Children's ride-on toys are often designed to simulate or suggest real vehicles, for enhanced appeal. The present invention relates to a device that is suited for mounting upon a toy truck, car or the like, which simulates a rotating warning light of the type used on emergency vehicles.
The prior art has recognized the desirability of providing a device of this general type, as evidenced by a number of U.S. patents. More particularly, Wells U.S. Pat. No. 3,006,251 discloses a motor-driven reflector of prismatic form, for use as an aircraft signal, and Price U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,161 shows a rotating reflector of pyramidical configuration, which is also driven by a motor, through a gearing arrangement.
In Mancinelli et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,046,098, a rotating reflector for a bicycle is disclosed, which is connected to a gear mechanism on the bicycle wheel so as to be rotated thereby. A motion converter, in the form of a Geneva mechanism or a crank and rocker four link mechanism, is employed for imparting intermittent or oscillating movement to the reflector arrangement.
Curran U.S. Pat. No. 4,105,286 describes a bicycle reflector device which has a drive wheel depending from its housing; the drive wheel frictionally engages the side surface of the tire to take power from it. A number of reflector configurations are shown.
Despite such prior art activity, a need remains for a rotating light-simulating device which is especially well suited for assembly with a child's ride-on toy, is facile to operate by manual means, and is relatively uncomplicated and inexpensive to produce.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a novel device that simulates a rotating light, which is adapted for mounting upon a child's ride-on toy to enhance its realistic appearance and appeal.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a device which is adapted for manual operation in a facile manner, and which is relatively inexpensive and uncomplicated to produce.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a device having the foregoing features and advantages, which is highly effective in simulating a rotating warning light, and which utilizes a rotor in the form of a truncated, cup-shaped shell to achieve that result.
Another more specific object of the invention is to provide a device of the foregoing nature which utilizes a unique drive mechanism to achieve the facile and highly effective operation desired.