Rigid helium balloons

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6659838
  • Patent Number
    6,659,838
  • Date Filed
    Friday, February 14, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 9, 2003
    21 years ago
Abstract
The rigid helium balloon has a helium compartment and a separate, channel portion. Helium gas is filled into the helium compartment through a valve in the balloon. Fiberglass rod members are inserted into the channel portion to help retain the desired shape of the balloon. The rod members also provide a counterbalancing weight which prevents the balloon from floating upward. Thus, the balloon, once released into the air, will retain its shape and remain floating at the height from which it was released unless repositioned. No additional weights or tethering devices are required to prevent the balloon from floating upwards.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to helium balloons, and more particularly, to helium balloons having a rigid skeleton.




2. Description of the Related Art




Generally, it has been difficult to fabricate balloons with continuously curved shapes, and well-defined corners, or edges. Most balloons are formed in spherical shapes in order to allow the greatest volume for the least surface area. Also, the thin material of the balloon naturally becomes spherical as pressure is increased. To achieve the desired non-spherical shape, then, it is necessary to provide a supporting frame to maintain the thin material of the balloon. However, in the past, the weight of such frames, even when the most efficient materials for such purposes were selected, typically required a displaced volume of such size that fabrication for home use or the like would have been impractical. Consequently, helium balloons are typically formed in spherical shapes with some type of tethering device attached for maintaining control of the balloon's elevation.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,032,086, issued Jun. 28, 1977 to W. Cooke, discloses an aerostat or aquastat in which a sealed envelope of flexible material is mounted on a flexible frame which can be caused to expand the envelope after it has been evacuated of internal gas, thereby setting up a vacuum or partial vacuum condition in the envelope. By controlling the frame to adjust the volume of the envelope, the lift or buoyancy of the device can be controlled in flight or precisely determined before ascent.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,777, issued Aug. 2, 1977 to S. Schwartz, discloses a gas filled, balloon-like object capable of defining a non-spherical shape. A high modulus graphite-impregnated epoxy material is used to prevent distortion of the inflated object. Strings or weights are required to prevent upward ascent of the balloon.




U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,206, issued Sep. 12, 1978 to D. Wheeler, discloses a lighter-than-air apparatus, including a thin, pliable air-tight outer envelope disposed in overlying relationship over a light-weight, coarse-opening inner frame of a spherelike shape.




Other devices relating to balloons and lighter-than-air apparatuses include U.S. Pat. No. 2001/0003505 A1 issued Jun. 14, 2001 to T. Bertrand, which discloses a lighting apparatus secured to a balloon by string under tension; U.S. Pat. No. 4,925,426 issued May 15, 1990 to C. Lovik, which discloses an open skeletal frame of rigid rod-like formers made of thin strands of plastic, wire, or the like and which permits the insertion of an uninflated balloon of conventional shape and size into the interior thereof so that upon inflation of the balloon, the latex sidewall material of the balloon projects outwardly through the openings of the formers to produce bulbous projections; U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,997 issued May 26, 1992 to J. Peterson, which discloses a tethered surveillance balloon having a relatively low lift-to-weight ratio; U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,998 issued May 26, 1992 to L. Olive, which discloses a double-walled, annular balloon which requires less gas to inflate than its volume would indicate; U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,072, issued Aug. 2, 1994 to M. Epstein, which discloses an inflatable body, such as a balloon, and holder assembly therefore; U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,240, issued Mar. 16, 1999 to B. Larsen, which discloses a toy blimp; U.S. Pat. No. 6,276,984, issued Aug. 21, 2001 to K. Komaba, which discloses a balloon having adhering members disposed upon its surface; Japanese Patent No. 1238890, published Sep. 25, 1989, which discloses plastic film balloons in animal and other complex shapes.




None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a rigid helium balloon solving the aforementioned problems is desired.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention relates to a rigid balloon capable of having a non-spherical shape. The balloon includes a helium compartment and a separate, channel portion. Helium gas is filled into the helium compartment through a valve in the balloon. Fiberglass rod members are inserted into the channel portion to help retain the desired shape of the balloon. The rod members also provide a counterbalancing weight which prevents ascension of the balloon. Thus, the balloon, once released into the air, will retain its shape and remain floating at the height from which it was released unless repositioned. No additional weights or tethering devices are required to prevent the balloon from floating upwards.




Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide a balloon having a rigid skeleton.




It is another object of the invention to provide a balloon having a non-spherical shape.




It is a further object of the invention to provide a balloon which will float in air at a constant distance from the floor surface without being tethered.











These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.




BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an environmental, perspective view of a rigid helium balloon according to the present invention.





FIG. 2

is a section view along lines


2





2


of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is a perspective view of a rigid helium balloon according to the present invention.




Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




As shown in

FIG. 1

, a preferred embodiment of the balloon according to the present invention, generally designated as


10


, is relatively small and can be easily adapted as a toy for indoor use. As depicted in

FIG. 2

, the balloon


10


, is made from skin portions


12


and


14


, e.g., a top half and a bottom half of the balloon


10


. The skin portions


12


and


14


may be formed in any shape desired for the balloon


10


. In the embodiment depicted in

FIGS. 1-2

, the skin portions


12


and


14


are shaped so that when the top half


12


and bottom half


14


are joined, the resulting balloon


10


is a lenticular-shaped balloon which resembles a flying saucer. Skin portions


12


and


14


can be made from any suitable heat sealable material which has low gas permeability. Preferably, however, skin portions


12


and


14


are made from polyethylene terephthalate (sold under the trademark Mylar®, a trademark of E.I. duPont de Nemours & Co. of Wilmington, Del.).




As can be more clearly seen in

FIG. 2

, the skin portions


12


and


14


are sealed together in a double seam about their periphery, including a first peripheral seam


16


and a parallel or concentric second seam


18


. First seam portion


16


and second seam portions


18


are disposed near the peripheral edges of the first and second skins


12


and


14


, and are spaced from one another. First seam portion


16


and second seam portion


18


are formed by heat sealing or any other suitable means. A channel portion


20


is defined between seam


16


and seam


18


and extends about the periphery of the balloon


10


. Skin portions


12


and


14


, when joined, define a helium chamber


22


therebetween. The helium chamber


22


includes a valve


24


through which the balloon


10


may be filled with helium. Preferably the valve


24


is one which is commonly used in Mylar balloons, although any suitable valve may be used.




As can be seen in

FIG. 3

, at least one rod member


26


is inserted into the channel portion


20


through rod apertures


28


. While the rod member


26


can be formed from any acceptable material, it is preferably made from fiberglass. Once the rod member


26


has been inserted through the channel portion


20


, opposing ends


30


of the rod member


26


can be joined together by a connector


32


to secure the rod member


26


in place. Any suitable connector


32


may be used to join the ends


30


of the rod member


26


. However, a brass fitting having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the rod member


26


is preferred. Once the rod member


26


is secured in the channel portion


20


, the rod members


26


provide a rigid skeleton for the balloon


10


so that the balloon


10


may maintain its desired shape once it has been inflated with helium. The rod member


26


has a weight which is calculated to counterbalance the buoyant effect of helium so that the balloon


10


is prevented from floating upwards when filled, the balloon


10


simply floating at the height at which it is released.




Although only one rod member


26


is depicted in the drawings, for some shapes, it may be necessary to use a plurality of rod members


26


of varying sizes (not shown). For such shapes, for example those with a plurality of curves or angles, a plurality of rod apertures are provided at various points on the balloon


10


so that the rod members


26


may be easily inserted into the channel portion


20


. The rod members


26


can then be connected to one another using the connector


32


, as previously described.




It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.



Claims
  • 1. A rigid helium balloon comprising:a first skin portion; a second skin portion joined to said first skin at a double seam about their periphery, the double seam defining a channel extending about the periphery of the first and second skin portions; a helium compartment disposed between said first and second portions; at least one rod member disposed within said channel portion, said rod member having opposing ends; and at least one connector secured to at least one of said opposing rod ends to hold said rod member in said channel portion.
  • 2. The balloon of claim 1, further comprising a valve extending into the helium compartment through which helium gas may be inserted.
  • 3. The balloon of claim 1, wherein said first and second skin members are made from polyethylene terephthalate.
  • 4. The balloon of claim 1, wherein said at least one rod member is made from fiberglass.
  • 5. The balloon of claim 1, wherein said connector is a brass fitting.
  • 6. A rigid helium balloon comprising:a first skin member; a second skin member joined to said first skin member at a first peripheral seam and at a second peripheral seam, said second peripheral seam being spaced from said first peripheral seam; a helium compartment disposed between said first and second skin members; a channel portion defined between said first peripheral seam and said second peripheral seam, said channel portion having at least two rod apertures; at least one fiberglass rod member disposed within said channel portion, said rod member having opposing ends; and a connector secured to at least one of said opposing rod ends; wherein said first and second skin portions are made from polyethylene terephthalate.
US Referenced Citations (23)
Number Name Date Kind
4032086 Cooke Jun 1977 A
4038777 Schwartz Aug 1977 A
4113206 Wheeler Sep 1978 A
4307537 Bergmann Dec 1981 A
4309840 Kulesza et al. Jan 1982 A
4529153 Conn Jul 1985 A
4580990 Avery Apr 1986 A
4778431 Dudley Oct 1988 A
4894039 Taylor et al. Jan 1990 A
4925426 Lovik May 1990 A
5115997 Peterson May 1992 A
5115998 Olive May 1992 A
5169353 Myers Dec 1992 A
5194029 Kinoshita Mar 1993 A
5334072 Epstein Aug 1994 A
5645248 Campbell Jul 1997 A
5743786 Lindsey Apr 1998 A
5765831 Huffhines Jun 1998 A
5882240 Larsen Mar 1999 A
5893790 Montgomery Apr 1999 A
5906530 Lindsey May 1999 A
6276984 Komaba Aug 2001 B1
20010003505 Bertrand Jun 2001 A1
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
Number Date Country
4136160 May 1993 DE
29609516 Aug 1996 DE
1238890 Sep 1989 JP