Abstract:
A top toy comprises a hand-held paddle with a contact portion and a handle portion, designed to manipulate, catch and throw a spinning top. The toy has two or more sides configured with substantially flat contact surfaces meeting at a periphery juncture to define an acute angle, such that the spinning top may be scooped or lifted from another surface onto the contact portion. The contact portion includes a perimeter ridge having a gap adjacent the handle, to enable a user to direct the spinning top onto the handle portion, to thereby manipulate, catch, or throw the spinning top from either the contact portion or the handle. The top and/or paddle may be constructed from or covered with glowing or glow-in-the-dark materials or substances to cause the top and/or paddle to glow in the dark, or provide enhanced visibility in daylight.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention is directed to spinning tops and devices designed to be used with them. In particular, the present invention is directed to a top and a specifically configured paddle designed for performing tricks with, throwing and/or catching, and picking up a spinning top. 
     2. Related Art 
     Spinning tops have been known and used for hundreds of years. Over time, a variety of games and accessories have been devised for use with spinning tops. Some of these include platforms or other devices, either stationary or hand-held, for supporting a spinning top. Some involve a game board upon which a top may be propelled, manipulated, or guided to direct its path, and may include various paths or passageways through which the spinning top may travel to upset target pins or other objects. Still others provide a handheld paddle device with opposing sides that provide different levels of difficulty for manipulating, catching and/or throwing a spinning top. Some of these devices may include means for storing one or more tops in removable relation to the paddle, and may be constructed of day-glow or glow-in-the-dark materials to allow their use in the dark or provide greater visibility in daylight. 
     However, prior art top-related devices present limitations on how the spinning top may be manipulated, thrown, caught, etc. It would be desirable to have an interactive paddle device designed for hand-held support and manipulation, such as to throw and catch a spinning top, which is capable of a greater range of manipulation of the top, and provides more challenge than prior devices. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It has been recognized that it would be desirable to have a top toy device designed and configured to manipulate, catch and/or throw a spinning top while maintaining the spinning action of the top, while also providing a greater range of manipulation for the top, and more challenge than prior devices. 
     It would also be desirable to have a toy top and paddle game apparatus configured to allow a user to pick up, support, throw, and catch a spinning top using either the handle or the contact portion of the paddle. 
     It would also be desirable to have a two-part, unattached interactive top toy that can be played in darkness, or that enhances visual observation in daylight. 
     It would also be desirable to provide a top-paddle toy having opposing faces of the paddle which provide different levels of difficulty for manipulating, catching and throwing the top. 
     The present invention provides a hand-held top toy game apparatus that includes a top configured for spinning, and a paddle, configured for manipulating, catching, and throwing the spinning top. The paddle has a handle for gripping by a user, and a contact portion connected to the handle. The contact portion has a plurality of sides, the juncture of two sides defining a periphery, with a ridge disposed along at least a length of the periphery of at least one side. The ridge defines a gap adjacent to the connection of the handle and the top side of the contact portion, such that the spinning top may travel from the top side of the contact portion onto the handle portion. The handle portion may further be adapted with means for holding or storing one or more tops. 
     The periphery of the contact portion is adapted with a terminal edge forming an acute angle between the bottom side of the contact surface and the top side of the top contact surface. Because the terminal edge is an acute angle, it is possible to use the terminal edge to lift the spinning top from another surface onto the top contact surface. The top side may have a recessed dimple therein, in the contact portion and/or the handle. The bottom side of the contact surface is substantially flat with no prominent depressions or outwardly extending structures, but may also have a recessed dimple therein. The top-paddle toy device of the present invention may be constructed from day-glow or glow-in-the-dark materials. 
     Additional features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the invention. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention having differing bottom and top contact surfaces. 
     FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Alterations and further modifications of the inventive features illustrated herein, and additional applications of the principles of the inventions as illustrated herein, which would occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention. 
     The present invention is a top-paddle toy  10 . The top and paddle are designed for construction from day-glow and/or glow-in-the-dark materials. The toy  10  comprises a handle portion  30  and a contact portion  40 , that is, a portion which in use is primarily intended for contact by a spinning top. The toy is configured such that the user may grasp it by the handle portion, to manipulate it as desired. 
     As illustrated in the Figures, the handle portion  30  comprises an elongate member  38  having a first or distal end  37  and a second or proximal end  39 . The elongate member is of sufficient length between the distal end and proximal so as to enable the user to be able to grasp the handle to control and manipulate the toy. The handle portion  30  can be configured as a substantially flat handle as shown in the Figures. Alternative equivalent embodiments would include handle portions that are more rounded in cross-section (not shown). Additionally, the handle could be configured with a hollow interior (not shown) to provide means for storing and/or retaining tops. The handle portion  30  could be configured of a myriad of shapes and thicknesses, so long as the user is provided a suitable location at which to grasp and control the paddle. For example, the handle portion need not necessarily comprise a protruding member  38 . The handle portion can be any structure suitably adapted to enable the user to grasp and control the device with one hand, if desired. 
     The toy  10  is adapted with means  31  for retaining and storing one or more tops  20 . The tops generally comprise a stem  22 , a body  24  and a contact point  26 . The retaining means  31  may be disposed on the elongate member  38  near the distal end  37 , or may be located elsewhere on the paddle  10 . In one embodiment, the retaining means comprises one or more inwardly extending recesses formed by sidewalls  32  adapted to receive and retain by friction or snap fit the stem  22  of one or more tops  20 . The sidewalls  32  form one or more storage alcoves for the convenient carrying or storage of one or more tops  20 . It is also contemplated that other embodiments of retaining means  31  could extend out from, rather than be recessed into, the handle portion  30 , so long as they do not interfere with the ability of the user to grasp the handle portion and control and manipulate the toy. The function of the retaining means  31  is to retain and store tops  20 . The tops neither spin in nor are spun by any mechanism located in the retaining means. 
     FIGS. 1 and 2 also illustrate one embodiment of the contact portion  40 . The contact portion may comprise a bottom contact surface  50  on one side, and a top contact surface  60  on the other side. The contact portion further comprises a periphery boundary  42  terminating in a terminal edge  44 . The bottom contact surface  50  and top contact surface  60  converge at a periphery juncture at an acute angle. In one embodiment, the acute angle is between about 5°-45°. To prevent injury to the user, the edge  44  is configured with a rounded radius between about 15-50 thousandths of an inch. As will be appreciated, the thickness of the contact surface near the juncture of the converging surfaces must be such that it does not collide with a stem  22  or body  24  of a top  20 , thereby compromising the spin of the top. 
     The relationship between contact surfaces meeting to form edge  44  is best configured so that when the edge is employed to urge a spinning top onto a contact surface, a portion of the receiving contact surface is substantially parallel with the surface from which the spinning top is being urged. If receiving contact surface  40  is not substantially parallel to the surface from which the spinning top is being urged, a portion of the top will collide with the contact surface, compromising the spin of the top. The edge  44  enables a user to urge a spinning top from another surface onto the contact portion  40  by scooping or lifting the spinning top from another surface, onto the contact portion at the edge. Similarly, the edge  44  permits the spinning top to leave the contact surface as desired by the user. In a preferred embodiment, the edge may circumscribe substantially all of the periphery  42  of contact portion. However, it is contemplated that the edge having an acute angle may traverse only a portion of the periphery  42 . 
     The bottom contact surface  50  is contemplated as being substantially flat except for one or more dimples  54 . The dimple is contemplated as being about one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter with a depth of about one-thirty second of an inch. The dimple provides additional challenge in manipulating the spinning top in and out of the dimple. Because the contact surface  50  is substantially flat, having no prominent raised portions to help keep a spinning top thereon, catching and retaining a spinning top on this surface requires more advanced dexterity and skill. 
     The top substantially flat contact surface  60  further comprises a ridge  62  disposed around at least a portion of the periphery. The ridge may be rounded on its top edge to provide a surface over which a spinning top may traverse as it is scooped onto the top contact surface, and moves toward the dimple  64 , or vice-versa. The ridge may be configured with a smooth transition to permit the spinning top to traverse up, down and over ridge  62 . The ridge assists the less advanced user to catch and manipulate the spinning top on contact portion  40  because the ridge helps maintain the top on the top contact surface. This is particularly useful to the user when catching a spinning top. In one embodiment, the ridge is substantially coextensive with the periphery boundary  42 . 
     The ridge  62  may also comprise terminal ends  66  defining a gap  68  adjacent to the location of connection of the handle  30  to the contact portion  40 . In the embodiments shown, the size of the gap may be about one inch wide, for example, though other widths may also be used, or multiple gaps may be provided. This configuration allows a spinning top  24  to travel from the top contact surface  60  of the contact portion onto the flat top surface  36  of the handle portion  30 . This configuration provides a greater range of manipulation for the top, and more challenge than prior devices because it allows a user to pick up, support, throw, and catch a spinning top using the relatively narrow handle portion, in addition to the contact portion of the paddle. Advantageously, the handle portion may also include a dimple  70  to further challenge the user. 
     Other embodiments could also be devised to permit the periphery and/or ridge  62  to be any one of a variety of shapes, sizes, or heights suited to assist or challenge the ability of the user to manipulate, throw and/or catch spinning tops. For example, contact portion  40  and periphery boundary  42  could be triangle-shaped with a corresponding triangle-shaped ridge  62 , as shown in FIG.  3 . Different geographic adaptations of the contact portion  40 , periphery boundary  42  and ridge  62  are also contemplated. The present invention also contemplates having intermittent ridges (not shown). The top contact surface  60  may also comprise one or more dimple(s)  64 . 
     As shown in FIG. 2, the handle portion  30  has a bottom side  34  and a top side  36 . The bottom side  34  may be substantially co-planar with the bottom side  50  of the contact portion  40 . In other words, there is little or no transition between the bottom contact side  50  and the bottom handle side  34 , and a spinning top on the bottom side can easily travel onto the handle portion. One or more dimples  72  may be provided on the bottom side  34  of the handle for additional challenge to a user. On the other hand, the top side  36  of the handle portion  30  and the top side  60  of the contact portion  40  include the ridge  62 . The gap  68  in the ridge may be made small or large, to require different levels of skill in manipulating a spinning top onto the handle portion on the top side. Consequently, the use of the bottom contact surface generally  50  requires more skill and attention to maintain the spinning top in contact with toy  10 . 
     While one embodiment of the present invention provides a bottom surface  50  and a top surface  60  to accommodate differing skill levels of users, the present invention also contemplates an alternative embodiment configured with two flat surfaces  50 , without a ridge-bounded surface  60 . Similarly, the present invention also contemplates an alternative embodiment configured with two ridge-bounded surfaces  60 , without a flat surface  50 . Still further, the present invention also contemplates more than two substantially flat contact surfaces, such as three or four, such that toy  10  has a more pronounced 3-dimensional shape. In such an embodiment, each side can be used by manipulating the user&#39;s grip on or about handle portion  30 . In the case of alternative embodiments, each alternative embodiment may also include one or more of the additional features discussed above, such as the edge  44  having an acute angle where the surfaces meet at periphery  42 , or the presence of means  31  for retaining and/or storing static tops. 
     Either the top  20  or the paddle  10 , or both the top and the paddle, may be constructed from materials that radiate light or enhance or concentrate reflected light. For example, one or more components may be manufactured using materials known by those skilled in the art to effectively host glow-in-the-dark material, such as glow-in-the-dark plastic. Constructing the top and/or paddle from glow-in-the-dark materials permits use of the toy in darkness. Because the top is not tethered to the paddle, the top paddle device of the present invention defines a two-part, unattached configuration. This permits use by an individual alone, or a game of throwing the top, or tops, between multiple users, even in darkness. Of particular advantage is the construction of the top using glow-in-the-dark materials so that if or when the top is dropped in dark conditions, the top is easily found and can be readily put back into play so that tossing and catching with the paddle may resume. 
     Similarly, the top and/or paddle may be constructed of commonly known day-glow material which enhances or concentrates reflected day or room light to edges or other portions of the top and/or paddle, thereby increasing the visual brightness of components of the present invention. Still further, the top and/or paddle can be constructed of any suitable material that will receive glow-in-the-dark paints or other substances, such as substances that illuminate when exposed to infrared or ultraviolet light/radiation. Any ability of the top and/or paddle, or their treated surfaces, to radiate or reflect light, even temporarily, is referred to herein as glowing or to glow. 
     The toy  10  may be used by one user to manipulate, toss and catch a spinning top. A more challenging and interactive game contemplates play by more than one person, each person having a paddle  10 , whereby each person throws to and catches from another person the spinning top. A still more challenging game is played when more than one top is being tossed or caught by the participants. Use of the device in darkness is particularly challenging and amusing. When more than one person is catching, manipulating and/or throwing one or more tops, the benefit of having the ridge  62  can be a significant help in maintaining control of the moving top, and in maintaining the top on the top contact surface  60 . 
     It is to be understood that the above-referenced arrangements are illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements can be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which has been shown in the drawings and described above in connection with certain exemplary embodiments(s). It will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications can be made without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention as set forth in the claims.