Spinning illuminated novelty device and its associated method of manufacture

Abstract

A novelty item that spins reflective elements to produce a circular pattern of light. As the reflective elements spin, they receive and reflect light that is emitted by at least one light source. As the reflective elements reflect light from the light source, the reflective elements appear to be light sources themselves. Accordingly, as the reflective elements rotate, they produce a circular pattern of light. Since the reflective elements cannot always reflect light back into the line of sight of the observer, the reflected light in the created circular pattern of light seems to randomly change. By providing a novelty device that utilizes rotating reflective elements, a spinning pattern of light can be produced that is more interesting to observe and far less expensive to produce than similar devices that spin actual electric light sources.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An illuminated assembly, comprising: 
 a hub;    a motor for rotating said hub;    a plurality of arms extending from said hub;    at least one light source supported by at least one of said plurality of arms;    at least one reflective element supported by at least one of said plurality of arms, wherein said at least one reflective element receives and reflects light emitted by said at least one light source when said hub is rotated by said motor.    
     
     
         2 . The assembly according to  claim 1 , further including a handle element for supporting said hub, wherein said motor is disposed within said handle.  
     
     
         3 . The assembly according to  claim 2 , wherein said assembly has a single light source and multiple reflective elements.  
     
     
         4 . The assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one light source is a light emitting diode.  
     
     
         5 . The assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one reflective element is colored and reflects light of a predetermined color.  
     
     
         6 . The assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one reflective element has a diffraction pattern printed thereon.  
     
     
         7 . An illuminated assembly, comprising: 
 a light source;    a plurality of reflective elements;    a motor for rotating said plurality of reflective elements around a central axis, wherein said plurality of reflective element receives and reflects light emitted by said light source as said plurality of reflective elements rotate about said central axis.    
     
     
         8 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said light source is mounted at a stationary point along said central axis.  
     
     
         9 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said light source is rotated about said central axis by said motor.  
     
     
         10 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , further including a plurality of arms that are rotated by said motor, wherein said reflective elements are supported by at least some of said arms.  
     
     
         11 . The assembly according to  claim 10 , wherein said light source is supported by one of said arms.  
     
     
         12 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , further including a handle element, wherein said motor is disposed within said handle element.  
     
     
         13 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said assembly has a single light source and multiple reflective elements.  
     
     
         14 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said light source is a light emitting diode.  
     
     
         15 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein said at least one of said reflective elements is colored and reflects light of a predetermined color.  
     
     
         16 . The assembly according to  claim 7 , wherein at least one of said reflective elements has a diffraction pattern printed thereon.  
     
     
         17 . A method of producing a circular pattern of light, comprising the steps of: 
 providing a hand-held assembly containing at least one light source and a plurality of reflective elements;    rotating said reflective elements in a circular pattern, wherein said reflective elements receive and reflect light from said at least one light source while rotating in said circular pattern, thereby producing a circular pattern of light to a person observing said reflective elements as they rotate.    
     
     
         18 . The method according to  claim 17 , further including the step of rotating said at least one light source in a circular pattern.