Abstract:
An amusement device used to move a supported display object through an erratic path. The amusement device includes a base element in which is disposed a motorized assembly. A support spring is used to interconnect a display object to the motorized assembly in the base element. The support spring has a first end and a second end. The first end of the support spring is coupled to the motorized assembly within the base element, wherein the support spring is caused to move by the vibrating assembly. The remainder of the support spring extends freely from the base element. The display object is coupled to the second end of the support spring. As the display object moves, it causes the support spring to oscillate, thereby causing the display object to move erratically from point to point

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/811,750, entitled Whirling Amusement Device And Associated Method Of Operation, filed Mar. 19, 2001 now abandoned, which was a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/383,914, entitled Whirling Amusement Device And Associated Method Of Operation, filed Aug. 26, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,929. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to amusement devices that contain an object that spins or whirls. More particularly, the present invention relates to amusement devices that contain an object that move erratically, a motor for causing the erratic motion and a flexible shaft disposed between the object and the motor. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     The prior art of toys and amusement devices is replete with many examples of objects that spin and whirl. Many such devices are powered by rotational momentum, such as tops and gyroscopes. Other devices are powered by springs, such as windup ballerina figures. Still many other devices utilize battery powered motors to create a spinning motion. 
     One variation of a battery powered amusement device is when the object being spun is connected to the battery powered motor by a flexible shaft. In such devices, the forces of inertia and centrifugal force cause the flexible shaft to oscillate at the shaft spins. The oscillation of the shaft causes the object being spun to move in an erratic manner. Such prior art devices are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,146,702 to Belokin, entitled, Display Having An Electric Motor For Simulating A Flying Object; U.S. Pat. No. 4,100,697 to Ward, entitled, Hoop Top; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,844 to Markowitz, entitled, Interactive Vibrating Toy. 
     A limitation associated with such prior art amusement devices is the fact that the length of the flexible shaft is constant. As such, the object supported by the flexible shaft is restrained by the flexible shaft should that object attempt to move away from or closer to the rotating base. 
     It has been found that an the path followed by a rotating object is far more complex and interesting to observe if the length of the shaft supporting that object is not held constant. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an amusement device where an object is held at the end of a rotating flexible shaft that has a variable length. In this manner, the object is free to move both toward and away from its rotating base as part of its erratic movement. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is an amusement device used to move a supported display object through an erratic path. The amusement device includes a base element in which is disposed a motorized assembly. The motorized assembly can be battery powered, spring powered or manually powered. A support spring is used to interconnect a display object to the motorized assembly in the base element. The support spring has a first end and a second end. The first end of the support spring is coupled to the motorized assembly within the base element, wherein the support spring is moved by the motorized assembly. The remainder of the support spring extends freely from the base element. 
     The display object is coupled to the second end of the support spring. As the display object moves, it causes the support spring to at least partially elongate, thereby causing the display object to move erratically from point to point. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a partially fragmented front view of a first embodiment of the present invention amusement device; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention amusement device shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the present invention amusement device; and 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of third alternate embodiment of the present invention amusement device. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention device  10  is shown. The device is comprised of three primary parts, which are a base  12 , a display object  14  and a support spring  16  that interconnects the display object  14  to the base  12 . 
     In the shown embodiment, the base  12  is configured as a pen. However, such an embodiment is merely exemplary. The base  12  can be most any hand-held object, such as a plain handle, and need not be a pen. Alternatively, the base  12  can be a self-supporting structure that can rest on a flat surface. As such, it should be understood that the appearance of the base  12  is not important to the functioning of the overall device  10 . The base  12  can be dedicated to the function of the overall device  10  or the base  12  can have a secondary purpose outside the functioning of the overall device  10 , as does the pen illustrated. Alternate embodiments of the base are later described. 
     Regardless of the appearance of the base  12 , contained within the base is motorized assembly  20 . Preferably, the motorized assembly  20  includes a vibrating mechanism  22 , a battery  24  for powering the vibrating mechanism  22  and an on/off switch  26  for controlling the operation of the vibrating mechanism  22 , as is shown in FIG.  1 . However, in alternate embodiments, the motorized assembly  20  can be a spring wound assembly, a flywheel assembly, a manual crank assemble or any other known means for providing a vibrating motion at a predetermined point in an amusement device. 
     The motorized assembly  20  vibrates the support spring  16  that extends from the base  12  at a predetermined frequency of vibration. The frequency of vibration is sufficient to create oscillations in the support spring  16  while the support spring is attached to the display object  14 . Since the vibrational motion caused by the motorized assembly  20  is sufficient to cause visible oscillations in the support spring  16 . It is these oscillations that cause the display object  14  to move in an erratic pattern. 
     In the shown embodiment of the motorized assembly  20 , the vibration mechanism  22  vibrates a drive shaft  28 . The drive shaft  28  terminates with a connector coupling  30  that can be accessed externally from the base  12 . As is shown, the vibration mechanism  22  directly vibrates the connector coupling  30 , via the drive shaft  28 . 
     The support spring  16  is coil spring having a relatively low spring constant. The spring constant is selected so that the support spring  16  just reaches full compression when stacked vertically with the weight of the display object  14  aligned vertically at its top. Once the support spring  16  is turned away from a vertical alignment, the weight of the display object  14  bends the support spring  16  and pulls the support spring  16  away from full compression. 
     The support spring  16  has two ends. One end of coupled to the base  12  and the other end is coupled to the display object  14 . The support spring  16  preferably contains at least ten full revolutions between its two ends. The support spring  16 , when laid straight, is symmetrically coiled around a mid-line M. The spring constant of the support spring  16  is selected so that when the base  12  is held in a vertical orientation, such as is shown in FIG. 1, the weight of the display object  14  will cause the mid-line M of the support spring  16  to bend between 90 degrees and 180 degrees with respect the vertical. As such, the support spring  16  enables the display object  14  to droop to the side when the base  12  is held in a vertical orientation. 
     Initially the support spring  16  is coupled to the connector coupling  30  of the motorized assembly  20  so that the mid-line M of the support spring extends vertically above the base  12 . The support spring  16  is then bent to the side and out of the vertical by the weight of the display object  14 . 
     As has been stated above, the support spring  16  has two ends. One end of the support spring  16  attaches to the connector coupling  30  in the base  12 . A connector may be present at the end of the support spring  16  to facilitate attachment between the support spring  16  and the connector coupling  30 . 
     The opposite end of the support spring  16  terminates with the display object  14 . The display object  14  can be either permanently affixed to the support spring  16  or detachable from the support spring  16 . A detachable configuration can be used in assemblies where multiple display objects are available and a person selects which of the display objects is placed upon the support spring  16 . 
     The display object  14  can be any item desired. However, since the display object  14  will whirl around in an erratic pattern, it is desired that the display object  14  have no sharp points and be light in weight, so as to prevent injuries if the display object were to inadvertently contact a person&#39;s face. An exception to this general design parameter is when a propeller is attached to the support spring as the display object. As a propeller is moved, the propeller creates thrust that acts upon the support spring and adds additional movement to the already erratic path of the display object. 
     However, in the shown embodiment, the display object  14  is an eyeball made from photoluminescent plastic that enables the eyeball to be viewed in the dark. It will be understood that the display object  14  can be any object, such as an airplane, an insect, a cartoon character or the like. The display object  14  can also be a confection such as a hard candy. 
     Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the support spring  16  is moved by the vibration mechanism  22  (FIG. 1) in the base  12 . During movement, the inertia and centrifugal forces created by the combined mass of the support spring  16  and the display object  14 , causes the support spring  16  to elongate and the display object  14  to move erratically. As the display object  14  moves, the support spring  16  stretches and retracts, thereby altering the length of the support spring  16 . The forces created by the deformed support spring  16  combine with the inertial and centrifugal forces to rapidly vary the movements of the display object  14 . 
     The display object  14  erratically moves to different points throughout a possible range, which is shown by the circle in FIG.  2 . The possible range is spherical in shape and is has a radius equal to the stretched length of the support spring  16 . If the forces experienced by the support spring  16  are insufficient to fully extend the support spring  16 , the radius of the possible range will decrease to the maximum length at which the support spring is stretched. However, unlike prior art devices, the display object  14  of the present invention doesn&#39;t just move around the periphery of the range sphere, rather the coils of the support spring  16  cause the display object to constantly move throughout all points contained within the range sphere. 
     Referring to FIG. 3, a variation of the present invention device  40  is shown. In this embodiment, the base  42  is a self-contained hand-held unit. The base  40  may even be a pre-existing assembly, such as battery operated lollipop holder. Battery operated lollipop holders are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,692 to Coleman, entitled, Combination Novelty Toy And A Candy Holding Device, the disclosure of which is incorporated into this specification by reference. 
     However, from FIG. 3, it can be seen that multiple support springs  44  and multiple display objects  46  can be supplied. The different support springs  44  can have different lengths, coil diameters and spring constants. As such, each type of support spring  44  will move in its own unique manner. In FIG. 3, one base is shown and two support springs are shown. It will be understood that although multiple support springs can be provided only one support spring at a time is attached to the base. 
     The display objects  46  also can be come in a variety of sizes and weights. Since size and weight effect the path followed by the display object  46 , each type of display object  46  will have its own unique movement characteristics. 
     Referring lastly, to FIG. 4, another embodiment of the present invention device  50  is disclosed. In this embodiment, the base  52  is a self-supporting assembly that can rest on a flat surface and does not need to be hand-held. As such, the display object  54  will whirl around the base  52  as the base  52  is left on a surface. Such a configuration can be used as an advertisement promotion to attract the attention of customers. Such a configuration is also useful as part of a game, wherein a whirling display object  54  is used to knock down objects or is used to combat other whirling objects. 
     It will be understood that the various figures described above illustrate only preferred embodiments of the present invention. Features from the different embodiments can be mixed to produce yet further embodiments. A person skilled in the art can therefore make numerous alterations and modifications to the shown embodiments utilizing functionally equivalent components to those shown and described. All such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.