Patent Grant
7806746
1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to toy and similar novelty devices that have resilient bodies, therein enabling the toy to pop up after having been compressed. More particularly, the present invention relates to toys and novelty devices having components made from braided sleeves.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the toy industry, “poppers” is the name commonly given to a class of toys that pop up after having been manually depressed. Such toys commonly have coil springs and suction cups. The spring is manually compressed until the suction cup can engage the surface under the toy. The compressed spring acts to free the suction cup. When the suction cup loses suction, the energy stored by the spring is released and the toy jumps or ‘pops’ up into the air.
In recent years, toy manufacturers have been becoming more concerned with product safety. Traditional ‘popper’ toys that use compressed springs have certain inherent safety concerns. First, it is difficult to permanently attach a suction cup or a plastic novelty object to a metal spring. If a child pulls upon a traditional popper toy, as often happens, the spring detaches, therein exposing a sharp metal point. Furthermore, exposed metal springs have a tendency to pinch skin when compressed. Exposed metal springs also have a tendency to become entangled in a child's hair.
In the long history of toys, poppers have been made that do not utilize metal springs. Such spring-free poppers are typically made by forming a concave form out of an elastic material. The concave form is manually deformed into a convex structure, therein storing potential energy. At the moment the toy moves from its convex shape to its normal concave shape, energy is released and the toy pops into the air. Such non-spring popper toys are exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,967 to Davis, entitled Jumping Toy and U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,863 to Kubiatowicz, entitled Popper Toy.
A problem associated with prior art spring-free popper toys is that it is very difficult to attach secondary objects, such as character heads, to the popper and still have the popper function correctly. A need therefore exists for a new structure for a popper toy that does not use metal springs, yet enables the popper device to be configured into a variety of novelty shapes. This need is met by the present invention as described and claimed below.
The present invention is a novelty popper toy and its associated method of operation. The popper toy has a head section that is supported on a braided sleeve body. When the popper toy is compressed, the braided sleeve body elastically deforms from an uncompressed state to a compressed state. While in the compressed state, the braided sleeve body stores energy. If the compression force is suddenly released, the braided sleeve body releases its stored energy and pops back into its uncompressed state. As the braided sleeve body returns to its uncompressed state, it rapidly expands, therein providing enough force to propel the entire popper toy into the air.
The popper toy can be delayed in its expansion and/or prevented from flying into the air by the addition of a suction cup to the popper toy.
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 popper toy assembly can be configured in many different ways, only a few simple embodiments are shown. The embodiments have been selected for ease of understanding and illustration. It should be understood that the selected embodiments are only exemplary and they should not be considered a limitation on the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.
Referring to both
The head section 12 of the popper toy assembly 10 is preferably made of foam or another soft, lightweight material. As will be explained, the popper toy assembly 10 pops up into the air. The use of soft, lightweight material for the head section 12 prevents the head section 12 from causing any impact injuries as it flies. Furthermore, the use of soft, lightweight material enables the popper toy assembly 10 to pop up a good distance into the air.
The lateral extensions 16 of the popper toy assembly are also made from soft, lightweight material, such as felt or sheet foam. The lateral extensions 16 serve a purpose in the operation of the popper assembly 10, as will later be described.
The body section 14 of the popper toy assembly 10 is primarily made from a braided sleeve 20. Braided sleeves are traditionally used in industry to protect the exterior of flexible cables. Braided sleeves are essentially tubes of interwoven plastic strands. The strands that interweave in a helical pattern are called cross-over stands. Strands that run straight along the length of a braided sleeve are called warp strands. The cross-over stands and warp stands are interwoven, therein forming the braided sleeve. The resiliency of the braided sleeve 20 is determined by the resiliency and composition of the cross-over stands and warp stands in the weave.
In the present invention popper assembly, the strands of the braided sleeve 20 are plastic. Accordingly, they can be manufactured in any selected color and embody a high degree of flexibility. The braided sleeve 20 is woven into a frustum shape. Accordingly, the braided sleeve 20 has a wide bottom end 22 and a narrow top end 24. The various strands in the braided sleeve 20 may be heat boded together along the wide bottom end 22 and the narrow top end 24 to prevent the stands from fraying.
When the braided sleeve 20 is compressed along its length, the braided sleeve 20 shortens and widens. As a braided sleeve 20 shortens and widens, it stores energy. As soon as the compression force is removed, a braided sleeve 20 will spring back into its uncompressed shape, therein releasing the stored energy.
The body section 14 of the popper toy assembly 10 also includes a ring of foam 26 that is attached to the wide bottom end 22 of the braided sleeve 20. The ring of foam 26 provides friction to the bottom of the popper toy assembly 10 and prevents the braided sleeve 20 from moving while being compressed.
Referring to
Referring to
In the embodiment, the compression force is manually applied and released. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
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 changes to the shown embodiments without departing from the intended scope of the invention. For instance, in the illustrated embodiments, the popper toy assembly is shown as a figure having a simple round head and arm extensions. It should be understood that the popper toy assembly can have many other shapes, such as a rocket ship, mushroom, or flower. Thus, the popper toy assembly can be shaped as a character or any other object as a matter of design choice. All such variations, modifications and alternate embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1657936 | Nebel | Jan 1928 | A |
| 2153957 | Davis | Apr 1939 | A |
| 2224456 | Janas | Dec 1940 | A |
| 3501861 | Goldfarb et al. | Mar 1970 | A |
| 3655193 | Jones | Apr 1972 | A |
| 3954266 | Carrano et al. | May 1976 | A |
| 4152863 | Kubiatowicz | May 1979 | A |
| 4219959 | Fleischer | Sep 1980 | A |
| 6315687 | Todd et al. | Nov 2001 | B1 |
| 7001292 | Rappaport | Feb 2006 | B1 |
| 7140945 | Dinhofer | Nov 2006 | B2 |
| 20020032087 | Jamison | Mar 2002 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20080125007 A1 | May 2008 | US |
