US20040235388A1 - Moveable toy - Google Patents

A toy is provided with a platform adapted to move along a playing surface, a bumper supported thereby and projecting beyond the peripheral edge, and a target disposed thereon. The platform may be adapted to float or slide across a game playing surface, or include wheels or casters disposed thereon to engage and roll about the playing surface. The platform may be made of wood, plastic, or a combination thereof, and could be a floor scooter. The bumper is supported by the platform and may be an inflatable tube or a piece of foam, both of which are impact absorbing and capable of reducing risk of injury either to the toy's users or to the surrounding game area. The target may be posts, buckets, hoops, or domes for playing a variety of hand-toss games or be used as the object of the game such as hockey puck.

FIELD OF INVENTION

• The present invention generally relates to toys and games that are both educational and recreational. More particularly, the present invention is directed to a toy movable about a playing surface adapted for use in a variety of individual or group oriented games. Specifically, the present invention is a wheeled toy that incorporates various interchangeable components that can be used to assist in the development of a child's hand-eye coordination, depth perception, aim, accuracy, and interaction with other children.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

• It is a simple fact that children love toys. Most toys are designed to be suited for particular age groups while others incorporate various design elements that enable the toy to become more challenging as the child develops. Perhaps more important than their entertainment value, toys assist in the development of a child's coordination skills, such as vision, depth perception, aim, and hand/eye coordination. For example, usually by the time an infant is between four and six months of age, he/she has already learned to push himself/herself up, roll over, sit, and reach for objects. Many toys designed for an infant at this age provide sensory stimulation in the form of sound, light, bright colors, or fascinating frameworks with dangling objects. These types of toys intrigue the infant, encouraging him/her to reach for the toy, press buttons, or bat at the dangling objects and in so doing, help the development of the infant's coordination skills.

• As children become older, they are introduced to more complex toys that reinforce the development of their maturing coordination skills and entail matching, stacking, inserting, or lacing, for instance. Such toys include stacking blocks, rings, and the like. The child grows more accurate as his/her skills develop with the toy while at the same time encourage the child's imagination.

• As the child matures, his/her skills continue to develop and are expanded with more complex games and the interaction with other children. For example, children may be divided into teams to play basketball, hockey, and soccer, to name a few. These types of activities not only reinforce the developing coordination skills, but also teach the child to follow directions and cooperate with others.

• Although there are a large variety of both toys and games that are educational and recreational, repetitive play with the same toys or the same games may become monotonous and no longer challenging so as to slow the growth of the child's developmental skills. Accordingly, there is always a need for a new and unique toy or game that provides a different method of enhancing the child's skills. The present invention is directed to meeting these needs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

• An object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful toy for that is both educational and recreational.

• Another object of the present invention is to provide a toy that is movable along a surface of play.

• A further object of the present invention is to provide a new and useful wheeled toy with interchangeable components that both enhances and reinforces the development of a child's hand-eye coordination, depth perception, aim, accuracy, and interaction with other children.

• Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a toy that can be used in elementary school physical education programs either indoors or outdoors.

• Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a wheeled toy that includes an impact resistant bumper to reduce the risk of injury to the children as well as damage to an indoor playing area.

• According to the present invention, then, a movable toy is provided that is adapted for movement along a surface of play. The movable toy may be in the form of a platform that may incorporate a bumper and optionally a target. The platform employed may be one that is adapted to float or be a wheeled platform made of wood, plastic, or a combination thereof. The platform has an upper surface, a lower surface opposite the upper surface, and a peripheral edge. In a wheeled platform construction, wheels or casters may be supported by the platform and oriented below the lower surface of the platform and operative to engage the playing surface. In one construction, the wheeled platform may be in the form of a scooter having an upper surface, a lower surface opposite the upper surface and a peripheral edge, a plurality of wheels disposed on the lower surface and operative to engage the playing surface and a centrally located aperture.

• The moveable toy incorporates a bumper supported by the platform and projecting outwardly beyond at least a portion of the peripheral edge thereof. The bumper may be an inflatable tube or a foam piece of selected size and configuration. The toy may further include a target disposed on and projecting upwardly of the upper surface of the platform. The target may be selected from the group consisting of posts, receptacles, pylons, hoops, and domes.

• In addition, the movable toy of the present invention may also include a post supported by the platform or disposed on the upper surface thereof. In one construction, the post may be received within an aperture formed in the platform. The post could project upwardly of the upper surface of the platform, but is not limited to this construction. The post may be formed of a flexible material or could be a spring coil. Further, as is contemplated, the post may be sized and adapted to restrain movement of the bumper, the target, or both against movement relative to the upper surface of the platform.

• These and other objects of the present invention will become more readily appreciated and understood from a consideration of the following detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention when taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wooden scooter according to the prior art;

• FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a plastic scooter according to the prior art;

• FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a scooter toy with a dish, with a major portion of the scooter shown in phantom, according to a first exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

• FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the scooter toy shown in FIG. 3 taken about lines 4-4;

• FIG. 5 is an exploded view in perspective of the scooter toy shown in FIG. 3;

• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the scooter toy shown in FIGS. 3 through 5 with a bucket centered within an inflatable tube, such as a floatation tube;

• FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a scooter toy according to a second exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

• FIG. 8 is an exploded view in perspective of the scooter toy shown in FIG. 7;

• FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a scooter toy according to a third exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

• FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the scooter toy shown in FIG. 9 taken about lines 10-10;

• FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a scooter toy with an alternative rod assembly;

• FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a scooter toy according to a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present invention; and

• FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a scooter toy according to a fifth exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

• The present invention relates to a new and useful toy that is both educational and recreational, and that is constructed to enhance the developmental skills of elementary school-aged children. Generally, the toy of the present invention includes a platform that is movable along a surface of play. Accordingly, the present invention contemplates the use of a wheeled platform, such as a floor or gym scooter, that is adapted for rolling movement along a playing surface. Alternatively, as contemplated, the platform may be movable along a water surface such that it is adapted to float. In this construction, the platform could be a piece of foam or could be associated with a floatation device that permits the platform to float on the surface of the water. Further, if desired, the platform may have a smooth surface that enables it to be pushed in the snow, or include blades similar to those incorporated by ice skates that allow it to slide on ice.

• As contemplated, the movable toy incorporates an impact-absorbing bumper supported by the platform, which can be any type of structure that is capable of absorbing shocks so that when the toy is being moved along the surface of play, the bumper will reduce the risk of injury to its users as well as the risk of damage to the surrounding game area. The bumper is preferably sized and adapted so that it extends outwardly beyond the peripheral edge of the platform and can be either original equipment or a retrofit structure. For example, as shown and described herein, the impact-absorbing bumper can be an inflatable floatation tube or a foam piece of selected size and configuration. However, the ordinarily skilled artisan would understand that the impact-resistant bumper is not limited to these forms and could be formed of any shock absorbent material, including, for example, rubber.

• Also, as contemplated, the toy may further be associated with a variety of targets supported by the platform including, for example, receptacles such as buckets or dishes, basketball hoops, pylons, and hockey sticks, just to name a few. These targets offer the child with a toy that incorporates either a stationary or moving target for a variety of hand-toss oriented activities, including beanbag toss, basketball, horseshoes, flying discs or rings, and the like. Alternatively, the toy of the present invention may be pushed, pulled, kicked, hit, ridden or otherwise used as a component of a team oriented game.

• To better understand the construction of the present invention, and for the sake of clarity, the components of the movable toy contemplated by the present invention to be used in conjunction with a desired platform will be described below in more detail with reference to FIGS. 1-13, which shows a wheeled platform. However, as should be understood, the other platforms contemplated could also incorporate these components.

• Reference is first made to FIGS. 1 and 2 that show two different types of wheeled platforms in the form of floor scooters, both of which have been offered for sale by Gopher Sport located in Owatonna, Minn., and Wolverine Sports located in Ann Arbor Mich. As shown in FIG. 1, a

  wooden scooter

  10 includes

  platform

  12 having an

  upper surface

  19, a lower surface 18 and a

  peripheral edge

  11. In addition, as shown,

  platform

  12 further includes four

  swivel casters

  14 supported by

  platform

  12 and oriented below the lower surface 18 and operative to engage the playing surface. Children typically sit on the

  upper surface

  19 of

  platform

  12 and “scoot” themselves about the game area with their hands or feet. Oftentimes, the child may sit cross-legged on the platform and be pushed by his/her playmate.

• With continued reference to FIG. 1,

  platform

  12, which is in the form of a plate, having a planar

  upper surface

  19 that is square in shape and which may range in size depending upon the size and age of the child. Commonly,

  platform

  12 has a 12″×12″ dimension or a 16″×16″ dimension.

  Platform

  12 may be made of any type of wood suitable to support a child riding thereon including hardwoods such as maple, oak, and the like. The platform may be prepared and treated so as to provide a surface that stays smooth and protects against splinters.

  Swivel casters

  14 are preferably made a non-marring material, such as rubber or nylon for indoor use, but can also be formed of a material that is more suitable for outdoor surfaces such as cement, asphalt, or even a grassy terrain.

  Casters

  14 are typically suitably sized in diameter to provide

  platform

  12 with a low clearance above the support surface, and are typically about 4″ in diameter.

• In addition,

  wooden scooter

  10 has a centrally located

  aperture

  16 that is formed through

  platform

  12.

  Aperture

  16 provides storage capabilities for the scooter as well as ease in transporting several scooters at one time. More specifically,

  aperture

  16 allows for these types of scooters to be stacked on top of each other and stored on support rods.

• Turning now to FIG. 2, an alternative wheeled platform, in the form of a scooter according to the prior art is shown. Here,

  plastic scooter

  20 also includes a platform 22,

  swivel casters

  24, and a

  central aperture

  26. Unlike the platform of

  wooden scooter

  10 described above, platform 22 is constructed of a suitable plastic material and may be sold in a variety of different colors including blue, orange, yellow, and red. Platform 22 further includes a matrix of diamond-shaped

  holes

  23 formed therethrough both to provide a decorative appearance as well as to reduce the weight of the scooter. Further,

  scooter

  20 includes

  handles

  28 that may be used to shield a child's hands during use.

• Wheeled platforms employed by the present invention are not limited to those described in reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 above. The present invention contemplates incorporating floor scooter constructions formed of wood, plastic, or a composite thereof that may or may not include handles. Also, as should be understood, the scooter construction is not limited to a square shape, but may be round, oblong, any rectangular parallelpided or other desired geometric shape.

• As mentioned above, the present invention contemplates combining a platform, such as those shown in both FIGS. 1 and 2, with an impact resistant bumper to provide a new and useful toy. A first exemplary embodiment of the movable toy according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 3-5. As shown,

  movable toy

  30 incorporates

  wooden scooter

  10 shown and described with reference to FIG. 1 above, an annular,

  inflatable tube

  32 supported by

  platform

  12 and particularly disposed on

  upper surface

  19 of

  platform

  12.

  Dish

  34 is also supported by

  platform

  12 and centered within

  floatation tube

  32.

  Tube

  32 may be of the inflatable type that is manufactured for use in swimming pools as a floatation device or toy, but further includes a floor or

  bottom panel

  31, as shown in FIG. 4 not normally present in such floatation tubes.

  Bottom panel

  31 is typically formed during the manufacturing process of floatation tubes, but is typically removed before the floatation device is placed on the market. Alternatively, as mentioned above,

  tube

  32 may also be a retrofit structure constructed specifically for the purpose of forming an impact-absorbing bumper for the scooter.

• Movable toy

  30 may further include

  post

  40 supported by the platform. As shown in FIG. 5, post 40 may have threaded

  portions

  42 to mate with a

  respective nut

  44 and

  washer

  46. In this embodiment, post 40 is sized and adapted to be received by

  aperture

  16 as well as by

  aperture

  38 formed in dish 34 (Shown in FIG. 4). As perhaps best shown in FIG. 4,

  apertures

  16 and 38 are aligned to permit

  post

  40 to restrain movement of both

  tube

  32 and

  dish

  34 relative to the

  upper surface

  19 of

  platform

  12. It should be readily apparent, however, that there are alternative ways in which

  tube

  32 may be secured to

  platform

  12, such as by glue or other suitable adhesive. It should also be readily apparent that

  dish

  34 need not be secured to

  platform

  12 or even included in order to enjoy

  scooter

  30.

• Securing

  bottom panel

  31 of

  tube

  32 helps maintain the proper position of

  tube

  32 on

  platform

  12 so that a margin thereof projects past the periphery of

  platform

  12 so as to reduce the risk of damage to indoor areas as well as to the children who play with the movable toy.

  Tube

  32 may be simply seated on

  platform

  12, or may include ropes, ties, or other structures to help maintain its proper position on

  platform

  12.

• Dish

  34, if included, may act as a target for any number of hand toss games. For example, children may toss beanbags, balls, or other objects into the dish. The dish may be either original equipment or a retrofit structure and is preferably formed of a flexible, lightweight material such as plastic, cardboard, or the like, so as to reduce the risk of injury to a child playing with the movable toy. If desired,

  dish

  34 may be secured to the platform to help maintain its proper position within the

  tube

  32. Securing

  dish

  34 may also serve to maintain the proper positioning of the

  tube

  32 itself, especially if the tube does not have a bottom panel securable to the platform.

• Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 6,

  dish

  34 may also act as a receiving component for

  bucket

  50. Here,

  bucket

  50 becomes a target for any number of hand toss games. In addition, as contemplated by the present invention, such hand toss games where either

  dish

  34 or

  bucket

  50 are used as a target, may be further complicated or presented as a unique or different challenge by rolling

  toy

  30 across a play area such that

  dish

  34 or

  bucket

  50 now becomes a moving target in order to further assist in the development of child's timing and coordination skills.

• A second exemplary embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Here,

  movable toy

  130 includes

  plastic scooter

  120 shown in FIG. 2.

  Foam piece

  132, shown in the form of a disc is supported by

  upper surface

  129 of

  platform

  122 and is an alternative impact resistant bumper. Similar to

  tube

  32 described above,

  disc

  132 is a round piece that is sized so as to extend beyond the

  peripheral edge

  111 of

  platform

  122.

  Disc

  132 may be constructed of a closed-cell foam weighing approximately 1.7 to 2 pounds and may vary in thickness, but is preferably at least one (1) inch thick.

• As should be understood,

  disc

  132 is not limited to a round shape, but may be a rectangular parallelpided or other desired geometric shape. Whatever desired shape is chosen, however, it is preferable that at least a portion thereof extends past the

  peripheral edge

  111 of

  platform

  122 so as to properly perform as an impact resistant bumper.

  Disc

  132 provides a surface for the placement of other targets, such as bucket 50 (shown in FIG. 6), or

  pylon

  250, described below with reference to FIG. 9. Accordingly, multiple targets may be placed on

  disc

  132 to provide a variety of targets.

• Disc

  132 is interposed between

  platform

  122 and

  dome

  150. Similar to dish 34 and

  bucket

  50 described above,

  dome

  150 provides a target for a hand toss oriented game. However,

  dome

  150 may also function to maintain

  disc

  132 in proper position on

  platform

  122 by means of

  post

  140. With continued reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, post 140 is similar in construction to post 40 as described above with reference to FIGS. 3-5 in that

  post

  140 has threaded

  portions

  142 adapted to mate with a

  respective nut

  144 and

  washer

  146. However, here, once supported by

  platform

  122, post 140 projects upwardly of

  upper surface

  129 of

  platform

  122. Here,

  post

  140 extends through

  aperture

  126 of

  platform

  122 and aligned

  apertures

  134 of

  foam piece

  132 and

  aperture

  152 of

  dome piece

  150. As should be understood, when assembled, post 140 releasably secures

  dome

  150 thereby to keep

  foam piece

  132 in proper position on

  scooter

  120.

• Optionally,

  cap

  156 may be fitted over

  nut

  144 and

  washer

  146 on

  dome

  150 by means of an interior threaded portion that is adapted to mate with threaded

  portion

  142 of

  registration rod

  140. When secured thereon,

  cap

  156 may act to conceal both

  nut

  144 and

  washer

  146 to provide a more aesthetic appearance to

  scooter

  130. In addition,

  cap

  156 provides a convenient hand-hold for picking up

  scooter

  120.

• With respect to both scooter constructions described above, it should be understood by a person ordinarily skilled in the art that these movable toys are not limited to being used to provide movable targets for hand toss games. Rather, the movable toys may take the form of an object ball for a variety of other games such as bowling, hockey, and soccer, just to name a few. For example, the movable toy may take the form of an attack puck and be pushed or otherwise directed toward a target ensemble of pins. Also, the movable toys may take the form of a puck where children equipped with hockey sticks may strike the movable toy and direct it to a respective hockey goal. Alternatively, the movable toy could be kicked just like a ball is kicked to provide various other games for children, such as soccer.

• FIG. 9 shows the movable toy described above with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 except that the dome has been removed and replaced with a target in the form of

  pylon

  250. As shown,

  pylon

  250 may provide a target for ring or

  Frisbee

  254 for a ring-toss game. As perhaps best shown in FIG. 10,

  post

  240 does not releasably

  secure pylon

  250 to

  disc

  232 as shown with

  dome

  150 described above. Rather,

  pylon

  250 is simply placed over that portion of the rod assembly that exposed. Accordingly, as mentioned above, and now shown here, it is not necessary that

  disc

  232 be secured to the platform of the scooter by a dome piece in order to be used.

• As best shown in FIG. 10, a portion of

  post

  240 extends up through

  foam piece

  232 and is concealed by

  pylon

  250. The protruding portion of

  post

  240 may be wrapped or otherwise covered with foam or other suitable material, or even a plastic casing, to reduce the risk of injury. Alternatively, it may be more desirable to construct

  post

  240 out of a flexible or resilient plastic material, a closed-cell foam material, or other material that is capable of bending or otherwise deforming upon impact such as

  spring coil

  340, shown in FIG. 1.

  Coil

  340 may be made of rubber, plastic, metal, or any suitable material that will permit the coil to stay upright while in use, but deform on impact.

  Coil

  340 may be supported by

  platform

  320 by any suitable means known in the art. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, an

  elongated wing nut

  344 may be threaded through the spring coil so as to clamp a lower portion of the spring to

  platform

  320.

  Wing nut

  344, also mates with

  bolt

  346 to releasably secure both

  bolt

  346 and

  spring coil

  340 to the scooter.

• Turning now to FIG. 12,

  movable toy

  430 is shown with an alternative target in the form of

  vertical hoop

  450 that may be constructed of any material suitable for maintaining net 462 in proper configuration. Preferably,

  hoop

  450 is constructed of a lightweight material such as polyvinyl chloride. As shown,

  hoop

  450 may be inserted into

  post

  460.

  Post

  460 is adapted to mate with

  post

  440 and may be made of any suitable material capable of holding

  hoop

  450 upright, such as polyvinyl chloride. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 13 with respect to

  movable toy

  530,

  hoop

  550 may be interconnected to post 540 by means of

  post

  560 such that

  hoop

  550 is horizontally aligned with respect to the support surface.

• It should be appreciated from the foregoing that variations of the movable toy constructions described may be made by the ordinarily skilled artisan in this field without departing from the inventive concepts herein. Accordingly, impact resistant bumpers of various geometries are contemplated as well as bumpers formed of various materials that offer different rebound characteristics. These alternative bumper constructions allow the movable toy to stay new and fresh to the child and may enhance the child's understanding of different rebound characteristics. The impact-resistant bumpers may also provide various game components to enhance the games that may be played. For example, the bumpers may have cavities of varying depths formed therein or poles, protruding therefrom, at varying heights and angles.

• Also, from the foregoing, it should be appreciated that any impact resistant bumper may be employed by any platform and that alternative posts may be utilized to accomplish the movable toy construction for the purpose of the game. Moreover, it should be appreciated that any target may be employed with any movable toy. For example, the pylon shown in FIG. 9 may be disposed within the center of the inflatable tube in place of the dish shown in FIG. 3. Also, more than one target may be employed at one time. For example, several buckets may be placed on the foam piece, or a bucket and a pylon may be placed on the foam piece to offer multiple targets.

• Accordingly, the present invention has been described with some degree of particularity directed to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention. It should be appreciated, though, that the present invention is defined by the following claims construed in light of the prior art so that modifications or changes may be made to the exemplary embodiments of the present invention without departing from the inventive concepts contained herein.