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United States Patent Application	20060189245
Kind Code	A1
Donihoo; Chad	August 24, 2006

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Claims

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1. A flying disk toy capable of producing bubbles when caused to spin through the air after being dipped in a soapy liquid solution, said toy comprising a substantially circular disk comprising a substantially planar continuous surface with a curved end portion defining the perimeter edge of the disk, said curved end portion further comprising a plurality of spaced holes disposed on and through it and substantially across the entire surface of said curved end portion.

2. A portable, recloseable receptacle for containment of a liquid solution comprising two equal and corresponding three-dimensional sections adapted to be removeably attached to each other to form a closed chamber having an opening on one end, a closure means adapted to removeably fit on said opening, said three-dimensional sections further comprising a depth suitable for dipping of the curved end of a disk-shaped object.

3. A method for producing bubbles using a flying disk toy comprising the steps of: providing a flying disk toy comprising a substantially circular disk comprising a substantially planar continuous surface with a curved end defining the perimeter edge of the disk, said curved end comprising a plurality of spaced holes disposed on and through it and substantially across its entire surface, providing a liquid solution capable of producing bubbles, providing a receptacle for containment of the liquid solution, said receptacle being independent of the flying disk toy, filling the receptacle with the liquid solution, dipping the curved end of the disk toy into the receptacle containing the liquid solution and rotating the curved end in the solution so that all surfaces of the curved end contact the solution, and throwing the disk toy into the air with a spinning action.

4. A method for producing bubbles using a flying disk toy comprising the steps of: providing a flying disk toy comprising a substantially circular disk comprising a substantially planar continuous surface with a curved end defining the perimeter edge of the disk, said curved end comprising a plurality of spaced holes disposed on and through it and substantially across its entire surface, providing a liquid solution capable of producing bubbles, providing a portable receptacle for containment of the liquid solution, said receptacle comprising two equal and corresponding three-dimensional half-sections adapted to be removeably attached to each other to form a closed chamber having an opening on one end, a closure means adapted to removeably fit on said opening, said three-dimensional half-sections further comprising a depth suitable for dipping of the curved end of a disk-shaped object, filling the receptacle with the liquid solution by opening the closure means on said receptacle then reclosing said closure means, separating the three-dimensional half-sections, dipping the curved end of the disk toy into the three-dimensional half-section containing the liquid solution, rotating the curved end of the disk toy in the solution so that all of the surfaces of the curved end are dipped in the solution, and throwing the disk toy into the air with a spinning action.

5. A bubble-producing flying disk toy system comprising the combination of the toy per claim 1 and the solution receptacle per claim 2.

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Description

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The disclosed invention relates to toys which have the capability to produce bubbles when, per their intended use, they are thrown into the air and are caused to spin in flight. The disclosed invention specifically relates to a bubble-producing toy system which includes a disk-shaped toy or FRISBEE.TM.-like toy which in its intended use is capable of producing bubbles when thrown into the air and thereby caused to spin.

[0002] Bubble-producing disk toys are not new. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,414 to Ho is directed to a flying toy comprising two substantially planar members having a plurality of holes, a gap between the members, and a liquid reservoir adapted to supply liquid continuously to the gap.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 5,348,509 to Riccardi, et. al. is directed to a flying disk toy adapted to spray a stored liquid while the toy is in flight, said toy comprising a substantially circular disk-shaped body member, an axially curved annulus surrounding the body member, a liquid reservoir means disposed centrally on the body member, a plurality of outlet means disposed continuously around and extending through the curved annulus, and a conduit means disposed on the body member defining a liquid distribution system for permitting liquid to flow from the liquid reservoir to the outlet means.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,623 to Stein discloses a flying disk toy with a handle means and a flexible strip of material having apertures on its surface attached on one of its two ends to the handle means of the flying disk toy. When dipped in a solution, the flexible strip retains substantial amounts of the liquid which is converted to a stream of bubbles when the flying disk toy is caused to fly through the air.

[0005] All known prior art involves designs for the bubble-producing disk toy which include a liquid reservoir means disposed on or in, attached to, or otherwise incorporated into the flying disk. What is needed is a simpler design for a bubble-producing disk toy which does not require an independent liquid reservoir integrated into the disk. What is needed is a bubble-producing flying disk toy system which is both simple in design and easy to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] The disclosed invention is directed to a bubble-producing toy system based on a flying disk such as but not limited to a FRISBEE.TM.. In use, the disk toy is manually thrown into the air causing the disk toy to spin in flight. The toy may then be caught by a second player who will return the flying disk to the first player by throwing the disk into the air in a spinning action in the direction of the first player. The disk toy is substantially circular and has a substantially planar surface with a curved end portion defining the perimeter of the disk. The curved end portion serves as a handle for the toy. Per the disclosed invention, the disk or FRISBEE.TM. is fashioned with a series of holes disposed on and through the thickness of the curved end of the disk. When the curved end of the disk is manually dipped into a soapy solution, the holes capture and retain some of the solution. Then, when the toy is thrown into the air, the centrifugal force of the rotating disk combined with the air passing past the holes causes bubbles to form and to release at the holes. The stronger the throwing action, the greater is the production of bubbles. In addition to the flying disk toy fashioned with holes, the disclosed system includes a lightweight, portable, recloseable receptacle designed both for containment of a bubble liquid solution as well as manual dipping of the curved end of the FRISBEE.TM. or disk toy. When the disk is dipped in the bubble solution, some of the bubble solution is trapped inside each hole on the lip of the disk of FRISBEE.TM.. When the disk is thrown bubbles are formed and released at the holes located on the lip of the perimeter edges of the disk. To make more bubbles, the disk toy must again be manually dipped in the bubble solution and then manually thrown with a conventional spinning action.

[0007] The size of the holes on the curved end surfaces of the disk may be varied and is limited only by the amount of surface area available on the curved end of the disk. The shape of the holes per the preferred embodiment is circular or elliptical. Other shapes are possible and are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed invention. The number of holes fashioned on and through the curved end is variable. Per the preferred embodiment, holes equidistant from each other are fashioned on the curved end surface substantially across the entire perimeter of the disk.

[0008] To practice the disclosed method for making bubbles using the flying disk toy per the disclosed invention, it is necessary to provide a bubble solution and a bubble solution receptacle for dipping of the flying disk toy. The disclosed bubble solution receptacle is designed to serve both as a portable bottle with a recloseable cap and a disk-dipping vessel specially suited for dipping the ends of disk-shaped objects. The preferred embodiment for the solution receptacle is a receptacle which comprises two equal and corresponding half-sections which snap together to form a closed chamber with an opening at one end. The shape of the bottle per the preferred embodiment is such that, when unsnapped in the middle to create two half-bottle portions, each half-bottle portion has a depth adequate to allow immersion of the curved ends of the disk fashioned with holes. To supply the disk with bubble solution, the curved end of the disk is dipped in a half-bottle portion and manually rotated to allow immersion of the entire perimeter of the disk in the bubble solution. Per the preferred embodiment, the bottle has a visible marking on its outer surface to indicate the maximum fill level such that when the bottle is unsnapped, either half-bottle portion has adequate capacity to contain the total volume of solution in the bottle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] FIG. 1 is a partial top view of the preferred embodiment for the flying disk toy per the disclosed invention;

[0010] FIG. 2 is a side perspective of the preferred embodiment for the disk toy per the disclosed invention;

[0011] FIG. 3 depicts a cross-section of the curved end of the disk toy per the preferred embodiment;

[0012] FIG. 4 depicts a disk toy having both circular and elliptical holes disposed on the curved end;

[0013] FIG. 5 is a side perspective of the preferred embodiment for the bubble solution receptacle;

[0014] FIG. 6 shows a partial top perspective of the preferred embodiment for the bubble solution receptacle;

[0015] FIG. 7 is a top view of the two half-bottle sections per the preferred embodiment;

[0016] FIG. 8 is side cross-sectional view of a half-section of the receptacle showing a disk dipped into the bubble solution

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] FIG. 1 shows a partial top view of the preferred embodiment of the flying disk toy. The flying disk toy comprises a substantially circular and planar face 10 and a curved end 20 defining the disk perimeter. The entire surface of the curved end 20 is fashioned with a series of spaced-apart holes 30. FIG. 2 shows a side view of the flying disk toy to show that while the flying disk toy is substantially planar it is not completely flat. FIG. 3 depicts a cross section of the curved end 20 of the flying disk toy to emphasize that the holes 30 are fashioned throughout the entire thickness of the curved end 20. FIG. 4 shows an alternative embodiment of the flying disk toy having both circular holes 40 and elliptical holes 50 on the curved end 20.

[0018] FIG. 5 depicts a side cross-section of the preferred embodiment for the bubble solution receptacle per the disclosed invention. The receptacle, which per the drawing has been filled with a volume of solution 90, comprises a closed chamber section 60, a neck section 70, and a screw-on cap 80. The receptacle is portable and may be manufactured using any suitable material such as a plastic.

[0019] FIG. 6 is a partial top perspective of the closed solution receptacle emphasizing how the receptacle functions as a portable bottle. FIG. 6 shows the cap 80, the chamber section 60, and the mid-chamber line 100 which represents the point of junction between the two chamber half-sections which are joined together via a snap action or some other suitable attachment means.

[0020] FIG. 7 depicts the two corresponding half-sections 110 of the receptacle after the receptacle has been opened and converted to a dip pan for dipping of the flying disk toy. Thus in use the receptacle is uncapped, filled with a soapy liquid solution to a recommended fill line visibly marked on the outside surface of the receptacle, capped, placed on its side, and finally the top chamber half-section is separated from its corresponding bottom half-chamber section to expose the liquid solution therein.

[0021] One possible means of removable attachment of the two chamber half-sections is via a snap action as per the preferred embodiment. Alternative suitable means of attachment for the chamber half-sections are possible and are considered to be within the scope of the disclosed invention. The removable attachment means should be such that separating the chamber half-sections will not cause undue spillage of the bubble solution.

[0022] FIG. 8 is a side perspective showing the curved handle edge 20 of the flying disk toy immersed in the solution 90 inside a half-chamber section 110.

[0023] Alternative, more traditional designs for the portable solution receptacle are of course possible and are suitable for use with the disclosed toy system. For example, a dipping pail or pan with a removable lid may be used to practice the disclosed invention. However, the preferred embodiment for the receptacle per the disclosed invention combines the following two features in a novel way: (1) the kidney-like shape of the chamber half-sections is an efficient shape optimized for dipping the ends of a FRISBEE.TM.-like disk-shaped object, and (2) the portability of a recloseable bottle.

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