FUSIBLE TOY BEAD

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-190904 filed on October 30, 2024. The entire content of the priority application is incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] The present disclosure relates to a fusible toy bead.

BACKGROUND ART

[0003] In related art, fusible toy beads that allow a plurality of parts to be connected to form an assembly of any shape have been proposed (for example, Patent Literature 1). Such fusible toy beads contain a water-soluble resin, and therefore, when the beads are wetted with water and brought into contact with each other, and then dried, the beads can be connected in any arrangement made by a player.

CITATION LIST

PATENT LITERATURE

[0004] Patent Literature 1: JP3131292U

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0005] The fusible toy beads are available in a variety of colors and shapes. However, coloring is basically performed by subtractive color mixing in which colorants are added to fusible toy beads, and it is not easy to express bright colors. In order to expand a scope of creation and enhance playability, fusible toy beads with more vivid colors are desired.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a fusible toy bead with vivid appearance and high playability.

[0007] In one embodiment, the fusible toy bead according to the present disclosure contains polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, calcium stearate, and a colorant, is translucent, and when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, has a value of 70% or more and a saturation of 60% or less.

[0008] In another embodiment, the fusible toy bead according to the present disclosure

[0009]contains polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, calcium stearate, and a colorant, is translucent, and when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, has a value of 75% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 75% or more.

[0010] The present disclosure allows for providing a soluble toy bead with vivid appearance and high playability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an assembly of fusible toy beads;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a composition table of examples of the fusible toy bead;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a composition table of examples of the fusible toy bead;

[0014]FIG. 4 is a composition table of comparative examples of the fusible toy bead;

[0015]FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method for evaluating the fusible toy bead;

[0016]FIG. 6 shows evaluation results of examples and comparative examples of yellow fusible toy beads;

[0017]FIG. 7 shows evaluation results of examples and comparative examples of green fusible toy beads;

[0018]FIG. 8 shows evaluation results of examples and comparative examples of purple fusible toy beads;

[0019]FIG. 9 shows evaluation results of examples and comparative examples of blue fusible toy beads;

[0020]FIG. 10 shows evaluation results of examples and comparative examples of red fusible toy beads; and

[0021]FIG. 11 shows evaluation results of examples and comparative examples of pink fusible toy beads.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0022] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an assembly 1 of fusible toy beads 2 (2A, 2B, and 2C). The fusible toy beads 2 are made of a water-soluble resin material. Specifically, the fusible toy beads 2 are formed by mixing polyvinyl alcohol with resin and kneading the mixture. The resin for forming the fusible toy beads 2 can be freely selected from a transparent material, a translucent material, or an opaque material. The translucency of the fusible toy beads 2 can be controlled by a content of a colorant in the bead. Specific examples

[0023]will be described later. A shape of the fusible toy beads 2 can be various shapes such as a sphere, a convex polyhedron, or a concave polyhedron (also referred to as a convexo-concave polyhedron), as exemplified in FIG. 1. A concave polyhedron is a polyhedron in which a dihedral angle of any one edge exceeds 180 degrees, and is a polyhedron other than a convex polyhedron.

[0024] The fusible toy bead 2A in FIG. 1 is spherical. The convex polyhedron fusible toy bead 2B is a rhombic triacontahedron. The concave polyhedron fusible toy bead 2C is a star polyhedron.

[0025] The fusible toy bead 2 is formed by mixing polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), glycerin, calcium stearate, and a colorant, and then performing injection molding using a mold having a predetermined shape.

[0026]FIGS. 2 and 3 are composition tables of Examples 1 to 18 of the fusible toy beads 2. FIG. 4 is a composition table of Comparative Examples 1 to 12 of the fusible toy beads 2. In FIGS. 2 to 4, a content of each component is shown in the unit of [g], and the numbers in parentheses indicate the proportion of the colorant when the total amount of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), glycerin, and calcium stearate is set as 100 parts by mass.

[0027]Examples 1 to 3 are colored yellow by using, as the colorant, phthalocyanine green (pigment), a yellow fluorescent dye, and ethylene bis(stearamide) in a mass ratio of 6:400:59. Examples 4 to 6 are colored green by using, as the colorant, phthalocyanine green (pigment) and a yellow fluorescent dye in a mass ratio of 3:2. Examples 7 to 9 are colored purple using, as the colorant, brilliant blue FCF (Blue No. 1) and acid red 52 (Red No. 106) in a mass ratio of 5:2. Examples 10 to 12 are colored blue by using brilliant blue FCF (Blue No. 1) as the colorant.

[0028]Examples 13 and 14 are colored red by using phloxine B (Red No. 104) as the colorant. Examples 15 to 17 are colored pink by using acid red 52 (Red No. 106) as the colorant. The colorants used in Examples 7 to 18 are all food dyes.

[0029] In each Example, examples in the same color formed into different shapes of a convex polyhedron, a concave polyhedron, and a sphere are shown. The fusible toy beads 2 of Examples 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, and 16 are convex polyhedrons, and in the present embodiment, are all rhombic triacontahedrons. The fusible toy beads 2 of Examples 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, and 17 are concave polyhedrons, and in the present embodiment, are all star polyhedrons.

[0030]The fusible toy beads 2 of Examples 1 to 18 all contain polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), glycerin, calcium stearate, and a colorant, and are translucent.

[0031] In FIG. 4, Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are colored yellow by using tartrazine (Yellow No. 4) and sunset yellow FCF (Yellow No. 5) as the colorant in a mass ratio of 120:1. Comparative Examples 3 and 4 are colored green by using brilliant blue FCF (Blue No. 1) and tartrazine (Yellow No. 4) as the colorant in a mass ratio of 5:2.8. Comparative Examples 5 and 6 are colored purple by using erythrosine (Red No. 3) and indigo carmine (Blue No. 2) as the colorant in a mass ratio of 5:8.

[0032] Comparative Examples 7 and 8 are colored blue by using erythrosine (Red No. 3), brilliant blue FCF (Blue No. 1), and tartrazine (Yellow No. 4) as the colorant in a mass ratio of 15:425:2. Comparative Examples 9 and 10 are colored red by using erythrosine (Red No. 3) and sunset yellow FCF (Yellow No. 5) as the colorant in a mass ratio of 60:1. Comparative Examples 11 and 12 are colored pink by using erythrosine (Red No. 3), indigo carmine (Blue No. 2), and tartrazine (Yellow No. 4) as the colorant in a mass ratio of 60:4:1.

[0033]In all cases, the fusible toy beads 2 of the present embodiment (Examples 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, and 17) were visually brighter and had more vivid coloring than Comparative Examples 1 to 12.

[0034] Next, a quantitative evaluation method is described. In the present embodiment, the produced fusible toy bead 2 was photographed and evaluated for vividness of appearance. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a method for evaluating the fusible toy bead 2. First, the fusible toy bead 2 was photographed by a photographing device 31. The photographing device 31 used for the evaluation was a Nikon D850 camera and a Nikon PC-E Micro NIKKOR 85 mm camera lens. Settings of the photographing device 31 were ISO 400, shutter speed 1/100 s, f-number f/5.6, and white balance (WB) 5000 K.

[0035] Illumination light L emitted from a light source 33 was irradiated onto the fusible toy bead 2 placed as a subject on a photographing stand 32 from directions diagonally above left and right sides, at an irradiation angle θ = 45 degrees. The illumination light L had a luminous flux of 2500 lm and a color temperature of 5000 K. The illumination light L was irradiated onto the fusible toy bead 2 as diffused light that has passed through a tracing paper 34.

[0036] Next, using an appropriate computer, the image data (in the RGB data format) of the fusible toy bead 2 acquired by the photographing device 31 was converted into data (HSV data) including hue (H), saturation (S), and value (V) corresponding to each pixel, and tabulation process was performed.

[0037]FIGS. 6 to 11 are diagrams illustrating distributions of saturation and value for the fusible toy beads 2 of Examples 1 to 18. The evaluation results of the fusible toy beads 2 in the

[0038]shape of convex polyhedron and concave polyhedron of each color are compared with evaluation results of the fusible toy beads 2 formed using the components of the comparative examples.

[0039]In FIGS. 6 to 11, when comparing the fusible toy beads 2 of the same color and the same shape, in all cases, the fusible toy beads 2 of the present embodiment (Examples 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, and 17) have higher value than Comparative Examples 1 to 12. In addition, when comparing Examples with Comparative Examples, the relationship between the value and the saturation tended to differ depending on the color.

[0040] For example, the fusible toy beads 2 exhibiting colors of yellow, green, and purple had a value of 70% or more and a saturation of 60% or less when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron (Examples 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, and 8). Compared with the comparative examples, the saturation was approximately 40% lower (Examples 1 and 2) or the value was approximately 20% higher (Examples 4, 5, 7, and 8).

[0041] The yellow or green fusible toy beads 2 had a wavelength band (peak at approximately 555 nm) in which luminous efficiency function of human photopic vision was high, and therefore, the color appeared vivid even when the saturation was low. In addition, forming the fusible toy beads 2 to have a high value and to be transparent achieved a bright and sparkling appearance. The purple fusible toy beads 2 had the same saturation as the comparative examples, but had a higher value overall, thereby achieving vivid appearance.

[0042] The blue, red, and pink fusible toy beads 2 had a value of 75% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 75% or more when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron (Examples 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, and 17). Compared with Comparative Examples, the saturation of Examples was roughly the same (Examples 10, 11, 13, and 14) or approximately 40% higher (Examples 16 and 17), and the value of Examples was approximately 10% to 20% higher (Examples 10, 11, 13, 14, 16, and 17).

[0043] The blue fusible toy bead 2 had a value of 75% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 95% or more. In the present embodiment, the saturation was broadly distributed in the range from 0% to 100%. Therefore, since the blue fusible toy bead 2 had a high value and a broad range of saturation between a lower limit and an upper limit, when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, the blue fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus produces a sparkling and vivid appearance overall.

[0044] The red fusible toy bead 2 had a value of 80% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 75% or more. In the present embodiment, the saturation was broadly distributed in the range from 0% to about 75%. Since the red fusible toy bead 2 also had a high value and a broad range of saturation between a lower limit and an upper limit, when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, the red fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus produces a sparkling and vivid appearance overall. Moreover, for the red fusible toy bead 2, increasing the value allows for exhibiting bright and vivid appearance, even though the luminous efficiency function is lower than that of the blue one (Examples 10 and 11).

[0045] The pink fusible toy bead 2 had a value of 80% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 85% or more. In the present embodiment, the saturation was broadly distributed in the range from 0% to approximately 90% to 100%. Since the pink fusible toy bead 2 also had a high value and a broad range of saturation between a lower limit and an upper limit, when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, the pink fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus produces a sparkling and vivid appearance overall.

[0046] In one embodiment of the fusible toy bead 2, the colorant is 0.01 part by mass or less per 100 parts by total mass of polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, and calcium stearate, except for the red fusible toy bead 2. In contrast, the comparative example contains more than 0.01 part by mass of the colorant.

[0047] The embodiment of the present disclosure described above allows for providing a fusible toy bead according to the following aspects.

[0048] The fusible toy bead according to a first aspect contains polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, calcium stearate, and a colorant, is translucent, and when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, has a value of 70% or more and a saturation of 60% or less.

[0049] In this aspect, setting the value to be high and the saturation to be low is effective to make the color appear more vivid, particularly when the color with high luminous efficiency function is selected for the colorant. When the fusible toy bead has translucency and is set to have a high value, a decrease in value due to subtractive color mixing is reduced, so that a fusible toy bead that is bright, has good coloring, vivid appearance, and high playability can be configured.

[0050] The fusible toy bead according to a second aspect contains polyvinyl alcohol, glycerin, calcium stearate, and a colorant, is translucent, and when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, has an observed value of 75% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 75% or more.

[0051] In this aspect, setting the value and the saturation to be high is effective to make the color appear more vivid, particularly when a color with low luminous efficiency function is selected for the colorant. The fusible toy bead has translucency and is set to have a high value and high saturation, a decrease in value due to subtractive color mixing is reduced, so that a fusible toy bead that is bright, has good coloring, vivid appearance, and high playability can be configured.

[0052] The fusible toy bead according to a third aspect has a value of 75% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 95% or more.

[0053] In this aspect, since the fusible toy bead 2 has a high value and an extremely broad range of saturation between a lower limit and an upper limit, when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, the fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus producing sparkle and vivid appearance overall.

[0054] The fusible toy bead according to a fourth aspect has a value of 80% or more and a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 75% or more.

[0055] In this aspect, since the fusible toy bead 2 has a higher value and a broad range of saturation between a lower limit and an upper limit, when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, the fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus produces a sparkling and vivid appearance overall.

[0056] The fusible toy bead according to a fifth aspect has a saturation range between a lower limit and an upper limit of 85% or more.

[0057] In this aspect, since the fusible toy bead 2 has an extremely broad range of saturation between a lower limit and an upper limit, when formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron, the fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus produces a sparkling and vivid appearance overall.

[0058] The colorant in the fusible toy bead according to a sixth aspect is a food dye.

[0059] In this aspect, a highly safe fusible toy bead 2 can be formed.

[0060] The fusible toy bead according to a seventh aspect is formed into a convex polyhedron or a concave polyhedron.

[0061] In this aspect, the fusible toy bead 2 receives reflected light or transmitted light from outer surfaces at multiple angles, allowing various regions of saturation to be observed, and thus produces a sparkling and vivid appearance overall.

[0062] The embodiment of the present disclosure has been described above. The aspects of the present disclosure are not limited to this embodiment.