US1579473A - Kite structure - Google Patents

Description

C. DAHL KITE STRUCTURE Filed June 13, 1924 April 6 192s,

("072 aalal/ Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

UNITED sTArEs-i c'onm but, for] Caruso,

Application med new 13,1924. Seria1 No.f719,8 88;' T

To. all/whom it concerns Be it known that I, CONRAD 6 Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements inrKite Structures, of which-the following is a specification, reference being had ,to. the. accompanying drawings, forming-a part thereof. I

vide an improvedlkite ofsturdy construction and designed 'for-rmairimum:stability in 1 the air; bylvirtue of certain featuresof 'construction this kite is adapted to be shipped inknock-do-wn form and-"*can be readily assembled by anyone-withi'the aid ofsimple 1 instructions; I The invention consists 'in vari- .ous :features and elements of construction hereinafter described and shown in the drawings-as particularlyindicated by the claims; 1 1 i .3

xIn the drawingsk .f I or :Figurel is a bottoin plan view of aikite embodying this invention. a Figure "2 -:is a perspective view' in, the nature of; a rear 'elevation viewing. the kite from :above with respect to its approximate position during flight in thelair.

Figure 3 is a plan:. .view of thei mai n sail 9 showingritsl'pattern 'or outlinebefore' attachment toathevkite frame, 1 Figure 4 is -a*detail,viewpartly; in sectionshowingbthe construction of cheap right post which supports one of thex'c'ross arms and to which titherudder plane is Figure 5 is a detail perspective view-show ing the trussed construction for the forward cross arm; I t 40 Figure 61's a'detail perspective View of the upper end of the post shown in Figure 4:;

Figure 7 is a detail perspective view of the outer endof thestrut' for-the trusssho'wn in Figure 5 e Referring first tov Fi e 1 it may be noted that the main sai ,"10, isv a unitary piece attached, at its forward edge toj the cross-'arm, 11, and having its rear corners, 12 secured by loops of string, 13, to the oppo- 5 site ends of-a' second cross arm, 14. Re-

enforcing strips, l5, ofcloth or paper are gummed to the sail, 10, extending divergently thereon from a point adjacent .the intersection of the mid-rib, l6, and the cross arm, 11, thus forming tension m'embers v H DAHL, fa citizen of'the United States, residing, at Chicagofln the oounty of Cook and State of hepurpose of-=th1s anvention is to pro-J the sail slightly longer than'the' normalrdiss tance-be'tween'the 'endsiof said'cross-arinsso V as to ive some fullness to-these outwardly forwardly upon the cross-arm, l t," which I forwardly and downwardly to an anchorage whose rear ends are connected by: ,stringi, loops, 17, to laterally; separated {points 1on1" the second cross-arm, '14; Figure 1, being a bottom plan View, indicates that the material I of the sail, 10, is stretched against the under; 00

side of the mid-rib, '16, so. that the-triangular.

areas,;10 formed between the mid-rib and the tension strips, 15, lie in. planes extending divergentlyf upward ,from the mid-rib,i"be'-=. cause the second cross-arm, '14, is spaced above said mid-rib, 16, by lodgmention an upwardly open. hook, 18, carried'xbyi the post, v19, upstanding [from the mid -rribr'an'd positioned thereonby'a dowel pin, 20, as

indicated in Figure 4; Fro the menarcing strips, 15,.the material of the main sail, 10, extends laterally outward substantially to'the ends of the c'ross-arx'ns,-11 and 14, and preferably I make the lateral edges, 10*, of

exten ing'yareas of the sail allowing was pocket the windto a certain extent by "bulgingupwardly as indicated iniFigure 2 The 1 pattern ofi the vmainsail, 10, T is clearly vindi 'cated ini-Figure 3.

Q-J- 'The post, 19, -is held-in its: upright positionby the-tensionofthe main sail pulling laps against the rear face ofthe post' and by the rearwardtension of a double cord consisting of the strands,'-2l, 21 leading from the top of the" post, '19, to the'jextreine rear-"endof the mid-rib,-16 About midway J oftheirlengthfthe strands, 121", are heldapart by a. spreader .stick, 22,uandmay be I somewhat deflected downwardly at this point by the tension of cord's,'23',- extending in the ,foot of the post', 19. A iudder' plan'e, 24, is composed ofa double thickness of material folded around the 'niider-ib, 1'6, and

extending vertically upward for attachment of itsforwarduppe-r corner to the hook, 18, by a string 1oop, 25. QFIOIHV this point the upper edge of the rudder plane slopes down-- 'ward toward the rear end of the mid-rib,

16, being defined by creases,26,"at which the material of the plane, 24,- is folded outm wardly' to for'm two wings, 27, of approximately triangular form whose Outeredges are folded over the cords, 21, rearwardly of thespreajder stick, 22.; The forwardly'con- Ver 'n" ed es' 28 ofsaid 1 lanes meetin a g g P vertex closely 25. .7

The post, 19, is additionally steadied by tension cords, 29, extending from the. outer ends'of the cross-arm, 14, over the topof the post and also by tension cords, 30, which extend rearwardly from the ends of the crossarm, 14, around the rear end of the mid-rib, 16. The downward trend of the cord, 30, and the corresponding downward trend of the main sail, 10, in aforward direction oppose the upward tension of the cord, 29; but it will be seen that in a heavy wind the upward bulging of the sail, 10, may carry the cross arm, 14, upwardly a short distance along the post, 19. This allows the kite to accommodate itself tosudden or irregular wind pressure and to hold its position without any noticeable tendency to dive or pitch about in the air. For use in a heavy wind I find it desirable to re-enforce the foward cross arm, 11, by means of a truss consisting of a strut, 31, extending downward from "a point adjacent the intersection of the cross-arm with the mid-rib, 16, and notched at its lower end to receive a tension member, 32, extendingto the outer ends of the cross arm, 11, and a second tension member,.33, extending from the forward endof the mid-rib, 16, and. over the strut to a point on the mid-rib about the same distance rearwardly of the cross-arm, 11. V t a i 1 A convenient point for attachment'of the string,- 33, is the hook; 34, which. forms a pivotal connection for .astiff wire leader, 35,

adjacent the attaching loop,

a by which the leading string, 36, is connected to the kite. The leader is somewhat less than half theIlength of the mid-rib, 16, and from an eye, 37, formed in its lower end a flexible tie string, 38,. extends upwardly and rearwardly to a point on the mid-rib, preferably to the extreme rear end thereof. For convenience a part of this string, 38, is made into a-loop, 39, adjacent the eye, 37, so that the-leading string, 36, may be readily attached or detached from the kite.

The front end of the kite is properly balanced by providing a small triangular sail, 40, with its vertex attached to the for-ward end of the mid-rib, 16, and with its opposite edge secured permanently to ,the forward edge of the main sail, 10.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate features of construction which permit me to make the kite so that it may be shipped in knock-down form and easily put together. As an example of this construction Figure 6 shows the upper end of the post, 19, having a saw slit, 41, cut down a short distance and a hole, 42, bored into theend of the post for the same depth. This allows the tension cord 29, to be dropped into the slot, 41, while a knot, 29*, tied at the midpoint ,of the cord becomes engaged inthe hole, 42, and thus prevents the cord slipping back and forth through the saw slit, 41. By driving a pin, 43, into the front face of the post and ]ust below the depth of the slit, 41, I am able to use a loop, 21 ,'atthe forward end of the double cord, 21, and simply drop this loop around the upper end of the post, 19, for engagement therewith.

Figure 7 illustrates the lower end of the strut, 31, in which two saw slits, 45 and 46, respectively, areformed at right angles with a central hole, 47, at their intersection. This allows the tension members, 32 and 33, to cross in the hole, 47, and a knot such as that shown at 33, will definitely lock the tension member by engagement with said hole, 47.

As shown in other figures of the drawing the tension members which terminate at one of the slotted ends of across-arm or midrib are simply made with terminal knots which lodge against a face of the slotted member for locking the cords in the slots under tension.

I claim: v

1. In a kite, the combination of a longitudinal mid-rib, a cross-arm secured thereto near the forward end, a second crossarm positioned rearwardly of the first andspaced above the common plane of said firstcrossarm ,and the mid-rib, tension members extending divergently from the first cross arm adjacent its intersection with the midrib to laterally spaced points onthe second cross arm and a sailstretched in the'triangular areas from themid-rib :divergently upward to said tension members-and extending thence outwardly in the common plane of the cross arms; 1 1

2. In the. combination defined in claim 1, the outer or lateral edges of the sail being longer than the normal distance between the ends of the respective cross arms to give fullness to the outwardly extending areas ofthes'ail. a

3. In the combinationdefined in claim .1, the mid-rib extending forwardly beyond its intersection with the first cross-arm and a triangular sail secured at its-vertex to the forward end of the mid-rib and extending rearwardly for attachment to the forward edge of the other sail. r

4. In a kitecomprising a mid-rib and a pair of cross-arms supporting the sail, a relatively stiffer leader pivoted loosely to the mid-rib and, extending downwardly therefrom, a leading string attached to the lower end of the leader and a flexible tie connecting said lower end of the leader to a point on the mid-rib rearward of the pivotal connection of the leader thereto.

5. In combination with a kite frame, a leader of relatively stiff material pivoted loosely to one of the frame sticks, a flexible tie extending from a point on the leader at a distance from its pivotal connection to a 7 point on the frame at a distance from said pivotal connection and a leader string extending from thelower end of said leader.

6. In a kite structure in combinationwith a mid-rib and an intersecting cross-arm supporting the sail, a truss for the cross-arm comprising a strut extending downwardly adjacent the intersection between the midrib and the cross-arm, a tension member pass: ing over the strut upwardly'and' connected to points on the cross-arm at opposite sides" of the mid-rib, and a second tensionmember passing over the strut upwardly, and connecting points on the mid-rib at opposite sidesof the cross-arm.

7. In a kite the combination of a longitudinal mid-rib, a cross-arm secured thereto near the forward end, a second cross-arm positioned rearwardly of the first and spaced above the common plane of said first'crossarm and the mid rib, a main sail supported by said cross-arm, a post up-standing from the mid-rib-to support the second cross-arm, adouble cord extending rearwardly from the upper part of the post to, the rearward end portion of the mid-rib with a spreader stick interposed between its two strands at a point intermediate its ends, a rudder plane u-pstanding from the midaib with laterally extending Wings folded outwardly in opposite directions fromits upper edge lyingplane up-standing from the mid-rib with its [forward end connected to said hook.

in the inclined plane determined by said the second cross-arm to the rear portionof the mid-rib, a ,post up-standing from the mid-rib adjacent said cross-arm but unattached thereto and tie members extending" from the outer ends of said cross-armto a wpoint'on the post above said arm.

10. In the combination defined in claim 1,

tension means extending rearwardlyfrom the second cross arm to the rear portion of the mid-rib, a post upstanding from the mid-rib adjacent said cross arm but unattached thereto, an upwardly open hook'on the face of the post adjacent the cross-arm extending under the latter, and a rudder 1 1. In the combination defined in claim 1, said divergent tension members comprising re-enforcing strips secured to a face of the sail and the forward edge of thesail being attached throughout its length to the first cross-arm. 7 v

, CONRAD DAHL.

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