Abstract:
An entertainment device or toy may include a base member having an entertainment member releasably disposable thereon by magnetic attraction. Illustratively, the base member may include a magnetic member, and the entertainment member may include a portion that is attracted to the magnetic member. Alternatively, the entertainment member may include a magnetic member, and the base member may include a portion that is attracted to the magnetic member. The toy can be formed as belts, necklaces, bracelets, rings, jewelry pins, pens, watches, keys, and the like. Decorative indicia may be disposed on the base member and the entertainment member. For example, a toy belt may contain decorative indicia relating to a railroad, an airport, a highway or road, and the like.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/756,916, filed Jan. 5, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, including but not limited to those portions that specifically appear hereinafter, the incorporation by reference being made with the following exception: In the event that any portion of the above-referenced provisional application is inconsistent with this application, this application supercedes said above-referenced provisional application. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
       [0002]     Not Applicable.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     1. The Field of the Invention  
         [0004]     The present disclosure relates generally to devices for providing entertainment. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a magnetic toy having at least one decorative member that may be removably attached to a base by magnetic attachment. The base can take many forms, such as a belt, bracelet, necklace, ring, pin, pen, watch, key, and the like.  
         [0005]     2. Description of Related Art.  
         [0006]     Various different related devices and toys are known for providing entertainment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,839 to Ford et al. relates to a novelty belt consisting of a combination belt and toy. The belt contains a band and a buckle. The buckle includes a first part and a second part that are releasably secured to each other by magnetic securement. A toy is fastened to the buckle by a hook-and-loop fastener.  
         [0007]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,735 discloses a toy vehicle device that includes a toy vehicle and a vehicle track in the form of a belt and buckle. The buckle releasably retains the vehicle on its outwardly facing surface. The buckle also has a mechanism for propelling the vehicle along the length of the upwardly facing surface of the belt.  
         [0008]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,379,492 to Wu describes a belt buckle with replaceable ornamental face plates. The buckle includes a base frame for joining the ends of a belt. The ornamental face place is slidably attachable to the base frame.  
         [0009]     U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,388 to Patton discloses a belt buckle with a removable display insert. The buckle includes a frame with a central opening. A decorative insert is disposed in the central opening. A backing plate is mounted on the back face of the frame to close the central opening from the back face of the frame so that the decorative insert is visible from the front face of the frame.  
         [0010]     U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US 2003/0101547 by Chen relates to a magnetic belt buckle. The buckle contains a top cover, magnets, a pulling ring, an iron block, a bottom housing, and at least one moving-type magnet. The top cover, the bottom housing, and one end of the belt are mounted with magnets of the same poles to facilitate rapid adjustment of the belt by the repelling forces of the magnets. Tightening of the belt is maintained by attraction of the magnets and the iron block.  
         [0011]     U.S. Pat. No. Des. 169,942 discloses the ornamental design for an apparel belt. The belt has the appearance of a fence made of planks. The fence is ornamented with cowboy paraphernalia, such as saddles, cowboy hats, guitars, horse shoes, guitars, cow bells, denim jeans, and the like.  
         [0012]     While prior art magnet-containing belts and toys are known and are generally suitable for their limited purposes, they possess certain inherent deficiencies that detract from their overall utility for providing enjoyment to individuals, particularly children.  
         [0013]     In view of the foregoing, it will be appreciated that providing a magnetic toy that provides a great variety of decorative or entertainment items that can be displayed and manipulated would be a significant advancement in the art.  
         [0014]     The prior art is characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the present disclosure. The present disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the failures, and other problems associated with the prior art, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein.  
         [0015]     The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]     The features and advantages of the disclosure will become apparent from a consideration of the subsequent detailed description presented in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0017]      FIG. 1  shows a break-away perspective view of a magnetic belt according to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure.  
         [0018]      FIG. 2  shows a perspective view of another magnetic belt according to an illustrative embodiment of the present disclosure.  
         [0019]      FIG. 3  shows a schematic diagram of an illustrative toy ring.  
         [0020]      FIG. 4  shows an exploded schematic view of another embodiment of a device for providing entertainment in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure.  
         [0021]      FIG. 5  shows a perspective view of one embodiment of an entertainment member usable as part of a device for providing entertainment.  
         [0022]      FIG. 6  shows a perspective view of another embodiment of an entertainment member usable as part of a device for providing entertainment.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0023]     Before illustrative embodiments of the present device are disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the particular configurations, process steps, and materials disclosed herein as such configurations, process steps, and materials may vary somewhat. It is also to be understood that the terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting since the scope of the present disclosure will be limited only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof.  
         [0024]     The publications and other reference materials referred to herein to describe the background of the disclosure and to provide additional detail regarding its practice are hereby incorporated by reference. The references discussed herein are provided solely for their disclosure prior to the filing date of the present application. Nothing herein is to be construed as an admission that the inventors are not entitled to antedate such disclosure by virtue of prior disclosure.  
         [0025]     It must be noted that, as used in this specification and the appended claims, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to a magnetic toy containing “a magnet” includes such a toy that contains two or more of such magnets, and reference to “an entertainment member” includes reference to one or more of such entertainment members.  
         [0026]     Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.  
         [0027]     In describing and claiming the present disclosure, the following terminology will be used in accordance with the definitions set out below.  
         [0028]     As used herein, “comprising,” “including,” “containing,” “characterized by,” and grammatical equivalents thereof are inclusive or open-ended terms that do not exclude additional, is unrecited elements or method steps. “Comprising” is to be interpreted as including the more restrictive terms “consisting of” and “consisting essentially of.” 
         [0029]     As used herein, “consisting of” and grammatical equivalents thereof exclude any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim.  
         [0030]     As used herein, “consisting essentially of” and grammatical equivalents thereof limit the scope of a claim to the specified materials or steps and those that do not materially affect the basic and novel characteristic or characteristics of the claimed disclosure.  
         [0031]      FIGS. 1 and 2  show illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure wherein a device, indicated generally at  10 , may be configured in the form of an article of apparel, such as a belt. The belt  10  may include a flexible portion or band  11  and a connector portion  12 , such as a buckle, for connecting opposing ends of the band  11 . It will be understood that the connector portion  12  may be formed in any conventional design. Disposed on the band  11  may be at least one magnetic member  13 ,  13   a.  This magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  can be continuous, as shown in  FIG. 1 , or can be discontinuous, as shown in  FIG. 2 . Thus, the belt  10  can include one magnetic member  13  or more than one magnetic member  13   a.  It will also be understood that one embodiment of the present disclosure may include the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  extending on the connector portion  12 , whereas other embodiments of the present disclosure may include the connector portion  12  without any magnetic members  13 ,  13   a.    
         [0032]     In one embodiment of the present disclosure, the flexible portion or band  11  may have a length, and the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  may extend a majority of the length of the band  11 . A further embodiment of the present disclosure may include the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  that extend more than seventy-five percent of the length of the band  11 . Another embodiment of the present disclosure may include the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  extending more than ninety percent of the length of the band  11 , or even substantially the entire length of the band  11 . It will be understood, however, that other embodiments of the present disclosure may include magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  extending other percentages of the length of the band  11 .  
         [0033]     The magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  can be disposed on the interior surface  14  of the band  11 , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , or the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  can be disposed on the exterior surface  15  of the band  11 . Still further, the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  can be disposed internally in the band, such that the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  may be hidden so as to not be visible from inspection of either the interior surface  14  or the exterior surface  15 . Moreover, an alternative embodiment may include the band  11  formed of the magnetic member  13 .  
         [0034]     It will be appreciated that if the magnetic member is continuously disposed around the band of the belt  10 , as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , that the magnetic member  13  may be flexible to permit the belt  10  to fit different sizes and shapes. If more than one magnetic member  13   a  is used, such as is illustrated in  FIG. 2 , then the magnetic members  13   a  can be either flexible or rigid. It will also be appreciated that magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  can be of various selected shapes. The magnetic members  13   a  illustrated in  FIG. 2  are rectangular, but other shapes, such as circular, oval, square, triangular, and the like, could also be used in accordance with the present disclosure. Any shape of the magnetic members and their placement in the belt  10  is considered to be within the scope of the disclosure, particularly when functionality is maintained. It will be understood that the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  may be partially or completely formed as magnets or materials that are attracted by magnets, such as iron, steel, or other ferrous materials, such that a magnetic force may be created. Rare earth magnets are also considered within the scope of the invention.  
         [0035]     Decorative or entertainment members  16 ,  26 ,  30 ,  30   a,    30   b , as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 - 6 , for example, may be disposed on the belt  10  to beautify the belt  10  and to provide entertainment to individuals, particularly children. It will be understood that the entertainment member  16  may be formed in any desirable shape, size, color and configuration. Accordingly, entertainment member  16  is considered to be schematically represented in  FIG. 1 . It will be understood that the entertainment members  16 ,  26 ,  30 ,  30   a,  and  30   b  may be referred to generally herein by reference numeral  16 , unless the context dictates otherwise. Such entertainment members  16  may contain at least a portion thereof that is releasably attachable on the belt  10  by magnetic attraction to the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  of the belt  10 . For example, such entertainment members  16  may contain a portion comprising iron, steel, or other ferrous materials, or magnets. In the case of non-ferrous magnets, the entertainment members  16  may include a portion comprising any material that would be attracted to the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  and held in place on the belt  10 .  
         [0036]     The belt  10  may be constructed of conventional materials, such as fabric, leather, plastics, and the like. The magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  may be disposed on the belt by adhesives, being sewn into a fabric, or other fasteners or mechanisms known in the art.  
         [0037]     The entertainment members  16  may also contain decorative indicia, or the entertainment members may be formed in shapes that may be of interest to individuals, such as children. The belt  10  itself may also contain decorative indicia and/or shapes that, optionally, may be coordinated with the decorative indicia of the entertainment members  16 . For example, the belt may contain decorative indicia that may have themes that are of interest to children. Such themes may include railroads, airports, highways or roads, farms, zoos, animals, and the like. By way of further example, a toy belt according to the present disclosure could be decorated to have the appearance of a railroad track  31 , as shown in  FIG. 4 . The belt buckle could also be decorated, such as to have the appearance of a round house or a train depot. The entertainment members  30  could be decorated with corresponding decorative indicia and/or shapes such as trains, railroad cars and the like.  
         [0038]     In another illustrative embodiment of the disclosure, a toy belt may be decorated with decorative indicia and/or shapes indicative of a highway or road. According to this embodiment, the entertainment members could be configured for resembling automobiles  30   a,  as shown in  FIG. 5 , such as cars, trucks, diesel trucks, tow trucks, monster trucks, mail trucks, furniture trucks, tanker trucks, garbage trucks, cement trucks, police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, buses, motor homes, all terrain vehicles (ATVs), motorcycles, and the like. The buckles of the belts may be decorated with decorative indicia and configured for resembling garages, stores, schools, warehouses, post offices, homes, police stations, fire stations, hospitals, and the like. Further, the belt could be decorated with decorative indicia and configured for resembling monorails and monorail trains, elevated trains (els), and the like. One embodiment may include the device  10  forming a path or track, such that the automobiles  30   a  may be moved along the track, either while the device  10  is being worn, or with the device removed from an individual. Accordingly, some embodiments of the device  10  may include portions without magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  where the automobiles  30   a  may move freely without being impacted by a magnetic force, whereas other embodiments may include magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  that maintain the automobiles  30   a  on the track or in pre-determined locations.  
         [0039]     In another illustrative example, a toy belt may be decorated with decorative indicia or configured with an aviation theme. Accordingly, the band of the belt may be decorated to have the appearance of an airport runway. The belt buckle may be decorated to have the appearance of a hangar or terminal. The entertainment members  16  may be decorated or configured to have the appearance of aircraft  30   b,  as shown in  FIG. 6 , such as passenger planes, cargo planes, commuter jets, mail planes, pontoon planes, helicopters, and the like.  
         [0040]     In another illustrative example, a toy belt may be decorated with decorative indicia with a space travel theme. Accordingly, the band of the belt may have decorative indicia indicative of launching pads, rockets, space ships, and the like.  
         [0041]     In yet another illustrative embodiment of the disclosure, the device can comprise a belt, which may be decorated with decorative indicia for resembling a supermarket or other store. In this illustrative embodiment, the band of the belt can be decorated with decorative indicia for resembling an aisle of a store, and the entertainment members can be decorated or configured for resembling shopping carts.  
         [0042]     In still other illustrative embodiments of the disclosure, a toy belt can comprise decorative indicia for resembling racetracks and race animals; a farm with farm animals, farm equipment, farm buildings, and the like; aquatic environments with aquatic animals, such as fish, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians; dinosaurs in appropriate environment; and winter environments with sleds, toboggans, skaters, skiers, and the like.  
         [0043]     It will be understood that the toy belt and entertainment member  16  may take on numerous other configurations known to those skilled in the art for providing entertainment, within the scope of the present disclosure.  
         [0044]      FIG. 3  shows an illustrative toy ring  20  according to the present disclosure. The toy ring  20  may comprise a ring member  22  on which may be disposed a base member  24 . Releasably disposed on the base member  24  may be an entertainment member  26 , in this case in the form of a cat. The base member  24  may contain a magnetic member  28  and the entertainment member  26  may contain a portion that is magnetically attracted to the magnetic member. Alternatively, the entertainment member  26  may contain the magnetic member, and the base member  24  may contain a portion that is magnetically attracted to the magnetic member. It will also be understood that the ring member  22  may form the base member and may include the magnetic member  28 .  
         [0045]     In similar illustrative embodiments of the disclosure, the entertainment members can be decorated with decorative indicia or otherwise configured for resembling zoo animals, farm animals, wild animals, flowers, insects, fish, reptiles, amphibians, domesticated animals, aquatic mammals, circus animals, dolls, coins, and the like, or any other desired feature.  
         [0046]     It will be understood that the principles of the present disclosure may be used with inexpensive materials forming toys for children. It will also be appreciated that the principles of the present disclosure may be used for jewelry comprised of valuable materials, such as gold or silver, for example. Moreover, the entertainment members  26  may be formed of precious or semi-precious stones, metals, or other valuable items. Accordingly, the entertainment members  26  may be replaceable or interchangeable to add to the versatility of the jewelry. Thus, it will be appreciated that the principles of the present disclosure are not limited to toys for children.  
         [0047]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , an exploded perspective schematic view is shown of a device for providing entertainment, indicated generally at  29 . The device  29  may include a base member  32  and an entertainment member  30 . The base member  32  may comprise a belt, necklace, bracelet, ring, jewelry pin, pen, watch, key chain, key, or the like. Accordingly, the depiction of the base member  32  in  FIG. 4  is considered to be schematic to represent various different objects. The base member  32  may be flexible to form a loop in some embodiments, whereas in other embodiments, the base member  32  may be substantially rigid. It will be understood that the base member  32  may include a magnetic member similar to the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a  discussed above, or the base member  32  itself may be a magnetic member. In some embodiments, the entertainment member  30  may be disposed on the base member  32  similarly to the belt embodiments described above. Necklace and bracelet embodiments may also be analogous to the belt embodiments.  
         [0048]     It will be understood that one feature of the present disclosure includes an entertainment member  30  that may be removably attachable to the base member  32  at any of a plurality of locations on the base member  32 , or around a loop formed by the base member  32 , by a magnetic force between the entertainment member  30  and the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a.  It will be understood that the plurality of locations on the base member  32  where the entertainment member  30  may be attached as referred to herein include locations visually perceptible to an observer to be different, and not merely minute location variations in the same area that would be visually imperceptible.  
         [0049]     Another feature of the present disclosure allows the entertainment members  30  to be interchangeable. Accordingly, the present disclosure may include a plurality of entertainment members  30  removably attachable to the base member  32  by a magnetic force with the magnetic member  13 ,  13   a  such that the plurality of entertainment members  30  may be moveable with respect to each other and interchangeable with each other.  
         [0050]     Embodiments of the present disclosure may permit the movement and/or replacement of the entertainment members  30  on the base member  32 . The entertainment members  30  may also be interchanged with other entertainment members  30 . These features provide for variety in connection with use of the toy. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also allows children to move selected entertainment members  30  with respect to other entertainment members  30 , thus encouraging the use and development of imagination and creativity in playing with the toy device  29 . These variables encourage children to make up games and stories, and to play alone and with other children and adults.  
         [0051]     Another embodiment of the present disclosure may be provided in which the entertainment members  16  may be provided in the form of keys, containers, tools or other such objects. For example, a key may be directly attachable to the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a,  or a pocket or container may be provided for hiding a key which may be attachable to the magnetic members  13 ,  13   a.  Similarly, containers may be provided for holding coins or other articles. Other embodiments may include one or more storage pockets, either within the flexible portion  11  or connector portion  12 , for storing items. Accordingly, the device  10  may be used for practical purposes as well as for entertainment.  
         [0052]     Another aspect of the present disclosure may include entertainment members  16  in the form of logos, school mascots, badges, or collectible items or emblems, or the like. Accordingly, various different entertainment members  16  may be displayed on the device  10 .  
         [0053]     It will be appreciated that the structures and apparatus disclosed herein are merely exemplary of means for performing specified functions. For example, the structure and apparatus disclosed herein is merely one example of a means for joining a device to a body, means for providing entertainment, and magnetic means for removably attaching the entertainment means. It should be appreciated that any structures, apparatus or systems for performing functions, which function the same as, or equivalent to, those disclosed herein are intended to fall within the scope of a means for performing the functions, including those structures, apparatus or systems for performing the functions that are presently known, or that may become available in the future. Anything which functions the same as, or equivalently to, a means for performing the specified function falls within the scope of that element.  
         [0054]     In accordance with the features and combinations described above, a useful method of providing entertainment includes the steps of:  
         [0055]     (a) providing an article of apparel defining a base member comprising at least one magnetic member;  
         [0056]     (b) providing an entertainment member that is removably attachable to the base member through a magnetic force; and  
         [0057]     (c) removably joining the entertainment member to any of a plurality of locations on the base member.  
         [0058]     Those having ordinary skill in the relevant art will appreciate the advantages provide by the features of the present disclosure. For example, it is a feature of the present disclosure to provide a device for providing entertainment that is simple in design and manufacture. Another feature of the present disclosure is to provide such a device that can provide a useful article or article of apparel. It is a further feature of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect thereof, to provide a device that may be versatile to include interchangeable entertainment members. It is another feature of the present disclosure to provide a device that promotes entertainment through creative interaction. It is an additional feature of the present disclosure, in accordance with one aspect thereof, to provide a device that allows for versatile use of jewelry.  
         [0059]     In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features of the present disclosure are grouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed disclosure requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description of the Disclosure by this reference, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of the present disclosure.  
         [0060]     It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are only illustrative of the application of the principles of the present disclosure. Numerous modifications and alternative arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure and the appended claims are intended to cover such modifications and arrangements. Thus, while the present disclosure has been shown in the drawings and described above with particularity and detail, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications, including, but not limited to, variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use may be made without departing from the principles and-concepts set forth herein.