Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to inflatable kites
having improved lift and stabil:ity characteristics.
The kite of this invention exhibits excellent
flight characteristics in mild breezes as well as in high
winds without the requirement of an auxiliary tall. The
kite of this invention affords several advantages as a
toy or recreational device sinc~e it has excellent lift
and stability, rendering it an easy and satisfying kite
for children. Further, the kite of this invention, when
deflated, may be folded or rolled into a compact package
- and requires only inflation and the attachment of string
to ready it for flight. As compared with conventional
paper and box kites having sticks or other breakable
structures, the kites of this invention are only subject
to punctures which can be readily repaired.
Many of the kites known prior to this invention
do not perform satisfactorily when produced in small
sizes necessary when used as premiums. The kite of this
invention has been found to perform well in a wide
varlety of sizes making it an excellent flyer in a small
size necessary as a premium with the purchase of another
item as well as in a large size so that the kite may
serve advantageously in emergency situations such as
raising an antenna for emergency radio, serving as a
radar reflector, and the like.
In one aspect the invention provides a kite
comprising:
an inflatable rearwardly tapering body member pro-
vided with a rounded leading edge forming the leading edge
of said kite and having substantially teardrop shape, two
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inflatable opposing rearwardly projecting side members
attached to said body member and together forming a single
inflated volume wherein said rounded leading edge is
connecting with the outer edges of said side members;
a non-inflatable web of flexible sheet material
connected between the trailing edge of each rearwardly
projecting side member and said body member and said web
^xtending over at least 50% of the area defined by said
body member the side members and straight lines joining
the rear extremities of said body member and each oE said
side members;
a line attachment means bonded to said body
member; and
the ratio of the maximum width of the kite when
inflated to the length of the kite being 0.5 to 1.5.
The advantages of this invention will become
more apparent in the drawings in which the kite is shown
18 i-flated wherein:
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Y.i~J . ]. i.r; Ll ~0~ Vicw o ~1 }iit~ ~f onc pl~cLrcd
em~odimcnt of t:~;..s invcl~tion;
Fi~. 2 is a rear el~vational vicw of the kite
sho~n in Fig. 1;
Fiy. 3 is a sidc elevational vie~ o~ the kite
sho~n in Fig. l;
Fig. ~ is a top view of a kite showing another
preferred eml~oclimcnt of tlliS invention;
Fig. 5 is a top view of a ~ite shown for
compar~tive purposes;
Fig. 6 is a top view of another kite sho~n or
comparative purposes; and
~ ig. 7 is a top view of a kite shown for
comparative purposes.
Reerring to Fig. 1, a kite of this invention
may be generally described as having an inflatable hollow
body member 10 with a rounded leading edge and having
substantially teardrop shape. Two opposing rearwardly
projecting side members lla and llb are attached to the
body member and together form a single inflatable volume.
~he substantially teardrop shape may be best seen in
Fig. 3, a side elevational view of the kite of Fig. 1.
Body member 10 and rearwardly projecting side members
lla and llb may be inflated with air, or any lifting gas,
through a single opening provided by vent means 14.
Webs 13a and 13b connect each o~ the side me~ers lla and
llb, respectively, to body member 10. Webs 13a and 13b
are not inflated, but are flexible sheets.
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I 1n~ve lo~ cl Lh~ ~o achicvc tllc o~jects o~
~xccl~cn~ lift allc1 stabiJi~y ~or ki~c~s oE ~his invcn~ion,
thc kitc mus~ havc a gcnerally roundcd nosc por~ion shown
in Pi~. l as 12. Thc xounded nos~ portion may be smoothly
alicJned with the outcr cdgcs of the projccting sidc
men~bers lla aJld llb or may bc disco1l~inuous by 1~aviny
shoulders as shown in Fig. l as l5a and 15b. More
pronounced should~rs, sho~n in Fic3. ~ ~s 15c and l5d,
are also satis~actory ~or ~ites of ~his invention. 110wever,
I have found that thc rounded nose is desired for the
kite of this invention, yiving bcttcr stability without
a tail. ~y comparison with a kite of this invention as
exemplified by Figs. l through ~, the kite shown in Fig. 6,
having a pointed nose and otherwisc beiny of the same
size and the same proportions as the kite shown in Fig. l,
showed considerable loss of stability and some loss of
lift.
I have also found that to achieve the objects
of this invention, it is desirable that the two rearwardly
projecting side members lla and llb extend rean~ardly
about as far as body member lO and pref~rably further.
~he side me~bexs may be strai~ht cylindrical or rearwardly
tapered in shape. The side members may be curved either
outwardly or inwardly. It is preferred that the side
members extend rearwardly beyond the body and be tapered
to a point at their extremities. The kite shown in Fig. 5
for comparison, is o~ the same size and has thc same
proportions as Fig. l exccpt thc rearwardly projecting
side me~ers lla and llb and a corresponding portion o~
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tl~t-` W~`l)!; I3~ IJld L31~ d, nl,llc;ntl tl~e sicl~
m~ln~r~ s~lor~er than body mel~ e~ 10. Tllc kite sllown
in Fig. 5 or com~.lrison, lost consiclerable lif~ and
was not a satisfac~ory flyiny ki~e as a rcsult of great
loss of st~ility as comparcd with ~hc kitc sho~n in
Fi~. 1.
I have also found that the ratio of overall
width to length of the kite is impor~ant to obtain
su~erior lift and stability o~ thc kite o this
-invention. I have fowld that the ratio of overall wid~h
to length (W/~) must be about 0.5 to 1.5. Pre~erably,
W/~ is about 0.~ to 1.3. Fig. 7 for comparison, shows
a kite of general similarity to the kite of Fig
except the W/L ratio is about 2. The kite shown
in Fig. 7 had insufficient lift and stability to fly in
a moderate breeze~ All of the above relationships refer to
the inflated kite.
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The trailing edge of webs 13a and 13b may have
a wide variety cf shapes ranging from the shape shown in
Fig. 1 as solia lines and identified as A, extending
from the outer extremity of side members lla and llb to ~ -
the trailing edge of body member 10, to the minimum web
size to obtain good flying characteristi.cs which is
approximate~ by dotted line D. Between the boundaries
of ~ and D, any shape lS suitable, and webs lla and llb
may be scalloped or of any other shape as exemplified by
dotted lines B and C. It has been found that to obtain
the superior lift and stability characteristics of a
kite of this invention, a web of flexible sheet matorial
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conllec~:ed }~ ~w~cn ~acll sid~ men~ r al~cl l~o(ly mcm))c!r and
cxl:clltlintJ ovc~r at le;lst: a)~out 50., o thc area dc~inccl by
thc )~ody mcml~cr, the .sidc mcmbcr and a st~raicJht linc
conncct:ing t:l~c ~car c~:trcmitics of the ho(ly member and
side m~mber is dcsiral~lc. l'hc wcbs may c::tcnd rearwal~dly
of the r~ar cxtremity of the body and provide trailing
edges for the kit~ 1ebs 13a and 13b may be taut as shown
by dol:tcd lines ~ in Fig. 2 or, preferably, have some sag
as shown by solid lincs F in Fig 2. Thc degree o~ sag is
governed by Wle cxtent of shoulders 15a and 15b.
It is desired that webs 13a and 13b be of
flexible material and not inflated. For comparison, a
kite o~ the same size and proportions as the kite shown
in Fig. 1 was fabricatca whereln seals 16a and 16b were
maintained except for an interior passaye to body member
10, permitting webs 13a and 13b to be inflated. The
inflation of webs 13a and 13b was found to considerably
decrease the lift characteristics of the kite and also to
reduce the stability characteristics.
To further show the desirability of webs 13a
and 13b being uninflated, a kite o the same size and
proportions as the kite shown in Fig. 1 was fabricated
omitting seals 16a and 16b so that webs 13a and 13b,
1~dy member 10 and projecting side merlbers lla and llb,
were inflated into a single char~lber of teardrop shape.
T~e kite so constructed was not 1yable, having lost
~ssentially all o its lift and having poor stabilit~.
Still urther, a kite was fabricated o the
same siæe and proportions as the kite shown in Fig. 1,
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except that an inflated tube was extended across the
trailing edge A of webs 13a and 13b. The inflated
tube was of the general nature shown in Burrell et al
U.S. Patent No. 2,733,880, issued Feb. 7, 1956. Such
a kite did not achieve the objects of the invention as
it showed greatly reduced lift, requiring strong kite~
flying winds to fly.
The kite as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is
preferably flown from a single line secured to attach-
ment means shown in Fig. 3 as 17a. The kite may be
flown with mUltiple points of attachment or multiple
lines which merely reduce the requirement for hiyh
lift and stability requirements of the kite itself.
The attachment means 17a may be any suitable plastic
or cloth material bonded to the kite and having suitable
means for attachment of string, monofilament lines, or ~ -
- - the like. Attachment means 17a is located aft of the
area of maximum thickness of the teardrop shape of body
member 10 of the kite, i.e., aft of the thickest portion
of body member 10. Since the kite of this invention is
symmetrical, a second attachment means 17b may be attached
at a corresponding location on the top side of the kite to
permit the kite to be flown with either side up.
To obtain the most advantageous lift character-
istics, the maximum thickness of the inflated body, shown
as T in Fig. 3, should be about 0.15 to 0.45 L, as shown
in Fig. 1. Preferably, T is about 0.30 L.
Vent means 14 may be placed at any suitable
location so that when air or a lifting gas is blown
inwardly, the body member 10 and side members lla and
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llb in communication with body member 10, are inflated.
After inflation, vent means 14 may be twisted and/or
folded upon itself and tied or fastened by a rubber
band. Vent means 14 may also be in the form of
any suitable one-way valve or self-sealing aperture.
I have found contrary to the teachings of
Pohl U.S. Patent ~10. 3,003,722, issued Oct. 10, 1961,
which teaches a plurality of interconnected hollow
inflated chambers in an infla-table kite, that a single,
generally rigid inflated body and rearwardly projecting
side members are desirable to obtain the superior
performance of the kite of this invention.
I have found contrary to the teachings of
Neal U.S. Patent No. 3,335,985, issued Aug. 15, 1967,
which teaches attachment of a single string at the
maximum thickness of an inflated kite, that the kite
of this invention preferably has strin~ attachment
means 17a located aft of the maximum thickness region.
When the string attachment means is located as shown
in Fig. 3 r the kite of this invention flies at an
angle of about 45 to 80 from horizontal, depending
on wind conditions, exhibiting constant lift and
excellent stability.
From the above comparative kites, it is seen
that in order to achieve the benefits of the kite of
this invention, the nose is rounded r the relation W over
i5 0.5 to 1.5, the rearwardly projecting side members
are about as long as the body and preferably longer,
and the side members are joined to the body portion
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Wi ~ [ ~ e~ t~ y .~ 3 ~1 ~3L ]. ~ SO qj 0 ~
area ~c~ween ~lle r~ar~ardly l~rojcc~in~J sicle meml~ers
lla and 111~ allcl ~ody mcm~cr 10.
T~c kitc o this invention may bc economically
f~brica~ccl, prc~crably rom ~o sl-ccts o~ a thin thermo-
plastic ma~erial, such as polycthylcnc, having thc same
configuration alld sealing the entire peripllery of the
two she~ts, onc to tlle other, exccpt for inflation
op~ning 1~; and sealinc3 thc t~o sheets at seals 16a
and lGb, all such seals being air tight to form the
single chamber inflated shapc such as sho~n in Figs. ]
and ~. Any gas impervious sheet material may be used,
The kite of this invention has been found to
perform well without any auxiliary tail in mild breezes
as well as high winds. If desired, ho~ever, the kite
of this invention may be flown with a tail of single or
multiple ribbons attached at the rear portion of the
body.
While in the fore~oing specification this
invention has been described in relation to certain
preferred embodiments thercof, and many details have
been set forth for purpose of illustration, it will be
apparen~ to those skilled in the axt that the invention
is ~usceptible to additional embodiments and that
certain of the details described hercin can be varied '
considerably without departin~ from the basic principles
Oe the invention.
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