Crane toy

Abstract

To provide a crane toy that can capture irregularly shaped objects. [Solution] The crane body is rotatable around a vertical axis and is also vertically movable and biased toward the raised position. The crane body is provided with an opening / closing member that is vertically movable and biased toward the downward direction, closing the catcher when moved upward and opening the bucket when moved downward, and a locking member that locks the opening / closing member in the raised position and releases the lock by external force. The operating device is provided with an operator that can operate the upward movement of the opening / closing member independently of the rotation and descent of the crane body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a crane toy.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, as a household crane game toy, there is known a crane toy that captures an object on a placement part provided on a base by a catcher, and transports the captured object to a predetermined place and releases it (Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] According to the above crane toy, the opened catcher is lowered, and when the contact body in the catcher is pushed by the object, the arm is closed and configured to maintain the state of grasping the object. Therefore, the catcher can only capture regular-shaped objects. Thus, the play was limited. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a crane toy that can capture non-regular-shaped objects.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] The first means is a crane toy that captures an object by an openable and closable catcher, transports the captured object to a predetermined place, and releases it, comprising a crane main body having the catcher and a support body that supports the catcher, a base to which the crane main body is directly connected, and an operating device that operates the crane main body. The crane main body is It is mounted on the base so as to be rotatable and vertically movable around an axis extending in the vertical direction, and is biased toward the raised position. The crane body includes, An opening / closing member is provided so as to be able to move up and down and is biased in the downward direction, causing the catcher to close when it moves upward and to open when it moves downward, A locking member that can take a locked position and a released position, locks the opening / closing member in the upper position and releases the lock by external force, A system was established, The operating device is characterized by comprising an operating element capable of operating the upward movement of the opening and closing member independently of the rotation and descent of the crane body.

[0006] The second means is the first means, The aforementioned operating device is A rotation operation mechanism that rotates the crane body in response to the operation of the first operator, A lowering mechanism that lowers the crane body in response to the operation of the second operator, The system includes an upward movement mechanism that moves the opening / closing member upward in response to the operation of the operator, It is characterized by the following:

[0007] The third means is the first means, The aforementioned locking member is When the crane body, which is in the raised position, is rotated to a predetermined rotational position, it comes into contact with the locking release member, and the locking of the opening / closing member is released. It is characterized by the following:

[0008] The fourth means is the second means, The first and second operators are configured as a single operator that can move left and right and be pressed down, and are configured such that the left and right movement of the operator rotates the crane body, and the pressing of the operator lowers the crane body.

[0009] The fifth means is the second means, The operator is composed of pushable buttons, and the opening and closing member is moved upward by pressing the button. This is the feature.

[0010] The sixth means is the second means, The downward movement operation mechanism is composed of including a sheave member. The operator is submerged in the base when the crane body rises and protrudes from the base when the crane body descends by the operation of the sheave member. This is the feature.

[0011] The seventh means is the first to sixth means, The catcher is a clam shell bucket and includes a fixed bucket and a movable bucket. This is the feature.

[0012] The eighth means is the first to sixth means, It includes a placement part for placing the object. This is the feature.

[0013] The ninth means is the eighth means, The placement part is a movable placement part. A third operator is provided on the base. The movable placement part and the third operator are linked, and the third operator is configured to rotate the movable placement part horizontally within a predetermined range. This is the feature.

[0014] The tenth means is the third means, A dropping hole for dropping the released object is provided on the upper surface of the base, A placement part for placing the object, a transparent cover covering the crane body and the dropping hole are provided on the base, The release member is formed above the dropping hole on the inner surface of the cover. This is the feature.

Advantages of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, when the operator is operated, the opening and closing member moves upward, so that the catcher closes and the object is captured. Therefore, objects of various shapes and sizes can be captured.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0016] [Figure 1] It is a front perspective view of the crane toy according to the embodiment. [Figure 2] It is a rear perspective view of the crane toy. [Figure 3] It is an upper perspective view of the base. [Figure 4] It is a perspective view of the crane body. [Figure 5] It is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the crane body. [Figure 6] It is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the clam shell bucket and its surrounding structure. [Figure 7] It is a perspective view showing the placement part, the crane body and the operating device. [Figure 8] It is a perspective view showing the rotation operation mechanism and the downward movement operation mechanism of the support column. [Figure 9] It is a perspective view showing the upward movement operation mechanism of the opening and closing member. [Figure 10] It is a lower perspective view showing the rotation operation mechanism of the placement part.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] (Usage Method) FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the crane toy 100, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the crane toy 100. First, for easy understanding, the usage of this crane toy 100 will be described. The object 50 is placed in the input opening (not shown) formed in the cover 18. The object 50 is placed on the disc-shaped mounting section 16. When the power is turned on using the power switch 14, the mounting section 16 is illuminated and a sound effect is emitted. Next, when the operating stick 11 is moved in either the left or right direction, the open clamshell bucket 23 moves above the mounting section 16. After moving the clamshell bucket 23 above the desired object 50, the operating stick 11 is pressed down. Pressing the operating stick 11 causes the crane body 17 to descend, and the lower end of the clamshell bucket 23 comes into contact with the upper surface of the mounting section 16. Next, while still pressing the operating stick 11, the operating button 12 is pressed. The clamshell bucket 23 then closes, and the object 50 is captured. Next, the operating stick 11 and the operating button 12 are released. The crane body 17 then rises in place. Next, move the control stick 11 to the right. This causes a part of the crane body 17 to hit the projection 18a on the inner surface of the cover 18. As a result, the clamshell bucket 23 opens, releasing the captured object 50, which falls into the pitfall 10d and comes out of the discharge port 15.

[0018] (Exterior structure) The crane toy 100 comprises a roughly cylindrical base 10 and a toy body 20. An operating stick 11 and an operating button 12 are provided on the upper edge of the base 10. An operating knob 13, a power switch 14, and an outlet 15 are provided on the side of the base 10. The operating stick 11, operating button 12, and operating knob 13 constitute the operating element. A circular plate constituting a mounting section 16 for placing the object 50 is installed on the base 10, and the crane body 17 is erected thereon. A dome-shaped transparent cover 18 is provided to cover the mounting section 16 and the crane body 17 from above.

[0019] (Top surface of base 10) Figure 3 is an overhead perspective view of the base 10. A recess 10b is formed on the upper surface of the base 10, and this recess 10b has a recess 10c for installing the mounting part 16, a cylindrical part 10a for attaching the crane body 17, and a pitfall hole 10d. A mounting section 16 is installed in the recess 10c. The surface of the mounting section 16 has a mesh-like pattern of fine recesses. The pitfall hole 10d is connected to the discharge port 15.

[0020] Furthermore, an axial hole 10e is formed in the center of the recess 10c into which the shaft 16a (Figure 10) of the mounting part 16 is inserted. In addition, an arc-shaped slit 10f is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 10c into which the eccentric pin 16b (Figure 10) of the mounting part 16 is inserted, and an opening 10g is formed on the edge of the recess 10c for shining LED light on it. Part of the crane body 17 is inserted through the cylindrical part 10a.

[0021] (Crane body 17) A. Overall Figure 4 is a perspective view of the crane body 17, and Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the crane body 17. The crane body 17 comprises a support column 21, an arm 22 extending horizontally from the upper end of the support column 21, a clamshell bucket 23 attached to the arm 22, and an opening / closing member 30 for opening and closing the clamshell bucket 23. The support column 21 and the arm 22 constitute a support structure that supports the clamshell bucket 23.

[0022] B. Post 21 The support column 21 is attached to the base 10 so as to be able to move up and down. The support column 21 is inserted into a cylindrical portion 10a (Figure 3) erected on the base 10, and its lower end extends inward into the base 10. Inside the cylindrical portion 10a, the support column 21 is biased upward by a compression spring 25 wound around the small diameter portion, and under normal conditions, it is in an elevated position. Furthermore, a flange 21a is fixedly attached to the lower end of the support column 21, and a rod 21b is suspended from the outer circumference of the flange 21a. The flange 21a engages with the bifurcated portion 42c of the link 42d, which will be described later, and the rod 21d is inserted into the elongated hole 41d of the lever 41b, which will be described later (Figure 8).

[0023] C. Opening / closing member 30 Figure 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the structure of the clamshell bucket 23 and its surrounding area. The clamshell bucket 23 consists of a fixed bucket 23a and a movable bucket 23b. The fixed bucket 23a is fixed to the tip of the arm 22. On the other hand, the movable bucket 23b is attached to the tip of the arm 22 so as to be rotatable around an axis 26. The movable bucket 23b is provided with a lever 27 that rotates the movable bucket 23b to open and close the clamshell bucket 23. The lever 27 is fitted with a pin 27a which is connected to an opening / closing member 30 described later. The pin 27a engages with an elongated hole 30a of the opening / closing member 30 described later. As a result, when the opening / closing member 30 moves up and down, the movable bucket 23b operates and the clamshell bucket 23 is opened and closed. More precisely, when the opening / closing member 30 moves down, the clamshell bucket 23 is opened, and when the opening / closing member 30 moves up, the clamshell bucket 23 is closed.

[0024] Returning to Figure 5, the opening / closing member 30 is configured in an inverted L-shape. The horizontally extending portion of the opening / closing member 30 is arranged along the arm 22, and the vertically extending portion is arranged within the support column 21. A horizontally elongated slot 30a (Figure 6) is formed at the tip of the horizontally extending portion of the opening / closing member 30. The pin 27a engages with this slot 30a. Furthermore, a vertically elongated slot 30b is formed directly above the slot 30a at the tip of the horizontally extending portion. A boss 22a, which is attached to the arm 22, engages with this slot 30b. This guides the vertical movement of the opening / closing member 30 relative to the arm 22.

[0025] A long, elongated hole 32 is formed in the vertically extending portion of the opening / closing member 30, and a boss 21c attached to the support column 21 engages with this elongated hole 32. This guides the vertical movement of the opening / closing member 30 relative to the support column 21.

[0026] The opening / closing member 30 has its horizontally extending portion biased downward by compression springs 33 and 34. As a result, the opening / closing member 30 is normally in a lowered position relative to the arm 22. In other words, the clamshell bucket 23 is normally in the open position.

[0027] A rod 35 is formed on the vertically extending portion of the opening / closing member 30, protruding further downward than the lower end of the support column 21. Large-diameter portions 36 and 37 are formed on this rod 35 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. These large-diameter portions 36 and 37 engage with the bifurcated portion 43c of the seesaw member 43b, which will be described later (Figure 9).

[0028] D. Locking member 39 As shown in Figure 6, a triangular claw 38 is formed at the tip of the opening / closing member 30, and correspondingly, a locking member 39 capable of engaging the claw 38 is provided at the tip of the arm 22. The locking member 39 is attached to the arm 22 so as to be rotatable around an axis 39a. A locking portion 39b is formed at the lower end of the locking member 39. The locking member 39 is also biased by a compression spring 39c in a direction that protrudes from the tip of the arm 22. When the opening / closing member 30 moves upward, the locking member 39 rotates in a direction that opposes the biasing force of the compression spring 39c due to the sliding contact of the claw 38. Furthermore, as the opening / closing member 30 moves upward, the claw 38 is locked by the upper surface of the locking portion 39b. This holds the opening / closing member 30 in the raised position.

[0029] E. Lock release section On the inner surface of the cover 18, a projection (release member) 18a is formed above the pitfall 10d to release the locking of the claw 38 by the locking portion 39b (Figure 1). When the clamshell bucket 23 reaches above the pitfall 10d, this projection 18a slides against the locking member 39, causing the locking member 39 to move against the biasing force of the compression spring 39c, thereby releasing the locking of the claw 38 by the locking portion 39b. As a result, the opening / closing member 30 moves downward relative to the arm 22, opening the clamshell bucket 23, and the object 50 held in the clamshell bucket 23 is released and falls into the pitfall 10d.

[0030] (Operating device 40) Figure 7 is a perspective view showing the mounting section 16, the crane body 17, and the operating device 40. The operating device 40 comprises an operating stick 11, an operating button 12, and an operating knob 13. The control stick 11 is configured to be movable left and right and to be pressable. The control button 12 is configured to be pressable, and the control knob 13 is configured to be movable left and right.

[0031] Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the rotation mechanism 41 and the lowering mechanism 42 of the support column 21. The control stick 11 rotates the support column 21 left and right by moving it from side to side. In other words, the operating stick 11 is linked to the support column 21 via a rotational operating mechanism 41. Specifically, the rotational operating mechanism 41 includes a lever 41b that can rotate around an intermediate shaft 41a. A support member 41c that supports the vertical movement of the operating stick 11 is fixed to one end of the lever 41b, and an elongated hole 41d into which the rod 21b is inserted is formed at the other end. As a result, when the control stick 11 is moved left or right, the support column 21 is also rotated left or right.

[0032] Furthermore, pressing the control stick 11 lowers the support column 21. In other words, the operating stick 11 is linked to the support column 21 via a lowering mechanism 42. Specifically, the lowering mechanism 42 includes a link 42b to which the operating stick 11 is fixed at one end and whose bifurcated portion 42a at the other end engages with the shaft 41a, and a link 42d to which one end fits onto the shaft 41a, whose upper surface abuts against the lower surface of link 42b, and whose bifurcated portion 42c at the other end engages with the support column 21. The lower surface of the bifurcated portion 42c abuts against the upper surface of the flange 21a of the support column 21. Furthermore, the operating stick 11 is biased upward by a compression spring (not shown) inside the support member 41c. In addition, links 42b and 42d are biased upward by a compression spring 42e wound around the shaft 41a. As a result, when the control stick 11 is pressed, the support column 21 is lowered via links 42b and 42d, and consequently the support column 21 descends.

[0033] Figure 9 is a perspective view showing the upward operation mechanism 43 of the opening / closing member 30. The operation button 12 moves the opening / closing member 30 upward when pressed. In other words, the operation button 12 is linked to the opening / closing member 30 via the upward operation mechanism 43. Specifically, the upward operation mechanism 43 includes a seesaw member 43b that rotates around an axis 43a as a pivot point. One end of the seesaw member 43b engages with the operation button 12, and the bifurcated portion 43c at the other end is held in place by the large-diameter portions 36 and 37. When the support column 21 and arm 22 are in the raised position, the operation button 12 is recessed from the upper surface of the base 10, and when the support column 21 and arm 22 are in the lowered position, it protrudes from the upper surface of the base 10. When the operation button 12 is pressed in this protruding state, the seesaw member 43b causes the opening / closing member 30 to move upward relative to the arm 22. This upward movement closes the clamshell bucket 23.

[0034] Figure 10 is a downward perspective view showing the rotational operation mechanism 44 of the mounting section 16. The operating knob 13 rotates the mounting section 16 by moving it from side to side. In other words, the operating knob 13 is linked to the mounting part 16 via a rotational operating mechanism 44. Specifically, the rotational operating mechanism 44 includes a lever 44b that rotates around an intermediate shaft 44a. One end of the lever 44b is connected to the operating knob 13, and the other end, an elongated hole (not shown), is engaged with an eccentric pin 16b that is vertically mounted at an eccentric position from the shaft 16a of the mounting part 16. In this case, the eccentric pin 16b protrudes into the base 10 through an arc-shaped slit 10f (Figure 3) formed in the recess 10b of the base 10, and the elongated hole of the lever 44b is engaged with this protruding portion. As a result, moving the operating knob 13 left or right causes the mounting section 16 to rotate via the lever 44b. This makes it possible to change the arrangement of the object 50 placed on the mounting section 16.

[0035] (Effects of the embodiment) The following effects can be obtained with the crane toy 100 configured in this way. In other words, with this crane toy 100, the object 50 can be captured, transported, and discharged by human power.

[0036] Furthermore, this crane toy 100 is configured such that pressing the operation button 12 closes the clamshell bucket 23, allowing it to capture objects 50 of various shapes and sizes, not just those of a fixed shape.

[0037] Furthermore, with this crane toy 100, the control button 12 does not protrude from the top surface of the base 10 unless the clamshell bucket 23 is lowered, and the control button 12 can only be operated after the clamshell bucket 23 has been lowered, thus preventing accidental operation of the control button 12.

[0038] Furthermore, with this crane toy 100, after the operation button 12 is pressed, the clamshell bucket 23 remains closed, eliminating the need for any operation to maintain the closed state, thus simplifying subsequent operations.

[0039] Furthermore, with this crane toy 100, the crane body 17 is biased upward by the compression spring 25 and normally takes the raised position, so the operation can be easily restarted before the clamshell bucket 23 closes, and the operation to raise the clamshell bucket 23 can be omitted after the clamshell bucket 23 has closed.

[0040] Furthermore, with this crane toy 100, when the clamshell bucket 23 reaches above the pitfall 10d due to the rotation of the crane body 17, the locking member 39 hits the projection 18a and the clamshell bucket 23 opens. Therefore, the captured object 50 can be reliably dropped into the pitfall 10d without any special operation to open the clamshell bucket 23.

[0041] Furthermore, with this crane toy 100, the mounting section 16 on which the object 50 is placed is configured to be rotatable and can be rotated by a rotation operation. This allows the object 50 placed on the mounting section 16 to be scattered and its position to be changed, thus enabling the capture of the desired object 50.

[0042] Furthermore, with this crane toy 100, the mounting section 16 is provided with fine irregularities, making it easier to hold the scattered object 50 in its scattered state.

[0043] (modified version) Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0044] For example, some or all of the various mechanisms of the operating device 40 of the crane toy 100 in the above embodiment can be made up of gear mechanisms. In this case, the gear mechanism may include a rack and pinion mechanism.

[0045] Furthermore, while the crane toy 100 of the above embodiment uses a clamshell bucket 23 as an example of a catcher, this can be applied to any catcher that is openable and closable and capable of capturing and releasing the object 50.

[0046] Furthermore, although the above embodiment of the crane toy 100 was described as having a base 10 on which an object 50 is housed, this can be applied to crane toys in general that capture, transport, and release an object 50. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0047] 10 bases 10a Cylindrical section 10b recess 10c recess 10d hole 10e shaft hole 10f Arc-shaped slit 10g opening 11. Control Stick 12 Operation buttons 13. Operation knob 14 Power switch 15 Outlet 16 Mounting section 16a axis 16b Eccentric pin 17 Crane body 18 Cover 18a protrusion 20 Toy main body 21 Post 21a Flange 21b Rod 21c Boss 21d rod 22 Arms 22a Boss 23 Clamshell Bucket 23a Fixed bucket 23b Movable Bucket 26 axes 27 Lever 27a pin 30 Opening / closing member 30a long hole 30b long hole 32 long hole 35 rods 36,37 Large diameter section 38 claws 39 Locking member 39a axis 39b Locking part 40 Operating device 41 Rotary operating mechanism 41a axis 41b Lever 41c Support member 41d Lever 41d long hole 42 Lowering operation mechanism 42a Forked part 42b, 42d Links 42c Forked part 42d Link 43 Upper movement operation mechanism 43a axis 43b Seesaw component 43c Forked part 44 Rotary Operating Mechanism 44a axis 44b Lever 50 Objects 100 Crane Toys

Claims

1. A crane toy that captures an object using an opening and closing catcher, and then transports the captured object to a designated location and releases it, The crane body comprises the catcher and a support for the catcher, a base on which the crane body is mounted, and an operating device for operating the crane body. The crane body is, It is mounted on the base so as to be rotatable and vertically movable around an axis extending in the vertical direction, and is biased toward the raised position. The crane body includes, An opening / closing member is provided so as to be able to move up and down and is biased in the downward direction, causing the catcher to close when it moves upward and to open when it moves downward, A locking member that can take a locked position and a released position, locks the opening / closing member in the upper position and releases the lock by external force, A system was established, The toy crane is characterized in that the operating device includes an operating element capable of operating the upward movement of the opening and closing member independently of the rotation and descent of the crane body.

2. The aforementioned operating device is A rotation operation mechanism that rotates the crane body in response to the operation of the first operator, A lowering mechanism that lowers the crane body in response to the operation of the second operator, The system includes an upward movement mechanism that moves the opening / closing member upward in response to the operation of the operator, The crane toy according to feature 1.

3. The aforementioned locking member is When the crane body, which is in the raised position, is rotated to a predetermined rotational position, it comes into contact with the locking release member, and the locking of the opening / closing member is released. The crane toy according to feature 1.

4. The crane toy according to claim 2, characterized in that the first operator and the second operator are configured as a single operator that can move left and right and be pressed, and the left and right movement of the operator is configured to rotate the crane body, and the pressing of the operator is configured to lower the crane body.

5. The crane toy according to claim 2, characterized in that the operator is composed of a pressable button, and the opening / closing member moves upward when the button is pressed.

6. The crane toy according to claim 2, wherein the downward movement mechanism is configured to include a seesaw member, and the operator retracts into the base when the crane body is raised by the movement of the seesaw member, and protrudes from the base when the crane body is lowered.

7. The catcher is a clamshell bucket and comprises a fixed bucket and a movable bucket, characterized in that the crane toy is as described in any one of claims 1 to 6.

8. The crane toy according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it comprises a mounting section for placing the aforementioned object.

9. The crane toy according to claim 8, characterized in that the mounting part is a movable mounting part, a third operator is provided on the base, the movable mounting part and the third operator are linked, and the movable mounting part is rotated horizontally within a predetermined range by the third operator.

10. A pitfall is provided on the upper surface of the base for the released object to fall into. The base is provided with a mounting section for placing the object, the crane body, and a transparent cover for covering the pitfall. On the inner surface of the cover, the release member is formed above the pitfall. The crane toy according to feature 3.

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