Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
FRISBEE DISK AMD BALL DROP ASSE~BLY
Background of the Invention
This inve~tion relates to the field of amusemen~
devices and games which utilize an item that is thrown
l through the air, and in particular to those which
I carry a se~,ond item that separates ~rom the first
during flight.
Prior art devices of this kind include those
i described in the ~ollowing United States patents. -~
Patent No. 4,077,155 discloses a disk shaped - -
aerodynamic toy which rotates as it is thrown through
the air, having a second toy member carried on a
threaded sha~t secured by a nut which unscrews due
to the rotation o~ the disk thereby releasing the
second toy member ~or descent to the ground by way
of a parachute attached to the second toy member.
l Patent No. 3,959,918 disclo~ses a toy for throwing ','
¦ into the air comprising a diamond shaped base with a
compartment in the center for a parachute. The toy
l is thrown up in th air with a spinning motion. When
! it reaches its apex and begins to descend, the flap
doors o~ the compartment open by gravitational pull
to release the parachute~ The toy then floats back
down to earth.
I Patent No. 3,855,728 discloses an aerodynamic lf`: ~" ~`~
I toy which comprises a pair of disks, one nesting ''!'"'
within the other. When thrown through the air the
disks separate, the nested disk sailing more slowly
so the person to whom thrown can catch both disks,
the ~aster ~ne first and then be can move wherever
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ll
necessary to catch the second one.
Patent No. 3,134jl94 discloses a toy missile
for elastically propelling into the air, comprising
a multi-stage toy rocket which separates in fli~ht
to release a toy glider.
l Patent No. 2,744,356 discloses a toy described
I as a parachute carrying aerial disk- The toy is
thrown into the air and when it starts to descend,
a relatively heavy figure to ~vhich the para~hute is
at~ached pulls away from the disk drawing the para-
chute out and away from the disk for descent to the
ground.
Patent No. 1,362,8~4 discloses a toy comprising
a bow and arrow in which the arrow has a canister
l carried, at the tip with a doll-liXe figure and para-
I chute therein. The arrow is s'hot into the air, a
long string is connected at one end to a release
mechanism in the canister whil,e the other end is
stepped on by the person who shoots the arrow. When ~,
the arrow and canister in flight reach the limit o~
the string, the release mechanism releases the doll-like
I figure and parachute for descent to the earth. I
i In these examples of prior art devices, release of
the second carried item cannot be determined ~rom a
remote ground location a~ter the first carrier item
has been put in flight, as to just when and where the
second carried item will be released. Such prior art
devices are there~ore limited in their use, and cannot
for example be used in a game o~ skill to determine
who can throw the first carrier item in a particular
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direction9 and then at the exact moment release the
second carried item, so it will fall on or close to
a preselected target area. -
The present inven-tion is an improvement over
the prior art in these respects. The carried item
can be released ~rom the carrier disk on command from
a remote ground location at any point desired during
flight. It can therefore be used not only by an in-
dividual himself to see how close he can come to
dropping the ball on a preselected target but in a
game of skill wi-th others to see which one of the
group can come closest to the target during a succes-
sive number of throws until enough points are achieved
to win the game.
Summary of the Invention
It is an object o~ the inventioll to provide a
carrier item and a carried item for flight through
the air, separation means to separate the carried
item from the carrier item during fligh~, and remote -- ¦
control means to signal the separation means from a
remote location ~o so separate the carried item from
the carrier item and permit the carried item to drop
to the ground~
It is an object of the inYention to provide a
carrier item and a carried item for flight through
the air which can be hand thrown, separation means
to separate the carried item from the carrier item -
during ~light, and remote control means ~or the
thrower to signal the separation means from a remote
location to so separate the carried item from the
~2~
carrier item and permit the carried item to drop to
the ground.
I* is an object of the invention to provide a -.
frisbee disk having a concave-convex wall and a
ball carryiDg assembly carried on the concave side
of the wall, and remote control discharge means to
discharge a ball ~rom said ball carrying assembly
from a remote locatio~ while said frisbee disk is
in ~ ht.
It is an object of the invention to provide a
~risbee disk having a concave-convex wall and a
ball carrying assembly embedded in a thickened central
portion o~ said wall, and remote control discharge
means to discharge a ball from said ball carrYing
assembly ~rom a remote location ~hile said frisbee
disk is in ~llght~
It is an object of the i~vention to provide a
frisbee disk havi~g a concave-convex wall, a thickened
central portion of said wall, and a compartment in
said thickened ce~ltral portion to carry an item ~ith
said grisbee disk while in flight.
It is an object of the invention to provide a
frisbee disk having a concave-convex wall wherein
one side of said wall is concave and the opposite
side is convex, the concave side having a greater
radius than the convex side to provide a progressively
thicker wall from the circumferential edge extending
radlally inward to the central axis of the disk for
embedding items in the thickened central portion of
said wall~
~ 9
. Brief D~scr ptiOIl of the Dra-Yin~ I
, .
I Fig. 1 is a ~ottom plan view of ~he concave side
of a frisbee disk having a bal:L carrying assembly in
l accordance with ~his invention on the concave side
I ~ of the disk wall.
Fig. 2 is a section view taken on line 2 - 2 of
Fig. ~. !
, Fig. 3 is a section view taken on line 3 - 3 of
i Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a plan v~ew from the top of the ball
. carrying assembly in accordance with this invention~ ¦
shown removed from the frisbee disk~ ¦
Fig. 5 is a schematic of the opera~ing circuit
~or the ball discharge mechanism in accordance with
this invention.
, Flg. 6 is a bottom plan view of the housing for
the ball carrying assembly in accordance with this
invention.
Fig. 7 is a top plan view o~ the han~ operated sound
wave transmitter for use with the remote controlled ball
carrying assembly and discharge mechanism o~ *his
I ¦ invention.
Fig. 8 is a side elevation view of the sound wave
transmitter shown in Fig. 7.
Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the sound wave tr~ I.
mitter shown in Fig. 7.
Flg. 10 is a top plan view of the convex side o~
modified irisbee disk in accordance with this inventi~
a portion in the cen~er broken away to show the opera-
ting components of the ball carrying assembly and dis-
charge mechanism operationally embedded in a thickened
central portion of said modified frisbee disk.
Fig. 11 is a section view taken on line 11 - 11 of
Fig. 10.
Flg. 12 is a~sèction view og a modi~ied frisbee disk
o~ the type shown in Figs, 10 and 11, having a carrying
compartment embedded in the thickened central portion thereof.
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Description of Preferred Embodiment
¦ A frisbee and ball drop in accordance with this
invention includes a frisbee disk 2, having an arcu- -¦
ate wall 4 with a circular peripheral edge 6, a con-
vex outer wall 8 and a concave inner wall 10, shaped
,I to sail through the air when thrown with its conve~Y
I outer wall 8 facing generally in an upward direction
. away from the earth and its concave inner wall 10
facing generally in a downward direction toward the
earth.
The concave inner wall 10 defines and borders a
relatively shallow dished cavity 12 opening at an
open wall 14 bounded by the circular peripheral edge
6 o~ the frisbee disk 2.
A ball carrier assembly 16 is mounted within the
dished cavity 1~ and secured ~o the concave inner wall
10 axially aligned with its central axis 18.
The ball carrier assembly includes a housing 20,
a battery operated motor 22 mounted therein and con
nected by a drive shaft 24 to a worm 26 which drives
planar gear 28. The planar gear 28 is affixed to a
driven shaft 30 supported for rotation by bearings
32 and 34.
A gate operating ~rm 36 is secured to the lower
end portion of driven shaft 30 for rotation therewith,
and ~or engagement with the projecting free end por-
tion 38 of a pivokally mounted gate 40 pivotable on
pin 42 between a gate open and a gate closed position.
The gate 40 is normally biased to the gate closed posi-
tion by a spring 44 connected to the opposite end 46
of the pivotally mounted gate 40. The forwardly
facing side edge 48 of the gate 40 abuts against
a ledge 50 when biased to the gate closed position,
at which time the gate 4~ is in registration with
the discharge opening 52 o~ passageway or chamber
54 of loading tube 56 to block the ball 58 therein
from being discharged from the tube 56.
The gate operating arm 36 ex~ends out~vardly from
the driven shaft 30 far enough to engage the projec-
ting free end 38 of the gate ~0, when the planar
gear 28 is driven in the counterclo kwise direction
as seen in Fig. ~. The pivotally mounted gate 40
is mounted within the housing 20 with its projecting
~ree end 38 extending into the arcuate path of travel
of the gate operating arm 36 when in the gate closed
positio~. The gate 40 comprisec; an elongated plate
having an upper surface 60 with a width dimension
corresponding to that of the diameter of the discharge _-
opening 52 o~ loading tube 56. A tubula~ sleeve
bearing 62 extends ~rom the lower surface 64 of the
gate 40 terminating at a ~ree end 66 bearing against
the ~loor 68 o~ the housing 20. The sleeve bearing
62 is suf~iciently long to position the upper surface
60.of the gate ~0 far enough above the floor 68 to be
immediately adjacent the discharge opening 52 of
loading tube 56 to retain ~he ball 58 therein until
the gate 40 is pivoted to the gate open position.
The discharge end 52 of loading tube 56 terminates
at a plat~orm 74 spaced apart above the f loor 68 of
housing 20 a sufficient distance to provide an
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operating chamber 76 for the gate 40 to pivot between
the gate open and gate closed positions.
A floor opening 78 is provided in the floor 68
of housing 20 in registration with the discharge
opening 52 o~ the loading ~ube 4 to permit the ball
58 to drop through the floor 68 when the gate 40 is
pivoted to the ga*e open position enabling the ball
58 to drop ~rom the discharge opening 52 of the tube 56.
The motor 22 is operated by a remote con~rol mech-
anism comrprising a sound wave transmitter 80 and a
sound wave receiver 82 which generates an electrical
signal on the operating circuit 84 in which sound
wave receiver 82 is connected within the housing 20
o~ ball carrying assembly 16.
The sound wave transmi~ter 80 comprises a hand
held mechanism that produces a s~und and generates
sound waves o~ a -frequency and intensity that can
be sensed by the sound wave receiver 82 from a dis-
tance at least as great as that which a frisbee can ,~
be thrown. The sound wave transmitter 80 includes
a two part body 86 comprising an outer shell 8~ i
and an insert 90 o~ substantially the same peripheral
con~iguration but slightly smaller to be received
in the cavity 92 of the outer shell 88. Each has a
sound amplifying chamber, 9~ and 96 respectively,
with a sound producing metal membrane 98 sandwiched
between in such a way that it produces a sound, and
generates sound waves, when flexed. The insert 90
is mounted in the cavity 92 o~ outer shell 88 in
such a way that its handle end 100 is normally biased
outwardly but may be pressed inwardly thereby flexingthe sound producing member 98 and generating the
sound waves which generate an electrical signal in
the sound wave receiver 82.
The operation of sound wave transmitters and
receivers to generate an electrical signal is con-
ventional, and their operation need not be explained
in greater detail here.
A radio transmitter and receiver may also be
used as the remote control and signal generating
mechanism for use with this invention. The use of
radio frequency waves for such purposes and how
radio transmitters and receivers work is also well
known and need not be repeated here.
The sound wave receiver 82 is a small component
having a small cylindrical chamber 102 in which an
electrical signal is induced upon receipt of sound
waves genersted by the sound wave transmitter 80.
The sound wave receiver 82 is connected in operating
circuit 84 to impose the signal genera~ed on the
base terminal 104 o~ NPN transistor Ql whose emit-
ter-base circuit is forward biased by battery pack 1~6.
An amplified curren~ ~low is thus created from the
collector terminal 108 of transistor Ql to the base
terminal 110 of transistor Q2, further amplifying
curre~t ~rom the collector terminal 112 of transist~.
Q2 to drive the motor 22.
A limit switch 116 is provided in a disconnect
circuit 118 to llmit operation of motor 22 to the
time needed to rotate planar gear 28 one revolution.
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The operation of the limit switch is as folloWs.
An electrically conductive circular copper plate 120
is seoured to the upper surface 122 of the non-con-
ductive planar gear 28, coaxially therewith, ex~end-
ing radially toward the circumferential edge of
planar gear 28. An annular portion of the copper
plate 120 is cut away from somewhat more than half
of its outer circumferential edge along opposi~e
edges 124 and 126, leaving an annular portion of
the non-conductive planar gear 28 exposed. A non-con
ductive annular path 128 is thereby provided around
somewhat more than hal~ oi' the circum~erence of the
planar gear 28. The annular continuation o~ such
path is on the outer circum~erence edge portion o~
the circular copper plate 120, thereby providing an
electrically conductive annular path 130 as the con-
tinuation of non-conductive annular path 128.
A lea~ spring electrical contact arm 132 is posi-
tioned ~or continuous contact in the annular path
comprising the ~o~-conductive portion 128 and the
conductive portion 130 as the planar gear 2~ is rotated.
A second lea~ spring electrical contact arm 134
is positioned ~or continuous contact i~ an annular
path whichisradially inward -~rom ~he cut-away portion
o~ circular copper plate 120 and which i5 a continu-
ously conductive annular path 136.
The leaf spring contact arms 132 and 134 are
connected to respective terminals 138 and 140 of the
disconnect circuit 118 in which a relay 142 is connec-
ted to open switch 144, normally biased -to the closed
20~
contact position, which when opened interrupts the
operating circuit 84 and stops the motor 22. This
occurs during each revolution of the planar gear 28. -
. When leaf spring contact arm 132 is in contact wlth
l ~he non-conductive portion 128 of the annular path
I in which it is positioned on the upper sur~ace of the
planar gear 28, the disconnect circuit 118 is open, I
relay 142 is not energized, and switch 144 is in its
normally biased closed contact position. A signal
received by the sound wave receiver 82 and tra~smitted
to transistor Q1 can then energize the operating cir-
cuit 84 causing amplified current to flow to operate
the motor 220
As the motor 22 begins to operate, it begins
to rotate the planar gear 28 with leaf spring contact
arm 132 in conta~.t with non-conductive annular path
128 and leaf spring contact arm 134 in contact with
continuously conductive annular path 136. As planar
gear 28 continues its single rotation, the electrically
conductive annular path 130 reaches leaf spring con-
tact arm 132, whereby an electrical circuit is co~- I
i pleted across the leaf spring contact arms 132 and 134
thereby closing the disconnect circuit 118 and
energizing the re.lay 142. The normally closed
switch 144 in the operating circuit 84 is thus
caused to open, thereby interrupting the operating
circuit and.stopping the motor 22 before the planar
gear 28 ca~ begin a second revolution.
The arcuate length of the electrically conduc-
tive portion 128 o~ the annular path which is
L'9
intermittently conductive and non-conductive is less
th~n hal~ the circumference of planar gear 28 and
only long enough to permit the disconnect circuit
118 to energize relay 142 and hold switch 144 open
a su~iicient length of time to interrupt the opera-
ting circuit 84.
The control components o~ the operating circuit
84 9 including the sound wave capacitor 148, resistor
150, rheostat 152. capacitors 154 and 156 and tran-
sistor Q2, are mounted on a circuit board 158 within
the housing 20 o~ ball carrier assembly 16. The ope.
ating circuit 84 is powered by the battery pack 106
comprising two conventional dry cell batteries 160 and
162, each 1.5 ~olts, 15 amp, size AA. The batteries
are carried in the battery compartment 164 o~ housing
20, and connected to the operating circuit 84 by bus
bars 166. Access to the ba~tery compartrnent is by
removing the compartment cover 168.
The disconnect circuit 118 comprislng leaf spring
contact arms 132 and 134, conductors 170 a~d 172,
and relay 142 are also mounted within the housing
20 of the b~ll carrier assembly 16.
The loading tube 56 extends upwardly ~rom its
discharge end 52 and ~erminates at a loading end
174 received in an aperture 176 extending through
the wall 4 of the ~risbee disk 2, ~he loading end
174 o~ tube 56 having a loading aperture 178 opening
to the outer con~ex wall 8 of the frisbee disk 2.
The ball 58 is placed in ~he loading tube 56 ~rom the
outer conex sur~ace of the ~risbee, and the loading
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apeture 178 may then be closed by the closure cap 180.
The housing 20 and its operating components are
mounted within the dished cavity 12 of the frisbee
disk 2 by screws 182 or other connecting devices se-
curing the mounting tabs 184 and 186, which extend
across each end o~ the housing 20 9 to the concave
inner wall 10 of the frisbee disk 2.
The frisbee and ball drop in accordance with this
invention may be used for amusement inageneral sense,
and may also be used in a contest or game to see who
can drop the ball 58 closest to a selected target
from a thrown ~risbee.
Operation oi the frisbee and ball drop in accor-
dance with this invention is as .Eollows. The ball
58 is placed in the loading chamber 54 of tube 56
and closure cap 180 is placed on the tube to close
the loading aperture 178. The ~:risbee disk 2 is
then thrown into the air with one hand, convex wall
8 ~acing upwardly and concave wall 10 facing down-
wardly, and the sound wave transmitter 80 is held
in the other hand ready to generate a sound wave
signal ~hen the ~ris~ee disk 2 has sailed to whatever
location chosen for discharge of the ball 58.
At such time, the sound wave transmitter 80
is squeezed, pushing the insert 90 inwardly to flex
the sounding producing metal membrane 98, thereby
generating a sound wave which is transmitted to the
sound wave receiver 82 in the housing 20 carried
by the -~risbee disk 2. The receiver 82 thereupon
generates an electrical signal which is transmitted
I ' ....
to transistor Ql causing amplified current to ~low
to the motor 22 as described above. The motor 22
rotates the planar gear 28 and the gate operating
arm 36 connected for rotation with the shaft 30 to
~hich planar gear 28 is secured. As the gate oper-
ating arm 36 rotates it engages the projecting free
end portion 38 n~ the pivotally mounted gate 40 and
pivots it to the ga~e open position, thereby opening
the discharge aperture 52 of the loading tube 56 and
discharging the ball 58 ~rom the housing 20 and down-
wardly ~acing concave wall side o~ the disk 2. The
ball 58 clears the frisbee disk 2 and falls to the
ground. With practice, a person can learn to m~ke
the ball hit near or on a selected target area by
thro~ing the ~risbee a particular way and selecting
exactly the right moment to discllarge the ball.
A~ter the ball has been discharged ~rom the
~risbee, the plana~ gear 28 cont:inues to be rotated
b~ the motor 22 in its single revolution until the
electrically conductive annular portion 130 o~ the
copper plate 120 on the upper surface of plan~r gear
28 reaches leaX spring contact arm 132. At such time,
an electrical circuit is completed across leaf spring
contact arms 132 and 134 through the copper plate 120,
thereby energizing relay 142 in the digconnect circuit
118 to open normally closed contact 144 in the oper-
ating circuit 8~. The operating circuit 84 is thus
interrupted and motor 22 stops before planar gear 28
has begun a second revolutlon. I
When the planar gear 28 continues i1ts rotation
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1~' X~Zll9
during ~he single revolution, the gate operating arm 36
rotates past its engagement with the free end portion
3~ of the pivotally mounted gate 40, thereby relea- -~
sing it to swing back to its gate closed position
under the bias of spring 44. The discharge aperture
52 oi the loading ~ube 56 is thus closed ready for
reloading.
The component parts of the ball carrier assembly
16 in accordance with this invention may be placed
together more compactly than shown in Figures 2-4 of
the drawings for purposes of being able to illustrate
better. The receiver 82 and motor 22 have the lar- I
gest cross-sectional dimension or thickness, and that
dimension can be as small as one-half to three-quar-
ter of an inch. If grouped closely together, the
components can be mounted within a compartment no
longer than three inches and no wider than two inches,
with a depth no greater than one-half to three-quar-
ters of an inch~ Such compar~ment can be molded
into the arcuate wall 4 o~ the frisbee disk at its
center, and the components themselves can be embed-
ded in the plastic wall of the ~risbee disk if
desired. Figures 10 and 11 illustrate an embodi-
mett of this i~vention in which the compartment and
some o~f the components themselves are embedded in
the wall of a modified frisbee disk 200.
The modified frisbee disk 200 includes a stlbst~ntiallJ arcu-
ate wall 40~ having a thickened arcuate wall portion
402 at its center and gradually thinning toward its
peripher ge ~04. The olltw~rdly substanti~lly conve~ wall
.,
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portion 800 has a smaller radius than the inwardly
facing subs~antially concave wall portion 1000. This
disk construction makes it possible to place the ball
carrier assembly in accordance with this invention
within the wall of the frisbee disk itself.
Figure 12 is another illustra-tion of a frisbee
disk for use with this invention. The disk shown
in Figure 12 is formed by providing the wall 400 with
an arcuate ¢ross-sectional con~iguration around the
ou1ter peripheral section, and then making the central
portion of the disk substantially flat. The inner
and outer surfaces of the arcuate outer peripheral
section diverge as they extend radially inwardly from
the peripheral edge 404 creating a gradually thicker
wall until they reach the substantially flat central
portion of the disk shown in Figure 12. The inner
and outer sur~aces of the disk wall 400 then extend
in substantially parallel planes, uniformly spaced
apart, to provide the thickened wall portion 402 as
shown in Figur~ 12.
A box or other enclosure 188 may be embedded in
the center of the thickened wall portion to carry
such items as the ball carrying and remote control
discharge assembly of this invention. Other items
may be carried in such enclosure, such as battery
powered lîghts, music boxes or sound emitting devices,
and the like which enhance the entertainment and amuse-
ment characteristics of frisbee disks.
A~ operating circuit disconnect switch 190 may be
provided to disconnect the batteries 106 completely
from the operating circuit 84 when ~he ~all drop frisbee
as described herewin is not in use.
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