Skill Game Ball with Short Finger Tether

Abstract

A skill toy that is juggled, spun, and otherwise manipulated with one hand. The ball construct is joined to a finger loop with a tether. The tether has a length that is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. This enables the tether to wrap around half a user's hand from the center of the back of the hand to the palm. The diameter of the ball construct and the unique length of the tether enable the toy to be rapidly juggled in a novel manner.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

In general, the present invention relates to toy balls that are attached to a tether. More particularly, the present invention relates to high bounce balls that are connected to tethers that terminate with a finger loop.

2. Prior Art Description

The prior art is replete with toys and games that utilize a tethered ball. In some prior art, the tether is used to anchor the ball to a pole, a paddle or some other object. In other prior art, the tether is used to connect a ball to a user's hand. If a ball has a tether that is used to connect to a user's hand, the tether is typically used to rebound the ball back into the hand after the ball has been thrown or struck by the hand. In order to help the ball rebound, the tether is typically either made of elastic material or is wound on a spring loaded spool. Furthermore, the tether is at least a couple of feet long so that the ball can travel a significant distance from the hand before it begins to rebound. Prior art toys that use elastic tethers are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 729,473 to Wilson, entitled “Toy”, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,726 to Piaget, entitled “Apparatus And Method Employing Elastic Cords With Hand Balls”.

If the tether is not elastic, some other mechanism must be used to create a rebounding force. This can be accomplished by winding the tether on a spring biased spool. The result is the same. The ball on the tether can be thrown and the ball will recoil back into the user's hand. Likewise, the tethered ball can be dropped downwardly, wherein it will rebound back to the hand like a yoyo. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,418,494 to Ghandour, entitled “Returning Ball Toy”.

Although tethered balls that rebound back to the hand are useful for some play, they are not useful for all play. In the present invention, the concept of a tethered ball is transformed into a unique action skill toy. The action skill toy has a small diameter ball that is joined to a static tether. The tether is shortened to a length only slightly larger than the span of a hand. The tethered ball of the skill game toy is designed not to be thrown. Rather, the tethered ball is designed to be flipped and twirled in one hand. The combination of ball size, ball composition and tether length combine to produce an advancement in the art, as is described and claimed below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is a skill toy that is juggled, spun, and flipped in one hand. A ball construct is provided that has a shell of elastomeric material. The shell has a maximum diameter no greater than five centimeters. This enables the ball construct to be held in the palm of a fully closed hand. It also enables the ball construct to be held against the palm of an open hand with just the user's thumb. The ball construct can be optically inert or can be internally illuminated. If internally illuminated, the translucent shell surrounds an internal illumination unit.

The ball construct is joined to a finger loop with a tether. The tether has a first end and an opposite second end. The first end of the tether connects to the ball construct. The second end of the tether terminates with a finger loop. The tether has a length between its first end and second end that is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. This enables the tether to wrap around a user's hand from the center of the back of the hand to the center of the palm.

The unique diameter of the ball construct and the unique length of the tether enable the toy to be rapidly juggled and otherwise manipulated in one hand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a toy assembly;

FIG. 2 is a combined cross-sectional view and schematic showing the components within the ball construct of the toy assembly;

FIG. 3 shows the toy assembly in conjunction with a user's hand to illustrate the importance of length and size in proportion to the user's hand;

FIG. 4 shows the toy assembly with a hand performing a first skill manipulation; and

FIG. 5 shows an embodiment of the toy assembly containing an internal spool for altering the length of the tether; and

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment of the toy assembly where in end is interchangeable with a variety of terminations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Although the present invention toy assembly can be embodied in many ways, only three embodiments of the present invention are illustrated and described. The exemplary embodiments are selected in order to set forth some of the best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered limitations when interpreting the scope of the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a toy assembly 10 is shown. The toy assembly 10 has a ball construct 12 that is joined to a flexible tether 14. The ball construct 12 preferably has an external diameter D1 of between two centimeters and five centimeters. The flexible tether 14 has a preferred length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters. The importance of these dimension ranges is later explained.

The ball construct 12 has a spherical shell 16. The spherical shell 16 of this embodiment is preferably made of a translucent elastomeric material 17. The elastomeric material 17 has a high durometer, so as to provide the spherical shell 16 with a high resiliency and the ability to rebound well when impacted against a hard surface. Accordingly, it will be understood that the ball construct 12 will bounce back with significant force when impacted against a hard surface.

An electronic unit 18 is disposed within the spherical shell 16. The electronic unit 18 consists of a small circuit board 20 that supports a battery 22, a switch 24, a logic circuit 26 and at least one LED 28. The switch 24 is preferably an accelerometer switch or another such switch that can sense when the circuit board 20 is experiencing physical movement. The logic circuit 26 turns the LEDs 28 on for a predetermined period of time, such as a few seconds, each time movement is detected. Once the movement stops and the predetermined period of time for activation has expired, the logic circuit 26 turns the LEDs 28 off.

The LEDs 28 are bright enough to shine light through the translucent elastomeric material 17 of the spherical shell 16. As such, the spherical shell 16 becomes internally illuminated when it experiences movement. The circuit board 20 can flash or sequence the lighting of the LEDs 28 when the LEDs 28 are activated, therein producing changing light patterns in the internal illumination of the ball construct 12.

The ball construct 12 also includes a receptacle 30. The receptacle 30 is sized to receive and engage a connector 32, which is used to terminate the tether 14. The tether 14 can be a length of string, but is preferably a length of flat woven ribbon, like that of a sneaker shoelace. A flat ribbon adds a level of comfort to the toy assembly 10, as is later explained. A tether 14 of flat ribbon also provides a widened surface for a manufacturer's graphics.

The tether 14 has two ends 34, 36. The ends 34, 36 of the tether 14 are terminated with the connector 32 at one end and a finger loop 40 at the opposite end. The connector 32 is dimensioned and sized to engage the receptacle 30 that is formed into the ball construct 12. The connector 32 preferably engages the receptacle 30 with an interference fit, wherein friction keeps the connector 32 firmly engaged within the receptacle 30. Releasable mechanical features, such as threading or a tab lock can also be used instead of a friction connection. Regardless, it will be understood that the ball construct 12 will remain attached to the tether 14 and will not inadvertently separate. However, a user can selectively detach the ball construct 12 from the tether 14 when desired.

The opposite end of the tether 14 terminates with the finger loop 40. The finger loop 40 can be a metal ring or just a simple loop made from the same flexible material as the tether 14. Regardless, the finger loop 40 is made with a fixed diameter D2 that remains constant no matter how much tension is applied to the tether 14. The diameter D2 of the finger loop 40 is larger than that of the average finger. As such, when placed around a finger, the finger loop 40 will hang loose and is free to rotate about the finger without much resistance. This is important to the intended operation of the toy assembly 10, as is later explained.

Referring to FIG. 3 in conjunction with FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, it will be understood that the toy assembly 10 is sized and dimensioned to be a skill game that is held in one hand 50 of a user. The ball construct 12 is kept in a size range so that the ball construct 12 can be held in the palm 52 of the hand 50 when the hand 50 is a closed. This size range corresponds to a maximum diameter D1 on the ball construct 12 of between five centimeters and ten centimeters. The length L1 of the tether 14 is held in a size range that is just long enough so it can span part of the hand 50 from the back of the middle finger 54 around to the center of the palm 52. This size range is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.

With the size of the ball construct 12 and the length of the tether 14 described, a person can perform a variety of tricks and other juggling manipulations with the toy assembly 10. By way of example, one of the simplest tricks is a roundabout. To perform a roundabout, a user places the finger loop 40 around the middle finger 54 of the hand 50 with the tether 14 and the ball construct 12 extending from the back of the hand 50. The hand 50 is moved in a reversing circular pattern, wherein the hand 50 first moves in a clockwise direction and then reverses into a counter clockwise direction. The finger loop 40 rotates freely on the middle finger 54. This causes the tether 14 and the ball construct 12 to whip around the hand 50 and strike the center of the palm 52. Once the ball construct 12 strikes the center of the palm 52, the ball construct 12 can be held in place by the thumb. As the ball construct 12 moves, it comes activated and internally illuminated.

It will be understood that the size of the ball construct 12 and the length of the flexible tether 14 are critical to the ability to perform a maneuver such as is described in FIG. 3. The ball construct 12 must be large and heavy enough to swing the tether 14, yet small enough to be held in place by a finger over the palm 52. The tether 14 must be just long enough to enable the tether 14 to wrap around half of a user's hand 50. If the tether 14 is too long or too short, it will over-wrap or under-wrap. Either way, it will not position the ball construct 12 over the palm 52 where it can be grasped between the thumb and palm 52.

Since the maneuver involves swinging and wrapping the tether 14 around half the hand 50, a tether 14 with a flat profile is preferred. A tether 14 with a flat profile prevents the tether 14 from rolling along a finger or the edge of the hand 50. A tether 14 with a flat profile also inhibits the tether 14 from cutting into the hand 50 should the tether 14 come into contact with skin while taut.

Referring to FIG. 4 another maneuver for the toy assembly 10 is shown. In this maneuver, the finger loop 40 is again placed around the middle finger 54 with the tether 14 extending from the back of the hand 50. The hand 50 is placed within the palm 52 down on a flat surface, such as a tabletop. The hand 50 is then rapidly moved back and forth in the directions of arrow 42 and arrow 44.

As the hand 50 moves back and forth, energy is transferred to the tether 14 and the ball construct 12. The ball construct 12 will then begin to move in an arcuate path 46 from one side of the hand 50 to the other. As the ball construct 12 strikes the flat surface it rebounds in an opposite direction along the arcuate path 46. The result is that the ball construct 12 accelerates in speed. If the movement of the hand 50 is rapid enough, the ball construct 12 can strike the flat surface on opposite sides of the hand 50 several times per second. The ball construct 12 appears as a blur as it moves back and forth along the arcuate path 46 while being activated by the movement and internally illuminated.

Every person has a different sized hand and moves their hands in different manners. In order for many of the tricks and maneuvers to work well, a resonance has to be achieved between the movement of the hand 50 and the movement of the tether 14 with the ball construct 12. Such a resonance can be best achieved if the length L1 of the tether 14 is perfectly sized for the hand 50 and for the movement of the hand 50.

Referring to FIG. 5, an embodiment of the present invention toy assembly 60 is shown where the length of the tether 64 between a ball construct 62 and the finger loop 70 can be selectively adjusted.

In FIG. 5, a spool 65 is provided inside the ball construct 62. The spool 65 is spring loaded and has enough spring bias to rewind all of the flexible tether 64 onto the spool 65. The spool 65 has a mechanical lock 66 that can prevent the spool 65 from rotating and lock the spool 65 into a fixed position. The mechanical lock 66 automatically locks the spool 65 in place unless manually released. The mechanical lock 66 is released by depressing a release button 68 that extends into the ball construct 62.

A user can depress the release button 68 and pull on the finger loop 70. This will draw the tether 64 out of the ball construct 62 by unwinding it from the spool 65. Once the tether 64 is drawn to a desired length, the release button 68 is freed and the mechanical lock 66 will automatically lock the spool 65 in place. The drawn length of the tether 64 will remain. To shorten the tether 64, a user need only depress the release button 68 on the ball construct 62. The tether 64 will then recoil onto the spool 65 and only the finger loop 70 will remain exposed. In this manner, the tether 64 can be drawn to any length up to its maximum length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.

Referring to FIG. 6, another embodiment of the toy assembly 71 is illustrated. In this embodiment, the flexible tether 74 terminates with a connector at both ends. In this manner, either end of the flexible tether 74 can engage the ball construct 12 previously described with reference to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Since both ends of the tether 74 are terminated with a connector 76, a finger ring 80 has to be provided that is capable of engaging the connector 76 on the tether 74.

The finger ring 80 is a rigid ring having a receptacle 82 for receiving the connector 76. Since the connector 76 on the tether 74 can be selectively attached and detached from the receptacle 82 on the finger ring 80, it will be understood that other objects can be substituted in place of the finger ring 80 that can also engage the connector 76. For instance, a second ball construct 12 can be attached to the tether 74. In this manner, the tether 74 will span between two ball constructs 12. Likewise a secondary object 84, such as a handle, can be configured with a receptacle that receives the connector 76 on the tether 74.

It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. For instance, the ball construct can be made with an oblong shape or a pear shape as a matter of design choice. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A toy assembly comprising: a ball construct having a translucent shell of elastomeric material that surrounds an internal illumination unit, wherein said translucent shell has a maximum diameter no greater than five centimeters;a finger loop;a tether having a first end and an opposite second end, wherein said first end of said tether connects to said ball construct and said second end of said tether terminates with said finger loop, wherein said tether has a length between said first end and said second end that is between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.

2. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein a receptacle is disposed in said translucent shell for selectively receiving said first end of said tether.

3. The toy assembly according to claim 2, wherein said first end of said tether terminates with a connector that is received and engaged by said receptacle in said translucent shell.

4. The toy assembly according to claim 3, wherein said connector engages said receptacle with a friction fit connection.

5. The toy assembly according to claim 1, further including a spool disposed within said translucent shell, wherein said first end of said tether is affixed to said spool and said tether can be selectively wound onto said spool.

6. The toy assembly according to claim 5, further including a manually operated lock for selectively locking said spool.

7. The toy assembly according to claim 5, wherein said spool is spring biased to wind said tether onto said spool.

8. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said internal illumination unit includes a battery, a logic circuit, and at least one LED.

9. The toy assembly according to claim 8, wherein said internal illumination unit contains a motion activator that activates said at least one LED when said internal illumination unit experiences motion.

10. The toy assembly according to claim 9, wherein said logic circuit causes said at least one LED to remain active for a predetermined period of time after said motion.

11. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said tether is configured as a flat ribbon.

12. The toy assembly according to claim 1, wherein said second end of said tether is selectively detachable from said finger loop.

13. A toy assembly comprising: a ball construct;a finger loop;a ribbon tether having a first end connected to said translucent ball and a second end connected to said finger loop, wherein said ribbon tether has a length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters; anda connector at said first end and said tether that selectively connects to and disconnects from said translucent ball.

14. The toy assembly according to claim 13, wherein said connector at said first end of said tether engages said ball construct with an interference fit.

15. The toy assembly according to claim 13, wherein said ball construct has a diameter no greater than five centimeters.

16. The toy assembly according to claim 13, further including an internal illumination unit disposed within said ball for internally illuminating said ball construct.

17. The toy assembly according to claim 16, wherein said internal illumination unit contains a motion activator that activates at least one LED when said internal illumination unit experiences motion.

18. A toy assembly comprising: a ball construct having a shell of elastomeric material;a spring loaded spool disposed within said shell of elastomeric material,a locking mechanism accessible on said ball construct for selectively locking said spring loaded spool into a fixed position;a finger loop;a tether anchored to said spool and extending out of said ball construct to said finger loop.

19. The toy according to claim 18, wherein said tether has a length of between ten centimeters and fifteen centimeters.

20. The toy assembly according to claim 18 further including an internal illumination unit disposed within said ball construct for internally illuminating said translucent ball.