Lighted toy and safety method

• US 6,135,850 A
• Filed: 11/30/1998
• Issued: 10/24/2000
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Gerald D. Reed
• Original Assignee: Gerald D. Reed
• Inventors: Reed, Gerald D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Rimell, Sam
• Assistant Examiner(s): Miller, Bena B.
• Application Number:
  US09/201,209
• Time in Patent Office: 694 Days
• Field of Search: 446/484, 446/485, 446/486, 446/470, 411/368, 273/237, 362/158, 362/189
• US Class Current: 446/484
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 23/10 Other water toys, floating toys, or like buoyant toys
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/006 provided with electrical lighting electrical lighting F21

Abstract

A safety method and toy position a rotatable stopper in a bore where the stopper can not be gripped by human hands and create a friction fit between the stopper and bore that requires a rotational torque that can not be applied to the stopper by human hands alone when the stopper is in the bore.

Claims

1. A waterproof toy containing a component dangerous to children and means for activating a light on the inside thereof, comprising a hollow waterproof shell having a circular central opening, an internally threaded bore surrounding said central opening, a rotatable stopper for engaging the light activating means and turning said light off and on, removal of said stopper from said shell permitting access to said dangerous component inside of said toy, said stopper having external threads that mate with the threads in said bore, said shell having a smooth entrance orifice between its outside edge surface and said threaded bore, a resilient compressible O-ring in a groove in said stopper around said stopper adjacent an outer terminal end of said stopper, said O-ring being compressed into a frictional engagement with said smooth entrance orifice that is tight enough to prevent rotation of said stopper by human hands and removal of said stopper by human hands alone.

2. The waterproof toy defined in claim 1, further comprising said stopper having its outer terminal end located inside of said smooth entrance orifice and spaced from said outside edge surface of said shell when said stopper is in positions to turn said light off and to turn said light on, wherein said stopper can not be gripped by human hands when it is positions and can not be removed by human hands alone.

3. The waterproof toy defined in claim 2, wherein said tight frictional engagement between said O-ring and smooth entrance orifice requires a torque of at least about four pounds-inch to rotate said stopper.

4. The waterproof toy defined in claim 3, wherein said torque required to rotate said stopper is in the range from about four to eleven pounds-inch.

5. The waterproof toy defined in claim 1, wherein said light activating means includes an energy cell that is small enough to be swallowed by children, said energy cell being movable in said bore by rotation of said stopper.

6. The waterproof toy defined in claim 1, wherein rotation of said stopper requires that a torque of at least about four pounds-inch be applied to its outer terminal end.

7. The waterproof toy defined in claim 6, wherein said torque required to rotate said stopper is in the range from about four to eleven pounds-inch.

8. The waterproof toy defined in claim 1, further comprising said stopper having a slot in its outer terminal end for insertion of a small object to provide enough leverage to generate a torque required to rotate said stopper into and out of said toy.

9. A lightable waterproof toy comprising a hollow plastic shell having a circular central opening, an internally threaded bore surrounding said central opening, said shell having a smooth entrance orifice between its outside edge surface and said threaded bore, a removable energy cell small enough to be swallowed by children and means for activating a light on the inside of said shell, a rotatable stopper for engaging said energy cell so as to turn said light off and on, removal of said stopper from said shell permitting access to said energy cell, said stopper having external threads that mate with the threads in said bore, said stopper having its outer terminal end located inside of and surrounded by said smooth entrance orifice and spaced from said outside edge surface of said shell within said shell when said stopper is in positions to turn said light off and to turn said light on, wherein said stopper can not be gripped by human hands when it is in said positions and said stopper can not be removed by human hands alone, a resilient compressible O-ring surrounding said stopper in a groove in said stopper adjacent said outer terminal end of said stopper, said O-ring being compressed between said stopper and said smooth entrance orifice into a frictional engagement with said smooth entrance orifice that is tight enough to prevent rotation of said stopper by human hands alone.

10. The lightable waterproof toy defined in claim 9, wherein the tight frictional engagement between said O-ring and said smooth entrance orifice requires a torque of at least about four pounds-inch to rotate said stopper.

11. The lightable waterproof toy defined in claim 9, wherein said torque required to rotate said stopper is in the range from about four to eleven pounds-inch.

12. The lightable waterproof toy defined in claim 9, further comprising said stopper having a slot in its outer terminal end for insertion of a small object to provide enough leverage to generate a torque required to rotate said stopper into and out of said toy.

13. A method of preventing removal of a rotatable stopper having an outer terminal end from a toy having a smooth entrance orifice with an outside edge surface, said toy containing a component dangerous to children that can be accessed by rotation of said stopper within said smooth entrance orifice, comprising the steps of providing a rotatable stopper, rotating said stopper until its outer terminal end is within and surrounded by said smooth entrance orifice beyond said outside edge surface on the inside of said toy where said stopper can not be gripped and rotated by human hands and can not be removed from said toy by human hands alone, surrounding said stopper with a resilient compressible O-ring and compressing said O-ring within said smooth entrance orifice between said stopper and said smooth entrance orifice so as to create a friction fit between said stopper and said smooth entrance orifice that is sufficiently tight to prevent rotation of said stopper by human hands alone.

14. The method of preventing removal of a stopper from a toy defined in claim 13, wherein said friction fit is sufficiently tight to require a rotational force of at least about four pounds-inch to rotate said stopper.

15. The method of preventing removal of a stopper from a toy defined in claim 14, wherein said friction fit requires a rotational force of at least about four to eleven pounds-inch to rotate said stopper.