Creative toy for producing objects having patterns of variable coloration and/or design

Claim 2

An injection molding toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material by injection molding, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery, into which cavity flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges with said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 3

A toy according to claim 1 wherein: said orifice is located generally centrally of said surface.

Claim 4

A toy according to claim 1 wherein said injector mechanism includes: a reservoir associated with the orifice bearing member and communicating with said molding cavity via said orifice; a piston manually movable within said reservoir for injecting into said molding cavity via said orifice flowable material stored in said reservoir; and a reservoir-charging passage communicating at one end with said reservoir and at the other end with an external surface of said one of said members, which other end is accessible to facilitate insertion of flowable material into said reservoir via said reservoir-charging passage.

Claim 5

An injection molding toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material by injection molding, said toy Comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery into which flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely shaped mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces, said orifice being generally perpendicular to the surface opposite said orifice; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having angular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 6

An injection molding toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material by injection molding, said toy Comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery into which flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely shaped mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces, said orifice being generally perpendicular to the surface opposite said orifice; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having angular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 7

A toy according to claim 4 wherein: said orifice is located generally centrally of said surface.

Claim 8

An injection molding toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material which upon compression forms a coherent mass, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery into which flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and means for sequentially injecting successive charges of said flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, and for forcing said material to flow radially in all directions from said orifice between said surfaces, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 9

An injection molding toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material which upon compression forms a coherent mass, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery into which flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and means for sequentially injecting successive charges of said flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, and for forcing said material to flow radially in all directions from said orifice between said surfaces, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 10

A toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material comprising: a block having a smooth molding surface zone with a periphery and a non-molding surface zone; a smooth transparent viewing panel movable between a molding position in which said panel overlies said molding surface zone in close spaced parallel relationship thereto to define therewith a shallow molding cavity for producing a thin disc of uniform thickness, and a non-molding position in which said molding zone is accessible; clamp means to selectively maintain said panel and block in said molding position; a reservoir formed in said bloCk and having intake and discharge ends; an orifice formed in said block communicating at one end with said molding zone surfaces of said block at a point away from said periphery of said molding zone surface and at the other end with said discharge end of said reservoir, a reservoir-charging passage formed in said block communicating at one end with said intake end of said reservoir and at the other end with said non-molding zone surface to facilitate charging said reservoir with flowable material when said viewing plate is in said molding position; and a piston movable in said reservoir for sequentially injecting into said cavity successive charges of flowable material positioned in said reservoir via said passage, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surface zone and panel to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 11

A toy for creating thin disc shaped objects of uniform thickness from flowable material comprising: a block having a smooth molding surface zone with a periphery and a non-molding surface zone; a smooth transparent viewing panel movable between a molding position in which said panel overlies said molding surface zone in close spaced parallel relationship thereto to define therewith a shallow molding cavity for producing a thin disc of uniform thickness, and a non-molding position in which said molding zone is accessible; clamp means to selectively maintain said panel and block in said molding position; a reservoir formed in said bloCk and having intake and discharge ends; an orifice formed in said block communicating at one end with said molding zone surfaces of said block at a point away from said periphery of said molding zone surface and at the other end with said discharge end of said reservoir, a reservoir-charging passage formed in said block communicating at one end with said intake end of said reservoir and at the other end with said non-molding zone surface to facilitate charging said reservoir with flowable material when said viewing plate is in said molding position; and a piston movable in said reservoir for sequentially injecting into said cavity successive charges of flowable material positioned in said reservoir via said passage, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surface zone and panel to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 12

A toy for use by a child in creating thin disc-shaped objects of uniform thickness, having multi-colored patterns which are continuously variable at the discretion of the child, from a plurality of different colored cohesive charges of flowable material, and for presenting the flow of said material for continuous visual observation by the child at various stages of the objects'' creation, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery into which flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; means for sequentially injecting successive charges of said flowable material into said cavity through said orifice, and for successively forcing said sequential charges of material in said cavity to flow radially from said orifice between said surfaces through pressure exerted through other masses of said material entering said cavity through said orifice, whereby multicolored patterns are continuously visually observable through said viewing panel at various stages of creation of said objects; said injecting means being capable of free manual manipulation at any time during the operation thereof, between a loading condition in which charges of colored material can be added, and an injecting condition in which loaded charges of material are sequentially injected into said mold, whereby said patterns are continuously variable, during the creation thereof, at the discretion of the child operating the toy; said injecting means including: a. a reservoir communicating at one end thereof with said orifice, and having an intake opening communicating with said reservoir at a point remote from said orifice, b. a piston freely movable in said reservoir between a loading position away from said orifice to an injecting position toward said orifice, and c. a manually movable handle, external of said reservoir, connected to said piston through an opening in said reservoir, d. said reservoir defining a path from said intake to said orifice which is sufficiently straight so that successive charges of material loaded into said reservoir through said intake will be sequentially injected through said orifice without substantial mixing, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surface zone and panel to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 13

A toy for use by a child in creating thin disc-shaped objects of uniform thickness, having multi-colored patterns which are continuously variable at the discretion of the child, from a plurality of different colored cohesive charges of flowable material, and for presenting the flow of said material for continuous visual observation by the child at various stages of the objects'' creation, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery into which flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; means for sequentially injecting successive charges of said flowable material into said cavity through said orifice, and for successively forcing said sequential charges of material in said cavity to flow radially from said orifice between said surfaces through pressure exerted through other masses of said material entering said cavity through said orifice, whereby multicolored patterns are continuously visually observable through said viewing panel at various stages of creation of said objects; said injecting means being capable of free manual manipulation at any time during the operation thereof, between a loading condition in which charges of colored material can be added, and an injecting condition in which loaded charges of material are sequentially injected into said mold, whereby said patterns are continuously variable, during the creation thereof, at the discretion of the child operating the toy; said injecting means including: a. a reservoir communicating at one end thereof with said orifice, and having an intake opening communicating with said reservoir at a point remote from said orifice, b. a piston freely movable in said reservoir between a loading position away from said orifice to an injecting position toward said orifice, and c. a manually movable handle, external of said reservoir, connected to said piston through an opening in said reservoir, d. said reservoir defining a path from said intake to said orifice which is sufficiently straight so that successive charges of material loaded into said reservoir through said intake will be sequentially injected through said orifice without substantial mixing, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surface zone and panel to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively different charges of material.

Claim 14

A toy according to claim 8 wherein: said orifice is located generally centrally of said surface.

Claim 15

A toy for creating, from flowable material by injection molding, thin disc-shaped objects of uniform thickness having a multi-colored ringed design, said toy comprising: a injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery, into which cavity flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc of uniform thickness; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mechanism including different charges of flowable material of multiple colors arranged in said mechanism to be sequentially injected through said orifice into said cavity when said injector mechanism is actuated, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings of different colors at increasingly larger radii with correspond throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, to said successively differently colored charges of material.

Claim 16

A toy for creating, from flowable material by injection molding, thin disc-shaped objects of uniform thickness having a multi-colored ringed design, said toy comprising: a injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery, into which cavity flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc of uniform thickness; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mechanism including different charges of flowable material of multiple colors arranged in said mechanism to be sequentially injected through said orifice into said cavity when said injector mechanism is actuated, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings of different colors at increasingly larger radii with correspond throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, to said successively differently colored charges of material.

Claim 17

A toy according to claim 10 wherein: said orifice is located generally centrally of said surface.

Claim 18

A toy for creating, from flowable material by injection molding, thin disc-shaped objects of uniform thickness having a multi-colored design, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery, into which cavity flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mechaNism including different charges of flowable material of multiple colors distinctly arranged in said mechanism to be sequentially injected through said orifice into said cavity when said injector mechanism is actuated, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings of different colors at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively differently colored charges of material.

Claim 19

A toy for creating, from flowable material by injection molding, thin disc-shaped objects of uniform thickness having a multi-colored design, said toy comprising: an injection mold having a shallow molding cavity with a periphery, into which cavity flowable material can be injected to produce a thin disc; said mold including a pair of cooperating molding members each defining a respective one of a pair of opposed, smooth, closely spaced mold surfaces disposed in substantial parallelism; said cavity lying between said opposed surfaces and being substantially defined by said surfaces; one of said members having at least one orifice therein communicating with said cavity through one of said surfaces and communicating with said cavity at a point remote from the periphery of said cavity; at least one of said members including a transparent viewing panel to permit at least a portion of said cavity to be visually observed when flowable material is injected into said cavity; and at least one injector mechanism communicating with said orifice to facilitate the sequential injection of successive charges of flowable material through said orifice and into said cavity, said mechaNism including different charges of flowable material of multiple colors distinctly arranged in said mechanism to be sequentially injected through said orifice into said cavity when said injector mechanism is actuated, said mold surfaces being spaced sufficiently close to provide that each successive charge flows outwardly between said opposed mold surfaces to radially advance the preceding charge toward said periphery without substantial mixing of charges within said cavity, thereby producing a thin disc of uniform thickness having annular rings of different colors at increasingly larger radii which, throughout substantially the entire thickness thereof, correspond to said successively differently colored charges of material.

Claim 20

A toy according to claim 10 wherein: said orifice is located generally centrally of said surface.