Disney Designs New Lightsaber That Extends and Retracts Just Like the Film Versions
Disney Designs New Lightsaber That Extends and Retracts Just Like the Film"For some of us out there, society’s technical advancements can all be measured by answering one question: How close are we to a real lightsaber?
While the model outlined in Disney’s newest patent application may not cut through solid steel, it will have an advantage over previous toys and replicas. Published today by Disney Enterprises, Inc., “Sword Device with Retractable, Internally Illuminated Blade” outlines a lightsaber design which allows the “energy blade” to shoot forth and retract in a way that properly mimics the iconic weapon’s use in the Star Wars franchise.
Currently, if you want to walk the path of the Jedi you’ve got two basic options. The cheaper choice involves purchasing a toy with a telescoping blade, with larger segments near the hilt and smaller segments near the tip, creating a triangular — and not very film accurate — shape. For more money you get more accuracy, so you could also purchase a fixed blade that looks closer to the movie ones when lit, but can’t extend or retract at all. Remember that iconic scene where Mace Windu stopped to screw in his purple blade before battle? Nope, neither do we....."
very interesting design. it's basically a "spool" of LED tape which extends to form a rigid straight line (like a "tape measure"), and then retracts back into a wound-up "spool" again (which is completely hidden INSIDE the hilt).
((actually, it's 2 spools: imagine 2 curved 'tape measure' style tapes, which both extend at the same time, sort of "facing" each other, to form 2 linear halves of a long "round" blade tube -- if that makes any sense))
result --> a "belt hanger" hilt , with a fully retractable LED blade "tube" , hidden
inside the hilt. very cool.