Actuatable toys containing deformable bladders

Abstract

Actuatable toys that contain a deformable, and optionally elastomeric, core therein that facilitates in actuating a predetermined movement of a component of the toy or article when the core is squeezed or otherwise deformed. In some embodiments, the core is a bladder that contains a fluid substance and is deformable proximate to the actuatable component upon application of pressure thereto. The actuatable component may take such illustrative forms as a belly, a tail, a nose, a snout, a mouth, a jaw, arms, ears, tail, and/or legs of an animal toy. In addition, the actuatable toy comprises a flexible outer covering enclosing the core, where at least a portion of the outer covering comprises a movable material disposed proximate to the actuatable component of the toy, whereupon actuating of the movable material and deformation of the core facilitate actuation of the actuatable component upon application of pressure to the toy.

1 . A stuffed toy, comprising: 
 a flexible, soft outer covering defining at least a primary internal compartment, wherein the outer covering defines a central body region containing at least a substantial portion of the primary internal compartment, and further wherein the outer covering further defines at least one actuatable component that extends from the central body region and is selected from at least the group consisting of at least one of a head, an arm, a leg, a wing, a horn, a fin, a tail, a mouth, a jaw, an ear, and a nose; and    a resilient deformable core enclosed within the outer covering and at least substantially positioned within the primary internal compartment, wherein the core includes an outer surface, wherein the core is selectively deformable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state upon application of external, user-applied pressure to the body region, wherein in the non-actuated state the core occupies a region of the primary internal compartment and retains its shape when the external, user-applied pressure is not imparted to the core, wherein in the actuated state the core extends at least proximate to at least one of the at least one actuatable component to urge a predetermined movement of the at least one actuatable component from a first position that corresponds to the non-actuated state of the core and a second position that corresponds to the actuated state of the core, wherein the core is biased to resiliently return to the non-actuated state upon removal of the external, user-applied pressure.    
   
   
       2 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer covering includes at least one seam, and further wherein the at least one actuatable component is secured to the outer covering at the seam.  
   
   
       3 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer covering is at least partially formed from an elastomeric material.  
   
   
       4 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer covering is at least partially formed from a material that is not elastomeric.  
   
   
       5 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one actuatable component includes at least a pair of actuatable components that are each configured for predetermined movement responsive to user-applied pressure to deform the core to the actuated state.  
   
   
       6 . The toy of  claim 5 , wherein the predetermined movement of the pair of actuatable components moves the pair of actuatable components toward each other relative to their position when the core is in the non-actuated state.  
   
   
       7 . The toy of  claim 6 , wherein the pair of actuatable components include a pair of arms.  
   
   
       8 . The toy of  claim 6 , wherein the pair of actuatable components include a pair of jaws.  
   
   
       9 . The toy of  claim 5 , wherein the toy further includes at least one appendage extending from the central body region and which is not an actuatable component.  
   
   
       10 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the core includes at least one region of greater resistance to deformation than other regions of the outer surface, and further wherein the second position is at least partially defined by the position of the at least one region relative to the at least one of the components.  
   
   
       11 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer surface of the core includes at least one region of less resistance to deformation than other regions of the outer shell, and further wherein the second position is at least partially defined by the position of the at least one region relative to the at least one actuatable component.  
   
   
       12 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer covering includes a region of a movable material disposed at least proximate to the at least one actuatable component and further wherein the second position is defined at least partially by the movable material.  
   
   
       13 . The toy of  claim 12 , wherein the region of the movable material is adapted to have less resistance to movement than other regions of the outer covering.  
   
   
       14 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the outer covering further defines at least one secondary compartment.  
   
   
       15 . The toy of  claim 14 , wherein the at least one secondary compartment includes a secondary compartment within the at least one actuatable component, and further wherein the core is positioned to selectively extend into the at least one secondary component when the core is in an actuated state.  
   
   
       16 . The toy of  claim 14 , wherein the toy includes a partition separating the primary compartment from the at least one secondary compartment to prevent the bladder from extending into the at least one secondary compartment.  
   
   
       17 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the primary compartment includes compressible filler material in addition to the core and positioned generally between the core and the outer covering.  
   
   
       18 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the toy further includes at least one rigid lever having a first region within the primary compartment and adapted to be engaged by the core at least when the core is in the actuated state, and a second region extending into the at least one actuatable component.  
   
   
       19 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the toy further includes at least one tether interconnecting the core and the outer covering.  
   
   
       20 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the core is adapted for movement within the outer covering relative to the body.  
   
   
       21 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the core is not secured directly to the outer covering.  
   
   
       22 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the core is a resilient solid having a shore A hardness of 10 durometer or less.  
   
   
       23 . The toy of  claim 1 , wherein the core is a bladder having an outer shell and defining a fluid-containing internal chamber therein.  
   
   
       24 . The toy of  claim 23 , wherein the internal chamber includes at least one liquid.  
   
   
       25 . A stuffed toy, comprising: 
 a flexible, soft outer covering defining at least a primary internal compartment, wherein the outer covering defines a central body region containing at least a substantial portion of the primary internal compartment, and further wherein the outer covering further defines at least one actuatable component that extends from the central body region and is selected from at least the group consisting of at least one of a head, an arm, a leg, a wing, a horn, a fin, a tail, a mouth, a jaw, an ear, and a nose; and    a resilient deformable core enclosed within the outer covering and at least substantially positioned within the primary internal compartment, wherein the core includes an outer surface, wherein the bladder provides the toy with a bouncy characteristic, such that the toy will rebound from a hard surface upon which the toy is dropped, wherein the core is not secured directly to the outer covering, wherein the core is selectively deformable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state upon application of external, user-applied pressure to the body region, wherein in the actuated state the core extends at least proximate to at least one of the at least one actuatable component to urge a predetermined movement of the at least one actuatable component from a first position that corresponds to the non-actuated state of the core and a second position that corresponds to the actuated state of the core, wherein in the non-actuated state the core occupies a region of the primary internal compartment and retains its shape when the external, user-applied pressure is not imparted to the core, and further wherein the core is biased to resiliently return to the non-actuated state upon removal of the external, user-applied pressure.    
   
   
       26 . The toy of  claim 25 , wherein in the actuated state the core extends at least proximate to at least one of the at least one actuatable component to urge a predetermined movement of the at least one actuatable component from a first position that corresponds to the non-actuated state of the core and a second position that corresponds to the actuated state of the core.  
   
   
       27 . The toy of  claim 26 , wherein the actuatable component is selected from at least the group consisting of at least one of a head, an arm, a leg, a wing, a horn, a fin, a tail, a mouth, a jaw, an ear, and a nose.  
   
   
       28 . The toy of  claim 25 , wherein the core is a resilient solid having a shore A hardness of 10 durometer or less.  
   
   
       29 . The toy of  claim 25 , wherein the core is a bladder having an outer shell and defining a fluid-containing internal chamber therein.  
   
   
       30 . The toy of  claim 29 , wherein the internal chamber includes at least one liquid.