Plush toy with stretch interface
A plush toy is provided having its surface generally covered with multiple panels of fur fabric or plush fabric, which is non-stretching but soft to the touch. The toy includes a center body, a head, two ears and four legs. Eye and nose members may also be added as appropriate to model the actual animals and the like. In the belly side of the toy, a shaped patch of elastic fabric is stitched to cover a blank, which is defined by the edges of the panels of the fur fabric. The elastic fabric is free of fur and lies flush with the surrounding belly panel areas in its natural state. The head and four legs have respective cavities filled with cotton batting and the like to give a thickness and softness before or after their attachments to the center body. A bladder of elastic material such as rubber or silicon is prepared with liquid, which is filled at least partially to provide an expansive response to squeezes. The bladder is introduced into a cavity of the body through the blank and rests securely therein. The blank is then covered by an elastic fabric that acts as an interface for the toy owner to feel the elasticity of the bladder.
1. A plush toy in a three-dimensional shape comprising:
a. a body shell having at least one top shell member of plush fabric material and at least one bottom shell member of plush fabric attached to the top member, the body shell thus defining a cavity in its interior and the bottom shell member having a blank located approximately centrally thereof;
b. an elastic bladder closed with a predetermined amount of liquid deposited therein for filling the cavity of the body shell less the blank; and
c. an elastic fabric attached to the bottom shell to cover the blank of the bottom shell in flush with the same, whereby squeezing the elastic bladder through the body shell activates the elastic fabric to expand beyond the surrounding body shell areas in order to reflect the elasticity of the bladder inside, wherein the body shell is a substantially inelastic plush material forming an opening on a belly of the plush toy, wherein the elastic fabric closes the opening on the belly, wherein the elastic bladder does not actuate appendages.
2. The plush toy of claim 1 , further comprising a head shell of plush fabric joined end-to-end with the body shell, the head shell having its own elastic bladder closed with a liquid and received therein snuggly.
3. The plush toy of claim 1 , further comprising a head shell of plush fabric joined end-to-end with the body shell, the head shell having a cavity filled with a soft padding material.
4. A plush toy of claim 1 , further comprising a number of extremities of plush fabric joined end-to-end with the body shell to simulate the equivalent parts of the shape the toy is modeling after, the plush extremities being filled with a soft padding material.
5. The plush toy of claim 1 , wherein the elastic fabric has a printable surface with characters or logos.
6. A plush toy animal comprising:
a. a body shell having at least one top shell member of plush fabric material and at least one bottom shell member of plush fabric attached to the top member, the body shell thus defining a cavity in its interior and the bottom shell member having a blank located approximately centrally thereof;
b. a head shell and a number of extremities of plush fabric joined end-to-end with the body shell at its sides, the head shell defining a cavity in its interior and having one or more blanks;
c. at least one elastic bladder closed with a predetermined amount of liquid deposited therein for filling one or both of the cavities of the body and head shells less the blanks; and
d. elastic fabric members attached to cover the blanks of the bottom and head shells in flush with the same, whereby squeezing the elastic bladder through the toy at different areas activates an adjacent elastic fabric to expand beyond the surrounding body or head shell areas in order to reflect the elasticity of the bladder inside, wherein the body shell is a substantially inelastic plush material forming an opening on a belly of the plush toy, wherein the elastic fabric closes the opening on the belly, wherein the elastic bladder does not actuate appendages.
7. The plush toy animal of claim 6 wherein the head shell has a cavity filled with a soft padding material.
8. The plush toy animal of claim 6 , wherein the plush extremities are filled with a soft padding material.
9. The plush toy of claim 6 , wherein the elastic fabric members is microfiber material.
10. A plush toy comprising:
a. a substantially inelastic body shell defining a cavity in its interior, the body shell having an opening;
b. an elastic fluid filled bladder held in the cavity; and
c. an elastic fabric attached to the opening, wherein the body shell is a substantially inelastic plush material forming an opening on a belly of the plush toy, wherein the elastic fabric closes the opening on the belly, wherein the elastic bladder does not actuate appendages wherein a head shell of plush fabric joined end-to-end with the body shell, the head shell having a cavity shell with a soft padding material, a plurality of plush extremities being filled with a soft padding material, wherein the elastic fabric has a printable surface with characters or logos, wherein the elastic portion is a microfiber material, wherein the substantially inelastic body shell further comprises at least one top shell member of plush fabric material and at least one bottom shell member of plush fabric attached to the top member, wherein the body shell defines a cavity in its interior.
11. The plush toy of claim 10 , wherein the fluid filled bladder is at least partially filled with water.
12. The plush toy of claim 10 , wherein the fluid filled bladder is at least partially filled with a gel.
13. The plush toy of claim 10 , wherein the fluid filled bladder is at least partially filled with a liquid saturated foam sponge.
14. The plush toy of claim 10 , wherein substantially inelastic body shell is equipped with a zipper to allow removal of the fluid sack or bladder fluid filled bladder.
15. The plush toy of claim 10 , further comprising plush extremities filled with soft padding material.