US3026648A - Inflatable display - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1962 J. H LEMELSON INFLATABLE DISPLAY Filed Jan. 16, 1956 Fig. 4

v INVENTOR. Jerome H.Lemelson United, States Pat-em 3,026,648 INFLATABLE DISPLAY Jerome H. Lemelson, 289 High St, Perth Arnhoy, NJ. Filed Jan. 16, 1956, Ser. No. 559,232 4 Claims. (Cl. 46-87) This invention relates to inflatable plastic articles such as beach balls, toy figures, and the like and, in particular, to improved decorative structures therefor.

It is a primary object of this invention to provide a new and improved inflatable article of manufacture which is attractive and has an improved decorative wall structure.

Another object is to provide an improved structure in inflatable articles with a wall decoration which will not easily wear otf or fade.

Still another object is to provide an improved inflatable article having a photographic image developed in a portion of the wall thereof which image is highlighted by ambient light.

Another object is to provide a new inflatable toy doll or figure representing a mock figure with a facial portion having a realistic image provided therein thereby enhanc ing the realism of the toy and making it more attractive to children.

Another object is to provide an inflatable toy or doll having a photographic image of the face of a human being provided thereon which will make the toy more interesting and attractive.

The above as well as further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be best appreciated by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an end elevation of an inflatable ball toy having a wall portion with a photographic image provided thereon;

FIG. 2 is a View, in cross section, of a fragment of an inflatable toy showing part of the front and rear walls thereof;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation of part of an inflatable doll made in accordance with the teachings of the invention.

FIG. 4 is a view of a fragment of an inflatable body showing further details of the invention.

Conventional decorated inflatable articles such as beach balls, swim rings, dolls or the like provide, when illustrated with silk screened designs, a colorful but often flat and relatively unattractive appearance. Plastic inks or paints which are utilized to decorate such articles frequently have a tendency to fade and wear off with use due to the fact that they are only a surface coating. As a result, the article or toy soon loses its attractive appearance. 'In FIGS. 1 to 4 are provided improved designs for flexible plastic and inflatable plastic articles of manufacture such as toy figures, balls or the like, which have a photographic illustration as part of the decoration theme, which illustration will not easily fade or rub off but will provide a new and more interesting mode of illustration. By thus decorating such articles, the aforementioned shortcomings are overcome and removal of the design by scufling, fading or discoloration is eliminated. This is effected by utilizing as part of the inflatable figure a construction comprising a flexible plastic sheeting with photographic images or illustrative decorations developed and formed in and through said sheet- FIG. 1 shows a partially sectioned view of an inflated bulbous bag or ball made of flexible plastic sheeting such as polyvinyl chloride and having a unique and improved decorated portion forming part of its wall. The bag 10 may be constructed of two or more sheets 12 and "ice 14 of flexible vinyl plastic, heat sealed in a closed loop sealing line 16 so as to form an enclosure representing a ball, figure or other shape when inflated. At least one of the flat sheets making up the enclosure 10 of FIG. 1 is made of a developable, photosensitive plastic composition or laminate such as Calimar which has been exposed to an image pattern of ultraviolet light and developed by heat or other means providing a photographic image 18 through and through said sheet 12. Calimar, developed by the Ferro Chemical Corporation of Bedford, Ohio, refers to a variety of heat developable photosensitive plastic compositions having polyvinyl chloride organosols as the plastic bodies as well as other thermoplastic materials. The photographic system embodies latent Friedel-Crafts catalyst formations which become effective at the 270' to 350 F. development temperature. The polyvinyl chloride does not normally partake in the photo catalyzed thermo-chemical image formation. The basic components other than the plastic media consist as follows:

(a) A Friedel-Crafts cation progenitor which is generally a metal oxide or metallo-organic compound.

(b) A Friedel-Crafts anion progenitor which is essentially an acid source.

(0) A color progenitor which forms dyes or pigments under Friedel-Crafting conditions at development temperatures.

(d) A Thermal Deactivator which forms a fixing reaction which stabilizes :the film against subsequent coloration.

In addition, color modifying agents may also be added in the form of lake forming or chelating types. Calimar has been made which employs naphthoquinone derivatives as the color progenitor and produces dark brown, sepia images. After the proper exposure to an ultraviolet pattern of light, such a photo-plastic material may have the image developed therein by further exposure to the infrared or heat radiation in the range of 270 to 350 F.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view of said sheets 12 and 14 in cross section. At least part of the wall 12 is made of a transparent flexible polyvinyl chloride photoplastic. The shaded areas 20* represent the dark areas of the photographic image developed in said sheet. Because of the transparent nature of the surrounding clear photographic image areas 22 which result when sheet 12 is developed and fixed, said areas will not ordinarily be viewed or seen with ease, unless highlighted from the rear. The opposite wall 14 of 10 if provided as a sheet of light transmitting plastic will permit ambient light to pass completely through the inflatable bag and illuminate or highlight the image.

FIG. 3 illustrates part of an inflatable figure 24 having a head portion 25 extending from a body section 25 with said head portion having an illustration in the form of a photograph 27 of the face of a human being. As stated, the conventional inflatable toy is illustrated with colored plastic inks which are printed or silk-screened on. These inks provide but a drab, two dimensional illustrative effect which is not very realistic. The fact that an inflatable toy is further limited in shape to a bulbous, flexible bag further reduces the effect of realism often desired in inflatable toys which the structure of FIG. 3 attempts to overcome.

By the method of fabrication illustrated in FIG. 3 a patch or section 26 of flexible photo-plastic sheeting is heat welded, cemented or otherwise bonded to one of the sections or walls of the inflatable toy, and preferably covers the entire facial portion of a sufiicient area of the head portion to give the effect that the photographical- 1y developed facial illustration is the face of the figure. The materiai of the inflated head section under the 3 photo-plastic section may be white or pink vinyl so that the photograph stands out. The rear surface of the face section 26 may also be coated a bright color to derive a realistic and outstanding effect. The notation S denotes the circumscribing welding line sealing the photoplastic section 26 to the base 25, a function which may be accomplished by the use of proper heat sealing electronic dies applied thereto.

The construction of FIG. 4, like that of FIG. 3, cmploys a photographic patch or section 28 of photoplastic material which is sealed to the base 25 over an opening or cutout 30 therein. Said cutout provides, if the wall 32 of the assembled figure is made of a translucent or transparent plastic, a high lighting effect attained by illumination of the rear wall of the photoplastic section 28 since the illustration will be lighted by ambient light from the rear.

Numerous other modifications of the present invention will be appreciated by those skilled in the art and accordingly, the appended claims should be construed broadly as is consistent with the appended claims and, in certain instances, some features of the invention will be used without a corresponding use of other features.

I claim:

1. An inflatable article comprising an enclosure of a flexible plastic material, an opening in said enclosure, a section of flexible light-transmitting plastic sheeting covering said opening and sealed at its circumferential edges to the portion of the enclosure surrounding the opening, an area of said section carrying an image photographically developed therein, and at least part of the remaining wall of said enclosure having light transmitting properties for permitting external light to pass therethrough and into the interior of said enclosure for illuminating and high-lighting said image.

2. An inflatable article in accordance with claim 1 in which said flexible plastic enclosure has a bulbous balllike shape when it is inflated.

3. An inflatable doll comprising an enclosure of a flexible plastic material, having a body portion and a head portion extending upward therefrom, an opening in said head portion, a section of flexible light transmitting plastic sheeting covering said opening and sealed near its circumferential edges to the portion of the enclosure surrounding the opening, an area of said section of light transmitting plastic carrying a facial photographic image derived by photographing the front of a human head, said facial image being positioned at substantially the facial area of the head portion of said doll, and at least part of the remaining wall of said doll having light transmitting properties for permitting external light to pass therethrough and into the interior of said enclosure to the head portion for illuminating and highlighting said photographic image.

4. An inflatable toy comprising an enclosure of a fiexible plastic material having a torso portion and a head portion of smaller diameter extending outward from said torso portion, at least part of the front wall of the head portion of said enclosure being transparent and being made of a photoplastic material with the image derived from a photograph of the front view of at least part of a human head developed therein, and at least part of the remaining wall of said enclosure having light transmitting properties for permitting external light to pass therethrough and into the interior of said enclosure for illumimating and highlighting said image.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 833,448 De Vall et al Oct. 16, 1906 875,954 Rouech Jan. 7, 1908 1,075,680 Anderson Oct. 14, 1913 1,106,143 Hammer Aug. 4, 1914 1,567,132 Gill Dec. 29, 1925 2,041,853 Mollo et a1. May 26, 1936 2,265,531 Laxer Dec. 9, 1941 2,275,290 Dreyer Mar. 3, 1942 2,289,977 Maibaum July 14, 1942 2,384,632 MacKensie et al. Sept. 11, 1945 2,487,546 Harrowe Nov. 8, 1949 2,491,386 Miller et al Dec. 13, 1949 2,586,039 Heggedal Feb. 19, 1952 2,631,407 Rernpel Mar. 17, 1953 2,643,598 Carroll June 30, 1953 2,656,647 Schepp Oct. 27, 1953 2,669,802 Olivier Feb. 23, 1954 2,670,288 Smith Feb. 23, 1954 2,696,064 Wolfe et al. Dec. 7, 1954 2,703,755 Webb et al. Mar. 8, 1955 2,791,504 Plambeck May 7, 1957

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