Bead drawing kit

A bead drawing kit includes a plurality of beads and a drawing board. A bead setting tool having a container for holding a supply of beads and having a push rod for ejecting the beads may be used to set beads on the drawing board. The drawing board includes a base member, a holding plate, a positioning plate and a base cover. The base member has a looped upright surrounding wall and a horizontal base plate disposed in the surrounding wall. The base plate has a periphery connected to the surrounding wall and is formed with a plurality of lower holes that are arranged in rows and columns for passage of the beads therethrough. The holding plate is made of a resilient material and is provided on the base plate. The holding plate is formed with a plurality of slits, each of which is aligned with a respective one of the lower holes in the base plate and forms at least two resilient fins on the holding plate for holding releasably one of the beads. The positioning plate is secured to the base plate such that the holding plate is clamped between the base plate and the positioning plate. The positioning plate is formed with a plurality of upper holes that are aligned with the slits in the holding plate to permit entry of the beads into the slits. The base cover has a bottom plate and a looped peripheral wall which extends from the bottom plate and which engages removably the surrounding wall of the base member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The invention relates to a drawing kit, more particularly to a drawing kit 
in which beads are retained on a drawing board to form an image. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
It is known that some toys, such as puzzles and drawing kits, can enhance 
the imagination of children and enable them to develop an interest in the 
arts. Therefore, there is always a need to develop toys which can aid in 
the constructive growth of children. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The object of the present invention is to provide a bead drawing kit in 
which beads are retained on a drawing board so as to form a desired image. 
Accordingly, the bead drawing kit of the present invention comprises a 
plurality of beads and a drawing board which includes: 
a base member having a looped upright surrounding wall and a horizontal 
base plate disposed in the surrounding wall, the base plate having a 
periphery connected to the surrounding wall and being formed with a 
plurality of lower holes that are arranged in rows and columns for passage 
of the beads therethrough; 
a holding plate made of a resilient material and provided on the base 
plate, the holding plate being formed with a plurality of slits, each of 
which is aligned with a respective one of the lower holes in the base 
plate and forms at least two resilient fins on the holding plate for 
holding releasably one of the beads; 
a positioning plate secured to the base plate such that the holding plate 
is clamped between the base plate and the positioning plate, the 
positioning plate being formed with a plurality of upper holes that are 
aligned with the slits in the holding plate to permit entry of the beads 
into the slits; and 
a base cover having a bottom plate and a looped peripheral wall which 
extends from the bottom plate and which engages removably the surrounding 
wall of the base member. 
The beads can be set on the drawing board in selected ones of the slits in 
the holding plate to form a desired image on the drawing board. The beads 
can be depressed to release the same from the holding plate. The beads 
which are released from the holding plate pass through aligned ones of the 
lower holes in the base plate for collection in the base cover. 
The bead drawing kit further comprises a bead setting tool for setting the 
beads on the drawing board. The bead setting tool includes: a bead guiding 
case having a first tubular portion with an open bottom section, and a 
second tubular portion which is parallel to and which is disposed on one 
side of the first tubular portion, the second tubular portion having an 
open top section for passage of the beads thereinto and a curved bottom 
section which merges with the bottom section of the first tubular portion, 
the bottom section of the first tubular portion being formed with a seat 
projection immediately below the curved bottom section of the second 
tubular portion to permit entry of the beads in the second tubular portion 
into the first tubular portion one at a time, the seat projection 
confining a passage which is slightly smaller than the beads so that a 
first one of the beads from the second tubular portion can rest on the 
seat projection; an elongated housing sleeved on the bead guiding case; a 
push rod disposed in the housing and having a top portion which is secured 
to the housing and a shank portion which extends downwardly from the top 
portion and which extends slidably into the first tubular portion of the 
bead guiding case, the push rod being movable with the housing relative to 
the bead guiding case between a first position, wherein the shank portion 
of the push rod has a tip which is spaced from the first one of the beads 
on the seat projection, and a second position, wherein the shank portion 
of the push rod forces the first one of the beads out of the seat 
projection for setting the first one of the beads on the drawing board; 
and a biasing unit provided in the housing for biasing the push rod to the 
first position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. 1 through 4, the preferred embodiment of a bead drawing 
kit according to the present invention is shown to comprise a drawing 
board (A) and a bead setting tool 6. The drawing board (A) includes a base 
member 1, a holding plate 2, a positioning plate 3, a stand unit 4 and a 
base cover 5. 
The base member 1 has a looped upright surrounding wall 11, a radial inward 
flange 12 which extends from a top end of the surrounding wall 11 and 
which confines a recess 13, and a horizontal base plate 14 which is 
disposed in the surrounding wall 11 and which has a periphery connected to 
the surrounding wall 11 via the radial inward flange 12. The base plate 14 
is formed with a plurality of lower holes 141 that are arranged in rows 
and columns. The base plate 14 has four corners provided respectively with 
a screw hole 142 and is further formed with four rows of pin holes 143. 
The base member 1 is formed with a downwardly opening looped receiving 
groove 15 between the surrounding wall 11 and the base plate 14. Screw 
sockets 16 are provided in left and right sides of the receiving groove 
15. The surrounding wall 11 has an outer surface formed with opposite 
pairs of retaining grooves 111 (only one pair is shown). 
The holding plate 2 is a resilient rubber member and is disposed in the 
recess 13 on top of the base plate 14. The holding plate 2 is formed with 
a plurality of cross-shaped slits 21, each of which is aligned with a 
respective one of the lower holes 141 in the base plate 14 and forms four 
resilient fins 22 on the holding plate 2. The holding plate 2 is further 
formed with pin holes 23 which are aligned with the pin holes 143 in the 
base plate 14, and through holes 24 which are aligned with the screw holes 
142 in the base plate 14. 
The positioning plate 3 is disposed in the recess 13 on top of the holding 
plate 2. Screws 30 extend through the screw holes 142 in the base plate 14 
and the through holes 24 in the holding plate 2 so as to engage threadedly 
the positioning plate 3, thereby securing the positioning plate 3 to the 
base member 1 such that the holding plate 2 is clamped between the 
positioning plate 3 and the base plate 14. The positioning plate 3 is 
formed with a plurality of upper holes 31 that are aligned with the slits 
21 in the holding plate 2, and a plurality of positioning pins 34 that 
extend through the pin holes 23 in the holding plate 2 and the pin holes 
143 in the base plate 14. 
The stand unit 4 includes a pair of mounting pieces 41 and a stand body 42. 
Screws 43 are provided to secure the mounting pieces 41 to the screw 
sockets 16 in the receiving groove 15 of the base member 1. Each mounting 
piece 41 is formed with a pair of pivot portions 411. The pivot portions 
411 are formed with aligned retaining holes 412 and aligned positioning 
holes 413. The stand body 42 is a generally U-shaped member with a surface 
contacting portion 421 and a parallel pair of transverse arm portions 422 
which extend respectively from two ends of the surface contacting portion 
421. Each of the arm portions 422 has a distal end formed with a pair of 
pivot projections 423 for engaging pivotally the retaining holes 412 in 
the pivot portions 411 of a respective one of the mounting pieces 41, and 
a pair of positioning stubs 424 for engaging releasably the positioning 
holes 413 in the pivot portions 411 of the respective one of the mounting 
pieces 41. 
The base cover 5 is used to cover a bottom end of the base member 1 and 
includes a bottom plate 52 and a looped peripheral wall 51 which extends 
from the bottom plate 52. The peripheral wall 51 has an inner surface 
formed with retaining projections 511 for engaging removably the retaining 
grooves 111 in the surrounding wall 11 of the base member 1. The bottom 
plate 52 has a lower side formed with a number of supporting feet 53 to 
prevent sliding of the drawing board (A) on a support surface, such as a 
table. The bottom plate 52 has one corner formed with an inclined slot 
521. A slide piece 54 is mounted on the bottom plate 52 to open or close 
the slot 521 selectively. 
Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the bead setting tool 6 includes an elongated 
housing 61, a push rod 62, a biasing unit 63 and a bead guiding case 64. 
The housing 61 includes complementary first and second housing parts 61A, 
61B. The housing 61 has a top portion formed with a horizontal partition 
plate 611. The partition plate 611 is provided with an opening 612. A 
retaining space 613 is formed above the partition plate 611, while a 
receiving chamber 614 is formed below the partition plate 611. The housing 
61 is formed with a radial outward press projection 615. Each of the 
housing parts 61A, 61B has a lower portion formed with an inward key 
projection 616. Each of the housing parts 61A, 61B is further formed with 
a pair of hollow inwardly projecting insert posts 617, 618 below the 
partition plate 611. Each of the insert posts 617 on the first housing 
part 61A confines a bore 619 for receiving one of the insert posts 618 on 
the second housing part 61B. 
The push rod 62 has a flat top portion 621 formed with a pair of holes 622 
for the insert posts 618 on the second housing 61B to extend therethrough. 
The top portion 621 is further formed with a pair of flanges 623 to be 
clamped by the first and second housing parts 61A, 61B. The push rod 62 
further has a shank portion 624 which extends downwardly from the top 
portion 621 and which has a cross-shaped cross section. The biasing unit 
63 is in the form of a coil spring and is sleeved on the shank portion 
624. The housing 61 is sleeved on the bead guiding case 64. 
The bead guiding case 64 includes a first tubular portion 641 which is 
formed with an inward flange 640 that confines a cross-shaped opening 6401 
to enable the shank portion 624 of the push rod 62 to extend slidably 
therethrough. The biasing unit 63 is thus disposed between the flanges 623 
on the push rod 62 and the inward flange 640. The bead guiding case 64 
further includes a second tubular portion 642 which is parallel to and 
which is disposed on one side of the first tubular portion 641. The second 
tubular portion 642 has an open top section 643 which is aligned with the 
opening 612 in the partition plate 611 of the housing 61. The second 
tubular portion 642 has a curved bottom section 644 which merges with a 
bottom section of the first tubular portion 641. The bottom section of the 
first tubular portion 641 is formed with a seat projection 645 immediately 
below the curved bottom section 644. To guide and limit relative movement 
between the bead guiding case 64 and the housing 61, the bead guiding case 
64 has an outer surface formed with a pair of longitudinal keyways 646 
which slidably engage the key projections 616 on the housing parts 61A, 
61B of the housing 61. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, each of a plurality of beads 7 has a size which 
is slightly smaller than the upper holes 31 in the positioning plate 3, 
the lower holes 141 in the base plate 14, and the passage confined by the 
second tubular portion 642. The seat projection 645, however, confines a 
passage which is slightly smaller than the size of the beads 7 so as to 
prevent untimely movement of the beads 7 through the open bottom section 
of the first tubular portion 641 of the bead guiding case 64. To 
facilitate the supply of the beads 7 to the second tubular portion 642 of 
the bead guiding case 64, the beads 7 are preferably disposed in a 
container 71. The container 71 has an open end portion 711 which can be 
removably retained in the retaining space 613 of the housing 61. The open 
end portion 711 is formed with an annular projection 712 for removably 
engaging a cap 72 when the container 71 is detached from the housing 61. 
Referring once more to FIG. 1, the bead drawing kit further comprises a 
plunger unit 8 which includes a base portion 81 which can be removably 
retained in the retaining space 613 of the housing 61. The base portion 81 
is formed with a plurality of press pins 82 to be aligned selectively with 
some of the upper holes 31 in the positioning plate 3. Thus, the distance 
between adjacent two of the press pins 82 should correspond to that 
between adjacent two of the upper holes 31. 
When assembling the drawing board (A), the holding plate 2 and the 
positioning plate 3 are disposed on top of the base plate 14 in the recess 
13 of the base member 1. The positioning pins 34 on the positioning plate 
3 extend through the pin holes 23, 143 in the holding plate 2 and the base 
plate 14 to arrest lateral movement of the holding plate 2. The slits 21 
in the holding plate 2 are aligned with the upper and lower holes 31, 141 
in the positioning plate 3 and the base plate 14 at this time. The screws 
30 secure the positioning plate 3 to the base member 1. Thereafter, the 
screws 43 secure the mounting pieces 41 to the screw sockets 16 in the 
receiving groove 15 of the base member 1. The arm portions 422 of the 
stand body 42 are then connected pivotally to the mounting pieces 41 by 
virtue of engagement between the pivot projections 423 and the retaining 
holes 412 in the mounting pieces 41. Finally, the base cover 5 is attached 
removably to the surrounding wall 11 of the base member 1 by virtue of 
engagement between the retaining grooves 111 in the surrounding wall 11 
and the retaining projections 511 on the peripheral wall 51 of the base 
cover 5. 
Referring to FIG. 5, when setting the beads 7 on the drawing board (A), the 
cap 72 is removed from the open end portion 711 of the container 71, and 
the open end portion 711 is retained in the retaining space 613 of the 
housing 61 of the bead setting tool 6. The beads 7 in the container 71 
enter into the second tubular portion 642 of the bead guiding case 64 via 
the opening 612 in the partition plate 611 of the housing 61. At this 
time, a first one of the beads 7 enters into the first tubular portion 641 
of the bead guiding case 64 and rests on the seat projection 645 in the 
latter. The biasing unit 63 biases the push rod 62 and the housing 61 
upwardly such that the tip of the shank portion 624 of the push rod 62 is 
spaced from the first one of the beads 7 on the seat projection 645 at 
this time. 
In use, the open bottom section of the first tubular portion 641 of the 
bead guiding case 64 is aligned with a selected one of the upper holes 31 
in the positioning plate 3. The housing 61 of the bead setting tool 6 is 
then moved downwardly with respect to the bead guiding case 64 so as to 
result in corresponding movement of the push rod 62 against the action of 
the biasing unit 63. At this time, the first one of the beads 7 is forced 
by the push rod 62 to move past the seat projection 645, out of the open 
bottom section of the first tubular portion 641 of the bead guiding case 
64, into the selected one of the upper holes 31 in the positioning plate 
3, and into the aligned one of the slits 21 in the holding plate 2. The 
first one of the beads 7 is held in place on the holding plate 2 by the 
resilient fins 22 which are associated with the aligned one of the slits 
21 at this time. The key projections 616 on the housing 61 abut against 
the lower end of the keyways 646 in the bead guiding case 64, thereby 
limiting further relative movement between the housing 61 and the bead 
guiding case 64 and preventing the push rod 62 from releasing the first 
one of the beads 7 from the holding plate 2. 
When the first one of the beads 7 is set on the drawing board (A), the 
housing 61 is released, thereby permitting expansion of the biasing unit 
63 to result in upward movement of the housing 61 and the push rod 62 with 
respect to the bead guiding case 64. At this time, the push rod 62 ceases 
to block the curved bottom section 644 of the second tubular portion 642 
of the bead guiding case 64, thereby permitting movement of a second one 
of the beads 7' into the first tubular portion 641 so as to rest on the 
seat projection 645. The aforementioned procedure is repeated until a 
desired image is formed by the beads 7 on the drawing board (A), as shown 
in FIG. 6. 
If one of the beads 7 has been incorrectly set on the drawing board (A), 
the bead setting tool 6 may be operated such that the press projection 615 
on the housing 61 depresses the incorrect one of the beads 7 so as to 
release the same from the holding plate 2. At this time, the released bead 
7 moves through the aligned one of the lower holes 143 in the base plate 
14 for collection in the base cover 5. 
Referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, after the desired image has been formed on the 
drawing board (A), the base cover 5 can be removed from the base member 1, 
and the stand body 42 of the stand unit 4 can be pivoted with respect to 
the mounting pieces 41 from a first position, wherein the stand body 42 is 
disposed in the receiving groove 15, to a second position, wherein the 
stand body 42 forms an angle with the base member 1. The drawing board (A) 
can be placed uprightly on a support surface, in a manner similar to a 
conventional picture frame, at this time. 
In this embodiment, the beads 7 are multi-colored and are transparent, 
thereby achieving a sparkling effect when struck by light. 
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 8, when it is desired to remove the beads 7 from 
the drawing board (A), the container 71 is detached from the housing 61 of 
the bead setting tool 6, and the base portion 81 of the plunger unit 8 is 
retained in the retaining space 613 of the housing 61. The press pins 82 
on the base portion 81 of the plunger unit 8 are aligned with some of the 
beads 7 on the drawing board (A), and the bead setting tool 6 is pushed 
downwardly, thereby enabling the press pins 82 to depress the aligned ones 
of the beads 7 so as to release the same from the holding plate 2. The 
released beads 7 move through the lower holes 143 in the base plate 14 for 
collection in the base cover 5. After the beads 7 have been released from 
the holding plate 2, the slide piece 54 is operated so as to open the slot 
521 in the bottom plate 52 of the base cover 5. The beads 7 can be poured 
back into the container 71 via the slot 521 at this time. 
It should be noted that the beads 7 can be manually set on and removed from 
the drawing board (A) without the use of the bead setting tool 6. Of 
course, use of the bead setting tool 6 is still preferred due to added 
convenience. In addition, the stand unit 4 should be considered as an 
optional feature which only serves to permit upright placing of the 
drawing board (A) on a support surface. 
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is 
considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood 
that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is 
intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and 
scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such 
modifications and equivalent arrangements.