Patent ID: 8678955

Claim:
An apparatus for suspending and spinning a spherical object, comprising: a fixed base, a support plate attached to the base and configured to rotate about a vertical axis through the base, an airflow unit pivotally attached to the support plate at one end thereorf, the other end of the airflow unit terminating in a tubular portion and a hinge having a first bracket part attached to an underside rear end of the airflow unit and a second bracket part attached to a top surface of the support plate on an edge thereof, a piston, and a torsion spring, the piston and torsion spring connected between an underside of the tubular portion and a top surface of the support plate on a side opposite the hinge in side-by-side relation to facilitate movement of the contiguous assembly in a controlled manner back and forth between the first and second angular orientations, a motor control unit removably attached to the airflow unit so as to embody a contiguous assembly, the motor control unit including means for providing variable airflow to the airflow unit, a rotation arm extending from an upper portion of the motor control unit enabling 360 degree rotation of the contiguous assembly via the support plate about the base, and a plurality of interchangeable nozzles configured for attachment to the tubular portion of the airflow unit to direct the airflow generated by the motor control unit for suspending and spinning the spherical object, wherein the apparatus is in a first angular orientation with respect to vertical for loading the spherical object over one of the installed nozzles exhausting air from the airflow unit, and the apparatus is in a second angular orientation with respect to vertical different from the first in order for a user to engage the suspended and spinning spherical object.