Patent Application
20110303071
1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a music box. More particularly, the invention relates to a reinforced music box.
2. Description of the Prior Art
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From the above, we can see that improvements are needed for the conventional music boxes in terms of material cost, manufacturing process, labor cost and the precision in assembly.
An object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced music box that requires less cost and labor in production and that can simplify manufacturing.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced music box that does not requires any galvanization and hence electricity may be saved and deformation in the galvanization may be avoided.
A third object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced music box that has a higher degree of precision in assembly.
A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced music box that has an enhanced protection for the spirally cogged stick (to protect it from bending).
To reach these objects, the reinforced music box of the present invention is disclosed. The reinforced music box of the present invention comprises a base portion, a two-sided cogwheel, a step type cogwheel, a music generator, a cover portion and a friction set. The base portion has a lower hole and a plurality of fixing protrusions. The two-sided cogwheel is disposed in the base portion and may rotate axially. The step type cogwheel is disposed in the base portion and may engage with the first cogwheel of the two-sided cogwheel. The step type cogwheel may rotate axially and rotate along with the two-sided cogwheel. The music generator is disposed in the base portion and may generate music by the motion from the step type cogwheel. The cover portion has a main part, a friction part and a supporting part. The main part, friction part and supporting part are integrally formed and either the main part or supporting part has a plurality of engagement holes that can engage with the fixing protrusions of the base portion. The friction part has an upper hole. The friction set has a friction part and a spirally cogged stick. The upper end and lower end of the cogged stick are fitted to the upper hole of the cover portion and the lower hole of the base portion, respectively. The spirally cogged stick may engage with the second cogwheel of the two-sided cogwheel at 90 degree.
The drawings disclose an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, which serves to exemplify the various advantages and objects hereof, and are as follows:
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The base portion 10 has two first position-limiting slots 11, two-second position limiting slots 12, a plurality of fixing protrusions 13 and a lower hole 14.
The music generator 20 is fitted to the base portion 10 and a user may rotate it to generate music.
The step type cogwheel 30 is fitted to the two first position-limiting slots 11 and its position is limited by the two first position-limiting slots 11. Therefore, the step type cogwheel 30 can rotate axially.
The two-sided cogwheel 40 is fitted to the two-second position limiting slots 11 and its position is limited by the two-second position limiting slots 11. Therefore, the cogwheel 30 can rotate axially. In addition, the first cogwheel of the two-sided cogwheel 40 may engage with the step type cogwheel 30.
The cover portion 50 has a main part 51, a friction part 52 and a supporting part 53. The cover portion 50 is made of POM and is integrally formed. The friction part 52 horizontally extends from the main part 51 and the supporting part 53 vertically extends from the friction part 52. Either the main part 51 or the supporting part 53 has a plurality of engagement holes 54. The engagement holes 54 may be aligned with the fixing protrusions 13 of the base portion 10 so that, through the connection of the engagement holes 54 and the fixing protrusions 13 (they are connected by pressing), the cover portion 50 may be fitted to the base portion 10. An indentation area 521 is centrally provided in the friction part 52 and an edge 522 is formed around the indentation area 521. Therefore, the indentation area 521 has a predetermined degree of flexibility. The height of the indentation area 521 is lower than that of the supporting part 53. An upper hole (not shown in the drawings) is formed in the opposite side of the indentation area 521.
The friction set 60 has a friction part 61 and a spirally cogged stick 62. The upper end and lower end of the cogged stick 62 are fitted to the upper hole of the cover portion 50 and the lower hole 14 of the base portion 10, respectively. In addition, the spirally cogged stick 62 may engage with the second cogwheel of the two-sided cogwheel 40 at 90 degree. In use, a user may rotate the spirally cogged stick 62 and then the rotation is passed onto the two-sided cogwheel 40 and step type cogwheel 30 and to the music generator 20, which can generate music.
The structure of a preferred embodiment 100 of the present invention and how it is assembled have been described. In comparison to the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and features:
Many changes and modifications in the above described embodiment of the invention can, of course, be carried out without departing from the scope thereof. Accordingly, to promote the progress in science and the useful arts, the invention is disclosed and is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
