US20090025116A1

US20090025116A1 - Costume That Produces A Focused Stream Of Air Emitting From What Appears To Be An Anatomical Body Part

Info

Publication number: US20090025116A1
Application number: US12/179,962
Authority: US
Inventors: Kenwyn Petrina Dapo
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-07-27
Filing date: 2008-07-25
Publication date: 2009-01-29

Abstract

One embodiment of an air-creating costume which creates the illusion that air is being emitted from an anatomical body part, the air stream of which may be used for the purposes of balloon inflation for entertainment and amusement. In this embodiment, a wearable corset-shaped housing (110) contains an automotive air horn compressor (420) within its corset cups (112). A nozzle (432) focusing the air stream protrudes from a corset cup (112). This costume enables the wearer to affix a balloon to the nozzle and inflate it, thus creating the illusion that the air is being emitted from the wearer's breast. This embodiment and others may use the air stream for other entertaining purposes, such as inflating objects other than balloons, to propel substances like confetti or glitter into the surrounding air, for operating amusement devices such as party noisemakers or pinwheels, or for extinguishing small flames.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of PPA Ser. No. 60/962,167, filed Jul. 27, 2007 by the present inventor, which is incoporated by reference.
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material that is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable

SEQUENCE LISTING OR PROGRAM

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention
This application relates to air-creating costumes which may be used for balloon inflation.
2. Prior Art
Air pumps intended for performers to use for the purposes of balloon inflation have been produced in the past—for instance, the Myers Pump, U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,066 is a hand-held device which, while very effective, does not accessorize with any particular costume, and must incorporate two hands for balloon inflation. The Majiloon pump, a battery-powered balloon pump, can be worn in a small pouch around the waist; while effective, this pump also requires two hands for operation, and its pouch and air hose mar the appearance of an otherwise well thought-out costume.
My method of incorporating an air-creating device into the design of a costume has several advantages:

- It requires only one hand for operation.
- The cohesive appearance of the costume does not remind the viewer that an external mechanism is being used for air-creation, thus permitting the viewer to “extend disbelief” and enjoy the performance.
- Amusement can be achieved by the clever placement of the air nozzle.
  Disadvantages to this air-creating costume are:
- It may not be versatile enough for all performance venues.
- It may not have the sustained power of the above-mentioned Majiloon pump.
- Certain embodiments may be heavy.

SUMMARY

In accordance with one embodiment, a costume houses a battery-powered air compressor and a nozzle focusing the air protrudes from the breast area, thus creating the illusion that the wearer's breast is emitting a stream of air capable of inflating a balloon.

DRAWINGS—FIGURES

FIGS. 1 and 2 shows a front and side view of the costume, in this embodiment a corset-shaped housing, which is designed to appear as the corset of a well-endowed female.

FIG. 3 shows the open hollow compartment of the corset-shaped housing in which the air-creating mechanism will be contained.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show ¾ angle and side angle views of the air-creating mechanism.

FIG. 5 shows the air-creating mechanism connected to the power source.

FIG. 6 shows the corset-shaped housing open with the air-creating mechanism and power source secured inside the hollow compartment.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the corset-shaped housing closed and containing the air-creating mechanism and power source.

DRAWINGS—REFERENCE NUMERALS

110 Corset-shaped housing
112 corset cups divided in 4 panels
114 grommets
310 disc-shaped interior padding
312 hook and loop strips
410 lexan disc
412 flexible lexan arm
414 holes drilled in lexan disc
416 fabric backing
418 stitching
420 automotive air horn compressor
422 normally-open micro switch
424 12-volt electrical circuits
426 clear plastic tubing
428 90-degree compression fitting
430 galvanized coupling
432 nozzle
434 12 volt 2-prong connector
610 lexan disc
612 hook and loop strap
614 sealed lead acid battery

DETAILED DESCRIPTION—FIRST EMBODIMENT—FIGS. 1 TO 9

In this embodiment, the costume/housing is designed to look like the corset of a well-endowed female, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. The corset-shaped housing 110 includes corset cups 112, grommets 114 and zippers (not shown), indicated by the thick black lines. Said corset-shaped housing 110 is custom fitted to the performer's torso measurements. It includes standard features of a corset, including straps and structural supports like boning (not shown), which will be well-known to those experienced in the costuming field. The corset-shaped housing's 110 breast cups 112 are constructed to be much larger than the wearer's natural breasts. (Note: this embodiment is most comfortable if the wearer is relatively flat-chested.)
Each corset cup 112 is comprised of 4 panels and, between each panel is a zipper (indicated by thick black lines in FIGS. 1, 2, 8 and 9), the zipper pull of which faces the exterior of the corset cup 112. When zipped closed, the corset cups 112 are brought into their closed, cone-like shape, as seen clearly in FIG. 2. The advantage to this zipper placement in this embodiment is that the zippers permit the performer to continue to wear the corset while easily loading and unloading batteries and gaining access to the air-creating mechanism when necessary. Other embodiments could feature corset cups 112 that are sewn shut, ridding them of zippers on the outside, and provide access to the hollow compartment (to be described in the following paragraph) only when the costume is entirely removed.
Both corset cups 112 are furnished with disc-shaped interior padding 310 upon which two hook and loop strips are sewn 312. Said disc-shaped interior padding 310 lays flat against the wearer's chest, creating a roomy hollow compartment in each breast cup 112, as seen in FIG. 3. This disc-shaped interior padding is important for wearer's comfort and protection from the heat of the air-creating mechanism, which will be shown in FIG. 4. A small slit between each padded disc 310 and the inside each breast cup 112 is left open (not shown).
Grommets 116 on each cup 112 allow for adequate air-intake and ventilation. In this embodiment, the grommets 116 are arranged in a decorative manner on both corset cups 112. While air-intake and ventilation are necessary, alternative ways of providing this may include hidden slits or air-permeable materials such as dark-painted screen, such as the type used in theme park big-head costume construction. Alternative air-creating devices used in other possible embodiments may not need ventilation.
This corset 110 houses the air-creating mechanism, its description which follows in the next paragraph.
A transparent disc of lexan 410 is fitted with a flexible arm of lexan 412 which is secured by screws (not shown). While lexan is used in this embodiment, any type of flexible, non-flammable material may be used.
Small holes 414 have been drilled around the lexan disc's 410 perimeter. The lexan disc 410 is attached to a fabric backing complete with two hook and loop strips 416 sewn upon it. This fabric backing with hook and loop strips 416 is affixed to the lexan disc 410 with stitching 418.
In this embodiment, an automotive rotary air horn compressor 420 is affixed to the disc 410 and under the flexible arm 412 with nut and bolt hardware (not shown). A normally-open micro switch 422 is mounted to the lexan disc 410, and is connected to the automotive rotary air horn compressor 420 with standard electrical circuitry 424 known to those trained in the electrical field. In other embodiments, a small compressed air canister may be used to create a burst of air instead of a rotary air compressor 420. The advantage to using compressed air is it is lightweight and needs no power source. The disadvantage to compressed air is that it is not suitable for long performance periods during which the wearer might need to produce consistently robust streams of air.
Clear plastic tubing 426 is fitted over the automotive air horn compressor's 420 air output pipe (not shown) and secured with nylon cable ties (not shown). While this embodiment employs clear plastic tubing, other air-focusing tools may be used. The other end of the clear plastic tubing 426 then fits over the narrow end of a 90-degree compression fitting 428 and is again secured with nylon cable ties (not shown). The male end of the 90-degree compression fitting 428 fits through a hole (not shown) drilled through the lexan arm 412. A galvanized coupling 430 with two female ends screws onto the 90-degree compression fitting 428 on the top side of the lexan arm 412, and a nozzle 432 screws into the end of this galvanized coupling 430. In this embodiment, the galvanized coupling 430 is used to provide extra height to fit properly in the corset cups 112. In other embodiments, for instance if the compressor 420 is housed in the groin area of a costume housing, no galvanized coupling 430, or a longer galvanized coupling 430, may be used.
The electrical circuitry 424 is finished with a 12-volt 2 prong connector 434.
A second lexan disc 610 is also equipped with small holes 414 and two thin slits (not shown) through which a hook and loop strap 612 is threaded. This second lexan disc 610 also affixed with stitching 418 to a fabric backing 416 upon which two hook and loop strips 312 are sewn. A rechargeable sealed lead acid battery 614 is connected via standard electrical circuitry to a 12-volt 2 prong connector 434. The sealed lead acid battery 614 is secured to the second lexan disc 610 with the hook and loop strap 612.
Both lexan discs 410 and 610 are then affixed inside the corset cups 112 by aligning the hook and loop strips 312 and 416 and pressing firmly. This can be clearly seen in FIG. 7. The electrical cords from both the automotive air horn compressor 420 and the battery 614 are threaded through the slit opening (not shown) between the disc-shaped interior padding 310 and the interior of the corset cups 112. The corset cups 112 are then closed with the zippers (indicated by thick black lines in FIGS. 1, 2, 8 and 9), hiding the air-creating device, and leaving the nozzle 432 to protrude from one corset cup 112, while the battery 614 is camouflaged and contained in the other corset cup 112, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9.
The performer dons the corset 110, and then connects the battery 614 to the automotive rotary air horn compressor with 12-volt 2 connectors 434. Then the performer closes the front of the corset with a zipper (not shown), and is ready to use the costume, as it appears in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Operation—First Embodiment—FIGS. 8 and 9

To use this embodiment of the costume, the wearer dons the completed costume as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9. The wearer holds a balloon in one hand (not shown), affixes it to the nozzle 432 protruding from the corset cup 112, and presses down with said hand. Unseen by viewers, inside the corset cups 112, the lexan arm 412 flexes from the pressure, pushing down upon the normally-open micro switch 422, which activates the automotive rotary air horn compressor 420, thus creating a stream of air and inflating the balloon.
This embodiment and other embodiments may use the air-creating device for other entertaining purposes, such as inflating objects other than balloons, to propel substances like confetti or glitter into the surrounding air, for operating amusement devices such as party noisemakers or pinwheels, or for extinguishing small flames.

Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope

Thus, the reader will see that at least one embodiment of the invention provides easy, one-handed, visually attractive and amusing balloon inflation.
While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the embodiments thereof. Many other ramifications and variations are possible within the teachings of the various embodiments. For example, the air-creating device may be a compressed air canister, a foot pump, or a device not yet envisioned or created. The air may appear to be emitted from another anatomical area, such as the head or hairstyle, the groin, the limbs and extremities, or from the posterior, as if by flatulence. The costume may be configured to visually replicate other physical characteristics, and could appear as a Wagnerian Soprano's breast-plated costume, a Cow's torso, a Woman's Braids, or even a Business Man's suit, among others. The stream of air may be used to inflate other inflatable objects than balloons, or for other applications than inflation; for instance, substances like confetti or glitter may be propelled into the surrounding air, amusement devices such as party noisemakers or pinwheels may be activated, or small flames may be extinguised.
Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents, and not by the examples given.

Claims

1. A costume that produces a focused stream of air emitting from what appears to be an anatomical body part comprising:

a costume

an air-creating device hidden within the costume

a method of directing the air out of said “anatomical body part” or “hairstyle” in a focused stream

whereby said costume when worn will permit the wearer to inflate inflatable objects, propel objects into the surrounding air, activate air-propelled devices, or extinguish small flames.