US20220126220A1 - Portable puppet theater - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable puppet theater includes a pair of side walls and a front wall having a central opening which faces the audience, a plurality of inner walls defining one or more sceneries and a curtain, a cover element, which covers the side and front walls. The side and front walls are substantially vertical and hinged together to form a foldable structure which is adapted to alternate from a collapsed configuration with the walls in mutually overlapping relationship, and an upstanding configuration with the walls at right angles and substantially vertical, and vice versa. The cover element is in the form of a lid, with a flat central portion and upwardly folded edges to receive the inner walls and the foldable structure in the collapsed configuration. The cover element can be turned upside down with the folded edges facing downwards and contacting the side and front walls in the upstanding configuration.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
• The present invention generally finds application in the field of board games and particularly relates to a portable puppet theater.
BACKGROUND ART
• Structures in the form of a puppet theater, simply referred to hereinafter as “theater”, designed for use by children and adults, for entertainment and education of an audience of children of various ages, are known in the field of board games.
• In order to emulate a real theater experience, the theater must be composed of a given number of basic components which are designed to be later assembled in the place in which the theater will be used.
• A need felt by the users of such object is its portability, i.e. the possibility to assemble and disassemble and easily carry the theater from one place to another and when traveling, with no risk of damage and loss of essential components.
• A further need is to minimize dimensions hence the entropic impact on the relevant space, e.g. a child's room, especially when it has a small size. Indeed, such objects typically have a bulky and permanent structure, and are not easily transportable.
• This need can be only fulfilled by accepting small sizes but also using the foldable structures that can be orderly stored in a generally flat container.
• U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,837,863 and 1,600,554 disclose portable puppet theaters comprising a carrying case and a structure in the case to assemble the puppet game. The structure comprises side walls, a rear curtain, a roof and a front portal, which are joined together by tabs and also by fastening means.
• In U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,863, the rear curtain, which is used to conceal the puppeteer, hangs from a telescopic rod, which is fixed in through holes of the side walls and both the case and the foldable structure are formed from a cardboard blank with various fold lines. Furthermore, the case has handles attached to its blank.
• One drawback of this prior art portable theater is that it is relatively complex and has 3D parts used to form both of the foldable structure and the case.
• U.S. Pat. No. 2,368,188 discloses a theater that comprises a box-like element obtained from a flat die-cut blank with pre-fold lines and a separate sheet for the floor, which can be coupled to the bottom of the structure by means of tabs fitting into slots. The theater has a book applied proximate to the rear wall, with pages changing by rotation about a spiral.
• No container is provided in this theater, and once the parts of the structure have been disassembled, they cannot be stored and protected during transport, which involves the risk of loss and damage.
• U.S. Pat. No. 3,961,426 discloses a portable theater comprising a base, hinged and folding side and bottom walls, a front portal, a base and a series of side panels or curtains. The latter hang from rod-like support elements whose ends may rest on the recesses formed along the upper edges of the side walls of the foldable structure.
• KR20100008300 discloses a theater having a pair of side walls and a front wall hinged together to form a foldable structure that is adapted to alternate from a collapsed configuration to an upstanding configuration. Furthermore, in the upstanding configuration, the side walls are joined to the front wall by resilient support means that are adapted to hold the structure in the upstanding configuration.
• Once again, in the latter cases, no container is provided to store the various parts of the theater and facilitate transport and protection thereof as it is being transferred from one place to another.
TECHNICAL PROBLEM
• In view of the prior art, the technical problem addressed by the present invention may be deemed to be the provision of a compact and easily transportable portable puppet theater having a very simple and effective structure.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
• The object of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problem by providing a portable puppet theater that is highly efficient and relatively cost-effective.
• A particular object of the present invention is to provide a theater that takes up a very little space, while providing all the features of a typical puppet puppet theater.
• These and other objects, as more clearly explained hereinafter, are fulfilled by a portable puppet theater as defined in claim1, which comprises a pair of side walls and a front wall having a central opening designed to face the audience, a plurality of inner walls defining one or more sceneries and a curtain, a substantially horizontal cover element, which is adapted to cover said side walls and said front wall in a substantially vertical position, said side walls and said front wall being hinged together to form a foldable structure that is adapted to alternate from a collapsed configuration with said walls in mutually overlapping relationship, and an upstanding configuration with said walls at right angles and substantially vertical, and vice versa.
• The cover element is in the form of a lid with a flat central portion and edges folded upwards to receive therein said inner walls and said load-bearing structure in the collapsed configuration, said cover element being adapted to be turned upside down with its edges facing downwards and contacting said side walls and said front wall in the vertical position, said flat central portion of said cover element having a plurality of slits to allow said inner walls to be removably introduced therein from the top to positions facing said central opening.
• In one embodiment as shown and described, the slits are substantially parallel, a series of rear slits are designed to receive th3e sceneries and a front slit of the cover element is designed to receiver the curtain.
• Conveniently, the slits extend to a length that is slightly greater than the width of the inner walls to facilitate introduction thereof from the top into the corresponding slits.
• As shown inFIGS. 1 to 5, the inner walls have appendages at a top edge thereof, which extend beyond the ends of the slits to rest on the flat portion and hold the inner walls that have been introduced into the slits in a hanging state.
• In one embodiment as shown in the figures, the slits of the series designed to receive the sceneries are suitably spaced apart from the slit designed to receive the curtain to facilitate the introduction of one or more puppets.
• Preferably, the front wall and the side walls of the foldable structure are formed from a unit panel of a sheet material, such as cardboard, plastified paper or a plastic laminate, which is suitably die-cut and formed with fold lines to define adjacent mutually hinged partial panels that can be folded upon themselves.
• Advantageously, in the vertical configuration, the partial panels have corresponding upwardly extending tabs adapted to fit into corresponding slots formed in the flat portion of the cover element to stabilize the foldable structure with its side and front walls in the upstanding configuration.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
• Further features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the detailed description of a preferred, non-exclusive embodiment of a portable puppet theater according to the invention, which is described as a non-limiting example with the help of the following drawings, in which:
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the portable puppet theater of the invention in the upstanding configuration;
• FIGS. 2 and 3 are front and rear perspective views of the theater respectively;
• FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the theater ofFIG. 1;
• FIGS. 5 to 7 are plan views of the theater ofFIG. 4;
• FIGS. 8 and 9 are perspective views of the puppets of the theater ofFIG. 1;
• FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the theater ofFIG. 1 and the container;
• FIG. 11 is a plan view of a detail of the theater ofFIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
• Particularly referring to the figures, there is shown a portable puppet theater, generally designated by numeral1, which is designed for use by by users such as children and adults for entertainment and education of an audience of children of various ages.
• As shown inFIG. 1, the theater1 comprises a pair ofside walls2, afront wall3 having acentral opening4 which is designed to face the audience, a plurality ofinner walls5 defining one ormore sceneries5A and acurtain5B, and acover element6, which is adapted to cover theside walls2 and thefront wall3.
• As is known per se, theside walls2 and thefront wall3 are substantially vertical and hinged together to form afoldable structure7 which is adapted to alternate from a collapsed configuration with thewalls2,3 in mutually overlapping relationship, and an upstanding configuration with thewalls2,3 at right angles and substantially vertical, and vice versa.
• As used hereinafter, the term “collapsed configuration” is intended to designate a folded configuration in which theside walls2 and thefront wall3 of thefoldable structure7 overlap to form a folded flattened structure during storage to minimize bulk.
• In addition, as used hereinafter the term “upstanding configuration” is intended to designate a configuration in which the theater1 forms a deployed structure for use, which is vertically arranged, substantially orthogonal to a support surface.
• Advantageously, thefront wall3 and theside walls2 of thefoldable structure7 are formed from aunit panel8 of a sheet material selected from the group comprising cardboard, plastified paper or a plastic laminate or a similar material, as long as it has high ductility properties.
• Furthermore, theunit panel8 is suitably die-cut and formed withfold lines9 to define adjacent mutually hingedpartial panels10 that can be folded upon themselves, to alternate from the collapsed configuration to the upstanding configuration.
• In a preferred embodiment of the invention, thepartial panels10 may be at least four in number, a first pair of adjacent partial panels10A defining thefront wall3 and a second pair of end partial panels10B being adapted to define the pair ofside walls2, as shown inFIG. 7.
• In a preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown in the figures, theunit panel8 has a bottom edge11 and atop edge12. In the upstanding configuration of the theater1, thetop edge12 faces upwards, and the bottom edge11 rests on a support surface, the latter not being shown.
• Preferably, thefold lines9 of thepartial panels10 may extend from the bottom edge11 to thetop edge12 and orthogonal thereto.
• In a peculiar aspect of the invention, thecover element6 is in the form of a lid with a flatcentral portion13 andedges14 folded upwards to receive therein theinner walls5 and thefoldable structure7 in the collapsed configuration and is adapted to be turned upside down with the foldededges14 facing downwards and contacting theside walls2 and thefront wall3 in the upstanding configuration.
• Furthermore, the flatcentral portion13 of thecover element6 has a plurality ofslits15 to allow theinner walls5 to be removably introduced therein from the top to positions facing thecentral opening4.
• Thus, as best shown inFIGS. 4 and 6, thecover element6 is also suitably die-cut and formed withfold lines9 to define the flatcentral portion13. It shall be noted that theedges14 are folded at right angles to thecentral portion13.
• Advantageously, in the upstanding vertical configuration, thepartial panels10 of thefoldable structure7 have corresponding upwardly extendingtabs16 adapted to fit intocorresponding slots17 formed in the flatcentral portion13 of thecover element6 to stabilize thefoldable structure7 with itsside walls2 andfront wall3 in the upstanding configuration.
• In the illustrated embodiment, thetabs16 are formed on thetop edge12 of theunit panel8 and eachpartial panel10 comprises arespective tongue16 aligned with the correspondingslot17 when thefoldable structure7 is in the upstanding configuration.
• In particular, theslots17 are formed proximate to thefold lines9 of thecover element6, between the flatcentral portion13 and the foldededges14 such that, in the upstanding configuration, thecover element6 will not extend beyond theside walls2 and thefront wall3, as shown inFIGS. 1 to 3.
• As shown inFIGS. 2 and 3, the plurality ofslits15 of thecover element6 are substantially parallel, and thecover element6 comprises a series ofrear slits15A designed to receive thesceneries5A and afront slot15B designed to receive thecurtain5B.
• Alternatively, theslits15 may also not be parallel, without departure from the scope of the present invention.
• Conveniently, theslits15 extend to a length l₁that is slightly greater than the width l₂of theinner walls5 to facilitate introduction thereof from the top into the corresponding slits15.
• Furthermore, theinner walls5 haveappendages18 at a top edge thereof, which extend beyond the ends of theslits15 to rest on the flatcentral portion13 and hold theinner walls5 that have been introduced into theslits15 in a hanging state.
• As shown inFIGS. 1 to 3, theappendages18 are large enough to extend the length of the inner walls to a length l₃which is slightly greater than the length l₁of theslits15, to prevent theinner walls5 from slipping into the theater1 as they are being introduced into theslits15.
• It shall be noted that, in the upstanding configuration of thefoldable structure7, as shown inFIG. 1, with oneinner wall5A fully introduced into itsrespective slit15A, theappendages18 do not extend beyond thefold lines9 of the flatcentral portion13 of thecover element6.
• In the embodiment as shown in the figures, theslits15A of the series designed to receive thesceneries5A are suitably spaced apart from theslit15B designed to receive thecurtain5B to facilitate the introduction of one ormore puppets19 between the curtain and the scenery.
• As is known per se, thecentral opening4 has a substantially rectangular shape and comprises dimensions adapted to allow the user of the theater1 to introduce one hand and facilitate the introduction of thepuppets19 between thecurtain5B andsceneries5A.
• In an alternative embodiment of the invention, not shown, an additional series of openings may be formed in theside walls2 and at the bottom edge11 of theunit panel8, for thepuppets19 to be dynamically positioned and moved without exposing the hands of the user to the view of the audience through itscentral opening4.
• Thepuppets19 may comprise substantially L-shaped figures with anelongate body20 having astrip21 of flexible material extending therefrom, with oneend21′ adapted to fit intolongitudinal slots22 to hold thestrip21 in a position perpendicular to theelongate body20 and to retain thepuppet19 or hold it in an upright configuration, as schematically shown inFIGS. 8 and 9.
• Alternatively theelongate body20 of thepuppets19 may fit into theslots17 of thecover element6 and thestrips21 may be retained by thelongitudinal slots20, resting on the flatcentral portion13, which will prevent them from falling into the theater1.
• In the preferred embodiment of the invention, thepuppets19 are printed on a 2D sheet medium, but different media may be also used, such as 3D prints, without departure from the scope of the present invention.
• According to a particular aspect of the invention, the theater1 comprises an outer container consisting of abase box23 adapted to receive therein thecover element6 which in turn stores thefoldable structure7 in the collapsed state, theinner walls5 and thepuppets19, as shown inFIG. 10.
• Also, anupper box24 is also provided, which is designed to be closed on thebase box23 for orderly transport of the theater1 in a theater form without no risk of loss or damage of its essential components.
• Thus, the theater1 will take up very little space, while providing all the features of a typical puppet theater.
• Preferably, the outer container may contain editorial material selected from the group comprising stories, scripts, paper accessories for customization of the puppets or other equivalent material adapted to fulfill the purposes of the stories that will be proposed.
• In a further preferred embodiment of the invention, as shown inFIG. 11, the first pair of panels10A defining thefront wall3 may be equipped with reinforcement means25 adapted to hold the coplanar panels10ain an upstanding configuration, to thereby prevent the theater1 to undesirably alternate from the upstanding configuration to the collapsed configuration.
• The reinforcement means may comprise a strip of asheet material25A with ends adapted to fit into buckles orpockets25B formed on each of the adjacent partial panels10A of the first pair.
• In operation, the theater1 is assembled as follows.
• First theupper box24 is detached from thebase box23 to allow the user to access the container, and then thepuppets19, theinner walls5 and thefoldable structure7 are removed from thecover element6.
• Later, thefoldable structure7 is deployed from a collapsed configuration with thewalls2,3 in mutually overlapping relationship, to an upstanding configuration with theside walls2 at right angles to thefront wall3 and the bottom edge11 of theunit element8 resting on a support base.
• Thecover element6 is turned upside down with the foldededges14 facing downwards and contacting theside walls2 and thefront wall3 in an upstanding configuration, such that thetabs16 of the first pair of adjacent panels10A and the second pair of end panels10B will fit into therespective slots17 of thecover element6.
• Now, thecurtain5B will be simply introduced into the front slit15bof thecover element6, thesceneries5A will be introduced into the correspondingrear slits15A and thepuppets19 will be mounted by fitting theend21′ of thestrip21 into thelongitudinal slots22 of theelongate body20 to arrange it on the support surface.
• Alternatively, a different assembly sequence may be also used, without departure from the scope of the present invention.
• For example, once thefoldable structure7 has been deployed, the strip ofsheet material25A may fit into the reinforcement means25B to hold the coplanar partial panels10A in the upstanding configuration.
• It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the theater1 fulfills the intended objects and particularly has a compact and easily transportable configuration and a very simple and effective structure.
• The theater of the invention is susceptible of a number of changes and variants, within the inventive concept disclosed in the appended claims.
• While the theater has been described with particular reference to the accompanying figures, the numerals referred to in the disclosure and claims are only used for the sake of a better understanding of the invention and shall not be intended to limit the claimed scope in any manner.
• Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “the embodiment” or “some embodiments” indicates that a particular characteristic, structure or element that is being described is included in at least one embodiment of the inventive subject matter.
• Furthermore, the particular characteristics, structures or elements may be combined together in any suitable manner to provide one or more embodiments.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
• The present invention may find application in industry, because it can be produced on an industrial scale in the field of board games.

Claims (13)

1. A portable puppet theater (1) comprising a pair of side walls (2) and a front wall (3) having a central opening (4) which is designed to face an audience, a plurality of inner walls (5) defining one or more sceneries (5A) and a curtain (5B), a cover element (6) adapted to cover said side walls (2) and said front wall (3), said side walls (2) and said front wall (3) being substantially vertical and hinged together to form a foldable structure (7) which is adapted to alternate from a collapsed configuration with said walls (2,3) in mutually overlapping relationship and an upstanding configuration with said walls (2,3) at right angles and substantially vertical, and vice versa, said cover element (6) being in the form of lid, with a flat central portion (13) and upwardly folded edges (14) to receive therein said inner walls (5) and said foldable structure (7) in the collapsed configuration, said cover element (6) being adapted to be turned upside down with said folded edges (14) facing downwards and contacting said side walls (2) and said front wall (3) in an upright configuration, said flat central portion (13) of said cover element (6) having a plurality of slits (15) to allow said inner walls (5) to be removably introduced from the top to positions facing said central opening (4).

2. The theater as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said slits (15) are substantially parallel, a series of said rear slits (15A) being designed to receive the sceneries (5A), a front slit (15B) of said cover element (6) being designed to receive the curtain (5B).

3. The theater as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said slits (15) extend to a length (l₁) that is slightly greater than the width (l₂) of said inner walls (5) to facilitate introduction thereof from the top into the corresponding slits (15).

4. The theater as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said inner walls (5) have appendages (18) at a top edge thereof, which extend beyond the ends of said slits (15) to rest on said flat central portion (13) and hold said inner walls (5) that have been introduced into said slits (15) in a hanging state.

5. The theater as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the slits (15A) of said series designed to receive the sceneries (5A) are suitably spaced apart from the slit (15B) designed to receive the curtain (5B) to facilitate the introduction of said one or more puppets (19).

6. The theater as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said front wall (3) and said side walls (2) of said foldable structure (7) are formed from a unitary panel (8) of a sheet material, such as cardboard, plasticized paper or a plastic laminate, which is suitably die-cut and formed with fold lines (9) to define adjacent mutually hinged partial panels that can be folded upon themselves.

7. The theater as claimed inclaim 6, wherein said partial panels (10) are at least four in number a first pair of adjacent panels (10A) defining together said front wall (3) and a second pair of end panels (10B) defining said pair of side walls (2).

8. The theater as claimed inclaim 6, wherein said partial panels (10) have corresponding upwardly extending tabs (16) adapted to fit into corresponding slots (17) formed in said flat central portion (13) of said cover element (6) to stabilize said foldable structure (7) with its side walls (2) and front wall (3) in an upstanding configuration.

9. The theater as claimed inclaim 7, wherein said first pair of partial panels (10A) defining said front wall (3) is formed with reinforcement means to keep said first pair of partial panels (10A) coplanar in an upstanding configuration.

10. The theater as claimed inclaim 9, wherein said reinforcing means comprise a strip of a sheet material with ends adapted to fit into buckles or pockets formed on each of said partial panels (10A).

11. The theater as claimed inclaim 5, wherein said one or more puppets (19) are substantially L-shaped figures with an elongate body (20) having a strip (21) of flexible material extending therefrom, with one end (21′) adapted to fit into longitudinal slots (22) to hold said strip (21) in a position perpendicular to said elongate body (20) and to retain the puppet (19) or hold it in an upright configuration.

12. The theater as claimed inclaim 11, wherein said puppets are printed on a 2D or 3D sheet medium.

13. The theater as claimed inclaim 1, further comprising an outer container consisting of a base box (23) adapted to accommodate therein said cover element (6) which in turn stores said folding structure (7) in the collapsed state, said inner walls (5) and said puppets (19), and an upper box (24) which can be closed on said base box (23) for orderly transport of the theater (1) with no risk of loss or damage of its essential components.

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