Two-wheeled running toy
A two-wheeled running toy 100 such as a bicycle toy 110 in which a flywheel 165 is provided on a rear wheel 161, pedals 145 can rotate, and a rear wheel shaft 162 which rotates together with the rear wheel 161 and a pedal pulley 147 are connected to each other by means of a belt 147, whereby the pedal pulley 147 ad the pedals 145 rotate in synchronism with the rotation of the rear wheel 161, the two-wheeled running toy 100 having attached to a saddle portion 135 a rider figure 210 in which upper leg portions 231 of the rider figure 210 are attached rotationally to a lower end of a torso portion 215 of the rider figure, lower leg portions 235 of the rider figure are attached rotationally to the upper leg portions 231, and foot portions 237 of the rider figure are fixed to the pedals 145, whereby, when the rear wheel 161 rotates, the pedals 145 are caused to rotate by the belt 147, so that the leg portions of the rider figure move together with the pedals 145 in such a manner that the leg portions of the rider figure 210 performs pedal operating motions.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a running toy having a flywheel and more particularly to a running toy which can run on front and rear wheels without having auxiliary wheels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, there have been provided various types of toys in the form of a bicycle or motorcycle which runs on front and rear wheels by making use of the shaft stability of a flywheel resulting when the flywheel rotates at high speeds.
In many of these two-wheeled running toys, not only is the toy maintained in a standing state by virtue of the rotation of the flywheel, but also the toy is made to run by rotating the wheels by virtue of the rotation of the flywheel.
Furthermore, as shown in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 62-139580, not only is the toy made to run by means of the flywheel but also the toy is devised such that sparks are assumed to be emitted from an engine portion thereof by making use of the flywheel. Moreover, since the flywheel is placed closer to one of side walls which are made to look like an engine cover, when the rotational speed of the flywheel decreases, the body of the toy slightly inclines so as to run on a curved course.
In addition, as shown in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 58-86192, there has been proposed a two-wheeled running toy having protruding portions which are formed into a muffler shape and which protrude rearward on both sides of a rear wheel and a flywheel which is incorporated in the rear wheel, wherein not only is the toy allowed to run on the front and rear two wheels by maintaining the rotation of the rear wheel but also the toy is allowed to run on the rear wheel only by bringing rear ends of the protruding portions and the rear wheel into contact the ground with the front wheel being raised off the ground (a wheelie run).
Note that, as shown in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 58-86192, in these two-wheeled running toys, the fly wheel is not always designed to rotate by moving such a two-wheeled toy with the hand of a player with the rear wheel thereof in contact with the ground. Namely, there has been a two-wheeled running toy having a pinion gear adapted for rotating together with a rear wheel, wherein a flywheel is allowed to rotate at high speeds by causing the rear wheel of the two-wheeled toy to rotate when the player pulls a rack belt which is a belt having a toothed portion in a surface thereof in a state in which the rack belt is made to mesh with the pinion gear at the toothed portion thereof.
Furthermore, as shown in the Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 3-18894, there has been proposed a two-wheeled running toy having a pinion gear adapted for rotating together with a rear wheel of the toy and a launcher for rotating the pinion gear at high speeds, so that the player can rotate a flywheel at high speeds more easily.
As has been described heretofore, the two-wheeled running toys each having the flywheel are toys which are relatively simple in structure, and hence the toys can be produced easily and provided inexpensively. However, there has been a drawback that unless the toys are novel and can show interests to players, the players get tired of playing with them in a short period of time, and hence the product worthiness decreases.
The present invention was made to eliminate the drawback, and an object thereof is to provide a two-wheeled running toy which can exhibit interesting operations with a mechanism that has never existed before.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONWith a view to attaining the object, according to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a bicycle toy 110 in which a pedal pulley 147 and pedals 145 are rotated by virtue of the rotation of a rear wheel 161 by providing a flywheel 165 on the rear wheel 161, mounting the pedal pulley 147 and pedal cranks 144 on a crankshaft 143, mounting the pedals 145 on the pedal cranks 144, rotationally supporting the crankshaft 143 on a bottom bracket member 141 and providing a belt 171 in such a manner as to expand between a rear wheel shaft 162 which rotates together with the rear wheel 161 and the pedal pulley 147, the bicycle toy 110 having mounted on a saddle thereof a rider figure 210 in which upper leg portions 231 of the rider figure 210 are rotationally attached to a torso portion 215 of the rider figure 210 at a lower end thereof, lower leg portions 235 of the rider figure 210 are rotationally attached to the upper leg portions 231, and foot portions 237 of the rider figure 210 are fixed to the pedals 145, whereby, when the rear wheel 161 rotates, the pedals 145 are rotated by means of the belt 171, so that the leg portions of the rider figure 210 move in such a manner as to operate the pedals 145.
In addition, according to a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a bicycle toy 110 as set forth in the first aspect of the invention, wherein a rear fork member 151 is attached near the bottom bracket member 141 in such a manner as to swing, whereby the rear fork member 151 is caused to swing by means of a spring 185 so as to move the rear wheel 161 vertically.
Furthermore, according to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a two-wheeled running toy 100 as set forth in the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein a front fork member 117 and a handlebar member 125 of the bicycle toy 110 are attached rotationally relative to a body top member 111, wherein the arm portions of the rider figure 210 are attached rotationally to shoulder positions of the torso portion 215, wherein rotating joints are provided at an elbow and a wrist of the arm portion, and wherein distal portions of hands 228 of the rider figure 210 are fixed to end portions of the handlebar member 125.
Thus, by attaching rotationally the arm portions to the torso portion 215 and providing the joints at the elbow and the wrist of the arm portion in such a manner that the arm portion rotates at the elbow and the wrist thereof, the handlebar member 125 can be rotated even if the distal portions of the hands of the rider figure 210 are fixed to the handlebar.
The two-wheeled running toy 100 according to the invention runs on the two wheels by virtue of the rotational force of the flywheel 165, and in the two-wheeled running toy 100, the pedals 145 rotate as the rear wheel 161 rotates, and the leg portions of the rider figure 210 operate so that the rider figure 210 performs pedal operating motions.
Consequently, the running of a bicycle can be reproduced more specifically, thereby making it possible to provide interesting plays.
In addition, in the two-wheeled toy according to the invention, since the rear wheel 161 is allowed to move vertically by means of the spring 185, even if there are some irregularities on a running surface, the two-wheeled running toy 100 runs on the two wheels by eliminating a risk that the running balance of the two-wheeled running toy 100 is lost.
Furthermore, in the two-wheeled running toy 100 according to the invention, since the handlebar and the arm portions are made to move, the player can play with the two-wheeled running toy 100 ridden by the rider by changing the direction of the handlebar thereof.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
As shown in
Then, a rider figure 210 which rides on the bicycle toy 110 is detachably fixed to a saddle member 135 of the bicycle toy 110 at a lower end of a torso portion 215 of the rider
The two-wheeled running toy 100 according to the invention is, as shown in
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, this bicycle toy 110 has a front wheel 121 attached to a front wheel shaft 122 provided at a lower end of a front fork member 117 in such a manner as to freely rotate relative to the front wheel shaft 122. This front fork member 117 is rotationally attached to a front end of a body top member 111. Then, a pipe-like handlebar member 125 is substantially horizontally attached to an upper end of the front fork member 117 via a handlebar stem member 127.
Then, a frame of the bicycle toy 110 is made up of a front frame and a rear frame. This front frame is made up of the body top member 111, a down tube member 113 and a support tube member 115. The rear frame is made up of a rear fork member 151, an upper fork member 155 and a link bar 153. The front frame has a bottom bracket member 141 at a lower end of the rod-like support tube member 115 which inclines to extend downwardly from a rear end of the rod-like body top member 111 which is disposed in a longitudinal direction in a slightly inclined fashion, and the front end of the body top member 111 and the lower end of the support tube member 115 are connected by the rod-like down tube member 113, whereby the front frame is constructed so as to have a truss structure. Furthermore, a rod-like extending portion 131 protrudes rearward from a rear end of the body top member 111, and a cylindrical seat post member 133 protrudes upwardly in an inclined fashion from a rear end of the extending portion 131, and a saddle member 135 which is formed into the shape of a saddle is provided at an upper end of the seat post member 133.
Note that the saddle member 135 has a saddle projection 137 which is a projecting body to which the torso portion 215 of the rider figure 210 is fixed.
In addition, a cylindrical crankshaft 143 is freely rotationally passed through the bottom bracket member 141, and the crankshaft 143 has a pedal crank 144 at one end and a pulley on the other end thereof as a pedal pulley 147.
Then, a pedal shaft 146 is provided at a distal end of the pedal crank 144. A pedal 145 is attached to the pedal shaft 146 in such a manner as to freely rotate relative to the pedal shaft 146. In addition, a crank member 148 which simulates the pedal crank 144 is fixed to the pedal pulley 147. A pedal shaft 146 is provided at a distal end of the crank member 148. A pedal 145 is attached to the pedal shaft 146 in such a manner as to freely rotate relative to the pedal shaft 146.
Note that the left and right pedals 145 are provided in a symmetrical fashion relative to the crankshaft 143. The left and right pedals 145 have projecting bodies as pedal projections 149 for attaching the foot portions 237 of the rider figure 210 thereto, which will be described later on.
Furthermore, the bottom bracket member 141 has a rear fork attaching portion. The rear fork member 151 of the rear frame is attached to the rear fork attaching portion by means of a fork attaching pin 157. This rear fork member 151 is formed into a rod-like shape, and the rear frame has the rod-like link bar 153 which extends rearward and upwardly from a front end of the rear fork member 151, and the rod-like upper fork member 155 connects an upper end of the link bar 153 with a rear end of the rear fork member 151, whereby the rear frame is constructed so as to have a triangular truss structure. This rear frame is connected to the front frame by attaching the rear fork member 151 to the bottom bracket member 141 via the fork attaching pin 157 in such a manner as to swing relative to the bottom bracket member 141.
Then, a rear wheel shaft 162 is rotationally attached to the rear end of the rear fork member 151, so that the rear wheel 161 which incorporates therein the flywheel 165 is supported in such a manner as to freely rotate.
In addition, a cushion support portion 181 is formed near an upper end of the support tube member 115 of the front frame, and a rod-like cushion bar 183 is made to protrude rearward and downwardly in an inclined fashion from the cushion support portion 181. A distal end of the cushion bar 183 passes through a through hole formed near an upper end of the link bar 153. Then, a helical spring which functions as a spring 185 is disposed around the periphery of the cushion bar 183.
Due to this, when the upper end of the link bar 153 approaches the cushion support portion 181 by swinging the rear frame so as to raise the rear end of the rear fork, the spring 185 is compressed, whereby the spring 185 prevents the contact of the upper end of the link bar 153 to the cushion support portion 181 and the contact of a distal end of the cushion bar 183 to the rear wheel 161.
In addition, the rear fork attaching portion has a protruding portion which is brought into contact with the front end of the rear fork member 151 when the rear end of the rear fork member 151 rotates and lowers downwardly to a predetermined position relative to the support tube member 115 and the down tube member 113. Due to this, a descent of the rear end of the rear fork member 151 lower than the predetermined position is prevented by the protruding portion, whereby there occurs no risk that the cushion bar 183 is dislocated from the through hole formed in the upper end of the link bar 153.
Then, the rear wheel 161 is formed into the shape of a tire having a disc wheel by attaching a synthetic resin around the periphery of the flywheel 165 which is a thick disc of a lead alloy. In addition, the rear wheel shaft 162 made of a metallic rod is passed through the center of the rear wheel 161 so that the rear wheel shaft 162 rotates together with the rear wheel 161, and this rear wheel shaft 162 is rotationally attached to the rear end of the rear fork member 151.
Furthermore, the rubber belt 171 is provided so as to expend between the rear wheel shaft 162 and the pedal pulley 147, so that the pedals 145 rotate as the rear wheel 161 rotates.
In addition, the rear wheel 161 has a small-diameter gearwheel 167 which rotates together with the rear wheel shaft 162, so that the small-diameter gearwheel is brought into mesh engagement with a gearwheel of a launcher 300, which will be described later on, so as to facilitate the high-speed rotation of the rear wheel 161.
Note that, as is shown in
Then, the rider figure 210 is formed into the shape of a human being provided with a head portion 211, a torso portion 215, arm portions and leg portions. The arm portion is made up of an upper arm portion 221, a lower arm portion 223, a wrist portion 227 and distal portions of a hand 228. The upper arm portion 221 is rotationally attached to a shoulder position of the torso portion 215 via a shoulder portion pin 217. An upper arm distal end ball 222 is provided at a distal end of the upper arm portion 221 so as to form a ball joint. The lower arm portion 223 is attached to the upper arm portion 221 via this ball joint. A lower arm distal end ball 224 is provided at a distal end of the lower arm portion 223 so as to form a ball joint. The wrist portion 227 is attached to the lower arm portion 223 via this ball joint. The distal portion of the hand 228 is formed into a shape in which it grips the handlebar and has inside a recessed hole into which an end portion of the cylindrical handlebar member 125 is inserted.
In addition, the leg portion is also made up of an upper leg portion 231 and a lower leg portion 235. The upper leg portion 231 is rotationally attached to one of waist portion pins 219 provided on left- and right-hand side of the lower end of the torso portion 215 at an upper end thereof. An upper end of the lower leg portion 235 is rotationally attached to a knee portion pin 233 provided at a distal end of the upper leg portion 231. A foot portion 237 which is formed into the shape of the foot is formed at a distal end of the lower leg portion 235.
Note that a foot fixing hole is formed in a bottom surface of the foot portion 235 so that the pedal projection 149 is inserted thereinto. A waist portion fixing hole is formed in the lower end of the torso portion 215 so that the saddle projection 137 is inserted thereinto.
In this rider
The pedals 145 are made to freely rotate about the crankshaft 143 relative to the bottom bracket member 141. Then, the pedals 145 rotate in synchronism with the rotation of the rear wheel 161 by connecting the pedal pulley 147 which is made to be an integral part of the crankshaft 143 to the rear wheel shaft 162 with the belt 171. In addition, the lower leg portion 235 is made to freely rotate relative to the upper leg portion 231 via a knee portion pin 233, and the upper leg portion 231 is made to freely rotate relative to the lower end of the torso portion 215 via the waist portion pin 219. Due to this, when the rear wheel 161 rotates, the foot portions 237 of the rider figure 210 perform rotating motions in synchronism with the motions of the pedals 145, and hence, with the two-wheeled running toy 100 according to the present invention 100, the pedal operating motions of the rider can be reproduced.
In addition, when the distal portions of the hands 228 are fixed to the handlebar member 125 by inserting the end portions of the handlebar member 125 into the respective recessed holes in the distal portions of the hands 228, the rider figure 210 and the bicycle toy 110 can be integrated into a single unit, whereby a state can be reproduced in which the rider rides on the bicycle. Then, since the the upper ends of the lower arm portions 223 and the wrist portions 227 are constructed so as to incorporate therein the ball joints, respectively, and the upper ends of the upper arm portions 221 are attached to the shoulder positions of the torso portion 215 via the shoulder portion pins 217, when the handlebar is rotated, the handlebar and the wrist portions are allowed to move together. Due to this, with the two-wheeled running toy 100, a situation can be reproduced in which the rider operates the handlebar.
Consequently, with the two-wheeled running toy 100, the player can play with the toy by rotating the handlebar member 125 leftward and rightward while imaging a running condition of the bicycle. In addition, when the rear wheel 161 is rotated, the player can play with the toy by reproducing the pedal operating motions of the rider. Furthermore, the player can also play with the toy by allowing the two-wheeled running toy 100 to run by virtue of the inertia of the flywheel 165 by rotating the rear wheel 161 at high speeds.
Then, in this two-wheeled running toy 100, the rear frame is constructed so as to swing relative to the front frame, and as shown in
Note that when attempting to run this two-wheeled running toy 100, the player can rotate the rear wheel 161 at high speeds by utilizing a launcher 300 shown in
This launcher 300 includes a main body portion 310 including, in turn, a base portion 311 at which the launcher 300 is placed n the floor and a rear wheel accommodating portion 315 for accommodating therein the rear wheel 161 of the two-wheeled running toy 100, a grip portion 321 for fixing the main body portion 310 to the floor and a rack belt 325 for rotating the rear wheel 161 of the two-wheeled running toy 100.
Note that a finger locating portion 326 is formed on a base portion of the rack belt 325, so that, as will be described later on, the rack belt 325 can be pulled out easily and quickly when the rack 325 is attempted to be pulled out of a belt pass-through hole 319 formed in the main body portion 310.
The grip portion 321 is a rod-like body having a semi-circular cross section and is detachably attached to the main body portion 310. In addition, the grip portion 321 is formed into a shape which facilitates the fixing of the main body portion 310 and the grip portion 321 itself so that they do not move on the floor by pressing the grip portion 321 against the floor from above with the palm of the hand when placing the grip portion 321 on the main body portion 310.
Then, the main body portion 310 has a slope 321 at a distal end of the base portion 311, so that the two-wheeled running toy 100 placed on the base portion 311 can smoothly run down to the floor from the base portion 310 via the slope 321. Furthermore, the main body portion 310 has left and right side walls 316 near a rear end of the base portion 311 so as to form the rear wheel accommodating portion 315.
Rear wheel shaft support portions 317 are provided on the left and right side walls 316 on which end portions of the rear wheel shaft 162 of the two-wheeled running toy 100 are placed.
The rear wheel shaft support portion 317 is such as to be formed in providing a cut which opens to the front of the side wall 316, and a lower end of the cut is made to be the rear wheel shaft support portion 317 which is parallel to a bottom surface of the base portion 311. The longitudinal length of the rear wheel shaft support portion 317 is short, and an inclined portion 318 is provided at a front end of the rear wheel shaft support portion 317.
Note that the height of the rear wheel shaft support portion 317 is made to be a height which allow the rear wheel 161 to be supported in a state in which the rear wheel 161 floats slightly float from a bottom portion of the rear wheel accommodating portion 315 when the end portions of the rear wheel shaft 162 of the two-wheeled running toy 100 are placed in the left and right rear wheel shaft support portions 317.
In addition, a pinion gear, which is not shown, and a large-diameter gearwheel having a diameter larger than that of the pinion gear are provided coaxially on one of the side walls 316 in such a manner as to rotate together. The large-diameter gearwheel is adapted to be brought into mesh engagement with the small-diameter gearwheel 167 provided on the rear wheel shaft 162 when the rear wheel 161 of the two-wheeled running toy 100 is accommodated in the rear wheel accommodating portion 315 with the rear wheel shaft 162 being supported on the rear wheel shaft support portions 317.
Then, the side wall 316 in which the pinion gear and the large-diameter gearwheel are provided has a certain thickness that can incorporate therein the pinion gear. In addition, the side wall 316 has the belt pass-through hole 319 which allows the rack belt 325 to pass therethrough. The belt pass-through hole 319 is constructed such that, when the rack belt 325 is passed through the belt pass-through hole 319, a toothed portion of the rack belt 325 is brought into mesh engagement with the pinion gear.
Consequently, when the rack belt 325 is inserted from the rear of the belt pass-through hole 319, the rack belt 325 can be pushed thereinto to the base portion thereof while rotatig the pinion gear, which is not shown, and the large-diameter gearwheel. Thereafter, the launcher 300 is placed on the floor, and the both ends of the rear wheel shaft 162 of the two-wheeled running toy 100 are supported at the rear wheel shaft support portion 317 in such a manner that the rear wheel 161 o the two-wheeled running toy 100 I accommodated in the rear wheel accommodating portion 315, so that the two-wheeled running toy 100 is allowed to stand erectly. Then, when the rack belt 325 is pulled out to the rear, the pinion gear and the large-diameter gearwheel rotate, whereby the small-diameter gearwheel 167 which meshes with the large-diameter gearwheel and the flywheel 165 which is made to be the integral part of the small-diameter gearwheel 167 can be rotated at high speeds.
Then, since the longitudinal length of the rear wheel shaft support portions 317 is short, the rear wheel shaft 162 is dislocated from the rear wheel shaft support portions 317 due to slight vibrations of the launcher 300 which would result when the rack belt 325 is pulled out. In the launcher 300, since the rear wheel shaft support portions 317 have the inclined portions 318 at the front ends thereof, respectively, the rear wheel shaft 162 starts to slide forward and downwardly along the inclined portions 318 once it is dislocated from the rear wheel shaft support portions 317.
Due to this, the rear wheel 161 o the two-wheeled running toy 100 comes into contact with the bottom portion of the rear wheel accommodating portion, whereby the two-wheeled running toy 100 starts to run on the base portion 311. Then, the two-wheeled running toy 100 runs further to reach the floor and then runs on the floor by making the rear wheel 161 continue to rotate by virtue of the inertial of the flywheel 165. As this occurs, the pedals 145 and the leg portions of the rider figure 210 are made to rotate in synchronism with the running of the two-wheeled running toy 100, whereby the two-wheeled running toy 100 runs on the floor while the rider is performing the pedal operating motions.
Consequently, the two-wheeled running toy 100 can easily be made to run on a plane such as the floor in the event that the launcher is utilized.
Note that not only are the end portions of the rear wheel shat 162 of the bicycle toy 110 allowed to protrude transversely of the rear fork after passing through the rear form member 151, but also support projections 169 are formed near the rear end of the rear fork member 151 for covering the ends of the rear wheel shaft 162 in such a manner as to hide the ends behind the support projections 169 so formed. As this occurs, the support projections 169 are placed on the rear wheel shaft support portions 317 so as to be combined with the launcher 300 to thereby allow the two-wheeled running toy 100 to stand erectly.
In addition, the rider figure 210 is not limited to the shape of the human being but may be formed into the shape of an animal having arms and legs.
The two-wheeled running toy 100 is a combination of the bicycle toy 110 and the rider
Claims
1. A two-wheeled running toy such as a bicycle toy in which a flywheel is provided on a rear wheel attached to a rear end of a rear fork member, which rear fork member is coupled to an upper fork member and a link bar to form a rear frame having a triangular truss structure, a crankshaft to which pedals and a pedal pulley are attached is supported rotationally by means of a bottom bracket member, and a rear wheel shaft which rotates together with the rear wheel and the pedal pulley are connected to each other by means of a belt, whereby the pedals rotate as the rear wheel rotates, the two-wheeled running toy having attached to a saddle of the bicycle toy a rider figure in which upper leg portions of the rider figure are attached rotationally to a lower end of a torso portion of the rider figure, lower leg portions of the rider figure are attached rotationally to the upper leg portions, and foot portions of the rider figure are fixed to the pedals, whereby, when the rear wheel rotates, the pedals are caused to rotate by the belt, so that the leg portions of the rider figure move in such a manner that the leg portions of the rider figure performs pedal operating motions, wherein in the bicycle toy the rear fork member is attached near the bottom bracket member in such a manner as to swing, whereby the rear frame is allowed to swing by means of a spring so as to move the rear wheel vertically.
2. (canceled)
3. A two-wheeled running toy as set forth in claim 1, wherein the front fork member and a handlebar member of the bicycle toy are attached rotationally to a frame, wherein arm portions of the rider figure are attached rotationally to shoulder positions of the torso portion, wherein joints are provided at elbows and wrists of the arm portions for enabling the rotation thereat, and wherein distal portions of hands of the rider figure are fixed to end portions of the handlebar member.
Type: Application
Filed: Feb 17, 2004
Publication Date: Jul 28, 2005
Inventor: Toshio Sakai (Tokyo)
Application Number: 10/778,104
