Inflatable Toy

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Chinese Patent Application no. 200620116439.1, filed in the People's Republic of China on May 23, 2006, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an inflatable toy, more particularly, a plastic inflatable toy with various shapes, and a method for manufacturing the toy.

2. Related Art

There are generally two kinds of inflatable toys used for entertainment in the prior art, leather and plastic. Inflatable leather toys have the advantage of being more leak-proof, but their shape and structure is simple, and can only be applied to limited shapes such as balls. Inflatable plastic toys can be made into all kinds of shapes, but are not long-lasting due to air leakage. Plastic toys require frequent re-inflation and can only maintain their shape for short durations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide an inflatable toy that is less susceptible to air leakage and can take on various shapes.

In order to solve the technical problem in the prior art, an embodiment of the invention consists of a vinyl plastic inflatable toy comprising of a body and an air valve that are manufactured at the same time by traditional rotational molding technique. The air valve is incorporated into the body during the molding process where the air valve and body material are fused together by heat. The toy may be inflated (charged) by injecting air through the valve with a conventional pump. The valve seals the body and prevents the body from leaking air once it is inflated. The amount of inflation in the body can be adjusted by controlling the amount of air injected into the body.

Preferably, the body of the inflatable toy is made of vinyl plastic by traditional rotational molding technology, although other plastic or malleable materials may be used such as an elastomeric material.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the shape of the body is an animal with legs and feet, where the bottom side of each foot is concave shaped so as to avoid convexity on the bottom of the foot when the toy is inflated. This provides stability and shape to the toy.

Preferably, the air valve comprises an air pipe embedded into the body, and an elastomeric air tap housed inside the air pipe, wherein the air tap comprises a middle hole and self-sealing joint portion that constricts to trap the air inside the body; the valve further comprising a charging pin that plugs into the body through the middle hole and joint portion to facilitate inflation or deflation of the toy. The air pipe and air tap are fused together with the body during the molding process.

Compared to the inflatable toys in the prior art, the toy according to embodiments of the present invention is better against air leakage and has a better aesthetic feel. In addition, because the body is made of vinyl plastic or other elastomeric material, it is environmentally friendly and easily inflatable.

These and other embodiments of the present invention are further made apparent, in the remainder of the present document, to those of ordinary skill in the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to more fully describe embodiments of the present invention, reference is made to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are not to be considered limitations in the scope of the invention, but are merely illustrative.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an inflatable toy according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air valve of the inflatable toy where the pin is pulled out, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the air valve of the inflatable toy where the pin is plugged in, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The description above and below and the drawings of the present document focus on one or more currently preferred embodiments of the present invention and also describe some exemplary optional features and/or alternative embodiments. The description and drawings are for the purpose of illustration and not limitation. Those of ordinary skill in the art would recognize variations, modifications, and alternatives. Such variations, modifications, and alternatives are also within the scope of the present invention. Section titles are terse and are for convenience only.

As shown in FIG. 1, an inflatable toy comprises of a body 1 and an air check valve 2 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The body is made of vinyl plastic by traditional rotational molding technology but may comprise of other plastic or malleable materials such as an elastomeric material. A vinyl plastic material is environmentally friendly and does not add to pollution. In addition, the toy made of vinyl does not easily age. The air valve 2 is formed from vinyl plastic simultaneously with the formation of the body; no subsequent process to form the valve is required.

FIG. 2 shows the cross-sectional structure of the check valve 2 comprising an air tap 4 and an air pipe 5 surrounding the air tap 4. The air tap 4 and air pipe 5 are fixed within a rotational mold and fused together with the vinyl plastic of the body due to the heat of the molding process. The valve 2 is therefore integrated with the body 1, which prevents it from being pulled out and prevents air leaking from the body 1. When inflating, a hollow pin 6 is plugged into the self-sealing joint portion 7 through the middle hole 8 of the air tap 4. The self-sealing joint portion 7 will then open, and the body can be inflated by a manual air pump through the pin 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, the amount of inflation of the body 1 can be adjusted by controlling the amount of air injected into the body 1. Once the body 1 is inflated, the pin 6 is pulled out, and the self-sealing joint portion 7 of the air tap 4 will shut and close off air from entering or escaping the body 1. Because the air tap 4 has strong elasticity, the self-sealing joint portion 7 of the air tap 4 will constrict, thus sealing the body 1. When the body 1 needs to be deflated, the pin 6 can be inserted into the self-sealing joint portion 7.

Throughout the description and drawings, example embodiments are given with reference to specific configurations. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms. Those of ordinary skill in the art would be able to practice such other embodiments without undue experimentation. The scope of the present invention, for the purpose of the present patent document, is not limited merely to the specific example embodiments of the foregoing description, but rather is indicated by the appended claims. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalents within the claims are intended to be considered as being embraced within the spirit and scope of the claims.