BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Prior Art
Poi is a form of juggling with balls on ropes, held in the hands and swung in various circular patterns, similar to club-twirling. It was originally practiced by the M aori people of New Zealand (the word poi means “ball” in M aori). Women used it as an exercise to increase flexibility of the wrists and hands, and men used it to increase strength in the arms and coordination. It developed into a traditional performance art practiced mostly by women.
The problem of traditional poi is that the balls are too heavy, hard and large. Traditional poi can be dangerous to the user for these reasons. The traditional poi drag through the air when swinging, creating poor aerodynamic control over the swinging toy.
Since then people have used foam balls (Toy Poi) as a swinging toy. The foam balls still drag in the air when in use, diminishing the aerodynamic control over the swinging toy.
2. Objects and Advantages
Accordingly, several objects and advantages of the invention are the use of a toy plane for swinging, the use of a stretch band to increase control of a swinging toy, the use of a swivel to avoid twisting of a swinging toy plane.
By improving the aerodynamics of the swinging toy the new invention provides a greater amount of enjoyment for the user. The planes' aerodynamic properties improve the agility, speed and control of the swinging toy. The use of an elastic band to increase the speed and power of the toy plane also increase the overall aerodynamic control over the swinging toy.
These objects of the swinging toy plane invention provide a great improvement over tradition poi or other swinging toys. Tradition poi is too heavy, large and can be dangerous to the user.
SUMMARY
In accordance with the swinging toy plane, it consists of a foam toy plane attached to a stretch band, a cord, a swivel and handles. An internal weight is used to balance the plane. A stretch band connects the cord to the plane. The stretch band increase speed and aerodynamic agility. A swivel is attached to the other end of the cord and connects to the handles. The swivel prevents twisting of the cord when in use for swinging. The planes will not swing properly with out the swivel. Handles or loops are utilized by the user to swing the toy planes.
Swinging toy plane design provides an improvement over the previous swinging toys by facilitating greater speed, agility and aerodynamic performance over the swinging toy.
DRAWING—FIGURES
FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional view of the toy plane.
FIG. 2 shows a three-dimensional view of the swinging toy plane including the stretch band, internal weight, cord, swivel and handles.
FIG. 3 shows an overhead, top view of the toy plane including the internal weights.
FIG. 4 shows the side view of the toy plane, including internal weights and grommet attachment hole.
FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the swinging toy plane
FIG. 4 shows a person swinging two swinging toy planes.
FIG. 5 shows a person swinging one swinging toy plane.
DRAWINGS—REFERENCE NUMERALS
Description of The Diagrams
1. Foam plane
2. Elastic stretch band
3. Swivel
4. Weights
5. Grommet
6. Cord
7. Handles
Detailed Description—Preferred Embodiment—FIGS 1-3
The preferred embodiment of the swinging toy plane invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The plane 1 is made from medium density foam which is ideal because of its' light weight and aerodynamic qualities. The current invention uses ‘LD medium density closed cell foam.’ The foam is ridged enough to provide aerodynamic stability, yet soft enough to be suitable for use as a toy.
The plane 1 consists of at least one set of wings and a fin. The plane is 5″×4″, but can be made to different sizes. The foam is ¼″ thick. Preferably, the foam should be “form molded” in the fashion of a toy plane.
An internal weight 4 (FIG. 3) is used in the center of the plane to provide balance and stability when in flight. The weight(s) forces the plane to fly forward and maintains balance. This enables fast 180 degree turns. The weight can be of various substance or metals. One or more weights maybe used to balance the swinging toy plane. The weight must not be larger or heavier than the plane can accommodate.
The weight must be securely attached to the planes. In the current design the weight is glued in between two foam pieces that create the planes wings. The current weight is five grams. With out the proper weight and balancing, the swing toy plane will not function properly.
A stretch band 2 (FIG. 2) is connected to a cord and attached to the plane through the grommet 5. The stretch band and cord are attached to the fin of the plane. Alternatively, the stretch band and cord apparatus can be attached to the bottom, under side, of the plane. FIG. 5 shows the alternate configuration with the grommet 5 and stretch band 2 attached to the bottom of the swinging toy plane.
The cord 6 (FIG. 2) can be of nylon or other string materials. A grommet 5 (FIG. 4) is used in the foam rubber. The grommet prevents the foam from tearing. The stretch band is looped through the grommet. The cord connects with the stretch band.
The stretch band 2 (FIG. 2) is made from rubber or synthetic stench material. The band can be of various levels of elasticity. The current version uses a 1″ band, with a minimal amount of elasticity. The band can be ¼″ to 10″ long. The band will increase the speed and agility of the plane when in use.
The cord 6 (FIG. 2) can be from 2″ to 6′ in length. The cords' length can be adjusted by the user. The lengths are adjusted with the use of slides or simply tying a knot in the place the users wishes to shorten the cord to. The current cord length is 36″, which is the recommended length.
A ball bearing or regular swivel 3 is connected between the cord and handle (FIG. 2.) The swivel 3 is about ¼″ long. The swivel will prevent twisting of the cords and tangling of the plane when in use. If a swivel is not used the invention will not function properly.
A loop or handle 7 (FIG. 2) is fashioned to the end of the cord, and attached to the swivel first. The handles 7 are designed to accommodate one finger each. Handles are made of nylon or other suitable material. A metal ring is sewn or glued into the handles. The swivel is connected to the metal ring. The handles allow the user to keep control of the swinging toy plane. The current handles are made from nylon.
Additional Embodiment—FIG. 5
An additional embodiment of the Swing Toy Plane invention is shown in FIG. 5. The stretch band and cord can be attached to the bottom, under side, of the plane. FIG. 5 shows the alternate use with the grommet 5 and stretch band 2 attached to the bottom of the plane.
Operation—Preferred Embodiment—FIGS 6-7
FIG. 6 shows a person swinging two swinging toy planes. The user swings the plane in a circular axis, thus swinging. Typically, two planes are utilized, but multiple planes can be used. FIG. 7 shows a person swinging one toy plane. FIG. 7 shows a person swinging a toy plane over head.
CONCLUSIONS
By utilizing the swinging toy plane invention, the speed, agility and dexterity are greatly improved over tradition swinging toys. The elastic band increases speed and force, improving the aerodynamic control qualities of the swinging toy.
These improvements of the swing toy provide greater enjoyment to the activity of swinging toys. Thus the swinging plane toy invention is the preferred design of any swinging toys.
Patent Application
20070077853
