US20160317941A1

US20160317941A1 - Bubble blowing device

Info

Publication number: US20160317941A1
Application number: US14/699,839
Authority: US
Inventors: Ying Yew Gary MAN
Original assignee: Hedgehog Design Ltd
Current assignee: Hedgehog Design Ltd
Priority date: 2015-04-29
Filing date: 2015-04-29
Publication date: 2016-11-03

Abstract

The present invention discloses a bubble blowing device comprising a body; a bubble making unit horizontally located in the body for making bubbles by air flowing in the bubble making unit; a power supply disposed in the body; and a sound and/or light generating unit disposed in the body which is electrically connected to the power supply so that when air flows into the bubble making unit, the sound and/or light generating unit can be actuated to generate sound and/or light, while bubbles may be made by the bubble making unit simultaneously. Sound and/or light can be automatically carried out by adding a sound and/or light generating unit in the device, while bubbles with different sizes can be formed simultaneously. Thus, this device can be definitely more attractive than those in prior art.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to a bubble blowing toy for blowing a solution into bubbles, and more particularly, to a bubble blowing device which can be adapted to generate sound and/light while bubbles can be generated at the same time when blowing air into this toy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Conventional bubble blowing toys that is commercially available can be generally comprised of a container holding a solution, and a bubble coil with a handle for blowing the solution into bubbles. These bubble blowing toys in prior art can only make bubble simply, and no other function can be achieved, thus these cannot be satisfactory for entertainment.
To solve the problem, any improvement of the toy is designed, such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,155 provides a bubble-blowing toy, which has a three-dimensional design that attracts children's attention. The bubble-blowing toy comprises a fluid container holding a bubble fluid, an applicator adapted for picking up the bubble fluid from the fluid container for blowing bubbles, and an ornament holding the fluid container on the inside to keep the fluid container from sight. According to this invention, the ornament has a colored three-dimensional design in the outside wall. According to still another aspect of the above invention, the ornament can be made having the shape of a candy stick, toy, animal, cartoon character, plant, etc. This above invention can bring more change in relation to the appearance of the bubble blowing toy itself, but these change cannot attract the children.
Therefore, there is still a need to improve the current bubble blowing toy in prior art to add more functions in addition to blow bubble for attracting more children.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of this new invention is directed to the problems of existing technology in terms of their difficulties to attract children, providing a new bubble blowing device that can emit light and/or make sounds when blowing the device.
The technical solutions for the technical problems of this new invention are:

- a bubble blowing device comprising:
- a body;
- a bubble making unit horizontally located in the body for making bubbles by air flowing in the bubble making unit;
- a power supply disposed in the body; and
- a sound and/or light generating unit disposed in the body which is electrically connected to the power supply so that when air flows into the bubble making unit, the sound and/or light generating unit can be actuated to generate sound and/or light, while bubbles may be made by the bubble making unit simultaneously.

Additionally, according to one embodiment of the invention, the bubble blowing device comprises a control unit which can control the generation of sound and/or light.
Additionally, according to one embodiment of the invention, the bubble making unit comprises a bubble wand at one end, an opening for air-flowing at the other end, and an actuating member in the middle by which the sound and/or light generating unit can be actuated to generate light and/or sound. In one embodiment of the invention, the actuating member is a blade wheel. In another alternative embodiment, the actuating member is a plastic straw.
Additionally, according to one embodiment of the invention, the sound and/or light generating unit comprises:
a sound and/or light motor device for emitting light and/or making a sound; and
a switch electrically connected between the actuating member by an electrode terminal thereon and the power supply, which is controlled by the control unit to control the connection between the sound and/or light motor device and the power source.
Additionally, according to one embodiment of the invention, the switch can be mechanically actuated by the air flowing into the bubble making unit to connect the power source and the sound and/or light motor device.
Additionally, according to one embodiment of the invention, the power source is a battery that is disposed in a battery compartment in the body of the bubble blowing device.
Additionally, according to one embodiment of the invention, wherein the control unit is a PCB module which is located in the body of the bubble blowing device.
In accordance with the bubble blowing device of this invention, the additional electric function such as sound and/or light can be automatically carried out by adding a sound and/or light generating unit in the device when the players blow this device, and the a plurality of bubbles with different sizes can be formed at the same time. Thus the bubble blowing device of the present invention can be more attractive to all the players especially to the younger children.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features of the present invention may be clearly set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention, together with the advantages thereof may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings, wherein like reference signs identify like elements, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section view of a bubble blowing device according to one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a back section view of the bubble blowing device shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the bubble blowing device shown in FIG. 1, wherein a bubble dish is shown in the figure;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of a bubble blowing device according to another embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 5 is a side view of the bubble blowing device shown in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The structure of the bubble blowing device of the invention will be explained in detail with reference to the accompany drawings. The description and explanatory embodiment herein are merely used to set forth the present invention, not to limit the invention.
As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a bubble blowing device 100 comprises a body, which may have an upper portion 110 and a lower portion 120 defined by a grip that can be held by hand in a preferred embodiment herein. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art the body is a conventional member for a bubble blowing device. And for ease of description of the structure of the body of the bubble blowing device 100, two portions are recited herein, which thus can not be intended to limit the structure of the body itself In fact, the body can be integratedly formed.
The upper portion 110 is provided with a bubble making unit, by which bubbles with different sizes can be formed through air-flowing into the said bubble making unit. Specifically, the bubble making unit comprises a bubble wand 180 for forming bubbles at one end, an opening 140 for air-flowing at the other end, and an actuating member, such as a blade wheel having an electrode 151 and a plastic straw 155 having an electrode 156, in the middle. The bubble wand 180 is structurally the same as those in prior art, and detailed structures are omitted herein. In one embodiment of the invention, the said bubble making unit is horizontally located on the upper portion 110.
Preferably, the bubble blowing device 100 is provided with a sound and/or light generating unit for making sound and/or emitting light when bubbles are forming, a power source for providing electricity and a control unit for controlling the generation of sound and/or light. The power source, the sound and/or light generating unit and the control unit are electrically connected in turn. In one embodiment of the invention, the power source is a battery 160 having a positive electrode 161, which is disposed in a battery compartment in the lower portion 120. In another embodiment of the invention, the sound and/or light generating unit is a sound and/or light motor device 130, which can be actuated to make sounds or emit light, if desired. In yet another embodiment of the invention, the control unit is a PCB module 170, which structures are obvious to those skilled in the art, such as the PCB module 170 may comprise a chip or microcomputer so as to achieve the control function.
When air flows into the bubble making unit through the opening 140, the blade wheel 150 will be rotated in a direction shown by arrows in FIG. 1, the bubbles can be formed through the bubble wand 180, then these bubbles may fall into the bubble dish 200 (see FIG. 3); meanwhile, the electrode 151 may be contacted with the electrode 161 so that the sound and/or light motor device 130 may be automatically actuated by the battery 150 mechanically to make sounds and/or emit light, without application of any external force.
In an alternative embodiment of the invention shown as FIGS. 4 and 5, when air flows into the bubble making unit through the opening 140, the bubbles can be formed through the bubble wand 180; meanwhile, the plastic straw 155 will be moved downwardly, and the electrode 156 may be contacted with the electrode 161 so that the sound and/or light motor device 130 may be automatically actuated by the battery 150 mechanically to make sounds and/or emit light, without application of any external force.
Preferably, in one embodiment of the invention, a switch 190 is positioned between the electrode 151 and the electrode 161, which can electrically connect the blade wheel 150 or the plastic straw 155 with the power supply. Also, the switch 190 may be controlled by the PCB module 170 to control the connection between the sound and/or light motor device and the battery 160. The PCB module 170 may automatically control the switch 190 to connect the electrodes 151 or 156 with the electrode 161, when the PCB module 170 can be aware of that the air is flowing into the opening 140 (shown by arrows in FIG. 3); on the other hand, when the PCB module 170 cannot be sensed any air flowing into the opening 140, it may order the switch to disconnect the electrodes 151 or 156 with the electrode 161, and no sound and/or light can be generated. Such configuration can increase of service time of the battery.
In accordance with the bubble blowing device of this invention, the additional electric function such as sound and/or light can be automatically carried out by adding a sound and/or light generating unit in the device when blowing by the mouth through the opening 140, and the a plurality of bubbles with different sizes can be formed at the same time, without any additional button arranged on the device to obtain the above functions and manually controlling the device additionally. Thus the bubble blowing device of the present invention can be more attractive to all the players especially to the younger children.
Furthermore, whether flowing or not can be easily detected in the device of the invention, since the above generating sound and/or light from the device can be powered off, once no air flowing into this device which may result in circuit interruption. And only the electric function is funny in case that no bubbles can be generated such as no liquid in the device or any area banning blowing bubble.
It should be pointed that the bubble blowing device of this invention utilizes lever principle to actuate the switch, thus weak airflow may actuate the switch to obtain the above electric functions.
While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. It should be understood that the embodiments of the present invention described above are illustrative only, and all the changes and modifications made by those skilled in the art are covered by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A bubble blowing device comprising:

a body having an upper portion and a lower portion;

a bubble making unit horizontally located in the upper portion of the body for making bubbles by air flowing into the bubble making unit, the bubble making unit comprising a bubble wand disposed at one end of the upper portion of the housing, an opening for air-flowing disposed at the other end of the housing, and an actuating member provided between the bubble wand and the opening;

a power supply disposed in the lower portion of the body; and

a sound and/or light generating unit disposed in the upper portion of the body, which is electrically connected to the actuating member and the power supply,

wherein the air blown by a user's mouth through the opening flows into the bubble making unit causes the actuating member to actuate to generate sound/or light by the sound and/or light generating unit, while bubbles are made by the bubble making unit using the air flown into the bubble making unit through the opening simultaneously, and

wherein the bubble wand and the opening of the bubble making unit are fixedly disposed on the housing.

2. The bubble blowing device according to claim 1, wherein the bubble blowing device comprises a control unit which can control the generation of sound and/or light.

3. (canceled)

4. The bubble blowing device according to claim 2, wherein the sound and/or light generating unit comprises:

a sound and/or light motor device for emitting light and/or making a sound; and

a switch electrically connected between the actuating member by an electrode terminal thereon and the power supply, which is controlled by the control unit to control the connection between the sound and/or light motor device and the power source.

5. The bubble blowing device according to claim 4, wherein the switch can be mechanically actuated by the air flowing into the bubble making unit to connect the power source and the sound and/or light motor device.

6. The bubble blowing device according to claim 1, wherein the actuating member is a blade wheel.

7. The bubble blowing device according to claim 1, wherein the actuating member is a plastic straw.

8. The bubble blowing device according to claim 1, wherein the power source is a battery that is disposed in a battery compartment in the body of the bubble blowing device.

9. The bubble blowing device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is a printed circuit board (PCB) module which is located in the body of the bubble blowing device.