Illuminated multi-color spinner assembly

Abstract

An illuminated spinner having a handle, a motor within the handle controlled by a switch on the handle, a shaft extending from the handle, and a spinning object on which a lighting element is mounted, is provided with a decorative shell that encloses the object and is mounted on the handle, and that is constructed of at least three translucent pieces, as least two of which have different color transmitting or abo properties. The at least one light source is visible through the shell over an angle of 360 when the object is spinning and the light source is illuminated.

Claims

1. An illuminated spinner, comprising: a handle, a spinning object, at least one light source mounted on and rotatable with the spinning object, and a switch on an outside of the handle, the switch being manipulatable by a user to selectively cause the spinning object to rotate and the at least one light source to illuminate; and a shell secured to the handle and enclosing the spinning object and at least one light source, wherein: the shell is formed by at least three pieces, each made of a light-transmitting material, and at least two of the pieces have different optical properties, whereby the at least one light source is visible through the shell.

2. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the different optical properties are color transmission or absorption properties.

3. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein two of the pieces have a same color transmitting property and at least one third piece has a different color transmitting property.

4. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 3, wherein each of the pieces of the shell is made of a translucent material so that the at least one light source, when illuminated, is visible over an angle of 360 degrees around a circumference of the shell.

5. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of the pieces of the shell is made of a translucent material so that the at least one light source, when illuminated, is visible over an angle of 360 degrees around a circumference of the shell.

6. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least three pieces collectively form a character shape.

7. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of the pieces is three.

8. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle includes a battery compartment for removably housing at least one battery that supplies power to a motor and the at least one light source.

9. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spinning object is a disc and the at least one light source includes multiple LEDs mounted to the disc.

10. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spinning object is not visible through the shell.

11. An illuminated spinner as claimed in claim 1, wherein the handle includes two halves assembled together to form a cylinder.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is an exploded isometric view of an illuminated spinner constructed in accordance with principles of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

(2) FIGS. 2-5 are respective left, front, right, and back views of the illuminated spinner of FIG. 1.

(3) FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the illuminated spinner of FIGS. 1-5.

(4) FIG. 7 is atop view of the illuminated spinner of FIGS. 1-6.

(5) FIGS. 8-14 are respective isometric, left, front, right, back, bottom, and top views of a variation of the spinner of FIGS. 1-7.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

(6) FIGS. 1-7 show a spinner 1 constructed in accordance with the principles of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention.

(7) The spinner includes a handle 2 that contains a motor (not shown) having a shaft attached to a spinning object 3, and one or more batteries (not shown). The batteries may be in the form of a stack of disc batteries positioned in a battery compartment having a battery compartment cover 4. An on/off switch 5 extends from the handle 2 to turn on and off the motor. The switch 5 also causes illumination of one or more light sources 6 positioned on the spinning object 3.

(8) The handle 2, motor, batteries, and switch 5 of the illustrated spinner 1, as well as circuitry for controlling the motor and light sources 6 are all conventional, commercially-available, and well-known to those skilled in the art, although the invention is not limited to a particular handle, motor, battery and circuit configuration. For example, the batteries may include one or more disc batteries or one or more AA or AAA type batteries, and the switch 5 may be replaced by a button or touch switch. Also, the handle 2 may be constructed of, for example, two main cylinder halves 2a and 2b to form a generally cylindrically shaped handle that can easily be gripped by a user, with the switch 5 positioned in the front half 2a so that it can be manipulated by the user's thumb in order to turn the spinner and lights on and off when the handle is held between the user's fingers and palm, as is known in the art.

(9) The shape of the spinning object 3, while illustrated as a disc, may be freely varied, as may the materials, configuration, and/or other construction details of the object. Also, the light sources 6 may for example include one or more LEDs, EL elements, and/or other light sources, and may further include additional optical elements or structures such as optical fibers, reflectors, lens, and so forth, while the number of the light sources, and the manner in which they are mounted on the spinning object and connected to circuitry in the handle, may also be varied. The circuitry for connecting or controlling the lights sources to power sources in the handle may not only include on/off circuitry but also flasher circuitry, and the LEDs or other light sources may have single or multiple colors.

(10) Surrounding the spinning object 3 and the light sources 6 is a shell 7 made up of at least three pieces 8-10. Pieces 8-10 are each made of a translucent material through which the spinning lights source 6 are visible when illuminated. Lower pieces 8 and 9 are each made of a colored translucent material, for example a material that transmits blue wavelengths and/or absorbs wavelengths other than blue, while upper piece 10 is made of a translucent material that transmits wavelengths (or a combination of wavelengths) to impart a different color, such as white, to the transmitted light. When the light sources 6 are not illuminated, each of the translucent pieces appears to be an opaque colored piece, and the light sources 6 are not visible. In this example, the spinning disc itself is not visible even when the light sources 6 are illuminated, so that the light will appear to rotate in space within the interior of the shell 7. Although three pieces are shown, the number of pieces that make up the shell may be more than three to achieve additional decorative lighting effects

(11) The three pieces 8-10 together form the shape of a character. In the example of FIGS. 1-7, the character is a bunny. In the example of FIGS. 8-14, the three pieces 8a, 9a, and 10a form a shell 15 in the shape of a hen, but the construction of the spinner 1a of FIGS. 8-14 is otherwise identical to that of the spinner 1 of FIGS. 1-7, and the pieces 8a, 9a, and 10a of the shell 15 of spinner 1a are also made of respective colored translucent materials corresponding to those of the spinner 1.

(12) In both examples, the shells 7 and 15 may include optional additional structures such as flanges 16 captured by a corresponding inwardly extending rim on the handle two secure the shell to the handle when the two pieces of the handle are fastened together by fastening means such as the screws 17 visible in FIGS. 5 and 12. The parts of the shells 7 and 15 may also include optional alignment features such as posts 18 and holes or grooves 19 to facilitate assembly, and optional decorative appendages such as the bunny ears 20 or chicken comb 21. These and further modifications of the illustrated embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the invention, which may also involve the inclusion of additional shell parts, modifications to the illuminated spinner, and variations in the appearance of any decorative parts or appendages.