Patent Application
20140130385
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a displayable figure and more particularly to a shaking inflatable figure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Inflatable figures are entertaining and displayable, are hollow and have air chambers therein. While being inflated, inflatable figures are expanded in volume into a fixed form for the purposes of entertainment, advertisement and decoration. After being deflated, inflatable figures can be folded flat and stored in a compact bag for easy storage. In view of the foregoing advantages and operational flexibility, inflatable figures may be proclaimed as one type of most popular inflatable toys. However, conventional inflatable figures can be only statically exhibited and easily become stereotypical in terms of visual reception. Therefore, toy industry is constantly conceiving how to improve the design of inflatable figures by providing satisfactory entertaining and animated effect through added motion of the inflatable figures.
An objective of the present invention is to provide a shaking inflatable figure exhibiting a more animated visual effect arising from vibration of the figure.
To achieve the foregoing objective, the shaking inflatable figure has a body, an inflating unit and a vibrating unit.
The body defines an air chamber in the body.
The inflating unit is mounted inside the body and communicates with the air chamber.
The vibrating unit is mounted inside the body.
Preferably, the body has a partition diaphragm, an edge of the horizontal partition diaphragm is connected with an inner wall of the body, and the vibrating unit is mounted on the partition diaphragm.
Preferably, the vibrating unit has a housing, a driving motor and an eccentric vibrator. The housing is mounted on the partition diaphragm. The driving motor is mounted inside the housing. The eccentric vibrator is mounted inside the housing and is connected with the driving motor.
Preferably, the housing of the vibrating unit has an upper case and a lower case combined with each other and further has a waterproof seal ring mounted between the upper case and the lower case.
Preferably, the upper case has an annular groove formed in the upper case for the waterproof seal ring to be mounted in the annular groove, the lower case has a lower engagement wall formed on the lower case and engaging the annular groove of the upper case, and the lower engagement wall has two rising edges formed on the lower engagement wall, spaced apart from each other, and abutting against the waterproof seal ring.
Preferably, the upper case further has an upper engagement wall, multiple upper pillars and a top cover. The upper engagement wall is formed on and protrudes from a top of the upper case and has a gap formed through the upper engagement wall. The upper pillars are formed on the top of the upper case and spaced apart from one another. Each upper pillar has an assembly hole formed in a top of the upper pillar. The top cover is detachably mounted on the upper engagement wall of the upper case, is disc-shaped, and has multiple assembly slots and an engagement groove. The assembly slots are formed in a bottom of the top cover, and are spaced apart from one another. Each assembly slot has a through hole. The engagement groove is formed on the bottom of the top cover. The upper engagement wall of the upper case is located under the partition diaphragm of the body. The top cover is located above the partition diaphragm. The engagement groove engages the upper engagement wall. The upper pillars are respectively sleeved in the assembly slots. Multiple fasteners are used to respectively penetrate through the assembly slots and the assembly holes of the upper pillars to fasten the top cover on the upper case.
Preferably, the upper case further has a wiring box, and the wiring box has a wire holder and a lid. The wire holder is filled with waterproof adhesive. The lid is combined with the wire holder.
Preferably, the driving motor is mounted inside the upper case, and has a spindle and a driving gear. The driving gear is mounted around the spindle. The eccentric vibrator has a transmission gear set and a rocker arm.
The transmission gear set has multiple gears engaging each other and mounted inside a gearbox. The gearbox is mounted on a fixing plate mounted inside the housing. One gear of the transmission gear set engages the driving gear of the driving motor.
The rocker arm is pivotally mounted on the fixing plate and has a passive gear mounted on one end of the rocker arm and engaging another gear of the transmission gear set.
The weight is formed on the other end of the rocker arm.
Preferably, the shaking inflatable figure further has a lighting unit. The body is made of a soft, thin and transparent material.
Given the foregoing technical measures, the shaking inflatable figure can be inflated by the air pump to exhibit an expanded appearance. The driving motor of the vibrating unit drives the rocker arm and the weight to rotate so that the center of gravity of the figure is continuously shifted by the movement of the weight, the vibrating unit generates vibrations with a specific frequency, and the vibrations are transmitted to the body through the partition diaphragm. Accordingly, the body of the figure exhibits an animated visual effect of constant vibrations and increases viewers' entertaining pleasure. The lighting elements of the lighting module can emit light through the transparent wall of the body to render an illuminating figure more visual effect.
The vibrating unit inside the figure has a waterproof design so as to achieve an outdoor waterproof requirement and a broad application range when the figure is used outdoors.
Other objectives, advantages and novel features of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
With reference to
The body 10 is hollow and is made of a soft and thin material, has multiple air chambers therein and a partition diaphragm 11. An edge of the horizontal partition diaphragm 11 is connected with an inner wall of the body 10. In the present embodiment, the body 10 takes human form and has a head 12, a trunk 13, a foot portion 14 and two arms 15. The trunk 13 is connected with the head 12 and is located underneath the head 12. The foot portion 14 is connected with the trunk 13, is located under the trunk 13 and has an air orifice formed through a bottom of the foot portion 14. The two arms 15 are connected with two sides of the trunk 13. The air chambers are respectively defined by the head 12, the trunk 13, the foot portion 14 and the arms 15 and communicate with one another. The partition diaphragm 11 is located at a central portion inside the trunk 13.
With reference to
With reference to
With reference to
The upper case 34 takes the form of a hollow cylinder with an open bottom, and has an annular groove 340, a seal ring 341 and multiple lower pillars 342. The open bottom has an annular edge. The annular groove 340 is formed in the annular edge of the open bottom. The seal ring 341 is waterproof and is mounted in the annular groove 340. The lower pillars 342 are formed around a periphery of the upper case 34, and are adjacent to the open bottom and are spaced apart from one another. Each lower pillar 342 has an assembly hole formed through the lower pillar 342.
With reference to
With reference to
With further reference to
The driving motor 32 is mounted inside the upper case 34, and has a spindle, a driving gear 320 and two power wires 3452. The driving gear 320 is mounted around the spindle and is mounted through one of the mounting holes of the fixing plate 37. The two power wires 3452 extend into the wiring box 345.
The eccentric vibrator 33 has a transmission gear set 330, a rocker arm 331 and a weight 332.
With reference to
A passive gear 333 is mounted on one end of the rocker arm 331 and a weight chamber 334 is formed on the other end of the rocker arm 331. The rocker arm 331 is pivotally mounted on the fixing plate 37. The passive gear 333 engages another gear of the transmission gear set 330.
The weight 332 is a metal block and is mounted inside the weight chamber 334 on the rocker arm 331.
The lighting unit 40 has multiple lighting elements 41 electrically connected with one another. The lighting elements 41 may be conventional light bulbs or an LED lighting module. The lighting unit 40 is mounted inside the body 10. The body 10 is made of a transparent material or a translucent material.
When the shaking inflatable figure of the present invention is operated, the air pump 23 of the inflating unit 20 pumps air in the ambient environment to enter the air chambers inside the body 10 of the figure through the air orifice on the bottom of the figure and the figure is inflated and expanded. With further reference to
Even though numerous characteristics and advantages of the present invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, together with details of the structure and function of the invention, the disclosure is illustrative only. Changes may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, and arrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the full extent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which the appended claims are expressed.
