GAME FUSE BEAD
The fusible game bead with a textured region and smooth region addresses the challenge of easy removal and stability by enhancing grip and maintaining playability, while dissolving into a smooth state for continued play.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2024000485
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Priority Date
- 2023-01-20
- Filing Date
- 2024-01-18
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-20
- Estimated Expiration
- 2044-01-18
AI Technical Summary
Existing fusible game beads with smooth surfaces are difficult to grasp and remove from storage, affecting ease of play and stability during arrangement.
A fusible game bead with a textured region and a smooth region, where the textured region has irregularities that enhance grip and stability, transforming into a smooth region when exposed to water.
Facilitates easy removal from storage and maintains playability by ensuring beads stay in place during play, with improved separation properties and reduced molding time.
Smart Images
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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: GAME FUSE BEAD technical field
[0001] This disclosure relates to a game fuse bead. PREVIOUS STATE OF THE ART
[0002] Nowadays, there are toys called play beads, where beads such as small resin spheres or tubular bodies are fused together to create various decorations. For example, patent document 1 discloses a fusible play bead where the beads can be fused together simply by spraying a liquid such as water to create combinations of beads of various shapes.
[0003] Patent document 1: JP2013-143986A Summary of the invention
[0004] In the fusible game bead disclosed in patent document 1, decorations can be created by removing beads from a storage case or other container in which a plurality of beads are stored and arranging the beads. However, since the beads have smooth surfaces, it may be difficult to grasp them and remove them from the storage case or other container. Furthermore, when part of the bead's surface is cut or otherwise altered to facilitate grasping the bead, the ease of play may be reduced.
[0005] One object of this disclosure relates to a game fuse bead that is easy to remove from a storage case or other.
[0006] This disclosure relates to a fusible game bead formed by mixing a pigment serving as a colorant in a water-soluble resin, the fusible game bead comprising: a surface, the surface comprising: a textured region having a textured surface with irregularities; and a smooth region having a smooth surface, the textured region having a depth of texturing such that the textured surface is smoothed when the irregularities dissolve in water.
[0007] According to this disclosure, it is possible to obtain a fusible game bead that is easy to remove from a storage case or other. Brief description of the drawings
[0008] This disclosure will be described in detail on the basis of the following drawings, without limitation, where:
[0009] [Fig-1] The [Fig. 1] is a front view of a game fuse bead according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0010] [Fig.2] The [Fig.2] is a top view of the game fuse bead according to the embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0011] [Fig.3] Fig.3 is a perspective view of a platform on which are placed a plurality of fusible game beads according to the embodiment of this disclosure; and
[0012] [Fig.4] Fig.4 is a schematic view of a test device used in a test comparing the fall of fusible game beads in an example of this disclosure.
[0013] DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT METHODS
[0014] An embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, a fusible bead 10 according to the embodiment is spherical and has a particle size of approximately 5 mm. The fusible bead 10 is formed by injection molding using a mold, with a colored transparent synthetic resin as the raw material. This resin is obtained by mixing a plurality of pigments serving as colorants in a water-soluble resin mixed with polyvinyl alcohol. When colored with a colorant, the fusible bead 10 can have a transparent color, including green, blue, red, yellow, purple, or other colors that harmonize the transparency and the hue.
[0015] A portion of the surface of the fusible game bead 10 is textured. In other words, the surface of the fusible game bead 10 is divided into a textured region 12 subjected to texturing and a smooth region 14 not subjected to texturing. That is to say, the textured region 12 comprises a textured surface with irregularities, and the smooth region 14 comprises a smooth surface. In particular, the textured region 12 is an upper region of the surface of the fusible game bead 10 and is formed in an area representing approximately 1 / 4 of the surface of the fusible game bead 10.
[0016] Since the textured region 12 is located on the surface of the fusible game bead 10 as described above, when the fusible game bead 10 is grasped and removed from a storage case or other container, at least part of a finger grasping the bead comes into contact with the textured region 12. A portion of the textured region 12 that comes into contact with the finger is more difficult to separate from the finger than a portion of the smooth area 14 that comes into contact with the finger due to a frictional force acting between the textured surface and a surface of the finger. For this reason, the fusible game bead 10 is easier to remove from the storage case or other container than a fusible game bead of the prior art where the smooth area 14 is formed over an entire surface.
[0017] Furthermore, since the textured region 12 is located on the surface of the fusible game bead 10, when a plurality of fusible game beads 10 are adjacent and arranged in holes 22 on a tray 20 as shown for example in [Fig. 3], a frictional force acts between the textured regions 12 of the adjacent fusible game beads 10 and Therefore, the fusible beads of game 10 are less likely to move on board 20.
[0018] In the fusible game bead 10, the texture depth in the textured region 12 is on the order of 35 to 45 µm. Because the fusible game bead 10 is finely textured in this way, the surface irregularities in the textured region 12 due to the texturing are dissolved in water when sprayed with water, and the textured region 12 exhibits substantially the same regularity as the smooth region 14. In other words, the textured region 12 transforms into the smooth region 14. The textured surface in the textured region 12 is smoothed. For this reason, playing with a combination of fusible game beads 10, obtained by fusing together a plurality of fusible game beads 10, does not alter the playability of the fusible game bead 10.
[0019] The fusible bead 10 described above can be formed by injection molding using a mold having irregularities for texturing a portion thereof. As shown in [Fig. 1], the fusible bead 10 is formed with a parting line PL on a line along which the mold is divided during the molding process. The textured region 12 is formed in a portion that does not overlap the parting line PL. The portion where the textured region 12 is formed during the molding process exhibits excellent separation properties when the mold is separated. For this reason, the molding time can be reduced during the molding process.
[0020] According to the embodiment of this disclosure described above, it is possible to obtain a fusible bead having the following aspects.
[0021] A fusible game bead according to a first aspect is a fusible game bead formed by mixing a pigment serving as a colorant in a water-soluble resin, a surface of the fusible game bead being divided into a textured region subjected to texturing and a smooth region, the textured region having a texturing depth which transforms into a smooth region when the irregularities due to texturing dissolve in water.
[0022] According to this configuration, when the fusible play bead is grasped and removed from a storage case or other container, at least part of a finger grasping the fusible play bead comes into contact with the textured region, and part of the textured region that comes into contact with the finger is more difficult to separate from the finger than part of the smooth region that comes into contact with the finger. For this reason, the fusible play bead may be easier to remove from the storage case or other container than a fusible play bead of the prior art where the smooth region is formed over an entire surface. Furthermore, the textured region dissolves in water and transforms into a smooth region when the fusible play bead is sprayed with water, and thus the act of playing with a combination of game fuse beads, obtained by fusing together a plurality of game fuse beads, does not alter the playability of the game fuse bead.
[0023] In the fuse bead of the game according to a second aspect, the depth of texturing in the textured region is on the order of 35 to 45 pm.
[0024] According to this configuration, it is possible to obtain a specific value for the fine texturing depth such that the irregularities of the textured region due to the texturing dissolve in water and turn into a smooth region when the fusible game bead is sprayed with water.
[0025] In the game fuse bead according to a third aspect, the textured region is formed in a region representing at least 1 / 4 of the surface of the game fuse bead.
[0026] According to this configuration, when the game fuse bead is grasped and removed from the storage case or other container, at least part of the finger grasping the game fuse bead can more easily come into contact with the textured area. For this reason, the game fuse bead can be more easily removed from the storage case or other container.
[0027] Although the embodiment of this disclosure has been described above, this disclosure is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of this disclosure. For example, in the above embodiment, the textured region is formed over substantially 1 / 4 of the surface of the fusible game bead. According to one variant, the textured region may be formed over substantially half of the surface of the fusible game bead or be formed over substantially half or more of the surface.
[0028] Examples
[0029] In one example, 10 samples (example) of the game fuse bead 10 each having a textured region on a corresponding surface and 10 samples (comparative example) of the prior art fuse bead not having a textured region on corresponding surfaces (all surfaces were smooth regions) were prepared, and a comparative drop test was carried out to verify the suitability for separation.
[0030] In each sample of the example, the textured region was formed in a region representing 1 / 4 of the surface of the fusible bead of set 10. In addition, in each sample of the example, a texturing depth in the textured region was set at 40 pm according to a model number "YS 1287B" on a texture datasheet manufactured by Yick Sang Metal and Plastic Mould Texturing.
[0031] The drop comparison test was carried out using a simple test device 30 illustrated in [Fig. 4]. As shown in [Fig. 4], in the test device 30, a buffer sheet 32 is placed underneath, and an iron weight 34 is placed on top of the a buffer sheet 32, a flat plate 36 is fixed to a lateral surface of the weight, and a label 38 (commercially available general label) is fixed to a surface of the flat plate 36 on a side opposite the side fixed to the weight 34. The label 38 has an adhesive surface facing outwards.
[0032] In the drop comparison test, 10 set fuse bead samples 10 were first arranged in a row on the buffer sheet 32, the weight 34 was raised into a position in which the adhesive surface of the label 38 was directed downwards, and the adhesive surface of the label 38 was pressed against each set fuse bead 10 from above with a uniform load and each set fuse bead 10 adhered to the adhesive surface.
[0033] Next, as shown in [Fig. 4], the weight 34 was placed on the buffer sheet 32 with the adhesive surface facing laterally, and the time at which the weight 34 was placed was set to zero seconds. The number of seconds until each fusible bead 10 detached from the adhesive surface and fell onto the buffer sheet 32 was counted. The counting began after one minute. Each sample of the example was counted first, then each sample of the comparison example was counted. In addition, a total of 10 counts (n1 to n10) were repeated for each sample of the example and each sample of the comparison example. Table 1 below shows the results of the count for each sample of the example, and Table 2 below shows the results of the count for each sample of the comparison example.
[0034] Table 1 is shown below. [Tables 1] TABLE: Time elapsed before the fall (in seconds). Number of falls: 2, 3, 114, 5, 9, 114. Second sample fallen: 1, 1, 0, 0, 0. Third sample fallen: 18, 0, 0, 0, 0. Fourth sample fallen: 0, 7, 7, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1. Fifth sample fallen: 43, 4, 0, 9, 6, 7, 0. Sixth sample fallen: 54, 17, 8, 1, 1, 0, 37, 13. Seventh sample: fallen. 55 30 16' 17 4 37 19 55 '3 Eighth sample dropped 54 16 14 51 - - 40 32 Ninth sample dropped 16 - 14 52 - - Tenth sample dropped 16 - 0 - Number of samples after one minute 7 16 7 5 10 - 7 -g' S
[0035] Table 2 is shown below. [Tables 2] TABLE 2. Time elapsed before the fall (in seconds); Number of:êchafitâloa$ Fall ni n2 n3 BJ Q? n9 nlû First sample dropped 0 5 19'' oo (ir< o 8 2 Second sample dropped 10 10 2S 36 12 G 5 9 13 Third sample dropped 18 19 2^ IC 33 41 20 9 22 Fourth sample dropped 20 19 16 - - 2 S 16 42 Fifth sample^^ - ■ 7'7 - 43 2Î Sixth sample dropped - 59 - - - - 57 - Seventh sample dropped - - - - - - Eighth sample dropped - - - - - - - - Ninth sample dropped - - - - - - Tenth sample dropped - - - - - - - - Number of samples after one minute 4 6 5 4 3 3 3 5 6 -
[0036] As shown in Table 1, in the samples of the example, seven to ten (all) fusible beads from set 10 fell between the start of the count and after one minute in each of the 10 counts performed in total. Furthermore, as shown in Table 2, in the samples of the comparative example, three to six fusible beads from set 10 fell between the start of the count and after one minute in each of the 10 counts performed in total.
[0037] The results of the above test confirmed that in the example samples, the number of fusible game beads that fell between the start of counting and after one minute was significantly higher than in the samples of the comparative example. It was therefore confirmed that the example samples, each with a textured area on the surface, exhibited excellent separation capabilities compared to the comparative example samples, which did not have textured areas on their surfaces.
Claims
1.
2. Demands Fusible game bead (10) formed by mixing a pigment used as a colorant in a water-soluble resin, the fusible game bead (10) comprising: an area, the area comprising: a textured region (12) exhibiting a textured surface with irregularities; and a smooth region (14) having a smooth surface, the textured region (12) having a texturing depth such that the textured surface is smoothed when the irregularities dissolve in water, in which the texturing depth in the textured region (12) is on the order of 35 to 45 qm. Fusible game bead (10) according to claim 1, wherein the textured region (12) is formed in a region representing at least 1 / 4 of the surface.