U.S. patent application number 11/761366 was filed with the patent office on 2008-12-11 for toy ball containing shakable object.
Invention is credited to Chia-Yen Lin.
Application Number | 20080305899 11/761366 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 40096404 |
Filed Date | 2008-12-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080305899 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Lin; Chia-Yen |
December 11, 2008 |
Toy Ball Containing Shakable Object
Abstract
Toy ball includes a transparent hollow ball surface layer having
a seal opening, a designed article connected with a string to a
block body, and is disposed inside the hollow portion of the
transparent ball surface layer. Furthermore, liquid is mixed with
the bright glitter pieces, can be injected into the ball from the
seal opening, and is filled inside the hollow portion of the
transparent ball surface layer. As the toy ball is shaken, the
bright glitter pieces inside the ball can be fully suspended all
around in the liquid. In addition, the designed article is to
produce a shaking motion inside the liquid of the ball because it
is constrained by the string attachment, thus the visual effect of
the toy ball can be enhanced.
Inventors: |
Lin; Chia-Yen; (Taipei,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LIN & ASSOCIATES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, INC.
P.O. BOX 2339
SARATOGA
CA
95070-0339
US
|
Family ID: |
40096404 |
Appl. No.: |
11/761366 |
Filed: |
June 11, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/594 ;
473/569 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 43/00 20130101;
A63B 37/08 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/594 ;
473/569 |
International
Class: |
A63B 43/00 20060101
A63B043/00 |
Claims
1. A transparent toy ball, comprising: a hollow portion enclosed by
a transparent ball surface layer; a seal opening on the transparent
surface layer; a designed article, connected to a block body using
a string, and disposed inside the hollow portion; and a liquid,
filled inside the hollow portion.
2. The transparent toy ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
designed article has a lower density than the liquid.
3. The transparent toy ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
block body has a higher density than the liquid.
4. The transparent toy ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
string is soft, flexible, and difficult to be broken off.
5. The transparent toy ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
liquid further comprises a plurality of decorations.
6. The transparent toy ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
surface layer is made from transparent polyurethane.
7. The transparent toy ball as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seal
opening comprises a check valve.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates to a toy ball, especially to,
a toy ball having a transparent polyurethane ball body in which a
designed article is disposed and further suspended and floated in
the liquid inside the toy ball for purpose of decoration.
[0003] 2. The Prior Arts
[0004] With reference to FIG. 1 which shows a conventional toy
ball, a designed article B is disposed inside a transparent hollow
ball A. The designed article B is integrally formed and includes a
pole B1, which is inserted inside the mould at first before the
hollow ball A is formed. After the hollow ball A has taken shape,
the pole B1 of the designed article B is fixed onto the wall of the
ball; and then liquid can be injected into the ball A by means of a
seal opening C formed on the surface of the ball A.
[0005] Although the conventional toy ball in which a designed
article B is disposed inside has some degree of novelty compared to
the conventional solid elastic ball, the designed article B is
fixed inside the ball, and to remain in the same location, and the
state of the designed article B cannot be changed even as the ball
is thrown around. Therefore, after a child has thrown the ball
repeatedly for a few times, he would soon lose interest of playing
the ball.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] Considering of the blandness of the conventional toy ball,
the objective of the present invention is to design a toy ball
including a shakable designed article and to be filled with liquid.
As the ball is shaken or rocked, the designed article can be
movable suspended to move inside the liquid in the ball.
[0007] A toy ball, provided by the present invention, includes a
transparent hollow ball which surface layer having a seal opening;
a designed article, which is connected with a string linked with a
block body, is disposed inside the hollow portion formed by the
transparent ball surface layer; and a liquid mixed with a plurality
of sparkling glitter, which can be injected into the ball from the
seal opening, and is filled inside the hollow portion formed by the
transparent ball surface layer. As the ball is shaken, the
sparkling glitter inside the ball is fully suspended in the liquid
all around, and the designed article is to shake around due to the
softness and flexibility of the string, so that the visual effect
of the toy ball can be enhanced.
[0008] The liquid mixed with the glittering decorations is injected
into the toy ball of the present invention. Therefore, as the ball
is shaken, the glittering decorations can be suspended all around
inside the liquid. The designed article, connected with the string
that is linked with the block body, can be suspended to float
inside the liquid together with the block body, as the ball is
shaken. But no matter how the ball is rocked or bounced, the block
body can fall down to contact with the wall of the ball. Eventually
because of the action of the gravitational force, the designed
article can be kept erect due to the constraint of the string and
the buoyancy of the designed article inside the liquid. Also, the
designed article is only connected with the string, and it can
produce a shaking motion inside the liquid due to the movement of
the water inside the ball. Therefore, as compared to the
conventional toy ball, the toy ball according to the present
invention is capable of producing novel visual effects.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0009] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in
the art by reading the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached
drawings, in which:
[0010] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional toy ball
containing a designed article;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a toy ball including a
shakable designed article, according to a preferred embodiment of
the present invention; and
[0012] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the state of the toy
ball including a shakable designed article being shaken, according
to the embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0013] Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the
present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. The present invention will be apparent to
those skilled in the art by reading the following detailed
description of a preferred embodiment and the skilled can operate
it according to the reference.
[0014] With reference to FIG. 2 which shows a perspective view of a
preferred embodiment according to the present invention, the toy
ball includes a transparent hollow ball in which a surface layer 1
is made from polyurethane and including a seal opening 11; and a
liquid 2 being completely filling the hollow portion of the ball
surface layer 1. In order to improve the visual effects of the
ball, bright and colorful decorations 3 can be added in the liquid
2, which can be in the form of glitter powder or bright flakes
being cut into any geometric shape. Furthermore, the hollow portion
formed by the ball surface layer 1 contains a designed article 4,
which has a lower density than the liquid 2, and can take on the
form of a toy doll, an airplane, and an animal figurine, etc. Also,
the designed article 4 is connected with a string 6 tied together
with a block body 5, which can be made from a metal having a higher
density than the liquid 2. The string 6 can be made from any string
material which is soft and difficult to be broken off, such as for
a fishing line.
[0015] The method of fabricating the toy ball, according to the
embodiment of the present invention, is to make use of a metal or
plastic mould having an upper and a lower hemispheres. A demolding
agent is sprayed onto the surfaces of the upper and lower moulds
desired to be shaped. Then the designed article 4, the string 6,
and the block body 5 all integrated together as one are disposed
into the upper mould. Next, polyurethane material is injected into
the lower mould; and the amount of material used can be determined
by the size and the thickness of the ball body. Then the upper
mould and the lower mould can be sealed together and disposed in a
rotary molding or rotary blow molding machine. By making use of
centrifugal force, the polyurethane material can be lying against
the inner wall of the mould cavity, and to gradually form the
hollow ball surface layer 1. The solidified surface layer 1 can be
used to enclose the designed article 4 tied together with the block
body 5 using the string 6, and which are separated from the ball
surface layer 1; and the designed article 4 is capable of moving
inside the ball because of the movement of the water inside the
ball. At the location of the seal opening 11, the liquid 3 mixed
with a plurality of decorations 3 (glitter) can be injected into
the inner hollowed portion of the ball surface layer 1 before the
seal opening 11 is sealed off, which can then prevent the liquid
from leaking out of the ball.
[0016] As the ball is thrown, it can easily fall down to contact
with the ground due to gravity. Moreover, because of the impact
against the ground, the interior of the ball can be shaken
fiercely, and thus the designed article 4 together with the block
body 5 and the decorations 3 inside the ball can be suspended to
float in the liquid (with reference to FIG. 3). But no matter how
the ball is rocked or bounced, the block body 5 eventually drops
down to contact against the wall of the ball because of the effect
of gravitational force; and the designed article 4 can be kept in
an erect state because of the constraint of the string 6 and the
buoyancy effect of the liquid 2. Also, because the designed article
4 is only connected with the string 6, it can float along inside
the liquid 2. Moreover, the decoration 3 inside the ball can be
fully suspended all around inside the liquid.
[0017] Therefore, by making use of the suspended designed article 4
and the decoration 3 inside the ball, the present invention can
create novel visual effects. Furthermore, a check valve can be
added to the seal opening 11 for preventing the liquid from flowing
out of the ball after the liquid is injected into the ball. Also,
because the ball surface layer 1 is made from polyurethane and is
formed using rotary molding or rotary blow molding, the fabricating
cost can be reduced greatly.
[0018] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it is apparent to
those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention which is intended to be defined by the appended
claims.
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