US2768473A - Air propelled spinning device - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 30, 1956 H. E. G. TAGGART AIR PROPELLED SPINNING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 1. 1954 70 1 9% 335 p 3 e INVENTOR Ta a r2 ATTORNEY 1956 H, E. e. TAGG'ART AIR PROPELLED SPINNING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed; Oct. 1. 1954 fi 'a lzyyarf 2% BY I ATTORNEY AIR PROPELLED SPINNING DEVICE Howard E. G. Taggart, Buena Park, Calif.

Application October 1, 195%, Serial No. 459,742

Claims. (Cl. 46-56) This invention relates to a novel air propelled spinning device primarily adapted for use as a kite tail and which is likewise capable of numerous other uses such as to afford amusement, to attract attention and to protect fruit trees and crops from birds.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel kite tail or kite stabilizing device which will automatically compensate for changes in wind velocity and will offer substantially no resistance or drag when being used under conditions of low wind velocities, and which will automatically increase the drag or resistance as the wind velocity increases.

A further object of the invention is to provide a spinning device which when used as a kite tail will be extremely attractive in appearance and which will extend only a short distance from the kite, enabling a kite to be flown close to trees, telephone wires and other hazards without risk or" the tail becoming entangled therewith.

Another object of the invention is to provide a spinning device having novel attaching means for quickly and easily attaching the device to a cord or other strandlike element.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter become more fully apparent from the following description of the drawings, illustrating presently preferred embodiments thereof, and wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional kite as it appears in flight with the novel spinning device attached thereto and functioning as a kite tail;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view, partly in section, showing a portion of the spinning device and a lower portion of the kite to which the device is attached and looking toward the opposite side of the kite and spinning device as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a plan View of the spinning device shown detached f rom the kite;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view thereof, taken substantially along a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a cross sectional view through the blades of the spinning device showing the relative positions of the two blades while rotating, as seen in Figure 1;

Figure 7 is a plan view of the lower portion of another conventional form of kite shown equipped with two spinning devices constructed to rotate in opposite directions and showing the vanes or blades of the spinning devices as they will appear when rotated, and

Figure 8 is a cross sectional view through the vanes of the two spinning devices as seen in Figure 7, as they appear looking downwardly from above in open positions and being revolved by air pressure impinging thereagainst.

Referring inore specifically to the drawings and first with reference to Figures 1 to 6, for the purpose of illustrating one preferred application and use of the novel spinning device, designated generally 10 and comprising nited States Patent 0 the invention, a conventional kite 11 has been illustrated in Figure 1 to show one application and use of the spin- 'ning device 10 as a mechanical kite tail to automatically regulate the drag on the kite depending upon the wind velocity in which the kite is being flown. The conventional kite 11 includes the usual frame having a stick 12 forming a part of the frame and extending from top to bottom of the kite and which is provided with notched ends for receiving portions of the conventional kite string 13 on which the kite paper 14 is secured in a conventional manner. The bottom notch 15 of the stick 12 in which a part of the string 13 engages is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3.

The spinning device 10 includes an attaching tab 16, a spinner or revolving member 17 and a swivel connector 18. The tab 16 may be formed of any suitable sheet-like material capable of being readily flexed, such as a heavy paper or plastic and may be of various shapes. The tab 16 is provided with two relatively small laterally spaced openings 19 located near an upper end thereof with a larger opening 20 located near to but spaced from a lower end of the tab and preferably in a centered position relative to a longitudinal axis of the tab. The tab 16 is also provided with a longitudinally extending slot 21 opening into the opening 26 and extending downwardly therefrom and terminating substantially above a lower end of the tab. The tab 16 is also provided with slits 22 communicating with and extending downwardly from the openin s 19 and which open outwardly of side edge portions of the tab above and spaced from its lower end 23. The tab 16 is thus provided with a central portion disposed between the slits 22 and extending from its lower end 25 to the openings 19 and in which the opening 20 and slot 21 are formed. The tab 16 also has wing por tions 25;, formed by the slits 22 and disposed outwardly with respect thereto and with respect to the upper part of said central portion 24.

The spinner or revolving member 17 comprises a head 26 of two ply construction which may be formed from a single piece of sheet-like material such as the material of which the tab 16 is formed. The piece forming the head 26 may be folded along a fold line 27 thereof to form two corresponding plies 28 having relatively wide unsecured bottom portions 29 and upper portions 34) which taper in width. The upper portions 39 of the plies 28 are provided with registering openings 31 and registering slots 32. The head opening 31 and slot 32 are preferably disposed in alignment with the longitudinal axis of the member 17 and the slot 32 communicates with and extends upwardly from the opening 31 but has an upper closed end spaced from the restricted upper end of the upper head portion 30. The revolving member or spinner 17 also includes a pair of elongated blades or vanes 33 and 34 each having longitudinal side edges. The blades or vanes 33 and 34 are likewise formed of a material which may be readily fiexed such as heavy paper or sheet plastic and have upper end portions 35 disposed between the lower ply portions 29 of the head 26 and which are secured thereto by a suitable fastening 37, such as a staple, which extends through said ply portions 29 and through the blade portions 35. The blades 33 and 34 are thus attached to the head 26 so as to extend downwardly from the lower end of said head. The vanes or blades 33 and 34 are secured to the head 26 with the longitudinal axes of said blades offset relative to one another so as to diverge in a direction away from the head 26. Thus, the blades 33 and 34 have inner longitudinal edges 33a and 34a, respectively, which converge relative to one another from the head 26, and outer longitudinal edges 33b and 34b, respectively, which diverge relative to one another from the head 26. Accordingly, the width of the portions of the blades 33 and 34 which overlap,

as defined by the portions of said blades disposed between the inner edges 33a and 34a, diminishes away from the head 26, and the width of the exposed portions 330 and Me, located between the edges 34a and 34b and 33a and 34b, respectively, increases toward the lower free ends 33d and 34d of the blades 33 and 34, respectively. As best seen in Figure 4, the ends 33d and 34d are inclined downwardly and outwardly with respect to one another.

The swivel connector 18 is illustrated as comprising a conventional ball chain, each ball of which is swivelly connected relative to the ball or balls disposed adjacent thereto. However, any other suitable form of swivel 18 which is flexible could be substituted for the swivel ball chain 18. The ball chain 18 may be of any desired length. The halls of the chain connector 18 are smaller in diameter than the openings 20 and 31 and larger than the width of the slots 21 and 32. Accordingly, end portions of the connector 18 are inserted through the openings 20 and 31 and are then drawn into the slots 21 and 32 to the closed ends thereof and away from the openings 20 and 31, respectively, so that portions of the chain located between adjacent balls engage in said slots 21 and 32 for detachably connecting the end portions of the connector 18 to the tab 16 and head 26.

With the spinning device thus assembled, a portion of the kite cord 13 located adjacent the notch 15 is passed upwardly through the slits 22 into engagement with the openings 19 and the part of the kite cord, located between said openings 19 is then engaged in the notch 15 for thereby detachably connecting the tab 16 and accordingly the spinning device 10 to the lower end of the kite 11, as clearly illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. The kite is then flown in a conventional manner with the device 10 functioning as a mechanical kite tail. The wind will strike the exposed portions of the blades or vanes 33 and 34, designated 33c and 340, on the sides of said vanes or blades which constitute the inner sides thereof and which face toward the other vane or blade. Thus, the wind will impinge against the near side of the vane portion 340 and the far side of the vane portion 330 as seen in Figure 4. The vanes or blades will thus be deflected by the air pressure to flex away from one another toward open positions of the vanes as seen in Figure 1, so that the air can then impinge against greater areas of the same sides of the vanes including the portions thereof disposed in overlapping abutting relation when the vanes are closed as seen in Figure 1. This will cause the revolving member 17 including said vanes and the head 26 to revolve relative to the tab 16, such rotary movement being permitted by the swivel connector 18. As the revolving member 17 is rotated by the air pressure impinging against the inner sides of the vanes or blades, with the vanes otfset relative to one another as illustrated in Figure 4, said vanes will revolve in a counterclockwise direction as viewed from above, as indicated by the arrows 38 in Figures 1 and 6. The offsetting of the blades or vanes will cause the blades to be pitched relative to the head 26 and spread by air impinging against adjacent sides thereof and the extent that the blades are pitched will increase as the blades are spread further apart or may be increased by increasing the ofisetting of the blades. Thus, the greater the air pressure impinging against the inner sides of the blades, the faster the revolving member 17 will be rotated and the greater will be the spreading of the vanes. Additionally, the vanes will be spread apart by centrifugal force. The greater the vanes are spread apart, the greater will be the drag produced by the unit 17 on the kite 11. Thus, when the kite is being fiown in a light breeze when little or no tail is required the member 17 will revolve very slowly and will afford little drag on the kite. However, should the wind velocity The mechanical kite tail 10 will extend only a relatively short distance from the lower end of the kite so that it will not be as likely to strike overhead wires, trees or other hazards as a long kite tail, as is conventionally used.

It will also be obvious that the vanes or blades could be each inverted and offset in the opposite direction to that as shown in Figure 4, in which case the member 17 would revolve in the opposite direction or clockwise as viewed from above.

Figure 7 illustrates the lower portion of a kite 1111 having two frame members 12a which are diagonally disposed relative to one another and have transversely spaced lower notched ends for receiving portions of the kite cord 130. Two of the mechanical kite tails may be employed with the kite 11a as illustrated in Figure 7 attached in the manner as previously described to the kite cord 13a adjacent the notched lower ends of the frame members 12a. The left-hand kite tail 10a corresponds identically with the kite tail 10 of Figure l and rotates in the same direction or counterclockwise as indicated by the arrows 38a. The other, right-hand kite tail or spinning device 10b has the blades or vanes 33c and 34e thereof olfset in the opposite direction to the arrangement of the blades 33 and 34 in Figure 4, so that the unit 17a of the mechanical kite tail 19/) will rotate in the opposite direction or clockwise as viewed from above and as indicated by the arrows 381). Thus, by having the two mechanical kite tails rotating in opposite directions will effect a neutralization of the torque resulting from the rotation of the kite tails.

While the spinning devices have been illustrated and described in connection with their use as a kite tail, it will be readily apparent that said devices have numerous other uses and that the kite cord merely constitutes one slender element to which the spinning device may be attached by a tab 16. As it will be readily apparent, the mechanical kite tail will provide amusement in the visual etfect produced by the spinning thereof in addition to its utility as a kite tail. The spinning device may also be mounted on parts of vehicles to spin when the vehicle is in motion, or may be strung around a place of business such as a gasoline station to attract attention of passers-by. The devices may also be strung on cord in fruit trees or over crops to be activated by the wind for frightening away birds.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may obviously be resorted to, without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as hereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A spinning device comprising an attaching member constituting one end of said device, an elongated rotatable unit constituting the other end thereof, and limber swivel connector means connected to the attaching member and to one end of said rotatable unit, said rotatable unit including means responsive to wind velocity to cause said unit to rotate relative to the attaching member, said rotatable unit including a head attached to said connector means and a pair of elongated blades forming said wind velocity responsive means, said blades having forward ends anchored to said head, said blades extending from the head in a direction away from said connector means, said blades constituting flat resilient strips capable of yielding away from one another and having their longitudinal axes disposed in diverging relation relative to one another in a direction away from the head, said blades being normally disposed in substantially parallel planes from end-to-end thereof and in partially overlapping relation to one another whereby a movement of air relative to the blades in a direction longitudinally of the blades from their forward ends toward their opposite free ends by impinging against the exposed portions of adjacent sides of said blades will cause a spreading of the blades relative to one another and rotation of said unit.

2. A spinning device as in claim 1, the forward ends of said blades being disposed in abutting engagement with one another whereby said hi 1Cl6S are normally disposed with the overlapping portions thereof in abutting engagement with one another from end-to-end of the blades.

3. A spinning device comprising an attaching member constituting one end of said device, an elongated rotatable unit constituting the other end thereof, and limber swivel connector means connected to the attaching member and to one end of said rotatable unit, said rotatable unit including means responsive to wind velocity to cause said unit to rotate relative to the attaching member, said attaching member comprising an elongated piece of substantially flat sheet-like material capable of being flexed, said swivel connector being detachably connected adjacent one end thereof to said piece and adjacent an end of said piece, said attaching member having transversely spaced openings located adjacent its opposite end adapted to receive therethrough a strand-like supporting member, said attaching member having slits communicating with the openings thereof and opening outwardly of the piece forming the attaching member remote from said openings and adjacent the first mentioned end of said attaching member piece.

4. A spinning device as in claim 3, said swivel connector comprising a ball chain, said rotatable unit including a head, said head and the aforementioned end of said attaching member piece having keyhole shaped openings the restricted ends of which extend toward adjacent ends of the attaching member and head for detachably receiving end portions of the ball chain and in the restricted portions of which keyhole shaped openings parts of the ball chain are detachably anchored for connecting the attaching member to said rotatable unit.

5. A spinning device comprising an attaching memher having means for detachably connecting said attaching member to a long slender supporting element, an elongated rotatable unit, and an elongated limber swivel connector, said attaching member and one end of the rotatable unit being provided with means for detachably anchoring end portions of the swivel connector thereto whereby said rotatable unit is swivelly connected swingably to said attaching member, said rotatable unit including a pair of elongated substantially flat resilient blades capable of yielding away from one another, means securing corresponding ends of said blades to one another, said securing means positioning the blades with their planes substantially parallel and with their longitudinal axes disposed in diverging relation to one another in a direction away from the securing means, portions of the blades being normally disposed in overlapping relation with adjacent sides of the overlapping portions of said blades in substantially abutting engagement, and said blades having exposed outer portions of said adjacent sides against which air moving along the blades from the secured ends thereof impinges for causing the blades to yield away from one another to cause said rotatable unit to be revolved by the air velocity and substantially about the longitudinal axis thereof.

Hill July 16, 1912 Edmonds Apr. 2, 1946

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