Patent Abstract:
A flying toy including a cylindrical rim and a flat circular airfoil located within the rim. The centerline of the airfoil is positioned to bisect the side surface of the rim, resulting in a flying toy of increased stability and throwing ease.

Full Description:
GESS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]    This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 09/476,259 filed Jan. 3, 2000 for Circular Flying Disk Toy. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The subject invention relates generally to toys and amusement devices and more particularly to an aerodynamic disk consisting of a circular center airfoil centered within a circular outer rim or ring.  
           [0004]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0005]    Flying saucer devices, or so-called “frisbees,” are known in the prior art. Such devices have been used as throwing implements or toys, typically in games of “catch.” Such devices typically employ a central disk portion and a rim extending downwardly from and circumscribing the central disk, for example, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,678.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The invention provides a flying toy including a cylindrical rim having a circular top edge running parallel to a circular bottom edge; and a flat circular central airfoil having a circular edge and a horizontal center line, the circular edge being attached to the inner circumference of the rim such that the centerline of the airfoil bisects the side surface of the rim. When thrown as a flying disk, the device provides increased gyroscopic effect and stability. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]    The just summarized invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings of which:  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the invention;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken at  2 - 2  of FIG. 1;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second embodiment; and  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken at  3 - 3  of FIG. 3. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]    A prototype flying disk toy  11  according to a preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The center circular portion or airfoil  13  of this disk toy  11  is planar, constructed of foam board about {fraction (3/16)} inches thick, and can vary in diameter, e.g., between 5 inches to 12 inches in diameter. The outer ring  15  is cylindrical, comprised of posterboard about {fraction (5/64 )} inches thick, and may vary in height from 1 inch to 2 inches in correlation to the size of the center circular portion.  
         [0013]    The outer ring  15 , after it is cut to proper specifications, is positioned around the center airfoil  13  and attached at a 90-degree angle with a glue gun or other adhesive. The outer ring  15  is attached to the center airfoil  13  such that the center line  17  of the airfoil  13  bisects the side surface  20  so that equal portions  19  of the side surface  20  extend to each side of center line  17 . For a 10″ diameter disk, the side portions  19  may each be ¾ inches. As a result, the top and bottom of the device  11  are mirror images of one another.  
         [0014]    After the outer ring  15  is attached to the center airfoil  13 , silicone is applied over the perimeter of seams  21 , or “equatorial line,” where the outer ring  15  connects to the center airfoil  13 . The silicone is smoothed evenly around the entire circumference on both sides so that both sides have a smoothed layer of silicone with a radius of about ½ inches where the center airfoil and outer ring  15  connect. This treatment increases the circumferential weight at the outer ring  15 , increasing the gyroscopic effect tending to level the disk in flight.  
         [0015]    The height of the ring is in relation to the diameter of the center horizontal airfoil  13  determines distance performance. Thus, for example, with center horizontal airfoil diameter of 8 inches, use of a vertical rim height  14  of 1½ inches results in substantially more air resistance than a vertical nm height of 1¼ inches. A ratio of diameter versus height of rim could vary from a ratio of 5:1 to a ratio of 8:1 without significantly affecting performance. Only the distance of flight is affected by this ratio. Greater height of the outer vertical rim results in more air caught between the airfoil and the outer rim, thus resulting in a more pronounced floating effect.  
         [0016]    For production purposes, it is presently preferred to fabricate a flying disk  33  (FIGS. 3 and 4) by a plastic injection molding process. The result is a molded plastic body including a flat center airfoil  37  bounded about its perimeter by a rim portion  35  extending an equal distance on each side of the center airfoil  37 . The rim portion  35  is at a 90-degree angle to the airfoil  37  for the entire circumference of center airfoil. The outer surface  39  of the rim portion  35  curves upwardly and downwardly from the center airfoil  37  enabling manual projection from either of the two identical sides.  
         [0017]    The device  33  is thus shaped to provide a body having an aerodynamic airfoil profile, such that when it is flung through the air with a spinning motion, it appears to sail, or “float,” through the air. The spinning motion imparted by a wrist-flick gyroscopically stabilizes the flight.  
         [0018]    Devices such as those disclosed in FIGS.  1 - 4  may be thrown by the user in a backhanded motion with one hand, keeping the arm parallel with the ground, and ending the throw with a snapping motion of the wrist. Variations of the angle of the arm at launch determine the angle of flight relative to altitude and direction.  
         [0019]    The disclosed devices  11 ,  33  are easier to throw and catch due to their shape, levelness, and the effect of “floating” toward the receiving individual, rather than being “whipped” toward that individual. Children adapt to the device more quickly and easily, due to the steadiness of the flight and the ability to toss the device along a more level path and at a shorter range. Such devices can also be thrown in areas that previously did not lend themselves to this activity because such devices can be comfortably thrown at a closer range than those of the prior art, which is especially important in densely populated areas. Thus, a large span of playing field is unnecessary, and a device as disclosed can be comfortably used in an average-sized yard. It is also impossible for the device to be upside-down when thrown since both the top and bottom are identical.  
         [0020]    Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the just-described preferred embodiments can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0