FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to toy figurines, and more specifically to toy figurines having at least one extensible appendage. Furthermore, the present invention also relates to toy figurines which are launchable and/or projectable.
BACKGROUND
In the toy industry, toy figurines have become an extremely popular and well known play option for both children and adults. Directed largely to children and collectors, these toy figurines typically replicate heroes, villains, and the like. Many common themes include wrestlers, military, cartoon figures, warriors, and superheroes. The addition of life-like elements, including detailed sculpting and costumes have further enhanced the playability and collectability of these toy figurines. However, while the appearances and physical size, as well as other design properties, have been stressed and improved upon to provide greater cohesiveness with the life-size character depicted, the functionality of toy figurines has remained relatively unchanged and, thus, is in need of constant enhancement and improvement.
For example, a majority of figurines are comprised of firm, molded plastic bodies, but firm plastic figurines are not always desirable for young children and limit the enhancements or play modes in which a figurine can be used. Additionally, posability, that is to say the ability to maintain a particular posed body position, is usually obtained by providing a friction-fit at one or more of the figurine's multiple articulated joints. The overall effect is often intended to provide posing and/or movement similar to that performed by humans, but replicating realistic movements also serves to limit the play value of many figurines, especially figurines resembling cartoons, superheroes, or other fictional characters with non-human traits or abilities. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a soft toy figurine with at least one extensible appendage that may allow the figurine to be launched or otherwise projected when desired.
SUMMARY
According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a toy figurine with an extensible appendage includes a body and a resilient member. The body includes an outer shell and a tubular member, and the tubular member is substantially encased with the outer shell. The resilient member includes at least one appendage and extends through the tubular member.
In some of these embodiments, the resilient member includes a first appendage and a second appendage and the first and second appendages are connected via a connecting portion that extends through the tubular member. In some of these embodiments, the first and second appendages have a first degree of resiliency (or elasticity) and the connecting portion has a second degree of resiliency, and in some embodiments, the second degree of resiliency is greater than the first.
In yet other embodiments, each of the at least one appendages includes an attachment portion, each attachment portion being configured to removably couple the figurine to a launcher. In still other embodiments, the outer shell is formed from a first resilient material, the resilient member is formed from a second resilient material and the tubular member is formed from a relatively stiffer material, but the first resilient material has a greater resiliency than the second resilient material.
According to another exemplary embodiment, a toy figurine with an extensible appendage also includes a body and a resilient member. However, in this embodiment, the body includes a passageway extending through the body and the resilient member extends through the passageway. Thus, the resilient member is secured within the passageway without being coupled to the body.
According to still another exemplary embodiment, a toy figurine with an extensible appendage a body and a resilient member extending through the body without being coupled thereto, and the resilient member includes a first appendage, a second appendage and a connecting member. The first and second appendages are each disposed exteriorly of the body and each include a proximal portion and a distal portion. The connecting member extends through the body and between the proximal portions of the first and second appendages.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a front perspective view of an exemplary toy figurine in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 2 shows a cut-away interior perspective view of the toy figurine of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3-4 show exterior and cut-away interior front perspective views, respectively, of the toy figurine of FIG. 1, with a resilient portion in a stretched position.
FIG. 5 shows a side perspective view of FIG. 3.
FIGS. 6-7 show exterior and cut-away interior front perspective views, respectively, of the toy figurine of FIG. 1, with one appendage being manipulated.
FIGS. 8-10 show front and side views of the toy figurine of FIG. 1 engaged with a launcher.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring generally to FIGS. 1-10, a toy figurine 100 includes a body 102 and a resilient member 130 that extends through the body 102. In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-10, the body 102 resembles SUPERMAN, and the resilient member 130 includes SUPERMAN's arms. However, in other embodiments, the body 102 and resilient member 130 may include any suitable structure, appearance, and/or ornamentation to resemble a body, a head, and/or limbs of any suitable person(s), animal(s), character, and/or other figure(s). Additionally, although the resilient member 130 is referred to as the “resilient member” it is to be understood both the body 102 and the resilient member 130 may be formed from any resilient, elastomeric material, such as TPE, rubber, or some combination thereof, However, in some embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-10, the body 102, or at least a portion thereof, may be formed from a first type of soft, resilient material and the resilient member 130 may be formed from a second, more resilient material. Regardless, generally, the resilient member 130 extends through the body 102, such that the resilient member 130 may be stretched or extended away from the body 102 without stretching or extending the body 102. Accordingly, in preferred embodiments the resilient member may provide at least one extensible appendage.
Referring now to FIGS. 1-2, the body 102 of figurine 100 includes an outer shell 104 and a tubular member 110 housed within the outer shell 104, In this embodiment, the outer shell 104 resembles the torso, head, and legs of SUPERMAN and, as can be seen best in FIG. 2, the tubular member 110 runs from a first side 112 of the outer shell 104 to a second, opposite side 114 of shell 104, thereby providing a passageway 116 (see FIG. 5) through outer shell 104. However, in other embodiments, the outer shell 104 may resemble any desirable portion or part of any desirable character or figurine and the tubular member 110 may extend between any desirable parts of portions of shell 104. Regardless of the shape and design, the outer shell 104 is preferably formed from a resilient elastomeric material such that it may be bendable or pliable, as desired, and the tubular member 110 is preferably formed from a stiffer material, such as a stiffer plastic-like ABS. Thus, when a resilient member 130 extends through body 102 via tubular member 110, the resilient member 130 may be stretched or extended without impacting the shape or disposition of the outer shell 104.
More specifically, since the tubular member 110 provides a passageway 116 that allows the resilient member 130 to extend through the body 102, the resilient member 130 can pass through the outer shell 104 without engaging or being coupled to the outer shell 104. Thus, when the resilient member 130 is stretched, tensioned, or otherwise extended, it will exert a force on the tubular member 110, not the outer shell 104. Since the tubular member 110 is formed from a stiff material, the tubular member 110 will be able to absorb or withstand any force exerted on it by the resilient member 130, allowing the outer shell 104 to remain unaffected and, thus, unmoved when the resilient member 130 is stretched or extended. That being said, in some embodiments, such as the present embodiment, a portion of the outer shell 104 may extend laterally beyond the tubular member 110, such that a portion of the resilient member 130 may contact a portion of the outer shell 104 laterally exterior of the tubular member 110. As will be discussed in more detail below, this contact may create friction between the body 102 and resilient member 130 that may increase the posability of the figurine 100, but generally will not impact the outer shell 104 when the resilient member 130 is stretched, tensioned, or otherwise extended.
Still referring to FIGS. 1-2, in this embodiment, the resilient member 130 includes a first appendage 132 and a second appendage 142. The first appendage 132 extends from a proximal portion 134 to a distal portion 136 and the second appendage 142 also extends from a proximal portion 144 to a distal portion 146. Each of the proximal portions 134, 144 is disposed adjacent to the outer shell 104, the first proximal portion 134 being adjacent to outer shell 104 proximate to the first side 112 of tubular member 110 and the second proximal portion 144 being adjacent to outer shell 104 proximate to the second side 114 of tubular member 110. Additionally, the proximal portions 134, 144 are connected to each other by a connecting member 150 (see FIGS. 3-5) which extends through tubular member 110. The distal portions 136, 146 each include an attachment portion 138, 148 which enables the distal portions 136, 146 to be anchored or mounted to a launcher or other desirable object, including a user's fingers, as will be described in further detail below. In this particular embodiment, the attachment portions 138, 148 are simply apertures which can he wrapped or mounted around a protrusion or projection.
Now turning to FIGS. 3-5, the figurine 100 is shown, from various views, with at least a portion of the resilient member 130 being stretched or extended. Referring first to FIG. 3, the figurine 100 is shown with the resilient member 130 being stretched. bilaterally, such that each of the first appendage 132, second appendage 134 and connecting member 150 is stretched or extended. This position may alternatively be referred to as a stretched position, an extended position, or a loaded position. As shown in FIG. 3, in order to move the figurine 100 to this position, a user may simply grip the distal ends 136, 138 (perhaps at attachment portions 138, 148) of appendages 132 and 142 and pull the appendages 132, 142 in opposite directions, such as directions “D1” and “D2,” thereby stretching and tensioning the resilient member 130. FIG. 5 shows a side view of FIG. 3 in order to illustrate how the connecting member 150 rests within passageway 116 and is not connected or coupled thereto in any manner.
Still referring to FIGS. 3-5, when the appendages 132, 142 are pulled in directions D1, D2, respectively, any portion of the resilient member 130 disposed between where the user is gripping, will be stretched, Accordingly, in FIG. 4 only the connecting member 150 is tensioned because the appendages 132, 134 are pulled in directions D1 and D2 from their proximate portions 134, 144. In some embodiments, when a part or portion of the resilient member 130 is tensioned, tension will be applied equally over the length of the tensioned. portion of the resilient member 130, regardless of which part of the resilient member 130 is tensioned. However, in other embodiments, different parts of resilient member 130 will stretch different amounts in response to this tension, depending on various factors, such as the thickness and/or material makeup of the different parts. For example, in the exemplary embodiment shown in FIGS. 3-5, the connecting member 150 is substantially thinner than the appendages 132, 142 and, thus, may stretch a further distance than the appendages 132, 142. In other words, the appendages 132, 142 may have a first degree of resiliency (for eleasticity) and the connecting member 150 may have a second degree of resiliency, and the second degree of resiliency may allow further stretching than the first.
Turning next to FIGS. 6-7 although the resilient member 130 includes both appendages 132, 142, each of the appendages remain independently posable or movable. First, as shown in FIG. 6, each appendage 132, 142 may rotate at its proximal portion 134, 144. More specifically, each appendage 132, 142 may rotate about the central, lateral axis of the tubular member 110 (see FIG. 2). Additionally, as mentioned above, since the resilient member 130 and the outer shell 104 may be formed from different materials, a frictional force may be created where the appendages 132, 142 contact the outer shell 104, thereby providing figurine 100 with posability, In other words, a frictional arrangement between the appendages 132, 142 and the outer shell 104 allows for positionable articulation. However, since the appendages 132, 142 are connected to each other via connecting member 150, each appendage 132, 142 may only rotate a certain amount with respect to the other appendage before the resiliency of the resilient member 130 urges the appendage 132, 142 back towards its original position (similar to the twisting of a rubber-band).
Similarly, and as shown in FIG. 7, each appendage 132, 142 may be stretched or tensioned individually or independently, as desired. In FIG. 7, the first appendage 132 is being pulled away from the body 102 such that the connecting portion 150 is stretched outwards from the body 102 in only one direction. However, since the proximal portion 144 of the second appendage 142 is larger than the diameter of passageway 116 (see FIG. 5) provided by the tubular member 110, the second appendage 142 is not pulled through the tubular member 110 when only the first appendage 132 is tensioned. 1 Similarly, it is to be understood that the first appendage 132 does not pull through the tubular member 110 when only the second appendage 142 is tensioned. This configuration ensures that the resilient member 130 is not simply removed from the body 102 when a portion thereof is tensioned or pulled away from body 102 while also ensuring that the resilient portion 130 remains secured within the body 102 without being coupled thereto in any manner. In preferred embodiments, such as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-10 the proximal portions 144, 134 are substantially spherical and include diameters that are substantially larger than the diameter of the passageway 116 of the tubular member 110, Consequently, the proximal portions 134, 144 cannot be inserted into or pass through the passageway 116, regardless or their orientations.
Now turning to FIGS. 8-10, the configuration of the resilient member 130 and the body 102 described above allows the figurine 100 to be launched or shot as a projectile when desirable. As shown in FIGS. 8-10, when a user wants to launch the figurine 100, a user can mount the figurine on a launcher 200, pull the figurine 100 in one direction and then release the figurine 100 in order to launch the figurine in an opposite direction. However, it is to be understood that launcher 200 shown in FIGS. 8-10, is merely exemplary, and the term “launcher” should be understood to include any desirable item that a figurine 100 may be removably mounted to, such as, but not limited to, a user's fingers, a pen, and/or a pencil.
In FIGS. 8-9, figurine 100 is shown mounted on two projections 210 included on launcher 200. In this embodiment, the figurine 100 is mounted on projections 210 by simply inserting the projections into the attachment portions 138, 148 included on the appendages 132, 142. However, in other embodiments, the attachment portions 138, 148 may be removably secured to any desirable portion of any desirable launcher 200 which allows the figurine 100 to be launched in the manner described herein. Once the figurine 100 is removably secured to a launcher 200, the figurine 100 may be pulled in a first direction, such as direction “D4,” (see FIG. 10) thereby stretching and tensioning the resilient member 130 of the figurine 100, Then, upon being released by the user, the resiliency of the resilient member 130 will cause the figurine 100 to shoot or launch forward in an opposite direction, such as direction “D5” (shown in dashed lines). However, the figurine 100 may launch in various directions or flight paths depending on the distance and angle at which the figurine is tensioned away from the launcher 200.
Generally referring to FIGS. 1-10, with the exception of the resilient member 130, the toy figurine 100 may be fabricated from any suitable material, or combination of materials, such as plastic, foamed plastic, wood, cardboard, pressed paper, metal, supple natural or synthetic materials including, but not limited to, cotton, elastomers, polyester, plastic, rubber, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof. Suitable plastics may include high-density polyethylene (HDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), polystyrene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polycarbonate, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polypropylene, ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), or the like. Suitable foamed plastics may include expanded or extruded polystyrene, expanded or extruded polypropylene, EVA foam, derivatives thereof, and combinations thereof.
Additionally, it is to be understood that terms such as “left,” “right,” “top,” “bottom,” “front,” “rear,” “side,” “height,” “length,” “width,” “upper,” “lower,” “interior,” “exterior,” “inner,” “outer” and the like as may be used herein, merely describe points or portions of reference and do not limit the present invention to any particular orientation or configuration. Further, the term “exemplary” is used herein to describe an example or illustration. Any embodiment described herein as exemplary is not to be construed as a preferred or advantageous embodiment, but rather as one example or illustration of a possible embodiment of the invention.
Although the disclosed inventions are illustrated and described herein as embodied in one or more specific examples, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the inventions and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims. In addition, various features from one of the embodiments may be incorporated into another of the embodiments. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure as set forth in the following claims.
Patent Application
20150017874
