Patent Publication Number: US-2018036614-A1

Title: Skill Game Ball with Short Finger Tether

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/353,089, filed Nov. 16, 2016. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     In general, the present invention relates to toy balls that are attached to a tether. More particularly, the present invention relates to high bounce balls that are connected to tethers that terminate with a finger loop. 
     2. Prior Art Description 
     The prior art is replete with toys and games that utilize a tethered ball. In some prior art, the tether is used to anchor the ball to a pole, a paddle or some other object. In other prior art, the tether is used to connect a ball to a user&#39;s hand. If a ball has a tether that is used to connect to a user&#39;s hand, the tether is typically used to rebound the ball back into the hand after the ball has been thrown or struck by the hand. In order to help the ball rebound, the tether is typically either made of elastic material or is wound on a spring loaded spool. Furthermore, the tether is at least a couple of feet long so that the ball can travel a significant distance from the hand before it begins to rebound. Prior art toys that use elastic tethers are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 729,473 to Wilson, entitled “Toy”, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,726 to Piaget, entitled “Apparatus And Method Employing Elastic Cords With Hand Balls”. 
     If the tether is not elastic, some other mechanism must be used to create a rebounding force. This can be accomplished by winding the tether on a spring biased spool. The result is the same. The ball on the tether can be thrown and the ball will recoil back into the user&#39;s hand. Likewise, the tethered ball can be dropped downwardly, wherein it will rebound back to the hand like a yoyo. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,494 to Ghandour, entitled “Returning Ball Toy”. 
     Although tethered balls that rebound back to the hand are useful for some play, they are not useful for all play. In the present invention, the concept of a tethered ball is transformed into a unique action skill toy. The action skill toy has a small diameter ball that is joined to a static tether. The tether is shortened to a length only slightly larger than the span of a hand. The tethered ball of the skill game toy is designed not to be thrown. Rather, the tethered ball is designed to be flipped and twirled in one hand. The combination of ball size, ball composition and tether length combine to produce an advancement in the art, as is described and claimed below. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a skill toy that is juggled, spun, and flipped in one hand. A ball construct is provided that has a shell of elastomeric material. The shell has a maximum diameter no greater than five centimeters. This enables the ball construct to be held in the palm of a fully closed hand. It also enables the ball construct to be held against the palm of an open hand with just the user&#39;s thumb. The ball construct can be optically inert or can be internally illuminated. If internally illuminated, the translucent shell surrounds an internal illumination unit. 
     The ball construct is joined to a finger loop with a tether. The tether has a first end and an opposite second end. The first end of the tether connects to the ball construct. The second end of the tether terminates with a finger loop. The tether has a length between its first end and second end that is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. This enables the tether to wrap around a user&#39;s hand from the center of the back of the hand to the center of the palm. 
     The unique diameter of the ball construct and the unique length of the tether enable the toy to be rapidly juggled and otherwise manipulated in one hand. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a toy assembly; 
         FIG. 2  is a combined cross-sectional view and schematic showing the components within the ball construct of the toy assembly; 
         FIG. 3  shows the toy assembly in conjunction with a user&#39;s hand to illustrate the importance of length and size in proportion to the user&#39;s hand; 
         FIG. 4  shows the toy assembly with a hand performing a first skill manipulation; and 
         FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of the toy assembly containing an internal spool for altering the length of the tether; and 
         FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of the toy assembly where in end is interchangeable with a variety of terminations. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Although the present invention toy assembly can be embodied in many ways, only three embodiments of the present invention are illustrated and described. The exemplary embodiments are selected in order to set forth some of the best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered limitations when interpreting the scope of the appended claims. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , a toy assembly  10  is shown. The toy assembly  10  has a ball construct  12  that is joined to a flexible tether  14 . The ball construct  12  preferably has an external diameter D 1  of between two centimeters and five centimeters. The flexible tether  14  has a preferred length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. The importance of these dimension ranges is later explained. 
     The ball construct  12  has a spherical shell  16 . The spherical shell  16  of this embodiment is preferably made of a translucent elastomeric material  17 . The elastomeric material  17  has a high durometer, so as to provide the spherical shell  16  with a high resiliency and the ability to rebound well when impacted against a hard surface. Accordingly, it will be understood that the ball construct  12  will bounce back with significant force when impacted against a hard surface. 
     An electronic unit  18  is disposed within the spherical shell  16 . The electronic unit  18  consists of a small circuit board  20  that supports a battery  22 , a switch  24 , a logic circuit  26  and at least one LED  28 . The switch  24  is preferably an accelerometer switch or another such switch that can sense when the circuit board  20  is experiencing physical movement. The logic circuit  26  turns the LEDs  28  on for a predetermined period of time, such as a few seconds, each time movement is detected. Once the movement stops and the predetermined period of time for activation has expired, the logic circuit  26  turns the LEDs  28  off. 
     The LEDs  28  are bright enough to shine light through the translucent elastomeric material  17  of the spherical shell  16 . As such, the spherical shell  16  becomes internally illuminated when it experiences movement. The circuit board  20  can flash or sequence the lighting of the LEDs  28  when the LEDs  28  are activated, therein producing changing light patterns in the internal illumination of the ball construct  12 . 
     The ball construct  12  also includes a receptacle  30 . The receptacle  30  is sized to receive and engage a connector  32 , which is used to terminate the tether  14 . The tether  14  can be a length of string, but is preferably a length of flat woven ribbon, like that of a sneaker shoelace. A flat ribbon adds a level of comfort to the toy assembly  10 , as is later explained. A tether  14  of flat ribbon also provides a widened surface for a manufacturer&#39;s graphics. 
     The tether  14  has two ends  34 ,  36 . The ends  34 ,  36  of the tether  14  are terminated with the connector  32  at one end and a finger loop  40  at the opposite end. The connector  32  is dimensioned and sized to engage the receptacle  30  that is formed into the ball construct  12 . The connector  32  preferably engages the receptacle  30  with an interference fit, wherein friction keeps the connector  32  firmly engaged within the receptacle  30 . Releasable mechanical features, such as threading or a tab lock can also be used instead of a friction connection. Regardless, it will be understood that the ball construct  12  will remain attached to the tether  14  and will not inadvertently separate. However, a user can selectively detach the ball construct  12  from the tether  14  when desired. 
     The opposite end of the tether  14  terminates with the finger loop  40 . The finger loop  40  can be a metal ring or just a simple loop made from the same flexible material as the tether  14 . Regardless, the finger loop  40  is made with a fixed diameter D 2  that remains constant no matter how much tension is applied to the tether  14 . The diameter D 2  of the finger loop  40  is larger than that of the average finger. As such, when placed around a finger, the finger loop  40  will hang loose and is free to rotate about the finger without much resistance. This is important to the intended operation of the toy assembly  10 , as is later explained. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3  in conjunction with  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 , it will be understood that the toy assembly  10  is sized and dimensioned to be a skill game that is held in one hand  50  of a user. The ball construct  12  is kept in a size range so that the ball construct  12  can be held in the palm  52  of the hand  50  when the hand  50  is a closed. This size range corresponds to a maximum diameter D 1  on the ball construct  12  of between five centimeters and ten centimeters. The length L 1  of the tether  14  is held in a size range that is just long enough so it can span part of the hand  50  from the back of the middle finger  54  around to the center of the palm  52 . This size range is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. 
     With the size of the ball construct  12  and the length of the tether  14  described, a person can perform a variety of tricks and other juggling manipulations with the toy assembly  10 . By way of example, one of the simplest tricks is a roundabout. To perform a roundabout, a user places the finger loop  40  around the middle finger  54  of the hand  50  with the tether  14  and the ball construct  12  extending from the back of the hand  50 . The hand  50  is moved in a reversing circular pattern, wherein the hand  50  first moves in a clockwise direction and then reverses into a counter clockwise direction. The finger loop  40  rotates freely on the middle finger  54 . This causes the tether  14  and the ball construct  12  to whip around the hand  50  and strike the center of the palm  52 . Once the ball construct  12  strikes the center of the palm  52 , the ball construct  12  can be held in place by the thumb. As the ball construct  12  moves, it comes activated and internally illuminated. 
     It will be understood that the size of the ball construct  12  and the length of the flexible tether  14  are critical to the ability to perform a maneuver such as is described in  FIG. 3 . The ball construct  12  must be large and heavy enough to swing the tether  14 , yet small enough to be held in place by a finger over the palm  52 . The tether  14  must be just long enough to enable the tether  14  to wrap around half of a user&#39;s hand  50 . If the tether  14  is too long or too short, it will over-wrap or under-wrap. Either way, it will not position the ball construct  12  over the palm  52  where it can be grasped between the thumb and palm  52 . 
     Since the maneuver involves swinging and wrapping the tether  14  around half the hand  50 , a tether  14  with a flat profile is preferred. A tether  14  with a flat profile prevents the tether  14  from rolling along a finger or the edge of the hand  50 . A tether  14  with a flat profile also inhibits the tether  14  from cutting into the hand  50  should the tether  14  come into contact with skin while taut. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4  another maneuver for the toy assembly  10  is shown. In this maneuver, the finger loop  40  is again placed around the middle finger  54  with the tether  14  extending from the back of the hand  50 . The hand  50  is placed within the palm  52  down on a flat surface, such as a tabletop. The hand  50  is then rapidly moved back and forth in the directions of arrow  42  and arrow  44 . 
     As the hand  50  moves back and forth, energy is transferred to the tether  14  and the ball construct  12 . The ball construct  12  will then begin to move in an arcuate path  46  from one side of the hand  50  to the other. As the ball construct  12  strikes the flat surface it rebounds in an opposite direction along the arcuate path  46 . The result is that the ball construct  12  accelerates in speed. If the movement of the hand  50  is rapid enough, the ball construct  12  can strike the flat surface on opposite sides of the hand  50  several times per second. The ball construct  12  appears as a blur as it moves back and forth along the arcuate path  46  while being activated by the movement and internally illuminated. 
     Every person has a different sized hand and moves their hands in different manners. In order for many of the tricks and maneuvers to work well, a resonance has to be achieved between the movement of the hand  50  and the movement of the tether  14  with the ball construct  12 . Such a resonance can be best achieved if the length L 1  of the tether  14  is perfectly sized for the hand  50  and for the movement of the hand  50 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , an embodiment of the present invention toy assembly  60  is shown where the length of the tether  64  between a ball construct  62  and the finger loop  70  can be selectively adjusted. 
     In  FIG. 5 , a spool  65  is provided inside the ball construct  62 . The spool  65  is spring loaded and has enough spring bias to rewind all of the flexible tether  64  onto the spool  65 . The spool  65  has a mechanical lock  66  that can prevent the spool  65  from rotating and lock the spool  65  into a fixed position. The mechanical lock  66  automatically locks the spool  65  in place unless manually released. The mechanical lock  66  is released by depressing a release button  68  that extends into the ball construct  62 . 
     A user can depress the release button  68  and pull on the finger loop  70 . This will draw the tether  64  out of the ball construct  62  by unwinding it from the spool  65 . Once the tether  64  is drawn to a desired length, the release button  68  is freed and the mechanical lock  66  will automatically lock the spool  65  in place. The drawn length of the tether  64  will remain. To shorten the tether  64 , a user need only depress the release button  68  on the ball construct  62 . The tether  64  will then recoil onto the spool  65  and only the finger loop  70  will remain exposed. In this manner, the tether  64  can be drawn to any length up to its maximum length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. 
     Referring to  FIG. 6 , another embodiment of the toy assembly  71  is illustrated. In this embodiment, the flexible tether  74  terminates with a connector at both ends. In this manner, either end of the flexible tether  74  can engage the ball construct  12  previously described with reference to  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 2 . Since both ends of the tether  74  are terminated with a connector  76 , a finger ring  80  has to be provided that is capable of engaging the connector  76  on the tether  74 . 
     The finger ring  80  is a rigid ring having a receptacle  82  for receiving the connector  76 . Since the connector  76  on the tether  74  can be selectively attached and detached from the receptacle  82  on the finger ring  80 , it will be understood that other objects can be substituted in place of the finger ring  80  that can also engage the connector  76 . For instance, a second ball construct  12  can be attached to the tether  74 . In this manner, the tether  74  will span between two ball constructs  12 . Likewise a secondary object  84 , such as a handle, can be configured with a receptacle that receives the connector  76  on the tether  74 . 
     It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. For instance, the ball construct can be made with an oblong shape or a pear shape as a matter of design choice. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.