US PATENT 4010570
United States Patent [19] Kohler
[54] PUPPETASSEMBLING
[75] Inventor: MarcW.Kohler, Providence,RI.
[73] Assignee: ThePuppetWorkshop,Inc., Providence, RI.
Filed! May 14,1975
[211 App}.NO‘:577,410
[1] 4,010,570 [45] Mar.8,1977
PrimaryExaminer—LouisG.Mancene AssistantExammer_ RobenF’Cutting
ABSTRACT
A puppet comprising ahead and a costume, the head comprising a container filled with a resilient foam material squeezed therein, the material having a slitted portion extending into the container from its opening, [52] US.Cl;..46/154 the slitted portion providing a finger-receiving receptacle for manipulation of the head by a finger, and the costume being in the form of a mitten for receiving a hand, the head and costume being in assembled relation when a hand is inserted into the mitten and a finger of the hand is inserted into the slitted portion of the head_o fthe present invention. This invention relates to‘ puppets and puppet-‘assem 5
[58] FieldofSearch–46/154,22,11,1R,
46/156, 158 [56] References Cited ‘
UNITED STATES PATENTS
683,857 10/1901 Kilpatrick ..46/154 2,302,349 11/1942 Renshaw ….. ……… 46/154 2,433,555 12/1947 Hulse..46/154X 26 f2 24 ‘OJ 2e O ° ‘1 o2 0O O O 4Claims,4DrawingFigures
U8. Patent Mar. 8, 1977 4,010,570 fl 4,010,570 2
PUPPET ASSEMBLING ‘BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view in cross section of one embodiment
FIG.2 is a view through 2—2 of FIG.1.
FIG.3 is a view of an assembly kit embodiment of the present invention
FIG.4 is a plan view of indicia for use with the finger and the head of the puppet that allows for effective manipulation of the head with out slippage of the fingeror discomfort thereto. Slocum U.S. Pat. ‘No. l,432,628
teaches a slotted disc in the puppet’s head for gripping acostume-covered finger inserted ‘the rethrough.vReich
US. Pat. No. l,4l7,860 teaches ‘an elastici’?nger
receivingcupinthepuppet’shead‘andhandsl’ltisalso 5 12,alsoshowninFIG.3,hasthreetubular?nger desirable to have interchangeability of costumes and
heads. Renshaw US. Pat. No. 2,302,349 accomplishes
this by externally tying the costume to the head. Fi ‘ nally, it is desirable to let children make their own
puppets by providing simple and workable means for 20 open celled polyurethane foam 22 squeezed therein
bly kits. ‘ ” 3 ‘ ‘
In making puppets for children, one faces the prob lemofprovidingaconnectionbetween”thechild’s?n
achieving that purpose. Lerner et al. US. Pat. No. 3,660,926 teaches a kit for making a toy character from magnetic elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention provides a simple, cheap, easy to con struct, and fun to use puppet.
The invention provides for effective ?nger control of the puppet head in a way that is comfortable to the ?nger, lasts after repeated uses, and requires no adjust ment for different ?nger sizes. The costume is simply but effectively secured to the puppet head during use, but iseasily interchangeable with other costumes. The invention enables a young child to construct his own workablepuppet,andprovidesopportunityforcreativ ityindecoratingthepuppet’shead.
The invention features in one aspect a puppet com
prising a head and a costume, the head comprising a
and glued to the inner surface of tube 20. Slits 24, 24 in foam 22 extend through the length of tube 20 along the axis thereof. Cotton balls 26 simulating hair cling by friction to the top of foam 22. Polystyrene foam pieces
25 28,28,and30(FIG.2)aregluedtoeachsideandfront of tube 20, respectively, to simulate ears and a nose. Tasseled cloth strip 32 is glued around the top of tube 20 to simulate a headband.
FIG. 3 shows the disassembled parts comprising a puppet kit, including foam ears 34 and foam nose 36. Sheet 38 (FIG. 4) of colored construction paper can be usedwiththepartsofFIG.3toconstructapuppet.Top portion 40, when separated from the rest of sheet 38 alongthedottedline,canbewrappedaroundandglued to tube 20 before any other parts are attached to give the tube a desired color. Lower portion 42 contains assorted humorous facial features 44 printed thereon. These features can be cut out and glued onto tube 20 to
container having an opening therein, the container ?lledwitharesilientfoammaterialsqueezablyheld40 createavarietyoffaces.Atransparentplasticbag(not
therein;thematerialhavingaslitedportionextending
intothecontainerfromtheopening,theslittedportion
providing a ?nger-receiving receptacle for manipula
tion of the head by a ?nger, the costume being in the
formofamittenforreceivingahand,andtheheadand 45 16andtheindex?ngerintotubularportion18(FIG.
costume being in assembled relation when a hand is inserted into the mitten and a ?nger of the hand is inserted into the slitted portion. In another aspect the invention features a puppet assembly kit comprising the head with slitted ?nger-receiving foam portion, a costume, a plurality of decorative parts for attachment to the head, and a container for holding the head, cos tume, and decorative parts prior to assembly thereof.
Preferred embodiments feature a mitten having a tubular ?nger-receiving member projecting from the 55 closedendofthemitten,themittenbeingconnectedto the head when a ?nger is inserted into the tubular member and the finger and the tubular member are thereupon inserted into the slitted portion of the head; foam material slitted twice to provide two slits being 60 perpendicular to each other; open celled foam mate rial; polyurethane foam material; and a head having a container in the form of a tube having an opening at each end, the slitted portion extending from one end of thetubetoitsoppositeend throughtheaxisofthetube.
Other advantages and features of the invention will be apparent from the description and drawings herein of a preferred embodiment thereof.
1). Tubular portion 18 and ?nger therein are then insertedintothebottomofhead14throughperpendic- ‘ ular slits 24, spreading apart foam 22, until head 14 encloses tubular portion 18. The ?ngers in each tubular portion are then manipulated to provide the head and arm movements of the puppet. Squeezed foam 22 grips the?ngersnuglybutwithoutdiscomfort,andbybeing in contact with foam 22 throughout its length, the fin ger has optimum control over head movements.
Other embodiments are within the following claims. What is claimed is:
1.A puppetcomprising:
an exterior supporting tube and a unitary resilient
foam core supported in said tube, ‘
at least one end of said tube being opened to ex
pose said foam core,
said foam core containing therein a longitudinally
extendingpassageextendingaxiallyofsaidtube for receiving and gripping a ?nger extending through said one end,
said foam core completely ?lling the crosssection of said tube between said passage and said tube to give stability thereto,
bodiment of FIG. 3.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED ‘ EMBODIMENT
IThere isshown inFIG. 1assembledpuppet 10 com prising cloth costume mitten 12 and head 14. Mitten
receivingportionsl6,l6,and18,portions16serving as the arms of the puppet and portion 18 for insertion into head 14. Head 14 comprises cardboard tube 20, open at both ends, and ?lled with a cylinder of resilient,
shown) contains the parts of FIGS. 3 and 4.
In operation, after head 14 is decorated as above
. described, a user inserts his hand into mitten 12, plac ing the thumb and middle ?nger into tubular portions
4,010,570 34
said passage being transversely so small in area as to grip reliably even small ?ngers and said core beingsoyieldableastoacceptreliablyevenlarge ?ngers.
2.The puppet of claim further including a costume in the form of a mitten for receiving a hand, said tube and costume being in assembled relation when a hand
a head comprising a container having an opening therein, said container with a resilient foam material squeezably held therein, said material having a slitted portion extending into said container from said opening, and said portion providing a finger-receiving receptacle for manipulation of said head by a finger, and
a costume in the form of a mitten for receiving a hand, said head and costume being in assembled
3. The puppet US PATENT 4010570mitten a10 relationwhenahandisinsertedintosaidmitten
‘
tubular ?nger-receiving member projecting from the
closed end of said mitten, said mitten being connected to said tube when a ?nger isinserted into said tubular member and the ?nger and said tubular member are thereupon inserted into said passage in said core.
4.A puppet comprising:
said container being in the form of a tube having an open end at each said end,
said slitted portion extending from one end of said tube to the opposite end and
through the axis of said tube.