There is a demand for the production of figurines and/or dolls that replicate the features of a human or animal as realistically as possible. In particular, when viewing a figurine or doll, it is often the eyes that form a focal point and consequently a specific requirement exists for the provision of realistic eyes that simulate the natural appearance of the eyes of the subject.

A variety of simulated eyes are known and commonly available.

However, a problem with these simulated eyes is that they frequently lack realism and imperfections readily result during their preparation which lead to a distortion of the image of the eye presented to the viewer.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a simulated eye that is of higher quality and more realistic than has hitherto been possible. This is achieved in accordance with the present invention by providing, in a first aspect, a method of manufacturing a simulated eye for use in figurines or dolls, comprising bringing together a lens and an image of an eye with an adhesive disposed between them and pressing the lens and the image together so that the lens is fixed to the image by the adhesive, wherein the adhesive has an initial viscosity such that when the lens and the image are pressed together, any air trapped between the lens and the image is expelled or displaced by the adhesive so that a continuous transparent adhesive layer is formed between the lens and the image.

The adhesive preferably has an initial viscosity on application between the lens and the image that enables the adhesive to flow between the lens and the image following the application of a gentle pressure, for example a finger pressure, which presses the lens and the image together. This initial viscosity of the adhesive enables the position

of the lens relative to the image to be adjusted either during or immediately following the formation of a continuous layer of adhesive between the lens and the image and thereby enables any misalignments between the lens and the image to be corrected.

Whilst the adhesive has an initial viscosity that enables the adhesive to flow as the lens and the image are pressed together, it is also required that the adhesive displaces air from between the lens and the image and thereby forms a continuous layer of adhesive between them.

In a preferred method, an excess quantity of adhesive is applied between the lens and the image of the eye such that, on pressing the lens and the image together, the adhesive is forced to flow towards, and extrude at, the sides of the lens and, in doing so, ensures that all air is expelled from between the lens and the image.

Once the lens and the image have been pressed together so that all the air has been expelled and a continuous layer of adhesive is provided between the lens and the image, the adhesive is preferably left to set.

The term"set"is used herein to mean becoming more viscous relative to the initial viscosity of the adhesive without necessarily becoming hard or solid. The duration for which the adhesive is allowed to set depends on the type of adhesive used and the relevant manufacturer's recommendations. However, a period of several hours is preferred.

Any adhesive having a viscosity sufficient to enable the adhesive to flow and expel air from between the lens and the image and also capable of forming a transparent continuous layer between the lens and the image could be used in the present method. A preferred adhesive is an epoxy resin although a silicone sealant could also be used.

The image of the eye used for the preparation of the simulated eye may be a drawing, painting, photograph or a computer generated image (such as a scan or a computer manipulated image) or any other suitably realistic representation of an eye. In a preferred method of the

invention, the images are computer-generated and printed on a sheet of paper, preferably photographic quality paper that enables the provision of high definition colour images. Numerous images may be provided on each sheet of paper and each image can be identified and/or correlated with a specific figurine or doll by a reference code printed adjacent to each image. Additional references may also be provided to indicate whether the image of an eye corresponds to a left or a right eye of the figurine or doll.

Preferably, the lens is placed over the image provided on the sheet of photographic quality paper and fixed to the image using an excess of adhesive. The image may then be cut-out from the sheet of paper once the adhesive has set to provide a simulated eye comprising a lens adhered to an image of an eye by the adhesive.

Once the simulated eye has been prepared, the method preferably incorporates an additional step in which the simulated eye is painted around the side of the lens and preferably also the rim of the back of the image to provide a more tidy and elegant finish over the edge of the adhesive layer and to prevent any natural light entering this simulated eye and distorting the image.

The lens may be prepared from glass or a transparent plastic material. The shape and size of the lens will be dictated by the shape and size of the simulated eye required. Preferably, the lens is provided with a flat base to which the image is adhered and an opposing surface of convex profile to simulate the contour of the visible portion of the eyeball that is being simulated. In addition, the edge of the base of the lens preferably aligns with the edge of the image with which the lens is intended to be adhered.

The present invention also includes, in a further aspect, a simulated eye prepared by the method of the present invention.

How the invention may be put in to practice will now be described

by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows a black and white representation of two images corresponding to the right and left eyes of a tiger; FIGURE 2 is a diagrammatic illustration of a first stage in the preparation of a simulated eye in which adhesive is applied to an image of the eye; FIGURE 3A is a diagrammatic illustration of a second stage in the preparation of a simulated eye in which a lens is fixed to the image of the eye; FIGURE 3B is a cross sectional view of the lens shown in FIGURE 3A illustrating the process of pressing the lens and the image together ; FIGURE 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a third stage in the preparation of simulated eye in which the image is cut from the printed sheet to form a simulated eye; and FIGURE 5 is an end view of a simulated eye prepared by the method of the present invention.

FIGURE 1 shows a black and white representation of two images that correspond to the left and right eyes of a tiger. Although the images are illustrated in black and white, it must be appreciated that the images will usually be coloured so as to provide a realistic representation of any coloured pigments in the natural eye of the subject being simulated. A first image 101 is of the left eye of the tiger and comprises a pupil 103 and a pigmented iris 105. The second image 102 is of the right eye of the tiger and likewise comprises a pupil 104 and a pigmented iris 106.

The images 101 and 102 are shown diagrammatically in FIGURE 2 printed on a sheet of inkjet printer paper 201 (manufactured by KodakRTM). In addition to the printed images 101 and 102, a reference code 202 is printed on the inkjet paper 201 to identify the animal to

which the image relates, or the figurine or doll for which the image is intended. Additionally, a letter"L"as shown by reference 203 is printed adjacent to image 101 to indicate that this image corresponds to a left eye and a letter"R"as shown by reference 204 is printed adjacent to image 102 to indicate that this image corresponds to a right eye. In the first stage of the method of preparing a simulated eye, a drop of epoxy resin 205 is applied to the surface of the image 102, via a dispenser nozzle 206. Although not shown in FIGURE 2, a similar drop of epoxy resin is also applied to image 101.

FIGURES 3A and 3B illustrate the second stage in the method of preparing a simulated eye in which two lenses 301 and 302 are fixed to the images 101 and 102 respectively. The lens 301 is shown in more detail in FIGURE 3B. The lens 301 comprises a flat base to which the image is adhered by the layer of epoxy resin 205 and an upper surface of convex profile that simulates the curvature of the visible portion of the eyeball when positioned in the figurine or doll. The edges of the bases of lenses 301 and 302 are aligned with the edges of the images 101 and 102 respectively, as shown in FIGURE 3A. Referring to FIGURE 3B and considering lens 301 specifically, once the lens is aligned with the image 101, the lens 301 and the image 101 are pressed together by a finger 303 applying pressure in the direction of arrow 304. This causes the epoxy resin 205 applied to the surface of the image 101 to flow towards, and extrude from, the edge of the lens 301 thereby displacing any air from between the lens 301 and the image 101 (on inkjet paper 201) and forming a continuous layer of epoxy resin between the lens 301 and the image 101.

Once the lens has been pressed into position and all the air between the lens and the image has been expelled, the epoxy resin is then allowed to set over a period of 24 hours. After the epoxy resin has set, the image is cut from the inkjet print paper 201 using scissors 401 as shown in FIGURE 4. This removes the paper surrounding the image and

any extruded epoxy resin to provide a simulated eye 402 that comprises a lens 301 fixed to an image of the eye 101 by a continuous layer of epoxy resin 205.

An end view of a finished simulated eye is shown in FIGURE 5.

The simulated eye 402 is provided, in a final stage of the method, with a layer of paint 501 that extends around the rim of the base of the simulated eye 402 and over edge of the adhesive layer and the sides of the lens to provide a more tidy and elegant finish.