Carvable artificial pumpkin and method

#The invention is in the field of novelty items and their manufacture, particularly items such as artificial pumpkins that the consumer desires to carve or alter after purchase.

#Known artificial novelty articles such as Halloween jack-o-lanterns are typically manufactured from paper products, ceramics, or thin, soft plastic and, while useful for display, are not suitable for carving by the purchaser or safe for use with lights. To honor the holiday tradition of carving pumpkins, therefore, members of the public have before now been forced to purchase real pumpkins. However, real pumpkins are perishable and therefore will rot after a time. They are messy and smelly to carve. They cannot be reused in subsequent years. There is a need, therefore, for novel application of known materials to articles that can be carved, such as artificial pumpkins that are durable, non-flammable, and carvable.

#In addition, use of polyurethane foam has been limited to applications in which it can be sprayed on a planar, or nearly planar surface, such as roofing, or used in liquid form for injection molding into solid structures. However, there has before now been no known way of applying polyurethane foam to create a three-dimensional hollow structure.

#The novel features of the invention are described with particularity in the claims. The invention, together with its objects and advantages, will be better understood after referring to the following description and the accompanying figures. Throughout the figures, a common reference numeral is intended to refer to the same element.

#FIG. 1 shows a view of an example inventive novelty item, namely a pumpkin, manufactured in accordance with the inventive process and carved by the user, revealing the internal structure.

#FIG. 2 shows a view of one embodiment of equipment that can be used in the system of the invention to manufacture the example item of FIG. 1.

#FIG. 1 shows a view of a generally globe-shaped novelty pumpkin 10 manufactured in accordance with the invention after it has been carved by the user. The pumpkin is formed of a substrate 12 of sprayed polyurethane foam material covered by an fluid-applied elastomer coating 14, such as silicone, liquid polyurethane, or various acrylics.

#Substrate material 12 should be of a generally uniform thickness, but it is not necessary that the thickness be completely uniform. Polyurethane foam material having a nominal density of about 2.5-3.0 pounds per cubic foot has been found to be suitable for carving with simple tools--such as a pocketknife-in thicknesses of about one inch, which is enough to provide sufficient strength without excessive weight or expense.

#Various optional styling can be applied to the shape of pumpkin 10, such as the inclusion of stem 16 or longitudinal indentations 18. The main body of pumpkin 10 can be shaped as a sphere, or as an irregular sphere that is partially flattened at the bottom, top, or even one or more sides. Also, the sides of pumpkin 10 can be textured, if desired.