Yo-yo having adjustable clutch

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6354905
  • Patent Number
    6,354,905
  • Date Filed
    Tuesday, February 8, 2000
    25 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, March 12, 2002
    22 years ago
Abstract
A yo-yo includes an adjustable clutch mechanism having a pair of arms having flyweights mounted thereto and pivotally mounted within a cavity in one of the yo-yo halves. The arms include gear teeth that mesh with gear teeth on a movable member such that pivoting of the arms causes linear actuation of the movable member. The movable member includes engagement teeth that engage a spool. An adjuster mechanism includes a threaded bolt and a limiter threaded onto the bolt. The limiter is positioned by rotating the bolt. The position of the limiter determines the range of motion of the movable member.
Description




FIELD OF THE INVENTION




The invention relates to yo-yos, and more specifically to yo-yos having clutch mechanisms.




BACKGROUND




A yo-yo is said to sleep or dwell when the yo-yo spins at the end of the string, but does not climb up the string. String tricks are performed with yo-yos by first causing the yo-yo to sleep, then performing a maneuver, and then causing the yo-yo to “wake up” and climb back up the string. More intricate string tricks may be performed when the yo-yo sleeps longer, but the player must wake up the yo-yo before the yo-yo's speed drops too low. If the yo-yo's speed drops too low, the yo-yo will not be able to climb back up the string.




It is known to provide a clutch mechanism on a so-called “automatic return” yo-yo that couples and uncouples the yo-yo axle and body halves with a spool on which the string is selectively wound. The automatic return yo-yo ensures that the yo-yo will wake up before the yo-yo's speed drops too low.




For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,102 discloses a yo-yo having a clutch mechanism including a pair of spring-biased flyweights pivotally mounted to one half of the yo-yo. An axle is fixed to each of the body halves, and rotatably supports a spool having a friction surface engaged by the flyweights. When the yo-yo rotates above a particular speed, referred to herein as the trigger speed, the flyweights pivot against the biasing force of the springs, releasing the spool for free rotation on the axle. When the yo-yo slows down to the trigger speed, the biasing force of the springs overcomes the centrifugal force acting on the flyweights, and the clutch again engages the friction surface of the spool to couple the spool with the axle and body halves, and wake up the yo-yo.




SUMMARY




The present invention provides a yo-yo having an adjustable clutch mechanism. The yo-yo includes first and second body halves, an axle extending between the body halves, a spool rotatably supported by the axle, a string interconnected with the spool, and an adjustable clutch mechanism on the first body half The adjustable clutch mechanism includes a movable body, a biasing member biasing the movable body into engagement with the spool, at least one flyweight interconnected with the movable body to cause said movable body to move out of engagement with said spool in response to the yo-yo rotating faster than the trigger speed, and an adjustment member adjusting the range of motion of the movable body with respect to the spool.




Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims, and drawings.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of a yo-yo embodying the invention.





FIG. 2

is an exploded view of the yo-yo of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 3

is an enlarged exploded view of the clutch mechanism of the yo-yo illustrated in FIG.


1


.





FIG. 4

is a side view of the yo-yo of

FIG. 1

in an at-rest condition.





FIG. 5

is a side view of the yo-yo of

FIG. 1

with the clutch in a disengaged position.





FIG. 6

is a side view of the yo-yo of

FIG. 1

with the clutch in a fixed disengaged position.





FIG. 7

is a side view of the yo-yo of

FIG. 1

with the clutch in a fixed engaged position.











Before one embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including” and “comprising” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The use of “consisting of” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass only the items listed thereafter. The use of letters to identify elements of a method or process is simply for identification and is not meant to indicate that the elements should be performed in a particular order.




DETAILED DESCRIPTION





FIG. 1

illustrates a yo-yo


10


including first and second body halves


14


,


18


and a string


20


. The first body half


14


includes a cavity


22


housing a clutch mechanism


26


, the details and function of which are discussed in further detail below. The clutch mechanism


26


is partially held in place within the cavity


22


by a cross member


30


fastened within the cavity


22


, and by a lens or cover fixed over the cavity


22


. The cover may be made of clear plastic to permit viewing of the clutch mechanism


26


.




As seen in

FIG. 2

, further components of the yo-yo


10


include an axle


34


having a threaded end, a bearing


38


, a spool


42


to which the string


20


is attached, and a nut


46


threaded onto the threaded end of the axle


34


to rotationally fix the first and second body halves


14


,


18


with respect to each other and with respect to the axle


34


. As used herein, “rotationally fixed” means the parts are substantially prevented from rotating with respect to one another.




Still referring to

FIG. 2

, the bearing


38


and spool


42


are supported by the axle


34


for rotation on the axle


34


. The bearing


38


includes inner and outer races. A first end


48


of the spool


42


abuts the outer race of the bearing


38


and the inner race is press-fit onto the axle


34


. The second end of the spool


42


includes a friction surface


52


. The illustrated friction surface


52


is a resilient o-ring or gasket made of rubber or another resilient material. The second end of the spool


42


extends into a recess


56


in the first body half


14


, and is selectively engaged by engagement teeth


60


of the clutch mechanism


26


as further described below. The first and second body halves


14


,


18


each have a raised star pattern


64


facing into the string gap, which pattern is known in the art to assist in waking up a yo-yo


10


.




Referring now to

FIG. 3

, the clutch mechanism


26


includes a movable body


68


disposed around the recess


56


in the first body half


14


and including the aforementioned engagement teeth


60


. Alternatively, the engagement teeth


60


may be replaced with a high-friction surface. The movable body


68


also includes a housing


72


having first and second split abutment surfaces


76


,


80


defining a chamber


84


therebetween. The housing


72


has gear teeth


88


integrally formed on its outer surface. Alternatively, the gear teeth


88


may be replaced with a high-friction surface material. The movable body


68


is preferably made of plastic, but may be constructed of any suitable material.




The clutch mechanism


26


also includes a pair of arms


92


having flyweights


96


mounted thereto. The arms


92


are also preferably made of plastic, but may be constructed of any suitable material. Each arm


92


is pivotally mounted to the first body half


14


on a stub shaft or post


100


that is mounted to or formed integrally with the first body half


14


. Each arm


92


includes gear teeth


104


that mesh with the movable body gear teeth


88


such that pivotal movement of the arms


92


causes axial movement of the movable body


68


. Alternatively, the gear teeth


104


may be replaced with a high friction material. Guide members


108


formed integrally with or mounted to the first body half


14


further ensure that the movable body


68


slides in a substantially linear fashion. A spring or other biasing member


112


biases the movable member


68


toward a rest position (as seen in

FIG. 4

) in which the engagement teeth


60


engage the friction surface


52


of the spool


42


to rotationally fix the spool


42


with respect to the first body half


14


and the axle


34


.




Still referring to

FIG. 3

, the clutch mechanism


26


includes an adjustment mechanism including a threaded bolt


116


having a head and a distal end, a limiter


120


threaded onto the bolt


116


, and a retainer


124


mounted onto the distal end of the bolt


116


. As is seen in FIGS.


1


and


4


-


7


, the bolt


116


extends through the split first and second abutment surfaces


76


,


80


. The limiter


120


and retainer


124


are preferably made of very rigid plastic or a metal such as steel or aluminum, but may be made of any suitable material. A portion of the bolt's


116


threads may be removed at the distal end such that the retainer


124


is not rotationally fixed with respect to the bolt


116


and is not threadedly engaged by the bolt


116


. Alternatively, as illustrated, the distal end of the bolt


116


may be mushroomed or crimped to prevent the retainer


124


from coming off the distal end of the bolt


116


.




As seen in

FIGS. 4-7

the limiter


120


is disposed within the housing


72


portion of the movable body


68


. The width of the limiter


120


substantially spans the chamber


84


so that the limiter


120


will not rotate significantly within the housing


72


, but may be moved axially along the bolt


116


within the housing


72


in response to rotation of the bolt


116


. The retainer


124


abuts a fixed member


128


that is mounted to or integrally formed with the first body half


14


. The retainer


124


prevents the bolt


116


from being threaded out of the yo-yo


10


so that rotation of the bolt


116


causes axial movement of the limiter


120


without moving the bolt


116


. In other words, the bolt


116


is threaded only into the limiter


120


.





FIGS. 4 and 5

illustrate the yo-yo


10


at rest or spinning at or below the trigger speed, and the yo-yo


10


spinning above the trigger speed, respectively. In

FIG. 4

, the spring


112


provides enough biasing force to push the engagement teeth


60


of the movable body


68


into contact with the friction surface


52


. In

FIG. 5

, when the yo-yo is spinning at a rate greater than the trigger speed, centrifugal force acting on the flyweights


96


causes the arms


92


to pivot out, thereby driving the engagement teeth


60


of the movable body


68


away from the friction surface


52


. When the yo-yo


10


slows down to the trigger speed, the centrifugal force on the weights


96


and arms


92


is overcome by the biasing force of the spring


112


, the arms


92


and movable body


68


return to the rest condition shown in

FIG. 4

, and the engagement teeth


60


engage the friction surface


52


of the spool


42


to couple the spool


42


with the body halves


14


,


18


and axle


34


.




The string


20


will wind on the spool


42


when the yo-yo is spinning at or below the trigger speed due to the clutch mechanism


26


engaging the spool


42


. When the yo-yo


10


is spinning above the trigger speed, the spool


42


is free to rotate on the axle


34


with respect to the yo-yo halves


14


,


18


, and the string will not wind on the spool


42


.




The maximum space between the engagement teeth


60


and the friction surface


52


is determined by the position of the limiter


120


. When the movable body


68


moves far enough such that the first abutment surface


76


abuts the limiter


120


(see FIG.


5


), further travel of the engagement teeth


60


away from the friction surface


52


is prevented. If the limiter


120


is positioned far enough away from the first abutment surface


76


, the arms


92


may contact the walls of the cavity


22


before the limiter


120


stops movement of the movable body


68


.




The closer the limiter


120


is positioned to the first abutment surface


76


, the less the arms


92


are permitted to pivot, and the less the engagement teeth


60


of the movable member


68


are moved away from the friction surface


52


of the spool


42


. Thus, the closer the limiter


120


is to the first abutment surface


76


, the more sensitive the yo-yo


10


will be because the arms


92


and movable body


68


do not have to move very far to reach the rest condition. Very fine adjustments may be made to the clutch sensitivity by positioning the limiter


120


very close to the first abutment surface


76


such that the engagement teeth


60


do not totally disengage the friction surface


52


, but still permit rotation of the spool


42


. In this manner, the degree of friction between the engagement teeth


60


and the friction surface


52


may be finely controlled.





FIGS. 6 and 7

illustrate the clutch in a fixed disengaged and a fixed engaged condition, respectively. In

FIG. 7

, the adjustable clutch mechanism


26


is shown in a fixed engaged position in which the bolt


116


has been rotated to drive the limiter


120


against the first abutment surface


76


such that the arms


92


are not permitted to pivot. In this condition, the arms


92


are not able to move the movable body


68


, and thus the engagement teeth


60


of the movable body


68


cannot disengage the spool


42


. The spool


42


is thereby substantially coupled to the yo-yo halves


14


,


18


and the axle


34


, and the string


20


winds on the spool


42


.





FIG. 6

illustrates the adjustable clutch mechanism


26


in a fixed disengaged position, in which the limiter


120


is driven against the second abutment surface


80


of the housing


72


to hold the engagement teeth


60


of the movable body


68


away from the friction surface


52


against the biasing force of the spring


112


. In this condition, the spool


42


is disengaged and free to rotate on the axle


34


.



Claims
  • 1. A yo-yo comprising:first and second body halves; an axle extending between said body halves; a string interconnected with said axle; a clutch mechanism mounted to said first body half and including a movable body, a biasing member biasing said movable body into engagement with said axle, at least one flyweight interconnected with said movable body to cause said movable body to move out of engagement with said axle when said first body half rotates at a trigger rate of rotation, and an adjustment member adjusting the range of motion of said movable body with respect to said axle.
  • 2. The yo-yo of claim 1, wherein said adjustment member is a screw.
  • 3. The yo-yo of claim 1, wherein said movable body includes a first abutment portion, and wherein said adjustment member includes a second abutment member, whereby said adjustment member positions said second abutment member to abut against said first abutment member to limit movement of said movable body.
  • 4. The yo-yo of claim 1, wherein said biasing member is a compression spring.
  • 5. The yo-yo of claim 1, wherein said movable body includes a first toothed portion, and wherein said at least one flyweight includes an arm pivotally mounted to said first body half, a mass interconnected with said arm, and a second toothed portion interconnected with said arm and meshing with said first toothed portion, whereby centrifugal force acting on said mass causes said arm to pivot with respect to said first body half against the biasing force of said biasing member and causes said movable body to move due to said meshing engagement between said first and second toothed portions.
  • 6. The yo-yo of claim 1, further comprising a resilient ring mounted on said axle, said movable body being biased by said biasing member to engage said resilient ring.
US Referenced Citations (3)
Number Name Date Kind
4332102 Caffrey Jun 1982 A
5389029 McAvoy, Jr. Feb 1995 A
6053796 Tung Apr 2000 A