US2035629A

US2035629A - Boomerang

Info

Publication number: US2035629A
Application number: US756087A
Authority: US
Inventors: Russell T Wing
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1934-12-05
Filing date: 1934-12-05
Publication date: 1936-03-31
Anticipated expiration: 1953-03-31

Description

Patented Mar. 31, 1936 UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE BOOMERANG v s Claims.

My present invention is in the nature of a modified boomerang which consists of blades for producing the flight and a body suspended therefrom and swivelled thereto. The blades, of which 5 there are several, preferably two, are pivotally connected so that they will be turned into closely nested parallel arrangement when out of use, and may be turned into positions at right angles, the one to the other and held in such position when m the device is thrown into the air to produce the In the accompanying drawing, which illus trates the invention and wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views Fig. 1 is a perspective showing the boomerang 35 in position of flight;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with some parts sectioned on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and with some parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of 30 F g. 2:

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view with some parts separated approximately on the line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view of parts found 85 just below the line marked 55 on Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a detail in section on the line 68 of Flg. 2;

7 is a section taken on the line 1-1 of 40 Fig. 8 illustrates a slight modification of the tip end of one of the boomerang blades; and

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 99 of 8.

The blades l oi. the boomerang are prefer- 45 ably substantially flat on their under faces and slightly convex in cross-section on their upper faces. These blades are intermediately pivoted preferably by a metallic spindle sleeve l I, the upper end of which-is flanged at l2 and the lower 50 portion just below the lower blade is bulged at I! so as to pivotally connect the two blades and hold the same under friction. Interposed between the two blades and surrounding the sleeve II are thin pressed metal upper and lower discs 65 or spindle plates ll secured respectively to said ltussell '1'. Wing, Minneapolis, Minn. Application December 5, 1934, Serial No. 756,087

upper and lower blades by marginal clinching barbs l5. These two discs id have engaging serrated surfaces I'G that are held under such frictional engagement that the blades III will be held against accidental adjustments, the one in respect to the other. That is, they, when set, will be held at right angles for common rotation or when the device is out of use, the blades may be turned into parallel relation and will then remain as set, the one in respect to the other. 1 Working through the spindle sleeve H with freedom for rotary .and slight vertical move ments is a spindle I! which, at its upper end, is provided with a laterally turned arm or tappet l8. This arm or tappet [8 works over the upper v face of a serrated or radially fluted metallic hub plate l9 and produces a clicking action, as will hereinafter appear. Rigidly secured to the lower end of the spindle I1 is the body member, above and hereinafter referred to as the car, indicated 2 by the numeral 20. This car is thus suspended at its front end from the boomerang proper, so that the blades of the boomerang can rotate without causing the spindle or the car to rotate therewith. The serrated hub plate I9 above just described is rigidly secured to the top of the upper blade l0 so that it will rotate when the blades rotate.

Preferably, the outer ends or tips of the blades ID are weighted and covered with a pliable ma- 3o terial such as rubber- In Figs. 1 to '1, inclusive, the weights are in the form of thin metal bands 2| applied around the blades near but somewhat distant from their extreme ends. These weights 2| also constitute reinforcing bands. The extreme ends of the blades are capped with a thin covering of pliable material, preferably rubber,

indicated at 22, which may be applied thereto in various diflerent ways such as by being cast or molded directly on the ends of said blades. The 40 weights increase the momentum of the blades and the pliable caps not only protect the ends of the blades but cushion impacts thereof when they strike against an object.

The car 20 whichgas stated, is made in imitation of the fuselage of a miniature aeroplane, is preferably provided with several additional and important features. To produce a sparking action in imitation of the exhaust from an aeroplane engine, -the blades I0, near their tips, are provided with sparking tips 23 of flint or other material that produce sparks when thrust against an abrasive substance, such as a loop of emery paper 24. The sparking points 23 are shown as attached to the under sides of the blades III by thin metal blades 25, and the abrasive loops 2| are ments through the looped or cylindrically turned flange of a thin metal bracket- 21 rigidly secured to the front upper edge of the fuselage 20 and through the top of which bracket the spindle I1 is passed, see particularly Figs. 1, 2, and 3.. As

' the wick-like torch burns away, it can, of course,

be forwardly adjusted.

In Figs. 8 and 9, a modified form of weight and pliable cap for the end of the blade Illa is shown. In this arrangement, the weight is in the form of a thin metal plate 28 having a dowel 29 engaged in a perforation 30 formed in the blade. Also here the rubber or pliable cap 3| is telescoped onto the end of the blade and is formed withinternal bosses 32 that engage depressions in the edge of the blade to holdthe-cap in place, covering a portion of the weight, but nevertheless, leaving the exposed end of the weight to be engaged so that the weight can be applied and remove without removing the cap, if so desired.

To assist in sustaining the rear end of the car in flight, it is shown as provided at its rear portion with oblique elevator wings 33.

The operation of the boomerang, constructed as described, is substantially as follows:

With the device adjustably shown in Fig. 1, one end of one of the blades is taken in the hand and the device is thrown into the air in such manner as to give it a whirling action. To make the device travel a curve and to returnto the position of the thrower, the blades should be thrown and released from the hand while in an oblique position,

more or less approaching a vertical plane. H0w-.

ever, the line of travel of the boomerang may be varied by varying the inclination of the plane at its release from the hand. By practice, the line of travel of the boomerang can be controlled within a large range, and a little practice will enable one to throw the boomerang so that it will return to the thrower and can be caught in the hand preferably by reaching up and grabbing the car. When the boomerang is in flight, the blades, of course, will revolve, but the car, because of the air resistance and the fact that it is supported at its front end, will not revolve but will follow the line of flight. This causes the serrated hub Hi to move under the tappet I8 and to produce a clicking action simulating to some extent the sound of an aeroplane'engine in flight. As the blades pass over the rear end of the car, their sparking points 23 will rub against the abrasive surface or loop 24, producing sparking, suggestive of the exhaust from an aeroplane engine. When the wick 21 is lit, the appearance of a head light will be produced. The sparking action and the headlight will be especially visible at night, but the clicking action, due to the contact between the serrated hub I 9 and the tappet l8 will be produced at all times when the device is in flight.

The elevator .wings 33 on the rear end of the car have been found desirable especially in the larger and higher-priced devices. They assist in sustaining the rear end of the car in flight and increase the distance of travel of the device; and moreover, they assist in holding the car to the line of travel of the device in its movement through the air. Preferably the wings 33 are made of a light material, such as thin sheet metal or celluloid, which is capable of being bent at" different angles to modify the action thereof.

The device above described has been produced both in cheap, simple forms and in the more complicated expensive forms, and it has been foimd in demand both for the amusement of children and for adults.

The blades Ill may be made of various materials, but preferably will be made of hickory or oak. Such materials, when given a hard twist, will maintain a part of the twist so that the blades can be set to vary the pitch and hence to modify the nature of the flight. In practice, I have found that the best conditions for return of the flight of the boomerang to the thrower is produced by giving the blades a pitch of from one to flve degrees.

What I claim is:

1. A boomerang comprising freely rotatable blades and a car swivelled to said blades and adapted to follow the line of flight while the blades rotate, said rotatable blades projecting so that they serve as handles by which the device may be thrown and said blades given a-rotary motion on the swivelling connection between the same and car.

2. A boomerang comprising freely rotatable blades and a car swivelled to and suspended from said blades and adapted to follow the line of flight while said blades rotate, said rotatable blades projecting so that they serve as handles by which the device may be thrown and said blades given a rotary motion on the swivelling connection between the same and car.

3. A boomerang comprising freely rotatable blades and a car swivelled to and suspended from said blades and adapted to follow the line of flight while said blades rotate, said swivel connection being at the front end of said car and said blades being rotatable on said swivel, said rotatable blades projecting so that they serve as handles by which the device may be thrown and said blades given a rotary motion on the swivelling connection between the same and car.

4. A boomerang-comprising a pair of intermediately connected freely rotatable blades, a spindle swivelled at the connection between said blades and depending therefrom, and a car secured to the depending end of said spindle and adapted to follow the line of flight while said blades rotate about said spindle, said rotatable blades projecting so that they serve as handles by which the device may be thrown and said blades given a rotary motion on the swivelling connection between the same and car.

5. The structure defined in claim 4 in which said blades are connected by a frictionally acting pivot that permits movements of the blades from parallel to right angle positions to secure said blades where set.

6. The structure defined in claim 4 in which said spindle is connected to the free end of said car and said car is provided at its rear portion with elevator wings.

7. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said car and at least certain of said blades are provided with frictionally engageable spark producing elements that are engaged when said blades are rotated in respect to said car.

8. The structure defined in claim 4 in which said spindle is capable of limited vertical movetappet surfaces adapted to produce sound when said blades are rotated.

9. The structure defined in claim 4 in which said spindle is capable of limited vertical movements through its pivotal connection to said blades and its upper end and the immediately underlying blades are provided with co-operating tappet surfaces adapted to produce sound when said blades are rotated, and further in which said car and at least certain of said blades are provided with frictionally engaging spark-producing elements that are engaged when said blades are rotated in respect to said car.

10. The structure defined in claim 4 in which said car at its front end is provided with a torch adapted to be ignited to produce the effect of a headlight when the device is in flight.

11. A boomerang comprising a pair of blades, a sleeve pivotally connecting said blades at their intermediate portions and provided at its upper end with an annular serrated hub, a spindle swivelled in said sleeve and provided at its upper end with a tappet engageable with the serrations when said blades are rotated in respect to said spindle, and a car secured to the lower end of said spindle, said spindle being capable of limited vertical movements and normally drawn downward by the weight of the car.

12. The structure defined in claim 11 in which said spindle is connected to the front end of said car and said car at its rear end is provided with an upwardly projecting abrasive surface, certain of said blades having depending sparking points frictionally engageable with said abrasive surface to produce a sparking action when said blades are rotated in respect to said car.

13. A boomerang provided with a swivelled suspended fuselage and on the fuselage a torch that is adjustable longitudinally of the fuselage to compensate for burning away of the torch.

14. The structure defined in claim 13 in which the fuselage at its front upper portion has a bracket with a looped flange through which said torch is frictionally adjustable.

15. The structure defined in claim 1 in which the blades at their ends are provided with weights to increase their momentum when rotation is imparted thereto.

RUSSELL T. WING.