Abstract:
A corrugated cardboard constructible toy has a set of recyclable shipping boxes and comprises an outer box that in its entirety forms a main part of the toy besides temporary uses for shipping the toy to and from a toy user. One or more inner boxes of corrugated fiberboard are contained in the outer box during shipping and then deployed to mate with the outer box to provide a subassembly of the toy with a predetermined rigidity. Auxiliary forms of corrugated fiberboard for mating with the outer and inner boxes to selectively support the toy subassembly as it differentiates into a model figure or building for a child to actively play on or in. A number of dowel fasteners may penetrate walls of the fiberboard to maintain the integrity of the toy.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    A. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to toys. More particularly, the present invention relates to corrugated fiberboard construction toys that also serve the purpose of shipping themselves to and from end users with zero waste. 
         [0003]    B. Description of the Prior Art 
         [0004]    There are known toy structures made out of a cardboard material in the form of mating sheets and panels as used in making packaging boxes and they are many of which one is disclosed as early as U.S. Pat. No. 1,533,011 “Toy Construction” to Knaggs. U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,130 to Walker describes a modular playhouse comprising a plurality of sections derived from two related modular units. U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,010 to Krebs offers a cardboard assembly toy provided flat with predetermined fold lines and utilizing a proprietary edge connection arrangement. 
         [0005]    However, no practical suggestions have ever been made to take advantage of the simplicity of ordinary shipping box forms of corrugated fiberboard to provide a durable frame structure to build up diverse children&#39;s toys for indoor ride and other activities in a built-in premises that the very toy construction box is self mailable to and from the end user to ensure recycling of resources at toy retirement and achieve zero packaging waste. 
         [0006]    Rather, there have been more interests in designing the packages to provide improved durability and visibility to increase the perceived value of contained products requiring lower cost of material used for the immediate commercial reasons. But the current surge of product consumption due to lowered manufacturing cost and shorter product cycles have increased the burden to recycle packaging material. As a result, more empty boxes create a national household waste problem. Because elaborate packaging containers cease to function immediately after unloading the product contents and inevitably end up in the trash or a limited number of recycling bins, this waste of material resources becomes enormous especially in holiday seasons when consumers purchase more larger box items. 
         [0007]    In view of the above, there is an immediate need to provide a zero packaging waste, 100% recyclable product for mass consumed products. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a corrugated fiberboard construction toy incorporating a set of recyclable shipping boxes that may become the base frame to develop into a ride on or structural toy model via auxiliary accessories. 
         [0008]    Another object of the present invention is to provide economical and high-durability constructible toys that also serve the purpose of shipping themselves to and from an end user to save money as well as save our fragile environment. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    The present invention provides a fundamental concept of employing 100 percent recyclable packaging containers as a major component of a user-assembled permanent structure in the form of a model or toy for play. The container of the present invention initially transports itself and then transforms itself into a material component to make the final product for repeated uses over time. 
         [0010]    In order to achieve these objectives, the corrugated fiberboard construction toy of the present invention incorporates a set of recyclable shipping boxes comprising an outer box that in its entirety forms a main part of the toy besides its temporary uses for shipping the toy to and from a toy user; one or more inner boxes of corrugated fiberboard contained in the outer box during shipping and then deployed to mate with the outer box to provide a subassembly of the toy with a predetermined rigidity; auxiliary forms of corrugated fiberboard for mating with the outer and inner boxes to selectively support the toy subassembly as it differentiates into a model figure or building for a child to actively play on or in; a number of dowel fasteners for penetrating walls of the fiberboard to maintain the integrity of the toy; and accessories for adding selective toy features to the outer and inner boxes to further simulate the building or vehicle the toy models after. 
         [0011]    Both of the inner and outer boxes for the fiberboard construction toy may take the form of a regular slotted container. The toy may be offered in a model kit of transportation means including land, air and sea vehicles. Or, it may be an animal model on wheels. The toy may be a model house of a corrugated fiberboard and decorated wall accessories. 
         [0012]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, a corrugated fiberboard construction toy ride incorporating a set of recyclable shipping boxes comprises an outer box that in its entirety forms a main frame of the toy ride besides its temporary uses in shipping the toy ride to and from a toy user; one or more inner boxes of corrugated fiberboard fully contained in the outer box during shipping and then deployed to mate with the outer box to provide a subassembly of the toy ride with an enough rigidity to support a child&#39;s weight, the inner boxes being a set of regular slotted containers oriented to have a group of flaps open sideways at one end of the toy ride and another group of closed flaps at the opposite end of the toy ride; a steering means mounted on the open group of flaps via a supporting column of corrugated fiberboard with a number of dowel fasteners threaded through walls of the fiberboard and two opposite floor wheels on an axle mounted across the main frame near the opposite end of the toy ride and; accessories for adding convenience and decoration to the toy ride to model after a man-made vehicle or animal figure to ride. 
         [0013]    The corrugated fiberboard construction toy ride may be a three wheeled wagon with the steering means including a single wheel centrally positioned on the supporting column and an elongated handle to provide a control grip of the wagon. Alternatively, it may be developed into a four-wheeled animal figure with the steering means including two side wheels on a transverse axle through the supporting column and an elongated handle to provide a control grip of the animal figure. 
         [0014]    The corrugated fiberboard construction toy wagon may be easily modified into an aircraft figure on landing gear of three wheels with the steering means including a single wheel centrally positioned on the supporting column and an elongated handle to provide a control grip of the aircraft figure. Auxiliary accessories to make the aircraft transformation include a tail plane on a fin mounted on the main frame near the single wheel, a cowl with a propeller at the opposite end of the main frame, and two side wings made of corrugated fiberboard boxes and having die-cut locks for attachment to the main frame. 
         [0015]    In another important embodiment of the present invention, a corrugated fiberboard construction toy building incorporating a set of recyclable shipping boxes comprises an outer box that in its entirety forms an exploded first roof section of the toy building besides its temporary uses in shipping the toy building to and from a toy user; an inner box contained in the outer box during shipping and then exploded to join the first roof section to make an elongated roof component; at least four telescope boxes contained in the inner box for making peripheral supporting columns with a number of threading dowels penetrating through walls of the fiberboard boxes; flexible cover panels for forming walls attached by dowels to the roof components and supporting columns to complete a residential space inside the toy building. 
         [0016]    The cover panels of the fiberboard toy building may be made of plastic and adapted to cover four peripheral sides between the columns under the roof components leaving reclosable doors and windows. Alternatively, the cover panels may be made of fabric. 
         [0017]    Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a cardboard box wagon according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0019]      FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the box wagon of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of the box wagon of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 4  is a cross sectional view along line  4 - 4  of the box wagon of  FIG. 3 . 
           [0022]      FIG. 5  is a partially exploded perspective view of a toy character ride in the form of a bear on wheels according to an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0023]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of an airplane ride according to another alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a toy house according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0025]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of component boxes of the toy house of  FIG. 7  in shipment partially exploded to show the toy disassembled for shipment to a customer or recycling site according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
       [0026]    Similar reference numbers denote corresponding features throughout the attached drawings. 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
             
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
               
               
                 CALL OUT LIST OF ELEMENTS 
               
               
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 10: Box Wagon 
                 12: Wheel 
                 14: Real Axle 
               
               
                 16: Front Wheel 
                 18: Front Axle 
                 20: Handle 
               
               
                 22: Outer Frame Box 
                 23: Cushion 
                 24: Side Panel 
               
               
                 26: Flat Top 
                 28: Full Flap 
                 30: Regular Flap 
               
               
                 32: Opening 
                 34: Rear Support 
                 36: Front Panel 
               
               
                 37, 38: Flap 
                 40, 44: Axle Bore 
                 42: Corner 
               
               
                 46: Sleeve 
                 48: Shaft 
                 50: Connecting Rod 
               
               
                 52: Full Flap 
                 54: Supporting Column 
                 56: Regular Flap 
               
               
                 58: Support 
                 60: Front Opening 
                 62: Compartment 
               
               
                 64: Blind Wall 
                 68: Lateral Flap 
                 70: Horizontal Flap 
               
               
                 72: Dowel Hole 
                 74: Side Bore 
                 76: Pinning Tube 
               
               
                 78: Back Plate 
                 80: Arm 
                 82: Connection Section 
               
               
                 84: Forearm Section 
                 86: Distal Thru Hole 
                 88: Cross Rod 
               
               
                 90: Rolling Sleeve 
                 92: Side Bore 
                 94: Lateral Thru Hole 
               
               
                 96: Lower Fork 
                 98: Double Barrel Joint 
                 100: Axle Ring 
               
               
                 102: Upper Handle Portion 
                 200: Bear Ride 
                 212: Rear Wheel 
               
               
                 214: Rear Axle 
                 216: Front Wheel 
                 220: Handle 
               
               
                 221 Sleeve 
                 222: Outer Frame Box 
                 223: Grip Bar 
               
               
                 224: Front Axle 
                 225: Animal Head 
                 224: Side Panel 
               
               
                 226: Top 
                 227: Cover Mat 
                 229: Frictional Surface 
               
               
                 231: Top Side Opening 
                 240: Lower Tube Section 
                 242: Joint 
               
               
                 245: Upper Tube Section 
                 246: Sleeve 
                 247: Foot Rest 
               
               
                 248: Tubular Shaft 
                 252: Full Flap 
                 254: Supporting Column 
               
               
                 256: Regular Flap 
                 260: Front Opening 
                 262: Compartment 
               
               
                 276: Pinning Tube 
                 280: Flexing Arms 
                 300: Airplane 
               
               
                 312: Front Landing Gear 
                 314: Axle 
                 316: Rear Landing Gear 
               
               
                 318: Axle 
                 320: Handle 
                 322: Outer Frame Box 
               
               
                 323: Cushion 
                 332: First Opening 
                 334: First Box Support 
               
               
                 352: Full Flap 
                 354: Column 
                 358: Second Box Support 
               
               
                 361: Slot 
                 363: Cowl 
                 365: Die-cut Lock 
               
               
                 366: Bottom Lock 
                 369: Shaft 
                 371: Propeller 
               
               
                 373: Bolt 
                 375, 387: Top Slot 
                 376: Tube 
               
               
                 377: Sidewall Slot 
                 379: Left Wing 
                 380: Arm 
               
               
                 381: Major Lock 
                 383: Lock 
                 385: Right Wing 
               
               
                 500: Playhouse 
                 510, 512: Roof Section 
                 513: Roof Component 
               
               
                 514, 516: End Flap 
                 518. 520: End Flap 
                 522: Dowel Hole 
               
               
                 524: Telescope Box Column 
                 526: Inner Tube 
                 528: Outer Tube 
               
               
                 530: Larger Sheet 
                 532: Door 
                 534: Handle 
               
               
                 536, 544: Fastener 
                 538: Reinforcement 
                 540: Smaller Sheet 
               
               
                 542: Window 
                 546: Wall Fastener 
                 548: Triangular Sheet 
               
               
                 550: Opening 
                 552: Dowel 
                 554: Spine 
               
               
                 556: Flap Overlap 
                 557: Tube Junction 
                 558: Lower Corner 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0027]    With reference to  FIG. 1 , a cardboard box construction toy wagon  10  according to one embodiment of the present invention has three package boxes in the most common style of regular slotted container that can be assembled in a child&#39;s room to provide a durable indoor toy. Wagon  10  is provided with two rear wheels  12  on a rear transverse axle  14  and a front wheel  16  on a front axle  18  to which an elongated handle  20  is connected for pushing or pulling the wagon  10 . Wagon  10  comprises the largest single part that is an outer frame box  22 . Box  22  may have sleek exterior surfaces with decorative graphic printed to simulate certain types of vehicle. Additionally, decals may be provided to add reality to the assembly kit of wagon  10 . In order to give a convenient seating, cushion  23  may be optionally attached to wagon  10  about its top center. Also referring to  FIG. 2 , before the wagon  10  is completed by a recipient it contains its own components in two smaller boxes contained in the outer box  22  used as an original shipping container to deliver via a convenient shipping service of choice by a toy supplier. The shipping outer box  22  as used turns into a frame box, which becomes the principal part of wagon  10 . 
         [0028]    The wagon  10  mainly comprises the most widely used cardboard material, which is technically corrugated fiberboard consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet normally glued to and positioned between two flat linerboards for use as conventional shipping containers or storage boxes of various household items and commodities. This forms a single wall corrugated board for the box. To enhance the strength of frame box  22 , it is possible to incorporate a double wall fiberboard having three flat facings and two intermediate fluted corrugated sheets. Also available is a triple wall corrugated board formed by four flat facings and three intermediate corrugated sheets. 
         [0029]    Manufactured box structures of the fiberboard are known to have many different designs including the popular regular slotted containers with top and bottom areas made closable by four flaps respectively having the same length, overlap slotted containers with a set of two opposing flaps made longer to overlap partially or fully, telescope boxes consisting of two or three box sections telescoping in various degrees at different separation lines and combination of the above. 
         [0030]    The boxes of this embodiment of wagon  10  may employ the combinations of the above types of boxes with careful positioning of their flaps to enhance the structural rigidity of the toy ride. The outer box  22  may be a modified full-overlap slotted container of a relatively thin profile having two identical elongated side panels  24  connected in a shorter parallel distance defined by another pair of flat top  26  and similar bottom panels so that top panel  26  provides convenient striding surfaces for a rider of wagon  10 . Preferably, a longitudinal span  25  of box  22  is twice a latitudinal span  27  thereof so that regular squares may fit inside box  22  side by side. Side panels  24  have full overlap flaps  28  at one end that may be folded flat onto the inner surfaces of the respective side panels  24  to reinforce frame box  22  vertically against the rider&#39;s weight. In addition, top panel  26  and the bottom counterpart have regular flaps  30  folded into frame box  22  to double the thickness of frame box  22  locally. Thus, a rectangular opening  32  is formed by the four smooth folding lines of flaps  28 ,  30  leaving no sharp edges where young users may touch frequently. 
         [0031]    In order to provide wagon  10  with a riding stability over longer product lifetime while keeping its lightweight, an upright support box  34  may be press fitted into the rear opening  32  of frame box  22  so that a vertical front panel  36  of rear support  34  extends midway along the entire length of frame box  22  on which most body weight of the rider will fall. Rear support  34  may be a regular slotted container with its entire top  37  and bottom  38  flaps kept closed after it is emptied of its load of the wagon components shipped therewith. In addition, rear support  34  has two axle bores  40  formed in line transversely close to opposite lower rear corners  42  corresponding to similar axle bores  44  that are preformed through frame box  22  and its proximal full flaps  28  at an appropriate distance from the floor to provide a safe ground clearance of wagon  10  for small toy riders. When rear support  34  is positioned in frame box  22  with bores  40 ,  44  aligned, axle  14  may be installed. Axle  14  may comprise a stationary sleeve  46 , which is a cut length of a strong cardboard pipe tightly threaded through bores  40 ,  44  and may remain therein under friction between the paper materials. With sleeve  46  driven in, rear support  34  becomes fixed in box  22 . Then, two wheels  12  each having a short section of tubular shaft  48  attached may be slidably mounted into the sleeve  46 . Wheels  12  and shafts  48  may be ordinary plastic and/or wood structures and rubber tires or belts may be provided to surround the wheels  12  for an extra traction. In order to keep components in good size for the confined space such as the internal volume of box  34 , two shortened shaft  48  may be fastened to each other via a section of connecting rod  50  inside sleeve  46 . The remaining half of the interior space of frame box  22  may be reinforced using another common box structure but with an extra functionality in mind. 
         [0032]    The opposite ends of side panels  24  of box  22  are provided with two lateral full flaps  52  generally extending in parallel for flexibly holding front wheel  16  supported on a supporting column  54 . Between the two full flaps  52  are two regular flaps  56  folded inside box  22  to provide smooth edges and thicken the corresponding areas of frame box  22 . The remaining box is a front support  58  pushed into box  22  from a front opening  60 . Support  58  may be a regular slotted container that is oriented to lie sideways in a size to fill another half of the interior of box  22  next to rear support  34  to provide a front rectangular compartment  62  for supporting column  54 . Support  58  is pushed tightly to line the box  22  so that a vertical blind wall  64  formed of closed inner four flaps engages front panel  36  of rear support  34  to double the vertical strength of box wagon  10 . At the same time, front support  58  is completely opened forwardly where two lateral flaps  68  are folded out and back to face full flaps  28  of frame box  22  while two horizontal flaps  70  are folded in reverse to clear the space for regular flaps  56 , which are already put inside box  22 . There may be two sets of dowel holes  72  formed throughout both folded lateral flaps  44  close to the open compartment  62  of front support  58 . Dowel holes  72  of each set extend in line transversely corresponding to similar side bore  74  that are preformed through frame box  22  near front opening  60 . Equal length of cardboard tubes  76  may be used as dowel pins for latching box  22  and front support  58  together. Also threaded by pinning tubes  76  is supporting column  54  inside front support  58 . 
         [0033]    Supporting column  54  may be made of two or three stacked sheets of bent fiberboard comprising a vertical back plate  78  sized to fit in compartment  62  tightly and two flexing arms  80  extending from back plate  78  for supporting front wheel  16 . Each arm  80  has a lateral connection section  82  that rests on the inner surface of front support  58  and a forearm section  84  provided with a distal thru hole  86  so that a cross rod  88  may be held by penetrating a series of holes  86  at opposite sides with a rolling sleeve  90  slidably mounted thereon. Sleeve  90  is in turn fixed to wheel  16  concentrically to allow wheel  16  rotate freely with respect to supporting column  54 . Connection sections  82  each has two side bores  92  that will be aligned with dowel holes  72  of front support and side bores  74  of box  22  after assembly. When assembled, the outer surface of forearm section  84  faces the inner surface of full flaps  52  of box  22 . Flaps  52  also have lateral thru holes  94  similar to and aligned with holes  86  to receive cross rod  88  protruding outwardly of thru holes  86 . The longitudinal extension of forearm section  84  is determined relative to the length of full flap  52  of box  22  so that once tubes  76  secure box  22 , front support  58  and supporting column  54  together flap  52  is flexed to retreat thru holes  86  for threading with cross rod  88  as illustrated in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . This provides an extra flexibility of flaps  52  sideways to increase its range of motion in concert with left or right deflections of front wheel  16  and forearm sections  84  by an operator through handle  20 . Because of the inherent flexibility of the paper material, simply turning wheel  16  through handle  20  will result in a gentle directional change of the wagon  10  without a dedicated steering mechanism. 
         [0034]    If it is desired to provide wheel  16  with an option of tight turns, support column  54  may be modified to adopt known steering methods. For example, forearm sections  84  with thru holes  86  may extend alternatively from top and bottom of back plate  78  generally horizontally in order to have the holes  86  open vertically in the center of wagon  10  for rotationally holding a single handle bar to which front wheel  16  and handles are connected at opposite ends thereof. 
         [0035]    Handle  20  may be made of metal in the form of tube sections and comprise a lower fork  96  with two bent tubes welded by a double barrel joint  98 . Axle rings  100  terminate two bifurcated ends of lower fork  96  for receiving the axle  18  threaded into cross rod  88  mounted on front wheel  16 . At the time of assembly, fork  96  may be forcibly expanded and then released to engage axle  18  protruding from opposite thru holes  86  to secure wheel  16  in locked position between two forearm sections  84 . Then, a shaped and padded upper handle portion  102  may be pushed into joint  98  to complete the handle  20 . As with conventional push ride-ons, the handle  20  may be maneuvered by the rider or an assisting operator to propel wagon  10  of the present invention. 
         [0036]    Alternatively, double or more multiple-wall fiberboard may replace the single wall as described above. In such case, two inner supports  34  and  58  may also be replaced by a single box structure that lines the outer box  22 . Dowels are preferably hollow rather than solid so that they form tubes and are similar to shipping tubes having an uncorrugated cardboard wall portion. Dowel strength and stiffness are sized according to fit the design. 
         [0037]      FIG. 5  shows a second one of diverse applications of the same shipping box toy concept to a slight different ride in the form of an interesting animal to ride that is a polar bear, which has us concern about our limited natural resources and global warming, too. A bear ride  200  is based on the same frame of wagon  10  in that it comprises two rear wheels  212  on a rear transverse axle  214 , an outer frame box  222  that is the original shipping container, two smaller boxes press fitted inside outer box  222  contained in the outer box  222 . 
         [0038]    The outer box  222  may be a modified full-overlap slotted container of a relatively thin profile having two identical elongated side panels  224  connected in a shorter parallel distance defined by another pair of flat top  226  and similar bottom panels so that top panel  226  provides a convenient striding surface for a rider of toy bear  200 . Side panels  224  have full overlap flaps at one end that may be folded flat onto the inner surfaces of the respective side panels  224  to reinforce frame box  222  vertically against the rider&#39;s weight. 
         [0039]    Also, an upright box liner for reinforcement is press fitted into the rear of frame box  222  so that a vertical front panel of the rear box liner extends midway along the entire length of frame box  222  on which most body weight of the rider will fall. The rear box liner may be a regular slotted container with its entire top and bottom flaps kept closed after it is emptied of its load of the toy components shipped therewith. In addition, the rear box liner has two axle bores formed in line transversely close to opposite lower rear corners corresponding to similar axle bores that are preformed through frame box  222  and its proximal full flaps at an appropriate distance from the floor to provide a safe ground clearance of toy bear  200  for small riders. When the rear box liner is positioned in frame box  222  with bores aligned, axle  214  may be installed. Axle  214  may comprise a stationary sleeve  246 , which is a cut length of a strong cardboard pipe tightly threaded through bores of box  222  and the box liner. With sleeve  246  driven in, the rear box liner becomes fixed in box  222 . Then, two wheels  212  each having a short section of tubular shaft  248  attached may be slidably mounted into the sleeve  246 . 
         [0040]    However, instead of single front wheel  16 , the second embodiment employs two wheels  216 , which are identical to the rear wheel assembly  212  so that toy bear  200  provides more stable rides. 
         [0041]    The opposite ends of side panels  224  of box  222  are provided with two lateral full flaps  252  generally extending in parallel for flexibly holding front wheels  216  supported on a supporting column  254 . Between the two full flaps  252  are two regular flaps  256  folded inside box  222  to provide smooth edges and thicken the corresponding areas of frame box  222 . The remaining box is a front box liner pushed into box  222  from a front opening  260 . The front box liner (Support  58 ) may be a regular slotted container that is oriented to lie sideways in a size to fill another half of the interior of box  222  next to the rear box liner to provide a front rectangular compartment  262  for supporting column  254 . The front box liner is pushed tightly to line the box  222  to double the vertical strength of toy bear  200 . Equal length of cardboard tubes  276  may be used as dowel pins for latching box  222  and the front box liner together through appropriately formed bores in advance. Also threaded by pinning tubes  276  is supporting column  254  inside the front box liner. 
         [0042]    Supporting column  254  may be made of two or three stacked sheets of bent fiberboard and has two parallel flexing arms  280 . An axle  224  for front wheels  216  is fixedly mounted on full flaps  252  and supporting column  254 . Extending from axle  224  is an upright handle  220  that may be connected on the axle  224  by a sleeve  221  and terminated at its top end with a horizontal grip bar  223 . Two joined small boxes form an animal head  225  for mounting over grip bar  223  to support a cover  227 , which may be made of a plush toy section combined with a seating mat to provide a soft riding surfaces with a warm feeling. The plush cover  227  may be comfortably padded and have a frictional rear surface  229  that contacts box  222  at its top  226  and sides  224  to provide a safer ride. Top side openings  231  are formed to let grip bar  223  protrude laterally. 
         [0043]    Because of the inherent flexibility of the paper material, simply turning wheels  216  through handle  220  will result in a gentle directional change of the toy bear  200  without a dedicated steering mechanism. 
         [0044]    If it is desired to provide wheels  216  with an option of tight turns, support column  254  may be modified to adopt known steering methods. For example, arms  280  may extend alternatively from top and bottom of support column  254  generally horizontally in order to have vertical holes formed through arms  280  in the center of toy bear  200  for rotationally threading a single handle bar to which front wheels  216  and grip bar  223  are connected at opposite ends thereof. 
         [0045]    Handle  220  may be made of metal and include a pair of lower tube sections  240  welded by a double barrel joint  242  to provide a high torsional strength. Then, a pair of upper tube sections  245  with grip bar  223  may be pushed into joint  242  to complete the handle  220 . With conventional toy ride-ons, the rider may grip the handle  220  to maneuver toy bear  200  and drive it by pushing the floor by legs. Optional footrests  247  may be plugged in lower pinning tube  276 . 
         [0046]      FIG. 6  is a third embodiment where the wagon foundation of  FIG. 2  embodiment may be easily modified into other transportation toys such as an airplane  300  with optional add-ons. 
         [0047]    Airplane  300  may use the same type of three regular slotted containers as in the wagon  10  of the first embodiment. Airplane  300  is provided with a front landing gear  312  made of two wheels on an axle  314  and a rear landing gear  316  on an axle  318  to which an elongated handle  320  is optionally connected for an assistant to push or pull the airplane  300 . Airplane  300  comprises the largest single part that is an outer fuselage frame box  322 . Box  322  may have sleek exterior surfaces with decorative graphic printed to simulate certain model of airplane. In order to give convenient seating, a cushion  323  may be optionally attached to airplane  300  about its top center. 
         [0048]    Airplane  300  is shipped in kit form to a recipient&#39;s place to assemble. The outer box  322  as used in shipping turns into a working fuselage, which becomes the principal part of airplane  300 . The boxes of this embodiment of airplane  300  may employ the combinations of different type containers including the regular slotted containers, overlap slotted containers and telescope boxes with careful positioning of their flaps to enhance the structural rigidity of the toy ride. The outer box  322  may be a modified full-overlap slotted container of a relatively thin profile. 
         [0049]    Preferably, airplane  300  has a latitudinal span twice longer than its width so that two box liners with regular square sides may fit inside box  322  side by side. In preparation for assembly, box  322  may have its four flaps at one end folded flat onto the inner surfaces thereof to reinforce box  322  against the rider&#39;s weight. Thus, four smooth folding lines of the flaps define a first rectangular opening  332 . 
         [0050]    In order to provide airplane  300  with a riding stability over longer product lifetime while keeping its lightweight, an upright first box support  334  may be press fitted into first opening  332  so that the support  334  reaches midway along the entire length of box  322  on which most body weight of the rider will fall. Box support  334  may be a regular slotted container with its entire top and bottom flaps kept closed after it is emptied of its load of the airplane components shipped therewith. Axle  314  may comprise a fixed sleeve (not shown) threaded through transverse bores at lower corners of outer box  322  and box support  334 . Such sleeve also functions to secure both boxes  322 ,  334  together. Then, two wheels  312  each having a short section of tubular shaft attached may be rotatably mounted into the sleeve. 
         [0051]    The remaining half of the interior space of fuselage box  322  may be reinforced using a second box support  358  pushed into box  322  in the opposite direction from the first support  334 . The opposite end of box  322  is provided with two lateral full flaps  352  generally extending in parallel for flexibly holding rear landing gear  316  supported on a supporting column  354 . 
         [0052]    Two cardboard tubes  376  may penetrate throughout sidewalls of both boxes  322 ,  358  and supporting column  354  to join them together. Supporting column  354  has two flexing arms  380  distally located for supporting landing gear  316 . Column  354  is partially inserted in second support  358  and locked therein by two pinning tubes  376 . Axle  318  for landing gear  316  penetrates opposite stacks of arm  380  and full flap  352  and then clipped by handle  320  at its bifurcated lower ends. Because of the inherent flexibility of the paper material, simply turning landing gear  36  through handle  320  will result in a gentle directional change of the plane  300 . 
         [0053]    On the front side of outer box  322  there may be punched slots for fastening airplane add-ons, i.e. three lateral slots  361  near first opening  332  may extend through first support  334  inside for latching a crafted paper cowl  363  with three of four circumferentially located die-cut locks  365 . The remaining bottom lock  366  may be inserted into a similar slot formed on the exposed wall area of first support  334 . A front-end wall  367  of cowl  363  may have a bore (not shown) for mounting a paper tube shaft  369  of a propeller  371 , which may be formed of wood or Styrofoam. A bolt  373  from the interior of cowl  363  can keep the shaft  369  in cowl  363 . 
         [0054]    A longitudinal top slot  375  combined with a couple of vertical sidewall slots  377  may be similarly formed through outer box  322  and first box support  334  for mating with a left wing  379 , which is a thin elongated box, preferably shaped into a wedge. At the proximal end of wing  379 , a major die-cut lock  381  may be shaped on a horizontal top flap to latch in top slot  375  of box  322  while two die-cut locks  383  made be formed out of the opposing bottom flap to extend vertically side by side and inserted in sidewall slots  377  of box  322 . Opposite right wing  385  is correspondingly structured to mate with a right top slot  387  of box  322  and sidewall slots similar to slots  377 . 
         [0055]    At the end, a cut out paper fin  389  clips onto an open edge  360  of box  322  as a tail plane  391  is inserted through a side slit of fin  389 . 
         [0056]    Instead of the aircraft accessories of cowl  363 , propeller  371 , fin  389  and tail plane  391 , adding a bow and stern part may be added to both ends of the vehicle to form a ship model. 
         [0057]    The present invention not only applies to rideable toy products but also to residential toy buildings such as an in-house playhouse  500  shown in  FIG. 7 . Referring also to  FIG. 8  wherein supporting paper components are selected for display, the invention is more clearly demonstrated to show how a simple set of shipping boxes can be expanded to structural foundation of the scale toys with which children can actively engage and play more. An outer shipping box  510  and a closely dimensioned inner box  512  may be regular slotted containers with identical end flaps  514 ,  516  that close with the temporary assistance of staples, die-cut locks and/or adhesive to make the respective boxes stacked one over the other. For the purpose of the present invention, eight closure flaps  518  and  520  in the respective sets for boxes  510 ,  512  all have cut corners in preparation for providing the necessary angled joints in building a slanted roof component  513  of house  500 . Also formed are dowel holes  522  through appropriate points of the entire box walls to make instant joints between house components. Main support of playhouse  500  is provided by four telescope boxes  524 , one of which is pulled up for clarity. Each box  524  comprises an inner tube  526  tightly inserted in an outer tube  528 . Tubes  526 ,  528  are shown to have a rectangular shape in cross section but triangles, circles or other shapes may be incorporated. 
         [0058]    Although not shown in  FIG. 8  in the form of loose components, finished playhouse  500  of  FIG. 7  includes add-ons to decorate the building frame principally of two joined roof sections  510 ,  512  and four erected corner columns  524 . Added to the frame are four separate sidewalls made of fabric or plastic material. A largest sheet  530  finishes a front wall of house  500  with a cut out door  532  at one side. Door  532  may be fitted with a handle  534  with a closure having two attracting magnets or a hook and loop fastener  536 . Reinforcements  538  may be attached to edges of door  532  and the surrounding areas to provide a visually prominent entrance to the house  500 . The same form of sheet may be applied to set up the opposite rear wall. Both sidewalls may be set up by smaller sheets  540  with cut out windows  542  that simulate casement windows. A set of mating fasteners  544  may be attached to have the window  542  closed temporarily and then a matching set of wall fasteners  546  may be attached to sidewall  540  at a distance from window  542  so that opposite fasteners  544  of window  542  can swing out to mate with the counterpart fasteners  546  to keep window  542  open. A couple of triangular sheets  548  cover the opposite openings made by roof sections  510 ,  512  leaving shaped openings  550  for air circulation and observation. 
         [0059]    This whole house  500  may stand firmly only by using a type of dowel pins  552  at appropriate locations throughout. First, two roof sections  510 ,  512  are joined at each set of overlapped flaps  518 ,  520 . Triangular sheets  548  are attached to joined roof sections  510 ,  512  at the free end flaps  518  and  520  with a middle spine area  554  deflected into a matching angle to sheet  548 . Overlapped flaps at  556  are nailed by dowel  552  threading sheet  548  also. At least one dowel is used to tack every flap  518 ,  520  to sheets  548 . 
         [0060]    Each of the four columns  524  is kept erected by at least four side dowels  552  threaded through overlapped junctions  557  between inner and outer tubes  526 ,  528 . The roof assembly  510 ,  512 ,  548  that is light enough for handling by small children may be mounted on top of four columns  524 . Next, end flaps  514  and  516  provide a top frame for attaching the largest front and rear sheets  530 . At each corner of house  500 , column  524  is also penetrated by the same dowel passing sheet  530  and end flap  514  or  516  to enhance the integrity of walls. Dowels  552  at the junction  557  of two tubes  526  and  528  may also hold proximate holes of sheet  530  as it is further attached at lower corners  558  to columns  524 . Likewise, both side sheets  540  may be attached to the remaining sides of columns  524  to complete the house  500 . 
         [0061]    Besides the initial advantage of offering a useful economic toy line in accordance with the present invention, replacements or disposal of these toys will be beneficial to environment because the volume components of the box toys will be an excellent fiber material for recycling. Even the actual process of recycling the novel toys of the present invention is preinstalled on the outer toy bodies, which were the very shipping boxes in the first place. They can trace back to the recycling address as originally agreed upon unless an immediate collection is available in the neighborhood. The practical solutions of the present invention will nurture the children now and later by helping conserve natural resources and energy for their future. 
         [0062]    Therefore, while the presently preferred forms of the shipping box transformed toys have been shown and described, and several modifications thereof discussed, persons skilled in this art will readily appreciate that various additional changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, as defined and differentiated by the following claims.