Field of the Inventions

[0001] The inventions described below relate to the field of tactile amusements such as spinners.

Background of the Inventions

[0002] Many people engage in tactile amusement by twirling or spinning pens, pencils and other devices.

Summary

[0003] The devices and methods described below provide for a spinner collar to engage any suitable apparatus such as a lighter to enable the lighter to spin about the bearing axis of the spinner collar.

[0004] Devices such as lighters with a long axis may be engaged about the long axis by a spinner collar with the bore axis of the spinner collar parallel to the long axis of the lighter such that the bearing axis or axis of rotation of the spinner collar is perpendicular to the long axis of the device, and the bore axis of the spinner collar, enabling rotation of the long axis of the device about the axis of rotation of the spinner collar. Alternatively, the axis of rotation of the spinner collar may be oriented at any other suitable angle relative to the bore axis of the spinner collar .

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005] Figure 1 is a front plan view of a spinner collar. [0006] Figure 2 is a top view of the spinner collar of Figure [0007] Figure 3 is a back plan view of the spinner collar of Figure 1.

[0008] Figure 4 is a left side view of the spinner collar of Figure 1.

[0009] Figure 5 is a right side view of the spinner collar of Figure 1.

[0010] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the spinner collar of Figure 1.

[0011] Figure 7 is an alternate perspective view of the spinner collar of Figure 1.

[0012] Figure 8 is a cross-section view of the spinner collar of Figure 1 taken along A-A.

[0013] Figure 9 is a front perspective view of the spinner collar of Figure 1 engaging a lighter.

[0014] Figure 10 is a rear perspective view of the spinner collar of Figure 1 engaging a lighter.

Detailed Description of the Inventions

[0015] Spinner collar 1 of Figures 1 through 5 includes a collar 2 having a device bore 3 for engaging any suitable device such as a lighter. Device bore 3 has a bore axis 4 which is perpendicular to the collar axis of rotation 6 which is collinear with the axes of rotation of the bearings.

Collar 2 includes slot 7 to enable collar 2 to frictionally engages a device in bore 3. Collar 2 may also include a reinforcement rib 12.

[0016] Referring to Figures 6, 7 and 8, a first grip 8 engages a first bearing 10 and a second grip 9 engages a second bearing 11. First bearing 10 secures first grip 8 to collar 2 and second bearing 11 secures second grip 9 to collar 2 to enable grips 8 and 9 to rotate relative to collar 2. Bearings 10 and 11 are oriented with their axes of rotation, axes 10R and 11R respectively, collinear to form the collar axis of rotation 6.

[0017] In use any suitable device such as lighter 14 is fractionally engaged in bore 3 of collar 2 with the long axis of the device, long axis 15 parallel to the bore axis 4 of the collar as illustrated in Figures 9 and 10. A first grip 8 and second grip 9 are engaged by a user. With the grips so

engaged, bore axis 4 which corresponds to the long axis of the lighter may be rotated about the axis of rotation 6 of the collar .

[0018] While the preferred embodiments of the devices and methods have been described in reference to the environment in which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the principles of the inventions. The elements of the various embodiments may be incorporated into each of the other species to obtain the benefits of those elements in combination with such other species, and the various beneficial features may be employed in embodiments alone or in combination with each other. Other embodiments and configurations may be devised without departing from the spirit of the inventions and the scope of the appended claims.