US3110460A - Kite - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 12, 1963 J. 1.. KOONCE ETAL KITE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 28, 1962 R WWW 0 0E. V zm m w 6 4 Le "M M Ma G ATTOR/VEVJ Nov. 12, 196 'J. L. KOONCE ETAL KITE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 28, 1962 (BA/7 L. Koo/7C6 Geo/ye W. Koo/ice v INVENTOR. BYM"W ATI'OflA/EVJ United States Patent 3,110,460 KITE This invention relates to improved kites of the type designed to resemble a bird.

Heretofore, kites of this type have been made in the conventional manner from wooden struts and paper. Obviously, these did not closely resemble a :bird, primarily because of their lack of depth and thickness of body. For substantially these same reasons, kites of this type oflered n operational improvements over conventional kites, were just as fragile, and flew in generally the same manner as a conventional kite. In other words, other than the fact that they had the general outline of a bird, they were no different from conventional kites.

It is one of the principal objects of this invention to provide a kite which more closely resembles a bird than prior kites of this type.

Another object of this invention is to provide a kite which not only more closely resembles a bird, but which also has improved flight characteristics.

It is an additional object and one of the principal features of this invention to provide a kite shaped like a bird which has the inherent ability to adjust to various wind velocities.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a kite which not only has the physical characteristics of a bird, but which also more closely resembles a bird in flight than prior kites of this type in that it will fly approximately level to the ground under normal flying conditions.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a kite shaped like a bird which can be flown in either a light or strong wind without having to be adjusted.

These and other objects are accomplished, in accordance with our invention, by a kite comprising an elongated body having integrally connected laterally extending wings and a tail section. The kite is molded in one piece from a suitable material and provided with sufficient thickness to provide depth or a third dimension to the kite to further enhance its resemblance to a bird. As distinguished from the conventional kite, our kite needs no adjustments for diflerent wind velocities but is free to assume diiferent altitudes with respect to the ground for different wind velocities and will assume a level position with respect to the ground in optimum flying conditions, thereby simulating the flight characteristics as well as the appearance of a bird in flight.

Still other objects, advantages and features of this invention will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon a consideration of the written specification, the attached claims and the annexed drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters are used throughout to designate like parts:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the preferred embodiment of the invention, FIG. 1 being a view from the lower side of the kite and FIG. 2 being a view from the upper side of the kite;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken through the wings 2 of the kite and illustrating the relationship of the wings and tail section as well as the shape of openings in the wings; and

FIG. 4 is a side view of the kite, partly in section and partly in elevation along line 4-4 of FIG. 3, and illustrating further the relationship of the wings to the tail of the kite as well as the preferred thickness of the wing in relation to its width.

The kite is molded into the shape illustrated which consists of the body 10, wings 11 and 12, and the tail section indicated generally by the number 13. Obviously, the molding material used should be as light as possible since the less weight the kite has, the less wind it will take to fly it. As for its structural strength, it should be sufliciently strong to not only withstand the forces imposed on it in flight, but also to take the normal amount of abuse inherent in kite flying such as, for example, the crash landings which necessarily result whenever an attempt is made to fly the kite with an insuflicient amount of wind or when the wind is gusty, etc. One material which has been found to meet these requirements is expanded polystyrene pellets, which is also easily handled and easily molded.

The front end of the body is shaped to resemble a birds head 14. Also, various markings 29 are produced on the kite during the molding operation to resemble feathers to help the kite present the illustion of a bird in flight. These markings can be colored to emphasize them and to make them visible from the ground to add to the birdlike appearance of the kite.

The wings extend outwardly from the body and form an angle with each other of less than which not only makesthe kite look more like a bird, but also gives it more stability due to the dihedral angle of less than 180. The wings are tapered toward the end for esthetic purposes as well as for the obvious structural reasons. Further, as seen in FIG. 4, the wings are shaped as an air foil in that each has a convex upper surface 15 and a straight or concave lower surface 16. As illustrated in the drawings, the lower surface is just slightly concave,

which simplifies the removal of the kite from the mold.

In accordance with this invention, there are openings 19 and 18 in the wings 11 and 12 which are shaped so that they are largeron the underside of the wings than they are on the upperside. In this way, the wind passing through the openings will experience an increase in velocity'and a decrease in pressurei.e., a venturi effectthereby producing a tremendous improvement in the flight characteristics of the kite. Without such an opening in the wings, the kite is unstable and flies for only a brief instant in the proper position before it falls to one side or the other and crashes to the ground or spins around and around in the air on the end of the kite string. With the openings shaped in the manner described, the kite immediately becomes stable and maintains its proper position in flight.

In conventional kites, the kite string is attached to the bridle of the kite in such a way that its position with respect to thekite is always fixed and this in turn fixes more or less relationship of the kite .to the ground. In other Words, it limits the change in inclination which is possible between the kite and the ground. This is satisfactory in the conventional kite since it consists of a flat surface which must be held at an angle in the prevailing wind Patented Nov. 12, 1963' in order to produce the lift necessary to overcome the weight of the kite and string, etc. However, having wings shaped as air foils, the kite of our invention will automatically assume a position relative to the wind to take full advantage of the lift produced by the wind flowing over its wings. Since a more or less horizontal position with respect to the ground is the most eflicient angle for the air foilsi.e., where they produce the greatest lift the kite will inherently seek such a position if allowed to do so.

In order to accommodate this tendency, the kite string is attached to the kite so that it will not prevent it from assuming any position it desires. Thus, the kite string 22 is attached to a solid ring 24 which in turn is attached to the body of the kite by a short line 23. The short line 23 has each end attached to the body to form a loop upon which the solid ring can freely slide. This arrangement allows the kite to adjust its attitude with respect to the ground as desired, with no interference from the kite string. It has been found that the best results are obtained when the ends of the short line 23 are attached below the leading and trailing edges of the wings. For this purposes, and as shown in FIG. 4, each end of the line may be passed through a conically shaped plug 26 which is cemented or otherwise secured within a similarly shaped opening in the bottom side of the body of the kite.

The tail section 13 at the rear end of the body consists of two laterally extending stabilizer members and 21. Preferably, these stabilizer members are curved so that they arch upwardly and outwardly from the body until their ends are more or less horizontal and located above the horizontal plane of the wings, as illustrated in FIG. 3. This is done primarily to keep them above the turbulence created by the passage of the wind over the wings so that the kite will fly smoothly and not have its tail section buffeted by this turbulence. However, these members do not have to be above all of the wing because as long as they are simply located above the horizontal plane of the trailing edge of the wing, they will miss most of the eddy currents produced in the air by the wing.

The kite is further stabilized, particularly when it is flying with its horizontal plane approximately parallel to the ground, by a tapered ridge extending along most of the lower side of the body 10 and acting as a keel and vertical stabilizer as well as a convenient point for attaching the bridle 23.

This ability to fly horizontally then is a result of the combination of the shape of the wings and the tail and their relationship, plus the fact that the kite can freely adjust its position relative to the kite string. However, whether or not the kite flies in a plane horizontal to the ground will depend on the velocity of the wind. If the kite is being flown in a light wind, it will not obtain suflicient lift in the horizontal position and it will therefore assume an angle to the ground which will present the relatively flat areas on the underside of the wings and tail to the wind and fly in the conventional manner.

In summary, this invention has produced a kite which is made to closely resemble a bird not only in appearance but in flight characteristics. It is made of an integral, one-piece body construction and is so designed, as de scribed above, that it can fly in an approximately horizontal plane with respect to the ground in a manner heretofore not possible with conventional kites.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects hereinabove set forth, together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the apparatus.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is:

1. A kite, comprising a body having laterally extending wings on its opposite sides and a tail section at one end molded as one piece to resemble a bird, each wing having a symmetrical opening which is convergently tapered from the lower side to the upper side of the wings, and said tail section having laterally extending stabilizing members.

2. A kite, comprising a body having wings and a tail section molded as one piece of homogeneous plastic material so as to resemble a bird, said wings having a dihedral angle of less than 180 and being shaped as air foils with a convex upper surface so that the distance traveled by the air over the top of the wing will be greater than the distance traveled by the air along the bottom of the wing, each wing having an opening therein with upwardly'converging tapered walls and symmetrical with respect to the shape of the wings, said tail section comprising two laterally extending curved members having their outer ends above the trailing edges of the portions of the wings upwardly of such members.

3. The kite of claim 2, including a flexible line having each end attached at spaced points to the body, and a solid ring to which the kite string can be attached encircling the flexible line and free to move along it to permit the kite to change positions with respect to the ground.

4. A kite, comprising a body having laterally extending wings and a tail section to resemble a bird, each wing having a symmetrically shaped opening therein which is larger on the underside than on the top side, and said tail section having laterally extending stabilizing members curved upwardly to dispose their top sides at an angle which is less than 180 and then outwardly to dispose their outer ends approximately horizontal.

5. A kite of the character defined in claim 4, wherein the outer ends of the laterally extending stabilizing members are located above the trailing edges of the portions of the wings forwardly of such members.

6. A kite, comprising a body having laterally extending wings on its opposite sides and a tail section at one end so as to resemble a bird in flight, each wing having an opening therethrough which is convergently tapered from the lower side to the upper side of the wing, and said tail section having laterally extending stabilizing members.

7. A kite, comprising a body having laterally extending wings on its opposite sides and a tail section at one end so as to resemble a bird in flight, each wing having an opening therethrough which is larger on the underside than on the top side, and said tail section having laterally extending stabilizing members with outer ends which are approximately horizontal and are located above the trailing edges of the portions of the wings forwardly of such members.

8. A kite, comprising a body having laterally extending wings on its opposite sides and a tail section at one end so as to resemble a bird in flight, each wing having an opening therein which is larger on the underside than on the top side, and said tail section having stabilizing members which extend upwardly to dispose their top sides at an angle of less than with respect to one another and then outwardly to dispose their outer ends above the trailing edges of the portions of the wings forwardly of such members.

9. A kite, comprising a body having laterally extending Wings on its opposite sides and a tail section at one end to resemble a bird in flight, said body, Wings and tail section being molded as one piece, each wing being shaped as an air foil and having an opening therethrough which is larger on the underside'than on the top side, and the 5 6 tail section having laterally extending stabilizing members. 3,022,966 Briggs Feb. 27, 1962 10. A kite of the character defined in claim 9, wherein 3,022,967 Romeo Feb. 27, 1962 the outer ends of the stabilizing members are substan- 3,076,626 Andrews Feb. 5, 1963 tially horizontal and located above the trailing edges of the portions of the wings forward of said members. 5 FOREIGN PATENTS 344,275 Great Britain Mar. 5, 1931 References Cited in the file of this patent 532,369 at fl' a Jan- 22, 19 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES 1,261,731 Fronsdall Apr. 2, 1918 Pelaspan Expandable Polystyrene, Catalog 171-90 2,434,077 Lang I an. 6, 1948 10 of The Dow Chemical Company, page 31, February 1958.

Claims (1)

1. A KITE, COMPRISING A BODY HAVING LATERALLY EXTENDING WINGS ON ITS OPPOSITE SIDES AND A TAIL SECTION AT ONE END MOLDED AS ONE PIECE TO RESEMBLE A BIRD, EACH WING HAVING A SYMMETRICAL OPENING WHICH IS CONVERGENTLY TAPERED FROM THE LOWER SIDE TO THE UPPER SIDE OF THE WINGS, AND SAID TAIL SECTION HAVING LATERALLY EXTENDING STABILIZING MEMBERS.

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