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(11) | EP 0 963 770 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Malleable toy |
| (57) A malleable toy includes an outer skin (40) made of an elastomer material. An inner
filler material (45) is sealed within the outer skin. The inner filler material (45)
has a yield point that overcomes the stiffness of the outer skin (40) so that when
the toy is deformed it substantially maintains the deformed shape for an extended
period. |
[0001] Toy figures may be deformable or malleable. Generally, such figures have an outer skin and an inner filling. For example, United States Patent No. 4,169,336 describes a stretchable figure that exhibits slow recovery. The outer skin of that figure is made of an elastic film and the inner filling is a high viscosity material, such as corn syrup or an aqueous sugar solution.
[0002] In one general aspect, a malleable toy includes an elastomer material defining an outer skin and an inner filler material sealed within the outer skin. The inner filler material has a yield point that overcomes the stiffness of the outer skin so that, when the toy is deformed, the toy substantially maintains the deformed shape for an extended period.
[0003] Embodiments may include one or more of the following features. For example, the elastomer material may be made of low durometer Kraton® plasticized with mineral oil to make the outer skin soft. The outer skin may have a thickness between 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm.
[0004] The inner filler material may include glycerin, Carbopol 974P, water, Tris Amino, Cab-O-Sil M5, and microspheres. In particular, the inner filler material may have a composition in the range of 50 to 96.5% glycerin, 0.75 to 2.5% Carbopol 974P, 0 to 46.5% water, 0.75 to 2.5% Tris Amino, 0 to 2.5% Cab-O-Sil M5, and 2.0 to 5.5% microspheres. More particularly, the inner filler material may include 64.87% glycerin, 1.54% Carbopol 974P, 27.82% water, 1.54% Tris Amino, 0.77% Cab-O-Sil M5, and 3.46% microspheres. The microspheres may be made of hollow plastic spheres.
[0005] The inner filler material may have a viscosity that overcomes the elasticity of the outer skin. The toy may have a shape of an animal, person, ball, or disc.
[0006] In another general aspect, a malleable toy having an outer skin and an inner filler material is made by molding the outer skin, filling the outer skin with the inner filler material, and sealing the outer skin to prevent the inner filler material from leaking out of the outer skin. The outer skin is made of an elastomer and the inner filler material has a yield point that overcomes the stiffness of the outer skin so that, when the toy is deformed, the toy substantially maintains the deformed shape for an extended period.
[0007] Embodiments may include one or more of the preceding or following features. For example, the outer skin may be molded by roto casting or injection molding. The outer skin may be injection molded over a core so that the outer skin defines an inner cavity. After injection molding, the mold may be removed and the outer skin peeled off of the core. The outer skin may be pulled between a pair of rollers to substantially remove air from the inner cavity. Inner filler material may then be injected into the cavity through a tube integral with the outer skin and formed in the molding process.
[0008] In another approach the inner filling material may be injected into the inner cavity through a tube having a filling lumen and a blow-off lumen. The tube may be integral with the outer skin and formed in the molding process. As the inner filling material is injected, air within the inner cavity is expelled out of the cavity through the blow-off lumen.
[0009] The tube may be sealed by inserting a heating fixture into the tube to heat the tube, removing the heating fixture from the heated tube, and clamping the heated tube to seal the tube. Prior to sealing, the tube may be cleaned to substantially remove the inner filler material from the inside and outside surface of the tube. Any excess length of the sealed tube may be cut off after sealing. The tube may define a tail of the toy.
[0010] Other features and advantages will be apparent from the following description, including the drawings, in which:-
[0012] Figs. 2A-2C are perspective views of the toy figure of Fig. 1 with, respectively, the torso, legs, and head compressed.
[0021] Referring to Fig. 1, a toy 5 may be in the shape of a dog having a pair of front legs 10, a pair of rear legs 15, a head 20, a pair of ears 25, a torso 30, and a tail 35. The toy 5 has an outer skin 40 surrounding the outside of the toy and an inner filling 45 (Fig. 4) on the inside of the toy. The outer skin 40 and inner filling 45 cause the toy 5 to be malleable. For instance, referring to Fig. 2A, the torso 30 may be compressed flat. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 2B, the front legs 10 and rear legs 15 may be compressed to resemble flippers of a seal, and, as shown in Fig. 2C, the head also may be compressed. The toy maintains the modified shape for a considerable amount of time (e.g., hours or more), but may return eventually to its original shape.
[0022] Referring to Figs. 3A-3E, a toy 50 in the shape of an elephant may have accessories such as an elephant trunk 55, a pair of elephant ears 60, an elephant tail 65, and a pair of tusks 70. The accessories are mounted either on a c-clip 72 or a ring 73. The c-clip 72 is elastic and may encircle, for instance, a portion of the figure's head to mount the trunk 55 to the figure 50. The accessories also may be placed on other base figures to create unique animals. For example, a pair of elephant ears may be placed on the dog toy 5 to create a unique character.
[0023] Referring to Fig. 4, the outer skin 40 encloses the inner filling material 45 and defines a cavity 47. The inner filling is dispersed throughout the cavity 47, including the front legs 10, rear legs 15, ears 25, and tail 35. The outer skin 40 is made of a compounded, plasticized elastomer, such as compounded Kraton®. Kraton® is available from Shell Chemical Company. Compounded Kraton® is available as compound 96-E0807A-03NT from Teknor Apex of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, which plasticizes the Kraton® with mineral oil. Kraton® is available in differing grades of softness and, generally, the softest grade, which has a durometer of Shore hardness 3A, is used in fabricating the toy 5. The outer skin has a thickness of approximately 1.5 mm to 2 mm.
[0024] The inner filling 45 is made of glycerin, Carbopol 974P, water, Tris Amino, Cab-O-Sil M5 and microspheres. The microspheres are hollow plastic spheres. In general, the composition of the inner filling is 64.87% glycerin, 1.54% Carbopol 974P, 27.82% water, 1.54% Tris Amino, 0.77% Cab-O-Sil M5 and 3.46% microspheres. In other implementations, the composition of the inner filling may be in the range of 50 to 96.5% glycerin, 0.75 to 2.5% Carbopol 974P, 0 to 46.5% water, 0.75 to 2.5% Tris Amino, 0 to 2.5% Cab-O-Sil M5 and 2.0 to 5.5% microspheres.
[0025] In general, the outer skin of a deformable or stretchable toy figure should be strong enough to resist breaking when stretched, should not degrade easily, should have a skin-like texture, should be injection-moldable or roto-moldable, and should have a low durometer to be elastic. Other suitable skin materials include natural rubber and polyvinyl chloride. Natural rubber is elastic and used in the toy industry. However, if improperly formulated, it will be degraded by ozone over time, resulting in breakage and spilling of the inner filling. Moreover, a percentage of the population is allergic to natural rubber.
[0026] Polyvinyl chloride is available in various strengths and elasticities. However, for toy 5, the grades elastic enough generally do not have sufficient strength and the grades strong enough generally do not have sufficient elasticity. In addition, polyvinyl chloride's use is restricted in some countries. Although there are other potential outer skin materials that do not have the particular problems associated with natural rubber and polyvinyl chloride, they tend to be difficult to process during manufacture of the toy.
[0027] The inner filling should have a high enough yield point to resist flowing under the pressure associated with handling and to overcome the elasticity of the outer skin. The inner filling should be able to stick to the outer skin material to avoid making voids, air pockets or clumps of the material. It also should be non-toxic, soft, pumpable, colorable, easily manufactured, inexpensive, chemically inactive with the outer skin material, and hydrophilic. The inner filling material composition described above was selected to meet these requirements. For example, glycerin is hydrophilic so that the water remains in the inner filling material. It also does not chemically interact with the outer skin material to degrade or dissolve the outer skin. Carbopol is a water soluble polymer that can form a gel having a high viscosity. The Cab-O-Sil M5 is a fibrous silica filler that increases the yield point of the inner filling material. The microspheres decrease the specific gravity of the inner filling material from approximately 1.0 or greater to 0.4. The inner filling material is formed by combining and mixing the individual ingredients using conventional mixing techniques.
[0028] The toy 5 is manufactured by injection molding or roto molding the outer skin to form a hollow shell of the toy 5, pumping the inner filling through a hole into cavity 47, and sealing the hole. Using an injection molding machine, a three piece mold, and a core, the compounded elastomer is injected into the mold to form the outer skin 40. After the outer skin has cooled sufficiently to be removed from the core, the mold is removed and the outer skin is peeled away from the core.
[0029] Referring to Fig. 5, the outer skin has a hollow tube 75 formed at the point where the skin material was injected into the mold from the injection molding machine. The tube 75 is the entrance through which the inner filling material is pumped into the cavity 47.
[0030] Referring to Fig. 6A, prior to filling the outer skin with the inner filling material, the outer skin is pulled between a pair of pinch rollers 77 to remove any air. Referring to Fig. 6B, a filling tube 79 is inserted into an opening 80 of tube 75 and the inner filling material 45 is pumped or injected, for instance with a syringe 81, into the inner cavity 47. The outer skin also may be filled with the inner filling material by injecting the inner filling material using a syringe and a dual lumen filling tube having a filling lumen and a blow-off lumen. As the inner filling material is injected into the inner cavity 47 through the filling lumen, the air within the inner cavity is expelled through the blow-off lumen. In this implementation, the need to pull the outer skin through the pinch rollers is eliminated.
[0031] After filling the inner cavity 47, tube 79 is removed and the inside and outside surfaces of tube 75 are cleaned to remove inner filling material. Tube 75 is then heat sealed to prevent leakage of the inner filling material 45. Referring to Fig. 6C, to seal the outer skin, a heated fixture 83 is inserted into opening 80 of tube 75 for approximately 30 seconds. The temperature of the heated fixture 83 is higher than the injection molding process temperature, and may be, for example, 400°F. Referring to Fig. 6D, heated fixture 83 is removed and tube 75 is clamped using, for instance, a conventional clamp 85. An excess 87 of tube 75 is cut away from the clamped portion of tube 75. The sealed tube 75 defines the tail 35.
[0032] As noted above, the outer skin may be formed by roto casting. If formed by roto casting, tube 75 also will be formed and sealed in the manner described above.
[0033] Referring to Figs. 7A-7C, in other implementations, a deformable, malleable ball 90 may be made. Ball 90 may be used to relieve stress by squeezing and deforming the ball. Other action figures which can be squeezed and deformed, such as a human figure 95, also may be made. A flying disc 100 also may be formed. The flying disc 100 can be deformed to cause the flying disc to have unique characteristics when it rotates as it is thrown.
1. A malleable toy comprised of:
an elastomer material defining an outer skin; and
an inner filler material sealed within the outer skin, wherein the toy is malleable and the inner filler material has a yield point that overcomes a stiffness of the outer skin so that, when the toy is deformed, the toy substantially maintains the deformed shape for an extended period.
2. The malleable toy of claim 1, wherein the elastomer material comprises Kraton®.
3. A toy according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the elastomer is plasticized with mineral
oil.
4. The malleable toy of claim 2, wherein the Kraton® elastomer has a low durometer to make the outer skin soft.
5. A toy according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the outer skin has a thickness
between 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm.
6. A toy according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the outer filler material
comprises glycerin, Carbopol 974P, water, Tris Amino, Cab-O-Sil M5 and microspheres.
7. The malleable toy of claim 6, wherein the inner filler material comprises 50 to 96.5%
glycerin, 0.75 to 2.5% Carbopol 974P, 0 to 46.5% water, 0.75 to 2.5% Tris Amino, 0
to 2.5% Cab-O-Sil M5, and 2.0 to 5.5% microspheres.
8. The malleable toy of claim 6, wherein the inner filling material is comprised of 64.87%
glycerin, 1.54% Carbopol 974P, 27.82% water, 1.54% Tirs Amino, 0.77% Cab-O-Sil M5
and 3.46% mirospheres.
9. A toy according to any of claims 6 to 8, wherein the microspheres comprise hollow
plastic spheres.
10. A toy according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the inner filler material
has a viscosity that overcomes an elasticity of the outer skin.
11. A toy according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the toy has the shape of one
of an animal, a human, and a disc.
12. A method of making a toy having an outer skin and an inner filler material, the method
comprising:
molding the outer skin, wherein the outer skin is made of an elastomer;
filling the outer skin with the inner filler material; and
sealing the outer skin to prevent the inner filler material from leaking out of the outer skin, wherein the toy is malleable and the inner filler material has a yield point that overcomes the stiffness of the outer skin so that when the toy is deformed it substantially maintains the deformed shape for an extended period.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein the outer skin is molded by one of roto casting and
injection moulding.
14. The method of claim 13, wherein the outer skin is injection molded over a core so
that the outer skin defines an inner cavity.
15. The method of claim 14, further comprising removing the mold and peeling the outer
skin off of the core.
16. A method according to any of claims 12 to 15, further comprising pulling the outer
skin between a pair of rollers to substantially remove air from the inner cavity and
injecting the inner filler material into the cavity through a tube integral with the
outer skin and formed in the molding process.
17. A method according to any of claims 12 to 15, further comprising injecting the inner
filling material into the inner cavity through a tube having a filling lumen and a
blow-off lumen, the filling material being injected through a tube integral with the
outer skin and formed in the molding process, and the air within the inner cavity
passing out of the cavity through the blow-off lumen.
18. A method according to claim 16 or claim 17, further comprising sealing the tube by:
inserting a heating fixture into the tube to heat the tube;
removing the heating fixture from the heated tube; and
clamping the heated tube to seal the tube.
19. A method according to any of claims 16 to 18, further comprising cleaning the tube
to substantially remove the inner filler material from the inside and outside surface
of the tube.
20. A method according to any of claims 16 to 19, further comprising cutting off any excess
length of the sealed tube.
21. A method according to any of claims 16 to 20, wherein the tube defines a tail of the
toy.
22. A method according to any of claims 12 to 21, wherein the toy has the shape of one
of an animal, a human, a ball, and a disc.