U.S. patent application number 12/492141 was filed with the patent office on 2009-12-31 for toy.
This patent application is currently assigned to HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY (ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to YUNG-HUNG CHU, BAO-SHUAI LIU.
Application Number | 20090325461 12/492141 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 41448014 |
Filed Date | 2009-12-31 |
United States Patent
Application |
20090325461 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LIU; BAO-SHUAI ; et
al. |
December 31, 2009 |
TOY
Abstract
A toy includes a main body and a chassis supporting the main
body. The chassis includes a mounting board, two wheels rotatably
mounted to the mounting board, and at least one elastic module
fixed on the mounting board. The at least one elastic module and
the two wheels are arranged on three vertexes of a triangle for
elastically supporting the main body.
Inventors: |
LIU; BAO-SHUAI; (Shenzhen
City, CN) ; CHU; YUNG-HUNG; (Tu-Cheng, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
PCE INDUSTRY, INC.;ATT. Steven Reiss
288 SOUTH MAYO AVENUE
CITY OF INDUSTRY
CA
91789
US
|
Assignee: |
HONG FU JIN PRECISION INDUSTRY
(ShenZhen) Co., Ltd.
Shenzhen City
CN
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY CO., LTD.
Tu-Cheng
TW
|
Family ID: |
41448014 |
Appl. No.: |
12/492141 |
Filed: |
June 26, 2009 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
446/470 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63H 17/262 20130101;
A63H 17/36 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/470 |
International
Class: |
A63H 17/26 20060101
A63H017/26 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jun 30, 2008 |
CN |
200810302437.5 |
Claims
1. A toy, comprising: a main body; and a chassis supporting the
main body, the chassis comprising: a mounting board; two wheels
rotatably mounted to the mounting board, the two wheels being
capable of rotating so as to drive the toy to move along a first
direction; and a first elastic module fixed on the mounting board
and deviating from the main body, the first elastic module and the
two wheels being separately arranged on the mounting board in such
a manner to form a triangle, the first elastic module and the two
wheels being located at three vertexes of the triangle; wherein the
first elastic module is capable of selectively and elastically
supporting the main body, when the main body is stable, the main
body is supported by the two wheels, when the main body is
unstable, the main body is supported by the two wheels and the
first elastic module, and the first elastic module is elastically
deformed.
2. The toy of claim 1, wherein the chassis further comprises a
second elastic module, the second elastic module is also fixed on
the mounting board, and the first and second elastic modules are
arranged along a line substantially parallel to the first
direction.
3. The toy of claim 2, wherein when the two wheels stand on a flat
surface, a height from the flat surface to the mounting board is
greater than the height of one end of the elastic module, facing
the flat surface, to the mounting board.
4. The toy of claim 2, wherein each of the first and second elastic
modules comprises an elastic element with two opposite ends and a
supporting element, one end of the elastic element is attached to
the mounting board, and the other end of the elastic element is
connected to the supporting element.
5. The toy of claim 4, wherein the elastic element is a coil
spring.
6. The toy of claim 4, wherein a bottom of the supporting element
comprises a smooth curved surface, and the bottom deviates from the
mounting board.
7. The toy of claim 4, wherein each of first and second elastic
modules further comprises a telescopic element for receiving the
elastic element, one end of the telescopic element is connected to
the mounting board, the other end of the telescopic element is
connected to the supporting element, and the telescopic element is
deformable when the telescopic element is subject to an external
force, and returns to an original state when the external force is
released.
8. The toy of claim 7, wherein the telescopic element is made of
elastic material.
9. The toy of claim 7, wherein the telescopic element is stuck to
the mounting board.
10. The toy of claim 7, wherein each of the first and second
elastic modules further comprises a connecting element and screws,
and the connecting element is connected to the telescopic element
and is fixed on the mounting board via the screws.
11. A toy comprising: a main body; a mounting board connected to a
bottom of the main body for loading the main body; two wheels
rotatably assembled to the mounting board; and at least one elastic
module fixed on the mounting board and deviating from the main
body, wherein the at least one elastic module and two wheels are
arranged on vertexes of a triangle for elastically supporting the
main body.
12. The toy of claim 11, wherein the at least one elastic module is
positioned between the two wheels.
13. The toy of claim 11, wherein when the two wheels stand on a
flat surface, a height from the flat surface to the mounting board
is greater than the height of one end of the at least one elastic
module, facing the flat surface, to the mounting board.
14. The toy of claim 11, wherein the at least one elastic module
comprises an elastic element with two opposite ends and a
supporting element, one end of the elastic element is attached to
the mounting board, and the other end of the elastic element is
connected to the supporting element.
15. The toy of claim 14, wherein the elastic element is a coil
spring.
16. The toy of claim 14, wherein a bottom of the supporting element
is a smooth curved surface, and the bottom deviates from the
mounting board.
17. The toy of claim 15, wherein the at least one elastic module
further comprises a telescopic element for receiving the elastic
element, one end of the telescopic element is connected to the
mounting board, the other end of the telescopic element is
connected to the supporting element, and the telescopic element is
deformable when the telescopic element is subject to an external
force, and returns to an original state when the external force is
released.
18. The toy of claim 15, wherein the telescopic element is made of
elastic material.
19. A toy, comprising: a main body; a mounting board connected to
the main body for loading the main body; a pair of wheels rotatably
mounted to the mounting board, the pair of wheels being capable of
rotating so as to drive the toy to move along a backward and
forward direction; and a first and second elastic modules, the
first and second elastic modules being fixed to the mounting board
for selectively and elastically supporting the mounting board;
wherein when the toy contacts with an obstacle and is hindered to
move along the backward and forward direction, one of the first and
second elastic modules is subject to a downward force of the
mounting board and the main body, such that one of the first and
second elastic modules is elastically deformed to support the
mounting board and the main body, thereby the toy is prevented from
falling over.
20. The toy of claim 19, wherein each of the first and second
elastic modules comprises: a coil spring; and a supporting element,
the supporting element is fixed to the mounting board, the coil
spring is restricted between the supporting element and the
mounting board, when one of the first and second elastic modules is
subject to the downward force of the mounting board and the main
body, the supporting element is deformed and the coil spring is
compressed to store a spring force, and when one of the first and
second elastic modules is released from the downward force of the
mounting board and the main body, the supporting element returns to
its original state exerted by the spring force of the coil spring.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] 1. Technical Field
[0002] The present disclosure generally relates to toys, and
particularly to a toy with two wheels.
[0003] 2. Description of Related Art
[0004] Toys are generally provided with wheels or caterpillar
tracks to move. Because wheels have advantages of flexibility and
speed over caterpillar tracks, wheels are widely used on the
toy.
[0005] However, two-wheeled toys are unstable. For example, when a
two-wheeled toy comes into contact with an obstacle, the
two-wheeled toy may flip over or may tilt on its side and be unable
to move.
[0006] Therefore, a two-wheeled toy with high stability is
desired.
[0007] Other advantages and novel features will become more
apparent from the following detailed description of exemplary
embodiments when taken in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a toy in accordance with an
exemplary embodiment.
[0009] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toy in FIG. 1 with the
outer body removed.
[0010] FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the toy in FIG. 2.
[0011] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the toy in FIG. 3.
[0012] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the toy in FIG. 1 in
accordance with a second exemplary embodiment.
[0013] FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the toy in FIG. 5
in accordance with an exemplary embodiment.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0014] References will now be made to the drawings to describe
exemplary embodiments of a toy.
[0015] Referring to FIG. 1, a toy 400 includes a main body 300 and
a chassis 100. The chassis 100 is capable of supporting and
mounting the main body 300. In the exemplary embodiment, the main
body 300 is detachably mounted to the chassis 100. In other
embodiments, the main body 300 may be integrally formed with the
chassis 100. A motor (not shown) may be mounted on the chassis 100
to propel the chassis 100 together with the main body 300 to move
along a first direction or a second direction. The first direction
may be a forward direction and the second direction may be a
backward direction.
[0016] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the chassis 100 includes a
mounting board 10, two wheels 20, and at least one elastic module
30. The mounting board 10 is configured for mounting the main body
400. The two wheels 20 are coaxially mounted to the mounting board
10 and are substantially parallel to each other. The two wheels 20
are rotatable so as to drive the toy 400 to move along the backward
and forward directions. The elastic module 30 is fixed under the
mounting board 10 for selectively and elastically supporting the
mounting board 10. The mounting board 10 may be an independent part
connected to a bottom surface of the main body 300. The mounting
board 10 may also be integrated with the main body 300 and arranged
as a bottom component of the main body 300.
[0017] Further referring to FIG. 4, the mounting board 10 defines
two openings 12 parallel with each other for rotatably receiving
the two wheels 20. The mounting board 10 further includes two disk
shaped fixing parts 11 for fixing the elastic module 30. Two pairs
of lugs 14 protrude from the mounting board 10 and are adjacent to
the two openings 12. Each of the pair of lugs 14 defines two pivot
holes 17 for assembling a corresponding wheel 20 into a
corresponding opening 12. The two fixing parts 11 are disposed on a
surface opposite to the surface where the main body 300 is mounted.
The two fixing parts 11 are arranged along a line substantially
parallel to the moving direction of the wheels 20. Each fixing part
11 and the two openings 12 are arranged on three vertexes of a
triangle respectively. Two columnar protrusions 15 substantially
extend from the centre of the two fixing parts 11. Two grooves 13
are respectively defined around the circumference of the fixing
parts 11, whereby two rings are formed.
[0018] Each of the two wheels 20 is equipped with two shafts 22
extending from two sides of the wheel 20. The two shafts 22 are
insertable through the two pivot holes 17 of the one pair of the
lugs 14 correspondingly, so as to mount the wheel 20 to the one
pair of the lugs 14 correspondingly. As such, the two wheels 20 are
positioned and rotated in the two openings 12 correspondingly. The
diameter of the two wheels 20 are larger than the thickness of the
mounting board 10, thus, the two wheels 20 extend out of the
opposite sides of the mounting board 10 in the thickness direction
of the mounting board 10, and upwardly support the main body 400
loaded on the mounting board 10.
[0019] The two elastic modules 30 are respectively attached to the
two fixing parts 11, so that each elastic module 30 and the two
wheels 20 are respectively arranged on the three vertexes of the
triangle. When the two wheels 20 stand on a flat surface (not
show), the height from the flat surface to the mounting board 10 is
greater than the height of one end of the elastic module 30, facing
the flat surface, to the mounting board 10. As a result, when the
two wheels 20 stably support the main body 300, the two elastic
modules 30 are not in contact with the flat surface. When the two
wheels 20 can't stably support the main body 300 because of a
weight of the main body 300, one of the elastic modules 30 contacts
the flat surface to elastically support the main body 300. Thus,
the toy 400 is prevented from falling over by the three points
contacting the flat surface.
[0020] Each of the elastic modules 30 includes an elastic element
32, a telescopic element 34, and supporting element 36. The
telescopic element 34 defines a through hole 340 extending from a
first face to a second face deviating from the first face of the
telescopic element 34. The size and shape of the first face
accommodates the groove 13. The telescopic element 34 is connected
to the mounting board 10 by placing the first face into the groove
13. The telescopic element 34 may also be a component which can be
expanded and compressed under an external force.
[0021] The supporting element 36 includes a bottom 360 with a
curved top surface, and a sleeve 362 connected to the bottom 360
and deviating from the curved top surface. The sleeve 362 is
inserted into the thought hole 340 that the bottom 360 is tightly
connected to the first face of the telescopic element 34. The
bottom 360 is made of hard material and the curved surface is
substantially smooth, thus the bottom 360 is wear-resistant and the
surface friction coefficient is small.
[0022] The elastic element 32 is a coil spring, one end of the coil
spring 32 is attached to the protrusion 15, and the other end of
the elastic element 32 is received in the sleeve 362, the elastic
element 32 thus is restricted between the supporting element 36 and
the mounting board 10. In other embodiments, the elastic element 32
may be an elastic piece or an elastic block.
[0023] When the elastic module 30 is pressed by or subject to an
external force, the elastic element 32 and the telescopic element
34 are compressed simultaneously and generate an elastic action on
the supporting element 36. When the external force is released, the
telescopic element 34 returns to the original state under the
effect of elasticity.
[0024] Referring FIGS. 5 and 6, a toy 200 in accordance with a
second exemplary embodiment is shown. The toy 200 is similar to the
toy 400. A difference between the toy 200 and the toy 400 is that
methods for assembling the elastic module 30 to the mounting board
10 are different. In the toy 200, the fixing parts 11 of mounting
board 10 define two guiding holes 19. The elastic module 30 further
includes a connecting element 31 with appropriate shape and size
for accommodating the fixing part 11, and two screws 33. The
connecting element 31 is stuck on one end of the elastic module 30
deviating from the supporting element 36. The connecting element 31
defines two screw holes 35 corresponding to the two guiding holes
19. The center of connecting element 31 defines a center hole 37
for restricting the coil spring 32. Each guiding hole 19 and each
screw hole 35 are aligned to allow one of the screws 33 to insert
therealong. The two screws 33 are respectively screwed into the
screw holes 35 to secure the elastic module 30 on the mounting
board 30.
[0025] As described above, the toy employs an elastic module. The
elastic module and the two wheels are arranged to locate at three
vertexes of a triangle on the bottom of the toy. When the toy comes
into contact with an obstacle or climb on a slope, the toy may tend
to fall to the flat surface along or opposite to the moving
direction, the elastic module will contact the flat surface under
the weight of the toy, thus the toy can be prevented from falling
to the flat surface by employing the elastic module.
[0026] It is believed that the present embodiments and their
advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and
it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or
sacrificing all of its material advantages, the examples
hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary
embodiments of the invention.
* * * * *