Amusement devices: toys – Having light-or sound-responsive switch or control
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-28
2001-11-27
Nguyen, Kien T. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices: toys
Having light-or sound-responsive switch or control
C446S424000, C446S427000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06322416
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to toys and toy systems which include photochromatic materials which change in appearance when subjected to ultraviolet (UV) light, and in particular to such toys and/or toy systems comprising movable cars, such as, for example, those included in model railways.
2. Background Art
Photochromatic materials are chemical compounds which exhibit a reversible change in its absorption spectrum upon irradiation with light of a given wavelength. Photochromatic compounds may be engineered to exhibit this change in the absorption spectrum at light wavelengths below those of visible light, the absorption spectrum change being manifested by a change in the color of the material. Thus, the material may exhibit one, “natural” color when exposed to visible light, and another, different color when exposed to light of a shorter wavelength.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is electromagnetic radiation in the part of the light spectrum between x-rays and visible light, and differs from visible light only in that the UV wavelengths are too short to be seen by the human eye. UV light has wavelengths which vary from between about 100 to 400 nm; the wavelength of visible light ranges from about 330 to 770 nm. UV light is generally characterized into three ranges: UVA (315 to 400 nm); UVB (280 to 315 nm); and UVC (200 to 280 nm). Light of wavelengths from 100 to 200 nm may also be considered to be a shorter range of UVC. UVB radiation, for example, is of the type used for suntanning, whereas UVC radiation may be used for germicidal disinfection; these types of light may be damaging to human cells. The well-known fluorescent or incandescent blacklight, however, emits UVA light radiation.
Many accessories which simulate activities related to rail transport are known and available for the model railroad hobbyist, and it is known to provide toy elements which represent various things which are transported by the model train. Such representative elements include, for example, people, animals, luggage, vehicles and other manufactured goods. Moreover, it is known to provide life-like miniature environments in which these elements are animated such that they may be moved about to simulate work being done by the people or on the goods.
Further, it is known to provide a model railroad accessory which comprises a representative element which simulates a container, such as a bottle. Previously, however, because the appearance of these representative elements have been substantially fixed, they have only simulated a single condition. For example, previous elements which represent bottles have been painted or molded in color, and thus may simulate only the containers' full or empty conditions. Separate, differently colored elements would be necessary to simulate the containers' empty condition.
A toy system, such as a model railway in combination with an accessory, in which a representative element may be altered in appearance to simulate a change in condition of thing it represents, without necessitating separate representative elements to simulate the separate conditions, is desirable. Further, it is desirable to provide a toy system in which a single representative element may be used to simulate both the presence and absence of something associated with the simulated element, which would, in the real world, be transported by rail. In particular, it is desirable to provide such a system in which the representative elements are separable from the train in which they are conveyed, and are animated during the time they are separated from the train.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a toy system which includes photochromatic materials which change in appearance, for example, in color, when exposed to a source of UVA light, such as the well-known “black” light. The toy system includes a representative element, which models a real world element and which is temporarily changed in appearance to simulate a change in its condition as a result of having been exposed to the source of UVA light, or as a result of its having been received within a housing which contains the source of UVA light. The toy element may be altered in appearance in response to its exposure to the UVA light source to simulate the presence or absence of something associated with the real element. For example, the element represented may be a container such as a bottle, the condition simulated one of being substantially full. This simulated condition is temporarily achieved by exposure of the photochromatic material in the representative element to the source of UVA light. The altered state of appearance is temporary after such exposure, and the appearance of the representative element will eventually revert to a natural state once exposure to the UVA light source has ended. In its natural state of appearance, the toy bottle of the above example will simulate the condition of being substantially empty. Further, one embodiment of the present invention provides for representative elements which are separable from the train on which they are conveyed, and which are animated.
To achieve this object, the present invention provides a toy system including a housing, an ultraviolet light source provided in the housing, and a representative element comprising photochromatic material. The representative element is temporarily disposed in the housing and is exposed to the ultraviolet light source while in the housing. The representative element has a first state in which a first condition is visually simulated and a second state in which a second condition is visually simulated; the first and second visually simulated conditions are different from one another. One of the first and second states is achieved in response to the representative element having been within the housing and exposed to the ultraviolet light source, whereby a corresponding one of the first and second conditions is simulated by the representative element having been within the housing.
The present invention further provides a toy system including a movable toy car, a representative element which includes photochromatic material and which is transported by the car, and a housing within which the representative element is temporarily disposed. The housing includes a source of ultraviolet light to which the representative element is exposed while the representative element is disposed within the housing. The representative element has a first state of appearance in which a first condition is simulated, and a temporary second state of appearance different from the first state of appearance in which a second condition different from the first condition is simulated. The second state is in response to the representative element having been exposed to the source of ultraviolet light, the representative element being reverted to its first state of appearance when the representative element is no longer disposed within the housing.
The present invention further provides a toy including a housing in which is provided an ultraviolet light, and at least one photochromatic toy element which has first and second simulated conditions. The element is temporarily disposed in the housing and exposed to the ultraviolet light therein, whereby the color of the toy element is changed. A change between the conditions is simulated by the color change.
The present invention further provides a toy system which includes a representative element which includes photochromatic material, and has a first color and a second color, the first and second colors being different from each other. A first condition is simulated by the first color and a second condition simulated by the second color, the first and second conditions being different from each other. The system also includes a housing having a source of ultraviolet light attached thereto. The representative element and the source of ultraviolet light are selectively proximal to each other and in their selective proximity the representative
Baker & Daniels
Nguyen Kien T.
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