U.S. patent application number 15/599460 was filed with the patent office on 2018-02-08 for skill game ball with short finger tether.
This patent application is currently assigned to FSD, LLC. The applicant listed for this patent is FSD, LLC. Invention is credited to Steven Edward Walterscheid.
Application Number | 20180036614 15/599460 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 61072061 |
Filed Date | 2018-02-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180036614 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Walterscheid; Steven
Edward |
February 8, 2018 |
Skill Game Ball with Short Finger Tether
Abstract
A skill toy that is juggled, spun, and otherwise manipulated
with one hand. The ball construct is joined to a finger loop with a
tether. The tether has a length that is between ten centimeters and
fifteen centimeters. This enables the tether to wrap around half a
user's hand from the center of the back of the hand to the palm.
The diameter of the ball construct and the unique length of the
tether enable the toy to be rapidly juggled in a novel manner.
Inventors: |
Walterscheid; Steven Edward;
(Bend, OR) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
FSD, LLC |
Bend |
OR |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
FSD, LLC
|
Family ID: |
61072061 |
Appl. No.: |
15/599460 |
Filed: |
May 18, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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15227930 |
Aug 3, 2016 |
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15599460 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 67/10 20130101;
A63B 43/06 20130101; A63B 67/08 20130101; A63B 2225/74 20200801;
A63B 43/007 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63B 67/10 20060101
A63B067/10; A63B 67/08 20060101 A63B067/08 |
Claims
1. A toy assembly comprising: a ball construct having a translucent
shell of elastomeric material that surrounds an internal
illumination unit, wherein said translucent shell has a maximum
diameter no greater than five centimeters; a finger loop; a tether
having a first end and an opposite second end, wherein said first
end of said tether connects to said ball construct and said second
end of said tether terminates with said finger loop, wherein said
tether has a length between said first end and said second end that
is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.
2. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein a receptacle is
disposed in said translucent shell for selectively receiving said
first end of said tether.
3. The toy assembly according to claim 2, wherein said first end of
said tether terminates with a connector that is received and
engaged by said receptacle in said translucent shell.
4. The toy assembly according to claim 3, wherein said connector
engages said receptacle with a friction fit connection.
5. The toy assembly according to claim 1, further including a spool
disposed within said translucent shell, wherein said first end of
said tether is affixed to said spool and said tether can be
selectively wound onto said spool.
6. The toy assembly according to claim 5, further including a
manually operated lock for selectively locking said spool.
7. The toy assembly according to claim 5, wherein said spool is
spring biased to wind said tether onto said spool.
8. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said internal
illumination unit includes a battery, a logic circuit, and at least
one LED.
9. The toy assembly according to claim 8, wherein said internal
illumination unit contains a motion activator that activates said
at least one LED when said internal illumination unit experiences
motion.
10. The toy assembly according to claim 9, wherein said logic
circuit causes said at least one LED to remain active for a
predetermined period of time after said motion.
11. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said tether is
configured as a flat ribbon.
12. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said second end
of said tether is selectively detachable from said finger loop.
13. A toy assembly comprising: a ball construct; a finger loop; a
ribbon tether having a first end connected to said translucent ball
and a second end connected to said finger loop, wherein said ribbon
tether has a length of between ten centimeters and fifteen
centimeters; and a connector at said first end and said tether that
selectively connects to and disconnects from said translucent
ball.
14. The toy assembly according to claim 13, wherein said connector
at said first end of said tether engages said ball construct with
an interference fit.
15. The toy assembly according to claim 13, wherein said ball
construct has a diameter no greater than five centimeters.
16. The toy assembly according to claim 13, further including an
internal illumination unit disposed within said ball for internally
illuminating said ball construct.
17. The toy assembly according to claim 16, wherein said internal
illumination unit contains a motion activator that activates at
least one LED when said internal illumination unit experiences
motion.
18. A toy assembly comprising: a ball construct having a shell of
elastomeric material; a spring loaded spool disposed within said
shell of elastomeric material, a locking mechanism accessible on
said ball construct for selectively locking said spring loaded
spool into a fixed position; a finger loop; a tether anchored to
said spool and extending out of said ball construct to said finger
loop.
19. The toy according to claim 18, wherein said tether has a length
of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.
20. The toy assembly according to claim 18 further including an
internal illumination unit disposed within said ball construct for
internally illuminating said translucent ball.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/353,089, filed Nov. 16,
2016.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
[0002] In general, the present invention relates to toy balls that
are attached to a tether. More particularly, the present invention
relates to high bounce balls that are connected to tethers that
terminate with a finger loop.
2. Prior Art Description
[0003] The prior art is replete with toys and games that utilize a
tethered ball. In some prior art, the tether is used to anchor the
ball to a pole, a paddle or some other object. In other prior art,
the tether is used to connect a ball to a user's hand. If a ball
has a tether that is used to connect to a user's hand, the tether
is typically used to rebound the ball back into the hand after the
ball has been thrown or struck by the hand. In order to help the
ball rebound, the tether is typically either made of elastic
material or is wound on a spring loaded spool. Furthermore, the
tether is at least a couple of feet long so that the ball can
travel a significant distance from the hand before it begins to
rebound. Prior art toys that use elastic tethers are exemplified by
U.S. Pat. No. 729,473 to Wilson, entitled "Toy", and U.S. Pat. No.
5,181,726 to Piaget, entitled "Apparatus And Method Employing
Elastic Cords With Hand Balls".
[0004] If the tether is not elastic, some other mechanism must be
used to create a rebounding force. This can be accomplished by
winding the tether on a spring biased spool. The result is the
same. The ball on the tether can be thrown and the ball will recoil
back into the user's hand. Likewise, the tethered ball can be
dropped downwardly, wherein it will rebound back to the hand like a
yoyo. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,494 to
Ghandour, entitled "Returning Ball Toy".
[0005] Although tethered balls that rebound back to the hand are
useful for some play, they are not useful for all play. In the
present invention, the concept of a tethered ball is transformed
into a unique action skill toy. The action skill toy has a small
diameter ball that is joined to a static tether. The tether is
shortened to a length only slightly larger than the span of a hand.
The tethered ball of the skill game toy is designed not to be
thrown. Rather, the tethered ball is designed to be flipped and
twirled in one hand. The combination of ball size, ball composition
and tether length combine to produce an advancement in the art, as
is described and claimed below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The present invention is a skill toy that is juggled, spun,
and flipped in one hand. A ball construct is provided that has a
shell of elastomeric material. The shell has a maximum diameter no
greater than five centimeters. This enables the ball construct to
be held in the palm of a fully closed hand. It also enables the
ball construct to be held against the palm of an open hand with
just the user's thumb. The ball construct can be optically inert or
can be internally illuminated. If internally illuminated, the
translucent shell surrounds an internal illumination unit.
[0007] The ball construct is joined to a finger loop with a tether.
The tether has a first end and an opposite second end. The first
end of the tether connects to the ball construct. The second end of
the tether terminates with a finger loop. The tether has a length
between its first end and second end that is between ten
centimeters and fifteen centimeters. This enables the tether to
wrap around a user's hand from the center of the back of the hand
to the center of the palm.
[0008] The unique diameter of the ball construct and the unique
length of the tether enable the toy to be rapidly juggled and
otherwise manipulated in one hand.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] For a better understanding of the present invention,
reference is made to the following description of exemplary
embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a
toy assembly;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a combined cross-sectional view and schematic
showing the components within the ball construct of the toy
assembly;
[0012] FIG. 3 shows the toy assembly in conjunction with a user's
hand to illustrate the importance of length and size in proportion
to the user's hand;
[0013] FIG. 4 shows the toy assembly with a hand performing a first
skill manipulation; and
[0014] FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the toy assembly containing an
internal spool for altering the length of the tether; and
[0015] FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the toy assembly where in end
is interchangeable with a variety of terminations.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] Although the present invention toy assembly can be embodied
in many ways, only three embodiments of the present invention are
illustrated and described. The exemplary embodiments are selected
in order to set forth some of the best modes contemplated for the
invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely
exemplary and should not be considered limitations when
interpreting the scope of the appended claims.
[0017] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a toy assembly 10 is shown.
The toy assembly 10 has a ball construct 12 that is joined to a
flexible tether 14. The ball construct 12 preferably has an
external diameter D1 of between two centimeters and five
centimeters. The flexible tether 14 has a preferred length of
between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. The importance of
these dimension ranges is later explained.
[0018] The ball construct 12 has a spherical shell 16. The
spherical shell 16 of this embodiment is preferably made of a
translucent elastomeric material 17. The elastomeric material 17
has a high durometer, so as to provide the spherical shell 16 with
a high resiliency and the ability to rebound well when impacted
against a hard surface. Accordingly, it will be understood that the
ball construct 12 will bounce back with significant force when
impacted against a hard surface.
[0019] An electronic unit 18 is disposed within the spherical shell
16. The electronic unit 18 consists of a small circuit board 20
that supports a battery 22, a switch 24, a logic circuit 26 and at
least one LED 28. The switch 24 is preferably an accelerometer
switch or another such switch that can sense when the circuit board
20 is experiencing physical movement. The logic circuit 26 turns
the LEDs 28 on for a predetermined period of time, such as a few
seconds, each time movement is detected. Once the movement stops
and the predetermined period of time for activation has expired,
the logic circuit 26 turns the LEDs 28 off.
[0020] The LEDs 28 are bright enough to shine light through the
translucent elastomeric material 17 of the spherical shell 16. As
such, the spherical shell 16 becomes internally illuminated when it
experiences movement. The circuit board 20 can flash or sequence
the lighting of the LEDs 28 when the LEDs 28 are activated, therein
producing changing light patterns in the internal illumination of
the ball construct 12.
[0021] The ball construct 12 also includes a receptacle 30. The
receptacle 30 is sized to receive and engage a connector 32, which
is used to terminate the tether 14. The tether 14 can be a length
of string, but is preferably a length of flat woven ribbon, like
that of a sneaker shoelace. A flat ribbon adds a level of comfort
to the toy assembly 10, as is later explained. A tether 14 of flat
ribbon also provides a widened surface for a manufacturer's
graphics.
[0022] The tether 14 has two ends 34, 36. The ends 34, 36 of the
tether 14 are terminated with the connector 32 at one end and a
finger loop 40 at the opposite end. The connector 32 is dimensioned
and sized to engage the receptacle 30 that is formed into the ball
construct 12. The connector 32 preferably engages the receptacle 30
with an interference fit, wherein friction keeps the connector 32
firmly engaged within the receptacle 30. Releasable mechanical
features, such as threading or a tab lock can also be used instead
of a friction connection. Regardless, it will be understood that
the ball construct 12 will remain attached to the tether 14 and
will not inadvertently separate. However, a user can selectively
detach the ball construct 12 from the tether 14 when desired.
[0023] The opposite end of the tether 14 terminates with the finger
loop 40. The finger loop 40 can be a metal ring or just a simple
loop made from the same flexible material as the tether 14.
Regardless, the finger loop 40 is made with a fixed diameter D2
that remains constant no matter how much tension is applied to the
tether 14. The diameter D2 of the finger loop 40 is larger than
that of the average finger. As such, when placed around a finger,
the finger loop 40 will hang loose and is free to rotate about the
finger without much resistance. This is important to the intended
operation of the toy assembly 10, as is later explained.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2,
it will be understood that the toy assembly 10 is sized and
dimensioned to be a skill game that is held in one hand 50 of a
user. The ball construct 12 is kept in a size range so that the
ball construct 12 can be held in the palm 52 of the hand 50 when
the hand 50 is a closed. This size range corresponds to a maximum
diameter D1 on the ball construct 12 of between five centimeters
and ten centimeters. The length L1 of the tether 14 is held in a
size range that is just long enough so it can span part of the hand
50 from the back of the middle finger 54 around to the center of
the palm 52. This size range is between ten centimeters and fifteen
centimeters.
[0025] With the size of the ball construct 12 and the length of the
tether 14 described, a person can perform a variety of tricks and
other juggling manipulations with the toy assembly 10. By way of
example, one of the simplest tricks is a roundabout. To perform a
roundabout, a user places the finger loop 40 around the middle
finger 54 of the hand 50 with the tether 14 and the ball construct
12 extending from the back of the hand 50. The hand 50 is moved in
a reversing circular pattern, wherein the hand 50 first moves in a
clockwise direction and then reverses into a counter clockwise
direction. The finger loop 40 rotates freely on the middle finger
54. This causes the tether 14 and the ball construct 12 to whip
around the hand 50 and strike the center of the palm 52. Once the
ball construct 12 strikes the center of the palm 52, the ball
construct 12 can be held in place by the thumb. As the ball
construct 12 moves, it comes activated and internally
illuminated.
[0026] It will be understood that the size of the ball construct 12
and the length of the flexible tether 14 are critical to the
ability to perform a maneuver such as is described in FIG. 3. The
ball construct 12 must be large and heavy enough to swing the
tether 14, yet small enough to be held in place by a finger over
the palm 52. The tether 14 must be just long enough to enable the
tether 14 to wrap around half of a user's hand 50. If the tether 14
is too long or too short, it will over-wrap or under-wrap. Either
way, it will not position the ball construct 12 over the palm 52
where it can be grasped between the thumb and palm 52.
[0027] Since the maneuver involves swinging and wrapping the tether
14 around half the hand 50, a tether 14 with a flat profile is
preferred. A tether 14 with a flat profile prevents the tether 14
from rolling along a finger or the edge of the hand 50. A tether 14
with a flat profile also inhibits the tether 14 from cutting into
the hand 50 should the tether 14 come into contact with skin while
taut.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 4 another maneuver for the toy assembly 10
is shown. In this maneuver, the finger loop 40 is again placed
around the middle finger 54 with the tether 14 extending from the
back of the hand 50. The hand 50 is placed within the palm 52 down
on a flat surface, such as a tabletop. The hand 50 is then rapidly
moved back and forth in the directions of arrow 42 and arrow
44.
[0029] As the hand 50 moves back and forth, energy is transferred
to the tether 14 and the ball construct 12. The ball construct 12
will then begin to move in an arcuate path 46 from one side of the
hand 50 to the other. As the ball construct 12 strikes the flat
surface it rebounds in an opposite direction along the arcuate path
46. The result is that the ball construct 12 accelerates in speed.
If the movement of the hand 50 is rapid enough, the ball construct
12 can strike the flat surface on opposite sides of the hand 50
several times per second. The ball construct 12 appears as a blur
as it moves back and forth along the arcuate path 46 while being
activated by the movement and internally illuminated.
[0030] Every person has a different sized hand and moves their
hands in different manners. In order for many of the tricks and
maneuvers to work well, a resonance has to be achieved between the
movement of the hand 50 and the movement of the tether 14 with the
ball construct 12. Such a resonance can be best achieved if the
length L1 of the tether 14 is perfectly sized for the hand 50 and
for the movement of the hand 50.
[0031] Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of the present invention
toy assembly 60 is shown where the length of the tether 64 between
a ball construct 62 and the finger loop 70 can be selectively
adjusted.
[0032] In FIG. 5, a spool 65 is provided inside the ball construct
62. The spool 65 is spring loaded and has enough spring bias to
rewind all of the flexible tether 64 onto the spool 65. The spool
65 has a mechanical lock 66 that can prevent the spool 65 from
rotating and lock the spool 65 into a fixed position. The
mechanical lock 66 automatically locks the spool 65 in place unless
manually released. The mechanical lock 66 is released by depressing
a release button 68 that extends into the ball construct 62.
[0033] A user can depress the release button 68 and pull on the
finger loop 70. This will draw the tether 64 out of the ball
construct 62 by unwinding it from the spool 65. Once the tether 64
is drawn to a desired length, the release button 68 is freed and
the mechanical lock 66 will automatically lock the spool 65 in
place. The drawn length of the tether 64 will remain. To shorten
the tether 64, a user need only depress the release button 68 on
the ball construct 62. The tether 64 will then recoil onto the
spool 65 and only the finger loop 70 will remain exposed. In this
manner, the tether 64 can be drawn to any length up to its maximum
length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the toy assembly
71 is illustrated. In this embodiment, the flexible tether 74
terminates with a connector at both ends. In this manner, either
end of the flexible tether 74 can engage the ball construct 12
previously described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Since
both ends of the tether 74 are terminated with a connector 76, a
finger ring 80 has to be provided that is capable of engaging the
connector 76 on the tether 74.
[0035] The finger ring 80 is a rigid ring having a receptacle 82
for receiving the connector 76. Since the connector 76 on the
tether 74 can be selectively attached and detached from the
receptacle 82 on the finger ring 80, it will be understood that
other objects can be substituted in place of the finger ring 80
that can also engage the connector 76. For instance, a second ball
construct 12 can be attached to the tether 74. In this manner, the
tether 74 will span between two ball constructs 12. Likewise a
secondary object 84, such as a handle, can be configured with a
receptacle that receives the connector 76 on the tether 74.
[0036] It will be understood that the embodiments of the present
invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary
and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to
those embodiments. For instance, the ball construct can be made
with an oblong shape or a pear shape as a matter of design choice.
All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope
of the present invention as defined by the claims.
* * * * *