Permanently buoyant balloon
First Claim
1. A substantially permanently air buoyant balloon comprising a substantially gas impermeable envelope filled with a lighter than air gas at about atmospheric pressure, said envelope being made from attached panels of a composite material comprising at least one nonelastomeric polymer sheet continuous throughout said panel which has a continuous opaque coating of a vapor deposited metal on at least one side thereof, said panels being attached to form said envelope by continuous seals along peripheral portions thereof, said envelope having an internal volume of up to about 20 cu. ft. and having a ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power to its surface area of from about 0.21 to about 0.01, and an average envelope weight in the range of from about 2.6 ×
- 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 ×
10-4 gm/cm2.
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Reexamination
Accused Products
Abstract
A substantially permanently buoyant balloon suitable for use as a toy or in advertising, for example, is provided which includes an envelope containing a lighter than air gas such as helium, which envelope is made from attached panels of a nonelastomeric polymer sheet material carrying a continuous metal layer on at least one side thereof. The metal layer can either be a thin metal film contiguously bonded to the polymer, or can be metal which is vapor deposited over the surface of the polymer. The balloon itself is constructed so that the ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power divided by its surface area is in the range of from about 0.21 to about 0.01, and the weight of the envelope can range from about 2.6 × 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 × 10-2 gm/cm2. The envelope is preferably manufactured in two dimensional "lay-flat" form in any desired two dimensional shape unlike conventional balloon envelopes which are inherently three dimensional surfaces. Balloon envelopes having the above described volume to surface area ratio and made with the above described composite panel material will be maintained buoyant for an indefinite period of time when filled with the lighter than air gas.
108 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A substantially permanently air buoyant balloon comprising a substantially gas impermeable envelope filled with a lighter than air gas at about atmospheric pressure, said envelope being made from attached panels of a composite material comprising at least one nonelastomeric polymer sheet continuous throughout said panel which has a continuous opaque coating of a vapor deposited metal on at least one side thereof, said panels being attached to form said envelope by continuous seals along peripheral portions thereof, said envelope having an internal volume of up to about 20 cu. ft. and having a ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power to its surface area of from about 0.21 to about 0.01, and an average envelope weight in the range of from about 2.6 ×
- 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 ×
10-4 gm/cm2. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
- 10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 ×
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11. A substantially permanently air buoyant balloon comprising a substantially gas impermeable envelope filled with helium at about atmospheric pressure, said envelope being made from attached panels of a composite material comprising at least one nonelastomeric polymer sheet continuous throughout said panel which has a continuous coating of a vapor deposited metal on at least one side thereof, said continuous coating having a thickness in the range of from about 1 ×
- 10-6 to about 5 ×
10-5 inch, said panels being attached to form said envelope by continuous seals along peripheral portions thereof, said envelope having an internal volume of up to about 20 cu. ft. and having a ratio of its volume taken to the two-thirds power to its surface area of from about 0.21 to about 0.01 and an average envelope weight in the range of from about 2.6 ×
10-4 gm/cm2 to about 1.7 ×
10-2 gm/cm2. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
- 10-6 to about 5 ×
Specification