Patent Application
20090253346
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toy cup, and a toy dispenser for simulating the dispensing of a beverage into the toy cup.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a toy feeding bottle has been proposed in which a liquid simulating a drink contained in a container appears to have disappeared when the container is inverted (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3079103). This toy feeding bottle has a lower container and an upper container divided by a division wall and communicated with each other only by through-holes. When a hollow wall of the lower container is filled with a white opaque liquid simulating milk, and subsequently an end of the toy feeding bottle is inserted into a mouth of a doll and the toy feeding bottle is tilted as if feeding the doll with milk, the liquid in the lower container gradually moves into the upper container through the through-hole and the amount of the liquid in the lower container decreases, thereby giving an observer an impression as if the amount of the milk in the feeding bottle had decreased because the doll had drunk the milk.
In the above-described toy feeding bottle, the liquid in the lower container gradually moves into the upper container through the through-holes when the toy feeding bottle is tilted, but the liquid in the upper container gradually returns into the lower container when the toy feeding bottle is restored from a tilted state to a vertical state. Accordingly, the above-described toy feeding bottle has a problem that, although it is realistic when feeding milk, it lacks reality in that the liquid spontaneously returns into the lower container when the toy feeding bottle is restored to its original state.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problem. An object of the present invention is to provide a toy cup, and a toy dispenser for simulating the dispensing of a beverage into the toy cup, which are realistic in that a liquid in the toy-cup gradually goes out of sight when the toy cup is tilted, the liquid which has gone out of sight does not return even when the toy cup is restored from a tilted state to a vertical state, and the liquid returns into the toy cup when the toy cup is set on the toy dispenser and an operating member is operated, whereby it appears as if a drink were being poured from the dispenser into the cup.
In order to solve the foregoing problem, a toy cup according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a hermetically closed container; a division plate dividing an interior of the hermetically closed container into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, the division plate having a plurality of small holes formed at a periphery thereof at predetermined intervals for communicating the upper chamber and the lower chamber with each other, and a vent tube provided at a center thereof to communicate the upper chamber and the lower chamber with each other; a liquid simulating a beverage contained in the container, the liquid moving between the upper chamber and the lower chamber through the plurality of small holes; a control valve for opening and closing the vent tube; and an urging member for urging the control valve so as to close the vent tube. The control valve operates so as to open the vent tube against an urging force of the urging member by means of an urge-releasing member.
Preferably, the control valve has a first magnet provided therein; the urge-releasing member is composed of a second magnet acting on the first magnet; and the control valve is moved against the urging force of the urging member and the vent tube is opened when the second magnet acts on the first magnet.
The second magnet may be provided at an end of a toy drink container formed to simulate a bottle containing a drink.
Desirably, the container is formed of a cup forming the lower chamber and a cap forming the upper chamber combined with the division plate therebetween, the cap having a pressure-deformable top plate, the top plate having a push-button provided in abutment with an inner surface thereof for pressing down the control valve, the push-button constituting the urge-releasing member; and the control valve is pressed down through the push-button and the vent tube is opened when the top plate of the cap is pressed from above.
Moreover, a toy dispenser according to a second aspect of the present invention is a toy dispenser for simulating the dispensing of a beverage into the above toy cup. The toy dispenser includes a placement base, on which the toy cup is placed; and a control device provided above the placement base, the control device controlling opening and closing of the vent tube by the control valve.
Preferably, the control device includes a movable member having a second magnet constituting the urge-releasing member, the movable member moving toward and away from the control valve, and an operating member for operating the movable member; and the movable member comes into proximity to the control valve, and the second magnet acts on the first magnet provided in the control valve and moves the control valve against the urging force of the urging member to open the vent tube when the operating member is operated.
Further, preferably, the toy dispenser is formed in a shape of a box having an open front and has a top plate disposed above the placement base; the operating member protrudes at an upper portion thereof from the top plate, is disposed in a vertically movable manner, and has a horizontally elongated engaging hole; the movable member is pivotably journaled on the top plate at an upper end thereof, has the second magnet disposed at a lower end thereof, and has an engaging shaft for engaging with the engaging hole; and the movable member pivots downwardly, and the second magnet becomes located immediately above the first magnet of the control valve and raises the control valve by means of an attractive force between the second magnet and the first magnet against the urging force of the urging member when the operating member is pressed down.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to achieve a toy cup which is realistic in that a beverage in the cup can maintain its state of having been drunk from when the toy cup is tilted and a liquid in a lower chamber is caused to flow into an upper chamber through small holes, because small holes are blocked with the liquid which has flowed in, the upper chamber becomes a closed space, further entry of air into the upper chamber is prevented, and the liquid in the upper chamber cannot return into the lower chamber even when the toy cup is restored to its original vertical state, and in that the liquid which has once flowed into the upper chamber does not return into the lower chamber until a control valve is moved against the urging force of the urging member, by means of an urge-releasing member, and a vent tube is opened.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, since a first magnet is provided in the control valve and the urge-releasing member is composed of a second magnet, it is possible to achieve a toy dispenser which is realistic in that it appears as if the dispenser were dispensing a drink into a cup when the second magnet is brought into proximity to a toy cup, because the second magnet attracts the first magnet provided in the control valve and moves the control valve to open the vent tube, and therefore an air in the lower chamber flows into the upper chamber and the liquid in the upper chamber flows into the lower chamber through the small holes.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, since the toy dispenser includes a placement base, on which a toy cup is placed, and a control device provided above the placement base for controlling the opening and closing of the vent tube, it is possible to achieve a toy dispenser which is realistic in that it appears as if the dispenser were dispensing a drink into a cup when a toy cup is placed on the placement base and the control device is operated, because the control valve is moved, the vent tube is opened, the air in the lower chamber flows into the upper chamber, and the liquid in the upper chamber flows into the lower chamber through small holes.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to achieve a toy dispenser which allows the user to enjoy a feeling as if he/she is operating an actual dispenser in that it appears as if the toy dispenser were dispensing a drink into a cup by merely operating an operating member, without directly touching the toy cup, because when the operating member is operated, a second magnet provided in a movable member comes into proximity to the toy cup and attracts a first magnet, thereby moving the control valve and opening the vent tube, the air in the lower chamber flows into the upper chamber, and the liquid in the upper chamber flows into the lower chamber through small holes.
As shown in
The cap 12 is covered with an opaque cover 20. The cover 20 is formed with a plurality of mating holes 21 and can be fixed on the cap 12 by having a plurality of mating protrusions 22 formed to protrude on an upper surface of the cap 12 mated with the mating holes 21.
Moreover, the division plate 13 has a plurality of small holes 23 formed at a periphery thereof at predetermined intervals, and the lower chamber LR and the upper chamber UR are communicated with each other through the small holes 23. Further, the division plate 13 has a vent tube 25 provided at a center thereof to communicate the lower chamber LR and the upper chamber UR with each other. The vent tube 25 protrudes upwardly in a shape of a cylinder and, at an end of the vent tube 25, retains an O-ring 26 made of rubber and has a guide tube 28 mounted for guiding vertical movements of a control valve 27.
An end 27a of the control valve 27 is formed substantially in a shape of a hemisphere so as to come into close contact with an inner peripheral surface of the O-ring 26, and a mating recess 29 formed at an upper surface of the control valve 27 has a magnet (hereinafter referred to as a “first magnet”) M1 fitted therein. The control valve 27 is urged downwardly by an urging member (composed of a coil spring in this embodiment) 31 so that the end 27a comes into close contact with the O-ring 26 and the vent tube 25 is usually closed.
Meanwhile, the cap 12 has an injection hole 32 formed at an upper surface thereof through which a liquid L simulating a beverage is injected after the toy cup is assembled. The injection hole 32 is blocked with a plug 33 after the liquid L is injected, and the plug 33 will not be removed thereafter. The liquid L to be injected through the injection hole 32 will be injected into the upper chamber UR. The amount of the liquid L to be injected is preferably such that the level of the liquid L does not exceed the height of the vent tube 25 formed on the division plate 13.
The above toy cup 1 can be assembled, as shown in
As shown in
Moreover, the O-ring 26 is disposed at an upper opening of the vent tube 25 formed on an upper surface of the division plate 13, at the center thereof, the control valve 27 is urged downwardly by an urging member 31, and an end 27a of the control valve 27 is in pressure contact with the O-ring 26, thus blocking-the opening of the vent tube 25.
Next, a manner of use of the above toy cup 1 will be described. When the toy cup 1 is tilted as if feeding a toy doll or the like (not shown) juice (see
When the toy cup 1, in which the liquid L has flowed into the upper chamber UR, is restored to its original vertical state, as shown in
In order to return the liquid which has flowed into the upper chamber UR of the toy cup 1 into the lower chamber LR, a second magnet M2, which is an urge-releasing member, may be brought into proximity to an upper surface of the toy cup 1.
When the second magnet M2 is brought into proximity to the upper surface of the toy cup 1, the first magnet M1 provided in the control valve 27 is attracted by the second magnet M2, and the control valve 27 rises against the force of the urging member 31, as shown in
When the control valve 27 rises, an upper portion of the vent tube 25 is opened, and the lower chamber LR and the upper chamber UR become communicated with each other through the vent tube 25. When the vent tube 25 is opened, since the upper chamber UR is no longer a hermetically sealed space, and the air in the lower chamber LR can flow into the upper chamber UR via the vent tube 25, as indicated by the arrow R, the liquid L, which has a specific gravity greater than that of air, flows into the lower chamber LR through the small holes 23 of the division plate 13, as indicated by the arrow S, whereby all of the liquid L in the upper chamber UR can be returned into the lower chamber LR.
The second magnet M2, as an urge-releasing member for opening and closing the control valve 27, may be provided at an end of a toy drink container 35 formed to simulate a bottle or the like containing a drink, as shown in
While, in the toy cup of the above-described embodiment, a first magnet is provided in the control valve, and the urge-releasing member is composed of a second magnet acting on the first magnet, the operation of the control valve may be controlled without using a magnet. As shown in
Next, a toy dispenser 2 for simulating the dispensing of a beverage into the above toy cup 1 will be described with reference to
The toy dispenser 2 is formed in a shape of a box having an open front, simulating a store, and has a placement base 40, on which a plurality of toy cups 1 can be placed in juxtaposition, and a top plate 41, formed to simulate a roof, disposed above the placement base 40. The top plate 41 has a front surface formed inclined obliquely downwardly, so that a control device 50, which will be described later, is invisible except for an operating member 51. The placement base 40 is formed with recesses 42 for properly placing toy cups 1.
The control device 50 includes the operating member or operating button 51, protruding at an upper portion thereof from the top plate 41 and disposed in a vertically movable manner, and a movable member 54 journaled at a shaft hole 52 formed at an upper end thereof by a supporting shaft 53 provided on the top plate 41 in a forwardly and backwardly pivotable manner (see
The movable member 54 is formed in a shape of a rod and has an engaging shaft 59, formed below the shaft hole 52, for engaging with the engaging hole 56 of the engaging plate 57. A mating recess 61 formed at a lower end of the movable member 54 has a magnet (hereinafter referred to as a “second magnet”) M2, which is an urge-releasing member, fitted therein.
A manner of use of the toy dispenser 2 having the above construction will now be described. For use of the toy dispenser 2, the liquid L in the lower chamber LR of the toy cup 1 is previously moved into the upper chamber UR.
In order to pour a liquid into the toy cup 1 in this state, the toy cup 1 is properly placed on one recess 42 of the placement base 40, as shown in
When the toy cup 1 has been properly placed in one of the recesses 42, the operating button 51 projecting from the upper surface of the top plate 41 is pressed down with a finger, as shown in
When the operating button 51 is pressed down, as shown in
When the second magnet M2 is located directly above the toy cup 1, the first magnet M1 provided in the control valve 27 is attracted by the second magnet M2, and the control valve 27 rises against the force of the urging member 31, as in
When the control valve 27 rises, the upper portion of the vent tube 25 is opened, and the lower chamber LR and the upper chamber UR become communicated with each other through the vent tube 25, as shown in
When the duration for which the operating button 51 is pressed is longer, since the duration for which the control valve 27 opens the vent tube 25 is increased, the amount of the liquid L which flows into the lower chamber LR from the upper chamber UR of the toy cup 1 is increased; and when the duration for which the operating button 51 is pressed is shorter, since the duration for which the control valve 27 opens the vent tube 25 is decreased, the amount of the liquid L which flows into the lower chamber LR from the upper chamber UR of the toy cup 1 is decreased. Since the amount of the liquid L which flows into the lower chamber LR changes in proportion to the duration for which the operating button 51 is pressed, it is possible to achieve a toy beverage system which is realistic in that the amount of the liquid L which appears to have been poured from the toy dispenser 2 into the toy cup 1 can be controlled by adjusting the duration for which the operating button 51 is pressed.
In addition, the amount of the liquid L which flows in per unit of time is small when the toy cup 1 is tilted and the liquid L flows into the upper chamber UR from the lower chamber LR because the air in the upper chamber UR and the liquid L in the lower chamber LR replace each other through the small holes 23, but the amount of the liquid L which flows into the lower chamber LR per unit of time is large when the toy dispenser 2 is operated and the liquid L in the upper chamber UR is returned into the lower chamber LR because the air in the lower chamber LR flows into the upper chamber UR through the vent tube 25, which has an opening with an area larger than that of the small holes 23, and the liquid L flows into the lower chamber LR through all of the small holes 23. Therefore, it is possible to reproduce a situation in which a beverage is poured from a dispenser into a cup in a more realistic manner.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-100785 | Apr 2008 | JP | national |
