Patent Application
20060223411
Balloons are used in a variety of different ways as decorative items. Expandable balloons primarily made of latex are inexpensive and very light weight. Mylar-type balloons, which do not expand, can be formed in a variety of different shapes and sizes. They can be printed and designed to almost any shape. However, they are expensive. Due to the fact that they are generally not spherical in shape, their buoyant efficiency is reduced. This requires additional helium or other lighter than air gas to maintain buoyancy.
Latex balloons have been used in a variety of different decorative applications such as that disclosed in Zinbarg, et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,001,434, and 5,672,396 which disclose heavier than air ghost figures that utilize latex balloons. However, these decorative applications have failed to take advantage of the light weight of the latex balloons to provide buoyant decorative articles.
The present invention is premised on the realization that a lighter than air novelty figure can be prepared by utilizing an inflatable latex balloon filled with a lighter than air gas to support a light-weight body member, the head and the body member together form the novelty figure that is tethered to a stationary object.
Further, the present invention is premised on the realization that such a figure can incorporate a light-weight plastic frame draped with a light-weight single-ply film to form the body portion.
A particular embodiment of the present invention is a kit having a tank of helium gas in combination with a plurality of balloons having indicia printed thereon to indicate facial features, and a corresponding number of body members.
The objects and advantages of the present invention will be further appreciated in light of the following detailed description and drawings in which:
As shown in
The balloon is a latex balloon which, preferably, will have a diameter of under 24 inches, generally 14 to 18 inches when inflated to approximately 80% of its bursting size. The balloon will be filled with helium or other lighter-than-gas air.
The body 13 of the balloon
As shown in the embodiment in
The eye 16 further includes an opaque member 30 which is in the shape of a pupil. This is adhered to, or painted on, a first side 31 of the casing. The back side 34 of the casing includes an adhesive layer 32 covered with a release paper 33. The eye 16 is applied to a balloon by removing the release paper 33 and pressing the adhesive against the surface of the inflated balloon. The balloon 12 can have indicia printed onto the balloon to show where the eyes 16 should be positioned.
The member 30 in the shape of a pupil may be made of a colored, translucent material instead of an opaque material. For example, on an eye, which contains chemiluminescent reagents that produce a yellow colored light, the pupil 30 may be made from a translucent blue plastic film. The yellow light passing through the blue film produces a pupil, which appears to be colored green. It is obvious to one skilled in the art that various combinations of chemiluminescent light color and transparent film color could be used to produce wide variety of interesting and decorative eyes under the present invention.
In addition, translucent plastic material 35 may be placed over a part of the eye 30 to form an eyelid of a different color of or added variety and expression. An example of this is shown in
In yet another variation, translucent, light-scattering plastic film 36 may be placed at the edge of the eye 30, slightly overlapping it, to form an eyebrow which is illuminated by light which is picked up from the chemiluminescent source by the light-scattering material. An example of this is shown in
Instead of using the chemiluminescent eyes, the eyes can be printed onto the face of the balloon with regular or luminescent ink, or the eyes can be simply paper, stick-on eyes. Likewise, the same structure used to form chemiluminescent eyes can be used to form other facial features, such as ears or mouth.
Alternate embodiments of the present invention are shown in
Finally,
The present invention is particularly suited for forming a kit 59 which includes a canister of helium 60, a plurality of latex balloons 61 and a plurality of body members 62. Optionally, the balloons can either be preprinted with indicia to show facial features, or can include separate stick-on eyes 63 similar to that shown in
One of the benefits of the present invention is that it provides a plurality of characters using a relatively low amount of helium. Typically, the smallest helium canisters contain about 8.9 cubic feet of gas at atmospheric conditions.
The following is a description of four separate balloon figures, their weight and net lift or buoyancy after assembly. This demonstrates the number of figures one such canister of helium can inflate.
An 18-inch diameter balloon head was tied to a lightweight hollow thermoplastic tube bent into the shape of a “W”. This tubular arm member was 40 inches long before bending and was 3/16 inch in diameter. Attached to the tube with tape was a 1-mil thick white polyethylene sheet cut into the shape of a ghost body and arms. This body film was approximately 3.8 square feet. The balloon head was preprinted with facial features of eyes and a mouth. Over the eyes printed on the balloon are place 2-inch diameter chemiluminescent eyes, which are self-adhesive.
A figure was made from a 16-inch diameter latex balloon head. Arms and hands were formed from a standard “260Q” balloon which is 2 inches in diameter and 60 inches long when inflated. This arm balloon was inflated with helium to reduce weight. Three fingered hands were twisted on both ends using balloon twisting techniques commonly known in the art. The head balloon was tied to the center of the arm balloon. Each hand was attached to a piece of monofilament nylon line, which was run over the top of the head and secured in place with tape to give arms an upright slant. The body skirt was made from a triangular piece of 1-mil-thick polyethylene approximately 24 inches across with a length of 20 inches. This was attached to the arm balloon with tape. The face was preprinted on the balloon. Two, 2-inch diameter chemiluminescent eyes were adhered to the balloon head after inflation.
A figure was made with a 16-inch latex balloon head with facial features printed on the balloon. A 1-mil-thick polyethylene skirt was attached to the balloon with tape. This film was cut into a tapered serpentine shape 17 inches across at the top and 60 inches long. There was a V-shaped cut at the top of the film so that it could be attached to the balloon at each end and the center, and, therefore, hung from the center of the balloon. Two self-adhesive 2-inch diameter chemiluminescent eyes were attached to the inflated balloon.
A figure was made with an 18-inch latex balloon head with the body made of lightweight white tulle weighing 7.5 gms per sq. ft. The tulle body was 5 feet by 5 feet. The mouth and eyes were preprinted on the balloon. The preprinted eyes were covered with two, 2-inch diameter chemiluminescent eyes.
Thus, the present invention can be used to provide a wide variety of different novelty characters such as ghosts, bats, scarecrows, witches, and the like. The glow-in-the-dark facial feature can be in the form of eyes, nose, ears, mouths, or the like, but are most effective as eyes. Further, the novelty figures can be used with a variety of different frame members, either light-weight plastic, balloon frame members, or without frame members whatsoever.
Accordingly, the present invention, which has been previously described should be defined only by the appended claims,
