Abstract:
A hand-thrown floppy flying device that is compressible in a non-uniform manner, yet in the presence of certain forces regains a non-compressed shape that is beneficial for flight. The device is relatively limp and flexible. Various embodiments are disclosed including various rim and airfoil configurations that facilitate stable flight.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/266,032, filed Feb. 2, 2001, entitled Flexible Flying Ring Toy and having the same title and inventor(s) as above. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to hand thrown flying ring and disc toys.  
         BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    A lightweight, flat disk or ring will roll significantly to one side when thrown with a spin. This is caused by lift forces forward of the center of gravity interacting with the object&#39;s angular momentum that imparts a torque on the object that results in the device rolling in flight. If a spinning flying disc or ring is aerodynamically balanced, the angular momentum provides flight stability much like a gyroscope. Flying discs and rings such as Frisbees™, Aerobies™ (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,560,358 and 4,456,265) and Wooshl (U.S. Pat. No. 4,944,707, and invented by the inventor herein) use different approaches to achieve aerodynamic stability, especially roll stability.  
           [0004]    The Frisbee is a saucer-shaped device that can be thrown over relatively long distances. A player throws such a disc by grasping its edge and flexing the wrist, while holding the forearm in a neutral position. Next, the player extends the wrist and releases the disc, i.e. the player “flings” from the wrist, imparting spin to the disc, resulting in it being propelled through the air. Such a disc will fly over relatively long distances without rolling because of its relatively high mass, peripheral mass distribution, solid/rigid construction and domed aerodynamic structure.  
           [0005]    The Aerobie has a relatively large mass, but, unlike the Frisbee, it has a mass that is distributed peripherally about a central void. It also has a special, diamond-shaped airfoil, offering roll stable flight characteristics over a wide range of speeds. The Aerobie has set distance records for flying toys. The Aerobie goes very fast, is quite thin, and has a rigid frame that makes it an intimidating object to catch and can easily cause damage.  
           [0006]    Rigid flying discs and flying rings have the disadvantage of damaging objects and hurting users when caught, and also from an inability to be sufficiently compressed or “crumpled” so as to be placed in a pocket or otherwise easily transported.  
           [0007]    Woosh is a semi-rigid, resilient, ring-like flying toy. It is relatively lightweight including light-weight outer and inner, ring-like boundary structures defining an annular space that is spanned by an airflow permeable airfoil web joined to and tensed between the outer and inner boundary structures. This “leaky airfoil” is the basis for the Woosh Ring&#39;s non-rolling flight characteristics over a wide range of relatively slow speeds. Besides being lightweight and only semi-rigid, a benefit of the Woosh Ring over a Frisbee is that it is relatively thin and flat for increased ease in transporting. A disadvantage of Woosh is the need to use expensive fabrics such as spandex to achieve a wrinkle-free, tensed web. Another disadvantage is that although the Woosh can be twisted and then folded to a reduced size, this size is normally too large for a normal pocket and the frame of Woosh can become permanently warped or may even crack apart due to this twisting and folding. Yet another disadvantage of the Woosh is that due to its highly tensed structure it is more likely to bounce out of a hand before being grasped making it difficult to catch.  
           [0008]    Other prior art flying toys include the Floppy Disc, (U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,637), the Flippy Flier (U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,473) and the Winger™. The Floppy Disc and the Flippy Flier are limp, domed-shaped flying discs. The Winger™ is a limp, heavy flying ring without a porous airfoil member. These devices are characterized in that they are relatively heavy and do not roll significantly in flight because their aerodynamic forces are small compared to their inertia. They are disadvantageous, amongst other reasons, in that they have high wing loading, high drag and are bulky which renders them hard to catch, limits their flight distance, and makes fitting them in one&#39;s pocket difficult.  
           [0009]    Thus, in an effort to overcome shortcomings of the prior art, the present invention is directed towards providing an improved flying device with reduced bulk, relatively low wing loading and drag, that is capable of long slow flights without rolling, is easy to catch and that fits easily in one&#39;s pocket without causing the device to be permanently warped or break.  
           [0010]    The present invention includes various embodiments. In one embodiment a floppy flying device is provided that has a ballast providing outer rim and an airfoil provided at least in part within that rim. The rim and airfoil are formed of relatively limp and flexible material that permit the flying device to be compressed non-uniformly into a small volume capable, for example, of being placed in a typical pocket or other space. The flying device is further configured such that when the annular rim is held by a human hand and thrown with a lateral arm movement and wrist flick, centrifugal forces expand the device into a substantially planar shape that flies well.  
           [0011]    Desired non-rolling characteristics are achieved in a variety of ways including adjusting the shape and air passage properties of the airfoil. In one embodiment, the airfoil defines an annular surface area about a central opening that has a plurality of air passage openings therein. In another embodiment, the airfoil does not have a central opening but has suitable air passage to compensate for the lack of a central opening.  
           [0012]    The airfoil material may be a flexible substantially non-air porous material with a plurality of holes provided therein or it may be made of an air-porous material such a woven fabric. Various material and porosity arrangements are contemplated without departing from the present invention.  
           [0013]    The attainment of the foregoing and related advantages and features of the present invention should be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art, after review of the following more detailed description of the invention taken together with the drawings. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 is a plan view of a floppy flying toy in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 is a view of a molded floppy flying toy in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0016]    FIGS.  3 A- 3 D are cross-sectional views of regions of a floppy flying toy in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 4 is a view of a crocheted floppy flying toy in accordance with the present invention.  
         [0018]    FIGS.  5 - 10  are views of other embodiments of a floppy flying toy in accordance with the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0019]    The term “airfoil structure” as used herein generally refers to a structure that presents to an air stream (i.e., in flight) a differential path over the upper and lower surfaces of the structure to achieve lift, various airfoil structures are known in the art.  
         [0020]    The term “crumpleable” as used herein generally refers to a material or structure that compresses in a non-uniform manner when acted on by compressive forces yet that is capable of recovering a pre-crumpled shape in the absence of the compressive force and in the presence of a decompressive force such as centrifugal force.  
         [0021]    Referring to FIG. 1, a plan view of a flying ring in accordance with the present invention. The flying ring  10  includes an annular rim  12  that is preferably made of a flexible material that provides ballast to the ring and facilitates gripping by a user&#39;s hand. The rim may comprise a rope, cord, tube or filament or like material, or be formed of a molded material or otherwise configured. Cross-sectional views of various exemplary annular rim arrangements are shown in FIGS.  3 A- 3 D. Ring  10  and the other flying devices herein are crumpleable.  
         [0022]    An airfoil  20  is preferably coupled to annular rim  12 . In FIG. 1, this is achieved by mounting members or “grips”  30  that are provided over rim  12  and affixed to airfoil  20 . Airfoil  20  is preferably made of a material that is lightweight and flexible. Preferred characteristics for the embodiment of FIG. 1 include that the material neither appreciably wrinkles nor stretches out. Preferred materials include urethane, dacron/mylar, vinyl/mylar or other materials with similar properties.  
         [0023]    Grips  30  may be made of neoprene, dacron/mylar, cloth, nylon, molded plastic or any other suitable material. Desirable characteristics include that the material is generally resistant to abrasion, easy to grip and flexible. Grips  30  may be stitched, glued or otherwise fastened to airfoil  20 . Note that while three grips are shown in FIG. 1, other grip arrangements are possible including a greater plurality of grips and a singular grip that covers the length of the annular rim (for example, as shown in FIG. 5- 8 ).  
         [0024]    Airfoil  20  is preferably configured and arranged within annular rim  12  so as to include holes or openings that permit air passage. These air passages reduce lift, and since lift interacts with angular momentum to produce a torque that induces rolling, reducing lift in this manner reduces rolling. FIG. 1 illustrates an airfoil embodiment with a central, non-circular opening  25  and a plurality of smaller openings  28 . The smaller openings include those formed in the airfoil material and those defined by the edge of the airfoil material and the annular rim  12 .  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 2 illustrates another floppy flying ring in accordance with the present invention. In contrast to the multi-part ring of FIG. 1, the ring  40  of FIG. 2 is preferably formed of a single piece of molded plastic such as an elastomeric plastic or another elastomeric material. Ring  40  includes an annular rim  42 , and an airfoil  44  that defines a central opening  45  and has a plurality of smaller holes  48 . While ring  40  obtains a substantially planar shape in flight, it is shown partially folded or “flopped” over in FIG. 2.  
         [0026]    FIGS.  3 A- 3 D illustrate cross-sectional views of a plurality of annular rims in accordance with the present invention. FIGS.  3 A- 3 B are taken along the line indicated in FIG. 1, FIG. 3C is taken along the line indicated in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3D is taken along the line indicated in FIG. 5.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIGS. 3A,3B illustrate annular rim  12  implemented with a solid or hollow internal member  14 , 16 , respectively. That member may be a solid or hollow rope or other flexible filament and grip  30  is mounted around member  14 , 16  and secured to airfoil  20  via stitches  19  or glue or other suitable fastener. Member  14 , 16  may be made of a braided nylon rope, extruded vinyl tubing or another suitable material. FIG. 3C illustrated a solid integrally formed annular rim member of the type formed in the embodiment of FIG. 2. FIG. 3D is discussed below with reference to FIGS.  5 - 8 .  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 illustrates another embodiment of a floppy flying ring in accordance with the present invention. This ring  50  is formed by crochet or related knitting techniques. The ring includes an annular rim  52  that includes thread or yarn which joins a plurality of weights  53  provided in a relatively distributed manner about the periphery of the ring. These weights provide ballast and serve a function similar to the annular rims portrayed in FIGS.  3 A- 3 D. The weights  53  may be made of wood or plastic or another suitable material.  
         [0029]    The airfoil  54  is preferably formed of yarn or other material, which may be cotton, wool, synthetic or other, and configured to define a central opening  55  and a relatively large plurality of much smaller holes  58 . These smaller holes are effectively the spaces between crochet knots. The crochet work is preferably started on the inner rim and progresses to the outer rim (rim  52 ). The outer rim region may have a slight up-and-down wave relative to the inner rim region when placed on a flat surface, but this wave will flatten out when the device is thrown due to centrifugal forces exerted on the ring.  
         [0030]    The number of knots per concentric knot circle has to increase as the airfoil expands outwardly. The number of knots per circle and their spacing will vary depending on the initial diameter of the ring, but the requisite increase to maintain a flat ring is within know crocheting practices. The size of openings  55  and  58  is preferably analogous to size of the other air passage openings discussed herein. In one embodiment, the ring of FIG. 4 has an inner diameter of approximately 5.5″ and an outer diameter of 8.5″.  
         [0031]    [0031]FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate another embodiment of a floppy flying ring in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 5 shows ring  60  in a substantially planar arrangement, while FIG. 6 shows the same ring in a crumpled arrangement. FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate another embodiment of a floppy flying ring in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 7 shows ring  70  in a substantially planar arrangement, while FIG. 8 shows the same ring folded approximately in half. FIG. 6 illustrates well the “crumpleable” nature of a floppy flying device in accordance with the present invention. The device of FIG. 6 recovers the planar shape of FIG. 5 when a user grabs rim  62  and throws the device moving their arm laterally and flicking their wrist upon release.  
         [0032]    Each of rings  60 , 70  includes an annular rim  62 , 72  and an airfoil  64 , 74 . The airfoils each define a central opening  65 , 75  and have a plurality of holes  68 , 78  for air passage in flight. FIGS.  5 - 8  illustrate a mounting member  66 , 76  formed of a seam-biased tape or neoprene or the like that is provided at rim  62 , 72  and fastened to the airfoil. In contrast to the plurality of grips of FIG. 1, member  66 , 76  is substantially continuous.  
         [0033]    [0033]FIG. 3D illustrates the mounting of member  66 , 76  to an airfoil  64 , 74 . A tube or rope or the like  18  is preferably provided within member  66 , 76  which can be mounted to the airfoil by stitches  19  or glue or other means. Note that members  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  42  (and weights  53 ) represent elements that provide ballast to the outer rim and they are exemplary. Thus, they may in some instances be substituted for one another, or a different structure, providing a ballast function, can be utilized.  
         [0034]    FIGS.  9 - 10  illustrate two additional embodiments of a floppy flying ring in accordance with the present invention. FIG. 9 illustrates a ring  80  that includes an annular rim  82  (substantially as described above for rim  12  or  62  or other) and an airfoil  84  that defines a central opening  85 . In contrast to the urethane, mylar or other relatively non-air permeable materials discussed above, airfoil  84  is formed of a substantially air-porous material, i.e., a material having a relatively large plurality of smaller holes. Representative materials include spandex, treco, etc. This material tends to be limp and flexible. To facilitate a planar shape in flight, a rubber band or similar elastic member  83  (actually not visible) is provided interior of the airfoil material at the inner rim  81  of airfoil  84  to constrict opening  85  and tense the airfoil such that it more readily achieves a substantially planar shape during flight.  
         [0035]    The ring  90  of FIG. 10 is similar to that of FIG. 9 and has an annular rim  92  and an airfoil  94 . A difference in ring  90  is that a central opening is not provided. To compensate for the lack of a central opening the porosity of the material used for airfoil  94  is significantly increased over that used in airfoil  84 . Various woven fabrics may suffice. Alternatively, airfoil  94  could be configured with a plurality of holes such as holes  28 ,  48 ,  68 ,  78 , etc., that are distributed across the airfoil and compensate for lack of a central opening. This latter arrangement may be configured with either a generally air-porous airfoil material (e.g., a woven material) or a generally non-air porous material (e.g., urethane, etc.), though the air passage openings would have to be adjusted in size to achieve the desired lift reduction to reduce or eliminate roll.  
         [0036]    With respect to general considerations for operation and design of a floppy flying device in accordance with the present invention the following is provided. For a “ring” embodiment in flight, a cross-section along the flight path provides two airfoils, a front one and a rear one. The front airfoil interacts with the airflow first. The front airfoil generates lift due to its angle of attack and the relatively high airflow over the front airfoil rather than under it. The rear airfoil meets the downwash from the front airfoil and generate less lift because of the relatively lower angle of attack relative to the air stream it encounters. With a porous airfoil, the front airfoil generates only a small amount of lift and the rear airfoil, encounters a negligible amount of downwash, and thus has about the same lift vector. The forces balance out over a wide speed range. The porous floppy flying device of the present invention, with appropriate inner and outer diameters, ratios of holes to airfoil surface, and thickness (i.e., height) of annular rim, flies straight and true without rolling from when it is released at a high launch speed until it lands.  
         [0037]    In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 the outer diameters are approximately 11″ and the inner diameters are 6″. More than approximately 15-20% of the surface area defined by the inner and outer diameters is preferably given to air passage holes and more preferably approximately ⅓ of this surface area is given to air passage holes. The dimensions for the flying devices of FIGS.  5 - 9  may be similar to those of FIGS. 1 and 2, though flying devices size may vary widely. Proportionality is preferably maintained.  
         [0038]    While the invention has been described in connection with specific embodiments thereof, it will be understood that it is capable of further modification, and this application is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice in the art to which the invention pertains and as may be applied to the essential features hereinbefore set forth, and as fall within the scope of the invention and the limits of the appended claims.