A bouncy toy with a plush toy-like appearance.

Abstract

This application relates to a toy comprising an internal ball structure containing a highly elastic material capable of bouncing off hard surfaces, and a plush fabric skin configured to cover the internal ball structure such that the outer surface of the plush fabric does not significantly affect, or significantly weaken, the bouncing ability of the internal bouncing ball structure when it collides with a surface.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention generally relates to stuffed toys. More particularly, the present invention relates to a bouncing toy having the appearance of a stuffed toy.

Background Art

[0002] Conventional bouncing balls typically have a smooth and hard outer surface. For example, the "Super Ball" disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 3,241,834 is a highly elastic and rigid ball or sphere. The Super Ball can bounce highly due to the highly compressed polybutadiene rubber. These balls bounce well, but the outer surface of the Super Ball is smooth and flat.

[0003] Conventional stuffed toys are also known. An example of a spherical stuffed toy is the Ty Beanie Ballz (registered trademark) line of stuffed toys, sometimes called Ty Puffies (registered trademark). These plush balls have a soft and fluffy outer surface and generally include a funny character face. Beanie Ballz (registered trademark) can be thrown and are soft, but are filled with stuffing similar to that of animal stuffed toys and do not produce a meaningful bounce. There are other stuffed toys, but none of these stuffed toys bounce well enough to provide the fun and enjoyment of conventional bouncing balls.

[0004] In view of the above, there is still a need for an improved stuffed toy.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0005] [Figure 1] A diagram showing a bouncing stuffed toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] A diagram showing various character or animal designs that can be included in a bouncing stuffed toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 3A]This figure shows a method for forming a bouncy plush toy according to an exemplary embodiment. [Figure 3B] This figure shows a method for forming a bouncy plush toy according to an exemplary embodiment. [Figure 3C] This figure shows a method for forming a bouncy plush toy according to an exemplary embodiment. [Figure 3D] This figure shows a method for forming a bouncy plush toy according to an exemplary embodiment. [Figure 4] This figure shows a sewing pattern for forming a bouncy plush toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 5] This figure shows a method for manufacturing a bouncy ball toy according to an exemplary embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0006] While many different embodiments of the present invention are possible, specific detailed embodiments are shown in the drawings and described herein, based on the understanding that this disclosure is intended to illustrate the principles of the present invention. The present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific illustrated embodiments.

[0007] Embodiments disclosed herein may include a bouncy ball toy having a plush fabric outer surface. The plush fabric outer surface may be formed over the entire internal bouncy ball structure so as not to significantly affect, or significantly weaken, the bouncing ability of the internal bouncy ball structure when it collides with a hard object. The internal ball structure may include a highly elastic material and may provide greater bounce and dynamism after colliding with a hard object. In fact, the internal ball structure can provide sufficient bounce and dynamism even when surrounded by the plush fabric outer surface so that a bouncy ball toy with a plush fabric outer surface still provides the fun and excitement of bouncing the ball.

[0008] In some embodiments, the outer surface of the plush fabric may include fabric or other fibers to provide a furry texture to the bouncy ball toy. The plush fabric may include pile to give the plush fabric a napped or fuzzy surface. The pile may give the plush fabric a furry texture. In some embodiments, the pile length may be 3 to 50 mm, but the pile length may be any length. In one embodiment, the pile length may be 5 mm, as a longer pile length may affect the bounce. In some embodiments, the pile length of the outer surface of the plush fabric may depend on the character or animal depicted by the bouncy ball toy. According to another embodiment, the outer surface of the plush fabric may include facial features such as sewn-on eyes, nose and mouth, as well as sewn-on ends such as ears, whiskers, legs, or arms. In embodiments including facial features and ends, the facial features may be formed using a stiff fabric such as cotton, polyester, or nylon yarn to create a stiff surface after weaving so that the facial features do not significantly affect the bounce. In embodiments having an end, the end may include a soft, flexible fabric that does not affect the bounce of the bouncy ball toy.

[0009] Embodiments of bouncy ball toys disclosed herein can provide children or other users with a multi-functional experience. While bouncing like a bouncy ball during play, the bouncy ball toy can offer a soft, plush feel, thereby providing users with additional fun and an engaging experience. In some embodiments, the bouncy ball toy can feature animals, cartoons, or other faces on the ball to make the toy visually appealing and attractive to children. Furthermore, the plush fabric, by including the aforementioned pile, can create a three-dimensional fiber with a furry appearance, making the toy cuddly and fun to grasp even without bouncing.

[0010] Embodiments of the bouncy ball toy having a plush fabric outer surface disclosed herein can be spherical in shape to any diameter, but in preferred embodiments, the bouncy ball toy can be small enough for a child to grasp (e.g., 5-10 cm in diameter). However, other diameter sizes are also conceivable (e.g., 10 inches in diameter, roughly the size of a kickball).

[0011] The plush fabric outer surface is attached to the inner ball structure in a manner that does not significantly affect the bounce or movement. Even when covered with plush fabric, a bounce ball toy with a plush outer surface can bounce off hard surfaces for 55-70% of its drop height (for example, dropping the ball from a height of 3 feet can result in a bounce of 2 feet). The impressive bounce performance of a bounce ball toy may be created by a combination of an inner ball structure containing a highly elastic material such as polyurethane, and careful attachment of the plush fabric outer surface to the inner ball structure to ensure a tight fit between the outer surface of the inner ball structure and the plush fabric outer surface, without wrinkles or bubbles.

[0012] Figure 1 shows a bouncy plush toy 100 having a plush fabric outer surface according to one embodiment. As shown, the bouncy plush toy 100 may include a plush fabric outer surface 110, edges 120, and facial features 130-134 formed on the plush fabric outer surface. According to an exemplary embodiment, the bouncy ball toy 100 may resemble an animal or other cartoon character. The embodiment illustrated in Figure 1 depicts a bouncy ball toy 100 having a husky dog ​​character having ear edges 120, as well as facial features 130-134 including eyes 130, a snout 132, and a mouth 134. Other characters or animals can be depicted using different plush fabric colors, different edges, and different facial features, as shown in Figure 2. In addition, various characters and animals may include plush fabric outer surfaces having different pile lengths.

[0013] Referring again to Figure 1, the bouncy ball toy 100 can be spherical in shape. The outer surface of the plush fabric 110 may include pile (e.g., 5-40 mm) that gives the plush fabric a three-dimensional feel, which can mimic the fur of an animal character depicted by the edges 120 and facial features 130-134.

[0014] The end 120 may be sewn to the plush fabric outer surface 110 at the base of the plush fabric outer surface 110 or under the pile of the plush fabric outer surface 110. In other words, the end may not be attached to the fibers forming the pile of the plush fabric outer surface 110. The end 120 may include a soft and flexible fabric so as not to affect the bounce of the bouncy ball toy 100, such as causing the bouncy ball to bounce unexpectedly or the bouncy ball to bounce off the end 120. The end 120 may be cut separately using a stencil or other guide and sewn using a thin but stiff thread. In this case as well, the thread is selected so as not to weaken or affect the bounce of the bouncy ball toy 100. In some embodiments, the end 120 may include a plush fabric having a shorter pile length than the plush fabric outer surface 100. In most embodiments, the edges may not be attached to the outer surface of the plush fabric via glue or other adhesives, as these materials may affect the consistent bounce of the bouncy ball toy.

[0015] The bouncy ball toy 100 includes an internal ball structure, which is not visible in Figure 1, because the plush fabric outer surface 100 can completely cover the internal ball structure. Referring to Figure 3A, the internal ball structure 302 can be seen together with the plush fabric skin 304 (formed by a sewing profile described later, referring to Figure 4). The plush fabric skin 304 may include the plush fabric outer surface 110, the edges 120, and the facial features 130-134 described with reference to Figure 1. That is, the skin 304 can be fully formed before the internal ball structure 302 is stuffed into the skin 304. The skin 304 may be spherical in shape and may have a pocket for receiving the internal ball structure. If the seam is open, it may provide an opening into the pocket before the seam is closed to cover the internal ball structure, and the seam may have a length substantially the same as the diameter of the internal ball structure. As shown in Figure 3B, the internal ball structure 302 is inserted into or stuffed into the plush fabric skin 304 through an unsewn seam 306 within the plush fabric skin 304. The plush fabric skin 304 has a size and shape that corresponds to the diameter of the internal ball structure 302, and the plush fabric skin 304 can fit tightly around the entire internal ball structure. In addition, the seam 306 of the plush fabric skin 304 can be substantially the same length as the diameter of the internal ball structure 302.

[0016] As shown in Figure 3C, the seam 306 is sewn tightly throughout the entire internal ball structure, and as shown in Figure 3D, the seam can be sewn tightly by using a rigid thread and stretching the plush fabric skin 304 throughout the entire internal ball structure 302, thereby minimizing wrinkles in the plush fabric skin 304 that could weaken or substantially hinder the ability of the internal ball structure 302 to provide bounce fun. To prevent wrinkles, bubbles, or any other impediments to the tight wrapping of the plush fabric skin 304 throughout the entire internal ball structure 302, the plush fabric skin 304 may include a relatively small number of patterns and a relatively long seam. In one embodiment, the seam 306 may be the same as or substantially the same length as the diameter of the internal ball structure 302. In addition, the sewing pattern (shown in Figure 4) must have arc lengths that are very precise and symmetrical.

[0017] In some embodiments, the plush fabric skin 304 may be attached to the internal ball structure 302 without glue or other adhesives, as glue may weaken the rebound. Furthermore, to ensure rebound, the seam allowance between the seams must be uniform. In addition, the seams 306 must be sewn very tightly with stiff thread and with sufficient force by any sewing work to ensure a tight fit of the plush fabric skin 304 throughout the internal ball structure 302.

[0018] In some embodiments, the internal ball structure 302 may contain polyurethane to provide a highly elastic structure that bounces off hard objects. In preferred embodiments, the polyurethane material of the internal ball structure 302 may have the chemical compositions shown in Table 1. [Table 1]

[0019] However, any highly elastic material, including rigid rubber or other highly elastic polymers, is contemplated for the internal ball structure 302. In some embodiments, the internal ball structure 302 may include a foam, but the foamed internal ball structure 302 may not provide a sufficient bounce response for some applications.

[0020] In some embodiments, the plush fabric 110 may include an XTM fabric. The XTM fabric may include fibers with a pile length of 5 mm and 450 grams / yard. However, any plush fabric is contemplated for the plush fabric 110.

[0021] The plush fabric skin 304 can be formed by the sewing pattern 400 shown in FIG. 4. The sewing pattern 400 can include a plurality of sewing pattern sections, resulting in a spherical skin. The sewing pattern 400 can include plush fabric outer sections including a rear section 402, a face section 404, an occipital section 406, and an abdominal portion 408. The plush fabric outer sections 402-408 are sewn together to form the plush fabric outer surface 110. In particular, the rear section 402 includes a seam 306 along the side of the rear section described above. The sewing pattern 400 shown in FIG. 4 is exemplary, and other sewing patterns are contemplated based on the character or animal depicted by the bounce ball toy 100.

[0022] In addition to the plush fabric outer sections 402-408, the sewing pattern 400 can include end sections including a tail section 410, a tuft section 412, an ear section 414, and a horn section 416. The number and type of the end sections 410-416 may depend on the character or animal depicted by the bounce ball toy 100.

[0023] Furthermore, the sewing pattern 400 may also include facial feature sections such as an inner nose and mouth section 420 and a nose and mouth section 422. The nose and mouth section 422 may overlap the inner nose and mouth section 420 so that the nose and mouth or snout is slightly lifted on the outer surface 110 of the plush fabric to give the appearance and feel of a small nose or snout. The combination of the inner nose and mouth section 420 and the nose and mouth section 422 may be stiff enough so as not to excessively weaken the bounce of the bouncy ball toy.

[0024] Figure 5 shows a method 500 for manufacturing an exemplary bouncy ball toy according to the embodiments described herein. As shown in Figure 5, method 500 may include forming an internal ball structure in step 502. In some embodiments, the internal ball structure is purchased pre-formed or formed using known methods. Furthermore, method 40 may include cutting a plush fabric according to a sewing pattern, such as the sewing pattern illustrated in Figure 4, in step 504. In step 506, the outer sections of the plush fabric may be sewn together to form a plush fabric outer surface 110. The person or machine sewing may leave the seam 306 open as part of the sewing step 506. The method may further include forming a plush fabric skin 304 by sewing any edges or facial features to the plush fabric outer surface or any unsewn portion of the plush fabric outer surface in step 508. Next, in step 510, the internal ball structure 302 is inserted into the plush fabric skin 304 through the seam 306, and then in step 512, the seam is tightly sewn closed. To ensure that there are no wrinkles when the plush skin 304 covers the internal ball structure 302, the plush skin 304 may be stretched over the entire internal ball structure when the seam is sewn closed.

[0025] A bouncy ball toy with a plush fabric exterior provides a fun and appealing bouncy ball with an intriguing, soft, and cuddly exterior, thereby offering a multi-functional toy experience. Thus, a bouncy ball toy with a plush fabric exterior solves the problems of conventional technology.

[0026] Although several embodiments have been described in detail above, other modifications are possible. For example, the steps described above do not necessarily require a specific order or sequence to achieve the desired result. Other steps may be provided, steps may be excluded from the described flow, and other components may be added to or removed from the described system. Other embodiments may also be within the scope of the present invention.

[0027] From the above, it will be observed that numerous modifications and alterations may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. It should be understood that no limitation is intended and should not be assumed to be limited to any particular system or method described herein. Naturally, it is intended to cover all such modifications that fall within the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. It is a toy, An internal ball structure containing a highly elastic material capable of bouncing back strongly from a hard surface, A plush fabric skin is configured to cover the internal ball structure so that when it collides with the surface, the outer surface of the plush fabric does not significantly affect or weaken the bouncing ability of the internal bouncing ball structure, An end of the plush fabric skin, including a soft and flexible fabric sewn to the outer surface of the plush fabric, wherein the soft and flexible fabric is selected to prevent the toy from bouncing unexpectedly or the toy from bouncing off the end, A facial feature comprising a rigid fabric sewn onto the outer surface of the plush fabric skin, wherein the facial feature is sewn to create a hard surface, thereby preventing unpredictable and unexpected bounces by the internal ball structure, A toy equipped with [a certain feature].

2. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the highly elastic material includes polyurethane.

3. The toy according to claim 2, wherein the polyurethane comprises toluene diisocyanate, polyether polyol, tin octanoate, silicone oil, and color cream.

4. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the plush fabric skin includes pile and gives the plush fabric a fur-like texture.

5. The toy according to claim 4, wherein the length of the pile is 3 to 50 mm.

6. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the plush fabric skin includes XTM fabric.

7. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the plush fabric skin is attached to the internal ball structure in a manner that does not significantly affect the bounce or dynamism, by stretching the plush fabric skin over the entire internal ball structure and securely sewing the seams together.

8. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the toy resembles an animal or a cartoon character.

9. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the plush fabric skin is spherical in shape and designed to have a pocket for receiving the internal ball structure, and an open seam provides an opening into the pocket before the seam is closed to cover the internal ball structure, and the seam has a length substantially the same as the diameter of the internal ball structure.

10. To form an internal ball structure containing a highly elastic material that can bounce back strongly from a hard surface, Cutting out sewing patterns to create multiple plush fabric sections, The plurality of plush fabric portions are sewn together according to the aforementioned sewing pattern to form a spherical plush fabric skin. Leaving the seams on the plush fabric skin open, wherein the seams are substantially the same diameter as the diameter of the internal ball structure, Inserting the internal ball structure into the plush fabric skin through the aforementioned seam, The aforementioned seams are securely sewn together, and the internal ball structure is covered with the plush fabric skin. Cutting the edges of a soft and flexible fabric according to the aforementioned sewing pattern, The aforementioned end portion is sewn to the plush fabric skin, Cutting out facial features according to the aforementioned sewing pattern, The aforementioned facial features are sewn onto the plush fabric skin, Includes, The aforementioned soft and flexible fabric is selected to prevent the toy from bouncing unexpectedly or from being thrown off by its edges. A manufacturing method wherein the rigid fabric face is sewn in such a way that it creates a hard surface, thereby preventing unexpected bounces from the internal ball structure.

11. The method according to claim 11, wherein the high-elasticity material includes polyurethane.

12. The method according to claim 12, wherein the polyurethane comprises toluene diisocyanate, polyether polyol, tin octanoate, silicone oil, and color cream.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the plush fabric skin includes pile and gives the plush fabric a fur-like texture.

14. The method according to claim 14, wherein the length of the pile is 3 to 50 mm.

15. The method according to claim 11, wherein the plush fabric skin includes XTM fabric.

16. It is a toy, An internal ball structure containing a highly elastic material capable of bouncing back strongly from a hard surface, A plush fabric skin is configured to cover the internal ball structure so that when it collides with the surface, the outer surface of the plush fabric does not significantly affect or weaken the bouncing ability of the internal bouncing ball structure, An end of the plush fabric skin, including a soft and flexible fabric sewn to the outer surface of the plush fabric, wherein the soft and flexible fabric is selected to prevent the toy from bouncing unexpectedly or bouncing off the end, A facial feature sewn onto the outer surface of the plush fabric skin, wherein the facial feature is sewn in such a way that it creates a hard surface, thereby preventing unexpected bouncing by the internal ball structure, Equipped with, The plush fabric skin includes pile, giving the plush fabric a fur-like texture. A toy in which the length of the aforementioned pile is 3 to 10 mm.

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