US3596857A

US3596857A - Automatic reciprocating action toy glider-kite string flyer

Info

Publication number: US3596857A
Application number: US6979A
Authority: US
Inventors: Willis R Battles
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-01-28
Filing date: 1970-01-28
Publication date: 1971-08-03
Anticipated expiration: 1988-08-03

Abstract

A folding wing toy glider is suspended from, and rides up a kite string, propelled by wind acting upon the vertical surface of the down-folded wing, until a latch is released by contacting a stop, allowing wing to fold horizontally and the airplane to descend kite string under the influence of gravity until it contacts a lower stop whereupon the plane''s momentum operates a mechanism cranking the wing back to its original vertical position, whereupon the up-down cycle is repeated automatically, as long as desired.

Description

United States Patent Inventor Willis R. Battles 560 So. Helberta Ave., Redondo Beach, Calif. 90277 Appl. No. 6,979

Filed Jan. 28, 1970 Patented Aug. 3, 1971 AUTOMATIC RECIPROCATING ACTION TOY GLlDER-KITE STRING FLYER 9 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

rm. cl 7 B644: 31/06 Field of Search 244/155,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,208,697 9/1965 Bayha 244/155 3,227,404 1/1966 Scharge 244/155 3,327,976 6/1967 Fregeau 244/155 Primary Examiner-Milton Buchler Assistant ExaminerPaul E. Sauberer ABSTRACT: A folding wing toy glider is suspended from, and rides up a kite string, propelled by wind acting upon the vertical surface of the down-folded wing, until a latch is released by contacting a stop, allowing wing to fold horizontally and the airplane to descend kite string under the influence of gravity until it contacts a lower stop whereupon the planes momentum operates a mechanism cranking the wing back to its original vertical position, whereupon the up-down cycle is repeated automatically, as long as desired.

PATENTEUAUB 3:91: I

SHEET 1 UF 2 FIGURE FIGURE 2 INVENTCR ELAQQZ;

PAIENTEUAus sum SHEET 2 BF 2 FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 AUTOMATIC RECIPROCATING ACTION TOY GLIDER- KITE STRING FLYER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of the Invention This invention relates to improvements in a device that flies up and down a kite string and is particularly concerned with a mechanism for causing this reciprocal up and down flight to take place repeatedly and automatically, under the influence of the forces of wind and gravity when the mechanism contacts stops at each end of the string.

2. Description of the Prior Art Kite string flyers have been known for many years. Most such devices have been used to release a parachute or a toy glider at an elevation near the kite. Many have employed a latch-tripping stop on the kite string for releasing the parachute or glider to float freely to earth while the kite string rider slid back down the kite string to be manually adjusted again with another load to take aloft. Typical of such devices is the parachute carrier of Cutshall, U.S. Pat. No. 2,041,233 (1936) which uses a vertically disposed wing, folding back to back upon release of a latch, releasing the free-floating parachute and permitting the carrier to slide back down the kite string, to be reset for another trip aloft. In the design of Cornell, U.S. Pat. No. 1,172,198 (1916), and that of Young, U.S. Pat. No. 2,833,497 (1958), after ascending the kite string, the wing folds flat, parallel to the body of the carrier, thus simulating a glider or airplane gliding to earth on the kite string, and having more appeal to the operator. These designs also require manual reset before another flight aloft. My invention represents an improvement on these devices, as follows. It combines free-floating parachute or glider launching capabilities of prior designs with the eye appeal of the simulated airplane, as it descends the kite string. By proper adjustment of its control tabs, it may be made to perform stunts as it descends, such as wingovers, or banking with one wing low. In addition, my mechanism provides for automatic reset of the wing for another trip aloft without manual adjustment. This feature permits long distance "hands-oi?" races of many laps up and down the kite string by several operators, adding greatly to the appeal of my flyer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Features and advantages of the device include the fact that the chord of the wing of the airplane is mounted at right angles, near its center, in a radial slot of a disc; the disc is pivotally mounted at its center to the side of the glider body; as the disc pivots about its center, the chord of the glider wing assumes an attitude essentially horizontal, or vertical, as the disc pivots 90; the edge of the disc is notched to receivev a latch pin fastened to the gliders body; the latch holds the disc positioned so that the wing is vertical for up-string flight; upon contacting a stop near the kite, the latch is released, allowing the disc to pivot and the wing to fold back horizontally, propelled by wind pressure; the disc also contains an offcenter pin, acting as a crank, with this crank fastened to a rodprojecting ahead of the downward-descending plane so that when this rod contacts the bottom stop, the planes momentum causes the disc to be cranked around 90, until the wing chord is again vertical, whereupon the spring-loaded latch pin catches in the disc-edge notch and the plane is ready for another trip aloft without manual adjustment. If wingover stunts are desired, the counterbalance-wing tabs may be bent in opposite directions and the vertically slidable weight raised to its upper position. The glider will then descend in wingovers after the next flight aloft. A free-falling parachute or glider may be sent aloft by booking a tether from the object to the hook on the glider's wing, with wing in the vertical position for up-string flight. When wing folds horizontally at top of string the tethered object is released to float freely to earth.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The device is described in detail in reference to drawings as follows:

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter pictorial view of a kite string glider embodying the principles of this invention showing the mechanism of the disc with the functional accessories.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the kite string glider with the wing shown in profile releasabiy locked in the downward position vertical to the fuselage and the horizontal gliding position illustrated by broken lines.

FIG. 3 is a top plan of the glider showing the means for releasably locking the-disc and means for rotating the disc from the horizontal position to the downward position.

FIG. 4 is a plan view drawn to an enlarged scale of the means for releasably locking the disc in one of two positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The fuselage structure 10 of the kite string glider is of light rigid construction comprising a block of balsa wood or other suitable material such as moulded plastic, having sufficient depth and width to support and journal a disc axle 22 and the wing 40 as well as means 12 for releasably locking the disc 20 and other functional accessories. The length of the fuselage 10 is optional but may be determined by the overall. weight required of the glider to cause it to rapidly down the kite string.

The upper side of the fuselage carries two rings or eye hooks made of smooth plastic or

steel

16 and 17. These are rigidly mounted at right angles to the axis of the fuselage. One of these rings 16 is mounted in proximity to the nose of the fuselage and one 17 in proximity to the tail. Each ring or eye hook is split at a point near the mounting and this space is filled by a small plug of sponge rubber or plastic 32 that is easily compressed to allow a kite string 62 to he slipped into the ring. The presence of the sponge rubber will prevent the kite string 62 from jumping from the ring when the glider makes impact with the upper 74 or lower 72 stop.

The wing structure 40 is a single sheet of lightweight material such as plastic or balsa wood, rectangular in shape and of sufficient size to propel the glider under the force of a light wind acting against the surface. The wing 40 may have additional counterbalances 42 to increase the surface area and assist in rotating the structure from a horizontal to a vertical position, but these are optional. These may be of easily bent metal to permit easy adjustment for aerial acrobatic maneuvers such as wingovers.

Mounted at the leading edge 46 of the wing structure at a point. offset from the center of the wing approximately onehalf the width of the fuselage is a disc 20 made of thin plastic or metal. The disc 20 is slotted a partial radius to receive the wing and is rigidly affixed to the wingin this slot at right angles to the plane of the wing and parallel to the chord. The center 22 of the disc acts as the mounting fulcrum for rotatably'joining the wing and disc combination with the fuselage. Cut into the periphery of the disc are two slots 26 and one notch 27 which are located at such a position that when the wing and disc are joined to the fuselage, one of the slots 26 will be aligned with the upper surface of the fuselage when the wing is in the vertical position and alternately, the notch 27 will be aligned with the upper surface of the fuselage when the wing is in the horizontal position. The use of two slots is preferred,

since it gives more certain latching action, the second slot catching in case the first. one is missed by the latch. The fuselage structure 10 rotatably supports the axle 22 to which is affixed the center of the disc and its attached wing 40.

The means for releasabiy locking the disc in one of two positions alternately consists of a locking wire 14 slidably mounted on the dorsal side of the fuselage by means of two axially disposed guideblocks 18.,(FIG. 3 and 4) which are firmly attached to the fuselage and so placed to prevent the wire from assuming any position other than substantially parallel to the axis of the fuselage. The end of the locking wire 14 positioned opposite the disk 20 isbent to a U-shape 12 at a point where the terminal extension of the U-shape 13 may slide into a slot 26 or bear tightly against the notch 27 on the disk 20 when either a slot or the notch is aligned with the dorsal surface of the fuselage. The extension of the wire U-shape holds its position with the assistance of a spring 15 or elastic band attached to the loop of the U-bend and also attached to the fuselage, and so placed as to apply continuous tension to the loop. A slotted block 11 on the upper side of the fuselage guides the loop so that the terminal extension 13 of the U-shaped portion maintains the same position in respect to the disk 20 and holds this U-shaped portion flat against the top surface of the fuselage. The opposite end of the locking wire 14 extends beyond the tail of the fuselage and is bent upward in a form 33 shaped like the letter M which straddles the kite string. The wire doubles back along the fuselage and passes through guides 35. This assures that the vertical form 33 retains its upright position straddling the kite string. When contact is made with the upper kite string stop 74 a force exerted on the vertical form 33 by stop 74 will move the wire 14 back against the tension of the spring 15 to a point where the U-extension 13 of the wire is free of the slot 26 on the disk.

Loading means for rotating the disc 20 from the position whereby notch 27 on the disc was releasably locked by the U- extension 13 of wire 14 to that position whereby a slot 26 on the disc is releasably locked in a similar manner and concurrently, and wing surface 40 is rotated from a horizontal position to a vertical position with respect to the fuselage 10, includes a reloading wire 34 slidably mounted on the disc side of the fuselage by two

guides

36 and 37. The

guides

36 and 37 are mounted forward of the axis 22 of the disc. The end of the wire toward the disc is rotatably attached to a pin 23 by a loop in the wire or other resilient coaction. The position of the pin 23 is offset from the axis of the disc at a point where the best mechanical advantage is available to rotate the disc without interfering with the other components. The opposite end of the reloading wire 34 extends beyond the nose of the fuselage and terminates in a form 31 shaped like the letter M which straddles but does not touch the kite string. This wire doubles back along the far side of the fuselage and passes through guides 19 which prevent dislodging the loop on impact with the lower kite string stop 72.

An accessory has been added to improve the rotational movement of the wing from the vertical to the horizontal position and vice versa. The wing is assisted to the horizontal position from the vertical on release by the locking means 12 by an elastic band 29 that is coupled between a loop 39 at the upper end of wire 38 above and forward of the leading edge of the wing 46 and the wing at a point 48 adjacent the trailing edge. The elastic band has minimum effect on the return of the wing to the vertical by inertia after impulse from the reloading wire 34 since it is so positioned that halfway through the rotation, the elastic bends across the leading edge of the wing 46 and loses its leverage.

Additional toys such as a parachute may be attached to a hook 44 which is comprised of a short piece of wire rigidly mounted windward and slightly upward from perpendicular to the plane of the down-folded wing 40 proximate to the trailing edge of the 'wing. When the wing is in the vertical position, the releasable toy will be supported by the hook. On impact of the bumper form 33 with kite string stop 74, the wing will rotate to the horizontal position and the toy will drop off. This is an advantage over prior structures in that no new locking and release mechanism is necessary for carrying additional objects. Instead, advantage is taken of the design function of the rotating wing surface.

An improvement over prior art to broaden the versatility of the toy is a vertically slidsble weight 49 suspended beneath the fuselage by a length of spring wire 50 mounted perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the fuselage (FIG. 2). The open end of the wire is bent back and a jog 52 impressed at the termination. The vertically slidable weight 49 may be positioned either at the lower bend in the wire or at that point where the terminal jog 52 can be pressed parallel to the supporting wire and the weight dropped over the jog. The effect of the weight positioned at the lower bend in the wire is to stabilize the glider while the toy is transported up or down the kite string. When the weight is positioned where the terminal jog 52 can lock the weight 49 at a position more proximate to the fuselage, the stability of the glider is reduced when wings are folded back horizontally, raising the center of gravity, so that a slight bend of counterbalances 42 will cause the glider to spiral about the string as it descends.

in use, the kite is flown using a kite string of smooth material such as Orlon, nylon or silk. The glider is attached to the string by depressing sponge rubber 32 and slipping the

rings

16 and 17 over the string. The wing is placed in a vertical position by rotating it downward from the fuselage l0 and allowing the locking means 12 to snap into a slot 26 on the disc. As the wind exerts force against the plane of the wing 40, the glider will slide up the string until the locking wire extension bumper form 33 strikes the upper stop 74. This unlocks the wing and it rotates back to the horizontal position assisted by wind pressure and the elastic 29. The locking means 12 now drops into notch 27 which is very shallow to allow the locking means to be easily disengaged. As the glider descends the kite string, it gains momentum rapidly and the bumper loop of the reloading wire 31 strikes the lower stop 72 with sufficient impact to force the wing into the vertical position aided by the added momentum of the counterbalances 42. The locking means is disengaged from notch 27 in disc 20 by the torque on the disc 20 resulting from impact and drops into a slot 26 as the wing returns to the vertical position whereby the cycle may again be repeated.

1 claim:

l. A toy glider designed to travel up and down a string such as a kite string, comprising in combination a. a fuselage,

b. a member rotatably mounted about an axis transversely of said fuselage at one side thereof and having angularly displaced notches in a peripheral portion thereof,

c. a wing structure attached to said member with the span axis in a position substantially paralleling the axis of rotation of said member,

d. means for releasably engaging either one of the peripheral notches of said member for holding said member and wing in either one of two rotative positions,

e. loading means operably responsive to a stop member on the kite stringfor rotating said member so that the wing structure may be rotatably positioned from a horizontal position to a substantially normal position to said fuselage, and

f. attachments for mounting the glider on a string.

2. A toy glider as specified in claim 1 in which means for releasably engaging the peripheral notches includes a locking member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof,

said member being operably biased against the periphery of said member rotatably mounted ad having a projection extending beyond the tail of said fuselage for contacting a stop on the kite string and slidably disengaging said locking member from one of said notches to release said member and enable said wing to rotate to the horizontal position.

3. A toy glider as specified in claim 1 in which loading means includes a loading member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof and linked pivotably to said rotatable member at a point offset from the axis of rotation and having a projection extending beyond the nose of said fuselage for contacting a stop on the kite string to exert a rotative force on said member to disengage said means from one of the notches to rotate said wing to the vertical position.

4. A toy glider designed to travel up and down a string such as a kite string, comprising notches in a peripheral portion thereof,

d. a locking member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof, said member biased against the periphery of the member rotatably mounted and having a projection beyond the tail of said fuselage,

e. a loading member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof, linked pivotally to said rotatable member at a point offset from said axis of rotatable member and having a projection beyond the nose of said fuselage operative on impact of the projection with a fixed stop mounted on said string for rotating said wing structure to a downward position,

f. means responsive to a stop on the kite string for returning the wing from the downward to the horizontal flight position whereby the wing is rotatably biased toward the horizontal flight position, and

g. attachments for releasably mounting the glider on a string.

5. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which means for returning the wing from the downward position to the horizontal flight position includes a member anchored to the fuselage,

a resilient device secured to said member,

the opposing end of the resilient device secured at a point adjacent to the top trailing edge of the wing for biasing said wing toward an upward position. 1

6. toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which attachments for releasably mounting the glider on a string includes spaced rings anchored to the dorsal side of the fuselage,

each ring having a gap proximate to the fuselage, and

said gap closed with a pad of resilient material attached to the base of the ring.

7. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which the wing structure includes tab surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing structure,

said tabs mounted in the same plane as the wing structure,

and

bendable in any plane having the trailing edge of the wing in common axis to cause the glider to rotate during descent.

8. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which the wing structure includes a member anchored to the lower surface of the wing,

said member having a free end terminating in a hook to releasably support additional toys.

9. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which an attachrnent to the fuselage includes a spring member anchored to the bottom of the fuselage and normal to the horizontal plane thereof,

supporting a vertically slidable weight,

said member having a free end bent back upon itself and terminating in a jog for releasably positioning the vertically slidable weight in proximity to the fuselage,

said weight falling free of the jog when the glider is inverted and said weight dropping to the bend when the glider returns to the normal flight position.

Claims

1. A toy glider designed to travel up and down a string such as a kite string, comprising in combination a. a fuselage, b. a member rotatably mounted about an axis transversely of said fuselage at one side thereof and having angularly displaced notches in a peripheral portion thereof, c. a wing structure attached to said member with the span axis in a position substantially paralleling the axis of rotation of said member, d. means for releasably engaging either one of the peripheral notches of said member for holding said member and wing in either one of two rotative positions, e. loading means operably responsive to a stop member on the kite string for rotating said member so that the wing structure may be rotatably positioned from a horizontal position to a substantially normal position to said fuselage, and f. attachments for mounting the glider on a string.

2. A toy glider as specified in claim 1 in which means for releasably engaging the peripheral notches includes a locking member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof, said member being operably biased against the periphery of said member rotatably mounted ad having a projection extending beyond the tail of said fuselage for contacting a stop on the kite string and slidably disengaging said locking member from one of said notches to release said member and enable said wing to rotate to the horizontal position.

4. A toy glider designed to travel up and down a string such as a kite string, comprising a. a fuselage, b. a member rotatably mounted about an axis transversely of said fuselage at one side thereof and having displaced notches in a peripheral portion thereof, c. a wing structure attached to said member with the span axis in a position substantially paralleling the axis of rotation of said member, d. a locking member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof, said member biased against the periphery of the member rotatably mounted and having a projection beyond the tail of said fuselage, e. a loading member slidably mounted on said fuselage for movement longitudinally thereof, linked pivotally to said rotatable member at a point offset from said axis of rotatable member and having a projection beyond the nose of said fuselage operative on impact of the projection with a fixed stop mounted on said string for rotating said wing structure to a downward position, f. means responsive to a stop on the kite string for returning the wing from the downward to the horizontal flight position whereby the wing is rotatably biased toward the horizontal flight position, and g. attachments for releasably mounting the glider on a string.

5. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which means for returning the wing from the downward position to the horizontal flight position includes a member anchored to the fuselage, a resilient device secured to said member, the opposing end of the resilient device secured at a point adjacent to the top trailing edge of the wing for biasing said wing toward an upward position.

6. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which attachments for releasably mounting the glider on a string includes spaced rings anchored to the dorsal side of the fuselage, each ring having a gap proximate to the fuselage, and said gap closed with a pad of resilient material attached to the base of the ring.

7. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which the wing structure includes tab surfaces attached to the trailing edge of the wing structure, said tabs mounted in the same plane as the wing structure, and bendable in any plane having the trailing edge of the wing in common axis to cause the glider to rotate during descent.

8. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which the wing structure includes a member anchored to the lower surface of the wing, said member having a free end terminating in a hook to releasably support additional toys.

9. A toy glider as specified in claim 4 in which an attachmenT to the fuselage includes a spring member anchored to the bottom of the fuselage and normal to the horizontal plane thereof, supporting a vertically slidable weight, said member having a free end bent back upon itself and terminating in a jog for releasably positioning the vertically slidable weight in proximity to the fuselage, said weight falling free of the jog when the glider is inverted and said weight dropping to the bend when the glider returns to the normal flight position.