Animated ornament

Details Animated ornament Animated ornament

2001-01-09

2002-01-15

Jones, Deborah (Department: 1775)

Stock material or miscellaneous articles

Display in frame or transparent casing; or diorama including...

C428S011000, C428S014000, C428S034100, C428S066500, C428S076000, C428S542200, C446S133000, C446S236000, C446S267000, C040S406000, C040S409000, C040S411000, C040S426000, C040S430000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06338884

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
I. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an enhanced structure of an animated ornament and, more specifically, to a globular shell filled with liquid, in which a hollow ball floats and turns around in all directions. The innovative design of the present invention features a piece of non-magnetic, high-density material and an inner magnet attached to the lower part inside the hollow ball, as well as an outer magnet fastened onto the surface of the globular shell. The inner magnet and the outer magnet can line up in the same radius when the structure is placed still, resulting in the decorative figures on the hollow ball facing towards a fixed direction (typically towards the front).
II. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, it is known to construct an ornamental product with animated features in an attempt to increase the variability of the ornament and to boost consumers' intent for purchase. An animated ornament of this kind typically employs the function of a compass to achieve the effect of animation. For instance, when a doll is printed on a backpack, the eyeballs of the doll can turn around inside the eye sockets. Nonetheless, a conventional animated ornament employs only two-dimensional decorative figures, which are lack of innovation and do not appeal to consumers.
It is also known to construct an animated ornament by making the decorative figures face only upwards. The design of this kind of animated ornament cannot set the decorative figures to face laterally and thus severely limits its applications.
Further, for ornamental products with a shape of animals or human beings, it is also known to construct eyeballs by having a pair of hollow balls floating inside a pair of globular sockets so that each of the hollow balls can turn around freely within each globular socket. Nonetheless, without specific control of the hollow balls, they can turn around in all directions when being shaken, resulting in the eyeballs facing inwards or towards other directions that gives the ornament a weird look.
The present invention improves on the heretofore known animated ornaments by providing three-dimensional decorative figures that are able to face towards lateral directions, especially towards the front. For ornamental products with a shape of animals or human beings, the eyeballs are constructed to turn around freely in all directions when being shaken, while the “eyes” would always look towards the front when the ornament is set still.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an enhanced structure of an animated ornament comprising a globular shell filled with liquid in which a hollow ball floats and turns around freely in all directions when being shaken but points toward a fixed direction when the ornament is set still.
To achieve the object, the present invention improves the conventional structure of animated ornaments by providing a hollow ball floating in liquid filling inside a globular shell. The hollow ball is smaller than the globular shell and thus can be included in the globular shell. A piece of non-magnetic, high-density material (such as copper, tin, plastic etc.) is fastened inside the hollow ball, and an inner magnet is attached to the top of this non-magnetic material. On the surface of the globular shell fixed an outer magnet, where the inner magnet and the outer magnet can line up in the same radius with the effect of magnetic attraction, thus resulting in the decorative figures on the hollow ball facing towards the front.
Another quality that it is desired to simulate is to fill liquid in between the globular shell and the hollow ball so that that hollow ball floats in the liquid. The non-magnetic, high-density material keeps the hollow ball stable vertically, and the magnetic force between the inner magnet and the outer magnet keeps the hollow ball stable horizontally. Therefore, although the hollow ball turns around in all directions when the ornament is shaken, the decorative figures (such as a pair of eyeballs) would always point to a fixed direction (usually towards the front) when the ornament is set still.


REFERENCES:
patent: 6052930 (2000-04-01), Hermanson et al.

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