Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02524310 2005-10-25
TITLE OF THE INVENTION
Continuous Air Inflatable Toy Archway
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, continuous air, permeable character and body shapes have
become
popular as outdoor decorative displays during holidays like Halloween and
Christmas.
However, such conventional air permeable characters and other body shapes are
merely
ornamental and cannot be interactively used by a person such as a child.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a continuous air inflatable toy system (10) for use
on a
surface (12) such as the ground or a floor if used indoor and which can be
used by a person in
an interactive manner to provide fun and entertainment. In one embodiment, the
system (10)
comprises an air permeable body (16) in fluid communication with an air blower
(14) to form
an archway (20). The system (10) further comprises a curtain (30) hanging
downward from
the archway (20) into a passage way (28). The curtain (30) comprises a first
end portion (32)
1 S engaged with the upper portion (26) of the archway (20) and second end
portion (36)
extending substantially to the bottom portion of the passage way (28). In a
second
embodiment, the system (IO) comprises first and second curtains (50) and (52)
hanging
downward from the archway (20) into the passage way (28). Each of the first
and second
curtains (50) and (52) comprise an upper end portion (54) engaged with the
upper portion
(26) of the archway (20) and a lower end portion (56) extending into the
passage way (28).
Unlike convention systems, a person such as a child may interactively use the
system (10) as
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a toy stage standing alone indoors and/or outdoors or as a "face" for an
archway of a indoor
bedroom or playroom door.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The following description of the invention will make reference to the
accompanying
drawings, in which;
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a continuous air blower in fluid communication
with
an air permeable body such as an archway by a flexible connection device such
as a flexible
sleeve which may be sewn to and extend out of the air permeable body;
FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the first embodiment of the present
invention
showing a curtain removably engaged with the upper portion of the archway by
hook-and-
loop fasteners;
FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view of the first embodiment of the present
invention
showing the curtain rolled-up and removably disposed at a position adjacent
the upper
portion of the archway by hook-and-loop fasteners;
FIG. S is a rear perspective view of the present invention showing a curtain
sewn to
the upper portion of the archway which may be hang down or roll-up to be
disposed at a
position adjacent the upper portion of the archway by hook-and-loop fasteners;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a continuous air blower in fluid communication
with
an air permeable body by a connection device such as a flexible sleeve;
FIG. 8 is a rear perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention
showing
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one of a pair of curtains removably engaged with the upper portion of the
archway by hook-
and-loop fasteners;
FIG. 9 is a rear perspective view of the second embodiment of the invention
showing
one of a pair of curtains rolled-up and removably disposed at a position
adjacent the first and
second leg potions of the archway, respectively, by hook-and-loop fasteners;
FIG. I O is a perspective view of the present invention used indoors as a
"face" for an
archway of a door such as the door of a child's bedroom or playroom;
FIG. 11 and 12 are perspective views of a system having electronic circuitry
and
devices adapted to detect when a person is in close proximity to the air
permeable body
and/or passes through the archway, including sound and/or motion detection
circuitry and
generating in response thereto a sound, movement and/or light from the air
permeable body
or archway; and
FIG. 13 is a high level block diagram of the electronic circuitry of the
present
invention adapted to detect when a person is in close proximity to the air
permeable body
I S and/or passes through the archway, including sound and/or motion detection
circuitry and
generating in response thereto a sound, movement and/or light from the air
permeable body
or archway.
DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to FIGS. 1-5, the present invention is a continuous air inflatable
toy system
10 for use on a surface 12 such as the ground if used outdoors or a floor if
used indoors. In
one embodiment, the system 10 comprises an air permeable body 16 in fluid
communication
with an air blower 14 by a flexible connection sleeve or duct 18. Activation
of the air blower
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14 causes the air permeable body to inflate and take the form an inflatable
archway 20. The
archway 20 comprises first and second leg portions 22 and 24, an upper portion
26, and a
passage way 28. The system 10 further comprises a curtain 30 engaged with the
body 20 and
extending into the passage way 28. The curtain 30 comprises a first end
portion 32 engaged
with the upper portion 26 of the archway 20, a median portion 34 and second
end portion 36
extending substantially to the bottom portion of the passage way 28. The first
end portion 32
of the curtain 30 is attached to the upper portion 26 of the archway 20 by
corresponding
hook-and-loop fasteners 38 and 40. The curtain 30 may be rolled to and
disposed at a position
adjacent said upper portion 26 by hook-and-loop fasteners 42 and 44 and straps
46. The air
permeable body (16) is made from nylon. The curtain 30 is made from fabric.
Referring to FIGS 6-9, in a second embodiment of the present invention, the
system
10 comprises as in the first embodiment: an air permeable body 16 in fluid
communication
with an air blower 14 by a flexible connection sleeve or duct 18. Activation
of the air blower
14 causes the air permeable body 16 to inflate and form the inflatable archway
20. The
archway 20 comprises first and second leg portions 22 and 24, an upper portion
26, and an
open passage way 28. The system 10 further comprises first and second curtains
50 and 52
engaged with the air permeable body 16 and extending into said passage way 28.
Each of the
first and second curtains SO and 52 comprise an upper end portion 54 engaged
with the upper
portion 26 of the archway 20 and a lower end portion 56 extending into the
passage way 28.
Each of the first and second curtains 50 and 52 further comprise an inner side
portion 58 and
an outer side portion 60 engaged with the first and second leg portions 22 and
24,
respectively, of the archway 20, and extend to substantially the bottom of the
passage way 28.
The upper end portion 54 of the first and second curtains 50 and 52 are
attached to the upper
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portion 26 of the archway 20 by corresponding hook-and-loop fasteners 62 and
64. Similarly,
the outer side portion 60 of the first and second curtains 50 52 are removably
engaged with
the first and second leg portions 22 24 by fasteners 62 and 64. Each of the
first and second
curtains 50 and 52 may be rolled and disposed at a position substantially
adjacent the first and
S second leg portions 22 and 24, respectively, by fasteners 66 and 68 and a
strap 70. The inner
end portion 58 of the first and second curtains 50 and 52 overlap for complete
closure while
allowing a person such as child to walk behind and/or step out of the curtains
50 and 52. In
this manner, the system 10 can be used by a child as a toy stage for a variety
of uses. The air
permeable body 16 is made from nylon. The first and second curtains SO and 52
are made
from fabric.
Refernng to FIG. 10, the system 10 may be used indoors as a "face" for an
archway
100 of a door 102 such as the door of a child's bedroom or playroom. The first
and second
leg portions 22 and 24 and/or upper portion 26 of the archway 20 may or may
not be
removabIy attached to the archway 100 for additional support by conventional
means such as
hook-and-loop fasteners 104 and 106 and a strap 108.
Referring to FIGS. 11-13, wherein the system 10 may also comprise (either
alone or
in conjunction with the curtain 30 of the first embodiment or curtains 50 and
52 of the second
embodiment) electronic circuitry 120 for detecting motion and/or sound and in
response
generating a sound, movement, and/or lights. By way of example, the electronic
sensor
circuitry 120 is adapted to detect when a person is in close proximity to the
archway 20
and/or passes through the archway 20 and to generate a sound, motion, or light
from the
archway 20. The electronic circuitry 120 generally comprises an sound
detection circuitry
122, motion detection circuitry 124 and light detection circuitry 126. The
electronic circuitry
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120 further comprises a sound chip 128 for generating one or more sounds, a
movement
mechanism 130 adapted to cause movement of one of the parts, and a light
circuit 132
adapted to illuminate one or lights at the same or different times. The
electronic circuitry 120
further comprises control circuitry 134 adapted to receive inputs from the
sound detection
circuitry 122, motion detection circuitry 124 and/or light detection circuitry
126 and generate
an output or activation signal to the sound chip 128 which may be disposed in
a housing 134
sewn into the leg portion 22 of the archway 20. The control circuitry 134 may
further be
adapted to receive inputs from the sound detection circuitry 122, motion
detection circuitry
124 and/or light detection circuitry 126 and generate an output or activation
signal to the
motion mechanism 130 which in turn transmits a signal to a solenoid driven
part taking the
form of a tombstone 136 (FIG. 11) sewn to the leg portion 24 of the archway
20. The control
circuitry 134 is further adapted to receive inputs from the sound detection
circuitry 122,
motion detection circuitry 124 and/or light detection circuitry 126 and
generate an output or
activation signal to the light circuit 132 which in turn transmits a signal to
one or more lights
disposed within the air permeable body 16 which may be arranged and to
illuminate a
flaming cauldron (FIG. 11). The control circuitry 134, sound detection
circuitry 122, motion
detection circuitry 124, and light detection circuitry 126 may be fabricated
upon a circuit
board (not shown) mounted within a housing (not shown) which may be connected
and/or
integrated with the air blower 14. Power is supplied by a power supply 136
which may take
the form of a battery.
The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without
departing
from the spirit and/or scope of the specification and appended claims.
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