MASSAGE TOY WITH WITH INTEGRATED MOVEABLE BALLS

Abstract

The invention relates to a massage toy, in particular a dildo or vibrator, comprising a substantially cylindrical base member which is made of a supple material. According to the invention, the base member has at least one inner cavity in which a freely movable inertial member is arranged. The invention further relates to the use of a love ball and to a method of producing a massage toy.

Claims

1. A massage toy, comprising: a substantially cylindrical base member which is made of a supple material, wherein the base member has at least one inner cavity in which a freely movable inertial member is arranged.

2. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the base member has at least, two, inner cavities, in each of which a freely movable inertial member is arranged.

3. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the inertial member is round.

4. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the inertial member is substantially spherical.

5. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the inner cavity has an inner profile having a larger diameter than the inertial member, so that the inertial member can move freely inside the cavity.

6. The toy according to claim 5, wherein the diameter of the cavity exceeds the diameter of the inertial member by an amount ranging from 2 mm to 20 mm, preferably 3 mm to 15 mm, and particularly preferably from 6 mm to 10 mm.

7. The toy according to claim 5, wherein the diameter of the cavity exceeds the diameter of the inertial member by an amount ranging from 10% to 100%, preferably 10% to 70%, particularly preferably from 20% to 60%, and even more preferably from approximately 30% to 50%.

8. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the inertial member has a volume V1 and the cavity has an inner volume V2, and the ratio of volume V1 to V2 is in a range from 0.1 to 1.0, preferably from 0.1 to 0.6, particularly preferably from 0.2 to 0.5.

9. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the inertial member has a mass m1 and the toy has a mass m2, and the ratio of mass m1 to m2 is in a range from 0.01 to 1 preferably from 0.01 to 0.5, particularly preferably from 0.1 to 0.3 and is most preferably approximately 0.2.

10. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the cavity has an inner profile which is substantially spherical.

11. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the cavity has an inner profile which is substantially ellipsoidal.

12. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the cavity has a principal axis, and said principal axis extends substantially coaxially with a central axis of the base member.

13. The toy according to claim 1, wherein at least one rigid enclosure is arranged in and completely enclosed by the base member, and said enclosure defines the cavity.

14. The toy according to claim 1, wherein the enclosure is formed of two half-shells.

15. The toy according to claim 1, wherein ribs are formed at an inner wall enclosing the cavity.

16. The toy according to claim 1, wherein at least one love ball, is arranged in the base member, and the enclosure of the love ball defines the cavity, and the inner ball of the love ball forms the inertial member.

17. A massage toy comprising: a substantially cylindrical base member which is made of a supple material; an enclosure within the base member that is fully surrounded by the base member; a cavity positioned inside the enclosure and defined by the enclosure; a freely movable inertial member positioned inside the cavity that is defined by the enclosure.

18. The toy according to claim 17, wherein the enclosure has an outer and further including a rib that extends outward from the outer wall to provide a ridge on the outmost wall of the enclosure.

19. The use of a love ball, in particular a smartball, for integration in a base member of a dildo.

20. A method of producing a massage toy, in particular a massage toy according to claim 1, by casting at least one love ball in a silicone material to form a base member.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The invention shall now be described in more detail with reference to an embodiment and with reference to the attached drawings, in which

[0029] FIG. 1 shows a side elevation view of a massage toy;

[0030] FIG. 2 shows a perspective front view of the massage toy shown in FIG. 1;

[0031] FIG. 3 shows a partial cutaway view of the massage toy, showing three cavities enclosed by enclosures; and

[0032] FIG. 4 shows an opened enclosure containing an inertial member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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 glans 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. 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.

[0037] 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.

[0038] 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.

[0039] 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.

[0040] 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.

[0041] 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.

[0042] 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.

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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.