WO2020231354A1

WO2020231354A1 - Stress toy

Info

Publication number: WO2020231354A1
Application number: PCT/TR2019/050350
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yusuf Kerem ÇALIKOĞLU
Original assignee: Calikoglu Yusuf Kerem
Priority date: 2019-05-16
Filing date: 2019-05-20
Publication date: 2020-11-19
Also published as: TR201907375A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a stress toy, which has stress relief characteristics, can also be used as an accessory, has an aesthetic structure, and can be used all day by adults and people of all ages. The invention particularly relates to a stress toy comprising a hoop (10) that can be arbitrarily fitted on the right or left hand fingers of the user, completely or partially (whichever way the user is comfortable), and can be held and played with hand, a string (30) preferably fitted on the hoop (10) or the wrist or can be played with hand, and stones (20) connected to each other.

Description

STRESS TOY

TECHNICAL FIELD

The invention relates to a stress toy, which has stress relief characteristics, can also be used as an accessory, has an aesthetic structure, and can be used all day by adults and people of all ages.

The invention particularly relates to a stress toy comprising a hoop that can be arbitrarily fitted on the right or left hand fingers of the user, completely or partially (whichever way the user is comfortable), and can be held and played with hand, stones connected to each other by a string preferably fitted on the hoop or the wrist or can be played with hand.

STATE OF THE ART

Stress is the human defence mechanism. The brain sends out some signals when a human faces a threat he/she thinks he/she cannot handle. The body goes into an alarm state. It leads to these responses: escape, fight, or freeze. The person's breathing speed accelerates, the body temperature rises, and the heart starts to pound faster. This is actually the way our bodies prepare us for danger. Evolutionary, these changing body states make it easier for us to deal with danger. But too much of it hurts our thoughts and behaviours. In long term, it harms the body. Chronic stress causes cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, a completely stress-free person will not have the motivation to achieve anything. This causes the person to make no progress. In such cases, distracting ourselves or dealing with other things help us to cope with stress. Nowadays, we can divide stress-relieving hand toys in three main categories. Prior art hand toys, which are formed of a single part and have no moving parts, are generally objects made of stones or metals in the form of complete spheres, eggs, or leaves. Such hand toys only appeal to the sense of vision and touch among the five senses, and do not appeal the sense of hearing and only trigger the touch of the finger on the object and the aesthetic sensations that the object creates as images. In case of using more than one of these kinds of toys, since there are no components between the pieces connecting thereof, it becomes difficult to control and hold the toys for long time, and their handling ergonomics might be disturbing. Since such toys are difficult to keep together when they are left somewhere, it is difficult to leave and collect them to and from somewhere, and they are more likely to be lost. Since such toys are of a uniform type, it is not possible to be modified in accordance with the different preferences of the user at different times, and therefore they need to be purchased in more than one type and variety to ensure this variety. Another problem with these kinds of toys is that they are not possible to be modified by the user or changed so that they would express themselves better.

Prior art complicated hand toys having more than one movable part are in demand recently. Since they have multiple movable or dynamic pieces, their use is complicated, frequently require using more than one hand, and require a decision process to be rotated or to select and use a function among more than one functions. This eliminates the convenience of the hand toy. Such hand toys do not have the chance to be regarded and used as an accessory due to their forms. Although such toys have complex parts and functions, it is not possible to visually alter these toys for the user at a given moment and as necessary. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to buy more than one type of the same toy. Another problem with these kinds of toys is that they are not possible to be modified by the user or changed so that they would express themselves better.

In the prior art, rosaries and similar hand toys have been used for thousands of years, but these hand toys are far from the flexibility and comfort of modern life and culture. Considering the hardships of everyday life, it is not possible to hold these toys in hand all the time, and these toys, which are composed of beads arranged on a rope, do not have a form that is easy to leave and collect to and from a place, keep at a place, and stay in an orderly manner in hand. Another drawback of these traditional toys is that they are no longer a product of choice from different cultures and beliefs as they become an important part of cultural codes. On the other hand, in most of the cultures where such toys are widely used, these toys cannot become a genderless product because they are considered as a masculine symbol, and can trigger the cultural prejudices of people from different cultures, which prevents users from using such hand toys independently and comfortably.

As a result, for solution of the above given prior art problems, the need for a novel economic and useful stress toy which can also be used as an accessory and has an aesthetic structure has necessitated an improvement in the related technical field.

PURPOSE OF THE INVENTION

The invention is formed in the light of the present situations, and in order to solve the above given problems, relates to a stress toy, which has stress relief characteristics, can also be used as an accessory, has an aesthetic structure, and can be used all day by adults and people of all ages.

The most significant purpose of the invention is to appeal to three different senses at the same time. The first one of these is the sense of touch. Both the contact caused by the body of the hoop that surrounds one or more fingers, and the contact caused while pulling the stones around the hoop allows the user to make contact with the toy at more than one points, thereby increasing the pleasure received from the sense of touch. On the other hand, the friction between the stones and the hoop during pulling and rotation of the stones around the hoop also appeals to the sense of touch with the slight resistance and friction created. On the other hand, the movement of the fingers to turn the stones around the hoop, moving back and forth, and the required effort and the pressing action give the user the sense of using an object and feeling the action. The edges of the inner and outer parts of the hoop are also softened and rounded, eliminating the corners that can have a negative effect on the sense of touch, and the circular and annular form contribute to the maximum sense of touch. Thanks to the elliptical and circular structure of the hoop, the user can also play with the invention by directly turning the hoop instead of turning the stones. The second sensory sense the invention appeals to is hearing. The stones arranged on a flexible string and wrapped around the hoop are rotated by a finger movement so that they can knock against each other and make a pleasant "rattling" sound as they keep being rotated. Thanks to the flexible string that connects the stones and allows them to hold onto the hoop, the stones can be moved back and forth without being easily removed from the body, so that they allow playing movements by pulling and releasing towards the left and right hand sides, and this allows making sounds which are stronger, have different frequencies and are different from the previous ones. On the other hand, even if the user reduces the pressure applied by the flexible string, he has the opportunity to continue by rotating and turning motion with less noise. Another thing that appeals to the sense of hearing is the slight friction sound generated by the stones that rub against the hoop while turning. The last sense that the invention appeals to is vision. Thanks to the circularity and ellipticity of the design, the invention has a pleasing stance. Moreover, the hoop and the stones, as completely independent components, being brought together like an integral piece appeals to the aesthetic pleasure of the user; and by bringing together the variations preferred by the user, the accessory can be turned into an accessory by which the user can express himself/herself in society. The ability to easily separate the two parts from one another when required, enables the user to assemble the hoops and stones made of different colours and materials as desired, enabling the invention to be used as an accessory to allow the user to express himself/herself and complement his/her appearance. Since the style of the invention formed by bringing together two main components is modern, easy to use, and easily visible on hand, it allows usage in creating a new style without being associated with the present cultural prejudices and premises related to the traditional hand toys. On the other hand, this aesthetic form allows the user to use it as a visual focus, which he/she needs when focusing specifically on an abstract thought.

A further object of the invention is that the two parts can be used independently of each other. The stones around a flexible string allow the user to easily pass the stones to his wrist and use them for a different aesthetic purpose as long as the wrist thickness allows. On the other hand, when it is separated from the stones, the hoop turns into a different toy which can be rotated by hand and pushed back and forth with its circular and rounded structure, which can enrich the usage scenarios of the toy in a very different way.

Another object of the invention is that it consists of more than one parts, and another fun feature that the user may enjoy is that the product can be converted and reshaped by the user, or in other words it is a do-it-yourself (DIY) product. Once the user receives the product, he or she can easily increase or decrease the number of stones using the flexible strings that he/she can easily obtain, as well as change the frequency of the string, and at the same time, use the stones that he believes reflect himself/herself better in the product. This allows the product to be modified in an infinite number of ways without buying a new one.

Another purpose of the invention is that the product does not require maintenance. Even though the string carrying the stones that are the only movable parts have the possibility of being broken, rearrangement of the stones and replacing the old stones with new ones is an operation that can be easily performed by the user without much effort and without the need for any special knowledge or expertise. On the other hand, the possibility of the failure of the other part of the invention, such as the failure of the hoop, will require quite extreme conditions. The structural and characteristic features of the invention and all of its advantages shall be understood better with the figures and the detailed description given below in reference to the figures, and therefore, the assessment should be made by taking into account the said figures and detailed explanations.

FIGURES FOR BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE INVENTION

Figure 1; is a drawing showing the stress toy according to the invention.

Figure 2; is a drawing showing the stones of the stress toy according to the invention. Figure 3; is a drawing showing the hoop of the stress toy according to the invention.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

10. Hoop 20. Stones

30. String

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In this detailed description, the stress toy according to the invention has stress relief characteristics, can also be used as an accessory, has an aesthetic structure, and can be used all day by adults and people of all ages.

The invention is designed as a product that can be comfortably used in modern and everyday life, inspired by the traditional hand toy, rosary. The hoop (10) located at the center of the product is designed as a frame with rounded edges, which can be easily fitted on one or more fingers, thus providing an aesthetic appearance as an accessory. The second piece, the stones (20), which are inspired by the traditional rosary, are tightly wrapped around this hoop by means of a flexible string (30) and are rigid enough to prevent the separation of the two parts from one another during use, but also provide a flexible environment that is enough to allow different movements to be made while playing with the hand. To increase the attachment of the two parts to each other, the outer circumference of the hoop is carved to form a soft frame to grasp the stones from two directions. This also allows the stones to slide smoothly and orderly while being rotated around the hoop. These design characteristics that hold the two pieces together in an aesthetic, effective yet flexible way allow the user to use the hand toy in a carefree manner, without the need for using the other hand or looking at the toy, almost by reflexes, or in or in other words, like a natural and care-free extension of the subconscious mind.

The stress toy according to the invention is shown in Figures 1, 2, and 3. In the invention; stones (20) that are tightly connected to each other by the string are positioned around the hoop (10). The user partially or completely (whichever way the user is comfortable) fits the hoop (10) onto his/her right or left hand index finger and middle finger or the middle finger and the ring finger. In order to play with the hand toy, the user can play with the stones (20) by moving them back and forth or left and right with his/her thumb or index finger, depending on the fingers onto which the hoop (10) is fitted. If the user wishes, he/she can grip the hoop (10) around the stones (20) with his/her fingers so that he/she can play or rotate so as to bring the gap found at the middle part to the center. Moreover, the user can perform daily works or do ordinary movements such as writing or holding his/her head or chin with the hand without any obstacle by fixing the hoop (10) and the stones (20) on the preferred fingers. The user can hold the hoop (10) with one hand while the other hand can rotate and play with the stones (20). Here, if the wrist thickness of the wearer is suitable, he/she can separate the stones (20) from the hoop (10) by taking advantage of the flexible string (30), and pass the flexible string (31) together with the stones (20) to the wrist as a bracelet. In the invention, the hoop (10) is known to be played by itself, separating it from the other parts, and it is known to be played on a flat surface like a table with the help of its elliptical shape. The stones (20) that the user separates from the hoop (10) can be used together with its flexible strings (30) as a conventional rosary. Furthermore, the user can remove the stones (20) from the flexible string (30) on which they are arranged, and replace them with new stones (20) in desired colour or shape, and can change the aesthetics in any way by re-arranging the stones (20) in different colours or shapes.

After fixing the hoop (10) on the two fingers, the wearer can massage by applying pressure to the head, shoulder or other body regions by taking advantage of the rotation of the stones (20) around the hoop (10) by friction.

The invention has functions built on an incredibly simple idea of the invention that makes the invention easy and fun, despite all these different usage scenarios and the variety of usage it provides. In this way, the user can use all these different usage scenarios as a natural part of his/her body, a natural extension of his/her hand and fingers without the need to use his/her awareness, or in or in other words, decision making processes, which is the most basic characteristic of an ideal hand toy, and he/she can experience all these with reflex-like motions. Simplicity, which is the most difficult element to be obtained, is the basic feature of the invention.

The scope of protection of this application is determined in the claims part and cannot be limited to the above given illustrative description. It is appreciated that a person skilled in the art can provide the novelty set forth in the invention by using similar embodiments and/or apply this embodiment to other areas used in the relevant technical field. Therefore, it is evident that such embodiments will not be deemed to be novel and in particular to overcome the known state of the art.

Claims

1- Stress toy, which has stress relief characteristics, can also be used as an accessory, has an aesthetic structure, and can be used all day by adults and people of all ages, characterized in that it comprises: at least one hoop (10) that can be arbitrarily fitted on the right or left hand fingers of the user, completely or partially (whichever way the user is comfortable), and can be held and played with hand, and one and more than one stones (20) connected to each other by a string (BO) that is placed on the hoop (10) or can also be placed on the wrist and can be played with hand.

2- The stress toy according to Claim 1, characterized in that; it comprises a string (30) keeping the stones (20) together and having a flexible structure.