Aeronautics and astronautics – Aircraft – lighter-than-air – Balloons
Reexamination Certificate
2000-06-09
2001-12-04
Jordan, Charles T. (Department: 3643)
Aeronautics and astronautics
Aircraft, lighter-than-air
Balloons
C244S033000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325329
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to balloons filled with helium gas. More specifically, this invention relates to a helium balloon designed to carry a single person aloft.
2. Description of Related Art
People have used gas-filled balloons for transportation since the Montgolfier brothers, Joseph Michel and Jacques Etienne, invented the first hot air balloon in 1783. There have been hot air balloons designed to carry a single person. Such a contraption typically includes a compressed flammable gas tank strapped to the pilot's back and a burner above the pilot's head. The open flame needed for heating the air makes such a contraption relatively dangerous to use, however. Additionally, the burning gas pollutes the atmosphere, and the burner is quite noisy when in use. Moreover, the equipment associated with a single-person hot air balloon is prohibitively expensive to acquire and requires a truck to transport. And the diameter of a balloon needed to carry a single person is nearly 40 feet, making the balloon difficult to maneuver, especially in more crowded airspace. All of these disadvantages make such a contraption relatively undesirable and wholly impractical for widespread use by the public.
A helium-filled balloon overcomes these disadvantages. Helium gas is plentiful, non-flammable (and therefore safe) and environmentally friendly. Without a gas tank and a burner, a helium balloon is less expensive to acquire, and a deflated balloon can be transported by the pilot inside a passenger car. Finally, a helium balloon one-eighth the volume of a hot air balloon will lift the same weight so the diameter of the balloon for carrying a single person needs only to be 18-20 feet.
Even with these comparative advantages, however, helium balloons designed to carry a single person have seen only limited and obscure use in the past. In the early 1900s, people began using rubber balloons filled with helium gas for recreation. In this sport, men would hang precariously from nets strung over several helium balloons and race each other across large open areas as spectators placed bets on which pilot would be the winner. Perhaps because of the potential danger associated with a balloon puncture or a loss of grip, this sport never gained much popularity.
As recently as 1985, the movie “Leap of Faith” starring Steve Martin featured an untethered, one-man helium balloon. In the movie, the character played by Martin “flew” the balloon to rescue a small child from a dangerous balloon. What the movie does not show is the fact that an accident occurred during the filming. The balloon used in the production was not made from a rip-stop material. Rather, it consisted of a single layer of fabric and the attachment points for the harness used by the pilot were essentially glued to the underside of the balloon. As a result, the balloon tore as it hit the wall of the rock quarry where the girl in the film was to be rescued, and the stuntman piloting the balloon suffered a broken back. The production company destroyed the unsafe, poorly constructed balloon after the filming had concluded.
In 1995, U.S. Pat. No. 5,391,115 issued for an invention entitled “Low Gravity Jumping Apparatus.” This invention discloses a helium balloon for providing a buoyant upward force but it does not provide any features for making the balloon safe for recreational use. Instead, the invention focuses on the design of a special harness and frame combination that allows the rider to rotate his or her body in a horizontal or vertical axis. The use of such a contraption only increases the risk associated with the activity.
With the increasing popularity of sports like bungee jumping and parasailing, it would be desirable to have a helium balloon designed to carry a single person aloft that adequately addresses issues of pilot safety, cost, portability, and safety to the environment. Such a contraption would provide the public with access to another recreational sport that offers the experience of floating and gliding. The invention described below meets the foregoing objectives.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention is a helium-filled balloon made from strong rip-stop material and of a sufficient diameter (around 20 feet) and volume so that the balloon, when fully inflated, almost counteracts the effects of gravity on a pilot. A parachute-style harness secures the pilot to the balloon. By pushing off the ground with his or her legs, the pilot slowly ascends in the balloon to a maximum height of about 100 feet. Tether lines held by persons serving as the “ground crew” prevent the balloon from floating away or out of control. Once aloft, the pilot can float and glide for distances up to a quarter mile before gently descending. The balloon is equipped with bleed-off valves for controlled release of helium gas in the event of a navigational emergency. The entire balloon fits in the back seat or trunk of a passenger car.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1186580 (1916-06-01), Jelalian
patent: 1247960 (1917-11-01), Jelalian
patent: 1305592 (1919-06-01), Fernandez
patent: 1563571 (1925-12-01), Huffman et al.
patent: 1781506 (1930-11-01), Godefroy
patent: 2449813 (1948-09-01), Lawson
patent: 4061293 (1977-12-01), Lo
patent: 5391115 (1995-02-01), Bessey
patent: 5449130 (1995-09-01), Huntington
patent: 5775640 (1998-07-01), Gobbi et al.
Screen Shots from the “Sky-Walking” web site, printed on Jan. 26, 2001.
Screen Shots from the “Zero G” web site, printed on Jan. 26, 2001.
Disney Productions, Movie—“Leap of Faith” 1985.
Collins Timothy D.
Hunton & Williams
Jordan Charles T.
Meadows Joseph Steven
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