Abstract:
A lightweight tubular housing is fabricated from the class of cotton, silk, lace, or combinations thereof. The housing materials are bunched or stretched to reduce or increase the coverage of the balloon strings. The balloon strings are transported through the interior of the housing and then tied to a balloon anchor.

Description:
[0001]    It has been common practice for many years to have and use helium filled balloons at festivities and celebrations, for example, at birthday parties. Such balloons typically have a string attached to each balloon and to a person&#39;s hand or another anchor to limit the upward travel of each such balloon. Such “strings” may in fact be lightweight ribbons of various widths, perhaps ¼″ wide or even light weight string or cord typically used to fly a kite. 
         [0002]    Whether such balloons as are used are small, for example, of 7″ to 11″ in diameter for birthday parties, or larger, for example, of 6 to 8 feet in diameter for scientific research purposes, one of the main considerations is the weight being lifted by each balloon. The physics of a balloon in air involves the well-know Archimedes Principle, which provides that when a body is fully or partially submerged in a fluid, in this case air, a buoyant force F B  from the surrounding fluid (the air) acts on the body. The buoyant force, directed upwardly, has a magnitude equal to the weight of the fluid that has been displaced by the body. 
         [0003]    For the balloons to float upwardly, the upward buoyant force must be greater than the downward force of gravity F G  exerted upon the weight of the balloon itself, the weight of the gas inside the balloon, the string attached to the balloon, and the weight of anything else attached to the balloon or the string. 
         [0004]    It is thus well known to use a gas, lighter than air, to inflate balloons. There are several gases lighter than air, for example, helium, hydrogen, hot air (lighter than cold air) and carbon dioxide, which is exhaled in the normal breathing process from a human&#39;s lungs. 
         [0005]    Helium is more commonly used than the others, because it is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert chemical element which for the most part is not considered dangerous, other than the very rare instances when inhaled directly from a pressurized tank of helium. 
         [0006]    Hydrogen, being somewhat lighter than helium, has sometimes been used to inflate balloons, but does have a major drawback because of its being highly inflammable. 
         [0007]    Other than the above referenced lighter than air gases, other examples include neon, water vapor, ammonia and methane. 
         [0008]    A common problem associated with using helium, instead of hydrogen to inflate latex balloons involves the fact that the helium atom is very small and can leak out through the latex walls. 
         [0009]    A hydrogen atom is smaller than a helium atom, so one would expect hydrogen to have a very high leakage rate. But like nitrogen or oxygen, hydrogen molecules exist only as a pair of hydrogen atoms stuck together, and so are much larger than a molecule of helium. 
         [0010]    Helium filled balloons frequently deflate in a day or two. Balloons made from Mylar, although more expensive than latex, are far less permeable and tend to stay inflated for longer periods of time. As an alternative to using Mylar instead of latex, the latex balloon can be treated with special sealants to reduce the permeability of air gases. 
         [0011]    However, the gas of choice for inflating balloons is usually helium, and sometimes hydrogen. 
         [0012]    Referring now to  FIG. 1 , there is illustrated a typical version, well-known in the Prior Art, of a plurality of small balloons  10 , perhaps each such balloon having a diameter of 7″ to 11″ when inflated with helium. Each such balloon  10  is tied off at its lower end  14  to prevent leakage of the helium from the balloons  10 . Each of the balloons  10  is associated with a string  12  having a lower end  16  and an upper end  18 . The lower ends  16  of each of the strings  12  are typically, tied together to enable the balloons  10  to be held in one hand of a human, or tied to a well-known weighted balloon anchor  20 , typically through a loop  22 , also known in the Prior Art, and illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The respective upper ends of the strings  12  are each tied to one of the tied off ends  14  of one of the balloons  10  to prevent the balloons  10  from floating off. 
         [0013]    The Prior Art configuration illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  can be unwieldy, especially in high winds, and become quite incontrollable. The lengthy unprotected strings shown in  FIG. 1  also make such balloons to be more vulnerable to being punctured by sharp objects, thus resulting in the loss of helium from one or more of the balloons. 
         [0014]    The configuration of the invention is illustrated in  FIGS. 3A ,  3 B,  3 C,  4  and  5 , allows the balloons  10  to be more easily controlled and to be less susceptible to being damaged. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]      FIG. 1  is an elevated sketch of a Prior Art system illustrating a well-known method of tying off a plurality of helium inflated balloons, each tied to a conventional weighted balloon anchor; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is an elevated, enlarged view of the conventional weighted balloon anchor illustrated in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3A  is a top plan view of an elongated sheet of light weight material used in practicing the invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3B  is a top plan view of the sheet of material shown in  FIG. 3A  after being rolled into being a tubular cover illustrated in  FIG. 3B ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3C  illustrates in cross section, the tubular sheet illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B , in which the two sides of the tubular sheet have been stitched together in accordance with the invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  illustrates an elevated view of a device which can be used to work the balloon strings through the cover according to the invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  illustrates a pictorial view of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Referring now to  FIG. 3A  of the drawings, there is illustrated an elongated sheet of fabric material  30 , preferably of lightweight, 100% cotton, to ensure the balloons can be kept aloft when using the invention. The sheet  30  can have various dimensions, but preferably will be five (5) feet long and 2-3 inches wide. The width of the sheet  30  can be varied but ultimately, the sheet  30  will be formed into a tubular housing for the balloon strings. Keeping in mind the well-known formula that 
         [0000]      C=πD,
 
         [0000]    where
       C=circumference, π≈3.14 and D is equal to the diameter,
 
one can easily understand that the interior diameter of the tubular member used in the present invention can be easily calculated.
       
 
         [0024]    The rectangular shaped sheet  30 , as illustrated in  FIG. 3A , is first placed on a flat surface. The sheet  30  is cut from a lightweight fabric material, preferably 100% cotton to minimize the weight to be lifted by the plurality of balloons. As an option, a cuff is formed at each of the two ends  32  and  34  of the sheet  30  to lessen the raveling of the material in the sheet  30 . The cuff  32  is formed by folding the cuff  32  over the line  36 . The cuff  32  is then stitched along the  38  to hold the cuff  32  in place over the top end of the sheet  30 . 
         [0025]    The cuff  34  is then made over the lower end of the sheet  30  using the same process as above described with respect to cuff  32 . 
         [0026]      FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B  illustrate the effect of folding over the portion  40  of the sheet  30  onto the portion  42  of sheet  30 , along the dotted line  44 , but only if the two cuffs  32  and  34  have already been formed as above described. However, if the cuffs are not formed the portion  40  will still be folded along the line  44  to overlap portion  42 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 3C  illustrates a cross-sectional view through the tubular configuration illustrated in  FIG. 3B . As shown in  FIG. 3C , the ends of portions  42  and  44  are overlapped and then stitched together along the dotted line  43 . The excess material of the two portions  42  and  44  beneath dotted line  43  can then be removed with scissors. After the excess material has been cut off, the tubular configuration  41  is then turned inside out, thus resulting in a configuration having an internal diameter along the length of the tubular member  41  slightly larger than approximately ⅞″ to 1″. 
         [0028]      FIG. 4  illustrates an elongated piston-shaped device  50  having an external diameter slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the configuration  41  illustrated in  FIG. 3C , the main requirement for the device  50  being that it can easily be passed or worked along through the interior of the configuration  41  of  FIG. 3C , preferably after the configuration  41  has been turned inside out. The device  50  can be something as simple as a ball point pen, or perhaps a plastic, wooden, or metallic rod, and can be a long as needed, even longer than the device  41 . The device  50  does need to have one or more loops or clips  54  to which the balloon strings can be secured. 
         [0029]    In  FIG. 5  is a pictorial view of the tubular cover according to the invention. The cover  41  is shown as covering a plurality of balloon strings (ribbons) which can be anchored and tied to a plurality of balloons. It should be appreciated that because of making the cover from a scrunchable material, the cover is very flexible, having variable lengths merely by grasping the two ends  32  and  34 , whether cuffed or not, and by pulling one or both ends apart, or by pushing them closer together, thus providing a variable length for the cover between about ten inches and about five feet. 
         [0030]    In practicing the invention, the following steps are suggested: 
       Operation 
       [0031]    1. Cut desired number of balloon strings to approximately six (6) feet for each balloon. 
         [0032]    2. Fully inflate, a minimum of two (2)-9 inch or two (2)-12 inch balloons. 
         [0033]    3. Tie-off each balloon and contain (so does not fly away) until all balloons needed are fully inflated. 
         [0034]    4. Take the desired number of balloons wanted for each cover contemplated by the invention (ie: 10 balloons). 
         [0035]    5. Arrange balloons as desired. 
         [0036]    6. Using any slender item with a “hook” as your threading device (ie: Stylus pen, ball point pen, safety pen, a straightened, wire coat hanger, etc.); wrap/tie balloon strings around threading device to secure the strings. 
         [0037]    7. Insert threading device into cover. 
         [0038]    8. While holding the threading device with both hands (one on top of the threading device and one on the bottom), grab the fabric with the hand on the bottom and feed/push up while extending the fabric at the top. Keep repeating until you reach the bottom of the fabric. 
         [0039]    9. Pull the threading device out until you see the balloon strings. 
         [0040]    10. Remove the balloon strings from threading device (while still holding strings to avoid losing balloons.) 
         [0041]    11. Adjust the balloon strings to desired height (from ten (10) inches up to five (5) feet). 
         [0042]    12. Secure the balloon strings to the anchor you have provided. 
         [0043]    13. Cut off excess string (if any). 
         [0044]    14. Arrange the balloon cover by pulling up or down to your desired look. 
       Specifications 
       [0045]    The fabric is made of 100% cotton (light to medium weight). Alternatively, silk, lace, cotton, and combinations thereof, can be used as the fabric material. Plain or animal print pattern is used. It is five (5) feet long and ⅞ inches wide (when complete). The fabric can be gathered, bunched, or stretched anywhere from ten (10) inches up to five (5) feet. Can hold anywhere from 2-80 balloons per cover. 
         [0046]    If wanting to use a higher length than five (5) feet, more than one cover can be used; however, you will have to adjust the number of balloons used to compensate for the extra weight (ie: if initially used 10 balloons with one cover, may want to double to 20) 
       How to Make 
       [0000]    
       
         
           
             Get at least 5½ feet of fabric of choice. 
             Cut a 2″ wide piece. 
             Fold a small edge (about a ½″) down on wrong side of fabric. Using a straight pin, secure to fabric 
             Make sure the length is 5′ once seams at ends are sewn 
             Fold over (right side to right side); lining up edges 
             Measure 1″ and make a seam (wrong side will be facing out) 
             Trim off excess fabric next to top, bottom, and side seams 
             Get an object (like a safety pin) 
             Pin to one end of “tubing” 
             Insert pin into fabric and feed through until pin comes out other end 
             Pull the fabric until it is right side out 
             Once fabric is turned right side out, it should measure ⅞″ wide