US20080305899A1

US20080305899A1 - Toy Ball Containing Shakable Object

Info

Publication number: US20080305899A1
Application number: US11/761,366
Authority: US
Inventors: Chia-Yen Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2007-06-11
Filing date: 2007-06-11
Publication date: 2008-12-11

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.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
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.
2. The Prior Arts
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.
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

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.
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.
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

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:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional toy ball containing a designed article;

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

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

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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

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.