WO1993013841A1

WO1993013841A1 - Gyroscopic flying device

Info

Publication number: WO1993013841A1
Application number: PCT/US1992/011369
Authority: WO
Inventors: William Mark Forti; William Bell Forti
Original assignee: William Mark Forti; William Bell Forti
Priority date: 1992-01-21
Filing date: 1992-12-28
Publication date: 1993-07-22
Also published as: WO1996020769A1

Abstract

A free spinning annular cylinder like hollow body (10) having a leading (44) and trailing end which are open at the ends, and having a sidewall with an inner and outer surface. The leading end contains a balanced, uniformly and heavily weighted rim (14) for generating gyroscopic forces. When the device is lofted forward with a spinning motion (22) about an axis (24) in substantially the direction of flight, the body is gyroscopically stabilized, in reference to direction, attitude and orientation. The weighted rim (14) also shifts the body's center of gravity (42) toward the center of pressure, near the leading edge, which enables creation of lift.

Description

GYROSCOPIC FLYING DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1 . Technical Field

This invention relates to gyroscopic flying mechanisms having an annular hollow body of cylindrical like shape which can be manually or mechanically propelled.

2. Background Art

A search of the prior art failed to uncover any references which disclose a flying mechanism with an annular or cylindrical like hollow body designed to utilize substantial gyroscopic forces to establish flight and enhance performance characteristics. Early flying devices include airplanes, missiles and other variously shaped vehicles which could be based upon round, oval, flat or cylindrical bodies. The closest class of devices to the present invention are cylindrical shaped aerial devices.

An early example was disclosed in U.S. patent No. 3,264,776 to Morrow, in which a straight, hollow tube, with unbalanced weighting toward the leading end, is propelled with a rotational motion about its longitudinal axis. A slight taper extended from the trailing end to the leading end on both the interior and external surfaces of the tube. The tube was provided with a forward annular weighted area, such that its center of gravity was located within the leading one-half to one-third of the tube. Best stability was noted with length to diameter ratios (L/D) of around 1 :1 to 1 :2. Moving the center of gravity toward the leading part of the tube, along with tapered surfaces and proper diameter ratios was believed to produce aerodynamic characteristics which enhance flight in a direction along its longitudinal axis.

Kahn et al, in U.S. Patent No. 4,151,674, claims improved aerodynamic performance by incorporating a ledge along the forward edge of the cylindrical body. The rearwardly directed ledge is claimed to reduce drag and move the center of gravity to the forward quarter of the total tubular length. Best performance was reported with the center of gravity placed at about 25% of the distance from the leading edge.

Bowers, in U.S. Patent 4,246,721, teaches the use of an annular recess on the outer surface of the hollow body adjacent the leading edge, together with an annular ridge formed on the adjacent inner wall. In addition, a weighted annular ring is adjustably positioned within the cylinder so as to change the station location of the forward center of gravity. Selection of the center of gravity is said to change the aerodynamic characteristics so as to produce several curvilinear flight paths. Hill, in U.S. Patent 4,790,788, states that the above cited devices have not had much commercial impact because aerodynamic characteristics are easily lost. He notes that said devices have erratic, unpredictable, and inconsistent flight characteristics. He allegedly achieves consistent flight by improving aerodynamic characteristics in a dimensionally constrained design by placing a relatively thick peripheral ring at the leading edge of a short tube body. The ring leading edge is chamfered while the trailing edge fairs smoothly into the tube body thickness. It is stated that the L/D ratio must be held between .8 and .74, and the ratio of leading end to trailing end weight must be around 2.2 to 1 to place the center of gravity at substantially the intersection of the forward and rearward body sections.

Etheridge, in U.S. Patent 4,850,923 also notes limitations and shortcomings of prior art devices. He claims to improve flight through employment of a number of aerodynamics specific point designs. The outer surface inclines upward and rearward at a 16 degree angle in order to increase lift. The ratio of leading area weight to trailing area weight is substantially between 2.2:1 to 2.5:1 with a UO design of about .86.

It may be noted that all of the above devices are designed based upon aerodynamic considerations, i.e., center of gravity positioning, tubular shapes, leading and trailing edge angles, side tapering, surface characteristics, length to diameter ratios, etc. While all of the devices spin and have some degree of front weighting, none are designed to develop optimal gyroscopic effects while in flight In the present invention, substantial gyroscopic forces are coupled with aerodynamic lift forces to produce greatly enhanced flight characteristics in terms of duration and distance, spin momentum and smoothness, as well as predictability and consistency.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a free spinning annular cylinder like hollow body flying apparatus, open at both ends, having a leading and a trailing end and having a side wall with an inner and outer surface- The body contains a balanced, uniformly weighted annular rim along its leading edge. The rim must be sufficiently weighted and balanced to produce substantial gyroscopic effects when the body is lofted through the air with a spinning motion. The free spinning gyroscopic rim allows the body to maintain its reference direction, attitude and orientation while in flight. The weighted rim also shifts the body's center of gravity forward toward the leading edge, which enables the creation of lift. It is the balanced interaction between substantial gyroscopic forces and aerodynamic lift forces which creates superb flight performance.

The annular hollow body can take the form of various shapes, configurations, and sizes utilizing different materials. As examples, it may have the shape of a cylinder, tube or cone; the side walls may be of uniform thickness or tapered and comprised of light plastics, metal or composite materials; the trailing end of the body surface can consist of a number of equally spaced trailing blades or fins.

Gyroscopic principles are well known. In the case of this device, a weighted gyroscopic rim is located toward the leading edge of the body. When propelled forward at launch, with a spinning momentum, the weighted, spinning rim allows the body to maintain its projected direction and attitudinal orientation. In other words, the rim's angular momentum prevents it from nosing down as a response to the force of gravity Angular momentum H is defined as H = MR²W, where M is the mass, R the radius of the rim about the spin axis and W is the spin velocity.

This orientational stability allows the top and bottom of the body to act as dual wings. Therefore, lift is created in much the same way as the fixed airfoils of a bi- winged airplane. As long as the angular momentum of the device, as described in the above formula, is adequate to offset disturbing torques, such as gravity, the cylinder will hold its orientation and fly in the direction of launch. However, as the device loses its angular momentum, gravity will prevail and the rim will tend to nose down about its horizontal axis. Further, as the nose begins to turn downward, the resulting forces of gyroscopic precession causes the device to precess from right to left (if its spinning direction is clockwise) and the flight path will follow the direction of precession. A gyroscope's precession rate is expressed as P= T/H, where P is the rate of precession, T is the applied torque and H is the angular momentum.

In the case of a cylindrical body, with a thin uniform side wall, it has been determined from experimental results that the weight of the rim portion should be at least 75% of the device's total weight and that it should constitute less than the leading 31% of the device's axial length. The rim can consist of a weighted ring embedded in a cylinder body, or evenly distributed weights along the leading edge. In addition, the material of the body, itself, can be thickened along the leading edge area to achieve a rim of required weight.

It will be noted that the simple design of this invention operates well without aerodynamic modifications. This is because stability of this design depends more upon gyroscopic effects than aerodynamic- variations required by prior art. However, nothing in the fundamental design, taught herein, precludes aerodynamic variations which could alter flying characteristics including leading edge angles, side thickness and tapering, the addition of ribs, grooves, notches or fins to the body, length to diameter ratios, etc. It is understood that aerodynamic variations will be detrimental to flight performance if they materially interfere with the maximum gyroscopic performance of the rim.

It is an object of the present invention to obtain superb flight performance of a spinning hollow body flying apparatus utilizing balanced interaction between substantial gyroscopic forces and aerodynamic lift forces.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a rotating flight vehicle which can be easily manually or mechanically propelled.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a rotating flight vehicle with a reduced sensitivity to aerodynamic characteristics of the body shape.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a flight vehicle which can be inexpensively manufactured and safe to use.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent when making reference to the following detailed description and to the accompanying sheets of drawings in which preferred structural embodiments incorporating the principals of this invention are shown.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The details of the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a rear perspective view illustrating the operation of a gyroscopic cylindrical embodiment of the present invention for utilization as an aerial sports toy which is manually propelled.

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the present invention, showing the forward leading edge on the left and defining the x axis.

Figure 3 is an end view of the preferred embodiment. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to Figure 1, the general operation of the gyroscopic flying body 10 of the present invention is shown to be thrown by hand as an aerial sports toy. Body 10 includes a hollow cylindrical body 12 and a weighted rim 14 at the leading edge. Body 10 is shown being manually held by hand 16 just prior to launch. When body 10 is thrown by hand 16, gripping fingers 18 work in cooperation with wrist 20 to impart axial spin to the device in the direction illustrated by arrow 22. At the same time, the thrower provides an initial forward velocity along spin axis 24. Test prototypes having diameter ranges of 6.35 to 10.16 cm, with body lengths of 3.81 to 6.35 cm, and rim portion width of 1.27 cm, have been found to fit comfortably within the grip of an average sized man. It is anticipated that manual usage will include games of catch or competition events in which throwers aim for maximum flight times, distance, or accuracy.

It will be recognized that cylinder 10 can be launched by various known mechanical or powered mechanism means which can aim and impart the initial velocity and spin conditions. Such means may be carried aboard a spinning device or may be externally separate. Included in these means are springs, catapults and other leverage mechanisms, explosive or burning propellant systems, as well as normal powered devices running on electricity or various fuel systems.

It has been found that when properly thrown, the device will initially follow a more or less linear flight path from the initial direction 24. Substantial gyroscopic forces tend to stabilize the flight path against the gravitational forces acting to rotate the heavy gyroscopic rim downward about a horizontal axis 32. Toward the end of flight, when the spinning and forward velocity diminish, the device will precess from right to left about a vertical axis 26. The flight then will veer to the left along path 30. The end of flight is characterized by the rim nosing down accompanied by gyroscopic coning motions.

Figure 2 shows a side view of cylinder 10 with the weighted rim 14 oriented with its x axis along the direction of launch arrow 24. The rim portion is comprised of a thin annular metal band attached to the leading edge of the internal wall of the cylinder. The body's center of gravity is shown at 42.

Figure 3 shows the front view of cylinder 10 corresponding to Figure 2. Leading edge 44, comprised of the rim and body wall, has a thickness on the order of .254 cm. The effects of head on drag from the thin fiat leading edge appear negligible. Comparative performance tests have been made which show the importance of adequate up front weighting to obtain significant gyroscopic effects and enhanced flight performance. Plastic models were used having body lengths of 5.08 cm and diameters of 9.56 cm. Various weighted metal rims of 1.27 cm have been added to the forward region along the leading edge. The Table below presents "normal throw" averages of approximate flight ranges of devices with different rim weight percentages obtained under wind-still conditions and an observation appraisal of flight characteristics.

Table

% of Rim Weight to Average Normal Throw Flight the Total Device (Yards) Characteristics

51 % 14 m Very wobbly spin, poor lift, does not soar, no precession-

64% 18 m Wobbly spin, poor lift, does not soar, no precession.

73% 46 m Rough spin, exhibits lift and soars somewhat, some precession,

81 % 60 m Smooth spin, exhibits good lift and soars well, precession.

86% 60 m Very smooth spin, exhibits good lift and soars well, much precession

It should be noted that this data confirms the expectation of improved distances and flight characteristics at the larger forward rim weight distributions. In addition, greater precession is exhibited at the end of flight as relative rim weight increases.

Weight distributions of the present invention are determined without regard to aerodynamic modifications of the cylinder, in contrast, prior art weight distributions are sited in conjunction with a variety of specific aerodynamic modifications. Nevertheless, weight distributions of previous designs are well below the 73% case indicated above; and therefore, can not achieve sufficient gyroscopic stabilization to reach the greater ranges or smoother flight characteristics exhibited by the present invention. Maximum ranges for "hard throws" of a typical man can exceed 100 meters.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred cylindrical aerial toy versions thereof, other versions and applications are possible. Various hollow body shapes and known aerodynamic modifications may also be spun and flown. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not necessarily be limited to the description of the preferred versions and applications contained herein.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A free spinning gyroscopic flying device which is capable of flight due to interaction of substantial gyroscopic forces and aerodynamic lift forces and comprised of:

An annular cylinder like hollow body, having a leading and a trailing end, which are open at the ends, and having a side wall with an inner and outer surface; said leading end contains, around its circumference, a balanced, uniformly and heavily weighted rim for generating gyroscopic forces; forward flight motion, leading rim end forward, with a spinning motion about an axis in substantially the direction of flight, said body is gyroscopically stabilized in reference to direction, attitude and orientation; wherein the weight of said rim amounts to at least 75% of the device's total weight and is embodied within less than the leading 31% portion of the device's total axial length.

2. The gyroscopic flying device of claim 1 wherein said spinning hollow body is a cylinder.

3. The gyroscopic flying device of claim 1 wherein the outer diameter of the rim is equal to the inner diameter of the said body.

4. The gyroscopic flying device of claim 1 wherein the inner diameter of the rim is equal to the outer diameter of the said body.

5- The gyroscopic flying device of claim 1 wherein the inner and outer diameter of the rim is equal to the inner and outer diameter of the said body.