Toy Figure and Spherical Vending Capsule Combination
A generally spherical, hollow vending capsule and toy figure combination for use in bulk vending capsule machines. The capsule includes two hemispheres that securely attach to form a hollow sphere that resembles the head of a humanoid or animal. The capsule also stores at least one toy figure component such as a body or head inside. Each of the two hemispheres includes corresponding component notches that join to form a component mating aperture through the capsule. The toy figure component includes a mating member having a stepped neck that engages the component mating aperture in the capsule to rotatably secure the toy figure component(s) to the capsule such that the combination resembles a toy figure such as a humanoid, alien or animal-like figure. The toy figure combination is capable of being directly dispensed from a capsule machine.
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The present invention relates to improvements in toy-containing, dispensing capsules, and particularly to a hollow bulk dispensing capsule and toy figure combination for use with coin-operated vending machines. The present invention discloses a hollow, spherical vending capsule that is formed to resemble a portion of a humanoid or animal-like figure, and which houses at least one component part that is formed to resemble another portion of a humanoid or animal-like figure. The present invention results in an assemblable toy figurine utilizing the dispensing capsule as a component part and that resembles a humanoid, alien or animal for direct dispensing from a conventional, coin-operated bulk vending machine.
II. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONToys, novelties, food products and many other articles are offered for sale in vending machines. However, due to mechanical considerations, such as, e.g., their size, shape, and weight, these articles cannot be reliably dispensed from vending machines without appropriate packaging. The mechanical differences between the various bulk vending machines, and particularly coin-operated capsule dispensing machines, further exacerbates uniform vendibility. In order to improve article vendibility, many such articles are stored, offered for sale, and dispensed in injection molded, disposable, plastic capsules.
Typically such capsules assume the form of a capped hemisphere or a non-spherical, acorn shaped shell. Another form of dispensing capsule developed by the owner of the present invention is disclosed and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,438 hereby incorporated herein by reference. In short, the injection molded hemispherical components are assembled by interference/friction fit to establish the resulting spherical capsule of that invention. This structure solved many of the problems in the art related to the size, shape and uniformity of bulk vending capsules but apart from its containment functionality, has no real use. Consequently, while such spherical vending capsules facilitate reliable dispensing of vending items, following dispensing from the machine, they constitute trash and are discarded.
III. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a toy figure and spherical vending capsule combination that overcomes the shortcomings and problems in the prior art.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a toy combination that utilizes its own dispensing capsule as a component.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a spherical dispensing capsule for forming a vendible toy.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a spherical vending capsule particularly suited for use in the bulk vending field that provides a hollow core capable of housing one or more items having dimensions approximating the capsule's interior diameter where the capsule itself forms part of the toy.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a spherical vending capsule capable of securing one or more toy components that are combinable with the capsule to form an integral toy figure having a head and body.
These and other objects are satisfied by a vending container and toy combination including a hollow, generally spherical capsule, having a first hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein the mating lip includes a first mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with a second mating surface, and a first notch disposed adjacent to the mating lip; a second hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein the mating lip includes a second mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with the first mating surface, and a second notch disposed adjacent to the mating lip, wherein the second notch is sized to correspond and cooperate with the first notch to form an aperture of a first diameter; and a toy figure component disposed within the spherical capsule, wherein the toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and a head portion, the head portion having a stepped neck and a cross sectional dimension larger than the first diameter and the shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to the first diameter where the shank is aligned to be received in the aperture.
The above and other objects are satisfied by a vending container and toy combination including a hollow capsule having a first hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein the mating lip includes a first mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with a second mating surface, and a first set of notches disposed adjacent to the mating lip; a second hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein the mating lip includes a second mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with the first mating surface, and a second set of notches disposed adjacent to the mating lip wherein the second set of notches is sized to correspond and cooperate with the first set of notches to form a set of apertures having a diameter; and at least a first toy figure component disposed within said spherical capsule, wherein said first toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and a head portion, said head portion having a stepped neck and a cross sectional dimension larger than a diameter of a first of said apertures and said shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to a diameter of a first of said apertures where the shank is aligned to be received in said aperture.
The present invention also provides a method of packaging parts in the spherical capsule where, upon assembly, the capsule forms part of the finished packaged toy.
For definitional purposes and as applicable, “generally spherical” is intended to embrace its ordinary meaning and in the context of the instant invention, allows for some deviation from spherical which may occur by design or as a result of machining, materials, and other variables. The expression is intended to define the functionality where the package can roll with substantial regularity along a linear track and thus, be characterized as spherical. Correspondingly, the word “hemi-spherical” is intended to embrace geometric configurations that are both truly hemispherical as well as those approaching hemispherical. In the context of this invention, where the capsule components can be generally characterized as bifurcated and permit containment of objects having lengths approaching the diameter of the capsule interior, such structures are intended to fall within the meaning of hemi-spherical.
As used herein “substantially,” “generally,” and other words of degree are relative modifiers intended to indicate permissible variation from the characteristic so modified. It is not intended to be limited to the absolute value or characteristic which it modifies but rather possessing more of the physical or functional characteristic than its opposite, and preferably, approaching or approximating such a physical or functional characteristic.
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawing, and which is shown by way of illustration to the specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. The following illustrated embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that structural changes based on presently known structural and/or functional equivalents may be made without departing from the scope of the invention.
Given the following detailed description, it should become apparent to the person having ordinary skill in the art that the invention herein provides a combination toy and vending capsule combination and method particularly suited and designed for capsule bulk vending machines and reducing refuse by utilizing the packaging as a component of the dispensed toy.
Given the following enabling description of the drawings, the apparatus and method should become evident to a person of ordinary skill in the art.
V. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe present invention, in at least one embodiment, includes toy figure and spherical vending capsule combination. The spherical vending capsule is hollow and includes component parts that are configurable with the spherical vending capsule to form a toy figure. The hollow, spherical capsule is designed to store the component parts such that the capsule and all component parts can be reliably discharged from a vending machine. The spherical capsule includes two hemispherical parts that are joined by a friction (interference) fit to secure the hemispheres together. When combined the spherical capsule and component part(s) form a toy figure that resembles a humanoid, animal, or the like.
In order to provide a high degree of containment confidence, the invention may also include a removable band 111 disposed about the compression fit equator. Preferably, the band is composed of a heat shrink material with a relatively low transition temperature (˜100° F.) allowing for it to be applied with minimal energy and equipment. The band may also be formed from a conventional elastomer to apply modest hoop compression about the equatorial junction of the hemispherical halves 112 and 114.
The toy figure component 120 is stored within spherical void established within the interior of capsule 110. The illustrated toy figure component 120 includes a stepped neck mating member 121 defined by head 122 and shank 124. The shank 124 is formed to have a diameter/perimeter that substantially corresponds to the dimensional and geometrical configuration (diameter) of the component mating aperture 118. The head 122 is formed to have a cross sectional dimension that is larger than the diameter of component mating aperture 118. The head 122 and shank 124 are configured to engage the component mating aperture 118 in the spherical capsule 110 thereby attaching the toy figure component 120 to the spherical capsule 110. The spherical capsule 110 is configured to resemble the head of toy
The first hemisphere 212 and second hemisphere 214 also include cooperating opposing formations that form structures in the spherical capsule 210 when the hemispheres are joined. The cooperating opposing formations include component notches 216, 217, additional equatorial notches 241, 242, 243, 244 adapted to receive and retain additional toy elements, alignment key 231, and key way 232. Component notches 216, 217 are formed proximate the perimeter of the hemispheres 212, 214 and form a component mating aperture (as shown in
The first hemisphere 312 and second hemisphere 314 each includes cooperating opposing formations that mate to form a structures within the spherical capsule 310 when the hemispheres are joined. The cooperating opposing formations include first component notches 316A, 317A, second component notches 316B, 317B, first and second key ways 331A, 331B, and first and second alignment keys 332A, 332B. The first hemisphere 312 and second hemisphere 314 each includes cooperating mating structures that join the two hemispheres to form spherical capsule in a substantially similar manner as discussed above with respect to
Further, the spherical capsule may be provided with additional component mating apertures without departing from the invention. Additional toy figure components may also be included within the spherical capsule without departing from the invention.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the exemplary and alternative embodiments described above can be configured without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, it is to be understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically described herein.
Claims
1. A vending container and toy combination, comprising:
- a hollow, generally spherical capsule, comprising a first hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein said mating lip includes a first mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with a second mating surface, and a first notch disposed adjacent to said mating lip; a second hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein said mating lip includes a second mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with said first mating surface, and a second notch disposed adjacent to said mating lip, wherein said second notch is sized to correspond and cooperate with said first notch to form an aperture of a first diameter; and
- a toy figure component disposed within said spherical capsule, wherein said toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and a head portion, said head portion having a stepped neck and a cross sectional dimension larger than said first diameter and said shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to said first diameter where the shank is aligned to be received in said aperture.
2. The vending container and toy combination of claim 1, wherein said first hemispherical shell member and said second hemispherical shell member engage along said first mating surface and said second mating surface.
3. The vending container and toy combination of claim 1, further comprising:
- a key way formed in one of said first hemisphere or said second hemisphere, and
- an alignment key formed in the other of said first hemisphere of said second hemisphere, wherein said alignment key engages said key way to ensure proper alignment of said first notch and said second notch.
4. The vending container and toy combination of claim 1, wherein said mating member of said toy figure component engages said aperture of said spherical capsule to form a toy figure.
5. The vending container and toy combination of claim 5, wherein said spherical capsule emulates a head of a humanoid or animal.
6. The vending container and toy combination of claim 5, wherein said spherical capsule emulates a body part of a humanoid or animal.
7. The vending container and toy combination of claim 5, wherein said toy figure component emulates a head of a humanoid or animal.
8. The vending container and toy combination of claim 5, wherein said toy figure component emulates a body part of a humanoid or animal.
9. The vending container and toy combination of claim 5, wherein said spherical capsule is capable of rotating with respect to said toy figure component when said toy figure component is engaged with said mating member.
10. A vending container and toy combination, comprising:
- a hollow capsule, comprising a first hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein said mating lip includes a first mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with a second mating surface, and a first set of notches disposed adjacent to said mating lip; a second hemispherical shell member having a mating lip, wherein said mating lip includes a second mating surface configured to engage and cooperate with said first mating surface, and a second set of notches disposed adjacent to said mating lip wherein said second set of notches is sized to correspond and cooperate with said first set of notches to form a set of apertures having a diameter; and
- at least a first toy figure component disposed within said spherical capsule, wherein said first toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and a head portion, said head portion having a stepped neck and a cross sectional dimension larger than a diameter of a first of said apertures and said shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to a diameter of a first of said apertures where the shank is aligned to be received in said aperture.
11. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said first hemispherical shell member and said second hemispherical shell member engage along said first mating surface and said second mating surface.
12. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, further comprising:
- at least one key way formed in one of said first hemisphere or said second hemisphere, and
- at least one alignment key formed in the other of said first hemisphere of said second hemisphere, wherein said at least one alignment key engages said at least one key way to ensure proper alignment of said first set of notches and said second set of notches.
13. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said mating member of said at least one toy figure component engages at least one of said apertures of said spherical capsule to form a toy figure.
14. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, further comprising at least a second toy figure component disposed within said spherical capsule, wherein said second toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and stepped neck, said stepped neck having a head portion where said head portion has a cross sectional dimension larger than a diameter of a second of said apertures and said shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to a diameter of a second of said apertures where the shank is aligned to be received in said aperture.
15. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, further comprising at least a third toy figure component disposed within said spherical capsule, wherein said third toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and stepped neck, said stepped neck having a head portion where said head portion has a cross sectional dimension larger than a diameter of a third of said apertures and said shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to a diameter of a third of said apertures where the shank is aligned to be received in said aperture.
16. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, further comprising at least a fourth toy figure component disposed within said spherical capsule, wherein said fourth toy figure component includes a mating member having a shank and stepped neck, said stepped neck having a head portion where said head portion has a cross sectional dimension larger than a diameter of a fourth of said apertures and said shank has a cross sectional dimension substantially corresponding to a diameter of a fourth of said apertures where the shank is aligned to be received in said aperture.
17. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said spherical capsule emulates a head of a humanoid or animal.
18. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said spherical capsule emulates a body part of a humanoid or animal.
19. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said at least one toy figure component emulates a head of a humanoid or animal.
20. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said at least one toy figure component emulates a body part of a humanoid or animal.
21. The vending container and toy combination of claim 10, wherein said spherical capsule is capable of rotating with respect to said at least one toy figure component when said toy figure component is engaged with said mating member.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 14, 2010
Publication Date: Apr 19, 2012
Applicant: A&A GLOBAL INDUSTRIES, INC. (Cockeysville, MD)
Inventor: Brian Kovens (Owings Mills, MD)
Application Number: 12/967,842
International Classification: A63H 3/00 (20060101);