MANUAL TRAVELING TOY
A manual traveling toy includes a toy body, at least one wheel that projects downward further than a bottom surface of the toy body, is in contact with a traveling surface, and rotates about an axle shaft, a swing part that is swung in directions about a swing vertical shaft supported at a rear end side position in a traveling direction of the toy body to apply external force to the toy body and move the toy body in directions that cross the traveling direction, and a rotation-swing converting mechanism that converts rotary movement of the at least one wheel into swinging movement of the swing part.
The present invention contains subject matter related to Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-074665 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 31, 2015, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a manual traveling toy, which includes a wheel and is caused to travel by being pushed and released by hand.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Examined Utility Model Registration Application Publication No. 7-37675 describes a traveling toy that includes a spring-loaded power source. Front wheels and rear wheels are attached to a body casing of the toy, which is formed in imitation of a goldfish for example, and the toy includes a caudal fin supported at the rear end of the body casing so as to be able to swing. When the wheels rotate and the toy travels through the driving force caused by the spring that has been wound up, the caudal fin is swung by the to-and-fro power based on the movement of an eccentric rotor plate. When the toy travels, in addition to the swing of the caudal fin, a tongue is caused to appear from and disappear into a mouth and two pectoral fins are swung.
As regards the above-described toy, while the caudal fin and the pectoral fins swing with respect to the body casing, the body casing itself, which is made in imitation of a goldfish, travels forward but has no other variations in the movements. When for example, a body casing shaped like a fish is used, merely swinging the caudal fin is insufficient to express more realistic swimming patterns of a fish.
BRIEF SUMMARYAccording to an aspect of the present disclosure, a manual traveling toy includes a toy body, at least one wheel that projects downward further than a bottom surface of the toy body, is in contact with a traveling surface, and rotates about an axle shaft, a swing part that is fixed to a swing vertical shaft supported at a rear end side position in a traveling direction of the toy body so that the swing part is swingable about the swing vertical shaft, and a rotation-swing converting mechanism that converts rotary movement of the at least one wheel into swinging movement of the swing part.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, the wheel may be heavier than the swing part, and when in a plan view, the swing part is at a position to which the swing part swings at maximum toward at least one side, a center of gravity of the swing part may be positioned outside a range of a width between outer edges positioned at both ends of a contact surface of the at least one wheel in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, a distance from the center of gravity of the swing part to the swing vertical shaft may be shorter than a distance from a position at which an entire length of the swing part is divided into equal lengths to the swing vertical shaft.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, in the plan view, the at least one wheel and part of the rotation-swing converting mechanism may be arranged side by side in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, the at least one wheel may include two wheels supported apart on an axis identical to the axle shaft and part of the rotation-swing converting mechanism is arranged between the two wheels.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, in the contact surface of the at least one wheel, a central portion of the width in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction may project further than the both ends.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, the at least one wheel may include a base and a covering material that covers the base and forms the contact surface, and frictional force caused between the covering material and an identical traveling surface is larger than frictional force caused between the base and the identical traveling surface.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a manual traveling toy includes a toy body, at least one wheel that projects downward further than a bottom surface of the toy body, is in contact with a traveling surface, and rotates about an axle shaft, a swing part that is fixed to a swing vertical shaft supported at a rear end side position in a traveling direction of the toy body so that the swing part is swingable about the swing vertical shaft, a rotation-swing converting mechanism that converts rotary movement of the at least one wheel into swinging movement of the swing part, and two sideward fall preventing members that in a plan view, project downward further than the bottom surface of the toy body by a first height and are positioned on both sides more outside than most outer surfaces of the at least one wheel, the most outer surfaces of the at least one wheel being positioned at both ends of the at least one wheel in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, the first height being smaller than a second height from a contact surface of the at least one wheel to the bottom surface of the toy body.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, the toy body may include a forward fall preventing member that in the plan view, projects downward further than the bottom surface at a position on a more front side than the at least one wheel in the traveling direction.
Further, in the manual traveling toy, the toy body may include a rearward fall preventing member that in the plan view, projects downward further than the bottom surface at a position on a more rear side than the at least one wheel in the traveling direction.
The aspects of the present disclosure provide a manual traveling toy that performs more interesting movements by giving variety to the movements of the toy body itself through the movements of the parts added to the toy body.
A preferred embodiment of the present disclosure is described in detail below. The present embodiment described below is not intended to improperly limit the contents of the present disclosure, which are recited in the claims, and it is not necessarily essential to include all the constituents described in the present embodiment as a solution according to the present disclosure.
When the manual traveling toy 10 according to the present embodiment is pushed and released by hand, the wheel 30 rotates and the manual traveling toy 10 travels in the traveling direction D1 in
In other words, according to the present embodiment, when the wheel 30 is rotated and a rotation-swing converting mechanism 50 causes the swing part 40 to perform the to-and-fro swinging movements in the directions A1 and B1, the swing part 40 applies external force to the toy body 20 in the directions in which the swing part 40 is caused to swing, that is, the swing part 40 energizes the toy body 20 in the direction in which the swing part 40 is swung, and the toy body 20 traveling is moved in the directions A2 and B2 that cross the traveling direction D1 or in the present embodiment, tilted. Thus, the manual traveling toy 10 that performs more interesting movements, such as movements that mimic how a fish swims, can be offered by giving variety to the movements of the toy body 20 itself through the movements of the swing part 40 added to the toy body 20.
The manual traveling toy 10 that performs such movements may include two sideward fall preventing members 20B and 20C that are positioned on both sides outside a width W of the wheel 30 in a direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction D1 in the plan view illustrated in
When the toy body 20 illustrated in
Particularly when the single wheel 30 illustrated in
The forward fall preventing member 20D is preferably provided to prevent the toy body 20 from falling forward when the toy body 20 is pushed and released by hand. However, particularly when the single wheel 30 illustrated in
The wheel 30 illustrated in
Part of the toy body 20, which is exposed in a region except an underside, is divided into for example, a head part 21, a left side part 22, and a right side part 23. The left side part 22 is provided with a left pectoral fin 22A and the right side part 23 is provided with a right pectoral fin 23A and a dorsal fin 23B.
Holding parts 24 and 25, which can be divided into two parts and are illustrated in
The rotation-swing converting mechanism 50 includes an eccentric cam 51 fixed to a side surface of the wheel 30 illustrated in
When the cam follower 52 is driven, the swing driving part 53 illustrated in
Described below are conditions for moving, or tilting in the present embodiment, the toy body 20, which is traveling, in the directions A2 and B2 that cross the traveling direction D1 by applying external force with the swing part 40 to the toy body 20 in the direction in which the swing part 40 is swung, that is, by energizing the toy body 20 with the swing part 40 in the direction in which the swing part 40 is swung with the rotation of the wheel 30.
Load that the wheel 30 receives from the swing part 40 during the travel is proportional to the weight (mass) of the swing part 40 and a distance L1, which is a distance from the center of gravity G of the swing part 40 to the swing vertical shaft 53A as illustrated in
When it is taken into account that the swing part 40 is typically formed of resin, the wheel 30 preferably employs a material heavier than the swing part 40, such as metal or a composite material that includes metal. The wheel 30 needs to ensure relatively large frictional force or grip, which occurs between the wheel 30 and the traveling surface 1. In view of the load that the wheel 30 receives from the swing part 40, when the frictional force is small, there is apprehension that the wheel 30 slides and stops rotating on the traveling surface 1, and as a result, the swing part 40 is no more able to swing. Particularly, since it is assumed that the traveling surface 1 is a slippery surface, such as a table surface or a floor surface, the material of the wheel 30 needs to be determined by taking both the weight and frictional force caused between the wheel 30 and the contact surface into account. Although in the present embodiment, the wheel 30 is formed of brass and the contact surface is processed so as to have a moderate surface roughness, this is a mere example and as described above, the material of the wheel is desirably determined by taking both the weight and frictional force caused between the wheel and the contact surface into account.
In the present embodiment, the swing part 40 easily applies the external force large enough to move the toy body 20 in the directions A2 and B2 that cross the traveling direction D1 to the toy body 20. Thus, in the plan view illustrated in
In the present embodiment, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
To allow the toy body 20 to move easily, that is, to allow the swing part 40 to energize the toy body 20 in the directions A2 and B2 that cross the traveling direction D1 using the external force to move or in the present embodiment, tilt the toy body 20 in the directions A2 and B2 that cross the traveling direction D1, the total weight of the toy body 20, the wheel 30, and the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50 needs to be small. In the present embodiment, the above-described total weight is made light by forming the parts other than the wheel 30 from resin.
The position of the vertical center line C2 of the wheel 30 illustrated in
A radius r of the wheel 30 may be determined by the relation with the weight of the swing part 40 and the travel distance per 360-degree turn of the wheel 30. Although the wheel 30 is desirably made as large as possible, if the wheel 30 is too heavy, the total weight of the manual traveling toy 10 is too large and the external force applied from the swing part 40, that is, the energization by the swing part 40 might fail to move the manual traveling toy 10 in the direction A2 or B2 so an upper limit of the radius r is set in relation to the weight of the wheel 30. While the width W of the wheel 30 may be made small so as to increase the radius r of the wheel 30 and reduce the weight of the wheel 30, a lower limit of the width W is also set so as to ensure stability in the sideward swing during the travel.
The radius r of the wheel 30 is determined in view of the travel distance per 360-degree turn of the wheel 30 in addition to the above. The travel distance per 360-degree turn of the wheel 30 can be indicated as 2πr. As described above, every time the wheel 30 turns substantially 360 degrees, the swing part 40 is swung in the directions A1 and B1 and performs one cycle of to-and-fro movement. If the travel distance 2πr per 360-degree turn of the wheel 30 is short, the toy body 20 performs one cycle of to-and-fro movement in the directions A2 and B2 every time the wheel 30 turns substantially 360 degrees, and the tilting movements are difficult to be visually recognized. Thus, the radius r of the wheel 30 is set so as to be larger than or equal to 9 mm and the travel distance 2πr is set so as to be larger than or equal to at least 56.5 mm so that the toy body 20 moves, or tilts in the present embodiment, to perform one cycle of to-and-fro movement in the directions A2 and B2. When the toy body 20 is tilted in the directions A2 and B2 as in the present embodiment, increasing the radius r of the wheel is advantageous because the increase raises the position of the center of gravity of the wheel 30 and facilitates the tilt of the toy body 20 in the directions A2 and B2.
A variation of the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50A is described with reference to
Although the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50A illustrated in
When the cam follower 54 moves rearward in the direction A4 with the rotation of the wheels 31, the rack 54B causes the pinion gear 55D to rotate in a direction A5 and accordingly, the drive gear 55B is rotated and the swing part 40 swings in the direction A1. Similarly, when the cam follower 54 moves forward in the direction B4 with the rotation of the wheels 31, the rack 54B causes the pinion gear 55D to rotate in a direction B5 and accordingly, the drive gear 55B is rotated and the swing part 40 swings in the direction B1. Thus, similar to the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50, the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50A also enables the swing part 40 to swing. To reduce the weight of the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50, the cam follower 54 and the swing driving part 55 may be formed of resin.
The center of gravity G of the swing part 40 at the time when the swing part 40 is at the position to which the swing part 40 swings at the maximum may be positioned outside the range of the width W between outer edges positioned at both ends of the contact surfaces of the two wheels 31 illustrated in
The structure that allows the toy body 20 to easily tilt is applicable to a case in which the toy body 20 includes a front wheel and a rear wheel.
According to the above-described embodiment, the rotation-swing converting mechanism 50 converts the rotary movement of at least one wheel into swinging movement of the swing part 40 and the swing part 40 applies external force to the toy body 20, that is, energizes the toy body 20 in the direction in which the swing part 40 is swung, and thus, the toy body 20 is moved, or tilted in the present embodiment, in the direction in which the swing part 40 swings, which is the direction D2 that crosses the traveling direction D1. In other words, the manual traveling toy 10 according to the present embodiment travels while moving, or tilting in the present embodiment, alternately in the directions in which the swing part 40 swings. Accordingly, the manual traveling toy 10 that performs more interesting movements, such as movements that mimic how a fish swims, can be offered by giving variety to the movements of the toy body 20 itself through the movements of the swing part 40 added to the toy body 20. In addition, since extra arrangement of a driving source, a component for tilting the toy body 20, and the like is unnecessary according to the present embodiment, material costs can be reduced.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, when a single wheel is provided, the position of the center of gravity G of the swing part 40 during the swing is set outside the range of the width of the contact surface of the wheel. When a plurality of wheels are provided, the position of the center of gravity G of the swing part 40 during the swing is set outside the range of the width between outer edges positioned at both ends of each contact surface of the plurality of wheels in the direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction.
The load that the wheel receives from the swing part 40 during the travel is proportional to the weight (mass) of the swing part 40 and the distance L1 from the center of gravity of the swing part to the swing vertical shaft. When the load is too large, the wheel fails to rotate or stops immediately after starting to rotate. Thus, the swing part 40 is made light. In addition, the wheel is made heavier than the swing part 40. Since kinetic energy generated for the wheel 30 through the travel is proportional to the mass of the wheel 30, when the mass of the wheel 30 increases, energy usable to move the swing part 40 increases as well, and kinetic energy needed to move the swing part 40 at a certain speed is small when the mass of the swing part 40 is small, and thus, the swing part 40 can swing for a long time when there is a large difference between the mass of the wheel and the mass of the swing part 40. The wheel easily loses equilibrium by shifting the center of gravity of the swing part 40 to a position apart from the above-described width of the wheel, and the toy body 20 easily moves, or easily tilts in the present embodiment, in the direction in which the swing part 40 swings.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the distance L1 from the center of gravity of the swing part 40 to the swing vertical shaft is shorter than the distance L2 from the position P3 at which the entire length L of the swing part 40 is divided into equal lengths to the swing vertical shaft. Accordingly, the load that the wheel receives from the swing part 40 during the travel, which is proportional to the weight of the swing part 40 and the distance L1 from the center of gravity of the swing part 40 to the swing vertical shaft 53A, can be reduced and the manual traveling toy 10 can travel for a longer distance.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, in a plan view, the at least one wheel and part of the rotation-swing converting mechanism are arranged side by side in the direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction D1. Accordingly, the equilibrium of the toy body 20 at rest in the width direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction D1 is lost, and the toy body 20 tilts during the travel because of the external force from the swing part 40, that is, the energization from the swing part 40.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the at least one wheel includes two wheels supported apart on an axis identical to the axle shaft and part of the rotation-swing converting mechanism is arranged between the two wheels. Accordingly, the equilibrium of the toy body 20 at rest in the width direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction D1 is enhanced and the position at rest is stabilized.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the contact surface of the at least one wheel, a central portion of the width in the direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction D1 projects further than the both ends. Accordingly, the toy body 20 easily tilts even at rest so that the axle shaft deviates from the horizontal state and due to the external force caused by the swing of the swing part 40, that is, the energization by the swing of the swing part 40, the toy body 20 during the travel moves, or tilts in the present embodiment.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the at least one wheel includes the base 30B and the covering material 30C that covers the base 30B and forms the contact surface, and frictional force caused between the covering material 30C and an identical traveling surface is larger than frictional force caused between the base 30B and the identical traveling surface. Accordingly, the frictional force (grip) caused between the wheel and the contact surface can be enhanced because of the covering material 30C.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the manual traveling toy 20 includes the toy body 20, at least one wheel that projects downward further than the bottom surface of the toy body 20, is in contact with a traveling surface, and rotates about an axle shaft, the swing part 40 that is fixed to the swing vertical shaft supported at a rear end side position in the traveling direction of the toy body so that the swing part 40 is swingable about the swing vertical shaft, the rotation-swing converting mechanism that converts the rotary movement of the at least one wheel into the swinging movement of the swing part 40, and the two sideward fall preventing members 20B and 20C that in a plan view, project downward further than the bottom surface of the toy body 20 by the height H2 and are positioned on both sides more outside than the most outer surfaces of the at least one wheel, the most outer surfaces of the at least one wheel being positioned at both ends of the at least one wheel in the direction D2 orthogonal to the traveling direction D1, the height H2 being smaller than the height H1 from the contact surface of the at least one wheel to the bottom surface of the toy body 20. Accordingly, the rotation-swing converting mechanism converts the rotary movement of the at least one wheel into the swinging movement of the swing part 40 and the swing part 40 applies external force to the toy body 20 in the direction in which the swing part 40 is swung, that is, the toy body 20 is moved, or tilted in the present embodiment, in the direction in which the swing part 40 swings, which is the direction D2 that crosses the traveling direction D1. In other words, the travel is performed while moving, or tilting in the present embodiment, the manual traveling toy 10 alternately in the swing directions. Accordingly, the manual traveling toy 10 that performs more interesting movements can be offered by giving variety to the movements of the toy body 20 itself through the movements of the swing part 40 added to the toy body 20. In addition, when the two sideward fall preventing members 20B and 20C are provided, the toy body 20 can keep traveling in the traveling direction D1 without falling while variety is given to the movements of the toy body 20 itself through the movements of the swing part 40 added to the toy body 20. Other than the wheel 30, the traveling resistance may be decreased by localizing the contact between the sideward fall preventing members 20B and 20C and the traveling surface.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the toy body 20 includes the forward fall preventing member 20D that in the plan view, projects downward further than the bottom surface at a position on a more front side than the at least one wheel in the traveling direction D1. Accordingly, even if the toy body 20 is likely to fall forward when the toy body 20 is pushed and released by hand, the forward fall preventing member 20D comes into contact with the traveling surface and can restrict the forward fall of the toy body 20. Moreover, other than the wheel 30, the traveling resistance can be decreased by localizing the contact between the forward fall preventing member 20D and the traveling surface.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the toy body 20 includes the rearward fall preventing member that in the plan view, projects downward further than the bottom surface at a position on a more rear side than the at least one wheel in the traveling direction D1. The rearward fall preventing member may be provided instead of or in addition to the forward fall preventing member 20D. Particularly, the rearward fall preventing member is useful in a structure that easily falls rearward, such as in a case where the vertical center line (the center of gravity) of the wheel is positioned on a more front end side in the traveling direction D1 of the toy body 20 than the position of the center of gravity of the total weight of the manual traveling toy 10.
Although the present embodiment is described above in detail, those skilled in the art will readily understand that many variations that do not depart from new matters and advantages of the present disclosure substantially are possible. Therefore, it should be noted that such variations are all included in the scope of the present disclosure. For example, a term used at least once in the specification or drawings together with a different term that has the broader or the same sense can be replaced with the different term in any portion in the specification or drawings.
Claims
1. A manual traveling toy comprising:
- a toy body;
- at least one wheel that projects downward further than a bottom surface of the toy body and is configured to contact a traveling surface and to rotate about an axle shaft;
- a swing part that is fixed to a swing vertical shaft supported at a rear end side position in a traveling direction of the toy body so that the swing part is swingable about the swing vertical shaft; and
- a rotation-swing converting mechanism that converts rotary movement of the at least one wheel into swinging movement of the swing part.
2. The manual traveling toy according to claim 1, wherein
- the wheel is heavier than the swing part, and
- the swing part is at a position to which the swing part swings at maximum toward at least one side, a center of gravity of the swing part is positioned outside a range of a width between outer edges positioned at both ends of a contact surface of the at least one wheel in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction.
3. The manual traveling toy according to claim 1, wherein
- a distance from the center of gravity of the swing part to the swing vertical shaft is shorter than a distance from a position at which an entire length of the swing part is divided into equal lengths to the swing vertical shaft.
4. The manual traveling toy according to claim 1, wherein
- the at least one wheel and part of the rotation-swing converting mechanism are arranged side by side in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction.
5. The manual traveling toy according to claim 1, wherein
- the at least one wheel comprises two wheels supported apart on an axis identical to the axle shaft and part of the rotation-swing converting mechanism is arranged between the two wheels.
6. The manual traveling toy according to claim 1, wherein
- in the contact surface of the at least one wheel, a central portion of the width in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction projects further than the both ends.
7. The manual traveling toy according to claim 1, wherein
- the at least one wheel comprises a base and a covering material that covers the base and forms the contact surface, and frictional force caused between the covering material and an identical traveling surface is larger than frictional force caused between the base and the identical traveling surface.
8. A manual traveling toy comprising:
- a toy body;
- at least one wheel that projects downward further than a bottom surface of the toy body and is configured to contact a traveling surface and to rotate about an axle shaft;
- a swing part that is fixed to a swing vertical shaft supported at a rear end side position in a traveling direction of the toy body so that the swing part is swingable about the swing vertical shaft;
- a rotation-swing converting mechanism that converts rotary movement of the at least one wheel into swinging movement of the swing part; and
- two sideward fall preventing members that project downward further than the bottom surface of the toy body by a first height and are positioned on both sides more outside than most outer surfaces of the at least one wheel, the most outer surfaces of the at least one wheel being positioned at both ends of the at least one wheel in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction, the first height being smaller than a second height from a contact surface of the at least one wheel to the bottom surface of the toy body.
9. The manual traveling toy according to claim 8, wherein
- the toy body comprises a forward fall preventing member that projects downward further than the bottom surface at a position on a more front side than the at least one wheel in the traveling direction.
10. The manual traveling toy according to claim 8, wherein
- the toy body comprises a rearward fall preventing member that projects downward further than the bottom surface at a position on a more rear side than the at least one wheel in the traveling direction.
Type: Application
Filed: Jul 30, 2015
Publication Date: Oct 6, 2016
Inventors: Kazuyuki Sugimatsu (Tokyo), Kenji Imamura (Tochigi)
Application Number: 14/814,152