Toys and toy sets

Abstract

We offer highly entertaining toys. [Solution] The toy 1 comprises a housing 10 having an opening 11 into which an article 8 can be inserted, an article moving mechanism 20 that moves the article 8 inserted through the opening 11 into the housing 10, and a detection unit 30 that detects that the article 8 is in a first state where it is located in a first range 1E inside the housing 10, wherein the article moving mechanism 20 operates when the detection unit 30 detects that the first state has been detected. When an article 8 is inserted into the housing 10 of the toy 1, the internal article moving mechanism 20 is configured to perform a predetermined operation while the detection unit 30 detects that the article 8 is in a predetermined area from the inserted state, thereby enabling an operation to pull the article 8 into the housing 10 (eating operation).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a toy and a toy set.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which "inside the head of a sound-generating toy, there are arranged a door member that is pressed and rotated when a food toy is inserted into the mouth, a mainspring winding mechanism that operates in conjunction with the door member, a mainspring unit whose mainspring is wound up by the winding mechanism, and a sound output unit having sound generation means for generating sound, and an eccentric cam fixed to the output shaft of the mainspring unit is engaged with the sound generation means, so that the sound generation means is provided to periodically generate sound".

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In Patent Document 1, a toy that produces a sound reaction when a food toy is inserted is provided, but the toy itself has no movement or the like and is poor in amusement.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a toy with high amusement properties.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] One aspect of the toy according to the technology of the present disclosure is as follows.

[0007] (1) a housing having an opening into which an article can be inserted, an article moving mechanism that moves the article inserted through the opening into the housing, The system includes a detection unit that detects a first state in which an article is located within a first range within the above-mentioned housing, The above-mentioned item movement mechanism is a toy that operates when the above-mentioned detection unit detects that the first state is in place.

[0008] (2) (1) The toy described above, A toy in which the article movement mechanism described above stops when the article moves outside the first range described above by the article movement mechanism and transitions to a second state.

[0009] (3) (2) The toys described above, The above detection unit has a first member that can come into contact with the article inserted through the opening, In the first state described above, the first member and the inserted article are in contact with each other. In the second state described above, the toy is separated from the first component.

[0010] (4) (3) The toys described above, The first member described above is configured to be displaceable in accordance with contact with the article described above, in a toy.

[0011] (5) (4) The toys described above, The first member described above is configured to be rotatably displaceable and is displaced from a first position to a second position by rotating in response to contact with the article described above, in a toy.

[0012] (6) A toy described in any one of (3) to (5), The above article moving mechanism includes a drive roller, A toy in which an article that comes into contact with the first member is held between the first member and the drive roller, and moves into the housing by the rotation of the drive roller.

[0013] (7) A toy described in any one of (3) to (6), A toy, wherein an end portion on the opening side of the first member extends in a direction away from the article moving mechanism.

[0014] (8) The toy according to any one of (3) to (7), wherein A length of the article in a moving direction is defined as A, a maximum length of a contact region with the first member in the first state in the moving direction of the article is defined as B, and A / 2 > B is satisfied.

[0015] (9) The toy according to any one of (1) to (8), comprising an interlocking portion at least partially disposed on an outer peripheral surface of the housing and moving in conjunction with movement of the article moving mechanism.

[0016] (10) The toy according to (9), wherein the interlocking portion moves by a specific repetitive operation.

[0017] (11) The toy according to (10), wherein the specific repetitive operation is a reciprocating operation.

[0018] (12) The toy according to any one of (9) to (11), wherein the article moving mechanism includes a drive roller, and the interlocking portion includes a rotor driven by rotation of the drive roller, and a swinging member that engages with the rotor to swing.

[0019] (13) The toy according to (12), wherein the housing imitates an animal, the opening imitates a mouth portion of the animal, and the swinging member imitates a part of a face of the animal.

[0020] (14) A toy described in any one of (1) to (13), The above-mentioned housing is a toy, comprising a storage section for storing an article that has been moved outside the first range by the article movement mechanism.

[0021] (15) (14) The toys described above, The above housing has a second member that can expose the housing portion by being displaced, A toy configured such that the article contained in the housing can be discharged from inside the housing by displacing the second member relative to the housing.

[0022] (16) (15) The toys described above, The bottom surface of the above-mentioned storage section is made up of a slope. The second member described above is a toy, provided adjacent to the slope described above.

[0023] (17) A toy set including the toy described in any one of (1) to (16) and the above-mentioned article, The above cabinet is modeled after an animal, The above opening is modeled after the mouth of the above animal, The above item is a toy set consisting of plate components with pictures of food drawn on them. [Effects of the Invention]

[0024] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a highly entertaining toy. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0025] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing an example of a toy according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the types of articles. [Figure 3] This is a cross-sectional view of the portion along line AA in Figure 1. [Figure 4]Figure 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the operating mechanism of the interlocking parts of the toy. [Figure 5] This is an explanatory diagram showing the initial operation when an item is inserted. [Figure 6] This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the intermediate movement in the feeding operation of an item. [Figure 7] This is an explanatory diagram showing the final stage of the item feeding operation and the item receiving process. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0026] A toy, which is one aspect of the present invention, will be described below with reference to the figures. In the following description with reference to the figures, the front side of character C shown in Figure 1 will be referred to as the front and rear, and the directions perpendicular to the front and rear will be referred to as left and right.

[0027] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the toy 1 of the present invention. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the types of articles 8 shown in Figure 1.

[0028] The toy 1 shown in Figure 1 is modeled after an animal character C, which has, for example, an opening 11 that mimics a large mouth, a moving part 13 that mimics a large nose 13a and front teeth 13b, large eyes 17, and large ears 16, and the main body housing 10 is designed to resemble a plump and cute animal. An article 8 made of a plate member can be inserted into the opening 11 of this toy 1. As shown in Figure 2, at least one side of the article 8 is prepared with multiple food patterns, such as a donut pattern 8a, a hot dog pattern 8b, a grape pattern 8c, a baked sweet potato pattern 8d, a corn pattern 8e, and a cake pattern 8f. Additionally, on one side of the lower part of the opening 11, there is a depiction of saliva 14, representing a greedy animal.

[0029] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the portion along line AA in Figure 1. Inside the housing 10 of toy 1, a drive roller 23 is provided near the opening 11, and a first member 31 is provided below and opposite the drive roller 23. The drive roller 23 and the upper end portion 31c that constitutes the upper surface of the first member 31 are spaced apart so as to be able to grip the article 8.

[0030] As for the detection unit 30 for the article 8, for example, in the first member 31, the front end 31d that constitutes the opening 11 side, i.e., the front end, is formed as an inclined surface with the front end facing downward with respect to the insertion direction of the article 8 (approximately horizontal direction). Furthermore, the first member 31 has a rotating shaft 31a that extends in the left-right direction when the toy 1 is viewed from the front, and is further provided with a pressing arm 31b that extends downward from the rotating shaft 31a.

[0031] The pressing arm 31b engages with the switch projection 32a of a detection sensor 32, such as a microswitch, which is provided adjacent to the pressing arm 31b. For example, before the article 8 is inserted, the first member 31 is held in a first position where the tip of its front end 31d is slightly raised, due to being pressed by the switch projection 32a. On the other hand, when the article 8 is inserted, the front end 31d is pushed by the insertion-side tip of the article 8, causing it to rotate counterclockwise (move to a second position) and press the switch projection 32a, thereby performing a switch operation. Thus, the detection unit 30 is composed of the first member 31 and the detection sensor 32 that engages with the first member 31.

[0032] In response to the aforementioned switch operation, the drive motor 27 is driven, and the drive roller 23 is driven. A power supply, a sound generation means 38, and a control system 39 are provided on the underside of the housing 10.

[0033] The article moving mechanism 20 consists of the aforementioned drive roller 23, drive motor 27, gear train 28 that transmits the rotation of the drive motor 27, etc. The drive roller 23 is also provided with a high-friction material, such as a silicone rubber O-ring, on its outer surface, and is configured to make high-friction and elastic contact with the article 8. Therefore, the article 8, which is held between the drive roller 23 and the first member 31, is moved into the housing by the rotation of the drive roller 23. The article 8, which has been sent into the housing 10, falls into and is housed in the storage section 35 provided on the rear side of the first member 31.

[0034] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the operating mechanism of the interlocking part 13 of the toy 1 shown in Figure 1. The interlocking part 13 has a nose 13a protruding from the outer circumferential surface 10s of the housing 10 and an anterior tooth 13b formed integrally with the nose 13a. The interlocking part 13 is attached to the tip 22t of the oscillating member 22, which also protrudes from the outer circumferential surface 10s of the housing 10.

[0035] The oscillating member 22 is a rod-shaped member extending in the front-rear direction of the toy 1, and its tip 22t protrudes outward from the oscillating opening 12 which is located above the opening 11. The oscillating member 22 is configured to swing up and down, with a rotation axis 22a extending in the left-right direction of the toy at approximately its middle position in the front-rear direction. Further rearward from the rotation axis 22a, a rotor 21, rotated by a gear train 28, is in contact with the outer surface 22b of the oscillating member 22 (in this embodiment, it is in contact with the lower side of the oscillating member 22). The outer edge shape of the rotor 21 has, for example, four claw-shaped projections 21a. The rotation of this rotor 21 allows the oscillating member 22 to swing its tip 22t up and down as described later.

[0036] Figure 4 shows the state in which the item 8 has moved all the way into the interior of the housing 10, but in reality, when the item 8 is no longer in contact with the drive roller 23, it falls towards the storage section 35. Now, let's explain the length (A) of the item 8 in the direction of movement. The length (A) of the item 8 in the direction of movement is such that it can be expressed by the relationship A / 2 > B with respect to the maximum length (B) of the upper end 31c in the first state in which the item 8 is positioned on the upper end 31c. That is, the length (A) of the item 8 is set to be greater than twice the maximum length (B) of the upper end 31c. With this configuration, for example, when the item 8 is in a state in which the feed force of the drive roller 23 is released (a state in which it is no longer in contact with the roller surface), as shown in Figure 4, the front side of the item 8 is longer than the part that is resting on the upper end 31c, and the front side in the direction of movement is in a state in which it can fall due to its own weight (second state).

[0037] The operation of Toy 1 will be explained below with reference to Figures 5 to 7. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the initial operation when item 8 is inserted. First, the power switch of toy 1 is turned ON. Then, as shown in Figure 5, when the item 8 is inserted through the opening 11, the tip of the item 8 comes into contact with the front end 31d of the first member 31. As a result, the first member 31, which was in the standby position (indicated by the dashed line in the figure), is pushed downward and rotates slightly counterclockwise around the rotation axis 31a. The pressing arm 31b, which has been rotated by this rotational movement, presses the switch projection 32a of the detection sensor 32. The detection signal from the detection sensor 32 drives the drive motor 27.

[0038] Driven by the drive motor 27, the drive roller 23 rotates counterclockwise in the figure via the gear train 28. This rotation of the drive roller 23 causes the article 8 to begin to be pulled inward through the opening 11. The rotor 21 also rotates counterclockwise in the figure via the gear train 28. This rotation causes the multiple claw protrusions 21a to repeatedly press against the outer surface of the oscillating member 22, resulting in its tip 22t oscillating up and down in small increments. As a result, the nose 13a and front teeth 13b of the interlocking part 13 attached to the tip 22t vibrate up and down in small increments. This vibration of the interlocking part 13 and the pulling of the article 8 out of the mouth occur simultaneously.

[0039] Furthermore, by linking the switching operation with sound effects, it's possible to create the illusion of animals enjoying their food.

[0040] Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the intermediate movement of the feeding operation of item 8. The article 8 is pulled backward while the drive roller 23 is rotating. Also, as shown in Figure 6, in the first range 1E in which the article 8 is placed on the upper end portion 31c, for example, in the range in which the center of gravity (G) of the article 8 is not deviated to the right in the figure when viewed from the side, the first member 31 is in the first state, which is the state in which the article 8 is detected. That is, the pressing state of the switch projection 32a by the first member 31 of the detection sensor 32 is maintained. In this article detection state, the drive motor 27 is driven, and the movement of the article 8 continues.

[0041] Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the final stage of the feeding operation of item 8 and the storage of the item. When the pulling motion of the article 8 by the drive roller 23 is completed, the position of the article 8's center of gravity (G) moves to the rear side of the upper end 31c of the first member 31 and is located outside the first range 1E. As a result, the article 8 falls from the first member 31, rotating its leading end in the direction of travel, as shown in Figure 7.

[0042] In this way, when the item 8 separates from the first member 31, the pressure on the switch projection 32a of the first member 31 is released. As a result, the drive motor 27 stops, the entire item moving mechanism 20 stops, and the eating operation is completed.

[0043] Upon dropping the aforementioned item 8, it is stored in the storage section 35. As shown in the figure, the stored item 8 is held and housed on the inclined bottom surface 35b of the storage section 35. Furthermore, a second member 18, which is an opening and closing lid, is provided at the lower end of the storage section 35 to maintain the state in which the item 8 is held on the bottom surface 35b. This second member 18 can be opened and closed relative to the housing 10 at a pivot point using a pivot shaft 18a provided at its upper end. Therefore, when the second member 18 is opened, the item 8 that was supported in the storage section 35 moves and slides along the bottom surface 35b and is discharged to the rear of the toy.

[0044] As described above, the toy 1 in this embodiment is configured to perform a predetermined operation when an article 8 is inserted into the housing 10 of the toy 1, and the internal article movement mechanism 20 detects that the article 8 is located in a predetermined area (first range 1E) from the inserted state, as long as the detection unit 30 detects this, thereby enabling an operation to pull the article 8 into the housing 10 (eating operation).

[0045] In this embodiment of toy 1, the article movement mechanism 20 is configured to detect a second state when the article 8 has moved outside the first range 1E and to stop the feeding operation of the article 8. This allows the eating operation to be automatically stopped in conjunction with, for example, the completion of the entry of the article 8 inserted into toy 1 into the housing 10, or, for example, the completion of the toy 1 eating the food (article 8).

[0046] In the toy 1 of this embodiment, the detection unit 30 is configured to maintain a detection state in a first state when the article 8 inserted through the opening 11 comes into contact with the first member 31, and to detect a second state when the contact (abrasion) of the article 8 with the first member 31 ceases. Thus, the operation can be started and stopped by a single detection means.

[0047] Furthermore, in the toy 1 of this embodiment, the first member 31 is configured to move from its initial position (first position) to a rotational position (second position) upon contact with the article 8, making it easier to detect the contact force of the article 8 by rotation and enabling reliable detection.

[0048] In this embodiment of toy 1, the article moving mechanism 20 is configured to grip the article 8 between the drive roller 23 and the first member 31, so that the article 8 can be moved in a predetermined direction by the rotational force of the drive roller 23. Furthermore, since the first member 31 is used as a means for gripping the article 8, the gripping force when gripping the article 8 can be used for the rotational movement of the first member 31.

[0049] In this embodiment of toy 1, an interlocking part 13 that moves in conjunction with the movement of the item movement mechanism 20 is arranged on the outer circumferential surface 10s of the housing 10, so that the interlocking part 13 can be operated in conjunction with the movement of the item 8 into the housing. In particular, since the operation of the interlocking part 13 is a reciprocating motion, if the interlocking part 13 is provided near the mouth (opening 11) of character C, it can mimic the action of chewing food (item 8), creating an extremely cute action.

[0050] Furthermore, according to the toy 1 of this embodiment, the article moving mechanism 20 is such that the interlocking part 13 rotates the drive roller 23. Sync to Since the interlocking unit 13 is configured to move with a rocking member 22 that engages with and rocks with a driven rotor 21, it is easy to synchronize the operation of the interlocking unit 13 with the movement of the article 8 into the housing 10.

[0051] In the toy 1 of this embodiment, the length (A) of the article 8 in the direction of movement is such that the relationship A / 2 > B is expressed with respect to the maximum length (B) of the upper end 31c in the first state in which the article 8 is positioned on the upper end 31c. Thus, in the direction of movement, the article 8 can be dropped from the upper end 31c when the state in which it is supported on the upper end 31c exceeds half of its length.

[0052] In this embodiment of the toy 1, the storage section 35 for accommodating the article 8 has an inclined bottom surface, allowing the article 8 to be stored at an angle. As a result, the space required for the article 8 to move is made compact, and an article 8 that is large (long) relative to the front-to-back depth of the toy 1 can be placed inside the housing. Furthermore, since the storage section 35 is inclined and an opening / closing lid (second member 18) is provided adjacent to the underside of its inclined bottom surface 35b, the article 8 can be discharged from the housing 10 by its own weight simply by opening the opening / closing lid.

[0053] In this embodiment of toy 1, since the article 8 is made of a plate member having a flat surface, large images of food and the like can be drawn on the flat surface, and moreover, the operation can be performed continuously for the length of the plate member.

[0054] Although one aspect of the present invention has been described above, the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope of its technical concept. For example, in the above embodiment, the interlocking part 13 is configured such that the nose 13a and front teeth 13b vibrate up and down, but it is not limited to this configuration. It may also be configured such that the eyes 17 rotate or move back and forth, or that the ears 16 swing or rotate, or that other parts of the face or body move.

[0055] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the rotor 21 is configured to have four claw protrusions 21a of the same size, but it is not limited to this configuration. For example, the outer circumferential shape of the rotor 21 may be made into a shape of protrusions and depressions of different sizes, thereby providing a change in movement depending on the size of the protrusions and depressions. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0056] 1 toy 1E First Range 8. Plate members (articles) 10 cabinets Outer surface of the 10s casing 11 Opening 13 Interlocking part 18. Second Member 20 Goods movement mechanism 21 Rotor 22 Oscillating member 23 Drive rollers 30 Detection unit 31 First Member 31d Front end (end)

Claims

1. A housing having an opening into which an article can be inserted, An article moving mechanism for moving an article inserted through the opening into the housing, The system includes a detection unit that detects a first state in which an article is located within a first range inside the housing, The item movement mechanism is a toy that operates when the detection unit detects that the first state is in place.

2. The toy according to claim 1, A toy in which the article movement mechanism stops when the article moves outside the first range by the article movement mechanism to a second state.

3. The toy according to claim 2, The detection unit has a first member that can come into contact with the article inserted through the opening, In the first state, the first member and the inserted article are in contact, In the second state, the article is separated from the first member, a toy.

4. The toy according to claim 3, The first member is configured to be displaceable in response to contact with the article, and is a toy.

5. The toy according to claim 4, The first member is configured to be rotatably displaceable and rotates in response to contact with the article, thereby displacing it from a first position to a second position, in the form of a toy.

6. A toy according to any one of claims 3 to 5, The article moving mechanism includes a drive roller, A toy in which an article that has come into contact with the first member is held between the first member and the drive roller and moves into the housing by the rotation of the drive roller.

7. A toy according to any one of claims 3 to 5, The end of the first member on the opening side extends in a direction away from the article moving mechanism, in a toy.

8. A toy according to any one of claims 3 to 5, Let A be the length of the article in the direction of movement. Let B be the maximum length of the contact area with the first member in the first state in the direction of movement of the article. A toy where A / 2 > B.

9. A toy according to any one of claims 1 to 5, A toy comprising at least a portion of which is arranged on the outer surface of the housing and which is an interlocking part that moves in conjunction with the movement of the article moving mechanism.

10. The toy according to claim 9, The aforementioned interlocking mechanism is a toy that moves through a specific repetitive motion.

11. The toy according to claim 10, The aforementioned specific repetitive motion is a back-and-forth motion in a toy.

12. The toy according to claim 9, The article moving mechanism includes a drive roller, The aforementioned interlocking part is a toy comprising a rotor driven by the rotation of the drive roller and a rocking member that engages with the rotor and swings.

13. The toy according to claim 12, The aforementioned enclosure is modeled after an animal, The opening is modeled after the mouth of the animal, The rocking member is a toy that mimics a part of the animal's face.

14. A toy according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The housing is a toy, comprising a storage section for storing an article that has been moved outside the first range by the article moving mechanism.

15. The toy according to claim 14, The housing has a second member that can expose the housing portion by being displaced, A toy configured such that the article contained in the housing can be discharged from inside the housing by displacing the second member relative to the housing.

16. The toy according to claim 15, The bottom surface of the aforementioned housing is made up of a slope. The second member is a toy provided adjacent to the slope.

17. A toy set comprising the toy described in any one of claims 1 to 5 and the article, The aforementioned enclosure is modeled after an animal, The opening is modeled after the mouth of the animal, The aforementioned item is a toy set consisting of plate members with pictures of food drawn on them.

Images