U.S. patent application number 10/894801 was filed with the patent office on 2004-12-23 for bubble wand with ornaments within a container.
Invention is credited to Bitton, Mary Kay.
Application Number | 20040259459 10/894801 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27804493 |
Filed Date | 2004-12-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040259459 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Bitton, Mary Kay |
December 23, 2004 |
Bubble wand with ornaments within a container
Abstract
A bubble wand with an ornamental figure and an ornamental bubble
loop. The ornamental figure and ornamental loop are provided in the
form of beads, shapes, letters, a small figurine of an animal,
plant, person, cartoon character, action figure, or other
attractive representation. The ornamental figure and loop are
attached to the wand or are provided with a means for releasably or
slidably attaching the ornamental figure to the wand or to a
suction tube used in many soap dispensers.
Inventors: |
Bitton, Mary Kay; (Oak Park,
CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
CROCKETT & CROCKETT
24012 CALLE DE LA PLATA
SUITE 400
LAGUNA HILLS
CA
92653
US
|
Family ID: |
27804493 |
Appl. No.: |
10/894801 |
Filed: |
July 20, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
10894801 |
Jul 20, 2004 |
|
|
|
10663185 |
Sep 16, 2003 |
|
|
|
6764370 |
|
|
|
|
10663185 |
Sep 16, 2003 |
|
|
|
10128889 |
Apr 23, 2002 |
|
|
|
6620017 |
|
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/15 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B05B 11/30 20130101;
A63H 33/28 20130101; B05B 15/37 20180201 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/015 |
International
Class: |
A63H 033/28 |
Claims
I claim:
1. A bubble forming wand assembly comprising: a shaft having first
and second ends; a bubble loop integrally attached to the first end
of the shaft; and an ornamental figurine integrally attached to the
second end of the shaft.
2. The device of claim 1 wherein the bubble loop has an ornamental
shape.
3. The device of claim 1 wherein the shaft further comprises a
plurality of bubble loops.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the shaft further comprises a
plurality of ornamental shaped bubble loops.
5. The device of claim 1 wherein the shaft is integrally formed
into an ornamental pattern.
6. The device of claim 1 wherein the shaft has at least one
ornamental shape integrally attached to it.
7. The device of claim 1 wherein the shaft has a plurality of
ornamental shapes attached to it.
8. The device of claim 1 wherein the shaft has an ornamental
shape.
9. The device of claim 1 wherein the ornamental figurine has a
two-dimensional shape.
10. The device of claim 4 wherein the ornamental figurine has a
two-dimensional shape.
11. The device of claim 5 wherein the ornamental figurine has a
two-dimensional shape.
12. A bubble forming wand assembly comprising: a shaft connected to
a bubble loop, wherein the shaft is comprised of an ornamental
figurine that is integrally formed into the shaft.
13. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine is a
character.
14. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine is a
cartoon character.
15. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine is an
action figure.
16. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine is an
animal.
17. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine is a
plant.
18. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine is a
pattern.
19. The device of claim 12 wherein the ornamental figurine has a
two-dimensional shape.
20. A toy suitable for making bubbles, said toy comprising: a
container cap adapted for releasable attachment to an opening of a
container; a shaft connected to the container cap and to a bubble
loop; and an ornamental figure integrally formed with the shaft.
Description
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Application
10/663,185, filed Sep. 16, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,764,370, which
is a continuation of U.S. Application 10/128,889, filed Apr. 23,
2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,017.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONS
[0002] This invention relates to ornaments attached to bubble wands
within containers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Bubble wands have traditionally been relatively simple
plastic wands with one or two rings attached. The wand is typically
placed loose inside the bubble mixture container so that a child
must put his or her fingers into a bubble mixture to retrieve the
wand. Furthermore, a child can easily lose the wand once the wand
is separated from the container. This frustrates the child, makes
the bubble mixture less entertaining to use, and can frustrate a
parent who must spend time looking for a lost wand. In addition,
although the market for bubble wands is large, continued sales
volume depends on innovative designs, inventions, and marketing
techniques for bubble wands. Thus, new bubble wand toys are
needed.
SUMMARY
[0004] The devices and methods described below provide for mounting
three-dimensional or two-dimensional art onto a bubble wand that is
within a transparent container. The ornamental figure attached to
the bubble wand can be used to provide amusement to children, as a
means to make finding lost bubble wands easier, as a method of
inducing children to bathe longer, as an inducement for both
children and adults to use more soap or more bubble mixture, as an
advertising medium and tie-in for commercial exploitation of
characters, as a promotional item for various events, or merely as
a novelty item. Note that the terms figure, figurine, ornamental
figure, and ornamental figurine are used interchangeably
herein.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0005] FIG. 1 shows a transparent container with a bubble wand
shaft secured to the container cap, a three-dimensional ornamental
figure attached to the shaft, and an ornamental bubble loop.
[0006] FIG. 2 shows a transparent container with a bubble wand
shaft secured to the container cap, where the shaft comprises an
ornamental figure.
[0007] FIG. 3 shows a bubble wand disposed within a transparent
container, a two-dimensional ornamental figure formed as a part of
the bubble wand shaft, two bubble loops attached to the shaft, and
a plurality of smaller bubble holes disposed in the ornamental
figure.
[0008] FIG. 4 shows a transparent container with a pump dispenser,
a suction tube secured to the container cap, a three-dimensional
ornamental figure attached to the suction tube, and a bubble loop
attached to the suction tube.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0009] FIG. 1 shows a container 1, a container cap 2 releasably
attached to an opening in the container, a shaft 3 attached to the
container cap, a three-dimensional ornamental FIG. 4 releasably
attached to the shaft 3, and an ornamental bubble loop 5 attached
to the shaft. Together the shaft 3 or shafts and any bubble loops 5
comprise a bubble wand. The container 1 is a bottle, cylinder, or
other container capable of holding soap or other bubble mixture.
The container may be transparent to show the fluid inside, as well
as anything else held inside the bottle. However, the container may
be opaque and be made into any shape, such as a character, plant,
animal, geometrical design, or other design. The container cap 2,
which has an inner surface and an outer surface (or a top and a
bottom), comprises a securing means for securing the contents of
the bottle. The container cap may be a cap, screw-on lid, flip-top
lid, snap-top lid, dispensing tip, or other securing mechanism.
[0010] The shaft 3, ornamental FIG. 4, and loop 5 comprise a wand
assembly, which may be sized and proportioned to fit inside the
bubble mixture container. Although the wand assembly of FIG. 1 is
attached to the container cap, the wand assembly may be loose
within the container 1 or may be releasably or slidably attached to
the container cap. For example, the container cap 2 may be fitted
with a receiving bore such that the wand assembly may be releasably
or slidably attached to the receiving bore. A resilient seal would
prevent leakage of the bubble mixture in the case of a slidable
attachment.
[0011] The wand assembly components may be disposed about each
other in different ways. The ornamental FIG. 4 may be releasably,
fixedly, or slidably wrapped around the bubble wand 3 by a
receiving bore, clip, glue, or other attachable or slidable means
for attaching the figure to the wand. The shaft 3, loop 5, and the
ornamental FIG. 4 may be separate from each other or from the
container 1 or container cap 2. For example, the shaft and loop may
be connected to each other (and together be free floating in the
container) and the ornamental figure may be free-floating in the
container. The bubble loop 5 may be releasably, fixedly, or
slidably attached to the bubble wand. In addition, the bubble loop
5 may be formed as part of the ornamental figurine 4. For example,
the bubble loop may be placed in the middle of the figurine or may
be made a part of the figurine's face.
[0012] The various parts of the wand assembly in FIG. 1 may be made
in any form, such as a character, cartoon, action figure, animal,
plant, pattern, set of beads, shapes, letters, or other attractive
representation in the form of an ornamental figure. For example, in
FIG. 1 the ornamental FIG. 4 is a whimsical representation of a
dolphin and the bubble loop 5 is a whimsical representation of a
heart. In another example, shown in FIG. 2, the shaft 3 is
integrally fashioned into an ornamental pattern of flowers or beads
6. The shaft is securely attached to the inside of the container
cap 2 and the bubble loop 5 is annular. In another example, shown
in FIG. 3, a two-dimensional whimsical representation of a mouse 7
is formed as part of the shaft 3, which is free-floating in the
container 1 (not attached to the cap 2). The wand has two larger
annular bubble loops 5 and a plurality of smaller bubble holes 8
placed in the ornamental mouse 7. Thus, one may blow larger bubbles
out of the two bubble loops 5 or may blow many smaller bubbles from
the holes 8 in the ornamental mouse 7.
[0013] FIG. 4 shows a transparent container 1 with a pump dispenser
9, a suction tube 10 releasably attached to a dispenser cap 2 that
is itself releasably attached to an opening in the container, an
ornamental FIG. 4 releasably attached to the suction tube 10, and a
bubble loop 5 attached to the suction tube 10. In the alternative,
the suction tube 10 may be fixedly or slidably attached .to the
container cap 2, the ornamental FIG. 4 may be fixedly or slidably
attached to the suction tube 10, and the bubble loop 5 may be
releasably or slidably attached to the suction tube 10.
[0014] A dispensing tip 11 may be a dropper dispenser for use with
bubble producing materials such as Softsoap.RTM. or other liquid
soap. The dispensing tip is in fluid communication with the pump
and the pump is in fluid communication with the suction tube 10
such that bubble mixture may be hand pumped from within the
container to the dispensing tip. The suction tube 10 typically
extends downward to the bottom of the container 1, and may be extra
long so that it must bend to fit into the container. The suction
tube 10 is typically a round or cylindrical tube, although it might
have many different cross sections and resemble different
characters, shapes, animals, plants, patterns, things, or other
ornamental designs.
[0015] As with the embodiment in FIG. 1, the bubble loop 5 and
ornamental FIG. 4 may comprise any ornamental shape, including two-
or three-dimensional shapes, animals, plants, things, characters,
geometric patterns, and other ornamental designs. Moreover, the
materials of the wand assembly, pump, dispensing tip, cap, or
bottle may be made from a material that glows in the dark.
[0016] Other versions of the bubble wand, figurine, and container
are possible. For example, a separate ornamental figure and bubble
loop may be attached to the top of the container cap in addition to
the figure and bubble loop attached to the shaft. Such a bubble
wand comprises a double-sided bubble wand. Thus, one can open the
container cap, flip the container cap over, dip the top figurine
into the bubble mixture, and use the cap figurine as a second
bubble wand. In another embodiment, multiple figures may be placed
on a single bubble wand or suction tube, with each figure rotatably
attached to a central bar on the wand by means of a small loop on
the bottom of each figure and each figure stacked behind the other.
In addition, each figure may have both a bubble loop at the end of
each figure and multiple bubble holes disposed in each figure. In
another embodiment multiple figurines may be disposed directly on
the bubble wand or suction tube. In addition, a wide cap may also
be placed on the side of the container, (or on the top of a wide
container) thus allowing for wide figurines and for wide bubble
loops that can make large bubbles.
[0017] The various embodiments of the bubble wand with ornaments
within a container may be packaged and marked to indicate their use
as a bubble-making toy. Where the bubble mixture is soap, the
embodiments should be packaged and marked to indicate its dual use
as a bubble-making toy and as soap. The packages are displayed or
placed so that prospective purchasers will find them with other
bubble-making toys and with other soaps. Alternatively, the
packages are placed by themselves or near unrelated products in
order to generate more interest in the product. In addition,
retailers may place associated displays, indicating the intended
use of the various embodiments in proximity to the product, or
elsewhere as a promotional display.
[0018] Thus, while the preferred embodiments of the devices and
methods have been described in reference to the environment in
which they were developed, they are merely illustrative of the
principles of the inventions. Other embodiments and configurations
may be devised without departing from the spirit of the inventions
and the scope of the appended claims.
* * * * *