Patent Application
20070042874
This invention relates generally to pogo sticks and, more particularly, to pogo sticks having flashing lights which illuminate in response to bouncing on the pogo stick.
A pogo stick can be generally described as a bouncing apparatus. A user of a pogo stick steps on a foot rest extending from a housing unit, holds handles attached to the housing and hops repeatedly. The user bounces up and down as a piston is forced upward on a spring-like mechanism.
Pogo sticks first became popular in the 1920's. Since then, pogo sticks have been used both for leisure and entertainment purposes. For example, the New York hippodrome chorus girls performed entire shows on them, marriage vows were exchanged on them, exercise is enjoyed by many, jumping contests have been held, and world records for consecutive jumps have been set.
While pogo sticks have been used for entertainment purposes, audiences are focused on the user of the pogo stick rather than the pogo stick itself. For example, a show performed on a conventional pogo stick is entertaining for the viewer because of the actions of the pogo stick operator, rather than the actual pogo stick structure itself.
In the past, designs have included lights on the footpads of pogo sticks. This presented problems for both the observer and operator of the pogo stick. For example, lights on the footpad might be blocked by the operator's feet and prevent an observer from viewing and being entertained by the lights.
Additionally, footpad lights present a serious defect since they might become damaged due to their location near the operator's feet. It is common that while using a pogo stick the feet of the operator may occasionally slip off the foot pads and hit the lights located near or on the foot pads. Thus, it is not desirable to place lights on the footpads.
Further, lights placed near or on the location of the footpads can present a danger to the operator. When feet slip off the footpads during use and cause damage to footpad lights, a loose electrical connection or even an open circuit may result. These present dangerous conditions that could lead to electrical shock and other problems for the operator.
It is also known to position lights at the handlebars of a pogo stick to provide visual feedback to the operator. However, lights in this position are dangerous because the user of the pogo stick looks down instead of looking up at the field of view, making it all too easy to land in an awkward or hazardous position. Also, such lights are not intended for viewing by observers, who may have a hard time viewing such lights, as the operator's hands may be in the way.
It is desirable to provide illumination for pogo-type devices in order to address these and other problems. It is also desirable to add new creativity with pogo devices in order to keep prospective and current users interested in the item. Moreover, new features are needed to enhance the growth and enjoyment of pogo sticks and maintain popularity.
With the desire to advance the popularity of the pogo stick, various patterns of lights may be placed on the housing of a pogo stick. The patterns of lights may illuminate as the user of the pogo stick jumps up and down on the pogo stick. This increases the pleasure and enjoyment while promoting the entertainment uses for both the user/operator of the pogo stick and the observer/audience of the pogo stick.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a light up pogo stick is provided. The pogo stick comprises a housing unit, a foot support plate, a piston, a handlebar, a plurality of lights and a controlling unit. The housing unit includes a spring mechanism and has first and second ends. The foot support plate attaches to the first end of the housing unit. The piston couples to the spring mechanism and is capable of extension and retraction relative to the first end of the housing unit. The handlebar attaches to the second end of the housing unit. The plurality of lights are disposed on the housing unit between the first and second ends. The controlling unit is operatively connected to the plurality of lights for turning the lights on and off by impingement of the piston on the ground.
In one alternative, the housing unit comprises a shell substantially surrounding the spring mechanism and the plurality of lights are disposed on the shell. In another alternative, the housing unit comprises a pair of housing support members and the plurality of lights are arranged on the pair of housing support members. In another alternative, the pogo stick further comprises a themed representation disposed adjacent to the handlebars and the second end of the housing unit. The themed representation includes at least some of the lights thereon.
In one example, the plurality of lights are arranged in a spiral pattern. In another example, the plurality of lights is arranged at least one row. In yet another example, the lights illuminate as a result of the impingement of the piston on the ground. In an alternative example, the lights illuminate as a result of an absence of the impingement on the ground by the piston.
In an alternative, the controller includes a switching unit and an electronic processing unit electrically coupled to the switching unit. The electronic processing unit is programmable for different lighting combinations or patterns. In this case, the lights may be programmed for an exercise routine or a game.
In a further alternative, the lights comprise light emitting diodes. In this case, the lights may be different colors. Here, the electronic processing unit desirably lights the LEDs in predetermined color schemes.
In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a pogo stick structure is provided. The pogo stick structure comprises a housing unit, a foot support plate, a piston, a handlebar, a controller, lights and a foam covering. The housing unit contains a spring mechanism and has first and second ends. The foot support plate attaches to the first end of the housing unit. The piston is coupled to the spring mechanism and is operable to extend and retract relative to the first end of the housing unit. The handlebar attaches to the second end of the housing unit. The controller is disposed within the housing unit and has wires extending from the controller through a hole in the housing unit. The wires run along at least part of an exterior surface of the housing unit. The plurality of lights are electrically coupled to the controller by the wires. The foam covering at least partly encloses the exterior surface of the housing unit. The foam covering also conceals the wires.
In one alternative, the foam covering includes a plurality of holes therein. The plurality of holes align with the plurality of lights so that the lights are at least partly uncovered. In this case, the controller is preferably disposed within the second end of the housing unit. In an example, the lights are disposed on the exterior surface of the housing.
In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, a pogo stick structure is provided. The structure comprises a housing unit, a foot support plate, a spring mechanism, a piston, a handlebar, a plurality of lights, and a covering. The housing unit has first and second ends. The foot support plate is attached to the first end of the housing unit. The spring mechanism is coupled to the housing unit. The piston is coupled to the spring mechanism and is operable to extend and retract relative to the first end of the housing unit. The handlebar is attached to the second end of the housing unit. The plurality of lights are arranged in a predetermined pattern on an exterior surface of the housing unit. The plurality of lights are operable to illuminate as a result of impingement of the piston on the ground. The covering at least party covers the exterior surface of the housing unit and has holes positioned thereon to permit the lights to be seen.
In one alternative, the covering is a foam covering. In this case, the foam covering preferably substantially covers the housing unit from the first end to the second end.
Referring to
The housing unit 102 has a top and bottom and can be an elongated cylinder as shown, or alternatively can be an elongated rectangular rod or other configuration. Contained within the housing unit 102 is a spring type mechanism (not shown) capable of allowing the piston 108 to move up and down relative to the housing unit 102 and the foot support plate 106, which is preferably rigidly attached to the housing unit 102. The piston 108 and the spring type mechanism may be conventional configurations found in existing pogo sticks, such as the Maverick™ brand pogo stick made by SBI Enterprises, Inc of Ellenville, N.Y. Details of pogo sticks having enclosed coil springs are shown, for example, by U.S. Pat. No. 2,712,443 to Hohberger, U.S. Pat. No. 2,871,016 to Rapaport, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,116,061 to Gaberson, the disclosures of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. Of course, it should be understood that other spring mechanisms may be employed, such as pneumatic springs, elastomeric springs, etc.
During use an operator/user of the pogo stick 100 typically rests his or her feet on footpads 106a, b of the foot support plate 106 and grasps the handle bars 104. The operator/user then operates the pogo stick to hop or jump along the ground. Every time the piston 108 impinges on the ground, the spring type mechanism becomes constrained to provide energy for the next hop. Constraint of the spring type mechanism becomes relieved when the piston 108 leaves the ground in the next hop. The repeated extensions and retractions of the piston 108 enable the user to traverse the pogo stick 100 along the ground.
In accordance with one example of the present invention, within the foot support plate 106, a controller and power source are preferably contained that operate the plurality of lights 112 on the housing unit 102. The controller operates as a switching mechanism to control the lights, which are preferably light emitting diodes (“LEDs”). The power source may be, e.g., one or more replaceable or rechargeable batteries. By way of example only, the controller may comprise a flasher or switching modules such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,088 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,809,276, the entire disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. The controller and/or the power source may be placed in other locations of the pogo stick. For example, in one alternative, the controller and/or the power source may be contained within the upper portion of the housing unit 102, so as not to interfere with the spring type mechanism. In another alternative, the controller and/or power source may be disposed within one or both of the handle bars 104, or within the piston 108. Additionally, the controller and power source do not have to be disposed adjacent or within close range of each other, and instead may be placed in separate locations along the pogo stick 100. While the controller is described in relation to the present embodiment, it may be employed in any of the embodiments described herein.
When the piston 108 impinges the ground, the controller operates the LED lights 112, preferably causing them to illuminate. When force from the piston 108 impinging the ground is relieved, the controller preferably causes the LED lights 112 on the pogo stick to turn off. The controller can also be set up to work in the reverse manner from that described, i.e., no force from the piston 108 impinging the ground causes the LED lights 112 to turn on and a force from the piston 108 impinging the ground causes the LED lights 112 to turn off.
The plurality of LED lights 112 can be arranged on the housing unit 102 in a multitude of configurations. For example, one or more rows of LED lights may be placed on the housing unit 102 in a vertical or horizontal arrangement.
An alternative embodiment of a pogo stick 200 in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in
A controller and power source equivalent to that described in the embodiment of
The one or more lights 212, such as LED lights, may be displayed in various positions on the housing unit 202. Desirably, the shell 214 of the housing unit 202 has four sides. The LED lights 212 may be placed on the shell 214 and may appear on one or more sides of the shell 214. Desirably, the LED lights 212 may appear on the front and/or the back of the shell 214, so as to be unobstructed by the rider during normal operation.
The LED lights 212 can be arranged on the shell 214 in a multitude of configurations. For example, as pictured in
In this embodiment of the present invention, a controller and power source, equivalent to those described in the previous embodiments, are preferably contained in a location(s) on the pogo stick 300 that has enough room to accommodate the controller and power source. For example, the controller and power source can be contained within the upper portion of one or both of the housing support units 302 below the handlebars 304.
The plurality of LED lights 312 can be arranged on the housing support units 312 in a multitude of configurations, as discussed above. For example, as pictured in
Optionally, the housing support units 302 may each be, for instance, a hollowed out rod. LED lights 312 can be placed on any side or sides of the housing support units 302. For example, LED lights 312 may appear on one side of the housing support units 302, two sides, three sides, four sides, or every other side. The LED lights 312 appearing on any side may appear in any configuration herein enumerated.
As shown in
In any of the aforementioned embodiments, different color lights such as LEDs may be used in any of the configurations and arrangements. Colored arrangements may include one or more different colors of lights. Colors may include but are not limited to blue, red, yellow, orange, blue, green, infrared or any other color displayed with an LED or other light.
Referring to
These adjustments may be achieved in several ways. For instance, mechanical contacts such as DIP switches, electrical contacts, etc on the controller 513 may be used to manually program the lighting. Alternatively, the controller 513 may include a connector such as a USB connector, and the lighting pattern(s) may be updated by uploading a new program or instructions to the controller 513. Of course, a wireless link may provide communication between the controller 513 and a remote programming device, such as a desktop or laptop computer, PDA, cell phone, etc.
The partial see-through views of
While known controllers used in other technologies have been identified earlier,
In a preferred embodiment, the controller 20 includes the switch 22, the battery 24, and a processor 26 enclosed in plastic casing 30. The processor 26 is not limited to any particular device or component, and may comprise, by way of example only, logic gates, electronic switches, etc. in a package such as an integrated circuit. The processor 26 is connected by wires 29 to an array of LEDs 28. For purposes of the present discussion, in response to movement of the switch 22 to a closed position, the processor 26 is electrically powered by the battery 24. When activated, the processor 26 operates to illuminate the LEDs 28 in a selected flashing or other sequence, and then to turn off the LEDs 28. The processor and other components of this embodiment may be used with any pogo stick and with any lighting configuration or arrangement as described in any of the embodiments herein. Processors capable of operating LEDs in a flashing sequence may include, for example, integrated circuits commercially available under part no. 6608 from Cheerine Development Ltd., a corporation of Hong Kong having a place of business at Room 1217, North Tower, Concordia Plaza, No. 1 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
While described generally above, the switch 20 may operate as follows. In response to the impingement of the piston 508 on the ground or other force to the switch 22, the electrically conductive element 23 pivots in a pendulum-type motion so that it becomes engaged to the stationary contact 25. Upon engagement of the electrical conductive element 23 to the stationary contact 25, the battery 24 is connected to the processor 26 and the LEDs 28 are illuminated, as discussed above.
Once a lighting sequence has been completed, the processor 26 is effective to turn off the LEDs 28 and disconnect from the battery 24 even though the switch 22 may remain closed. This is preferably accomplished by the inclusion of a timing circuit in the processor 26 which disconnects the LEDs from the battery 24 after a predetermined period of time, regardless of the position of the switch 22, and then resets in preparation for another lighting sequence initiated by the switch 22. Timing circuits for this purpose are known in the art. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,848,009 and 6,280,045, the entire disclosures of which are hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The processor 26 is an optional part to the controller 20. The processor 26 may be located within the housing 30 or can be placed in another location on the pogo stick. The processor 26, such as an integrated circuit, microprocessor, microcontroller, DSP, ASIC, etc., may be programmed to turn the lights on and off in different patterns and at different times when activated by the controller 20. For example, LED lights can be turned on and off via the processor 26 by switching all lights off at once. Additionally, lights can be turned on and off one after another in consecutive order, every other light, two or more lights at a time, by row, or any pattern or configuration desired.
The processor 26 may be further programmed to turn the LED lights on and off corresponding to how high the pogo stick user jumps. For example, if the pogo stick operator jumps high, the processor 26 may determine the amount of force applied and cause most or all of the lights to light up. However, if the operator jumps lower only one light may light up. If the operator jumps to a moderate height half the LED lights may light, by way of example only.
LED lights on any of the aforementioned embodiments of the pogo stick may be placed on the pogo stick to serve several purposes and functions. The first of such purposes is for decoration and entertainment. Eyes of children and adults alike are drawn to flashing lights since they stand out among normal everyday objects. It is entertaining to watch lights flash on and off. Entertainment and decorative uses can be enhanced with different color lights placed in various arrays and configurations on any of the embodiments disclosed.
The processor 26 may also be programmed to illuminate lights to facilitate an exercise routine. Colored lights might act as a signal to the user to jump differently. One color light might indicate the user to jump side to side, while another color light can indicate the user to jump front and back, while yet another color light may indicate the user to jump high or low, slow or fast, for example.
In similar fashion, lights can be programmed by the processor 26 to facilitate games and challenges for children. Lights can be programmed so that the higher a user jumps the more lights will light up, for example. The higher a user jumps can be related to how high successive lights will light up. Such lights can also correspond to color to indicate how high a user jumps. Additionally, the more jumps a user has before falling off the pogo stick may facilitate new colors of lights lighting up. For example, if the pogo stick operator has between 0 and 10 jumps one color light may light. If the operator has between 11 and 20 jumps another color may light up. In more challenging pogo jumping, the lights on the housing may indicate to observers the type of trick being performed, the level of difficulty, the operator's name or nickname, etc.
Lights on the pogo stick that turn on and off with the aforementioned controller 20 and/or processor 26 may enable a user to operate the pogo stick at night and in dimly lighted areas. This allows a user to expand upon the time a pogo stick can be used. Instead of being limited to only jumping under daylight, a pogo stick user can now enjoy using a pogo stick at night time.
Lights can be programmed by the processor 26 so that some lights are on during the use/upward motion of the pogo stick. Those lights can be programmed to turn off and a different set of lights can turn on during the downward/resting motion of the pogo stick. Lights turning on and off in this manner can be programmed to do so in any color configuration and on/off pattern.
The lights may also be part of a display, such as an LED or LCD display. Depending upon the size and resolution of the display, it may be programmed or configured to display messages to onlookers when someone is riding the pogo stick. By way of example only, in the embodiment of
Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. For example, the patterns and colors of lights arranged on the housing unit are not limited to those described herein. Such arrangements described in any embodiment may be employed in any other embodiment in accordance with the invention. The themed pogo is not limited to the pogo pony or pogo unicorn, and may be employed in any type of themed pogo stick. LED or other lights may not only be placed on the housing unit but on other locations of the pogo stick. Additionally, housing units and members are not limited to the shapes or styles herein described, and may encompass any configurations employed with pogo-type devices. For example the housing unit or support members can be cylindrical, rectangular, hexagonal, or octagonal in shape. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.
