Abstract:
The toy vehicle with a chassis, on which a vertical shaft with a seat is rotatably arranged, wherein the shaft is rigidly connected to a cantilever arm, pivotally connected to which is an end section of a digger arm, which is provided with a handle and whose other end section is connected to a pivotable bucket arm, which carries a pivotable bucket, is characterised in that tensioned between the cantilever arm and the digger arm there is a spring device, which biases the digger arm into a raised position and is increasingly tensioned when the digger arm is lowered.

Description:
PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to German Application No. 10 2015 000 666.5, filed Jan. 23, 2015. 
       Field of the Invention 
       [0002]    The invention relates to a toy vehicle in the form of a rideable digger. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    A conventional digger toy vehicle has a chassis, arranged on which is a rotatable seat, which is preferably fastened to a vertical tube, which is rotatably arranged on the chassis. Rigidly connected to the vertical tube is a cantilever arm of the digger, connected to which so as to be pivotable about a horizontal axis is one end section of a digger arm, which is provided with a handle, with which the digger arm is raiseable and lowerable by a person playing. The other end of the digger arm is connected to a bucket arm, which is pivotable about a horizontal axis and carries a bucket, which is also pivotable about a horizontal axis. The bucket arm extends beyond the hinged connection to the digger arm and its free end is pivotally connected to a movably mounted bar, the other end of which is fastened to a pivotable lever, which, for its part, is pivotally connected to the digger arm and with which the person playing can pivot the bucket arm and the bucket. 
         [0004]    A person playing handles the digger with both hands, with one hand on the, preferably bracket-shaped, handle, rigidly connected to the digger arm, in order to extend the digger arm and thus the bucket arm and the bucket forwardly or to retract them, and with the other hand on the pivotable lever in order to push the bucket arm with the bucket forwards with respect to the digger arm or to retract them relative to it. 
         [0005]    The bucket can be filled, for instance, with sand or stones, whereby a considerable torque is produced, which weighs the digger arm down towards the ground. This implies a considerable risk of injury, particularly when the person situated on the seat and further people playing lingering in the vicinity of the digger are small children. Furthermore, it can require the exertion of a considerable amount of force in order to lift the digger arm with a full bucket and to pull it back into the raised starting position in order to be able to ride with the toy vehicle, for instance to an unloading station. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    It is the object of the present invention to provide a toy vehicle in the form of a rideable digger, in which the manageability is made easier so that the play value of the digger is increased and in which high safety requirements on the toy vehicle are satisfied. 
         [0007]    This object is solved in accordance with the invention by providing a toy vehicle with a chassis, rotatably arranged on which is a vertical shaft with a seat. The shaft is rigidly connected to a cantilever arm, to which is pivotally connected one end section of a digger arm provided with a handle, and the other end section of which is connected to a pivotable bucket arm. The bucket arm carries a pivotable bucket. Tensioned between the cantilever arm and the digger arm there is a spring device, which biases the digger arm into a raised position and is increasingly tensioned as the digger arm is lowered. 
         [0008]    Further advantageous embodiments of the invention are described below. 
         [0009]    The invention provides that stressed between the cantilever arm and the digger arm of the toy vehicle there is a spring device, which biases the digger arm into a raised position and which is increasingly stressed as the digger arm is lowered. This spring device is preferably a helical spring, which has two projecting ends, wherein one end of the spring is retained in the cantilever arm and the other end is retained in the digger arm. The cantilever arm and the digger arm are preferably constituted by U profiles, wherein the two projecting ends of the helical spring are pressed under a biasing force against the central upper wall of the U profiles. 
         [0010]    The helical spring is preferably located on a bearing body which internally engages the helical spring and whose peripheral wall is elastically radially compressible by the helical spring so that the helical spring can be radially compressed or expanded on pivotal movement of the digger arm by its ends, which are also pivoted. Fastened in the centre of the bearing body is a sleeve or hub, which accommodates a horizontal shaft, with which the cantilever arm and the digger arm are pivotally connected. This shaft can be constituted by a threaded bolt and an associated nut. 
         [0011]    The helical spring is arranged on the pivotal shaft in the stressed state in that its two ends, retained in the digger arm and the cantilever arm, bias the digger arm into the raised starting position determined by an abutment. If the person playing presses the digger arm downwardly in order to extend or advance the entire linkage with the bucket, the helical spring is increasingly stressed and prevents the bucket suddenly striking the ground as a result of gravity because the forward movement is braked by the spring force. Since the downwardly directed torque increases as the linkage is extended and the spring force simultaneously increases, an equilibrium state is roughly possible so that the movement of the digger arm can be effected with the application of a small force. The spring force also facilitates lifting a loaded bucket. 
         [0012]    The operability of the digger, particularly for small children, is thus made considerably easier, whereby the safety of the toy vehicle is also significantly increased. 
         [0013]    Further contribution to the safety of the toy vehicle is made by the fact that arranged on both lateral halves of the helical spring there can be cover rings, which have a respective slot, through which the associated projecting end of the helical spring engages and permits the rotary movement of the projecting end. Furthermore, the two end faces of the helical spring can be covered by cover discs, which are rotationally fixedly connected to the cantilever arm so that a person playing cannot injure themselves on the helical spring. 
         [0014]    It is also advantageously provided that a safety hook is fastened to the digger arm, which overlaps with the cover rings of the helical spring from above and can lock the raised position of the digger arm by engagement into an opening in the cantilever arm. 
         [0015]    The bearing body, which is arranged within the helical spring, can have a peripheral wall of peripheral sections separate from one another, which are held by webs, which are fastened to the hub. The bearing body is elastically compressible in this case due to the fact that the spacing between the peripheral sections from one another is elastically reducible. 
         [0016]    In accordance with a further proposal of the invention, the cantilever arm, the digger arm, the bucket arm and the bucket are made of metal, as also is the vertical tube, which is rotatably arranged in a sleeve fastened to the chassis and is rigidly connected to the cantilever arm. The digger is thus extremely robust. Despite its high weight associated therewith, the digger may be very easily operated as a result of the special spring device between the cantilever arm and the digger arm. 
         [0017]    As to further details, it is proposed that the chassis of the toy vehicle includes two caterpillar tracks, which are arranged on both sides of the seat and are guided by freely rotating rollers and that the seat is arranged above the caterpillar tracks such that a person playing who is seated can drive the caterpillar tracks with their feet. This promotes the skill of the person playing when operating the digger. 
         [0018]    Further details of the invention will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment and with reference to the drawings, in which: 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a side view of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a plan view of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is an exploded view of the digger arm assembly of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0024]      FIG. 6  is an exploded of the chassis of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0025]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the extended extreme position of the children&#39;s digger. 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the extended position of the children&#39;s digger. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0027]    The children&#39;s digger includes a chassis  1 , whose base body  2  is provided with four pairs of freely rotating wheels  3 , over which are guided caterpillar tracks  4 , which are drivable in both directions by the feet of a person playing situated on a seat  5 . 
         [0028]    Fastened to the base body  2  is a sleeve  6 , inserted into which is a vertical metallic tube  7 , which is rotatably located in the sleeve  6 . The tube  7  is welded to a cantilever arm  8 , which also consists of metal. The seat  5 , which consists of plastic material, is fastened at the rear end section to the cantilever arm  8  by means of the tube  7  so that the seat  5  and the cantilever arm  8  are rotatable together with the tube  7  about a vertical axis. 
         [0029]    The cantilever arm  8  has a U shape in cross-section with two lateral webs  9  and a central web  10 , wherein two end sections  11  extend from the lateral webs  9  beyond the central web  10 . The end sections  11  have edges in the form of a section of a circle. 
         [0030]    Pivotally connected to the cantilever arm  8  is an angled digger arm  12 , which is also of U shape in cross-section with side walls  13  and a central web  14 , beyond which end sections  15  of the side walls  13  project. The digger arm is pivotally connected at its end to a bucket arm  16  at an intermediate position on the bucket arm  16 . The bucket arm  16  is pivotally connected at one end to an angled projection  17  on a bucket  18 . The other arm of the angled projection  17  is pivotally connected via a Z-shaped bar  20  to an intermediate position  21  on the digger arm  12  at a small spacing from the joint  22 . The Z-shaped bar  20  passes through a slot  23  in the bucket arm  16 , which limits the tilting movement of the bucket  18  caused by the Z-shaped bar  20  when the digger arm  16  pivots. The Z-shaped bar  20  is rigidly connected at  24  to the arm  19  of the angled projection  17 . 
         [0031]    Pivotally fastened (joint  26 ) to a side wall  13  of the digger arm  12  is a lever  25 , which is pivotally connected at an intermediate position to a straight bar  28 . The bar  28  is slidably retained by a sleeve  29 , which, for its part, is retained in slots  30  in a projection  31  of U-shaped cross-section so as to be movable transversely to the longitudinal axis of the bar  28  and thus transversely to its direction of movement, which projection is rigidly fastened to the central web  14  of the digger arm  12  by being welded to it. 
         [0032]    Rigidly fastened to the other side wall  13  of the digger arm  12  is a bracket  32 , with which the person playing can extend the digger arm  12  with the bucket arm  16  and the bucket  18  forwardly or can retract it. As a result of pivotal movement of the lever  25 , the bucket  18  is advanced or retracted, wherein the bucket  18  performs a tilting movement about the joint  33  as a result of the Z-shaped bar  20 . A safety plate  34  of U-shaped cross-section is pivotally connected at  35  with its side walls to the side walls  13  of the digger arm  12  and a lug  37  angled downwardly and projecting from its upper wall  36  engages as a result of transverse force into a slot  38  in the upper wall of the cantilever arm  8  when the digger arm  12  is situated in the rear, retracted end position in order to lock or to secure the digger arm  12  with the linkage mounted by it in this starting position of the toy digger. 
         [0033]    Located between the cantilever arm  8  and the digger arm  12  is a helical spring  36 , which has two straight end sections  37 , which engage under a biasing force beneath the wall  14  of the digger arm  12  and beneath the wall  10  of the cantilever arm  8  and urge the digger arm  12  into the raised, retracted starting position, which is shown in  FIG. 1 . The helical spring  36  is also stressed in the starting position. 
         [0034]    The helical spring  36  engages around a bearing body  38 , which, by way of inner webs, holds a central sleeve or hub  39 , through which is pushed the shaft  40 , which pivotally connects the cantilever arm  8  and the digger arm  12 . The shaft  40  consists of a threaded bolt with an associated nut. Located on the helical spring  36  are two halves of a cover ring  41 , which have slots  42 , through which the ends  37  of the helical spring  30  engage, and permit their movement when the helical spring  36  is additionally stressed or relaxed. 
         [0035]    The two halves  41  of the cover ring prevent the person playing being able to injure himself by contacting the spring. 
         [0036]    Also firmly attached to the inner surface of the two projecting sections  11  of the side walls  9  of the cantilever arm  8  are cover discs  43 , which also provide safety for the person playing. The shaft  40  is guided through the holes  44  in the cantilever arm  8  and the holes  45  aligned with them in the digger arm  12  and also through the central holes  46  of three holes in the cover discs  43 . Situated below the holes  44  in the cantilever arm  8  are further holes  47 , through which extends a threaded peg  48 , which also passes through the aligned holes  49  in the cover discs  43  and slots  50  in the sections  15  of the digger arm  12 . The slots  50  have the shape of a section of a circle and define the angle through which the digger arm  12  can be pivoted. 
         [0037]    The helical spring  36  engages the peripheral wall of the bearing body  38 , which consists of plastic material, and can elastically compress it if the helical spring  36  is additionally stressed by a forwardly directed pivotal movement of the digger arm  12 . The bearing bodies  38  can consist for this purpose of separate peripheral sections, which are movable toward one another. 
         [0038]    When the toy digger is moved out of the starting position illustrated in  FIG. 1  into a working position, in which the digger arm  12  is pivoted forwardly, the helical spring  36  is additionally stressed and acts as an opposing force against the torque acting in the clockwise direction in  FIG. 1  as a consequence of the weight of the linkage and the bucket. The rotary movement of the digger arm is thus slowed down and can be controlled even by a small person playing so that the bucket  18  is prevented from falling forcefully onto the floor, which could result in injury. The spring force also facilitates the lifting of the bucket which, when it is loaded, can have a considerable weight. 
         [0039]    It is stressed that the invention is not limited to the described and illustrated embodiments and instead all the disclosed features may be individually combined with one another in any meaningful manner.