Appeal No. 1998-1029
Application 08/361,590
Bunin pertains to a puppet-like figure which may be
continuously manipulated and deformed to simulate living or
moving inanimate objects in, for example, animated movie
cartoons, and television cartoons and commercials. The
puppet-like figure is composed of flexible material such as
sponge or foam polyurethane, polyester, or the like (column 1,
lines 43-45). Thin wire rods, such as elements 11, that are
nearly invisible to the audience are provided to manipulate
the puppet-like figure (column 1, lines 57-68). Bunin
discloses various shapes for the puppet-like figure, including
one (Figure 2) that includes a toy head comprising a face
having a deformable mouth 13 manipulated by rods 11, and other
facial features including a nose and eyes. With respect to
the physical properties of the material for the puppet-like
figure, Bunin states the following:
Flexibility in the sense of being deformable
without suffering permanently induced change in
shape is the principal criterion for choosing the
material to be used. Elasticity in the sense of
extensibility is not a fundamental requisite
although the materials indicated do have some
elasticity. In other words, the material to be used
must be readily continuously deformable so that the
two-dimensional figures of my invention are
supported and operated with the control apparatus.
[Column 2, lines 34-42.]
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