FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to toys, and particularly to a toy at least partially enclosed in a superabsorbent polymer.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Superabsorbent polymer (SAP) can absorb and retain extremely large amounts of a liquid relative to its own mass. The liquid absorbed can be water or an organic liquid. SAP has been used in many kinds of toys. For example, expandable foam characters or creatures, sometimes referred to as “grow monsters” have been made from SAP.

Another toy made from SAP is water crystal gels, also called water beads or gel beads, or simply water gels. Water gel is usually in spherical form.

SUMMARY

The present invention seeks to provide a novel toy which is hidden or enclosed in SAP or alternatively is hidden or enclosed in an enclosure which is enclosed in SAP, as is described more in detail hereinbelow.

There is thus provided in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention a toy enclosed in a superabsorbent polymer (SAP), the SAP being expandable upon contact with a liquid, and when expanded is removable to reveal the toy therein.

In accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention the toy is disposed in an enclosure and the SAP is a layer that at least partially encloses the enclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a simplified pictorial illustration of a toy, in accordance with a nonlimiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a simplified pictorial illustration of an enclosure for the toy, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the toy in the enclosure.

Fig. 4 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the closed enclosure (with the toy inside but not seen in Fig. 4). Fig. 5 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the closed enclosure (with the toy inside but not seen in Fig. 5), with an outer covering or layer of SAP, in a dehydrated state, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a simplified sectional illustration of the closed enclosure with the toy inside and with the outer covering or layer of SAP in a dehydrated state (see below for definition of dehydrated and hydrated).

Fig. 7 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the closed enclosure with the toy inside and with the outer covering or layer of SAP in a hydrated state, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a simplified pictorial illustration of removing the hydrated SAP to reveal the enclosure (that has the toy inside it), in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a simplified pictorial illustration of a toy, in accordance with a nonlimiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a simplified pictorial illustration of an outer covering or layer of SAP, in a dehydrated state, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 11 is a simplified sectional illustration of the toy in the outer covering or layer of SAP.

Fig. 12 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the outer covering or layer of SAP in a hydrated state.

Fig. 13 is a simplified pictorial illustration of the toy inside the outer covering or layer of SAP in a hydrated state, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 14 is a simplified pictorial illustration of removing the hydrated SAP to reveal the toy inside it, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made to Fig. 1, which illustrates a toy 10, in accordance with a non-limiting embodiment of the present invention. Toy 10 may be made, without limitation, of plastic, fabric, metal, rubber or any other suitable material, and may be of any size and shape.

Reference is now made to Fig. 2, which illustrates an enclosure 12 for the toy. Enclosure 12 may be made, without limitation, of plastic, fabric, metal, rubber or any other suitable material, and may be of any size and shape. Enclosure 12 may be transparent, translucent or opaque. Enclosure 12 may be made of two halves, without limitation (that is, it may be made of more than two parts).

Reference is now made to Figs. 3 and 4. The toy 10 is placed in the enclosure 12 (Fig. 3) and the enclosure 12 is closed (Fig. 4).

Reference is now made to Figs. 5 and 6. The closed enclosure 12 (with the toy 10 inside, as seen in Fig. 6), is covered with an outer covering or layer of superabsorbent polymer (SAP) 14, which in Figs. 5 and 6 is in a dehydrated state.

It is noted that in this context (Figs. 5 and 6 and elsewhere) the term “dehydrated state” refers to the state before the SAP comes into contact with a liquid; after contact with the liquid it is in what is called a “hydrated state” which is a hydrated expanded state (in the context of Fig. 7 and elsewhere). When the SAP layer is first formed during manufacturing of the toy inside the SAP, the SAP layer may be partially dried or fully dried. That is, the finished toy inside the SAP may be sold to the customer with the SAP layer partially dried or fully dried. Even if partially dried, this is called the “dehydrated state” in the context of Figs. 5 and 6 and elsewhere.

A non-limiting example of SAP is sodium acrylate polymer. Superabsorbent polymers are macromolecules that do not easily release water after absorbing tens to hundreds of times its own weight. For example, such polymers are widely used in hygienic products including paper diapers, menstrual pads and breast feeding pads that require absorption of liquids.

Without limitation, super absorbent polymers are polymerized with hydro monomers such as — OH, — NH2, — COOH, — SO3H, with cross-linkers to form networks of three-dimensional composition. For hydro monomers, partially neutralized acrylic acid is used. For composition methods of bulk polymerization, solution polymerization, inverse suspension and inverse emulsion, polymerization methods are known to be used.

It is noted that in the disclosure and claims, the term “superabsorbent polymer” is not limited to such polymers mentioned above, but also encompasses any material that expands or swells (the terms being used interchangeably) upon contact with a liquid. The expansion may be uniform or non-uniform. The SAP layer 14 may be transparent, translucent, opaque or colored with any color or colors, and may have any kind of design, shape or thickness. Reference is now made to Fig. 7, which illustrates the closed enclosure 12 with the toy 10 inside and with the outer covering or layer of SAP 14 in a hydrated, expanded state.

Reference is now made to Fig. 8, which illustrates removing the hydrated SAP 14 to reveal the enclosure 12 (that has the toy inside it).

Alternatively, in accordance with another non-limiting embodiment of the present invention, as seen in Figs. 9-14, there is no enclosure 12. Rather toy 10 is encased in SAP layer 14, which may be of any size or shape.

The SAP layer 14 may be made by first applying a first portion of SAP, such as but not limited to, a hemispherical portion that covers one half of the enclosure 12 and then after the first portion has partially or fully dried or cured, applying a second portion of SAP, such as but not limited to, another hemispherical portion that covers the other half of the enclosure 12 (more than two portions of SAP may be used instead of just two). It has been surprisingly found that even though the first portion of SAP has already been partially or fully dried or cured, nevertheless the second portion joins the first portion so that the first and second portions are one unitary portion, as if the entire SAP layer 14 was deposited all over the entire periphery of enclosure 12 at the same time. The now unitary SAP layer expands homogeneously as if it were made from the very start as one complete layer; the first and second portions do not separate because of the expansion. The portions of SAP may have different chemical or physical properties, different colors, etc.