TOY HOUSING STRUCTURE AND TOOL FOR DISASSEMBLING TOY HOUSING

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a new manner for assembly and quick disassembly, if required, of housing halves of toys (defining a cavity therebetween) and to a tool designed to easily and quickly disassemble toys comprised of housing halves or shells which otherwise, i.e, according to the prior art, are secured together with screws. The present invention relates to toy housings assembled by means of one or more snap joints formed of a T shaped member and a pair of parallel and resilient walls with opposed apertures which will snap around the outside edges of the T, to hold the two halves of the housing together. The present invention relates to a new manner of creating and manufacturing housing halves for a plastic toy housing and a method of easily and quickly assembling the same and then disassembling, if required. A tool used in the disassembly is disclosed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Children's toys are often comprised of multiple plastic and mating components, very commonly these are plastic housing halves which mate together, are held together with screws and, yet, as a consequence take time to assemble and time to disassemble, if repair or replacement of components (batteries, wheels, spools, etc.) within the housing is required. In the prior art, to affix the multiple plastic housing components or halves to one another, screws are commonly utilized, with the screw shaft being configured to pass through one housing half, with the screw head held outside, and with the remainder of the threaded body of the screw passing into and being captured by blind bores, on the inside of the mating plastic housing half. The housing halves or components are thus held together with screws which have the threaded bodies of the screws pass through screw holes and then the tips of the threaded bodies of the screws held by internal screw receivers or bores for the screws. However, in manufacturing these toys, the screw-based attachment mechanism requires many steps, such as those relating to adding and securing the screws, and additional elements, particularly the screws. Often, these toys require a substantial number of screws to adequately secure the plastic components together and completely secure the housing halves together to form a toy hosuing. Thus, there is a time and production cost to manufacturing toys with screw-based attachment mechanisms for mating housing components. And, of course, if disassembly is required, for repair or replacement of internal pieces within the housing cavity, that, too, is time and labor intensive as the plastic housing components and their holding screws take time to remove and then reinsert, as required for reassembly, after the repair or replacement of internal components is accomplished. In light of these deficiencies associated with screw-based attachment mechanisms for plastic toy housing halves or components, there exists a need for a new and superior mechanism for affixing toy component housing halves together, preferably without the need for additional elements or screws, as well as a simple and quick mechanism or tool for disassembling the toy halves of a housing wherein the holding mechanism is not a set of metal screws. If a mechanism is developed, as set forth herein, which allows for ease of assembly (simply snapping the two housing halves together) and a quick, easy and simply method for disassembly, even requiring a new dedicated tool for use in that process, it would be highly advantageous to the manufacturer-resulting in cost and labor savings.

Towards that goal, the present invention relates to a new mechanism for securing the halves of a toy or housing to one another and a tool which can be used for disassembly, as required or desired. Snapping the two halves together to form an integrated housing with a central open cavity, wherein the halves of the housing are not secured by screws, is clearly highly beneficial to the manufacturer. The quickness and ease of use of a tool for quick and easy disassembly with respect to the plastic halves or components of the housing will result in significant cost and time savings. A superior end product is thus achieved.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In general, in one aspect, the invention relates to a new manner of assembling the plastic halves of a housing for a toy without the need for a multiple of screws holding the halves together. When assembled, the housing components or halves form a toy housing with an air-filled cavity, which often contain other components, e.g., hubs for turning gears, batteries, etc. And, the present invention discloses a new tool for use in quickly and easily disassembling a toy formed of mating housing components, preferably plastic halves which secured to one another. The tool generally includes a first arm formed with a handle and an opposed second arm with a handle, hinged to the first arm and handle, similar to that of a pair of pliers or a wrench but instead of the user using his/her hands to compress the handles to force the gripping end of the arms together, like a wrench, the mechanics of the device and a spring bias require that a pressing or compression of the handles results in the distal ends of the arms spreading apart. A first prong at the end of one of the arms opposes a second prong at the end of the other arm. When the handles are compressed together, against the force of the spring biasing the same toward one another, the distal extension of the arms and their prongs are separated. When disassembly of a toy housing is desired, the prongs of the tool are passed through small slots and into the cavity of the housing. Use of the tool on the housing halves of the toy will allow the holding mechanisms of the housing halves to be easily and quickly separated. Thus, unscrewing is not needed as there are no holding screws. The tool and the spreading of the prongs of the distal ends of the tool, causes opposed parallel and resilient (plastic) walls to separate and that allows the ends of a T-shaped member (held in aligned and opposed apertures of the walls) to be released from the walls. Thus, the two housing halves can be quickly and easily separated without the use of a screw driver as there are no screws holding the housing halves together. Planar pieces on the sides of the tool's hinged arms have opposed planar edges. These allow the tool to be easily abutted against the surface of the housing, with the prongs passing through holes in one of the housing's halves, between the opposed, parallel and resilient walls. Then, when the compression of the handles is manually accomplished, the housing halves are disengaged from one another. The arms of the tool, with their projecting prongs, as mentioned, are separated by a spring which biases the prongs and the arms towards one another. Yet, the arms are hinged to one another, about a mid point, so that squeezing together of the handles of the arms results in the arms and their distal prongs separating. A central hinge holds the arms and handles as a single tool, like a pair of pliers, and allows for compression of the handles to separate the prongs while the tendency of the spring, after the manual compression is removed, allows the arms and the prongs to close back towards one another. Compression of the handles will cause the distal prongs to separate. As they are placed within the housing, this causes the opposed, resilient, plastic walls to separate. This allows for a T shape, on the opposed housing half, to have its arms clear the holes of the opposed walls, so that the halves can be easily separated, thus providing the user with quick access to the cavity between the housing halves.

The tool is preferably provided with a mechanism limiting the amount of separation allowed by compression of the opposed handles. The spring between the arms tends to draw the handles back toward one another.

The plastic housing halves are manufactured such that one half will have, projecting from its inside surface, a plastic projection in the shape of a T with outwardly extending arms. The base of the T is secured to the inside surface of the half of the housing. The outwardly extending arms of the T are distal to the inside surface of the half to which the base of the T is attached. The arms of the T are received and held into an opposed set of parallel, resilient, preferably plastic, spaced walls, with opposed and aligned arm-receiving holes, with those walls projecting from the inside surface of the second or opposed half of the housing. The walls are somewhat resilient such that if they can be cammed or pushed outwardly by the action of the arms of the T shape being forced toward the inside surfacer of the opposed half. Then, when the arms are aligned with the apertures of the parallel, resilient walls, the arms snap into the apertures of the walls to capture the arms within the apertures of the walls. This, in effect, captures the first housing half (with the T shaped component) to the opposed, resilient, parallel walls, with aligned apertures of the second housing half, to integrate the two components into a single housing. When the tool is selectively used, the opposed walls are cammed outwardly, releasing the arms of the T shapes from the aligned apertures and, if separating force is applied to both halves of the housing, the two components can be easily separated. Thus, assembly and disassembly can be accomplished without the use of screws nor a screwdriver.

Implementations of the present invention may include one or more of the following features. The first arm of the tool with a distal prong and the second arm of the same tool, with a second distal prong, may be configured to move outward from one another when the first arm and the second arm are moved or squeezed together i.e., moved toward each other. This is, as mentioned, against a spring bias tending to push outwardly on handles of the arms and thus the distal prongs are normally biased towards one another. A central hinge point is provided in the tool, located between the ends of the prongs and the handles for the arms. A coil tension spring may be attached to and disposed between the handles of the first arm and the second arm. The spring tends to separate the handles and tends to move the distal ends toward one another. A portion of each of the first arm and the second arm may be provided with a rubber or plastic grip. The first prong or tip and the second prong or tip may include tapered portions or more preferably small round-shaped tips. The first prong and the second prong, with the tips projecting forwardly, may include substantially cylindrical tapered or small square end or tip portions having a dimension of their widths far smaller than the width of the remaining portions of the forwardly projecting first and second arms. The tips will extend through spaced apertures in the wall of one of the housing halves and the arms will lie between the opposed walls. When the handles of the tool are squeezed together, the tips of the prongs or arms will separate and bear against the resilient, flexible opposed walls. With the user pulling the two halves physically apart, the outwardly extending arms of the T shapes will be released from the apertures of the opposed apertures of the spaced walls, due to the resilience of the walls and the outward movement of the walls by the tool, to thereby release one half of the housing from the other.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a system for assembling and disassembling a toy comprised of a pair of mating plastic shell housings. The toy generally is made of a first toy housing or shell component which is mated to and forms an enclosed shell or housing with a second toy housing or shell component. These components are generally formed of molded plastic. The first housing component has one part of a mating connector inside its shell with the other or second housing component having a mating component to that of the first housing component. Thus, together, there are one or more snap joints which hold the halves or shell components together into an integrated whole. One half will be provided with a set of two, inwardly (with respect to the outer wall of one half of the housing) substantially parallel, spaced but outwardly flexible or resilient side walls extending from an inside surface of the inner portion of the first toy component. Those resilient and preferably plastic walls are preferably formed when the housing is formed. The side walls extend toward the opposed inside surface of the opposed half shell of the housing. Each side wall includes an opening or aligned hole or aperture disposed therein and an aperture at a portion in which the side walls contact to the first toy component, with the apertures passing through the surface of the housing half. The two holes or openings of the side walls face one another. The side walls, on the inside of the first half shell of the housing extend from the inside wall of the first toy shell component towards the other shell's inside surface. Those walls, with their openings or holes, can be flexed or moved outwardly, due to their resilience, if a tool is inserted through holes in the first half of the shell, such that the tips of the tool force the walls to spread apart. The walls will also spread apart as the two shell halves are pressed together as the arms of the T shape of one shell bear against and outwardly flex on the parallel, resilient walls of the second shell.

The second half shell of the toy housing component has an inner surface or portion including one or more T-shapes extending from the inside surface of the first shell towards the other shell. These T-shapes are also integrated with the inside wall of the housing half and extend towards the opposed walls of the other shell. The head of the T-shape is aligned across the opposed walls of the shell half having the parallel walls such that the outward arms of the T-shapes are adapted to slide into and be held by the opposed openings in the opposed resilient walls. The outward edges of the arms of the T-shapes are angled so that a physical pushing of one shell towards the other has the edges of the T's arms slide against the parallel walls and cam outwardly the opposed walls of the shell half with the opposed walls until the arms, with the outside edges, “pop” and are held in the opposed openings or slots of the parallel, resilient, spaced side walls. When the two halves are aligned and the arms of the Ts slid into the openings of the opposed side walls of the opposed shell half, the housing halves are held together until desirably separated, by use of the tool disclosed herein. The opposed side walls are spread outwardly by the edges of the T shaped walls and then resiliently snap back, after the arms of the Ts, and the outside edges of the Ts, align with the openings of the opposed walls. Then, the walls snap back and the arms of the Ts are captured such that the edges of the arms are located within the holes of the opposed walls. Clearly, the outside edges of the arms of the T's are greater in width than the distance between two opposed, resilient side walls, when unflexed, and, yet, when the walls are bent outwardly, and the halves of the housing pulled apart, the distance between the apertures of the opposed, flexible, resilient walls exceeds the distance between the outside edges of the arms of the Ts, to release the same. This is the general manner of releasing (and securing) the two halves or half shells to one another to form an integrated toy housing. No screws nor extra pieces are required as the T shapes and their outwardly extending arms and the opposed and resilient walls with holes or apertures for capturing the arms of the Ts are formed as components of the plastic housing at the same time as the rest of the housing is formed. The components cooperate together to form connectors for the housing shells.

And, to disassemble or gain access to the inside of the housing, if needed, a simple new tool can be inserted having a pair of opposed arms, with protruding prongs and tips, through the outside holes of one of the housing halves, such that the prongs extend between the opposed walls and when the handles of the tool are pressed together to compress against the outward bias of the spring to thereby push the arms and prongs of the tool outwardly the arms of the T of one housing shell half can be simply pulled apart from the walls because the walls are separated, temporarily, by the tool. This, then, disengages the arms of the Ts from the capturing holes of the parallel walls and allows the halves of the housing to be easily separated. Again, the assembly and disassembly of the housing is done without any screws and this saves both time and money.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. A coil tension spring may be attached to and disposed between the first arm and the second arm of the tool. That, in well-known mechanical fashion, will bias the arms and the prongs (and tips) of the tool, inwardly toward one another. That is because the arms and prongs of the tool are connected to the opposite handles, in much the manner of a pliers or wrench, with a central hinge and a biasing spring. A portion or handle of each of the first arm and the second arm of the tool may be provided with a rubber or plastic grip. The first prong and the second prong of the tool, at the ends of the arms, may include tapered end or tip portions. The first prong and the second prong of the tool may include substantially cylindrical end portions having a width much smaller than a width of the remaining portions of the first prong and the second prong. The arms and handles are hinged to one another by a screw member passing through the center section, like the arms and handles of a wrench or pair of pliers, and are hinged about a post. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the arms of the tool are maintained at a spaced initial distance apart by a post or screw extending between the opposed arms. Thus, the arms cannot contact one another but can further be spread by the compression of the handles of the opposed arms. And, in another embodiment, the arms and prongs of the tool are surrounded by one or more planar members which ease location of the arms and prongs into the holes of the housing, with the prongs bearing against the surface of the parallel walls, such that the planar member(s) ease alignment of the tool against the flat outer section of the housing.

In general, in another aspect, the invention features a method of disassembling a toy, including providing a toy comprised of mating and opposed housing half shells, along with a tool, where the toy includes a first toy shell component having a cavity-like inner portion including one or more snap joints composed of two substantially parallel and resilient side walls extending from a surface of the inner portion of the first toy shell component, with the opposite shell component, also cavity like, having a T-shaped member, with outwardly extending arms, extending across the parallel walls of the opposed shell half. The walls of the shell half are capable of accepting the arms, when the parallel walls are allowed to be bent away from perpendicular to the inside surface of the housing, such that the arms of the T shapes slide into the apertures of the T walls and then capture the arms when the walls are allowed to snap back to their original, position i.e., perpendicular to the inside surface of the shell housing half. The prongs of the tool can reach through adjacent slots, reach between the opposed vertical walls of the shell and when the tool's handles compressed, that action causes the walls to gently and resiliently be pushed apart to release the edges and arms of the T-shapes from being captured by the holes of the opposed, parallel walls. This release allows the two shell halves to be manually separated. If the housing halves are desired to be reassembled, the halves are aligned, with arms of the T-shapes extending across the opposed vertical, parallel walls and then the two halves can be pushed together. That action will allow the edges of the T-shape to cam in between the side walls until they first push outwardly, the arms sliding down into the apertures of the side walls, and then snap back to capture the arms of the Tshapes within the holes of the walls. This will result in a firm, unitary housing, made of a pair of opposed housing halves. Assembly of the two halves does not require any tool and no screws are needed.

Implementations of the invention may include one or more of the following features. A coil tension spring may be attached to and disposed between the first arm and the second arm of the tool. A portion of each of the first arm and the second arm of the tool may be provided with a rubber grip or a plastic grip. The first prong and the second prong of the tool, at the ends of the arms, may include tapered or tip portions. The first prong and the second prong of the tool may include substantially cylindrical end portions (or rectangular in cross section profiles) having a width smaller than a width of the remaining portions of the first prong and the second prong. Mechanical devices can be provided to the tool to prevent over separation of the arms and also prevent the arms from coming completely together, i.e., the arms can be maintained at a predetermined separation.

A first half shell of the housing will have a pair of opposed, vertical parallel walls. The bottom of that shell half will be provided with a set of holes which allow for the prongs of the tool to pass therethrough, when selective disengagement of the two halves is desired. The opposed and parallel, outwardly resilient walls extend toward the inside cavity of the shell/housing. The walls are provided with opposed and aligned holes or apertures. The walls are resilient and can be flexed outwardly by the action of sliding the two halves of the housing toward one another for assembly or by use of the tool, for selective disassembly. The opposed shell of the housing is provided with a T-shaped extension, extending across the opposed walls of the first shell half. The T-shape has a pair of opposed, outwardly extending arms with edges. The edges extend or taper inwardly, from the base of the T-shape toward its top. The T-shape extends generally across the vertical walls of the opposing shell half and the arms are separated a determined distance so that they will be captured by the opposed holes of the walls. The two housings preferably are connected together by simply pressing the two mating halves together, without the need for any tools nor screws. When the two halves are pressed together, the vertical walls of the first shell half will flex outwardly and glide over the edges of the arms of the T-shape until the arms of the T-shape pop into the holes of the walls. Since the walls are outwardly resilient, they will gently and easily glide over the edges of the arms of the T-shape. Once captured, the arms within the holes of the walls, will be maintained until and unless the tool is used to force the walls outwardly so that the arms of the T-shape are released. The width of the arms of the T-shape exceeds that of the distance between the opposed holes and, yet, the arms can be released when the walls are spread outwardly by the tool. This will allow the T-shape to be separated from the spaced and temporarily separated walls, allowing the two housing shells to be separated. One or more of these connections between the two shell halves should be employed to hold the housing together. The number of such connections will be primarily determined by the size of the device. As mentioned, the T-shapes extend from one housing shell component or half with the opposed and parallel walls extending from the other housing shell. The T-shapes and the opposed, resilient walls (the latter being resilient to flex outwardly and when stress is removed to snap back into a position wherein the walls are substantially perpendicular to the inside surface of the shell half) cooperate to hold the shell halves together. The tool can be used to separate the halves, if desired. However, the tool is not required when initial assembly is performed as merely pressing the T-shape between the walls, with the edges of the T-shape camming outwardly the walls, will result in the T-shape and its arms gliding along the surfaces of the spaced walls and then the edges of the T-shapes are captured between the opposed holes of the walls.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system according to one embodiment of the present invention, including a toy formed from a pair of mating shell housings (a top and a bottom housing) and also showing a tool on the top of the housing, for use in selective disassembling the housing shells or halves of the toy;

FIG. 2 illustrates an enlarged and perspective, front view of a tool according to one embodiment of the present invention, showing the arms, opposed tips or prongs, handles, and some planar edged, U-shaped plates helpful in using the tool for selective disassembly of the halves of a toy housing;

FIG. 3 illustrates a side view of the tool of FIG. 2, showing the handles, the spring between the handles, a central pivot point, the arms of the tool, the forwardly projecting prongs with tips, and a separating bolt near the prongs, along with a pair of planar, U-shaped plates with flat edges for helping to hold the components and facilitating the use of the tool, as desired;

FIG. 4 illustrates a front end view of the tool of FIG. 2, showing the handles, the separating bolt, the U-shaped planar plates with flat edges, and a separating bolt along with the tool's arms and forwardly projecting prongs;

FIG. 5 illustrates a view of the inside surface of the first shell or half portion of a first toy component formed of mating housing shells, for a toy according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged, partial view of the inside of the first shell or half portion of the toy and shows the resilient, opposed, parallel walls extending from the inside surface of the housing shell, with capturing holes or apertures for the arms of the T-shape (not shown) for a first snap connection;

FIG. 7 illustrates an inside portion of the second shell or half of a toy housing component, according to one embodiment of the present invention; this shell or half will mate with and be secured to the first shell of FIGS. 5 and 6, when the arms of the T-shapes of the inside of this shell or half are pressed into and thus cammed into the opposed apertures or holes of the opposed walls of the other shell half (the resilient walls spreading outwardly) until the outside edges of the arms of the T-shapes are captured by the opposing holes of the walls of the first shell or half;

FIG. 8 is an enlarged underside view of the second half or shell of the toy housing, showing the T-shape projection, extending from that half shell into the cavity, as it would extend towards the opposed and parallel walls of the first shell or half of the housing;

FIG. 9 illustrates the capturing mechanism used for the shell halves of a toy housing, comprising an enlarged T-shape plastic component extending from the inside wall of the second half or shell of the toy housing, extending into the cavity formed between the two shells and extending into the space formed between the opposed, parallel and resilient walls of the first shell, with the arms of the T-shape first camming the walls outwardly until the arms of the T-shape “pop” into the opposed holes or apertures of the spaced walls, whereupon the arms are captured between the opposed walls;

FIG. 10 illustrates a partial view of the tool or mechanism for pushing outwardly the opposed walls of the first shell of the housing to release the arms of the T shape of the opposed shell or half of the housing; and

FIG. 11 illustrates an underside view of the interaction between a first housing component of the toy and the leading tips or prongs of the arms of a tool, extending between holes in the outside and bottom surface of the shell of the housing, with the prongs extending between the resilient walls of the shell, to push the same outwardly to release the arms of the T shape of the other housing shell, all according to one embodiment of the present invention, thereby releasing the arms of the T-shape from the opposed apertures of the resilient walls.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS AND THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 provides a system for making a toy comprised of two mating housing components and also shows a tool for use in connection with selective disassembly of the housing to gain access if needed into the cavity. Basically, the invention relates to a tool 10 and a toy 11, comprised of a top half or shell 12 and a bottom half or shell 14. Both the top shell and the bottom shell are preferably made from a thin plastic. The tool 10 is shown on the top of the top shell, for ease of illustration. The tool is only used for selective splitting of the housing, to gain access to its interior or cavity. The top shell or half 12 and the bottom shell or half 14 are provided with quite similar outside circumference edges and shape so that the two mate together and a cavity is formed between them. The inside surface of the top shell or half 12 opposes the inside surface of the bottom half or shell 14 to form the cavity between the two. Preferably, a handle is formed in the housing to ease carrying the toy from location to location. Such a handle is shown in FIG. 1. Preferably, the top half or shell 12 is provided with a slightly larger and overlapping exterior or perimeter edge which fits over the corresponding edge of the bottom half or shell 14 so that the two housing halves mate with one another. The upper or top surface 15 of the top shell 12 is provided with pegs, hubs, or other toy components for a child to interact with, generally with other pieces of the toy. In the shown embodiment, a series or rotatable short axles are shown along with one or more interlocking gears which fit over the stubby axles and mate with one another to create a fun toy. In this embodiment, the housing is meant to hold a set of batteries and a motor to turn one or more of the axles, when an switch (accessible to the user/child) is activated (not shown). The rotation of one of the gears will cause other meshed gears to rotate and, thus, the toy housing provides a fun and interactive toy for a child. The size and color of the gears can be exchanged to create other and varied effects. A bubble on top of a gear is shown in the center of the top housing and when it rotates a pleasing visual effect is provided. According to the present invention, the two housing halves 12 and 14, are easily snapped together, as will be detailed, and form a single complete housing 11 with no access to the interior unless and until the housing is opened by use of the new tool, shown on the top of the housing in FIG. 1. Tool 10 is used to separate the two housing halves 11 and 12, when desired, to disassemble the toy, as when there is a need to replace the motor, the switch, replace batteries, etc. The tool is intended to be held by the manufacturer or a retail store, not sold to consumers at retail, but, of course, the tool can be provided, too, with the sale of the toy or sold separately. FIG. 1 shows the toy, comprised of the top and bottom halves 11 and 12, with some gears held on the rotatable axles which pass through the top surface 15 of the top half or shell 12. The tool is also shown. Other forms for the housing can be appreciated as these types of central cavity housings are common for toys. The gears, with a motor and battery is used for illustration purposes only. The present invention generally relates to a new mechanism for simply, quickly and without screws, assembling housing components to one another and the tool is then used for quickly, easily and inexpensively allowing for the disassembly of the housing halves, when desired and without destruction of the housing halves.

The tool 10 is best shown in FIGS. 2-4. Tool 10 includes a first arm 101 and a second arm 102. The first arm 101 and second arm 102 are hinged together at or around their midpoint. Each arm 101 and 102 has a handle portion with a rubber coating, a central section, and a forwardly projecting piece. The crossing over the central sections of the two arms is the location of a central hinge or screw member. At the tip of the projecting pieces is a small prong member or a tip, preferably rounded or having a square cross section. The two arms, 101 and 102 are hinged and held together by a screw and bolt passing through their central sections. When the two handles are squeezed together, the prong or tips separate from one another. Screw 124 is shown in FIG. 3 and it is held to the two arms by a connecting nut passing through a first flat flange of the first arm overlapping another flat flange on the other arm thereby connecting the central sections of the arms. As stated, simple squeezing together of the handles of the arms effects a simple separation of the prongs or tips of the arms of the tool. This can be accomplished in a variety of mechanical arrangements.

As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the left handle 101 continues on as left projecting piece 112 and the right handle 102 continues as the right projecting piece 111. Alternatively, the forwardly projecting arms and their prongs or tips can be mechanically connected in other ways but, in any event, the squeezing of the handles is meant to result in a small further separation of the prongs or tips. A spring 103 is provided between the two handles to bias the handles of the tool apart from one another. This keeps the prongs or tips near to one another. The spring 103 biases the projecting pieces 111 and 112, along with their prongs or tips 151 and 153 so the tool, when not squeezed, has the prongs or tips close to one another. Squeezing the handles together, against the outward bias of the spring 103, will cause the handles to near one another and in turn causes the tips 151 and 153, to further separate. However, as can be seen in FIG. 3, a large bolt 123 passes through two plates and that bolt and its threaded extension or body prevents the two projecting pieces and the prongs or tips 151 and 153 from actually touching, even when the tool is idle. The bolt 123 is a limiter for how close the two projecting pieces and the prongs/tips can come towards one another. The connecting bolt 124 also passes through the two plates. As can be appreciated, there are many different mechanisms which can be used for allowing the squeezing of the handles to effect the desired separation of the tips and the release of the handles to effect a closing together of the tips, to the extent allowed by the space limiting bolt 123.

Turning back to the toy housing, the top half or shell 12 is snapped to the bottom half or shell 14 by one or more interior snap connectors. These avoid the use of screws to connect together the halves of the housing. Simple alignment of the outside rims of the two halves and pressing of the halves together will cause the opposed and engaging snap connector pieces to mate and secure the housing into a single toy housing with an interior cavity. The inside surface 20 of the top half or shell 12 is provided with one component of the snap connectors while the inside surface 22 of the bottom shell or half 14 is provided with the other and mating component of the snap connectors 16. Each snap connector is comprised of a T shaped plastic piece extending into the cavity (with the arms or larger part of the T being disposed away from the inside surface of the housing half) while the inside surface of the bottom half (the components of the snap connectors can, of course, be switched) is provided with a pair of opposed parallel walls 26 and 27 which extend into the cavity and extend toward the inside surface 20 of the top shell. When connected together the outwardly extending arms of the T shaped component is captured and held within the opposed and aligned holes or apertures 28 of the opposed parallel and resilient walls 26 and 27. The distance between the opposed walls 26, 27 (when the walls are not cammed outwardly) is less than the distance between the edges 32 and 33 of the top or arms of the T shaped component.

In practice and use, to mate the two halves and form an integrated cavity-containing housing, the two halves of the housing are merely aligned and pushed toward one another. The outward edges of the top or arms of the T shaped component, which slant downwardly and outwardly from bottom of arms of the T to the top of the T, cam or push the opposed parallel walls of the other member of the snap connector outwardly (See FIG. 10). Then, the extending arms of the “T” will snap into the opposed apertures or holes of the parallel walls and the walls will capture the arms of the T shaped component. When the arms are captured, the walls will again become parallel to one another, with the arms of the T shaped component contained within the apertures or holes of the walls. This snap mechanism will hold the two housing halves together. The resilience of the walls to flex outwardly, when pushed that way by the downwardly sliding inverted T shape, will allow the T shape to be moved into position such that when the edges of the arms of the T align with the apertures in the walls, the walls will snap back into parallel alignment. Thus, pushing the two halves of the housing together will easily, quickly, and without screws, result in a unified whole housing. The resilience of the opposed walls extending up from the inside surface of the bottom half or shell 14 cooperates with the camming edges of the T shaped connector element, extending from the inside surface of the top shell or half 12—all to hold the housing halves together. This is the manner of assembling the two halves of a toy housing into a unified housing with a central cavity, extending between the halves.

To selectively disassemble the two halves, if required, a tool is provided. The tips of the tool are first inserted into the housing through aligned apertures in that housing half's surface. Those apertures are aligned to be just inside the space defined by the parallel walls. Then, a user preferably operates tool 10 by placing first arm 101 and second arm 102 within the user's hand and applying pressure to, i.e., squeezing together, first arm 101 and second arm 102. First arm 101 and second arm 102 may optionally be configured with a grip, such as a rubber or plastic grip, on a portion thereof. A coil tension spring 103 may be attached to and disposed between first arm 101 and second arm 102 to provide a release of the splitting apart tension of the tool, a consequence of the squeezing of the handles towards one another.

Tool 10 includes a first prong 111 and a second prong 112; each provided with a distal tip member. First prong 111 and second prong 112 are connected to first projecting arm 101 and second projecting arm 102 via a bottom screw 124. First prong 111 and second prong 112 may taper down toward their respective ends, preferably the tip ends are round or square in cross section, at a portion distally located from the connection between prongs 111 and 112 and arms 101 and 102. First prong 111 and second prong 112 may be configured with an additional cylindrical or substantially cylindrical point at their respective ends, preferably the ends distally located from the connection between prongs 111 and 112 and arms 101 and 102.

Tool 10 may also include a housing engaging, planar stopper element 120. Stopper 120 may have a first stopper side 121 and a second stopper side 122, disposed on opposite sides of the assemblage of prongs 111 and 112 and arms 101 and 102. The tips project past the front edge of the stopper element 120. First stopper side 121 and second stopper side 122 are affixed to one another via a top screw 123 and the separate bottom screw 124. Top screw 123 passes between first prong 111 and second prong 112 in affixing first stopper side 121 and second stopper side 122 together. Therefore, as a result of the placement of top screw 123, first prong 111 and second prong 112 do not fully close to contact each other but rest against the outside diameter or screw threads of the top screw 123 when tool 10 is inactive. This prevents the prongs and tips from coming into contact with one another. Bottom screw 124 passes between prongs 111 and 112 and arms 101 and 102 in affixing first stopper side 121 and second stopper side 122 together. The front and preferable U-shaped edges of the stopper 120 prevents tool 10, specifically prongs 111 and 112, from fully penetrating certain objects, and rests on an outer surface, the true bottom of the bottom half or shell 14, when the tool is deployed to separate the halves of the housing. The U shaped front edges of the stopper rests against the housing bottom surface when prongs 111 and 112 and their tips are inserted into toy housing 20 for disassembly.

The bottom half or shell 14 is preferably the shell half provided with the inwardly projecting (i.e., towards the center of the cavity), originally parallel, yet outwardly bendable, resilient walls. These have their “free” ends extending toward the inside of the housing, and project toward the inside surface of the top half or shell 12. Those walls are provided, near their distal ends, with a pair of opposed, aligned apertures. It is those apertures that capture the sides or edges of the arms of the T shaped extension. Those T shaped extensions (See FIG. 10) come towards the parallel walls from the inside surface of the top half or shell 12. The parallel sets of walls are spaced apart a distance such that the side edges of the arms of the T shaped extensions can cam the parallel walls outwardly, (since the walls are resilient they can be bent outwardly) when the housing halves are pressed together and then, with the arm extensions of the T captured in the apertures of the walls, the walls snap back (into parallel alignment with one another) and hold the arms of the T such that it cannot be accidentally disengaged from the apertures of the walls. This holds the two housing halves together.

The tool however can be selectively inserted into holes in the bottom housing. These holes are located just on the inside i.e., between the parallel walls. The holes accept the tips of the projecting arms and the surface of the stopper will abut the outside surface of the bottom half or shell of the housing. With the tips inserted into the cavity of the housing, the forwardly projecting arms will glide on the inside of the opposed walls. Then, with the tips and part of the arms inserted between the walls, the user can gently squeeze the handles of the tool. That will cause the tips and the arms to separate. They are on the inside, i.e. between the parallel walls of the bottom shell. Squeezing of the handles separates the tips. Separating the tips causes the resilient walls, extending from the inside surface of the bottom shell, to be pushed or cammed outwardly. As those walls separate outwardly and along with the pulling of one housing half away from the other housing half, the apertures of the walls clear beyond the outward extension of the arms of the T shaped component (both arms of the T). These, it will be recalled, project from the inside of the housing and are distal from the inside surface of the top half or shell. Then, at the same time as maintaining the walls separated (so that they are no longer parallel within the cavity) the mechanic can continue to pull and thus easily separate the top shell from the bottom shell for easy access to the cavity. A pair of slots or apertures are located through the bottom shell or half 14, aligned with the inside surfaces of the opposed walls and it is through those apertures or slots that the tips of the tool and part of the tool's arms project when the tool is placed into engagement (stopper against the surface of the housing) with the toy housing's bottom surface. The tips and a portion of the projecting arms separate the parallel walls so that the edges of the arms of the T shaped component “clear” the apertures of the resilient and outwardly spread side walls.

FIGS. 5 and 6 present a first toy component or housing shell 201 (the bottom of the toy housing) of toy 20, particularly showing an inner portion or inside surface of first toy component shell or half 201. First toy component 201 includes several snap joints 210 disposed near and around the edges of the toy housing. Each snap joint 210 includes a first snap joint side wall 211 and a second snap joint side wall 212. First snap joint side wall 211 and second snap joint side 212 extend perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly from the inner surface of first toy component 201 and are disposed parallel or substantially parallel to one another. They are secured to the inside surface but are resilient thereto so that they can bend, when outwardly flexed, by either the tips and arms of the tool or by the outward camming of the edges of the arms of the T shaped component of the opposite toy housing half. First snap joint side wall 211 includes a slit or slot 213 and an opening or aperture 215. Opening 215 is disposed entirely within first snap joint side 211, while slit 213 runs from a portion of first snap joint side 211 to a portion of the inner portion of first toy component 201, penetrating first toy component 201. Similarly, second snap joint side wall 212 includes a slit or slot 214 and an opening or aperture 216, in which opening 216 is disposed entirely within second snap joint side 212 and slit 214 runs from a portion of second snap joint side 212 to a portion of the inner portion of first toy component 201, penetrating first toy component 201. These slots (or slits) and apertures allow for the partial insertion of the arms of the tool and for the tips of the arms to pass into the cavity, when desired, between the walls. When the tips are inserted into the cavity, through the apertures and slits, the arms will be pressed against the inside walls of the parallel walls.

FIGS. 7 and 8 present a second toy component housing or shell 202 (the top of the housing) of toy 20, particularly an inner surface or portion of second toy component 202. Second toy component 202 includes several snap projections or prongs 220 disposed near the outside edges of second toy component 202. Snap prongs 220 extend perpendicularly or substantially perpendicularly from the inner portion of second toy component 202. A distal end of snap prong 220 may include a wider portion (the head of the T) that is wider than the base or connecting portion of snap prong 220. This wider portion may include a slightly hooked configuration (See FIG. 9) where the hooks or ends/edges of the arms of T of the prongs are directed outwardly toward the inside surface of second toy component 202. The snap prong 220 has the basic “look” of a T, with the base of the T attached to the inside surface of the housing shell and the enlarged end or arms of the T projecting outwardly yet toward the apertures of the bottom shell. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the far edges of the arms of the T or enlarged lateral part of the T are slightly extending outwardly (See FIGS. 9 and 10) from top of the T toward the base of the T) so that when the edges touch upon the opposed side walls, as the housing halves are pressed together, the edges cam upon and help to separate the resilient walls, until the outside edges are captured by the apertures of the walls, whereupon the resilient walls snap back and the arms of the T are held within and between the resilient walls.

It should be easily appreciated and understood that the T shaped snap prongs are spaced about the top shell of the housing to coordinate with the opposed walls of the bottom shell. The snap prongs extend across the parallel walls so that, when assembled, the arms of the snap prongs will snap into the aligned and opposed holes of the parallel walls.

In FIG. 9, a mechanism by which components or housing halves of a toy shell, such as toy 20, may be affixed, is illustrated. Specifically, the toy includes a first component or shell half (the bottom housing) having a pair of opposed, parallel, resilient walls with apertures, is provided. It is intended to mate with the snap prongs of the opposed toy housing half (the top). The side wall 211 (an outwardly, flexible resilient wall), and second side wall 212 (also outwardly flexible and resilient) is shown. It will capture and release (when the walls are outwardly biased) a second component—the snap prong (the outside edges of the arms of the T). The snap prong or T shaped element is preferably extending from the inside surface of the second toy component housing 202. Snap prong 220 is inserted between side walls 211 and side wall 212, whereby a wider portion of snap prong 220 enters and gets caught between openings or apertures 215 and 216, respectively. A slightly hooked configuration to this wider (the top of the T) portion assists snap prongs 220 in catching into openings 215 and 216. The taper of the top of the T shape cams the outwardly resilient side walls until the edges of the arms are within the openings 215, 216, and then the side walls snap back, substantially parallel to one another. This secures the top half of the housing to the bottom half of the housing.

In FIG. 10, a mechanism by which components or the housing halves of a toy, such as toy 20, may be disassembled is illustrated. Specifically, a toy housing is shown including one toy housing or shell component having snap prongs 220 affixed to the inside surface of the housing and mated and secured to another toy component or housing half, comprised of a pair of opposed resilient parallel walls extending from the inside surface of the other housing shell. The tool is shown as inserted into the cavity of the housing and squeezing of the arms of the tool causes an outward pushing of the parallel walls so that the outwardly extending edges of the arms of the T shaped member of the top shell are released from capture by the apertures in the side walls. The tips and arms of the tool pass through small openings (slits, slots and/or apertures) in the bottom shell and then, when the handles of the tool squeezed, the tips and arms push outwardly from within to separate the side walls. This, coupled with pulling of the shell halves apart, will release one shell half from the other, to thereby gain access to the cavity of the toy housing. Then, after repair or replacement is accomplished, the two halves are remated—the T shapes of the upper housing aligned across the parallel walls, such that the arms are aligned with the opposed apertures of the side walls, and the two halves pushed together. The flared surfaces or edges of the arms of the T components push or cam outwardly the resilient walls and then when the edges are aligned with the apertures of the walls, the T shaped components captured within the apertures of the walls. This allows the walls to snap back into their substantially parallel orientation with respect to one another. This will reassemble the halves into an integrated toy housing, without the need for screws and in a minimum of time and effort.

To use the tool for disassembly, prongs 111 and 112 of tool 10 may be inserted into slits or openings 213 and 214 of the bottom shell. Those openings pass completely through the bottom shell's wall's thickness. Upon squeezing arms 101 and 102 of tool 10, prongs 111 and 112 move outward from one another. Since prongs 111 and 112 have already been inserted into slits 213 and 214, such outward movement of prongs 111 and 112 causes first side wall 211 and second side wall 212 to bend away from each other. This bending releases the snap prong 220, particularly the wider (outward extension of the arms of the T) portion of snap prong 220, from openings 215 and 216. This bending and release is illustrated in FIG. 10 and is allowed by the resilience of the opposed walls. FIG. 11 also provides a view of tool 10 and its prongs 111 and 112 being inserted into slits or apertures 213 and 214 of snap connection 210 of first toy component 201. This view only shows a part of the tips and the projecting arms, as they pass into the cavity by being inserted through the thickness of the bottom shell.

The embodiments and examples above are illustrative, and many variations can be introduced to them without departing from the spirit of the disclosure or from the scope of the invention. For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative and exemplary embodiments herein may be combined with each other and/or substituted with each other within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter, in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of the invention.

TOY HOUSING STRUCTURE AND TOOL FOR DISASSEMBLING TOY HOUSING

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