Stretchable Children's Toy Shell with Elastic Band Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Children aged 2-6 often experience emotional turmoil and have a rapid absorption of educational information, necessitating a toy that can aid in emotional and educational development while being enjoyable.
Innovation Solution
A children's toy featuring a shell with a hollow interior space, filled with a stretchable material, and equipped with an elastic band that allows the toy to expand and contract, providing a tactile and engaging experience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the toy is made rigid and stable, then it provides structural integrity, but it cannot be stretched or deformed for tactile engagement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible shell made of stretchable material that can be deformed and stretched while maintaining structural integrity. This flexible shell allows the toy to transition between different shapes and sizes, enabling tactile engagement while preserving overall structural strength through the elastic properties of the material.
Solution Approach 2:
The toy incorporates a dynamic structure that transitions between contracted and expanded states. The shell and internal components are designed to move and deform together, allowing the toy to be stretched and manipulated while maintaining structural coherence through coordinated movement of all parts.
2Ease of manufacture
If the toy structure is simplified, then it is easier to manufacture, but it lacks the complexity needed for educational value
Solution Approach 1:
The toy is divided into multiple segments or sections that can be independently manufactured and then assembled. This segmentation allows for simplified manufacturing of individual components while creating a more complex overall structure that provides educational value through its multi-part construction and various interactive features.
Solution Approach 2:
The toy incorporates nested structures where smaller components are housed within larger ones. This nesting approach allows complex educational features to be integrated within a simpler outer shell, maintaining manufacturing ease while providing rich interactive and educational functionality through the nested elements.
3Volume of moving object
If the toy remains in a contracted state, then it is compact and easy to store, but it does not provide sufficient space for educational materials or fillings
Solution Approach 1:
The toy features a dynamic volume that can transition between compact and expanded states. When contracted, it occupies minimal space for easy storage; when expanded, it provides ample volume to accommodate educational materials, fillings, or interactive components, thus resolving the contradiction between compactness and capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The toy uses nested structures that allow compact storage when collapsed while providing expandable capacity when needed. Educational materials and fillings are housed within nested compartments that can be accessed and expanded from the compact form, enabling both small storage footprint and large capacity when required.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The toy effectively assists children in managing emotions and learning through its expandable design, which encourages stretching and manipulation, promoting both emotional and educational development.
Implementation Method 1
a band extending through the hollow interior space, the band coupled at a first end to a first interior surface of the shell, and the band coupled at a second end to a second interior surface of the shell. The shell and the band are configured to stretch from a contracted state to an expanded state... The band is biased to the contracted state and the band biasing the shell to the contracted state.
Data Source
AI summary
A children's toy is disclosed herein. The children's toy includes a shell defining a hollow interior space and a filling housed by the shell, the filling situated within the hollow interior space. The children's toy also includes a band extending through the hollow interior space, the band coupled at a first end to a first interior surface of the shell, and the band coupled at a second end to a second interior surface of the shell. The shell and the band are configured to stretch from a contracted state to an expanded state in at least a first direction, the first direction being generally parallel with a direction in which the band longitudinally extends through the hollow interior space in the contracted state, a length of the shell is less than a length of the shell in the expanded state, and the band is biased to the contracted state and the band biasing the shell to the contracted state.