Abstract:
A combination rotary novelty and confection includes a manual energy storage such as a spiral spring wind-up to power gears and shafts that rotate a confection and novelties. The components include a pawl and ratchet control and a speed control using a vibrator gear and oscillating plate.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    A manual energy storage drives gears on shafts for rotating or moving a confection and novelty. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    The art has many examples of novelty devices including rotating or spinning confections. Examples of these included your applicant&#39;s own patents, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,692, issued May 11, 1993, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,535, issued Nov. 25, 1997, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,095,885, issued Aug. 1, 2000. All of these patents incorporate battery power as the source of power. 
         [0005]    The prior art also has many examples of novelty devices that use windup springs as a power source. These springs can be wound by hand turning a shaft directly or by pulling on a string wound around a shaft to turn the shaft. U.S. Pat. No. 6,123,598 issued Sep. 26, 2000, to R. Cook, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,375, issued May 10, 1994, to S. Kanauchi, are examples of an animated character having a spring wound up by use of a pull string. Both spring motion per se, U.S. Pat. No. 5,176,223, issued Jan. 5, 1993, to S. Ito, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,302, issued Jun. 8, 2004, to R. Morikawa; and in combination with objects to give repetitive motions to them, U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,448, issued Apr. 30, 1991, to K. Asano, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,277,646, issued Jan. 11, 1994, to F. Fekete et al are known. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The novelty consists of a combination of shafts and gears that can rotate to provide motion for one, two, or three objects attached to the upper ends of the shafts. A manual energy storage such as a flat or spiral spring is provided to rotate the shaft and gears. It is shown wound by a knob under control of a pawl and ratchet mechanism that includes a push button control. To prevent runaway speed, a speed control unit is included with the shafts and gearing. To accommodate different seasons and events, different caps cooperate with main gear housing and shafts to vary the overall appearance and operation of the novelty. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a side view of the device combination. 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged detailed side view of the operating components of the device drive. 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  is a top view of the speed control device. 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  is an enlarged showing of the plate gear interaction of the speed control device. 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top view of the pawl and ratchet control device. 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  is a side view of a first cap for placement on the top of the drive of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a second cap for placement on the top of the drive of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 8  is a side view of a third cap for placement on the top of the drive of  FIG. 2 . 
           [0015]      FIG. 9  is a partial side view of the combination of  FIG. 1  showing the spring wound by use of a pull string. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0016]      FIG. 1  shows the general combination of the invention. It includes an upper gear housing  11  for the novelty  10 , an upper confection attachment  55 , including a confection  51  on a stick  52  attached to an adapter  54  between the upper shaft  1  and confection stick  52 . The shafts in housing  11  are rotated by gearing in the housing that includes a speed reducer  20  and flat or spiral spring  14  used to rotate  53  the gears, shafts and confection. A lower housing  12  encloses a ratchet control  50  for the prime shaft  2  used to wind the spring  14  by way of the wind knob  13 . 
         [0017]    The motion of the novelty is provided by a spring and gearing best seen in  FIG. 2 . The motive force is provided by turning the prime shaft  2 . The energy from turning the prime shaft  2  is stored in a manual energy storage device shown by the spiral, flat spring  14  having the outer end secured to the housing and the inner end secured to the prime shaft  2 . A primary drive gear  6  on the prime shaft  2  transfers rotary motion to the confection shaft  1  through confection gear  5  for rotating an object placed on the upper end of shaft  1 . The primary gear drive  6  also rotates vibrator plate shaft  3  through transfer gear  7  on vibrator plate shaft  3 . The transfer gear  7  is fixed to reduction gear  8  that in turn rotates vibrator shaft  4  through vibrator gear drive  9 . A vibrator gear  15  is fixed to vibrator drive gear  9  that contacts a speed regulator  20 , best seen in  FIG. 3 . The upper extent of the vibrator plate shaft  3  and vibrator gear shaft  4  are shaped and can support one or more objects. 
         [0018]    Energy for causing rotation is stored in the spring  14 . The spring  14  is wound about the shaft  2  by turning the knob  13  and prime shaft  2  within the lower housing  12 . The lower housing is attached to the upper gear housing  11 . A control device  50 , best seen in  FIG. 5 , is housed within the lower housing  12 . The control includes a pawl  24  and ratchet  22  with teeth  23  engaging the pawl. The pawl  24  has a tooth engaging catch  25  on one end and can be pivoted around its other second end  33  although this is not necessary as both ends  25  and  33  can be lifted by the push button  27 . A stop  34  on the tooth engaging pawl end  25  of the pawl  24  and second end  33  press against the pawl release extension  21  due to coil spring  26  pressure. The spring  26  presses the pawl release extension toward the pawl release push button  27  and the pawl catch  25  into engagement with the ratchet wheel  22 . The pawl catch is normally pressed against the ratchet wheel  22  by the spring  26  to prevent independent rotation when the shaft  2  is being pressed on by the spiral spring  14 . The tapered portion of the teeth permits the pawl to move outward, allowing the shaft  2  to rotate when the spring  14  or the knob  13  turns the shaft in the reverse direction. The pawl catch  25  is released from the ratchet wheel teeth by pressing on the push button  27  that presses the release extension  21  against the stop  34  on one end and pivots the other end of the pawl  24  to rotate the pawl around the pivot  33  or lineally outward against the spring  26  to release the shaft  2  and free it to be rotated by spiral spring  14  pressure. 
         [0019]    The speed of rotation is controlled by a regulator  20 , best seen in  FIG. 3 . The speed regulator  20  consists of an elongated plate  19  that pivots about shaft  3 . One end  41  of the plate has an arcuate internal slot  40  and the other end is provided with an arcuate recess  42  that join tapered ends  43  to form points  44 ,  45  adjacent vibrator gear  15 . The points  44 ,  45  are spaced apart and are spaced from the teeth of the gear  15  so that the vibrator gear teeth  47  alternately engage the points. The distance between the points  44 ,  45  of the plate  19  is a little greater than the diameter of the vibrator gear  15 , at the location the points are placed on the vibrator gear  15 . As seen in  FIG. 4 , the teeth  47  of the gear are sloped at essentially the same angle as that of the point flats  48 ,  49  providing a finite contact area between the gear teeth and the plate point flats. A slight frictional force between the shaft  3  and plate  19  can be used to initiate a rotational force on the plate, or a weak spring can be used, or the points can be positioned so that a small portion of one of the points is always in approximate contact with one small portion of one gear tooth. The contact between the gear teeth  47  and one point, e.g.  45 , results in a minor collision. The plane at the point and gear teeth collision are at an angle causing the point to bounce off. The contact causes the plate to rotate in one direction about the shaft  3  and pivot within the slot  40  while causing a resistance to rotation of the gear  15 . With the plate pivoted in one direction, the opposite point  44  is rotated into interference with another gear tooth  47 . This minor collision causes the plate  19  to be pivoted in the opposite direction and functions to offer a minor resistance to rotation thereby reducing the speed of rotation of gear  15  and all the other gears. 
         [0020]    As a more detailed example, as the vibrator gear  15  turns there will be alternate contact between one plate point flat and one gear tooth  47 . Counterclockwise rotation of gear  15  results in the forward slope of a gear tooth  47  contacting a plate point  45  flat  48 . This collision causes the plate  19  to pivot counterclockwise about the shaft  3 . This is followed by contact between the plate point flat  49  and a gear tooth  47  forward rotating surface. Contact between the plate opposite point side  44  and the gear tooth propels the plate in the opposite clockwise direction. This reciprocating arcuate action acts as a brake to restrict the rotational speed of the device. The relative rotational speed between the shafts  2 ,  3 , and  4  is controlled by the ratio of the diameter of the gears  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8  and  9 . 
         [0021]      FIG. 6  is to the same device shown in  FIG. 2  having a cap  60  that fits over the top of the upper gear housing. A facade  61  is placed over the adapter  54  and an ornament or object  62 , shown in the form of a pumpkin, has a coupling  65  that can engage  67  the top of the shaft  3 . Another ornament or object  63 , shown in the form of a witch on a broom, is attached to a coupling  66  that can engage  68  the top of the shaft  4 . 
         [0022]      FIG. 7  is to the same device shown in  FIG. 2  having a cap  70  that fits over the top of the upper gear housing. The cap is provided with an adapter  71  for receiving the confection stick  52 . The outside of the cap  70  is shown in the form of an ornament or person replica. The inside of the cap is provided with abutments that permit the ornament or person to be oscillated or reciprocated. The tops of the shafts  3  and  4  are provided with an eccentric sloped mover  72 , for engagement and rotation by the shaft  3 , and an eccentrically mounted mover  73 , for engagement and rotation by the shaft  4 . The mover  72  can raise and lower the cap and orbit it by abutment with tapered abutment  75 . The mover  73  can orbit the cap concurrently with the motions caused by the mover  72  by having the mover engage with recess  76  within the cap. 
         [0023]      FIG. 8  is to the same device shown in  FIG. 2  having a cap  80  that fits over the top of the upper gear housing. The adapter  54  is covered with a facade  81 , shown as a replica of a castle, and an object or ornament  82 , shown as a dancing lady. The object or ornament is provided with a coupling  83  for engagement  84  with the top of the shaft  4 . 
         [0024]      FIG. 9  depicts a device similar to  FIGS. 1 and 2  with the knob  13  replaced with a string winder  90  including a spindle  92  finger ring  91  for winding the spring  14  using a string  93 . 
         [0025]    It is believed that the construction, operation and advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. It is to be understood that the present disclosure is illustrative only and that changes, variations, substitutions, modifications and equivalents will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art and that such may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.