When light irradiates the surface of the solar cell, the amorphous silicon above will generate a voltage of about 3V and a current of microampere when irradiated by light, including weak light. Connect the solar panel to the toy ‘s transmission and dancing solar toys figures will move.
Flip Flap This article is about the solar powered toy. For the first looping roller coaster in North America, see,
| This article needs additional citations for, Please help by, Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: – · · · · ( December 2008 ) ( ) |
Flip Flap is a toy that resembles a plant. The small solar panel powers two leaves that bounce up and down continuously until the light source to the solar panel is stopped. The leaves can be stopped from bouncing by a switch on the underside of the device.
- The Flip Flap has a large cult following in, but the popularity of the ornamental gadget is growing in the UK being marketed under the brand.
- Flip Flaps come in different models like the “Q” (which is round) and “F” (which has the shape of a flower pot).
- The big Flip Flaps (depends on the number) usually have three movements.
Once you turn it on, the leaves begin to move up and down. If you tap one of the leaves, it shall begin to move seesaw to the direction in which the leaf was tapped. As with other Tomy manufactured solar powered toys, there are fake Flip Flaps being sold in stores.
These are often cheaply made in China and are limited to only an up-and-down motion, and are incapable of the 3 different movements characteristic of authentic Flip Flaps. The fake and real versions look extremely similar, but consumers can differentiate between the two by looking for the Tomy logo, almost entirely Japanese characters on the box (limited English), and dark green leaves (fake Flip Flaps have light green leaves, as opposed to the darker, real ones of slightly better quality).
Other Flip Flap knockoffs are sold that are solely inspired by Flip Flaps, but not directly based on Flip Flaps, as they are sold in very different packaging than the authentic ones and have flowers that look different. According to the European Union patent database, the patent was copied by a small Chinese company called “Shenzen Longgang Pinghu Tengy”.
How do magnetic toys work?
Summary of how the toy works –
- The two petals are coupled mechanically such that when one moves, the other one also moves.
- One of the petals acts as a pendulum with a magnet at the base of it.
- When the toy is powered, pulses of electrical current are sent through a voice coil, which is placed at the base of the toy; this creates a magnetic field running along the axis of the voice coil.
- These pulses of magnetic field from the voice coil pull the magnet toward the voice coil to cause the petal’s pendulum to swing back and forth.
How are solar panels made from flower pots?
Probably assembly sequence –
- Multi-part plastic components are snapped together (for example, the electronics housing, the flower)
- Magnet is glued to petal base
- Solar panel and voice coil are soldered to PCB (assuming PCB and voice coil were custom-made elsewhere)
- Electronic components are secured to plastic housing (by tape and glue)
- All the pieces are put together; mostly press-fit plastic parts; final step: two halves of flower pot are placed around housing and mated and glued together
