Patent ID: 6382820
Filing Date: 2002-05-07
Classification: B60Q,H02K

Abstract:
An illuminating novelty device for a hubcap, wherein the hubcap has a central opening for holding said illuminating novelty device, said device comprising:a) a primary housing for attaching in, and rotating with, the central opening of the hubcap; b) illuminators disposed on said primary housing; and c) a generator contained in said primary housing, and being in electrical communication with, and powering, said illuminators; wherein said primary housing is cylindrically-shaped, and has: i) a front wall that is disk-shaped; ii) a rear wall that is circular-shaped; and iii) a longitudinal side wall that is cylindrically-shaped and extends from said front wall thereof to said rear wall thereof; wherein said primary housing contains a primary chamber that is coaxially disposed with said longitudinal side wall thereof, and extends from said front wall thereof to said rear wall thereof; wherein said illuminators comprise a strip of linearly aligned LEDs that is slender and elongated, and extends diametrically across said front wall of said primary housing for viewing from the ambient; . wherein said generator comprises a secondary housing that is cylindrically-shaped, and has: i) a front wall that is circular-shaped; ii) a rear wall that is circular-shaped; and iii) a longitudinal side wall that is cylindrically-shaped and extends from said front wall thereof to said rear wall thereof; wherein said front wall of said secondary housing has a pair of terminals that are spaced diametrically apart, and are in electrical communication with said illuminators; wherein said front wall of said secondary housing has an inner face with a bearing that is centrally disposed thereon; wherein said rear wall of said secondary housing has a throughbore that is centrally disposed; wherein said generator further comprises a shaft that extends coaxially in said secondary housing, and has: i) a first end that is rotatably positioned in said bearing on said front wall of said secondary housing; and ii) a second end that extends through, and past, said throughbore in said rear wall of said secondary housing; wherein said generator further comprises an armature that is fixedly attached to said shaft to form a stator, and is disposed in proximity to said rear wall of said secondary housing; wherein said generator further comprises a commutator that is fixed to said shaft, and is disposed between said armature and said front wall of said secondary housing; wherein said commutator is of said direct current type, and as a result thereof, circumferentially surrounds said shaft, and is split lengthwise into a pair of parts; wherein each part of said commutator extends 90 degrees around said shaft, and is spaced 90 degrees apart from an adjacent part; wherein said shaft, when viewed clockwise in lateral cross section from said first end thereof, is divided into four quadrants that comprise: i) a first imaginary quadrant that extends from 0Â° to 90Â°; ii) a second imaginary quadrant that extends from 90Â° to 180Â°; ii) a third imaginary quadrant that extends from 180Â° to 270Â°; and iii) a fourth imaginary quadrant that extends from 270Â° to 360Â°; wherein one part of said commutator extends along said second imaginary quadrant of said shaft, while the other part of said commutator extends along said fourth imaginary quadrant of said shaft; wherein said generator further comprises a pair, of brushes that are diametrically affixed to said secondary housing for rotation therewith, and move along said commutator as said secondary housing rotates; and wherein said pair of brushes electrically communicate with said pair of parts of said commutator only in said second quadrant and said fourth quadrant, and as a result thereof, illuminate said illuminators only in these quadrants, and as a result thereof, form vertical and horizontal intersecting diameters defining four quadrants having solid upper left and lower right quadrants, when said primary housing is rotated by virtue of the hubcap rotating.