Amusement devices: toys – Having means for forming transitory bubble
Reexamination Certificate
2003-07-11
2004-11-30
Banks, Derris H. (Department: 3712)
Amusement devices: toys
Having means for forming transitory bubble
C446S015000, C516S014000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06824439
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a solution for making bubbles.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A bubble may be defined as a small volume of gas contained within a thin liquid spherical envelope. Bubble-making toys and devices are well known, and numerous toys and related products of this type are available commercially due to the popularity of these devices with children. A common operating principle of these toys or devices is that one or more openings is provided, such as the ring-end of a wand device upon which a soapy bubble-forming solution film is formed by immersion or other means. Surface tension causes the bubble solution to form the film across the opening, and upon application of a sufficient force or gas pressure upon one side of the film, a bubble is formed and expelled from the opening in the direction in which the force is exerted.
Bubble-forming devices can range from the most basic, such as the above-described wand having the ring at one end for dipping into a bubble solution, to more sophisticated devices such as mechanized bubble-producing toys that may include pumps or other features designed to facilitate production of bubbles by the user. Examples of mechanized or complex bubble-producing devices are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,024,623, 5,908,057, 5,879,218, 5,746,636, 5,704,821, 5,695,379, 5,613,890, and 5,603,651, to name but a few. Other bubble-producing toys, for example a bubble-forming lawn mower-style device sold by Fisher-Price.RTM., are also available commercially.
Improvements in the art of bubblemaking toys to date have focused on modifications to the bubblemaking device itself rather than to the bubblemaking solution. For example, the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,623 includes a frustoconical surface having a precise upward angle of about 30 degrees to prevent bubbles exiting the aperture from contacting the handle and bursting prematurely. The problem of bubble bursting immediately upon contact with a solid object or surface including that of the device itself can therefore necessitate specific product design efforts to minimize the undesirable effect. This leads to increased product development cost, increased design complexity, and increased tooling and manufacturing costs.
A typical toy bubble solution contains water mixed with one or more soaps. The soap has the effect of decreasing the surface tension of the water so that when a ring or similarly apertured surface is immersed or otherwise contacted with the solution, a film is formed across the opening. A gas, generally air, is pushed or forced against one surface of the film, which displaces the film from the apertured surface and produces a free-floating bubble.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an aqueous bubble solution. The solution has at least a surfactant that produces micelles in an aqueous solution, along with an ionic, hydrophobic or hydrogen bonding agent that interacts with the surfactant. When the bubble solution is formed into a bubble the bubble provides a first predetermined effect other than just being formed and popping.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2469045 (1949-05-01), La Vietes
patent: 4511497 (1985-04-01), Ehrlich
patent: 5109127 (1992-04-01), Sekiguchi et al.
patent: 6593375 (2003-07-01), Ammon, Jr.
patent: WO 200202721 (2002-01-01), None
Banks Derris H.
Cegielnik Urszula M
Heliogenesis, Inc.
McCarthy Kevin D.
Roach Brown McCarthy & Gruber P.C.
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