Snap on action figures

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6554680
  • Patent Number
    6,554,680
  • Date Filed
    Friday, December 29, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, April 29, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Examiners
    • Banks; Derris H.
    • Williams; Jamila O
    Agents
    • Lukasik; Frank A.
Abstract
The instant invention pertains to action figures having a female connection formed on the back and a belt or theme mounting having a plurality of male connectors. The action figures may pertain to a sport such as wrestling or baseball, or a super hero or other famous person. The action figure is connected to the belt for wearing a group of related action figures. A second embodiment consists of a theme mount such as a bat or hockey stick.
Description




BACKGROUND




1. Field of the Invention




The present invention relates generally to toys and more specifically, to toy action figures that can be attached to a child's belt or otherwise mounted for convenience, display or decoration on theme mounts according to the intended use.




2. Prior Art




Toy action figures have become very popular with children in recent years particularly where they are created in the likeness of characters from popular movies, TV shows or books and comic books. It is implicit in the nature of an action figure that it would be used in games simulating the fictional exploits of said action figure. Children at play may have numerous figures at hand as they interact with each other and the environments in which the playing occurs. Presently, multiple action toys may be stored in their original packaging or other receptacles that may be provided for such a purpose. Children, however, as is often their nature, spread the parameters of their game-playing environments as far as they are permitted and as a result, misplace toys or find themselves too far from their main toy repository to easily carry needed toys with them.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




In a first embodiment of the instant invention is an attachment means by which children can affix toy action figures to specially adapted belts or harnesses which they can safely wear while playing thereby having multiple toys at hand for immediate access and display. Such a function is analogous to the wearing of toy gun belts and holsters wherein the toys are both decorative and accessible to the child. In a second embodiment, the attachment means on the toy action figure is used to attach the toy to an ornamental or storage rack whereby it may be safely stored and/or displayed. Such ornamental racks could include, but not be limited to, sports themes, character themes or any other subject limited only by the imagination/resources available to the child.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a side view, partly in section, of a typical action figure in accordance with the invention.





FIG. 2

is a front view of a second embodiment of the invention showing a typical “theme” display.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT




The instant invention pertains to toys in the general category of “Action Figures”. These action toys may be sold as individual toy items or as a set pertaining to a movie, or a sport such as wrestling or baseball for example. The action figure can be anything from a super-hero, e.g. Batman, Superman, etc., or a sports figure, e.g. Sammy Sosa, Wayne Gretsky, etc. The child can “snap” these figures on the action figure belt and wear them, or may be displayed in their rooms on an appropriate display, e.g., a baseball bat, hockey stick, etc. The belt or display has a “male” stud and the action figures have a “female” snap-on socket on their backs.





FIG. 1

depicts a side view, partially in section, of the action figure of the invention designated overall by the numeral


10


. Also shown is the mounting of the male connector


12


in a child's toy belt


11


. The action

FIG. 10

has a female connection socket


13


in the center if its back. Plastic child's belt


11


is mounted with the male connection


12


. In operation, action figure body


14


is simply pushed back until the female socket


13


snaps over the male connector


12


, thus attaching the action

FIG. 10

to the belt


11


.





FIG. 2

depicts a second embodiment of the invention which consists of a baseball player action

FIG. 23

mounted on a baseball bat


24


. Wall plaque


21


is mounted with theme mount


20


. The theme mount


20


has bat


24


permanently mounted on plaque


21


and a series of male connectors


22


mounted on bat


24


to which a theme action

FIG. 23

is attached. The action

FIG. 23

has a female socket


13


(not shown) mounted in a manner similar to the female socket


13


in action figure body


14


.




As shown in

FIG. 1

, the female socket


13


consists of a hollow tube having a circular groove


15


at a midpoint of socket


13


. When male connector


12


is inserted into socket


13


, the circular ring


16


, formed on connector


12


connects with the circular groove


15


and the two parts become locked in place. The slit


17


in connector


12


permits the split parts of the connector


12


to spring inwardly to fit within the socket


13


and spring back when the ring


16


mates with groove


15


.




The connector


12


and socket


13


are the preferred means to fasten the action

FIG. 10

to the belt


11


or the theme mount


20


. Other fastening means are also contemplated.




While the principles of the invention have been described above in connection with specific embodiments of the invention, it is understood that these descriptions are made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention.



Claims
  • 1. A combination of a toy action figure releasably attached for convenience, to a display belt, said combination comprising:a toy action figure depicting a selected theme from a group including, sports, super heroes, and other famous persons, each of said action toy figures having a back, said back having a hole formed in said back and a female connection socket inserted and fastened in said back, said female connection socket having a circular groove formed therein, and a belt for mounting a collection of said action toy figures, said belt having a plurality of male connectors fastened thereto, said male connectors having a slit therein providing a spring action and a ring formed around the exterior periphery of said male connectors for mating with said circular groove formed in said female connection socket.
  • 2. A combination of a toy action figure releasably attached for convenience, to a display mount, said combination comprising:a toy action figure depicting a selected theme from a group including, sports, super heroes, and other famous persons, each of said action toy figures having a back, said back having a hole formed in said back and a female connection socket inserted and fastened in said back, said female connection socket having a circular groove formed therein, and a display mount for mounting a collection of said action toy figures, said display mount having a plurality of male connectors fastened thereto, said male connectors having a slit therein providing a spring action and a ring formed around the exterior periphery of said male connectors for mating with said circular groove formed in said female connection socket.
US Referenced Citations (8)
Number Name Date Kind
4595618 Caringer Jun 1986 A
4715839 Ford et al. Dec 1987 A
4723931 Allen et al. Feb 1988 A
5027442 Taylor Jul 1991 A
5540609 Hoag Jul 1996 A
5647107 Brewster Jul 1997 A
6178680 Sloot Jan 2001 B1
6224450 Norton May 2001 B1