GB2068240A - Magic wand - Google Patents

Abstract

A magic wand consists of a rod having a fine thread connected thereto and having one end weighted to maintain it with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical as it is moved upon manipulation of the fine thread. The fine thread is connected to the rod by passing through a lateral hole. The wand may be internally lit by a battery forming the weight. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A toy This invention relates to a toy; a toy which is in the form of a "magic wand" and which in use gives the impression of movement through the air without any apparent visible means of support.

Present day toys and playthings have an increasing tendency to be becoming ever more complicated in construction, and perhaps of more importance even more expensive, and the invention seeks to provide a toy which is simple to manufacture, easy to operate or use, and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

According to the present invention there is provided a toy comprising a rod or wand, a fine thread connected between the ends of said rod or wand, and means to maintain the rod or wand with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical as it is moved, whereby manipulation of said fine thread causes the rod or wand to move without any apparent visible means of support.

The rod or wand will preferably be in the form of a length of lightweight material such as plastics material, wood or aluminium. The rod or wand may be tubular or solid.

Said means to maintain the rod or wand with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical as it is moved will preferably consist of a weighting member located at one end of said rod or wand. Said weighting member in a preferred form of the invention, will be in the form of a pellet of moulding material such as "Plasticine" (R.T.M.) attached to one end of the rod or wand, said pellet being attached to the exterior of the rod or wand, or being inserted into said one end of the rod or wand.

Where the rod or wand is formed of a tubular material, the ends of the rod or wand may be closed by end caps or ferrules, said end caps or ferrules being of differing weights so as to give effect to maintaining the rod or wand with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical as it is moved.

The rod or wand may be provided with decorative effects, which may include electrical means, so as to enhance the visual effect of the rod or wand as it is moved upon manipulation of the fine thread.

Said fine thread will preferably be of "Nylon" (R.T.M.) and will preferably be substantially equal in length to the length of the rod or wand, and will preferably be in the form of a closed loop. The loop will be connected to the rod or wand by passing through a hole drilled laterally of the rod or wand at its midlength position, the effective length of the loop being substantially equal to one-half the length of the rod or wand. Alternatively, the length of fine thread may be attached to a ring or other member secured to the rod or wand.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described, by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a pictorial v.iew of a toy according to the invention and showing the toy in use; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation on the line ll-ll of Fig. 1, of part of the toy of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is an exploded view of oone end of the toy of Figs. 1 and 2, and showing a weighting member of the toy; Figure 4 is an exploded view similar to Fig.

3, but showing an alternative form of the invention; Figure 5 is a part-sectional elevation of one end of the toy of the invention showing an internal weighting member; Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of an alternative form of the toy of the invention; and Figure 7 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of one a toy according to the invention and showing yet another alternative.

Referring to the drawings, and firstly to Figs. 1 and 2, the toy of the invention consists of a rod or wand 2 which consists of a solid length of lightweight material such as wood or plastics material. As will be seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the exterior of the rod or wand 2 is given a decorative effect by being wrapped with differently coloured foils or multi-coloured foil so as to give the rod or wand 2 a spiral effect as indicated by reference numeral 4. It will be appreciated that other designs may be applied to the rod or wand 2, and it will be further appreciated that the decorative effects may be painted on or otherwise applied to the rod or wand.

Referring now particularly to Fig. 2, it will be seen that the rod or wand 2 is drilled laterally at the mid-length position of the rod or wand to provide a hole 6 through which passes a closed loop 8 formed of a fine thread composed of, for example "Nylon" (R.T.M.) or like material. The total length of the loop 8 is substantially equal to the length of the rod or wand, and the effective length of the loop 8 is substantially equal to one-half the length of the rod or wand 2. Thus the closed loop can extend from the hole 6 to either end of the rod or wand 2.

The rod or wand 2 is generally from 45cm to 1 20cm long, a convenient length being 90cm, and has an outside diameter of the order of 1 cm.

Fig. 1 shows the toy of the invention in use, to be described in detail later, the drawing showing a hand 10 holding and manipulating the closed loop 8 in the direction of arrow Xwith the rod or wand 2 following a similar path as indicated by arrow Y.

It is fundamental to the desired operation of the toy of the invention, that the rod or wand 2 is provided with means to maintain the rod or wand 2 with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical as it is moved upon manipulation of the closed loop 8. Said means, in the form of a weighting member, may be provided in a number of ways, as depicted in Figs. 3 to 7.

Referring to Fig. 3, said means takes the form of a pellet 1 2 of moulding material such as "Plasticine" (R.T.M.) which is secured to the rod or wand 2 by means of the foil, referred to earilier, extending beyond the end of the rod or wand so as to enclose the pellet and hold it in position relative to the rod or wand 2. The effect of applying the pellet 1 2 to one end of the rod or wand is to ensure that the said end will always be lowermost when the toy is in use and will, more importantly, ensure that the rod or wand 2 will remain substantially vertical as it is moved upon manipulation of the closed loop.

In an alternative embodiment of the invention, as shown in Fig. 4, where the rod or wand 2A is formed of tubular material, the pellet 1 2A may be located within the tubular rod or wand 2A. In yet another alternative embodiment, a solid rod or wand 2 B is drilled or recessed longitudinally to provide a recess 14 in which a pellet 12Bis located, as shown in Fig. 5.

Referring now to Fig. 6, the rod or wand 2Cis formed of a tubular material and its ends 1 6 and 1 8 are closed by ferrules or end caps 20 and 22 respectively. In order to provide the means to maintain the rod or wand 2Cwith its longitudinal axis substantially vertical, when the rod or wand is moved by the manipulation of the closed loop of fine thread, it will be seen that the base 20A of the ferrule or end cap 20 is thicker than the base 22A of the ferrule or end cap 22, such that the ferrule or end cap 20 is heavier than the ferrule or end cap 22. Thus the ferrule or end cap 20 as well as closing one end of the rod or wand, also serves to provide the weighting member.

Instead of being fitted externally to the rod or wand 2C, as shown in Fig. 6, the ferrules or end caps 20 and 22 may be fitted internally to the rod or wand 2C.

Turning now to Fig. 7, the rod or wand 2D of tubular material, is closed at its ends by transparent or translucent ferrules or end caps indicated by reference numerals 24 and 26.

One end of the tubular rod or wand 2D houses a battery-holder 28 in which is located at battery 30, the battery being connected to a bulb 32 held in a cross-piece 28A of the battery holder 28. A spring 34 is located within the battery-holder 28 between the holder and the battery so as to urge the battery 30 into contact with the bulb 32.

Similarly, a bulb 36 held by a member 38 and connected to the battery 30 by wiring 40 is located in the opposite end of the rod or wand. Thus the battery holder and battery in this instance serve to provide the weighting member. The ends of the rod or wand 2D may be illuminated simply by inserting the bulbs 32 and 36, or alternatively switch means (not shown) may be provided on the exterior of the rod or wand. In an alternative arrangement, the rod or wand 2D may be lighted at one end only, in which case the bulb 36, bulb holder 38 and wire 40 may be omitted, and the end of the rod or wand closed by a plain ferrule or end cap.

It will be appreciated that the means to maintain the rod or wand with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical, may be other than those described above, and that decorative effects other than those described may be applied to the rod or wand. For example, use may be made of stroboscopic or fluorescent effects or the rod or wand can be designed to reflect light. In addition the fine thread can be attached to an manipulated by an operating rod which is held in the hand, instead of the thread being directly held in the hand, or the fine thread can be attached to a ring or other member secured to the rod.

In use, referring again to Fig. 1 the closed loop 8 of fine thread is manipulated by the hand, for example in the direction of arrow X, with the result that the rod or wand moves with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical, in the direction of arrow Y, giving the impression due to the fineness of the thread that the rod or wand is moving without any apparent visible means of support. This movement is generally initiated by extending the looped thread to the top end of the rod or wand, and the spinning the looped thread around the top half of the rod or wand to describe an inverted cone. The fineness of the thread of the loop 8 makes it virtually invisible as it is moved, so that the rod or wand appears to follow the movements of the hand without any visible means of support. It will be understood that many manipulative movements may be performed with the rod or wand to provide "magical" effects, the limit of such manipulations and the resultant effects being determined only by the skill of the user. The visual effect is heightened by the fact that the rod or wand stays substantially vertical as it is moved, owing to the presence of the weight- ing member.

The toy of the invention thus provides a simple and inexpensive toy, which is easily manufactured and which, with practice and perseverence, will provide a great deal of enjoyment and personal satisfaction.

Claims (11)

1. A toy comprising a rod or wand, a fine thread connected between the ends of said rod or wand, and means to maintain the rod or wand with its longitudinal axis substantially vertical as it is moved, whereby manipulation of said fine thread causes the rod or wand to move without any apparent visible means of support.

2. A toy according to Claim 1, wherein the fine thread is in the form of closed loop, the effective length of the loop being substantially equal to one-half the length of the rod or wand.

3. A toy according to Claim 2, wherein the closed loop is connected to the rod or wand by passing through a lateral hole located at the mid-length position of the rod or wand.

4. A toy according to any of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the rod or wand is in the form of a length of lightweight material such as plastics material, wood or aluminium.

5. A toy according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the rod or wand is tubular.

6. A toy according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the rod or wand is a solid length of material.

7. A toy according to any of Claims 1 to 6, wherein said means consist of a weighting member applied to one end of the rod or wand.

8. A toy according to Claim 7, wherein said weighting member is in the form of a pellet of moulding material applied to the rod or wand internally or externally thereof.

9. A toy according to Claim 7, wherein the weighting member takes the form of ferrules or end caps applied to the rod or wand.

said ferrules or end caps being of differing weights.

1 0. A toy according to any of Claims 1 to 9, wherein decorative effects are applied to said rod or wand.

11. A toy substantially as herein described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.