Abstract:
A toy glider including a shaft, a roller attached to a first end of the shaft, and a housing attached to a second opposing end of the shaft. The roller, a front end portion of the housing, and other portions of the toy glider are interchangeable to create a variety of different designs.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This present invention relates to toys, and in particular, to a toy glider.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Stick horses have been popular toys with children for many years. Stick horses essentially comprises a wooden stick with a plush horse head attached to one end. The idea behind the stick horse is that children place the wooden stick portion between their legs and ‘pretend’ to ride the horse.  
         [0003]     Although the stick horse was a popular toy for many years, it is also a very outdated toy. Due to the fact that horses have been replaced as a means of transportation in modem society with automobiles, motorcycles, bus and planes, to name a few, the viability of a toy horse is diminished. With the modernization of transportation, children are more likely to gravitate to modem vehicles as playthings.  
         [0004]     Although there exist toy cars and the like, there are presently no commercially available simple toys which allow children to ‘pretend’ to drive or pilot modem vehicles, such as cars, trucks, and airplanes. Thus, there is presently a need for toy which simulates this experience for children.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention comprises a toy glider including a shaft, a roller attached to a first end of the shaft, and a housing attached to a second opposing end of the shaft.  
         [0006]     An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also comprises a method for manufacturing a toy glider including the steps of providing a shaft, coupling at least one roller to a first end of the shaft, and coupling at least one housing to a second opposing end of the shaft. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0007]      FIG. 1  is a left side view showing a toy glider according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0008]      FIG. 2  is a back side isometric view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0009]      FIG. 3  is a back side isometric view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0010]      FIG. 4  is a left side exploded view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0011]      FIG. 5  is a top side exploded view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0012]      FIG. 6  is a front view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0013]      FIG. 7  is a rear view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0014]      FIG. 8  is a top view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0015]      FIG. 9  is a bottom view showing the toy glider of  FIG. 1 .  
         [0016]      FIG. 10  is an exploded view of exemplary embodiments of the toy glider showing interchangeable parts.  
         [0017]      FIG. 11  is front view of a toy glider according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0018]      FIG. 12  is a rear view of a the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0019]      FIG. 13  is a front perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0020]      FIG. 14  is a rear perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0021]      FIG. 15  is a left side view of the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0022]      FIG. 16  is a top view of the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0023]      FIG. 17  is a bottom view of the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0024]      FIG. 18  is an exploded view of the toy glider of  FIG. 11 .  
         [0025]      FIG. 19  is front view of a toy glider according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0026]      FIG. 20  is a rear view of a the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0027]      FIG. 21  is a front perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0028]      FIG. 22  is a rear perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0029]      FIG. 23  is a left side view of the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0030]      FIG. 24  is a top view of the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0031]      FIG. 25  is a bottom view of the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0032]      FIG. 26  is an exploded view of the toy glider of  FIG. 19 .  
         [0033]      FIG. 27  is front view of a toy glider according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0034]      FIG. 28  is a rear view of a the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 29  is a front perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 30  is a rear perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0037]      FIG. 31  is a left side view of the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0038]      FIG. 32  is a top view of the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0039]      FIG. 33  is a bottom view of the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 34  is an exploded view of the toy glider of  FIG. 27 .  
         [0041]      FIG. 35  is front view of a toy glider according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0042]      FIG. 36  is a rear view of a the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0043]      FIG. 37  is a front perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0044]      FIG. 38  is a rear perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0045]      FIG. 39  is a left side view of the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0046]      FIG. 40  is a top view of the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0047]      FIG. 41  is a bottom view of the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0048]      FIG. 42  is an exploded view of the toy glider of  FIG. 35 .  
         [0049]      FIG. 43  is front view of a toy glider according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  
         [0050]      FIG. 44  is a rear view of a the toy glider of  FIG. 43 .  
         [0051]      FIG. 45  is a front perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 43 .  
         [0052]      FIG. 46  is a rear perspective view of the toy glider of  FIG. 43 .  
         [0053]      FIG. 47  is a left side view of the toy glider of  FIG. 43 .  
         [0054]      FIG. 48  is a top view of the toy glider of  FIG. 43 .  
         [0055]      FIG. 49  is a bottom view of the toy glider of  FIG. 43 .  
         [0056]      FIG. 50  is an exploded view of the toy glider of  FIG. 43 . 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0057]      FIGS. 1-3  show a toy glider  100  according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1  shows a left side view of the toy glider  100 , and  FIGS. 2 and 3  show isometric views. The toy glider  100  comprises a shaft  110 , a roller  120 , a housing  130 , a front end  140  and a sound and/or light pad  150 .  
         [0058]     The shaft  110  may comprise a unitary member, or may comprises a two-piece ‘snap-fit’ construction, as is well known in the art. The roller  120  is coupled to a first end  111  of the shaft  110  and includes at least one wheel  121 , which may be held in place by an axle (now shown) disposed in the roller body. The roller  120  may also include optional decorative members, such as decorative wings  122 ,  123  shown. As will be explained in detail below, the decorative wings  122 ,  123  may comprise a plurality of different designs, such as for example, the tail wings of a jet plane (or spaceship), the bumper and/or tail lights of an automobile, or other various designs.  
         [0059]     The housing  130  preferably includes handles  133 ,  134  for grasping and holding the toy glider  100 . As with the roller  120 , the housing  130  may also include optional decorative members, such as decorative wings  136  shown. As will be explained in detail below, the decorative wings  136  may comprise a plurality of different designs, such as for example, the wings of a jet plane (or spaceship), the rear view mirrors of an automobile, or other various designs.  
         [0060]     The front end  140  preferably includes a toy windscreen  141  and a decorative bumper  142 . As will be explained in detail below, the decorative bumper  142  may comprise a plurality of different designs, such as for example, the front end of a jet plane, the front end of an automobile, or other various designs.  
         [0061]     The sound and/or light pad  150  may be configured to emit sounds, light displays, or both. The sound and/or light pad  150  may also include buttons, switches or other members which serve to actuate the sound and/or light displays. For example, if the toy glider  100  is made to resemble a police car, the sound and/or light pad  150  may include a ‘siren’ sound and flashing red lights.  
         [0062]     As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the housing  130  may be formed of left half piece  131 , and a right half piece  132  which are preferably coupled together at one end of the shaft  110 , so as to secure a second end  112  of the shaft  110  therebetween. As also shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the first end  111  of the shaft  110  may be disposed and secured within an opening in the roller  120 .  
         [0063]      FIGS. 6-9  show additional views of the toy glider  100 . In particular,  FIG. 6  shows a front view of the toy glider  100 , and  FIG. 7  shows a rear view.  FIG. 8  shows a top view of the glider  100 , and  FIG. 9  shows a bottom view.  
         [0064]      FIG. 10  is an exploded view of the toy glider  100  showing parts which are interchangeable. For example, although the toy glider  100  is described above as including a roller  120 , decorative wings  136 , and a decorative bumper  142 , and alternate exemplary embodiment of the toy glider  100 ′ may be manufactured which includes roller  120 ′, decorative wings  136 ′, and decorative bumper  142 ′. As will be noted, the roller  120 , decorative wings  136 , and a decorative bumper  142  of the toy glider  100  are made to respectively resemble the front end, side wings and rear wings of a jet plane, and the roller  120 ′, decorative wings  136 ′, and a decorative bumper  142 ′ of the toy glider  100 ′ are made to respectively resemble the front end, rear view mirrors and rear bumper of an automobile.  
         [0065]     It will be noted by those of ordinary skill in the art that a plurality of different rollers (e.g.,  120 ,  120 ′), wings (e.g.,  136 ,  136 ′) and bumpers (e.g.,  142 ,  142 ′) may be manufactured and provided to make the toy glider resemble different types of vehicles and/or objects (e.g., motorcycle, animal, cartoon character, etc.). The interchangeability of these parts permits the manufacturer of the toy glider to tailor the toy to different child&#39;s tastes with minimal effort and expense.  
         [0066]     In operation, a child straddles the shaft  110  of the toy glider  100  and grasps the handles  133 ,  134 . The child then moves the toy glider around using his or her feet while holding the handle  133 ,  134 . The roller  120  is preferably disposed on the ground during operation, and the wheel  121  thereof rolls along the ground as the child moves the toy glider  100  about. As discussed above, the sound and/or light pad  150  may be activated during operation of the toy glider  100 . This may be accomplished either by the actuation of a button, switch or other means by the child, automatically upon movement of the wheel  121 , automatically upon grasping of the handles  133 ,  134 , and/or by some other mechanism known to those of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0067]      FIGS. 11-18  show a toy glider  200  according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The toy glider  200  comprises a shaft  210 , a roller  220 , a housing  230 , a front end  240  and a sound and/or light pad  250 . The toy glider  200  is similar in appearance to the toy glider  100 , and like reference numerals denote like elements. However, the roller  220 , handles  233 ,  234 , decorative wings  236  and decorative bumper  242  are made to resemble a spaceship.  
         [0068]      FIGS. 19-26  show a toy glider  300  according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The toy glider  300  comprises a shaft  310 , a roller  320 , a housing  330 , a front end  340  and a sound and/or light pad  350 . The toy glider  300  is similar in appearance to the toy glider  100 , and like reference numerals denote like elements. However, the roller  320 , handles  333 ,  334 , decorative wings  336  and decorative bumper  342  are made to resemble a police truck.  
         [0069]      FIGS. 27-34  show a toy glider  400  according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The toy glider  400  comprises a shaft  410 , a roller  420 , a housing  430 , a front end  440  and a sound and/or light pad  450 . The toy glider  400  is similar in appearance to the toy glider  100 , and like reference numerals denote like elements. However, the roller  420 , handles  433 ,  434 , decorative wings  436  and decorative bumper  442  are made to resemble a motorcycle.  
         [0070]      FIGS. 35-42  show a toy glider  500  according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The toy glider  500  comprises a shaft  510 , a roller  520 , a housing  530 , a front end  540  and a sound and/or light pad  550 . The toy glider  500  is similar in appearance to the toy glider  100 , and like reference numerals denote like elements. However, the roller  520 , handles  533 ,  534 , decorative wings  536  and decorative bumper  542  are made to resemble a fire truck.  
         [0071]      FIGS. 43-50  show a toy glider  600  according to a sixth exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The toy glider  600  comprises a shaft  610 , a roller  620 , a housing  630 , a front end  640  and a sound and/or light pad  650 . The toy glider  600  is similar in appearance to the toy glider  100 , and like reference numerals denote like elements. However, the roller  620 , handles  633 ,  634 , decorative wings  636  and decorative bumper  642  are made to resemble a delivery truck.  
         [0072]     Although the invention has been described in terms of exemplary embodiments, it is not limited thereto. Rather, the appended claims should be construed broadly to include other variants and embodiments of the invention which may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and range of equivalents of the invention.