U.S. patent application number 12/496196 was filed with the patent office on 2011-01-06 for segmented high-bounce toy water ball.
Invention is credited to Mark J. CHERNICK, Webb T. NELSON.
Application Number | 20110003655 12/496196 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43412978 |
Filed Date | 2011-01-06 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110003655 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
CHERNICK; Mark J. ; et
al. |
January 6, 2011 |
Segmented High-Bounce Toy Water Ball
Abstract
A toy water ball assembly and its method of construction. The
toy water ball has a transparent shell that defines an enclosed
interior space. At least one partition is placed within the
interior space. The partition divides the interior space into a
plurality of isolated compartments that can be viewed through the
material of the shell. Fill material is provided that is comprised
primarily of liquid mixed with solid particulate matter. Each of
the isolated compartments is filled with fill material, but not the
same fill material. The fill material within at least two of the
isolated compartments have different appearances when viewed
through the transparent shell. The individual compartments may be
separable from the whole.
Inventors: |
CHERNICK; Mark J.;
(Woodinville, WA) ; NELSON; Webb T.; (Woodinville,
WA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LAMORTE & ASSOCIATES P.C.
P.O. BOX 434
YARDLEY
PA
19067
US
|
Family ID: |
43412978 |
Appl. No.: |
12/496196 |
Filed: |
July 1, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
473/594 ;
446/267; 446/491 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63B 43/008 20130101;
A63B 39/00 20130101; A63B 39/08 20130101; A63B 43/00 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
473/594 ;
446/267; 446/491 |
International
Class: |
A63B 43/00 20060101
A63B043/00 |
Claims
1. A toy ball assembly, comprising: a transparent shell defining an
enclosed interior space; at least one partition within said
interior space that defines said interior space into a plurality of
isolated compartments; and fill material, comprised primarily of
liquid, filling each of said plurality of isolated compartments,
wherein said fill material within at least two of said isolated
compartments have different appearances when viewed through said
transparent shell.
2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said transparent
shell is fabricated from a resilient transparent polymer.
3. The assembly according to claim 2, wherein said transparent
shell has a wall thickness of between 0.5 cm and 1.5 cm.
4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said fill material
contains visible particulate matter.
5. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of
isolated compartments all hold an equal volume of said fill
material.
6. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein said plurality of
isolated compartments are symmetrically disposed about a common
imaginary axis.
7. A toy ball assembly, comprising: a spherical ball having a
transparent exterior and containing a plurality of segments,
wherein each of said segments defines an interior space; fill
material, comprised primarily of liquid filling each said interior
space of said segments, wherein said fill material within at least
two of said segments present different appearances when viewed
through said ball.
8. The assembly according to claim 7, wherein said segments are
selectively attachable and detachable from said ball.
9. The assembly according to claim 8, wherein each of said segments
includes at least one mechanical connector for selectively
connecting with others of said segments to form said ball.
10. The assembly according to claim 8, wherein each of said
segments is identical in both shape and size.
11. The assembly according to claim 8, wherein each of said
plurality of segments hold an equal volume of said fill
material.
12. The assembly according to claim 8, wherein said plurality of
segments are symmetrically disposed about a common imaginary
axis.
13. The assembly according to claim 12, wherein said transparent
exterior is comprised of a resilient polyurethane based
polymer.
14. The assembly according to claim 13, wherein said transparent
exterior has a wall thickness of between 0.5 cm and 1.5 cm.
15. A toy ball assembly, comprising: a hollow transparent ball
shell that defines an interior space; at least one partition within
said shell that divides said interior space into a plurality of
isolated compartments; and liquid fill material filling each of
said isolated compartments, wherein said fill material is visible
through said transparent ball shell.
16. The assembly according to claim 15, wherein said liquid fill
material used to fill at least two of said isolated compartments
have different visual characteristics.
17. The assembly according to claim 15, wherein said liquid fill
material contains solid particulate matter.
18. The assembly according to claim 15, wherein each of said
isolated compartments are equal in size.
19. The assembly according to claim 15, wherein said plurality of
isolated sections all hold an equal volume of said fill material.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] In general, the present invention relates to toy balls
wherein the ball is filled with water or another liquid. The
present invention also relates to toy balls having multiple
interior compartments.
[0003] 2. Prior Art Description
[0004] Bouncing toy balls made from an inflated rubber or plastic
shell have been in existence for well over a century. Glass globes,
often called "snow globes" that are filled with water and glitter
have been in existence for at least three centuries. However, it
has only been in the past few years that these technologies have
been combined by toy manufacturers who have begun to make
bounceable toy balls out of clear plastic that is filled with water
and glitter.
[0005] Opaque toy balls that are filled partially with liquids are
produced for many functional reasons. For example, many golf balls
have been made with liquid filled cores to provide better
resilience. Likewise, street hockey balls have been partially
filled with water to impede the ball from rolling. However, such
prior art uses liquid fill for functional reasons not for visual
aesthetics.
[0006] In recent years, formulations for polyurethane and similar
polymers have been developed that enable a bounceable ball with a
transparent shell to be created. The shell is strong enough to
resist rupturing even if the shell is completely filled with liquid
and the ball is repeatedly bounced against a hard surface. In the
toy industry, such liquid filled balls have become known as "water
balls".
[0007] Since water balls can be made with a transparent shell,
water balls are often filled with water that is mixed with dye,
glitter, and other particulates and/or colorants. This fill
provides the toy ball with the characteristics of a snow globe,
wherein a person can view the swirling fill material when the ball
is agitated. However, in such prior art water balls, the water ball
defines only one internal compartment. As such, only one
formulation of fill material can be used in any one water ball.
[0008] The present invention sets forth a water ball with multiple
distinct internal chambers. The contents of each chamber can be
viewed through the structure of the toy ball. As such, more than
one fill material can be used to fill the toy ball, thereby greatly
increasing the visual complexities of the toy ball. The present
invention toy ball is described and claimed below.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] The present invention is a toy water ball assembly and its
method of construction. The toy water ball has a transparent shell
that defines an enclosed interior space. At least one partition is
placed within the interior space. The partition divides the
interior space into a plurality of isolated compartments that can
be viewed through the material of the shell. Fill material is
provided that is comprised primarily of liquid mixed with solid
particulate matter, such as glitter. Each of the isolated
compartments is filled with fill material, but not the same fill
material. The fill material within at least two of the isolated
compartments have different appearances when viewed through the
transparent shell.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] For a better understanding of the present invention,
reference is made to the following description of exemplary
embodiments thereof, considered in conjunction with the
accompanying drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first exemplary embodiment
of a toy water ball;
[0012] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a second exemplary
embodiment of a toy water ball;
[0014] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the embodiment of FIG. 3;
and
[0015] FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a third exemplary embodiment
of a toy water ball.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0016] Although the present invention toy ball can be embodied in
many ways, three exemplary embodiments are illustrated. These
embodiments are selected in order to set forth three of the best
modes contemplated for the invention. The illustrated embodiments,
however, are merely exemplary and should not be considered
limitations when interpreting the scope of the appended claims.
[0017] Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, a first embodiment of a
water ball 10 is illustrated. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the water ball 10
has a transparent spherical shell 12, which serves as the exterior
of the water ball 10. The spherical shell 12 defines an enclosed
interior 14. The interior 14 of the toy water ball 10 is divided
into two separate and distinct interior compartments 16, 18. Each
of the interior compartments 16, 18 is generally the same shape and
volume. A volume of fill material 20 is used to fill the different
compartments 16, 18. As will be explained, the fill material 20
used to fill the different interior compartments 16, 18 has
different visual properties. For instance, the fill material 20(a)
used to fill the first compartment 16 may be tinted yellow and
contain silver glitter particulate matter. The fill material 20(b)
used to fill the second compartment 18 may be tinted blue and
contain gold glitter particulate matter. As such, the fill material
20(a) in the first compartment 16 is optically very different from
the fill material 20(b) used in the second compartment 18. However,
when the toy water ball 10 is spun very quickly, each compartment
16, 18 of the toy water ball 10 is only seen for a fraction of a
second. As a result, the yellow fill material 20(a) and the blue
fill material 20(b) optically blend to cause the entire toy water
ball 10 to appear green to an observer. The silver and gold glitter
catches the light as the ball spins, providing silver and gold
flashes among the spinning colors.
[0018] The transparent spherical shell 12 is made of a
polyurethane-based polymer or equivalent polymer that is between
0.4 cm and 1.5 cm thick. The polymer is transparent and highly
resilient. As such, even though the toy water ball 10 is filled
with mostly liquid fill material 20, the toy water ball 10 has
significant bounce characteristics.
[0019] Referring to FIG. 2, it can be seen that the toy water ball
10 is an assembly of molded parts and injected fill material. Two
hemispherical shell sections 22, 24 are provided. The two shell
sections 22, 24 are preferably identical so they can be made from a
single injection mold. The two hemispherical shell sections 22, 24
each have circular bases 26, 28 that abut along a common equatorial
line 30 to create a spherical shape. A slight depression 32 is made
on the abutment face of each of the circular bases 26, 28.
[0020] A thin partition 34 is provided that fits within the
depressions 32. The partition 34 is placed between the two
hemispherical shell sections 22, 24. The circular bases 26, 28 of
the two hemispherical shell sections 22, 24 are then brought into
contact and bonded using either adhesive or a heat weld. This locks
the partition 34 in place and divides the interior 14 of the toy
water ball 10 into two isolated compartments 16, 18, wherein a
separate compartment 16, 18 is on either side of the central
partition 34.
[0021] After the two hemispherical shell sections 22, 24 are joined
together, fill material 20 is introduced into each of the internal
compartments 16, 18. The fill material 20 is injected through fill
openings (not shown) formed in the hemispherical shell sections 22,
24. After the fill material 20 is injected into the compartments
16, 18, the fill openings are sealed with a plug and/or a dab of
transparent sealant. The fill material 20(a) used to fill the first
compartment 16 is optically different from the fill material 20(b)
used to fill the second compartment 18. However, it is preferred
that the volume and density of the two types of fill material
20(a), 20(b) be the same so that the resulting toy water ball 10
rolls and bounces in an evenly balanced manner.
[0022] In the illustrated embodiment, the central partition 34 is
shown as a separate element that is attached to both the
hemispherical shell sections. 22, 24. It will be understood that
the partition 34 can be molded as part of one or both of the
hemispherical shell sections 22, 24 if such a manufacturing
technique is deemed prudent by a toy manufacturer.
[0023] Referring to FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a second embodiment of a toy
water ball 40 is illustrated. In FIGS. 3 and 4, a toy water ball 40
is shown having a transparent spherical shell 42. However, the
interior 44 of the toy water ball 40 is divided into four separate
and distinct compartments 45, 46, 47, 48 that are symmetrically
disposed about a central imaginary axis 50. Each of the interior
compartments 45, 46, 47, 48 is generally the same shape and volume.
However, the fill material 52 used to fill the different
compartments 45, 46, 47, 48 is not the same for all the
compartments. For instance, the fill material 52(a), 52(c) used to
fill the first and third compartments 45, 47 may be tinted yellow
and contain silver glitter particulate matter. The fill material
52(b), 52(d) used to fill the second and fourth compartments 46, 48
may be tinted blue and contain gold glitter particulate matter. As
such, the fill material 52(a), 52(c) in the first and third
compartments 45, 47 is optically very different from the fill
material 52(b), 52(d) used in the second and fourth compartments
46, 48. However, when the toy water ball 40 is spun very quickly,
each section of the toy water ball 40 is only seen for a fraction
of a second. As a result, the yellow fill material 52(a), 52(c) and
the blue fill material 52(b), 52(d) optically blend to cause the
entire toy water ball 40 to appear green to an observer. The silver
and gold glitter catches the light as the ball spins, providing
silver and gold flashes among the spinning colors.
[0024] It can be seen that the toy water ball 40 is an assembly of
molded parts and injected fill material. Four quadrant shell
sections 54, 55, 56, 57 are provided. The four shell sections 54,
55, 56, 57 are preferably identical so they can be made from a
single injection mold. The four quadrant shell sections 54, 55, 56,
57 each have a semicircular base 58 that abut along meridian lines
to create a spherical shape. A slight depression 62 is made on the
abutment face of each of the semicircular bases 58. An X-shaped
partition 64 is provided that fits within the depressions 62. The
partition 64 is placed between the four quadrant shell sections 54,
55, 56, 57. The abutment faces of the four quadrant shell sections
54, 55, 56, 57 are then brought into contact and bonded together
using either adhesive or a heat weld. This locks the partition 64
in place and divides the interior 44 of the toy water ball 40 into
four separate and distinct compartments 45, 46, 47, 48.
[0025] After the four quadrant shell sections 54, 55, 56, 57 are
joined together, fill material 52 is introduced into each of the
compartments 45, 46, 47, 48. The fill material 52 is injected
through fill openings formed in the quadrant shell sections 54, 55,
56, 57. After the fill material 52 is injected into the
compartments 45, 46, 47, 48, the fill openings are sealed with a
transparent sealant. The fill material 52 used to fill one of the
compartments 45, 46, 47, 48 is optically different from the fill
material used to fill at least one of the other compartments 45,
46, 47, 48. However, it is preferred that the volume and density of
all fill material 52 be the same so that the resulting toy water
ball 40 rolls and bounces in an evenly balanced manner.
[0026] In the illustrated embodiment, the central partition 64 is
shown as a separate element that is attached to each of the four
quadrant shell sections 54, 55, 56, 57. It will be understood that
the partition 64 can be molded as part of one or more of the
quadrant shell sections 54, 55, 56, 57 if deemed prudent by a toy
manufacturer.
[0027] Referring to FIG. 5, a third embodiment of a water ball toy
70 is illustrated. In FIG. 5, a water ball toy 70 is shown having a
transparent spherical shell 72. However, the transparent spherical
shell 72 is segmented into separate, distinct, and separable
segments 74, 76. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the toy water ball 70
is shown having two segments 74, 76. However, any number of
segments can be used. Each segment 74, 76 has a transparent
structure that is filled with fill material 78. The structure of
each segment 74, 76 contains a curved surface 80 and at least one
flat mounting surface 82. The mounting surface 82 of the various
segments 74, 76 interconnect. Once interconnected, the curved
surfaces 80 of the segments 74, 76 create the spherical shape of
the toy water ball 70.
[0028] The various segments 74, 76 mechanically interconnect using
some form of a mechanical interlock 84. For instance, hook and loop
material can be used. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the
mechanical interlock 84 is comprised of a peg and hole interlock.
Each flat mounting surface 82 contains at least one peg 84 and at
least one peg receptacle 86. The pegs 84 from the segments 74, 76
enter the peg receptacles 86 on another of the segments 74, 76. The
segments 74, 76 can then be twisted slightly to lock the pegs 84
into the peg receptacles 86 and interconnect the segments 74,
76.
[0029] Each segment 74, 76 is filled with fill material 78
consisting of liquid and suspension particles, such as glitter. The
fill material 78 for different segments is preferably optically
different. However, due to the mechanical interlock system,
segments from different toy balls can be selectively mixed and
matched. As such, a toy water ball 70 can contain one type of fill
material or a different fill material for every segment
present.
[0030] It will be understood that the embodiments of the present
invention that are illustrated and described are merely exemplary
and that a person skilled in the art can make many variations to
those embodiments. For instance, the toy water ball can be made
with any plurality of segments. The fill material used to fill the
segments can contain water, mineral oil, vegetable oil, glycerin or
any other liquid that is non-toxic and does not interact with the
polymer of the shell. Furthermore, although all embodiments show a
spherical ball, it will be understood that the toy ball can be
oblong shaped, such as a football, or oddly shaped, such as a
potato. The use of a spherical ball is merely exemplary. All such
embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the
present invention as defined by the claims.
* * * * *