Patent Grant
9573072
The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C §371 of International Application No. PCT/CN2015/082930 filed Jun. 30, 2015, which claims priority from Chinese Application No. 201410584205.9 filed Oct. 28, 2014, all of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a toy for children, and specifically to a flipping and transforming toy vehicle capable of gripping toys.
Toy vehicles have become one of the must-have toys in one's childhood. Current toy vehicles have more and more forms, models and functions, the forms include single-sided vehicles, double-sided vehicles, tipping wagons, tracked vehicles, etc.; the models include cars, trucks, buses and trains; the functions include hand-pushing, mechanically driving, electrically driving, transformable, capable of shooting bullets, etc. However, none of the existing toy vehicles can grip objects, namely when a toy vehicle is moving, it can grip an object when it hits the object. In such a way, the toy can be played by one single person or by two sides in an interactive way. During the play, a child can learn to make choices from numerous objects, and moreover, as well as how to obtain the selected object through just competition.
Existing transforming toy vehicles have the function of transforming from one form to another form through rotation or disassembly/assembly. Right now, most transforming toy vehicles basically don't have any special functions, such as the gripping function, other than moving or transformation. As a result, ways to play with existing transforming toy vehicles are simple and boring, and children would easily lose interest and gradually throw them away.
In light of the problems of the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a flipping and transforming toy vehicle capable of gripping toys with ingenious design, various ways to play and great fun, which can also make children to learn and improve through playing.
To attain the above object, the technical solution employed by the present invention is: a flipping and transforming toy vehicle capable of gripping toys, characterized in that it comprises:
a toy vehicle, said toy vehicle comprising a plurality of elastic unfolding parts, flipping parts and fixed part, the flipping parts being disposed at the bottom or bottom periphery of the toy vehicle, the plurality of elastic unfolding parts and flipping parts, when all in the folded state, forming, together with the fixed part, a vehicle form, and an opening being provided at the front end of the toy vehicle;
a number of toys to be gripped;
an elastic gripping part for gripping the toys, said elastic gripping part being disposed inside the opening of the toy vehicle or a position around the opening;
and a snapping assembly, the plurality of elastic unfolding parts and flipping parts being folded and then snapped through said snapping assembly to maintain the folded state, and the elastic gripping part being snapped through said snapping assembly to maintain the to-be-gripped state;
said snapping assembly being disposed inside the toy vehicle and the front end thereof extending into the opening, when the toy vehicle is pushed toward the toy such that the toy enters the opening and touches the snapping assembly, the snapping assembly releases the snap connection from the elastic gripping part, the flipping parts and the elastic unfolding parts, the elastic gripping part is popped out to grip the toy when the snap connection is released, the flipping part rotates downwardly to drive the toy vehicle to somersault when the snap connection is released, and each elastic unfolding part is unfolded when the snap connection is released, thereby transforming the toy vehicle from a vehicle form to a second form.
Wherein, the snapping assembly comprises a first snapping part and a second snapping part, the first snapping part being used for snap connection with the flipping parts and/or the elastic gripping part, the front end of the first snapping part extending out of the toy vehicle and into the opening, the second snapping part being used for snap connection with the plurality of elastic unfolding parts, wherein, when the first snapping part is used for snap connection with the flipping parts, the flipping parts engage with the elastic gripping part and the second snapping part, respectively, to achieve that the elastic gripping part is in a to-be-gripped state and the second snapping part is in a state of snap connection with the plurality of elastic unfolding parts when the flipping parts are in the snap connection state; when the first snapping part is used for snap connection with the flipping parts and the elastic gripping part, the flipping parts engage with the second snapping part to achieve that the second snapping part is in a state of snap connection with the plurality of elastic unfolding parts when the flipping parts are in the snap connection state; when the first snapping part is used for snap connection with the elastic gripping part, the elastic gripping part engages with the flipping parts to achieve that the flipping parts are in the snap connection state when the elastic gripping part is in the snap connection state, the flipping parts engage with the second snapping part to achieve that the second snapping part is in a state of snap connection with the plurality of elastic unfolding parts when the flipping parts are in the snap connection state.
The elastic gripping part according to the present invention may be an elastic single-arm gripping part, said elastic single-arm gripping part is disposed on the upper inner side surface or lower inner side surface of the opening, said elastic single-arm gripping part engages with the first snapping part or the flipping part to achieve that the elastic single-arm gripping part grips the toy when the toy touches the first snapping part to release the snap connection from the flipping parts and/or the elastic single-arm gripping part, or the elastic single-arm gripping part uses its own elasticity to achieve that, when the toy enters the opening, the elastic single-arm gripping part is first squeezed and then the elasticity of the elastic single-arm gripping part is restored to grip the toy.
Furthermore, the elastic single-arm gripping part may be an elastic tilting plate, the center of the elastic tilting plate is installed, through a rotating shaft and a torsional spring, at a position on the lower inner side surface of the opening, the rear part of the elastic tilting plate restricts, through the snap connection with the flipping parts, the front part of the elastic tilting plate from tilting upwardly, the flipping parts are in snap connection through the first snapping part, the toy touches the first snapping part when entering the opening, such that the first snapping part releases the snap connection from the flipping parts to flip the flipping parts and further release the snapping of the elastic tilting plate, thereby making the front part of the elastic tilting plate to tilt upwardly and lock the toy.
The elastic single-arm gripping part may further be an elastic locking protrusion, the elastic locking protrusion comprises a locking seat, a spring and a boss, the locking seat is designed integrally with the upper inner side surface of the opening, the spring is installed inside the locking seat, the boss is inserted into the locking seat and partially extends out of the locking seat, when the toy enters the opening, the toy first squeezes the boss, and under the elastic force of the spring, the boss extends downwardly, and the elasticity of the elastic single-arm gripping part is restored to grip the toy.
Corresponding to the elastic gripping part being an elastic single-arm gripping part, the first snapping part is a snapping plate disposed inside the toy vehicle and capable of moving forwardly and backwardly, the front end of the snapping plate extends out of the toy vehicle and into the opening, but does not extend out of the opening, the rear end of the snapping plate is connected to a reset spring that enables the snapping plate to automatically move forwardly and reset after moving backwardly, the bottom surface of the front part of the snapping plate is provided downwardly with a hook, the flipping part is correspondingly provided with a hole for engagement with the hook, thereby achieving the snap connection of the flipping part through the snapping plate.
The elastic gripping part according to the present invention may further be an elastic double-arm gripping part, said elastic double-arm gripping part is disposed on two sides of the opening, respectively, said elastic double-arm gripping part engages with the first snapping part or the flipping part to achieve that the elastic double-arm gripping part grips the toy when the toy touches the first snapping part to release the snap connection from the flipping parts and/or the elastic double-arm gripping part.
Furthermore, the elastic double-arm gripping part comprises two gripping arms that are installed, through a rotating shaft and a torsional spring, on two sides of the opening and rotate backwardly to be drawn together to two sides of the toy vehicle, the two gripping arms maintain the to-be-gripped state through the snap connection with the first snapping part (51) when they are drawn together to two sides of the toy vehicle, and at this moment, the elastic force of the torsional spring is in a restricted state.
Corresponding to the elastic gripping part being an elastic double-arm gripping part, the first snapping part is a snapping plate disposed inside the toy vehicle and capable of moving forwardly and backwardly, the front end of the snapping plate extends forwardly inside the toy vehicle and through the opening to go out of the opening, the front end part of the snapping plate is provided with a touch site for the toy to touch and assist the elastic double-arm gripping part to grip the toy, the bottom surface of the front part of the snapping plate is provided downwardly with a hook, the flipping part is correspondingly provided with a hole for engagement with the hook, thereby achieving the snap connection of the flipping part through the snapping plate, hooks are provided at positions on two sides close to the rear part of the snapping plate for snap connection with the gripping arms that are drawn together to two sides of the toy vehicle, and the rear end of the snapping plate is connected to a reset spring that enables the snapping plate to automatically move forwardly and reset after moving backwardly.
In addition to the elastic single-arm gripping part and the elastic double-arm gripping part, the elastic gripping part according to the present invention may further be a gripping part of other shapes or types.
The fixed part of the toy vehicle according to the present invention is a chassis part, the plurality of elastic unfolding parts together form a vehicle body of the toy vehicle when they are all in the folded state, the snapping assembly is moveably installed on the fixed part, the first snapping part is installed inside the fixed part and capable of moving forwardly and backwardly, the top part of the second snapping part extends out of the fixed part to be in a snap connection with the plurality of elastic unfolding parts and maintain the folded state. The toy vehicle according to the present invention is not provided with a driving device, namely the toy vehicle is pushed manually by a player. However, the toy vehicle according to the present invention may also be provided with a driving device inside the fixed part to drive the toy vehicle, and the driving mode may be mechanical driving or electrical driving.
To enable the elastic unfolding parts to engage mutually for fixation when folded and to elastically unfold when the snap connection is released, the elastic unfolding part comprises a rotating part that unfolds through rotation when the snap connection state is released, a torsional spring that elastically resets to unfold the rotating parts when the snap connection state is released, and an engagement part for mutual engagement between the rotating parts when the rotating parts are folded, the rotating parts maintain the vehicle form, after being drawn together and engaged, by resisting the elastic force of the torsional spring through the second snapping part. The rotation direction when the rotating parts are unfolded is multi-directional, and the rotating parts can be unfolded into either of six directions, up, down, left, right, front and back.
The second snapping part is a snap connection piece capable of moving forwardly and backwardly, the top part of the snap connection piece is provided forwardly or backwardly with a protrusion for snap connection with the buckle correspondingly provided on the rotating part, a reset spring capable of automatically resetting the snap connection piece after moving is provided between the snap connection piece and the fixed part, the bottom part of the snap connection piece engages with the flipping parts or the first snapping part to achieve that the snap connection piece is driven to move forwardly or backwardly when the flipping part flips or the first snapping part acts, thereby releasing the snap connection from the rotating part such that the rotating part is unfolded to transform the toy vehicle from the vehicle form to the second form.
Depending on various shapes of the second form that the toy vehicle is transformed to, the corresponding snap connection piece may be different, for example, the snap connection piece comprises a snap connection plate formed with a wedge-shaped hole in the center thereof, a wedge-shaped block inserted into the wedge-shaped hole, and a tension spring connected to the rear part of the snap connection plate, the snap connection plate is installed on the top surface of the fixed part and capable of moving forwardly and backwardly, the front end of the snap connection plate is provided with the protrusion for snap connection with the buckle of the rotating part, the reset spring is provided between the top part of the wedge-shaped block and the fixed part, the bottom part of the wedge-shaped block extends out of the vehicle bottom to the position of the flipping parts, the flipping parts restrict the wedge-shaped block from moving downwardly when the flipping parts are in the snap connection state, such that the snap connection plate is in the forward-moving state and the snap connection between the protrusion and the buckle is realized, when the flipping part flips, the restriction on the wedge-shaped block is released, such that the wedge-shaped block moves downwardly under the elastic force of the reset spring, thereby making the snap connection plate to move backwardly under the action of the tension spring to consequently release the snap connection between the protrusion and the buckle. Another example is that the snap connection piece is a snap block capable of moving forwardly and backwardly, the rear end of the snap block is provided with the protrusion for snap connection with the buckle of the rotating part, the reset spring is provided between the front end of the snap block and the fixed part, the bottom end of the snap block is provided with a boss by extending downwardly, the boss goes downwardly through the vehicle bottom to the position of the flipping parts, the rear end of the flipping part is correspondingly provided with a drive block that slants backwardly and downwardly, when the flipping part flips, the drive block rotates relatively forwardly and upwardly to drive the boss to move forwardly, thereby making the snap block to synchronously move forwardly and releasing the snap connection between the protrusion and the buckle. The snap connection piece according to the present invention is not limited to the above two structures.
The snapping assembly according to the present invention may also be a general snapping plate, the snap connection of all of the flipping parts, the elastic gripping part, and the elastic unfolding parts is achieved through the general snapping plate, the front end of the general snapping plate extends out of the toy vehicle and into the opening, when the toy vehicle is pushed toward the toy such that the toy enters the opening and touches the general snapping plate, the general snapping plate releases the snap connection from the flipping parts, the elastic gripping part and the elastic unfolding parts, thereby achieving that the toy vehicle grips the toy and flips to transform to a second form. Naturally, the snapping assembly may further comprise two or more snapping plates to achieve the snap.
To ensure that the toy vehicle still stands with the vehicle bottom facing down after flipping, the flipping part is a flipping plate with the rear end passing through the rotating shaft and the torsional spring and installed at the bottom of the toy vehicle, when the snapping assembly releases the snap connection from the flipping plate, the front end of the flipping plate flips downwardly and backwardly around the rotating shaft by 150° to 180°.
The second form of the toy vehicle according to the present invention after the transformation from the vehicle form is an animal form. Naturally, the second form may also be a plant form, a cartoon figure form, a weapon form, etc.
To facilitate gripping and ensure a firm gripping, and to further enhance fun in playing, the toy is a disc, a boss is provided at the center of both surfaces of the disc, a groove is formed between the boss and the periphery of the disc, the periphery of the disc extends outwardly with a projecting ring, and the surface of the boss is attached or embossed with a pattern for differentiating each toy.
According to the present invention, an elastic gripping part is provided at the front end of a toy vehicle, and at the same time, the toy vehicle is designed to be a transformable structure comprising a plurality of elastic unfolding parts, flipping parts and fixed part, then a snapping assembly is used to snap the elastic unfolding parts, flipping parts and elastic gripping part, and the snapping assembly releases all snap connections by contacting a toy. By using the movable feature of the toy vehicle, therefore, the toy vehicle is made to charge to a toy and hit the toy, which consequently triggers the snapping assembly to release snap connection from the elastic gripping part, the flipping parts and the elastic unfolding parts, such that the elastic gripping part grips the toy, the flipping parts rotate downwardly to drive the toy vehicle to somersault, and the elastic unfolding parts are unfolded, thereby transforming the toy vehicle from a vehicle form to a second form. These actions take place at the same time and in a row, such that the toy vehicle has fancier motion effect and is more attractive to players. As a result, the transforming toy vehicle is no longer just capable of boring running or transformation, the boring ways of play of existing transforming toy vehicles have been changed, and there are a variety of ways of play that last long; since the size and position of the elastic gripping part are limited, on the other hand, the intensity of mutual impact between the toy vehicle and the toy determines if the elastic gripping part can successfully grip the toy. Therefore, a child's coordination capability between hands and brain, as well as the ability to control the toy vehicle's movement direction and pushing strength, will be put to test. Through the play, a child can exercise and improve these abilities, and moreover, can learn how to make correct selections and how to use a correct way to obtain the selected object; since the toy vehicle can transform to a second form and patterns are provided on the toys to differentiate the toys, furthermore, the information may be used in interactive plays with two or more sides, which further enhances the ways to play the toy vehicle, and through interactive play, can enhance the children's awareness of competition and promote communications among children or between children and adults. The transforming toy vehicle has an ingenious design and a unique structure, which has various novel ways to play and leads to great fun. It effectively promotes education and communication so as to train children to adapt to today's society, and may be used on various toy vehicles of different forms, styles, and functions.
The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.
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The specific way of playing with the toy vehicle according to the present invention is as follows:
One player games: spread the discs 6 at positions relatively far away from the front of the player, hold the toy vehicle with one hand, push the toy vehicle toward the selected disc 6, when the toy vehicle just touches the toy 6, the elastic gripping part 4 would grip the disc 6, depending on the power and angle of the push of the toy vehicle by the player, as well as the inertia and vibration during the flipping and transformation of the toy vehicle, the elastic gripping part 4 may not necessarily be able to grip the disc 6. Through this game, a child's coordination capability between hands and brain can be practiced, and the child's control abilities, such as sense of direction and sense of strength.
Games with two or more players: spread the discs 6 at positions between two players, determine the order of play, the first player first pushes his/her toy vehicle to grip the selected disc 6, subsequently the second player pushes his/her toy vehicle regardless of whether the first player successfully grips the disc 6 this time. In such a way, the winner will be the one who has obtained the most discs 6 within a prescribed time or when all discs 6 have been gripped. Through this game, the children's awareness of competition can be enhanced, and they can also learn how to make correct selections and how to use a correct way to obtain a desired object.
Extended games: a further development of the games with two or more players. The games are related to the pattern information on discs 6, the power of the discs 6 is differentiated according to the patterns on the discs 6. Within a prescribed time or a prescribed number of plays, the two sides alternately grip the discs 6, and at the end, the power is compared by summing up all gripped discs 6 with the more powerful side as the winner. In such a game, the winner is not the one who grips the more. If one side grips more discs 6 that are weaker, it is still possible for that side to lose the game. Therefore, this game further focuses on the selection of target discs 6 and determination on probability of whether they can be gripped by players, which can further train children to rapidly select from numerous objects what are need and have a high success rate.
Although the present invention is described with reference to specific examples, the description does not intend to limit the present invention. With reference to the description of the present invention, those skilled in the art can anticipate other variations to the published examples, which shall be encompassed by the claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 1 0584205 | Oct 2014 | CN | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/CN2015/082930 | 6/30/2015 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2016/065916 | 5/6/2016 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country |
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| 203235253 | Oct 2013 | CN |
| 203829639 | Sep 2014 | CN |
| 104353243 | Feb 2015 | CN |
| 204233757 | Apr 2015 | CN |
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| International Search Report for Application No. PCT/CN2015/082930 dated Oct. 15, 2015. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20160325198 A1 | Nov 2016 | US |
