Movement and building pad for objects

Abstract

The invention relates to pads and / or platforms designed to fit a variety of objects, such as premanufactured figurines and action figures, blocks, support structures and the like. The pad may be used to facilitate the movement of such figurines, as well as to provide a floor to support various objects, without the need for the user to balance the figurine or object by hand. The pad may be used in various applications, such in connection with stop motion animation, and for educational use and play for adults and children alike.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]The present application relates to, and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62 / 484,499 filed on Apr. 12, 2017, which is entitled “MOVEMENT AND BUILDING PAD FOR OBJECTS.” The content of this priority application is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.[0002]In one general aspect there is provided a toy construction and support pad for the placement and securing of figurines and / or action figures including a base having a bottom surface and a top surface, three or more solid projections being integral with the top surface of the base, with each projection having a height of about 1 mm to about 4 mm and a shape that is substantially in the form of a cylinder, hexagon or octagonal prism, with a first projection being located at a distance of about 15 mm to about 50 mm away from the nearest adjacent second projection.[0003]Embodiments of the construction and support pad may include one or more of the foll...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The patent text describes a toy construction and support pad for objects such as figurines and action figures. The pad has projections on its surface that can be mated with recesses on the bottom of the objects, allowing them to be placed and secured without needing additional support. The pad can be made from a resin polymer and can be used in applications such as stop motion animation and educational play. The technical effects of this invention include providing a convenient and flexible way to position and support various objects, making it easier to create and animate short animations and videos.

Problems solved by technology

Oftentimes, these figures are difficult to keep upright without some form of supporting structure.

In particular, creating an animation of a figurine in the middle of a movement, such as taking a step or falling down is a huge challenge in the stop motion animation industry.

In the past, stands have been used which typically hold up the torso of the figurine or contour to the bottom feet of the figurine, however, such structures are difficult to hide in frames and are therefore obtrusive in the animation and detract from the lifelike appearance of the movements.

This technique is extremely labor intensive, however, since it requires a new hole to be drilled into the board for every movement or position of the figurine.

However, these baseplates are unsuitable for attaching pre-manufactured figurines, such as those manufactured by Hasbro® or Mattel®, which typically include feet having a substantially flat bottom surface and a small circular recess within this surface, much smaller than the projections found in the above-mentioned baseplates.

These types of figurines contain no compatible components to secure to the LEGO® baseplate or any other known baseplate, for that matter.

Therefore, users wishing to interactively pose such figurines for varying purposes such as imaginary play or stop motion animation cannot do so with what is available currently in the market.

Furthermore, the LEGO® system provides several limitations and / or disadvantages in the field of both stop motion animation and imaginary play for children.

First, because the LEGO® baseplates are matable only with accompanying LEGO® blocks and little figures, users are limited to only to the stylistic and design choices of products provided by LEGO®.

For example, the characters resembling people have a box like configuration and have a limited range of motion which limits the type of scenes or action that can be produced.

Next, these products do not appear lifelike, unlike many of the figurines and action figures available on the market today.

Therefore, users wishing to create a more lifelike experience are unable to do so with the LEGO® system.

Furthermore, the placement of the foot of the toy doll provides instability, since there are protrusions that the foot must rest upon in the '685 design.

Therefore, the ability to achieve a variety of poses with the doll is severely limited.

Lastly, there is no disclosure in the '685 patent of a pad to be used for the movement and posing of preexisting figurines / action figures.

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