WO2014015901A1

WO2014015901A1 - Love balls

Info

Publication number: WO2014015901A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/064573
Authority: WO
Inventors: Meike HAHR
Original assignee: Senses Toys Intellectual Property Management Ug
Priority date: 2012-07-25
Filing date: 2012-07-25
Publication date: 2014-01-30

Abstract

Described is a tube (2) for accommodating at least one ball so as to provide a love ball arrangement, comprising a wall which is made of highly elastic material enabling the diameter of at least a portion (2b) of the tube (2) to be at least doubled from a state with no ball accommodated in said portion (2a) to a state with at least one ball accommodated in said portion (2b), wherein at least one of both ends of the tube (2) is open for inserting the at least one ball. Further described is a love ball assembly arrangement comprising the tube (2) and at least one ball to be inserted into said tube (2), as well as a love ball arrangement comprising the tube (2) and at least one ball accommodated within said tube (2).

Description

Love balls

The present invention relates to an arrangement of so-called love balls.

Invented hundreds of years ago in East Asia, love balls, also known as Ben Wa balls, Venus balls or Geisha balls, are small, marble-sized balls which are used for sexual stimulation by insertion into the vagina or anus. They may also be used to simply increase the strength of the pelvic floor muscles. Moreover, mild urinary incontinence, such as that which occurs while coughing, laughing or sneezing and occurs more often as women grow older, can be treated with love balls as well. It is said that the love balls originally were a single ball to be placed in the vagina, used to enhance the act of coitus, but shortly evolved into an arrangement of a plurality of balls linked by either a chain or silk string for easy removal.

DE 20 2007 009 833 U1 discloses a massager or massage stick comprising a plurality of ball-like massage bodies which are connected to each other by elastic slim connecting elements so as to form an elastic chain-like arrangement of balllike massage bodies in a row.

DE 295 17 291 U1 discloses a device for stimulation and training of vaginal muscles which device comprises a rod with a handle, wherein a stationary ball is fixed at the free end of the rod and a further ball is arranged at the rod so as to be movable between the stationary ball and the handle.

DE 296 05 288 U1 discloses a ball-chain massager or massage stick comprising a plurality of balls which have the same diameter and are included one behind the other by being in mutual contact with each other within a hose-like envelope whose diameter essentially corresponds to the diameter of the balls.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a flexible concept for the use of love balls with different characteristics and/or number in accordance with the user's individual needs.

In order to achieve the above and further objects, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tube for accommodating at least one ball so as to provide a love ball arrangement, comprising a wall which is made of highly elastic material enabling the diameter of at least a portion of the tube to be at least doubled from a state with no ball accommodated in said portion to a state with at least one ball accommodated in said portion, wherein at least one of both ends of the tube is open for inserting the at least one ball.

According to the present invention, the tube not only serves as an envelope for accommodating the balls, but also provides a strong engagement with a ball so that a ball is fixedly arranged within the tube. This is achieved according to the present invention by making the wall of the tube of highly elastic material which is able to be stretched and expanded to such an extent that due to a high stretching force a ball is engaged by the wall of the tube so as to be fixedly held within the tube. Hence, a stationary arrangement of a ball is ensured at the desired location within the tube without any further technical aids so that there is no risk that the ball would leave its desired location and migrate along the tube. Further, the provision of a constriction or necking of the wall due to its high elasticity immediately before and behind the ball, where the wall is relaxed and, thus, contracted, avoids the risk of migration of the ball, but supports the ball to be fixedly held at its desired location within the tube. Therefore, the construction of the invention allows the arrangement of a plurality of balls within the tube spaced apart from each other so that adjacent balls are not in contact with each other. The use of highly elastic material for the wall of the tube results in the further advantage that the shape of the ball(s) essentially appears through the wall of the tube so as to provide a real love ball arrangement comprising ball-shaped portions at locations where a ball is inserted in the tube and the wall is expanded, whereas the remaining part of the tube, where its wall is relaxed and, thus, contracted, forms slim elongated portions which are flexible and provided as connecting or linking elements between adjacent ball-shaped portions or as a pulling means similar to the chain or silk string of conventional love ball arrangements.

Further, according to the present invention, for placing a ball into the tube at least one of both its ends forms an opening which due to the high elasticity of the wall can be streched and expanded to such an extent that a ball can be easily inserted into the tube through its open end. The same applies to taking a ball out of the tube. So, the construction of the present invention allows the exchange of the balls.

After all, the present invention provides a flexible concept for the use of a variety of balls with different characteristics like different functions, weights, sizes and surfaces and with different number and, thus, the creation of different love ball arrangements based on a modular principle in accordance with the user's needs. By changing the function, weight, size and surface or other characteristics of the inserted balls, the user can define her personal individual adventure.

Further advantageous embodiments and modifications of the first aspect of the present invention are defined in the dependent claims 2 to 18.

Preferably, the highly elastic material is adapted to enable the diameter of the tube to be increased by at least 8 times.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the highly elastic material comprises thermoplastic polymers, thermoplastic rubber and/or silicone. Such a material has been advantageously experienced to be very elastic as well as hygienic. Preferably, for a more flexible use, both ends of the tube may be open. Moreover, this embodiment is also advantageous in that the one open end is used for the insertion of a ball, whereas the other open end is used as a ventilation hole for venting the tube while inserting a ball into the tube or taking a ball out of the tube so as to prevent a fixation of the ball(s) by vacuum and hence enable easy use.

For an easy insertion of the ball(s), preferably one open end of the tube is provided as a funnel.

For a better handling, preferably a loop is provided at one end of the tube. The loop may be provided at or in the funnel, wherein the wall of the funnel may comprise a, preferably elongated, hole for providing the loop.

According to a preferred embodiment, the wall includes at least one vent hole so as to provide a ventilation of the tube. So, the provision of at least one vent hole prevents fixation of the ball(s) by vacuum and enables easy use. According to a further modification of this embodiment, for a more effective ventilation of the tube along its length the wall includes a plurality of vent holes which are spaced from each other essential in axial direction. Moreover, at least one location may be defined for positioning an inserted ball, wherein the at least one vent hole is spaced from said location so that it is prevented that the at least one vent hole is covered and closed by an inserted ball.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the thickness of the wall at a location which is defined for positioning an inserted ball is different from the thickness of the remaining portion of the wall so as to better define a desired location for positioning an inserted ball and, thus, for better enabling the positioning of a ball. The wall at said location may be thicker or thinner than in the remaining portion.

In order to create a love ball arrangement with a plurality of balls spaced from each other similar to a conventional love ball arrangement with love balls being linked by either a chain or silk string, in a further preferred embodiment a plurality of locations for positioning an inserted ball is provided wherein said locations are spaced from each other and the distance between adjacent locations is greater than the diameter of the at least one ball to be inserted. According to a modifica- tion of this embodiment, at least one vent hole is provided between adjacent ones of said locations.

Preferably, the material of the surface of the tube comprises at least partly silicone which advantageously exhibits a soft skin and assures hygiene.

For an easy insertion of the ball(s) into the tube the inner side of its wall comprises at least partly a low-friction material.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a love ball assembly arrangement comprising a tube according to the first aspect and at least one ball to be inserted into said tube. This aspect particularly shows the advantage of the present invention that a love ball arrangement can be simply assembled on the basis of a modular system in accordance with the user's individual needs.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a love ball arrangement comprising a tube according to the first aspect and at least one ball accommodated within said tube.

Further advantageous embodiments and modifications of the third aspect are defined in the dependent claims 21 to 24.

So, at least one ball may comprise a hollow body and at least one movable ball having a smaller diameter and included in said hollow body. This kind of love ball is also called Duotone ball.

Moreover, the surface of at least one ball at least partly comprises knobs for enhancing the stimulation effect.

According to a further preferred embodiment, at least one ball includes a function means. For example, said function means may be a vibration means, wherein such a ball including vibration means is also called vibro egg. In the following, a preferred embodiment according to the present invention be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a modular love ball arrangement set including a tube and several love balls according to the different embodiments;

Fig. 2 a complete perspective side view of the tube of Fig. 1 ;

Fig. 3 a perspective view of a handling step for assembling a love ball arrangement;

Fig. 4 a perspective side view of the tube with one ball inserted; and

Fig. 5 a side view of the tube with two love balls inserted.

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a modular set of elements for assembling a love ball arrangement. The elements include a tube 2 and several love balls 4 which preferably differ in construction and function. So, according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 , the love balls 4 may include a ball of a first kind 4a consisting of a solid state ball body, a ball of a second kind 4b which comprises a hollow body and at least one movable ball (not shown) included in the hollow body and having a smaller diameter wherein this kind of love ball is also called Duotone ball, a ball of a third kind 4c including a vibration means wherein such kind of ball is also called vibro egg, and a ball of a fourth kind 4d whose surface comprises knobs. In addition to or in lieu of the love ball of the third kind 4c, love balls can be provided which include different function means rather than a vibration means.

A basic element of the set of Fig. 1 is the tube 2 which is provided to accommodate love balls 4 as described below in greater detail. The wall of the tube 2 consists of highly elastic material which is able to be stretched so as to at least double the diameter of the tube. In the embodiment shown in the Figures, the highly elastic material of the wall of the tube 2 is adapted to enable the diameter of the tube 2 to be increased by at least 8 times. Preferably, the highly elastic material of the wall of the tube 2 comprises thermoplastic polymers, thermoplastic rubber and/or silicone.

As shown in Fig. 2, the one end of the tube 2 comprises a vent hole 6, and the wall of the tube 2 includes further vent holes 8 which are spaced from each other in axial direction of the tube 2.

As further shown in the figures, the other end of the tube 2 is provided as a funnel 10 formed as a funnel notch and having a funnel opening 10a whose opening area is by far larger than the cross section of the remaining part of the tube 2 in its relaxed state. Moreover, the end of the tube which forms the funnel 10 also comprises a loop 12 which surrounds an elongated hole 12a. The loop 12 forms a part of the funnel 10 whose wall includes said hole 12a for defining the loop 12.

The tube 2 is provided for accommodating the love balls 4. In order to achieve this, the wall of the tube 2 due to its highly elastic material is to be stretched in direction of its diameter and, thus, transverse to its axial direction from the relaxed state wherein the wall of the tube 2 is not stretched and expanded, but relaxed and, thus, contracted as shown in Fig. 2, to a stretched and, thus, expanded state wherein the diameter of the tube is enlarged according to the diameter of a love ball 4 to be accommodated within the tube 2. As an example, a step during the insertion of a love ball 4 into the tube 2 is shown in Fig. 3, wherein the tube 2 is hold by the one hand 14 of the user and a love ball 4 is grasped by the other hand 15 of the user so that the love ball 4 is oriented to the opening 10a of the funnel 10 to be inserted therethrough into the tube 2. For insertion of a love ball 4 into the tube 2, the love ball 4 is pushed through the funnel 10 into the tube 2 by applying a pushing force, wherein the love ball 4 to be pushed into the tube 2 gets in contact with the wall of the tube 2 and widens it from the smaller diameter in its relaxed state to a larger diameter corresponding to the diameter of the love ball 4 to be inserted. For an easy insertion of a love ball into the tube 2, the inner side of its wall comprises a low-friction material. During inserting a love ball 4 into the tube 2 and moving it through the tube 2 to a desired location, the vent holes 6, 8 provide a ventilation of the tube 2 since the insertion and movement of a love ball 4 through the tube 2 causes the air within the tube 2 to be displaced. So, the vent holes 6, 8 prevent an undesired fixation of a love ball 4 by vacuum and, hence, enables easy use.

After the love ball 4 has reached its desired location within the tube 2, the high elasticity of the wall of the tube 2 provides a high stretching force which enables the love ball to be engaged by the wall of the tube 2 so as to be fixedly held within the tube so that there is no risk that the love ball would leave its desired location and migrate along the tube 2.

Fig. 4 shows a state where an inserted love ball has reached its desired location at the end of the tube 2 opposite to the other end with the funnel 10. According to the embodiment shown in the Figures, the tube 2 further comprises positioning portions 2a defining a location for positioning an inserted love ball. In the shown embodiment, the positioning portions 2a each form somewhat like a bulge which may draw the user's attention that there is a preferred location for a love ball 4 to be pushed through the tube 2. Further, the positioning portions 2a may differ in thickness of their wall from the remaining part of the tube 2. In the shown embodiment, it appears that the wall of the positioning portions 2a is at least partly thicker than the wall of the remaining part of the tube 2 which may advantageously result in a better stretching ability of its wall. Having placed a love ball at a desired location defined by a positioning portion 2a within the tube 2, due to the high elasticity of the wall of the tube and hence of the positioning portion 2a as well, the positioning portion 2a is expanded to become a ball- shaped portion 2b whose diameter is several times larger than that of the original positioning portion 2a in the relaxed state of the tube 2, as shown by a comparison of a positioning portion 2a and the ball-shaped portion 2b in Fig. 4. As it also becomes clear from Fig. 4, the use of highly elastic material of the wall of the tube 2 results in that the shape of a love ball 4 of Fig. 1 nearly completely appears through the wall of the tube 2 so as to form said ball-shaped portion 2b. In conjunction therewith, it is further advantageous to make the wall of the tube 2 rather thin, wherein the thickness of the wall of the tube 2 in the relaxed state is preferably about 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm, but alternatively the wall of the tube 2 can be thicker or thinner in accordance with the material used for manufacturing the tube 2. Fig. 5 shows the tube 2 with two love balls already inserted therein so as to form two ball-shaped portions 2b accordingly. As further shown in Fig. 5, the ball- shaped portions 2b are spaced from each other resulting from that in the shown embodiment the distance between adjacent positioning portions 2a of the tube 2 is larger than the diameter of the love balls to be inserted into the tube 2. As further shown from Fig. 2, the vent holes 8 are placed between the positioning portions 2a and, thus, spaced therefrom so that it is prevented that the vent holes 8 are covered and closed by an inserted ball after having reached its desired location as defined by one of the positioning portions 2a.

Due to the high elasticity of the wall of the tube 2, a high stretching force is generated created in the region of the ball-shaped portions 2b which force causes the love balls to be engaged by the wall of the tube 2 so as to be fixedly held within the tube 2. Hence, a stationary arrangement of a love ball is ensured at a desired location as originally defined by the respective positioning portion 2a within the tube 2 so that there is no risk that the love ball would leave its desired location and migrate along the tube 2.

As further shown in Figs. 4 and 5, due to the high elasticity of the wall of the tube, a constriction or necking of the wall of the tube 2 is provided before and behind the love balls where the wall of the tube 2 is relaxed and, thus, contracted. So, at locations other than those of the ball-shaped portions 2b, the tube 2 comprises relaxed or contracted portions 2c. The provision of such a constriction or necking formed by said contracted portions 2c along the tube 2 avoids undesired migration of the love ball as well. Since, as already mentioned above, the distance between adjacent positioning portions 2a defining locations for inserted love balls is larger than the diameter of the used love balls, the love balls are arranged within the tube 2 so as to be not in contact with each other but spaced apart from each other. This results in that the ball-shaped portions 2b of the tube 2 are formed so as to be spaced apart from each other, too, by providing a contracted portion 2c therebetween, wherein a further contracted portion 2c is provided between the funnel 10 and the proximate or nearest ball-shaped portion 2b, as shown in Fig. 5. The contracted portions 2c form slim elongated portions which are flexible and provided as connected or linking elements between adjacent ball- shaped portions 2b or as a pulling means similar to the chain or silk string of a conventional love ball arrangement, wherein the loop 12 is additionally advantageous for pulling the tube 2.

After all, as an example Fig. 5 shows a finished love ball arrangement similar to a conventional love ball arrangement with two love balls.

Claims

Ansprijche

A tube (2) for accommodating at least one ball (4) so as to provide a love ball arrangement, comprising a wall which is made of highly elastic material enabling the diameter of at least a portion (2b) of the tube (2) to be at least doubled from a state with no ball accommodated in said portion (2a) to a state with at least one ball (4) accommodated in said portion (2b), wherein at least one of both ends of the tube (2) is open for inserting the at least one ball (4).

The tube according to claim 1 , wherein the highly elastic material is adapted to enable the diameter of the tube (2) to be increased by at least 8 times.

The tube according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the highly elastic material comprises thermoplastic polymers, thermoplastic rubber and/or silicone.

The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein both ends are open.

The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein one open end is provided as a funnel (10).

The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein a loop (12) is provided at one end.

The tube according to the claims 5 and 6, wherein the loop (12) is provided at or in the funnel (10).

The tube according to claim 7, wherein the wall of the funnel (10) comprises a, preferably elongated, hole (12a) for providing the loop (12).

9. The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein the wall includes at least one vent hole (8).

10. The tube according to claim 9, wherein the wall includes a plurality of vent holes (8) which are spaced from each other essentially in axial direction. 1 1 . The tube according to claim 9 or 10, wherein at least one location (2a) is defined for positioning an inserted ball (4), wherein the at least one vent (8) hole is spaced from said location (2a).

12. The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one location (2a) is defined for positioning an inserted ball (4), wherein the thickness of the wall at said location (2a) is different from the thickness of the remaining portion (2c) of the wall (2).

13. The tube according to claim 12, wherein the wall at said location (2a) is thicker than in the remaining portion (2c).

14. The tube according to claim 12, wherein the wall at said location is thinner than in the reminding portion.

15. The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein in a plurality of locations (2a) for positioning an inserted ball (4) is provided, wherein said locations (2a) are spaced from each other and the distance between adjacent locations is larger than the diameter of the at least one ball (4) to be inserted.

16. The tube according to the claims 10 and 15, wherein at least one vent hole (8) is provided between adjacent ones of said locations (2a).

17. The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein the material of its surface comprises at least partly silicone. 18. The tube according to at least any one of the preceding claims, wherein the inner side of the wall comprises at least partly a low-friction material.

19. A love ball assembly arrangement comprising a tube (2) according to at least any one of the preceding claims and at least one ball (4) to be inserted into said tube (2).

20. A love ball arrangement, comprising a tube (2) according to at least any one of the claims 1 to 19 and at least one ball (4) accommodated within said tube (2).

21 . The arrangement according to claim 19 or 20, wherein at least one ball (4b) comprises a hollow body and at least one movable ball having a smaller diameter and included in said hollow body.

22. The arrangement according to at least any one of the claims 19 to 21 , wherein the surface of at least one ball (4d) at least partly comprises knobs.

23. The arrangement according to at least any one of the claims 19 to 22, wherein at least one ball (4c) includes a function means.

24. The arrangement according to claim 23, wherein said function means is a vibrations means.