Aquatic motion display toy

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6652348
  • Patent Number
    6,652,348
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, January 15, 2002
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 25, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Banks; Derris H.
    • Francis; Faye
Abstract
An aquatic motion display toy is constructed to include a hollow holder base, a water pump, a bottom panel, an upper panel, a transparent face panel, and a splasher. The bottom panel, the upper panel, and the face panel are press-fitted into one another, defining a plurality of concentrically disposed annular water accumulation chambers such that water is accumulated in the water accumulation chambers and then forced out of corresponding jet nozzles at the face panel during running of the water pump. LEDs are provided in the upper panel and controlled to emit light toward fallen water during running of the water pump.
Description




BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates to display toys and, more particularly, to an aquatic motion display toy.




2. Description of the Related Art




Various aquatic motion display toys are commercially available. However, these aquatic motion display toys are commonly heavy and expensive. The maintenance work of the conventional aquatic motion display toys is also complicated because the user cannot easily detach the parts. Furthermore, when water falls from the high place, it may be plashed on to the surroundings.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is one object of the present invention to provide an aquatic motion display toy, which is inexpensive to manufacture and easy to maintain. It is another object of the present invention to provide an aquatic motion display toy, which has a compact structure. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an aquatic motion display toy, which prevents fallen water from splashing. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an aquatic motion display toy, which produces an attractive pattern of waterfall. It is still another object of the present invention to provide an aquatic motion display toy, which produces a lighting effect during generating of an attractive pattern of waterfall. According to one aspect of the present invention, the aquatic motion display toy is comprised of a hollow holder base holding an amount of water, a bottom panel fixedly mounted in the hollow holder base, an upper panel mounted in the hollow holder base above the bottom panel, a water pump adapted to pump water from the hollow holder base to water outlet pipes in the bottom panel and the upper panel, a transparent face panel mounted in the hollow holder base above the upper panel and defining with the upper panel a plurality of concentrically disposed annular water accumulation chambers, the face panel having a plurality of jet nozzles for output of water from the water accumulation chamber, and a splasher mounted in the holder base above the face panel for preventing splashing of fallen water. According to another aspect of the present invention, LEDs are provided in the upper panel and controlled to emit light toward fallen water during running of the water pump. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the upper panel comprises an annular bottom coupling flange press-fitted into an annular top coupling groove of the bottom panel, and a plurality of concentrically disposed annular top coupling grooves. The face panel comprises a plurality of annular bottom coupling flanges respectively press-fitted into the annular top coupling grooves of the upper panel, defining with the upper panel the aforesaid annular water accumulation chambers. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the jet nozzles of the face panel are tilted in direction toward the central axis passing through the center of the face panel.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is an exploded view of an aquatic motion display toy constructed according to the present invention.





FIG. 2

is another exploded view of the aquatic motion display toy when viewed from another angle according to the present invention.





FIG. 3

is a sectional view of the present invention showing the aquatic motion display toy in function.





FIG. 4

is a schematic drawing showing the water ejecting angle of the jet nozzles of the face panel for the aquatic motion display toy according to the present invention.





FIG. 4A

is an enlarged view of a part of FIG.


4


.





FIG. 5

is an elevational view of an alternate form of the splasher for the aquatic motion display toy according to the present invention.





FIG. 6

is an elevational view of another alternate form of the splasher for the aquatic motion display toy according to the present invention.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




Referring to FIGS. from


1


through


4


, an aquatic motion display toy in accordance with the present invention is generally comprised of a hollow holder base


1


, a water pump MP, a bottom panel


10


, an upper panel


20


, a face panel


30


, and a splasher


40


.




The water pump MP is mounted in the hollow holder base


1


. The bottom panel


10


is fixedly mounted in the hollow holder base


1


above the water pump MP, comprising a plurality of vertically extended water outlet pipes


13


respectively connected to the output port


17


of the water pump MP by a respective hose


15


, a center water hole


12


for enabling water to flow backwards from the space above the bottom panel


10


to the inside of the hollow holder base


1


below the bottom panel


10


, a plurality of wire holes


14


for the passing of electric wires, and an annular top coupling groove


11


disposed at the top side around the border. Further, a check valve


16


is respectively installed in each hose


15


to prohibit reverse flow of water.




The upper panel


20


is made of light permeable plastics and fixedly mounted in the hollow holder base


1


and spaced above the bottom panel


10


, comprising a center water hole


22


for enabling water to flow backwards from the space above the upper panel


10


to the inside of the hollow holder base i below the bottom panel


10


, a plurality of vertical water outlet pipes


23


respectively connected to the water outlet pipes


13


of the bottom panel


10


, a center coupling stub tube


220


downwardly protruded from the bottom sidewall around the center water hole


22


and press-fitted into the center water hole


22


of the bottom panel


10


, an annular bottom coupling flange


21


press-fitted into the annular top coupling groove


11


of the bottom panel


10


, a plurality of LED holes


250


, a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes)


26


respectively mounted in the LED holes


250


, a plurality of rounded transparent shades


25


respectively covered on the LED holes


250


over the LEDs


26


at the top side, and a plurality of annular top coupling grooves


24


and


240


of different diameters concentrically disposed in the top sidewall. The electric wires of the LEDs


26


are extended through the wire holes


14


of the bottom panel


10


, and then gathered together and extended through a bottom wire hole (not shown) to the bottom side of the hollow holder base


1


for connection to power source.




The face panel


30


is made of transparent plastics and fixedly mounted in the hollow holder base


1


above the upper panel


20


, comprising a center water hole


32


for enabling water to flow backwards from the space above the face panel


30


to the inside of the hollow holder base


1


below the bottom panel


10


, a stub center tube


320


downwardly protruded from the bottom sidewall around the center water hole


32


and press-fitted into the center coupling stub tube


220


of the upper panel


20


for guiding water from the space above the face panel


30


to the space below the bottom panel


10


, a plurality of annular bottom coupling flanges


31


of different diameters protruded from the bottom sidewall around the stub center tube


320


and respectively press-fitted into the annular top coupling grooves


24


and


240


of the upper panel


20


, and a plurality of jet nozzles


33


. After installation of the face panel


30


in the hollow holder base


1


, the annular bottom coupling flanges


31


define with the bottom sidewall of the face panel


30


and the top sidewall of the upper panel


20


a plurality of annular water accumulation chambers W where water from the water outlet pipes


23


is accumulated and then forced out of the jet nozzles


33


. Preferably, the jet nozzles


33


are tilted in direction toward the central axis passing through the center of the face panel


30


.




The splasher


40


is fixedly mounted in the hollow holder base


1


above the face panel


30


, having a plurality of openings


41


for buffering fallen water.




Referring to

FIG. 3

again, the hollow holder base


1


holds a certain amount of water below the bottom panel


10


. The water pump MP is a submerged pump that pumps water from the hollow holder base


1


to the hoses


15


and then the water outlet pipes


13


and


23


and then into the water accumulation chambers W. When sufficient water pressure is produced in the water accumulation chambers W, water is forced out of the jet nozzles


33


, showing a pattern of waterfall. Fallen water is then guided through the stub center tube


320


of the face panel


30


and the stub center tube


220


of the upper panel


20


to the inside of the hollow holder base


1


. During the operation of the water pump MP, the LEDs


26


are driven to emit light, producing a lighting effect.





FIG. 5

shows an alternate form of the splasher. According to this alternate form, the splasher is formed of a plurality of parallel wire rods


51


connected to one another, defining a plurality of narrow, elongated, parallel openings


52


.





FIG. 6

shows another alternate form of the splasher. According to this alternate form, the splasher


53


is comprised of a wire gauze filter


54


.




Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.



Claims
  • 1. An aquatic motion display toy comprising:a hollow holder base holding an amount of water; a water pump mounted in said hollow holder base and adapted to pump water from said hollow holder base to a water output port thereof; a bottom panel fixedly mounted in said hollow holder base above said water pump, said bottom panel comprising a plurality of vertically extended water outlet pipes respectively connected to the water output port of said water pump, and a center water hole for enabling water to flow backwards from a space above said bottom panel to the inside of said hollow holder base below said bottom panel; an upper panel made of light permeable plastics and fixedly mounted in said hollow holder base above said bottom panel, said upper panel comprising a plurality of vertical water outlet pipes respectively connected to the water outlet pipes of said bottom panel, and a center coupling stub tube press-fitted into the center water hole of said bottom panel for guiding water from the space above said upper panel to the inside of said hollow holder base below said bottom panel; and a face panel made of transparent plastics and fixedly mounted in said hollow holder base above said upper panel, said face panel comprising a stub center tube press-fitted into the center coupling stub tube of said upper panel for guiding water from the space above said face panel to the inside of said hollow holder base below said bottom panel, and a plurality of jet nozzles for output of water from water accumulation chambers to the space above said face panel; wherein a splasher fixedly is mounted in said hollow holder base above said face panel for buffering fallen water.
  • 2. The aquatic motion display toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein:said bottom panel comprises an annular top coupling groove disposed in a top sidewall thereof around the border; said upper panel comprises an annular bottom coupling flange protruded from a bottom sidewall thereof around the border and press-fitted into the annular top coupling groove of said bottom panel, a plurality of LED holes, a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) respectively mounted in said LED holes, a plurality of rounded transparent shades respectively covered on said LED holes over said LEDs, and a plurality of annular top coupling grooves of different diameters concentrically disposed in a top sidewall thereof; said face panel comprises a plurality of annular bottom coupling flanges of different diameters concentrically protruded from a bottom sidewall thereof and respectively press-fitted into the annular top coupling grooves of said upper panel and defining with said upper panel said water accumulation chambers.
  • 3. The aquatic motion display toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said splasher is formed of a wire gauze filter.
  • 4. The aquatic motion display toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said splasher is a grille.
  • 5. The aquatic motion display toy as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a plurality of hoses respectively connected between the water output port of said water pump and the water outlet pipes of said bottom panel, and a plurality of check valves respectively installed in said hoses to prohibit reverse flow of water.
  • 6. The aquatic motion display toy as claimed in claim 1, wherein said jet nozzles are tilted in direction toward the central axis passing through the center of said face panel.
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
3773258 Hruby, Jr. Nov 1973 A
4890838 Rudell et al. Jan 1990 A
4892250 Fuller et al. Jan 1990 A
5127366 Kim Jul 1992 A
5862984 Chang Jan 1999 A
6375090 Beidokhti Apr 2002 B1
6505782 Yen Jan 2003 B1