Invertible interactive toy structure

Abstract

An invertible interactive toy structure comprising a series of adjacent foldable segments that can be assembled by folding in either of two different directions and joined at its outer edges to form a self-standing toy structure. When folded in one direction, the assemble structure displays its outside features. When folded in the opposite direction, the assembled structure displays its inside features. Figures which correspond to the indicia on the walls of the structure are provided. The figures are removably affixed to corresponding indicia on the walls of the toy structure. In a particular embodiment, the structure is a barn and the inside features represent various items or scenes associated with farming.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention is toy structures that provide interactivity.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Learning disability has been described as a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of information perceived through the senses with problems recognizing the shape, position, or size of items seen. Some children with a learning disability appear to be unable to process tactile input. Children afflicted with such disabilities or with learning difficulties can benefit from physical interactions, particularly when such interactions are obtained during play with such objects as toy houses when the child has enhanced receptivity to physical contact with familiar objects in the toy house.

There exists a wide variety of toy structures that provide interactivity. An example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,103 to Carter, which is a portable dollhouse activity book containing pages depicting rooms of a house, with pockets and straps where family dolls may be inserted and a family pet that can be moved from room to room on a Velcro strap.

Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,004,445 to Coleman et al., which is a dollhouse within a dollhouse, containing miniature appliances, furniture and fixtures which contains even smaller displays of furniture and fixtures which can be opened for viewing.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,413 to Brownrigg, is for a modular house toy, which is a three-dimensional dollhouse with room-simulating modules that can be bought as an entire house or piecemeal, to be collected and added to, and includes furnishing accessories and dolls.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,862 to Rotundo et al. is for a house toy and display. It has modifiable modules whose primary purpose is flexibility for display purposes, such that different aspects or features of the house can be displayed at different times.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above-described products serve essentially as entertainment or amusement devices, whereas, especially for young children, the present invention has a unique design suitable not only for play but for providing tactile experiences with the shape and position of various objects. The invention is the result of extensive testing and modification to maximize its educational purposes, in particular for children with learning difficulties such as disabilities and speech and language deficits/challenges who can benefit from the interactive features.

The invention comprises a series of adjacent foldable segments that can be assembled by folding in either of two different directions and joined at its outer edges to form a self-standing toy structure. When folded in one direction, the assembled structure displays its outside features. When folded in the opposite direction, the assembled structure displays inside features.

More specifically, the elongate structure can be folded in a first direction or a second direction depending on the scene one wishes to display on the exterior of the assembled structure. Fold one way and the outside of the structure is exposed. Fold the opposite way and the interior of the structure is exposed. In either orientation the outer edges of the structure are joined to form a self-standing toy portraying a house or a barn, the triangular sections serve as a gabled roof of the toy. Thus, I provide an invertible interactive toy formed from an elongate structure having a plurality of segments forming the walls of the structure. Adjacent segments are joined together to fold at the juncture of the segments.

While the invention is illustrated with four walls, in a broader aspect of the invention, the structure can have three walls or five, six or more walls. In a preferred embodiment, each wall segment is in the shape of a square and topped by a triangular section.

In application Ser. No. 15/137,885, the structure is illustrated by a toy house. In that configuration, indicia on the surface of the walls depict features found on the outside of a house, such as doors and windows and shingles on the triangular roof sections. When the elongate structure is folded in a second direction, opposite the first direction, and joined at the outer edges of the structure, it displays the four inside walls of a self-standing toy house representing separate rooms of a house, and rooms inside sections of a gabled roof.

In the present invention, the structure is illustrated by a barn. In that configuration, when the structure is folded in the first direction, indicia on the surface of the walls depict features found on the outside of a barn, such as doors and windows and slats forming the outer walls of the barn and the triangular roof sections. When the elongate structure is folded in a second direction, opposite the first direction, and joined at the outer edges of the structure, it displays various items associated with farming, objects and scenes having to do with a farm such as horses ducks, pigs, farmland, and fences.

An assortment of figures is provided, shaped and designed on a first side with indicia that is associated with various of the items. The figures are formed of a material that can be removably adhered to the material of the walls or inner surface of the attic of the house formed by the roof. The figures are placed over corresponding images of the items that the figures represent so as to cover the item. Such a material can be felt or other material that provides self-adhesion with felt figures. The figures can be provided as separate items or can provided on one or more sheets of the material to be cut out from the sheets or detachable from the sheets via perforations.

In a particular embodiment, rooms defined by each inside wall and adjacent inside roof section can have its own color distinguished from the color of the other room walls and roof sections. Sheets containing depictions of items found in specific rooms can be color coordinated with the room walls and roof sections.

The invention of parent application Ser. No. 15/137,885 was the result of a series of experiments conducted over several years by the inventor involving children with learning difficulties. These experiments were conducted with a discrete number of such children without third parties present. Different, somewhat crude, toy houses were employed with limited success, until the present invention was reached. It was found through such experimentation that children with learning disabilities playing with the toy house improve various skills, including non-verbal skills of focus and attention; social skills; visual attention and processing skills; and ability to recognize different sizes and shapes, as well as general language skills due to interaction with an instructor as well as the names that apply to various furniture, fixtures, pets, and items, as well as parts of a house. These uses by the inventor were part of developmental testing done solely to determine utility.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention, reference is now made to the following descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fully assembled toy barn formed from four adjacent segments folded and secured in a direction such that outside walls and gabled roof of the barn are depicted.

FIG. 2 shows a layout of the barn of FIG. 1 unassembled and laid out flat with indicia showing features of the outside of the barn;

FIG. 3 shows the reverse side of the layout of FIG. 2 with indicia showing features on the interior of the barn that illustrate farm life;

FIG. 4 is a fully assembled toy barn formed from the four adjacent segments of FIG. 3 folded and secured in a direction such that inside walls are depicted as well as the inside of rooms in an attic formed by the gabled roof or scenes of farmland;

FIG. 5 shows a sheet of flat figures and indicia on one of the inside walls of the barn corresponding to the figures, with one of the figures, depicting a pig and piglets, removed from the sheet; and

FIG. 6 shows the toy barn of FIG. 4 with the pig and piglets figure of FIG. 5 adhered to the corresponding pig and piglets depicted on one of the interior walls of the barn of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

Assembling the Toy Barn with the Exterior Walls Showing.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, this invention is an invertible interactive toy barn that can be assembled so as to be self-standing and showing exterior walls (10A) or showing interior walls (FIG. 4, 10B). The barn of FIG. 1 is formed from an elongate structure 12 shown in FIG. 2 having, in this exemplary embodiment, four segments, 14, 16, 18, 20, each topped with a triangular section, respectively 22, 24, 26, 28 that fold to form the exterior walls of the barn 30, 32, 34, 36 and a gabled roof 38. Adjacent segments 14-16, 16-18, and 18-20 are foldable at the junctures of the segments. Each segment 14, 16, 18, 20 is rectangular, square in this embodiment, corresponding to a wall of the barn and are formed with respective triangular sections 22, 24, 26, 28 directly above the rectangular sections and which form the gabled roof 38. The assembled barn of FIG. 1 is decorated with structures typically found on the outside of a barn, such as a door 40, side windows such as at 42, and an attic window 46 on the roof 38.

The toy barn 10 as depicted in FIG. 1 is assembled from the elongate structure 12 of FIG. 2 by folding the structure 12 inwardly and joining its outer edges 48 and 50 and the outer edges 52 and 54 of the end triangular sections 22 and 28. Strips of pairs of adhering material 64-66 and 68-70 are fixed to the edges of respective triangular sections 22, 24, 26, 28 to provide securement. Such material can be the opposing hooks and loops of Velcro®.

The toy structure is illustrated as a barn. Other structures can be represented such as hospitals, schools, zoo structures, fire houses, restaurants, and the like.

Assembling the Toy Barn with the Interior Walls Showing.

FIG. 3 depicts the opposite side of the elongate structure 12 of FIG. 2. The structure 12 is folded outwardly to assemble the structure 12 as a self-standing barn with the interior walls showing. The outer edges 48 and 50 of the structure 12 and the outer edges 52 and 54 of the end triangular sections 22 and 28 are joined. As shown in FIG. 4, after folding, the four segments, 14, 16, 18, 20, and their respective triangular sections 22, 24, 26, 28 form walls with indicia depicting the interior walls of the barn 80, 82, 84, 86 and walls with indicia depicting attic or second story rooms 88, 90, 9294.

The interior walls of the assembled barn of FIG. 3 is decorated with indicia depicting items typically found either on the inside of a barn or that illustrate animals and appurtenances of farm living such as a pig an piglets 98 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. Referring to FIG. 5, a sheet 96 of flat figures is provided with pictures corresponding to the various indicia on the interior walls 80 and 88 in FIGS. 3 and 4, such as the figure of pig and piglets 100. Other sheets are provided (not shown) that are adorned with items shown on the other walls. In this embodiment, a separate sheet for each interior wall is provided carrying images of items that correspond to the indicia on an associated wall. The images on the sheet 96 are outlined with dashed lines to show where they can be cut out.

The sheets can be color coded with the interior wall it corresponds to. For example, sheet 96 and interior walls 80 and 88 can be blue and a sheet corresponding to interior walls 86 and 94 can be green. Other distinguishing colors can be used with other inside walls and sheets.

Referring again to FIGS. 4 and 5 and also to FIG. 6, one of the figures, that of a pig and piglets 100, is cut out from the sheet 96 and can be placed over the corresponding picture of a pig and piglets 98 on one of the interior walls of the assembled barn and adhered to the interior wall as shown in FIG. 6.

Instead of having the figures cut out of a sheet of drawings, the dashed lines in FIG. 5 can be perforations allowing the figures to be punched out of the sheet. An alternative is to have the figures precut with the sheet 96 being a release sheet with the figures being stickers. The stickers could have a slightly adhesive surface and can be put back on the release sheet for use with another child. Another alternative is to provide the figures as totally separate items. In a particular embodiment, the toy barn is constructed of felt and the figures are provided as separate items also formed of felt. Felt has the advantageous property of self-sticking, allowing a child to easily apply and remove the figures from the walls. In a preferred embodiment, felt figures are printed on one side with indicia that corresponds to features on the inside walls. Figures can correspond to features on the exterior walls. In other embodiments, in place of felt figures, paper or cardboard figures can be used with light adhesive or with a coating of hooks such as from Velcro®.

The barn or inside walls and the figures can be formed of a soft, pliable material, such as felt, which has the advantage of providing a naturally adhesive surface to which the figures can be mildly adhered. Layers of felt can be used, one layer forming the exterior wall, another layer forming the interior walls. Other materials could be used for the barn or figures, or for both. Preferably the figures are flat, but they can have a three-dimensional extension aspect, the latter providing greater tactile effect.

The toy barn can be constructed using a variety of methods to provide rigidity to the walls as desired. For example, plastic or metal wires can be inserted through the seams between the sections. Cardboard, plastic sheeting, or other stiffening material can be inserted between the exterior and interior walls to make the barn sturdier.

Manner of Play.

In play with the barn, particularly with learning disabled children, the instructor introduces the child to the structure as shown in FIG. 2 and aids the child in assembling the barn with outside walls as shown in FIG. 1. The instructor then asks the child if he or she wants to “go inside” the barn. After receiving am affirmative answer, the instructor unfolds the barn and helps the child refold it so that the interior walls are exposed as in FIG. 4. In one embodiment the child cuts or punches out or otherwise removes the figures from the sheet. In other embodiments the child peels off a figure in the form of a sticker from a release sheet or picks out a figure from a pile of figures. In any event the child hunts for the corresponding item on an inside wall and when finding it places the figure on the wall to cover the item. Alternatively, the child can choose a specific item depicted on an inside wall and then hunt for the figure. This can be repeated until a desired number of figures are adhered to corresponding depictions.

In another method of play, a child can choose to not assemble the barn but can use the unassembled elongate structure 12 of FIG. 3 to place figures on the unassembled structure 12.

Although the present invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that modifications and variations may be utilized without departing from the principles and scope of the invention, as those skilled in the art will readily understand. Accordingly, such modifications may be practiced within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. An invertible interactive self-standing toy consisting of: an elongate structure consisting of four flat segments aligned side-by-side, each segment having a shape whereby to form walls of the structure, adjacent segments are joined together so as to be foldable at the juncture of the segments, all of the wall segments having the same shape, each wall segment being in the shape of a square and topped by a triangular segment, the triangular segments being displayed as a hip roof of the structure;the elongate structure in a first arrangement being folded in a first direction and joined at the outer edges of the structure forming a completely closed but floorless first configuration that shows exposed exterior walls of the self-standing structure when the structure is closed;the elongate structure in a second arrangement being folded in a second direction opposite the first direction and joined at the outer edges of the structure forming a completely closed but floorless second configuration that shows exposed interior walls of the self-standing structure when the structure is closed;both sides of each wall bearing graphics, the graphics of the exposed walls of the first arrangement defining the first configuration walls as exterior walls different from the graphics of the exposed interior walls of the second configuration, the graphics on the exposed exterior walls of the first configuration depicting a plurality of features on the outside walls of the structure, the graphics on the exposed interior walls of the second configuration defining the second configuration walls as interior walls depicting a plurality of features representing various items found in the interior of the structure, each of a plurality of interior walls bearing a plurality of said features, the features depicted on the exposed interior walls include features that are different from the features depicted on the exposed exterior walls; anda plurality of flat figures shaped and designed with indicia that depict said various items that are also depicted on the exposed interior walls and having both indicia and shapes that correspond to and have the same indicia and shapes of the items depicted on the exposed interior walls;the surface of the exposed interior walls and a surface of each of the figures being such that the figures can adhere to indicia that correspond to the figures on the exposed interior walls to cover the corresponding indicia, the indicia on the exposed interior walls thereby having the function of indicating where the figures should be placed to help a child cover a corresponding figure on the exposed interior wall.

2. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 in which said plurality of various items comprise various items associated with farming.

3. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 in which the structure is a barn.

4. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 wherein at least the exposed interior surfaces of a plurality of the second walls are formed of a material comprising felt.

5. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 wherein at least a surface of each of the figures is formed of a material comprising felt.

6. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 wherein the figures are printed on at least one sheet of material and are obtained by removing the figures out of the sheet.

7. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 wherein the figures are provided preformed as separate items.

8. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 wherein the figures are printed on a plurality of sheets of material and are color coordinated with the surfaces of the inner walls of the toy, the sheets depicting indicia on surfaces of the inner walls.

9. The invertible interactive toy of claim 1 wherein the indicia on the surface of different exposed interior walls depict farm items or scenes.