Toy, doll or mannequin with dimensionally variable exterior surface

• US 5,913,708 A
• Filed: 05/13/1997
• Issued: 06/22/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Flora G. Gross, Harvey Levy, James T. Fitzgibbon
• Original Assignee: Flora Geane Gross
• Inventors: Gross, Flora Geane
• Primary Examiner(s): Muir, D. Neal
• Application Number:
  US08/855,381
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 446/26, 446/27, 446/176, 446/180, 446/183, 446/184, 446/185, 446/197, 446/198, 446/199, 446/268, 446/295, 446/296, 446/321, 446/330, 446/337, 446/339, 446/340, 446/359 , 446/373, 446/380, 446/381, 446/385, 446/391, 446/486
• US Class Current: 446/385
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/06 Air-filled or inflatable toy figures connection of valves to inflatable elastic bodies B60C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 3/52 Dolls' houses, furniture or other equipment simulating liquid flow A63H33/3022; Dolls' clothing or footwear
• CPC Class Codes: A63H 9/00 Special methods or compositions for the manufacture of dolls, toy animals, toy figures, or parts thereof

Abstract

A method making a toy, doll, or mannequin wherein a relatively rigid core is covered with an elastic skin. The skin is bonded to the core in some areas but not others. This creates an expansible, variable volume pressurizable space between the core and the skin so that the skin may expand relative to the core to simulate weight gain or change of muscle tone. The method comprises selecting and/or treating the core so that only certain parts adhere to the skin-forming material, covering the core with a curable, skin-forming coating and allowing the material to form the skin that, after inflation, assumes a different size and/or shape than the core and thus simulates weight gain, change of muscle tone or other significant change of shape and appearance.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a doll, toy, or mannequin product having a relatively rigid core portion with at least an interior passage terminating in an opening and an exterior surface, said exterior surface being in the shape of at least one body part, said exterior surface having a given size and being covered by an elastic skin with portions movable between an initial position closely overlying said core portion and a second position wherein said movable portions of said elastic skin assume a size larger than said given size and a different shape than said exterior surface shape of said core, said method comprising dividing said exterior surface of said core into first and second areas that are to be respectively adherent and non-adherent to said skin-forming material when said material is cured, thereafter covering both said first and second areas of said core portion with a continuous coating of a curable, elastic skin-forming material, curing said coating to form a fluid-impermeable elastic skin overlying said exterior surface of said core portion, said skin becoming thereby adherent to said core in said first area of said core, those portions of said cured elastic skin overlying said second areas of said core portion being non-adherent to said core, said skin being thereby expansible away from said core portion in said second area and defining, in combination with portions of said core exterior surface, an expansible space that may be filled with a pressurizable fluid passing through said core to inflate said skin from said given size to said larger size and said different shape to create a visible change in the exterior appearance of said body part of said toy, doll, or mannequin.

2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said second area of said core portion is additionally treated with a release agent to ensure that said core portion remains free of adhesion to said skin-forming material.

3. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said curable, elastic skin-forming material is a rubber latex material.

4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein covering said core with said coating of said curable, elastic skin-forming material comprises dipping said core into a container of said curable material, and, before curing said material, removing said core while said skin-forming material is in the form of a continuous film covering both said first and said second areas.

5. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein covering said core portion with said curable skin-forming material comprises spraying a film of said skin-forming material over selected surfaces of said core portion.

6. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said core portion comprises the torso of a toy or doll simulating a human figure.

7. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said at least one body part comprises the torso, head and face of a doll, toy, or mannequin.

8. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said at least one body part comprises a replica of the body of a human and includes a torso, and arm and leg portions.

9. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said core portion includes a substantially hollow interior and at least one opening in an outer surface of said core portion facing said skin, said opening communicating with said substantially hollow interior, whereby a pressurizable fluid may move from said hollow interior through said opening and into said expansible space.

10. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein said core comprises the torso of a simulated human person, said adherent areas include a neck portion, a shoulder portion and a waist portion of said torso.

11. A method as defined in claim 10, wherein said core comprises a torso and a pair of arms, and wherein said adherent areas include a pair of cuff portions on said arms.

12. A method as defined in claim 10, which further includes non-adherent areas defining the abdominal muscles and the chest muscles.

13. A method as defined in claim 10, which further includes non-adherent areas defining the abdominal muscles, the chest muscles and the back muscles.

14. A method as defined in claim 11, wherein said non-adherent areas include areas defining the bicep portions of both arms.

15. A method as defined in claim 3, wherein said curable elastic skin-forming material is a slightly reinforced rubber latex material.

17. A method of creating a doll, toy, or mannequin having a relatively rigid core portion and at least an interior passage terminating in an opening and with outer surfaces in the form of at least one body part of a given size and shape, said body part outer surfaces being covered by a continuous elastic outer skin closely overlying said surfaces so as to have a size and shape very similar to said surfaces, and with said skin having selected portions thereof secured to said outer body part surfaces in fluid-tight relation and the remainder non-adhesively overlying said surfaces so as to permit formation of an expansible space between portions of said body part outer surfaces and portions of said skin, said method comprising providing a replica of said core portion with an exterior surface that is non-adherent to a given skin-forming material, coating said exterior surfaces of said replica with said given skin-forming material, curing said material into a continuous elastic skin having a size and shape simulating said exterior surface of said replica, removing said cured elastic skin thus formed from said replica, positioning said cured elastic skin over the core of a toy, doll, or mannequin core, and bonding only selected areas of said skin to said core, and leaving the remainder of said skin overlying but not bonded to said core to provide a fluid-impermeable, expansible skin covering the non-selected areas of said core, whereby supplying a pressurized fluid to said expansible space will cause said skin covering said core of said toy, doll, or mannequin to visibly change its size and shape.

16. A method as defined in claim 17, wherein said change of size and shape simulates muscle growth.

18. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein said change of size and shape simulates weight change.

19. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein coating said exterior surface of said replica comprises dipping said replica into a supply of liquid skin-forming material.

20. A method as defined in claim 17 wherein coating said exterior surfaces of said replica comprises spraying a liquid skin-forming material over the outer surface of said replica.