Repeatedly Collapsible Retail Stand Toy
A retail stand toy that provides for an attractive and sturdy structure, but which can be readily broken down into a folded up arrangement and stored or transported. The stand is generally intended to be a toy so that children can have a retail stand that they can decorate and play with, but which parents can readily collapse and store in a compact fashion when they move on to something else. The stand is sufficiently inexpensive to construct that if it becomes damaged, it can be thrown out or recycled, while still allowing for multiple uses if it is used with a reasonable degree of care.
This application claims benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/862,421, filed Aug. 5, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Field of the Invention
Described herein is a retail stand toy which can be collapsed and carried for easy storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
The lemonade stand is an American institution. During the summer, it is common for children to setup up tables in their driveways or along the roads near their houses, make a pitcher of lemonade, and sell it by the cup to those who pass by. While the stand traditionally sells lemonade, the lemonade stand is really a much broader retail stand and children (and even adults) can offer a wide variety of products in a similar manner. This can include, but is not limited to, any form of beverage, any form of food, school fundraising items, collections for charity, or tickets to events. The lemonade stand is even enshrined in popular culture with such items as Lucy (from the comic strip “Peanuts”) selling psychiatric help for 5 cents from her stand. Such a stand is immediately identifiable (and even readily parodied).
While the idea of the retail stand toy, as that term is used herein, is near ubiquitous, its construction often left much to be desired. The stand was generally a table (often a folding or card table) that was big, heavy, and often difficult to transport, particularly for children. Further, in order to advertise what was occurring at the table, those working the table would often have to make signs, tablecloths, or other placards to advertise. While this allowed an outlet for creativity, the signs were often flimsy and tore easily (such as when made on rolls of butcher paper) or were relatively small due to the constraints of board material available. Further, the stand was not really a toy. Instead, it was a collection of adult items that was simply used by children as a toy similar to a sofa cushion fort.
One clear problem with the retail stand as it has stood is that it is not nearly as attractive, or of the common shape, with the stand as displayed in popular culture. Instead, it tends to look like simply an out of place table. The stand, as it is commonly depicted in fiction, is a much more permanent structure (akin to a fruit stand) often made of wood or other building materials. While such a stand can be readily made to allow children to play, it is often problematic for the parents as it can be very difficult to store, and children can notoriously flip between activities and loose interest in using the stand very quickly.
SUMMARYThe following is a summary of the invention in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or to delineate the scope of the invention. The sole purpose of this section is to present some concepts of the invention in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
Because of these and other problems in the art, described herein are embodiments of a retail stand toy that provides for an attractive and sturdy structure, but which can be readily broken down into a folded up arrangement and stored or transported. The stand is generally intended to be a toy so that children can have a retail stand that they can decorate and play with, but which parents can readily collapse and store in a compact fashion when they move on to something else. The stand is sufficiently inexpensive to construct that if it becomes damaged, it can be thrown out or recycled, while still allowing for multiple uses if it is used with a reasonable degree of care.
There is described herein, among other things, a collapsible retail stand toy, the toy comprising: a storage box; and a stand, the stand comprising: a base; at least one pole; and a signage portion; wherein said pole attaches said signage portion to said base in spaced relation thereto; wherein, components of the stand can be collapsed and folded up repeatedly to fit in said box, and can be repeatedly removed from said box and folded into said stand.
In an embodiment of the toy, the base includes a reinforcing portion.
In an embodiment of the toy, the reinforcing portion comprises multiple sheets of material interwoven into a multi-cell honeycomb arrangement.
In an embodiment of the toy, the at least one pole comprises two poles.
In an embodiment of the toy, the two poles are mounted inside two corners of said base.
In an embodiment of the toy, the stand is constructed of cardboard.
In an embodiment of the toy, the box is constructed of cardboard.
In an embodiment of the toy, the base and said signage portion include decorative elements.
In an embodiment of the toy, the base comprises a rear wall portion and a front and side wall portion.
In an embodiment of the toy, the base comprises a lid.
In an embodiment of the toy, the signage portion is arranged at a top of said at least one pole.
In an embodiment of the toy, the signage portion includes a curled portion enclosing a hollow volume into which is placed at said top of said at least one pole.
While it is contemplated that the retail stand discussed herein is primarily a toy, one of ordinary skill in the art would understand that it can be used for traditional retail purposes and can be used by adults as well.
The box (200) is preferably assembled of a semi-rigid material which is capable of supporting weight but which is relatively light. In the depicted embodiments, the box (200) is cardboard but similar materials such as, but not limited to, light plastic sheets, coroplast (corrugated plastic), and even thin metals can be used. Generally, the box will be constructed of similar materials to the stand (100) but this is by no means required. In an alternative embodiment, the stand may be constructed of more expensive and more durable materials than the box (200). In such an embodiment, the box would generally be more disposable and may not be used for storage but only for sale of the stand (100).
In the preferred embodiment, the box (200) is sufficiently strong and rigid to be used both as the original sales box of the stand (100), but also to act as a storage and transportation box for storing and transporting the stand (100) between uses. The box (200) is generally significantly lighter and easier to carry than a table (even a folding table) and therefore provides the stand (100) with ready portability.
Components of the stand (100) are packed in the box (200) as originally retailed and the bow is generally suitable for storage or transport. As can be seen in
In
Once the outer walls (111) and (113) of the base have been assembled, the reinforcing portion (103) of the base (101) is assembled in step (3) as shown in
In
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
In step (10) the signage portion (105) and pole (107) assembly is connected to the base (101) by connecting the poles (107) to the joiners (171) as shown in
The assembled stand (100) is shown in
As can be seen in
While the invention has been disclosed in connection with certain preferred embodiments, this should not be taken as a limitation to all of the provided details. Modifications and variations of the described embodiments may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and other embodiments should be understood to be encompassed in the present disclosure as would be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art.
Claims
1. A collapsible retail stand toy, the toy comprising:
- a storage box; and
- a stand, the stand comprising: a base; at least one pole; and a signage portion; wherein said pole attaches said signage portion to said base in spaced relation thereto;
- wherein, components of the stand can be collapsed and folded up repeatedly to fit in said box, and can be repeatedly removed from said box and folded into said stand.
2. The toy of claim 1 wherein said base includes a reinforcing portion.
3. The toy of claim 2 wherein said reinforcing portion comprises multiple sheets of material interwoven into a multi-cell honeycomb arrangement.
4. The toy of claim 1 wherein said at least one pole comprises two poles.
5. The top of claim 4 wherein said two poles are mounted inside two corners of said base.
6. The toy of claim 1 wherein said stand is constructed of cardboard.
7. The toy of claim 1 wherein said box is constructed of cardboard.
8. The toy of claim 1 wherein said base and said signage portion include decorative elements.
9. The toy of claim 1 wherein said base comprises a rear wall portion and a front and side wall portion.
10. The toy of claim 1 wherein said base comprises a lid.
11. The toy of claim 1 wherein said signage portion is arranged at a top of said at least one pole.
12. The toy of claim 11 wherein said signage portion includes a curled portion enclosing a hollow volume into which is placed at said top of said at least one pole.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 4, 2014
Publication Date: Feb 5, 2015
Inventor: Joel Zeid (Clayton, MO)
Application Number: 14/451,186
International Classification: A63G 31/00 (20060101);