Amusement devices: toys – Having separable nested parts
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-20
2001-12-04
Ackun, Jr., Jacob K. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices: toys
Having separable nested parts
C446S073000, C446S076000, C446S491000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06325691
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates a packaged toy. More specifically, the present invention relates to packaging for toy eggs.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Beliefs and myths coming down to us from antiquity have shown mankind's relationship with the egg to be a very profound one. This is well expressed in the Latin Proverb Omne Vivum Exovo, translated as “all life comes from an egg.” Examples of this belief come from all around the world. In Europe it was believed that eggs laid on Good Friday, if kept for a hundred years, would have their yolks turned into diamonds.
Of course, one of the most well-known manifestations of beliefs surrounding the egg arises in the celebration of Easter. It has been speculated that missionaries or Knights of the Crusades were first responsible for bringing the coloring of eggs westward, a tradition that continues to this day.
Easter egg games popularized a few hundred years ago still delight children around the world. A favorite game has been rolling an Easter egg on a field, crashing them into each other until only one unbroken egg remains. Two of the best known locations for Easter egg games are Central Park in New York City and on the lawn of the White House on Easter Monday.
The original site of the Easter Monday Presidential egg roll was the grounds of the United States Capital during the administration of President Andrew Johnson. Although a small group of egg rollers were reported on the White House grounds under the presidency of General Ulysses S. Grant, the majority of egg rolling activity and Easter picnics took place at the capital. However, after Easter Monday activities took their toll on the capital grounds, Easter egg rolling was moved to the south lawn of the White House under the administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes. Successive presidents have continued the tradition, and the event has been held on the south lawn ever since.
From the mythology and tradition of imbuing the egg, all forms of fanciful eggs have been hatched. Probably the most famous decorative eggs in the world are the jeweled Faberge eggs which are considered priceless for their ornate design and craftsmanship.
While Faberge eggs may be highly desirable and sought after by collectors, eggs also occupy a nitch in the children's toy market. Plastic eggs which split into two halves can hold candy or toys which fit inside the assembled egg. So, toy eggs are not only popular during holiday seasons such as Easter, but are popular with children and, therefore, marketable in the toy industry year round. One type of toy egg is described in U.S. Pat. No. 2,424,538 in which a plurality of hollow eggs of increasing size and having a pair of body half sections fit inside each other with the outermost egg depicting the image of a fanciful figure such as a fairy tale character. Such toy eggs are now commonly sold in bags of loosely packaged products.
Chicken eggs are packaged in egg cartons of various sizes which accommodate different numbers of eggs, i.e., cartons with six, twelve, or eighteen pockets. Chicken egg cartons known in the art are made from a variety of materials, including cardboard and foamed polystyrene. U.S. Pat. No. 3,510,049 describes an egg carton with an entirely transparent rigid plastic top section and a foamed plastic bottom section.
OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION
It has been an objective of the present invention to provide an improved packaged toy egg product which is visually appealing to a consumer.
It has been another objective of the present invention to provide a packaged toy egg product which stacks easily and maximizes shelf space in a warehouse or retail store.
It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide a packaged toy egg product in which plural packages inner-lock to provide a more stable stacked product.
It has been an objective of the present invention to provide a packaged toy egg product which can be inexpensively shipped to a point of sale from the manufacturer.
It has been a further objective of the present invention to provide a packaged toy egg product with an added dimension to allow insertion and removal of the toy egg product from an egg carton.
It has been yet another objective of the present invention to provide a method of packaging toy eggs such that the packaged toy product is easily stackable and provides an appealing display in a store.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the objectives of the present invention, a packaged toy is provided in which a plurality of hollow toy eggs of varying color and increasing size, e.g., small, medium and large, are nested within each other to form a toy egg set and are packaged within a modular transparent stackable egg carton.
The modular transparent egg carton has lid and a tray, the tray having a plurality of pockets in which the egg sets are located. The lid has a ceiling with a circumnavigating lip which defines a depression adapted to receive the tray of a second modular transparent carton to allow plural modular transparent cartons to be easily stacked together as a matrix of packaged toys.
A plurality of variously colored toy egg sets located within the modular transparent egg carton creates a visually exciting packaged toy product which is appealing to consumers when coupled with a strategically placed point of sale in a store.
Also in accordance with the principles of the present invention, a method of packaging a toy is provided in which first, second and third variously colored hollow toy eggs of increasing size are nested, one within another to form a toy egg set, and the nested toy egg sets are located within the transparent egg carton. Plural modular transparent egg cartons may be stacked, one on top another, so that the tray of a first modular transparent egg carton fits snugly against the lip and on the ceiling of a second modular transparent egg carton, thus, providing a matrix of packaged toys.
Thus, a packaged toy product is provided which provides an improved aesthetically appealing presentation at a point of sale and a method for packaging variously colored toy eggs in a modular transparent egg carton.
The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention shall be made apparent from the accompanying drawings and the description thereof.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2424538 (1947-07-01), Beder
patent: 3510049 (1970-05-01), Donovan
patent: 3647132 (1972-03-01), Crabtree
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patent: 3787599 (1974-01-01), Castanis
patent: 4553691 (1985-11-01), Morando
patent: 5064398 (1991-11-01), Richardson
patent: 5344023 (1994-09-01), Cox et al.
patent: 5405148 (1995-04-01), Cianci
patent: 5538136 (1996-07-01), Onneweer
Ackun Jr. Jacob K.
Francis Faye
Global Trade Network, Inc.
Wood Herron & Evans LLP
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