Patent Publication Number: US-6338884-B1

Title: Animated ornament

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     I. Field of the Invention 
     This invention relates generally to an enhanced structure of an animated ornament and, more specifically, to a globular shell filled with liquid, in which a hollow ball floats and turns around in all directions. The innovative design of the present invention features a piece of non-magnetic, high-density material and an inner magnet attached to the lower part inside the hollow ball, as well as an outer magnet fastened onto the surface of the globular shell. The inner magnet and the outer magnet can line up in the same radius when the structure is placed still, resulting in the decorative figures on the hollow ball facing towards a fixed direction (typically towards the front). 
     II. Description of the Prior Art 
     Heretofore, it is known to construct an ornamental product with animated features in an attempt to increase the variability of the ornament and to boost consumers&#39; intent for purchase. An animated ornament of this kind typically employs the function of a compass to achieve the effect of animation. For instance, when a doll is printed on a backpack, the eyeballs of the doll can turn around inside the eye sockets. Nonetheless, a conventional animated ornament employs only two-dimensional decorative figures, which are lack of innovation and do not appeal to consumers. 
     It is also known to construct an animated ornament by making the decorative figures face only upwards. The design of this kind of animated ornament cannot set the decorative figures to face laterally and thus severely limits its applications. 
     Further, for ornamental products with a shape of animals or human beings, it is also known to construct eyeballs by having a pair of hollow balls floating inside a pair of globular sockets so that each of the hollow balls can turn around freely within each globular socket. Nonetheless, without specific control of the hollow balls, they can turn around in all directions when being shaken, resulting in the eyeballs facing inwards or towards other directions that gives the ornament a weird look. 
     The present invention improves on the heretofore known animated ornaments by providing three-dimensional decorative figures that are able to face towards lateral directions, especially towards the front. For ornamental products with a shape of animals or human beings, the eyeballs are constructed to turn around freely in all directions when being shaken, while the “eyes” would always look towards the front when the ornament is set still. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an enhanced structure of an animated ornament comprising a globular shell filled with liquid in which a hollow ball floats and turns around freely in all directions when being shaken but points toward a fixed direction when the ornament is set still. 
     To achieve the object, the present invention improves the conventional structure of animated ornaments by providing a hollow ball floating in liquid filling inside a globular shell. The hollow ball is smaller than the globular shell and thus can be included in the globular shell. A piece of non-magnetic, high-density material (such as copper, tin, plastic etc.) is fastened inside the hollow ball, and an inner magnet is attached to the top of this non-magnetic material. On the surface of the globular shell fixed an outer magnet, where the inner magnet and the outer magnet can line up in the same radius with the effect of magnetic attraction, thus resulting in the decorative figures on the hollow ball facing towards the front. 
     Another quality that it is desired to simulate is to fill liquid in between the globular shell and the hollow ball so that that hollow ball floats in the liquid. The non-magnetic, high-density material keeps the hollow ball stable vertically, and the magnetic force between the inner magnet and the outer magnet keeps the hollow ball stable horizontally. Therefore, although the hollow ball turns around in all directions when the ornament is shaken, the decorative figures (such as a pair of eyeballs) would always point to a fixed direction (usually towards the front) when the ornament is set still. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accomplishment of the above-mentioned object of the present invention will become apparent from the following description and its accompanying drawings which disclose illustrative an embodiment of the present invention, and are as follows: 
     FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of an animated ornament constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a sectional perspective view of the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 is an application of the present invention; 
     FIG. 4 is another application of the present invention; 
     FIGS. 5-8 are other applications of an animated ornament constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring to FIG.  1  and FIG. 2, the present invention improves the conventional structure of an animated ornament, composed of a globular shell  1 , a hollow ball  2 , an inner magnet  3 , an outer magnet  4 , and a piece of non-magnetic, high-density material  31  (such as copper, tin, plastic etc.). The hollow ball  2 , smaller than the globular shell  1 , is included in the globular shell  1 , and decorative FIG. 5 are drawn or attached to the hollow ball  2  (decorative FIG. 5 not shown in FIG.  1  and FIG.  2 ). The space in between the hollow ball  2  and the globular shell  1  is filled up with liquid so that the hollow ball  2  floats in the liquid, able to turn around in all directions. The non-magnetic, high-density material  31 , such as plastic, copper, or tin, is attached to the lower part of the hollow ball  2 , and the inner magnet  3  is fastened to the top of the non-magnetic material  31 . The outer magnet  4  is fixed onto the surface of the globular shell  1 , where the outer magnet  4  and the inner magnet  3  can line up in the same radius with the effect of magnetic force between them and thus make the decorative FIG. 5 always face towards a fixed direction (presumably towards the front of the ornament) when the ornament is set still. 
     Conventionally, decorative balls with the function of a compass are designed to make the FIG. 5 face upwards, whereas the structure of the present invention makes the decorative FIG. 5 face laterally (typically towards the front) whenever the ornament is set still. This innovative design of the present invention can be applied to a wide variety of decorations and toys  6  so that decorative figures can always turn to a desired direction. For instance, the decorative figures may be eyeballs  5  of a doll  6  (as shown in FIG.  3 ), a popular icon  5  attached to an alarm clock  6  (see FIG.  4 ). Moreover, the outer magnet  4  can be connected with the pendulum of a clock and thus moves back and forth along with the pendulum, where the outer magnet  4  does not have to be fixed to the surface of the globular shell. In this way, the decorative FIG. 5 on the hollow ball  2  would follow the periodical movement of the pendulum. 
     The present invention can also be applied to a mug  6  (see FIG.  5 ), where the decorative FIG. 5 moves around when users shake the mug  6 . Other applications of the present invention can be seen on an ornamental globe (see FIG.  6 ), a backpack (see FIG.  7 ), and an ornament with decorative figures on both sides (see FIG.  8 ). 
     While only a few embodiments of the present invention has been shown and described, it will be understood that various modifications and changes could be made thereunto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention disclosed.