Persistence of vision (POV) units are well known and are used for producing a wide variety of visual effects. These POV units are used in a variety of ways, such as table top units and/or as hat mounted units. These units operate on the principal of an optical phenomenon called “persistence of vision” and a psychological phenomenon called “the phi phenomenon” which is the tendency of the mind to complete the gaps between frames or pictures. Typically, a POV unit includes a rod that has one or more light elements, wherein the rod repeatedly moves through a space (i.e. back and forth movement or via rotation movement). As the rod moves through the space, the light elements light up in a predefined manner to create an image.
Unfortunately, the rods in these units are very rigid structures and depending on the application use, may be injurious to a wearer or a bystander. For example, one use for these POV units is on baseball hats where the hats are worn at sporting events, concerts and other events. In this use, the rods that contain the light elements are configured to swing side to side (in pendulum fashion). However, in order for the POV units to operate correctly, the rod should be rigid because moving from side to side at the necessary speed will cause bending which will end up distorting the image. This image distortion is undesirable. Additionally, with these types of devices, adult and kid bystanders tend to ‘play’ with the rod as it is moving side to side. Because these rods are rigid and don't bend, this can result in injuries to the bystanders, such as the hands, eyes, etc.