Tetrahedral kite structure

A kit for constructing a tetrahedral kite comprising:

• six struts of a rigid material and of equal length;
• four connectors, each constructed to hold the ends of three struts together so the struts radiate from the apex of a tetrahedral geometric figure;
• and
• a substantially rhombus-shaped sail, having four edges, said sail including two sheets positioned facewise against each other, substantially in contact over their entire surfaces and joined together along their edges, with each edge of the sail having a length approximately as great as the length of each strut, so that the middle of the sail can be folded about one edge of said tetrahedral figure to allow the sail to cover two surfaces of said figure, whereby an edge of said sail can be held to a strut merely by projecting the strut between the sheets so that the strut lies immediately inside an edge of said sail.

In a tetrahedral kite which includes four tetrahedral kite sections, each kite section having a sail covering a pair of surfaces thereof which have a common edge, and with the common edges of first and second kite sections lying on a common imaginary line, the improvement of a bridle for said kite comprising:

• a first harness string with a loop formed at the middle thereof, said loop lying in front of said common imaginary line, and the ends of said first string tied to spaced portions of the kite;
• a second harness string with a middle portion extending through said loop in said first string and extending substantially perpendicular to said first string, said second string having end portions tied to spaced portions of the kite, said second string being of a length that results in it being pulled taut when the first string is pulled taut by forces applied at the loop thereof;
• and
• a flying string attached to said loop of said first string.

A tetrahedral kite comprising:

• a frame having struts of a rigid material arranged along the edges of a substantially tetrahedral geometric figure;
• a sail extending along first and second surfaces of the tetrahedral figure;
• said sail including a pair of sheets substantially in contact over their entire opposing surfaces and joined together along their edges, a plurality of said struts extending between the sheets along the edges of the sail, said sail extending in a fold about one of said struts which forms an edge that is common to both said first and second surfaces, with said strut lying within the fold of both sheets of the sail and against the innermost sheet at the fold, said sail, when laid flat, forms a four-sided figure;
• a first harness string with a loop formed at the middle thereof, said loop lying in front of said common imaginary line, and the ends of said first string tied to spaced portions of the kite;
• a second harness string with a middle portion extending through said loop in said first string and extending substantially perpendicular to said first string, said second string having end portions tied to spaced portions of the kite, said second string being of a length that results in it being pulled taut when the first string is pulled taut by forces applied at the loop thereof;
• and
• a flying string attached to said loop of said first string.

A tetrahedral kite comprising:

• a frame having struts of a rigid material arranged along the edges of a substantially tetrahedral geometric figure;
• a sail extending along first and second surfaces of the tetrahedral figure;
• said sail including a pair of sheets substantially in contact over their entire opposing surfaces and joined together along their edges, a plurality of said struts extending between the sheets along the edges of the sail, said sail extending in a fold about one of said struts which forms an edge that is common to both said first and second surfaces, with said strut lying within the fold of both sheets of the sail and against the innermost sheet at the fold, said sail, when laid flat, forms a four-sided figure with four corner portions;
• and,
• connectors for holding said struts together in a framework, each connector including a center portion and a plurality of elongated spoke means radiating from the center portion for engaging the ends of said struts, a first set of three spoke means angled at 60.degree. from one another and a second set of three spoke means angled at 60.degree. from one another, all of said spoke means having the same predetermined cross-sectional shape which can be brought into coincidence with itself after rotation, only by a rotation of more than 90.degree., whereby to minimize the number of possible orientations of a connector on a strut end and thereby facilitate assembly of the kite.

A kit for constructing a tetrahedral kite comprising:

• six struts of a rigid material and of equal length;
• four connectors, each constructed to hold the ends of three struts together so the struts radiate from the apex of a tetrahedral geometric figure, each connector including a center portion and a plurality of elongated spoke means radiating from the center portion for engaging the ends of said struts, a first set of three spoked means angled at 60.degree. from one another and a second set of three spoke means angled at 60.degree. from one another, all of said spoke means having the same predetermined cross-sectional shape which can be brought into coincidence with itself after rotation, only by a rotation of more than 90.degree., whereby to minimize the number of possible orientations of a connector on a strut end and thereby facilitate assembly of the kite;
• and
• a substantially rhombus-shaped sail, having four edges, said sail including two sheets positioned face-wise against each other substantially in contact over their entire opposing surfaces and joined together along their edges, with each edge of said sail having a length approximately as great as the length of each strut so that the middle of the sail can be folded around one edge of said tetrahedral figure to allow said sail to cover two surfaces of said figure, whereby an edge of said sail can be held to a strut merely by projecting the strut between the sheets so the strut lies immediately inside an edge of said sail.