Portable video cassette player for children

A compact video cassette player for children is provided including a housing with a front face, a rear face, a top face, a bottom face and a pair of side faces. The top face has a handle mounted thereto. A light assembly is equipped with a lamp for illuminating upon the receipt of power. Further included is a video cassette player assembly having a display mounted on the front face of the housing; a plurality of control buttons including a start button, stop button, rewind button, eject button and actuator button; and a speaker positioned on the housing. The video cassette player assembly also has a video cassette player mechanism having an inlet for receiving a video cassette so as to display video and audio signals from the video cassette via the display and the speaker, respectively, in accordance with the depression of the control buttons. Further, a power unit is provided for supplying the light assembly and video cassette player assembly with power.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to video cassette recorders and more 
particularly pertains to a new portable video cassette player for 
entertaining children. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The use of video cassette recorders is known in the prior art. More 
specifically, video cassette recorders heretofore devised and utilized are 
known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural 
configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the 
crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of 
countless objectives and requirements. 
Known prior art video cassette recorders include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,843,477; 
4,012,787; Des. 310,522; 3,908,083; and 5,387,136. 
In these respects, the portable video cassette player for children 
according to the present invention substantially departs from the 
conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing 
provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of entertaining 
children. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of video 
cassette recorders now present in the prior art, the present invention 
provides a new portable video cassette player for children construction 
wherein the same can be utilized for entertaining children. 
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described 
subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new portable video 
cassette player for children apparatus and method which has many of the 
advantages of the video cassette recorders mentioned heretofore and many 
novel features that result in a new portable video cassette player for 
children which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even 
implied by any of the prior art video cassette recorders, either alone or 
in any combination thereof. 
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a housing having 
rectangular configuration. As shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, the housing has a 
square front face, a square rear face, a rectangular top face, a 
rectangular bottom face and a pair of rectangular side faces. For carrying 
purpose, the top face has a handle mounted thereon. Next provided is a 
light assembly including a vertically oriented thin linear recess formed 
in the rear face of the housing. The recess resides in communication with 
the top face thereof. A hemispherical recess is formed in the rear face 
such that the linear recess intersects the hemispherical recess. The light 
assembly further includes a first elongated rod having a first end 
pivotally coupled within the recess adjacent to the top face of the 
housing. A second short rod has a first end pivotally coupled to a second 
end of the first elongated rod. A lamp with a hemispherical cover is 
pivotally coupled at a periphery thereof to a second end of the second 
short rod. During use, the rods and lamp may be removably situated within 
the recesses and illuminated upon the receipt of power. Next provided is a 
video cassette player assembly including a display mounted on the front 
face of the housing. The display has a surface area less than that of the 
front face. A plurality of color coded control buttons are mounted to the 
front face of the housing between the display and one of the side faces of 
the housing. As shown in FIG. 1, such control buttons include a start 
button, stop button, rewind button, eject button and actuator button. A 
speaker is positioned on the front face of the housing between the display 
and one of the side faces of the housing opposite the control buttons. The 
video cassette player assembly further includes a video cassette player 
mechanism having an inlet situated on the front face of the housing below 
the display. The inlet serves to receive a video cassette so as to display 
video and audio signals from the video cassette from the display and the 
speaker, respectively. This operation may be governed in accordance with 
the depression of the control buttons. Finally, a power unit is included 
for supplying power to the lamp assembly and video cassette player 
assembly. The power unit includes a compartment formed in the rear face of 
the housing adjacent to the bottom face thereof. The compartment has a 
battery holster, an auxiliary power jack situated therein, and an interior 
space. The power unit further includes a first power connector for being 
removably connected between a conventional alternative current source and 
the auxiliary power jack. Associated therewith is a second power connector 
for being removably connected between a cigarette lighter of a vehicle and 
the auxiliary power jack. Prior to use, the power connectors may be stored 
in the interior space and a cover removably mounted thereover for 
containing the same in the compartment. 
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features 
of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that 
follows may be better understood, and in order that the present 
contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional 
features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which 
will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto. 
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention 
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its 
application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the 
components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the 
drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being 
practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood 
that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose 
of description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon 
which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the 
designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the 
several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, 
that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions 
insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present 
invention. 
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent 
and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the 
scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar 
with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a 
cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of 
the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention 
of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to 
be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new 
portable video cassette player for children apparatus and method which has 
many of the advantages of the video cassette recorders mentioned 
heretofore and many novel features that result in a new portable video 
cassette player for children which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, 
suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art video cassette 
recorders, either alone or in any combination thereof. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new portable 
video cassette player for children which may be easily and efficiently 
manufactured and marketed. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new portable 
video cassette player for children which is of a durable and reliable 
construction. 
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new 
portable video cassette player for children which is susceptible of a low 
cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which 
accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming 
public, thereby making such portable video cassette player for children 
economically available to the buying public. 
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
portable video cassette player for children which provides in the 
apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, 
while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally 
associated therewith. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new portable 
video cassette player for children for entertaining children. 
Even still another object of the present invention is to provide a new 
portable video cassette player for children that includes a housing with a 
front face, a rear face, a top face, a bottom face and a pair of side 
faces. The top face has a handle mounted thereto. A light assembly is 
equipped with a lamp for illuminating upon the receipt of power. Further 
included is a video cassette player assembly having a display mounted on 
the front face of the housing; a plurality of control buttons including a 
start button, stop button, rewind button, eject button and actuator 
button; and a speaker positioned on the housing. The video cassette player 
assembly also has a video cassette player mechanism having an inlet for 
receiving a video cassette so as to display video and audio signals from 
the video cassette via the display and the speaker, respectively, in 
accordance with the depression of the control buttons. Further, a power 
unit is provided for supplying the light assembly and video cassette 
player assembly with power. 
These together with other objects of the invention, along with the various 
features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with 
particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this 
disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating 
advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should 
be made to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there 
are illustrated preferred embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
With reference now to the drawings, and in particular to FIGS. 1 through 4 
thereof, a new portable video cassette player for children embodying the 
principles and concepts of the present invention and generally designated 
by the reference numeral 10 will be described. 
The present invention, designated as numeral 10, includes a housing 12 
having rectangular configuration. As shown in FIGS. 1 & 2, the housing has 
a square front face, a square rear face, a rectangular top face, a 
rectangular bottom face and a pair of rectangular side faces. Ideally, the 
housing has a height of 12 inches, a length of 12 inches and a depth of 6 
inches. For carrying purpose, the top face has a handle 14 mounted 
thereon. The handle comprises of a flexible strip coupled at opposite ends 
to the top face. 
Next provided is a light assembly 16 including a vertically oriented thin 
linear recess 18 formed in the rear face of the housing. The recess 
resides in communication with the top face of the housing and terminates 
short of the bottom face thereof. A hemispherical recess 20 is formed in 
the rear face which intersects the linear recess. 
The light assembly further includes a first elongated rod 22 having a first 
end pivotally coupled within the recess adjacent to the top face of the 
housing. A second short rod 24 has a first end pivotally coupled to a 
second end of the first elongated rod. Ideally, the short rod has a length 
less than half that of the elongated rod. A lamp 26 with a hemispherical 
cover 28 is pivotally coupled at a periphery thereof to a second end of 
the second short rod. During use, the rods and lamp may be removably 
situated within the recesses and illuminated upon the receipt of power. It 
should be noted that a wire runs through the rods for supplying such power 
in a manner that will soon become apparent. An actuation switch 30 is 
positioned on the cover of the lamp for selectively precluding and 
allowing the transfer of power thereto. 
Next provided is a video cassette player assembly 32 including a display 34 
mounted on the front face of the housing. The display has a surface area 
less than that of the front face. A plurality of color coded control 
buttons 36 are mounted to the front face of the housing between the 
display and one of the side faces of the housing. As shown in FIG. 1, such 
control buttons include a green start button, red stop button, yellow 
rewind button, blue eject button and purple actuator button. 
A speaker 38 is positioned on the front face of the housing between the 
display and one of the side faces of the housing opposite the control 
buttons. Associated with the speaker is a volume dial 40 situated on the 
top face adjacent to the handle. The dial functions to either limit or 
augment the magnitude of audio signals being emitted from the speaker. For 
personal use, a head phone jack 42 is mounted to the rear face of the 
housing for releasably connecting with a pair of headphones 43. A switch 
44 is used to determine to which of the headphones and the speaker audio 
signals are transmitted. 
The video cassette player assembly further includes a video cassette player 
mechanism 46 having an inlet situated on the front face of the housing 
below the display. The inlet serves to receive a video cassette so as to 
display video and audio signals from the video cassette via the display 
and the speaker, respectively. This operation is governed in accordance 
with the depression of the control buttons. 
Finally, a power unit 48 is included for supplying power to the lamp 
assembly and video cassette player assembly. The power unit includes a 
compartment 50 formed in the rear face of the housing adjacent to the 
bottom face thereof. The compartment has a rechargeable battery holster 
51, an auxiliary power jack 52 situated therein, and an interior space 54. 
The power unit further includes a first power connector 56 for being 
removably connected between a conventional alternative current source and 
the auxiliary power jack. The first power connector preferably has a 
transformer mounted thereon. Associated therewith is a second power 
connector 58 for being removably connected between a cigarette lighter of 
a vehicle and the auxiliary power jack. Prior to use, the power connectors 
may be stored in the interior space and a cover 60 removably mounted 
thereover for containing the same in the compartment. 
As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the 
present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. 
Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and 
operation will be provided. 
With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the 
optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to 
include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of 
operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to 
one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those 
illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are 
intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 
Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the 
principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and 
changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired 
to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and 
described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may 
be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.