1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spinner for a toy top, and in particular, to a spinner for a toy top for launching a toy top while imparting a rotational force to the toy top by inserting a rack belt therein and pulling it out therefrom.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a spinner for a toy top which launches a toy top through an operation of pulling out a rack belt has been known.
For example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3160658 discloses a spinner for a toy top which is so constructed that after a toy top is mounted on a toy top mounting part of a spinner main body, a rack belt is inserted into the spinner main body and, when the rack belt is vigorously pulled out, a driving mechanism inside the spinner main body is activated to rotate the toy top mounting part, to thereby launch the toy top which has a rotational force imparted thereto.
However,, since users of such a spinner for a toy top are mainly children, it is difficult for them to fixedly hold a spinner main body. Accordingly, when the rack belt is vigorously pulled out, the spinner main body undesirably moves, thereby disadvantageously making it impossible to set and hold in place a launching position of the toy top.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problem. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a spinner for a toy top which enables a launching position of the toy top to be easily set and held in place even when the rack belt is vigorously pulled out.
In order to solve the above problem, according to the present invention, a spinner for a toy top for launching the toy top while imparting a rotational force to the toy top is provided. The spinner includes: an elongated plate-shaped rack belt having a rack gear formed thereon; and a spinner main body having an insertion hole formed therein through which the rack belt is inserted, the spinner main body including a toy top mounting part rotatably provided on a lower surface side thereof for mounting the toy top thereon and a rotating mechanism provided inside thereof, the rotating mechanism being actuated by pulling out the rack belt to impart a rotational force to the toy top mounting part, wherein the spinner main body is so constructed that the rack belt can be inserted in and pulled out from the insertion hole in a direction the same as a direction of an axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the spinner main body includes a base section in which the toy top mounting part is arranged and a rotary section rotatably provided with respect to the base section, and the insertion hole is formed in the rotary section so that a direction in which the insertion hole extends can be changed by rotating the rotary section with respect to the base section.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotary section can be rotated at least 180 degrees from a state where the direction in which the insertion hole extends is orthogonal to a direction of the axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotating mechanism includes a pinion gear that meshes with the rack gear of the rack belt and that is rotated about a first axis of rotation by pulling out the rack belt, and a gear mechanism that transmits a rotation of the pinion gear to the toy top mounting part to rotate the toy top mounting part about a second axis of rotation orthogonal to the first axis of rotation.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the gear mechanism includes a first bevel gear that is coupled to the pinion gear and that is integrally rotatable with the pinion gear about the first axis of rotation, and a second bevel gear that meshes with the first bevel gear and that is coupled to the toy top mounting part so as to rotate integrally with the toy top mounting part about the second axis of rotation.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotary section has a rotational center that coincides with the first axis of rotation.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the pinion gear is arranged inside the rotary section, and the first bevel gear and the second bevel gear are arranged inside the base section.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the rotating mechanism includes a ratchet gear that is coupled to the pinion gear and that is integrally rotatable with the pinion gear about the first axis of rotation, and a lock member engaging with the ratchet gear to regulate a rotation of the ratchet gear, the lock member being pushed away by the rack belt inserted through the insertion hole to be disengaged from the ratchet gear.
According to the present invention, the rack belt can be inserted and pulled out in the same direction as that of the axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part. Therefore, even when the rack belt is vigorously pulled out to undesirably move the spinner main body, the launching position of the toy top can be easily set and held in place. The reason for this is that when the rack belt is pulled out, the spinner main body is moved in a direction reverse to the direction of pulling out the rack belt. In using the spinner of the present invention, when the rack belt is pulled out, even if the spinner main body is moved in a direction reverse to the direction of pulling out the rack belt, the moving direction of the spinner main body is the same direction as that of the axis of rotation of the toy top (that is, a vertical direction). Therefore, the launching position of the toy top in a horizontal direction with respect to a playing surface or ground on which the toy top is rotated is not influenced, and thus the launching position of the toy top can be easily set and held in place.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the direction in which the insertion hole extends can be changed by rotating the rotary section with respect to the base section. Therefore, the direction of inserting and pulling out the rack belt can be set as desired, and the rack belt can be pulled out in a direction in which the user can easily perform a pulling operation.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the rotary section is provided so as to be rotatable at least 180 degrees from the state where the direction in which the insertion hole extends is orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part. That is, as long as the top launching device is held so that the axis of rotation of the toy top is properly in a vertical direction, the direction of inserting and pulling out the rack belt can be either a vertical direction or a horizontal direction. Therefore it is a matter of course that the rack belt can be pulled out in the vertically upward direction. Furthermore, the rack belt can be inserted and pulled out even when the device is held while the base section is positioned on either the right or left side of the rotary section. Thus the spinner of the present invention is suitable for both right-handed and left-handed players.
A spinner for a toy top according to an embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the drawings. A spinner 10 for a toy top according to the present embodiment is constructed to launch a toy top 50 while imparting a rotational force to the toy top 50, and includes, as shown in
As shown in
As shown in
On a lower surface side of the base section 12, a toy top mounting part 13 on which the toy top 50 is mounted is rotatably provided. As shown in
The rotary section 20 has the insertion hole 21 formed therein and, as described above, is rotatably coupled to the side of the base section 12. Accordingly, upon the rotary section 20 being rotated with respect to the base section 12, the direction in which the insertion hole 21 extends can be changed. When the direction in which the insertion hole 21 extends is changed in this manner, as shown in
The insertion hole 21 of the rotary section 20 has a notch 21a formed in an inner side surface thereof so as to prevent the rack belt 40 from being inserted with a wrong orientation, i.e. its front and back reversed. On the other hand, the rack belt 40 has a linear protrusion 43 (see
In the spinner 10 according to the present embodiment, the rotary section 20 is arranged so as to rotate approximately 180 degrees and, in particular, is provided so as to rotate approximately 180 degrees from the state in which the extending direction of the insertion hole 21 is orthogonal to an axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part 13.
Herein, the wording “the state in which the extending direction of the insertion hole 21 is orthogonal to an axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part 13” means a state in which the inserting and pulling-out direction of the rack belt 40 is horizontal when the spinner 10 is held in such a manner that the axis of rotation of the toy top 50 (i.e., the axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part 13) is properly vertical, such as in a state shown in
As described above, the rotating mechanism 30 that imparts a rotational force to the toy top mounting part 13 by means of the rack belt 40 being inserted and pulled out is provided inside the spinner main body 11.
As shown in
In the rotating mechanism 30, the pinion gear 32, the ratchet gear 33 and the first bevel gear 34 are arranged so that their axes of rotation are identical, i.e. a common axis A. Among these members, the pinion gear 32 and the ratchet gear 33 are disposed inside the rotary section 20, whereas the first bevel gear 34 is disposed inside the base section 12. The common axis of rotation A of the members 32, 33 and 34 of the rotating mechanism 30 coincides with the rotational center of the rotary section 20. This arrangement prevents the axes of rotation of the pinion gear 32, the ratchet gear 33 and the first bevel gear 34 from being shifted even when the rotary section 20 is rotated with respect to the base section 12.
Also, the second bevel gear 35, the clutch 36 and the toy top mounting part 13 are arranged so that their axes of rotation are identical, i.e. a common axis B, and they are accommodated in the base section 12. The common axis of rotation B of the members 35, 36 and 13 is arranged to be orthogonal to the common axis of rotation A of the pinion gear 32 and the ratchet gear 33 provided in the rotary section 20 and the first bevel gear 34 provided in the base section 12, so that the rotary section 20 can be rotated with respect to the base section 12 while the axis of rotation A of the members 32 and 33 in the rotary section 20 and the first bevel gear 34 and the axis of rotation B of the members 35, 36 and 13 (except the first bevel gear 34) in the base section 12 are kept orthogonal to each other.
Each of the members constituting the rotating mechanism 30 is described in detail below. The lock member 31 regulates the rotation of the ratchet gear 33, and is rotatably fixed to the rotary section 20 via a hole 31a and a pivot (not shown). As shown in
When the rack belt 40 inserted through the insertion hole 21 of the spinner main body 11 is pulled out, the pinion gear 32 that meshes with the rack gear 41 of the rack belt 40 is rotated. The ratchet gear 33 is arranged on the same axis as that of the pinion gear 32 so as to stop the rotation of the entire rotating mechanism 30 by the engagement of the ratchet pawl 31b of the lock member 31 with the ratchet gear 33. As shown in
The first bevel gear 34 is arranged on the same axis as that of the pinion gear 32 and the ratchet gear 33 and meshes with the second bevel gear 35 described below so as to transmit a rotational force of the pinion gear 32 in a direction orthogonal to its axis of rotation. As shown in
The second bevel gear 35 meshes with the first bevel gear 34 described above, and has an axis of rotation orthogonal to the axis of rotation A of the pinion gear 32, the ratchet gear 33 and the first bevel gear 34.
The clutch 36 is fitted in the toy top mounting part 13, and has engaging protrusions 36a formed on an outer perimeter thereof, as shown in
The rotating mechanism 30 of the spinner 10 according to the present embodiment is constructed as described above. As shown in
Therefore, after the toy top 50 is mounted on the toy top mounting part 13 and the rack belt 40 is inserted through the insertion hole 21 of the spinner main body 1, when the rack belt 40 is vigorously pulled out, the rotating mechanism 30 in the spinner main body 11 is actuated to rotate the toy top mounting part 13, to thereby launch the toy top 50 having a rotational force imparted thereto.
When the rack belt 40 is inserted through the insertion hole 21 of the spinner main body 11, the lock member 31 is pushed away by a back surface (a surface opposite from that on a side where the rack gear 41 is provided) of the rack belt 40 contacting the belt contacting part 31c and is moved to a retracted position where the ratchet pawl 31b is not engaged with the ratchet gear 33. Therefore, in the state in which the rack belt 40 is inserted through the insertion hole 21, the regulation of the rotation of the ratchet gear 33 is released, thereby allowing the rotating mechanism 30 to be actuated. When the rack belt 40 has been pulled out, however, the rack belt 40 and the belt contacting part 31c no longer contact each other. Therefore, by an urging force of the biasing means not shown, the ratchet pawl 31b of the lock member 31 is engaged with the ratchet gear 33, thereby preventing the rotation of the ratchet gear 33. For this reason, when the rack belt 40 inserted through the insertion hole 21 is swiftly pulled out, the toy top mounting part 13 that has been vigorously rotating until it is pulled out instantaneously stops. At this time, even when the rotation of the toy top mounting part 13 stops, the toy top 50 rotates due to an inertial force. Therefore the engaging claws 15 are disengaged from the engaging holes 51 of the toy top 50, so that the toy top 50 falls down while vigorously rotating.
The lock member 31 functions not only to stop the rotation of the toy top mounting part 13 by engagement of the lock member 31 with the ratchet gear 33 as described above, but also to determine a direction in which the rack belt 40 is inserted with respect to the insertion hole 21. That is, as shown in
The reason for this is as follows.
On the other hand,
Also as shown in
Thus the spinner 10 according to the present embodiment is constructed in such a manner that the rotation of the toy top 50 (the toy top mounting part 13) is not influenced no matter how the rotary section 20 is rotated with respect to the base section 12.
As described in the foregoing, according to the spinner 10 of the present embodiment, the rotary section 20 is rotated with respect to the base section 12 so that the direction in which the insertion hole 21 extends can be changed. Therefore the direction in which the rack belt 40 is inserted and pulled out can be set as desired, and the rack belt 40 can be pulled out in a direction in which the user can easily perform a pulling operation.
For example, as shown in
Also, even when the rotary section 20 is rotated so that the rack belt 40 can be inserted and pulled out in a direction orthogonal to the axis of rotation of the toy top mounting part 13, the rotary section 20 can be rotated in such a manner that the base section 12 is located on either the right or the left side of the rotary section 20. Therefore the spinner 10 of the present embodiment is suitable for both right-handed and left-handed players.
In the present embodiment, the rotation range of the rotary section 20 is 180 degrees. This range is determined based on the minimum range required for rotary section 20 to be used by both right-handed and left-handed players. In both the state in which the rotary section 20 is positioned at one rotation limit shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2010-6647 | Jun 2010 | JP | national |