Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy

Abstract

The invention is a continuous extendable light saber toy whose blade, when fully extended, is rigid and firm enough to use as a sword, but, when not in use, is able to be rolled up into a small compact form factor.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application claims priority to the previously filed provisional patent application entitled “Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy” filed on Aug. 17, 2017, and assigned application No. 62/546,705 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING COMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a continuous extendable light saber toy whose blade, when fully extended, is rigid and firm enough to use as a sword, but, when not in use, is able to be rolled up into a small compact form factor.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention is a continuous extendable light saber toy whose blade, when fully extended, is rigid and firm enough to use as a sword, but, when not in use, is able to be rolled up into a small compact form factor. Current extendable light saber swords are composed of separate telescoping tubes whose diameters decrease as the length increases. These telescoping tubes do not accurately depict the traditional type of continuous extendable fictional light sabers shown in movies. Said invention solves this problem by providing a toy that more closely resembles and depicts and implements the traditional type of continuous extendable fictional light saber as shown in movies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 Depicts an external perspective view of the Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy in its unextended state showing the hilt 1, crossbar casing 2, blade cover 3, and blade tip 4.

FIG. 2 Depicts an internal perspective view of the Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy in its fully extended state, showing the hilt 1, crossbar casing 2, blade cover 3, and extendable blade 5.

FIG. 3 Depicts an internal perspective view of the Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy in its unextended state, with the crossbar casing 2 removed, showing the hilt 1, blade cover 3, blade tip 4, extendable blade 5, structural housing 6, and static blade axle 7.

FIG. 4 Depicts an internal perspective view of the Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy in its unextended state showing various elements, including the rotatable blade drum 8 and the electronics and power compartment 9.

FIG. 5 Depicts an underside internal perspective view of the Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy in its unextended state showing various elements, including the rotatable blade drum 8, the electronics and power compartment 9, and the light source 10.

FIG. 6 Depicts an internal side view of the Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy in its unextended state.

FIG. 7 Depicts a perspective view of the extendable blade 5 in its unextended state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In its preferred embodiment, the extendable blade 5 is composed of a thin semi-translucent bistable composite material tube such as that designed and or manufactured by British company RolaTube. Alternatively, the tube may be a regular tube such as a thin walled nylon tube or thin walled polyethylene tube. The tube diameter, when extended, may slightly overlap so as to be fully enclosed and there is no gap space in the extended tube. Alternatively, the edges of the tube may contain an interlocking mechanism such as a zipper or ziplock mechanism to mate the edges together. The proprietary bistable composite material tube has the ability to maintain two stable states simultaneously such that the extendable blade 5 may be both rigid and extended yet flexible and rolled up as shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 2. The structural housing 6 provides a cavity and alignment guide for the extendable blade 5 to rollup into in addition to a structural framework and electronic vestibule for the entire Continuous Extendable Light Saber Toy.

The structural housing 6 electronically and structurally connects the light source 10 to the electronics and power compartment 9. The electronics and power compartment 9 may contain the power supply and or electronic circuitry and switches. The light source 10 may contain a high intensity lumen LED that when powered on shines into the cavity of the extendable blade 5. The semi-translucence material of the extendable blade 5 allows for the light from the light source 10 to illuminate the entire extendable blade 5 so that the external surface of the extendable blade 5 appears to glow or light up. The blade cover 3 and blade tip 4 may also be made of a translucent material. The blade cover 3 is fixed to the extendable blade 5 near the blade tip 4 and fully wraps around the extendable blade 5 and acts to hold the extendable blade 5 firmly together during rolling and unrolling and use. The blade tip 4 acts as a cap to fully enclose the extendable blade 5 and trap the light from the light source 10 inside the extendable blade 5.

The properties of the bistable composite material, of which the extendable blade 5 may be composed, allows it to be manually unrolled by the user. To unroll or extend the extendable blade 5, the user may simply pull the blade cover 3 at which point the rotatable blade drum 8, which is fixedly attached to the initial core of the extendable blade 5, will begin to rotate about the static blade axle 7. The static blade axle does not rotate and is fixed in place and attached internally to the crossbar casing 2. To roll-up the extendable blade 5 for storage the user may simply push the blade tip 4 at which point the extendable blade 5 will begin to move backwards causing the rotatable blade drum 8 to rotate in the opposite direction and thereby the extendable

Claims

1. An light saber toy comprising

a rotatable drum wherein the rotatable drum is cylindrical and extends in a first direction wherein the cylindrical drum is configured to rotate in a clock-wise or counter clock wise direction;

an extendable blade comprised of a piece of material having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side, wherein the material extends width-wise from the first side to the second side and length-wise from the first end to the second end, the material is continuous, semi-translucent, and elongated, the first end of the material is attached to the rotatable drum, a substantial portion of the material is configured to roll-up around the rotatable drum as the rotatable drum rotates in one of a clock-wise or counter clock wise direction and a portion of the material is configured to form a hollow, elongated tube extending in a second direction when the material is pulled in the second direction from around the rotatable drum as the rotatable drum rotates in a direction opposite the one direction, and the first direction and second direction are perpendicular;

housing that extends around the rotatable drum and the extendable blade material rolled-up around the rotatable drum wherein the housing comprises an opening such that the extendable blade material may extend from the housing when the extendable blade material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum; and

a light source attached to the housing and positioned and configured to direct light inside the hollow tube formed when the extendable blade material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum and forms the hollow tube, wherein the light source is positioned such that a portion of the material wraps around the light source when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum and forms the hollow tube.

2. The light saber toy of claim 1 wherein the extendable blade material is a bistable material configured to have a first state and a second state wherein the first state is an unbent state in the width-wise direction when the material is rolled around the rotatable drum and the second state is a rolled states in the width-wise direction when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum.

3. The light saber toy of claim 1 wherein the extendable blade material is nylon.

4. The light saber toy of claim 1 wherein the extendable blade material is polyethylene.

5. The light saber toy of claim 2 further comprising a fixed cylindrical blade cover attached to the second end of the extendable blade material wherein the cylindrical blade covered is configured to maintain the second end of the extendable blade material in a rolled state.

6. The light saber toy of claim 1 further comprising an elongated handle extending in a third direction opposite the second direction.

7. The light saber toy of claim 6 wherein the elongated handle is attached to a portion of the housing.

8. The light saber toy of claim 1 further comprising a static blade axle wherein:

the rotatable drum is hollow;

the static blade axle is cylindrical and extends in the first direction;

the static blade axle is positioned inside the rotatable drum concentrically such that the rotatable drum rotates about the static blade axle; and

the static blade axle is fixedly attached to the housing.

9. An light saber toy comprising

a rotatable drum wherein the rotatable drum is cylindrical and extends in a first direction;

an extendable blade comprised of a piece of material having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side, wherein: the material extends width-wise from the first side to the second side and length-wise from the first end to the second end, the material is continuous, semi-translucent, and elongated, the first end of the material is attached to the rotatable drum, a substantial portion of the material is configured to roll-up around the rotatable drum and a portion of the material is configured to form a hollow, elongated tube extending in a second direction when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum in the second direction, the first direction and second direction are perpendicular, and the extendable blade material is a bistable material configured to have a first state and a second state wherein the first state is an unbent state in the width-wise direction when the material is rolled around the rotatable drum and the second state is a rolled states in the width-wise direction when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum;

a fixed cylindrical blade cover attached to the second end of the extendable blade material wherein the cylindrical blade covered is configured to maintain the second end of the extendable blade material in a rolled state;

housing that extends around the rotatable drum and the extendable blade material rolled-up around the rotatable drum wherein the housing comprises an opening such that the extendable blade material may extend from the housing when the extendable blade material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum; and

a light source attached to the housing and positioned and configured to direct light inside the hollow tube formed when the extendable blade material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum and forms the hollow tube, wherein the light source is positioned such that a portion of the material wraps around the light source when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum and forms the hollow tube.

10. A method of using the light saber toy of claim 1, the method comprising,

when a substantial portion of the material is roll-up around the rotatable drum, causing the rotatable drum to rotates in the one direction and the extendable blade material rolled around the rotatable drum to move through the opening in the housing in the second direction to automatically form a hollow, elongated tube extending in the second direction; and

directing light inside the hollow tube.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein causing the rotatable drum to rotates in the one direction and the extendable blade material rolled around the rotatable drum to move through the opening in the housing comprises pulling the second end of the extendable blade material in the second direction.

12. The method of claim 10 further comprising causing the rotatable drum to rotate in the direction opposite the one direction and the extendable blade material to move through the opening in the housing in a third direction, opposite the second direction, until a substantial portion of the material is rolled-up around the rotatable drum.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein causing the rotatable drum to rotate in the direction opposite the one direction and the extendable blade material to move through the opening in the housing in a third direction, opposite the second direction comprising pushing the extendable blade material in the third direction.

14. An light saber toy comprising

a rotatable drum wherein the rotatable drum is cylindrical and extends in a first direction and wherein the rotatable drum is hollow;

an extendable blade comprised of a piece of material having a first end, a second end, a first side, and a second side, wherein: the material extends width-wise from the first side to the second side and length-wise from the first end to the second end, the material is continuous, semi-translucent, and elongated, the first end of the material is attached to the rotatable drum, a substantial portion of the material is configured to roll-up around the rotatable drum and a portion of the material is configured to form a hollow, elongated tube extending in a second direction when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum in the second direction, the first direction and second direction are perpendicular, and the extendable blade material is a bistable material configured to have a first state and a second state wherein the first state is an unbent state in the width-wise direction when the material is rolled around the rotatable drum and the second state is a rolled states in the width-wise direction when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum;

a static blade axle wherein the static blade axle is cylindrical and extends in the first direction; the static blade axle is positioned inside the rotatable drum concentrically such that the rotatable drum rotates about the static blade axle; and wherein the static blade axle is fixedly attached to the housing,

a fixed cylindrical blade cover attached to the second end of the extendable blade material wherein the cylindrical blade covered is configured to maintain the second end of the extendable blade material in a rolled state;

housing that extends around the rotatable drum and the extendable blade material rolled-up around the rotatable drum wherein the housing comprises an opening such that the extendable blade material may extend from the housing when the extendable blade material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum;

a light source attached to the housing and positioned and configured to direct light inside the hollow tube formed when the extendable blade material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum and forms the hollow tube, wherein the light source is positioned such that a portion of the material wraps around the light source when the material is pulled from around the cylindrical drum and forms the hollow tube; and

an elongated handle attached to a portion of the housing.