ANIMATED PLUSH TOY

JOUET EN PELUCHE ANIME

Claims

I claim:
1. A plush toy simulating a real or fanciful creature, said toy having
oppositely facing upper
and lower walls, said lower wall being generally flat and being adapted to
frictionally cling to a
surface on which the toy rests when a hand applies downward pressure to said
upper wall, said toy
being composed of material of sufficient flexibility such that when the hand
is passed along the
length of said upper wall to apply downward pressure thereto, said toy
simulates the action of a
wave.
2. A plush toy simulating a real or fanciful creature, said toy having
oppositely facing upper
and lower walls, said lower wall being generally flat and being adapted to
frictionally cling to a
surface on which the toy rests, said toy being composed of material of
sufficient flexibility such
that when the hand is passed along the length of said upper wall to produce
static electricity, said
toy simulates the action of a wave.
4

Description

" CA 02431342 2003-06-06
FIELD OF TI-IE INVENTIOle~
This invention relates to toys which simulate real or fanciful creatures and
more particular-
ly to a toy which when resting on a surface and when stroked by a hand moves
in a way which
simulates the movement of a real or fanciful creature.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Soft toys in the form of creatures such as dragons, dinosaurs, farm and
domestic animals
are commonly composed of a soft outer layer of cotton and a stuffing of soft
material such as
cotton batten. Such toys may have parts which move relative to other parts but
in general they do
not move in a way which simulates the natural movement of such creatures.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
I have invented a soft toy which when stroked simulates the natural movement
of many real
or fanciful creature. Briefly the toy of my invention has oppositf:ly facitzg
upper and lower walls.
The lower wall is generally flat and is adapted to frictionally cline to a
surface on which the toy
rests when a hand applies downward pressure to the upper wall. The toy is
composed of material
of sufficient flexibility such that when the hand is passed along the length
of the upper wall to apply
downward pressure thereto, the toy simulates the action of a wave. Such
movement may be caused
solely by the downward pressure or may be caused by static electricity
produced when the hand
moves along the toy.

CA 02431342 2003-06-06
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The plush toy of the invention is described with reference to the accompanying
drawings in
which:
Figure 1 is a plan view of the toy;
Figure 2 is an elevation of a first embodiment of the toy;
Figure 3 is an elevation of a second embodiment of the toy; and
Figure 4 is a side view of the toy showing the way in which it is activated.
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the description of
the toy.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the plush toy has oppositely facing upper
and lower
walls 10, 12. A pair of buttons 14, 16 is stitched to the upper wall to
simulate the eyes of a real or
fanciful creature. Instead of buttons, the eyes can be painted or embroidered
on the upper wall or
they can be formed on separate material and sewn onto the upper wall.
The plush toy may be composed of shag having a long rough nap on its upper
surface to
simulate the fur of a real or fanciful creature. Alternatively the te~y may be
composed of velvet with
a shorter nap to simulate a smooth coat of a real or fanciful creature.
The lower wall of the toy is generally flat and somewhat rough so that it
holds or clings by
means of friction to a surface on which the toy rests when a hand applies
downward pressure to
the upper wall of the toy.
2

CA 02431342 2003-06-06
In the embodiment of Figure 3, stuffing 20 is inserted in the area of the head
of the toy in
order to give height to the head of the creature.
The toy is formed of material which is suf~'iciently flexible that when a hand
is passed along
the length of its upper wall, the toy simulates the action of a wave. Such
action is illustrated in
Figure 4. In that drawing, hand 20 moves away from the head 22 of the toy in
the direction of
arrow 24. The hand presses downward on the upper wall of the toy and causes
the area 2G of the
lower wall directly beneath the hand to press against area 28 of the surface
on which the toy rests.
Friction between those two areas causes the toy to adhere or cling slightly to
the surface at that
point. At the same time, the material of the toy adjacent to those: areas
flexes upwardly. As the
hand moves, so too does the location of flexure with resulting wave-like
movement of the material.
Static electricity may be produced as the hand moves down the toy and that may
aid or
indeed may be the sole cause for the v~~ave-like movement. Where static
electricity is produced,
little or no downward pressure need be applied to the toy. The simple movement
of the hand along
the upper wall of the toy will usually suffice to produce the desired wave-
like movement.
It will be understood of course that modifications can be made in the
structure illustrated
and described herein without departing from the scope and purview of the
invention as defined in
the appended claims.
3

Representative Drawing