Hovering Toy

Abstract

To provide a hover toy that enhances design freedom and aesthetic appeal without compromising its functionality as a hover toy. [Solution] The hover toy 100 comprises an outside air intake unit 1 for taking in air from the outside and a base unit 2. Inside the base unit 2 is a drive unit 23 having a shaft 231 and a fan unit 25 attached to the shaft 231, which rotates around the shaft 231 by the drive unit 23 to draw in air taken in from the outside air intake unit 1. An exhaust unit 26 is formed on the bottom surface 27 of the base unit 2 to discharge the air drawn in by the rotation of the fan unit 25 to the outside of the hover toy 100. The outside air intake unit 1 is provided in an area other than the upper area R1 of the shaft 231.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a hover floating toy.

Background Art

[0002] Non-Patent Document 1 discloses a hover floating toy including a base portion having a motor and a fan, and a cover portion disposed above the base portion. In the hover floating toy, an exhaust portion is provided at the bottom of the base portion, and an intake portion is provided at the top of the cover portion.

Prior Art Documents

Non-Patent Documents

[0003]

Non-Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the hover floating toy according to Non-Patent Document 1, air is taken in from the outside of the hover floating toy through the intake portion provided at the top of the cover portion. For this reason, the axis of the intake portion and the fan are arranged substantially linearly in the vertical direction, and the intake efficiency is high. However, since the intake portion is arranged at the top of the cover portion, which is easily visible to the user of the hover floating toy, there is room for improvement in terms of the design freedom and designability of the hover floating toy.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a hover floating toy capable of enhancing the design freedom and designability without degrading the function as a hover floating toy.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A hovering toy according to one aspect of the present invention is a hovering toy comprising an outside air intake section for taking in air from the outside and a base section, wherein a drive section having a shaft section and a fan section attached to the shaft section and capable of drawing in air taken in from the outside air intake section by the drive section are housed inside the base section, and an exhaust section is formed on the bottom surface of the base section to discharge the air drawn in by the rotation of the fan section to the outside of the hovering toy, and the outside air intake section is provided in a region other than the upper region of the shaft section. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the above configuration, it is possible to provide a hover toy that enhances design freedom and aesthetic appeal without compromising its functionality as a hover toy. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0008] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view of a hover toy according to one embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as this embodiment). [Figure 2] This is a plan view of a hover-floating toy. [Figure 3] This is a side view of a hover toy. [Figure 4] This is a bottom view of the hover toy. [Figure 5] This is a plan view of the hover toy with the cover removed. [Figure 6] This diagram illustrates the interior of the base section. [Figure 7] This is a cross-sectional view along line AA in Figure 3. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0009] Hereinafter, a hovering toy 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this description of the embodiment, for the sake of convenience, the terms "left-right direction," "up-down direction," and "front-back direction" may be referred to as appropriate. These directions are relative directions set for the hovering toy 100 illustrated in Figure 1. Here, the "left-right direction" includes the "left direction" and the "right direction." The "up-down direction" includes the "up direction" and the "down direction." The "front-back direction" includes the "forward direction" and the "backward direction." In each figure, the symbol U indicates the upward direction. The symbol D indicates the downward direction. The symbol L indicates the left direction. The symbol R indicates the right direction. The symbol F indicates the forward direction. The symbol B indicates the back direction.

[0010] (Overall structure) First, the overall configuration of the hover toy 100 will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 6. Figure 1 is a perspective view of the hover toy 100. Figure 2 is a plan view of the hover toy 100. Figure 3 is a side view of the hover toy 100. Figure 4 is a bottom view of the hover toy 100. Figure 5 is a plan view of the hover toy 100 with the cover part 4 removed. Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the interior of the base part 2. As illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the hover toy 100 comprises an outside air intake part 1, a base part 2, a cushion part 3, and a cover part 4. In this embodiment, the hover toy 100 is equipped with outside air intake parts 1A to 1D. However, the number of outside air intake parts 1 equipped in the hover toy 100 is not limited to 4, but may be 1 to 3 or 5 or more.

[0011] The outside air intake section 1 has a hole 11 in its lower portion, and takes in air from outside the hover toy 100 through the hole 11. The outside air intake section 1 is provided on the side of the cover section 4. In other words, the outside air intake section 1 is positioned between the base section 2 and the cover section 4. In this embodiment, the outside air intake section 1 also represents the hands and feet of the character drawn on the outer surface 41 of the cover section 4, which will be described later. In other words, the outside air intake section 1 not only has the function of taking in air from outside the hover toy 100, but also has the function of enhancing the design of the hover toy 100.

[0012] As illustrated in Figures 4 to 6, the base unit 2 includes a housing section 21, a power supply 22, a drive unit 23, an intake section 24, a fan section 25, an exhaust section 26, a bottom surface 27, and a switch section 28. The housing section 21, power supply 22, drive unit 23, and fan section 25 are housed inside the base unit 2. In this embodiment, the base unit 2 has two housing sections 21 and two power supplies 22. However, the base unit 2 may have one housing section 21 and three or more power supplies.

[0013] The housing section 21 is roughly rectangular in shape. The housing sections 21 are located in front of and behind the drive section 23, respectively. A power supply 22 is housed in each of the housing sections 21.

[0014] The power supply 22 is, for example, a primary battery such as an alkaline battery or a secondary battery such as a lithium-ion battery. The power supply 22 supplies power to the drive unit 23. In this embodiment, a switch unit 28 is provided on the bottom surface 27 of the base unit 2 to switch the drive unit 23 to an ON state (power is supplied to the drive unit 23 from the power supply 22) or an OFF state (power is not supplied to the drive unit 23 from the power supply 22). The bottom surface 27 is approximately circular when viewed from below. The switch unit 28 is, for example, a slide switch. However, the switch unit 28 may be a button switch or a toggle switch, etc. When a person playing with the hover toy 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as the user) uses the switch unit 28 to turn the drive unit 23 to the ON state, the power supply 22 supplies power to the drive unit 23.

[0015] As illustrated in Figure 6, the drive unit 23 is, for example, a DC motor. The drive unit 23 is driven by power supplied from, for example, a power source 22. The drive unit 23 has a rod-shaped shaft portion 231, and when the drive unit 23 is driven, the shaft portion 231 rotates. When the drive unit 23 is incorporated into the hovering toy 100, the shaft portion 231 extends upward from the upper surface of the drive unit 23.

[0016] As illustrated in Figure 5, the intake section 24 includes one circular hole 241 and six trapezoidal holes 242. The trapezoidal holes 242 are located outside the circular hole 241. More specifically, the trapezoidal holes 242 are arranged in an annular shape with the circular hole 241 at its center. The intake section 24 is formed on the upper surface of the base section 2. In other words, the intake section 24 is located above the fan section 25. The intake section 24 draws air taken in from the outside air intake section 1 into the interior of the base section 2.

[0017] As illustrated in Figure 6, the fan unit 25 is positioned above the housing unit 21 and the drive unit 23. The fan unit 25 is substantially disc-shaped. The fan unit 25 is, for example, a turbofan. However, the fan unit 25 may be, for example, a sirocco fan or a propeller fan. The fan unit 25 has a plurality of blades 251 and a mounting portion 252.

[0018] The plurality of blades 251 are arranged annularly. The mounting portion 252 is substantially cylindrical and extends upward. The mounting portion 252 is disposed substantially at the center of the fan portion 25. The shaft portion 231 of the drive portion 23 is inserted into the mounting portion 252. That is, the fan portion 25 is attached to the shaft portion 231 by inserting the shaft portion 231 into the mounting portion 252. Therefore, when the drive portion 23 is driven, the fan portion 25 rotates about the shaft portion 231 in accordance with the rotation of the shaft portion 231. That is, the shaft portion 231 of the drive portion 23 corresponds to the rotation axis of the fan portion 25. By rotating about the shaft portion 231, the fan portion 25 sucks in an appropriate amount of air efficiently taken in by the intake portion 24. The air sucked in by the fan portion 25 is accelerated at high speed by the blades 251, and as a result, the wind pressure inside the base portion 2 increases. Thus, the fan portion 25 can adjust the air volume and wind pressure inside the base portion 2.

[0019] As illustrated in FIG. 4, the exhaust portion 26 is formed in the bottom surface 27 of the base portion 2. The exhaust portion 26 includes 14 first elliptical holes 261 and 2 second elliptical holes 262. The first elliptical holes 261 are arranged annularly along the circumference of the bottom surface 27. The second elliptical holes 262 are disposed inside the first elliptical holes 261. The exhaust portion 26 discharges the air sucked in by the rotation of the fan portion 25 to the outside of the hover floating toy 100.

[0020] As illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cushion portion 3 is an annular member and has a circular cavity portion 31. The diameter of the cavity portion 31 is slightly larger than the diameter of the base portion 2. The cushion portion 3 is arranged so as to surround the base portion 2. The cushion portion 3 is formed of a soft resin material and has cushioning properties. Therefore, for example, even if the hover floating toy 100 collides violently with a wall or the like, the contact portion with the wall or the like is the cushion portion 3, so that it is possible to prevent the hover floating toy 100 from being damaged. Such a resin material is, for example, ethylene vinyl acetate resin or the like.

[0021] The cover portion 4 is spherical. The inside of the cover portion 4 is hollow. The cover portion 4 is positioned above the base portion 2 and the cushion portion 3. In this embodiment, the cover portion 4 is fixed to the base portion 2, but it may also be positioned above the base portion 2 in a manner that allows it to be removed from the base portion 2. In this case, the user can replace the cover portion 4 and attach a cover portion 4 to the base portion 2 according to their preference. The cover portion 4 is positioned to cover the intake portion 24. Thus, in the hover toy 100, the cover portion 4 covers the intake portion 24, and the outside air intake portion 1 is provided on the side of the cover portion 4 (i.e., the outside air intake portion 1 is not directly above the fan portion 25), making it difficult for foreign objects to enter the inside of the base portion 2. For example, a character is drawn on the outer surface 41 of the cover portion 4. However, for example, a sticker representing the whole character or a part of the character (such as the character's eyes or mouth) may be attached to the outer surface 41 of the cover portion 4, or a movable gimmick may be attached. The movable gimmick refers to a mechanism that allows the character's eyes, mouth, etc., to move.

[0022] Incidentally, in conventional hover toys, an outside air intake is provided in the upper region of the shaft portion of the drive unit (corresponding to the upper region R1 shown by the dashed line in Figure 1, if the hover toy 100 according to this embodiment is shown). In contrast, as described above, the outside air intake 1 in this embodiment is provided on the side surface of the cover portion 4, and a hole 11 is provided in the lower part of the outside air intake 1. In other words, in this embodiment, the outside air intake 1 is provided in a region other than the upper region R1 of the shaft portion 231 of the drive unit 23, and no holes or the like for taking in air from outside the hover toy 100 are formed on the outer surface 41 of the cover portion 4.

[0023] (How the Hover Toy 100 floats) Next, with reference to Figure 7, the mechanism by which the hover toy 100 floats will be explained in detail. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Figure 3. The arrow A10 shown in Figure 7 indicates the flow of air taken in from outside the hover toy 100 by the outside air intake section 1 until it is discharged to the outside of the hover toy 100 by the exhaust section 26. Note that in Figure 7, for illustrative purposes, only the flow of air taken in from outside the hover toy 100 by the outside air intake section 1A is shown, but in reality, air taken in from outside the hover toy 100 by the outside air intake sections 1B to 1D also passes through the inside of the base section 2 and is discharged to the outside of the hover toy 100 by the exhaust section 26.

[0024] As illustrated in Figure 7, when the outside air intake unit 1 takes in air from outside the hover toy 100, the air is introduced into the first space S1 formed between the base unit 2 and the cover unit 4. Subsequently, the air is drawn in by the intake unit 24 and introduced into the second space S2 (i.e., inside the base unit 2) formed between the intake unit 24 and the fan unit 25. The air introduced into the inside of the base unit 2 by the intake unit 24 is drawn in by the fan unit 25. The air drawn into the fan unit 25 is accelerated at high speed by the blades 251, and as a result, the wind pressure inside the base unit 2 increases. The air accelerated by the blades 251 moves from the fan unit 25 through the third space S3 formed between the fan unit 25 and the exhaust unit 26 to the exhaust unit 26. Subsequently, the air is discharged to the outside of the hover toy 100 by the exhaust unit 26.

[0025] When air drawn into the base section 2 by the intake section 24 is discharged to the outside of the hover toy 100 by the exhaust section 26, the air pressure between the bottom surface 27 of the base section 2 of the hover toy 100 and the floor surface increases, causing the hover toy 100 to float above the floor. More specifically, the hover toy 100 floats above the floor when the product of the area of ​​the bottom surface 27 and the air pressure between the bottom surface 27 and the floor surface exceeds the weight of the hover toy 100. Once the hover toy 100 is above the floor, it can move (float) smoothly.

[0026] Incidentally, in conventional hover toys, air is drawn in from outside the toy through an air intake located at the top of the cover. As a result, the air intake and the fan axis are aligned almost in a straight line in the vertical direction, resulting in high air intake efficiency. However, because the air intake is located at the top of the cover, which is easily visible to the user of the hover toy, there was room for improvement in terms of the design freedom and aesthetic appeal of the hover toy.

[0027] In contrast, the hover toy 100 according to this embodiment is equipped with an outside air intake unit 1, a drive unit 23, a fan unit 25, and an exhaust unit 26, and therefore fully functions as a hover toy. On the other hand, the outside air intake unit 1 is located in an area other than the upper region R1 of the shaft 231 of the drive unit 23, which corresponds to the rotation axis of the fan unit 25, and is therefore relatively difficult for the user to see. As a result, the hover toy 100 can be designed with greater design freedom and aesthetic appeal without compromising its functionality as a hover toy.

[0028] Furthermore, in the hover toy 100 according to this embodiment, the air intake section 24 is not visible to the user, thus the hover toy 100 has a high level of design appeal. In addition, since the cover section 4 is positioned to cover the air intake section 24, it is also possible to prevent foreign objects from entering the inside of the base section 2.

[0029] Furthermore, according to the hover toy 100 of this embodiment, since the outside air intake part 1 is positioned between the base part 2 and the cover part 4, the design of the hover toy 100 can be further enhanced.

[0030] Furthermore, according to the hover toy 100 of this embodiment, there is no need to provide an outside air intake separately from the base part 2 and the cover part 4, so the design of the hover toy 100 can be further enhanced while suppressing an increase in the number of parts. In addition, the hover toy 100 can also prevent foreign objects from entering between the base part 2 and the cover part 4.

[0031] According to the embodiments of the present invention described above, a hovering toy in the following aspects can be provided.

[0032] A hovering toy according to the first embodiment is a hovering toy comprising an outside air intake section for taking in air from the outside and a base section, wherein a drive section having a shaft section and a fan section attached to the shaft section and capable of drawing in air taken in from the outside air intake section by the drive section are housed inside the base section, and an exhaust section is formed on the bottom surface of the base section to discharge the air drawn in by the rotation of the fan section to the outside of the hovering toy, and the outside air intake section is provided in a region other than the upper region of the shaft section.

[0033] This configuration includes an outside air intake unit, a drive unit, a fan unit, and an exhaust unit, thus providing the functionality of a hovering toy. On the other hand, in the hovering toy according to the above configuration, the outside air intake unit is located in an area other than the area above the shaft, which is the rotation axis of the fan unit, making it relatively difficult for the user of the hovering toy to see. Therefore, in the hovering toy according to the above configuration, design freedom and aesthetic appeal can be increased without reducing the functionality of the hovering toy.

[0034] The hovering toy according to the second embodiment further comprises a cover portion positioned above the base portion, wherein an intake portion is formed on the upper surface of the base portion to draw in the air taken in from the outside air intake portion into the interior of the base portion, and the cover portion is positioned to cover the intake portion.

[0035] With this configuration, the air intake is not visible to the user of the hover toy. This enhances the aesthetic appeal of the hover toy. It also prevents foreign objects from entering the inside of the hover toy.

[0036] In the third embodiment of the hovering toy, the outside air intake is located between the base and the cover.

[0037] This configuration allows for a greater aesthetic appeal of the hover toy while keeping the number of parts to a minimum. It also prevents foreign objects from getting trapped between the base and the cover.

[0038] In the fourth embodiment of the hovering toy, the outside air intake is provided on the side surface of the cover.

[0039] This configuration allows for a greater aesthetic appeal of the hover toy while keeping the number of parts to a minimum. It also prevents foreign objects from getting trapped between the base and the cover.

[0040] The embodiments described above are provided to facilitate understanding of the present invention and do not limit it. The present invention may be modified and improved without departing from its spirit.

[0041] In this embodiment, the outside air intake section 1 is provided on the side surface of the cover section 4, but it may also be provided in a region other than the side surface of the cover section 4, as long as it is in a region other than the upper region R1 of the shaft section 231 of the drive section 23.

[0042] In this embodiment, the intake section 24 includes one circular hole 241 and six trapezoidal holes 242, but the number of circular holes 241 and trapezoidal holes 242 is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the intake section 24 may include only one of the circular holes 241 or the trapezoidal holes 242, or it may include other holes with shapes different from the circular holes 241 and trapezoidal holes 242.

[0043] In this embodiment, the exhaust section 26 includes 14 first elliptical holes 261 and 2 second elliptical holes 262, but the number of first elliptical holes 261 and second elliptical holes 262 is not limited to this example. Furthermore, the exhaust section 26 may include only one of the first elliptical holes 261 or the second elliptical holes 262, or it may include other holes with shapes different from the first elliptical holes 261 and second elliptical holes 262. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0044] 1(1A,1B,1C,1D): Outside air intake section, 2: Base section, 3: Cushion section, 4: Cover section, 21: Housing section, 22: Power supply, 23: Drive section, 24: Intake section, 25: Fan section, 26: Exhaust section, 27: Bottom surface, 28: Switch section, 41: Outer surface, 100: Hovering toy, 231: Shaft section, 241: Circular hole, 242: Trapezoidal hole, 251: Blades, 252: Mounting section, 261: First elliptical hole, 262: Second elliptical hole, A10: Arrow, R1: Upper area, S1: First space, S2: Second space, S3: Third space

Claims

1. A hovering toy comprising an external air intake section for taking in air from the outside, and a base section, The base portion houses a drive unit having a shaft, and a fan unit attached to the shaft and capable of drawing in air taken in from the outside air intake by rotating around the shaft by the drive unit. An exhaust section is formed on the bottom surface of the base section to discharge the air drawn in by the rotation of the fan section to the outside of the hover toy. The aforementioned outside air intake section is provided in a region other than the upper region of the shaft section, in a hovering toy.

2. The base portion is further provided with a cover portion positioned above it, An intake section is formed on the upper surface of the base section to draw the air taken in from the outside air intake section into the interior of the base section. The hover toy according to claim 1, wherein the cover portion is arranged to cover the intake portion.

3. The hover toy according to claim 2, wherein the outside air intake is disposed between the base and the cover.

4. The hover toy according to claim 2, wherein the outside air intake is provided on the side surface of the cover portion.

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