1. Field of the Invention
A dreidel or top is equip with flashing lights that can be turned on or off with the handle, or turned on or off automatically while spinning.
2. Description of the Related Art
A dreidel (Yiddish: dreydl, Hebrew: Sevivon) is a four-sided top, played with during the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah. The dreidel is used for a gambling game similar to Teetotum. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: (Nun), (Gimel), (Hei), (Shin), which together form the acronym for “ ” (Nes Gadol Haya Sham—“a great miracle happened there”). These letters also form a mnemonic for the rules of a gambling game played with a dreidel: Nun stands for the Yiddish word nisht (“nothing”), Hei stands for halb (“half”), Gimel for gants (“all”), and Shin for shteln (“put”). In the state of Israel, the fourth side of most dreidels is inscribed with the letter (Pei), rendering the acronym, , Nes Gadol Haya Po—“A great miracle happened here” referring to the miracle occurring in the land of Israel. Some stores in Hasidic neighborhoods may sell the traditional Shin dreidels.
After lighting the Hanukkah menorah, it is customary in many homes to play the dreidel game: Each player starts out with 10 or 15 coins (real or of chocolate), nuts, raisins, candies other markers, and places one marker in the “pot.” The first player spins the dreidel, and depending on which side the dreidel falls on, either wins a marker from the pot or gives up part of his stash. The code (based on a Yiddish version of the game) is as follows:
Nun—nisht—“nothing”—nothing happens and the next player spins
Gimel—gants—“all”—the player takes the entire pot
Hey—halb—“half”—the player takes half of the pot, rounding up if there is an odd number
Shin—shtel ayn—“put in”—the player puts one marker in the pot.
However, dreidels (and similar top devices of the related art) have drawbacks. Dreidels are usually formed from solid materials like clay or wood. Even if brightly painted, these dreidels may lack the visual excitement that children and adults currently expect from modern toys and gaming devices. Also, people unfamiliar with the Hebrew alphabet may be unable to understand the code.
An object of the invention is to provide a top device or dreidel that overcomes the disadvantages of the related art top devices or dreidels.
The invention, in part, pertains to a spinning device or dreidel that includes a rotatable body having four sides, the rotatable body including at least one flashing device; each of the four sides having a transparent or translucent window; and a handle protruding from the rotatable body.
In the invention, there can be a letter affixed to each of the four sides. The letter can be a Hebrew letter selected from (Nun), (Gimel), (Hei), (Shin) or (Pei). The handle can be configured to turn the flashing device on or off. The flashing device can include at least one light emitting element, at least one battery and a flasher circuit. The spinning device can further include a pointed end arrange at an end of the spinning device opposite from the handle, and the pointed end can includes a weight.
In the invention, the flashing device can include four lamps arranged so that each lamp corresponds to one of the four sides of the flashing device, and each of the four lamps has a different color from the others. The flashing device can include a position sensor configured to flash only the lamp corresponding to the side facing upward when a play is over and the spinning device is at rest.
The invention, in part, pertains to dreidel that includes a rotatable body having four sides, the rotatable body including at least one flashing device; each of the four sides having a transparent or translucent window, each window being marked with a Hebrew letter selected from the group consisting of (Nun), (Gimel), (Hei), (Shin) and (Pei); and a handle protruding from the rotatable body, the handle being configured to turn the flashing device on and off.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the embodiments of the invention.
Advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
The flasher 12 includes at least one battery 14, an electronic flashing circuit 16 and at least one lamp 18. The lamp 18 can be a conventional light bulb type of light. Preferably, the lamp 18 is a light emitting diode (LED). The LED can be any color such as white, red, blue, green yellow, etc. When more than one LED is used, different colors can be utilized. For example, traditional colors such as blue and white can be used. In one embodiment, the colors blue and white can flash alternately.
There can be more than one battery 12 in the flasher 12 so as to provide brightness and long life. The batteries can typically be button cell type batteries. Examples of button cells include alkaline, lithium, mercury oxide and silver oxide cells. Frequently, two batteries are used. In another embodiment, four batteries are used so that they can be symmetrically arranged to help balance the dreidel.
Also, the dreidel may have a motion sensor so that it may be turned on or off automatically during play, when the device senses motion, i.e., spinning. The motion sensor can be in addition to the handle that turns the dreidel and off. On the other hand, the motion sensor can be used instead of the handle to turn the dreidel on an off.
The dreidel can also include other devices to enhance enjoyment. These devices can include musical devices, aroma generating devices, buzzers, whistles, etc.
It is to be understood that the foregoing descriptions and specific embodiments shown herein are merely illustrative of the best mode of the invention and the principles thereof, and that modifications and additions may be easily made by those skilled in the art without departing for the spirit and scope of the invention, which is therefore understood to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100120324 A1 | May 2010 | US |