Abstract:
An improved toy football having a plurality of fins dimensioned to stabilize the toy football while in flight, to provide for a controlled throw, and to reduce drag so that the toy football may be thrown farther than prior art toy footballs. An improved toy football for use at night or in areas where there is little light. A method for increasing throwing distance of a toy football.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to a corresponding provisional application U.S. Serial No. 60/592,625, filed Jul. 30, 2004 in the name of the applicant of this application. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0003]     This invention relates to toys and, more specifically, to a toy football which has a plurality of fins arranged in a serpentine manner to aid in the flight of the football.  
         [0004]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0005]     Children of all ages like to play catch with various objects. Children often engage in various games of competition to see who can throw an object the highest, the farthest, and the fastest. Competitions of this nature have been largely ignored by the prior art, as has been the natural curiosity to find out how far and how fast one can throw an object and to measure the improvement.  
         [0006]     Many children, and even adults, have a hard time throwing a football. Because of the shape, many people have a difficult time throwing a spiral. Such controlled flights of the toy football are particularly desired during practicing of the forward pass.  
         [0007]     Toy footballs are known which employ a tail for guiding the ball during flight. However, none are known which control flight and add to the momentum of the football during flight.  
         [0008]     Therefore, a need existed to provide an improved toy football. The improved toy football must overcome the problems associated with prior art toy footballs. The improved toy football must be easier to have a controlled throw and be able to throw farther than prior art toy footballs.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved toy football.  
         [0010]     It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved toy football that overcomes the problems associated with prior art toy footballs.  
         [0011]     It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved toy football that is easier to have a controlled throw and is able to be thrown farther than prior art toy footballs.  
         [0012]     The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular, description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0013]     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a toy football is disclosed. The toy football comprises an elongated spheroid body section and a tail section coupled to and extending longitudinally from the body section. The tail section comprises a rod member coupled to a back end of the body section and a plurality of fins coupled to and along a length of the rod member in an S-configuration. The plurality of fins are dimensioned to stabilize the body section while in flight and to force the air impacted by the body section downstream on each of the fins sequentially.  
         [0014]     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, an improved toy football is disclosed. The toy football comprises an elongated spheroid body section and a light circuit for illuminating the toy football. The light circuit comprises at least one light bulb, a power source coupled to the at least one light bulb, and a switch for activating and deactivating the light circuit, the switch being coupled to the at least one light bulb and coupled to the power source. The toy football also comprises a hollow interior defined by the body section and at least one window defined by the body section to allow light from the light circuit to be visible through the at least one window.  
         [0015]     In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method for increasing throwing distance of a toy football is disclosed. The method comprises the steps of providing a toy football comprising an elongated spheroid body section and a tail section coupled to and extending longitudinally from the body section. The tail section comprises a rod member rotatably coupled to a back end of the body section and a plurality of fins coupled to and along a length of the rod member in an S-configuration. The method further comprises the steps of throwing the toy football, transferring the air impacted by the body section downstream sequentially on each of the plurality of fins, rotating of the rod member during flight of the toy football, and reducing drag on the toy football by the plurality of rotating fins.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     The novel features believed characteristic of the invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of illustrated embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  is an elevated perspective view of the improved toy football of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1A  is an elevated perspective view of the improved toy football of the present invention with a second fin design.  
         [0019]      FIG. 1B  is an elevated perspective view of the improved toy football of the present invention with a third fin design.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2  is an elevated perspective view of a second embodiment of the improved toy football of the present invention. The broken lines indicate that the tail section may be optional.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  is an elevated perspective view of a third embodiment of the improved toy football of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 3A  is an elevated perspective view of the improved toy football of depicted in  FIG. 3  with a second fin design.  
         [0023]      FIG. 3B  is an elevated perspective view of the improved toy football depicted in  FIG. 3  with a third fin design.  
         [0024]      FIG. 4  is an elevated perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the improved toy football of the present invention. The broken lines indicate that the tail section may be optional.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
       [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , a molded foam toy football  10  is shown (hereinafter toy football  10 ). The toy football  10  is comprised of a body section  12  having a tail section  14 . The body section  12  is an elongated spheroid ball. The body section  12  may be made out of different materials. For example, the body section  12  may be a molded solid plastic ball. Alternatively, the body section may be a resilient plastic foam-like material or soft cushion ball. The listing of the above should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention.  
         [0026]     The body section  12  has a tail section  14  extending longitudinally therefrom. The tail section  14  has a rod member  16 . The rod member  16  is coupled to the body section  12 . The rod member  16  extends out of a back end of the body section  12 . In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the rod member  16  is rotatably coupled to the body section  12 . The rod member  16  is a light weight and sturdy rod member generally made of plastic, wood, hardened foam, or the like. The listing of the above should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention.  
         [0027]     A plurality of fins  18 ,  20 , and  22  are coupled to the rod member  16 . In the embodiment depicted in  FIG. 1 , the fins  18 - 22  run along the length of the rod member  16 . The fins  18 - 22  help to stabilize the body section  12  while in flight thereby allowing the toy football  10  to spiral in the air and travel further. The fins  18 - 22  forces the air impacted by the body section  12  sequentially on each of the fins  18 - 22  formed around the tail  12  downstream thereof to its end.  
         [0028]     The fins  18 - 22  are coupled to the rod member  16  in an “S” configuration. The fins  18 - 22  are each of the same geometrical configuration and are spaced equally along the rod member  16  a like distance apart. Each fin  18 - 22  travels roughly one-third around the outer circumference of the rod member  16 . By placing the fins in an “S” shaped patterns, this helps a spiraling of the body section  12  when the toy football  10  is thrown. Furthermore, if the rod member  16  is rotatably coupled to the body section  12 , the “S” shaped patterns of the fins  18 - 22  will aid in the rotation of the rod member  16  thereby reducing drag on the toy football  10  and allowing the toy football  10  to travel further.  
         [0029]     In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, channels  23  are formed in the rod member  16 . The channels  23  are used to stabilize the fins  18 - 22  and to help secure the fin  18 - 22  to the rod member  16 .  
         [0030]     As stated above, the fins  18 - 22  are each of the same geometrical configuration. As shown in  FIG. 1 , each fin  18 - 22  is triangular in shape.  FIG. 1A  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 1 . However, the fins  18 - 22  in  FIG. 2  are slightly curved on the longest side of the triangular shaped fin.  FIG. 1B  is similar to that shown in  FIG. 1A . The main difference being that the fins  18 - 22  have a plurality of holes  24  formed therein. The holes  24  help to reduce air drag.  
         [0031]     Referring now to  FIGS. 2 and 4 , the toy football  10  may have a light circuit  26 . The light circuit  26  is used to illuminate the toy football  10 . This will allow one to see the toy football  10  to be thrown at night or in areas where there is little light. The light circuit  10  is generally comprised of one or more light bulbs  28 . The light bulbs  28  may be any type of lighting device. In general, a small lighting device such as an LED is used. However, this should not be seen as to limit the scope of the present invention. The light bulb  28  is coupled to a power source  30 . The power source  30  is generally a small battery. A switch  31  is coupled to the power supply and to the light bulb  28  to activate and deactivate the light circuit  26 . One or more windows  29  may be formed in the body section  12 . The windows  29  will cover a hollow interior section  33  of the body section  12 . The light circuit  26  will thus illuminate the hollow interior section  33  and shine through the windows  29 .  
         [0032]     The broken lines in  FIGS. 2 and 4  indicate that the toy football  10  may or may not have a tail section  14 . For a toy football  10  that is equipped with a tail section  14 , the rod member  16  is preferably made of a transparent material such as a clear/opaque plastic material. This will allow the light from the light circuit  26  to illuminate and shine through the rod member  16 . The rod member  16  will extend into the hollow interior section  33  so as to illuminate the hollow interior section  33  and shine through the windows  29  as well.  
         [0033]     A counting device  32  may also be coupled to the rod member  16 . The counting device  32  will measure the number of revolutions of the rod member  16  when the rod member  16  is rotatably coupled to the body section  12 . The counting device  32  will have a display  34  coupled to the body section  12 . The display  34  may be any type of display  34 . The display  34  may be an analog display having a plurality of numerical wheels or a digital display. The display  34  is coupled to the rod member  16  so that the display  34  may monitor and record the number of rotations.  
         [0034]     Referring to  FIGS. 3-3B  and  4 , the toy football  10  is shown having a plurality of different fin  18 - 20  configurations.  FIG. 3-3B  shows a toy football  10  similar to that shown in  FIG. 1-1B . The main difference is that the fins  18 - 20  shown in  FIGS. 3-3B  only extend a portion of the way up the rod member  16  instead of all the way up the rod member  16  as shown in  FIGS. 1-1B . Likewise,  FIG. 4  shows a toy football  10  similar to that shown in  FIG. 2 . Again, the main difference is that the fins  18 - 20  depicted in  FIG. 4  only extend a portion of the way up the rod member  16  instead of all the way up the rod member  16  as shown in  FIG. 2 .  
         [0035]     While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.