Patent Grant
11819808
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
The invention to which this application relates is apparatus and a method for the manufacture and preparation of a compound which can subsequently be used in a play and/or craft environment and as a toy and used independently or in conjunction with other toys and/or apparatus.
In particular, although not necessarily exclusively, the compound to which the application relates is a material of the type for use in play and/or crafts, and is hereoninreferred to in a non-limiting manner as a play compound. The play compounds of this type conventionally include a cross-linked polymer, such as an adhesive, such as white glue, and which is manufactured under factory conditions by combining polyvinyl alcohol solutions with borate ions. The compound can be odourless or a particular odour can be added to the same and the compound, which is liquid or at least semi fluid, can be formed of a particular colour and is cold and slimy to the touch. The compound can also be referred to as a non-Newtonian fluid in that the viscosity of the fluid can be affected by factors other than temperature, such as, for example, by the application of a shear stress caused by any of squeezing, stirring, agitating or applying mechanical pressure to the compound. One form of this compound is sold under the registered Trade Mark Slime owned by Viacom.
While it is known to be able to form other similar types of compound in the home rather than the factory environment, these compounds can be difficult to make, can require a relatively long list of ingredients and/or ingredients such as Borate which are difficult to obtain, at least in certain countries and, most often, do not lead to the production of a compound which acts in the same manner as the factory made versions of the compound and, as such, it is found that the compound, once made, is generally unsatisfactory in terms of its performance in comparison with the factory made versions.
However, despite the advantages of using factory made compositions, there are problems with the same in terms of the expense of purchasing the same and the feeling of detachment of the child in that they have not been able to take part in the making of the compound.
The aim of the present invention is therefore to provide apparatus and a method for making a play compound of a type which, once formed, has similar qualities of use as an equivalent type of compound which is made under factory conditions, whilst the apparatus allows the compound to be made by a person in their home environment. A further aim is to provide the ingredients required to make the compound in a manner which allows the same to be used in the manufacture of the compound in a manner which can be used by children and in a safe manner. A further aim is to provide the ingredients in a form which allows a play compound to be formed in a factory or home environment and have predetermined characteristics.
In a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus to aid the formation of a play compound, said apparatus including a base, a cavity and mixing means which, when operated, cause agitation and mixture of the play compound components and a liquid located in the cavity, to form the play compound.
In one embodiment the apparatus base includes the cavity or receives an item in which the cavity is formed and the mixing means include an arm which is movable with respect to the base. In one embodiment the arm is rotatable.
In one embodiment the arm includes at least one, or a number of portions which are located with respect to the cavity so as to cause an agitating, and hence mixing, effect on the liquid and components which are located in the cavity at that time. In one embodiment the said components are provided in a powder form which is premixed and a liquid is also present in the cavity to be mixed with the powder.
In one embodiment the said arm includes one or more ports through which the powder can be poured to introduce the same for mixing with the liquid in the base. In one embodiment the powder is introduced as the arm is moved.
In one embodiment the apparatus includes one or more capsules into which the formed play compound can be placed and stored prior to subsequent use.
In one embodiment the powder is provided in a predetermined quantity such that when the user adds the full quantity to a predetermined quantity of water then they can be confident that a play compound with predetermined characteristics will be formed.
In one embodiment the apparatus includes a plurality of different powder types which can be selectively used alone or in combination to form a particular play compound. In one embodiment the powders may differ in terms of any or any combination of colour, consistency, ingredients, additional components such as glitter, and the like.
In a further aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for use in the formation of a play compound by mixing a powder and water, said apparatus including a base, a cavity included in, or received by, the base in which the powder and liquid are mixed and wherein a mixing means is provided in a form such that relative rotational movement of the base and at least an arm of the mixing means causes agitation and mixing of the powder and liquid together to form the play compound.
In one embodiment the said relative movement is caused by the application of a manual movement force on a handle of the mixing means located externally of the cavity. Alternatively a powered movement means can be provided.
Typically the handle extends through an aperture in a lid and into the cavity to perform the mixing and the lid prevents spillage of the liquid and/or powder as the same are mixed to form the play compound.
Typically the lid is selectively removable from the cavity to allow access to be gained to introduce the liquid and powder and/or remove the formed play compound.
In one embodiment the movement means are provided as an arm which is rotatably movable with respect to the base about a substantially central axis of the cavity.
In one embodiment the arm includes at least one portion which is located with respect to the base so as to cause an agitating, and hence mixing, effect on the liquid and ingredients which are located in the base at that time. In one embodiment the said ingredients are provided in a powder form which is premixed.
In one embodiment the said arm includes one or more ports through which the powder can be poured to introduce the same for mixing with the liquid in the base. In one embodiment the powder is introduced as the arm is moved and thereby allows the powder to be introduced to the liquid in a manner which reduces the risk of lumping.
In one embodiment the apparatus includes one or more capsules into which the formed play compound can be placed and stored prior to subsequent use.
In one embodiment the apparatus includes containers for a plurality of different powder types which can be selectively used, alone or in combination, to form a particular play compound. In one embodiment the powders may differ in terms of any, or any combination of colour, consistency, ingredients, additional components such as glitter, and the like.
In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a play compound said play compound formed by adding a powder with a liquid into a cavity of a container, said powder including a plurality of components required to form the play compound and mixing the powder and liquid for a period of time sufficient to cause the play compound to be formed.
In one embodiment the mixing is performed by a person grasping and moving, typically by shaking, the container.
In another embodiment the mixing is performed by a person operating mixing means.
In a further aspect of the invention there is provided a method for the manufacture of a play compound which is pliable in use, said method comprising the steps of adding a quantity of a powder composition to a liquid in a cavity, and applying an agitating force to cause the mixing of the powder and liquid for a period of time so as to cause the said play compound to be formed.
In one embodiment the powder is formed under factory conditions to include the ingredients which are required in predefined percentages and the powder is then provided to a person to be used in conjunction with the liquid.
In one embodiment the liquid is water.
In one embodiment the user is provided with instructions relating to the ratio of the powder to water in the mixture. In one embodiment a range of ratios are provided and the person can select which ratio to use at the time of manufacture.
In one embodiment a specific mixing container is provided and the container has marked thereon one or more levels which indicate the quantity of liquid and/or powder which should be poured into the container in order to form a suitable play compound with specific characteristics.
In one embodiment each ratio is linked to a particular composition of the play compound which will be formed. For example, if there is a greater quantity of powder added to an amount of liquid, then the play compound will have greater viscosity and/or other characteristic and if a smaller quantity of powder is added to the amount of liquid the play compound will have a lower viscosity and/or other characteristic.
In one embodiment each of the compounds is linked to a particular identifiable type or characteristic of play compound such as, clay, dough, rubber, certain resins, sand, gel, slimy substance and/or other art/craft compound.
In one embodiment the specific ingredients contained within the compound are provided in a set percentage level under factory conditions and converted into a powder under factory conditions such that the user is only required at the time of making the compound to add the supplied powder to water in a ratio which is predetermined in order to make the play compound with the user selected characteristics.
In one embodiment the powder contains a combination of the following ingredients Gum, such as Guar gum, Borax, a suitable colour pigment or combination of colour pigments, starch, a phosphate such as Sodium Hydrogen phosphate, an ethanol, and an acetate such as Sodium dehydroacetate.
In one embodiment Borax or a borate is not included.
In one embodiment a further component includes one or more colour pigments and/or other components to provide a visual or tactile effect.
It should also be appreciated that although the method as herein described is particularly suited to allowing the play compound to be effectively formed by an end user, without the need of factory scale apparatus, the method can be used to advantage with all of the steps being performed under factory conditions for the large volume manufacture of the play compound.
Specific embodiments of the invention are now described with the reference to the accompanying diagrams; wherein
Referring firstly to
In addition to the mixing, the mixture has also changed condition into the consistency of the play compound which is illustrated in
Turning now to
The arm is also provided with one or more ports or cavities 42 which allow the pouring of the powder through the same and into the bowl and ports or cavities 44 which allow the pouring of the water through the same and into the bowl. These allow the powder and water to be introduced into the bowl in a measured and spread manner and thereby reduce the tendency of the powder and water to form lumps during the mixing process.
Once the arm has been rotated for a sufficient time as to cause the play compound to be created from the powder and water the same can be removed from the base, in one embodiment using a funnel 46 as shown in
It should be appreciated that the apparatus can take any suitable form and may in one embodiment be shaped to match an animal, cartoon character or other format.
There is therefore provided in accordance with the invention apparatus and a method for producing a play compound which allows the play compound to be made by a non-skilled person and outside of a factory environment whilst ensuring that the play compound which is formed has the desired characteristics.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1706076 | Apr 2017 | GB | national |
This United States patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/929,689, filed May 15, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/285,531, filed Feb. 26, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,654,016, issued May 19, 2020, which is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/650,111, filed Jul. 14, 2017, which claims priority to British Patent Application No. 1706076.5, filed Apr. 18, 2017. These patent applications are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety, including without limitation, the specification, claims, and abstract, as well as any figures, tables, appendices, or drawings thereof.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 802199 | Gross | Oct 1905 | A |
| 3738619 | Shirae | Jun 1973 | A |
| 3767422 | Levitz | Oct 1973 | A |
| 5498645 | Mariano et al. | Mar 1996 | A |
| 5586821 | Bonitati et al. | Dec 1996 | A |
| 6348534 | Bianco | Feb 2002 | B1 |
| 6758592 | Wulf et al. | Jul 2004 | B2 |
| 10654016 | Alber | May 2020 | B2 |
| 20020067658 | Vendrely et al. | Jun 2002 | A1 |
| 20030112701 | Burchett | Jun 2003 | A1 |
| 20030174576 | Tague et al. | Sep 2003 | A1 |
| 20030235662 | Pearce et al. | Dec 2003 | A1 |
| 20090129200 | Breviere et al. | May 2009 | A1 |
| 20090181142 | Gaudry et al. | Jul 2009 | A1 |
| 20100064940 | Wijerama | Mar 2010 | A1 |
| 20120320705 | Floan | Dec 2012 | A1 |
| 20140312279 | Cordova | Oct 2014 | A1 |
| 20150231580 | Henry et al. | Aug 2015 | A1 |
| 20170058109 | Nguyen et al. | Mar 2017 | A1 |
| 20180030247 | Thuresson et al. | Feb 2018 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 0439413 | Jul 1991 | EP |
| 1210974 | Jun 2002 | EP |
| 2002191307 | Jul 2002 | JP |
| 2005154414 | Jun 2005 | JP |
| 3761164 | Mar 2006 | JP |
| Entry |
|---|
| Wecool Toys, Inc., PCT/IB2018/000398, “International Search Report”, dated Apr. 18, 2018. |
| Spangler, Steve, “Gak—Elmer's Glue Borax Recipe”, www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/glue-borax-gak/, accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, published Jul. 5, 2013. |
| Children's Museum of Houston, “Guar Gum Slime”, www.cmhouston.org/guar-gum-slime, accessed via Internet Archive Wayback Machine, published Sep. 6, 2015. |
| Oobleck—The Corn Starch and Water Experiment, https ://web .archive .org/web/20150531052319/https ://sciencebob .com/ oobleck-the-corn-starch-and-water-experiment/, accessed via Wayback Machine, dated May 31, 2015. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20220395789 A1 | Dec 2022 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15650111 | Jul 2017 | US |
| Child | 16285531 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 15929689 | May 2020 | US |
| Child | 17821223 | US | |
| Parent | 16285531 | Feb 2019 | US |
| Child | 15929689 | US |
