Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6604977
-
Patent Number
6,604,977
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, April 24, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, August 12, 200321 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Ackun; Jacob K.
- Francis; Faye
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 446 129
- 446 131
- 446 132
- 446 133
- 446 134
- 446 135
- 446 136
- 446 137
- 446 138
- 446 139
- 446 375
- 446 376
- 446 381
- 446 383
- 446 97
- 446 437
- 273 359
- 273 366
- 273 367
- 273 368
- 273 369
- 273 370
- 040 406
- 040 426
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
A wobbling toy (20) comprising: a body (21), a shaft (23) attached to the body, and a wheel (24) which is rotatable around the shaft (23), for moving the body, wherein the wheel (24) is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft (23). The wheel comprises a magnet (24a and 24b) and the wobbling toy can travel by a magnetic force which exerts to the magnet of the wheel.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wobbling toy, in particular, to a wobbling toy which moves while wobbling or tottering, and to a wobbling toy set in which a wobbling toy is operated by magnetic force, in particular, to a wobbling toy set in which the wobbling toy takes an interesting or pretty motion.
2. Description of Related Art
As a wobbling toy which moves with a wobbling, for example, a toy moving forward with a wobbling body, which comprises a body having a shape of a small animal, e.g., a cat, a mouse or the like, and right and left legs which are attached to the body and are moved alternately by a driving device, e.g., a cam mechanism, a link mechanism or the like, which is housed in the body, is known.
Such a wobbling toy is different from one such as a car toy which runs linearly or curvedly, and has the advantage that it can show charm or prettiness like a real small animal by a wobbling of the body. However, when the wobbling toy has a construction in which the right and left legs are moved alternately by a conventional driving device, e.g., a cam mechanism, a link mechanism or the like, generally, the legs are mechanical and stiff in those actions. In order to solve for the stiffness or awkwardness of the actions, it may be considered to introduce a driving device having a more precise mechanism, like a use in the field of a precision robot. However, because such a driving device having a more precise mechanism is expensive, it is hard to incorporate such an expensive driving device in such a small toy because a relatively low cost is required in the field of small toy. There are also another problems that in the conventional wobbling toy, the mechanism for having the right and left legs operate alternately is complicated, so that the number of mechanical elements required for the mechanism is large.
As a wobbling toy set in which a wobbling toy member is operated by magnetic force, one comprising a disc plate with an attached magnet which is provided under a floor, and a wobbling toy member which is moved on the upper surface of the floor by magnetic force according to rotation of the disc plate, is known.
However, there is a problem that only rotation of the disc plate gives only a very monotonous motion, i.e., an uninteresting motion, to the wobbling toy member.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention has been made in view of the above problems.
An object of the invention is to provide a wobbling toy which moves with wobbling smoothly.
Another object of the invention is to provide a wobbling toy set having a simple structure, in which the wobbling toy makes an interesting motion.
In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the wobbling toy comprising: a body, a shaft attached to the body, and a wheel which is rotatable around the shaft, for moving the body, wherein the wheel is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft.
For example, the wobbling toy may have a structure to be pushed by hand, a structure to be pulled by using a string or a structure to move by a motor or a power spring. Further, it may have a structure to move by magnetic force, as shown in FIG.
2
. It may have any structure so long as the body of the toy wobbles from side to side by rolling of the wheel.
According to such a wobbling toy, because the wheel is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft, the body of the toy wobbles from side to side with rolling of the wheel. Thus, because the wobbling is realized by rolling of the wheel, the wobbling of the body can be carried out smoothly and thereby, for example, a wobbling toy having an imitated shape of a small animal can show charm or prettiness like a real small animal by a smooth wobbling of the body. Even when a driving device for the wheel, e.g., a motor, a power spring or the like, is loaded, the driving device does not require a large size nor a complicated structure.
Preferably, the wobbling toy travels by a magnetic force. According to such a wobbling toy, it is possible to move the toy with wobbling by making a magnetic member or a magnet function from the outside, without a specific driving means for wobbling.
The wheel may comprise a magnet, and the wobbling toy may travel by a magnetic force which exerts to the magnet of the wheel. In order to have a magnetic force on the wobbling toy, for example, another magnetic member or another magnet may be provided to function under the floor.
According to the wobbling toy, it is possible to move the toy with wobbling by the magnetic member or the magnet exerting effect to the magnet of the wheel from the outside.
Preferably, the magnet of the wheel has an S-pole and an N-pole in a thickness direction of the wheel.
When setting the polarities of the magnetic member or the magnet provided under the floor in reverse against that of the magnet of the wheel, the magnet of the wheel follows the movement of the magnetic member or the magnet provided under the floor. When the polarity direction of the magnetic member or the magnet under the floor is reversed, the direction of the wobbling toy on the floor also follows the movement thereof rapidly. Accordingly, for example, a wobbling toy having an imitated shape of a small animal can show charm or prettiness like a real small animal by a smooth wobbling of the body.
The body of the wobbling toy may be divided into a plurality of parts, one of which may be connected with the next part by a pivot, to swing horizontally with respect to the next part. The number of parts may be two or more. The wobbling toy having such a structure is adapted to an imitated wobbling toy of an animal, a vehicle or the like, having a long body, e.g., snake, insect, fish, train, or the like.
According to the wobbling toy having such a structure, when the toy is moved, the body is wobbling while the divided parts swing horizontally with respect to the next part. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
A projection piece which is made of soft material to swing, may be attached to an outer surface of the body.
The wobbling toy having such a structure is adapted to an imitated wobbling toy of an animal having a long swingable portion, e.g., an insect having long antennas, a rabbit having a pair of long ears, an aquatic animal having barbels or fins, or the like. The projection piece may be made of soft material enough to swing with traveling, for example, paper, resin, rubber or the like.
According to the wobbling toy having such a structure, when the toy is moved, the body is wobbling while the projection piece also swings side to side. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the wobbling toy set comprises: a wobbling toy member comprising a first magnetic body, and a driving device comprising a wrapping connector driving mechanism having a wrapping member and first and second wrapped members around which the wrapping member is wrapped, wherein a second magnetic body which exerts to the first magnetic body to move the wobbling toy member, is attached to the wrapping member.
The term “wrapping connector driving mechanism” means a mechanism comprising a wrapping member (wrapping connector), and a plurality of rotational wrapped members (wheels) around which the wrapping member is wrapped to transmit the rotational force of one of the wrapped members to the other. The wrapping member is made of a flexible material and can make resistance to a tension, e.g., a belt, a rope chain, rubber or the like.
According to the wobbling toy set, it is possible to move the wobbling toy member in a desired direction by arranging the plurality of rotational wrapped members appropriately. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy set to become more amusing.
Preferably, the driving device further comprises a reciprocal motor as a driving source for the wrapping connector driving mechanism.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, because the wrapping member can be rotated reciprocally, it is possible to change the motion of the wobbling toy member. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
Preferably, the second magnetic body can be turned around a position on the wrapping member according to a change of rotational direction of the wrapping member to change magnetic poles of the second magnetic body.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, because the direction of the magnetic poles of the second magnetic body can be changed according to the change of rotational direction of the wrapping member, at the same time, the direction of the wobbling toy member is also changed. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
The wrapping connector driving mechanism may further comprise a moving member for moving one of the first and second wrapped members to change a position of the one of the first and second wrapped members with respect to the other.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, it is possible to give a further complicated motion to the wobbling toy member by changing the position of the one of the first and second wrapped members to the other. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become further more amusing.
In the wobbling toy set, preferably, the wobbling toy member comprises: a body, a shaft attached to the body, and a wheel which is rotatable around the shaft, for moving the body, wherein the wheel is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, because the wheel is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft, the body of the toy member wobbles from side to side with rolling of the wheel. Thus, because the wobbling is realized by rolling of the wheel, the wobbling of the body can be carried out smoothly. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
The first magnetic body may comprise a magnetic wheel which has an S-pole and an N-pole in a thickness direction thereof, and the second magnetic body may comprise a magnet which has an S-pole and an N-pole in a direction approximately parallel to a surface on which the wobbling toy member travels.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, when setting the polarities of the magnetic member or the magnet provided under the floor in reverse against that of the magnet of the wheel, the magnet of the wheel follows the movement of the magnetic member or the magnet provided under the floor. When the polarity direction of the magnetic member or the magnet under the floor is reversed, the direction of the wobbling toy member on the floor also follows the movement thereof to be reversed. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
The body of the wobbling toy member may be divided into a plurality of parts, one of which is connected with a next part by a pivot, to swing horizontally with respect to the next part.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, when the toy member is moved, the body is wobbling while the divided parts swing horizontally with respect to the next part. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
The wobbling toy member may have a shape of an imitated aquatic animal. Because the wobbling toy member moves with wobbling, it is possible to reproduce a motion similar to that of an aquatic animal. Accordingly, it enables the wobbling toy to become more amusing.
In accordance with a further aspect of the invention, the wobbling toy set comprises: a ground plate, a wobbling toy member provided on an upper surface of the ground plate, comprising a body, a shaft attached to the body, and a magnetic wheel which is rotatable around the shaft, for moving the body, wherein the magnetic wheel having an S-pole and an N-pole in a thickness direction thereof is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft, and a driving device provided under the ground plate, comprising a magnetic body which magnetically exerts to the magnetic wheel, and a transport member for transporting the magnetic body along a lower surface of the ground plate and along a desired transportation course.
According to the wobbling toy set having such a structure, because the wheel is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft, the body of the toy wobbles from side to side with rolling of the wheel. Because the wobbling is realized by rolling of the wheel, the wobbling of the body can be carried out smoothly. Further, it is possible to move the toy member with wobbling by making the magnetic body function from the underneath the ground plate.
Preferably, the magnetic body has a direction of N-pole to S-pole which is approximately parallel to the lower surface of the ground plate, and the direction of N-pole to S-pole of the magnetic body can be changed when a transportation direction for the transport member is reversed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not intended as a definition of the limits of the present invention, and wherein;
FIG. 1
is a schematically perspective view of an aquarium containing a wobbling toy according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2
is a schematically perspective view of a wobbling body of the wobbling toy member according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3
is a bottom view of the wobbling body for showing the attachment state of a wheel therein;
FIG. 4
is a schematically perspective view of a driving device of the wobbling toy member according to the embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5
is a schematic front view for showing the movement of the wobbling body shown in
FIG. 2
;
FIGS. 6A and 6B
are plan views for showing different movement states of the wobbling body shown in
FIG. 2
;
FIGS. 7A and 7B
are schematic views for showing movement states of another wobbling body according to the embodiment of the wobbling toy of the present invention;
FIG. 8
is a block diagram of a control device according to the embodiment of the wobbling toy of the present invention;
FIG. 9
is a plan view of a driving device according to another embodiment of the wobbling toy of the present invention;
FIG. 10
is a plan view of a driving device according to a further embodiment of the wobbling toy of the present invention; and
FIGS. 11A and 11B
are plan views of a driving device according to a further embodiment of the wobbling toy of the present invention.
PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
The wobbling toy according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with reference to the attached drawings, as follows.
In the embodiment, as the wobbling toy, one in which a fish swims in an aquarium is shown.
The wobbling toy comprises an aquarium
10
, a wobbling body
20
, and a driving device
30
for operating the wobbling body
20
.
The aquarium
10
is divided into an upper space
12
and a lower space
13
by the boundary of a ground plate (floor plate)
11
which is provided with a slope, as shown in FIG.
1
. The wobbling body
20
can move and act in the upper space
12
which is defined by a transparent cover
14
. At a portion of the cover
14
, an opening
14
a
is formed. The lower space
13
contains the driving device
30
therein and is defined by opaque side walls
13
a
and a bottom plate
13
b.
On the upper surface of the ground plate
11
, various types of accessories
15
a,
15
b,
15
c
and
15
d
, e.g., an imitated water grass, an imitated rock or the like, are arranged at suitable positions. One
15
a
of them is used as a home for the wobbling body.
The wobbling member
20
comprises a main body
21
forming an outer shell thereof. The main body
21
is divided into a front part
21
a
forming the head portion of the wobbling member
20
, a central part
21
b
(swinging part) forming the body portion thereof, and a rear part
21
c
(swinging part) forming the bottom portion thereof, as shown in FIG.
2
. The central part
21
b
is connected with the front part
21
a
by a first pivot
22
a
which is disposed at a connecting position on the central line of the wobbling member
20
vertically, so that the central part
21
b
can swing horizontally with respect to the front part
21
a
on the first pivot
22
a
. The rear part
21
c
is connected with the central part
21
b
by a second pivot
22
b
which is disposed at a connecting position on the central line of the wobbling member
20
vertically, so that the rear part
21
c
can swing horizontally with respect to the central part
21
b
on the second pivot
22
b.
In the front part
21
a
forming the head portion, a shaft
23
is disposed laterally (in the width direction of the wobbling member
20
) and horizontally, and therefore perpendicular to a vertical plane. On the shaft
23
, a wheel
24
is fixed with the surface thereof being inclined a little with respect to the vertical plane perpendicular to the shaft
23
. The wheel
24
comprises a magnet which has the S-pole half
24
a and the other N-pole half
24
b
in the thickness direction.
On the both side ends of the upper surface of the front part
21
a
in the wobbling member
20
, a pair of thin pieces (swinging projections)
25
and
25
which are imitated fins or imitated barbels are provided. On the rear end of the rear part
21
c
, a thin piece (swinging projection)
26
which is an imitated caudal fin is provided.
The driving device
30
is provided with a driving pulley
31
, a driven pulley
32
, and a belt
33
which is wrapped around them, as shown in FIG.
4
.
To the driving pulley
31
, a worm wheel
34
is attached. The worm wheel
34
is connected to engage with a reciprocating motor
36
through a worm
35
.
The driving pulley
31
and the attached worm wheel
34
rotate on a shaft which is provided at an end of an arm
37
, and the driven pulley
32
rotates on another shaft which is provided at the other end of the arm
37
. The driven pulley
32
can be reciprocally swung with the arm
37
with respect to the rotation shaft for the driving pulley
31
. The arm
37
is provided with a positioning member
38
for setting the swing angle of the arm. The positioning member
38
comprises a first link
39
a
which has an end connected to the arm
37
, a second link
39
b
which has an end connected to the other end of the first link
39
a
, a reciprocating motor
40
which is connected to the other end of the second link
39
b
, and the like.
At predetermined positions on the outer surface of the belt
33
, projections
33
a
,
33
b
and
33
c
are formed. At the central projection
33
b
, an end of a magnet
41
is attached so that the magnet
41
can be swung horizontally around the central projection
33
b
reciprocally. The other end of the magnet
41
is placed on one of the end projections
33
a
and
33
c
to keep the position of the magnet
41
stably. The S pole
41
a
and the N pole
41
b
of the magnet
41
are formed that the magnetic field in the magnet is directed to the direction which is approximately horizontal and approximately perpendicular to the attached surface of the belt
33
.
In the wobbling toy having such a construction, the driving device
30
is contained in the lower space
13
of the aquarium
10
so that both surfaces of the S and N poles
41
a
and
41
b
of the magnet
41
are in contact with the lower surface of the ground plate
11
of the aquarium
10
.
Then, water is poured into the upper space
12
of the aquarium
10
and the wobbling member
20
is put into the water.
When the motor
36
is driven to rotate in a direction, the driving pulley
31
is rotated through the worm
35
and the worm wheel
34
, and thereby the belt
33
is rotated. As a result, the magnet
41
attached to the belt
33
is moved in a direction with the belt
33
. The movement of the magnet
41
provides a movement of the wobbling member
20
by the magnetic force of the magnet
41
to the magnetic wheel
24
of the wobbling member.
On the upper surface of the other end of the magnet
41
, a rubber member (not shown) is attached to be in contact with the lower surface of the ground plate
11
. Accordingly, when the magnet
41
is moved in a direction, a friction force is given to the rubber member at the other end of the magnet
41
from the lower surface of the ground plate
11
. The friction force gives a torque to the magnet
41
to bring the other end of the magnet
41
to the rear, for example, to bring the S pole
41
a
to the outer position with respect to the belt
33
, as shown in FIG.
5
. Accordingly, the position of the wheel
24
of the wobbling member
20
is determined so that the S pole
24
a
and the N pole
24
b
of the wheel
24
are positioned above the N pole
41
b
and the S pole
41
a
of the magnet
41
, respectively, through the ground plate
11
. Thus, the position of the wobbling member
20
is determined, for example, so that the front part
21
a
of the wobbling member
20
looks toward the travel direction of the belt
33
.
Because wheel
24
is provided with the surface thereof being inclined a little to the plane perpendicular to the shaft
23
, the wobbling member
20
swings in the right and left directions according to the rotation of the wheel
24
, as shown in FIG.
5
. Accordingly, the front part
21
a
forming the head portion of the wobbling member
20
swings in the right and left directions, and thereby other parts
21
b
and
21
c
also swing in the right and left directions, as shown in
FIGS. 6A and 6B
. In the case, the motion of the other parts
21
b
and
21
c
are retarded than that of the front part
21
a
, by the resistance of water, so that the other parts
21
b
and
21
c
move slowly. According to the motion of the main body
21
of the wobbling member
20
, the thin pieces
25
and
26
also swing.
Next, when the motor
36
is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, the belt
33
is moved in the reverse direction. As a result, the magnet
41
is moved in the reverse direction with receiving a friction force given to the rubber member of the magnet
41
from the lower surface of the ground plate
11
. The friction force gives a torque to the magnet
41
to bring the other end of the magnet
41
onto the projection
33
a
, that is, to bring the N pole
41
b
to the outer position with respect to the belt
33
. Consequently, the wheel
24
comprising the S pole
24
a
and the N pole
24
b
carries out a 180° turn so that the S pole
24
a
and the N pole
24
b
of the wheel
2
position above the N pole
41
b
and the S pole
41
a
of the magnet
41
, respectively, through the ground plate
11
. Thus, the front part
21
a
of the wobbling member
20
looks toward the travel direction of the belt
33
, i.e., the reverse direction.
Thus, the wobbling member
20
moves with wobbling or tottering, corresponding to the movement of the magnet
41
which is attached to the belt
33
. Further, the wobbling member
20
goes forward with the head portion turning toward the travel direction of the belt
33
.
The route of the magnet
41
is determined by the driving pulley
31
and the driven pulley
32
. However, because the driven pulley
32
can be swung around the rotary shaft of the driving pulley
31
by operating the positioning member
38
, it is possible to take a desired route of the magnet
41
by using the positioning member
38
appropriately. That is, the route of the magnet
41
, e.g., the course “A” which is shown by a dotted line, and the course “B” which is shown by an alternate long and short dash line, in the aquarium
10
shown in
FIG. 1
, can be set by own free will, by driving to rotate the motor
40
in the normal or reverse direction appropriately, thereby to rotate the arm
37
on the rotary shaft of the driving pulley
31
at a desired angle.
Another wobbling member
20
a
may be arranged in the vicinity of the courses “A” and “B”, as shown in the aquarium
10
in
FIG. 1
, in order to swing the wobbling member
20
a
by the magnet
41
which is attached to the belt
33
.
The wobbling member
20
a
is set at a position at which the wobbling member
20
a
can be moved in the direction approximately perpendicular to the traveling direction of the belt
33
, as shown in FIG.
7
. On the wobbling member
20
a
, a magnet
27
with the S pole
27
a
and the N pole
27
b
is attached. The position of the wobbling member
20
a
is set so that one of the S and N poles
27
a
and
27
b
is faced to the belt
33
. In the embodiment of
FIG. 7
, the S pole
27
a
is faced to the belt
33
.
When the belt
33
is rotated in the anticlockwise direction, as shown in
FIG. 7A
, the free end of the magnet
41
is brought to the rear, to bring the N pole
41
b
to the inner position with respect to the belt
33
, by the friction force given to the rubber member of the magnet
41
from the lower surface of the ground plate
11
. As a result, the wobbling member
20
a
is attracted to the N pole
41
b
of the magnet
41
. On the contrary, the belt
33
is rotated in the clockwise direction, as shown in
FIG. 7B
, the free end of the magnet
41
is brought to the rear, to bring the S pole
41
a
to the inner position with respect to the belt
33
. As a result, the wobbling member
20
a
is separated from the S pole
41
a
of the magnet
41
by the repulsive force of the S pole
27
a
of the magnet
27
.
A microphone
50
and an optical sensor
51
are disposed at suitable positions in the aquarium
10
, and positioning sensors
52
,
53
,
54
and
55
for detecting the position of the wobbling toy
20
are disposed at suitable positions on the courses “A” and “B”. Each signal output from the microphone
50
, the optical sensor
51
and positioning sensors
52
,
53
,
54
and
55
is sent to a CPU
56
. The CPU
56
controls the direction of rotation, the number of revolution and the like, of the motors
36
and
40
in the driving device
30
, and puts on or off an LED
57
which is disposed at a suitable position in the aquarium
10
, and generates a sound or voice through a speaker
58
which is disposed at a suitable position in the aquarium
10
, according to the signals from the microphone
50
, the optical sensor
51
and positioning sensors
52
,
53
,
54
and
55
, as shown in FIG.
8
. For example, the optical sensor
51
can be used to detect a person coming near the aquarium
10
. When a person comes near the aquarium or when the number of a person coming near there reaches a predetermined times, the motion or the sound or voice, of the wobbling member
20
can be changed.
For example, when a light of an electric bulb, a sound or the like is detected in a room, the wobbling member
20
may be returned to its home
15
a
. By detecting the position of the wobbling member
20
by the positioning sensors
52
,
53
,
54
and
55
, it is also possible to change the moving direction of the wobbling member
20
. Further, it is possible to put on or turn on or off the LED
57
, or to generate a sound or voice through a speaker
58
, by a combination of the requirements.
Although some embodiments of the invention have been explained as described above, it should also be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments and that various changes and modifications may be made to the invention without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, only an example in which the wobbling member
20
is entered in the aquarium
10
is shown in the above-described embodiment, it is a matter of course that the wobbling member
20
may be worked in a general container other than an aquarium
10
.
In the above-described embodiment, the driving device
30
has a structure in which the driven pulley
32
can be reciprocally swung with the arm
37
with respect to the rotation shaft for the mounted driving pulley
31
. However, it may have a structure in which the driving pulley
31
can be reciprocally swung with the arm
37
with respect to the rotation shaft for the driven pulley
32
mounted to the aquarium
10
.
In the above-described embodiment, the driven pulley
32
is held to reciprocally swing on the rotation shaft for the mounted driving pulley
31
through the arm
37
. However, it may have a structure in which one of the driving pulley
31
and the driven pulley
32
can be reciprocally swung with respect to the other without through the arm
37
, as shown in FIG.
9
. In the figure, the driving pulley
31
can be swung along a guide groove
60
b
by a motor M which is a driving source and a link mechanism
60
a
which has an end connected to the motor M and the other end connected to the rotary shaft of the driving pulley
31
. The movement of the rotary shaft of the driving pulley
31
is defined by the guide groove
60
b.
Further, it may have a structure in which both the driving pulley
31
and the driven pulley
32
can be reciprocally swung without through the arm
37
, as shown in FIG.
10
. In the figure, the driving pulleys
31
and
32
can be swung along guide grooves
61
b
and
62
b
by motors M and M which are driving sources and link mechanism
61
a
and
62
a
, respectively.
Further, it may have a structure which comprises the driving pulley
31
, the driven pulley
32
and a tension pulley
63
, as shown in
FIGS. 11A and 11B
. In the structure, at least one of the driving pulleys
31
and
32
can move reciprocally in the direction of the arrow X and is biased in the direction to separate the driving pulleys
31
and
32
to each other. The tension pulley
63
can move reciprocally in the direction of making a wrapping member
64
strain or loose, e.g., the direction of the arrow Y. Accordingly, at least one of the driving pulleys
31
and
32
is moved by the movement of the tension pulley
63
.
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application Nos. Tokugan 2000-143501 and Tokugan 2000-143502 which were filed on May 16, 2000, including specification, claims, drawings and summary are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Claims
- 1. A wobbling toy comprising:a body; a shaft attached to the body; and a wheel which is rotatable around and attached to the shaft and tilted at an angle to a plane perpendicular to the shaft, to move the body, the wheel comprising a magnet, wherein the magnet of the wheel has an S-pole and an N-pole in a thickness direction of the wheel so that the wobbling toy can travel by a magnetic force exerted on the magnet of the wheel.
- 2. A wobbling toy comprising:a body having an approximately symmetrical shape with respect to a plane, an axis of rotation, attached to the body in a direction approximately perpendicular to the plane of symmetry; and a wheel which is rotatable around the axis of rotation, for moving the body, wherein the wheel has an approximate rectangular section with a width enough to move the body stable by rotation of the wheel, and the wheel is attached to the axis of rotation to tilt at an angle to a plane perpendicular to the axis, wherein the body is divided into a plurality of parts, one of which is connected with a next part by a pivot, to swing approximately horizontally with respect to the next part.
- 3. The wobbling toy as claimed in claim 2, wherein the wheel comprises a magnet.
- 4. The wobbling toy as claimed in claim 3, wherein the wobbling toy travels due to a magnetic force exerted on the magnet of the wheel.
- 5. A wobbling toy set comprising:a wobbling toy member comprising a first magnetic body, the first magnetic body comprising a magnetic wheel which has an S-pole and an N-pole in a thickness direction thereof, a shaft attached to the magnetic body, and a wheel which is rotatable around the shaft, for moving the body, wherein the wheel is attached to the shaft, to tilt at an angle to a plane perpendicular to the shaft; and a driving device comprising a driving first pulley, a second pulley driven by the first pulley, and a belt which is wrapped around the first and second pulleys, wherein a second magnetic body which exerts to the first magnetic body to move the wobbling toy member, is attached to the belt, the second magnetic body comprising a magnet which has an S-pole and an N-pole arranged in a direction approximately parallel to a surface on which the wobbling toy member travels.
- 6. A wobbling toy set as claimed in claim 5, wherein the driving device further comprises a reciprocal motor to drive the first pulley.
- 7. A wobbling toy set as claimed in claim 5, wherein the second magnetic body can be turned around a position on the belt according to a change of rotational direction of the belt to change magnetic poles of the second magnetic body.
- 8. A wobbling toy set as claimed in claim 5, wherein the driving device further comprises a moving member for moving one of the first and second pulleys to change a position of the one of the first and second pulleys with respect to the other.
- 9. A wobbling toy set as claimed in claim 5, wherein the body of the wobbling toy member is divided into a plurality of parts, one of which is connected with a next part by a pivot, to swing horizontally with respect to the next part.
- 10. A wobbling toy set as claimed in claim 5, wherein the wobbling toy member has a shape of an aquatic animal.
- 11. A wobbling toy set comprising:a ground plate, a wobbling toy member provided on an upper surface of the ground plate, comprising a body, a shaft attached to the body, and a magnetic wheel which is rotatable around the shaft, for moving the body, wherein the magnetic wheel having an S-pole and an N-pole in a thickness direction thereof is attached out of perpendicular to the shaft, and a driving device provided under the ground plate, comprising a magnetic body which magnetically exerts to the magnetic wheel, and a transport member for transporting the magnetic body along a lower surface of the ground plate and along a desired transportation course.
- 12. A wobbling toy set as claimed in claim 11, wherein the magnetic body has a direction of N-pole to S-pole which is approximately parallel to the lower surface of the ground plate, and the direction of N-pole to S-pole of the magnetic body can be changed when a transportation direction for the transport member is reversed.
- 13. A wobbling toy set comprising:a ground plate, wobbling toy means with a wheel, for moving forward on an upper surface of the ground plate and wobbling by rotation of the wheel, and rotating means for rotating the wheel of the wobbling toy means from under the ground plate.
Priority Claims (2)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
2000-143501 |
May 2000 |
JP |
|
2000-143502 |
May 2000 |
JP |
|
US Referenced Citations (13)
Foreign Referenced Citations (5)
Number |
Date |
Country |
1097875 |
Jan 1961 |
DE |
0641580 |
Mar 1995 |
EP |
1157724 |
Nov 2001 |
EP |
2597002 |
Oct 1987 |
FR |
2155345 |
Sep 1985 |
GB |