Abstract:
A novelty item in the form of a rod suffused with a fluorescent substance. The substance fluoresces in response to ambient light and the flouresced light is subject to internal reflection within the rob, with the flouresced light being substantial emitted at one or both ends of the rod. The concentration of the light enables a variety of uses, such as a broad range self-illuminating toy wands as a luminescent professional, presentation pointer.

Description:
CONTRACTUAL ORIGIN OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention was conceived and developed under U.S. Government Contract No. DE-AC09-96SR18500 awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy. The Government has rights in this invention. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    This invention relates a novelty toy item that is self-luminescent, without the need for bulbs or batteries. The toy is formed of a transparent plastic rod suffused with a fluorescent substance. The substance fluoresces in response to ambient light and the flouresced light is subject to internal reflection within the rod, with the flouresced light being substantial emitted at one or both ends of the rod. The end of the rod may be manufactured in a variety of shapes-such as a conical tip, multi-point star, sphere, or fiber optic bundle-to produce a wide variety of toy wands.  
           [0004]    2. Related Art  
           [0005]    A variety of toys in the form of wands are known to exist. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,891,32 and 3,707,055 are representative of the art in the field of toy wands. These conventional devices obtain their illumination from a miniature, incandescent light bulb power by a battery contained in the body of the device. These devices suffer the drawback of all battery-powered toys—both the batteries and bulbs must be regularly replaced with regular usage.  
           [0006]    Similarly, toys that utilize self-luminescent components are also known to exist. U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,721 discloses a small self-illuminating element within the opaque body of a toy doll. This small element produces glowing features on the exterior of the toy doll, such as eyes, mouths, hearts or weapons. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,809 discloses a pinwheel toy where the pinwheel blades are composed of a transparent plastic containing a fluorescent dye.  
           [0007]    Despite this prior art, self-luminescent toy wands, composed entirely of fluorescent suffused plastic, are not known.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0008]    It is an object of this invention to provide a device useful in creating a source of light without the need for batteries or light bulbs.  
           [0009]    It is a further object of this invention to provide a self-luminescent toy wand capable of creating a visually stimulating light display at at least one end of the wand.  
           [0010]    It is an additional object of this invention to provide a self-luminescent presentation pointer capable of creating a visually stimulating point source of light.  
           [0011]    These and other objects are provided by a device that is an elongated rod of substantially transparent material, the rod having a length and cross-sectional width and having a first end and a second end, the transparent material being suffused with a fluorescent substance or dye, wherein said length, width and fluorescent substance are selected such that light impinging the surface of the rod undergoes substantial internal reflection in the rod, and wherein at least said first end is capable of emitting the reflected light energy to create a stimulating visual display.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the presentation pointer embodiment of the current invention.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a multi-point star wand embodiment of the current invention.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating two-ended baton embodiment of the current invention.  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a magic wand embodiment utilizing fiber optics as the means of fluoresced light presentation. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]    The features and preferred embodiments of the present invention are best illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The drawings are illustrative only and are not to scale. Any critical dimensions as described herein can be determined by those skilled in the art.  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 illustrates a simple wand  10  according to the current invention. An alternate use for this embodiment would be as a presentation pointer-as a substitute for lighted or non-lighted pointers or conventional laser presentation pointers. The wand is an elongated rod  12  having a first end  14  and a second end  15 . The first end  14  is shaped into a conical point to focus the maximum light energy display. While a simple conical point at the first end  14  is shown in FIG. 1, the current invention envisions variations on this single point theme to include such designs as spirals, arrows and corkscrews. FIG. 1 also illustrates the use of a focusing mirror  16  at the second end  15 , to assist in focusing more light energy towards the first end  14 . Furthermore, the wand  10  may be provided with a grip  18  suitably adapted to secure the focusing mirror  16  and to provide a comfortable handhold for a user.  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 illustrates a multi-point star wand  20  embodiment according to the current invention. This embodiment consists of an elongated rod  12  having a multi-point first end  22  and a second end  15 . The multi-point first end  22  consists of a plurality of radiating points, preferably shaped to focus and display light energy along each edged surface and at each tip of the multi-point star.  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 illustrates a baton  30  embodiment according to the current invention. This embodiment consists of an elongated rod  12  having a substantially spherical first end  32  and a substantially spherical second end  34 . Said substantially spherical first end  32  and second end  34  are shaped to allow a soft glow display of light energy. Additionally, at least one of these said spherical ends could optionally contain etchings that will enhance visual display.  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 illustrates an optical fiber wand  40  embodiment according to the current invention. This embodiment consists of an elongated rod  12  having an optical fiber first end  42  and a second end  15 . This optical fiber first end  42  consists of a plurality of optical fibers arranged to produce a pleasing light display. The current invention envisions that the length, number and color of individual optical fibers may be changed to produce a virtually limitless variety of visual displays and effects.  
         [0021]    In all of the aforementioned preferred embodiments, the elongated rod  12  may be made out of a wide variety of transparent or substantially transparent substances. A nonexclusive list of such substances includes glasses, polycarbonates, methacrylates, acrylics, and other natural and manmade materials. The choice of the substances depends on factors such as the particular use conceived and intended user. Transparent resins are preferred when weight and safety are the primary concerns-such as when children are the intended users.  
         [0022]    In all the aforementioned preferred embodiments, rod  12  is a right circular rod for all or substantially all of its length. Meaning, a cross-section taken at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the rod  12  will be a circle. Deviations from this shape, such as an oval cross-section, may be desirable for specific applications.  
         [0023]    In all the aforementioned preferred embodiments, rod  12  is suffused with a fluorescent dye (not shown). The term dye, as used herein, is intended to include any colored, luminescent or fluorescent substance. Furthermore, references herein to light or light energy emitted by this substance includes all reflected, luminesced and fluoresced energy. The purpose and effect of the dye is described below. The dye should be selected such that it is compatible with the material of the rod  12  selected.  
         [0024]    In the preferred embodiments, the dye is suffused throughout or substantially throughout the rod  12 . The dye is intended to be active in and reactive to visible light. The use of dyes or substances that are active in or reactive to near-visible light are also considered within the scope of the invention.  
         [0025]    While not wishing to be bound by a single theory, it is believed that the invention works as follows. Light from any source, including ambient light, passes into the material of the rod  12 . The light at a particular wavelength (or relatively small range of wavelengths) is reflected by the dye or causes the dye to fluoresce. As can be determined by those skilled in the art, the dye, rod length and circumference are determined so that a substantial portion of the reflected or fluoresced light will undergo total or substantially total internal reflection. The light is thus transmitted and concentrated at the ends of the rod  12 , and displayed as determined by the particular embodiment.  
         [0026]    In all of the aforementioned embodiments where there is one primary light emitting end (specifically FIGS. 1, 3 and  4 ), a focusing mirror  16  may be placed over the second end  15 . This focusing mirror  16  is designed to reflect the light energy which would otherwise escape out the second end  15  back into the rod and add to the light energy being emitted from the first ends ( 14 ,  22  and  42 , respectively).  
         [0027]    An important feature of the current invention is that it is, in all its preferred embodiments, a completely passive device. While there must be some source of light or energy, as from ambient light, the device requires no power source and no dedicated light source. The current invention has been found to be quite efficient at collecting and focusing light energy under very low ambient light conditions. This feature gives rise to another potential embodiment of the current invention as an emergency directional indicator. During an emergency situation, where reliable light and energy sources may not be available, pre-placed indicators similar to the embodiment in FIG. 1, with an arrow-shaped first end  14 , would be valuable in directing people towards an exit.  
         [0028]    While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes, modifications or variations (especially in the fluorescent dye or substance selected) may be easily made, to provide a wide range of potential uses, without deviating from the scope of the invention.