Having Figure Patents (Class 446/234)
  • Patent number: 9526999
    Abstract: A traveling toy includes a gyroscopic unit, a traveling unit and an ornamental toy unit. The gyroscopic unit includes a motor having co-rotatable upper and lower output shafts, a rigid body having a rotational symmetry, and mounted co-rotatably on the upper output shaft of the motor, a driving gear mounted co-rotatably on the lower output shaft, and a transmission gear meshing the driving gear. The traveling unit is disposed below the gyroscopic unit, and includes a first bottom wheel adapted for traveling on a surface, and a gear train disposed between and meshing the transmission gear and the first bottom wheel. The ornamental toy unit is provided on the gyroscopic unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2016
    Assignee: GENIUS TOY TAIWAN CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Wen-Pin Lin
  • Patent number: 8920209
    Abstract: A toy apparatus having a lower base, an upper base and a doll cover for the upper base where the lower base and the upper base attach and detach with an easy twisting motion. The lower base encloses a flywheel on a shaft, and a passageway for a rack and includes a cover with an outside screw thread. The upper base is either empty or encloses three switches, a sound generator, a light source, a controller printed circuit board, and a battery chamber and includes a cover with an inside screw thread that mates with the screw thread of the lower base. The toy apparatus has two primary play modes, a first mode where the lower base, the upper base and the cover are connected and a user uses the rack to spin the flywheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Hasbro, Inc.
    Inventors: Meredith Brooks, Dean Carley, Sean Carmine Isabella
  • Publication number: 20130102223
    Abstract: A toy apparatus having a lower base, an upper base and a doll cover for the upper base where the lower base and the upper base attach and detach with an easy twisting motion. The lower base encloses a flywheel on a shaft, and a passageway for a rack and includes a cover with an outside screw thread. The upper base is either empty or encloses three switches, a sound generator, a light source, a controller printed circuit board, and a battery chamber and includes a cover with an inside screw thread that mates with the screw thread of the lower base. The toy apparatus has two primary play modes, a first mode where the lower base, the upper base and the cover are connected and a user uses the rack to spin the flywheel.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Publication date: April 25, 2013
    Inventors: Meredith Brooks, Dean Carley, Sean Carmine Isabella
  • Patent number: 7740518
    Abstract: A jousting element for use in a game. The jousting element has a body which is arranged around a cylindrically aligned vertical axis. The body is configured to rotate about the vertical axis and to be carried above a playing surface. A traveling component connected to the body enables the body of the jousting element to be carried above the playing surface along multiple directions of travel. Attached to the body is a first playing component. The first playing component enables the jousting element to engage a second jousting element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 22, 2010
    Inventor: Michael Elliott
  • Publication number: 20090130943
    Abstract: A launchable doll having arms, legs and wings fixed to the doll at a waist level thereof which impart aerodynamic lift to the doll when the doll is rotated A set including the launchable doll and a launcher including a base, a tube that contains the legs and a mechanism that rotates the tube and the doll with respect to the base.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 20, 2006
    Publication date: May 21, 2009
    Applicant: GENIE TOYS PLC
    Inventors: Casey W. Norman, David Gamlin, Tony Thatcher
  • Patent number: 6909374
    Abstract: A sensor for use in an interactive electronic device. The sensor comprises a base member having at least one recess formed therein which is partially defined by a peripheral wall thereof. Disposed within the peripheral wall of the base member is at least one switch. Also disposed within the recess is a trigger ball which is freely movable about the peripheral wall of the base member. The sensor is operative to generate at least two different states corresponding to respective positions of the sensor relative to a reference plane. The movement of the sensor relative to the reference plane facilitates the movement of the trigger ball within the recess, with one state being generated when the trigger ball is in contact with the switch and another state being generated when the trigger ball is not in contact with the switch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: June 21, 2005
    Inventor: Peter Sui Lun Fong
  • Patent number: 6676476
    Abstract: A gyroscopic figure in accordance with the present invention includes a freely rotatable flywheel mounted within the figure such that the flywheel has a pre-determined orientation. A pinion gear is secured to the flywheel and a guide post is positioned a distance away from the pinion gear to form a channel therebetween. A flexible rack gear is then used to rapidly rotate the flywheel. The figure also includes a plurality of apertures. The figure may be used with a toy vehicle that includes a plurality of pegs positioned about the vehicle and sized to fit an aperture. As such when the figure is secured to the vehicle in a specific position and the flywheel is rotating, the rotating flywheel creates a gyroscopic effect that balances and stabilizes the vehicle such that the vehicle can be moved in a specific direction. In various embodiment of the present invention the vehicle may be a skateboard, a mountain board, a scooter a bicycle, or a car.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2003
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2004
    Assignee: Lund and Company Invention, LLC
    Inventors: Bruce D. Lund, Michael Starrick
  • Patent number: 6612895
    Abstract: A gyroscopic toy having a housing and an end post. The housing contains a spinning member, which can be caused to rotate about a first rotation axis of the housing for producing a gyroscopic effect while the end post rests on a surface to support the housing. A gimbals member is movably mounted on the exterior of the housing so that the first gimbals member can rotate about a second axis perpendicular to the first rotation axis. Two crescent-shaped members are movably mounted to the gimbals and one or two figurines are attached to the crescent-shaped members to enhance the visual effect. The toy comes with a support stand, the upper end of which has a concave surface to seat the end post. Alternatively, at least one foot of the figurine has a concave surface to seat the end post when the figurine is used as the support stand.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 6, 2003
    Date of Patent: September 2, 2003
    Inventor: Chau King Sze
  • Patent number: 6276985
    Abstract: A gyroscopic motion device constructed for relative motion over an external support structure. The device includes a frame structure configured to support a pair of spaced apart gyroscopes. The device also includes a substructure operatively interposed the pair of gyroscopes which initiates a precessing effect, which results in a change in the angular disposition of the axes of rotation of the gyroscopes to cause the device to move relative to the external support structure.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2001
    Inventor: Howard M. Kober
  • Patent number: 6042449
    Abstract: The present invention provides a toy comprising: a rotator which is capable of exhibiting a gyro effect; a driver connected to the rotator for rotating the rotator to allow the rotator to exhibit the gyro effect; and a device capable of causing the toy falling down or tilting to show a spin or a rotation in the same direction as a rotation of the rotator so that a rotational axis of the rotator rotates or swings to draw a cone-shaped locus thereof, thereby to reduce swing motion of the rotational axis or to narrow a spread of the cone-shaped locus, whereby the rotational axis of the rotator is forced and moved onto a center and vertical axis, and the toy comes stand right-up and stabilized in a standing right-up position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2000
    Assignee: Nikko Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Zenichi Ishimoto
  • Patent number: 5957745
    Abstract: A gyroscopic figurine (10) is disclosed having a body (11) and a gyroscope (12) mounted within the body. The gyroscope (12) has a rotatable wheel (15) coupled with the shaft (23) of an electric motor (16). The shaft is oriented at an angle to the axis of rotation (21) of the gyroscope wheel to cause a slight unbalancing or wobbling effect as the wheel rotates. The body has a torso (26), a head (28), pivoting arms (29), a fixed leg (30), and a moveable leg (33). The relative positioning of the arms, legs and torso cause the figurine to become unbalanced and thus move while the gyroscope operates. The unbalancing of the gyroscopic wheel causes the figurine to vibrate and thus enhance the skating effect of the figurine upon an underlying surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1998
    Date of Patent: September 28, 1999
    Assignee: Johnson Research & Development Company, Inc.
    Inventors: Lonnie G. Johnson, John T. Applewhite
  • Patent number: 5823845
    Abstract: In one embodiment, a toy having a body for housing and supporting its various constituent elements, the elements including: a gyroscopic mechanism, mounted therein so as to gyrostabilize the toy, which includes a rotor mounted on an axle and a mechanism for attaching the axle so that it is free to rotate about one or both of two axes which are perpendicular to each other and to the axis of spin; a selectively, intermittently operable drive mechanism for causing the axle and the rotor to spin with sufficient speed to gyrostabilize the toy; one or more appendages attached to and supported by the body portion of the toy, optionally operatively connected by a transmission to the selectively, intermittently operable drive mechanism, or to an independent drive mechanism, for moving the one or more appendages in a predetermined manner; and a mechanism for permitting independent directional movement of the toy, on which the body portion is supported and which resists the natural precessional forces of the gyroscopic
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Kieran Bergin, Inc.
    Inventor: Kieran J. O'Berrigan
  • Patent number: 5525086
    Abstract: A launchable figurine device includes a figurine having wings capable of providing aerodynamic lift upon rotation of the figurine. A rotation imparting mechanism is releasably mated with the figurine to provide the requisite rotational velocity for launching the figurine into the air.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 1995
    Date of Patent: June 11, 1996
    Inventors: John Gentile, Anthony Gentile, Karyn K. Silfies
  • Patent number: 4772241
    Abstract: A toy top having an air impeller-driven flywheel and a spring-latch mechanism which releases an upper portion of the top from a lower housing when an articulated arm of the spinning top comes into contact with an object such as a stationary object or another top. The flywheel located inside the lower housing is rotated by blowing air into one of two ducts on the housing. The stream of air comes into contact with the blades of an impeller causing rotation of the impeller and the flywheel which is attached to the impeller. The flywheel is attached to a shaft rotatably mounted inside the housing. Slots in bosses extending upward from the housing releasably engage a plate at the bottom of the upper portion. The slots disengage from the plate when one of two articulated arms of the spinning top contacts an object allowing a spring mounted inside the upper portion to push the upper portion away from the lower housing. The top appears to "blow up" as the upper portion pops up from the housing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 1987
    Date of Patent: September 20, 1988
    Assignee: Mattel, Inc.
    Inventors: Jay M. Bro, Raymond R. Lynch, Peter C. Hill, Arthur J. Foss, Richard G. Garza, Gary M. Saffer, Wayne R. Halford