Patent Application
20230338868
In general, the present invention relates to fluid filled squeeze novelties where the fluid contents in a chamber are displaced when the chamber is squeezed. The present invention also relates to fluid filled squeeze novelties where the flow of fluid in the novelty becomes more prevalent while the novelty is being squeezed.
Fidget toys are a class of toys that are designed to entice a person to manually manipulate the toy. Fidget toys typically provide some visual and audible stimuli when manually manipulated and are sized to be readily carried in a pocket. Fidget toys are often used at times of anxiety or boredom. The sensory stimuli provided by a fidget toy has a calming effect and enhances the ability of some individuals to remain calm and attentive. There are many kinds of fidget toys in the marketplace. Many fidget toys are squeeze toys that contain a liquid fill. In the marketplace, such fidget toys are commonly marketed as stress balls. The toys elongate or bulge when squeezed. This provides good tactile, visual, and audible feedback to the individual squeezing the toy. Such fluid filled fidget toys are typically sized to fit in the palm of one hand. This enables the fidget toy to be easily carried in a pocket. As a consequence, the squeeze toy is often too small to be manipulated with both hands simultaneously. If an individual fidgets with two hands, the squeeze toy must be passed back and forth between hands.
There are some fluid filled products that are intended to be held and squeezed with two hands. However, such products are typically used to exercise the hands and improve grip strength. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,326 to Fawick, U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,619 to Landi and U.S. Pat. No. 2,919,135 to Marchionda. Such devices are not designed for sensor stimulus and do little more than provide resistance to squeezing. As a result, such prior art devices are ineffective as fidget toys and provide little play value.
There are other classes of toys that are fluid filled and are squeezed using one or two hands. This class of toys are water display toys. That is, the toys have a display tank with objects that float within the tank. Such toys typically have one or two pumps that are selectively squeezed by the user. The squeezing of a pump creates a jet of water within the display tank that acts to move the objects floating within the display tank. Such prior art is exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,483 to Minami and U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,715 to Matsumoto. Water display toys, although interesting toys, are poorly suited as fidget toys. Water display toys typically have large and bulky display tanks. This makes the toys too large to be conveniently carried in a pocket. Furthermore, water display toys often depend upon gravity to orient the objects on display. The result is that the water display toys can only be played when placed upon a flat surface. Such water display toys cannot be tilted in the hands and manipulated under a desk as a person focuses their attention on another task. Lastly, water display toys are complicated to manufacture, which makes the toys relatively expensive as compared to other fidget toys.
A need therefore exists for a fluid filled fidget toy that is very inexpensive to manufacture, can be played using two hands, can be carried in a pocket, and can be played in any orientation. These needs are met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
The present invention is a handheld novelty device that utilizes a bag structure having a first flexible plastic sheet and a second flexible plastic sheet. At least part of the bag structure is transparent so that the contents of the bag structure can be viewed. The first flexible plastic sheet is molded or bonded to the second flexible plastic sheet in selected areas. This defines a plurality of interconnected chambers in the bag structure between the first flexible plastic sheet and the second flexible plastic sheet.
The interconnected chambers formed in the bag structure include a first chamber, a second chamber and a meandering pathway that interconnects the first chamber to the second chamber. A liquid, gel and/or slurry material is provided that at least partially fills the plurality of interconnected chambers. The material is displaced within the plurality of interconnected chambers when at least one of the plurality of interconnected chambers is compressed.
For a better understanding of the present invention, reference is made to the following description of exemplary embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Although the present invention novelty device can be embodied in many ways, only a few exemplary embodiments are illustrated. The exemplary embodiments are being shown for the purposes of explanation and description. The exemplary embodiments are selected in order to set forth some of the best modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments, however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered limitations when interpreting the scope of the appended claims.
Referring to
The bag structure 12 of the novelty device 10 is either transparent or highly translucent. In this manner the fluid 18 retained by the bag structure 12 can be seen through the material of the bag structure 12. The bag structure 12 of the novelty device 10 can be made in different ways. For example, the bag structure 12 can be blow-molded or dip-molded as a single piece. However, in the shown embodiment, the top first surface 14 of the novelty device 10 is made from a first plastic sheet 22 and the bottom second surface 16 is made from a second plastic sheet 24. Both the first plastic sheet 22 and the second plastic sheet 24 are thin and highly flexible. The first plastic sheet 22 and the second plastic sheet 24 are bonded together around the peripheries of the plurality of interconnected chambers 20. The bonding can be creating using heat bonding or adhesive bonding. The first plastic sheet 22 and the second plastic sheet 24 are preferably thin and are incapable of supporting their own weight or the weight of the fluid 18. Accordingly, the novelty device 10 easily bends and twists when held in a user's hand. The ability to bend and twist adds valve to play, as is later explained.
The plurality of interconnected chambers 20 can be arranged in a wide variety of patterns. Regardless of the pattern selected, the plurality of interconnected chambers includes at least two primary chambers 26, 28 and at least one meandering pathway 30 that interconnects the two primary chambers 26, 28. In the shown embodiment, the two primary chambers 26, 28 are bulbous and are located at opposite ends of the bag structure 12. The meandering pathway 30 between the two primary chambers 26, 28 is complex and can follow a serpentine pattern and/or contain loops that make the flow pattern through the connecting pathway anything but straight.
The first primary chamber 26 has a first volume capacity. The second primary chamber 28 has a second volume capacity that is the same or close to that of the first primary chamber 26. The meandering pathway 30 has a preferred volume capacity that is less than that of either of the primary chambers 26, 28.
The volume of the low-viscosity fluid 18 is sealed within the plurality of interconnected chambers 20. However, the plurality of interconnected chambers 20 is not filled to capacity. Rather, the volume of fluid 18 used is sufficient to fully fill only one of the primary chambers 26, 28 and the meandering pathway 30. In this manner, one of the primary chambers 26, 28 can be compressed and emptied without pressurizing the remaining primary chamber 26, 28 and the meandering pathway 30 to a point of bursting.
The low-viscosity fluid 18 can be any non-toxic fluid that does not act to dissolve the material selected for the bag structure 12. Water, aqueous gels and/or edible oils are preferred fluids. The fluid 18 can be artificially colored to make the fluid 18 more visible within the bag structure 12. Small secondary objects 32, such as glitter, molded color beads, or the like can be mixed into the low-viscosity fluid 18. The secondary objects 32 are small enough and light enough to be moved by the flow of the fluid 18 in the meandering pathway 30. The presence of the secondary objects 32 makes the fluid 18 more visible and makes the movement of the fluid 18 more visible. Alternatively, the secondary objects 32 can be present in a high concentration relative to the fluid 18, wherein the fluid 18 serves as a lubricant to the secondary objects 32. The fluid 18 and secondary objects 32 therein, form a viscous slurry that can flow through the meandering pathway 30.
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
During play, one or more people grasps the novelty device 60 and selectively squeeze the primary chambers 68, 70. The structure of the novelty device 60 is floppy. As a result, when the novelty device 60 is grasped, it will bend and twist from the grasping forces and by the pull of gravity. Slight bends and twists of the novelty device 60 create bends and twists in the meandering pathway 66. These bends and twists often inhibit flow of the fluid 78 within the meandering pathway 66 more in one direction than in the opposite direction. As a consequence, with a certain configuration of bends and twists, the fluid 78 moves faster in one direction than in the other. The person or persons holding the novelty device 60 alternately compresses the primary chambers 68, 70. The alternate compression of the primary chambers 68, 70 causes fluid 78 to flow back and forth in the meandering pathway 66 between goal areas 62, 64. The secondary objects 74 (soccer balls) move with the flow. The manipulations of the overall novelty device 60 alters the flow in the meandering pathway 66. The result is that a person can cause the secondary objects 74 to move more in one direction than another, even with equal compressions of the primary chambers 68, 70. In this manner, a person can play a game by trying to get the secondary objects 74 into one of the two goal areas 62, 64.
Referring to
In the shown embodiment, the novelty devices 80 has four primary chambers 82, 84, 86, 88. The four primary chambers 82, 84, 86, 88 are linearly aligned and are interconnected by three segments of meandering pathway 90, 92, 94. The four primary chambers 82, 84, 86, 88 are hydraulically interconnected by the segments of meandering pathway 90, 92, 94. The novelty device 80 holds fill material 96 in the form of a liquid, gel or slurry. Various secondary objects 98 are dispersed within the fill material 96. The fill material 96 and the secondary objects 98 can be moved back and forth within the novelty device 80 by compressing the four primary chambers 82, 84, 86, 88 at different times with different degrees of force.
It will be understood that the embodiments of the present invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to those embodiments. For instance, the novelty device can be manufactured into many shapes, other than the shapes illustrated. Likewise, many different games can be played where the object of the game is to selectively move objects through the meandering pathway. All such embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.
