TRANSFORMABLE TOY

Abstract

A transformable toy 10 includes: an annular member 11 which is formed out of an elastic material so as to be able to be turned inside out; and constituent members 20, 21, 22 and 23 which are attached to the annular member 11; wherein: the constituent members 20, 21, 22 and 23 include protruding portions 20a, 20b, 21a, 21b, 22a, 22b, 23a and 23b which protrude outward from at least one of a front side 11a and a back side 11b of the annular member 11. Thus, it is possible to provide a transformable toy which can avoid a problem of the manufacturing cost or a problem that techniques may be required for operation and whose form can be changed largely.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a transformable toy whose form can be changed.

2. Description of the Background Art

In the background art, for example, there have been known transformable toys each of which can be transformed from a robot into a vehicle. Such a transformable toy is often constituted by movable parts which are combined complicatedly. In order to change a form of this type of transformable toy, operation has to be performed to move the parts in accordance with a specific procedure so as to change the way the parts are attached (e.g. see Japanese Design Registration No. 1420958).

As another transformable toy, for example, a doll toy has been disclosed in JP-A-49-93139 as follows. That is, the doll is designed to be formed out of a flexible material so that a form of the doll can be changed when the doll is turned inside out.

However, the structure of the aforementioned transformable toy including the complicated parts as disclosed in Japanese Design Registration No. 1420958 is complicated due to an increase in the number of the parts. Therefore, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost may increase. In addition, the procedure for transforming the transformable toy is complicated. Therefore, there is a problem that techniques may be required for the operation so that a young child cannot play with the transformable toy.

In this respect, the structure of the aforementioned doll toy disclosed in JP-A-49-93139 is simple. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the problem of the manufacturing cost or the problem that techniques may be required for operation. However, due to the simple structure, there is a problem that the form after the change can be predicted so that the form change per se lacks fun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide a transformable toy which can avoid a problem of the manufacturing cost or a problem that techniques may be required for operation and whose form can be changed largely.

The invention has been accomplished in order to solve the aforementioned problems. The invention is characterized as follows.

According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a transformable toy including: an annular member which is formed out of an elastic material so as to be able to be turned inside out; and constituent members which are attached to the annular member; wherein: the constituent members include protruding portions which protrude outward from at least one of a front side and a back side of the annular member.

According to a second aspect of the invention, the constituent members are provided with the protruding portions on the front side and the back side of the annular member so as to have different shapes between the protruding portions on the front side of the annular member and the protruding portions on the back side of the annular member.

According to a third or fourth aspect of the invention, the annular member includes attachment portions which are provided for attaching the constituent members thereto respectively, and each of bendable portions which is bent into a wavy shape is provided between adjacent ones of the attachment portions.

According to a fifth or sixth aspect of the invention, the constituent members are attached to the attachment portions to pinch the attachment portions, so that transformation of the attachment portions can be suppressed.

According to any of seventh to twelfth aspects of the invention, the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.

In the first aspect of the invention as described above, provided is the transformable toy including: the annular member which is formed out of the elastic material so as to be able to be turned inside out; and the constituent members which are attached to the annular member; wherein: the constituent members include the protruding portions which protrude outward from at least one of the front side and the back side of the annular member. According to such a configuration, when the annular member is turned inside out, the protruding portions of the constituent members face inward or outward. Thus, a form of the transformable toy can be changed due to the change on external appearance of the constituent members.

In addition, the structure can be also made simple without increasing the number of parts. Accordingly, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. Moreover, in order to change the form, it is not necessary to perform operation for moving the parts in accordance with a specific procedure but merely necessary to turn the annular member inside out. Accordingly, no special technique is required for operation. Thus, even a player who does not have any knowledge or a young child can play with the transformable toy.

In addition, when the annular member is turned inside out, the inward protruding portions of the constituent members protrude outward all at once. Accordingly, the form changes largely instantaneously. Thus, the form after the change cannot be predicted so that unexpected form change can be achieved.

In the second aspect of the invention as described above, the constituent members are provided with the protruding portions on the front side and the back side of the annular member so as to have different shapes between the protruding portions on the front side of the annular member and the protruding portions on the back side of the annular member. According to such a configuration, the form changes more largely so that fun of the form change can increase.

In the third or fourth aspect of the invention as described above, the annular member includes the attachment portions which are provided for attaching the constituent members thereto respectively, and each of the bendable portions which is bent into the wavy shape is provided between adjacent ones of the attachment portions. According to such a configuration, even in a state in which the constituent members have been attached, the bendable portions can be bent so that the annular member can be turned inside out easily. Moreover, due to expansion and contraction of the annular member at the bendable portions, no excessive load is imposed on the annular member when the annular member is turned inside out. Accordingly, the annular member can be prevented from being broken.

In the fifth or sixth aspect of the invention as described above, the constituent members are attached to the attachment portions to pinch the attachment portions, so that transformation of the attachment portions can be suppressed. According to such a configuration, transformation of the annular member can be suppressed by the constituent members. Thus, the form of the transformable toy can be maintained in an intended shape.

In any of the seventh to twelfth aspects as described above, the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another. According to such a configuration, presence of the annular member is hidden by the constituent members overlapping one another. Therefore, a mechanism about the form change is not exposed. Thus, unpredictability of the form change can be enhanced and the design can be enhanced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view of the external appearance of a transformable toy which is a form of a robot;

FIG. 2 is a view of the external appearance of the transformable toy which is being transformed from the form of the robot;

FIG. 3 is a view of the external appearance of the transformable toy which has been transformed into a form of a vehicle;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views of the external appearance of an annular member, FIG. 4A being a view of a state in which a front side of the annular member faces outward, FIG. 4B being a view of a state in which a back side of the annular member faces outward;

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which constituent members are attached to the annular member;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing a state in which a head member is rotated reversely, FIG. 6A being a view of a state in which a front side of the head member faces outward, FIG. 6B being a view of a state in which a back side of the head member faces outward;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing a state in which arm members are rotated reversely, FIG. 7A being a view of a state in which front sides of the arm members face outward, FIG. 7B being a view of a state in which back sides of the arm members face outward; and

FIGS. 8A and 8B are views showing a state in which a leg member is rotated reversely, FIG. 8A being a view of a state in which a front side of the leg member faces outward, FIG. 8B being a view of a state in which a back side of the leg member faces outward.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

A transformable toy 10 according to the embodiment has a form which can be changed by a predetermined operation. The transformable toy 10 is formed to be able to be transformed from a first form into a second form and vice versa. In the embodiment, the transformable toy 10 is designed to take a form of a robot shown in FIG. 1 as the first form and take a form of a vehicle (airplane) shown in FIG. 3 as the second form.

The transformable toy 10 is provided with an annular member 11 and constituent members. The annular member 11 is formed out of an elastic material so as to be able to be turned inside out. The constituent members are attached to the annular member 11. When the annular member 11 is turned inside out as shown in FIG. 2, the transformable toy 10 can be transformed from the first form into the second form or from the second form into the first form.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the annular member 11 is a member whose belt-like body is connected annularly. The annular member 11 is formed out of the elastic material such as a resin. The annular member 11 is provided with attachment portions 12 for attaching the constituent members thereto respectively. In addition, each of bendable portions 13 which is bent into a wavy shape is provided between adjacent ones of the attachment portions 12. In the embodiment, the attachment portions 12 are provided at four upper, lower, left and right places. Therefore, the number of the constituent members is also four, and the number of the bendable portions 13 is also four.

Incidentally, the bendable portions 13 are formed zigzag in inward and outward directions. The bendable portions 13 to which the constituent members are not attached are exposed, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B.

Assume that, of the annular member 11, one side is set as a front side 11a and the other side is set as a back side 11b. In this case, when the front side 11a is turned to come to the outside as shown in FIG. 4A, the transformable toy 10 takes the first form. In addition, when the back side 11b is turned to come to the outside as shown in FIG. 4B, the transformable toy 10 takes the second form.

The constituent members are attached to the attachment portions 12 of the annular member 11 to cover the attachment portions 12, as shown in FIG. 5. The constituent members are formed out of a material higher in rigidity than the annular member 11. The constituent members are attached to the attachment portions 12 so as to pinch the attachment portions 12 from the opposite front and back sides. When the constituent members are attached in this manner, transformation of the attachment portions 12 can be suppressed.

That is, when the annular member 11 is turned inside out before the constituent members are attached to the annular member 11, the attachment portions 12 are transformed as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. In examples shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the attachment portions 12 curve to protrude more outward when the front side 11a is turned to face outward than when the back side 11b is turned to face outward. When the constituent members which are rigid are attached to the attachment portions 12 transformed in this manner, the transformation of the attachment portions 12 can be suppressed.

Incidentally, these constituent members are provided with protruding portions protruding from at least one of the front side 11a and the back side 11b of the annular member 11. Thus, the constituent members form an external shape of the first form or the second form. Specifically, the transformable toy 10 according to the embodiment is provided with four constituent members, i.e. a head member 20, a left arm member 21, a right arm member 22 and a leg member 23. The four constituent members are attached to upper, lower, left and right sides of the annular member 11.

The head member 20 is a part shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. The heat member 20 is provided with protruding portions on the front side 11a and the back side 11b of the annular member 11 so as to have different shapes between the protruding portion on the front side 11a and the protruding portion on the back side 11b. Specifically, a front-side protruding portion 20a which serves as a head portion in the form of the robot is formed protrusively on the front side 11a of the annular member 11, and a back-side protruding portion 20b which serves as a front end portion in the form of the vehicle is formed protrusively on the back side 11b of the annular member 11.

The left arm member 21 and the right arm member 22 are parts shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Each of the left arm member 21 and the right arm member 22 is provided with protruding portions on the front side 11a and the back side 11b of the annular member 11 so as to have different shapes between the protruding portion on the front side 11a and the protruding portion on the back side 11b. Specifically, front-side protruding portions 21a and 22a which serve as a left arm and a right arm respectively in the form of the robot are formed protrusively on the front side 11a of the annular member 11, and back-side protruding portions 21b and 22b which serve as side portions respectively in the form of the vehicle are formed protrusively on the back side 11b of the annular member 11.

The leg member 23 is a part shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The leg member 23 is provided with protruding portions on the front side 11a and the back side 11b of the annular member 11 so as to have different shapes between the protruding portions on the front side 11a and the protruding portion on the back side 11b. Specifically, front-side protruding portions 23a which serve as leg portions in the form of the robot are formed protrusively on the front side 11a of the annular member 11, and a back-side protruding portion 23b which serves as a rear end portion in the form of the vehicle is provided on the back side 11b of the annular member 11.

According to such a transformable toy 10, when the annular member 11 is turned inside out, the protruding portions of the constituent members face inward or outward. Thus, the form of the transformable toy 10 can be changed due to the change on external appearance of the constituent members.

In addition, the constituent members per se are not movable. Accordingly, the structure can be also made simple without increasing the number of the parts. Thus, the manufacturing cost can be suppressed. In addition, in order to change the form, it is not necessary to perform operation for moving the parts in accordance with a predetermined procedure but merely necessary to turn the annular member 11 inside out. Thus, no special technique is required for operation. Consequently, even a player who does not have any knowledge or a young child can play with the transformable toy 10.

In addition, when the annular member 11 is turned inside out, the inward protruding portions of the constituent members are made to protrude outward all at once. Accordingly, the form changes largely instantaneously. Therefore, the form after the change cannot be predicted so that unexpected form change can be achieved.

In addition, the annular member 11 includes the attachment portions 12 which are provided for attaching the constituent members thereto respectively. Each of the bendable portions 13 which is bent into the wavy shape is provided between adjacent ones of the attachment portions 12. Accordingly, even in a state in which the constituent members have been attached, the bendable portions 13 can be bent so that the annular member 11 can be turned inside out easily. In addition, due to expansion and contraction of the annular member 11 at the bendable portions 13, no excessive load is imposed on the annular member 11 when the annular member 11 is turned inside out. Consequently, the annular member 11 can be prevented from being broken.

In addition, the constituent members are attached to the attachment portions 12 to pinch the attachment portions 12, so that transformation of the attachment portions 12 can be suppressed. According to such a configuration, transformation of the annular member 11 can be suppressed by the constituent members. Thus, the form of the transformable toy 10 can be maintained in an intended shape.

In addition, the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the head member 20, the left arm member 21, the right arm member 22 and the leg member 23 overlap one another on the inner side of the annular member 11 in front view. When the head member 20, the left arm member 21, the right arm member 22 and the leg member 23 are disposed in this manner, no hollow is present at the center so that a user cannot be aware of the presence of the annular member 11. Thus, the mechanism about the form change is not exposed so that unpredictability of the form change can be enhanced and the design can be enhanced.

Claims

1. A transformable toy comprising:

an annular member which is formed out of an elastic material so as to be able to be turned inside out; and

constituent members which are attached to the annular member; wherein:

the constituent members include protruding portions which protrude outward from at least one of a front side and a back side of the annular member.

2. A transformable toy according to claim 1, wherein: the constituent members are provided with the protruding portions on the front side and the back side of the annular member so as to have different shapes between the protruding portions on the front side of the annular member and the protruding portions on the back side of the annular member.

3. A transformable toy according to claim 1, wherein: the annular member includes attachment portions which are provided for attaching the constituent members thereto respectively, and each of bendable portions which is bent into a wavy shape is provided between adjacent ones of the attachment portions.

4. A transformable toy according to claim 2, wherein: the annular member includes attachment portions which are provided for attaching the constituent members thereto respectively, and each of bendable portions which is bent into a wavy shape is provided between adjacent ones of the attachment portions.

5. A transformable toy according to claim 3, wherein: the constituent members are attached to the attachment portions to pinch the attachment portions, so that transformation of the attachment portions can be suppressed.

6. A transformable toy according to claim 4, wherein: the constituent members are attached to the attachment portions to pinch the attachment portions, so that transformation of the attachment portions can be suppressed.

7. A transformable toy according to claim 1, wherein: the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.

8. A transformable toy according to claim 2, wherein: the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.

9. A transformable toy according to claim 3, wherein: the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.

10. A transformable toy according to claim 4, wherein: the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.

11. A transformable toy according to claim 5, wherein: the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.

12. A transformable toy according to claim 6, wherein: the constituent members are formed to be able to overlap one another.