US20110092130A1

US20110092130A1 - Snowflake decorative toy

Info

Publication number: US20110092130A1
Application number: US12/580,571
Authority: US
Inventors: Yen-Shao Hsu
Original assignee: CHI DA ENTERPRISES (HK) Ltd
Current assignee: CHI DA ENTERPRISES (HK) Ltd
Priority date: 2009-10-16
Filing date: 2009-10-16
Publication date: 2011-04-21

Abstract

A snowflake decorative toy is provided for producing simulation of falling snow. The snowflake decorative toy includes a transparent shell and at least one partition, wherein the transparent shell contains a liquid and a plurality of snowflake ornaments therein; the bottom of the transparent shell is disposed with a driving device having a motor and an impeller which is disposed with a plurality of blades placed to make the liquid and the snowflake ornaments move upwardly while the motor drives the impeller; the at least one partition has a front side and a back side, and it is positioned within the transparent shell for the liquid and the snowflake ornaments to move upwardly along the back side thereof and settle to the upper part of the impeller along the front side thereof to make the liquid and snowflake ornaments circulate within the transparent shell, thereby producing snowfall simulation in the transparent container.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a snowflake decorative toy, particularly, to a snowflake decorative toy for making the snowflake ornaments move with the water-flow upwardly along the back side of the partition and unidirectionally sink from top along the front side of the partition to produce vivid scenes of falling snow.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

The traditional decorative snow globe includes a transparent hollow sphere with decorative articles and snow-simulating flake particles disposed inside the sphere. The sphere is filled with liquid to make the snow-simulating flake particles suspended in the liquid and dispersed in the snow globe when it is shaken, and then the snow-simulating flake particles fall to the bottom of the sphere by gravity, thereby simulating whirling snow to become beautiful scenes and attain pleasing visual effects.
The snow globe can merely attract people and get their attention by decorative articles and suspended snow-simulating flake particles. However, the snow globe must be shaken to agitate the snow-simulating flake particles for attaining the visual effects. The effects are shortly lived and each successive “falling snow” requires shaking movement of the snow globe, and therefore cannot draw people's attention after a long use.
Further, the snow globe is made of transparent plastics or glass, and it has to be filled up with a great volume of liquid during the manufacturing process. However, the finished snow globe is heavy due to the liquid filled in the sphere, thereby increasing the cost of warehousing and logistics. Besides, the snow-simulating flake particles of the traditional decorative snow globe are sealed in the sphere, and cannot be replaced with ornamental particles of different color or pattern by users; therefore, for the problem mentioned above, there is a need for an improved snow globe device to overcome the shortcoming of the prior art.
In order to overcome the foregoing shortcomings and problems, after hard research and development, a snowflake decorative toy that substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art is provided by the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a snowflake decorative toy having an impeller in the bottom of the transparent shell for making the liquid inside the transparent shell flow along at least one partition and circulate therein, so as to make snowflake ornaments in the transparent shell move with the liquid and unidirectionally sink from top to bottom along the front side of the at least one partition to produce vivid scenes of falling snow.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a snowflake decorative toy having two partitions positioned above the impeller to form a channel between the two partitions for the liquid and the snowflake ornaments to move toward the top of the transparent shell along the channel, and to make the snowflake ornaments slowly fall along the sides of the partitions facing the outer part of the transparent shell, thereby carrying the snowflake ornaments from the lower part of the transparent shell to the upper part thereof and continuously circulating the snowflake ornaments within the liquid for simulating a vivid snowfall.
In order to achieve the aforementioned object, a snowflake decorative toy according to the present invention comprises a transparent shell and at least one partition, wherein the transparent shell contains a liquid and a plurality of snowflake ornaments therein. The bottom of the transparent shell is disposed with a driving device having a motor and an impeller which is disposed with a plurality of blades placed to make the liquid and the snowflake ornaments move upwardly while the motor drives the impeller. The at least one partition has a front side and a back side, and it is positioned within the transparent shell for the liquid and the snowflake ornaments to move upwardly along the back side thereof and settle to the upper part of the impeller along the front side thereof to make the liquid and snowflake ornaments circulate within the transparent shell, thereby producing snowfall simulation in the transparent container.
In one aspect of the present invention, two partitions are positioned above the impeller to form a channel between the two partitions, and the channel is formed to have narrow width at the middle portion and wider width at both ends for the liquid and snowflake ornaments to move upwardly along the channel.
In another aspect of the present invention, the central part of the impeller is further disposed with a diversion rod.
In another aspect of the present invention, the upper part of the transparent shell is further disposed with an illumination device, and the illumination device includes a plurality of LEDs.
In another aspect of the present invention, the snowflake ornaments are formed in white particles or glitter with its' specific gravity greater than that of water.
In still another aspect of the present invention, the transparent shell further comprises a hole and a cap for covering the hole.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present 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 perspective view of a snowflake decorative toy before assembling of an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the decorative toy after assembling of the embodiment of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the state filling water and snowflake ornaments into the transparent shell of the embodiment of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the decorative toy after assembling of the embodiment of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the state that circulation of the liquid and snowflake ornaments in the transparent shell of the embodiment of FIG. 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is another perspective view of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, a snowflake decorative toy of an embodiment of the present invention is illustrated, wherein the snowflake decorative toy comprises a transparent shell 1 and two partitions 21, 22 positioned within the transparent shell 1.
The transparent shell is a plastic box generally in the shape of rectangle while the front and back sidewalls 11, 12 are slightly arc-shaped. A filling hole 13 is disposed in the top end of the transparent shell 1 for filling transparent liquid, such as water, and a plurality of snowflake ornaments into the transparent shell 1 via the filling hole 13 (as shown in FIG. 4). A cap 131 is provided for covering the filling hole 13 to form a confined space in the transparent shell 1. The snowflake ornaments 3 are formed in white particles or glitter, and their specific gravity are greater than that of water.
A driving device 4 is disposed in the bottom of the transparent shell 1. The driving device 4 includes a motor 41 and a impeller 42. A battery 43 or an electric plug 44 for an electric socket can be used for the power source of the motor 41, and a switch 45 is provided for controlling the power of the motor 41. The impeller 42 is disposed a plurality of blades 421 thereon, and a diversion rod 422 is disposed on the central part thereof, such that the liquid and the snowflake ornaments 3 can move upwardly along the diversion rod 422 when the impeller 42 is driven by the motor 41.
In practice, the channel 20 is narrow at its middle, and wide at its both ends, that is, the channel 20 is formed with narrow width at the middle portion, and gradually expanded from its middle portion to one end of the channel 20. Therefore, when the driving device 4 drives the impeller 42, the diversion rod 422 can converge the upward movement of the liquid and snowflake ornaments 3 over the impeller 42. Therefore, as the snowflake ornaments follow the water flow and move upwardly along the channel 20 and rise to the top end of the partition 21, 22, they move to the front sides 211, 221 of the partitions 21, 22 and invariably fall between the front sides 211, 221 of the partitions 21, 22 and the sidewalls 11, 12 of the transparent shell 1; then, as the snowflake ornaments 3 settle to the upper part of the impeller 42, they move upwardly again by the rotation of the impeller 42 and continuously circulate in the transparent shell 1, thereby producing a simulation of the vivid snowfall in front of front sides 211, 221 of the partitions 21, 22.
Further, an illumination device 5 having a rectangle case 51 and an illuminating assembly 52 is disposed on the top of the transparent shell 1. The illuminating assembly 52 includes a circuit board 521 disposed inside the case 51 for providing electric power to a plurality of LEDs 522 embedded in the lower part of the case 51, and the circuit board 521 is electrically connected to the switch 45 of the driving device 4 for controlling the illumination of the LEDs 522. Therefore, as the LEDs 522 illuminate the top of the transparent shell 1, the falling snowflake ornaments 3 in front of the partitions 21, 22 can reflect the light from LEDs 522, and produce variable visual effects.
Therefore, the present invention has the following advantages:
1. The present invention uses the flow path formed in the back side of the partition to make snow flake ornaments move upwardly along the flow path, and the snowflake ornaments invariable sink in front of the partition, thereby producing a vivid snow falling scene in the snowflake decorative toy and enhancing its visual effects.
2. The channel of the present invention has a profile embodying wide ends and narrow middle portion, such that the snowflake ornaments over the bottom of the transparent shell can be gathered together while passing through the middle portion, and be distributed more evenly throughout the top end of the partition to prevent snowflake ornaments from sinking in a certain area of the front side.
3. The liquid used for the transparent shell of the present invention can be filled after sold to reduce the weight of product and cost of warehousing and logistics.
4. The present invention can prevent incorporating problems when engaging two semi-circular shells into a ball, increase efficiencies of manufacturing and assembling, and provide users to change liquid and snow ornaments of different color or pattern for more visual effects.
As stated in the above disclosed, the present invention can surely achieve its expected objects to provide a snowflake decorative toy producing simulation of vivid snow falling by making snowflake ornaments invariably fall in front of the front side of the partition, and further enhance the entertainment effects and product value of the snowflake decorative toy.
It should be understood that different modifications and variations could be made from the disclosures of the present invention by the people familiar in the art without departing the spirit of the present invention.

Claims

1. A snowflake decorative toy, comprising

a transparent shell for containing a liquid and a plurality of snowflake ornaments, wherein the bottom of the transparent shell is disposed with a driving device having a motor and an impeller, and the impeller is disposed with a plurality of blades placed thereon so as to make the liquid and the snowflake ornaments move upwardly while the motor drives the impeller; and

at least one partition having a front side and a back side, wherein the at least one partition is positioned within the transparent shell for the liquid and the snowflake ornaments to move upwardly along the back side of the at least one partition and settle to the upper part of the impeller along the front side of the at least one partition and to circulate within the transparent shell, thereby producing snowfall simulation in the transparent container.

2. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 1, wherein two partitions are positioned above the impeller to form a channel between the two partitions for the liquid and the snowflake ornaments to move upwardly along the channel.

3. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 2, wherein the channel is narrow at its middle and wide at its both ends.

4. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 2, wherein the central part of the impeller is further disposed with a diversion rod.

5. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 1, wherein the upper part of the transparent shell is further disposed with an illumination device.

6. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 5, wherein the illumination device includes a plurality of LEDs.

7. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 1, wherein the specific gravity of snowflake ornaments is greater than that of water.

8. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 1, wherein the snowflake ornaments are formed in white particles.

9. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 1, wherein the snowflake ornaments are glitter.

10. The snowflake decorative toy according to claim 1, wherein the transparent shell further comprises a hole and a cap for covering the hole.