Massage toy with integrated moveable balls

Abstract

A massage toy, in particular a dildo or vibrator, includes a substantially cylindrical base member which is made of a supple material. The base member has at least one inner cavity in which a freely movable inertial member is arranged. A method of producing a massage toy with a substantially cylindrical base member, at least one inner cavity, and a movable inertial member is also described.

Claims

1. A massage toy, comprising: a base member which is made of a supple material having a main portion coupled to a rear end portion, wherein the main portion has a first inner cavity and a second inner cavity with the first and second inner cavities corresponding to locations of radial bulges in the main portion with radial constrictions between the radial bulges, the first inner cavity being isolated from the second inner cavity by a portion of material of the base member, and wherein the rear end portion is radially enlarged relative to the main portion; a first freely movable inertial member positioned in the first inner cavity; and a second freely movable inertial member positioned in the second cavity.

2. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second inner cavities has an inner profile having a diameter that is greater than a diameter of a respective one of the first and second inertial members, so that the respective one of the first and second inertial members can move freely inside the at least one of the first and second inner cavities, and wherein the diameter of the at least one of the first and second inner cavities exceeds the diameter of the respective one of the first and second inertial members by an amount ranging from 2 mm to 20 mm.

3. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein a diameter of at least one of the first and second inner cavities exceeds a diameter of a respective one of the first and second inertial members by an amount ranging from 10% to 100%.

4. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second inertial members has a volume V1 and a respective one of the first and second inner cavities has an inner volume V2, and a ratio of volume V1 to V2 is in a range from 0.1 to 0.6.

5. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein the first and second inertial members have a total mass m1 and the toy has a mass m2, and a ratio of mass m1 to m2 is in a range from 0.01 to 0.5.

6. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second inner cavities has an inner profile which is substantially spherical or substantially ellipsoidal.

7. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second inertial members is round or substantially spherical.

8. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second inner cavities has a principal axis and the base member has a central axis, the principal axis of each of the first and second inner cavities being substantially coaxial with the central axis of the base member.

9. The massage toy according to claim 1, further comprising: at least one rigid enclosure positioned in and completely enclosed by the base member, wherein the at least one rigid enclosure defines a corresponding at least one of the first and second inner cavities.

10. The massage toy according to claim 9, wherein the at least one rigid enclosure includes two half-shells coupled together.

11. The massage toy according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of ribs extending from an inner wall enclosing at least one of the first and second inner cavities.

12. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein the rear end portion includes a flat outermost face.

13. The massage toy according to claim 1, wherein the rear end portion flares out from a distal end of the rear end portion, which is connected to a proximal end of the substantially cylindrical portion, to a proximal end of the rear end portion.

14. A massage toy comprising: a non-electric assembly including: a continuous body made of a supple material having a completely closed surface and including an elongated portion; a first enclosure positioned within the elongated portion of the body and fully surrounded by the elongated portion of the body; a second enclosure positioned within the elongated portion of the body, and fully surrounded by the elongated portion of the body; a first cavity internal to the first enclosure; a first freely movable inertial member positioned inside the first cavity; a second cavity internal to the second enclosure; and a second freely movable inertial member positioned inside the second cavity, wherein the elongated portion of the body has an undulating shape with a location of the first enclosure and a location of the second enclosure corresponding to locations of radial bulges in the elongated portion of the body; and wherein the first enclosure is isolated from the second enclosure by a portion of the supple material of the elongated portion of the body.

15. The massage toy according to claim 14, wherein the enclosure has an outer wall and further includes a rib that extends outward from the outer wall of the enclosure to provide a ridge on the outmost wall of the enclosure.

16. A device, comprising: a massage toy, including: a base member which is made of a supple material; a first cavity within the base member; a second cavity within the base member and spaced from the first cavity along the base member, wherein the first cavity and the second cavity are isolated from each other by a portion of material of the base member, wherein the portion of material of the base member between the first cavity and the second cavity is configured to flex; a first inertial member in the first cavity; and a second inertial member in the second cavity, wherein the first and second inertial members have a total mass m1 and the massage toy has a mass m2, and a ratio of mass m1 to m2 is in a range from 0.01 to 0.5.

17. The massage toy of claim 16 wherein the base member defines a main axis, the massage toy further comprising: a first enclosure in the first cavity, the first inertial member being in the first enclosure and the first enclosure having a first principal axis; and a second enclosure in the second cavity, the second inertial member being in the second enclosure and the second enclosure having a second principal axis, wherein the first principal axis of the first enclosure and the second principal axis of the second enclosure are each offset from the main axis of the base member.

18. A massage toy, comprising: a base member which is made of a supple material; a first enclosure within the base member; a second enclosure within the base member, the first enclosure and the second enclosure corresponding to locations of radial bulges or radial in the base member; a first cavity internal to the first enclosure; a first freely movable inertial member positioned inside the first cavity; a second cavity internal to the second enclosure; and a second freely movable inertial member positioned inside the second cavity, and wherein the first enclosure is isolated from the second enclosure by a portion of the material of the base member.

19. The massage toy of claim 18, further comprising: a cavity positioned inside the first enclosure; and a freely movable inertial member positioned inside the cavity, wherein the first enclosure has a first weight and the freely movable inertial member has a second weight, a ratio of the second weight to the first weight being between 0.45 to 0.75.

20. The massage toy of claim 18 wherein the base member has a sidewall surrounding the first enclosure, the sidewall having a thickness proximate the first enclosure that is between 2 mm and 15 mm.

21. The massage toy of claim 18 wherein the first enclosure includes a first half shell with a first protrusion and a second half shell with a second protrusion, the first half shell coupled to the second half shell with the first protrusion aligned with the second protrusion.

22. A massage toy, comprising: a continuous body including an elongated cylindrical portion having an outer surface with undulating contours; a plurality of individual enclosures positioned within and fully surrounded by the elongated cylindrical portion and spaced from each other along the elongated cylindrical portion, wherein each of the plurality of enclosures includes: an exterior surface in contact with the elongated cylindrical portion; an internal cavity; and at least one protrusion extending from the exterior surface into the elongated cylindrical portion; and a plurality of inertial members, wherein each of the plurality of inertial members is positioned in the internal cavity of a corresponding one of the plurality of individual enclosures.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention shall now be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment and with reference to the attached drawings, in which

(2) FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of a massage toy;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective front view of the massage toy shown in FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a partial cutaway view of the massage toy, showing three cavities enclosed by enclosures; and

(5) FIG. 4 shows an opened enclosure containing an inertial member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(6) According to FIG. 1, a massage toy 1 has a base member 2. Base member 2 is substantially cylindrical and has a central axis A that is slightly curved in this embodiment. Base member 2 is made of a supple, medical-grade silicone material and is therefore elastic as a whole, so it can also be straightened up in such a way that central axis A is straight. Base member 2 also has a front axial end 4 and a rear axial end 6. At the rear axial end 6, a flange-like radial extension 8 is provided which serves to limit the axial depth of penetration of base member 2 from the front axial end 4 to the rear axial end 6. The flange-like radial extension 8 also serves as a grip or harness for handling toy 1.

(7) In this embodiment of the invention, base member 2 has three cavities 22 (see FIGS. 3 and 4), so three radial bulges 10a, 10b, 10c and three radial constrictions 12a, 12b, 12c corresponding to radial bulges 10a, 10b, 10c can be seen on base member 2, with the result that base member 2 has a slightly undulating shape on the whole. This configuration can also be seen in the perspective view shown in FIG. 2.

(8) FIG. 3 shows a partial cutaway view through toy 1 along axis A. The cut is only partial, because cavities 22 themselves as well as inertial member 24 are not visible (see FIG. 4 in that regard). In this embodiment, cavities 22 are defined by enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c, which are not cut through in FIG. 3. In this embodiment, three enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c are provided, inside each of which an inertial member 24 (cf. FIG. 4) is arranged. In combination with inertial members 24 arranged therein, enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c form a Smartball, of the kind developed, produced and sold by the present applicant. Smartball is a commercial product that has been sold on the open market for a few years, and thus is well known in the art and need not be described further. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, three Smartballs are provided accordingly in base member 2. In one version, each Smartball is fully isolated from the others. In other versions, a small cord can connect adjacent Smartballs to each other.

(9) The ratio of the total mass of all three inertial members 24 to the total mass of toy 1 is 0.07 to 1.0 in this embodiment. As can be seen from FIG. 3, radial bulges 10a, 10b, 10c are provided in the regions in which enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c are arranged in base member 2. Enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c have a substantially ellipsoidal or egg-shaped external profile and are spaced apart from each other by a gap WA. Enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c are not interconnected, even if that may be provided in other embodiments. In this embodiment, one enclosure 14a is provided in the region of base member 2 that forms the glands of the male sexual organ, and two enclosures 14b, 14c are provided in the region of base member 2 which constitutes the shaft in a male sex organ. The gap WA between two adjacent enclosures 14b, 14c and 14a, 14b is chosen so that sufficient material is present there to allow flexion of base member 2. A slight constriction is additionally provided on the base member in regions 12a, 12b, 12c. This results in a preferred external profile, as already described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

(10) Each enclosure 14a, 14b, 14c is surrounded radially externally by a wall of base member 2 that is WR thick (marked only for enclosure 14c). Wall thickness WR is selected to allow energy transfer from enclosure 14a, 14b, 14c to base member 2 and outwardly from the latter, and so that absorption by the silicone material of base member 2 is not too great. Due to enclosures 14a, 14b, 14c being rigid and preferably made of a non-elastic plastic, base member 2 acquires a certain degree of stability and resistance to pressure, which is preferable for stimulation.

(11) A rib 16a, 16b, 16c which serves to produce an improved connection between the silicone material of base member 2 and enclosure 14a, 14b, 14c is provided on a radially external surface of enclosure 14a, 14b, 14c.

(12) Each enclosure 14 has a cavity 22 on the inside. Cavity 22 and inertial member 24 can be seen in more detail in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 also shows an opened enclosure 14, with the two half-shells 18, 20 forming enclosure 14 being dissembled. The interior of enclosure 14 defines a cavity 22 in which an inertial member 24 is arranged. In each of its half-shells 18, 20, enclosure 14 has inwardly protruding ribs 26 extending circumferentially about a main axis A (only one rib in each is marked with a reference sign), and the radially inwardly protruding end portions 26a of ribs 26 jointly define an enveloping profile that forms the profile of cavity 22.

(13) In this embodiment, inertial member 24 is in the form of a ball, in particular in the form of a ball made of a metal material, a hard plastic material, a ceramic material or a wooden material, preferably a material with a relatively high density, and preferably with a higher density than the density of base member 2.

(14) Cavity 22 has a basic shape that is substantially ellipsoidal, with a principal axis H. When the enclosure is integrated (cf. FIG. 3), said principal axis H is oriented in such a way that it extends substantially coaxially with axis A of the base member.

(15) As can also be seen from FIG. 4, inertial member 24 is significantly smaller than cavity 22 and therefore has a smaller diameter than the latter. Diameter DT of inertial member 24 is smaller than the radial diameter DK1 of cavity 22 and smaller than the diameter DK2 of cavity 22 measured along principal axis H. More specifically, diameter DK1 is approximately 30% larger than diameter DT, and in this embodiment DK2 is approximately 45% larger than diameter DT. Here, diameter DK1 is approximately 30.5 mm, while diameter DK2 is approximately 26.4 mm. The outer diameter of enclosure 14 (in the region of the secondary axis of the ellipse) is approximately 30 mm to 34 mm. This allows inertial member 24 to roll along end portions 26a of the ribs inside cavity 22 and to push against them, thus having different effects on base member 2. Inertial member 24 can collide with enclosure 14 if there is any jolting movement, thus transmitting impact energy to base member 2, and if there is rotating or circular movement of base member 2, inertial member 24 can roll on ribs 26 inside enclosure 14, thus transferring a centrifugal force onto the enclosure, as a result of which a vibration is transferred to base member 2. By simple displacement of inertial member 24 inside enclosure 14, it is also possible to continuously alter the center of gravity of base member 2. A particularly pleasant massage or stimulation is produced by all three types of movement when toy 1 is used for massage or stimulation.

(16) In this embodiment, the weight of enclosure 14, including inertial member 24, is in a range between 29 grams and 35 grams, the weight of the inertial member being approximately 20 grams.

(17) The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide further embodiments. All of the U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications and non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/or listed in the Application Data Sheet are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety. Aspects of the embodiments can be modified, if necessary to employ concepts of the various patents, applications and publications to provide yet further embodiments.

(18) These and other changes can be made to the embodiments in light of the above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the claims to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all possible embodiments along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. Accordingly, the claims are not limited by the disclosure.