US1490356A - Kite - Google Patents

Description

" April 15 Y A. B. WILDER KITE Filed Dec. 21, 1922 IN VENTOR 4 4% A His A TTORNE w,

i atented Apr. 15, 1924.

ALLEN B. WILDER, OF ST. LGUIS, liIISSGURI, ASSIGNOR TO VJILDER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

KITE.

Application filed December 21, 1922.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALLEN B. TILDER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Kites, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to kites and has for its principal objects to devise a kite that is light and easy to handle in the air, that is of pleasing appearance and that does not require the use of a tail.

The invention consists principally in making a kite that is provided with a substantially flat upper or lifting surface and a rounded or bowed surface extending from side to side of the flat surface. The inven tion further consists in the kite and in the parts and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the unassembled kite;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the assembled kite and v Fig. 3 is a side view of the kite as it appears in the air.

The kite is made of any suitable material such as paper and comprises a top plane or 89 wing 1 and a curved or bowed lower mem-' her 2 connecting the Side edges of the top plane, the kite being open at both ends. At one end, the curved member 2 is re-inforced with a suitable rib 3, preferably made of wood. The curved member is provided witl a similar re-inforcing rib a at some distance from the end, in practice usually near the middle. Said second re-inforcing' rib Al is parallel to the first reinforcing rib 3.

The meeting edges of the top plane and the curved member are preferably stifiened or re-inforced by suitable members 5 heavy gummed tape being indicated in the drawing.

As shown in Fig. '1, the kite is conveniently made from a single sheet of ma terial A, of the proper size to form both the top plane and the lower curved member. The end re-inforcing rib 3 is secured at the side edge of the sheet, a portion 6 of the sheet being folded back over the rib and secured thereto, as by an adhesive. The second re-inforcing rib 4 is secured to the sheet parallel to the end rib. A gummed re-inforcing strip 5 is secured along the side edge Serial No. 608,156.

of the sheet (the edge of the bowed member) at the ends of the reinforcing ribs 3, 4, a portion 7 of said gummed strip projecting beyond the sheet for use in assembling the kite, as will be hereinafter explained. The other gummed strip 5 is secured to the sheet A, parallel to the first gummed strip, and extending on both sides of the line 7 (indicated in dot and dash in Fig. 1) that marks the junction between the top plane 1 and the curved member 2 when the kite is assembled. Thus, the gummed re-inforcing strips strengthen the meeting edges of the two members of the kite, as hereinbefore pointed out.

The kite is preferably shipped or stored in the flat, the gummed strip at the edge being creased along the edge of the sheet, and the other gummed strip being likewise creased in a line extending across the sheet at the ends of the ribs, (the junction between the top plane and the lower member when the kite is assembled) thus making-it easy to properly assemble the kite. In assembling the kite, the ribs are bowed to an extent that will permit the top member to reach the free edge of the curved member. The gummed re-inforcing strip is moistened and the edge of the top plane secured thereto, thus assembling the kite and holding it in proper shape.

The string 8 by which the kite is held is secured at the middle of the end re-inforcing rib. The kite flies so easily and exerts so little pull on the string, that very light string, or even thread, may be used. The air pressure against the flat upper surface causes the kite to rise. The rear end portion of the bottom member may flatten out under wind pressure, thus acting as a lifting plane and causing the kite to assume an almost horizontal position. In a heavy gust of wind, the upper plane can yield or belly out, thus relieving the pressure. If for any reason the kite drops, it quickly rights itself and resumes its normal position, shown iii-Fig. 3.

The herein described kite is easy to make,

and comparatively inexpensive. It may be shipped in the flat, thus reducing danger of breakage and the expense of transportation. It may be easily assembled by the user. It is easy to handle and presents an attractive appearance in the air. Obviously, numerous changes may be made without departing from the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction shown nor to the precise method of assembling described.

hat I claim is:

1. A hollow kite of sheet material in the form of a segment of a cylinder and open at its ends, the curved portion of said kite comprising transversely disposed ribs of flexible material that are normally straight but are kept in flexed form by the material of the flat top portion of the kite.

2. A frameless kite comprising a top plane, a curved lower member extending from side edge to side edge thereof, a transverse re-inforcing rib at one end of said curved member and a similar transverse reinforcing rib at about the middle of said curved member.

3. A blank for a kite, comprising a sheet, a re-int'orcing member secured along a portion of one side of said sheet, a second reinforcing member secured to said sheet and being parallel to and of the same length as said first reinforcing member, re-inforcing strips extending across the sheet at the ends of said re-inforcing members, one of said re-inforcing strips projecting beyond the edge of the sheet and being coated with an adhesive whereby it is adapted to be secured to the other edge of the sheet when the kite is assembled.

i. A kite comprising a substantially flat top member of sheet material only and a convex bottom member joined to said top member along both sides thereof, said bottom member comprising sheet material and transversely disposed ribs of flexible material thereon that are kept flexed and thereby tend to keep the top member taut.

5. A frameless; kite comprising a continuous flat top member with substantially parallel sides, and a continuous lower member in the form of a doWnWardly-convex curve, said members being joined along the Whole length of their sides and said lower member having flexible reinforcing ribs adapted to stretch the top member.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 18th day of December, 1922.

ALLEN B. XVILDER;

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