Conventional toys are known in which a rod is mechanically turned to rotate a figure as disclosed in GB 2,222,959, however, known toys do not involve a rod which vibrates.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy which is mechanical, yet simple and cheap to produce.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a toy which is visually stimulating and appears to defy gravity.

According to the present invention there is provided a toy, comprising a long flexible rod, means for vibrating the rod, and one or more objects each pierced so as to allow the rod to pass through it Preferably, the one or more pierced objects have an approximately round and approximately central hole, and which is asymmetric about a plane orthogonal to its axis which having an upward pointed lip or downward pointed rim.

The means for vibrating the rod may be a rotating eccentric body, or multiple rotating eccentric bodies.

Alternatively, the means for vibrating the rod may be two rotating bodies working in anti-phase.

Preferably, the means for vibrating the rod tunes itself to one of the resonant vibration frequencies of the rod.

Again preferably, the toy comprises two or more rods vibrated by the same vibrating means.

It is preferable that the rods are flexible and elastic and are secured between clamps so as to hold the rod in tension.

In order to aid in understanding the invention some specific embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a toy according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view showing a preferred vibrating means of the toy of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a perspective view showing a further preferred vibrating means of the toy of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a cross-section through an object of the toy of Figure 1.

The ring-like devices or objects 4 and 5 may be made of any convenient material, including metal, plastic and cardboard, and should ideally be attractively coloured or finished with glitter, fancy designs or pictures. The devices may, but need not be, regularly shaped. They may be of a wide variety of shapes provided each is pierced (advantageously close to the device's centre of gravity) by a hole, conveniently a cylindrical or truncated conical hole, whose cross section is approximately circular and larger than the vibrating rod 1 by a few tens of percent to several hundreds of percent. They can be assymetrical with respect to the principal plane of the ring. The ring-like devices 4 and 5 may advantageously be hollow, making them lighter in weight while being visually large. The overall dimensions of each device may be marginally greater than the cylindrical hole up to a few tens of times of the diameter of the rod 1.

The rod 1 may be made of any convenient material, including wood, metal, plastic and glass fibre. It should be long, thin (with the ratio of its length to diameter being at least 100, conveniently a few hundred, and up to about 1000). It does not need to be cylindrical in cross-section, but the aspect ratio of the cross-section of the rod should be of order unity. The cross section along its length may be regular or it may be irregular, tapered for example. It should ideally be flexible (so that it does not break if bent in a curve whose radius is of a similar order of magnitude to its length); and it should be capable of being vibrated without damage. The rod 1 may be supported by being rigidly attached to a base at one end or it may suspended on strings or clamped at more than one place, not necessarily at either end. The rod 1 may also be made of a less rigid material and may be stretched between its two ends like the strings'of a piano.

Any known means 6 may be used to vibrate the rod 1.

The frequency of vibration is advantageously near to the frequency of a resonant mode of transverse vibration of the rod so that a small amount of applied power results in a relatively large amplitude of vibration. The rod 1 is ideally vibrated so that the amplitude of vibration is a fraction of or small multiple of its own diameter.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a rod 1 of, for example, a commercially available cylindrical dowel made of ramin wood of 6mm diameter and 1500mm length (with the length/diameter ratio thus being 250). It is supported by a base 2 of, for example, a block of softwood measuring 25mm x 150mm x 250mm in the centre of which is a hole into which the rod 1 fits snugly but removably. A knob 3 of, for example, a wooden ball of 15mm diameter, may be similarly fixed on the other end of the rod 1.

The ring-like devices or objects 4 and 5, may comprise, for example, the following: (Dimensions in mm) Material Shape Thickness OD ID Mass (g) Nylon Annulus 2 22 10.5 0.6 Acrylic Annulus 1.5 26 13 0.7 OD = outside diameter ID = inside diameter A vibration device or vibrating means 6 is adjustably clamped to the rod 1 by means of clamp 7 in a position, for example, 15% of the rod's length from its base 2 with the motor's axis parallel to the axis of the rod. When the vibration device 6 is activated, the rod 1 vibrates with an average displacement (which varies smoothly along the rod, being zero at nodes and maximum at anti-nodes) of about 1-5mm from its rest position.

The vibration device 6 is shown more clearly in Figure 2. This preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a disc 10 to which has been attached at a point approximately 10mm from the axis of the axle a weight 11 of 5 grams. The disc 10 is driven to rotate about its centre by a 1.5-6V DC motor 12, the speed of which may be varied by a control 13 which regulates the electric current from the power supply 14.

An alternative vibration device 20 is shown in Figure 3. A 1.5-6V DC motor 21 with two projecting shaft ends is equipped with two discs with eccentric weights.

Disc 22 carries eccentric weight 24, and disc 23 carries eccentric weight 25. These weights are equidistant from but on opposite sides of the axis of the discs as shown in Figure 3.

The power supply 14 is conveniently a battery of dry cells the output of which is controlled by an electronic pulse-width control system 13. Alternatively, vibration power may be varied by selecting the number of cells to be connected to the motor. The lead wires to the motor, which are subject to vibration, may be supported by extended rubber support grommets so that they do not suffer fatigue fracture prematurely. The batteries 14 and control 13 are isolated from the vibrations of the motor.

Operation of the Toy The ring-shaped objects are placed on a rod and the vibrating device is set in motion. The ring-like devices then move along the rod in unpredictable ways and in apparent defiance of gravity, all to the amusement of the toy's operator. Instead of simply falling to the bottom of the rod, the rings begin to spin and then ascend or descend at a steady pace. A more rapidly falling ring may collide with and then bounce away from a rising or more slowly falling ring. A descending ring may bounce off base 2. A rising ring may bounce off knob 3 or, in the absence of the knob, may rise off the rod entirely.

The rings may hover.

The operator may alter the pattern of vibration of the rod by touching or pinching it whereupon the direction or manner of the travel of the ring-like devices are changed.

The rod may be removed from its base 2 and suspended by either the operator's fingers or other means such as with string. Differing means of suspending the rod give rise to different patterns of vibration, in turn causing different behaviour patterns in the movement of the rings. Similarly, changes in the power supplied to the vibrating device induce changes in the pattern of vibration and hence also in the behaviour of the rings.

Other adjustments of the toy produce unpredictable chaotic'motions of the rings.

Principles of Operation of the Toy When viewed in slow motion, it can be seen that the rings are rolling around the rod on their inner surface, with some slipping and skipping also occurring. When rolling around the rod in a plane orthogonal to the rod's axis, the rings appear to be stationary. When rolling at an angle to the rod's axis, the rings move along that axis.

Again when viewed in slow motion, it is possible to see the pattern of vibration of the rod: each part of the rod moves in a small ellipse or circle about the rod's axis. The vibration of the rod forms standing wave patterns, with nodes (positions of minimum average vibration) and anti-nodes (positions of maximum vibration). The rod of Figure 1 will, in its simplest mode of operation, have two nodes (one adjacent to base (5) and one at about two thirds of the rod's length from the base) and one anti-node (about one third of the rod's length from the base. A more flexible and elastic rod stretched between two clamps will have at least two nodes, one at each of the supports.

The rod of Figure 1 has a resonant frequency with 3 nodes at about 30Hz. A similar rod cut to 850mm in length also has a resonant frequency of 30Hz, but with 2 nodes.

A rod with a resonant frequency lower than that of the rod of Figure 1 may have only one node, at its base, but it will also have a series of higher resonant frequencies with 3,4,5 or more nodes.

The frequency of vibration required to achieve a particular number of nodes increases with the stiffness of the rod (roughly as the square root of the Youngs' modulus and increasing with the effective diameter of the rod) and decreases as the square root of the density of the rod. The selection of frequency also being affected by other factors such as: the end-effects due to the supports, the anisotropic nature of the materials, and any added masses (such as the means of vibration and any knobs fitted to the ends).

The frequencies with smaller numbers of nodes are those of interest to operators of this invention.

Toys of different characteristics may be designed having regard to these principles.

Alternative embodiments Ring-like devices Alternative ring like devices of a wide variety of specifications may be used on the toy according to the present invention. For example, on the rod of Figure 1, devices of the specification given in the following table may be used: (dimensions in millimetres) Material Shape Thickness OD ID mass (g) Nylon Annulus 2 24 13 0.7 Rubber Annulus 1.2 27.5 10 0.6 Steel Annulus 0.8 18 8.5 1.3 Steel Annulus 2.5 24 13 6.4 Nylon Annulus 1 61 13 3.1 Polypropylene Annulus 1 40 21 0.8 Brass Annulus 2 21 10. 5 4.7 Acrylic Ellipse 2 31/21 13 0.8 Steel Hexagon 8 14 8 6. 6 Nylon Cuboid 1.5 35/21 13 0.6 Nylon Square 1.5 22 13 0.4 Nylon Triangle 1 43 13 1.5 Polypropylene Hat shape (31) 1.5 30 13 0.8 Aluminium Ring w. lip (30) 0.5 30 13 1.5 Polypropylene Hollow ring 4 31 12 0.8 OD = effective outside diameter (where two dimensions are given these are the maximum and minimum chords) ID = inside diameter Although all these ring-like devices work individually and many will function well in multiples or in combinations with others, certain combinations and multiples will not work. For example, with too many rings on the rod, the vibration power available may be insufficient to operate all the rings: on the rod of Figure 1 with the motor and batteries specified, only about half-a-dozen rings of lighter weight can be made to 'hover'simultaneously.

Rings which are assymetrical around the hole with respect to the plane of the ring can also be used, for example those with an upward pointing lip or downward pointing rim (not necessarily a complete rim) as illustrated in Figure 4. Figure 4 shows a cross-section of two such rings 30 and 31 through a plane passing through the rings'diameter and rotational axis of symmetry. Because the rolling surface is above the centre of gravity, these behave differently from symmetric rings. The upward-pointing lip would appear to make travel downwards easier than upwards. However, surprisingly, these rings in fact ascend more easily than they descend, and ascend more easily than symmetric rings. They typically climb upwards more easily than downwards (or if turned upside down, descend much more easily than they ascend). Fast moving light rings can be made to bounce between slowly moving heavier rings.

Very large, thin rings (for example, 0.8mm thick, 50mm diameter) may have unstable spinning modes when they oscillate to and fro in their rotational axis, giving the appearance of a butterfly flapping its wings.

Vibration devices Any convenient source of vibration may be used. As described above and in Figure 1, a simple vibration source is provided by fixing one or more eccentric weights to the armature shaft of a small electric motor which is firmly clamped to the rod. Other possible sources include moving coil or moving iron magnetic mechanisms and hand-cranked mechanisms.

Use of a repositionable clamp allows the vibration source to be moved along the rod. As its position is varied so the pattern of vibration of the rod is altered giving differing operating effects.

The power required of the vibration means is a function of how well the frequency is tuned to the resonant frequency, the diameter of the rod, its length and the aggregate weight of ring-like devices to be used at any one time.

The output of an electric motor used in a vibration means may be simply controlled by switching in different numbers of cells in a battery. Alternatively, power can be controlled by rheostat, by electronic pulse-width control or by use of series diodes or transistors.

The power of the motor and mass of the eccentric weight may be chosen so that the device is responsive to the vibrations of the rod, giving the vibrating means an element of self-tuning to one or more of the rod natural frequencies. A directly-coupled motor of low power with a relatively large eccentric weight will exhibit this self-tuning effect. In the absence of this self-tuning effect, the operator (or an external and more complex control system) must vary the rotation speed of the motor so as to tune it to the system. A computer-based system of controlling both amplitude and frequency may be attractive to some operators. A musical accompaniment may be provided.

A second source of vibration may be fitted to the rod thus increasing the aggregate power of vibration and changing its distribution. This is particularly desirable when the rods are in complex shapes, for example, in an arch and where the end of a rod may otherwise be too far from the single source of vibration.

The two sources of vibration need not operate at the same frequency and power; where their frequencies are different, the amplitude of vibration of the rod is modulated by the'beat'or difference frequency, thus providing another variable to the method of operating the toy of the present invention.

More than one similar rod can be activated by a single means of vibration (or by a common set of means of vibration) so allowing'ring races'in which the operators have rods of apparently equal performance. A multiplicity of rods of different resonant frequency activated by a single vibration means or set of vibration means provides further amusing effects, as for any particular set of vibration frequencies the rods and their rings will be activated in different modes and to a different extent.

Rods Rods of different diameter and surface finish offer different sets of behaviour. Rods of a bright colour and fitted with an end knob are less likely to lead to eye injuries to children playing with the invention.

Rods can be vertical or inclined. Vertically mounted straight rods provide the most counter-intuitive mode of operation. However, rods may be oriented at different angles and may be bent in an arc. In proportion as the shape or orientation of the rod is complex, so is the skill required to controlling the modes of vibration the greater.

Rods may be equipped with a means of providing a light beam shining on or parallel to the rod, advantageously illuminating the hovering, ascending or descending rings.

Clamps The pattern of vibration of a rod may be changed by clamping it at any point along its length with manually or with mechanical means. Only small clamping forces are generally needed to change modes of vibration.

Any base or device used to hold or clamp the rod, or to bend the rod into an arc should not absorb vibration.

Thus a metal clamp is preferred to a thick felt pad in this application.

Methods of use There are number of ways in which the device can be made to operate, some of which test the manual dexterity of the operator.

For example, it is often the case that a ring will initially be confined to the region within the length between the drive motor and the first node on the rod, perhaps the first 40% of the rod. However, there are number of ways by which the user can modify the vibration of the rod in any given embodiment of the invention so that rings or rings will travel the full length of the rod. These include temporary clamping at different points on the rod or changing the frequency or power of the vibration source.

For rings which have more than one mode of rotation (for example, large rings), the mode of rotation of a ring may be similarly affected by the user modifying the vibration of the rod, or alternatively by touching the ring momentarily in the correct manner.

Knob 5 may be replaced by a dangling bell which rings when struck by a ring, thus providing operators with another source of amusement or means to test their ability to control ring movement. A competitive game may be played with two examples of the invention each with bells arranged so that the movement of rings on one rod can clash over rings on the other rods. With each rod controlled by one player, each tries to ring the bell on their own rod while preventing the other from achieving the same objective.