Three dimensional toy bath tub city

A portable, lightweight, water-resistant, multi-colored toy for placement in a bathtub, either supernatant or stationary, and which can be used with small toy cars of various models includes a base member having a multi-storied superstructure on which toy cars are placed with the base member having pivotal flip-down and flip-up legs for supporting the toy in the bathtub and the legs having suction cup for adhering to the bathtub bottom and one of the floors—the top floor—including a car wash, a gas station and a convenience store with water for the car wash being provided by a conduit that extends from the water up to the car wash and the upper side of the base member including an island and a boat ramp extending to the water.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention pertains to portable, lightweight, waterproof toys, and more particularly pertains to a portable, lightweight, waterproof plastic toy for use in a bathtub.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Toys for children run the gamut from very expensive and very complicated computer games and video games to very simple toys composed of plastic or wooden building blocks that can be snapped, joined or press-fitted together to form or create a number of different types of objects from giant robots, spaceships, construction vehicles, ships, buildings and well-known structures. Children's toys are designed to be used both indoors and outdoors and in various types of environments. One specialized area of children's toys are toys used in water games, sports, and activities, and such toys range from water guns, flotation devices, motorized boats, etc. There are also children's toys designed for indoor use in a bathtub. Such toys are often used as an inducement to get children to take bath's on a regular basis; and such toys are especially helpful in coaxing or cajoling young boys to not only get in the bathtub but to occupy the young boys so that they can be properly washed by the supervising adult. Such toys must have a number of common attributes: they must be resilient and not easily breakable with parts that fragment and splinter; they must be fun and fully engage the young child; and they must be easy to clean and store. The prior art discloses a number of toys for use by small children.

For example, the Dideriksen patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,210) discloses a toy wash that is constructed from members of a toy building set that includes brush assemblies, flexible connector members and upright beams and horizontal carrier beams.

The Shiraishi patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,441,435) discloses a trackway toy that includes at least one powered toy for movement along and on sections of track and action stations that may be in the form of an elevator and a crane in the vicinity of the track way.

The Rehkemper et al. patent (U.S. Pat. No. 5,899,789) discloses a toy track assembly with a mechanism to launch toy vehicles on the track so that a mid-air collision of the vehicles occurs includes a spiral track section, a horizontal section, and an inverted track section for creating the mid-air collision.

The U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,657 discloses an activity toy for use with toys by vehicles and more particularly pertains to such a toy stimulating features of a real life car wash.

Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above devices, there remains a need for a portable, lightweight toy that can be submerged in a bathtub or other body of water for the enjoyment of children.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprehends a bathtub toy for use in a bathtub, and that is especially attractive and enjoyable in use for young boys—although young girls can use the bathtub toy equally well—as an inducement and encouragement to not only take baths but to remain in the bathtub, and come to realize that taking baths can be an enjoyable occurrence. The bathtub toy of the present invention is lightweight, multi-colored in appearance, manufactured from a lightweight durable plastic, easy to set up in the bathtub and easy to collapse and store when the bath is done, and easy to clean.

Thus, the bathtub toy of the present invention includes a base member having an underside and an upper side. Mounted to the underside of the base member are four spaced-apart flange members, and pivotally attached to each flange member is a leg each of which is independently pivotable between an upright disposition for supporting the toy in the bathtub and a foldable disposition thereby allowing the toy to float on the surface of the water or for facilitating its movement and storage when not in use. Mounted to the lower end of each leg is a suction member that adheres to the bathtub bottom for securely affixing and maintaining the toy in a stationary position within the bathtub.

Mounted to and upwardly projecting from the upper side of the base member is a multi-floored superstructure, and in the present embodiment the superstructure includes three floors. Spaced from the superstructure is a decorative boat island. Also laterally projecting from the base member and connected thereto is a boat ramp. Located at one end of the superstructure is an elevator operable by a hand crank for raising and lowering vehicles to the several floors. The third floor has a number of structures and/or services located thereon; and in the preferred embodiment at least a gas/convenience station is disposed thereon, with the gas station including a mini mart that sells items such as food, beverage, ice cream, candy, soda, made-to-order type sandwiches and meals. The third floor also includes a car wash with a standard washing drum and spray tube terminating with a spray nozzle. A conduit connects to the spray tube and the conduit extends down through the floors and through the base member so that its open end is placed within and registers with the water in the bathtub so that water can be drawn up through the conduit and the spray tube for dispersal from the spray nozzle onto the vehicle to be washed. The bathtub toy of the present invention is thus portable, lightweight, water resistant, easy to clean, transport, and store, and provides young children with a fun-filled educational activity while taking a bath and as a result distracts and diverts the child's attention so that the adult can more easily attend to the child.

It is an objective of the present invention to provide a bathtub toy that is lightweight, durable, and made of plastic.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a bathtub toy that can be used with various types of toy vehicles such as Matchbox® and Hot Wheels®.

It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a bathtub toy that is fun for children to play with while taking a bath and also provides for bonding time with siblings and parents.

It is still yet another objective of the present invention to provide a bathtub toy that is a three-dimensional toy that allows young children to play with toy cars in their bathtub.

It is still yet a further objective of the present invention to provide a bathtub toy for children that has few moving parts, is waterproof and is multi-colored.

Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a bathtub toy for children that includes flip down or foldable legs that facilitates the storage of the bathtub toy when not in use.

Still yet another objective of the present invention is to provide a bathtub toy for children that will encourage children, and especially boys, to get into the bathtub more often.

Still yet a further objective of the present invention is to provide a bathtub toy for children that will facilitate and improve hand-to-eye coordination in children.

These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a perusal of the following detailed description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures and appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Illustrated inFIGS. 1-4is a bathtub toy10that is used in conjunction with small toy vehicles12—cars, trucks, and construction vehicles, etc. of well-known brands and companies—to make the process of taking a bath for small children easier and more enjoyable. The bathtub toy10is lightweight, waterproof, multi-colored, easy to set up in the bathtub and easy to store and transport, and is able to float upon the water or can be secured to the bottom of the bathtub for stationary placement therein. The various pieces of the bathtub toy10can be snapped together and unsnapped for easy and quick assembly and disassembly.

As shown inFIGS. 1-4, the bathtub toy10of the present invention is preferably disposed in a bathtub14having a continuous sidewall16that defines a continuous inner surface18, a bottom or floor20, and which is filled with water22filled up to or within a certain distance of the inside top side or flat upper ledge24of the bathtub sidewall16. The bathtub toy10is designed to float upon the surface26of the water22or can be anchored in a stationary position within the bathtub14. The bathtub toy10of the present invention includes a primary platform or base member28having an underside30and an upper side32. Mounted to the underside30and spaced from each other is a plurality of flange members34with the embodiment shown inFIGS. 1-4including four spaced-apart flange members34. Pivotally mounted to each flange member34is a leg or upright36with each leg36having an upper leg end38and an opposite lower leg end40. The legs36are foldable to a disposition immediately beneath the underside30of the base member28thereby allowing the base member28—and the bathtub toy10itself—to float on the water22; and the legs36can be flipped down for supporting the bathtub toy10in the bathtub14and in a stationary disposition. Mounted at the lower leg end40of each leg36is a suction cup42for adhesion to the floor20of the bathtub14to firmly secure the bathtub toy10in a stationary position within the bathtub14. The suction cups42can be easily adhered to and released from the bottom20of the bathtub14.

As shown inFIGS. 1-4, the bathtub toy10includes a main superstructure or play structure44attached to the upper side32of the base member28and projecting upwardly therefrom. Adjacent to the superstructure44is an island46having several palm trees48spaced thereon. The superstructure44is a multi-storied structure or play structure, and in the present embodiment includes three floors or levels, and the levels can be considered as parking garage levels: a first floor50, a second floor52, and a third floor54. Attached to and laterally projecting from or cantilevered from the island46is a boat ramp56having a distal end that descends partially into the bathtub water22to allow toys boats to dock beside it. Located adjacent to one end of the superstructure44is a tower58having a vertical slot60on one side thereon and a manually operable hand crank or crank handle62projecting from the slot60. The crank handle62is mechanically interconnected to an auto elevator64that can be raised or lowered between and among the first50, second52, and third floors54. Pillars66separate the first and second floors50and52, and pillars66also separate the second52and third floors54.

As illustrated inFIGS. 1-4, a number of play structures can be located on the various floors50,52and54, and the present embodiment has a number of play structures68located on the third floor54. Among the play structures68on the third floor54is a car wash assembly that includes a washer/rinse drum70against which the vehicle12is passed as part of the car washing process. Projecting up through the base member28, the first50, second52and third floors54is a conduit72. The conduit72has a lower open end74that is immersed in and communicates with the water22in the bathtub14and the conduit72projects above the third floor54and includes a u-shaped distal end76that curves down over the third floor54. The conduit72serves as a suction for water pickup. The u-shaped distal end76terminates with a spray nozzle78that sprays water drawn from the bathtub14onto the toy vehicles12to be washed. In addition, a car wash sign80is located adjacent the drum70and sprayer conduit72and nozzle78stating that this is the car wash area. Located on the opposite end of the third floor54is a structure that serves as a gas station/convenience store building82. The gas station/convenience store82is similar to a mini-mart and can sell everything from ice, soda, candy, prepared sandwiches, snacks, milk, etc. The gas station/convenience store82is positioned so that the children can park their toy vehicles12beside the building82.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and disclosed herein, and it should be understood that numerous modifications, alterations, and variations are possible and practicable to those skilled in the art while still coming within the ambit and spirit of the invention and the scope of the invention as set forth in and by the appended claims.