Abstract:
A toy ball includes a transparent skin ( 1 ) made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and comprising an internal space ( 11 ) and an opening ( 12 ) therethrough; a recessed member ( 2 ) made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and sealingly attached to an inner surface ( 5 ) of the skin ( 1 ) directly below the opening ( 12 ); and a soft sealing plug ( 3 ) made of polyurethane (PU) or silicon rubber and disposed in the recessed member ( 2 ).

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of Invention 
         [0002]    The invention relates to toy balls and more particularly to such a toy ball with improved characteristics. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    There have been numerous suggestions in prior patents for toy ball. For example, U.S. Pat. Application Publication No. 2003/0235662 discloses toys and balls having a skin and a core of somewhat dissimilar materials. The skin and core are of different colors. When the toy is squeezed, the non-liquid deformable core presses against at least a portion of the skin, making the skin thin at that point and permitting the color of the core to show through, creating the appearance of a color change of the toy. 
         [0005]    Further, U.S. Pat. Application Publication No. 2005/0143204 discloses an elastic ball including a transparent surface layer of a hollow sphere, a sealing device attached to the transparent surface layer including a coupling and a rubber sheath in which the coupling is formed by overlapping conic bodies one after another in the order from the smallest one all the way up to the largest one and is provided with an inscribed tangential common point on their base circumferences and a channel defined in a middle conic body, and is externally sleeve-jointed with the rubber sheath, and a fluid filled in a hollow portion of the transparent sphere through the channel of the sealing device. Fluid pressure is applied on the rubber sheath of the sealing device to seal the channel of the coupling for preventing fluid from leaking. 
         [0006]    Thus, continuing improvements in the exploitation of toy ball are constantly being sought. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    It is therefore one object of the invention to provide a toy ball comprising a transparent skin made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and comprising an internal space and an opening therethrough; a recessed member made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and sealingly attached to an inner surface of the skin directly below the opening; and a soft sealing plug made of polyurethane (PU) or silicon rubber and disposed in the recessed member. 
         [0008]    The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0009]      FIG. 1  is a cross-sectional view of a first preferred embodiment of toy ball according to the invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view of a second preferred embodiment of toy ball according to the invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional view of a third preferred embodiment of toy ball according to the invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a longitudinal sectional view of another configuration of any one of the above preferred embodiments of toy ball according to the invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is an enlarged view of the sealing plug and the cup-shaped member having a positioning peg which is removed after sealingly attaching the cup-shaped member to an inner surface of the ball skin; and 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of  FIG. 5 . 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , a toy ball in accordance with a first preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a transparent skin  1  made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with a space  11  defined therein, an opening  12  through the skin  1  so that a needle (not shown) may be inserted through for filling air or liquid in the space  11  of the skin  1 , a cup-shaped member  2  made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and sealingly attached to an inner surface  5  of the skin  1  directly below the opening  12  by applying adhesive thereto, and a soft sealing plug  3  made of silicon rubber or soft polyurethane (PU) and disposed in the cup-shaped member  2 . 
         [0016]    Liquid is filled in the space  11  of the skin  1 . Moreover, the liquid is mixed with anthraquinone powder  6 . In addition, the skin  1  is comprised of two half-spherical members secured together by heating or any other method. 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6 , the cup-shaped member  2  has a positioning peg  21  projecting downward from an underside. The positioning peg  21  will be removed after sealingly attaching the cup-shaped member  2  to the inner surface  5  of the skin  1 . 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 2 , a toy ball in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a transparent skin  1  made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with a space  11  defined therein, an opening  12  through the skin  1  so that a needle (not shown) may be inserted through for inflation, a cup-shaped member  2  made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and sealingly attached to an inner surface  5  of the skin  1  directly below the opening  12  by applying adhesive thereto, and a soft sealing plug  3  made of silicon rubber or soft polyurethane (PU) and disposed in the cup-shaped member  2 . 
         [0019]    Air is filled in the space  11  of the skin  1 . Moreover, a battery powered flash lighting device  8  is mounted on the inner surface  5  of the skin  1  opposite the cup-shaped member  2  to provide an intermittent lighting for playing. In addition, the skin  1  is comprised of two half-spherical members secured together by heating. 
         [0020]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6  again, the cup-shaped member  2  has a positioning peg  21  projecting downward from an underside. The positioning peg  21  will be removed after sealingly attaching the cup-shaped member  2  to the inner surface  5  of the skin  1 . 
         [0021]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , a toy ball in accordance with a third preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a transparent skin  1  made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) with a space  11  defined therein, an opening  12  through the skin  1  so that a needle (not shown) may be inserted through for inflation, a cup-shaped member  2  made of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and sealingly attached to an inner surface  5  of the skin  1  directly below the opening  12  by applying adhesive thereto, and a soft sealing plug  3  made of silicon rubber or soft polyurethane (PU) and disposed in the cup-shaped member  2 . 
         [0022]    Liquid is filled in the space  11  of the skin  1 . Moreover, a floating fish-shaped object or any other floating object  7  is placed in the liquid. In addition, the skin  1  is comprised of two half-spherical members secured together by heating. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 5 and 6  again, the cup-shaped member  2  has a positioning peg  21  projecting downward from an underside. The positioning peg  21  will be removed after sealingly attaching the cup-shaped member  2  to the inner surface  5  of the skin  1 . 
         [0024]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , in another configuration of any one of the above preferred embodiments of toy ball according to the invention the inner surface  5  is formed with a pattern of uneven surface which is preferable of a plurality of lozenge-shaped planes or diamond cutting surfaces. 
         [0025]    The provision of the sealing plug  3  in the cup-shaped member  2  can enhance the sealing effect of the cup-shaped member  2 . The sealing plug  3  has excellent resilience so as to allow the needle to insert thereinto after passing the opening  12 . Moreover, the sealing of the cup-shaped member  2  can be maintained after pulling the needle out of the sealing plug  3  and the opening  12 . 
         [0026]    While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention set forth in the claims.