Amusement devices – Building or part thereof
Reexamination Certificate
1998-08-12
2001-09-04
Nguyen, Kien T. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices
Building or part thereof
C482S035000, C124S016000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06283871
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of children's play structures and, in particular, to interactive play structures for safely entertaining and educating young and intermediate age children and adults.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been a recent proliferation of commercial play structures designed to meet the recreational needs of young families. Such play structures can provide a safe and exciting alternative to more traditional parks and playgrounds. Conventional commercial play structures may be adopted either for water (“wet”) play or for nonwater (“dry”) play, as desired. The subject invention relates particularly to dry interactive play structures for either indoor or outdoor use.
A typical dry play structure may include a padded framework and cushioned floors defining a variety of play elements or areas. Slides, tunnels, net bridges, and ladders may be used to interconnect the various play elements and play areas together so that play participants can traverse from one play element or area to the next.
One popular play element is a ball pit. Small, lightweight, hollow plastic balls fill an enclosed pen area of a predetermined depth. Children jump into the pen and are partially or fully submerged in the balls. Children may also throw the balls in the air or at one another. Other typical play elements may include viewing towers, rope swings, soft hanging bags and rotating padded drums and the like.
A drawback of conventional dry play structures is that they are “passive.” That is, they are normally static or react only to forces imparted directly by the play participants. While such passive play structures are modestly entertaining, they lack the creative stimulation and excitement of interactive play that stimulates the imaginations and creative inspirations of young and intermediate-aged children.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,048 and related design patent D330,579, both of which are incorporated herein by reference as though fully reproduced herein, first disclosed the concept of “interactive waterplay” in which play participants can operate any one of a number of valves to adjust the amount of water spraying from one or more associated water effects. Play participants adjust the various valves and can immediately observe the change in the rate of water flowing from the various associated water effects.
Interactive waterplay allows children to experiment with and learn about cause-and-effect reactions using a familiar and entertaining medium, namely water. Small children, particularly, can benefit from the fun learning experiences garnered from such interactive play. See, for example, my copending U.S. application Ser. No. 08/409,133 filed Mar. 23, 1995, and incorporated herein by reference as though fully reproduced herein.
Many large-scale successful commercial water parks now incorporate interactive waterplay structures of the type disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,194,048. Families that have patronized these commercial water parks have discovered for themselves the valuable entertainment and educational benefits that interactive play provides. Sales of admission tickets for many such commercial water parks have surged following the introduction of new interactive waterplay structures.
The present invention expands on my previous inventions by extending the concept of interactive play to a wide variety of other fun and exciting play mediums which allow an even greater variety of stimulating and entertaining play activities. Such interactive play structures have broad application, since they are not limited to water theme parks or other similar play areas having a capacity for water containment, filtering and recirculation. Moreover, the use of various “dry” play media affords possibilities for play activities which incorporate a wide range of fun and exciting mechanisms, such as springs, cams, pulleys, gears, and the like, all of which can be employed to provide an interactive play experience which is both fun and, at the same time, educational.
In one embodiment the present invention provides an interactive play structure in which various play media, such as foam balls or other articles, are propelled, accelerated or otherwise transported from one location to another in the play structure in response to various play-participant controlled actuators.
In another embodiment the present invention provides a play structure for facilitating multiple-order interactive play. A first interactive play element is provided which is responsive to a corresponding play participant-activated actuator to create a first desired effect. A second interactive play element receives play media from the first effect to create yet a second desired effect. By controlling the various interactive play elements, a play participant or a group of play participants can observe and experiment with various cause-and-effect reactions involving multiple-order play effects.
In another embodiment the present invention provides an interactive play structure for facilitating interaction between play participants who are remotely located from each other. A propelling device may be mounted at a first location on the play structure, play media for the device may be supplied at an inlet at a second location on the structure and an actuator for the device may be located at yet a third location. Play media obtained from the second location can be fed to the device at the first location, and a play participant at the third location can activate the device to launch play media at a target or unsuspecting play participants.
In another embodiment the present invention provides an exciting play effect comprising a giant bucket or container for collecting play media. The container is balanced and conditionally stable such that it periodically spills over when the level of its contents reaches a predetermined level. This creates dramatic visual and tactile effects for surprising, entertaining, and amusing play participants.
In another embodiment the present invention provides an interactive conveyor system which can be operated by one or more play participants to transport play media from one location on a support frame to another location. The first location may be a discharge collection area of one or more interactive play elements, devices, and the second location may be a supply area for the same or other play elements. Play media may be recycled for reuse in the various devices using the efforts of play participants.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments having reference to the accompanying drawings, the invention not being limited to any particular preferred embodiment disclosed.
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Koala Corporation
Nguyen Kien T.
Snell & Wilmer LLP
Wood David P.
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