Inflatable self-sealing toy

Abstract

A toy including an opening portion, a wall portion connected to the opening portion, an inner chamber adjacent to the wall portion, at least one object disposed within the inner chamber, and an outer wall portion forming the inner chamber. The wall portion is self-sealing. The inner chamber is expandable and the outer wall portion is stretchable.

Description

BACKGROUND

[0001] 1. Field

[0002] The embodiments relate to inflatable toys, and more particularly to inflatable toys with a self-sealing portion.

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0004] There are many inflatable toys on the market today that typically include an opening for air to enter (e.g., a person blows/forces air into the opening) and a fitting that is inserted into the opening to prevent air from leaking out of the toy. Other toys exist where air is forced from one portion of the toy to another to cause the other portion to have an entertainment effect, such as squeezing a body and forcing air to make eyes seem to pop out. While the aforementioned toys are entertaining, there is always room in the market for new toys.

SUMMARY

[0005] One embodiment includes a toy including an opening portion, a wall portion connected to the opening portion, an inner chamber connected to the wall portion, at least one object disposed within the inner chamber, and an outer portion surrounding the inner chamber. The wall portion is self-sealing. The inner chamber is expandable and the outer portion is stretchable.

[0006] Another embodiment includes an inflatable toy including a body having an inner chamber, a wall portion having one side within the inner chamber and another side outside of the inner chamber, and at least one object disposed within the inner chamber. Air introduced into the inner chamber through a temporary hole made in the wall portion by a tool. The Air is retained when the tool is removed from the wall portion, as the wall self-seals.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The embodiments discussed herein generally relate to inflatable self-sealing toys. Referring to the figures, exemplary embodiments will now be described. The exemplary embodiments are provided to illustrate the embodiments and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments.

[0008] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment including a toy with a self-sealing wall portion in a normal/deflated state.

[0009] FIG. 2 illustrates the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1 in an inflated/expanded state.

[0010] FIG. 3 illustrates the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 illustrating a means for forcing air into an inner chamber.

[0011] FIG. 4 illustrates an inner view of air being forced into an embodiment.

[0012] FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment in a normal/deflated state.

[0013] FIG. 6 illustrates the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5 in an inflated/expanded state.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] The invention generally relates to inflatable self-sealing toys. Referring to the figures, exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be described. The exemplary embodiments are provided to illustrate the invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of an inflatable toy 100. Toy 100 is illustrated as a frog shaped toy, but one should note that other embodiments have different shapes and sizes, such as other amphibians, mammals, people, automobiles, robots, dinosaurs, birds, fish, motorcycles, balls, houses, cakes, etc. In one embodiment toy 100 is made of an elastic material, such as rubber, elastomer, etc.

[0016] In one embodiment toy 100 includes an outer wall portion and an inner wall portion with a chamber portion separating the inner and outer wall portions. In one embodiment the chamber portion (see FIG. 4, 325) is filled with expanded polystyrene (EPS) beads (see FIG. 4, 320), which give toy 100 support between the inner and outer wall portions and also effects the feel of toy 100 when squeezed. In another embodiment, other types of beads, such as styrofoam, etc. can be used as filler. Other toys or balls can also be placed inside the chamber portion (e.g., plastic stars, spiders, etc.). In yet another embodiment toy 100 has an outer wall that varies in thickness around toy 100. In this embodiment, the variation in thickness of the outer wall contributes to varying stretchability of the outer wall.

[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates toy 100 in an inflated state. As illustrated, air is forced into toy 100 through a self-sealing wall portion (see FIG. 4, 310). As illustrated, only a portion of toy 100 inflates when air is forced into the inner chamber. In this embodiment, due to the variation of thickness of the outer wall of toy 100, the portion that is thinner stretches out before the thicker portion. In this embodiment, the addition of air to the chamber portion can have varying effect on the inflated shape of toy 100. This leads to entertaining distortions of toy 100. In one embodiment, the amount of air added into the inner chamber can vary causing the size of the inflated toy 100 to also vary. In one embodiment, appendages of toy 100 (e.g., legs, arms, head, tail, etc.) and an opening (see FIG. 3, 304) retain their original shape when toy 100 is inflated. In another embodiment, one or more of these appendages is part of chamber portion 325 and expand when air is forced into chamber portion 325 through self-sealing wall portion 310.

[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates one means of forcing air into toy 100. In this embodiment, a tool, such as hand pump 305, having inflation needle 306 is inserted into toy 100 through self-sealing wall portion 310. In this embodiment, self-sealing wall portion 310 has a thickness that allows for inflation needle 306 to enter/exit and self-seal around the through-hole formed from inflation needle 306 to retain air. The thickness of self-sealing wall portion 310 can vary in different embodiments, e.g., 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch, 1 inch, 2 inch, etc. In one embodiment, self-sealing wall 310 is made of the same material as the inner and outer wall portions. It should be noted that while hand pump 305 is illustrated to force air into chamber portion 325, other means can be used, such as a compressor, CO.sub.2 cartridges, helium tank, etc. In another embodiment toy 100 incorporates a finger type of pump that inflates when the finger pump is repeatedly pressed. In this embodiment, a release valve is used to allow forced air to be released from chamber portion 325. In one embodiment, opening 304 is the mouth of the frog shaped (or any other living shaped toy 100) toy 100.

[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates inflation needle 306 entering opening portion 304 and piercing through self-sealing wall portion 310. In this embodiment the forced air expands chamber portion 325 and allows beads 320 to have more room to move in chamber 325 when toy 100 is handled. An inflated toy 100 can release the forced air by inserting a needle, such as inflation needle 306 into self-sealing wall portion 310 without air forcing means (e.g., hand-pump 305). The needle pierces through self-sealing wall portion so that air travels from chamber portion 325 through the needle and out of toy 100. The self-sealing wall 310 can be designed to be pierced many times (e.g., 100, 200, 500, etc.) before losing its self-sealing ability.

[0020] FIG. 5 illustrates toy 500 for an example of another shape for toy 100. In this embodiment, toy 500 is illustrated in a normal or deflated state. As illustrated, toy 500 has a reptile shape. FIG. 6 illustrates toy 500 in an inflated state where air is forced into chamber portion 325.

[0021] With the self-sealing wall portion (e.g., self-sealing wall 310), toy embodiments (e.g., toy 100, 500, etc.) provide many inflation/deflation cycles. Since varies amount of air can be forced into the above-mentioned embodiments, many different shapes and sizes are possible, which leads to less boredom and different types of play.

[0022] Reference in the specification to "an embodiment," "one embodiment," "some embodiments," or "other embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments is included in at least some embodiments, but not necessarily all embodiments. The various appearances of "an embodiment," "one embodiment," or "some embodiments" are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiments. If the specification states a component, feature, structure, or characteristic "may", "might", or "could" be included, that particular component, feature, structure, or characteristic is not required to be included. If the specification or claim refers to "a" or "an" element, that does not mean there is only one of the element. If the specification or claims refer to "an additional" element, that does not preclude there being more than one of the additional element.

[0023] While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that such embodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broad invention, and that this invention not be limited to the specific constructions and arrangements shown and described, since various other modifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A toy comprising: an opening portion; a wall portion coupled to the opening portion; an inner chamber adjacent to the wall portion; at least one object disposed within the inner chamber; and an outer wall portion forming the inner chamber, wherein the wall portion is self-sealing, the inner chamber is expandable, and the outer wall portion is stretchable.

2. The toy of claim 1, wherein the at least one object is a bead.

3. The toy of claim 2, wherein the bead is made from expandable polystyrene.

4. The toy of claim 1, wherein the inner chamber expands as air is introduced through an inflating pin that is forced to pierce through the wall portion to the inner chamber.

5. The toy of claim 4, wherein when the inflating pin is removed from the inner chamber and out of the wall portion, the wall portion self seals and the inner chamber retains the air.

6. The toy of claim 1, wherein the toy has an original deflated shape of one of a spider, a dinosaur, a reptile, an insect, a mammal, an amphibian and a fish.

7. The toy of claim 5, further comprising a plurality of appendages, wherein the plurality of appendages retain their original shape when the inner chamber is inflated.

8. The toy of claim 5, wherein when the inner chamber is inflated, deflation of the inner chamber occurs when the inflating pin is reinserted through the wall portion.

9. The toy of claim 5, wherein the wall portion remains continuously self-sealing for a plurality of insertions and removals of the inflating pin.

10. The toy of claim 6, wherein the opening portion is a mouth.

11. An inflatable toy comprising: a body having an inner chamber; a wall portion having a first side adjacent to the inner chamber and a second side outside of the inner chamber; and at least one object disposed within the inner chamber, wherein air introduced into the inner chamber through a temporary through hole made in the wall portion by a tool is retained when the tool is removed from the wall portion.

12. The inflatable toy of claim 11, wherein the body is stretchable.

13. The inflatable toy of claim 11, wherein the at least one object is a bead.

14. The inflatable toy of claim 13, wherein the bead is made from expandable polystyrene.

15. The inflatable toy of claim 11, wherein the body has an original deflated shape of one of a spider, a dinosaur, a reptile, an insect, a mammal, an amphibian and a fish.

16. The inflatable toy of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of appendages coupled to the body, wherein the plurality of appendages retain their original shape when the inner chamber is inflated.

17. The inflatable toy of claim 11, wherein when the inner chamber is inflated, deflation of the inner chamber occurs when the tool is reinserted through the wall portion.

18. The inflatable toy of claim 11, wherein the wall portion remains continuously self-sealing for a plurality of insertions and removals of the tool.

19. The inflatable toy of claim 15, wherein the body has a mouth portion coupled to the wall portion.

20. The inflatable toy of claim 11, wherein the tool is one of a hand-pump with an inflation pin and a finger press pump.