Humanoid toys and joint structures

Abstract

The present invention provides a mechanism for realizing a rotatable joint structure in, for example, a doll-type toy, while also realizing a more natural-looking appearance. [Solution] This doll-type toy comprises a first part having a ring-shaped connecting part on one part, and a second part that forms a joint with the first part and has a recess into which the ring-shaped connecting part fits. The second part is formed as a single part, and a step-over part that rotatably holds the ring-shaped connecting part is formed on the inner side of the recess.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to humanoid toys and joint structures.

Background Art

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

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the above prior art, various joints are included to realize various movements, and each joint is composed of a plurality of parts. Therefore, at the joint part, joints occur when a plurality of parts are combined. Such joints do not exist in humans and animals, and give an unnatural impression compared to the appearance of humans and animals.

[0005] The present invention provides a mechanism that realizes a more natural-looking appearance while realizing a rotatable joint structure in a humanoid toy.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] The present invention relates to, for example, a doll-type toy, comprising a first part having a ring-shaped connecting part in part, and a second part forming a joint with the first part and having a recess for fitting the ring-shaped connecting part therein, wherein the second part is formed as one part, and an overhanging part for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting part is formed on the inner side surface of the recess. Further, the present invention is, for example, a doll-type toy, comprising a first part having a ring-shaped connecting portion in part, and a second part forming a joint with the first part and having a recess for fitting the ring-shaped connecting portion therein, wherein the second part is formed as one part, a semi-circular overhanging portion for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting portion is formed on an inner side surface of the recess, and when the ring-shaped connecting portion is inserted into the second part, an inner side of the ring at a front portion in the insertion direction of the connecting portion contacts the overhanging portion.

[0007] Further, the present invention relates to, for example, a joint structure, comprising a first part having a ring-shaped connecting part in part, and a second part forming a joint with the first part and having a recess for fitting the ring-shaped connecting part therein, wherein the second part is formed as one part, and an overhanging part for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting part is formed on the inner side surface of the recess. Further, the present invention is, for example, a joint structure, comprising a first part having a ring-shaped connecting portion in part, and a second part forming a joint with the first part and having a recess for fitting the ring-shaped connecting portion therein, wherein the second part is formed as one part, a semi-circular overhanging portion for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting portion is formed on an inner side surface of the recess, and when the ring-shaped connecting portion is inserted into the second part, an inner side of the ring at a front portion in the insertion direction of the connecting portion contacts the overhanging portion.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a more natural-looking appearance while realizing a rotatable joint structure in a doll-type toy.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1A

Figure 1B

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and not all combinations of the features described in the embodiments are essential to the invention. Two or more of the plurality of features described in the embodiments may be arbitrarily combined. Also, the same or similar configurations are denoted by the same reference numerals, and duplicate descriptions are omitted.

[0011] <Appearance of the Doll-Type Toy> First, with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B, an example of the external configuration of the doll-type toy 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1A shows the front view of the appearance of the doll-type toy 100. FIG. 1B shows the side view of the appearance of the doll-type toy 100. Note that the arrows indicating up and down, left and right, and front and back indicate the orientation of the doll-type toy in the figure, and the same applies to other drawings.

[0012] The doll-type toy (doll body) 100 includes a head 101, a chest 102, arm portions 103a and 103b, an abdomen 104, a waist 105, a skirt 106 which is a clothing portion, and leg portions 107a and 107b. The doll-type toy 100 is a movable doll-type toy such as a movable figure, and each part can be moved within the range of the restricted area generated in relation to other members. The head 101 is connected to the chest 102 by a spherical connecting member (hereinafter also referred to as a ball joint). The chest 102 is further connected to an arm portion 103 including a right arm 103a and a left arm 103b by a spherical connecting member, and the abdomen 104 is connected at the lower part. The abdomen 104 is connected to the waist 105. Details of the configurations of the chest 102, the abdomen 104, and the waist 105 will be described later. The waist 105 is connected to a leg portion 107 including a right leg portion 107a and a left leg portion 107b, and is covered with the skirt 106.

[0013] In the following, the upper body including the head 101, chest 102, and arm 103 is referred to as the upper body part. Also, the lower body including the waist 105 and legs 107a, 107 is referred to as the lower body part. The upper body part and the lower body part are connected via the abdomen 104. Also, the chest 102, abdomen 104, and waist 105 are collectively referred to as the torso part. In the following, as the joint structure according to the present embodiment, a shoulder joint structure in which the arm 103b is connected to the chest 102 by a spherical connecting member (ball joint) will be described. However, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and the joint structure described below can be applied not only to the shoulder joint but also to other joint parts, for example, the hip joint part connecting the legs, the elbow joint, the knee joint, and other joint parts.

[0014] <Configuration of the upper body part including the arm> Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the attachment of the arm 103b in the upper body part of the humanoid toy 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2(a) is a perspective view showing the chest 102, arm 103b, abdomen 104, and waist 105 of the upper body part. FIG. 2(b) is an exploded view of the arm 103b including the shoulder joint. The arm 103b corresponds to the left arm of the humanoid toy 100, but the arm 103a corresponding to the right arm has the same configuration, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2(a), the arm 103b is connected to the chest 102 by a spherical connecting part (ball joint). That is, the shoulder joint according to the present embodiment is a ball joint that rotatably connects the arm 103b to the chest 102. However, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and other shaped connecting parts may be adopted instead of the spherical connecting part.

[0016] Also, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the arm 103b is composed of parts 201 to 204. The part 204 is further composed of a plurality of parts, but detailed description thereof will be omitted. The shoulder joint according to the present embodiment is composed of an upper arm side shoulder part 201 and a shoulder movable part 202. A part 204 that constitutes a part of the arm 103b is connected to one side of the upper arm side shoulder part 201.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 2(b), one side of the shoulder movable part 202 included in the shoulder joint has a spherical connecting part 301 to form the ball joint, and the other side has a ring-shaped connecting part 302 that is fitted into the upper arm side shoulder part 201. The dotted frame shown in FIG. 2(b) shows an enlarged view of the shoulder movable part 202. By having such two connecting parts, the arm part 103b including the part 204 can perform a rotating operation around the ring part of the shoulder movable part 202 in addition to the rotating operation by the ball joint, and can perform more diverse motions and postures.

[0018] Also, the upper arm side shoulder part 201 into which the ring-shaped connecting part 302 of the shoulder movable part 202 according to the present embodiment is fitted is formed of one part (that is, one member). Generally, a shaft for rotating the connected part is inserted into the ring-shaped connecting part. In this case, the upper arm side shoulder part having the shaft is generally formed of two parts. When the parts formed of two parts are combined, a joint will occur. For example, when such a structure is used for the shoulder joint, a joint will occur in a part of the shoulder, giving an unnatural impression. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, by forming the upper arm side shoulder part 201 into which the ring-shaped connecting part 302 is fitted with one part, a shoulder joint without such a joint is realized. The configuration of the detailed combination and the like will be described later.

[0019] <Detailed configuration of the joint> Next, with reference to FIG. 3, the detailed configuration of the joints of the humanoid toy 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 3(a) shows an exploded view of the shoulder joint according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 3(b) shows the shoulder joint in a state where two parts are combined according to the present embodiment.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3(a), the shoulder movable part 202 is formed with a spherical connecting part 301 and a ring-shaped connecting part 302. The spherical connecting part 301 is rotatably connected to the chest 102. The ring-shaped connecting part 302 is rotatably fitted into and connected to the upper arm side shoulder part 201. The upper arm side shoulder part 201 is formed with a concave part 303 having an opening for fitting the ring-shaped connecting part 302 of the shoulder movable part 202 on one side thereof. On the inner side surface of the concave part 303, overstep parts 304a, 304b into which the ring-shaped connecting part 302 is rotatably fitted are formed.

[0021] The overstep parts 304a, 304b are fitted into the ring (hole) of the ring-shaped connecting part 302 from both sides, and in the state of being fitted into the ring-shaped connecting part 302, they are positioned along the inner side (inner diameter) of the ring and function as a rotation axis that enables the arm part 103b to rotate up and down. Further, the overstep parts 304a, 304b function to hold the connected shoulder movable part 202 to the upper arm side shoulder part 201. FIG. 3(b) shows a state where the shoulder movable part 202 is fitted into the upper arm side shoulder part 201.

[0022] The upper arm side shoulder part 201 is formed including the concave part 303 and the upper arm side connecting part 305. The upper arm side connecting part 305 is formed at an end opposite to the end where the concave part 303 is formed and is connected to a part 204 that is a part of the arm part 103b. In the present embodiment, the connection part with the pearl 204 is configured to be fitted and fixed, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, the part 204 may be configured to be rotatably connected. Thereby, more diverse operations and postures can be realized.

[0023] <Upper arm side shoulder part> Next, with reference to FIG. 4, the detailed configuration of the upper arm side shoulder part 201 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 4(a) shows a perspective view of the upper arm side shoulder part 201. FIG. 4(b) shows a plan view of the upper arm side shoulder part 201.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 4(a), the overhanging portions 304a and 304b formed in the concave portion 303 of the upper arm side shoulder part 201 are formed in a convex shape on the inner side surface of the concave portion 303 and are formed in the deep part on the back side of the concave portion 303. The overhanging portions 304a and 304b are formed facing each other on the inner side surface of the concave portion 303. Further, the overhanging portions 304a and 304b are formed in a semi-circular shape that matches the curvature of the ring of the ring-shaped connecting portion 302. Thereby, the overhanging portions 304a and 304b can hold the shoulder movable part 202 rotatably by sandwiching it together with the inner wall at the deepest part of the concave portion 303, and function as a rotation axis when the shoulder movable part 202 rotates. Details will be described with reference to Fig. 5(b).

[0025] Also, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the overhanging portions 304a and 304b are formed in sizes with different formation widths from each other. This is for ensuring the mold strength when forming the upper arm side shoulder part 201. That is, the mold strength is ensured by providing planes on both sides of the overhanging portion 304a. However, although the formation widths are different, the two overhanging portions 304a and 304b are formed in semi-circular shapes with the same curvature as each other, and this has no influence on the function as the rotation axis of the shoulder movable part 202.

[0026] <Cross-section of joint> Hereinafter, with reference to Fig. 5, the side cross-sectional view of the joint according to the present embodiment will be described. Fig. 5(a) shows the cross-section taken along A-A' of Fig. 3(b), and Fig. 5(b) shows the cross-section taken along B-B' of Fig. 3(b).

[0027] Figure 5(a) shows the state where the shoulder movable part 202 has straddled over the straddling parts 304a and 304b and is fitted into the upper arm side shoulder part 201. The straddling parts 304a and 304b are arranged at the inner part of the concave part 303 of the upper arm side shoulder part 201, and are arranged at the lower side in Figure 5(a). By providing the straddling parts 304a and 304b at the inner part of the concave part 303 in this way, the ring part of the ring-shaped connecting part 302 can be sandwiched and held between the straddling parts 304a and 304b and the inner wall of the upper arm side shoulder part 201, and rattling in the vertical direction of the shoulder movable part 202 can be prevented.

[0028] On the other hand, it is also conceivable to provide the straddling parts on the opening side of the concave part 303, that is, on the upper left and right sides in Figure 5(a). However, when provided on the upper side, compared with the case of providing on the lower side (inner side), the ring part of the ring-shaped connecting part 302 cannot be sandwiched and held between the inner wall of the upper arm side shoulder part 201, and rattling will occur. Furthermore, when the straddling parts are provided on the upper side of the concave part 303, it will become an undercut due to the opening and closing of the mold, and it will be difficult to demold the part from the mold in the manufacturing process in its original shape.

[0029] Instead of forming the straddling parts only on the upper side to avoid the undercut, it is also conceivable to form them from the upper side to the lower side. By forming in this way, the undercut can be prevented, and furthermore, the above-mentioned rattling can also be prevented. However, if the straddling parts are formed over the upper and lower sides, the fitting with the shoulder movable part 202 will become too tight, and the shoulder movable part 202 cannot be easily fitted into the upper arm side shoulder part. Thus, the straddling parts 304a and 304b formed at the inner part of the concave part 303 according to the present embodiment can also solve the problems that occur when the straddling parts are formed on the upper side or over the upper and lower sides.

[0030] Further, FIG. 5(b) shows a state in which the overhanging portion 304b is fitted along the inner diameter of the ring when the shoulder movable part 202 is fitted into the upper arm side shoulder part 201. In this way, the overhanging portion 304b is formed in a semicircular shape and is formed in accordance with the curvature of the ring of the ring-shaped connecting portion 302. Therefore, the shoulder movable part 202 can be rotated in the direction of the arrow along the outer shape of the overhanging portion 304b. Also, in FIG. 5(b), as described above, a state is shown in which the ring portion of the shoulder movable part 202 is sandwiched and held between the overhanging portion 304b and the inner wall of the upper arm side shoulder part 201. Thereby, rattling in the vertical direction can be prevented.

[0031] <Joint of multiple parts> Next, with reference to FIG. 6, a comparison between the joint of multiple parts as a comparative example and the joint according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6(a) shows the structure of the shoulder joint as a comparative example. FIG. 6(b) shows the structure of the shoulder joint according to the present embodiment.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 6(a), in the comparative example, for the shoulder movable part 602 having a ring-shaped connecting portion, the upper arm side shoulder parts 601 and 603 are respectively fitted from the left and right of the ring. The upper arm side shoulder part 601 is formed with a shaft 604 that serves as the rotation axis of the arm portion connected to the upper arm side shoulder parts 601 and 603. The shaft 604 is inserted into the ring portion of the shoulder movable part 602 and fitted into the recess formed in the upper arm side shoulder part 603, whereby these three parts are combined.

[0033] Thus, in the comparative example, the upper arm side shoulder parts are formed of two parts. Therefore, when the upper arm side shoulder parts 601 and 603 are combined, a joint 605 is formed. The joint 605 appears at the joint part of the doll-type toy, here the shoulder joint, giving an unnatural impression compared to a real person or animal. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the joints caused by the combination of such multiple parts as much as possible. However, for the ring-shaped connecting part, the connection of inserting a shaft is common as in the comparative example, and in that case, it is easier to form parts by using multiple parts. In other words, when adopting the configuration of inserting a shaft, forming the upper arm side shoulder part as one part is not preferable because it makes the part manufacturing process more complicated.

[0034] Therefore, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6(b), the upper arm side shoulder part 201 is formed as one part, and the shoulder movable part 202 is realized by fitting it over the overcoming part formed on the upper arm side shoulder part 201. Further, the overcoming part is formed in a semi-circular shape according to the curvature of the ring of the shoulder movable part 202, and has a function of an axis that allows the parts to rotate along its outer shape. By forming the upper arm side shoulder part 201 as one part in this way, it is possible to form a joint part where no joint as described in the comparative example occurs.

[0035] As described above, the doll-type toy according to the present embodiment includes a first part having a ring-shaped connecting part in part, and a second part that forms a joint with the first part and has a concave part for fitting the ring-shaped connecting part. Further, the second part is formed as one part, and an overcoming part for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting part is formed on the inner side surface of the concave part. Thereby, while realizing a rotatable joint structure in the doll-type toy, the number of parts can be reduced, and an appearance with a more natural impression can be realized.

[0036] <Modification example> The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the invention. In the above embodiment, an example of applying the joint structure to the shoulder joint has been described, but the present invention is not intended to be limited, and it may be used for other parts. For example, it can also be used for joint parts such as the hip joint, elbow joint, and knee joint that connect the legs. Further, although an example in which a spherical connecting part (ball joint) is provided on one side of the connecting member according to the above embodiment has been described, any connecting part may be adopted as long as the parts to be connected are rotatable. It is desirable that a connecting part suitable for the joint to be applied is configured.

[0037] In addition, the shape of the humanoid toy (human form) is not particularly limited and includes various shapes such as humans, animals, robots, insects, dinosaurs, virtual life forms, and the like.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0038] 100: Humanoid toy, 101: Head, 102: Chest, 103a, 103b: Arms, 104: Abdomen, 105: Waist, 106: Skirt, 107a, 107b: Legs

Claims

1. A humanoid toy, comprising: a first part having a ring-shaped connecting portion in part; a second part that forms a joint with the first part and has a recess for fitting the ring-shaped connecting portion, wherein the second part is formed as one part, a semi-circular overhanging portion for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting portion is formed on an inner side surface of the recess, and when the ring-shaped connecting portion is inserted into the second part, an inner side of the ring at a front portion in the insertion direction of the connecting portion contacts the overhanging portion.

2. The humanoid toy according to claim 1, wherein the overhanging portion is formed at a rear portion of the recess.

3. The humanoid toy according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the overhanging portion is formed in a semi-circular shape in accordance with the curvature of the ring shape.

4. The humanoid toy according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein two of the overhanging portions are formed facing each other on an inner side surface of the recess so that each is fitted into a hole of the ring-shaped connecting portion from both sides.

5. The humanoid toy according to claim 4, wherein each of the two overhanging portions has a different size from each other.

6. On the first part, the ring-shaped connecting portion is formed on one side, and a spherical connecting portion is formed on the other side, the spherical connecting portion is connected to an upper body portion of the humanoid toy, and an upper arm of the humanoid toy is connected to an end portion of the second part opposite to an end portion where the recess is formed.

7. A joint structure, comprising: a first part having a ring-shaped connecting portion in part; a second part that forms a joint with the first part and has a recess for fitting the ring-shaped connecting portion, wherein the second part is formed as one part, a semi-circular overhanging portion for rotatably holding the ring-shaped connecting portion is formed on an inner side surface of the recess, and when the ring-shaped connecting portion is inserted into the second part, an inner side of the ring at a front portion in the insertion direction of the connecting portion contacts the overhanging portion.

8. The joint structure according to claim 7, wherein the joint structure forms a shoulder joint, a hip joint, an elbow joint, or a knee joint of a humanoid toy.

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