Patent Application
20150091736
The field of the invention generally relates to decorative flags. More specifically, the invention relates to a decorative flag that plays sounds with detected motion.
The sale and display of flags is prevalent in many locales. Flags may come in various shapes and sizes and are often displayed outside buildings or homes. It is also desirable to hear sounds, such as wind chimes, songs, or the like when the wind blows. To fill this need, many consumers hang wind chimes outside their homes or other buildings.
The invention relates to various exemplary embodiments, including articles such as flags that include motion detectors and that play sounds upon detected motion.
These and other features and advantages of the invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
Before the present invention is described in further detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described, and as such may, of course, vary. It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is not intended to be limiting, since the scope of the present invention will be limited only by the appended claims.
A number of materials are identified as suitable for various aspects of the invention. These materials are to be treated as exemplary and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can also be used in the practice or testing of the present invention, a limited number of the exemplary methods and materials are described herein.
It must be noted that as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
Referring to
The flag 10 can be implemented as a garden flag sized flag, but may also be implemented as smaller or larger flags. In such a case, the battery pack with circuitry 20, sensors 25, and speaker 28 would be scaled up or down as necessary for the particular application.
While it is contemplated that the flag will play sounds resembling traditional wind chimes when blowing in the wind, the particular sounds are not so limited. The circuitry 20 could be programmed to play virtually any sound, including, but not limited to, sounds of nature, alarms, songs, or the like. For example, the flag 10 could be designed as a pennant or banner for a particular sports team, in which case the circuitry 20 could be programmed to play the fight song for that particular team. Alternatively, the flag could be designed to be the flag 10 of a particular country or state, in which case the circuitry 20 could be programmed to play the national or state anthem of the country or state. Particular organizations could implement the flag 10 to include the organization's logo and a song or jingle associated with that organization.
An alternative embodiment of this product includes timer or clock circuitry that allows the flag to play a pre-recorded sound (e.g., wind chime noises) at pre-determined times, such as on the hour, every hour. This alternative embodiment could therefore be used to signal each hour by playing wind chimes sounds, clock sounds (e.g., ticking or chiming to sound on the hour), or other songs or sounds.
Numeric values and ranges are provided for various aspects of the implementations described above. These values and ranges are to be treated as examples only and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific exemplary implementations, it is evident to those skilled in the art that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, the invention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations that fall within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/884,195, filed Sep. 30, 2013, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61884195 | Sep 2013 | US |
