Flexible Toy Wand

This invention relates to a toy wand which is flexible and has an illuminated end piece for creating geometric patterns of light when the wand is rapidly waved.

While toy wands are not novel in the field of children's toys, none of the prior art has combined the use of an illuminated, decorative end piece with a flexible wand and self contained battery case to provide an entertaining means of creating patterns of light by rapidly waving the lighted wand.

A flexible toy wand in accordance with the present invention comprises a soft decorative end piece made of transparent or translucent material with a light source imbedded therein, a flexible, tubular body serving as the wand with a battery case attached to the lower portion of the wand to provide both a housing for the batteries and a handle for the wand. The child switches on the light source and waves the wand in a darkened area much the same as one would wave a sparkler to create interesting paths of light.

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a flexible toy wand with a flower type decorative end piece.

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of a flexible toy wand with a ball type decorative end piece.

FIG. 2a is an enlarged vertical cross section taken along line 2a of FIG. 2 .

Referring to FIG. 1, which shows a front elevation, numeral 1 generally denotes a flexible toy wand comprising a protective top piece 2, said top piece being transparent or translucent so as to allow the glow from an embedded light source 3 to be visible. Said top piece 2 should be made of a soft material such as rubber, flexible plastic or styrofoam for safety reasons as well as to protect said light source and more particularly, to protect the child from damage to the eye if another child is recklessly waving the wand.

In addition, said top piece 2 can be made in a variety of shapes, such as a flower shown in FIG. 1, a ball as shown in FIG. 2, or any desirable shape.

Still referring to FIG. 1, numeral 5 denotes a hollow flexible shaft, approximately 15 inches in length and preferably of plastic, either transparent or opaque, serving as the body of the wand. Rigidly attached to the upper portion of said wand is light source 3, either of an incandescent or glow discharge construction. The light source 3 is energized by a pair of wires 4,4a connected thereto and passing through the hollow body of said wand 5 and terminating at a switching means 8 located on the bottom portion of battery case 7. The switching means is preferably of a simple spring type construction for easy operation and low cost considerations. The lower portion of wand 5 is snugly fitted into a reinforcing plastic sleeve 6 and terminates approximately midway inside of the battery case 7. Reinforcing sleeve 6 extends from the base of the battery case to approximately one half an inch above the case. This reinforcement is necessary to prevent the wand from kinking and breaking during use at the point where it enters the battery case.

FIG. 2 shows a side elevational view of the flexible toy wand 1 having a styrofoam ball 2b as its decorative end piece.

Referring to FIG. 2a, numeral 2b shows a ball type decorative end piece in cross section taken along line 2a of FIG. 2 , revealing the embedded light source 3 and wires 4,4a which pass through wand 5 and terminate at switching means 8. Battery case 7 also serves as a handle for the toy wand.

In operation, the switch is depressed to complete the battery circuit to light the decorative top piece of the toy wand and the wand is then waved back and forth in the dark in a circular, straight, elliptical or any other motion to create various geometric designs as described by the path of the light source, again, much the same as one would play with a sparkler. Two or more children can wave their wands so that the paths of the different wands intersect, creating apparently intersecting shapes of light.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a safe and novel toy wand with a lightable, decorative end piece to amuse children by their waving of the wand and creating an endless variety of geometric shapes through the path of the lighted end piece.

While I have illustrated and described a single embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is by way of illustration and that various changes and other modifications are contemplated within the scope of the following claims.