Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6375536
-
Patent Number
6,375,536
-
Date Filed
Wednesday, November 1, 200024 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, April 23, 200223 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Ackun; Jacob K.
- Miller; Bena B.
Agents
- Pro-Techtor International Services
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 446 330
- 446 352
- 446 353
- 446 354
- 446 358
- 446 376
- 040 411
- 040 415
- 040 418
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An electric swayable toy includes a body, a shoulder swayably and pivotally on an upper portion of the body, a pair of legs swayably and pivotally mounted on a lower portion of the body, a pair of arms swayably mounted on the shoulder, a head swayably mounted on the shoulder, a pair of shoes swayably supporting the pair of legs in an inclined manner, and a base supporting and securing the pair of shoes. By such an arrangement, the body includes a main swayable mechanism mounted therein, the shoulder includes an arm swayable mechanism, the main swayable mechanism includes a motor which is rotated continuously in a signal direction and the speed of the motor is reduced by a speed reduction mechanism to actuate an eccentric wheel and a cam mechanism so that the legs, the body, and the shoulder are swayable while the arms and the head are swayable by actuation of the arm swayable mechanism.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric swayable toy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Taiwan Utility Model Publication No. 334837 entitled “Swayable device of an toy”, discloses a device comprising a motor which actuates sector gears mounted on the joints of a pair of legs of a toy through a gear transmission device. At the same time, an auxiliary tooth track mounted on the other side of the joint of the leg meshes with a tooth track mounted on the back plate of the toy so that the pivot axles of the joints of the legs and the pivot axles of the shoulder construct a four-linkage action so that the two legs and the upper body are oscillated along the different directions.
However, the oscillation of the legs and the body is performed by the gears co-operating with the tooth tracks so that the movement is not smooth. In addition, the shoulder can only be moved in a vertical manner while the head and the two arms are stationary, thereby decreasing the active amusement of the toy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric swayable toy comprising:
a body;
a shoulder swayably and pivotally on an upper portion of the body;
a pair of legs swayably and pivotally mounted on a lower portion of the body;
a pair of arms swayably mounted on the shoulder;
a head swayably mounted on the shoulder;
a pair of shoes swayably supporting the pair of legs in an inclined manner; and
a base supporting and securing the pair of shoes;
wherein, the body includes a main swayable mechanism mounted therein, the shoulder includes an arm swayable mechanism, the main swayable mechanism includes a motor which is rotated continuously in a signal direction and the speed of the motor is reduced by a speed reduction mechanism to actuate an eccentric wheel and a cam mechanism so that the legs, the body, and the shoulder are swayable while the arms and the head are swayable by actuation of the arm swayable mechanism.
The main swayable mechanism includes a motor secured on a rocking board which is swayably mounted in an inside of the body and has an upper end and a lower end respectively pivoted on the shoulder and a lower portion of the body, a speed reduction mechanism including belt wheels and gear sets for reducing the output rotational speed of the motor and increasing the torque of the motor, an eccentric wheel actuated by the speed reduction mechanism, and a cam defining a cam slot for receiving the eccentric wheel and actuated by the eccentric wheel to move reciprocally.
The arm swayable mechanism includes a pair of symmetrical axle members each pivotally mounted in the shoulder, and a pair of symmetrical push/pull bars each including an upright bar portion secured on a follower element of the axle member, and a horizontal bar portion slidably mounted on a pin which is mounted on the rocking board.
The axle members of the arm swayable mechanism are connected with a pair of cams each of which has a top rested on a wing of a support member of the head, whereby, when the pair of cams are rotated along different directions, the wing is driven to move the head so that the head is pivoted about a pivot axle of a pivot portion.
The distance between the lower portion of the body and a pivot axle of an upper portion of the legs is greater than that between the upper portion of the body and a pivot axle of a lower portion of the shoulder.
An upper arm portion of each of the arms and the axle member of the arm swayable mechanism have a connection portion having a joint which is constructed to be rotatable along a vertical plan and/or a horizontal plane freely, and/or a lower arm portion and an upper arm portion of each of the arms have a connection portion having a joint which is constructed to be rotatable along a vertical plan and/or a horizontal plane freely.
The rocking board has a lower portion having two symmetrical pins each slidably mounted in a guide slot of an arcuate cam formed on an upper portion of each of the arms.
Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a front plan view of an electric swayable toy in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a rear plan view of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 3
is a side plan cross-sectional view of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 4
is a side plan cross-sectional view of a main swayable mechanism of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 5
is a front plan schematic view of an arm swayable mechanism of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 1
;
FIG. 6A
is a side plan view of the arm swayable mechanism of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 5
;
FIG. 6B
is an operational view of the arm swayable mechanism of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 6A
;
FIG. 6C
is an operational view of the arm swayable mechanism of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 6A
;
FIG. 7
is an operational view of the electric swayable toy as shown in
FIG. 2
; and
FIG. 8
is an operational view of the electric swayable toy as shown in FIG.
3
.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring to the drawings and initially to
FIGS. 1-3
, an electric swayable toy in accordance with the present invention comprises a body
1
, a shoulder
2
swayably and pivotally on an upper portion of the body
1
, a pair of legs
3
swayably and pivotally mounted on a lower portion of the body
1
, a pair of arms
4
swayably mounted on the shoulder
2
, a head
5
swayably mounted on the shoulder
2
, a pair of shoes
6
swayably supporting the pair of legs
3
in an inclined manner, and a base
7
supporting and securing the pair of shoes
6
.
A rocking board
8
is swayably mounted in the inside of the body
1
and has an upper end and a lower end respectively pivoted on the shoulder
2
and a lower portion of the body
1
.
The body
5
includes a main swayable mechanism
9
mounted on the rocking board
8
. The shoulder
2
includes an arm swayable mechanism
10
mounted therein. The main swayable mechanism
9
includes a motor M which is rotated continuously in a signal direction, and the speed of the motor M is reduced by a speed reduction mechanism to actuate an eccentric wheel
98
and a cam mechanism so that the legs
3
, the body
1
, and the shoulder
2
are swayable while the arms
4
and the head
5
are swayable by actuation of the arm swayable mechanism
10
.
The body
1
includes a front cover plate
11
corresponding to the chest and abdomen of the toy, a rear cover plate
12
corresponding to the back of the toy, two side plates
13
corresponding to the waist of the toy, and a bottom plate
14
corresponding to the hip of the toy. The body
1
is pivoted on the legs
3
by pivot axles P
1
.
The shoulder
2
includes a front shoulder plate
21
, and a rear shoulder plate
22
, and is pivoted on the body
1
by a pivot axle P
2
.
Each of the legs
3
includes a front half leg
31
, and a rear half leg
32
. Each of the legs
3
has an upper portion connected to the body by the pivot axle P
1
, and a lower portion pivotally mounted on one of the shoes
6
by a pivot axle P
3
.
Each of the arms
4
includes an upper arm portion
41
and a lower arm portion
42
. The upper arm portion
41
of each of the arms
4
and the axle member
10
a
of the arm swayable mechanism
10
have a connection portion having a joint al which is constructed to be rotatable along a vertical plan and/or a horizontal plane freely, and/or the lower arm portion
42
and an upper arm portion
41
of each of the arms
4
have a connection portion having a joint a
2
which is constructed to be rotatable along a vertical plan and/or a horizontal plane freely.
The head
5
includes a neck
51
inserted with a support member
52
which has a lower portion provided with an eye ring
53
which is pivotally mounted on the shoulder
2
by a pivot axle P
4
.
Each of the shoes
6
is inserted into a socket
71
of the base
7
through a pin
61
. The base
7
has a bottom provided with a battery chamber
72
for containing a battery
73
. A switch (not shown) is provided for switching the power supply. The base
7
can be provided with a power receptacle (not shown) for use with an adapter (not shown).
The rocking board
8
is swayably mounted in the inside of the body
1
and has an upper end pivoted on the shoulder
2
, and a lower end pivoted on the bottom plate
14
of the body
1
by a bottom axle S
0
.
The main swayable mechanism
9
as shown in
FIG. 4
includes a motor M mounted on one side of the rocking board
8
and having an output shaft S
1
protruding outward from the rocking board
8
. A small belt wheel
91
is secured on the output shaft S
1
of the motor M. A large belt wheel
92
is rotatably mounted on the rocking board
8
by a shaft S
2
, and is located under the small belt wheel
91
. A belt
93
is mounted between the large belt wheel
91
and the small belt wheel
92
for transmitting the output power of the motor M. A first pinion
94
is mounted on the shaft S
2
to rotate with the large belt wheel
92
. A first large gear
95
is rotatably mounted on a shaft S
3
, and meshes with the first pinion
94
to rotate therewith. A second pinion
96
is integrally formed with the first large gear
95
to rotate therewith. A second large gear
97
is secured on a first end of the bottom shaft S
0
of the rocking board
8
, and meshes with the second pinion
96
to rotate therewith. An eccentric wheel
98
is secured on a second end of the bottom shaft S
0
to rotate with the second large gear
97
, wherein the second end of the bottom shaft S
0
extends through the rocking board
8
and an upright plate
141
of the bottom plate
14
. A cam
99
is mounted on the upright plate
141
of the back of the rocking board
8
, and defines an oblong cam slot
991
for receiving the eccentric shaft
98
.
Horizontal guide track devices
992
and
142
are mounted between the cam
99
and the upright plate
141
, and the cam
99
has two sides each provided with an extension
994
having a hook
993
hooked on a pin
33
of the upper portion of the leg
3
. An elastic detent
143
is mounted on the upright plate
141
of the bottom plate
14
for retaining the cam
99
to prevent from detachment of the cam
99
. A catch plate
995
is mounted on the cam
99
for preventing the eccentric wheel
98
from being detached from the bottom shaft S
0
. The belt wheels
91
and
92
, and the gear sets
94
and
95
construct the speed reduction gear set
90
. Two tension springs
996
are mounted on the back of the rocking board
8
for facilitating operation of the swayable mechanism.
When the motor M is rotated, the eccentric wheel
98
is rotated with the large gear
97
whose speed is reduced by the speed reduction gear set
90
. The cam
99
is moved by the eccentric wheel
98
co-operating with the cam slot
991
so that the two extensions
994
will push each of the legs
3
to pivot about the pivot axle P
3
by means of the hook
993
co-operating with the pin
33
.
When each of the legs
3
oscillates, the bottom plate
14
pivoted on the legs
3
by the pivot axle P
1
is moved with the legs
3
. The rocking board
8
pivoted on the bottom plate
14
by the bottom shaft S
0
will oscillate due to the resistance of the springs
996
as shown in FIG.
7
.
As shown in
FIGS. 1
,
5
and
6
, the arm swayable mechanism
10
includes a pair of symmetrical axle members
10
a
each pivotally mounted in the bearings
23
and
24
of the shoulder
2
, and a pair of symmetrical push/pull bars
10
b
each including an upright bar portion
121
secured on a U-shaped forked portion
101
of the axle member
10
a,
and a horizontal bar portion
122
slidably mounted on a pin
81
of the rocking board
8
by a transverse slot
123
.
The axle member
10
a
has an inner end provided with an axle end
102
, and an outer end provided with a hollow axle end
104
having an elastic pawl
103
. A cam
105
is located adjacent to the forked portion
101
. The axle member
10
a
is made of two pieces which are integrally coupled by screws
106
.
When the rocking board
8
is rocked with the body
1
in an inclined manner, the heights of the pins
81
are made different from each other. As shown in
FIG. 7
, the higher pin
81
pushes the mating push/pull bar
10
b
upward, and the lower pin
81
pushes the mating push/pull bar
10
b
downward. The two axle members
10
a
are pushed by the two push/pull bars
10
b
through the forked portion
102
to rotate around a circle along the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction respectively as shown in
FIGS. 6B and 6C
. in such a manner, the legs
4
connected to the hollow axle portion
104
of the axle member
10
a
are oscillated with the rocking board
8
.
When the axle members
10
a
are rotated by pushing the push/pull bar
10
b,
the cams
105
are rotated simultaneously. Each of the cams
105
has a top rested on a wing
54
of the eye ring
53
which is supported on a support member
52
of the head
5
. In such a manner, when the pair of cams
105
are rotated along different directions, the wing
54
is driven to move the head
5
so that the head
5
is pivoted with the arms
4
about a pivot axle P
4
.
Basically, the distance between the pivot axle P
1
and the pivot axle P
3
is greater than that between the pivot axle P
1
and the pivot axle P
2
. In addition, the distance between the two pivot axles P
1
is equal to that between the two pivot axles P
3
, and is greater than that between the two pivot axles P
2
. In such a manner, P
1
, P
3
, P
3
and P
1
construct a parallelogram, and P
1
, P
2
, P
2
and P
1
construct a trapezoid so that when the legs
3
and the body
1
sway, the shoulder
2
is caused to move upward and downward as shown in phantom lines in FIG.
7
.
The joint a
1
includes a ratchet wheel
43
rotatably mounted in the hollow axle portion
104
and locked by the elastic pawl
103
, an annular element
45
mounted on the other end of the ratchet wheel shaft
43
a
to rotate relative to the upper arm portion
41
by a shaft
44
and having a locking pawl (not shown), and a semi-circular ratchet wheel
46
formed in the upper arm portion
41
and locked by the locking pawl. The joint a
2
includes a plug element
47
secured in the lower arm portion
42
, and a semi-circular ratchet wheel
48
rotatably inserted into the lower arm portion
42
by a shaft
44
a and locked by a locking pawl
49
which is mounted in the lower arm portion
42
.
The rocking board
8
has a lower portion having two symmetrical pins
15
each slidably mounted in a guide slot of an arcuate cam
35
formed on an upper portion of each of the arms
3
.
In operation, referring to
FIGS. 7 and 8
, when the motor M is rotated, the torque of the motor M is transmitted through the belt wheel
91
, the belt
93
, the belt wheel
92
, the gears
94
,
95
,
96
and
97
, and the shaft S
0
to the eccentric wheel
98
which is eccentrically rotated in the cam slot
991
of the cam
99
so as to push the cam
99
to move in the guide track devices
992
and
142
reciprocally. The legs
3
are pushed and pulled by the two extensions
994
of the cam
99
to oscillate about the pivot axle
3
in an inclined manner. The two side plates
13
are pivoted about the pivot axle P
1
to oscillate in the other direction. The bottom plate
14
pivoted on the pivot axle P
1
, the rocking board
8
pivoted on the bottom shaft S
0
, the front cover plate
11
mounted on the front side of the rocking board
8
, and the rear cover plate
12
mounted on the rear side of the rocking board
8
are oscillated in the same direction while the shoulder
2
pivoted on the two side plates
13
and the rocking board
8
by the pivot axles P
2
and P
5
is also oscillated therewith. At the same time, the two arms
4
are also oscillated by actuation of the arm swayable mechanism
10
while the head
5
is moved by the cam
105
of the arm swayable mechanism
10
to pivot about the pivot axle P
4
along a direction different from that of the shoulder
2
.
In such a manner, when the legs and the waist of the toy are oscillated, the shoulder, the arms and the head can also be oscillated at the same time, thereby increasing the active amusement of the toy.
It should be clear to those skilled in the art that further embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Claims
- 1. An electric swayable toy comprising:a body, a shoulder swayably and pivotally mounted on an upper portion of said body, a pair of legs swayably and pivotally mounted on a lower portion of said body, a pair of arms swayably mounted on said shoulder, a head swayably mounted on said shoulder, a pair of shoes swayably supporting said pair of legs, a base supporting and securing said pair of shoes, a main swaying mechanism mounted in said body, and an arm swaying mechanism mounted in said shoulder; wherein said main swaying mechanism comprises a motor secured on a rocking board which is swayably mounted in an interior of said body and has an upper end and a lower end pivoted on said shoulder and a lower portion of said body respectively, said motor comprises a speed reduction mechanism to reduce a speed of said motor, said speed reduction mechanism comprising belt wheels and gear sets to reduce an output rotational speed of said motor and to increase torque generated by said motor, said main swaying mechanism further comprising an eccentric wheel actuated by said speed reduction mechanism, and a cam with a cam slot therein to receive said eccentric wheel, said cam being actuated by said eccentric wheel to move reciprocally so that said legs, said body, and said shoulder sway, and wherein said arm swaying mechanism comprises a pair of symmetrical axle members each pivotally mounted in said shoulder, said axle members being in communication with said rocking board via a pair of symmetrical bars each including a vertical bar portion secured to said axle members, and a horizontal bar portion slidably mounted on a pin which is mounted on said rocking board, said axle members being connected to a pair of cams, each said cam having a top that rests on a wing of a support member of said head, such that when said pair of cams are rotated in different directions, said wing is driven to move said head so that said head is pivoted about a pivot axle of a pivot portion.
- 2. An electric swayable toy comprising:a body, a shoulder swayably and pivotally mounted on an upper portion of said body, a pair of legs swayably and pivotally mounted on a lower portion of said body, a pair of arms swayably mounted on said shoulder, a head swayably mounted on said shoulder, a pair of shoes swayably supporting said pair of legs, a base supporting and securing said pair of shoes, a main swaying mechanism mounted in said body, and an arm swaying mechanism mounted in said shoulder; wherein said main swaying mechanism comprises a motor secured on a rocking board which is swayably mounted in an interior of said body and has an upper end and a lower end pivoted on said shoulder and a lower portion of said body respectively, said motor comprises a speed reduction mechanism to reduce a speed of said motor, said speed reduction mechanism comprising belt wheels and gear sets to reduce an output rotational speed of said motor and to increase torque generated by said motor, said main swaying mechanism further comprising an eccentric wheel actuated by said speed reduction mechanism, and a cam with a cam slot therein to receive said eccentric wheel, said cam being actuated by said eccentric wheel to move reciprocally so that said legs, said body, and said shoulder sway, and wherein said rocking board has a lower portion having two symmetrical pins each slidably mounted in a guide slot of an arcuate cam formed on an upper portion of each of said legs.
US Referenced Citations (5)