SPINNING TOP TOY

CROSS-REFERENCE TO THE RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-130633 filed on Jul. 10, 2018. The entire content of Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-130633 is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND
Technological Filed

The present invention relates to a spinning top toy.

Description of Related Art

Conventionally, it is well-known that a spinning top toy is provided with a shaft part and a body, and the shaft part and the body are relatively rotated in a predetermined range and are disassembled in a predetermined point by applying an impact to the body from outside while playing battle games. (see e.g. Patent Document 1).

According to such spinning top toy, when the shaft part and the body are relatively rotated at the time of the impact, the impact receiving own spinning top toy is moderated at the time of the impact, and the impact giving to the opponent spinning top toy is moderated. On the other hand, in a case of a spinning top toy in which the shaft part and the body are not relatively rotated, the impact receiving the own spinning top toy becomes large at the time of the impact, and the impact giving to the opponent spinning top toy becomes large as well.

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent No. 6258541

SUMMARY

However, in the conventional spinning top toy, it was made in either one of a structure in which the shaft part and the body were relatively rotated, and a structure in which the shaft part and the body were not relatively rotated. Therefore, the modes for battles were limited.

The present invention was created considering the aforementioned problems. An object is to provide a spinning top toy which can perform both battles in which the shaft part and the body are relatively rotated and in which the shaft part and the body are not relatively rotated.

A spinning top toy includes a shaft part, a body being detachably attached to the shaft part, a locking part being configured on the body, a first locked part being configured on the shaft part, and a lock mechanism being configured either on the shaft part or the body. The body includes a movable locking part being movable between a first position and a second position. The locking part is configured to allow a relative rotation of the shaft part and the body when the movable locking part is at the first position and to block the relative rotation when the movable locking part is at the second position. The lock mechanism is configured to block a movement of the movable locking part when the movable locking part is at the first position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views showing a spinning top toy and a launcher respectively according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a spinning top toy.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a half of a shaft part and a flywheel of the spinning top toy.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a body of the spinning top toy viewed from the lower side.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the body of the spinning top toy viewed from the upper side.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the body of the spinning top toy viewed from the lower side.

FIG. 7 is a plane view showing the body in which the shaft part and the body are relatively rotated.

FIG. 8 is a plane view showing the body in which the relative rotation of the shaft part and the body are blocked.

FIG. 9 is an illustration showing a condition in which a movable locking part of the spinning top toy is locked by a lock mechanism.

FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a condition in which a movable locking part of the spinning top toy is unlocked by a lock mechanism.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between the shaft part and the body.

FIG. 12 is a bottom view of the body of the spinning top toy according to another embodiment.

FIG. 13 is an illustration showing a condition in which the movable locking part of the spinning top toy according to another embodiment is locked by the lock mechanism.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a spinning top toy of the present invention will be described based on embodiments shown in the drawings.

In the following embodiments, various limitations which are technically preferable in the present invention are described, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments and the drawings.

The above and/or other aspects, features and/or advantages of various embodiments will be further appreciated in view of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Various embodiments can include and/or exclude different aspects, features and/or advantages where applicable. In addition, various embodiments can combine one or more aspect or feature of other embodiments where applicable. The descriptions of aspects, features and/or advantages of particular embodiments should not be construed as limiting other embodiments or the claims. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items and may be abbreviated as “/”. It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. Unless indicated otherwise, these terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first object could be termed a second object, and, similarly, a second object could be termed a first object without departing from the teachings of the disclosure. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to or “on” another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to or on the other element or intervening elements may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly connected” or “directly coupled” to another element, there are no intervening elements present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). However, the term “contact,” as used herein refers to direct contact (i.e., touching) unless the context indicates otherwise. Terms such as “same,” “planar,” or “coplanar,” as used herein when referring to orientation, layout, location, shapes, sizes, amounts, or other measures do not necessarily mean an exactly identical orientation, layout, location, shape, size, amount, or other measure, but are intended to encompass nearly identical orientation, layout, location, shapes, sizes, amounts, or other measures within acceptable variations that may occur, for example, due to manufacturing processes. The term “substantially” may be used herein to reflect this meaning. Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and/or the present application, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein

Whole Structure

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views showing an appearance of a spinning top toy and a launcher (launching device) respectively. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the spinning top toy.

Among these toys, the spinning top toy 1 is used for battle games in which the spinning top toys compete each other to victory or defeat by, for example, applying an impact. The spinning top toy 1 is provided with a shaft 10, a flywheel 30, and a body 40.

Detail Structure
1. Regarding the Shaft Part 10 and the Flywheel 30

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a half part of the shaft part 10 and the flywheel 30. The remaining half is in point symmetry with respect to this half part. In the description of the shaft part 10 and the flywheel 30, the terms “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, “front”, and “back” refer to the corresponding directions in FIG. 3.

Among these parts, the shaft part 10 is provided with a rotating shaft 11 which is a ground part is provided in the lower end part, a flange 12 which is provided in the middle part in the up and down direction, and a cylindrical body 13 which is provided in the upper end part.

The flange 12 and the cylindrical body 13 are integrally formed. In the center of the cylindrical body 13, a cylinder 14 is provided. At the upper end part circumference of the cylinder 14, a hook 17 stretching out in the radially outward direction is formed at each of front and back sections. The cylinder 14 is fixed to the shaft lower part 10a. The outer periphery surface of the shaft lower part 10a is gradually reduced in diameter in the direction from the flange 12 side to the tip end side of the rotating shaft 11, so as to form an approximately reversed conical shape as a whole. The shaft lower part 10a is fastened to the flange 12 by a screw, etc. which is not shown in the drawings.

In each of the front and back of the flange 12 and the cylindrical body 13, a hole 15 is formed throughout the flange 12 and the cylindrical body 13. Further, in each of the right and left of the outer periphery surface of the cylindrical body 13, a projection part 16 is formed. The outer periphery surface of each projection part 16 shares a plane with the outer periphery surface of the flange 12.

Further, the shaft part 10 is provided with a cylindrical shape urging member 18. The urging member 18 has an annular upper end part 18b which is the shape fitting to the outside of the upper end part of the cylinder 14. The urging member 18 is arranged inside the cylindrical body 13 to surround the cylinder 14. In each of the front and back of the outer periphery of the lower end part of the urging member 18, a leg part 18a is formed and stretches radially outward.

The urging member 18 is installed so as to expose each leg part 18a from the hole 15 which corresponds to the leg part 18a. The holes 15 allow the movement of the leg parts 18a in the vertical direction, but the movement of the leg parts 18a is restricted at the upper edge of the holes 15. Further, the urging member 18 is urged in the upper direction by the spring 19. By the way, in each of right and left of the upper surface of the upper end part 18b of the urging member 18, a protruding strip (projection) 20, which extends in the radial direction, is formed.

2. Flywheel 30

The flywheel 30 is formed in an annular shape. The flywheel 30 is an accessory part of the shaft part 10 and when installed, it is integrated with the shaft part 10 without the case in which it is disassembled. Even without the flywheel 30, it can be used as the spinning top toy 1. At the inner periphery side of the bottom surface of the flywheel 30, an annular step part 30a, which can store the flange 12 of the shaft part 10 from the lower side, is formed. A projection part 31, which projects toward the upper side, is formed in each of the right and left of the upper surface of the flywheel 30. At the lower side part of each projection part 31, a recessed part 32, which can store the projection part 16 of the shaft part 10 from the lower side, is formed. Further, on the upper surface of the flywheel 30, a tongue-piece part 33, which extends upwardly, is formed directly outside of each of the projection part 31. The tongue-piece parts 33 project higher than the projection parts 31.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the body 40 when viewed from the lower side. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the body 40 when viewed from the upper side. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the body 40 when viewed from the lower side.

The body 40 is provided with a lower body 41, an upper body 42, a movable locking part 43, and a lock mechanism 44. In the explanation of the body 40, the terms “up”, “down”, “left”, “right”, “front”, and “back” refer to the corresponding directions in FIG. 5, unless otherwise stated.

(1) Lower Body 41

The lower body 41 is formed in a disk-shape as a whole. The lower body 41 is provided with an annular part 41a configuring an outer circumference part, and an elevated part 41b which is arranged inside a hole located in the center of the annular part 41a and is one step higher than the annular part 41a. The diameter of the elevated part 41b is smaller than the hole located in the center of the annular part 41a, and the elevated part 41b is supported by the annular part 41a through a support part 41c. On the other hand, in the right and left direction of each side of the lower body 41, a predetermined space 41d is formed between the elevated part 41b and the annular part 41a. In each space 41d, each one of a tongue-piece parts 33 of the flywheel 30 is inserted from the lower side.

Further, in the center of the elevated part 41b, a circular hole 41e is formed.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the lower surface of the lower body 41, at the edge of the hole 41e, a cylindrical wall 41f having a shape, which extends downward, is formed. At the lower end inner periphery of the cylindrical wall 41f, in each of two portions facing each other across the axis, a hook 41g is formed. As shown in FIG. 4, on the lower surface of each hook 41g, at the rear end part in the rotational direction of the spinning top toy 1, raised parts 41h which arrange a plurality of protruding strips extending in the radial direction with a predetermined interval in a circumferential direction are formed.

Further, at the annular part 41a of the lower body 41, three screw inserting holes 41i with a counterbore are formed in total and are provided at equal intervals in the circumference direction. Further, on the upper surface of the lower body 41, cylindrical inner fitting parts 41j are formed to the screw inserting holes 41i.

(2) Upper Body 42

FIG. 7 is a plane view showing the body in a condition in which a relative rotation is capable of being performed. FIG. 8 is a plane view showing the body in a condition in which a relative rotation is blocked. Here, the phrase “condition in which a relative rotation is blocked” means to include a condition in which the relative rotation is initially blocked or a condition in which the relative rotation is blocked halfway. The upper body 42 covers the lower body 41 from the upper side. As shown in FIG. 6, at the outer circumference of the upper body 42, a fixed blade (fixed collision part) 42a configuring a collision part is formed in various shapes. As shown in FIG. 7, in each of the right and left of the upper body 42, an arcuate slit 42b corresponding to each space 41d of the lower body 41 is formed. The arcuate slits 42b has a narrow width at the front end part side of the spinning top toy 1 in the rotation direction. In the arcuate slits 42b, the tongue-piece parts 33 of the flywheel 30 are inserted into the spaces 41d from the lower side. Further, in the arcuate slits 42b, forks 63 of a launcher 60, which will be described later, are inserted from the upper side.

Further, in the upper body 42, three columnar bodies 42d in which female screws 42c are formed are provided. The upper body 42 is mounted to the lower body 41 by screwing the male screws 40a, which are passed through the screw inserting holes 41i of the lower body 41 and screw inserting holes 43e described later, to the female screws 42c from the lower side.

(3) Movable Locking Part 43 and Lock Mechanism 44

FIG. 9 shows a condition in which the movable locking parts 43 are locked by the lock mechanism 44. FIG. 10 shows a condition in which the movable locking parts 43 are unlocked by the lock mechanism 44.

The movable locking part 43 and the lock mechanism 44 are made in one group, and in the spinning top toy 1 of the embodiment, three groups are provided. The three groups of the movable locking part 43 and the lock mechanism 44 are provided between the lower body 41 and the upper body 42.

Among them, the movable locking parts 43 are formed in an arcuate-shape in a manner of expanding radially outward of the spinning top toy 1. In the intermediate part of the movable locking parts 43 in the longitudinal direction, outer fitting parts 43a fitting with the aforementioned inner fitting parts 41j are formed. In the inner parts of the outer fitting parts 43a, screw inserting holes 43e are formed. By fitting the outer fitting parts 43a and the fitting parts 41j, the movable locking parts 43 are capable of swinging around the male screws (axis) 40a.

In the movable locking part 43, the outer side of one end side arm configures a collision part 43b, and at the top end of the other end side arm, a wedge-shaped locked part 43c is formed. Further, at the inner side of the other end side arm of one movable locking part 43A among the three movable locking parts 43, a triangular-shaped locking part 43d is formed. The locking part 43d enters inside the arcuate slit 42b when the movable locking part 43A is rotated in the clockwise direction in the plane view (see FIG. 8). The entering position is the moving area of the tongue-piece parts 33 of the flywheel 30 inserted into the arcuate slits 42b, and is the front end side of the rotation direction of the spinning top toy 1 in the arcuate slits 42b. By entering the locking part 43d into the arcuate slit 42b, the movement of the tongue-piece part 33 of the flywheel 30 is blocked by the locking part 43d, and the relative rotation of the shaft part 10 and the body 40 is blocked. Further, the locking part 43d exits from the arcuate slit 42b when the movable locking part 43A is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the plane view (see FIG. 7). Accordingly, the movement of the tongue-piece part 33 of the flywheel 30 is not blocked by the locking part 43d, and the relative rotation of the shaft part 10 and the body 40 is allowed.

The lock mechanism 44 is provided with a spring 44a and a locking piece 44b which is provided at one end of the spring 44a. The spring 44a functions as to always contact the top end of the locking piece 44b to the movable locking part 43. The spring 44a and the locking piece 44b are provided in a predetermined room formed by the lower body 41 and the upper body 42.

Assembly Method of Spinning Top Toy 1

Next, a whole assembly method of the spinning top toy 1 will be described.

First, the shaft part 10 and the flywheel 30 are assembled in a fitting state in a manner in which the projection parts 16 of the shaft part 10 are engaged to the recessed parts 32 of the flywheel 30 from the lower side. Next, the assembled body is brought close to the body 40 from the lower side.

Next, the tongue-piece parts 33 of the flywheel 30 are inserted to one end part of the arcuate slits 42b of the body 40 from the lower side. In detail, the tongue-piece parts 33 of the flywheel 30 are inserted to the arcuate slits 42b at the front end part in the rotation direction of the spinning top toy 1. In this state, the hooks 17 of the shaft part 10 are positioned between the two hooks 41g. This state is the disassembled state. After that, the shaft part 10 of the aforementioned assembled body is pressed to the body 40 side. Then, first, the flywheel 30 is pressed against the lower surface of the body 40. Further, the urging member 18 is lowered while the spring 19 inside of the shaft part 10 is contracted, so that the hooks 17 of the shaft part 10 are relatively pushed more upward than the hooks 41g of the body 40. Then, the hooks 41g of the body 40 are positioned at the lower side of the hooks 17 of the shaft part 10. When the shaft part 10 is integrally rotated with the flywheel 30 in a predetermined direction (direction opposite to the rotation direction of the spinning top toy 1), it becomes a condition in which the hooks 17 and the hooks 41g are overlapped in the vertical direction. When a hand is released from the shaft part 10, as shown in FIG. 11, the lower surface of the hooks 17 of the shaft part 10 and the upper surface of the hooks 41g of the body 40 abut by the energizing force of the spring 19 inside the shaft part 10. This state in which the lower surface of the hooks 17 of the shaft part 10 and the upper surface of the hooks 41g of the body 40 abut is the assembled state. With such structure, the protruding strips 20 and the raised parts 41h are meshed, so that the spinning top toy 1 is assembled.

How to Play

Next, an example of how to play with the spinning top toy 1 will be described.

First, the movable locking part 43 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the plane view by the player, and it becomes a state in which the locking part 43d of the movable locking part 43A exits from the arcuate slit 42b.

Next a charge of the spinning force of the spinning top toy 1 is performed. The charge is performed by a launcher 60 shown in FIG. 1(a). In the inside part, the launcher 60 is provided with a disk which is not shown, and the disk is energized in one rotational direction by the power spring which is not shown. When the string, which is not shown, wound around the disk is pulled by a handle 61, the disk is rotated, and therefore, the spinning top holder 62 is rotated. The rotation of the spinning top holder 62 is transmitted to the spinning top toy 1 by the forks 63 projecting downward, so that the spinning top toy 1 is rotated. In this case, the forks 63 are inserted to the arcuate slits 41d of the body part 40, and the projections 63b formed inside the forks 63 are inserted under the narrow width part of the arcuate slits 42b. When the handle 61 of the launcher 60 is pulled to the end, the rotation of the disk and further, the spinning top holder 62 is stopped. On the other hand, the spinning top toy 1 is rotated further by the inertia force, so that the spinning top toy 1 is released from the spinning top holder 62 in accordance with the inclined surface 63a of the forks 63.

In a state in which the locking part 43d of the movable locking part 43 is projected inside the arcuate slit 42b, the forks 63 are blocked by the locking part 43d and it cannot be inserted inside the arcuate slits 42b.

When the rotation energizing force by the launcher 60 is large, that is, when a predetermined centrifugal force applies to the spinning top toy 1, in the launched spinning top toy 1, the collision part 43b of the movable locking part 43 starts moving radially outward, and the locking piece 44b slidably contacts with the movable locking part 43 and moves to the direction where the spring 44a shrinks. With this, the locking of the locked part 43c of the movable locking part 43 by the locking piece 44b of the lock mechanism 44 is released. Accordingly, the movable locking part 43 is further moved by the centrifugal force, and the locking part 43d of the movable locking part 43 enters the inside of the arcuate slit 42b. Therefore, when the shaft part 10 and the body 40 are relatively rotated, the tongue-piece part 33 is blocked by the locking part 43d halfway, and further relative rotation is prevented.

On the other hand, when the rotation energizing force by the launcher 60 is small, the locking of the locked part 43c of the movable locking part 43 by the locking piece 44b of the lock mechanism 44 is not released. Accordingly, the locking part 43d of the movable locking part 43 does not enter inside the arcuate slit 42b, so that the relative rotation of the shaft part 10 and the body 40 is not prevented. As a result, when colliding to the opponent's spinning top toy, by the impact force of the collision, the meshing position between the raised parts 41h of the lower surface of the body 40 and the protruding strips 20 is changed in accordance with the relative rotation of the shaft part 10 with respect to the body 40. When it reaches the locking releasing position, the locking between the hooks 41g of the body 40 and the hooks 17 of the shaft part 10 is released, so that the body 40 is separated from the shaft part 10 by the energizing force of the spring 19 inside the shaft part 10.

Further, there is a case in which when the movable locking part 43 of the spinning top toy 1 receives strong impact more than a predetermined impact from the opponent's spinning top toy, the locking of the movable locking part 43 may be released. Further, there is a case in which even when the locking part 43d of the movable locking part 43 enters inside the arcuate slit 42b, when the relative rotation of the shaft part 10 with respect to the body 40 occurs by the strong impact more than the predetermined impact, the locking of the movable locking part 43 may be released.

Other Embodiments

In the aforementioned embodiment, the spinning top toy 1 with one rotary direction type is described, but it can be applied to the spinning top toy with both rotary direction type.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of a bottom showing one example of the body. In a body 40A, the raised parts 41h are formed in the entire or the both sides of the lower surface of the hooks 41g, and after inserting the hooks 17 to the space between two hooks 41g, the hooks 41g and the hooks 17 can be engaged by relatively rotating the shaft part 10 and the body 40 in either direction. Therefore, preliminary, the player selects either one of the clockwise direction rotation or the counterclockwise direction rotation, and the player needs to relatively rotate the shaft part 10 and the body 40 in a direction corresponding to the selected direction. Further, the arcuate slits 42b of the body 40A are engaged with the projections 63 of the launcher 60 in the both side of the circumference direction. The player uses the launcher 60 which is capable of switching the rotation direction or the launcher 60 which corresponds to the rotation direction.

In the body 40A, four sets of the movable locking part 43 and the lock mechanism 44 are provided. Among them, two sets of the movable locking part 43 and the lock mechanism 44 are provided to correspond to one of the arcuate slits 42b, and the remaining two sets of the movable locking part 43 and the lock mechanism 44 are provided to correspond to the other arcuate slit 42b. The two movable locking parts 43 corresponding to each arcuate slit 42b are rotated in an opposite direction each other by a predetermined centrifugal force. In each movable locking part 43, the locking part 43d is formed, and in a space between two movable locking parts 43 corresponding to each arcuate slit 42b, one enters one end side of the arcuate slit 42b in the circumference direction, and the other one enters the other end side of the arcuate slit 42b in the circumference direction. As a result, in a space between the two movable locking parts 43 corresponding to each arcuate slit 42b, when a predetermined centrifugal force works, one of the locking parts 43d of the movable locking parts 43 abuts to the outside of the tongue-piece part 33 of the flywheel 30, or after passing the tongue-piece part 33, it enters inside the arcuate slit 42b, so that the movement of the tongue-piece part 33 is not blocked. Further, the other one of the locking parts 43d of the movable locking part 43 enters inside the arcuate slit 42b and the movement of the tongue-piece parts 33 is blocked.

Modification Example of the Present Invention

The embodiments of the present invention were described above, but the present invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments, and needless to say, various modifications may be made.

For example, in the aforementioned embodiments, as the components of the lock mechanism 44, the spring 44a is used, but the locking piece 44b itself may be an elastically deformable elastic material.

Further, in the aforementioned embodiments, a movable locking part 43 swinging around a predetermined axis is provided, but a movable locking part 43 linearly reciprocating in the radial direction may be provided.

Effect of the Invention

According to the first means to the fourth means, when the locking state of the locked part is locked by the lock mechanism in the first position, a battle, in which the shaft part and the body are relatively moved, is performed, and when the locking is unlocked in the second position, a battle, in which the shaft part and the body are hardly relatively moved, can be performed.

In this case, according to the second means, by blocking the relative rotation of the shaft part and the body, the disassemble can be prevented.

Further, according to the fourth means, preliminarily, it can be prevented to become a mode in which the relative rotation is blocked from the beginning.

According to the fifth means, the movable locking part and the lock mechanism are provided in the body which expands in the radial direction compare to the shaft part, so that the movable locking part and the lock mechanism are easily provided.

According to the sixth means, in the first means or the second means, the collision part of the movable locking part stretches radially outward from the body in the second position. Therefore, it functions as an attacking part.

According to the seventh means, by the movement of the movable locking part, locking or unlocking to another locking part is automatically performed via sliding with the movable locking part. Therefore, it is easily handled.

SPINNING TOP TOY

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Priority Claims (1)