Assembly toy

Abstract

The present invention provides a mechanism that can be easily assembled and further enhances the interest of the assembly process. [Solution] The construction toy comprises a primary assembly that is assembled from multiple parts and forms part of the construction toy, and assembly members that combine with the primary assembly to form the final assembly of the construction toy, and the primary assembly forms a model of a predetermined object when the multiple parts are accurately assembled.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a construction toy. [Background technology]

[0002] There are known assembly toys that can be easily assembled even by beginners and young people. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes an assembly toy that does not have a runner, but has two adjacent main parts connected by a gate, and can be almost completed just by bending the gate. Since there is no need to detach the part from the runner and assemble it, there is no need to know which part the detached part belongs to, and it can be easily assembled.

[0003] Patent Document 2 also proposes an assembly toy in which multiple components that can be arranged in a straight line are stacked and assembled by inserting rod-shaped support members into the through holes of each component. In this assembly toy, each component can be locked by inserting the support member and rotating it around the axis. Therefore, an assembly toy that can be easily assembled even by young children is provided, which is safe, fun, and also serves as educational play. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Publication number 8-7915 [Patent Document 2] JP 2012-148172 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, although it is easy to assemble, it is difficult to arouse interest in assembling multiple parts, and it is difficult to give a desire to assemble more complicated parts. For example, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, two main parts arranged adjacent to each other are almost completed by simply bending the gate that connects them. In this way, it is easy to assemble because there is no need to separate the parts, but the assembly is too easy and it is difficult to arouse interest in the assembly itself. On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, multiple parts are stacked and each part can be locked by inserting a rod-shaped support member, and an interesting educational toy is provided. However, each part is assembled at once by inserting the support member, and the fun and sense of accomplishment of the process of assembling multiple parts to create a product cannot be felt, and the motivation to challenge more difficult assembly toys cannot be given. With such conventional technology, it is not possible to know the fun of the assembly process of plastic models, etc., and to obtain the effect of promoting sales of the next toy.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a mechanism that can be easily assembled and further enhances the interest of the assembly process, for example. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The present invention is, for example, a construction toy comprising a primary assembly which is assembled from a plurality of parts and forms one part of the construction toy, and assembly members which are combined with the primary assembly to form a final assembly of the construction toy, the primary assembly being characterized in that when the plurality of parts are accurately assembled, it forms a model of a predetermined object. The present invention also provides, for example, an assembly toy comprising a primary assembly which is assembled from a plurality of parts and is one component of the assembly toy, and assembly members which are combined with the primary assembly to form the assembly toy, the primary assembly having a first surface and a second surface different from the first surface, the first surface being formed by a portion of each of the plurality of parts on the first surface side, the second surface being formed by a portion of each of the plurality of parts on the second surface side, a part of the assembly toy being formed on the first surface of the primary assembly, and a model of a predetermined object different from the assembly toy being formed on the second surface. The present invention also provides, for example, a construction toy comprising a primary assembly which is assembled from a plurality of parts and is one component of the construction toy, and an assembly member which is combined with the primary assembly to form the construction toy, the primary assembly having a first surface and a second surface different from the first surface, a part of the construction toy being formed on the first surface and a model of a predetermined object different from the construction toy being formed on the second surface, and when the primary assembly and the construction member are combined, at least a portion of the first surface is exposed to the outside of the construction toy and the second surface is not exposed to the outside of the construction toy. The present invention also provides, for example, an assembly toy comprising a primary assembly which is assembled from a plurality of parts and is one component of the assembly toy, and assembly members which are combined with the primary assembly to form the assembly toy, the primary assembly having a first surface and a second surface different from the first surface, the first surface being formed by a portion of each of the plurality of parts on the first surface side, the second surface being formed by a portion of each of the plurality of parts on the second surface side, the first surface of the primary assembly having a part of a first predetermined object which the assembly toy imitates formed thereon, and the second surface having a model of a second predetermined object which is different from the first predetermined object formed thereon. The present invention also provides, for example, a construction toy, comprising a primary assembly which is assembled from a plurality of parts and is a part of the construction toy, and an assembly member which is combined with the primary assembly to form the construction toy, the primary assembly having a first surface and a second surface different from the first surface, a part of a first predetermined object which the construction toy imitates is formed on the first surface, and a model of a second predetermined object which is different from the first predetermined object is formed on the second surface, and when the primary assembly and the assembly member are combined, at least a part of the first surface is exposed to the outside of the construction toy, and the second surface is not exposed to the outside of the construction toy. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a mechanism that allows for easy assembly and further enhances the interest of the assembly process. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of the exterior front and side views of a construction toy according to one embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a waist portion of the construction toy according to one embodiment. [Diagram 3] 1A and 1B are rear views of a primary assembly in a construction toy according to one embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of a primary assembly of a construction toy according to one embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 illustrates an embodiment of a primary assembly being covered by a final assembly housing. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 illustrates a variation of the final completed part. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more features among the multiple features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. In addition, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0011] <Exterior of assembly toy> First, an example of the external configuration of a constructional toy 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1(a) shows the external front view of the constructional toy 100, and Fig. 1(b) shows the external side view of the constructional toy 100. Note that up-down, left-right, and front-back arrows indicate the orientation of the constructional toy in the figure, and this also applies to other figures.

[0012] The assembly toy (doll toy) 100 shows the final assembly product after assembly. The assembly toy 100 is composed of a main body 101, which includes left and right eyes 102a, 102b, a mouth 103, and left and right cheeks 104a, 104b. As shown in the external side view of FIG. 1(b), the main body 101 is composed by combining a front member 101a, which is a first assembly member, and a back member 101b, which is a second assembly member. In this embodiment, an example in which the housing of the assembly toy 100 is composed of two assembly members will be described, but this is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the assembly toy may be composed by combining one assembly member with a primary assembly product 200, which will be described later, or the assembly toy may be composed by combining more assembly members with the primary assembly product 200, which will be described later.

[0013] As shown in Fig. 1(a), the eyes 102a, 102b, the mouth 103, and the cheeks 104a, 104b can be seen on the surface of the front member 101a. However, the front member 101a itself only has openings that correspond to the outer shapes of the eyes 102a, 102b, the mouth 103, and the cheeks 104a, 104b, and the eyes 102a, 102b, the mouth 103, and the cheeks 104a, 104b are formed by fitting other parts into the respective openings. Furthermore, the other parts visible from the respective openings are part of the primary assembly 200 described later, and are fitted from the inside of the front member 101a and covered by the front member 101a and the back member 101b, so that they cannot be seen from the outside.

[0014] <Assembly configuration of final assembly> Next, the assembly structure of the assembly toy 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows an exploded view of the assembly toy 100.

[0015] The front member 101a has openings 112a, 112b, 113, 114a, and 114b formed therein. 200 denotes a primary assembly, and protrusions (not shown) are fitted into corresponding holes in the front member 101a along the dotted lines. When the primary assembly 200 is fitted, a part of the primary assembly 200 is exposed from the openings 112a, 112b, 113, 114a, and 114b, and the eyes 102a, 102b, the mouth 103, and the cheeks 104a, 104b are visible from the front of the construction toy 100. The primary assembly 200 is a part that is assembled in the first stage when assembling the construction toy 100, which is the final assembly. Thus, the construction toy 100 according to this embodiment includes the primary assembly 200 as one part. If the primary assembly 200 is not assembled accurately, the construction toy 100 cannot be assembled accurately. The primary assembly 200 will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 3, and its assembled configuration will be described later with reference to FIG.

[0016] <Appearance of primary assembly> Next, the external configuration of the primary assembly 200 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3(a) shows the external rear view of the primary assembly 200, and Fig. 3(b) shows the external front view of the primary assembly 200.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 3(a), the rear surface of the primary assembly 200 after assembly is provided with members 122a, 122b, 123, 124a, and 124b, which respectively correspond to the openings 112a, 112b, 113, 114a, and 114b shown in Fig. 2. Furthermore, the rear surface of the primary assembly 200 is provided with protrusions 125a, 125b, and 125c for assembly to the front member 101a. When the primary assembly 200 is assembled to the front member 101a, the members 122a, 122b, 123, 124a, and 124b are exposed to the front of the construction toy 100 through the openings 112a, 112b, 113, 114a, and 114b, respectively. The exposed members 122a, 122b respectively form the left and right eyes 102a, 102b of the construction toy 100, the member 123 forms the mouth 103 of the construction toy 100, and the members 124a, 124b form the left and right cheeks 104a, 104b of the construction toy 100. Thus, according to this embodiment, a part of the primary assembly 200 constitutes a part of the construction toy, and if the primary assembly 200 consisting of a plurality of parts is not assembled accurately, the part of the primary assembly 200 will not be formed accurately and will not be exposed accurately from each opening. In other words, the construction toy 100 will not be assembled accurately.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 3(b), models 201-205 of predetermined objects are formed on the front of the primary assembly 200 after assembly. Here, the "model of the predetermined object" refers to a specific design, for example, an object, figure, letter, symbol, pattern, etc. that can be identified by an assembly user. In other words, the model of the predetermined object according to this embodiment is a component made of a plurality of parts assembled during the assembly of an assembly toy, but unlike, for example, the waist and joints of a doll body that have no meaning in themselves, it is a model that embodies a predetermined object that is completed by itself. In this embodiment, these models show, for example, a tomato 201, a candy 202, a candy ball 203, an apple 204, and a rice ball 205. These models 201-205 are examples of models of predetermined objects and are not particularly limited, and various other objects may be represented. These models 201-205 of predetermined objects are formed when the primary assembly 200 is assembled accurately, that is, they do not appear unless the assembly is performed accurately. Therefore, when the models 201-205 of the predetermined objects are formed, the user assembling the assembly toy 100 can recognize that the assembly process so far has been performed accurately, and furthermore, a young person can feel a sense of accomplishment in the middle of the assembly process, which can arouse interest in the assembly process. Note that, although an example in which there is only one such primary assembly product is described in this embodiment, multiple primary assembly products may be provided. As a result, even if the assembly toy is more complicated and includes many parts, the assembly user can easily complete the assembly toy by repeating combinations of a small number of parts.

[0019] <Assembly configuration of primary assembly> Next, an assembly configuration of the primary assembly 200 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is an exploded view of the primary assembly 200.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4, the primary assembly 200 is composed of a plurality of parts 401-404. The plurality of parts 401-404 are assembled in the direction of the dotted arrow. Each part includes a part of the predetermined object models 201-205 described with reference to FIG. 3(b), and does not represent any of the predetermined object models 201-205 by itself. In other words, the predetermined object models 201-205 are formed only by accurately assembling the plurality of parts 401-404. This allows the user to assemble the predetermined object models 201-205 on a smaller scale without being aware of the assembly toy 100 from the beginning, and thus facilitates the assembly work.

[0021] <Relationship between primary assembly and final assembly> Next, the relationship between the primary assembly 200 according to this embodiment and the assembly toy 100 which is the final assembly product will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5(a) shows the final assembly process of the assembly toy 100, and Fig. 5(b) shows the rear appearance of the assembly toy 100 after assembly.

[0022] As shown in FIG. 5(a), first, the protrusions 125a, 125b, and 125c provided on the back surface of the primary assembly 200 are fitted into the corresponding holes from the inside of the front member 101a, and the two parts are assembled. In this state, the front surface of the primary assembly 200 is exposed because it is not in contact with the back side of the front member 101a. After that, with the primary assembly 200 fitted into the front member 101a, the back member 101b is finally assembled to the front member 101a. This completes the final assembly of the assembly toy 100 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the front member 101a and the back member 101b are assembled to form a spherical assembly toy body. In addition, at least a part of the inside of the spherical body is hollow, and the front surface of the primary assembly 200, i.e., the models 201 to 205 of the predetermined object, are exposed in the hollow. 5(b), in the assembled construction toy 100, the primary assembly 200 is covered by the front member 101a and the back member 101b and cannot be seen from the outside. In this way, since the primary assembly 200 is contained inside the construction toy 100, even if a model of a predetermined object unrelated to the construction toy 100 is formed, the final assembled product of the construction toy 100 does not feel strange.

[0023] As described above, the assembly toy according to the present embodiment includes a primary assembly that is assembled from a plurality of parts and is a part of the assembly toy, and an assembly member that is combined with the primary assembly to form a final assembly of the assembly toy. The primary assembly forms a model of a predetermined object when the plurality of parts are accurately assembled. Furthermore, if the plurality of parts are not accurately assembled, the model of the predetermined part will not be accurately formed, and furthermore, it will not function as a part of the assembly toy. Therefore, the user can assemble the assembly toy 100, which is the final assembly, from the beginning, while being aware of the smaller primary assembly 200, and can easily perform the assembly work. Furthermore, the user can feel a sense of accomplishment by accurately assembling the model of the predetermined part, and can confirm that the assembly process so far has been performed accurately. Thus, according to the present embodiment, a mechanism that allows easy assembly and further increases the interest of the assembly process can be provided.

[0024] <Modification> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. In the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which the primary assembly 200 is completely hidden by being covered with the front member 101a and the rear member 101b has been described. However, after finally assembling the assembly toy, a young child or the like may wish to check the primary assembly 200 that was assembled during the process again. To satisfy such a desire, a peep hole may be provided in a part of the housing of the assembly toy. Details will be described with reference to FIG. 6.

[0025] 6(a) shows a modified example of a construction toy with a peephole. As shown in the figure, a peephole 601 is provided in a part of a back member 600. There is no intention to particularly limit the shape or size of the peephole 601, and any shape or size may be applied. By looking into the construction toy through the peephole 601, the user can check the front of the primary assembly 200, i.e., the models 201 to 205 of the specified objects.

[0026] 6(b) shows a modified example in which a part of the member is formed of a transparent member instead of the peephole 601. As shown in the figure, the back member 610 is molded of a transparent member (or a translucent member), and the front of the primary assembly 200, i.e., the models 201-205 of the predetermined objects, can be confirmed. Note that, although an example in which the entire back member 610 is molded of a transparent member is shown, this is not intended to limit the present invention, and for example, only a part of it may be molded of a transparent member.

[0027] In this way, by providing a peep hole in part of the back member or by molding at least a part of the back member from a transparent material, the completed primary assembly 200 can be confirmed even after the construction of the construction toy has been completed during the assembly process.

[0028] Furthermore, the shape of the assembly toy is not particularly limited, and includes various shapes such as people, animals, robots, insects, and dinosaurs. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 100: assembly toy, 101a: front member, 101b: back member, 102a, 102b: eyes, 103: mouth, 104: cheeks, 200: primary assembly

Claims

1. An assembled toy, comprising: a primary assembled part that is a part of the assembled toy and is assembled from a plurality of parts; and an assembly member that is combined with the primary assembled part to form the assembled toy. The primary assembled part has a first surface and a second surface different from the first surface. The first surface is formed by the portions on the first surface side of the plurality of parts, and the second surface is formed by the portions on the second surface side of the plurality of parts. A part of a first predetermined object imitated by the assembled toy is formed on the first surface of the primary assembled part, and a model of a second predetermined object different from the first predetermined object is formed on the second surface. An assembled toy characterized in that:

2. An assembled toy, comprising: a primary assembled part that is a part of the assembled toy and is assembled from a plurality of parts; and an assembly member that is combined with the primary assembled part to form the assembled toy. The primary assembled part has a first surface and a second surface different from the first surface. A part of a first predetermined object imitated by the assembled toy is formed on the first surface, and a model of a second predetermined object different from the first predetermined object is formed on the second surface. When the primary assembled part and the assembly member are combined, at least a part of the first surface is exposed outside the assembled toy, and the second surface is not exposed outside the assembled toy. An assembled toy characterized in that:

3. The assembled toy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the model of the second predetermined object is not formed unless the plurality of parts are accurately assembled.

4. The assembled toy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the primary assembled part does not function as a part of the assembled toy unless the model of the second predetermined object is accurately assembled.

5. The assembly member includes at least a first assembly member and a second assembly member. The assembled toy according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the assembled toy is formed by combining the first assembly member and the second assembly member so as to cover the primary assembled part with the primary assembled part fitted inside the first assembly member.

6. The assembled toy according to claim 5, wherein a part of the primary assembled part is exposed from an opening formed in a part of the first assembly member.

7. The assembled toy according to claim 6, wherein a part of the primary assembled part exposed from the opening forms a part of the assembled toy.

8. A part of the primary assembled article exposed from the opening portion is provided on the back surface of the formed model of the second predetermined object, the assembled toy according to claim 6 or 7.

9. An assembled toy according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein a part of the second assembled member is provided with a viewing hole through which the model of the second predetermined object of the primary assembled article can be viewed.

10. An assembled toy according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein a part of the second assembled member is formed of a transparent member through which the model of the second predetermined object of the primary assembled article can be viewed.

11. An assembled toy according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the model of the second predetermined object includes a plurality of predetermined objects.

Images