Model toy and movable structure

Abstract

To provide a setup for realizing a working mechanism that enables various pieces of operation with less parts, for example, in a model toy.SOLUTION: A model toy includes: a first part as a base part; a second part including a first connection part connected to a connection part formed in the first part in one side and a second connection part connected to another part in the other side; and two third parts for clamping the first connection part by third connection parts formed in each in a state in which the first connection part of the second part is connected to the first part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to model toys and movable structures.

Background Art

[0002] In humanoid toys (model toys), it is required to realize natural movements and various postures. Therefore, in order to realize movements and postures similar to those of humans and animals, humanoid toys include various joints and movable parts. Patent Document 1 proposes a quadruped humanoid having a joint structure that enables realistic movements similar to those of real animals.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above prior art, various joints are included to realize various movements, and each joint is composed of a plurality of parts. However, in a small humanoid toy, it is required to perform various movements with as few parts as possible due to its spatial limitations.

[0005] The present invention provides a mechanism for realizing a movable mechanism that enables various movements with fewer parts in a model toy.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention is characterized by comprising, for example, a model toy, a first part that serves as a base, a second part that includes a first connecting portion on one end connected to a connecting portion formed on the first part and a second connecting portion on the other end connected to another part, and two third parts that, with the first connecting portion of the second part connected to the first part, sandwich the first connecting portion with third connecting portions formed on each third part.

[0007] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by comprising, for example, a movable structure comprising: a first part that serves as a base; a second part that includes a first connecting portion on one end connected to a connecting portion formed on the first part and a second connecting portion on the other end connected to another part; and two third parts that, when the first connecting portion of the second part is connected to the first part, clamp the first connecting portion with third connecting portions formed on each of the second parts. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, a movable mechanism that enables a wide range of movements with fewer parts can be realized in model toys. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1A] A diagram showing an example of the front view of a doll-shaped toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 1B] A diagram showing an example of the external side view of a doll-shaped toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] (a) an exploded perspective view of the torso and (b) an exploded perspective view of the chest of a doll-shaped toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 3] (a) an exploded view and (b) a side view of the chest joint of a doll-shaped toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] (a) an exploded perspective view of the upper arm of a doll-shaped toy according to one embodiment, and (b) a perspective view of some parts of the chest joint and shoulder joint. [Figure 5] A cross-sectional view of the torso of a doll-shaped toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 6] A cross-sectional view showing the movement of the chest joint of a doll-type toy according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention as defined in the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the features described in the embodiments may be combined arbitrarily. Furthermore, identical or similar configurations will be given the same reference numeral, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

[0011] <Appearance of a doll-shaped toy> First, an example of the external configuration of the doll-shaped toy 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1A and 1B. Figure 1A shows the front view of the doll-shaped toy 100. Figure 1B shows the side view of the doll-shaped toy 100. The up / down, left / right, and front / back arrows indicate the orientation of the doll-shaped toy in the figures, and the same applies to the other drawings.

[0012] The doll-shaped toy (doll body) 100 comprises a head 101, a chest 102, arms 103a and 103b, an abdomen 104, a waist 105, and legs 107a and 107b. The doll-shaped toy 100 is a movable doll-shaped toy such as a movable figure, and each part can be moved within the range of limitations created by its relationship with other members. The head 101 is connected to the chest 102 by a spherical connecting member (hereinafter also referred to as a ball joint). The arms 103, including the right arm 103a and the left arm 103b, are further connected to the chest 102 by spherical connecting members, and the abdomen 104 is connected at the bottom. The detailed configuration of the chest will be described later. The waist 105 is connected to the abdomen 104. The legs 107, including the right leg 107a and the left leg 107b, are connected to the waist 105 and are covered with clothing such as a skirt.

[0013] In the following, the upper body, including the head 101, chest 102, and arms 103, will be referred to as the upper body. The lower body, including the waist 105 and legs 107a and 107, will be referred to as the lower body. The upper body and lower body are connected via the abdomen 104. The chest 102, abdomen 104, and waist 105 will also be collectively referred to as the torso. In the following, as movable structures according to this embodiment, the chest joint structure of the chest 102 and the shoulder joint structure, which connects the arms 103b to the chest 102 by a spherical connecting member (ball joint), will be described. However, there is no intention to limit the present invention, and the movable structures described below can be applied not only to the chest joint and shoulder joint, but also to other joints, such as the hip joint, elbow joint, and knee joint that connect the legs.

[0014] <Structure of the upper body (chest)> Next, with reference to Figure 2, the detailed configuration of the chest portion 102 in the upper body of the doll-type toy 100 according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 2(a) is a perspective view of the upper body with the chest portion 102, abdomen 104, and waist portion 105 disassembled. Figure 2(b) is an exploded view of the chest portion 102 including the chest joint and shoulder joint. The arms 103a and 103b are connected to the shoulder joint, but are omitted in Figure 2.

[0015] As shown in Figure 2(a), the chest 102 is connected to the abdomen 104 by a spherical joint (ball joint). That is, the chest joint according to this embodiment connects the chest 102 to the abdomen 104 movably with a ball joint. However, there is no intention to limit the present invention, and other shapes of joints may be used instead of the spherical joint. Furthermore, the chest joint according to this embodiment is equipped with an additional rotation mechanism. The additional rotation mechanism will be described later with reference to Figure 3.

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2(b), the chest 102 is composed of a plurality of parts 201 to 207. The part 201 is a part (first part) that serves as the base of a plurality of joints. The part 202 is inserted from below into the part 201 to form the chest joint. Also, with the part 202 (second part) inserted into the part 201, the parts 203a and 203b (two third parts) are respectively fitted from both sides. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the part 202 from falling out of the part 201.

[0017] The parts 204a and 204b are respectively connected to the parts 203a and 203b, and together with the part 201, the shoulder joint is formed. Further, the arm parts 103a and 103b are connected to the parts 204a and 204b. Note that the part 205, which is an external part of the chest, and the part 206, which is an external part of the upper back, are assembled so as to sandwich the parts 201 to 203, whereby each part is locked and fixed.

[0018] A recess is further formed in the upper part of the part 201. A connecting part formed in a spherical shape of the part 207 is connected to the recess. By connecting the part 201 and the part 207, the neck joint of the doll - type toy 100 is formed. Thus, according to the present embodiment, the chest joint, the shoulder joint, and the neck joint can be realized using the part 201 that serves as the base of a plurality of joints, and various movements can be enabled with fewer parts. Also, when a spherical connecting part is used in each joint, it can rotate in all directions within the range of spatial restrictions of other parts.

[0019] <Detailed configuration of the chest joint> Next, referring to FIG. 3, the detailed configuration of the chest joint of the doll - type toy 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3(a) shows an exploded view of the chest joint according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 3(b) shows an example of the operation of the chest joint in a state where two parts are combined according to the present embodiment.

[0020] As shown in Figure 3(a), part 201 (first part) has a connecting portion 311 for receiving part 202 from below, and recesses 312a and 312b for receiving the respective connecting portions of parts 203a and 203b (two third parts) from both sides. Part 202 (second part) is composed of a ring-shaped connecting portion 321 (first connecting portion) and a spherical connecting portion 322 (second connecting portion). As shown by the dotted arrow, the ring-shaped connecting portion 321 of part 202 is inserted into the connecting portion 311 of part 201 from below. Note that when part 202 is inserted into part 201, there is no mechanism to prevent it from coming loose, so it will easily fall out. Therefore, according to this embodiment, parts 203a and 203b are used to further prevent part 202 from falling out of part 201. A detailed assembly configuration will be explained using Figure 4.

[0021] As shown in Figure 3(b), part 202 is rotatably connected to part 201 in the front-to-back direction of the doll-shaped toy 100. This rotational movement is possible as shown by the dotted arrow, with the center of the ring-shaped connecting part 321 acting as the axis of rotation. Thus, the chest joint according to this embodiment is composed of part 201 and part 202. Therefore, in the chest joint according to this embodiment, in addition to the rotational movement of part 202 relative to the abdomen 104 by the spherical connecting part 322, an additional rotational movement centered on the ring-shaped connecting part 321 can be provided as an additional rotational mechanism. This makes it possible to add a rotational movement centered on the connecting part 321 to the rotational movement centered on the connecting part 322, thereby achieving a wider range of motion.

[0022] This rotational movement is achieved by simply inserting part 202 into part 201, without any special fitting mechanism (i.e., without fixing it in place). However, because it is not fixed, there is a possibility that part 202 may fall out of part 201. A detailed configuration to prevent this using part 203 will be described below.

[0023] <Structure of the shoulder joint connected to the thoracic joint> Next, with reference to Figure 4, the detailed configuration of the shoulder joint connected to the chest joint according to this embodiment will be described. Figure 4(a) shows an exploded view of the upper arm. Figure 4(b) shows the connection configuration of part 201 and part 203. Note that while Figure 4 will be used to describe the configuration of part of the left shoulder, including the chest joint, the configuration of the right shoulder is similar and will therefore be omitted.

[0024] As shown in Figure 4(a), with the ring-shaped connecting portion 321 of part 202 inserted into part 201, the spherical connecting portion 331b provided on one end of part 203b is fitted into the side of part 201 (dotted arrow). A recess 332b is formed at the other end of part 203b, and the spherical connecting portion formed on part 204b of arm 103b is rotatably connected to this recess 332b. Part 204b constitutes a part of arm 103b.

[0025] Furthermore, the connecting portion 331a of part 203a is connected from the side opposite to the position where the connecting portion 331b of part 201 is connected. Therefore, the two third parts, parts 203a and 203b, are assembled with respect to part 201 so as to sandwich the ring-shaped connecting portion 321 of part 202, which is inserted into part 201. As a result, part 202 is held between parts 203a and 203b while inserted into part 201, and is rotatably connected so as not to fall out of part 201.

[0026] As shown in Figure 4(b), part 202 has a ring-shaped connecting portion 321 with a recess 323b that receives a portion of the connecting portion 331b of part 203b. Note that Figure 4(b) omits part 201, and in reality, a portion of the recess 323b of the connecting portion 321 and the connecting portion 331b come into contact through the recess 312b of part 201. Also, on the opposite side of the recess 323b of the ring-shaped connecting portion 321, a recess 323a is formed that receives a portion of the connecting portion 331a of part 203a. As a result, part 202 can maintain its rotational movement relative to part 201 even when it is held in place by parts 203a and 203b. Furthermore, the recesses 323a and 323b are formed to match the spherical outer shape of the connecting portions 331a and 331b of parts 203a and 203b. Therefore, because they are assembled in close contact with each other, part 202 and parts 203a and 203b can be held together with a wider contact surface, and part 202 can be more firmly prevented from falling out of part 201. In addition, instead of providing a separate part to assemble the chest joint parts, by using a part of the shoulder joint to hold them together, the number of parts can be reduced while enabling various movements. Therefore, even small doll-type toys can achieve a variety of movements while keeping the size down.

[0027] <Movement of the chest joint> The operation of the chest joint according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figure 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the torso when cut along the line A-A' in Figure 1A.

[0028] Part 202 is a connecting member that connects the chest 102 and the abdomen 104, and is assembled so that at least three movements indicated by arrows 501 to 503 are possible with respect to the connected parts. The movement in the direction of arrow 501 indicates the forward and backward movement of the doll-shaped toy 100 relative to part 201. Since this movement has already been explained, a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0029] Furthermore, the movement in the direction of arrow 502 is achieved when the spherical connecting portion 322 of part 202 is connected to a part of the abdomen 104 in a way that allows it to slide slightly vertically. This allows part 202 and the chest 102 connected to part 202 to shift slightly upward from the abdomen 104, creating a space between the chest 102 and the abdomen 104. This space is intended to provide space for movement in the directions of arrows 501 and 503, for example, and has the effect of widening the range of motion.

[0030] Arrow 503 indicates that part 202 can rotate in multiple directions relative to a part of the abdomen 104. This is because the connecting part 322 is formed in a spherical shape, allowing it to rotate in all directions within the spatial constraints of other surrounding parts. Thus, the chest joint according to this embodiment is capable of at least the three movements described above. By combining these three movements, the doll-type toy 100 according to this embodiment can achieve various movements with fewer parts and a wider range of motion.

[0031] The following shows an example of the operation of the doll-type toy 100 according to this embodiment. Figure 6(a) shows the chest 102 rotating forward. As shown by the dotted arrow, the upper body including the chest 102 can be rotated forward to lift it upward. This forward movement can be made to move more widely by adding the rotation of the ring-shaped connecting part 321 in addition to the rotation of the spherical connecting part 322.

[0032] Figure 6(b) shows the chest 102 rotated backward. As indicated by the dotted arrow, the upper body, including the chest 102, can be rotated backward to lift it upward. This backward movement can be made more mobile by adding the rotation of the ring-shaped connecting part 321 in addition to the rotation of the spherical connecting part 322.

[0033] As described above, the model toy according to this embodiment comprises a first part that serves as a base, a second part that includes a first connecting portion on one end connected to a connecting portion formed on the first part and a second connecting portion on the other end connected to another part, and two third parts that, when the first connecting portion of the second part is inserted into the first part, sandwich the first connecting portion with third connecting portions formed on each third part. This makes it possible to realize a movable structure in a model toy that enables a variety of movements with fewer parts.

[0034] <Variation> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. In the embodiments described above, an example of applying the movable structure to the shoulder joint was explained, but there is no intention to limit the present invention, and it may be used in other parts. For example, it can be used in joints such as the hip joint, elbow joint, and knee joint that connect the legs. Furthermore, in the embodiments described above, an example was described in which a spherical connecting part (ball joint) is provided on the other side of the connecting member, but any connecting part may be used as long as the parts to be connected are movable. It is desirable to configure a connecting part that is suitable for the movable part to which it is applied.

[0035] Furthermore, while doll-type toys were described as an example of model toys, the shape of doll-type toys (doll bodies) is not particularly limited and includes various shapes such as people, animals, robots, insects, dinosaurs, and virtual life forms. Also, as long as the form includes movable parts, the shape of the model toy is not particularly limited. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0036] 100: Doll type toy, 101: Head, 102: Chest, 103a, 103b: Arms, 104: Abdomen, 105: Waist, 107a, 107b: Legs

Claims

1. A model toy, A first part serving as a base; a second part including a first connecting portion connected to the connecting portion formed on the first part on one side and a second connecting portion connected to another part on the other side; two third parts that sandwich the first connecting portion by a third connecting portion formed on each of the third parts in a state in which the first connecting portion of the second part is connected to the first part; a fourth part and a fifth part that sandwich the first part and the second part in a state where the first part and the second part are sandwiched between the two third parts; A model toy comprising:

2. The model toy as described in Claim 1, characterized in that the direction in which the two third parts clamp the first part and the second part is different from the direction in which the fourth part and the fifth part clamp the group of parts.

3. The toy model according to claim 1 , wherein recesses are formed on both sides of the first connecting portion to receive parts of the third connecting portions of the two third parts.

4. The third connecting portion is formed in a spherical shape, The toy model according to claim 3 , wherein the recess is formed to match an outer shape of the spherical third connecting portion.

5. The first connecting portion is formed in a ring shape, The toy model according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the second connecting portion is formed in a spherical shape.

6. the first part and the second part form a chest joint of the model toy; The model toy according to claim 5, wherein the second connecting portion of the second part is connected to a part that constitutes an abdomen of the model toy.

7. The model toy according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the two third parts form a shoulder joint of the model toy.

8. A sixth part having a spherical connecting portion connected to a recess formed in an upper portion of the first part, 7. The model toy according to claim 1, wherein the first part and the sixth part form a neck joint of the model toy.

9. A movable structure, A first part serving as a base; a second part including a first connecting portion connected to the connecting portion formed on the first part on one side and a second connecting portion connected to another part on the other side; two third parts that sandwich the first connecting portion by a third connecting portion formed on each of the third parts in a state in which the first connecting portion of the second part is connected to the first part; a fourth part and a fifth part that sandwich the first part and the second part in a state where the first part and the second part are sandwiched between the two third parts; A movable structure comprising:

10. The movable structure according to claim 9, characterized in that the movable structure forms at least a shoulder joint and a chest joint of a model toy.

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