Toy

Abstract

A toy in which random household articles may be assembled to a chassis for realizing a movable toy. The chassis frame retains a front axle and a rear axle upon which wheels are rotatably mounted to enable the chassis to move translationally. Spike-shaped members project upward from the chassis frame for penetrating into an article made of soft material and mounted on top of the chassis to form the body of a vehicle. Peg-shaped members projecting downward from beneath the chassis frame permit an article to be held to the chassis frame through flexible bands. Various elements are attachable to the article to render a vehicle-driven toy.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the design and manufacture of toys for children, it is desirable to provide arrangements which will stimulate the imagination of the child while, at the same time, providing the child with a source of entertainment and distraction. In conjunction with toys of this species, it is also desirable to involve household items which the child may have ready access to and which, through their use, will result in a low cost manufactured item.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A toy arrangement in which a chassis frame is mounted upon wheels to render it movable translationally. The wheels are rotatable upon axles retained in bearings of the chassis frame. Spike-shaped members are mounted upon the top surface of the chassis frame for penetrating into soft material such as cardboard or polystyrene plastic material, for example. Peg-shaped members project from beneath the chassis frame and serve as anchoring elements for flexible bands which may be passed over any body mounted upon the chassis frame. A variety of decorative elements may be attached to a body mounted upon the chassis frame so as to resemble, in a manner, an automobile, ship, airplane, etc. The body which may be mounted upon the chassis frame and to which the decorative elements are attached, may be an item generally found in a household.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a toy in which a child is given a basic element of the toy, and is encouraged to assemble various items, found in the household, to this basic element, so as to result in a series of differently shaped toys.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide the aforementioned toy so that the various household items may be assembled to the basic member, without requiring the use of any special tools or assembling devices.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a toy which may be assembled with ease, and which may assume a variety of characteristics, depending upon the nature of the assembly and the imagination of the child assembling the toy.

It is a specific object of the present invention to provide a toy which is vehicle-driven and which may be assembled to resemble, in a manner, full-size real objects.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a toy of the preceding character and which may be assembled through the application of reusable adhesives and fastening means.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages will clearly appear from the detailed description given below, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and illustrate merely by way of example, an embodiment of the device of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following description and in the claims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, but such names are intended to be as generic in their application to similar parts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawings, in which

FIG. 1 is an isometric view of the toy chassis base member, in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of an assembly of the chassis member of FIG. 1 with a block of soft material arranged to resemble a motor vehicle;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4--4 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an isometric view of adhesive patties mounted onto a strip for storage;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of an assembly of the chassis member of FIG. 1 with a drinking can arranged to resemble an airplane;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is an isometric view of a milk container for mounting on the chassis member of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of an assembly of the chassis member of FIG. 1 with a shoe arranged to resemble a boat;

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a cucumber for mounting on the chassis member of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to the drawing and in particular to FIG. 1, the toy has a basic assembly consisting of a chassis frame 10 provided with bearings 12 for retaining a front axle 14 and a rear axle 16. Mounted upon these front and rear axles, are front wheels 18 and rear wheels 20, respectively. As a result of the assembly of the chassis frame 10 to these wheels, the chassis may be made to glide freely along a surface with translational motion.

The rear axle 16 may be mounted, furthermore, within a housing 22 projecting downward from beneath the chassis frame 10. A conventional windup or battery operated motor (not seen) may be located within housing 22 to provide power to rear axle 16.

The chassis frame 10 consists of two longitudinal members 10a, a rear transverse member 10b, and a front transverse member 10c. The transverse members are secured to the longitudinal members of the chassis frame, so that all members meet at right angles. Downward directed members 10d, furthermore, are secured to the front of the chassis frame 10 for the purpose of holding the axle 14. The chassis frame 10 may be made of soft material such as wood, or of harder material such as plastics or metal. The transverse members of the chassis are secured to the longitudinal members thereof so that the upper surface of the chassis forms a smooth plane.

Projecting upward from this plane of the top surface of the chassis frame 10, are spike-shaped protrusions or members 24. One of these spike-shaped protrusions or members is located at each end of the two transverse members 10b and 10c. These spike-shaped protrusions or members may be integrally constructed with the transverse members, or they may be assembled thereto.

On the lower side of the transverse members 10b and 10c, are peg-shaped protrusions or members 26 which project downward towards the surface upon which the wheels may ride.

The imaginative child may use the vehicular assembly of FIG. 1 in combination with a block 28 made of, for example, polystyrene. The latter is a material which is relatively soft and workable and may, for example, be cut with a knife for the purpose of shaping it into any desired configuration. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, for example, this block of polystyrene is shaped to produce a toy automobile or jeep. The block 28 is, itself, secured to the chassis frame 10, through means of the spike-shaped members 24 which pierce the lower surface of the block 28, and penetrates into the interior of the block. As a result of such penetration of the spike-shaped members 24 into the block or body 28, as shown in FIG. 3, the body or block 28 is securely held to the chassis frame 10.

After the block or body 28 has been mounted onto the chassis frame 10, it may be dressed or decorated with a variety of different elements which are readily attachable to the block or body 28. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, for example, these elements are attached to the block 28 so as to result in a toy jeep or automobile. The attachable elements may consist of, for example, the front and rear fenders 30 and 32, respectively, radiator 34, head lamps 36, windshield 38, steering wheel 40, and radio antenna 42. These elements may be attachable to the main body or block 28, through the application of spike-shaped members 34a, for example, which hold the radiator 34 to the block 28, as shown in FIG. 4. These spike-shaped members 34a function similarly to the spike-shaped members 24 in penetrating the block 28 and thereby securely attaching the radiator elements 34 to the front portion of the block 28.

Another method for attaching the decorative elements to the block 28 resides in the use of moldable adhesive elements 44. These may be provided upon a strip 46 for use as required. The adhesive elements 44 are moldable within the hands and are permanently tacky, so as to serve as an adhesive between any decorative elements and the body 28 to which the decorative elements are to be attached. After any constructed toy is to be disassembled, these adhesive elements 44 may be replaced upon the strip 46 for subsequent reuse in producing another assembled toy.

FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which a metal can 48 is used for mounting upon the chassis frame rather than, for example, the polystyrene block 28. The metal can 48 may, for example, be from an empty Cola can. To attach the metal can 48 to the chassis frame 10, use is made of the peg-shaped members 26 projecting from beneath the chassis frame. By means of flexible bands 50, which may be in the form of simple rubber bands, the can 48 is held to the top surface of the chassis frame. Thus, a simple endless rubber band 50 provides that the front and rear of the can and chassis frame, may be used to assemble these two members together.

In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the decorative elements are used for the purpose of dressing or decorating the can 48 so as to result in an airplane toy. Accordingly, wing portions 52, propeller blades 54, and rudder portions 56 are assembled to the can 48, through the use of the adhesive elements 44. As shown in FIG. 7, these adhesive elements 44 may be simply molded and pressed between the decorative and attachable element 52 and the can 48. Since the can 48 is made of metal, attachment of the decorative elements to the can is accomplished preferably through the use of the adhesive element 44, since the can is not readily pierced by spike-shaped members such as the members 24 and 34a, for example.

The chassis assembly of FIG. 1, therefore, is adapted to be readily used in conjunction with a soft and workable body 28, as well as a rigid metal member 48. The toy is, consequently, designed to stimulate the imagination of the child in the different methods of assembly and attachment possible through the use of the particular assembly of FIG. 1.

A further example of a body which may be mounted upon the chassis assembly of FIG. 1, is given in FIG. 8 which illustrates an empty milk container 58, for example. Thus, the milk container 58 may be assembled to the chassis frame 10 through the use of either the spike members 24 which will readily pierce the paper material of the container 58, or through the use of the pegs 26 in combination with rubber bands 50. A further embodiment through which the imagination of the child may be stimulated, is illustrated in FIG. 9 in which a discarded shoe 60, for example, is mounted upon the chassis frame 10. In this embodiment of FIG. 9, the shoe is held in place by making use of the pegs 26 and rubber bands 50. The shoe is then dressed or decorated so as to resemble a sailboat by attaching a sail 62, steering rudder 64, and flag 66 at the top of the sail post.

Aside from the empty drinking can 48 or the shoe 60 which are readily available to a child in the usual home, food items may also be used for this purpose. The cucumber 68 shown in FIG. 10, for example, may also be readily mounted upon the chassis frame through the use of, for example, the rubber bands 50 or the spike-shaped members 24 in particular instances. The cucumber 68 is consequently of soft material which may be readily pierced by spiked portions 34a for attaching decorative elements to the cucumber. A block of cheese or other vegetables and fruits are also examples of possible bodies for assembling to the chassis frame 10 and providing, thereby, a large possible variety of assembled toys.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to a certain preferred example, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principle of the invention, that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A toy comprising in combination, a generally rectangular frame member, a plurality of body means, a front and a rear axle mounted within openings through said frame member, at least one front wheel and one rear wheel rotatably mounted on each of said axles, said frame member being movable along a surface through rotation of said wheels in contact with said surface, spaced spike-shaped attaching means secured on the top face of the frame member at the front and rear thereof and adapted to pierce into and secure a selected one of said body means to said frame member.

2. A toy as defined in claim 1 and further including selectable body design elements attachable to said body means so that the resulting assembly resembles a vehicle.

3. A toy as defined in claim 2 wherein said attachable elements have spike-shaped portions for attaching said body design elements to said means through penetration of said body means by said spike-shaped portions.

4. A toy as defined in claim 2 including adhesive means for attaching said body design elements to said body means.

5. A toy as defined in claim 2 wherein said selectable body design elements are parts resembling portions of an automobile.

6. A toy as defined in claim 2 wherein said selectable body design elements are parts resembling portions of a boat.

7. A toy as defined in claim 2 wherein said selectable body design elements are parts resembling portions of an airplane.