Patent Application
20120220184
Embodiments of the invention are defined by the claims below, not this summary. A high-level overview of various aspects of the invention are provided here for that reason, to provide an overview of the disclosure, and to introduce a selection of concepts that are further described below in the detailed-description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In brief and at a high level, this disclosure describes, among other things, a bubble blowing apparatus and systems and methods for use thereof. The bubble blowing apparatus includes a plurality of separate fluid reservoirs for holding one or more bubble solutions and a plurality of bubble blowing wands, each configured to access a respective reservoir. The apparatus further includes a motor coupled to a fan and to the plurality of wands. As such, the motor drives the fan to provide an air stream for blowing bubbles and rotates the plurality of wands. Thereby, heads or rings on the wands are drawn through respective reservoirs to obtain an amount of bubble blowing solution and are subsequently caused to pass through the air stream generated by the fan. The air stream causes bubbles to be produced from the bubble solution on the wands. In embodiments, each of the reservoirs is filled with a different color of bubble solution such that bubbles of a plurality of colors are produced by the apparatus.
Embodiments of the invention also include a solution container and pouring spout. The solution container includes a spill resistant membrane comprising a plurality of flaps extending across an opening of the container to substantially enclose a liquid, such as a bubble solution, within the container. The pouring spout is configured to be received by the container over the spill resistant membrane. The pouring spout includes an inverted, truncated cone feature extending from a bottom surface thereof that contacts the flaps of the spill resistant membrane and presses the flaps into the container. Thereby, the spill resistant membrane is opened to allow the liquid disposed within the container to be poured out through the pouring spout.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, and wherein:
The subject matter of embodiments of the invention is described with specificity herein to meet statutory requirements. But the description itself is not intended to necessarily limit the scope of claims. Rather, the claimed subject matter might be embodied in other ways to include different steps or combinations of steps similar to the ones described in this document, in conjunction with other present or future technologies. Terms should not be interpreted as implying any particular order among or between various steps herein disclosed unless and except when the order of individual steps is explicitly described.
Embodiments of the invention include apparatus for blowing bubbles. As is known in the art, bubbles can be produced by forming a membrane of a solution, such as for example a soap solution, across the interior of a ring and blowing a stream of air into the membrane. The air stream stretches the membrane to a point at which the membrane breaks free from the ring and forms a hollow sphere of solution.
Any solution capable of producing bubbles in the above described manner or by other methods known in the art is useable with embodiments of the invention. Such solutions include soap solutions and other specially formulated bubble-blowing solutions. In an embodiment, the solutions are colored with one or more dyes or other colorants to provide colored bubbles, such as the Washable Colored Bubbles solution available from Crayola, LLC. of Easton, Pa.
With reference to the figures and to
The housing 102 is also configured to provide an air pathway (not shown). The pathway flows from an air intake provided by a baffle 121, louvers, or other opening included along a rear portion of the housing 102 though the housing 102 and to one or more outlets 123 located at a front surface of the housing 102. The fan 106 is disposed within the air pathway interior to the housing 102 and, when rotated, produces an air stream that is emitted from the outlet 123. In an embodiment, the fan comprises any component(s) useable to produce a stream of moving air such as for example, and not limitation, a fan blade, a propeller, a compressed air source, a user's breath, or the like.
In an embodiment, the housing 102 includes a flip-up hood (not shown) that is removeably or pivotally coupled to a front portion of the housing 102. The flip-up hood encloses the reservoir unit 110 and the wand assembly 108. An aperture is included in the flip up hood and is aligned with the outlet 123 to allow bubbles to be blown therethrough. The housing 102 might also include a switch or sensor associated with the flip up hood that prevents operation of the apparatus 100 when the flip-up hood is not in a closed position.
The motor 104 comprises an electric motor as is known in the art. The motor 104 includes a drive axel 122 extending from each end thereof. As such, the motor 104 is configured to couple to the fan 106 at a first end of the axel 122 and to a gear train 124 at a second end of the axel 122. The motor 104 can be directly coupled to the fan 106 or a second gear train (not shown) might be employed. Other configurations and couplings between the motor 104, fan 106, and gear train 124 are contemplated and can be employed without departing from the scope of embodiments of the invention described herein.
The gear train 124 includes a plurality of intermeshed gears 126 housed between a first 128 and a second 130 portion of a gear housing. The gears 126 are configured to reduce the rotational speed imparted by the motor 104 to a desired rotational speed for the wand assembly 108, as described below. The gear train 124 also includes an output shaft 132 that couples to a drive shaft 134. The drive shaft 134 further couples to the wand assembly 108. One of skill in the art will recognize various alternative gear train configurations that might be employed without departing from the scope of embodiments of the invention described herein. In an embodiment, the gear train 124 includes one or more selectable gears that enable adjustment of a rotational speed of the wand assembly 108. In another embodiment, a second motor 104 is provided that is dedicated to driving the fan 106 with or without use of the gear train 124.
The wand assembly 108 comprises a plurality of wands, such as a first, second, and third wand 136, 138, and 140, respectively, as depicted in
The wands 136, 138, and 140 have an overall dished shape. The dished shape allows the heads 142 to enter the reservoir unit 110 in a generally vertical orientation while also assuming a generally upwardly facing orientation when encountering an air stream emitted through the outlet 123, as described more fully below. In an embodiment, the heads 142 assume an upward angle between about 0 and 90° or between about 45 and 60° when encountering the air stream. Additionally, the vertical entry of the heads 142 into the reservoirs reduces agitation of the solutions therein to limit or prevent foaming of the solutions.
The wands 136, 138, and 140 are further configured to couple together at their hubs 144; wand 138 coupling to wand 136 and wand 140 coupling to wand 138. When coupled, the wands 136, 138, and 140 are oriented such that heads 142 of each of the wands 136, 138, and 140 are not obstructed by heads 142 of the other wands 136, 138, and 140. The wand 136 is also configure to couple to the drive shaft 134 at its hub 144. In another embodiment, the wands 136, 138, and 140 are formed as a single component.
The reservoir unit 110 includes a plurality of reservoirs 146, 148, and 150 for holding one or more bubble solutions. The reservoirs 146, 148, and 150 are configured to follow the path of the heads 142 on respective wands 136, 138, and 140 as the wands 136, 138, 140 are rotated about their hubs 144. In embodiments, the reservoirs 146, 148, and 150 are also configured a deepest depth of liquid contained therein at the bottom of an arc followed by the heads 142 on the wands 136, 138, 140 such that collection of the liquid by the heads 142 is generally maximized. The remainder of the reservoirs 146, 148, 150 includes any desired volume or form. Three wands 136, 138, and 140 and three reservoirs 146, 148, and 150 are depicted herein, however, any number of wands 136, 138, and 140 or reservoirs 146, 148, and 150 may be employed in embodiments of the invention.
In an embodiment, the reservoir unit 110 is removably coupled to the housing 102. As such, the reservoir unit 110 may be removed to allow filling, emptying, or cleaning thereof.
With continued reference to
The motor 106 also rotates the gear train 124 causing the drive shaft 134 to be rotated at a speed less than that of the motor drive axel 122 and the fan 106. The drive shaft 134 further rotates the wand assembly 108 via a coupling with the hub 144 thereof.
Rotation of the wand assembly 108 causes each of the heads 142 to be sequentially lowered into a respective reservoir 146, 148, and 150 and into the bubble solutions therein. The heads 142 collect an amount of bubble solution which forms a membrane across the head 142 as the head 142 is drawn out of the solution and the reservoir 146, 148, or 150. The heads 142 are further rotated upward and pass in front of the outlet 123. In an embodiment, only one head 142 passes in front of the outlet at a time. The heads 142 are also leaned toward the housing 102 or angled to face in an upward direction as they are rotated toward the outlet as a result of the dished shape of the wands 136, 138, and 140. As such, the air stream emitted from the outlet contacts the membrane formed on the head 142 to form one or more bubbles as is known in the art. The air stream is angled upward similarly to the upward facing orientation of the heads 142 to provide loft or upward projection of the bubbles as they are blown from the head 142. The head 142 continues along the rotational path to repeat the process.
Further, the wands 136, 138, and 140 of the wand assembly 108 are coupled together such that their respective heads 142 are offset. Thus, as one head 142 leaves a position in front of the outlet a subsequent head 142 assumes such a position. Accordingly, a generally continuous or periodic stream of bubbles is produced. And where the reservoirs 146, 148, and 150 are filled with differently colored colored-bubble solutions, a plurality of differently colored bubbles is produced. For example, the reservoir 146 is filled with a colored bubble solution having a color A, the reservoir 148 with solution having a color B, and the reservoir 150 with solution having a color C. The heads 142 of the wand 136 are drawn into the reservoir 146, the wand 138 into the reservoir 148, and the wand 140 into the reservoir 150. A head 142 of the wand 136 then passes in front of the outlet 123 to produce bubbles of the color A, followed by a head 142 of the wand 138 which produces bubbles of the color B, and a head 142 of the wand 140 which produces bubbles of the color C. The cycle then repeats.
With reference now to
The reservoir unit 310 generally encloses a wand assembly 308 and includes a fill funnel 352 at an apex thereof. The reservoir unit 310 may include one or a plurality of separate internal reservoirs for holding one or a plurality of different bubble solutions as described above. The fill funnel 352 provides access to each of the one or more separate reservoirs within the reservoir unit 310 to allow filling of the reservoirs. The fill funnel 352 may be selectively adjustable to direct a solution being poured therein into a desired one of the one or more separate reservoirs.
Operation of the apparatus 300 follows the generally the same processes as described above. The operation is thus not further described here.
With reference now to
The apparatus 400 includes a housing 402, a wand assembly 408, and a reservoir unit 410 having three reservoirs 446, 448, and 450 disposed therein. The wand assembly 408 is configured as a single component having heads 442 offset in three planes corresponding with the three reservoirs 446, 448, and 450. Additionally, the heads 442 are offset from a central hub 444 of the wand assembly 408 in a variety of distances.
The housing 402 also includes one or more outlets 423 that encompass much of the paths followed by the heads 442. As such, bubbles can be continuously blown as the heads 442 traverse their respective paths.
The apparatus 400 is also depicted with three differently colored bubble solutions 454, 456, and 458. Bubbles 460, 462, and 464 produced from each of the solutions 454, 456, and 458 are depicted as being simultaneously or nearly simultaneously formed by the apparatus 400.
Referring now to
The reservoir unit 510 is configured to be releasably coupled to the housing 502 via a latch 568. The latch 568 is configured to interact with a corresponding feature (not shown) on the housing 502 to retain the reservoir unit 510 in position on the front of the housing 502. When released, the reservoir unit 510 drops down and/or forward to decouple from the housing 502. One or more physical guides, grooves, or similar features (not shown) might be employed to guide positioning and coupling of the reservoir unit 510 with respect to the housing 502 during coupling/decoupling.
The reservoir unit 510 also includes a receptacle 562, 564, 566 associated with each of the reservoirs 546, 548, and 550, respectively. The receptacles 562, 564, 566 allow the reservoirs 546, 548, 550 to be filled without removing the reservoir unit 510 from the housing 502. The receptacles 562, 564, 566 are configured to lie in generally the same horizontal plane as the reservoirs 546, 548, 550 such that receptacles 562, 564, 566 provide an indication of the amount of bubble solution in each of the reservoirs 546, 548, 550, e.g. the top edge of the receptacle 562, 564, 566 is at generally the same height as the top of the respective reservoir 546, 548, 550. As such, the receptacles 562, 564, 566 provide a visual indication that the associated reservoir 546, 548, 550 is full. The receptacles 562, 564, 566 may be coupled to a pathway (not shown) that provides a path from the receptacle to the respective reservoir 546, 548, 550 through which bubble solution may flow to the reservoir 546, 548, 550.
The reservoirs 546, 548, 550 in the reservoir unit 510 also include a bottom surface that is formed along a radius 570 corresponding to the radius of the wands 536, 538, 540, as depicted in
The apparatus 500 also includes a slip clutch 572 comprised of mating first and second knuckled plates 574 and 576 or crown gears, an axle 578 and a compression spring 580 as best depicted in
The second knuckled plate 576 is also disposed about the axle 578 and oriented such that the knuckles thereon intermesh with the knuckles on the first knuckled plate 574. The second knuckled plate 576 is in communication with the drive shaft 534 of the motor 504 either directly or via one or more intermediate gears 582. In an embodiment, the second knuckled plate 576 is integral to and extends from a surface of one of the gears 582.
The knuckles on the first and second knuckled plates 574, 576 are configured to intermesh when in a normal state. The knuckles also allow the first knuckled plate 574 to be forced away from the second knuckled plate 576 thereby compressing the spring 580 and allowing the first knuckled plate 574 to slip with respect to the second knuckled plate 576 when rotation of the first knuckled plate 574 is obstructed but, rotation of the second knuckled plate 576 continues. The first knuckled plate 574 is forced away from the second knuckled plate 576 by the first knuckled plate 574 remaining generally rotationally stationary and the second knuckled plate 576 continuing in rotation. Thereby, the knuckles of the first knuckled plate 574 ride up and over the knuckles of the second knuckled plate 576.
As such, when rotation of the wand assembly 508 is obstructed, such as when a user's finger contacts the wand assembly 508, the slip clutch 572 allows the first and second knuckled plates 574, 576 to slip with respect to one another. Thus, rotation of the motor 504 is not also obstructed. Additionally, the maximum torque that is produced by the wand assembly 510 is configurable based on the compressive force of the spring 580 and the dimensions of the knuckles on the first and second knuckled plates 574, 576. In an embodiment, the slip clutch 572 is designed to provide a maximum operating torque of the wand assembly 508 within a safe range for use of the apparatus 500 by children. In an embodiment, the slip clutch 572 also operates to protect the motor 504 and gear train formed by gears 582 when the motor is not in operation and when a rotational force is applied to the wand assembly 508.
Operation of the apparatus 500 follows the same basic processes as described above. As such, the operation is not further described here.
With reference to
The spill-resistant membrane 706 includes an outer ring 708 and a plurality of interior flaps 710. The outer ring 708 is suitably configured to fixedly couple with the neck 704 of the container 700. The coupling may be by friction fit, mating threads, glues, epoxies, welding, or any other desired means. The flaps 710 extend from the outer ring 708 inward toward a central opening thereof. The flaps 710 abut along their edges or overlap to form a generally continuous surface interior to the outer ring 708. As such, when the spill-resistant membrane 706 is coupled to the container 700, the flaps 710 sufficiently seal the interior of the container against spillage of liquid contents disposed therein. The flaps 710 are also sufficiently flexible to allow bending or flexing of the flaps 710 into the container when a force is applied thereto. The spill-resistant membrane 706 is constructed from one or more plastics, rubbers, vinyls, or the like.
The spout 702 includes a cylindrical base portion 712 having a wall 714 extending across its interior perpendicular to a central axis of the base portion 712. The wall 714 generally bisects the base portion 712 into a bottom 716 and top 718. The bottom 716 of the base portion 712 is configured to receive the neck 704 of the container 700 therein and includes threads 720 for coupling thereto. Extending from the wall 714 toward the bottom 716 is an inverted truncated cone 722. An aperture 724 is located at the apex of the cone 722 and extends through the wall 714.
The top 718 of the base portion 712 includes a cylindrical recess 726 and a flange 728 extending from the base portion 712. The cylindrical recess 726 is configured to accept the neck 704 of the container 700. Threads or one or more other features (not shown) may be included within the cylindrical recess 726 for coupling to the container 700 neck 704. The flange 728 extends from a portion of the perimeter of the base portion 712 to form a trough for directing a flow of liquid. A depression 730 may also be included at a terminating edge of the flange 728 to provide additional precision for directing the fluid flow and to reduce drips resulting therefrom.
When it is desired to pour fluids from the container 700 the bottom of the pouring spout 702 is threadably coupled to the neck 704 of the container 700. Threading the spout 702 onto the container 700 causes the truncated cone 722 to be pressed against the flaps 710. Thereby, the flaps 710 are depressed into the container 700 and the container 700 opened to allow fluids disposed therein to be poured out. The container 700 and spout 702 may then be tilted such that the fluids in the container 700 flow through the aperture 724, along the flange 728, and into a desired location.
When it is desired to close the container 700, the spout 702 is removed by unscrewing from the container 700. Removal of the spout 702 removes the truncated cone 722 from contact with the flaps 710, thereby allowing the flaps 710 to resume their previous position and close off the container 700. The spout 702 can then be inverted and placed on top of the container 700 such that the neck 704 of the container 700 is accepted into the cylindrical recess 726 and contacts the wall 714. Threads or other features may be utilized to couple the container 700 and spout 702 together or a friction fit might be employed. As such, the spout 702 can be stored in an inverted position resting atop the container. Such an orientation might also protect the spill-resistant membrane 706 from inadvertent contact with the flaps 710 that could lead to spills.
Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as well as components not shown, are possible without departing from the scope of the claims below. Embodiments of the technology have been described with the intent to be illustrative rather than restrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this disclosure after and because of reading it. Alternative means of implementing the aforementioned can be completed without departing from the scope of the claims below. Certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/446,262 filed Feb. 24, 2011, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61446262 | Feb 2011 | US |
