Patent Publication Number: US-9895579-B1

Title: Tethered hand toy

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     In general, the present invention relates to items, such as bolas, where two balls are joined together by a flexible tether. The present invention also relates to toy balls that contain internal lighting units for internally illuminating the toy balls. 
     2. Prior Art Description 
     Tethered balls, in the form of bolas, have existed as a hunting weapon throughout recorded history. Bolas consist of two balls, rocks or other weighted objects that are joined together by a flexible tether. Bolas typically have long tethers and are spun as they are thrown. When the bola strikes an animal&#39;s legs, wings or neck, the weighted objects cause the tether to wrap around the animal, therein incapacitating the animal. 
     Bolas are ancient weapons that are rarely used for hunting in the modern world. However, the physics of a bola are fascinating and have been adapted to other less deadly products. For example, in the toy industry, bolas have been made using rubber balls and string tethers. The toy bolas are used as projectiles in games where the target has poles or pegs around which the toy bola can wrap. Such prior art toy bolas are exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,522,597 to Hanks, entitled Game Apparatus, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,848 to Colemant, entitled Bola Ball Game. 
     In such prior art, the balls used with the tether tend to be of a large size and a large mass. The tether provides significant wind resistance. As such, the balls must have a significant mass in order to be thrown any useful distance. A large diameter is also needed so that the ball can be effectively gripped and thrown. Accordingly, a diameter of at least 2.5 inches is required to enable the toy balls to be readily grasped and thrown. Few, if any, hand-thrown bolas exist with balls under a two inch diameter. This is because the balls become too small to be comfortably grasped and thrown. Also small diameter balls tend to lack the mass needed for a bola to travel long distances and effectively wrap around a target object. 
     In the toy industry, there are also many toys that are internally illuminated and contain activation mechanisms that are triggered by motion. Such illumination units have been placed in balls and in other objects that are thrown, bounced, or caught. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,150 to Chernick, entitled Illuminated Elastomeric Flying Disc And Its Method Of Manufacture. 
     In the present invention, the concept of a bola is transformed into a unique skill game toy. The skill game toy has two balls joined by a tether. However, the tether is shortened and the balls have a small diameter. The skill game toy is designed not to be thrown at an object, but rather, to be flipped and twirled in a user&#39;s hand. The combination of ball size 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 or between both hands. The skill toy has two subassemblies that each contains a rounded translucent shell. The translucent shell surrounds an internal illumination unit, wherein the rounded translucent shell has a maximum diameter of under two inches. The illumination units are motion activated and contain lights that actually internally illuminate the translucent shell. 
     A tether joins the subassemblies together. The tether has a first end and an opposite second end. The tether can be selectively attached to, and detached from, the two subassemblies. The tether has a length of between four inches and six inches, so it is just long enough to span the back of a hand. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of an exemplary embodiment 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-section and schematic showing the components within a ball-shaped subassembly 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 in a first position of a performed skill manipulation; 
         FIG. 5  shows the toy assembly in a second position of a performed skill manipulation; 
         FIG. 6  shows the toy assembly in a third position of a performed skill manipulation; 
         FIG. 7  shows the toy assembly in a fourth position of a performed skill manipulation; and 
         FIG. 8  shows the toy assembly in a fifth position of a performed skill manipulation. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Although the present invention toy assembly can be embodied in many ways, only one embodiment of the present invention is illustrated and described. The exemplary embodiment is selected in order to set forth one of the best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiment, however, is merely exemplary and should not be considered a limitation 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 two ball-shaped subassemblies  12  that are joined together by a flexible tether  14 . Each of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  preferably has an external diameter D 1  of between 0.5 inches and 2.0 inches. The flexible tether  14  has a preferred length of between four inches and six inches. The importance of these dimension ranges is later explained. 
     Each of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  has a spherical shell  16 . The spherical shell  16  is preferably made of a translucent elastomeric material. The elastomeric material 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-shaped subassemblies  12  will bounce when dropped against a hard surface. Likewise, they will bounce against each other if the two ball-shaped subassemblies  12  collide while being manipulated. 
     An electronic unit  18  is disposed within each spherical shell  16 . Each 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 material of the spherical shell  16 . As such, the spherical shell  16  appears to be 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-shaped subassemblies  12 . 
     Each of the ball-shaped subassemblies  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 free ends  34 ,  36 . The ends  34 ,  36  of the tether  14  are terminated with connectors  32 . The connectors  32  at either end  34 ,  36  of the tether  14  are identical. The connectors  32  are dimensioned and sized to engage the receptacles  30  formed into each of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12 . The connectors  32  preferably engage the receptacles  30  with an interference fit, wherein friction keeps the connectors  32  engaged within the receptacles  30 . Releasable mechanical features, such as threading or a tab lock can also be used. Regardless, it will be understood that each ball-shaped subassembly  12  will remain attached to the tether  14  and will not inadvertently separate. However, a user can detach each of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  from the tether  14  when desired. 
     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 and passed from hand to hand. The ball shaped subassemblies  12  are kept in a size range so that both of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  can be held in the palm of the same hand by a user&#39;s thumb. This size range corresponds to a maximum diameter D 1  on the ball-shaped assemblies  12  of between 0.5 inches and 2.0 inches. The length L 1  of the tether  14  is held in a size range that is just long enough so it can span the back of the hand from one ball-shaped subassembly  12  to the other as both ball-shaped subassemblies  12  are being held in the palm of the same hand. This size range is between four inches and six inches. 
     With the size of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  and the length of the tether  14  described, a person can perform a variety of tricks with the toy assembly  10 . By way of example, one of the tricks is called a roundabout. To perform a roundabout, a user holds the toy assembly  10  in one hand with a first of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12 A in the palm under the ring finger and a second of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12   b  pinched between the thumb and forefinger. See  FIG. 4 . The second of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12 B is released as the hand is moved in a clockwise direction. 
     This causes the second of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12   b  to rotate behind the hand. See  FIG. 5  and eventually rotate under the pinky finger and up over the palm. The user then allows the tether  14  to rotate back over the thumb, where the second of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  can again be caught between the thumb and forefinger. See  FIG. 6 . 
     This can end the trick. However, the tether  14  is taut and can transfer the energy of momentum to the first of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12 A. The pinky finger can be bent forward to release the first of the ball shaped subassemblies  12 A. The first of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12 A then uses the momentum to rotate away from the palm and up over the forefinger to the back of the hand. See  FIG. 7 . The pinky finger can then be extended to catch the tether  14  between the pinky finger and the ring finger as it rotates around the back of the hand. See  FIG. 8  The first of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12 A is then caught under the ring finger and returns to the original position of  FIG. 4 . 
     It will be understood that the size of the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  and the length of the tether  14  between the ball-shaped subassemblies  12  is critical to the ability to perform a maneuver such as is described between  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 8 . The ball-shaped assemblies  12  must be large and heavy enough to swing the tether  14  but small enough to be held in place by a finger over the palm. The tether  14  must be just long enough to enable the tether  14  to wrap around the back of one&#39;s hand. If the tether is too long or too short, it will over-wrap or under-wrap. Either way, it will not position one of the ball-shaped assemblies over the palm where it can be grasped between a finger and the palm. 
     Since many of the tricks involve swinging and wrapping the tether  14  around the hand, 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. A tether  14  with a flat profile also inhibits the tether  14  from cutting into the hand should the tether  14  come into contact with skin while taut. 
     It will be understood that the embodiment of the present invention that is illustrated and described is merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to that embodiment. For instance, the ball-shaped subassemblies 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.