Twitch toy

• US 8,640,653 B2
• Filed: 03/16/2012
• Issued: 02/04/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/16/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Radio Systems Corporation
• Original Assignee: Radio Systems Corporation
• Inventors: Cook, Alan J., Augustyniak, Kevin, Fubershaw, Gerard, Smith, Jeff
• Primary Examiner(s): Berona, Kimberly
• Assistant Examiner(s): CLERKLEY, DANIELLE A
• Application Number:
  US13/422,967
• Publication Number:
  US 20120234258A1
• Time in Patent Office: 690 Days
• Field of Search: 119/702, 119706-708
• US Class Current: 119/708
• CPC Class Codes: A01K 15/025 Toys specially adapted for animals

Abstract

A motorized cat toy having a suspended teaser toy at the end of a detachable stretchable string connected to a flexible swing arm biased against a waveguide within a housing having a programmable electronic control, a gearbox with meshing gears including one spur gear on the rotor of the motor to provide control of the teaser toy movement to include a twitch and other erratic movements pleasing to a cat.

Claims

1. A cat toy, comprising:

a generally cylindrical two piece housing having an upper portion and a lower portion in which one portion rotates and the other is stationary;

a power source connected within the housing;

an electronic circuit programmed to move the one rotating portion of the housing;

a motor having a shaft controlled by the programming of the electronic circuit for controlling the movement of the one rotating portion of the housing;

a wave guide mounted within the housing configured to move a flexible swing arm in an up and down motion as the one rotating portion of the housing rotates;

a generally stretchable line connected to a distal end of the swing arm;

a teaser toy suspended from an end of the line connected to the distal end of the swing arm; and

whereby the swing arm moves in both a horizontal plane and a vertical plane in an erratic pattern in response to the programming of the electronic circuit.