In its more general aspect the present invention relates to the technical field of toys and, in particular, it relates to a mould for kids.
As it is known, the toy field provides huge variety of products for every age group.
Those requiring active kid participation are among the most appreciated toys, not only by the kids themselves but also by the parents.
Toys with which the kids become protagonists by creating, by playing with such toys, further toys or anyway something new, have been thus established themselves over the years.
For instance, think to the popular Meccano or kits for making various kinds of decorations.
Water-sensitive product has already got widespread in the marketplace for some time, in powder or solid gel granule form that kids use to make colored balls.
Essentially it is a polyvinyl alcohol-, sodium tetraborate- and polyvinyl chloride-based mixture, which can be available in a range of colors, that in contact with water, subjected to slight pressure and then drained from water, turns in a solid, compact and rubbery material.
A kid can thus achieve not only a rubber ball but can also achieve a rubber ball colored, customized and different from all the other rubber balls.
In order to be suitable for kids, the making of rubber balls of the afore mentioned type is very simple; in practice, a plastic spherical mould is used, comprising two hemispherical half-shells and having holes for the passage of water which are dimensioned so that to hinder the product from coming out when still dry and in powder form.
Although advantageous, such a solution of the afore mentioned type is not free from drawbacks, for instance only balls or anyway spherical objects can be made.
In addition, there is the difficulty of filling the open mould with a suitable mixture amount.
Again, there is the risk of wasting some product in the operation of filling or coupling the half-shells, dropping it outside the half-shells themselves.
Furthermore, the operation of extracting the ball from a half-shell, once the mould is open, is carried out by grasping the ball by hand, which can cause the permanent deformation of the ball if it is still excessively wet or humid, thus not enough dried.
Ultimately, the know art doesn't provide toys that allow the user making non-spherical objects, simply and safely, as well as with a high level of customization.
The technical problem underlying the present invention has been to provide a mould for kids having structural and/or functional characteristics such to overcome one or more of the afore mentioned drawbacks referring to the known art, and in particular a mould of the afore said type, thus for domestic or anyway leisure use, which is intended to be used with a water-sensitive product, for example a powder or granule gel, for the making of wristbands, bracelets, necklaces, small necklaces, clips, pins, rings and like jewelry or decorative objects, which is particularly simple to be made, particularly simple to be used, as well as cheap and effective in the operations of loading the mould, forming the decorative object to be obtained and extracting the same from the mould.
According to the invention, the afore said problem is solved by a mould for kids comprising:
By the afore said expression “plurality of holes” any opening, for instance also slits, slots or passages, able to implement the afore said fluid communication is meant.
In practice, according to the invention, the afore said at least one forming zone is a portion of the mould and in particular of the afore said hollow body, which is intended to the forming of the afore said water-sensitive product in order to obtain the desired decorative object or jewelry of the afore considered type.
Again, according to the invention, the afore said first element and the afore said second element can be considered a bottom and a lid respectively for the afore said hollow body and in particular for the afore said opening, which can be a through opening or a blind opening according to the invention, depending upon the removable or not removable combination of at least one between the first element and the second element with the hollow body of the present mould, to which generally reference is made in the following description as an opening.
Preferably, once the mould is assembled, at least one between the afore said first element and the afore said second element comprises at least one respective head portion to close the afore said at least one opening, wherein the afore said at least one head portion remains at least partially inside the afore said at least one forming zone.
Preferably, the afore said mould comprises extracting means adapted to cooperate with the afore said at least one forming zone, wherein the afore said extracting means preferably comprise at least one extracting element having at least one portion whose section is essentially corresponding to the section of the afore said at least one opening.
Preferably, the afore said at least one extracting element is constrained to the afore said first element or the afore said second element, and more preferably the afore said extracting means are made in one piece with, therefore they are integral to, the first element, the second element or the hollow body.
Preferably, the afore said hollow body comprises a side wall surrounding the afore said at least one opening and having two opposing edges.
Preferably, the afore said mould comprises at least two opposing recesses (first recesses), wherein the afore said two opposing recesses have respective ends opening in opposing positions on the same edge between the afore said two opposing edges, or else alternatively wherein the afore said two opposing recesses have respective ends opening in positions corresponding on each of the afore said two opposing edges, i.e. one recess per edge.
According to some embodiments of the invention, the afore said hollow body is constrained to the afore said first element and/or the afore said second element so that to be movable with respect to the afore said first element and/or the afore said second element, wherein preferably the afore said hollow body comprises at least one first portion and one second portion which are paired to delimit the afore said at least one forming zone and which are constrained one another so that to be movable one another, the afore said mould comprising combining means adapted to allow the relative movement between the afore said hollow body and the afore said first element and/or the afore said second element, and possibly between the afore said first portion and the afore said second portion, wherein the afore said combining means are selected from the group comprising interlocked combining means, elastic combining means, snap-fit combining means, magnetic combining means, combining means consisting of weak portions, hinges, hooks.
According to other embodiments of the invention, the afore said hollow body comprises at least one first portion and one second portion which are paired to delimit the afore said at least one forming zone, wherein:
Preferably, the afore said mould comprises combining means for preferably removably coupling the afore said first portion with the afore said second portion, and/or the afore said first portion and the afore said second portion with the afore said first element and/or the afore said second element, wherein the afore said combining means are preferably selected from the group comprising: interlocked combining means, elastic combining means, snap-fit combining means, magnetic combining means, combining means consisting of weak portions, hinges, hooks.
Preferably, the afore said mould comprises two opposing appendages jutting from the afore said hollow body outside of the afore said at least one opening, wherein each of the afore said opposing appendages is provided with a respective recess (second recess).
Preferably, each of the afore said recesses of the afore said appendages (second recesses) has a respective end open in a direction opposite to that of the afore said open ends of the afore said two opposing recesses (first recesses).
Preferably, the afore said mould comprises tightening means to tighten one another the afore said hollow body, the afore said first element and the afore said second element, wherein more preferably the afore said tightening means comprise at least one clasp removably combined to the afore said hollow body, the afore said first element and the afore said second element, and wherein still more preferably at least one among the afore said hollow body, the afore said first element and the afore said second element comprises at least one housing seat engaged by the afore said tightening means.
According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, the afore said tightening means comprise a plurality of jutting elements made in one piece with the afore said first element, and a respective plurality of perforated elements made in one piece with the afore said second element, wherein each of the afore said perforated elements is movable between at least one catch position wherein each respective hole is engaged by a respective jutting element, and at least one release position in which the holes of the afore said perforated elements are disengaged from the jutting elements.
Preferably, in the afore said mould the afore said forming zone is essentially flattened, and/or elongated, and/or linear, otherwise cylindrical.
Preferably, the afore said hollow body further comprises a third portion interposed between the afore said first portion and the afore said second portion to delimit the afore said at least one forming zone, wherein preferably the afore said third portion is removably combined with the afore said first portion and/or the afore said second portion.
According to the invention, the afore said problem is equally solved by a kit comprising at least one mould of the afore said type and at least one among:
Preferably, the afore said at least one line is made of a material selected from the group comprising: plastic, nylon, elastomer, string, silk, cotton, and more preferably the afore said at least one line is made of waterproof material.
Preferably, the afore said at least one strip is made of a material selected from the group comprising: fabric, decoupage paper, and more preferably the afore said at least one strip is made of waterproof material.
Preferably, the afore said at least one strip has a profile essentially corresponding to the section of the afore said at least one opening of the afore said hollow body.
Therefore, according to the invention a mould for kids is provided to be used with a water sensitive product in powder or anyway dry or gel granular form, being structurally and functionally simple, thus cheap to be made, and not requiring particular manual skills to be used and, therefore, being suitable to be effectively used by a kid also for the making of wristbands, bracelets, necklaces, small necklaces, clips, pins, rings and like decorative objects, preferably of an essentially flattened or cylindrical shape.
Advantageously the present mould, thus the present kit, allows making decorative objects of the afore considered type, customized in color and surface decoration, without the use of hazardous materials and solvents, without the use of dangerous presses and without the need of resorting to high temperatures for forming the desired object.
Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will be more evident from the review of the following detailed description of some preferred, but not exclusive, embodiments depicted for illustration purposes only and without limitation, with the aid of the attached drawings, wherein:
Referring to
The mould 1, shown assembled in the example of
Products of the afore said type, widely popular on the marketplace, generally consist of polyvinyl alcohol-, sodium tetraborate- and polyvinyl chloride-based mixtures.
In detail, the mould 1 comprises a hollow body 2 having a through opening 3 defining a respective forming zone, a first element 4 combined with the hollow body 2 for closing (thus if appropriate opening) the opening 3 at a first side of the forming zone, and a second element 5 combined with the hollow body 2 for closing (thus if appropriate opening) the opening 3 at a second side of the forming zone.
According to the example of
According to the invention, at least one among the afore said hollow body, the afore said first element and the afore said second element comprises a plurality of holes having a limited predefined width, which are open in the afore said at least one forming zone, thus facing the afore said opening, in particular such that the afore said forming zone is fluidically communicating with the environment outside of the mould, when the mould is assembled.
In particular, according to the example of
In practice, according to the invention, the afore said forming zone is a portion of the mould 1 and in particular of the hollow body 2, which is intended to the forming of the afore said water-sensitive product in order to obtain the afore mentioned desired decorative object.
According to the invention and according to the example of
In this regard, according to the invention, it has to be added that once the mould is assembled, at least one between the afore said first element and the afore said second element preferably comprises at least one respective head portion to close the afore said opening, wherein the afore said at least one head portion remains at least partially inside the afore said at least one forming zone.
In accordance with the example of
Still according to the examples of
According to the invention, the mould 1 comprises two opposing recesses both denoted with numeral 13 and also identified as first recesses, which in the example of
The recesses 13 thus have ends opening in opposing positions on the same edge 12, not being however excluded the possibility of providing two opposing recesses with respective ends opening in corresponding positions on each of the two opposing edges of the hollow body, i.e. one recess per edge, such an alternative not being illustrated in the figures.
Still according to the example of
In particular, according to the invention, the recesses 15 of the appendages 14 each have a respective open end in a direction opposite to that of the open ends of the two opposing recesses 13 provided on the same edge 12 of the hollow body 2, in the specific case the first recesses upwards and the second recesses downwards.
Again, the mould 1 comprises tightening means denoted with numeral 16, to tighten one another the hollow body 2, the first element 4 and the second element 5, which according to the example of
Advantageously, the mould 1 also comprises housing seats 17 for the tightening means 16, thus for each clasp, the housing seats 17 taking the form of a plurality of grooves which are removably engaged by the afore said clasps and which are extended on the first element 4 and the second element 5.
Furthermore, still according to the example of the figures, the mould 1 comprises combining means of magnetic type to facilitate its assembling, and in particular comprises a plurality of magnets denoted with numeral 18 and arranged in corresponding positions in the hollow body 2, the first element 4 and the second element 5.
In detail, the magnets 18 are arranged on gripping members 19a, 19b and 19c provided in the hollow body 2, the first element 4 and the second element 5, respectively.
The magnets can possibly be replaced with snap-fit combining means, the so called “snap-fit” or other combining means of known type for a removable association.
Still according to the invention, it can be said that the forming zone of the present mould is flattened, and/or elongated, and/or linear, otherwise cylindrical as it will be more evident in the following.
According to the example of
In this regard, in order to facilitate the extraction of the bracelet from the hollow body, the present mould comprises extracting means adapted to cooperate with the forming zone.
Advantageously, the extracting means comprise an extracting element provided with a portion whose section essentially corresponds to the section of the opening of the hollow body, the extracting means can be isolated from the hollow body, the first element and the second element, or the extracting means can be constrained to the first element or the second element and possibly also made in one piece with, thus be integral to, the first element, the second element or the hollow body, as it will be more evident in the following.
According to the example of
According to what above and referring to the example of
The line 23 can be made of any material suitable to make a clasp for example for bracelets, and preferably is made of a material selected from the group comprising: plastic, nylon, elastomer, string, silk, cotton.
In any case waterproof materials are preferred for the line 23 or however materials made waterproof, for example through treatments known in the art.
The strip 24 can be made of any material suitable to make a bottom of the decorative object, for example a bracelet, intended for contacting the skin, and preferably is of a material selected from the group comprising: fabric, decoupage paper, plastic.
In any case waterproof materials are preferred for the line 24 also or however materials made waterproof, for example through treatments known in the art.
According to the example of
As mentioned above, the mould according to the present invention can be provided in alternative embodiments, some of which are described in the following, by way of example.
In detail, the example of
The mould 31 is in practice similar to the mould 1, but comprises a hollow body 32 constrained to one of the first element and the second element of the mould, so that to be movable with respect to the first or second element to which it is constrained.
In particular, in the example of
Furthermore, as shown in the example of
In this regard the mould 31 comprises combining means adapted to allow the relative movement between the hollow body 32 and the second element 35, and also combining means adapted to allow the relative movement between the first portion 32a and the second portion 32b of the hollow body 32.
In detail the afore said combining means, in both cases, can be interlocked combining means, elastic combining means, snap-fit combining means, magnetic combining means, combining means consisting of weak portions, hinges, hooks.
In the example of
In this way the combining means 32d also serve as extracting means for the mould 31, which if appropriate advantageously allow the opening 3 of the same hollow body 32 to be widened, by moving the first portion 32a and the second portion 32b away from each other.
In other words, in this case, the extracting means are made in one piece with the hollow body of the mould.
In this regard in the examples of
In detail, the example of
The hollow body 42 is furthermore similar to the afore described hollow body 32, since comprising a first portion 42a and a second portion 42b which are paired to delimit the forming zone of the mould and constrained one another so that to be movable one another.
In order to allow the relative movement between the first portion 42a and the second portion 42b of the hollow body 42, combining means 42c are provided in this case, which have the shape of a hinge made in one piece with the hollow body, at which the first portion 42a and the second portion 42b are held together.
The example of
Further combining means 52c in practice take the form of a hook combined at the free end 52d of the first portion 52a, and of a housing seat not illustrated in the example of
Thus in this case combining means for removably coupling the first portion 62a with the second portion 62b are provided, or combining means for removably coupling the first portion 62a and the second portion 62b with the afore said first element and/or the afore said second element of the present mould.
Similarly to what above, also in this case the combining means, which are not-illustrated in the example of
In detail,
In other words the opening 73 can be through or blind, depending upon whether the combining of the second element 75 with the hollow body 72 is removable or else not removable.
According to the example of
In the example of
In this regard, the first element 74 comprises a head portion 77 having predefined limited extent, whereas the second element 75 comprises a head portion 78 having larger extent, and nominally having extent essentially corresponding to the extent of the cylindrical forming zone of the mould 71.
The head portions 77 and 78 juttingly extend from base portions 80, 79 of the first element 74 and the second element 75, respectively.
In practice the head portion 78 embodies extracting means and namely serves as an extracting element as previously mentioned, which extracting means are made in one piece with the second element 75 of the mould 71.
The example of
In particular
In this case the mould 81 comprises a hollow body 82 having a through opening 83 defining a respective forming zone, a first element 84 combined with the hollow body 82 to close, thus open, the opening 83 at a first side of the forming zone, and a second element 85 combined with the hollow body 82 to close, thus open, the opening 83 at a second side of the forming zone.
According to the example of
In detail the hollow body 82 comprises a first portion 82a, a second portion 82b and a third portion 82c, wherein the first portion 82a and the second portion 82b are constrained one another so that to be movable one another, whereas the third portion 82c is interposed between, and removably combined with, the first and second portions 82a and 82b.
For this purpose the mould 81 comprises combining means that can be made integral to the hollow body 82, such as for example weak portions of the afore said first portion or second portion, or a hinge made in one piece with the hollow body, as well as other combining means can be provided adapted to constrain the afore said first portion to the afore said second portion so that, as afore mentioned, they can move one another, in particular for moving away from one another with respect to the assembled and closed mould position.
According to the example of
On the contrary, the third portion 82c removably combines with the first portion 82a and the second portion 82b, advantageously by interlocking, however not being excluded the possibility of providing proper combining means of the previously mentioned type.
The example of
The mould 91 is in practice similar to the mould 1, but comprises different tightening means.
In detail, the mould 91 comprises tightening means comprising a plurality of jutting elements 96 made in one piece with the first element of the mould, in the specific case a first element denoted with numeral 94, and a respective plurality of perforated elements 97 made in one piece with the second element of the mould, in the specific case a second element denoted with numeral 95.
Each of the perforated elements 97 is movable between at least one catch position, wherein each respective hole 98 is engaged by a respective jutting element 96, and at least one release position in which the holes 98 of the perforated elements 97 are disengaged from the jutting elements 96.
In the example of
Briefly, as far as already evident in the afore mentioned description, the use of the present mould, in particular referring to the mould 1 and the kit 21 of the examples of
First of all, the first element is combined with the hollow body, then the line is positioned inside the hollow body, thus making it pass in the recesses provided on the side wall of the hollow body and then tightening the line in the recesses provided on the appendages of the hollow body.
Then the water sensitive product is inserted in the opening of the hollow body, i.e. in the forming zone, up to the edge of the side wall of the hollow body. Then the strip of deformable rigid material is positioned over the water sensitive product contained in the hollow body. Then the second element of the mould (lid) is positioned to close the opening of the hollow body. Then the assembled mould containing the water sensitive product is immersed in water, for a time depending upon the characteristics of the water sensitive product, for example one minute. Thus the mould is drawn from the water and let dry for about three minutes. The first element and the second element are removed from the hollow body, the line is released from the recesses and the obtained bracelet is drawn, possibly by the aid of the extracting means.
Note that alternatively to what above, the strip of deformable rigid material can be arranged over the water sensitive product after the mould has been immersed in, thus drawn from, water, subject to waiting for a determined time for an at least partial drying of the solid, compact and rubbery material obtained from the water sensitive product.
The advantages of the present invention, already evident in the afore reported description, can be summarized by underlining that a mould for kids is provided to be used with a water sensitive product in powder or granular form, being structurally and functionally simple, thus cheap to implement, not requiring particular manual skills to be used and, therefore, being suitable to be easily employed by a kid, and also being particularly effective and high performing in the making of wristbands, bracelets, necklaces, small necklaces, clips, pins, rings and like decorative objects or jewelry.
To the present invention, in the illustrated and described embodiments, in order to satisfy contingent and specific requirements, a person skilled of the art can make a number of variations and changes, on the other hand all contained in the scope of protection of the invention as defined by the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102016000100775 | Oct 2016 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/IB2017/056180 | 10/6/2017 | WO | 00 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2018/065951 | 4/12/2018 | WO | A |
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201533996 | Jul 2010 | CN |
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20200038770 A1 | Feb 2020 | US |