CATCHING TOY

- TOMY COMPANY, LTD.

A catching toy having an excellent usability is provided. The catching toy catches a target by throwing a main body at the target with a top end of a string fastened to a hand of a player. The main body includes a reel to wind and extend the string, and a flat spiral spring. After the main body is thrown, the flat spiral spring rotates the reel in a predetermined direction to wind the string around the reel.

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Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a catching toy.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

As a conventional catching toy, there is known a catching toy having a target, a main body which can be held one-handed and has a catching unit to catch the target by touching the target, and an elastic in which one end of the elastic is fastened to a hand of a player and the other end of the elastic is fastened to the main body. (Refer to Patent Document 1, for example.)

A player throws the main body at the target with the one end of the elastic fastened to the hand of the player, and catches the target by making the catching unit of the main body touch the target.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

Patent Document 1: Registered Utility Model Gazette No. 3048342 (Refer to FIG. 1. thereof.)

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The Problems to be Solved by the Invention

In the catching toy, the main body is thrown at the target by stretching the elastic against elasticity thereof with the one end of the elastic whose length is predetermined, fastened to a finger of a player.

Consequently, in the catching toy, unless the main body is thrown in a predetermined direction, the main body is not returned into a hand of a player. As a result, not only a problem that the main body returned by reaction cannot be caught by hand, but also a problem that the returned main body may hit a body part other than a hand of a player arises.

The present invention is made in view of the circumstances. An object of the present invention is to provide a catching toy which can make sure that a thrown main body is returned into a hand of a player.

Means for Solving the Problems

The invention of claim 1 is a catching toy including a target; a main body which can be held one-handed and includes a catching unit to catch the target by approaching or touching the target; and a string made of a non-stretchable material, the string in which a base end of the string is fastened to the main body and a top end of the string is fastened to a hand of a player, wherein the main body is thrown at the target by the player in order to catch the target with the top end of the string fastened to the hand of the player, and wherein the main body further includes internally: a reel rotatable around a predetermined shaft, the reel to which the base end of the string is fastened, and which winds the string by rotating in one direction and extends the string by rotating in the other direction; and a flat spiral spring in which one end of the flat spiral spring is fastened to the predetermined shaft and the other end of the flat spiral spring is fastened to the reel, the flat spiral spring maintaining the reel at an initial position where the string is wound around the reel in order that the main body be in the hand of the player with the top end of the string fastened to the hand of the player, and when the main body is thrown by the player with the top end of the string fastened to the hand of the player, temporarily allowing the reel to rotate in the other direction and then retuning the reel to the initial position.

The invention of claim 2 is the catching toy according to claim 1, wherein the catching unit is disposed in the main body in order to move toward the outside of a case of the main body and move back, and is given force by a spring, the force to move toward the outside of the case.

The invention of claim 3 is the catching toy according to claim 1, wherein the catching unit is disposed in a holder; and the holder is loosely fitted into a hole of a case of the main body in order to move toward the outside of the case, move back, and tilt, and is given force by a spring, the force to move toward the outside of the case.

The invention of claim 4 is the catching toy according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the catching unit is a permanent magnet to catch the target by magnetic force.

The invention of claim 5 is the catching toy according to claim 4, wherein the target includes: a magnetic material to be attracted to the permanent magnet; and a rib made of a non-magnetic material and set upright around the magnetic material to hinder the permanent magnet from approaching or touching the magnetic material from a predetermined direction. A plurality of the ribs may exist in such a way that the magnetic material is encircled, or one or more of the rib may exist in a part of the circumference of the magnetic material.

The invention of claim 6 is the catching toy according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

The invention of claim 7 is the catching toy according to claim 6, wherein the looped hand insertion section includes a movable adjuster to adjust the size of the looped hand insertion section.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION

According to the invention of claim 1, when the main body is thrown, the string is temporarily extended and the extended string is pulled back into the main body thereafter by the reel which winds the string and the flat spiral spring which controls the rotation of the reel working together. As a result, the main body is definitely returned into the hand of the player. Therefore a catching toy with excellent usability can be obtained.

According to the invention of claim 2, the shock when the catching unit hits the target and the like can be reduced by the spring, and as a result, durability of the catching toy can be increased.

According to the invention of claim 3, the target can be definitely caught even when the main body is thrown at the target from an oblique direction.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the target is caught by magnetic force, the structure of the catching toy can be simple, and as a result, the catching toy can be provided at a low price.

According to the invention of claim 5, since the direction in which the main body is thrown in order to attract the target by the permanent magnet is controlled by the presence of the rib, variety is added to the play using the control toy.

According to the invention of claims 6 and 7, since the fastening unit including the looped finger insertion section and the looped hand insertion section is disposed at the top end of the string, the top end of the string can be definitely fastened to the player.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view conceptually showing a catching toy in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of the catching toy of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing how to use a strap of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of how to play with the catching toy of the present invention.

 BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

In the following, an embodiment of the catching toy of the present invention will be described referring to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a catching toy, and FIG. 2 is a cross-section view of a main body.

A catching toy 1 includes a main body 1, a string 40 which is non-stretchable, and a target 50 which is made separately from the main body 10. The main body 10 includes a catching unit 11 to catch the target 50.

In the catching toy 1, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the main body 10 is thrown at the target 50 by a player with one end of the string 40 fastened to a hand of the player, and the catching unit 11 of the catching toy 1 approaches or touches the target 50, so that the target 50 is caught.

In the following, the details of the catching toy 1 will be described.

The main body 10 is nearly oval in shape as a whole. A case 12 of the main body 10 is composed of a front end case 13 and a main case 14. Hereinafter, the front is a surface which faces the target 50 when the player holds the main body 10 to play, and the rear is a surface which touches the palm of the player.

The main case 14 is composed of two case pieces 14a. The two case pieces 14a are combined by engaging male screws 15 with female screws 16 of one of the case pieces 14a through screw holes of the other of the case pieces 14a, respectively. Accordingly, the main case 14 is formed. The two case pieces 14a have the same shape except for the above-mentioned parts which are related to the screws.

The front end surface of the main case 14 is flat, and a large circular hole 17 is formed therein. The front end case 13 is attached to the front end surface of the main case 14 by gluing, screwing, fusion, or the like.

A small circular hole 18 is formed at the rear end of the main case 14.

The inside of the case 12 is divided by a division plate 19 so as to form two rooms. The division plate 19 is formed in the two case pieces 14a of the main case 14.

A flat spiral spring unit 20 is accommodated and fastened in one of the two rooms which is located at the rear. The catching unit 11 is in the other room.

The structure of the flat spiral spring unit 20 is as follows. A shaft 22 is fastened in a case 21 of the flat spiral spring unit 20. A reel 23 is fitted with the shaft 22 to be rotatable. A flat spiral spring 24 is accommodated in the reel 23. One end of the flat spiral spring 24 is fastened (fixed) to the shaft 22, and the other end thereof is fastened (fixed) to an inner circumferential surface of the reel 23. As a result, when the reel 23 rotates in one direction, the flat spiral spring 24 is wound up, and when the reel 23 rotates in the other direction, the wounded-up flat spiral spring 24 is unwound.

In a normal condition, the flat spiral spring 24 maintains the reel 23 at an initial poison where the string 40 is wound around the reel 23 in order that the main body 10 be held by a hand of a player with a top end of the string 40 fastened to the hand of the player. When the main body 10 is thrown by the player with the top end of the string 40 fastened to the hand of the player, the flat spiral spring 24 temporarily allows the reel 23 to rotate in the other direction, and then returns the reel 23 to the initial position.

One end (base end) of the string 40 is fastened (fixed) to the reel 23. The string 40 is led to the outside of the case 21 through a hole 25 of the case 21, and then to the outside of the case 12 through the hole 18 of the case 12. The string 40 in which the base end is fastened to the reel 23 can be wound around the reel 23 when the reel 23 rotates in the one direction, and can be extended from the reel 23 when the reel 23 rotates in the other direction.

A fastening unit 41 is disposed at the top end of the string 40. The fastening unit 41 is composed of a strap 42. The strap 42 is connected to the string 40 via a connecter 43. That is to say, the connecter 43 has a hole 43a, and is fastened to the string 40. In the embodiment, the strap 42 is connected to the string 40 via the connecter 43. However, the strap 42 may be directly connected to the top end of the string 40.

Next, the structure of the strap 42 will be described. The strap 42 includes a looped finger insertion section 44 to insert a finger of the player and a looped hand insertion section 45 to insert a hand of the player. The looped finger insertion section 44 is formed by connecting both ends of a relatively short string to a connecter 46. The looped hand insertion section 45 is formed by connecting both ends of a relatively long string to the connecter 46. The looped hand insertion section 45 includes a movable adjuster 47 to adjust the size of the looped hand insertion section 45. The movable adjuster 47 is not essential. In the embodiment, the looped finger insertion section 44 and the looped hand insertion section 45 are formed by using the strap 42. However, as long as the looped finger insertion section 44 and the looped hand insertion section 45 are formed, the looped finger insertion section 44 and the looped hand insertion section 45 may be formed by making a knot with the string 40 itself, or may be formed by using not the string 40 but another string and connecting the string to the string 40.

The strap 42 is connected to the string 40 by inserting the looped finger insertion section 44 into the hole 43a of the connecter 43, and then by inserting the looped hand insertion section 45 into a loop formed by the looped finger insertion section 44 which is projected from the hole 43a.

The string 40 is fastened to a hand of a player, as shown in FIG. 3, by placing the strap 42 on the back of the hand of the player, inserting the hand of the player into the looped hand insertion section 45 and the index finger or the middle finger of the hand of the player into the looped finger insertion section 44, and then moving the movable adjuster 47 in a direction which makes the looped hand insertion section 45 smaller, for example.

Next, the catching unit 11 will be described. The catching unit 11 is composed of a permanent magnet 26. The permanent magnet 26 is accommodated in a holder 27 which is cylindrical and has the bottom. The permanent magnet 26 is always given force to move forward by a coil spring 29 via a disc 28. The coil spring 29 is for absorbing the shock when the catching unit 11 hits the target 50.

A flange 30 which functions as a stopper is formed at the verge of an opening of the holder 27. The holder 27 is projected forward from the hole 13a of the front end case 13, and the flange 30 touches the verge of the hole 13a on the back. The holder 27 is loosely fitted into the hole 13a, so that the holder 27 can tilt within the hole 13a. Consequently, the front end surface of the holder 27 can touch the target 50 and the target 50 is caught even when the main body 10 is thrown at the target 50 from an oblique direction.

Next, the target 50 will be described. The target 50 includes a magnetic material 51 such as an iron plate or a permanent magnet. The target 50 except the magnetic material 51 is made of a non-magnetic material. The target 50 also includes a rib 52 which is disposed on the top surface of the target 50 in a radial direction. The reason why the rib 52 is provided is to practically reduce an attracting surface of the magnetic material 51, namely, not to attract the target 50 when the main body 10 is thrown from obliquely above in a direction where the rib 52 which acts as an obstacle exists. By changing the length or the width of the rib 52, or the number of the ribs 52, difficulty of catching the target 50 can be changed. The target 50 is not limited to a two-dimensional target, and a three-dimensional target such as a miniature of an animal may be used. The ribs 52 may be disposed in such a way that the magnetic material 51 is encircled.

In the catching toy 1, the string 40 is wound around the reel 23 of the case 12 of the main body 10 to the maximum by the flat spiral spring 24 in the normal condition (not-in-use condition).

To play a game, the target 50 is placed, for example, on a mat 60, a hand of a player and a finger thereof are inserted into the looped hand insertion section 45 of the strap 42 and the looped finger insertion section 44 thereof, respectively, and the main body 10 is lightly held by hand.

Then, the main body 10 is thrown at the target 50. When the holder 27 which covers the permanent magnet 26 of the main body 10 touches the target 50, the permanent magnet 26 is attracted to the target 50 by magnetic force. Thereafter, the string 40 of the main body 10 which catches the target 50 is wound around the reel 23 by biasing force which is given by the flat spiral spring 24, and the main body 10 is returned into the hand of the player accordingly.

In the embodiment, the catching unit 11 catches the target 50 by magnetic force. Instead, the catching unit 11 may catch the target by adhesion. Furthermore, like the invention of the related art mentioned above, the catching unit 11 may catch the target 50 by clutching when the catching unit 11 hits the target 50.

Moreover, by displaying a point or a picture of an animal on the top surface of the target 50 which is caught, various games become available, so that the catching toy can be more fun to play with.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The catching toy of the present invention is applicable in the field of a catching toy having a target, a main body which can be held one-handed and has a catching unit to catch the target by touching the target, and an elastic in which one end of the elastic is fastened to a hand of a player and the other end of the elastic is fastened to the main body.

EXPLANATIONS OF NUMERALS

    • 1 catching toy
    • 10 main body
    • 11 catching unit
    • 20 flat spiral spring unit
    • 22 shaft
    • 23 reel
    • 24 flat spiral spring
    • 26 permanent magnet
    • 27 holder
    • 42 strap
    • 44 looped finger insertion section
    • 45 looped hand insertion section
    • 47 movable adjuster
    • 50 target
    • 51 magnetic material
    • 52 rib

Claims

1-7. (canceled)

8. A catching toy comprising:

a target;
a main body to be held;
a string made of a non-stretchable material, a base end of the string attached to the main body and a top end of the string being received by a hand of a player,
wherein the main body includes— a catching unit to catch the target by approaching or touching the target, a reel rotatable around a shaft, the reel receiving the base end of the string, and winding the string by rotating in one direction and extending the string by rotating in the other direction, and a flat spiral spring, one end of which is fastened to the shaft and another end of which is fastened to the reel, the flat spiral spring maintaining the reel at an initial position where the string is wound around the reel in order that the main body be in the hand of the player with the top end of the string fastened to the hand of the player, and when the main body is thrown by the player with the top end of the string fastened to the hand of the player, temporarily allowing the reel to rotate in the other direction and then retuning the reel to the initial position, and
wherein the main body is thrown at the target by the player in order to catch the target with the top end of the string fastened to the hand of the player.

9. The catching toy according to claim 8, wherein the catching unit is disposed in the main body in order to move toward the outside of a case of the main body and move back, and is given force by a spring to move toward the outside of the case.

10. The catching toy according to claim 8,

wherein the catching unit is disposed in a holder and the holder is loosely fitted into a hole of a case of the main body in order to move toward the outside of the case, move back, and tilt, and is given force by a spring to move toward the outside of the case.

11. The catching toy according to claim 8, wherein the catching unit includes a permanent magnet to catch the target by magnetic force.

12. The catching toy according to claim 11, wherein the target includes:

a magnetic material to be attracted to the permanent magnet; and
a rib made of a non-magnetic material and set upright around the magnetic material to hinder the permanent magnet from approaching or touching the magnetic material from a predetermined direction.

13. The catching toy according to any one of claim 8, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

14. The catching toy according to any one of claim 9, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

15. The catching toy according to any one of claim 10, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

16. The catching toy according to any one of claim 11, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

17. The catching toy according to any one of claim 12, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

18. The catching toy according to any one of claim 13, wherein a fastening unit is disposed at the top end of the string, the fastening unit including: a looped finger insertion section to insert a finger of the player; and a looped hand insertion section to insert the hand of the player, the looped hand insertion section disposed further than the looped finger insertion section from the top end of the string.

19. The catching toy according to claim 13, wherein the looped hand insertion section includes a movable adjuster to adjust a size of the looped hand insertion section.

Patent History
Publication number: 20110070983
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 21, 2009
Publication Date: Mar 24, 2011
Applicant: TOMY COMPANY, LTD. (Tokyo)
Inventor: Shindo Yukihiro ( Tokyo)
Application Number: 12/452,962
Classifications
Current U.S. Class: Player Held Or Worn Means For Enhancing Movement Of Projected Projectile (e.g., A Handheld, Ball-curving Assist Means, Etc.) (473/615)
International Classification: A63B 71/00 (20060101);