Abstract:
A hand-held fan and object holder generally comprises: a housing that can be readily grasped and held by a user; a fan positioned near an upper end of the housing that rotates with respect to the housing and is powered by a motor and power source enclosed within the housing; and a candy item positioned at a lower end of the housing. A switch is positioned on an exterior surface of the housing between the fan and the candy item, allowing the user to selectively energize the motor and rotate the fan while grasping the housing. The resulting hand-held fan and object holder is a novelty product with great consumer appeal, especially to children.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/062,236 filed on Feb. 21, 2005, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/589,736 filed on Jul. 21, 2004, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to novelty and candy products designed primarily for children. Various such products are marketed through retail businesses, especially as “impulse items” that are displayed in checkout lanes or near the cashier. It is a paramount object of the present invention to provide a user-operable fan that is also capable of securing an object, such as a candy item, resulting in a product that has great consumer appeal, especially to children. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a hand-held fan and object holder that is generally comprised of: a housing that can be readily grasped and held by a user; a fan positioned near an upper end of the housing that rotates with respect to the housing and is powered by a motor and power source enclosed within the housing; and a candy item positioned at a lower end of the housing. A switch is positioned on an exterior surface of the housing between the fan and the candy item, allowing the user to selectively energize the motor and rotate the fan while grasping the housing. The resulting hand-held fan and object holder is a novelty product with great consumer appeal, especially to children. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary hand-held fan and object holder made in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a rear view of the exemplary hand-held fan and object holder of  FIG. 1 , in which the rear cover has been removed to allow access to a battery compartment; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial exploded perspective view of the exemplary hand-held fan and object holder of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of another exemplary hand-held fan and object holder made in accordance with the present invention; 
         FIG. 5  is partial front view of the exemplary hand-held fan and object holder of  FIG. 4 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of another exemplary hand-held fan and object holder made in accordance with the present invention, in which a figurine is secured or integral with the upper portion of the housing; and 
         FIG. 7  is a partial perspective view of another exemplary hand-held fan and object holder made in accordance with the present invention, in which the upper portion of the housing is in the shape of soccer ball. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a hand-held fan and object holder, a novelty product primarily for children. 
       FIGS. 1-3  are various views of an exemplary embodiment of a hand-held fan and object holder (generally indicated by reference numeral  10 ) made in accordance with the present invention. The hand-held fan and object holder  10  generally includes a housing  12 ; a fan  14  that rotates with respect to the housing  12 ; a coupling member  16  for securing an object  18  (e.g., a candy item) relative to the housing  12 ; and a sheath  20  that is selectively positioned over the object  18 . 
     The housing  12  encloses the internal components that operate the fan  14 . Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 2 , there is an internal cavity defined in the upper portion of the housing  12  that receives and retains a motor  21 . The motor  21  is powered by a battery  22  that is received and retained in a battery compartment  24  defined by the housing  12 . As also illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the housing  12  preferably includes a removable cover  13  that allows access to this battery compartment  24 . In any event, a simple circuit is formed between the motor  21  and the battery  22  by wires (generally indicated by reference numeral  26 ) which are operatively connected to the positive and negative terminals of the battery  22  when it is received in the battery compartment  24 . Finally, there is a simple spring-biased thumb switch  28  that allows the user to selectively close the circuit between the motor  21  and the battery  22  to energize the motor  21 . When energized, the motor  21  turns a shaft  29 , which extends through the housing  12 , and rotates the fan  14 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , at the lower end of the housing  12 , there is a coupling member  16  for securing an object  18  to the housing  12 . Specifically, in this exemplary embodiment, the housing  12  includes two downwardly extending projections  12   a ,  12   b  which define a substantially circular cavity with internal threads  12   c . The coupling member  16  is provided with corresponding external threads  16   a , so that the coupling member  16  can be selectively attached to the housing  12  through engagement of the respective threads  12   c ,  16   a.    
     Referring still to  FIG. 3 , in most cases, it is contemplated that the object  18  is a candy item  18 . In this exemplary embodiment, the candy item  18  is a hard candy, similar to a lollipop, with a substantially cylindrical or “lipstick” shape. This candy item  18  is secured to and extends downwardly from the coupling member  16 . In this regard, although not illustrated in the Figures, the candy item  18  may be “molded” to and around a shaft that extends from the coupling member  16  along the axis of the candy item  18 . 
     Alternatively, and as also illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the coupling member  16  may be designed to secure a ballpoint pen  18   b  relative to the housing. Furthermore, it is contemplated that a candy item, ballpoint pen, and/or additional items could be packaged together as part of the hand-held fan and object holder  10  to allow for selective detachment and attachment of each object. For example, when the candy item is finished, it could be replaced by the ballpoint pen. 
     Finally, in this exemplary embodiment, and as illustrated in  FIG. 3 , the hand-held fan and object holder  10  includes a sheath  20  that is selectively positioned over the object  18 . This is especially important to the extent that the object  18  is a candy item as the sheath  20  fits over and frictionally engages the coupling member  16  to protect the candy item  18  from contaminants when it is not being consumed. Furthermore, in this exemplary embodiment, there is also a collar  30  that is interposed between the housing  12  and the coupling member  16 . Accordingly, although not shown in the Figures, an adhesive label may be placed over and around a portion of the collar  30  and a portion of the sheath  20 , temporarily sealing the sheath  20  and preventing access to the object  18  until the hand-held fan and object holder  10  is delivered to a consumer, at which time the seal can be broken. 
       FIGS. 4-5  are views of another exemplary embodiment of a hand-held fan and object holder (generally indicated by reference numeral  110 ) made in accordance with the present invention. Similar to the embodiment described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 , the hand-held fan and object holder  110  generally includes a housing  112 ; a fan  114  that rotates with respect to the housing  112 ; a coupling member  116  for securing an object  118 , such as a candy item, relative to the housing  112 ; and a sheath  120  that is selectively positioned over the object  118 . 
     In this exemplary embodiment, the upper portion of the housing  112  is shaped like an airplane, with the fan  114  serving as the propeller of the airplane. In any event, the housing  112  still encloses the internal components that operate the fan  114 . Specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , there is an internal cavity defined in the upper portion of the housing  112  that receives and retains a motor  121 . The motor  121  is powered by a battery  122  that is received and retained in a battery compartment  124  defined by the housing  112 . A simple circuit is formed between the motor  121  and the battery  122  by wires (generally indicated by reference numeral  126 ) which are operatively connected to the positive and negative terminals of the battery  122  when it is received in the battery compartment  124 . Finally, there is a simple spring-biased thumb switch  128  that allows the user to selectively close the circuit between the motor  121  and the battery  122  to energize the motor  121 . Once energized, the motor  121  turns a shaft  129 , which extends through the housing  112 , and rotates the fan  114 . 
     Furthermore, although not shown in detail in  FIG. 4 , similar to the embodiment described above with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 , there is a coupling member  116  for securing a object  118  to the housing  112 . The hand-held fan and object holder  110  also includes a sheath  120  that is selectively positioned over the object  118 . The sheath  120  simply fits over and frictionally engages the coupling member  116  to protect the object  118  from contaminants when it is not being consumed. There is also a collar  130  that is interposed between the housing  112  and the coupling member  116 . Accordingly, although not shown in the Figures, an adhesive label may be placed over and around a portion of the collar  130  and a portion of the sheath  120 , temporarily sealing the sheath  120  and preventing access to the object  118  until the hand-held fan and object holder  110  is delivered to a consumer, at which time the seal can be broken. 
     In this exemplary embodiment, the hand-held fan and object holder  110  also includes a lighting feature. Specifically, as best illustrated in  FIG. 5 , the central hub  115  of the fan  114  is substantially translucent and defines an internal cavity for receiving one or more illumination devices. In this exemplary embodiment, the illumination devices are light-emitting diodes  140 ,  142 ,  144 ,  146  mounted to a circuit board  150 , which also includes a power source, e.g., a battery. Also mounted to the circuit board  150  is a microswitch that is closed by the centrifugal forces resulting from rotation of the fan  114 . As such, the light-emitting diodes  140 ,  142 ,  144 ,  146  are only illuminated while the fan  114  is rotating. Finally, the circuit board  150  may include an embedded software code for further control of the illumination of the light-emitting diodes  140 ,  142 ,  144 ,  146 , for example, to create predetermined or random light patterns during rotation of the fan  114 . 
       FIG. 6  is a partial perspective view of another exemplary hand-held fan and object holder  210  made in accordance with the present invention. In this particular embodiment, a figurine  211  is secured or integral with the upper portion of the housing  112 . Such a figurine can be a likeness of a cartoon character or other person or animal of interest to a targeted demographic. Similarly,  FIG. 7  is a perspective view of another exemplary hand-held fan and object holder  310  made in accordance with the present invention, in which the upper portion of the housing  312  is in the shape of soccer ball. Of course, various other shapes or design elements could be similarly incorporated into the housing to make the product more aesthetically pleasing and commercially desirable without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     One of ordinary skill in the art will also recognize that additional embodiments are possible without departing from the teachings of the present invention or the scope of the claims which follow. This detailed description, and particularly the specific details of the exemplary embodiments disclosed therein, is given primarily for clarity of understanding, and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, for modifications will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claimed invention.