the vehicle comprises an automobile with the propellers mounted in oblique air ducts or in shrouds pivotable in the travel direction. Each rotor of the hydraulic motors is coupled to the shaft unidirectionally so that in case of failure, the shaft can be driven by the other rotor. Each hydraulic pump preferably produces four equal fluid flows and comprises two rotors on a common shaft, each rotor with two separate groups of cylinders, the eccentricity of at least one of the rotors being adjustable. Both the hydraulic motor and the pump have inlet and outlet connections on the radial periphery of the housing. The pumps and the engine are mounted on a lowerable and retractable substructure which may lowered below the body of the vehicle at flight in air and be retracted into the body of the vehicle when travelling on the ground.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A vehicle capable of travel on the ground including highways and in the air, comprising a body including a cabin, a chassis including a substructure with wheels adapted for lowering and retraction within a certain distance below said body, cantilever extensions projecting from said body in the traveling direction both forwardly and backwardly relative to said cabin and forming trifurcate supporting arms defining propulsion spaces, a plurality of propeller shroud members defining air ducts hinged to said supporting arms within said propulsion spaces and adjacent each other and adapted to be adjusted in any angular position in the travel direction within a suitable range,
a rotary hydraulic motor mounted in each of said shroud members and comprising an output shaft and at least one rotor for driving said shaft, a propeller mounted on each of said shafts within said shroud member, means for simultaneously adjusting said shroud members in their angular position, hydraulic pump means for producing a plurality of separate fluid flows non-communicating with one another and constituting self-contained hydraulic circuits equal in number to the number of said rotors and having proportional rates of flow, each of said rotors being connected in a single one of said separate hydraulic circuits, said hydraulic pump means including at least one driving engine being located on said lowerable substructure for improving the stability of the vehicle in the air, means for lowering, and retracting said substructure permitting the lowering of the center of gravity of the vehicle while in the air and to land smoothly on a highway, means for adjusting said shroud members in their angular position connected to said body, a plurality of inlet and outlet connection means on said pump means and motors corresponding to the number of said hydraulic circuits, hydraulic conduits interconnecting said inlet and outlet connection means, and means for steering the vehicle and controlling said engines, hydraulic pump means, hydraulic motors, adjustment of said shroud members, and lowering or retraction of said substructure.
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9. A vehicle, capable of travel on the ground including on highways and in the air, comprising a body including a cabin, a chassis including a substructure with wheels adapted for lowering and retraction within a certain distance below said body, extensions projecting from said body in the travelling direction both forwardly and backwardly relatively to said cabine and forming supporting arms defining propulsion and carrying spaces with pairs thereof adjacent to each other, a plurality of at least partially airfoil-shaped ducts fastened to said supporting arms and partially forming wing-shaped portions under an angle inclined relatively to the direction of travel of said vehicle for providing additional carrying force to said vehicle when air flows over said airfoil-shaped ducts and said wing-shaped portions during forward movement of said vehicle;
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a rotary hydraulic motor, mounted in each of said ducts and comprising an output shaft and at least one rotor for driving said shaft, a propeller mounted on each of said shafts within said ducts; hydraulic pump means for producing a plurality of separate fluid flows non-communicating with one another and constituting self-contained hydraulic circuits equal in number to the number of said rotors and having proportional rates of flow, each of said rotors being connected in a single one of said separate hydraulic circuits, said hydraulic pump means including at least one driving engine being located on said lowerable substructure for improving the stability of the vehicle in the air, means for lowering and retracting said substructure permitting the lowering of the center of gravity of the vehicle while in the air and to land smoothly on said ground including on said highways; a plurality of inlet and outlet connection means on said pump means and motors corresponding to the number of said hydraulic circuits, hydraulic conduits interconnecting said inlet and outlet connection means, and means for steering the vehicle and controlling said engines, hydraulic pump means, hydraulic motors, and lowering or retraction of said substructure. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A vehicle capable of travel on the ground including on highways and in the air, comprising a body including a cabin connected to a substructure, adapted for lowering and retraction within a certain distance below said body, holding extensions projecting from said body in the travelling direction both forwardly and backwardly relatively to said cabin and forming at least two supporting-arm-structures for holding propulsion members thereon;
- at least one hydraulic motor mounted on each of said supporting-arm-structures and comprising an output shaft and at least one rotor for driving said shaft, a propeller mounted on each of said shafts;
hydraulic pump means for producing a plurality of separate fluid flows non-communicating with one another and constituting self-contained hydraulic circuits equal in number to the number of said rotors and having proportional rates of flow, each of said rotors being connected in a single one of said separate hydraulic circuits, said hydraulic pump means including at least one driving engine being located on said lowerable substructure for improving the stability of the vehicle in the air, means for lowering and retracting said substructure permitting the lowering of the center of gravity of the vehicle while in the air and to land smoothly on said ground including on said highways;a plurality of inlet and outlet connected means on said pump means and motors corresponding to the number of said hydraulic circuits, hydraulic conduits interconnecting said inlet and outlet connection means, and means for steering the vehicle and controlling said engines, hydraulic pump means, hydraulic motors, propellers and lowering or retraction of said substructure. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
- at least one hydraulic motor mounted on each of said supporting-arm-structures and comprising an output shaft and at least one rotor for driving said shaft, a propeller mounted on each of said shafts;
Specification