Abstract:
An oscillating body, and a method of manufacturing an oscillating body using a mold having a mold cavity with a curved surface. The method involves inserting a predetermined amount of a hardenable mixture in the mold cavity and allowing the hardenable mixture to harden to produce a body that is a negative of at least a portion of the mold cavity, including a curved surface that is a negative of the curved surface of the mold. A ballast is connected to the body portion such that the ballast remains stationary relative to the body portion. An oscillating body is made in part or in whole from the body portion with the ballast, wherein the oscillating body is adapted to roll on the curved surface in an oscillating manner after being subjected to a displacement.

Description:
[0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application No. 60/512,768, filed Oct. 21, 2003, which is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Oscillating toys and oscillating figures are well known in the art, and have been used both to amuse and to attract attention. For example, roly-poly devices have been provided to children (and adults) for amusement and visual stimulation, as well as to develop the sensory nervous system (such as, for example, sight and/or hearing). However, the prior art oscillating toys/figures are typically crudely made and their movements are not well understood. Indeed, a survey of the art suggests that the movements of the produced toys/figures is unpredictable and sometimes even irritating. There is a need to provide superior oscillating figures that will be more esthetically pleasing and desirable to the users. Still further there is a need to improve the various methods of manufacture of these oscillating figures over current manufacturing methods.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     One aspect of the invention concerns a method of manufacturing an oscillating body utilizing a mold having a mold cavity with a curved surface. The method comprises inserting a predetermined amount of a hardenable mixture in the mold cavity and allowing the hardenable mixture to harden to produce a body that conforms to at least a portion of the mold cavity, the body having a curved surface that is a negative of the curved surface of the mold. A ballast is connected to the interior of the body such that the ballast remains stationary relative to the body. The oscillating body is made in part or in whole from the body with the ballast, wherein the oscillating body is adapted to roll on the curved surface in an oscillating manner after being subjected to a displacement.  
         [0004]     The mold can be a flexible mold, and the hardenable mixture can be a resin, or a mixture of polystyrene and CaCO 3 .  
         [0005]     The method preferably involves determining a coefficient of oscillation of the oscillating body, making the mold in accordance with the coefficient of oscillation, and making the oscillating body so that it has substantially that coefficient of oscillation.  
         [0006]     The coefficient of oscillation preferably is greater than about 0.05 and less than about 1. The frequency of oscillation of the body preferably is about 0.5 hertz to about 3 hertz.  
         [0007]     Another aspect of the invention concerns an oscillating body comprising a body including a curved surface adapted to enable the oscillating body to be in rolling contact with a support surface, the body having a center of mass located substantially directly below the center of curvature of the curved surface when the oscillating body is in an at rest position on the support surface and free to roll. The curved surface has a curve of contact extending at least about 10 degrees in at least one direction away from a point at which the curved surface contacts the support surface in the at rest position. The curvature of the curved surface, when evaluated along the curve of contact within about 10 degrees from the point at which the curved surface contacts the support surface at the at rest position, results in stable center of mass travel. The coefficient of oscillation of the body is greater than about 0.05 and less than about 1.  
         [0008]     The curved surface of the oscillating body may have a portion that extends over at least a hemisphere, and may be elliptical, cylindrical or spherical.  
         [0009]     The frequency of oscillation of the oscillating body preferably is about 0.5 hertz to about 3 hertz.  
         [0010]     The curve of contact of the curved surface of the oscillating body preferably extends at least about 45 degrees—preferably uninterrupted—in at least two directions away from each other and away from the point at which the curved surface contacts the support surface at the at rest position.  
         [0011]     A second curve of contact of the curved surface may extend uninterrupted at least about 45 degrees in at least two additional directions away from each other and away from the point at which the curved surface contacts the support surface at the at rest position, the two additional directions being substantially orthogonal to the two directions.  
         [0012]     The oscillating body may have protrusions extending past the curved surface.  
         [0013]     The oscillating body may have at least two portions of substantially different densities. The portion having a higher density preferably is located substantially at the bottom of the oscillating body.  
         [0014]     The oscillating body may comprise a solid mixture of polystyrene and CaCO 3 . The shell of the oscillating body may comprise a solid mixture of polystyrene and CaCO 3 , and an interior portion of the oscillating body may comprise CaCO 3  and/or a mixture of polystyrene and CaCO 3 .  
         [0015]     The oscillating body preferably has a shell and a ballast, the ballast being located at the bottom of the shell and fixed to the shell. The ballast may comprise CaCO 3 .  
         [0016]     Yet another aspect of the invention concerns an oscillating body comprising a body including a curved surface adapted to enable the oscillating body to be in rolling contact with a support surface, the body being adapted to have a frequency of oscillation for an initial angular displacement having a value selected between the range of about 1 degree to about 20 degrees given by a particular equation set forth herein; and the coefficient of oscillation of the body is greater than about 0.05 and less than 1. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     Embodiments that incorporate the best mode for carrying out the invention are described in detail below, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a vertical sectional view of an oscillating body according to a first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2  is a vertical sectional view of an oscillating body according to a second embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0020]      FIG. 3  is a schematic illustration of an oscillating body according to a third embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 4  is a schematic illustration of an oscillating body according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0022]      FIG. 5  is a schematic illustration of an body according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 6  is a schematic illustration of an oscillating body according to a  FIG. 5 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 7  schematically illustrates a contact curve of the first embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0025]      FIG. 8  is a schematic illustration of an oscillating body according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 9  is a vertical sectional view of an oscillating body according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0027]      FIG. 10  schematically illustrates a method of making an oscillating body.  
         [0028]      FIG. 11  schematically illustrates another method of making an oscillating body. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0029]     In the first embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 1 , there is an oscillating body  10  having a curved surface  15  configured to support the body  10  on a base portion  20  that is connected to head portion  30 . In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , the base portion  20  of the oscillating body  10  is made of a thin walled material having a thickness T 20 . The head portion  30  of the oscillating body  10  is likewise made from a material having a thickness T 30 , which in the first embodiment, is about the same thickness as the thickness T 20  of the base portion  20 . Collectively, these portions form a shell  11  of the body  10 . The shell  11  may be made via a swirl molding technique utilizing resins, as will be discussed in greater detail below. The oscillating body  10  further has a ballast  40  located at the bottom of the oscillating body  10  in the base portion  20  of the oscillating body  10 . Still further, the oscillating body  10  has a center of mass  100  located in the base  20  (although in other embodiments the center of mass  100  may be located in the head portion  30 ). In the first embodiment of the present invention, the center of mass  100  is located with respect to the other elements of the oscillating body  10  such that it has a tendency to remain substantially upright in an at rest position when only acted upon by gravity and to return to the upright position if displaced. The particular features of the oscillating body  10  will now be described in greater detail.  
         [0030]     As can be seen from  FIG. 1 , the oscillating body  10  has a curved surface  15  at its base. This curved surface  15  enables oscillation of the oscillating body  10  by permitting the body  10  to “roll” back and forth (also referred to as “rotate” and/or “angular displacements” herein). This curved surface  15  permits the oscillating body  10  to roll, by way of example, on a flat surface  1000  (see, e.g.,  FIG. 3 ) such as a table top, when it is displaced and as it oscillates back and forth as a result of the displacement. In this embodiment of the invention, this curved surface  15  takes the form of a substantially complete hemisphere. As such, the curved surface  15  at the base of the base  20  may be round and has a substantially uniform radius of curvature r along its outside surface. Thus, the center of curvature  200  remains at a substantially fixed point relative to the oscillating body  10 . It is noted that in some embodiments of the present invention, instead of a spherical or substantially spherical base  20 , the base  20  may be formed of a hemisphere at, for example, its bottom, as shown in  FIG. 3 , above which the oscillating body  10  may not be curved and/or may have a different radius of curvature r. Still further, other embodiments of the present invention may utilize a truncated hemisphere (that is, a hemisphere that is cut off at a location below the “equator” and parallel to the equator). In yet other embodiments of the present invention, any surface  15  having a surface that would follow a surface of a portion of a sphere can be utilized to practice the invention.  
         [0031]     At this point, it is noted that while the embodiments shown in some of the figures display an oscillating body  10  that does not extend past hypothetical boundaries extending vertically and located at the ends of the curved surface  15 , other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with components that do extend past the curved surface  15 , such as that shown in  FIG. 4 . Still further, it is noted that while in some embodiments of the present invention, the oscillating body  10  may have a base portion  20  and a head portion  30  which are discrete sections of the body  10 , other embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with more or fewer sections and/or without discrete sections. Indeed, some embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with a body  10  made only of a substantially perfect sphere (on the outside surface) as long as the center of mass  100  is located appropriately, as will be discussed in greater detail below. Thus, the exterior geometry of the oscillating body  10  is not a limitation of the present invention unless otherwise specified (such as, by way of example, a shape limitation).  
         [0032]     In a first embodiment of the invention, the center of mass  100  is located relative to the body  10  such that it maintains a substantially upright orientation at its at rest position (e.g., where the center of mass  100  is at its lowest location as compared to the various positions of the oscillating body  10  as it oscillates). Thus, as it can be seen from  FIG. 1 , the center of mass  100  is located below the center of curvature  200  of the curved surface  15  as determined from the point at which the body  10  contacts the support  1000 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . In the first embodiment of the invention, the center of curvature  200 , as determined along the curved surface  15  (see  FIG. 3 ) remains substantially at the same location relative to the oscillating body  10  because the curved surface  15  substantially conforms to a surface of a sphere. (It is noted, of course, that when referring to the curved surface  15 , it is referred to as the surface on which the oscillating body  10  “rolls” as it oscillates.) However, in other embodiments of the present invention, the center of curvature  200  may vary along the curved surface  15  because the radius of curvature of discrete portions of the curved surface  15  on which the oscillating body  10  rolls varies. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the curved surface  15  may be an elliptical surface, such as is shown in  FIG. 5 . Thus, because the radius of curvature changes at various locations on the elliptical curved surface  15 , the center of curvature  200  will likewise change along the curved surface  15 . It is noted at this time that any surface that will permit the oscillating body  10  to oscillate according to the present invention may be utilized.  
         [0033]      FIGS. 5 and 6  represent a view of an oscillating body  10  according to the present invention at a given instant.  FIG. 5  further shows a displacement vector that represents the direction that the oscillating body  10  is initially displaced to begin the oscillations.  
         [0034]     A horizontal location(s) of the center of mass  100  according to the present invention may be described based on a hypothetical line  500  that is normal to a plane that is tangent to the point  12  on the surface  15  that contacts the support surface  1000  as shown, for example, in  FIGS. 3, 5  and  6 . That is, as the oscillating body  10  “rolls” away from its at rest position, the center of mass  100  may be located on a side of this hypothetical line  500  that is opposite to the side that the body  10  rolls towards, as is shown in  FIG. 5 . Conversely, as the oscillating body  10  rolls towards its at rest position, the center of mass  100  may be located on the same side of the hypothetical line  500  that the oscillating body  10  rolls towards, as is shown in  FIG. 6 . This will be referred to herein as stable center of mass travel. That is, the horizontal location of the center of mass  100  with respect to the surface  15 , in some embodiments, may be as follows: as the oscillating body  10  rolls in a direction away from its “at rest position,” the horizontal position  500  of the center of curvature  200  should be located between the horizontal position of the center of mass  100  and a point  18  on the curved surface  15  immediately adjacent to the point  12  that contacts the surface  1000  that will next come into contact with the curved surface  1000 , as shown in  FIG. 5 . Conversely, when the oscillating body  10  is rolling in a direction towards its at rest position, the point  18  at which the surface  15  will next contact the support surface  1000  should be in-between the horizontal position of the center of curvature  200  and the horizontal position of the center of mass  100  as shown in  FIG. 6 .  
         [0035]     In some embodiments of the present invention, as noted above, the center of mass  100  may be located substantially directly below the center of curvature when the oscillating body  10  is at rest. It is further, as is shown in  FIG. 1 . Explained in other terms, the center of mass  100  will be located between the center of curvature and the point at which the body  10  contacts the surface  1000  when the body  10  is at is at rest position.  
         [0036]     Stable center of mass travel may be described in yet other terms. For example, if the oscillating body  10  of  FIG. 5  is rolling towards the left of the Figure (i.e., counterclockwise), and thus away from its at rest position, the center of mass  100  will be to the right of the horizontal position of the center of curvature  200  and thus to the right of the horizontal position of the hypothetical line  500 . Conversely, if the oscillating body  10  shown in  FIG. 6  is rolling towards the right (i.e., in a clockwise direction), the location of the center of mass  100  will be located to the right of the horizontal position of the center of curvature and thus to the right of the hypothetical line  500 .  
         [0037]     In some embodiments of the invention, locating the center of mass  100  with respect to the center of curvature  200  and/or the hypothetical line  500  as described above will enable the oscillating body  10  to be substantially stable. That is, a displacement in one direction or another direction may result in the oscillating body  10  oscillating back and forth until friction forces completely dampen the oscillation, thus substantially returning the body  10  to its at rest position. The oscillating mass  10  of some embodiments of the present invention may be configured such that the stability exists along only a portion of the curved surface  15 . That is, some embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with a complex surface  15  that has a varying radius of curvature r such that at some given displacement, the oscillating body  10  could be unbalanced, become unstable and thus “fall” on its side and remain there (unless it bounces back or is again acted on by an additional force.) Thus, in such an embodiment, only limited displacements may result in harmonic oscillation of the oscillating body  10 . Still, in yet other embodiments of the present invention, the configuration of the oscillating body  10  may be such that the oscillating body  10  will always return to its upright at rest position regardless of how much displacement is applied to the body  10 . By way of example and not by way of limitation, the oscillating body shown in  FIG. 1  may be such a configuration, such that regardless of the orientation of the body  10  (except, perhaps for a perfectly balanced upside down oscillating body  10  of  FIG. 1 ), the body  10  will return to its at rest position after frictional forces dampen the oscillations.  
         [0038]     It is noted that the movements and geometry of the oscillating body  10  are being described herein in terms of two dimensions, as will be readily apparent from most of the figures, such as  FIG. 1 . Thus, the terms of oscillation will be described in terms of oscillation with respect to a plane that passes through the displacement vector and or the plane in which the body  10  is angularly displaced. That is, for the purposes of describing the embodiments shown in the figures, oscillation is described in terms of two dimensional oscillation. Thus, by way of example, for a perfectly balanced body  10 , having a perfectly spherical curved surface  15 , the plane will lie on the displacement vector of the force imparted onto the body  10  to initiate oscillation as well as the point  12  on the surface  15  that contacts the support surface  1000 , and therefore, the contact points between the curved surface  15  and the support surface  1000  will fall on this plane as the body rolls, thus resulting in a curve of contact  600  along curved surface  15  as shown in  FIG. 7 . It is noted that this curve of contact  600  may be present in embodiments that are not perfectly balanced and/or do not have a perfectly spherical curved surface  15 . For example, an elliptical curved surface  15  may also have a curve of contact  600 . Thus, the curve of contact  600  represents the points on the curved surface  15  that come into contact with the support surface  1000  as the oscillating body  10  rolls back and forth. In the case of an oscillating body that has a cylindrical curved surface  15  (i.e., contact of the curved surface  15  results in line contact (as opposed to point contact) with the support surface  1000 ), the curve of contact  600  may be utilized to represent contact between the curved surface  15  and the support surface  1000  as well. This leads to yet another point: while some embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with curved surfaces  15  that are sphere like (e.g., they result in point contact with the support surface  1000 ), other embodiments of the invention may be practiced with cylinder like surfaces  15  that result in line contact with the support surface  1000 . In yet other embodiments, a plurality of curved surfaces  15  may be utilized. In such embodiments, the plurality of surfaces may be aligned and/or substantially identical to result in a substantially uniform oscillation of the oscillating body  1000 .  
         [0039]     Still, it is noted that the present invention may be practiced with embodiments that oscillate in three-dimensions (which, in actuality, is how the oscillating body  10  will oscillate, albeit that the oscillations in the third dimension may be minor), because the body  10  will never be perfectly balanced and/or a torque may be imparted to the body by the initial displacement, etc. Thus, the present invention is not limited to an oscillating body  10  that oscillates only in two dimensions unless otherwise specified. However, such embodiments may be described and/or analyzed in terms of two dimensional oscillation.  
         [0040]     It is noted that in some embodiments in the present invention, the oscillating body  10  may have a substantially symmetrical surface geometry about its longitudinal (i.e. lengthwise) axis, for example, as shown in  FIG. 1 . However, it is noted that in other embodiments of the present invention, the body  10  may have an asymmetrical surface geometry. That is, the body may be lopsided, as shown in  FIG. 8 , which represents an asymmetrical oscillating body  10  at the at rest position. It is noted that in such a configuration, the center of gravity  100  may still be horizontally aligned with the center of curvature  200 , as shown in  FIG. 8 , when the body  10  is at the at rest position. Thus, according to the embodiment of  FIG. 8 , when at the at rest position, a portion of the body  10  will appear to be leaning backwards (or forwards or to the side depending on the viewer&#39;s frame of reference). When the body of  FIG. 8  is oscillated, it may, for example, appear to oscillate to an upright position and then to a position where the body leans very far backwards, and then continue oscillating until frictional forces reduce the oscillations to zero, at which point the body  10  will be at rest and the body will again be seen as leaning to the left.  
         [0041]      FIG. 8  also shows that some embodiments of the present invention may utilize an oscillation stop  50 . The oscillation stop  50 , which may be a protrusion or other physical structure, may be configured so that it will stop or otherwise interrupt the oscillating body  10  as it rolls on the curved surface  15 . By way of example, when the oscillating body  10  shown in  FIG. 8  rolls in a counterclockwise fashion (that is, rolls to the left), at some point, the stop  50  may hit the support surface  1000 , at which point the oscillating body  10  may reverse direction or bounce a bit or maybe tip over or maybe tip around point  55 , and/or then reverse direction of rolling towards the right. That is, the stop  50  may result in an interruption and/or change in the oscillations. It is noted that the present invention may be practiced with any configuration that may result in an interruption in the oscillations and/or cause an abnormal oscillation of the body  10 . It is further noted that in the embodiment of  FIG. 8 , for small displacements initiating the oscillation of the body  10 , the stop  50  may not come into contact with surface  1000 . In such a scenario, the body  10  may oscillate as if the stop  50  was not present.  
         [0042]     In some embodiments of the present invention, the stop  50  may enable the body  10  to spin or jump or hop or otherwise have an abnormal movement, as may be desirable and pleasing to a user. It is noted that while the embodiment of  FIG. 8  shows a stop only on the right side, other embodiments of the present invention may utilize more stops or the stops may be located at any location. It is further noted that while the embodiment shown in  FIG. 8  has just been described in terms of rolling to the left and thus hitting the stop, but if a displacement is imparted on the body  10  in the forward or backward direction (as viewed from the orientation shown in  FIG. 7 ), the stop  50  may not come into contact with the surface  1000  for even large displacements because the curve of contact  600  on the surface  15  with the support surface  1000  does not pass by and/or pass through and/or is not aligned stop surface  50 . That is, the plane that passes through the curve of contact  600  does not pass through the stop  50 . For example, a stop surface  50  that extends approximately over a 10 degree arc around a circumference of the body  10  may leave 350 degrees of rolling direction that may avoid contact with the stop  50 . Conversely, if the stop  50  extends all around the circumference (a full 360 degrees) every direction of rolling may result in contact with the stop  50  by the surface  1000  if the displacement is large enough.  
         [0043]     As noted above, when the oscillating body  10  is at the at rest position, the center of mass  100  may be substantially horizontally aligned with the horizontal location of the center of curvature  200  of the curved surface  15 , as evaluated from the point that the curved surface  15  contacts the support surface  1000 . The horizontal distance from the center of curvature  200  and the center of mass  100  at the at rest position will be referred to as the setoff distance. As noted above, the radius of curvature r of the body  10  may be substantially constant for a surface  15  that is indicative of a surface of a perfect sphere or substantially indicative of a surface on a perfect sphere, and thus the distance between the center of curvature  200  and the center of mass  100  does not change when measured along the curvature of contact of the surface  15 . Thus, a coefficient of oscillation, c 0 , may be formulated, which is equal to the set off distance divided by the radius of curvature r at the point of contact  12  that the curved surface  15  contacts the support surface  1000  at the at rest position, and may be used to determine the frequency of oscillation of the body  10 , as will be discussed in greater detail below. However, in other embodiments of the present invention that have a non-spherical surface  15  (e.g., an elliptical surface), the distance between the center of mass  100  and the center of curvature  200  may vary, as evaluated along the curve of contact  600 , because the center of curvature  200  may change because the radius of curvature r changes along the surface  15 . Thus, for non-spherical type surfaces  15 , the coefficient of oscillation c 0  may be utilized for very small displacement angles of the body  10 . That is, displacement angles that result in substantially only contact of the surface  15  with the support surface  1000  at a portion of the curved surface  15  that continuously has a radius of curvature r that is the same as or substantially the same as the radius of curvature r at the point  12  on which the oscillating body  10  contacts the support surface  1000  at the at rest position.  
         [0044]     It is noted that in other embodiments of the present invention, a variable coefficient of oscillation may be used to determine the frequency of oscillation. This variable coefficient of oscillation may be determined based on a ratio of the vertical distance between the center of curvature  200  and the center of mass  100  and the radius of curvature r as evaluated at finite displacement angles where the surface  15  contacts the support surface  1000 . Thus, for non-spherical type surfaces  15 , the variable coefficient of oscillation may be considered in terms of c oθ , where θ is the angle measured from an arbitrary reference line and/or a horizontal line passing through the center of mass  100  at the at rest position (however, in this latter case, the angle may include negative angles to account for oscillation to the left and to the right). Still further, for evaluating oscillations in three dimensions, the variable coefficient of oscillation may be considered in terms of c oθβ  where θ is the angle measured from an arbitrary reference plane which may lie on a horizontal line passing through the center of mass  100  at the at rest position and ψ is the angle measured from an arbitrary reference plane which may lie on a horizontal line passing through the center of mass  100  at the at rest position and is orthogonal to the plane on which θ is measured. Still further, coefficients of oscillations may be defined in terms of spherical coordinates and/or polar coordinates and/or Cartesian coordinates as may be applicable. It is noted that variable coefficients of oscillations may be used for spherical surfaces  15  as well. Thus, the variable coefficients may be determined over the total range of angular displacements expected for the oscillating body  10  and recorded, thus, as will be described below, “instantaneous” frequencies may calculated which may be utilized to characterize the overall frequency at which the body  10  oscillates.  
         [0045]     In some embodiments of the present invention, it may be desirable to make an oscillating body  10  that has a predetermined or pre-estimated frequency of oscillation. That is, it may be desirable to determine, before making the oscillating body  10 , how long it will take for the oscillating body  10  to complete one oscillation (e.g., roll back and forth). More particularly, when manufacturing the oscillating body  10 , it may be desirable to manufacture the body so that it will have a predetermined oscillation frequency. An equation has been formulated that provides a way to do this utilizing the coefficient of oscillation co. As shown below, a frequency equation (1) may be used to determine the frequency and thus provides a way to estimate and/or to determine the dimensions and mass of the oscillating body  10  that may result in the desired frequency of oscillation:  
             freq   =     0.5   ⁢       meters     1   2       seconds     ⁢           c   o     ⁡     (   r   )           (     I   M     )     +     r   2     +       c   o   2     ⁢     r   2       -     2   ⁢     r   2     ⁢     c   o                       (   1   )             
 
 where, 
        I=Moment of Inertia of the body  10 ,     M=mass of the body,     r=the radius of curvature, and     c o =the coefficient of oscillation. 
 
 By solving equation (1), the frequency at which the body  10  may oscillate based on the coefficient of oscillation co and the radius of curvature r of the surface  15  at the point  12  where the surface  15  contacts the support surface  1000  may be determined if the moment of inertia and the mass of the body is known and/or estimated. The following equations may be useful in determining the moment of inertia of the body  10 : 
 
 I   x =∫( y   2   +z   2 ) dm   (2) 
 
 I   y =∫( x   2   +z   2 ) dm   (3) 
 
 I   z =∫( x   2   +y   2 ) dm   (4). 
 
 It is noted that the constant 0.5 meters 1/2 /second represents a derived rounded acceleration constant which is utilized with the coefficient of oscillation c 0 . It is further noted that a more accurate value of the derived acceleration constant may be determined by taking the square root of the gravitational acceleration value at sea level at the equator of the Earth and dividing by 2 pi. 
       
 
         [0050]     The above frequency equation (1) may be utilized to estimate or otherwise determine the frequency of oscillation of the oscillating body  10  for a small angular oscillation about the at rest position. That is, the frequency equation (1) yields a value that most closely comports with the actual frequency of the oscillating body ( 10 ) for small angular oscillations of the body  10 . However, it is noted that this value may vary slightly. For larger angular oscillations about the at rest position of the body  10 , the actual frequency of oscillation of the body  10  and the calculated frequency from equation (1) may vary slightly or more than slightly. It is further noted that the frequency equation may be utilized to calculate the natural frequency of the body  10  by multiplying equation (1) by 2 pie.  
         [0051]     Still further, it is noted that equation (1) may be written in terms of a variable coefficient of oscillation as shown below,  
                     freqf   ⁡     (   θ   )       =       ⁢     0.5   ⁢       meters     1   2       seconds                       ⁢             c     o   ⁢           ⁢   θ       ⁡     (   r   )           (     I   M     )     +     r   2     +       c     o   ⁢           ⁢   θ     2     ⁢     r   2       -     2   ⁢     r   2     ⁢     c     o   ⁢           ⁢   θ               +                     ⁢     freqf   ⁡     (     prior   ⁢           ⁢   θ     )                     (   5   )             
 
 where c oθ  is the coefficient of oscillation measured at a present displacement angle θ and freqf(prior θ) is a modifying frequency based on the frequency at which the oscillating body  10  oscillated at the displacement angle θ immediately before the oscillation at the previous displacement angle θ. Equation (5) might be solved utilizing a numerical method, which may include summing various frequencies, etc, and/or a computer, and thus, the overall frequency of oscillation might be determined on a per oscillation basis, as the overall frequency of oscillation for each oscillation may differ because portions of the surface  15  that previously contacted the support surface  1000  no longer come into contact with the support surface  1000  as friction forces dampen the oscillations. 
 
         [0052]     However, once the concept of oscillations in two dimensions is applied to the body  10  of the present invention, three dimensional oscillation may be evaluated utilizing similar concepts. Thus, the frequency equation may be written in terms of a variable coefficient of oscillation in three dimensions, as shown below:  
                     freqf   ⁡     (     θ   ,   β     )       =       ⁢     0.5   ⁢       meters     1   2       seconds                       ⁢             c     o   ⁢           ⁢   θβ       ⁡     (   r   )           (     I   M     )     +     r   2     +       c     o   ⁢           ⁢   θβ     2     ⁢     r   2       -     2   ⁢     r   2     ⁢     c     o   ⁢           ⁢   θβ               +                     ⁢     freqf   ⁡     (       prior   ⁢           ⁢   θ     ,   β     )                     (   5   )             
 
 where c oθβ  is the coefficient of oscillation measured at a present displacement angle θ, β and freqf(prior θ, β) is a modifying frequency based on the frequency at which the oscillating body  10  oscillated at the displacement angle θ, β immediately before the oscillation at the previous displacement angle θ, β. Equation (6) might be solved utilizing a numerical method, which may include summing various frequencies, etc, and/or a computer, and thus, the overall frequency of oscillation might be determined on a per oscillation basis, as the overall frequency of oscillation for each oscillation may differ because portions of the surface  15  that previously contacted the support surface  1000  no longer come into contact with the support surface  1000  as friction forces dampen the oscillations. It is further noted that the above equations might be solved utilizing an iterative technique. 
 
         [0053]     It should be noted that other embodiments of the present invention may use other equations utilizing the coefficient of oscillation to determine the frequency at which the oscillating body  10  according to the present invention oscillates, and thus the above equations may represent just one embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0054]     In the first embodiment of the present invention, the oscillating body  10  may be made from a hardenable mixture such as a resin which includes calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) and polystyrene. In the first embodiment of the invention, the resin is about a 50-50 mix, by weight and/or by volume of the just mentioned materials. However, in other embodiments of the present invention, it is about a 60-40 mix (60% polystyrene, 40% CaCO 3 ), while in yet other embodiments, it is about a 70-30 mix, while in other embodiments, it is about a 40-60 mix (40% polystyrene and 60% CaCO 3 ), and in other embodiments it is about a 30-70 mix (30% polystyrene, 70% CaCO 3 ). It is noted that in yet other embodiments, the combination of the polystyrene and CaCO 3  may be in any percentage that will permit the oscillating body  10  to be practiced according to the present invention. In yet other embodiments of the invention, other materials may be included in the resin make-up as well. It is further noted that other embodiments of the present invention may utilize any mixture of polystyrene and calcium carbonate CaCO 3  that may be used to form a body that will be sufficiently strong enough to practice the various aspects of the present invention. In some embodiments of the invention, the body  10  may be strong enough to withstand minor impacts such as those resulting from the body being dropped on a hardwood floor and/or onto a concrete floor or other hard surface from a height. In yet other embodiments of the invention, the shell  11  and/or the entire body  10  may be made from PVC.  
         [0055]     In some embodiments of the present invention, the material used to manufacture the shell  11  of the body  10  is conducive to the adherence of paints, coloring inks and/or other coloring substances to the shell  11 .  
         [0056]     In some embodiments of the present invention, the entire body  10  is made of the resin. However in other embodiments of the present invention, the body  10  includes other materials. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the ballast  40  may include iron or lead or other materials. In such an embodiment, the shell  11  of the body  10  may be made from the resin and the ballast  40  might be made from other materials, such as by way of example, again, iron, lead, etc.  
         [0057]     In one embodiment of the present invention, the shell  11  making up portions  20  and  30  of the body  10  may be made entirely from the resin described above. Thus, in one embodiment, the resin is a 50-50 mixture by weight and/or by volume of polystyrene and calcium carbonate. The ballast portion  40  may be likewise made from the same resin formulation as well. In some embodiments of the present invention, the ballast  40  is made from CaCO 3  rocks/pellets/particles, which in some embodiments, are pure CaCO 3 . The resin material may be utilized to hold the calcium carbonate rocks/pellets/particles in place.  
         [0058]     An implementation of this embodiment shall now be described with reference to  FIG. 9 . In one embodiment of the invention the shell  11  of the body  10  is formed in a mold so that the shell (this will be described in greater detail below) is hollow. One or more holes  750  in the shell are then drilled or otherwise bored through the shell (or perhaps formed during the molding process) so that the CaCO 3  rocks/pellets/particles  770  may be inserted into the interior of the shell  11  through the holes, as shown in  FIG. 9 . In some embodiments, these rocks are of pellet form while in other embodiments these rocks are a powder or in substantially powder form and thus may be poured into the interior of the shell  11 . It is noted that in other embodiments of the invention, iron or lead pellets or other materials may be inserted into the shell instead of or in addition to the CaCO 3 . That is, any material of sufficient density that will result in a center of mass  100  location of the body  10  to be positioned so that the present invention may be practiced can be utilized to practice the invention. Then, a resin and/or other form of binder is poured through the holes and allowed to cure such that the inserted rocks form ballast  40 . As noted above, the resin could be the same resin formulation that is utilized to formulate the shell  11  and could be a different formulation as well. Any formulation that will bind the ballast  40  to the shell  11  may be used to practice the invention.  
         [0059]     In other embodiments of the present invention, the ballast  40  is pre-formed prior to insertion into the shell of the body  10 , as shown in  FIG. 10 . By way of example and not by way of limitation, the shell of the body  10  may be formed in two parts utilizing a flexible mold (as will be discussed in greater detail below) utilizing two different molds. A top part of the body might include, for example, the upper hemisphere  20 ′ of the base portion  20  and the upper body  30 . The bottom part might include a hemisphere of the base  20 ″. The ballast  40  may be formed in another mold and then may then be inserted into one of the shell parts (for example the lower hemisphere shell  20 ″ of the base  20 ), after which the lower hemisphere of the base  20  may be connected to the upper hemisphere of the lower base  20 , and welded or otherwise joined together, thus sealing the shell  11  of the body  10  and sealing the ballast  40  inside the body  10 . In some embodiments of the present invention, the pre-formed ballast  40  is formed to substantially contour to the inside surface of a portion of the shell of the body. In some embodiments of the present invention, the ballast  40  could be friction fit into the shell  11  and/or otherwise positively retain inside the shell by interfering components. In yet other embodiments of the present invention, the ballast  40  could connected by utilizing a resin etc.  
         [0060]     A specific method of manufacturing the shell  11  of the body  10  according to the present invention will now be discussed. In the first embodiment of the invention, a clay template is made that represents the geometry of the production configuration of the body  10 . In a first embodiment, the clay template may have the likeness of a well-known person and/or a well-known structure or article of manufacture, etc. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the clay template might have a spherical base portion to which is connected a head of a professional athlete, etc. Further by way of example, the clay template may have feet and/or hands and/or clothing as well. This clay template may then be placed in a flexible mold solution, the solution allowed to cure, thus forming a flexible mold around the clay template. However, in other embodiments of the invention, a rigid mold may be formed around the clay template. The clay template removed by cutting a hole or slit into the flexible mold so that the clay template may be removed. In the case of rigid molds, the mold may be split into two or more sections and separated so that the template may be removed. A predetermined amount of pre-cured resin may then be placed into the cavity of the flexible mold (or the cavity of the mold parts when the mold is placed together). The resin is then deposited on the interior surfaces of the mold cavity via a swirl or rotational molding method and permitted to harden.  
         [0061]     In other embodiments of the invention, an injection molding technique may be used by injecting resin into a sectional mold to make the shell or a portion of the shell.  
         [0062]     In the first embodiment of the invention, the thickness of the resin deposited onto the surface of the cavity is substantially constant, although in other embodiments of the present invention, swirl molding may be practiced so that the thicknesses are variable as with the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2 , where wall portions  25  are thicker than the other wall portions  22  of the shell  11 . Once the resin has hardened sufficiently, the shell of the body  11  may then removed. In some embodiments of the present invention, this may result in a hollow shell that is completely closed, as is shown in  FIG. 11 . As noted above, however, in other embodiments of the present invention, the shell  11  of the body  10  is made of two or more parts. Thus, this process would be repeated two or more times for each part with respective molds. In such an embodiment (2 or more parts) there may be openings. Thus, in a first embodiment, the manufactured shell  11  (and thus the oscillating mass  10 ) may have the likeness of a well-known person and/or a well-known structure or article of manufacture, etc. By way of example and not by way of limitation, the shell  11  might have a spherical base portion to which is connected a head of a professional athlete, etc. Further by way of example, the shell  11  may have feet and/or hands and/or clothing. Thus, in one embodiment of the present invention, the oscillating body  10  may have a rendition of a head of a person connected to a spherical body such that when displaced, the body will roll along its surface  15  and thus the head will oscillate.  
         [0063]     Some embodiments of the body  10  may be practiced with portions extending outward past the curved surface  15  and/or extending inward past the curved surface  15 . By way of example, some embodiments of the invention may have arms and/or legs and/or feet extending past the curved surface  15 . Thus, embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with a variety of modeled human appendages and/or other body parts extending from the body  10 . It is further noted that embodiments of the present invention may be practiced with oscillating bodies  10  of various sizes. By way of example, oscillating bodies  10  may be about 0.5 inches in height or smaller, about 1 inch in height, about 1.5 inches in height, about 2 inches in height, about 2.5 inches in height, about 3 inches in height, about 3.5 inches in height, about 4 inches in height, about 4.5 inches in height, about 5 inches in height, about 5.5 inches in height, about 6 inches in height, about 6.5 inches in height, about 7 inches in height, about 7.5 inches in height, about 8 inches in height, or about 8.5 inches in height or larger. Thus, bodies  10  according to the present invention may be practiced having heights anywhere in the range from about 0.25 inches to about 12 inches in increments of about 0.1 inches. Indeed, smaller and larger bodies  10  may be practiced as well. Thus, some embodiments of the invention may have life size heights of, by way of example, about 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 feet. Still further, oscillating bodies  10  having a radius of curvature r anywhere in the range of about 0.1 inches to about 15 inches in increments of about 0.01 inches may be used to practice the present invention. By way of example, bodies  10  having a radius of curvature of about 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, 1.75, 2, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75, 3 and/or 3.25 inches may be used to practice the present invention. Still further, some embodiments of the present invention may be practiced having masses of about 0.05 kg or less, about 0.1 kg, about 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95, 1.0 kgs, and/or about 1.05 kgs or more. Indeed, some embodiments may be practiced with any appropriate mass in the range from about 0.05 kg to about 3 kg in about 0.005 kg increments. Likewise, some embodiments of the invention may be practiced with a coefficient of oscillation of about 0.1 or less, about 0.15, 0.2, 0.25, 0.3, 0.35, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, 0.55, 0.6, 0.65, 0.7, 0.75, 0.8, 0.85, 0.9, 0.95 or more and in any range therebetween in increments of about 0.01. Still further, the oscillating body according to the present invention may be configured to oscillate at about 0.1 hertz, about 0.2 hertz, about 0.3 hertz, 0.4 hertz, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and/or about 3.1 hertz or more. Some embodiments may oscillate at a frequency anywhere within the range of about 0.1 hertz to about 5 hertz in increments of 0.05 hertz.  
         [0064]     It will be understood that any method of molding that will result in a shell  11  for a body  10  according to the present invention and/or a completed body  10  according to the present invention may be utilized to practice the present invention.  
         [0065]     In some embodiments of the invention, the oscillating body  10  may be displaced to a given angular displacement and held at that angle for a period of time, after which it is released to being oscillating. In some embodiments of the invention, the oscillating body  10  may be formed to have a surface  15  configured to first slide across the support surface  1000  and then begin to oscillate, while in other embodiments the present invention, the body  10  may be configured to slide while oscillating. In other embodiments, the oscillating body  10  may not slide and/or not substantially slide during and/or before oscillation.  
         [0066]     Given the disclosure of the present invention, one versed in the art would appreciate that there may be other embodiments and modifications within the scope and spirit of the present invention. Accordingly, all modifications attainable by one versed in the art from the present disclosure are within the scope and spirit of the present invention are to be included as further embodiments of the present invention.