Patent Application
20180264370
This invention relates to the field of toys. More particularly, this invention relates to the field a toy character which has one or more shape-conforming coverings that a child peels away to reveal the character.
Children enjoy surprises, and enjoy toys that contain an element of surprise. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0168919 by Perkins discloses a plush toy having a prize hidden in an interior compartment.
The present invention is of a toy character such as a doll which has one or more shape-conforming coverings that a child peels away in serial, such that the physical characteristics of the doll are slowly revealed to the child. The serial and slow reveal heightens interest and excitement for the child as she peels away the different sections to see what character she has received, and the appearance of the doll changes as she removes those sections.
In an exemplary embodiment, the toy is a doll figure that is partly or fully covered in a coating comprising a polymer that has been melted and poured or sprayed onto the doll, or wax which has been melted and poured or sprayed onto the doll so that the coating conforms to the outer surface of the doll. At least the inwardmost portion of the coating conforms in shape to an exterior surface of the doll underneath, and thus is a conformal coating. The coating has perforations or die cuts in it to allow different portions that cover respectively different parts of the doll to be removed from the doll independently. The different coating portions can have upwardly and/or outwardly extending tabs, or loose ends of string, or other means to facilitate independent removal of the different coating portions by peeling those different portions away one after the other. Thus, after the doll has been purchased in the store and its traditional packaging such as cardboard and/or plastic clamshell packaging has been removed, the child must further peel away different portions of the coating from the different parts of the doll. She does so, for example, by first grasping the tab that corresponds to the coating over the doll's left eye and peeling the coating away, then peeling away the coating that cover's the doll's right eye, then peeling away the coating that covers the doll's hair, then perhaps torso, then feet, etc.
Additionally, the coating or wrapping on the figure can have features that give the figure a first appearance, with that appearance changing as the coating is removed so that the character seems to transform from one character to another.
Exemplary embodiments of the invention will be further described below with reference to the drawings, in which like numbers refer to like parts. The drawing figures might not be to scale, and certain components may be shown in generalized or schematic form and identified by commercial designations in the interest of clarity and conciseness.
In this embodiment the coating 30 includes sections 44/45 and 46/47 that define ears. Additionally, whiskers 66 are imprinted on the coating such as by printing or painting, or whiskers 66 could be strands of whisker-like material embedded in or adhered to the coating. Additional features shown are a nose and mouth, which could also be imprinted or painted on coating 30, or embedded in or affixed to the coating. In this embodiment the ears 44/45 and 46/47, and whiskers 66 together with the nose and mouth, give the coating-covered figure the appearance of a kitten. Similarly, the coating and any other features imprinted, painted, or adhered thereto could give the character the appearance of a dog, a rabbit, a dragon, a monster, or any other character. In general, one or more portions of the coating 30 can include one or more animal features such as a whiskers, ears, nose, tail, etc., but the doll 10 has no such corresponding animal feature(s), or has similar but different features such as differently shaped ears or mouth.
In this way, the doll 10 without the coating 30 on it can have the appearance of a first species, in this case of a human, and the coating 30 gives to doll 10 the appearance of a second species, in this case a kitten. The result is that as the child removes the coating 30, the doll appears to transform from a first species to a second species, or more generally from one character to another.
More generally, the coating could have features and characteristics that make the underlying doll 10 take on various different appearances, including being of different animals/robots/humans/humanoids, or having different expressions or facial features such as a moustache or large pouty lips, a smile, or accessories such as earrings or sunglasses.
Different sections of coating 31, 32 have been peeled away separately to separately reveal the doll's eyes 20, 22 while leaving most of the doll's face 18 still covered. Alternatively, a covering portion 31 could be removed to reveal one eye 20 of doll 10, with the coating section that covers the rest of the face including the coating over a second eye of the doll, such that the face and second eye 22 are revealed at the same time. One section of coating could resemble a mask similar to a mask at a masquerade ball, such that as the user removes that section of coating the user appears to be unmasking the doll 10.
In this figure tabs 51, 52 are seen. These tabs 51, 52 could be tabs of the same material which forms coating 30, allowing the user to grasp the tabs 51, 52 in order to more easily remove the coating sections to which the tabs are attached.
Alternatively, the tabs 51, 52 could be pieces of string, ribbon, or other fibrous material that are embedded in the coating 30 or otherwise adhered to it, such that the user can grasp the free ends of the string or ribbon and pull the associated sections of coating 30 away. Such tabs 51, 52, strings, ribbon, or other material define a means for the child to easily and without tools serially peel away the various sections of coating 30.
Coating 30 could be made of various materials, such as a suitable polymer. Suitable polymers are believed to include polyvinyl chloride (PVC), thermoplastic rubber (TPE), thermoplastic elastomer (TPE), Kraton®, silicone, or rubber. Coating 30 could be made of a wax such as paraffin wax, bees wax, microcrystalline wax, a combination of waxes such as is commonly used for waxing cheese, or other types of wax. Other types of coatings can be used as well, including hot-dip plastic coatings such as the type used to protect machine tools after manufacture and before use, or latex rubber. A coating that does not adhere strongly to the underlying toy is preferred so that it peels away easily. A thin layer of release coating such as silicone could be applied to the doll before the coating is applied to prevent strong adhesion of coating 30 to doll 10 and thus facilitate easy separation of coating 30 from doll 10. In the preferred embodiment the coating 30 is opaque or at least mostly opaque to conceal the doll 10 below. Alternatively, coating 30 could be semi-transparent so as to give the child a teasing or foreshadowing of the doll 10 within. Preferably the coating is a relatively thin coating, such as less than 1 mm, 2 mm, or 3 mm thick.
Coating 30 can have various colorings and shapes. Sections of coating 30 can be contoured to create large sized features such as the kitten ears in the embodiment shown, or could have smaller feature such as to provide facial expressions or facial features. The coating over the doll's hands could be shaped like a claw instead of a hand. The coating over the doll's feet could have the appearance of webbed feet similar to those of a duck. In this way, the doll's appearance and even what type of animal it is could change as the coating portions are peeled away to the reveal doll 10 below.
In another embodiment, at least one portion of the coating over the doll can be a brittle, easily broken, break-away coating, such as a weak plaster coating. For example, the coating over the eyes could be a break-away coating, while the coating over the rest of the doll's head is a polymer. Alternatively, the coating over the doll's head could be a polymer as in the first exemplary embodiment, and the doll's torso 24 could be covered in a breakaway coating. The child thus must use different techniques to reveal different parts of the doll, which additionally engages the child.
It will be appreciated that the term “present invention” as used herein should not be construed to mean that only a single invention having a single essential element or group of elements is presented. Similarly, it will also be appreciated that the term “present invention” encompasses a number of separate innovations which can each be considered separate inventions. Although the present invention has thus been described in detail with regard to the preferred embodiments and drawings thereof, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that various adaptations and modifications of the present invention may be accomplished without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention. For example, one or more materials other than materials mentioned herein could be used for the coating. The doll can have various appearances before and after the coating is removed. The coating could cover only a portion of the doll, such as the coating having the shape and appearance of one or more items of clothing such as a dress, such that as the child removes the coating the doll changes from having a first dress to a second dress, or from having boots to having sneakers or high heels. Accordingly, it is to be understood that the detailed description and the accompanying drawings as set forth hereinabove are not intended to limit the breadth of the present invention, which should be inferred only from the following claims and their appropriately construed legal equivalents.
This application claims priority from U.S. provisional patent application No. 62/473,995 filed Mar. 20, 2017.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62473995 | Mar 2017 | US |
