Patent Publication Number: US-2005118924-A1

Title: Toy pet box

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention relates to toys and, more particularly, to a toy pet box, which comprises a box body adapted to hold water, and an expansive toy put in the box body and stopped inside the box body when expanded after absorption of water.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
       FIG. 1  shows a conventional expansive toy  10 . The expansive toy  10  has a small size before use. Referring to  FIG. 2 , when dipped in water  40  in a cup  40 , the expansive toy  10  absorbs water  40  and starts to expand. The size of the expanded expansive toy  20  is several times over the size of the original expansive toy  10  before expansion. This kind of expansive toy cannot be kept in water for a long time. It starts to corrupt when keeping in water for more than 36 hours. It is dangerous when a child ate a corrupted expansive toy accidentally.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention has been accomplished under the circumstances in view. It is the main object of the present invention to provide a toy pet box, which is safe for a child to play with. According to one aspect of the present invention, the toy pet box comprises a box body defining a water chamber, and an expansive toy set in the box body. Water is poured out of the box body after the expansive toy has fully expanded and stopped inside the box body. According to another aspect of the present invention, the surrounding ornamental devices are installed in the box body for decoration. According to still another aspect of the present invention, the expansive toy can be directly put in the water chamber inside the box body, or fixedly fastened to the inside wall of the outer shell of the box body. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is an elevational view of an expansive toy according to the prior art.  
       FIG. 2  is a schematic drawing showing the expansive toy put in water and expanded.  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 4  is similar to  FIG. 3  but showing the expansive toy expanded.  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of an alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view of another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 7  is a perspective view of still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 11  is a perspective view of still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT  
      Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , a toy pet box is shown comprising a box body  1 , and an expansive toy  2 . The box body  1  comprises an enclosed transparent outer shell  11  defining a water chamber  12 , a water inlet  13  formed in the top side of the outer shell  11 , a sealing cap  131  detachably fastened to the water inlet  13 . The expansive toy  2  is put in the water chamber  12 . When in use, water is filled in the water chamber  12 , causing the expansion toy  2  to expand. After expansion of the expansive toy  2 , water is poured out of the box body  1 .  
      The expansive toy  2  may be directly put in the water chamber  12  inside the box body  1 , so that the expansive toy  2  moves in the box body  1  when the child shaking the toy pet box. Alternatively, the user can fixedly fasten the bottom or lateral side of the expansion toy  1  to the inside wall of the outer shell  11 .  
      The aforesaid expansive toy  2  is molded from a compound containing polyethylene and expansive powder, having a small size before expansion (before absorbing water). When put in water  3  in the water chamber  12 , the expansive toy  2  expands the size gradually up to several times over the original size (see  FIG. 4 ). According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2  has the shape of a frog.  
       FIG. 5  shows an alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2 ′ has the shape of an elephant. The expansive toy  2 ′ is affixed to the top surface of the bottom wall of the outer shell  11  of the box body  1 . Further, a relatively smaller expansive toy  2 ″ is bonded to the inner surface of the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11 . According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2 ″ has the shape of a ladybird. A decorative sticker  4  showing a fence is adhered to the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11  to decorate the box body  1 .  
       FIG. 6  shows another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2 ′ has the shape of a cow, and a decorative sticker  4  is adhered to the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11  to decorate the box body  1 . The decorative sticker  4  shows a fence.  
       FIG. 7  shows still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2 ′ has the shape of a fish, and a decorative sticker  5  is adhered to the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11  to decorate the box body  1 . In order to keep the expansive toy  2 ′ in vertical when floating in water, the expansive toy  2 ′ has a bottom side fixedly mounted with a weight  20 ′. Further, the decorative sticker  5  shows a water plant painting.  
       FIG. 8  shows still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2 ′ is affixed to the top surface of the bottom wall of the outer shell  11 , having the shape of a beetle; a decorative sticker  6  is adhered to the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11 , showing the drawing of a cage.  
       FIG. 9  shows still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the expansive toy  2 ′ has the shape of a bird; a decorative sticker  7  is adhered to the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11 , showing the drawing of a wooden cage and a nest.  
       FIG. 10  shows still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the box body  1 ′ is formed integral with the barrel of a pen  9 ; the expansive toy  2 ′ has the shape of a dog; the upright peripheral wall of the outer shell  11 ′ of the box body  1 ′ is adhered with a decorative sticker  8  that shows the drawing of a wooden dog&#39;s cage.  
       FIG. 11  shows still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the toy pet box comprises a box body  1 ″ and an expansive toy  2 . The box body  1 ″ is shaped like a flat circular bottle, defining a water chamber  13 ″. The box body  1 ″ has a water inlet  11 ″ sealed with a detachable cap  12 ″. The expansive toy  2  has the shape of a butterfly, and is put in the water chamber  13 ″. When the water chamber  13 ″ filled with water, the expansive toy  2  is caused to expand, and the expanded expansive toy  2 ″ is stopped inside the water chamber  13 ″. Therefore, a child can only view the expanded expansive toy  2 ″ in the box body  1 ″, and cannot take the expanded expansive toy  2 ″ out of the box body  1 ″.  
       FIG. 12  shows still another alternate form of the toy pet box according to the present invention. According to this embodiment, the toy pet box comprises a box body  10 ′, an expansive toy  2 ′, and a plurality of ornaments  3 ′. The box body  10 ″ comprises a transparent outer shell  101 ′ defining a water chamber  102 ′. The ornaments  3 ′ can have any of a variety of shapes. For example, the ornaments  3 ′ can be toy flowers, stones, etc.  
      A prototype of toy pet box has been constructed with the features of FIGS.  3 ˜ 12 . The toy pet box functions smoothly to provide all of the features discussed earlier.  
      Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail for purposes of illustration, various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not to be limited except as by the appended claims.