Abstract:
An aerodynamic circular foundation (i.e., disc or annulus) having a perimeter supporting two or more evenly spaced handgrips. The handgrips improve throwing and catching without appreciably altering aerodynamics.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of U.S. Patent Application No. 61/611,583 filed 16 Mar. 2013, the contents of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference thereto in its entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to rotating flying toys, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to enhancements to aerodynamic flying rotating objects which are injection molded in a single molding operation. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions. 
     In amusement systems and novelties, one feature that is important to many users is variety in design and playability. For many users, something that is “different” will be determined to be better than other preexisting systems. When differences improve and/or enhance one or more playability factors of existing systems, the user understands the product to be superior in at least some aspects. 
     Toys such as aerodynamic flying discs and annuli have become common place. They are most often optimized for aerodynamics and improved flight dynamics. For example, a distance that the user may throw the toy, or a time-aloft metric, or flight stability/predictability, are often measurements of the desirability of such toys. 
     What is needed is a system and method for enhancing a playability feature of an aerodynamic flying disc or flying annulus. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Disclosed is a system and method for enhancing a playability feature of an aerodynamic flying disc or flying annulus. The following summary of the invention is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the technical features related to playability enhancement of aerodynamic flying discs and annuli, and is not intended to be a full description of the present invention. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole. 
     Preferred embodiments of the present invention include an aerodynamic circular foundation (i.e., disc or annulus) having a perimeter supporting two or more evenly spaced handgrips. The handgrip improves throwing and catching without appreciably altering aerodynamics. Depending upon specifics, use of the handgrip when throwing can enhance the user&#39;s ability to impart desirable rotation to the toy. Some flight characteristics may be improved by increasing an angular momentum of the toy through enhanced rotation and perimeter-attached handgrips. Catching is easier as the handgrips enhance an ability of the user to grip the toy and interrupt the flight. 
     A flying toy, including a central member configured to generate an aerodynamic lifting force when rotating about a rotational axis and moving perpendicular to the rotational axis, the central member including an outer perimeter and the rotational axis with the rotational axis perpendicular to a plane containing the central member; and a plurality of handgrips evenly distributed around the outer perimeter wherein a portion of each the handgrip extends outside of the outer perimeter. 
     Any of the embodiments described herein may be used alone or together with one another in any combination. Inventions encompassed within this specification may also include embodiments that are only partially mentioned or alluded to or are not mentioned or alluded to at all in this brief summary or in the abstract. Although various embodiments of the invention may have been motivated by various deficiencies with the prior art, which may be discussed or alluded to in one or more places in the specification, the embodiments of the invention do not necessarily address any of these deficiencies. In other words, different embodiments of the invention may address different deficiencies that may be discussed in the specification. Some embodiments may only partially address some deficiencies or just one deficiency that may be discussed in the specification, and some embodiments may not address any of these deficiencies. 
     Other features, benefits, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon a review of the present disclosure, including the specification, drawings, and claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying figures, in which like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally-similar elements throughout the separate views and which are incorporated in and form a part of the specification, further illustrate the present invention and, together with the detailed description of the invention, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. 
         FIG. 1  illustrates a top view of an enhanced aerodynamic flying toy; 
         FIG. 2  illustrates a section view of the enhanced aerodynamic flying toy of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  illustrates a top view of an alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy; 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a section view of the alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy of  FIG. 3 ; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates an isometric view of a second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy; 
         FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of the second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy; 
         FIG. 7  illustrates a bottom view of a handgrip used with the second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy; 
         FIG. 8  illustrates a side view of a handgrip used with the second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy; and 
         FIG. 9  illustrates a bottom view of the second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Embodiments of the present invention provide a system and method for enhancing a playability feature of an aerodynamic flying disc or flying ring. The following description is presented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the invention and is provided in the context of a patent application and its requirements. 
     Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and the generic principles and features described herein will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiment shown but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and features described herein. 
     An aerodynamic lifting force as used herein refers to a pressure differential resulting from disparate air flow rates over a top surface of an aerodynamic toy and a bottom surface of the toy. Typically a toy requires a non-uniform cross-section in order to generate disparate air flow rates. A ring having a uniform circular cross-section is excluded from the category of aerodynamic toy. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a top view of an enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  100  and  FIG. 2  illustrates a section view of enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  100 . Toy  100  includes an aerodynamic disc  105  that includes a circular perimeter  110  (though in some embodiments the perimeter need not be circular but include a polygon with distributed vertices). Evenly spaced around perimeter  110  are two or more handgrips  115 . Evenly spaced in this context refers to a relative angular separation that equals 360/N where N is an integer 2 or greater (N being the number of handgrips  115 ). Thus for N=2, handgrips  115  are separated by 180 degrees, and for N=3 they are separated by 120 degrees. 
     Disc  105  is depicted in  FIG. 1  as a generic circular structure having a generally rectangular cross-section ( FIG. 2 ) as the specifics of the aerodynamics features of disc  105  are secondary to toy  100  since any disc  105  may be adapted with handgrips  115  as described herein. In the preferred embodiment, disc  105  is constructed as a single piece structure integrally molded from flexible plastic material having a central flight plate section, an outer rim, and a shoulder section connecting the central flight plate section to the outer rim. The specifics of the material, features of the central flight plate section, outer rim, and shoulder are also secondary. 
     Handgrips  115  are three-dimensional structures having several general properties but otherwise may be variable as to material, construction, attachment, and shape. The general properties include the even spacing around perimeter  110  as previously mentioned. Additionally, the general properties are that each handgrip  115  extends beyond the perimeter ( FIG. 1 ) and has a thickness T greater than a nominal thickness t of disc  105  ( FIG. 2 ). In other respects there is great variability as to other properties that may be employed by toy  100 . 
     While handgrip  115  is shown generally as a sphere, it may have virtually any configuration satisfying the other properties described above as to shape. Handgrip  115  may be soft (e.g., squeezable) or hard, may be lightweight with low density and add no appreciable extra weight to disc  105  or it may be relatively heavy and dense to offer a significant percentage to a majority percentage of the total weight of toy  100 . Handgrip  115  may be of independent construction from disc  105  and attached to perimeter  110  after disc  105  is fabricated or handgrip  115  may be integrated with disc  105  and co-formed with disc  105  during fabrication. Just as there are many different arrangements and constructions for disc  105 , specifics of attachment/cofabrication of handgrip  115  are adapted as necessary to ensure that handgrip  115  is secured to perimeter  110 . 
     In operation, a user may hold a handgrip  115  and use it to impart rotation to toy  100  as it is thrown and/or the user may catch rotating toy  100  as it moves through the air by grabbing handgrip  115 . Rotating toy  100  helps to co-locate one handgrip  115  into the user&#39;s grasp during catching. If the user does not initially catch toy  100  by a handgrip  115 , the rotation of toy  100  will soon bring a handgrip  115  into the user&#39;s hand and allow the user to more easily catch toy  100 . 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a top view of an alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  300  and  FIG. 4  illustrates a section view of the alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  300 . Toy  300  includes an aerodynamic annulus  305  that includes an outer circular perimeter  310  and inner circular perimeter  315  separated by a distance R (which is the difference of the radii of between perimeter  310  and perimeter  315 ). However in some embodiments the outer perimeter and/or the inner perimeter need not be circular. Evenly spaced around perimeter  310  are two or more handgrips  320 . Evenly spaced in this context refers to a relative angular separation that equals 360/N where N is an integer 2 or greater (N being the number of handgrips  115 ). Thus for N=2, handgrips  115  are separated by 180 degrees, and for N=3 they are separated by 120 degrees. 
     Annulus  305  is depicted in  FIG. 3  as a generic annulus structure having a generally rectangular cross-section ( FIG. 4 ) with an inner disc area removed. The specifics of the aerodynamics features of annulus  305  are secondary to toy  300  since any annulus  305  may be adapted with handgrips  320  as described herein. In the preferred embodiment, annulus  305  is constructed as a single piece structure integrally molded from flexible plastic material having a central flight annular plate section with an attached outer rim. The specifics of the material, features of the central flight annular plate section and outer rim are also secondary. 
     Handgrips  320  are three-dimensional structures having several general properties but otherwise may be variable as to material, construction, attachment, and shape. The general properties include the even spacing around perimeter  310  as previously mentioned. Additionally, the general properties are that each handgrip  320  extends beyond the perimeter ( FIG. 3 ) and has a thickness T greater than a nominal thickness t of annulus  305  ( FIG. 4 ). In other respects there is great variability as to other properties that may be employed by toy  300 . For example, handgrip  320  is shown extending outside toy  300  (i.e., beyond perimeter  310 ). In some embodiments, handgrip  320  may extend inside toy  300  (i.e., beyond perimeter  315  towards the center) in addition to, or instead of, extending outside toy  300 . 
     While handgrip  320  is shown generally as a cube, it may have virtually any configuration satisfying the other properties described above as to shape. Handgrip  320  may be soft (e.g., squeezable) or hard, may be lightweight with low density and add no appreciable extra weight to annulus  305  or it may be relatively heavy and dense to offer anywhere from a significant percentage to a majority percentage of the total weight of toy  300 . Handgrip  320  may be of independent construction from annulus  305  and attached to perimeter  310  after annulus  305  is fabricated or handgrip  320  may be integrated with annulus  305  and co-formed with annulus  305  during fabrication. Just as there are many different arrangements and constructions for annulus  305 , specifics of attachment/cofabrication of handgrip  320  is adapted as necessary to ensure that handgrip  320  is secured to perimeter  310 . 
     In operation, a user may hold one of handgrips  320  and use it to impart rotation to toy  300  as it is thrown and/or the user may catch rotating toy  300  as it moves through the air by grabbing handgrip  320 . Rotating toy  300  helps to co-locate one handgrip  320  into the user&#39;s grasp during catching. If the user does not initially catch toy  300  by a handgrip  320 , the rotation of toy  300  will soon bring a handgrip  320  into the user&#39;s hand and allow the user to more easily catch toy  300 . 
     Handgrip attachment may be varied not only in the type of attachment mechanism, but there are advantages in different handgrip overlap with the central body member. For example,  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2  illustrate an embodiment with minimal overlap while  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 4  illustrate an embodiment with a greater degree of overlap. These are but representative and other ranges are possible within the scope of the present invention. Not only radial overlap, but in  FIG. 2 , there may be advantages to having the handgrips out of a plane of the central member (shown as coplanar). In some embodiments, while rotational balance is preferred (circular central body with evenly spaced and radially-equidistant handgrips), some embodiments may provide visual imbalance while preserving functional balance. For example, handgrips may include different shapes and locations as long as, collectively, the desired degree of rotational balance is maintained (such as, for example by having different densities or centers-of-gravity for the different handgrips). 
       FIG. 5  illustrates an isometric view of a second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  500  including a number N (e.g., N=3) of handgrips  505 , and  FIG. 6  illustrates a side view of second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  500 .  FIG. 7  illustrates a bottom view of one of the N number of handgrips  505  used with second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  500  and  FIG. 8  illustrates a side view of one of the N number of handgrips  505  used with second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  500 .  FIG. 9  illustrates a bottom view of second alternate enhanced aerodynamic flying toy  500 . 
     Toy  500  includes an aerodynamic disc  510  that includes a circular perimeter (though in some embodiments the perimeter need not be circular but include a polygon with distributed vertices). Evenly spaced around the perimeter are the N number of handgrips  505 . Evenly spaced in this context refers to a relative angular separation that equals 360/N where N is an integer 2 or greater. Thus for N=2, handgrips  505  are separated by 180 degrees, and for N=3 they are separated by 120 degrees. Toy  500  includes three handgrips  505 , one is shown removed to illustrate a handgrip attachment mechanism  515 . In some implementations, there may be many attachment mechanisms  515  distributed around the perimeter of disk  510 , a greater number than handgrips  505 . A user is able to determine a number of handgrips  505  to attach and a desired attachment pattern by selecting a subset of the available attachment mechanisms  515 . 
     Disc  510  is illustrated as a generic circular structure. As shown, disc  510  is constructed as a single piece structure integrally molded from flexible plastic material having a central flight plate section, an outer rim, and a shoulder section connecting the central flight plate section to the outer rim. 
     Handgrips  505  are three-dimensional assembly structures including an exterior grip portion  705  and a clip portion  710 . Exterior grip portion  705  is the human interface component and clip portion  710  is the disc-engagement component. Handgrip attachment mechanism  515  includes a female socket defined in an exterior of the perimeter of disc  510 . Clip portion  705  is a male connector complementary to the female socket. The male connector is squeezed and inserted into the female socket which then mechanically locks it into place. In this configuration, exterior grip portion  705  is completely outside the perimeter of disk  510 . 
     Exterior grip portions  705  have several general properties but otherwise may be variable as to material, construction, attachment, and shape. The general properties include the even spacing around the perimeter as previously mentioned. Additionally, the general properties are that each handgrip  505  extends beyond the perimeter of disc  510  and has a diameter greater than a nominal thickness of disc  510 . In other respects there is great variability as to other properties that may be employed by toy  500 . 
     While handgrip  505  is shown generally as a sphere, it may have virtually any configuration satisfying the other properties described above as to shape. Handgrip  505  may be soft (e.g., squeezable) or hard, may be lightweight with low density and add no appreciable extra weight to disc  510  or it may be relatively heavy and dense to offer a significant percentage to a majority percentage of the total weight of toy  500 . Just as there are many different arrangements and constructions for disc  510 , specifics of attachment/cofabrication of handgrip  505  are adapted as necessary to ensure that handgrip  505  is secured to the perimeter. One way to help ensure that handgrip  505  is secured to disk  510 , in addition to the engagement of the male and female elements, is to use a screw inset  905  with each attachment mechanism. Then a screw  910  secures clip portion  710  within attachment mechanism further inhibiting detachment of handgrip  505  from disk  510 . As handgrip  505  is designed to be used to launch and catch toy  500 , and handgrip  505  will often make contact with other objects during flight, extra effort to secure handgrip  505  to disc  510  is advantageous and preferred. 
     In operation, a user may hold handgrip  505  and use it to impart rotation to toy  500  as it is thrown and/or the user may catch rotating toy  500  as it moves through the air by grabbing handgrip  505 . Rotating toy  500  helps to co-locate one handgrip  505  into the user&#39;s grasp during catching. If the user does not initially catch toy  500  by any particular handgrip  505 , the rotation of toy  500  will soon bring another handgrip  505  into the user&#39;s hand and allow the user to more easily catch toy  500 . 
     The system and methods above has been described in general terms as an aid to understanding details of preferred embodiments of the present invention. In the description herein, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of components and/or methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that an embodiment of the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other apparatus, systems, assemblies, methods, components, materials, parts, and/or the like. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not specifically shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of embodiments of the present invention. 
     Reference throughout this specification to “one embodiment”, “an embodiment”, or “a specific embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention and not necessarily in all embodiments. Thus, respective appearances of the phrases “in one embodiment”, “in an embodiment”, or “in a specific embodiment” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics of any specific embodiment of the present invention may be combined in any suitable manner with one or more other embodiments. It is to be understood that other variations and modifications of the embodiments of the present invention described and illustrated herein are possible in light of the teachings herein and are to be considered as part of the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     It will also be appreciated that one or more of the elements depicted in the drawings/figures can also be implemented in a more separated or integrated manner, or even removed or rendered as inoperable in certain cases, as is useful in accordance with a particular application. 
     Additionally, any signal arrows in the drawings/Figures should be considered only as exemplary, and not limiting, unless otherwise specifically noted. Furthermore, the term “or” as used herein is generally intended to mean “and/or” unless otherwise indicated. Combinations of components or steps will also be considered as being noted, where terminology is foreseen as rendering the ability to separate or combine is unclear. 
     As used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “in” includes “in” and “on” unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. 
     The foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed herein. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, the invention are described herein for illustrative purposes only, various equivalent modifications are possible within the spirit and scope of the present invention, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize and appreciate. As indicated, these modifications may be made to the present invention in light of the foregoing description of illustrated embodiments of the present invention and are to be included within the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Thus, while the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular embodiments thereof, a latitude of modification, various changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosures, and it will be appreciated that in some instances some features of embodiments of the invention will be employed without a corresponding use of other features without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as set forth. Therefore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the essential scope and spirit of the present invention. It is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular terms used in following claims and/or to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include any and all embodiments and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims. Thus, the scope of the invention is to be determined solely by the appended claims.