Toy figurine

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11524246-B2
Application number	US-202117187953-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2021
Priority date	Mar 1, 2021
Publication date	Dec 13, 2022
Grant date	Dec 13, 2022

Abstract

A toy assembly comprising a first section and a second section coupled to the first section. The first section includes a plurality of first section members positioned on an inner side of the first section. The second section includes a plurality of second section members positioned on an inner side of the second section. The plurality of second section members are heat welded directly to the plurality of first section members without any additional welding or filler material. The first section and the second section are solely held together by the heat welded first section members and second section members.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A toy assembly comprising:
a first section including a plurality of first section members positioned on an inner side of the first section and a plurality of alignment sockets on the inner side of the first section; and
a second section coupled to the first section, the second section including a plurality of second section members positioned on an inner side of the second section and a plurality of alignment posts on the inner side of the second section, the plurality of alignment posts being received by the plurality of alignment sockets to align the second section with the first section, and the plurality of second section members being heat welded directly to the plurality of first section members without any additional welding material, wherein the first section and the second section are solely held together by the heat welded first section members and second section members.

2. The toy assembly of claim 1 , wherein:
the first section includes an indentation positioned along a perimeter of the first section; and
the second section includes a protrusion positioned along a perimeter of the second section, the protrusion engaging the indentation to form an overlap joint that aligns the second section with the first section.

3. The toy assembly of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of first section members and the plurality of second section members are cylindrically shaped bosses with hollow centers.

4. The toy assembly of claim 1 , wherein the toy assembly is completely made of a single polyolefin material and does not include an adhesive or screw.

5. The toy assembly of claim 4 , wherein the toy assembly is made of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

6. The toy assembly of claim 1 , wherein the toy assembly is a body assembly for a toy figurine.

7. The toy assembly of claim 6 , further comprising a pair of arms movably retained between the first section and the second section.

8. The toy assembly of claim 6 , further comprising:
a hip connector retained between the first section and the second section, the hip connector including a pair of annular ball joints; and
a pair of legs, each leg movably coupled to one of the pair of annular ball joints.

9. A body assembly for a toy figurine comprising:
a first section including a plurality of first section bosses and alignment sockets positioned on an inner side of the first section; and
a second section coupled to the first section, the second section including a plurality of second section bosses and alignment posts positioned on an inner side of the second section,
wherein the plurality of first section bosses are directly heat welded to the plurality of second section bosses without any additional welding material, and the alignment posts are engaged with the alignment sockets but are not heat welded to the alignment sockets.

10. The body assembly of claim 9 , wherein:
the first section includes an indentation positioned along a perimeter of the first section; and
the second section includes a protrusion positioned along a perimeter of the second section, the protrusion engaging the indentation to form an overlap joint that aligns the second section with the first section.

11. The body assembly of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of first section bosses are positioned proximate a perimeter of the first section, and the plurality of second section bosses are positioned proximate a perimeter of the second section.

12. The body assembly of claim 9 , wherein at least one of the alignment posts and at least one of the alignment sockets are positioned within an upper portion, a middle portion, and a lower portion of the body assembly.

13. The body assembly of claim 9 , wherein the body assembly does not include an adhesive or screw and is completely made of a high-density polyethylene (HDPE).

14. The body assembly of claim 9 , further comprising a pair of arms movably retained between the first section and the second section.

15. The body assembly of claim 9 , further comprising:
a hip connector retained between the first section and the second section, the hip connector including a pair of annular ball joints; and
a pair of legs, each leg movably coupled to one of the pair of annular ball joints.

16. A method of fabricating a toy assembly, the method comprising the steps of:
providing a first section and a second section, the first section having a plurality of first section members and a plurality of alignment sockets positioned on an inner side of the first section, and the second section having a plurality of second section members and a plurality of alignment posts positioned on an inner side of the second section;
heating a top portion of the plurality of first section members and a top portion of the plurality of second section members; and
bringing together the first section and the second section by inserting the plurality of alignment posts into the plurality of alignment sockets to align the first section with the second section and heat welding the plurality of first section members to the plurality of second section members to permanently couple the first section to the second section without adhesives or screws.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein:
the first section includes an indentation positioned along a perimeter of the first section;
the second section includes a protrusion positioned along a perimeter of the second section; and
the step of bringing together the first section and the second section further includes engaging the indentation with the protrusion to align the first section with the second section.

18. The method of claim 16 , wherein the plurality of first section members and the plurality of second section members are cylindrically shaped bosses with hollow centers.

Assignees

• Mattel Inc

Inventors

• Mayer Louis-Philippe
• Asbach Ronald M
• Wong Andrew Sik Lun
• Simpson Peter John

Classifications

• A63H3/16

  made of parts that can be put together {(facial parts only A63H3/365)} · CPC title

• A63H3/00

  Dolls {(puppets or marionettes for shows or theatres A63J19/006)} · CPC title

• A63H9/00

  Special methods or compositions for the manufacture of dolls, toy animals, toy figures, or parts thereof · CPC title

• A63H3/46 Primary

  Connections for limbs · CPC title