Background of the Invention

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates in general to a child's toy provided with a warming device, and, more particularly, to a child's toy having a warming device which automatically shuts off after a predetermined amount of time. Description of the Prior Art

The feelings of cuddling and warmth are very important aspects in the healing process and are very important to the human race in general. Children, are particularly interested in soothing, cuddling warmth. In an effort to provide children with this warmth, toys have been developed which may be filled with warm water that gives off heat as the water cools. While these devices do provide a certain amount of warmth, water is a messy medium and warm water does not stay warm long enough for these type of devices to be effective in giving a child a long lasting warming sensation from the toy.

As an alternative, toys have been developed with a specially designed interior heatable in a microwave. While these devices eliminate the messiness of water and provide a longer lasting heating effect, the requirement of placing the toys in a microwave has been perceived as setting a dangerous example for small children. Electrically heated toys have also been created, such as

those described in United States Letter Patent Numbers 1,558,278, 1,896,663, PCT Application No. WO 86/07662, and United Kingdom Patent Application Number GB2217219. These devices, however, either require connection to an unwieldy cord during use, radiate heat in an unevenly decreasing gradient, or are subject to undesired battery drain if the device is not shut off.

While use of an automatic shut-off device in a light emitting toy is shown in United States Letters Patent Number 5,114,376, the prior art, such as GB2217219, teaches the desirability in a heat- emanating toy of sustaining heat emanation as long as possible. The GB2217219 device uses an attached cord which has been previously described as undesirable. In contrast to the teachings of the prior art, it has been found advantageous to maintain internal heating of a toy for a period of less than an hour to reduce energy consumption and allow the use of batteries to heat the toy. Accordingly, while it is proven desirable to provide a toy for transmitting heat to a cuddling child, the prior art has provided devices with several drawbacks . The difficulties encountered in the prior art discussed hereinabove are substantially eliminated by the present invention.

Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a heat emitting device capable of transmitting heat to a child. The device includes a portable toy having a hollow interior and a heat transmitting shell. An electric heating device is disposed within the interior in heat transmissive contact with the shell. An electric power source is

also disposed within the interior and is coupled to the electric heating device. Means are provided for activating the electric heating device.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, means are also provided for deactivating the electric heating device after a predetermined period of time. Also, means are preferably provided within the interior for producing musical signals for a predetermined period of time. Accordingly, a child may activate the device before going to sleep and the device will provide warmth and music until after the child has fallen asleep.

Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation in partial cutaway showing the toy of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation in partial cutaway showing the toy of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a rear elevation in partial cutaway showing the toy of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic of the electrical system contained within the toy of Fig. 1.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment With reference to the drawings, a child's toy commonly referred to as a "teddy bear" is indicated generally at 10 in Fig. 1. The toy 10 is preferably provided with an interior 12 and a heat transmitting shell 14. While the shell 14 may be of any material capable of transmitting heat, it is preferably constructed of cotton, polyester or some other soft material. The toy 10 is

preferably provided with a belly 16 with an interior surface to which is sewn or otherwise secured a heating pad 18.

As shown in Fig. 2, the heating pad 18 is preferably a flexible plastic pad provided with a plurality of resistors 20. The resistors are metal alloy wires having a high resistance per unit length such as nichrome. Positioned behind the heating pad 18, within the interior 12 of the toy 10, is an insulative filler material 22 such as polyester. Preferably, the filler material 22 is not only insulative but also soft and fire retardant.

As shown in Fig. 1, the heating pad 18 is connected to a control unit 24 by a first set of wires 26. The control unit 24 is constructed of hard plastic and contains a pair of timing devices 28 and 30 as shown in Fig. 4 that preferably begin a selected pre¬ set actuated period when supplied with power through the switch 44 and automatically turn off and reset at the end of such period.

The control unit 24 also contains a musical element 32 such as those well-known in the art to supply audio information via electrical signals to a speaker 34 such as that shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The speaker 34 is shown in contact with the shell 14 of the toy 10 to provide maximum signal strength, but it should be noted that the speaker 34 may be placed in any desirable area of the toy 10. The warmer timer 28, positioned within the control unit 24, is connected by the first set of wires 26 to the heating pad 18.

Both of the timers 28 and 30 are connected to a battery pack power source 36 as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Due to the large amount of energy required to adequately heat the heating pad 18, the

battery pack 36 preferably holds four D cell batteries 37, but may, of course, hold any suitable power source. The toy 10 is preferably provided with a zipper 38 or similar access means to allow the battery pack 36 to be serviced and/or replaced. The battery pack 36 is connected by a second set of wires 40 to the control unit 24. The control unit 24 is connected by a third set of wires 42 to a switch 44 preferably located in the nose 46 of the toy 10. The switch 44 is of a pressure type which allows activation and deactivation by pressing the nose 46 of the toy 10. Upon activation of the switch 44, it will remain activated until both of the timers 28 and 30 turn off to break the flow of current through the switch 44.

In operation, the toy 10 is pressed firmly to a user's body and the nose 46 is depressed to activate the switch 44. Once the switch 44 has been activated, power is supplied from the power source 36 via the timers 30 and 28 to the musical element 32 and heating pad 18 respectively. As this power is supplied, the resistors 20 within the heating pad 18 begin to generate heat, while the musical element 32 begins sending music through the speaker 34.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the timers 30 and 28 are pre-set to shut off power to the musical element 32 after ninety seconds and the heating pad 18 after fifteen minutes, a generally sufficient amount of time to allow a user to have fallen asleep while cuddling the toy 10. Of course, these timers ^' are not critical and can be adjusted as deεired for any particular

need. Preferably, the warmer timer 28 and music timer 30 may be accessed through the zipper 38 to allow a user to control the amount of time during which power is supplied to the heating pad 18 and musical element 32.

Although the invention has been described with respect to a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is not to be so limited, since changes and modifications can be made therein which are within the full intended scope of this invention as defined by the appended claims. For example, the warmer timer 28 and music timer 30 may be eliminated and replaced with a single pre-set timer to reduce costs and maintenance. Additionally, it is anticipated that the toy may be a doll, ball or any other suitable toy.