A popular and ubiquitous fidget toy is comprised of a set of bubble like protrusions formed into a sheet of flexible material. When the user depresses a bubble that is in a convex state it is transitioned to a concave state. After having depressed all the bubbles into a concave state the operator of the toy can then flip the toy over and continue this process from what now appears as all bubbles having been reset to their convex state. One of the key features of this toy is that it requires reorientation for continuous use, i.e. after all the bubbles have been depressed, the toy must be flipped over to continue popping.
The present invention is a device comprised of multiple shells of flexible material that are embedded into the surface of a housing body where the volume enclosed under each shell is connected via internal passages within the housing body to the corresponding volumes under neighboring shells. This device is configured in such a fashion that when one or more of the shells are depressed, and transitioned from a convex state to a concave state, the increased pressure inside the device created by the reduction of the internal volume below the shell or shells being depressed correspondingly restores an equal number of other shells previously in a concave state to a convex state. During this transition an audible popping sound is created along with the tactile sensation that the user is popping a bubble. The user can repeatedly depress shells in this way without changing the total number of shells in convex and concave states and therefore it may be operated indefinitely without reconfiguration or reorientation. The initial states of the shells may be configured by the user such that one or more the shells are initially in a convex state with the remaining shells in concave state.
Unlike fidget popper toys in the state of the art, this device can offer continuous popping without the need to reorient, i.e. flip or otherwise reconfigure the device. Additionally, the device is designed to provide a novel tactile sensation during operation that may include the use of a squeezing action. Furthermore, the device amplifies audible responses created during operation because each time the user depresses a single shell there are two shells that concurrently exchange configurations, the one being depressed and the other responding to it, and thus the net response of a single shell transition is effectively doubled.
To facilitate manufacturing and assembly the device may be manufactured in and assembled from multiple parts. These parts may be assembled by any suitable means of adhesion or via the inclusion of integrated press or snap fit joint components to provide an airtight connection between the mating portions of the parts after assembly. These parts may be manufactured of identical or dissimilar materials of same or differing colors and styles to support mix matching the individual parts.
Additionally, the shells may be of any number, size, shape, orientation or arrangement. This device may be created as a standalone product or its functional constituents may be integrated into any other products.
These and other features will become more apparent in the detailed description, in conjunction with the drawings, which further illustrate the principles of this invention.
The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention. In such drawings:
As shown in the accompanying drawings, for purposes of illustration, the present invention resides in a device which is particularly suited for use as a fidget toy where an operator can depress the various flexible shells in the device producing audible and tactile stimulation.
In the most basic embodiment the device is comprised of a housing body (1), multiple flexible shells (2) that are embedded into the surface of the housing body and internal passages (3) within the housing body that connect the internal volumes (4) under the flexible shells. A basic embodiment of the device is shown in
In
The particular shape of the housing body, the arrangement, orientation, shape and number of the shells as well as shape and layout of the passages may take any suitable form and those identified for the basic embodiment shown in
In preferred embodiments, the shells are generally hemispherical but could be of any shape, symmetrical or otherwise, capable of transitioning between a concave and convex state and vice versa when integrated with the housing body. In addition, the surface of the flexible shells may be smooth, textured or contain additional features such as bumps to provide additional tactile stimulation.
In preferred embodiments, each shell is connected to the housing body via a flexible integration flange. This flexible integration flange facilitates the transition of the shell between its convex and concave states and vice versa when integrated with the housing body. In preferred embodiments the integration flanges take the form of an annular planar extension from the shell equator to the housing body. This annular extension (10) can be identified in
The flexible shells may be configured to have uniform or non-uniform thickness. In preferred embodiments the shells thicken gradually towards their apexes (9). This feature provides the feeling of additional resistance when depressing at the center of the shell, facilitates maintenance of the shell in the concave state after being depressed and also aids in amplifying the sound that is created when the shell is transitioned. Because during every interaction with the device at least two shells change configuration nearly simultaneously, one associated with the convex to concave transition created directly from the user input and another associated with the transition of the responding shell from concave to convex state, the audible and tactile response of the device is further amplified.
The primary function of the housing body is to provide an airtight enclosure for the device that maintains a fixed configurable internal volume within the device. This internal volume may be configured such that one or more of the flexible shells are initially in concave state with remaining shells a convex state.
If the device of
Another function of the housing body is to provide a support structure for the shells, in preferred embodiments via their integration through flexible shell integration flanges, to maintain the shape and orientation of the shell apertures throughout the transition of shells between their concave and convex states.
In preferred embodiments cavities (11) in the housing body directly below each flexible shell accommodate the transition of the shells to concave state without interference between the shells and housing body. This can be seen in section view of
The shape and outer profile of the housing body may take any form sufficient to provide structural integrity to the device and suitably maintain the desired alignment and orientation of the shell apertures during transition of the shells between configurations. In preferred embodiments, the outer boundary of the housing body (14) may be formed by the union of projected cavity profiles from all the cavities in the device where these projections are generally extended away from and tangential to the respective cavity profiles. When suitably configured this process results in a generally uniform thickness wall extending outwardly from each cavity profile that intersects with the walls of neighboring cavity profiles. The section view of
Additional embodiments of the device may also be constructed via integration of individual cells where these cells are each comprised of a cell housing body (15), a single flexible shell embedded into surface of this cell housing body (16) and a cell cavity in the cell housing body (17) directly below the flexible shell that accommodates transition of the shell to concave state without interference. After the above integration it is understood that the integrated set of cell housing bodies constitutes the device’s housing body.
The device may then be constructed from a set of similar or dissimilar cells of any size, shape or arrangement by integrating their respective cell housing bodies to form the device housing body. After this integration the internal volumes under each shell may then subsequently be connected to the internal volumes under neighboring shells by passageways connecting neighboring cell cavities where it is understood that these passageways constitute the device’s passages.
These cells may be integrated to various degrees. At one extreme they may be deeply integrated as can be seen in section view of
On the other extreme, the individual cells may be arranged so as not to physically contact each other. In this configuration the passages would be realized by the addition of pipes that are integrated between and through neighboring cell housing bodies. However, we may then consider this configuration a modified version of the original cell where the original cell has been subsequently integrated with the respective portions of corresponding pipes. This modified cell configuration, now including the respective portions of the integrated pipes, may then be considered an alternate embodiment of the original cell. The integration of the cells of this alternate embodiment would then involve connecting the distal ends of the respective pipe sections between associated cells.
All potential degrees of integration of the cell housing bodies between the extremes discussed in the previous two paragraphs may be considered valid configurations for the device.
It should be noted that the cells need not be identical nor assembled in a planar grid, as in preferred embodiments previously discussed, and may be formed in any suitable regular or non-regular, planar or non-planar configurations consisting of any number of shells. Alternate planar embodiments may be arranged in a single row as in
To facilitate making the device it may be manufactured in multiple pieces. These pieces may be created by dissection of the device into parts where the resulting parts are able to be manufactured individually with standard techniques in the state of the art, such as injection or compression molding, and subsequently assembled to produce the device in its entirety. The dissection of the device to create these parts may be planar, as in many preferred embodiments, though the dissection could be of any practical form. Planar dissections, however, facilitate manufacturing and subsequent assembly of the parts for the majority of embodiments. The mating of the parts resulting from the dissection of the device may include permanent or semi-permanent means of assembly. Permanent assembly may involve the use of appropriate adhesives or manufacturing of one part directly onto or over another via an over-molding process. Semi-permanent means of assembly may include the use of mating mechanical components such as snap or press fit joints. In preferred embodiments the method for mating the parts includes the integration of press or snap fit joint components formed directly into the associated parts. Inclusion of integrated press or snap fit joints during manufacturing of the individual parts allows both for simplified assembly of the parts and also affords the possibility of either replacing an individual part if it fails or allowing the user the ability to modify their device by mix matching parts of different colors and styles.
A preferred embodiment shown in
To further simplify manufacturing and assembly, the dissection of the device may be configured to pass coincident with or through the passages. In this way, during manufacturing the passages can be formed as channels in one or both parts such that when the corresponding parts are mated during assembly the passage is formed. In preferred embodiments the planar dissection is coincident with the top of the rectangular passages (24). For this configuration the passage would be manufactured as a channel in the bottom part such that after the parts are joined the top part encloses and forms the passages as shown in
A preferred embodiment of the top part in can be seen in
Though shown with a generally rectangular profile, this joint may employ any suitable profile shape or configuration common to the state of the art in press fit or snap-fit joints. Additionally, this joint may be continuous, i.e. annular, as in the preferred embodiment, or may be comprised of multiple individual press or snap fit interlocking features integrated into the parts along the path of dissection.
In preferred embodiments an annular press fit joint (28) encircles all shells. Additionally, annular press fit joints encircle regions around any holes in the device present between the shells (29). Since the above set of annular joints transit all possible paths for air to escape the internal volume of the device it is assured, after the associated parts are joined, that the device can maintain a fixed internal volume. For the previously discussed preferred embodiment with the device comprised of four deeply integrated cells in a planar grid there is only one hole through the center of the device between the shells around which an annular joint would be required. Similarly, for the alternate embodiment of
In preferred embodiments the device and its individual parts would be constructed from resilient materials safe for use in children toys that may include but are not limited to plastic, natural rubber, synthetic rubber, Thermo Plastic Elastomers (TPEs) and silicone. Additionally, the various components of the device may be of any color, transparency and finish.
The individual components and functional constituents of the device may also be formed or integrated into any other number of other products whereby the primary functionality of the device is maintained after the integration. In practice this would involve integrating the housing body with the associated product. An example could be where the device is fashioned and integrated into the back of a cell phone case. A natural configuration for this product integration would have the shells arranged in a planar grid covering the back of the case, though this arrangement is not strictly necessary. Other examples could be where the device is fashioned or integrated into a bracelet or ring where the shells may be distributed along the circumference with radially configured shell transition axes.
Although multiple embodiments have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Accordingly this invention is not to be limited, except as by the following claims.
Priority is claimed to Provisional Pat. Application Serial US 63/361546, filed Jan 24th 2022.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63361546 | Jan 2022 | US |