Patent Document

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention relates generally to a manipulative toy having interchangeable appendages, and, more particularly, to such a manipulative toy that includes a body and a plurality of interchangeable appendages, such as arms, legs and heads, said appendages being removably attachable to the body by means of magnetic elements in both said appendages and said body. Said appendages are retained in place by means of the interaction between two sets of complementary ribbed elements disposed on both the body and the appendage, which interaction prevents the appendages from moving or rotating, thereby allowing the manipulative toy to be posed by a user and retain its position.  
         [0003]     2. Description of the Prior Art  
         [0004]     The prior art fails to specifically address either the problem or the solution arrived upon by applicant. Manipulative toys have long been known in the toy industry, and the use of magnets as an attaching means has been used for a wide variety of products, including toys. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,638, which issued to Shiraishi on May 5, 1998 for a “Magnetic toy blocks” discloses a block toy composed of a plurality of blocks magnetically connectable to each other, with at least one of the blocks comprising a block main body having plural flat surface portions, magnet holding portions formed on inner sides of the respective flat surface portions, and permanent magnets accommodated within the respective magnet holding portions for rotation about imaginary axes extending at right angles relative to the flat surface portions corresponding to the magnet holding portions.  
         [0005]     Furthermore, it has long been known to use magnetic attaching means in manipulative dolls. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,775, which issued to Sato on Aug. 2, 1977 for a “Doll body with magnet and pole pieces and detachable appendages” discloses a doll having a plurality of segments having joint or articulation means which are magnetically and removably coupled to each other. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,118,888, which issued to Ogawa on Oct. 10, 1978 for an “Articulated magnetic doll” discloses an articulated magnetic toy having removable appendages, including body shells encapsulating a magnet and pair of armature plates, wherein the appendages resemble humanoid arms and legs.  
         [0006]     Such manipulative toys need not be limited to dolls, however. Among the myriad of possibilities of shapes and configureations for these toys are animals and other creatures. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,515, which issued to Ogawa on Feb. 5, 1980 for a “Toy horse vehicle,” discloses a toy assembly capable of being configured into a simulated horse comprising a body member containing a pivotal connection attached to a joint assembly configured and positioned on the body member to represent respectively the withers and breast of the horse, with magnetically attachable appendage members of various configurations, including a horse&#39;s head and the upper torso of a humanoid robot, as well as various removable accessory parts.  
         [0007]     Another example of a manipulative toy having an animal configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,260, which issued to Caputi on Nov. 9, 1999 for a “Inter order/family prehistoric lizard display model,” which teaches toy replicas of prehistoric lizards which consist of a replica core body part with interchangeably attachable head, neck, limb, or body armor parts which combine to depict different species within a given biological order or family, said parts being attached by means of ⅜″ circular magnets.  
         [0008]     Yet another example of an animal-themed manipulative toy using magnetic means to attach the appendages is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,889, which issued to Ejima on Mar. 22, 1994 for a “Magnetically jointed toy for emitting stimuli.” The toy comprises a body constituted by a trunk, and attachments including a head, arms and legs detachably combined with the trunk, which attachments are made by means of a plurality of magnets. A sound producing unit and a light emitting unit are provided in the toy so as to be actuated when the attachments each are combined with the toy body.  
         [0009]     Similar devices are also disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,883,984, 3,375,604, 2,465,971, and 2,457,249.  
         [0010]     As will be appreciated, none of these prior patents even address the problem faced by applicant let alone offer the solution proposed herein.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0011]     Against the foregoing background, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a manipulative toy having a body and a plurality of interchangeable appendages that are removably attached to the body utilizing a combination of magnetic means and complementary ribbed elements disposed on both the body and the appendages.  
         [0012]     It is another object of the present invention to provide such a manipulative toy that is configured in the shape of an animal.  
         [0013]     It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a manipulative toy that allows a user to utilize the appendages from a variety of different configurations of animals so as to create new species of animals representing a composite of arms, legs, heads, tails bodies and other appendages.  
         [0014]     It is another object of the present invention to provide such a manipulative toy which encourages creativity of thinking and experimentation by the user.  
         [0015]     It is another object of the present invention to provide such a manipulative toy in which the interaction between the complementary ribbed elements limits the appendages from moving rotationally relative to the point of attachment, and further limits the movement of said appendages in the plane of the point of attachment, thereby allowing a user to pose the toy and have the toy retain its position in said pose.  
         [0016]     It is but another object of the present invention to provide such a manipulative toy that is inexpensive to manufacture.  
         [0017]     It is yet still another object of the present invention to provide such a manipulative toy in which the body and the appendages are sturdy and may be roughly treated by a user yet still retain their shape and utility.  
         [0018]     To the accomplishments of the foregoing objects and advantages, the present invention, in brief summary, comprises a manipulative toy that includes a body and a plurality of interchangeable appendages, such as arms, legs, heads, tails and wings, said appendages being removably attachable to the body at certain predefined coupling points by means of complementary magnetic elements disposed within both said appendages and said body. Said appendages are retained in place by means of the interaction between two sets of complementary ribbed elements disposed on both the body and the appendages about said magnetic elements, which complementary ribbed elements are formed in a beveled configuration. The configuration of these ribbed elements, in combination with attractive force of the complementary magnetic elements and the frictional engagement of the complementary ribs, limits the appendages from moving rotationally about the point of attachment, and limits the movement of the appendage in the plane of the point of attachment, thereby allowing the manipulative toy to be posed by a user and retain its position.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0019]     The foregoing and still other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the detailed explanation of the preferred embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0020]      FIG. 1  is a perspective the manipulative toy of the present invention.  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  is an exploded front elevational view of the manipulative toy of the present invention showing the body and the various appendages and the connection means therebetween.  
         [0022]      FIG. 3  is a detailed view of the connection means between the body and the appendages of the manipulative toy of the present invention.  
         [0023]      FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the connection means between the body and the appendages of the manipulative toy of the present invention.  
         [0024]      FIGS. 5 and 6  are exploded front elevational views of alternative embodiments of the manipulative toy of the present invention showing various possible appendages.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     Referring to the drawings and, in particular, to  FIGS. 1 and 2  thereof, the interactive manipulative toy of the present invention, referred to generally by reference numeral  10 , is illustrated. The toy  10  comprises a main body  12  and a plurality of appendages  14 , which appendages may take a variety of forms, depending upon the animal or creature the toy  10  is formed to simulate. In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 , where the toy  10  is in the configuration of an alligator, the appendages  14  include a head  16 , legs  18  and tail  20 . Other appendages include arms, wings, fins or even tentacles. Some alternative embodiments of the interactive manipulative toy of the present invention are shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . The appendages  14  are attached at the same area on the body  12  as they would be on the actual creature the toy  10  is designed to emulate, such as the neck or at the shoulder.  
         [0026]     In the preferred embodiment, the components of the manipulative toy  10  are composed of a rigid, workable material such as plastic or resin, and are fabricated as solid elements. However, it should be appreciated that any number of various materials may be used, such as metal or wood, and the body  12  and appendages  14  may be either solid or hollow.  
         [0027]     The appendages  14  are removably attachable to the body  12  of the manipulative toy  10  by means of complementary magnetic elements  22 ,  24  disposed within the body  12  and the appendages  14 , respectively. The magnetic elements  22  are disposed in the body  12  so as to present the opposite magnetic pole that is presented by the magnetic elements  24  disposed in the appendages, such that the elements  22  will attract the elements  24 . In the preferred embodiment, the magnetic elements  22 ,  24  are Nd—Fe—B magnets in a cylindrical configuration having a diameter of 5 mm and a height of 4 mm. However, it should be appreciated that any number of alternative magnets may be used provided, of course, they have the attractive strength to retain the appendage  14  against the body  12 .  
         [0028]     The appendages  14  are attached to the body  12  at a plurality of attachment points  26 , which attachment points  26  correspond roughly to the locations that the appendages are connected to the body of the actual animal or creature upon which the toy  10  is based. For example, the attachment point  26  for the head  16  corresponds to the neck of the body  12 , while the attachment point for the  20  corresponds to the opposite end of the body  12 . These attachment points  26  are relatively standardized such that most of the appendages  14  may be attached to all of the attachment points  26 , regardless of whether or not they actually belong there on the actual creature. For example, the head  16  may be attached to the attachment point  26  for the tail  20  and vice versa. More importantly, the appendages  14  from one creature, such as a kangaroo, may actually be attached to the attachment points  26  of the body of another creature, such as an ostrich, so as to allow the user to create a fanciful creature. In fact, the appendages from a number of creatures or animals may be combined so as to create a variety of fanciful creatures, such as an alligator with wings and the head of an ape. Such a feature allows the user to exercise his or her imagination and creativity in coming up with strange and exotic combinations.  
         [0029]     In order to allow for as much realism in the ultimate configuration of the toy  10  as possible, the appendages  14  may be attached to the attachment points in a variety of positions or poses. For example, the head  16  may be turned to the side or the legs  18  may be positioned so as to appear as if the animal was caught mid-stride. Such positioning is accomplished by allowing the appendages  14  to be rotated about the point of attachment between the magnets  22 ,  24 .  
         [0030]     In order to achieve such desired effect, the attachment points  26  on the body  12  are planar, with the magnetic element  22  being situated at the center of a planar area  28 , as shown in  FIG. 3 . The area of attachment  30  on the appendage is also a planar area  32  with the corresponding magnetic element  24  also being situated roughly at the center of this planar area  32 . When the appendage  14  is attached to the body  12  by means of the attraction between the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 , the planar areas  28 ,  32  are situated immediately adjacent to each other. It should be appreciated, therefore, that the shape of the planar areas  32 ,  34  should be relatively consistent so as to allow a variety of different appendages  14  to be attached to the various attachment points  26 . In the preferred embodiment, the shape of the areas of attachment  30  is roughly circular, and the shape of the attachment points  26  is at least partially circular. Such configuration allows the appendages  14  to be rotated about the axis defined by the attachment of the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 . In the preferred embodiment, the attachment points  26  are often recessed below the outer surface of the body  12  so as to present a more aesthetically pleasing and natural looking appearance when the appendages  14  are attached to the body  12 . The recessed attachment points  26  are shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , with the upper portion being bounded by a fender-like ridge  34 . In addition to its appearance as the socket joint of the shoulder, this ridge  34  serves to assist in the retention of the appendage  14  by preventing the appendage  14  from sliding up the side of the body  12 . The ball joint portion of the shoulder, which corresponds to the area of attachment  30  on the appendage  14 , fits within the recessed attachment point  26  and is surrounded by the ridge  34 .  
         [0031]     It should be appreciated that the magnetic elements  22 ,  24  alone are not sufficient to receive and retain the appendages  14  against the body  12 , inasmuch as the appendage  14  would rotate freely about the axis formed by the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 , thereby preventing the manipulative toy  10  from being posed. In order to limit the rotational movement, as well as much of the linear movement, of the appendages  14  corresponding ribbed elements  36  and  38  are provided on the attachment points  26  and area of attachment  30 , respectively. The ribbed elements  36 ,  38  comprises a plurality of ribs  40  disposed in a circular configuration about the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 . The ribbed elements  36 ,  38  are designed in corresponding configurations so as to be in frictional contact with each other when the appendage  14  is attached to the body  12  such that individual ribs  40  of each ribbed element  36 ,  38  engage each other so as to limit or prevent rotational movement relative to each other. By virtue of such interaction, the appendages  14  may be posed in a certain position and prevented or limited from rotating out of said position. Such feature is crucial for the legs  18  of the manipulative toy  10 , which elements serve to support the weight of the entire toy when posed in the standing position. If the legs  18  were allowed to rotate about the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 , the toy  10  would collapse on itself, since the force of attraction between the magnetic elements  22  alone does not prevent the legs  18  from rotating outwards or inwards. This would also be true for wings, which gravity would force to rotate from an upwardly extending position towards the ground.  
         [0032]     In the preferred embodiment, the ribs  40  on both ribbed elements  36 ,  38  are 24 in number, are approximately 0.75 mm wide and 0.75 mm deep, and are configured in a circular pattern approximately 9.75 mm in diameter around the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 . In such embodiment, the approximate diameter of the planar area  28  of the body  12  approximately 21 mm and that of the planar area  32  of the appendages  14  is approximately 19 mm. The difference in these diameters is necessary so as to provide clearance between the area of attachment  30  and attachment points  26 . However, it should be appreciated that the ribs  40  and the configuration thereof, as well as the size and shape of the planar areas  28 ,  32 , attachment points  26  and areas of attachment  30  may be altered so as to accommodate the particular size and weight of the body  12  and appendages  14 .  
         [0033]     In order to further strengthen the attachment between the appendages  14  and the body  12 , the ribbed elements  36 ,  38  may be beveled or otherwise angled, as shown in  FIG. 4 . In the preferred embodiment, the ribbed elements  36  in the body  12  are beveled so as to be recessed within the body  12 , whereas the ribbed elements  38  on the appendages  14  are beveled so as to be raised above the planar area  32 . In this way, the ribbed element  38  functions as a male attachment point to the complementary female attachment point of the ribbed element  36 . This configurations strengthens the attachment of the appendages  14  to the body  12 , prevents linear movement of the appendage  14  relative to the body  12  in the plane of the planar areas  28 ,  32 , facilitates the alignment of the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 , and allows a user to pose the various appendages in various rotational alignments about the axis formed by the line connecting the magnetic elements  22 ,  24 . It should be appreciated that the angle of the bevel for the ribbed elements  36 ,  38  must be complementary such that the ribs  40  on each element are in frictional contact and engage each other when the appendage  14  is attached to the body  12 .  
         [0034]     Having thus described the invention with particular reference to the preferred forms thereof, it will be obvious that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

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