Toy football with spiral like tail

• US 6,120,398 A
• Filed: 12/08/1998
• Issued: 09/19/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Jeff D. Myers
• Original Assignee: Jeff D. Myers
• Inventors: Myers, Jeff D.
• Primary Examiner(s): WONG, STEVEN B
• Application Number:
  US09/207,386
• Time in Patent Office: 651 Days
• Field of Search: 473/613, 473/575, 473/576, 473/586, 473/594, 473/603, 473/604, 273/DIG. 20, D21/712
• US Class Current: 473/613
• CPC Class Codes: A63B 43/00 Balls with special arrangements

Abstract

This invention is directed to a toy football formed in the shape of a prolate spheroid having a tail extending out of one end thereof and having a plurality of fins extending laterally out of said tail for controlling the momentum of the football during flight.

Claims

1. A toy football having a prolate spheroid molded body:

a cylindrical shaped tail extending longitudinally out of said body a predetermined distance;

a plurality of fins formed on and along said tail, said fins being of a convolute, auger like configuration;

said fins being shaped to direct the air impacted by the toy football when in flight sequentially from one fin to another to affect the momentum of the flight of the toy football.

2. The toy football set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said body is formed of a resilient plastic material.

3. The toy football set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said fins are of a like configuration uniformly arranged along the length of said tail.

4. The toy football set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said fins are formed to extend along said tail and are equally spaced from each other.

5. The toy football set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the tip of said body is covered with a shield.

6. The toy football set forth in claim 1 wherein:

a ball is molded in the tip of said body for weighting purposes.

7. The toy football set forth in claim 1 wherein:

said tail comprises a resilient rod extending from within said body outwardly thereof along the longitudinal axis of said body.

8. A toy football comprising:

a prolate spheroid; and

a tail section extending longitudinally out of said prolate spheroid body, said tail section is comprised of a fin shaped as a spiral helix having a convolute, auger like configuration.

9. A toy football as set forth in claim 8 wherein said fin formed in the shape of a spiral helix has an outer diameter that is constant along the longitudinal axis of said fin.

10. A toy football as set forth in claim 8 wherein said fin formed in the shape of a spiral helix has an outer diameter that varies along the longitudinal axis of said fin.

11. A toy football as set forth in claim 10 wherein said fin formed in the shape of a spiral helix has an outer diameter that is tapered along the longitudinal axis of said fin from an initial diameter at an end of said tail opposite where said tail attached to said prolate spheroid body to a more narrow diameter at an end where said tail attaches to said prolate spheroid body.

12. A toy football as set forth in claim 8 wherein said fin formed in the shape of a spiral helix has a plurality of notches in said fin thereby permitting air to flow longitudinally along said fin as well as in a spiral direction.