Patent Application
20070093174
The present invention relates to a striking toy, particularly, a mechanical striking toy.
The “mechanical striking toy” is a toy a movable part of which can be driven to strike an object by manually pressing its certain part. For example, a mechanical striking toy in the prior art has an appearance simply simulating the shape of a human being, and has a movable leg (usually being the right leg) which can be driven to kick a struck object such as a football by pressing its head.
In such mechanical striking toys, the neck, the upper body, the waist and a fixed leg of the simulated human being are usually configured as a first assembly (which is generally formed by combining together two integrally molded plastic casings through connection means such as screws and the like), and the simulated head itself is configured as a movable part for receiving the press action.
In the above design in the prior art, the travel of the press action is restricted by the distance between the lower end of the head and the shoulder of the upper body. Therefore, with respect to a toy with a given dimension, it is usually necessary that the dimension of the head is shortened unproportionally while the dimension of the neck is lengthened unproportionally, in order to achieve a proper pressing travel for the head.
Moreover, for the purpose of simple manufacture and convenient assembly in the current mechanical striking toy, a linkage-driven push rod is usually configured into an extension rod, which extends downward from the head and directly applies force to the movable leg, and a spring for restoring the integral unit consisting of the extension rod and the head is provided in the neck of the toy. It can be seen from this design that the length of the extension rod cannot be designed having sufficient length, since the extension rod directly extends downward from the head (and the strength and the whole size of the toy should be considered). Therefore, this causes the size of the upper body and the waist of the toy will be shortened unproportionally.
In addition, an important issue is that the movable leg in the current mechanical striking toy is configured as a simple lever mechanism, the fulcrum of which is pivotally connected to the waist of the toy. The end of the short arm of the lever is configured to directly contact with the lower end of the extension rod, and the long arm of the lever is shaped as a leg to kick an object. In this design, in order to assure the effective contact between the extension rod and the end of the short arm during the pressing procedure (since the rotation movement of the lever during this procedure will result in a relative displacement between the end of the short arm and the contact point of the extension rod moving along a vertical line), the short arm is usually configured as a thick rod with a tilting end surface. The projection length of the tilting end surface in the vertical direction should be substantially equal to or greater than the effective pressing travel. The term “effective pressing travel” is referred to the travel in which the extension rod downward moves after its lower end contacts the titling end surface of the short arm. The effective pressing travel may be less than the total travel of the extension rod due to the existence of the gaps between the parts.
For achieving a proper effective pressing travel for the extension rod and because of the short arm of the lever being impossible to be designed too thick, the angle θ between the titling end surface and the vertical direction is relatively little, thus directly resulting in the less effective component force F1, which actually drives the lever to rotate, of the pressing force F0 of the extension rod during pressing (according to simple knowledge of mechanics, the effective component force F1 can be given as follows: F1=sin θ·F0). Obviously, there is an adverse effect on the press action by the user, and the fulcrum of the lever is subject to the greater component force of the pressing force F0 along the direction of the tilting surface.
The fulcrum of the lever sustaining the undesirable greater component force requires the fulcrum of the lever having a higher support strength, and also results in an increased rotational friction force at the fulcrum, which is disadvantageous to the striking movement, and increases the abrasion between the associated parts at the fulcrum, causing a reduced service life of the toy. Accordingly, two fulcrums are usually provided at the left and right sides of the lever in the prior art, and the double fulcrums can enhance the support strength of the fulcrum of the lever. But the essential problems have not been solved at all, such as the bad operation feel brought to the user, the increased friction and the increased abrasion.
Additionally, the linkage-driven scheme in the form of simple lever also further aggravates the disproportion problem among the sizes of various parts of the toy. It can be deduced from the geometric analysis that, for example, assuming that the projected space between the extension rod and the fulcrum of the lever in the horizontal plane is R, then the effective pressing travel of the head and extension rod should be at least R to enable the lever to rotate 45°. Thus, the structure cannot produce a desired travel amplification, and requires a relatively large travel of the head and extension rod of the toy, thus aggravating the disproportion problem among various parts of the toy.
In sum, since the above problems exist in the current mechanical striking toys, there is a need for those skilled in the art to develop a new mechanical striking toy, which at least solves the above problems in the prior art, has a simple structure for convenience of assembly and manufacture, and also has a better operability and interaction.
For the better understanding of the spirit of the invention, some important terms herein will be defined as follows:
The term “horizontally transverse” herein is referred to the width direction of the toy, i.e., the horizontally left-right direction in the ordinary sense;
The term “horizontally longitudinal” herein is referred to the thickness direction of the toy, i.e., the horizontally forward-backward direction in the ordinary sense;
The term “vertical direction” herein is referred to the height direction of the toy.
The term “striking toy” herein is referred to any toy capable of striking an object, which does not necessarily mean that the striking toy must actually strike or kick any object, provided that the toy may perform an striking action.
An object of the present invention is to reduce the friction at the rotation center of the execution part in the toy, and lower the abrasion of the related parts, thus improving the operation hand-feel of the user and elongating the service life of the striking toy. Specifically, the present invention provides a mechanical striking toy, comprising a first assembly having a support part; and a second assembly mounted on the support part and having a pressing part, the pressing part for receiving the press action from the user to drive a linkage-driven part of the first assembly, and to drive in turn the execution part of the first assembly to rotate. Further, the linkage-driven part comprises a push rod, the upper surface of a first segment of the push rod contacting against the pressing portion of the pressing part; and an eccentric wheel/cam directly driving the execution part to rotate, the eccentric wheel connected pivotally to the support part at a rotation center, the eccentric wheel having a pressed portion displaced from the rotation center, and the pressed portion contacting against the end of the push rod.
A further object of the present invention is to harmonize the size proportion among various parts in the toy. Specifically, in the mechanical striking toy, the shape of the pressing part simulates the head, neck and upper body of a human being; the pressing part receives the press action at the upper end of the simulated head; the shape of the support part simulates the waist, buttocks and a fixed leg of a human being.
Another further object of the present invention is to impart a better interaction to a striking toy. Specifically, in the mechanical striking toy, the execution part includes an upper section simulating the thigh of a human being and a lower section simulating the shank and foot of a human body, and the lower section capable of self-lockably rotating about the end of the upper section. The first assembly includes a base to which the end of the support part is attached. Further, the base includes an adjustment mechanism having a placement portion movable relative to the base for accommodating the struck object. The mechanical striking toy further includes a target member positioned spaced from and in front of the execution part.
Although the summary of the present invention have been provided above, the specific embodiments for the invention will be illustrated in detail in connection with the appended drawings, in order to achieve a better understanding of the technical particulars and advantages of the present invention for those skilled in the art to implement the technical solution of the present invention based on the description herein. The appended drawings comprise:
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the general shape of the striking toy usually simulates the appearance and garb of a human being, especially professional sportsman (such as football players, American football players, Rugby players, and the like). For example, the general shape of a striking toy 100 shown in
Preferably, one or more reinforcing rib plates are provided in the casings 22a and 22b. For example, in the casing 22b, a rib plate 23a is provided at a position corresponding to the middle portion of the thigh, and another rib plate 23b is provided at a position corresponding to the buttock. Similar parts are provided in the casing 22a. It is apparent that these reinforcing rib plates can effectively reinforce the integral strength of the support part 22.
At the upper ends of the waists of the front and back casings 22a, 22b of the supporting part 22 are a flange 21a and a flange 21b extending outward, respectively. Each of the front and back casings 22a and 22b of the supporting part 22 respectively has a waist separation sheet 24a and 24b on the upper end surface of the waist. Each of the waist separation sheets 24a and 24b respectively has a notch 25a and 25b at the center of their respective side edge. When the front and back casings are jointed together, the side edges of the waist separation sheets 24a and 24b are flushed, and both of the notches 25a and 25b are aligned with each other to define an integral horizontally longitudinal groove 25, so as to provide an access passage from the second assembly 40 to the execution part 70 for the linkage-driven part 60.
Two right-angled plates 26a′ and 26a″ respectively extends from the two side edges of the groove 25a. An edge of each right-angled plate 26 is substantially aligned with the corresponding edge of the groove 25, and another edge is substantially aligned with or spaced from the corresponding edge of the waist separation sheet. Two similar right-angled plates 26b′ and 26b″ are provided at the side edges of the groove 25b. When the front and back casings 22a and 22b are combined together, four right-angled plates 26a′, 26a″, 26b′ and 26b″ are arranged vertically around the groove 25 to provide a support for the elastic repositioning member in the linkage-driven part 60 and also provide a guiding function for the push rod 61 described hereinafter.
In the embodiment, the linkage-driven part 60 includes a push rod 61, a repositioning spring 64, and an eccentric wheel/cam 66.
The push rod 61 employs a three-segment structure, i.e., a first segment 61a, a second segment 61b, and a third segment 61c. The first segment 61a, which has a substantially rectangular cross-sectional shape and a shorter length in the vertical direction, defines an enlarged head of the push rod 61.
The cross-sectional shape of the second segment 61b is also substantially rectangular, but the size of each side of the rectangle in the second segment 61b is shorter than the corresponding side in the first segment 61a. In particular, the front surface of the second segment 61b has a smaller offset from or is substantially aligned with the front surface of the first segment 61a. Thus, the back surface of the first segment 61a significantly projects from the back surface of the second segment 61b so that a backward projected portion of the first segment 61a is formed. A repositioning spring 64 with a proper diameter can be surrounded about the second segment 61b from the first segment 61a of the push rod 61. It should be appreciated for those skilled in the art that the first segment 61a, as an enlarged head of the push rod 61, is still less than the diameter of the repositioning spring 64. Therefore, after the assembling, the upper end of the repositioning spring 64 will not be limited by the first segment 61a.
The cross-sectional shape of the third segment 61c is also substantially rectangular, and the width of the cross-section is the same as that of the second segment 61b, but the length of the cross-section is larger than that of the second segment 61b (the length of the cross-section of rectangle is the length in the horizontally longitudinal direction) and is greater than the diameter of the repositioning spring 64. In other words, the cross-sectional shape of the third segment 61c is a flat longer rectangle. The end of the third segment (i.e., the end of the push rod 61) extends through the groove 25 to contact against the pressed portion 67 of the eccentric wheel 26. It can be appreciated for those skilled in the art that the shape of the groove 25 is substantially matched with the cross-sectional shape of the third segment 61c, and the cross section of the groove 25 is slightly larger than the cross section of the third segment 61c. Further, in the original state (i.e., the state wherein no press action is done), the upper end surface of the third segment 61c is substantially flush with the upper end surface of the right-angled plate 26. Thus, as the push rod 61 is pushed integrally downward, the upper end surface of the right-angled plate 26 may support the lower end of the repositioning spring 64.
A side of the eccentric wheel 66 is fixed on the execution part 70, or alternatively, the eccentric wheel 66 can be formed integrally with the end of the execution part 70. The connecting or forming manner of the eccentric wheel 66 with the execution part 70 may be not important, provided that the eccentric wheel 66 can directly drives the execution part 70.
Another side of the eccentric wheel 66 is connected pivotally to the support part 22 at a rotation center (not shown). The pressed portion 67 of the eccentric wheel 66 for receiving the pressure from the push rod is displaced from the rotation center. Preferably, in the original state, the pressed portion 67 is positioned in the horizontal rear of the rotation center. This driving manner using an eccentric wheel and a matched push rod with an flat and long end enables the larger effective component force of the pressing force to actually drive the execution part 70 to rotate, with only the less component force applied to the rotation center. Therefore, the toy according to embodiments of the present invention can lower the friction at the rotation center of the execution part 70 in the toy 100, and reduce the abrasion of the related parts, thus providing an improved hand-feel for the user's operation and elongating the service life of the striking toy 100.
The above support part 22, linkage-driven part 60 and execution part 70 after being assembled together constitute the first assembly 20 shown in
The second assembly 40 includes a head and an upper body part (including a neck), and is formed of a front casing 43a and a back casing 43b connected together, particularly referred to as pressing part 43 herein. Further, the second assembly 40 also includes two arm member 44a and 44b, which are connected to the left and right sides of the pressing part 43 fixedly, pivotally, or rotatably with self-locking. The second assembly 40 also may include a face protection shield 42 and the like to protect the head 41a.
It should be noted that the head 41a and the upper body 41b in the preferred embodiment of the present invention is an integral unit (i.e. the pressing part 43), which receives the press action from the user and move downward together. Obviously, such parts can be designed in the proper proportion between different parts as desired, and the problem does not exist any longer that the size proportion between the various parts of the striking toys in the prior art cannot be harmonized or is difficult to be harmonized. Of course, it is necessary to appropriately design the movement transmission relationship between the second assembly 40 and the push rod 61 of the first assembly.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of rib plates with multiple functions are provided in the back casing 43b of the pressing part 43. These rib plates not only reinforce the integral strength of the pressing part 43, but also achieve the movement transmission relationship with the push rod 61 in the first assembly 20.
As shown in
When assembling the assembled first assembly 20 and the parts of the second assembly 40, the backward projection portion of the first segment 61a of the push rod 61 engages into the first notch 47a to be positioned between the end of the pressing portion 45 and the upper surface of the lifting portion 46. The second segment 61b of the push rod 61 passes through the second notch 47b and extends downward, and the repositioning spring 64 around the second segment 61b contacts against the bottom surface of the pressing-spring rib 49. Preferably, the repositioning spring 64 should be in a preloaded state to make the second assembly 40 in the original state have a “tendency” of moving upward relative to the first assembly 20, thus the flange 48 extending inward from the lower end of the pressing part 43 contacting against the flange 21 extending outward from at the upper end of the waist of the support part 22 (which can be realized by simply configuring the size relationship among various parts or portions, not described in detail herein). Such preferred configuration provides a relatively tight “clip-on” engagement between the first assembly 20 and the second assembly 40, which ensures the complete repositioning of the pressing part 43 and effective positioning between the first assembly 20 and the second assembly 40. The assembled first assembly 20 and second assembly 40 is shown in
Additionally, the striking toy 100 of
Particularly, the first assembly 20 also may include a base 50 on which the end of the support part 22 is fixed. The base 50 usually has a relatively large bottom area to enable the support part fixed thereon to be placed more securely on the desk or ground. Preferably, the weight of the base 50 may be relatively great to provide a better stability for the striking toy 100. Further, for the convenience of placing the struck object 80 on the base 50, a recess may be provided on the upper surface of the base for placing the struck object 80 (the periphery of the recess may project slightly from the upper surface of the base) to prevent the struck object 80 from the undesired rolling or displacement.
Alternatively, an adjustment mechanism 55 may be provided in the base 50 to specially adjust the position of the struck object.
Since the distance between the execution part 70 and the struck object 80 in
Further, the execution part may be divided into two sections, i.e., an upper section 72 simulating the thigh of a human being and a lower section 74 simulating the shank and foot of a human body. In a preferred embodiment, the lower section 74 may self-lockably rotate about the end of the upper section 72 over a certain angle range. The self-lockable rotation herein means that, when rotated manually about the front end of the upper section 72 to some specified positions or any positions, the lower section 72 can keep fixation relative to the upper section 72 in those positions. A variety of connecting means for self-lockable rotation are well-known for those skilled in the art, and then the specific connecting structure for the self-lockable rotation is not described in detail herein.
In another further embodiment of the present invention, a target member (not shown) is provided for the striking toy 100 to improve the interaction of the game. For instance, the target member may be implemented as a football goal or a rugby goal, and placed in a spaced distance before the execution part 70 to be aimed at by the user. The striking toy 100 is operated to kick the struck object 80 into or through the target member.
Although some exemplary preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described above, other embodiments can be directly deduced by those skilled in the art according to the spirit of the invention, which should be considered to fall into the protection scope of the present invention. For example, in another embodiment of the present invention, the general shape of the striking toy may simulate the shape of carton characters, or alternatively, the striking toy may have any desired shape, provided that the toy has a second assembly for receiving the press action from the user and a first assembly including a movable execution part.
The present invention claims priority from China Patent Application No. 200520129484.6, filed Oct. 21, 2005, the content of which is incorporated herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200520129484.6 | Oct 2005 | CN | national |
