The present invention relates generally to stuffed toys and to the methods of fabricating such toys, and more particularly to a stuffed toy having spiral-shaped form-retaining appendages and to the method of fabricating such a toy.
In the past, various types of form-retaining toys or figures have been fabricated. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,226,046; 3,928,933; 3,557,436; 3,448,539; 3,097,446; and 2,830,402 disclose toys or figurines using metal devices or resilient material to retain their shapes. Another shape-retaining toy is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,853,831. Resilient bracelets are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 788,221; 243,704; and 240,096. Stuffed or soft toys having appendages which can be manipulated or positioned are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,540,378; 4,170,086; 3,942,283; 2,997,810; and 1,435,267. U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,567 describes a figure toy which can be suspended from a support using the weighted ends of the toy's flexible appendages. Finally, a form-retaining stuffed figurine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,505,687 which utilizes a piece or band of elastic in a partially tensioned state to retain the figurine in a predetermined coiled shape.
None of the above patents discloses a toy having a spiral-shaped, stuffed appendage which may be manually deformed and then released, resulting in the appendage returning to its original shape without the necessity of using an elastic band, metal device, or resilient material. Elimination of elastic bands, metal devices and resilient material from stuffed form-retaining appendages would provide a more economical toy. Such spiral-shaped, form-retaining appendages allow a child to suspend a toy from a support, wrap the appendages around the toy, or play with the toy in a variety of different ways. Accordingly, there is a need in the toy manufacturing arts for a stuffed toy having spiral-shaped, form-retaining appendages and for a method of fabricating such a toy.