Abstract:
A flag display device has a handle to be grasped by a flag waver. The handle is rotatably attached to the flag at one point. The flag may be in the shape of a variety of athletic shirts. The rotatably attached handle allows easy swinging of the flag in the air with one hand.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to improvements in flag display devices and more particularly pertains to a new and improved flag waving device wherein the flag can be rotated and swung in the air.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     The standard method of displaying flags and waving flags in front of audiences is by displaying the flag on poles carried by a person or displaying the flag connected to a chain that is carried or swung by people. Although chain display devices for flags are capable of being swung in the air by a person, the chain flag structure utilized tends to cause hand fatigue, in that the hand of the person is the rotating mechanism.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     A flag having a novel shape like a baseball shirt, for example, has a handle rotatably attached to a part of the flag to allow the flag to be rotatably swung in the air with one hand. A grommet in the flag acts as a bearing for a shaft that passes through the grommet and rotatably holds the flag to the handle.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]     The exact nature of this invention as well as its objects and many advantages will become readily apparent as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:  
         [0007]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective of a preferred embodiment of the invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is an assembly drawing of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of the handle mechanism shown in  FIG. 1  taken along line  3 - 3 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along line  4 - 4 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of  FIG. 3  taken along line  5 - 5 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0012]     A preferred embodiment  11  of the invention is shown in  FIG. 1 . A flag  13 , in a novel shape, of a shirt from a baseball uniform for the L.A. Dodgers, for example, is adapted to be swung in the air by the display device of the present invention which comprises a handle  15 , preferably cylindrical and sufficiently long to be grasped by a hand of a person waving the flag  13 . The handle  15  is rotatably attached to the flag  13  through an aperture in the flag which is lined with a grommet  17 . The flag  13  is waved by simply grasping the handle  15  and swinging it in a circular motion in the air above one&#39;s head or at the side, as desired.  
         [0013]     The handle  15  ( FIG. 2 ) is preferably an injection molded hollow plastic cylinder. The handle  15  is attached to the flag  13  through a metal grommet having halves  17  and  19 . The grommet halves act as a bearing for a shaft  25  that has a button head  21  larger in diameter than the shaft  25  at one end of the shaft. The other end of the shaft has a groove  27  circumscribing shaft  25  and a rounded end  31 . The flag  13  is held by handle  15  through shaft  25  with its button head  21 , and rotates above shaft  25 . Shaft  25  acts as a journal within the bearing surfaces  20  of grommet halves  17  and  19 . Besides rotating within the aperture  20  in grommet  17 - 19 , shaft  25  rotates within the aperture  22  at the closed end  24  of handle  15 . The shaft  25  with its button head  21  is held to handle  15  by a snap-on nut  23  which has an aperture  43  formed within two deflecting ridges  37  and  39 . Ridges  37  and  39  deflect to pass over the rounded end  31  of shaft  25  and snap into the circumferential groove  27  of the shaft.  
         [0014]     The shaft  25  and the snap-on nut  23  are preferably injection molded parts. However, it should be understood that they could just as easily be manufactured from a metal or similar material. The shaft  25  is sized to fit and rotate within aperture  20  of grommet  17 - 19  and aperture  22  in the closed end  24  of handle  15 . In operation, flag  13  rotates about shaft  25 , and shaft  25  may also rotate within the bearing aperture  22  in handle  15 . The result is a very easy and free swinging flag  13 . Because of the novel shape of flag  13 , that is, the shape of a jersey part of an athletic uniform, like a baseball uniform, football uniform, or hockey uniform, for example, such a shape is more difficult to swing. The display device of the present invention makes it easy for the user to easily swing the flag  13  in the air.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  illustrates the invention in cross-section, showing flag  13  being held firmly by the two grommet halves  17  and  19 . Shaft  25  extends through the aperture  20  formed by the grommet halves  17  and  19 , and through the aperture bearing  22  in end  24  of handle  15 . The flag  13  is held to handle  15  by shaft  25  whose movement in a lateral direction is restricted by button head  21  and the snap-on nut  23 .  
         [0016]     Nut  23  is preferably an injection molded plastic part which is designed to allow the two ridges  37  and  39  on its top side to be essentially spring loaded and thereby capable of deflecting so that it can pass over the rounded end  31  of shaft  25  and snap into the circumferential groove  27 . Aperture  43  of the snap-fit nut  23  is sized to be the same diameter as the shaft within groove  27 . The bottom end of nut  23  has grooves  41  therein for allowing the two ridges  37  and  39  to flex as required during assembly. After assembly, however, as a result of the structure of flex nut  23 , it requires excessive force to pull the nut from shaft  25 . This excessive force exceeds any force that may be applied to the nut  23  as a result of the swinging of flag  13  during normal use.