Abstract:
An amusement device having an endless flexible strand forming a loop and an inline traction drive unit that drives a portion of the strand to impart inline linear velocity to the strand to create an elongated loop extending from the drive unit. The amusement device includes a housing with a handle and a rotatable cup with an ejection aperture for changing the direction of the driven loop.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The device of the present invention relates to hand-held amusements that include a flexible strand 
     2. Related Art 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An amusement device comprising an endless flexible loop and an inline traction drive unit to rotate the loop. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation view, partially in section, of the an amusement device  1  of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a top plan view, partially in phantom, of said amusement device; 
     FIG. 3 is a top perspective view of said device; 
     FIG. 4 is a bottom perspective view of a handle of said device; 
     FIG. 5 is a top perspective view of a handle of said device; 
     FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of the rotatable cup  100  of said device; 
     FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the said rotatable cup; 
     FIG. 8 is a top plan view of said rotatable cup; 
     FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of said rotatable cup taken from the bottom of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 10 is a side elevation view of said rotatable cup taken from the left of FIG. 8; 
     FIG. 11 is a side elevation view, in section, taken along the line  11 — 11  of FIG. 8 of said rotatable cup; 
     FIG. 12 is a top plan view, in horizontal section, of said rotatable cup; 
     FIG. 13 is a side elevation view in vertical section taken along line  13 — 13  of FIG. 12; 
     FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of the cover  150  of said device; 
     FIG. 15 is a bottom perspective view of said cover  150 ; 
     FIG. 16 is a top plan view of said cover; 
     FIG. 17 is a side elevation view of said cover from the bottom of FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 18 is a side elevation view of said cover taken from the left of FIG. 16; 
     FIG. 19 is a top plan view, in horizontal section, of said cover; 
     FIG. 20 is a side elevation view, in vertical section, taken along line  20 — 20 FIG. 16; and 
     FIG. 21 is a side elevation view, in vertical section, taken along line  21 — 21  of FIG.  16 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As may be illustratively seen for FIGS. 1,  2 , and  3 , an amusement device of the present invention comprises an endless flexible loop  10  an and inline traction drive unit  20 . The inline traction drive unit  20  positively drives the loop  10  generally in line with the longitudinal central axis of the loop  10 . The unsupported portion of the endless flexible loop  10 , when it is thusly driven, or “thrown” by the drive unit  20  assumes a configuration. The major portion of the loop  10  is disposed externally of the drive unit  20  and provides this configuration. Since there are changes in the interaction between the loop  10  and the drive unit  20  and in the behavior of the loop  10 , this configuration changes or is variant about a mean configuration. As external forces act on driven loop  10 , it assumes various configurations, such as is illustrated in phantom in FIG.  1 . If these forces are dynamic, the loop configuration moves through a series of metastable configurations dynamically in concert with the dynamic forces affecting it, as will be discussed later. 
     The loop  10  comprises a highly flexible, limp, strand, or length, of fabric or filaments without ends and may, for example be formed by stitching or otherwise joining the ends of a length of woven string-like material. For example, the loop may be about 1575 millimeters in length and about 3.4 millimeters in diameter. 
     The loop  10  may be provided with indicia, such as a pattern or various colors, to provide an interesting or amusing visual effect. It could have luminescent or fluorescent, material added to provide a vivid visual effect. 
     The drive unit  20  comprises a handle  30  for gripping the drive unit and for changing its orientation, a drive motor  40 , a pair of circumferentially-opposed drive wheels  50  and  60 , and a housing  70 . 
     Advantageously, the drive motor  40  may be a direct current electric motor capable of rotating at 8,800±10% revolutions per minute (“rpm”) and providing a drive shaft  42  for driving one of the circumferentially-opposed wheels  50  and  60 . It is powered by batteries B housed within the handle and actuated by a switch S that can be operated from the handle  30  by a user. Alternatively, the drive motor  40  may be a variable speed motor and/or be provided with a variable speed motor control (not shown). 
     As shown, the loop  10  is driven by friction resulting from the action of the circumferentially opposed wheels  50  and  60 , which comprise a drive wheel  50  and a backup wheel  60  that are spaced from each other. The drive wheel  50  is mounted on the drive shaft  42  of the drive motor  40  and is directly driven by it. The drive wheel  50  comprises a base flange  52  and a removable top flange  54  with an intermediate hub  56 . The hub  56  may be provided with a circumferential groove  58  for the driven loop  10  to ride in to orient and guide it and to increase the surface area of the hub  56  in contact with the loop  10 . The backup wheel  60  is rotatably mounted on a shaft  62  and comprises a hub  64 . The hub  64  is disposed vertically between, and spaced vertically from, removable top flange  54  and base flange  52 . The base flange  52 , intermediate hub  56  and removable top flange  54  of drive wheel  50 , and the hub  64  of backup wheel  60 , form a channel for trapping and guiding loop  10 . The outer surface of each hub  56  and  64  is formed of a yieldable gripping material to aid in frictionally driving loop  10 . The distance between the confronting surfaces of the two hubs  56  and  64  is slightly less than the nominal thickness or diameter of the loop  10  so that the confronting surfaces positively grip the loop  10  and drive it inline, that is along its length. 
     The housing  70  comprises a base  80  integrally extending from the handle  30 , a rotatable cup  100  and a cover  150 . 
     The base  80  comprises a circular base plate  82  and an upstanding cylindrical side wall  84  that encloses the electric motor  40  attached to the rotatable cup  100 . 
     The rotatable cup  100  comprises circular base plate  102  and an upstanding cylindrical side wall  104  with a loop ejection hole  106  and a loop takeup hole  108 , the two holes  106  and  108  being circumferentially-spaced from each other. The base plate  102  is provided with a depending cylindrical skirt  110  with a circumferential groove  112  in it. The electric motor  40  is mounted to the base plate  102  so that the shaft  42  passes through the plate  102  and projects into the cavity defined by the side wall  104  with the longitudinal central axis of the drive shaft  42  being in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of the rotatable cup  100 . The drive shaft  42  passes through an aperture  114  which is radially spaced outwardly from the axis of rotation of the rotatable cup  100  so that the axis of rotation of the drive shaft  42  is radially offset from the axis of rotation of the cup  100 . Attachment may be by a pair of fasteners passing through spaced apertures of  116  and  118  in the base plate  102 . The drive wheel  50  is fixedly mounted to the drive shaft  42 . The shaft  62  of the backup wheel  60  is fixedly mounted in an aperture  120  in an upstanding cylindrical boss  122  on the upper surface of the base plate  102 . The axis of rotation of the backup wheel  60  is disposed in parallel relation to the axis of rotation of the drive wheel  50  and the axis of rotation of the rotatable cup  100 . The ejection hole  106  comprises a bottom edge  124  spaced from the base plate  102  and a pair of opposed parallel side walls  126  , the edges of which comprise inwardly directed ribs  128  that are radiused or curved to provide a smooth surface against which the loop  10  may bear and ride in the event that it touches or bears against a side wall  126  during operation of the device  1 . The ejection hole  106  is preferably open-ended to permit the loop to be removed from the device or reinstalled between the drive wheel  50  and the backup wheel  60 . The takeup hole  108  comprises a bottom edge  130  spaced from the base plate and a pair of opposed diverging side walls.  32 . The bottom edge  130  comprises a semicircular central portion  134  and a pair of straight portions  136  extending from the central portion  134  to the respective side walls  132 . The outer edge of the central portion  134  is radiused or curved to provide a smooth surface against which the loop may bear and ride in the event that it touches against the central portion  134  during operation of the device  1 . The cup  100  is rotatable with respect to the base  80  and handle  30  so as to change the orientation of the driven (or thrown) loop  10  and its configurations. The rotation of the cup  100  may be limited by a pair of circumferentially upstanding stop detents  136  and  138  that interact with an upstanding stop detent on the confronting interior wall of the base  80 . 
     The cover  150  comprises a circular cap plate  152  provided with a grip portion  154  and a cylindrical side wall  156  provided with an ejection hole  158  and a takeup hole  160  that are circumferentially-spaced from each other and correspond to the two holes  106  and  108  in the side wall  104  of the rotatable cup  100 . The outside diameter of the side wall  156  is slightly less than the inside diameter of the side wall  104  of the rotatable cup  100  so that there is a friction fit between the roatable cup  100  and the cover  150 . The ejection hole  158  comprises a bottom edge  162  spaced from the base plate  152  and a pair of opposed parallel side walls  164 . The ejection hole  158  is preferably open-ended to permit the loop  10  to be removed from the device  1  or reinstalled between the drive wheel  50  and the backup wheel  60  and to permit the cover  150  to be put in place with the loop  10  installed. The width of the ejection hole  106  is greater than the corresponding ejection hole of the rotatable cup  100  so that as the cover  150  is fitted onto the device  1  the side walls  164  of the ejection hole of the cover  150  are indexed by the side ribs  128  of the ejection hole  106  of the rotatable cup  100  and slide against them. The take up hole  160  comprises a bottom edge  162  spaced from the cap plate and a pair of opposed parallel side walls  164 . The bottom edge  162  comprises a semicircular central portion  166  and a pair of straight portions  168  extending from the central portion  166  to the respective side walls. The outer edge of the central portion  166  is radiused or curved to provide a smooth surface against which the loop  10  may bear and ride in the event that it touches or bears against the central portion  166  during operation of the device  1 . A depending boss  170  extends from the grip portion  154  to the bottom edge and comprises a pair of opposed converging side edges  172  that are formed in complement to the diverging side walls  132  of the takeup hole  108  of the rotatable cup  100  and a bottom edge  174  with a semicircular central portion  170  and a pair of straight portions  178  extending from the central portion  176  to intersect with the respective side edges  172  of the boss  170 . The convergent side edges  172  of the boss  170  of the cover  150  and the divergent side walls  132  of the takeup hole  108  of the rotatable cup  100  serve to index the cover  150  with respect to the rotatable cup  100  and to guide them into closure. 
     When the cover  150  is in place in the rotatable cup  100 , the ejection hole  106  of the rotatable cup  100  and the ejection hole  158  of the cover  150  preferably define a rectangular-shaped ejection aperture  180  through which the driven loop  10  exits from the inline traction drive unit  20 . Similarly, when the cover  150  is in place in the rotatable cup  100 , the takeup hole  108  of the rotatable cup  100  and the takeup hole of  160  the cap preferably define a circular-shaped takeup aperture  182  through which the loop  10  returns to the inline traction drive unit  20 . The takeup aperture  182  is vertically aligned with the circumferential groove  58 . The diameter of takeup aperture  182  may be, preferably, about 7 millimeters. The rectangular-shaped ejection aperture  180  and the circular-shaped takeup aperture  182  (and their corresponding holes) are circumferentially spaced from each other from about 105 degrees to about 110 degrees. 
     The cover  150 , in conjunction with the rotatable cup  100 , permits the rotatable cup  100  to be rotated so that the orientation of the driven loop  10 , ejection aperture  180  and takeup aperture  182  are rotationally changed to effect changes in the configuration of the driven loop  10 . The rotation may be about 45 degrees. Similarly, the orientation of the handle  30  can be changed, thereby changing the configuration assumed by the driven loop  10 . 
     Advantageously, motor  40  has a cut off means, such as an electronic circuit, (not shown) to stop rotation of wheels  50  and  60  if loop  10  becomes entangled or some interference occurs, which creates stress on wheels  50  and  60  rotating freely. A slip clutch may also be used if a stoppage of the loop occurs. 
     In operation, the loop  10  is supported by the side ribs  128  of the ejection aperture  180 , the drive wheel  50 , the backup wheel  60  or the takeup aperture  182 , depending on the orientation of the device  1 , before the drive unit  20  is actuated. Upon actuation, the drive wheel  50  rotates, in turn driving the loop  10  in line and in cooperation with the backup wheel  60 . The thus-driven loop  10  is ejected from the inline traction drive unit  20  through the ejection aperture  180 . The driven or thrown loop  10  is ejected from the drive wheel  50  and the backup wheel  60  at an angle to the line passing through the axis of rotation of drive wheel  50  and the backup wheel  60 . Upon exiting the unit  20 , the ejected portion of the driven loop  10  assumes a gently parabolic trajectory and is then free to be subjected to the forces that may be applied to it by, and in, the ambient environment. The free length of loop  10  flows, generally, in a vertical general plane when the longitudinal axis of rotation of drive wheel  50  is horizontally oriented and flows generally, in a horizontal general plane when that axis is vertically oriented. The speed of ejection of the loop through aperture  180  causes the loop to extend outward to the extent of the free length of loop  10  and the free length of the loop  10  assumes an ovoid configuation. Any movement of the drive unit  20  causes the exposed portion loop  10  to change shape. (For example) If a portion of the free length of the loop  10  touches a surface, the loop  10  will change its configuration. The speed of the loop  10  at ejection from wheels  50  and  60  is determined by the rotational speed of the outer periphery of the drive wheel  50  and the diameter of hub  56 , between which the loop strand passes. The minimum linear speed of the loop  10  at this ejection is about fifteen feet per second (preferably about twenty feet per second minimum), although the desired speed can be varied and is affected by the linear density of the material of the loop  10 , its transverse diameter, and its weight. The preferred linear speed of the loop  10  at ejection may be about 28 feet per second. 
     Optionally, the device includes a stand  200  (FIGS. 1 and 2) for supporting the drive unit in a fixed orientation and to store the drive unit  10 . 
     While the device  1  has been described as being portable, it should be understood that it can be mounted in a stand and/or fixed in position. Further, while the device  1  has been described as being battery operated, it may also be powered by line current from a wall outlet such as by a power cord. 
     Although certain features of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, other better modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes that fall within the spirit of the invention.