Toy power tool with swirling sawdust

Abstract

A toy power tool simulates the action of sawdust or other shavings generated by action of an adult power tool. The toy has a housing with a shape that resembles the shape of an adult power tool, such as a circular saw, and a chamber, which preferably is transparent or translucent, with a plurality of particles that represent the shavings, sawdust or other waste generated by that tool contained within the chamber. The toy has a movable element that corresponds to an element of an actual adult power tool that moves when the tool is operating. When the tool is activated to drive the movable element of the toy, the element moves, rotating or translatably oscillating, for example, and thereby agitates the simulated particles to simulate the operation of an adult power tool.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to toys, and in particular toys that simulate power tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Toys generally are meant to be entertaining and to provide a practical way for children to role play at adult activities. Toy tools, for example, allow children to play at adult construction activities while also providing an opportunity for children to learn the proper manner in which to handle or use various tools and to learn which tools are appropriate for a particular job.

Children typically have a shorter attention span than adults, however, and more realistic toys are more likely to capture and maintain a child's attention and interest. One way to make toy tools seem more realistic is to have them make noise when they are used: particularly a noise that is similar to the sound of an adult tool. Another way to keep a child's attention is to have moving parts to catch a child's eye. For example, a known push toy has a housing and a handle that generally resemble an adult lawnmower. A chamber in the housing contains a plurality of colored balls that are visible through a transparent wall. When the toy is pushed along the ground, a ratchet winds and suddenly releases a plate in the bottom of the chamber, causing the balls to pop into the air. Although perhaps entertaining, adult lawnmowers lack such balls and “popping” mechanisms, making such a toy unrealistic and thus unlikely to hold a child's attention once the novelty has worn off.

In another attempt to create a more realistic toy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,295,294 discloses a push toy with a housing in the shape of a power lawnmower body and a separate housing in the shape of a grass catcher. The grass catcher has a plurality of green plastic strips, simulating grass clippings, that are agitated by a rotating brush in the grass catcher when the toy is pushed along the ground. The rotating brush creates a cloud-like particulate suspension that is visible through a transparent portion of the grass catcher to simulate the view inside an operating adult grass catcher. Unlike an adult lawnmower, however, which uses a cutting blade that rotates about a generally vertical axis to cut grass and blow or throw the grass into the grass catcher, this toy lawnmower uses a brush that rotates about a horizontal axis within the grass catcher.

In addition, both of these toys have to be pushed in order to “pop” the balls or to agitate the simulated grass clippings. If these toys are not moving along the ground, neither toy lawn mower provides any motion that could provide a realistic simulation of an adult lawn mower. While amusing, such toys are far from realistic versions of adult power tools.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Unlike prior toy power tools, the present invention presents a toy power tool with a more realistic appearance, with moving parts that resemble corresponding moving parts of an adult power tool, as well as realistic looking “sawdust” particles that are agitated by the aforementioned movable parts of the toy power tool. Unlike an “adult” power tool, however, a toy power tool cannot actually cut and thereby create its own waste particles.

The present invention provides a toy power tool that simulates a cutting or other material removal action of an adult (non-play) power tool. The toy has a housing with a shape that resembles the shape of an adult power tool, such as a circular saw, jigsaw, bandsaw, table saw, drill, router, sander, grinder, shaper, lathe, power plane, planer, mill, jointer or other power tool that generates waste particulates in use. The toy has a chamber with a plurality of particles that represent the shavings, sawdust or other waste generated by that tool. At least one wall of the chamber is transparent or translucent. A part of the toy within the chamber is movable to agitate the waste particles. When the moving parts of the tool are set in motion, the simulated particles are agitated to simulate the appearance of an actual working power tool. Unlike the push toy lawnmower described above, the motion of the particles in the chamber typically is independent of the motion of the tool. Moreover, the present invention makes use of moving components of the toy power tool that would be found on an adult tool to agitate the waste particles, thereby providing more realism to hold a child's attention for a longer period of time.

More particularly, an exemplary toy power tool includes a housing having a chamber that contains a plurality of particles having the appearance of particles typically produced by operation of an adult power tool of the same type as the toy power tool. A moving portion of the power tool within the chamber, such as a drill bit or a saw blade, acts as an agitator to agitate the particles to simulate, for example, swirling sawdust. A wall of the chamber is at least partially transparent so that the agitated particles are visible while the moving portion of the tool is moving.

The present invention also provides a method of simulating operation of an adult power tool in a toy power tool, that includes the following steps: agitating a plurality of particles contained within a chamber having a wall that is at least partially transparent, the particles having the appearance of particles typically produced by the operation of an adult power tool of the same type to simulate operation of a power tool, independently of movement of the chamber.

Another embodiment provided by the present invention is a toy table saw having a tabletop surface and a saw assembly. The saw assembly includes a housing with a chamber that contains a plurality of particles having the appearance of particles typically produced by operation of an adult table saw of the same type as the toy table saw. At least a portion of the chamber is transparent or translucent. A simulated saw blade is rotatably mounted to extend into the chamber for agitating the particles within the chamber and thus to simulate operation of an adult table saw. The saw assembly is mounted such that the simulated saw blade extends above the tabletop surface.

The chamber can have an enlarged portion that resembles a blade guard that extends over a distal end of the simulated saw blade, and can be spaced from the tabletop surface.

The present invention also provides such a toy table saw in combination with a workpiece that represents a piece of wood to be cut. The workpiece has two parts connected along a cut line and means for releasably securing the parts together, such as magnets. The table saw also can include a drive wheel that extends above the tabletop surface adjacent the chamber that is connected to the simulated saw blade by a linkage, such as a gear train, so that moving the workpiece over the drive wheel causes the simulated saw blade to rotate, agitating the simulated sawdust particles and providing a very realistic operation of the toy table saw.

A method of using such a toy table saw can include the following steps: (a) a simulated saw blade moving a workpiece having two parts detachably connected along a cut line toward a simulated saw blade as though to engage the saw blade; (b) separating the workpiece into its two parts along the cut line to simulate cutting the workpiece with the simulated saw blade; and (c) agitating the particles within the blade guard chamber to simulate sawdust from a cutting operation of the simulated saw blade.

The foregoing and other features of the invention are hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this embodiment being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy cordless circular saw provided by the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a toy table saw provided by the present invention, as well as a workpiece having two detachable parts for simulating cutting the workpiece on the table saw.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a saw blade assembly from the table saw shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the saw blade assembly shown in FIG. 3 from another side with a portion of a housing thereof removed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a toy cordless drill provided by the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides a toy power tool that simulates the action of an adult power tool of the same type, and in particular, simulates the creation of sawdust or other waste particles in the form of shavings, filings, etc., generated by a cutting or other material removal action of the tool, independent of movement of the tool.

An exemplary toy power tool is shown in FIG. 1 in the form of a cordless circular saw 10. The toy saw 10 has a housing 12 with a shape that resembles the shape of an adult “non-play” or working circular saw. In other words, the toy tool provided by present invention does not actually cut, unlike an adult tool. The housing 12 has a chamber 14, which preferably has a wall 16 that is at least partially transparent or translucent. In the illustrated embodiment the chamber 14 extends through a base plate 18 portion of the housing 12, with a wall 16 of the chamber 14 above the base plate 18 being substantially transparent, while a portion 19 of the chamber 14 below the base plate 18 is opaque. The chamber 14 contains a plurality of particles 20 that represent the shavings, sawdust or other waste generated by the circular saw. The particles may be made of wood, or alternatively made of metal shavings, organic flakes or chips, or pieces of plastic. The particles resemble or have the appearance of waste particles typically produced by operation of an adult circular saw of a similar type. As with such particles produced by an adult tool, these particles 20 preferably do not have a uniform size or shape.

Mounted in the housing 12 for rotation therein is a simulated circular saw blade 22 that rotates when the power tool 10 is activated, for example by pulling on a trigger switch 24 such as that shown on a handle portion 26 of the illustrated toy circular saw to activate a battery-powered electric motor (not shown) which also is enclosed in the housing. The saw blade 22 resembles the saw blade for an adult circular saw and is movable relative to the chamber 14. The saw blade 22 is generally circular with a wave-like periphery that includes portions 28 that resemble the teeth of a saw blade for an adult circular saw. These teeth 28 in fact have sufficient width to engage the particles 20 in the chamber 14 as the blade 22 rotates, thereby agitating the particles within the chamber to simulate the production of sawdust; sawdust which, incidentally, is created by the teeth of an adult circular saw blade as the teeth cut into wood, for example. The teeth 28 may be wider than other portions of the saw blade 22 to move the sawdust about the chamber 14 (as shown in FIG. 4, for example, with respect to the teeth 65).

The toy circular saw 10 thus includes means for agitating the particles 20 within the chamber 14 to simulate operation of an adult saw. Rotation of the saw blade 22 itself, with its peripheral teeth, acts as an agitator to effect a swirling action of the particles 20 within the chamber 14 thereby giving the appearance that the circular saw is generating sawdust from cutting a piece of wood, for example. Other means for agitating the particles can be used as well, including blowing, striking and vibrating the particles in various ways alone or in combination. As yet another alternative, a magnet may be used to agitate magnetizable particles, such as iron filings.

Another embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 2-4, in the form of a toy table saw 50. The toy table saw 50 has a table top surface 52 and a saw assembly 54 mounted to the table top surface. While the illustrated embodiment is a tabletop version, a frame with legs or a cabinet can be used to support the tabletop surface at an elevated position. As will be further explained below, the saw assembly 54 also includes a housing 56 with a chamber 60 that contains a plurality of particles 62 having the appearance of particles typically produced by operation of an adult table saw of the same type as the toy table saw 50. A simulated saw blade 64 with a plurality of teeth 65 is rotatably mounted in the chamber 60. This is similar to the toy circular saw shown in FIG. 1. In fact, the simulated saw blade 64 and the particles 62 can be the same as those of the toy circular saw of FIG. 1.

The saw assembly 54 is mounted with respect to the table top surface 52 such that the simulated saw blade 64 extends above the table top surface. Note that the simulated saw blade 64 rotates about an axis that is approximately parallel to the table top surface 52 and therefore the saw blade 64 extends above the table top surface 52 in a direction that is substantially perpendicular to the table top surface 52. The illustrated table top surface 52 has a guide track 66, and a miter gauge 68 is shown resting in the guide track 66 for pushing a workpiece 70 across the table top surface 52 and past the simulated saw blade 64. The illustrated workpiece 70 has two detachable pieces or parts 72, 74 joined together along a cut line 76, using hook-and-loop fasteners or magnets for example, that can be used to pretend that the workpiece 70 is being cut into two pieces.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the saw assembly 54 has many of the same features as the toy circular saw described above with respect to FIG. 1, although the shape of the housing in this instance is different. The saw assembly 54 has a housing 56 with a chamber 60 that contains a plurality of particles 62, at least a portion of the chamber 60 is transparent or translucent, and a simulated saw blade 64 is mounted within the chamber 60. The saw blade 64 acts as an agitator that agitates the particles 62 within the chamber 60 to simulate operation of an adult table saw. The saw assembly housing 56 has mounting tabs 78 for mounting the saw assembly 54 so that an insert surface 80, similar to an insert for an adult table saw, is generally coplanar with the tabletop surface 52 when the saw assembly 54 is mounted to the underside of the tabletop surface 52 (FIG. 2).

The saw assembly 54 also includes a motion generator, for manually driving the simulated saw blade 64. In the illustrated embodiment, the motion generator includes a roller 82 that protrudes from the insert surface 80 of the saw assembly 54 near the chamber 60. While the circular saw 10 shown in FIG. 1 employs a battery-operated electric motor to drive its simulated saw blade, the saw assembly 54 for the illustrated table saw 50 (FIG. 2) requires no electricity to operate. The roller 82 is connected to the simulated saw blade 64 through a linkage 84, which can include a gear train or friction drive, for example, such that rotating the roller 82 drives rotation of the simulated saw blade 64 and thus agitation of the particles 62. An exemplary means for engaging and rotating the roller 82 is the workpiece 70 (FIG. 2) described above. Moving the workpiece over the roller 82 drives rotation of the simulated saw blade 64, thereby facilitating the realistic agitation of simulated sawdust particles as the workpiece moves to simulate engagement with the saw blade 64.

The chamber 60 within which the saw blade 64 is rotatably mounted, also includes another feature not found in the toy circular saw shown in FIG.1. Specifically, in the saw assembly 54 for the table saw 50 (FIG.2), the chamber 60 has an enlarged portion 90 that resembles a blade guard. This simulated blade guard 90 extends over a distal end of the simulated saw blade 64. The blade guard portion 90 of the chamber 60 is spaced above the table top surface 52 so that the workpiece 70 can pass underneath the blade guard 90 as the workpiece 70 is moved as though to engage the simulated saw blade 64. In fact, however, the simulated saw blade 64 is enclosed within the chamber 60 and cannot engage the workpiece, but can only give the appearance of doing so. The blade guard 90 may be fixed as shown, or may include a portion that a workpiece 70 could engage to push the blade guard 90, and perhaps the saw blade 64 as well, in an upward direction (similar to the action provided by an actual blade guard on an adult table saw). In such an embodiment the blade guard typically would be biased toward a lowered position.

As shown in FIG. 5, the present invention also may be embodied in a toy cordless drill 200. In this instance, the illustrated toy drill includes a housing 202 that has a chamber 204 that extends over an end of a simulated drill bit 206. Particles 208 simulating particles generated by an adult drill are contained within the chamber and are agitated by rotation of the drill bit 206 within the chamber 204. The drill bit 206 has at least one peripheral groove 210 that traces a spiral path along the length of the bit 206. The sides of this groove 210 engage and move the particles 208 as the drill bit 206 rotates. The housing 202 also has a trigger switch 212, and when the trigger is squeezed, a battery-operated motor (not shown) hidden in the housing 202 is activated to rotate the drill bit 206. In this embodiment, the simulated drill bit 206 acts as an agitator to agitate the particles 208 contained within the chamber 204. This can give the appearance that the drill bit 206 is engaged with a piece of wood and producing sawdust, for example.

To summarize, the present invention provides a toy power tool that simulates the action of sawdust or other shavings generated by action of an adult power tool. The toy has a housing with a shape that resembles the shape of an adult power tool, such as a circular saw, and a chamber, which preferably has a wall that is transparent or translucent, with a plurality of particles contained within the chamber that represent the sawdust. The toy has a movable element that corresponds to an element of an actual adult power tool that moves when the tool is operating. When the tool is activated to drive the movable element of the toy, the element moves, rotating or translatably oscillating, for example, and thereby agitates the simulated particles to simulate the operation of an adult power tool.

Naturally, the housing and simulated cutting means of the toy power tool provided by the present invention can have other shapes to provide a more realistic play experience, but it also should be clear that the toy power tool does not have to move in order to simulate operation of a corresponding adult tool.

The toy power tool provided by the present invention also can include with a noisemaker or a vibration generator to provide a more realistic sound and feel to the toy power tool to better simulate an adult tool. Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to certain illustrated embodiments, equivalent alterations and modifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the specification and the annexed drawings. In particular regard to the various functions performed by the above described integers (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), the terms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe such integers are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to any integer which performs the specified function (i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurally equivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in the herein illustrated embodiments of the invention. In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have been described above with respect to only one of several illustrated embodiments, such a feature may be combined with one or more other features of the other embodiment, as maybe desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.

Claims

1. A toy power tool, comprising a housing having a chamber that contains a plurality of particles having the appearance of particles typically produced by operation of an adult power tool of the same type as the toy power tool, and means for agitating the particles within the chamber to simulate operation of a power tool independently of movement of the power tool.

2. A toy power tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the chamber has a wall that is at least partially transparent.

3. A toy power tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the means for agitating includes an element that resembles an element of the adult power tool and that moves relative to the chamber to agitate the particles.

4. A toy power tool as set forth in claim 3, wherein the element is rotatable

5. A toy power tool as set forth in claim 4, wherein the rotating element resembles one of a generally circular saw blade and a drill bit.

6. A toy power tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the shape of the housing resembles one of the following power tools: table saw, portable drill or portable circular saw.

7. A toy power tool as set forth in claim 1, wherein the particles are plastic and resemble sawdust.

8. A method of simulating operation of an adult power tool in a toy power tool comprising the steps of:

agitating a plurality of particles contained within a chamber having a wall that is at least partially transparent independently of movement of the power tool, the particles having the appearance of particles typically produced by the operation of an adult power tool of the same type to simulate operation of a power tool.

9. A method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the agitating step includes at least one of blowing, striking and vibrating the particles.

10. A method as set forth in claim 8, wherein the agitating step includes moving the particles in a generally circular path.

11. A toy table saw, comprising a tabletop surface and a saw assembly, the saw assembly including a housing with a chamber that contains a plurality of particles having the appearance of particles typically produced by operation of an adult table saw of the same type as the toy table saw, at least a portion of the chamber being transparent or translucent, and a simulated saw blade rotatably mounted in the housing for agitating the particles within the chamber to simulate operation of an adult table saw, the saw assembly being mounted such that the simulated saw blade extends above the tabletop surface.

12. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 11, wherein the chamber has an enlarged portion that resembles a blade guard that extends over a distal end of the simulated saw blade.

13. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 12, wherein the blade guard portion of the chamber is spaced from the tabletop surface.

14. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 11, wherein the simulated saw blade rotates about an axis that is generally parallel to the tabletop surface.

15. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 11, further includes a motion generator for manually driving the simulated saw blade to agitate the particles as the simulated saw blade rotates.

16. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 15, wherein motion generator includes a roller that extends through the housing and a linkage connecting the roller to the simulated saw blade.

17. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 1, wherein the particles are plastic and resemble sawdust.

18. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 11, in combination with a workpiece that represents a piece of wood to be cut, the workpiece having two parts connected along a cut line and means for releasably securing the parts together.

19. A toy table saw as set forth in claim 18, wherein the means releasably securing the parts of the workpiece includes magnets or hook-and-loop fasteners.

20. A method of using a toy table saw having a table top surface with a simulated saw blade extending above the table top surface and a chamber representing a blade guard extending over a distal end of the simulated saw blade, the blade guard chamber containing a plurality of particles that have the appearance of sawdust typically produced by operation of an adult table saw, comprising the steps of:

moving a workpiece having two parts detachably connected along a cut line toward a simulated saw blade as though to engage the saw blade with the workpiece;

separating the workpiece into its two parts along the cut line to simulate cutting the workpiece with the simulated saw blade; and

agitating the particles within the blade guard chamber to simulate a cutting operation of the simulated saw blade.