Children's toy system with enhanced flexibility member

Abstract

An enhanced children's toy system has an inner skeleton member with enhanced flexibility, an outer molded body assembled therewith and removably engageable with a toy vehicle member for play use. The inner skeleton member includes a series of displaceable flexible members joined by a series of substantially rigid or semi-rigid members allowing, at each interface, the enhanced flexibility member to bend and to be placed during play into contortions having degrees of motion not possible with a convention toy member with pivot joints. The enhanced flexibility member is releasably mountable to a toy vehicle via mounts during a play use.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An enhanced flexibility children's toy, comprising a figurine comprising:
 an inner skeleton comprising a plurality of rigid members interconnected by a plurality of flexible members;   an outer molded body carried on the inner skeleton;   molded clothing carried on the outer molded body;   wherein the inner skeleton comprises a plurality of joint-interfaces between the rigid members and respective flexible members;   wherein each joint-interface selectively retains bent-to-position orientations between a selected rigid member and an adjoining flexible member comprising at least 180-degrees of rotational motion of the adjoining flexible member about an elongated axis of the selected rigid member, along with relative bending of the adjoining flexible member transverse to the elongated axis of the selected rigid member.   
     
     
         2 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , wherein each joint-interface selectively retains bent-to-position orientations between the selected rigid member and the adjoining flexible member comprising near 360-degrees of rotational motion of the adjoining flexible member about the elongated axis of the selected rigid member, along with relative bending of the adjoining flexible member transverse to the elongated axis of the selected rigid member. 
     
     
         3 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , wherein the bent-to-position orientations comprise play configuration impossible for human body-restrained-geometries. 
     
     
         4 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the inner skeleton comprises a torso portion and four limb portions extending from the torso portion;   each of the limb portions comprises three of the joint interfaces selectively retaining bent-to-position play configurations impossible for human body-restrained-geometries.   
     
     
         5 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , further comprising a head portion rigid member, a face portion of the molded body, and a connection between the head portion and the face portion preventing relative movement of the head portion with respect to the face portion. 
     
     
         6 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , further comprising a toy vehicle removably supporting the figurine. 
     
     
         7 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , further comprising a toy vehicle removably supporting the figurine selected from the group consisting of a skateboard, a bicycle, a work vehicle, a leisure vehicle, a boat, a board, a flying vehicle, a transportation device. 
     
     
         8 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , further comprising a toy skateboard, wherein:
 the rigid members further comprise two foot portions, each foot portion defining a post opening;   the toy skateboard comprises two posts;   the posts are removably receivable in respective post openings forming a releasable and securable snug fit between the post openings of the inner skeleton and the posts of the toy skateboard.   
     
     
         9 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , wherein each flexible member is selected from the group consisting of wire, coated wire, metal wire, plastic coated wire, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         10 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 1 , wherein each rigid member is selected from the group consisting of elastomer, polymer, elastomeric solid, HDPE, MDPE, LDPE, nylon, polypropylene (PP), metal, wood, bone, ceramics, glasses, or combinations thereof. 
     
     
         11 . An enhanced flexibility children's toy, comprising:
 a figurine comprising:
 an inner skeleton comprising a plurality of rigid members interconnected by a plurality of flexible members, 
 an outer molded body carried on the inner skeleton, 
 molded clothing carried on the outer molded body, 
 wherein the inner skeleton comprises a plurality of joint-interfaces between the rigid members and respective flexible members, 
 wherein each joint-interface selectively retains bent-to-position orientations between a selected rigid member and an adjoining flexible member comprising at least 180-degrees of rotational motion of the adjoining flexible member about an elongated axis of the selected rigid member, along with relative bending of the adjoining flexible member transverse to the elongated axis of the selected rigid member; and 
   a toy vehicle releasably supporting the figurine.   
     
     
         12 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 11 , wherein each joint-interface selectively retains bent-to-position orientations between the selected rigid member and the adjoining flexible member comprising near 360-degrees of rotational motion of the adjoining flexible member about the elongated axis of the selected rigid member, along with relative bending of the adjoining flexible member transverse to the elongated axis of the selected rigid member. 
     
     
         13 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 11 , wherein the bent-to-position orientations comprise play configurations impossible for human body-restrained-geometries. 
     
     
         14 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 11 , wherein:
 the inner skeleton comprises a torso portion and four limb portions extending from the torso portion;   each of the limb portions comprises three of the joint interfaces selectively retaining bent-to-position play configuration impossible for human body-restrained-geometries.   
     
     
         15 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 11 , further comprising a head portion rigid member, a face portion of the molded body, and a connection between the head portion and the face portion preventing relative movement of the head portion with respect to the face portion. 
     
     
         16 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 11 , wherein the toy vehicle is selected from the group consisting of a skateboard, a bicycle, a work vehicle, a leisure vehicle, a boat, a board, a flying vehicle, a transportation device. 
     
     
         17 . The enhanced flexibility children's toy of  claim 11 , further comprising a releasable and securable snug fit between the figuring and the toy vehicle;
 the toy vehicle being a toy skateboard, wherein:   the rigid members further comprise two foot portions, each foot portion defining a post opening;   the toy skateboard comprises two posts;   the posts are removably receivable in respective post openings forming a releasable and securable snug fit between the post openings of the inner skeleton and the posts of the toy skateboard; and   wherein each flexible member is selected from the group consisting of wire, coated wire, metal wire, plastic coated wire, or combinations thereof.   
     
     
         18 . A children's toy system, comprising:
 an enhanced flexibility member further comprising an inner skeleton member and an outer molded body member;
 said inner skeleton member further comprises a plurality of flexible displacement members interspaced at intersections with respective rigid members in a skeleton arrangement; 
 said skeleton member provides a complete degree of freedom of rotation of each displacement member proximate each intersection with said respective rigid member; 
   at least one toy vehicle having a support surface thereon for operably supporting said enhanced flexibility member during a combined play use;   at least one of said support surface and said inner skeleton member including means for securing a releasable use fit therebetween during said use to prevent unintentional disengagement; and   said flexible displacement members are ones of a group of wire, coated wire, metal wire, plastic coated wire.   
     
     
         19 . The children's toy system, according to  claim 18 , wherein:
 said respective rigid members are composed of an elastomer, polymer, an elastomeric solid, HDPE, MDPE, LDPE, nylon, polypropylene (PP), metal, wood, bone, ceramics, glasses, or combinations thereof.   
     
     
         20 . The children's toy system, according to  claim 19 , wherein:
 said at least one toy vehicle is one of a skateboard, a bicycle, a work vehicle, a leisure vehicle, a boat, a board, a flying vehicle, a transportation device.