Abstract:
A plush assembly is stuffed with filler material to form a stuffed product. The plush assembly includes a plush defining an exterior and an aperture for receiving the filler material therein. The aperture is opened and closed or sealed with a zipper. The zipper includes a slide that is movable therealong. The slide includes a lock extendable out from the slide that engages the zipper to lock the slide in a position along the zipper. A string is used to prevent the slide from being locked until the plush is filled and the aperture is closed. Then the string is removed by cutting it, maintaining the slide in a locked state.

Description:
BACKGROUND ART 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The invention relates to synthetic objects that are stuffed with a material. More particularly, the invention relates to plush assemblies used in the fabrication of the synthetic stuffed object. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Stuffed synthetic products are used in several applications. One of these applications is stuffed toys. The stuffed products are fabricated using a plush, or carcass, that is stuffed with a compressible material. Oftentimes, the material is a fluffy, synthetic material so the plush feels soft and squeezable upon completing the assembly process. Examples of these stuffed products include, but are not limited to, teddy bears, stuffed animals, stuffed balls, blocks, baby rattles, squeak toys and the like, hereinafter referred to as “stuffed toys.” 
     When assembling the stuffed toys, consideration must be taken for how the stuffed toys are to be packaged, delivered, and displayed. In a store situation, the stuffed toys may be stored in a back room until they are needed for display on a shelf or in the storefront displays. In the situation where a fair or carnival is using the stuffed toys as prizes, storage is much more difficult to come by. Therefore, the plushes are usually transported to the carnivals empty. The plushes are filled or stuffed based on the forecasted need for the following period of time before the carnival must move to its next location. Therefore, there needs to be a simple and effective way of stuffing the stuffed animals and sealing the plushes at the location where the stuffed toys are to be distributed. 
     Further to this end, there is a new market for stuffed toys, namely stuffed animals, where the purchaser purchases a stuffed animal at a retail outlet and stuffs the stuffed animal allowing the purchaser to feel as though she had created the stuffed animal. As with the carnival situation, there is a need in the retail outlet to allow a purchaser of a stuffed animal, who is inexperienced at stuffing plushes, to easily stuff a plush and seal it to create a stuffed animal. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,196 discloses a method of closing a plush toy after stuffing. In this reference, an aperture is loosely closed with a stitch or cross-stitch. A stuffing tool is inserted into the empty plush through the loosely stitched aperture to fill the plush with filler material. Once the plush is full, the tool is removed and the loose stitch is pulled tight to close the aperture. Once tightened, the thread creating the stitch is tied and the purchaser has a stuffed plush ready for accessories. This method is deficient in that it is cumbersome to insert a tool into the loosely stitched aperture when filling the plush. In addition, preparing the plush with the loose stitch requires intensive man hours, increasing the cost of the stuffed toy. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     A plush assembly is stuffed with filler material to form a stuffed product. The plush assembly includes a plush defining an exterior and an aperture for receiving the filler material therein. The aperture includes two longitudinal sides and extends between an open end and a closed end. A strip of hooks and hollows is fixedly secured to each of the longitudinal sides between the open and closed ends. A slide is movable along the strips of hooks and hollows to form a zipper. The slide moves between the open end and the closed end to engage and disengage the strips of hooks and hollows to open and close the aperture. The slide includes a lock to engage the strips of hooks and hollows to lock the slide in a position along the strips of hooks and hollows. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a stuffed toy incorporating one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of a stuffed toy with an open aperture and incorporating one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a stuffed toy being filled with a filler material; 
     FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an operator using one embodiment of the invention to close the aperture of the stuffed toy; 
     FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an operator removing a portion of one embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 6 is a diagrammatic side view taken along lines  6 — 6  of FIG. 4; and 
     FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic side view of a slide of a zipper with the releasing device removed therefrom. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A plush assembly is generally indicated at  10 . In the Figures, the plush assembly  10  is in the configuration of a stuffed bear, commonly referred to as a teddy bear. The plush assembly  10  includes a torso  12 , arms  14 , legs  16  and a head  18 . While the plush assembly  10  is in the configuration of a bear, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the plush assembly  10  may be designed to represent any other animal configuration. In addition, the plush assembly  10  can be configured to resemble any type of toy. Such examples of toys may include, but are not limited to, animal configurations, footballs, basketballs, soccer balls, and the like. 
     Continuing with the example of the stuffed bear, the plush assembly  10  includes a plush, generally shown at  20 , used to create an exterior  22  for the plush assembly  10 . The torso  12 , arms  14 , legs  16  and head  18  may be created from a single piece of material to create the exterior  22  or, in the alternative, the plush  20  may be fabricated from a plurality of pieces of fabric sewn together to create the exterior  22 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the plush  20  includes an aperture  24  providing access to the interior of the plush  20 . The aperture  24  defines two longitudinal sides  26 ,  28 , an open end  30  and a closed end  32 . The aperture  24  is shown on a back panel  34  of the plush  20 . It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the aperture  24  can extend along any portion of the exterior  22  of the plush  20 . The aperture  24  is used to allow a tool  35  to have filler materials blown into the plush to stuff the plush assembly  10 . The aperture  24  may also be used to provide access to the interior of the plush assembly  10  to insert other items in addition to the filler material. These items might include items that are symbolic, e.g., a heart. 
     The plush assembly  10  includes a zipper, generally indicated at  36 . The zipper  36  includes two strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40 . Each strip of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  is fixedly secured to each of the longitudinal sides  26 ,  28 . Each strip of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  extends entirely between the open end  30  and the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . The strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  are sewn to the longitudinal sides  26 ,  28  of the aperture  24  as is known in the art. 
     The zipper  36  also includes a slide  42  that rides along the strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40 . The slide  42  moves between the open end  30  and the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . As is known in the art, the slide  42  incorporates a wedge and two ramps (neither shown) to force the hooks into the hollows of the opposing strip to secure the two strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  together. In the reverse direction, the wedge forces the hooks out of the hollows allowing the two strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  to separate. 
     Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the slide  42  is shown in greater detail. The slide  42  includes a base  44  that includes a channel  45  through which the strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  travel. The slide  42  includes a locking tower  46  that extends out from the base  44 . A releasing device  48  extends through the locking tower  46 , as will be discussed in greater detail subsequently. 
     The releasing device  48  is used to release a lock  50 . The lock  50  inhibits movement of the slide  42  along the strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40 . The lock  50  extends between a hook end  52  and a strip engaging end  54 . The strip engaging end  54  engages the strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40  to prevent the slide  42  from moving therealong. The hook end  52  extends through a curved path and, together with the locking tower  46 , defines a releasing aperture  56  through which the releasing device  48  extends. 
     The releasing device  48  selectively unlocks the lock  50  to allow the slide  42  to move along the strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40 . The releasing device  48  is removable from the slide  42 . More specifically, the releasing device  48  is designed to be removed once the plush  20  has been filled with filler material and the slide  42  has moved to a position adjacent the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . This prevents the slide  42  of the zipper  36  from being inadvertently moved away from the closed end  32  allowing filler material to be inappropriately removed from the interior of the plush  20 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the releasing device  48  is a pull string having a loop portion  58  and a pull portion  60 . The loop portion  58  extends around the hook end  52  of the lock  50 . The pull portion  60  extends out and away from the plush  20  allowing the user thereof to grab a hold of the pull portion  60  to move the slide  42  between the open end  30  and the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . 
     The plush assembly also includes a slide cover  62 . The slide cover is fixedly secured to the plush  20  adjacent the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . The slide cover  62  covers the slide  42  when the slide  42  is disposed adjacent the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . The slide  42  slides under and is covered by the slide cover  62  removing the slide  42  from view after filler material has been moved into the interior of the plush  20  and the aperture  24  is closed. The slide cover  62  is fabricated from an elastic material to provide additional restraint of the slide  42  at the closed end  32  of the aperture  24 . 
     In operation, the slide  42  is moved to the open end  32  of the aperture  24 . The plush  20 , of which at least a portion is hollow, is then filled with the filler material to create a stuffed plush  20 . At this time, additional items like that which was referenced above may also be inserted into the plush  20 . Once filled, the slide  42  is moved to the closed end  32  of the aperture  24  to close the aperture  24  to prevent the filler material from falling out from the interior of the plush  20  through the aperture  24 . The slide  42  is moved by grasping the pull portion  60  of the releasing device  48  and applying a force to the releasing device  48  in the direction of the closed end  32 . 
     Once the slide  42  is in a position adjacent the closed end  32 , the releasing device  48  is removed from the plush assembly  10  to prevent the lock  50  from unlocking. In the preferred embodiment, the removal of the releasing device  48  includes the step of cutting the loop portion  58  of the releasing device  48  with a pair of scissors  64  prior to the step of removing the releasing device  48  from the plush assembly  10 . In the embodiment shown, the releasing device  48  is a pull string. When the loop portion  58  of the pull string  48  is cut, it may be removed from the slide  42 . This allows the lock  50  to move (laterally in the figures shown) allowing the strip engaging end  54  to engage the strips of hooks and hollows  38 ,  40 . Once the releasing device  48  is removed from the slide  42 , the slide  42  may be covered by forcing the slide cover  62  over the slide  42 . 
     Many modifications and variations of the invention are possible in light of the above teachings. Therefore, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described.