Rotating toy with electronic display
First Claim
1. A rotating toy incorporating an electronic display, comprising:
- a rotational body;
a display mechanism disposed along at least a portion of one surface of said rotational body;
control circuitry for controlling the display of images on said display mechanism said images comprising at least one of a predefined group of letters or numbers or graphic characters;
a clock mechanism, coupled to said control circuitry, for refreshing the display of images on said display mechanism at a rate independent of the rotational speed of said rotational body; and
an activation mechanism coupled to said control circuitry to activate the operation of said control circuitry, said activation mechanism being operable irrespective of the actual speed of rotation of said rotational body.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rotating object, such as a toy top or yo-yo, is provided with a display mechanism which permits the display of letters, number and graphics as the object moves. In one embodiment a toy top is taught which incorporates such a display made up of string of light emitting diodes. As the top is spun a switch is closed by centrifugal force which activates the display circuitry. A message previously stored in the display circuitry memory is then read out of memory and is used to control the illumination of the LED'"'"'s. As the top reaches a revolutionary speed which is in synchronization with the clocking speed of the display, the message is viewable by the user, and remains viewable until the rotational speed of the top slows enough to defeat the visual synchronization. Alternative embodiments are provided which permit the message to be displayed to be chosen at random or by further incorporating a photosensor which may read a message which has been encoded in a bar code or other visual code, and using the barcode to program the action of the display or provide a synchronization mechanism to enable the display to be continuously viewable over a wide range or rotation speeds.
90 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A rotating toy incorporating an electronic display, comprising:
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a rotational body; a display mechanism disposed along at least a portion of one surface of said rotational body; control circuitry for controlling the display of images on said display mechanism said images comprising at least one of a predefined group of letters or numbers or graphic characters; a clock mechanism, coupled to said control circuitry, for refreshing the display of images on said display mechanism at a rate independent of the rotational speed of said rotational body; and an activation mechanism coupled to said control circuitry to activate the operation of said control circuitry, said activation mechanism being operable irrespective of the actual speed of rotation of said rotational body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A toy top comprising:
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a rotational body; a display mechanism disposed along at least a portion of one surface of said rotational body; and control circuitry for controlling the display of at least one predefined phrase on said display mechanism, said control circuitry further comprising a memory mechanism for storing a plurality of predefined phrases; a selection mechanism for randomly selecting one of said plurality of predefined phrases for display on said display mechanism by said control circuitry; and a clock mechanism for refreshing the image on said display mechanism at a rate independent of the rotational speed of said rotational body; and an activation mechanism coupled to said control circuitry to activate the operation of said control circuitry, said activation mechanism being operable irrespective of the actual speed of rotation of said rotational body, and said activation mechanism operating to initiate operation of said control circuitry only when said rotational body has exceeded at least a predetermined speed of rotation. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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Specification