Abstract:
An assemblage of structural elements is provided for combining in one or more ways to make toys or toy-like figures that are edible. The structural elements of the assemblage include components that may be comprised of edible materials or a combination of edible and inedible materials. The components may also be in the form of general geometric shapes or preformed parts or a combination of both general geometric shapes and preformed parts. The structural elements are preferably provided in a packaging structure which facilitates transportability of the assemblage.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0002]    This invention relates to toys and more particularly, to a means for making an edible toy or toy-like figure comprising prepackaged edible components of various sizes and shapes or a combination of edible and non-edible components of various sizes and shapes, suitable for combining together to create edible toys or edible toy-like figures.  
           [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0004]    The concept of toys or toy-like figures which have some portion which is edible has been known for some time. Most typically, these toys or toy-like figures take the form of dolls or other figures having human or animal form molded from candy or some other edible material. These products, however, are preformed as a whole and do not allow an individual the ability to assemble his or her own toy or toy like figure in a creative manner. The current popularity of the “do-it-yourself” businesses, such as the craft industry, demonstrates the increasing popularity of products that allow a person to assemble his or her own creations.  
           [0005]    Toys or toy-like figures that have some portion which is edible have been described in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,523 to Green discloses a decorative house, the structure of which is comprised of an edible material in combination with a metal foil material. The metal foil material serves as the mold for baking the edible material into the form of the sides and roof of the house as well as the means for fastening the house parts together. European Patent No. WO 99/34891 to Gardner discloses an edible toy accessory comprised of an edible material formed into a shape usable as an accessory with an associated stand alone toy such as a doll. U.S. Pat. No. 5,743,782 to Glynn discloses illuminable transparent figures made of edible material that can be fastened to an illuminated base. U.S. Pat. No. 4,333,974 to Davis discloses a candy covered figurine that uses Styrofoam to form the body to which colored candies are affixed. U.S. Pat. No. 5,447,584 to Shakespear, et. al., discloses a method of constructing an arts and crafts project consisting of cutting shapes from a preformed sheet comprised of an edible, water soluble material.  
           [0006]    These inventions, for the most part, do not involve a prepackaged assemblage of components of various sizes and shapes, suitable for creating an edible toy or edible toy-like figure of the user&#39;s choosing. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,461,543 to Pettit discloses a method whereby various candy pieces, obtained at the discretion of the user are assembled into an animate figure. Those inventions that do disclose an assemblage of components, such as U.S. Pat. No. 2,775,523 to Greene, involve pre-molded pans that serve as forms for baking cake or cookie dough into the form of a gingerbread house. Thus, they allow for no flexibility or imagination in assembling the edible toy or edible toy like figure. Additionally, such prior inventions are not suitable and structured for portability, such as placement in a lunch box or to amuse a child while in the car.  
           [0007]    In light of this, it would be an improvement over the prior art to provide a prepackaged assemblage of edible components of various shapes and sizes, such as circles, rectangles, squares, etc. and/or specially formed shapes suitable for assembly into various types of toys or toy-like figures. Such an assemblage of edible components would allow the user to utilize his or her imagination in creating the toy or toy like figure using the assemblage of edible components. Additionally, a prepackaged assemblage would be particularly suitable for use in lunch boxes or for traveling to amuse children or as a prize to include in meals.  
           [0008]    In contrast with the prior art, the present invention provides for such an assemblage of components.  
         BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0009]    In accordance with the present invention, a plurality of components are provided in a prepackaged assemblage and are suitable for combining in a creative manner to create an edible toy or edible toy like figure. The prepackaged plurality of components can take the form of any food item, including packaged food items made in various general geometric shapes, such as saltines, round crackers, graham crackers, pretzel sticks or any number of other grain-based products. The prepackaged plurality of components may also take the form of such food items as candy, gum, dried fruit, cookies, cookie dough or any number of other conceivable items. The present invention may also include food or non-food items that are specially pre-formed to create a specific shape to which the conventional food items can be affixed to produce a specific toy shape or design, such as for example, a theme-based toy. The plurality of components is provided prepackaged in a container designed to receive the various components. The user assembles the toy figure by attaching a plurality of the components together. The components are attached using an attaching member or material. This attaching member or material may preferably be provided along with the assemblage of components and/or may be provided by the user.  
           [0010]    In a first embodiment, the invention comprises an assemblage of edible components that are formed in basic geometric shapes such as rectangles, circles, squares, triangles, etc. These components are comprised of generally available food items such as graham crackers, life savers, pretzel sticks, etc. In this embodiment, the user combines the components to form a toy or toy-like figure of his choosing. For example, the user could combine the graham crackers to form the body of a car. Pretzel sticks could be used for the axles. Life savers could be used for the wheels. In this, and all other embodiments, the assemblage of components may preferably include fastening material or one or more fastening elements to attach the shapes to each other.  
           [0011]    In another embodiment, the prepackaged plurality of components comprises materials that are in the form of general geometric shapes and also comprises components that are in the form of a preformed toy part that may be edible or non-edible.  
           [0012]    In another embodiment, the prepackaged assemblage of components comprises two or more types of components, at least one of which is non-edible.  
           [0013]    In another embodiment, the container is of suitable size and shape to fit into a lunch box or lunch sack.  
           [0014]    In another embodiment, the prepackaged assemblage further comprises instructions for combining the various components into at least one predetermined toy or toy-like figure.  
           [0015]    A method is described herein for the creation of an edible toy using a prepackaged assemblage of components which are of suitable size and shape for combining into the form of a toy or toy-like figure. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0016]    In the figures, which illustrate what is currently considered to be the best mode for carrying out the invention:  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 depicts an assemblage of edible components defining general geometric shapes packaged together in separate compartments;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 2 depicts an exemplar assemblage of the edible components shown in FIG. 1 assembled into the form of a biplane;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 3 depicts the top view of the biplane of FIG. 2;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 4 depicts the bottom view of the fuselage of the biplane of FIG. 2 for the purpose of illustrating the landing wheel assembly;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 5 depicts an assemblage of edible components, including a preformed fuselage, sufficient to build an edible toy airplane. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0022]    [0022]FIG. 1 depicts a first embodiment, in which various edible components  10  suitable to create a toy or toy-like figure are provided prepackaged in a container  12 . The container  12  is divided into separate compartments  14 . The edible components  10  are contained within the separate compartments  14 , with each type of component  10  within its own compartment  14 . For example, in this embodiment, pretzel sticks  16 , are contained in one compartment  18 . Graham crackers  20  are contained in another compartment  22 . Life savers  24  are contained in another compartment  26 . Cookies  28  are contained in another compartment  30 . Candy bars  32  are contained in another compartment  36 . Potato chips  38  are contained in another compartment  40 . Corn chips  42  are contained in another compartment  44 . Tortilla chips  46  are contained in another compartment  48 . Marshmallows  50  are contained in another compartment  52 . A fastening element  54 , illustrated in FIG. 1, for example, as icing  56 , is contained in another compartment  58 . Round crackers  60  are contained in another compartment  62 . Saltine crackers  64  are contained in another compartment  66 . Instructions  68  describing one or more alternative ways in which the components may be assembled to form various toys or toy-like figures may be included as part of the packaged components and are depicted here attached to the side  70  of the container  12 . The container  12  may be any appropriate size, including a size suitable for use in lunch boxes.  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 2 shows, by way of example only, the materials depicted in FIG. 1 combined in the form of a biplane  72 . The biplane  72  is depicted in a side view. A candy bar  32  forms the fuselage  74  of the biplane  72 . A graham cracker  20  forms the bottom wing  76  of the biplane  72 . The bottom wing  76  is affixed to the underside  78  of the fuselage  74  and oriented such that a flat surface of the bottom wing  76  is more or less flush with the underside  78  of the fuselage  74  with the long axis of the bottom wing  76  more or less perpendicular to the long axis of the fuselage  74 . An axle support  80 , illustrated here for example as a section of candy bar  32  is affixed to the underside  82  of the bottom wing  76 . Lifesavers  24  serve as the landing wheels  78 . The landing wheels  78  are affixed to the axle support  80  via an axle  84  (FIG. 4) formed by a pretzel stick  16  that is affixed to the underside of the axle support  80  and perpendicular to the long axis of the fuselage  74  in such a manner that the ends of the axle  84  extend beyond the lateral side  86  of the axle support  80 . As illustrated more fully the landing wheels  78  are attached to the axle  84  by sliding the annulus  87  (FIG. 2) of the landing wheel  78  over the portion of the axle  84  that extends beyond the lateral side  86  of the axle support  80  so that each landing wheel  70  is more or less perpendicular to the long axis of the axle  84 .  
         [0024]    Referring again to FIG. 2, an upper wing  88  is formed by a graham cracker  20  and is supported by vertical struts  90  made from pretzel sticks  16 . The upper wing  88  is oriented such that a flat surface  92  thereof is parallel with the upper flat surface  94  of the bottom wing  76  and the long axis of the upper wing  88  is parallel to the long axis of the bottom wing  76 . The vertical struts  90  are oriented such that they are perpendicular to the flat surface  92  of the upper wing  88  and the upper flat surface  96  of the bottom wing  76  with one or more of such vertical struts  90  located toward the front edge  96  of the upper wing  88  and the front edge  98  of the bottom wing  76  to form a forward strut  100 . One or more of such vertical struts  90  is located toward the rear edge  102  of the upper wing  88  and the rear edge  104  of the the bottom wing  76  to form a rear strut  106  and oriented such that the rear strut  106  is located more or less directly behind a forward strut  100 . The upper end  108  of each vertical strut  90  is affixed to the flat surface  92  of the upper wing  88 . The lower end  110  of each vertical strut  90  is affixed to the upper flat surface  94  of the bottom wing  76 . Another pretzel stick  16  is affixed to the upper end  112  of each forward strut  100  and to the lower end  114  of each rear strut  106  such that said pretzel stick  16  forms a supporting strut  116  oriented more or less diagonally between the forward strut  100  and rear strut  106 .  
         [0025]    The tail rudder  118  may be formed by a round cracker  60 , cut more or less in half along a line that roughly describes its diameter such that the two halves that are thus formed roughly describe a semi circle. The tail rudder  118  is comprised of one of the semicircular pieces with its flat edge  120  affixed to the upper side  122  of the fuselage  74 .  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 3 shows a top view of the same biplane  72  depicted in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the tail rudder  118  is located more or less at the midpoint between the two edges  124  of the upper side  122  of the fuselage  74  and located toward the rear  126  of the fuselage  74 . The tail rudder  118  is oriented such that its flat edge is parallel with the long axis  128  of the fuselage  74 . Rear stabilizers  130  may be formed by saltine crackers  64  a portion  132  of the flat side  134  of which are fastened to the upper side  122  of the fuselage  74  near the rear  126  and and oriented such that the rear stabilizers  130  are more or less parallel to the upper side  122  of the fuselage  74  and such that a substantial portion of the rear stabilizer  130  extends beyond the edge  136  of the fuselage  74 .  
         [0027]    As further illustrated in FIG. 3, the upper wing  88  is oriented so that its long axis  138  is more or less perpendicular to the long axis  128  of the fuselage  72  and the ends  140  of the upper wing  88  extend beyond the edge  136  of the fuselage  74  such that the short axis  142  of the upper wing  88  is parallel to and more or less in alignment with the long axis  128  of the fuselage  74 .  
         [0028]    [0028]FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the same biplane  72  depicted in FIG. 2. The landing wheels  78  are affixed to the axle support  80  via the axle  84 . The axle  84  is affixed to the underside of the axle support  80  and is oriented perpendicular to the long axis  128  of the fuselage  74  in such a manner that the ends of the axle  84  extend beyond the lateral sides  86  of the axle support  80 . The landing wheels  78  are attached to the axle  84  by sliding the annulus  87  (FIG. 2) of the landing wheel  78  over the portion  142  of the axle  84  that extends beyond the lateral sides  86  of the axle support  80  so that each landing wheel  78  is more or less perpendicular to the long axis  144  of the axle  84 .  
         [0029]    [0029]FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the present invention in which various edible components comprising preformed shapes and general geometric shapes suitable to create an edible toy, such as an airplane, are provided in a prepackaged form. The packaging comprises a container  12 , divided into separate compartments  14 . The edible components  10  are contained within the separate compartments  14 , with each type of component  10  within its own compartment  14 . For example, in this embodiment, pretzel sticks  16 , are contained in one compartment  18 . Graham crackers  20  are contained in another compartment  22 . Life savers  24  are contained in yet another compartment  26 . Icing  56  which can be used as the fastening element  54 , is contained in another compartment  58 . Round crackers  60  are contained in another compartment  58 . Saltine crackers  64  are contained in another compartment  66 . A preformed airplane fuselage  146  is contained in another compartment  148 . The preformed fuselage  146  has a slot  150  in each side located toward the front of the preformed fuselage  146  which slot  150  is of suitable size and shape such that the edge of a graham cracker  20  may be inserted into it, for example, to form a wing. The preformed fuselage  146  also has an axle retainer  152  located on its underside, which axle retainer  152  possesses a notch or groove  154  on its bottom surface. The preformed fuselage has a notch or groove  156  in its upper surface  158  suitable for holding a round cracker  60  to form a rudder. The fuselage  146  possesses a notch or groove  160  in each side located near the back  162 .  
         [0030]    The present invention provides the ability to use one&#39;s imagination and creativity to combine the packaged components into various toys or toy-like figures and then eat them, or to create the toy and eat all but the inedible parts, which inedible parts can then be used again. The present invention is ideally suited for school lunches or for travel as a method to occupy and entertain children and to spark their creativity. Alternatively, the present invention provides a means for entertaining children as a type of edible craft project such as in a daycare type setting. The present invention can also be used as a prize such as those commonly included in children&#39;s fast food meals.  
         [0031]    Reference herein to specific details of the illustrated embodiments is by way of example only and not by way of limitation. Numerous other combinations of components into toys or toy-like figures are possible. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many additions, deletions and modifications to the illustrated embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.