Tangle toy puzzle

A few days ago I took my four-year old daughter to get a flu shot. As a reward for being brave and not crying (too much) the nurse gave her a puzzle-toy called a Tangle(R). Turns out it was patented in 1985 (US 4509929) by Richard Zawitz. There are several interesting things about this toy. First, it has one of the least descriptive patent titles I've seen since the Koosh ball: "Annular support device with pivotal segments". Second, prior to filing a patent application, Zawitz filed several copyright registrations under the title "Zawitz tangle ornamental sculpture". Finally, in 1993 Zawitz was granted a design patent (D334,416) on the individual segments that make up the toy.

Happy Birthday, Etch A Sketch!

Etch A Sketch, the iconic drawing toy of the 1960s and 1970s, is celebrating its 60th birthday this year. It was invented in the mid 1950s by Andre Cassagnes, an electrician in France. Lacking funds to patent his invention, Mr Cassagnes sought help from an investor named Paul Chaze. Chaze agreed to pay the patent application fees and act as Cassagnes' agent. He eventually persuaded the Ohio Art Company to license the toy, which it launched during the 1960 holiday season.

Curiously, when Chaze sent his business partner Arthur Grandjean to apply for a patent, somehow Grandjean's name ended up on the application as the inventor. Grandjean applied for a French patent in May 1959, which was followed two months later by a U.S. application. The U.S. patent, 3,055,113, issued on May 31, 1962. Other patents followed in Canada, Great Britain, Germany, Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg.

Although Etch A Sketch became a hugely popular toy the patent makes only a minor reference to its amusement applications. In fact, the title of the patent is "Tracing Device". The patent is classified under Class 33, geometrical instruments.

The Ohio Art Company continued to develop the Etch A Sketch in response to changing tastes and technology. In 1988, it received a patent, 4,764,763, for an electronic version of the toy marketed as the Etch A Sketch Animator 2000. It was not a success. The original design is as popular as ever and is sold in classic, mini, pocket and travel sizes.

A.C. Gilbert - Inventor of the Erector Set and the "man who saved Christmas"

The other day when I was channel surfing I happened across a movie called The Man Who Saved Christmas, starring Jason Alexander as Alfred C. Gilbert, the inventor of the Erector set, one of the classic American toys of the 20th century. Gilbert became known as the "man who saved Christmas" during World War I when the U.S. government was considering a ban on the production of toys in order to support the war effort. Gilbert appeared before the Council of National Defense and successfully argued against the ban.

Gilbert was a Yale graduate and amateur magician who started with his partner John A. Petrie a business for producing magic tricks and apparatus. The company was named the Mysto Manufacturing Co. and based in New Haven, Conn. On Dec. 5, 1911, Petrie patented a disappearing cigarette trick (US1010794) and assigned the rights to Mysto. Gilbert's interest, however, soon turned away from magic and to construction toys. On Jan. 20, 1913, he applied for a patent for toy construction blocks. The application described toy building blocks made of strips of sheet metal and the means of fastening them together with u-shaped couplings. The patent issued on July 8, 1913 (US1066809), the first of more than 150 patents Gilbert would receive for Erector set components and other toys. The A.C. Gilbert company (Gilbert changed the name in 1917) continued to produce Erector sets , train sets and other toys into the 1960s.

Whatever happened to Gilbert's partner John Petrie? He parted ways with Gilbert in 1913 shortly after the introduction of the Erector set. He continued to invent and in 1917 patented an lighted hand mirror (US1216724) and a sand-wheel toy (US1247145). The trail grows murky after that. A John W. Petrie, also of New Haven, Conn. (possibly a son?), received several patents from the 1920s through 1940s for toys, magic devices and other items. Many of these were assigned to the Petrie-Lewis Manufacturing Co.

Betty James, Wife of Slinky Inventor Arnold James , Dies at 90

Betty James, wife of Richard James, the naval engineer who invented the world-famous Slinky spring toy in 1945, has passed away at the age of 90. Her obit is in the New York Times. Mrs. James named the toy 'Slinky'. The Slinky is one of the great toy invention success stories of the 20th century. In December 1945 Richard sold the first 400 Slinkys at Gimbels in Philadelphia in 90 minutes. Since then more 300 million Slinkys have been sold worldwide. Mrs. James took over as president of the business in 1960 when her husband abandoned the family and moved to Bolivia to join a religious cult. She served as president until 1998.

The patent (US2415012) on the Slinky is an excellent example of how vague patent descriptions can be. The title of the patent is 'Toy and Process of Use'. The text describes the Slinky as a 'helical spring toy,' referring to its coil-like shape. The name Slinky does not appear at all, since the original application was filed on November 1, 1945, probably before Mrs. James had selected the name. Patent Office rules discourage inventors from including trademarks and product names in the applications. For such a simply object, the patent has a surprising number of very detailed claims, 19 in total. The specification includes the dimensions of the original design and a detailed discussion of the mechanics of springs. It would be a useful teaching example for first-year engineering students.

WHAM-O's 60th Anniversary Kid Inventor Contest

The new issue of WIPO Magazine has several interesting articles, including one on the 60th anniversary of the WHAM-O toy company. Wham-O is best known for introducing the hula hoop to America in 1958, followed by Frisbee flying discs, Slip 'n' Slide and Superball. In celebration of its 60th birthday, WHAM-O is sponsoring a kid inventor contest. The winning inventor will receive $2000 and WHAM-O may choose to produce their toy. The deadline is March 31, 2008.

Some of WHAM-O's recent patents include a shark-shaped water slide (D562,929); children's waterboard with squirting device (7,264,522) ; and a children's playground slide (D540,413).