US3568358A - Flying saucer toy - Google Patents

Abstract

A FLYING TOY RESEMBLING A FLYING SAUCER INCLUDING AN ANNULAR SHAPED BODY HAVING A CENTRAL DUCT EXTENDING THROUGH THE BODY PORTION WHEREIN THE DUCT IS OF GENERALLY CONCIAL SHAPE PROVIDING A CONICAL CUSHION OF AIR BENEATH THE TOY IN FLIGHT TO INCREASE ITS STABILITY. THERE IS ALSO DISCLOSED MEANS FOR PROVIDING A TORQUE IN OPPOSITION TO THE TORQUE PRODUCED BY THE PROPELLER INCLUDING AIRFOIL MEANS POSITIONED WITHIN THE DUCT.

Description

March 9, 1971 J. 1'. BRUCE 3,568,358

' FLYING- SAUCER TOY Filed Oct. 4, 1968 v r 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG- 2 INYVENTOR; JOEL- T. BRUCE ATTORNEY v March 9, 1971 J. T. BRUCE FLYING SAUCER TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001;. 4, 1968 FIG. 5

INVENTOR JOEL T BRUCE FIG. 4

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,568,358 FLYING SAUCER TOY Joel T. Bruce, 4401 Caruth, Dallas, Tex.

Filed Oct. 4, 1968, Ser. No. 765,240 Int. Cl. A63h 27/00 US. Cl. 46-75 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates generally to toy aircraft and, more particularly, to a toy flying saucer.

Much interest has been generated in recent years in unidentified flying objects. The subject has been investigated by various government agencies'and many books have been written on the subject. Each year many unidentified flying objects are reported in the news media and otherwise, maintaining a high rate of interest in such objects and a substantial amount of speculation as to their form and origin. The unidentified flying objects are usually alleged to have a disc or saucer shape and exhibit excellent maneuverability and acceleration characteristics. As a result of the great interest aroused by the performance and unique shape of the flying saucers, several childrens toys have been developed which are made to resemble their reported shape. Although several such toys are capable of flight, in general, their flight is characterized by relatively high degree of instability.

The present invention provides a flying saucer toy powered by model airplane engine and propeller which is characterized by a greater stability than existing flying saucers. It has been found that the shape'of the column of air flowing from the flying saucer is determined to a substantial extent by the shape of the duct passing through the body of the toy. Thus, it has been found that if the duct is of generally cylindrical shape, the column of air will also be of cylindrical shape. By making the duct to be of a generally conical shape, a conical shaped cushion of air will be provided resulting in greater stability of the toy.

Still another difliculty with prior art in flying saucer toys is the tendency for the toy to rotate at excessive speeds as a result of torque generated by rotation of the propeller. In general, it has been attempted to reduce ro-- tation of the toy flying saucers by providing pods or vanes on the exterior surfaces of the toy. In accordance with the present invention, it has been found that the rotation of the toy can be corrected to a greater extent by providing fins which function as airfoils within the duct where the velocity of the air blowing over the fins or airfoils is greatest. Thus, in accordance with one specific embodiment of the invention generally vertically disposed fins are provided which react with the flow of air to provide a torque in opposition to the torque created by the movement of the propeller. In accordance with the second embodiment of the invention, the motor supports are positioned at the lowermost portion of the duct for the purpose of lowering the center of gravity of the toy to increase its stability. The supports are also preferably canted to provide an airfoil which reacts with the air flowing through the duct to provide a torque in opposition to the torque created by the rotation of the propeller and against which the flow of Patented Mar. 9, 1971 p we air reacts to lower the apparent center of gravity of the toy substantially increasing the stability of the toy.

Many objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art as detailed description of the preferred embodiment unfolds when taken in conjunction with the appended drawings wherein like reference numerals denote like parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flying saucer toy in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view, partially in cross-section, of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the toy shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view showing schematically the cushion of air provided by the toy of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a view in cross-section of a motor support arm in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, a flying saucer in accordance with the present invention is designated generally by the reference character 10. It includes an annular shaped body 12 having outer surfaces 14 and 16. The sur faces 14 and 116 are oppositely inclined and terminate at a relatively thick outer edge 18. It has been found preferable that the outer edge 18 be relatively thick rather than relatively sharp for best stability. It has also been found desirable that the lower surface 16 be inclined to a lesser extent than the upper surface 14. The inner surface 20 is generally cylindrical providing a central duct 22 which extends through the body 12. The body 12 is preferably formed of a light material, such as plastic, to define a hollow center 24. Landing skids 25 which depend downwardly from the body and which are inclined in the direction the body normally rotates are desirable for minimizing damage to the toy when landing.

A supporting frame 26 is attached to the body 12, preferably at the lower edge 28 thereof. As best shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings, the supporting frame 26 includes a support ring 30 and four concentrically arranged legs 32 which extend radially from the support ring. The support frame 26 provides a mounting for a power source 54, such as a model airplane engine. The engine is mounted so that its propeller rotates in a plane generally perpendicular to the axis of the body 12. It will be noted that the propeller is positioned within the duct 22 at a point at which the diameter of the duct is of reduced cross-sectional area and a relatively small amount of space is provided between the inner surface 20 and the tip of the propeller. A snap fastener and swivel 72 for connecting a tether line are attached to the support frame in a conventional manner.

The upper portion of duct 22 is flared outwardly to provide a smooth path of flow of air into the throat of the duct. Below the throat of the duct, the walls are generally of a truncated conical shape to provide an outlet of greater area than the throat. It has been observed that as a result of the conical shape of the duct, the cushion of air created below the flying saucer as a result of operation of the propeller will also be of conical shape as shown in FIG. 4, and flight of the aircraft will be characterized by a much greater degree of stability than is true of similar type flying saucers in which the duct is shaped to define a right cylinder. Thus, it has been found possible to greatly increase the stability of the flying saucer by tapering the inlet to the duct to minimize turbulence in the flow of air into the propeller, and by shaping the duct in the form of a truncated cone in order to provide a conical cushion of air beneath the saucer.

Torque exerted by the engine as it drives the propeller causes the body to rotate at high speeds and at a direction counter to the rotation of the propeller. This spinning has a gyroscopic efl'ect which tends to stabilize the toy against horizontal forces. However, rotation of the body counter to the rotation of the propeller decreases the effective propeller speed and thereby decreases the effective efficiency of the propeller. If the torque created by the engine is not counteracted, the body will rotate and at such excessive speed that flight will either be impossible or unstable.

In accordance with the principals of the present inventions, fins 36 are provided on the inner wall 20 of the body 12. The fins are canted in respect to the direction of flow of air through the duct such that air striking the fins will produce a torque in opposition to the torque created by the engine as it drives the propeller. It has been found that such fins are much more effective in producing the desired counteracting torque than are externally positioned fins.

The legs 32 are preferably canted with respect to the plane of the body 12, such that air flowing downward through the duct 22 will strike the legs 32 and produce a torque in opposition to a torque used for rotation of the propeller and a downward thrust which lowers the appearance and air gravity of the flying saucer. The legs 32 are preferably shaped as shown in FIG. of the drawings to provide a more eflicient airfoil wherein the distance between the leading edge 38 and the trailing edge 40 of each of the legs 32 is greater along the bottom surface 42 than across the top surface I 44. Accordingly, wind blowing in the direction of arrow 46 will strike the leg 32 tending to produce a torque in the direction of arrow 48 and a downward thrust in the direction of arrow 50. It will be noted that the forces indicated by arrows 48 and 50 would be present if the airfoil leg 42 was of uniform cross-section as the result of the air moving in the direction of arrow 46 striking the leg. However, these forces can be increased by shaping the leg 32 as shownin FIG. 5, such that an area of reduced pressure is produced along the bottom surface 42.

It has also been found advantageous to provide a dome 60 as shown in the drawings. The dome '60 is suitably made of perforated grill construction with open segments separated by meshes. The dome 60 serves as a guard to prevent a person inadvertently placing his hand into the propeller and also contributes to the stability of the flying saucer. It will be noted that provision of the dome moves the geometric center of the flying saucer upward. However, since the dome is formed of such light material and is such a small mass, it does not substantially move the center of gravity. Stability of the device is, therefore, improved since the center of gravity relative to the geometric center is lower. It will be appreciated that for the device to be stable, its center of gravity must be positioned below the geometric center. Also, it will be appreciated in this connection that the downward force exerted on the supportingarms 32 essentially contributes to lowering of the appearance of gravity.

An additional function provided by the dome is to provide a parachute effect when the engine runs out of fuel and the saucer starts to fall. It is, of course, desirable that the saucer fall in an upward position so as to prevent damage. Since the top grill of the dome extends laterally downwardly from the outer circumference, resistance of flow of air through the duct is provided, tending to maintain the saucer in a substantially vertical attitude when the saucer is falling downwardly.

Although the invention has been described with reference to a particular preferred embodiment thereof, many changes and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the foregoing description which is intended to be illustrative and not limiting ofthe invention defined in the appended claims,

What I claim is:

1. A toy aircraft comprising an annular shaped body including oppositely inclined upper and lower full circular frusto-conical surfaces which terminate at an outer circular rim before the surfaces intersect, a central full circular duct having an inlet and an outlet extending coaxially through said body, said duct including a throat portion of reduced diameter positioned closer to the inlet than the outlet with the wall of the duct above the throat portion being curved upwardly and outwardly to provide a smooth transition between the upper surface and said duct to promote a smooth flow of air across the upper surface and into the duct, the wall of said duct below said throat portion being frusto-conicallyshaped and of much greater height than the portion of the wall of the duct above the throat position, supporting frame means disposed in said central duct and attached to said body below the throat of said duct, propeller means and power means carried by said support means for driving said propeller means and supporting said propeller means for rotation about the 'axis of the body in a plane adjacent the throat portion of said duct, the height of the throat portion being less than the height of the wall of the duct below said throat portion.

2. A toy aircraft as defined in claim 1 further including fin means positioned in said duct below the throat portion whereby air flowing through said duct and across said fin means responsive to said propeller means being driven produces a torque in opposition to a torque produced as said propeller means is driven.

3. A toy aircraft as defined in claim 2 wheerin said fin means extend longitudinally along the wall of said duct.

4. A toy aircraft as defined in claim -1 wherein said supporting frame means comprises a plurality of airfoil members positioned in said duct whereby the air flowing through said duct and across said airfoil members produces a torque in opposition to the torque produced by the leading trailing edges is greater across the bottom surface than across the top surface. p

6. A toy aircraft as defined in claim 1 further including means for reducing the rotational speed of said body.

7. A toy aircraft as defined in claim 1 further including dome grill means attached to said body and partially covering said inlet. 1

8. A toy aircraft as defined in claim 1 further including landing skids depending downwardly from said body and inclined in the direction of rotation of said body.

9. A toy aircraft as defined in claim 1 further including swivel means for connecting a tether line to said body.

References Cited STATES PATENTS UNITED 2,718,363 9/1955 Crabtree 244-l2 2,949,693 8/ 1960 McROSkey 46-75 3,128,062 4/1964 Brocard 24423 3,243,146 3/ 1966 Clover 24423 3,394,906 7/1968 Rogers 4675X RUSSELL R. KINSEY, Primary Examiner J. A. OLIFF, Assistant Examiner Us 01. X.R. 24423

Images