Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Display device with free article movement – Snowfall simulator
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-27
2003-02-25
Miller, W (Department: 3677)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Display device with free article movement
Snowfall simulator
C040S406000, C446S267000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06523287
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to the improvement of a home-living decorative article, particularly to a decorative aqua ball.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An existing decorative aqua ball usually is composed of a base, a music box, a transparent casing, an inside ornamental article, a lid plug, etc. The base is provided with the music box and a power device for driving the former to play a piece of predetermined music. The lid plug is covered on an opening of the transparent casing, which is fully filled with water and brilliant colorful drift, to thereby set the ornamental article in place on the lid plug in the casing. Such a decorative aqua ball would function to sound with an actuator, either an electric machine or a spring. One drawback of the conventional decorative aqua ball is that a user has to turn it upside down to create floating effect of the drift.
For improvements, some makers have installed a motor in the transparent casing for driving the drift instead. However, irrespective of its waterproof structure, the motor which is submerged longtime in water will gradually lose its waterproof-ness in the long run. Meanwhile, the anti-corrosive butter or machine oil applied onto the shaft of a rotor may leak to contaminate the casing to spoil the beauty of the decorative aqua ball.
Again, for improvements of the above mentioned motor, a China patent numbered CN2322311Y has disclosed another waterproof motor device for driving and cycling water flow in the aqua ball in which the driving means is installed in a protective sleeve in a through hole of a lid plug, and then a rotation member and a rowing member are arranged on the protective sleeve. Nevertheless, such a structure inevitably still results in water leakage of the aqua ball sooner or later because of the through hole of the lid plug and the operation of electromechanical parts stops. The decorative article becomes meaningless as the inside ornamental article is standing still in the aqua ball.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The primary object of this invention is to provide a decorative aqua ball mainly comprising a base, a power device, a music box, a transparent casing, and a lid plug.
The aqua ball further comprises a rotation means which is composed of upper and lower turntables situated on the lid plug on respective top and bottom faces in virtue of mutual attraction of respective pieces of enhanced magnets residing face to face on the turntables.
An additional water-rowing device provided to the decorative aqua ball consists of an oar-blade set, a positioning shaft, and a transmission gear set having internal teeth. The positioning shaft is fixed centrally on a steady table with its top end extended over the top surface of the upper turntable. The oar-blade set is situated above the top surface of the upper turntable and is jointed with an upper segment of a rear stage gear of the transmission gear set and fixed to the positioning shaft through a snap ring, while the lower segment of the rear stage gear of the transmission gear set is sleeve-jointed with the positioning shaft. Both a front stage gear and a middle stage gear are installed on the bottom surface of the upper turntable, in which the front stage gear is engaged with the internal teeth of the ferrule, which is fixed at a middle portion of the steady table.
A plurality of enhanced pieces of magnets is distributed on both faces of the lid plug to form a robust and low cost structure to realize a synchronous rotation of the upper turntable and the lower turntable without needing extra power. This invention requires no opening in the lid that can render a hermetic seal to avoid any leakage of water. When the aqua ball rotates, the water flow in the transparent casing is driven to recycle repetitively by taking advantage of a water-rowing device, a transmission gear set, and an oar-blade set to thereby show a pleasant scene of drilling phenomenon.
For more detailed information regarding advantages or features of this invention, at least an example of preferred embodiment will be elucidated below with reference to the annexed drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4757986 (1988-07-01), Hwang et al.
patent: 5314365 (1994-05-01), Chen
patent: 5743780 (1998-04-01), Liu
patent: 5864976 (1999-02-01), Yang
patent: 5875577 (1999-03-01), Lu
patent: 6078000 (2000-06-01), Chen
patent: 6132284 (2000-10-01), Lin
patent: 6161317 (2000-12-01), Wang
patent: 6167647 (2001-01-01), Yang
patent: 6357151 (2002-03-01), Yuen
patent: 2322311 (1999-06-01), None
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