Toy made up of a combination of packaging with products contained therein

Abstract: The present invention concerns a toy made up of a combination of packaging (1) with products contained therein, wherein the packaging (1) has at least one surface (2) which is pre-punched such that surface sections (3,4,5,6) which have been defined in advance can be detached, wherein the products contained in the packaging (1) are dimensionally stable, and wherein the detachable surface sections (3,4,5,6) interact with the products such that a new article can be assembled from the surface sections and the products.

Description: The present invention relates to a toy made up of a combination of packaging with one or more products contained therein. The US Patent No. 3'195'265 concerns a package with at least two complementary parts, comprising a core and at least one configured cut-out element for assembly with said core for the constitution of an animal toy. The core is in the inside of rolls of toilet tissue and is only a tubular element. Furthermore,it is usual, for example on flights, to give children toys, at the beginning of the flight, in order to keep them occupied. Such toys should interest children for a certain period of time and provide a wide range of possible play activities in the smallest possible amount of space. Furthermore, the toy should contain all the necessary utensils. The object of the present invention is to provide a further toy which can be used, in particular, on flights and which gives to children the opportunity of having a confectionary. This object is achieved according to the invention by a toy having the features of Claim 1, and further configurations of this toy can be gathered from the subclaims. The toy according to the invention is made up of a combination of packaging with one or more products contained therein, it being the case that the packaging has at least one surface which is pre-punched such that surface sections which have been defined in advance can be detached, that the product or products contained in the packaging is/are dimensionally stable, the detachable surface sections interact with the product or products such that a new article can be assembled from the surface sections and the product or products and the products themselves constitute packaging for confectionary. The advantage of the toy according to the invention is that the packaging itself, in combination with the products contained therein, encourages children to play with the aim of assembling a new article from said elements. Since the surface sections which are necessary for this purpose can be detached from a pre-punched surface, and the products are contained in the packaging, there is no need for any further utensils in order to form the article. In particular, the necessary surface sections can easily be obtained from the pre-punched surface. The detachable surface sections and the product or products may advantageously be assembled via plug-in connections. The advantage with such a connection is that there is no need for any adhesive or the like, which could be disadvantageous for use in the aircraft. The packaging is advantageously a cardboard box which has swing-open side surfaces, one of the side surfaces being the pre-punched surface. The advantage with this design is that the toy is particularly lightweight as a result and can be stacked particularly easily by virtue of the cuboidal configuration. The products may comprise at least one cylindrical and one cuboidal element. As said before, the products themselves serve as packaging for confectionery. This makes it possible for confectionery to be accommodated in the toy without separate packaging being provided for this purpose. Thus, in the case of the toy according to the invention, the packaging for the toy itself and the packaging for confectionery contained therein provide a further possible play activity, namely the assembly of a new article. This article may be, for example, a toy aeroplane or a toy locomotive or the like. Exemplary embodiments of the invention will now be explained in more detail with reference to the drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows the packaging of a toy according to the invention in the closed state; Figure 2 shows the packaging of the toy according to the invention in a partially open state; Figure 3 shows the packaging in a further-open state and the products contained therein; Figure 4 shows the packaging in a further-open state without the products; Figure 5 shows an example of products contained in the packaging; Figure 6 shows an example of a new article which can be assembled using the toy according to the invention; and Figure 7 shows a further example of an article which can be assembled. Figures 1 to 3 show the packaging 1 of an exemplary embodiment of the toy according to the invention. In the closed state, the packaging is a straightforward box, of which the cover can be swung open. The inside of the cover may be used, for example, for illustrating a strategy game. Furthermore, the packaging 1 has one or two flaps or surfaces which are arranged beneath the cover from the top edge of two opposite side surfaces when the packaging 1 is in the closed state. Figure 2 shows such a swung-in surface 2, which is released when the cover has been opened. Figure 3 shows the abovementioned surface 2 and a further surface in the swung-open state, with the result that the packaging 1 is completely open and the products contained in the packaging can be removed. One of the swing-open surfaces 2 has pre-punched regions 3, 4, 5 and 6. These regions 3 to 6 form surface sections 3 to 6 which have been defined in advance. The outlines of the surface sections 3 to 6 are punched into the surface 2 or the surface 2 has perforations with the outlines of the surface sections 3 to 6. The pre-punching for the perforations mean that the surface sections 3 to 6 can easily be detached from the surface 2 without further auxiliary means, with the result that they can be used for assembling a new article. For this purpose, the outlines of the surface sections 3 to 6 are selected such that, together with at least some of the products 7, 8 contained in the packaging 1, they can form a plug-in connection. If the invention is to form, for example, a toy aeroplane, as shown in Figure 6, the surface section 3 forms the fuselage of the aeroplane, through which a cylindrical product 7, which is contained in the packaging 1, is plugged. The detached surface section 4 is clamped, as propeller, onto the front end of the cylindrical element 7. Furthermore, the cylindrical element 7 has plugged over it a surface section 5, which has an opening provided for this purpose, in order to indicate the presence of a passenger. In addition, further, cuboidal elements contained in the packaging 1 can be plugged on as wings. Finally, it is also possible for wheels 6, by way of further surface sections, to be plugged onto the toy aeroplane. As can seen in Figures 3 and 4, in addition to receiving the products 7, 8 which are necessary for the article 9 which is to be formed, the packaging 1 also contain, as is shown in Figure 5, further products, for example a drink, a ball or further items of confectionery. All the products which are contained in the packaging 1 may themselves serve as packaging for confectionery for example. Consequently, the toy according to the invention is used particularly efficiently both as a plaything and as packaging for foodstuffs. It should be noted that the surface from which it is possible to detach the surface sections for the article which is to be formed can be pre-punched in a wide range of different ways. Furthermore, it is possible for a wide variety of different products to be received in the packaging 1. The only requirement is that the products should be sufficiently dimensionally stable to be able to undergo plug-in connection with the detached surface sections and, consequently, to form a new plaything. Figure 7 shows a toy locomotive 10 as a further example of a plaything which can be formed. In this case, the packaging 1 contains, once again, a cylindrical product and two cuboidal products. The only difference is that the pre-punching or perforations in the surface 2 have to be formed such that the products 7, 8 can be plugged together to give a toy locomotive.

Claims: Toy made up of a combination of packaging (1) with one or more products contained therein, characterized in that the packaging (1) has at least one surface (2) which is pre-punched such that surface sections (3, 4, 5, 6) which have been defined in advance can be detached, in that the product(s) (7, 8) contained in the packaging (1) is/are dimensionally stable, in that the detachable surface sections (3, 4, 5, 6) interact with the product(s) (7, 8) such that a new article (9; 10) can be assembled from the surface sections (3, 4, 5, 6) and in that the product(s) (7, 8) themselves constitute packaging for confectionery. Toy according to Claim 1, characterized in that the detachable surface sections (3, 4, 5, 6) and the product(s) (7, 8) can be assembled via plug-in connections. Toy according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the packaging (1) is a cardboard box which has swing-open side surfaces, one of the side surfaces being the pre-punched surface (2). Toy according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the products (7, 8) comprise at least one cylindrical and one cuboidal element. Toy according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the new article (9; 10) is a toy aeroplane, a toy locomotive or the like.

Inventors: JANSON GUENTER, REINARZ MICHEL J J, JANSON, GUENTER, REINARZ, MICHEL J.J., Janson, Günter
Applicants: NESTLE SA, SOCIETE DES PRODUITS NESTLE S.A.
Application year: 1999
Main classification: B65D81
IPC codes: A63H33, B65D81, A63H17