US20050272343A1

US20050272343A1 - Egg-shaped ornament

Info

Publication number: US20050272343A1
Application number: US10/909,319
Authority: US
Inventors: Vincent Lee
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-06-08
Filing date: 2004-08-03
Publication date: 2005-12-08
Also published as: TWM257985U

Abstract

An ornament is substantially egg-shaped. The egg-shaped ornament includes a base and an ornament portion. The ornament portion is mounted above the base. The overall center of gravity is at the lower portion of the egg-shaped ornament so that the egg-shaped ornament can shake like a tumbler.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an egg-shaped ornament.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most common egg-shaped ornaments are made of glass, or a certain type of stone, and may have special patterns on their surfaces. The egg is a symbol of life, and the liquid within the shell of the egg signifies the living flow of life.
However, the traditional hard, solid body, egg-shaped ornament is unable to express the emotion of the living flow of life.
In addition, the traditional hard, solid body, egg-shaped ornament does not provide sound or lighting effects to create more enjoyment.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide an egg-shaped ornament that mitigates and/or obviates the aforementioned problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A main objective of the present invention is to provide an egg-shaped ornament that shakes like a tumbler to increase user enjoyment.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an egg-shaped ornament comprising a circuit that can provide sound, lighting and movement effects for the egg-shaped ornament.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an egg-shaped ornament comprising a detector in the circuit for providing interaction with the user.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an egg-shaped ornament comprising a liquid ornament above a base, the liquid in the liquid ornament expressing the living flow of life. Furthermore, a user can gently push the egg-shaped ornament to cause the egg-shaped ornament to shake like a tumbler.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the egg-shaped ornament comprise: a base and an ornament portion placed above the base. The shape of the egg-shaped ornament is substantially egg-shaped with an overall center of gravity being on a lower position of the egg-shaped ornament so that the egg-shaped ornament is capable of shaking like a tumbler.
In order to provide sound, lighting and movement effects for the egg-shaped ornament, the base of the egg-shaped ornament comprises a circuit that includes a battery, an illumination unit, an audio unit, a center of gravity swing unit and a detector.
Other objects, advantages, and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a functional block drawing of a circuit for a first embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic drawing of a centrifugal force switch.
FIG. 4 is a functional block drawing of a circuit for a second embodiment according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a schematic drawing of another embodiment according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic drawing of an embodiment according to the present invention.
An egg-shaped ornament 10 is substantially egg-shaped. The egg-shaped ornament 10 includes a base 30 and an ornament portion 20. The ornament portion 20 is mounted above on the base 30.
The base 30 is a shell with containment space. In this embodiment, a weight 35 is placed in the base 30. As a result, the egg-shaped ornament has a low center of gravity. Since the egg-shaped ornament 10 is substantially egg-shaped, a bottom portion 31 of the base 30 has a smooth, curved surface that enables the egg-shaped ornament 20 to shake like a tumbler. However, the weight 35 is not necessary, and may depend upon the weight distribution of the ornament portion 20 and the base 30. For example, less weight may be needed when the base 30 is made of metal, or the bottom portion 31 is thicker; or a circuit mechanism or another unit (such as a clock, a motor) is placed in the base 30, which adds weight in the lower portion of the egg-shaped ornament.
In this embodiment, the ornament portion 20 is a liquid ornament 50. The liquid ornament 50 includes at least one liquid and at least one decorative structure 53. In this embodiment, there are two liquids: a first liquid 51 and a second liquid 52, as well as the decorative structure 53. The first liquid 51 is less dense than the second liquid 52, and the liquids are usually of different colors. The decorative structure 53 is insoluble and floats between the first liquid 51 and the second liquid 52. The liquid ornament 50 may be of various designs; for example, the decorative structure 53 is not a necessary component, or a fixed decorative structure may be mounted at the bottom of the liquid ornament 50. Furthermore, the egg-shaped ornament 20 can have other decorative characteristics, such as having sand, shells or being perfumed.
To provide enhanced effects, in this embodiment, the base 30 further comprises a circuit 40. Please refer to both FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The circuit 40 comprises a battery 41, an illumination unit 42, an audio unit 43, a center of gravity swing unit 45, and a switch 49. The illumination unit 42, for example, utilizes one or a plurality of LEDs. The audio unit 43, for example, a small speaker and works with simple electrical audio unit such as a music/audio IC or recordable audio IC. The center of gravity swing unit 45 is used to change the overall center of gravity of the egg-shaped ornament 10. For example, an electric motor 451 with a weight on a rotating shaft (or rotator) 452. When the rotating shaft 452 rotates, the weight 453 will move the position of the center of gravity, thereby causing the egg-shaped ornament 10 to swing. The center of gravity swing unit 45 may have various designs, which are well known to any person familiar in the field, and so requires no further description.
In a first embodiment of the circuit 40, when the battery 41 supplies power, the egg-shaped ornament 10 generates sound, light and action effects. However, not all of the illumination unit 42, audio unit 43 and center of gravity swing unit 45 are necessary components; these units can be individually combined with each other as desired.
The switch 49 can be a button or other special type of switch, such as a centrifugal force switch 491 shown in FIG. 3 (usually placed at an outer region of a rotating center), which turns on when a user rotates the egg-shaped ornament 10, the centrifugal force causing a moveable unit 492 (such as a small spring) to touch a contact point 493 to conduct electrical power. Since the centrifugal force switch 491 is a very common unit, it requires no further description. It will cause a special effect when a centrifugal force switch 491 is applied. For example, the present invention could be a gift. A user can record some audio contents (e.g. “Happy Birthday”) on a recordable audio IC. Then, the person receives the gift can rotates the egg-shaped ornament 10 and hear “Happy Birthday” played by the audio unit 43.
In order to provide more interesting effects, or to simplify the circuit, the circuit mechanism 40 also has a control chip 48 (or an equivalent logic circuit). The control chip 48 controls the play time of the audio unit 43, or illumination manner of the illumination unit 42 (such as creating a blinking effect, or continuous illumination), or audio manner of the audio unit 43.
Please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a functional block drawing of a circuit of a second embodiment according to the present invention. In the second embodiment, a detector 47 is utilized to provide user interaction. The detector 47 can be a sound detector 471; for example, when the user provides a predetermined sound, the battery 41 provides power to the illumination unit 42, the audio unit 43 and the center of gravity swing unit 45. The detector 47 may also be a light sensor 472, or a vibration sensor 473. The centrifugal force switch 491 may also be a rotation detector 474. Therefore, like the above example, when a user touch (or rotate, generate sound/light) the egg-shaped ornament 10 will play “Happy Birthday”.
The base 30 can be composed of several cases, or the ornament portion 20 can be composed of several decorative structures or cases. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, an egg-shaped ornament 10 a has a slot 60 (for the placing of a business card or note) on the ornament portion 20, and the shape of the egg-shaped ornament 10 a is still substantially egg-shaped.
Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

1. An egg-shaped ornament comprising:

a base having a button portion with a smooth curved surface and;

an ornament portion placed above the base;

wherein the shape of the egg-shaped ornament is substantially egg-shaped with an overall center of gravity being on a lower position of the egg-shaped ornament so that the egg-shaped ornament is capable of shaking like a tumbler.

2. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ornament portion is a liquid ornament, and the liquid ornament includes at least one liquid.

3. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base further comprises a weight.

4. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 1, wherein the base further comprises a circuit, and the circuit includes a battery and at least one amusement element.

5. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 4, wherein the amusement element is selected from the group consisting of an illumination unit, an audio unit and a center of gravity swing unit.

6. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 4, wherein the circuit further includes a detector for controlling the amusement element.

7. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 5, wherein the circuit further includes a detector for controlling the amusement element.

8. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 6, wherein the detector is selected from the group consisting of a sound detector, a light sensor, a vibration sensor, and a rotation detector.

9. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 7, wherein the detector is selected from the group consisting of a sound detector, a light sensor, a vibration sensor, and a rotation detector.

10. The egg-shaped ornament as claimed in claim 4, wherein the circuit further includes a centrifugal force switch to supply power from the battery when the egg-shaped ornament is rotated.