Patent Publication Number: US-6699094-B1

Title: Toy figurine flashlight

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to toy flashlights and, more particularly, to a toy figurine flashlight having a body representative of a cartoon figure with audio and visual functionality for providing security to a child at nighttime. 
     It is common for children to be afraid of the dark and even to fear they may be harmed by monsters or the “boogey man” looming in the darkness. As a result, a child may desire to leave the lights on or to utilize a nightlight so as to avoid the darkness or unknown predators lurking therein. Although nightlights and similar devices may be effective, the existing devices do not inspire the confidence that a child often needs to fully overcome the anxiety of this phobia. 
     Therefore, it would be desirable to have a toy figurine flashlight having the form of a cartoon super-hero to inspire confidence in a young child. Further, it would be desirable to have a figurine flashlight that can operate as a conventional flashlight or, alternately, can emit lights and sounds representative of attacking a nighttime predator such as the “boogey man”. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A toy figurine flashlight for use as a children&#39;s nighttime security aid includes a figurine body in a form representative of a cartoon super-hero. The figurine body includes a helmet positioned atop a torso member with a pair of arms and a pair of legs coupled to the torso member. A pivotal helmet is mounted atop the torso member. A power source is positioned within the torso body and may be a battery, generator, or a magnet and electrical coil assembly. A tri-color LED unit is mounted within the helmet for projection of light through a helmet opening. An activation switch on the torso member selectively permits the power source to energize the light source. 
     The arms are connected to the power source as mode selection and LED color selection switches for varying the functionality of the device. Further, the toy flashlight includes a cape having another light source and a male electrical connector which may selectively mate with a socket on the torso member. The socket is electrically connected to the power source for energizing the second light source when the connector is coupled to the socket. This second light source acts as a nightlight. 
     Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a toy figurine flashlight for providing assurance to a child in the dark at nighttime. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a toy figurine flashlight, as aforesaid, which is constructed to represent a cartoon superhero having a helmet mounted atop a torso member with arms and legs coupled to the torso member. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a toy figurine flashlight, as aforesaid, which includes a first light source that projects light through a helmet opening in the manner of a flashlight. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a toy figurine flashlight, as aforesaid, which includes a second light source mounted to a cape for selective electrical connection to the power source. 
     A still further object of this invention is to provide a toy figurine flashlight, as aforesaid, which includes a logic circuit capable of operating the first light source according to a plurality of modes of operation upon operation of modal and color selector switches. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of this invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy figurine flashlight according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the logic performed by an electric circuit of the toy figurine flashlight; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toy figurine flashlight as in FIG. 1 with a cape in a detached configuration; 
     FIG. 4 is another perspective view of the toy figurine flashlight as in FIG. 1 with the helmet pivoted to a second configuration; and 
     FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the electronic components positioned within the torso member of the toy figurine flashlight. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A toy figurine flashlight  10  according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 through 5 of the accompanying drawings. The toy figurine flashlight  10  includes a figurine body having a torso member  12  constructed in a form representative of a cartoon superhero (FIG.  1 ). The figurine body may be in the form of a strong, powerful, and even magical “destroyer of the boogey man” so as to instill confidence in a young child at nighttime. More particularly, the figurine body includes a helmet  14  pivotally mounted atop the torso member  12  and includes first  18  and second  20  arms and a pair of legs  22  coupled to the torso member  12 . The functionality of the arms  18 ,  20  will be described in greater detail later. 
     A first light source  24  is positioned within the helmet  14  (FIG.  1 ). Preferably, the first light source  24  is a tri-colored LED unit that is capable of alternately emitting at least three different colors. Specifically, the tri-color LED may include red and green LED&#39;s within a single package which can be energized singly or in combination to produce at least three different colors. The helmet  14  defines a frontal opening which may be covered by a pivotally mounted lens  16  or shield (FIG.  1 ). The lens  16  is selectively movable between a first configuration covering the light emitted by the first light source  24  and a second configuration displaced from the path of light emitted by the first light source. The lens  16  is generally transparent but may be colored or translucent to render a desired lighting effect. 
     The helmet  14  is pivotally mounted atop the torso member  12  for selective movement between a first configuration in which the path of light projected through the frontal opening is generally perpendicular to a longitudinal axis defined by the torso member (FIG. 1) and a second configuration in which the path of light projected through the frontal opening is generally in-line with the torso member longitudinal axis (FIG.  4 ). This construction enables a user to direct the path of light emitted by the tri-colored LED in a conventional flashlight manner (FIG. 4) or in an action figure format (FIG.  3 ). 
     A power source  28  (FIG. 5) is positioned with the torso member  12  and is electrically connected to the first light source  24 . While the power source  28  may be a conventional battery, it is preferable that the power source be one that will not periodically have to be replaced. Therefore, the power source  28  may be a conventional generator having a shaft that produces electric current upon rotation of the shaft. The shaft may be connected to one of the arms of the figurine body and the arm may be pivotally connected to the torso member  12  for rotation by a user. Similarly, the legs  22  may include a ratchet and freewheel assembly for turning the shaft by repeatedly squeezing the legs together. 
     However, the preferred power source includes a magnet  28   a  enclosed within a tube that is wrapped with wire coils  28   b . According to Faraday&#39;s Law, a magnet moving through an electrical coil generates an electrical current. Therefore, a user may shake the figurine body such that the magnet  28   a  is moved in a relative back and forth movement in the wire coil  28   b  so as to generate electric current. A capacitor  29  is connected to the electric coils, or other current generating mechanism as the case may be, for storing generated current. 
     An activation switch  30  is mounted on the front of the torso member  12  in the form of a push-button (FIG. 1) and is electrically connected to the power source  28 . The activation switch  30  is capable of selectively permitting or blocking the flow of current from the power source  28  to the first light source  24 . Therefore, a user is able to activate the tri-colored LED for use as a flashlight upon depression of the activation switch  30 . The function of the activation switch  30 , however, may be modified by operation of an internal logic circuit, as will be described in more detail later. 
     The figurine toy flashlight  10  includes a generally translucent cape  32  constructed to represent a cartoon superhero&#39;s cape (FIG.  3 ). The cape  32  is constructed of a thin plastic or other light diffusing material. A male electrical connector  34  is mounted to an inner surface of the cape  32  adjacent an upper edge thereof. A second light source  26 , such as an LED, is electrically connected to the male connector  34 . A socket  36  is positioned on a back surface of the torso member  12  of the figurine body, the socket  36  being electrically connected to the power source  28  (FIG.  5 ). Therefore, the second light source  26  may be energized by current from the power source  28  when the male connector  34  is coupled to the socket  36 . In use, the second light source  26  may be utilized as a reassuring nightlight. 
     The second arm  20  is movable between at least three configurations associated with the at least three colors that may be emitted by the tri-colored LED. The second arm  20 , therefore, is electrically connected to the power source  28  and first light source  24  and functions as a color selector switch. Therefore, a user may select which color is emitted by the first light source  24  by movement of the second arm  20 . 
     An electrical circuit  30  is positioned within the torso member  12  and is electrically connected to the power source  28  (FIG.  5 ). The logic performed by the circuit  30  is illustrated in FIG.  2  and is described in greater detail below. The first arm  18  is pivotally coupled to the torso member  12  for movement between at least three configurations for selecting between at least three modes of operation of the circuit. The first arm  18 , therefore, operates as a mode selector switch. Timer circuitry (i.e. a timer)  40  is electrically connected to the circuit  30 , as is a sound generator  42  and motion sensor  44  (FIG.  5 ), as to be described below. When the first arm  18  is at a first configuration corresponding to a first mode, the circuit  30  automatically energizes the timer  40  to initiate a timer for a predetermined amount of time  52 . So long as the predetermined time has not reached the predetermined amount of time  54 , the first power source  28  (i.e. tri-color LED) is energized  56 , otherwise the circuit  30  will not permit current to energize the LED and it is deactivated  58 . Also while time remains, the second arm  20  (i.e. color selector switch) may be utilized by a user to alternate the emitted color, as indicated by reference numerals  60  and  62  (FIG.  5 ). However, if the motion sensor  44  detects movement of the torso member  12 , as indicated by reference numeral  64 , the timer  40  is reset to zero  66 . Otherwise, the timer is incremented  68  and the loop described above is repeated. 
     A second mode of operation is executed by the circuit  30  when the first arm  18  (i.e. mode selector switch) is pivoted set at a second configuration. In this mode, an operation  70  of the activation switch  30  (i.e. push button on torso) enables the circuit  30  to permit current to flow to the first light source  24  so as to cause the tri-colored LED to emit a predetermined light flash  72  (FIG.  2 ). This action also causes the circuit  30  to energize the sound generator  42 , as indicated by reference numeral  74 . Preferably, the sound generator  42  emits a predetermined voice message although emitting another sound or sound sequence would also be suitable. 
     The circuit  30  operates according to a third mode of operation when the first arm  18  (i.e. mode selector switch) is positioned at a third configuration (FIG.  2 ). This mode operates in a manner substantially similar to that of the first mode of operation described above, except that the motion sensor  44  is not effective. Also, the timer  40  is not automatically initiated upon activation of the mode selector switch, but rather upon operation of the activation switch  30 . 
     In use, a child is able to use the toy figurine flashlight  10  in many ways to gain confidence, courage, and reassurance of safety at nighttime. In a first mode, the first light source  24  is activated for a predetermined amount of time and the child has control over the color selection using the color selector switch. In a third mode, the first light source  24  is activated when the child depresses the activation switch  30 . This enables the user to operate the device in a manner similar to a conventional flashlight. The helmet  14  may be pivotally positioned by the user to direct light in a desired direction. If the mode selector switch is positioned in another configuration, the user may activate the activation switch  30  to initiate a light and sound sequence, whereby to kill the “boogey man”. The cape  32  may be coupled to the torso member  12  via a coupling of the male connector  34  and socket  36  so as to energize the second light source  26  as a nightlight for added comfort and confidence. 
     It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.