US20130287971A1

US20130287971A1 - Arm Supported Wing Creature Prop

Info

Publication number: US20130287971A1
Application number: US13/874,189
Authority: US
Inventors: Dennis Caldwell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2012-04-30
Filing date: 2013-04-30
Publication date: 2013-10-31

Abstract

A lightweight, arm supported wing creature prop designed to be attached to the user's arm or wrist. The prop is made flexible, or semi-flexible foam designed to be folded into a compact configuration on one arm and then selectively unfolded and displayed on the arm. In one embodiment, the prop includes a wrist wrap with thumb and finger openings. Mounted on the dorsal side wrist wrap is a wing assembly with an intermediate section and two wings that extend laterally on opposite sides of the intermediate section. Also attached to the wrist wrap or to the wing assembly is a tail panel designed to simulate the tail of a wing creature. The wing assembly is made of foam material that sufficiently flexible so the wings may wrap around the user's wrist and held with a strap. In a second embodiment, the wrist wrap is replaced by a strap attached at one end to the wing assembly and extends under the user's wrist or palm and connects with a strut.

Description

This utility patent application is based upon and claims the filing date benefit of U.S. provisional (Application No. 61/640342) filed on Apr. 30, 2012.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Notice is given that the following patent document contains original material subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile or digital download reproduction of all or part of the patent document, but otherwise reserves all copyrights.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to novelty items or rally accessories worn or carried by sports fans to a sporting event, and more particularly, to such items or accessories that simulate a wing creature used or associated with the teams or participants playing in the sporting event.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fans visiting a sporting event like to wear clothing accessories, such as wild headgear or costumes, jerseys and/or bring props such as picket fences or colorful towels to show their support for the team. Usually, the clothing accessory or prop pertains to some aspect associated with the team. One requirement that most sports teams organizer's have on spectators who carry accessories or props to a game is that the accessory or prop be relatively small and compact and does not disturb or harm other fans attending the game.
Many teams use an airplane, a bird or a winged insect as a mascot. Unfortunately, the wing span of an airplane, bird or winged insect is too large to carry into a stadium and display during a game.
What is needed is a wing creature prop that can be brought to a stadium in a folded compact configuration and then unfolded, displayed and used as a rally prop, and then easily converted into a folded, compact configuration when not in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

At the heart of the invention is the discovery that may sports teams use wing creatures as their mascots and that a lightweight, easy to carry, wing creature prop would be highly that can be easily carried in a partially hidden, fold configuration on the user's arm desirable. The prop disclosed herein is made of lightweight elastic fabric and foam material designed to attach to the dorsal areas of the hand, wrist and forearm. When attached to the hand and forearm, the prop can be easily folded into a compact configuration on the arm and then selectively unfolded and displayed. Because the prop is relatively lightweight, the unfolded prop can then be publically displayed by holding the arm upright to show team support. When a rally is no longer desired, or when moving in the facility, the prop may be removed from the arm or re-configured into a folded compact manner on the arm. Because the prop is attached to the dorsal of the hand, the forearm and around the wrist, the user can use his or her finger to grip and hold other objects, such as a beverage, when the hands while the prop is attached to the arm.
More specifically, the prop includes a flexible wrist wrap with a first opening, an opposite second opening, and an optional thumb opening. Mounted on the back surface of the wrist wrap is a wing assembly with two wings that extend laterally on opposite sides of the arm. Also attached to the wrist wrap is an optional tail panel designed to simulate the tail of a wing creature if desired.
During assembly, the wing assembly is permanently or temporarily attached to the dorsal side of the wrist wrap. The wing assembly is made of soft foam material that is sufficiently rigid so the two wings extend laterally on opposite sides of the arm when unfolded. The wings are relatively long, thin structures that are sufficiently flexible so the tips of the wings may wrap under the arm and around the user's wrist. Fasteners are used to hold the two wings around the user's arm.
In other embodiment, the wrist wrap is replaced by one or two straps attached at one end to the bottom of the wing assembly that extends across the user's wrist holds the wing assembly in place.
In another embodiment, a peg and an insert hole are formed on the opposite wings that are engaged when the two wings are wrapped together to hold the two wings in a wrapped position around the user's arm.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a sports fan with the wing creature prop mounted on the fan's arm held downward and showing the prop in an expanded configuration.

FIG. 2 is an illustration showing a sports fan with the wing creature prop mounted on the fan's arm held upward and showing the prop in an expanded configuration.

FIG. 3 is an illustration showing a sports fan with the wing creature prop mounted on the fan's arm held horizontally outward and showing the prop in an expanded configuration.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view the user's arm being held substantially horizontally and showing the two wings being folding downward and wrapped under the user's wrist.

FIG. 5 is a partial bottom plan view showing the wrist wrap partially unfolded and showing the relatively location of the wing assembly mounted on the back panel on the wrist wrap.

FIG. 6 is an illustration showing the user holding his/her arm upward with the wings held in wrapped position around the arm.

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of a second embodiment of the wing creature prop with wrist wrap being replaced by an elastic strap extends under the user's wrists.

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view of the second embodiment of the wing creature prop shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a top plan view of a modified version of the wing creature prop shown in FIG. 7 with a peg and insert hole formed on opposite wings.

FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the user's arm showing the wing creature prop shown in FIG. 9 in a wrapped position around the arm and held by the peg and insert hole.

FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of two wings wrapped together and held by a peg and an insert hole.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the wing creature prop that uses a wrist or hand wrap attached to the wing assembly.

FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the wing creature prop with an optional battery pack mounted therein connected to two LED bulbs located near the creature's eyes.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

Referring to the accompanying FIGS. 1-10, there is shown a sports prop 10 designed to be easily attached to the user's lower arm 90 or wrist 92 and carried to the stadium attached to the arm 90 or wrist 92 or carried in a backpack. The prop 10 is designed to be folded into a compact configuration on one arm 90 as shown in FIG. 6 and then selectively unfolded and displayed on the arm 90 to show support and to rally the user's team as shown in FIGS. 1-3 When a rally is no longer desired, the prop 10 may be removed or configured in a folded manner on the arm 90. The user can use his or her hands 94 when the prop 10 is attached to the arm 90.
In a first embodiment, the prop 10 includes a flexible, elastic wrist wrap 20 designed to be worn around the user's wrist 92 and hand 94. The wrist wrap 20 includes a first opening 24, a longitudinally aligned second opening 26, and an optional lateral thumb opening 28. When the wrist wrap 20 is worn over the user's hand, the user's fingers and thumb extend through the openings 26, 28.
Mounted on the back or dorsal side wrist wrap 20 is a wing assembly 40 with two laterally extending wings 42, 46 that extend laterally on opposite sides of the arm 90. In one embodiment, the wing assembly 40 extends through two side openings 43, 45 formed on the wrist wrap 20. The wing assembly 40 includes an intermediate panel 41 that extends under the top layer of the of the wrist wrap 20. The intermediate panel 41 may be integrally formed on the wrist wrap 20 or sewn or adhesively attached to the wrist wrap 20. Also attached to the rear edge of the wrist wrap 20 or to the rear edge of the wing assembly 40 is an optional tail panel 32 that extends longitudinally over the dorsal side of the forearm and is designed to simulate the tail of a wing creature if desired. The tail panel 32 may be integrally formed, sewn, or adhesively attached to the wrist wrap 20 or to the wing assembly 40.
Optional hook and loop fasteners 43, 47 are attached or molded into the bottom surfaces of the two wings 42, 46, respectively, that when aligned, securely hold the two wings 42, 46, around the user's wrist or arm, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6.
FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of a second embodiment of the wing creature prop 10′ that includes a single longitudinally aligned head 96 integrally or attached to the wing assembly 40. The wrist wrap 20 used with the first embodiment is replaced by an elastic strap 100 connected at one end to the bottom surface of the wing assembly 40. During use, the wrist assembly 40 is positioned over the dorsal side of the wrist and hand. The head 96 extends forward over the fingers. The elastic strap 100 extends under the user's wrist and through a slot 104 formed on a strut member 102 that extends downward from the bottom surface of the wing assembly 40 adjacent to the side of the wrist. The elastic strap 100 includes hook and loop pads 106, 108, that interconnect when the distal end of the strap 100 is folded around the strut member 102 and over the user's wrist or fingers, (see also FIG. 8). It should be understood that the elastic strap 100 may be used in place of the wrist wrap 10 and attached to the wing assembly 40.
With the second embodiment of the prop 10′, an elongated strap 112 (see FIG. 7) may be provided with hook and loop pads 114, 116 attached at its opposite ends that are used to hold the wing in a folded configuration around the user's lower arm, wrist and hand in a manner similar as shown in FIG. 6.
FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the user's arm showing the wing creature prop and FIG. 9 shows a top plan view of the wing creature prop with a peg and insert hole formed on opposite wings.
FIG. 10 is a side elevational view of the user's arm showing the wing creature prop shown in FIG. 9 in a wrapped position around the arm and held by the peg being inserted into the insert hole.
FIG. 11 is a partial sectional view of two sections of overlapping wings showing the peg being inserted into the insert hole.
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the wing creature prop that uses a wrist or hand wrap attached to the wing assembly.
FIG. 13 is a top plan view of the wing creature prop 10′ with a battery pack 120 mounted in the wing assembly 40. It should be understood that the battery pack 120 may be used in the first embodiment of the prop 10 shown in FIGS. 1-6. Connected to the battery pack 120 is a switch 122 and main wire 124 that connects to two LED bulbs 126, 128 mounted on the simulated head 121 that simulate the creature's eyes.
The wing assembly 40 is made of thermoplastic foam material (i.e. molded polyurethane) that is sufficient rigid so the two wings 42, 46 extend laterally from the arm 90 when unfolded. The wing assembly 40 is also sufficiently flexible to allow the wings 42, 46 to fold inward and wrap around the user's wrist 92. In both embodiments shown, the wing assembly 40 measures approximately 18 inches in length, 5 inches in width. The ends of the wings measure approximately ½ inch thick. The intermediate section measures ½ to 1 inch thick. Strap 100 measures approximately 10 inches in length and 1 inch wide. Strap 112 measures approximately 12 inches in length and 1 inch wide. The wrist wrap 20 is made of elastic material that sketches over the user's wrist and hand.
In compliance with the statute, the invention described has been described in language more or less specific as to structural features. It should be understood however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown, since the means and construction shown, is comprised only of the preferred embodiments for putting the invention into effect. The invention is therefore claimed in any of its forms or modifications within the legitimate and valid scope of the amended claims, appropriately interpreted under the doctrine of equivalents.

Claims

I claim:

1. A lightweight arm prop, comprising:

a. a wing assembly with an intermediate section and two laterally extending wings, the wing assembly being made of foam sufficient in length and rigidity to extend outward from the opposite sides of a user's arm when the intermediate section is positioned over the dorsal side of a user's forearm or wrist, the wing assembly made of foam sufficiently rigid so the two wings to extend laterally and manually folded under and around the user's wrist; and,

b. means for holding the wing assembly on the dorsal side of a user's wrist and hand.

2. The arm prop as recited in claim 1, wherein the means for holding the wing assembly on the dorsal side of a user's wrist and hand is a wrist wrap configured to receive and wrap around a user's hand.

3. The arm prop as recited in claim 2, further including a strap used for holding the wings in a wrapped configuration when wrapped around the user's wrist.

4. The arm prop as recited in claim 1, further including at least one peg and at least one insert hole configured on opposite wings that when engaged, hold the two wings in wrapped configuration around a user's arm.

5. The wing creature sports prop, as recited in claim 1 further including a tail panel extending rearward from the wing assembly.

6. The arm prop as recited in claim 1, wherein the means for holding the wing assembly on the dorsal side of a user's wrist and hand is a strut that extends downward from the bottom surface of the wing assembly and a strap attached at one end to the wing assembly and extends under the user's wrist or and around the strut.

7. The arm prop as recited in claim 2, further including a head integrally formed on the wing assembly.

8. The wing creature sports prop, as recited in claim 7 further including a tail panel extending rearward from the wing assembly.

9. The arm prop as recited in claim 2, further including a battery pack and two or more LED bulbs.

10. A lightweight arm prop, comprising:

a. a flexible wrist wrap with thumb and finger openings;

b. a wing assembly mounted on the back surface of the wrist wrap, said wing assembly includes two wings that extend laterally on opposite sides of the arm when the wrist wrap is worn on the user's wrist, said wing assembly being made of foam sufficiently rigid so the two wings to extend laterally from the arm when unfolded and sufficiently flexible so the user may manually wrap the wings around the user's wrist; and,

c. means for holding the two opposite wings in wrapped configuration around the user's arm.

11. The wing creature prop, as recited in claim 10 further including a tail panel extend rearward from the wing assembly.

12. The wing creature prop as recited in claim 10 wherein the means for holding the two opposite wings is a least one peg and at least one insert hole formed on the opposite wings.