Mental Emotional Social Health Toy and Method

Abstract

A toy including a tube has a first end and second end and a connecting member disposed within and moveable relative the tube. The connecting member has a first end and a second end. The toy also includes a first topping ornament operatively coupled to the first end of the connecting member and a second topping ornament operatively coupled to the second end of the connecting member. The connecting member is sized such that when the second topping ornament is pushed nearly fully inside the second end of the tube, the first end of the connecting member pushes the first topping ornament nearly fully outside the first end of the tube and when the first topping ornament is pushed nearly fully inside the first end of the tube, the second end of the connecting member pushes the second topping ornament nearly fully outside the second end of the tube.

Claims

1. A toy comprising: a tube having a first end and second end; a connecting member disposed within and moveable relative the tube, the connecting member having a first end and a second end; a first topping ornament operatively coupled to the first end of the connecting member; and a second topping ornament operatively coupled to the second end of the connecting member; wherein the connecting member is sized such that when the second topping ornament is pushed fully or nearly fully inside the second end of the tube, the first end of the connecting member pushes the first topping ornament fully or nearly fully outside the first end of the tube, and when the first topping ornament is pushed fully or nearly fully inside the first end of the tube, the second end of the connecting member pushes the second topping ornament fully or nearly fully outside the second end of the tube.

2. The toy of claim 1, further comprising: an outer cover wrapped around an exterior surface of the tube, the outer cover having a first end and a second end, the first end of the outer cover being operatively coupled to a terminating perimeter of the first topping ornament thereby forming a first seam and the second end of the out cover being operatively couped to a terminating perimeter of the second topping ornament thereby forming a second seam.

3. The toy of claim 2, further comprising: a first elastic band disposed proximate the first seam; and a second elastic band disposed proximate the second seam, wherein the first and second elastic bands are configured to pull the terminating perimeters of the first and second topping ornaments radially inward towards a center of the tube.

4. The toy of claim 1, further comprising: a first elastic band coupled proximate to a terminating perimeter of the first topping ornament; and a second elastic coupled proximate to a terminating perimeter of the second topping ornament, wherein the first and second elastic bands are configured to pull the terminating perimeters of the first and second topping ornaments radially inward towards a center of the tube.

5. The toy of claim 1, wherein the first topping ornament is in the form of a flower and the second topping ornament is in the form of a flame.

6. The toy of claim 5, wherein the first and second topping ornaments include facial features such that the first and second topping ornaments have the appearance of a face.

7. The toy of claim 5, wherein the first topping ornament has flower pedal elements extending outwardly from a circumference of the first topping ornament, and wherein the second topping ornament has flame elements extending from a circumference of the second topping ornament.

8. The toy of claim 5, wherein when the second topping ornament is pushed fully or nearly fully inside the second end of the tube and the first topping ornament is fully or nearly fully outside the first end of the tube, the toy is in a flower stage, and when the first topping ornament is pushed fully or nearly fully inside the first end of the tube and the second topping ornament is fully or nearly fully outside the second end of the tube, the toy is in a flame stage, wherein the toy may be cycled between the flower stage and the flame stage as needed.

9. A method for reducing stress of a person, the method comprising: holding a toy having a tube and a first topping ornament connected to a second topping ornament, the first topping ornament and the second ornament being moveable relative to the tube; configuring the toy such the first topping ornament is fully or nearly fully outside the tube and the second topping ornament is fully or nearly fully inside the tube; interacting with the first topping ornament; configuring the toy such the second topping ornament is fully or nearly fully outside the tube and the first topping ornament is fully or nearly fully inside the tube; and interacting with the second topping ornament, wherein the interacting steps reduce the stress of a person.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first topping ornament is in the form of a flower and the second topping ornament is in the form of a flame.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of interacting with the first topping ornament simulates smelling the first topping ornament and wherein the step of interacting with the second topping ornament simulates blowing on a flame.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the first and second topping ornaments have facial features such that the first and second topping ornaments have the appearance of a face.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising: repeating each of the configuring steps and each the interacting steps in order to achieve additional stress reduction of the person.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with a general description of the invention given above, and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the invention.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a mental emotional social health (MESH) toy in a flower stage according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the MESH toy of FIG. 1 in a flame stage.

[0017] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the MESH toy of FIG. 1.

[0018] FIG. 4 are schematic representations of the MESH toy of FIG. 2 transforming the flower stage to the flame stage.

[0019] FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a child interacting with the MESH toy in the flower stage.

[0020] FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of a child interacting with the MESH toy in the transforming stage.

[0021] FIG. 7 is a schematic representation of a child interacting the MESH toy in the flame stage.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] With reference to FIGS. 1-3, a mental emotional social heath (MESH) toy 10 according to an embodiment of the disclosure is shown. The MESH toy 10 includes a tube 12 having a first end 14 and a second end 16. The toy 10 in FIG. 2 is turn upside down such that the first end 14 is at the bottom on the second end 16 is at the top. In an embodiment, the tube 12 is sized to be held by a human hand 18. As shown in FIG. 3, toy 10 further includes a connecting member 20 disposed within and moveable relative to the interior of the tube 12. The connecting member 20 has a first end 22 and a second end 24 that are oriented to correspond to the first and second ends 14, 16 of the tube 12. A first topping ornament 30 is coupled to the first end 22 of the connecting member 20. A second topping ornament 32 is coupled to the second end 24 of the connecting member 20. In an embodiment, the first end 22 of the connecting member 20 may be coupled to the first topping ornament 30 with fasteners 34, 36 and the second end 24 of the connecting member 20 may be coupled to the second topping ornament 32 with fasteners 38, 40. The fasteners 34, 36, 38, 40 may be any suitable device to couple the first and second topping ornaments 30, 32 to the first and second ends 22, 24 of the connecting member 20, such as thread, nylon string, zip ties, wire ties, for example.

[0023] The first and second topping ornaments 30, 32 may take the form of various shapes. For example, the first and second topping ornaments 30, 32 may be in the form of various plants (flowers, vegetables, etc.), animals (bees, lambs, lions, tigers, birds, insects, etc.), human body parts (head, hands, feet, etc.) and inanimate objections (sports balls, hand tools, dishware, etc.). To that end and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first topping ornament 30 may be in the shape of a flower and the second topping ornament 32 may be in the shape of a flame. The flower topping ornament 30 and the flame topping ornament 32 may include facial features, such as a mouth and eyes. The flower topping ornament 30 may further ornamental features 42 such as flower pedal elements extending outwardly from a circumference of the flower topping ornament 30. The flame topping ornament 32 may further ornamental features 44 such as flame elements extending outwardly from a circumference of the flame topping ornament 32. To accent and compliment the shape of the flower topping ornament 30, the first end 22 of the connecting member 20 has a relatively large radius so that the first end 22 helps to shape the upper portion of the flower topping ornament 30 when the flower topping ornament 30 is pushed outside of the tube 12. Similarly, to accent and compliment the shape of the flame topping ornament 32, the second end 24 of the connecting member 20 is relatively pointed so that the second end 24 helps to shape the upper portion of the flame topping ornament 32 when the flame topping ornament 32 is pushed outside of the tube 12. In an embodiment, the connecting member 20 may be sized such that only one of either the flower topping ornament 30 or the flame topping ornament 32 is exposed at one end of the tube 12. For example, when the flower topping ornament 30 is fully exposed or nearly fully exposed at first end 14 of the tube 12, the flame topping ornament 32 is fully or nearly fully inside the second end 16 of the tube 12.

[0024] When the flower topping ornament 30 is pushed fully or nearly fully outside the tube 12, that may be considered the flower stage of the toy 10 as illustrated in FIG. 1. When the flame topping ornament 32 is pushed fully or nearly fully outside the tube 12, that may be considered the flame stage of the toy 10 as illustrate in FIG. 2.

[0025] FIG. 3 is a cross section of the toy 10 in the flower stage (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, the tube 12 may be encased by an outer cover 46 that extends substantially the entire length of the tube 12. A first end 48 of the outer cover 46 may be coupled, such as by stitching for example, to a terminating perimeter 50 of the flower topping ornament 30 to form a first seam 60. Similarly, a second end 52 of the outer cover 46 may be coupled, such as by stitching for example, to a terminating perimeter 54 of the flame topping ornament 32 to form a second seam 62. In an embodiment, a first elastic band 56 may be coupled to one or both of the first end 48 and the terminating perimeter 50 proximate the first seam 60 and a second elastic band 58 may be coupled to one or both of the second end 52 and the terminating perimeter 54 proximate the second seam 62. The elastic bands 56, 58 may keep the outer cover 46 close against the first and second ends 14, 16 of the tube 12 as the flower and flame topping ornaments 30, 32 are pushed into or out of the tube 12. The elastic bands 56, 58 may also help pull the terminating perimeters 50, 54 radially inward so that the flower and flame topping ornaments 30, 32 have a well defined shape when pushed out of the tube 12.

[0026] FIG. 4 presents a sequence of the toy 10 beginning at the flower stage at the far left and transforming to the flame stage at the far right. To transform from the flower stage to the flame stage, the flower topping ornament 30 is pushed into first end 14 of the tube 12 using one or more fingers, for example, as indicated generally by the arrows in FIG. 4. As more of the flower topping ornament 30 is pushed into the tube 12, more of the flame topping ornament 32 is exposed at the second end 16 of the tube 12. When all of the flower topping ornament 30 is fully or nearly fully within the tube 12, the flame topping ornament 32 is fully or nearly fully outside the tube 12. As discussed above, the flower topping ornament 30 and the flame topping ornament 32 are operatively connected to the tube 12 such that flower topping ornament 30, the flame topping ornament 32, and the connecting member 20 may not be collectively pushed out of the tube under normal circumstances, i.e., non-excessive pushing forces.

[0027] Various materials may be used to construct the different structural features of the toy 10. In an embodiment, the outer cover 46 may be polyester, brushed tricot; the flower topping ornament 30 and the flame topping ornament 32 may be polyester velboa, felt and elastic; the tube 12 may be extruded polyethylene; and the connecting member 20 may be polyester brushed tricot stuffed hard with polyester fill. Other suitable materials may be also used to construct these components.

[0028] The invention also contemplates a method for regulating a person's emotions. In an embodiment, the method regulates the emotions of a child. To that end, the method may be implemented when a child becomes stressed or anxious, for example. The method has multiple steps as discussed below.

[0029] Now referring to FIGS. 5-7, (Step 1) when stressed or anxious, a child 64 may pick up and hold the toy 10 with his or her hand or hands 66. (Step 2) The child 64 may then configure the toy such that the first topping ornament 30 is fully or nearly fully outside the tube 12 and the second topping ornament 32 is fully or nearly fully inside the tube 12 as shown in FIG. 5. (Step 3) The child may interact with the first topping ornament 30. As used here, the term interact means at least physically touching/manipulating the first or second topping ornaments 30, 32, making a noise directed to the first or second topping ornaments 30, 32, inhaling or exhaling proximate the first or second topping ornaments 30, 32, or moving (walking, running, skipping, etc.) with the toy 10 in hand. In an embodiment, the child 64 may inhale deeply, pretending to smell the first topping ornament 30, where the first topping ornament 30 is in the form of a flower. This step helps the child take a calm, deep breath, which begins the process of relieving the child's stress, tension, and anxiety. (Step 4) After interacting with the first topping ornament 30, the child 64 may configure the toy 10 such that the first flower topping ornament 30 is fully or nearly fully inside the tube 12, such as by pushing the first topping ornament 30 using his or her hand 66 as shown in FIG. 6. As child 64 pushes the first topping ornament 30 into the tube 12, the second topping ornament 32 begins to pop out at the other end of the tube 12. When the first topping ornament 30 is fully or nearly fully pushed inside the tube 12, the second topping ornament 32 is fully exposed at the other end of the tube 12 such that the toy 10 as shown in FIG. 7. The child 64 may turn the toy 10 over so that the second topping ornament 32 position on the upper side of the toy 10. (Step 5) The child 64 may interact with the second topping ornament 32. In an embodiment, the child may exhale onto the second topping ornament 32 as if to blow out a candle, where the second topping ornament 32 is in the form of a flame of a candle. This interaction further helps the child 64 release stress, tension, and anxiety. After blowing out the flame on the flame topping ornament 32, the child 64 may push the flame topping ornament 32 back into the tube, causing the flower topping ornament 30 to pop out of the other end of the tube, i.e., converting the toy 10 from the flame stage back to the flower stage. The child 64 may repeat these steps a few times to continue interacting with the toy 10 until the child's stress, tension, and anxiety has subsided to more manageable levels.

[0030] The MESH toy 10 may provide several benefits. First, the MESH toy 10 may help regulate a person's emotions and/or reduce stress, tension, and anxiety. The MESH toy 10 may guide a child through deep breathing exercises, helping him or her effectively manage his or her emotions and/or reduce stress, tension, and anxiety. Second, the MESH toy 10 provides a tactile experience. The interactive design of the MESH toy 10 engages the child's senses, making mindfulness both fun and accessible. Finally, the MESH toy 10 may provide therapy almost anywhere because it is compact and portable. The MESH toy 10 may be used in a calm corner at home or on the go, providing a convenient way for a child to practice mindfulness anywhere.

[0031] The MESH toy 10 taps into the universal experiences of smelling a flower and blowing out a candle and turns those simple actions into a soothing routine. The MESH toy 10 helps a child harness the power of his or her breath and discover a path to calm.

[0032] While the invention has been illustrated by a description of various embodiments, and while these embodiments have been described in considerable detail, it is not the intention of the Applicant to restrict or in any way limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Additional advantages and modifications will readily appear to those skilled in the art. The invention in its broader aspects is therefore not limited to the specific details, representative apparatus and method, and illustrative examples shown and described. Accordingly, departures may be made from such details without departing from the spirit or scope of the Applicant's general inventive concept.