Illuminated frisbee toy

• US 4,301,616 A
• Filed: 11/19/1979
• Issued: 11/24/1981
• Est. Priority Date: 11/19/1979
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Edward Dale, William J. Shaver
• Original Assignee: Edward Dale, William J. Shaver
• Inventors: Gudgel, Terry J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancene, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Yu, Mickey
• Application Number:
  US06/095,595
• Time in Patent Office: 736 Days
• Field of Search: 46/74 D, 46/228, 46/226, 273/424, 273/425, 273/428
• US Class Current: 446/47
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 33/18 Throwing or slinging toys, e.g. flying disc toys discs used in athletics A63B65/10as part of a game A63F9/02; sling weapons F41B3/00; spring toy guns F41B7/08

Abstract

A toy of the flying saucer type, to be thrown through the air from one player to another, the toy having battery-powered light emitting diodes located relatively close to the center and thus protected from abrasion or impact shock when the flying saucer hits the hand of a receiving player or hits the ground when a receiving player fails to catch it. The body of the saucer is of translucent plastic material, so that each light emitting diode creates, when lit, a luminescent area around the diode. In addition, three light guides in the form of optical fiber guides extend from each diode approximately radially outwardly to the outer rim of the flying saucer, creating illuminated areas spaced circumferentially along the outer rim of the saucer.

Claims

1. A toy of the Frisbee type comprising a circular body of generally dished shape having a rim, a plurality of light sources mounted on said body at points spaced substantially inwardly from said rim and arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of said body and closer to the center of the body than to the rim, and a plurality of light conductors extending from locations near each of said light sources to points on said rim, said light conductors being in the form of relatively thin optical filaments set in grooves in a face of said body and not projecting appreciably from such face, so that such face presents a relatively smooth grasping surface to a player attempting to catch the toy while it is rotating.

2. The invention defined in claim 1, wherein said body is formed of translucent plastic material, and wherein each light conductor has an inner light-receiving end separated from a light source by a thin wall of said translucent plastic material to receive light through such material and has an outer light-exit end terminating at a thin rim wall of said translucent plastic material to illuminate a portion of such rim wall from light received from the light source at the inner end of the light conductor.

3. The invention defined in claim 2, wherein three light conductors have their inner ends arranged close together to receive light from the same light source and have their outer ends substantially spaced from each other in a circumferential direction on said rim.

4. A throwable toy of the flying saucer type comprising a circular body of generally dished shape having a top surface with a downwardly curved marginal portion and a bottom surface of generally concave shape, said body having a rim, means for holding three batteries arranged approximately at the apexes of an equilateral triangle which is concentric to the center of said circular body, three light sources arranged approximately at midpoints of the sides of said triangle, means forming channels associated with the sides of said triangle to serve as conduits for electrical connections between said batteries and said light sources, and a generally triangular shaped cover member for covering said batteries and said channels.

5. The invention defined in claim 4, wherein said light sources are light emitting diodes.

6. The invention defined in claim 5, wherein said batteries are all in series with each other and said light emitting diodes are all electrically connected in parallel with each other, and in series with the batteries.

7. The invention defined in claim 4, wherein said cover member includes a screw cap at one of said apexes, said screw cap serving as an electric switch to complete an electric circuit from said batteries to said diodes when said cap is screwed down tightly and to open said circuit when said cap is loosened.

8. The invention defined in claim 4, wherein said batteries are of the disk type having greater diameter than axial length.

9. A throwable toy of the flying saucer type comprising a circular body of generally dished shape having a top surface with a downwardly curved marginal portion and a bottom surface of generally concave shape, said body having a downwardly extending rim, a plurality of batteries and a plurality of light sources mounted on said body, housing means for containing said batteries and light sources, said housing means projecting downwardly from said generally concave bottom surface near the center thereof and being located entirely inwardly from said rim sufficiently far to provide on said bottom surface a clear and substantially smooth annular area for a substantial distance radially inwardly from said rim for contact with fingers of a person catching the toy thrown at him without having his fingers engage said housing means, and light transmitting optical fibers for conveying light from said light sources outwardly to said rim, said optical fibers being sufficiently small and so placed as not to interfere with the substantially smooth character of said annular area.