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US 2006/0079355 A1Published application
Toy ball
AssigneeMattel, Inc.
InventorsJerry May, John Rhein
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A toy ball is formed from two shells and a pair of lock mechanisms 220. During construction, the shells, which may be hemispherical, are mated together and then the lock mechanisms are secured to the shells to form a substantially smooth-surfaced sphere. The lock mechanisms provide a redundant locking feature to hold the two shells together to form the toy ball.
Claims36
A spherical toy ball, comprising:
- first and second shells, wherein said first and second shells are adapted to be connected together along a seam on an outer circumference to form a sphere;
- and
- at least one lock mechanism, said at least one lock mechanism adapted to be attached to said sphere such that lock mechanism captures a portion of each of said first and second shells wherein said at least one lock mechanism resists separation of said first and second shells along said seam.
A method of constructing a spherical toy ball, the method comprising the steps of:
- connecting first and second shells together along a seam on an outer circumference to form a sphere;
- and
- attaching at least one lock mechanism to said sphere such that said at least one lock mechanism captures a portion of each of said first and second shells wherein said at least one lock mechanism resists separation of said first and second shells along said seam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.