Abstract:
A toy body formed to generally fanciful creature includes a tail portion and a head portion. A cockpit suitable for receiving and retaining a plush toy figure is positioned between the head and tail. A conventional sound circuit is supported within the interior of the head portion while a rotatable string reel is supported within the interior of the tail section. The reel supports a length of flexible string which includes an outer end secured to a toy life saver. A pocket within the body is provided for storing the toy life saver. The four supporting wheels of the push-pull toys body are supported upon respective axels in an offset or eccentric attachment. In addition, the front two wheel each include an offset cam and cam follower which cooperate and pivot an upwardly extending arm. The upwardly extending arm provides pivotal coupling to the forwardly extending arms and imparts pivotal motion thereto.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to push-pull type toys and particularly to those which are enhanced with additional amusement features. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Push-pull toys are extremely well known in the art and have been provided in a virtually endless of variety of types, sizes and configurations. The term push-pull refers generally to toys which are intended to be rolled along a floor surface by the child user who either pushes or pulls the toy upon the surface. Thus push-pull toys have been provided having rigid handles allowing a standing child to push or pull the toy figure upon a play surface. Alternatively, push-pull toys have been provided which utilize a flexible string secured to the toy and therefore intended to facilitate a pulling action. In such toys however, it has been found that children often enjoy kneeling down along side the toy and pushing it rather than using a pull string. As a result such toys have become collectively known as push-pull toys. 
     While a variety of such push-pull toys produced by practitioners in the toy art has been virtually endless, generally all include certain major toy components. A typical push-pull toy included a body or chassis for combination of both which provided the appearance and basic support of the push-pull toy. Various appearance themes are utilized in fabricating the body portion of the push-pull vehicle and such themes have included fanciful people and animals, monsters both realistic and fanciful, toy vehicle and cartoon-like appearances. 
     Many push-pull toys are in essence a small version of a wagon in that some sort of receptacle or cockpit is formed in the toy body for receiving and supporting one or more cooperating toy figures. In addition, a variety of accessory elements are often included in push-pull toys. Early on, mechanical sound producing apparatus were provided along with moving elements such as Ping-Pong balls or the like. With the advent of low cost small sized electronic sound circuits, many push-pull vehicles appeared utilizing such circuits to enhance amusement. In still others, articulated members or limbs are moved during the play pattern and in still others, visual features such as flashing lights and the like have been included. 
     Unfortunately, the high degree of amusement value and accessory inclusion in push-pull toys often results in overly complex and unreliable products. Complexity typically results in increasing cost and manufacture which in turn can price the product beyond the reasonable means of the intended consumer. As a result, practitioners in the toy art have found that they must balance the features included against the cost of providing such features in a push-pull toy. Of necessity of balancing results in a compromise of features to be included to attempt to maintain costs at a reasonable price. 
     For example U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,697 issued to Pagano sets forth a PUSH-PULL TOY having a body supporting a plurality of rolling wheels and an upper shell resembling a turtle. A head also reassembling a turtle extends from the body and is supported for movement. The shell body supports a closed cavity visible from the outside within which a plurality of light spherical objects such as Ping-Pong balls are captivated. One of the wheels is coupled to a reciprocating mechanism which moves the figures head and which periodically cocks and releases a spring loaded plunger to shoot the bottom most ball within the closed chamber against its upper transparent surface. A handle is provided for gripping by the child user to push or pull the toy. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,179 issued to Reiling Jr. sets forth a WHEELED TOY VEHICLE WITH CAM OPERATED OSULATING CHAIR AND STEERING WHEEL having a hull similar to a boat with a cabin supported on upper side thereof. A simulated steering wheel is rotatable supported above the cabin and is operatively coupled to drive mechanism responsive to the rotation of one of the wheels. As the toy is rolled across a play surface the wheels rotate and the mechanism operative on one wheel oscillates a chair supported on the cabin and rotates the simulated steering wheel. 
     U.S. Pat. No. Des. 360,237 issued to Chiu sets forth a SIMULATIVE TOY VEHICLE having a large figure generally representing a dinosaur or the like standing on its rear legs and feet. A cart is supported upon the dinosaur tail and includes rolling wheels on the underside thereof. An additional wheel is supported between the dinosaur figures legs allowing the vehicle to be rolled across a surface. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,782,751 issued to Williams sets forth OVAL SHAPED WHEELS having a wagon-like body supporting a plurality of rolling wheels formed in oval or elliptical shapes. The major and minor axes of the wheels are off set to provide a randomly oscillating character to the toy as it is rolled. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,307 issued to Gabler et al. sets forth a PUSH TOY VEHICLE WITH OPERABLE MOUTH having a chassis and body supported by a plurality of rolling wheels. The front portion of the body forms a fanciful lower jaw and lower teeth while the upper portion of the body supports a pivotal upper jaw and upper teeth. One of the rolling wheels is coupled to a drive mechanism which in turn is coupled to the pivotal jaw with the result that the mouth created by the upper and lowers jaws is periodically opened and closed as the toy vehicle is rolled across the play surface. 
     U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,772,242 issued to McKay et al entitled WHEELED TOY VEHICLE HAVING POUNDING FISTS and 4,573,944 issued to Crow et al. entitled BALL SWINGING TOY VEHICLE together with 5,334,078 issued to Hippely et al. entitled TOY VEHICLE HAVING ARTICULATED JAWS variously describe toy vehicle which employ a moveable articulated member or limb in a push toy environment. Still other U.S. Patents provide an interior compartment or cockpit of some type in a push toy environment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,135,243 issued to Carpenter entitled CHILD&#39;S CART and U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,483 issued to Sun and entitled WHEELED TOY CONTAINER WITH SURFACE TO ATTACH BLOCKS are exemplary of such push-pull toys having carrying capacity. 
     Many push-pull toys maintain their resemblance to the basic wagon and are intended to be operated in a similar manner. Examples of such wagons-like push-pull toys are found in U.S. Pat. 5,538,267 issued to Pasin et al. entitled CONVERTIBLE TOY WAGON HAVING ADDITIONAL STORAGE CAPASITY and U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,831 issued to Valiga et al. entitled SIDE EXTENTION FOR A TOY WAGON and U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,222 issued to Bro et al. entitled TOY WAGON. 
     While the foregoing described prior art devices have improved the art and in some instance enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore amusing, interesting and cost effective push-pull toys. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly it is a object of the present invention to provide an improved push-pull toy. It is a more particular object of the present invention to provide an improved push-pull toy which amuses the user with a plurality of accessory figures while maintaining the manufacturing cost of the push-pull toy within a practical cost range. 
     In accordance with the present invention there is provided a push-pull toy comprising: a body defining an upwardly open cockpit; a toy figure receivable within the cockpit; a plurality of wheels rotatably secured to the body in an off-center attachment; at least one of the wheels having an offset cam rotatable therewith; at least one pivot arm pivotally supported by the body and including a cam follower receiving the offset cam, whereby rotation of the at least one wheel pivots the pivot arm; and an external arm secured to the at least one pivot arm so as to pivot vertically as the at least one pivot arm is pivoted by the cam, the wheels having their respective off-center character out of phase with each other causing the body to undulate in horizontal and vertical planes as the push-pull toy is rolled. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The features of the present invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several figures of which like reference numerals identify like elements and in which: 
     FIG. 1 sets forth a partially sectioned perspective view of a push-pull toy constructed in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 sets forth a partial section side view of the present invention push-pull toy. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 sets forth a partially sectioned perspective view of a push-pull toy constructed in accordance with the present invention and generally referenced by numeral  10 . Toy  10  includes a body  11  preferably of a molded plastic material or the like having a tail  12  extending upwardly at the rear portion of body  11  and a head  18  extending upwardly at the frontal portion of body  11 . A lower front portion  16  cooperates with head  18  to form a mouth space  20  therebetween. In accordance with the present invention body  11  is rollingly supported by a plurality of off-center wheels  30  and  31  (wheel  31  seen in FIG.  2 ). A pair of rear wheels  32  and  33  (wheel  33  seen in FIG. 2) are also supported in a off-center or eccentric attachment to a common axel  90 . In further accordance with the present invention an arm  55  extends downwardly on the interior of body  11  and supports an elongated cam follower  27  at the lower end thereof. A generally circular offset cam  25  is rotational supported upon body  11  by an axel  26 . Axel  26  provides a fixed point of rotation about which cam  25  rotates together with wheel  30  in an eccentric rotation. 
     A identical structure is provided on the opposite side of body  11  for support of front wheel  31  (seen in FIG.  1 ). The structure of support for wheel  31  is set forth more clearly in FIG.  2  and described more extensively in combination therewith. However, suffice it to note here that arm  11  is pivotally secured to the interior surface of body  11  and defines a lower end having a cam follower and an offset cam which allows wheel  31  (seen in FIG. 2) to undergo an off-center or eccentric rotation in the same manner as wheel  30 . In the preferred fabrication of the present invention wheels  30  and  31  are offset with respect to each other such that their emotions are correspondingly offset. 
     Push-pull toy  10  further includes a pair of arms  40  and  50  positioned on each side of body  11  next to lower jaw  21 . Arms  40  and  50  define respective claw portions  41  and  51  at the frontal ends thereof. Arm  40  includes a flange  42  received within a coupler  43 . Coupler  43  is secured to the upper end of arm  55  through an aperture (not shown) formed in the side of body  11 . Of importance with respect of the present invention is the fixed coupling between coupler  43  and the upper end of arm  55 . Flange  42  is pivotally secured within coupler  43  by a pin  44 . As a result, arm  40  is pivotable about pin  44  toward or away from body  11  as desired. In addition, coupler  43  pivots in accordance with the pivotal movement of arm  55 . 
     Cam follower  27  is formed at the lower end of arm  55  and receives cam  25  which in turn is supported by axel  26  such that rotation of cam  26  within cam follower  27  pivots arm  55  forwardly and rearwardly with respect to body  11  in the manner indicated by arrows  28  and  29 . This pivotal movement communicates a corresponding pivotal movement to coupler  43  resulting in up-and-down pivotal movement of arm  40  in the manner indicated by arrows  45 . 
     The rotation of cam  25  is provide as wheel  30  rotates. Thus wheel  30  is joined to and rotatable with cam  25  and shares it off-center point of attachment. As a result, an initial vertical offset character is applied to wheel  30  to produce a vertical lobbing between wheel  30  and body  11 . 
     As described below in connection with FIG. 2 in greater detail a similar structure is formed upon arm  85  and thus rotation motion of front wheel  31  (seen in FIG. 2) pivots arm  85  in the same manner as described for arm  55  which in turn pivots arm  50  in the manner indicated by arrows  46 . Coupler  53  identical to coupler  43  provides the same attachment which includes the ability to pivot arm  50  outwardly from body  11  or inwardly to be closer body  11 . 
     Rear wheels  32  and  33  (wheel  33  seen in FIG. 2) are coupled to a common rear axel  90  in an eccentric or offset attachment. A hub  91  supporting wheel  32  is provided to rotationally support wheel  32  upon axel  90 . As is better seen in FIG. 2 axel  90  extends through body  11  and provides a support for wheel  33  in the same manner as it supports wheel  32 . 
     Body  11  further defines a rearwardly open pocket  13  formed of an upper cover  14  and a lower cover  15 . A toy life saver  80  is receivable and storable within pocket  13 . Tail  12  defines an interior  36  within which a reel  68  is rotatably supported by a pair of apertures formed in tail  12  such as aperture  66 . A rotating knob  67  is secured to reel  68  and is used to wind a quantity of strings  69  upon reel  68 . String  69  extends downwardly through aperture  19  formed in upper cover  14  and secures toy life preserver  80 . 
     Cockpit  17  forms an upwardly open receiving area in which a toy FIG. 35 is placed to enhance the play pattern of push-pull toy  10 . Toy FIG. 35 is preferably formed of a soft bodied or “plush” which is able to conform generally to cockpit  17  and thus able to sit reliably therein. 
     Head  18  defines an interior cavity  61  within which a conventional speaker or transducer  63  is supported. A speaker grill  62  is formed in upper jaw  22  underlying speaker  63  (grill  62  not shown). A sound circuit  70  includes a printed circuit board  71  supported within interior cavity  61  by conventional support means (not shown) within interior cavity  61 . Sound circuit  70  is fabricated entirely in accordance with conventional fabrication techniques and thus includes an integrated sound circuit  72  having a plurality of additional components such as components  73  supported upon printed circuit board  71  which includes conventional conductive coupling pads therebetween (not shown). Printed circuit board  71  further supports a switch  75  and a plurality of batteries  74  each operatively coupled to the remainder of sound circuit  70  in accordance with conventional fabrication means. 
     As mentioned sound circuit  70  may be fabricated entirely in accordance with conventional fabrication techniques with the essential function of sound circuit  70  being the provision of appropriate signals for driving speaker  63  each time switch  75  is pressed. For example, a combination of a microprocessor, read only memory, speech synthesizer, and audio output amplifier suitable for the function of circuit  70  is formed as a single integrated circuit chip device manufactured by Texas Instruments Inc. under the device name TMS50C44. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that a variety of standard integrated circuit devices may be utilized for circuit  50 . 
     Head  18  further defines an aperture  77  which receives a portion of a button  76 . Button  76  extends through aperture  77  and rest upon switch  75 . As a result, pressing button  76  inwardly actuates switch  75  which in turn caused sound circuit  70  to produce appropriate signals for driving speakers  63  and producing corresponding audible sound output. In the preferred fabrication of the present invention sound circuit  70  includes a plurality of digitally encoded sound such as words or phrases which is utilized by integrated circuit  72  to produce appropriate signals for speaker  63 . 
     To complete the aesthetic of the head  18  a nose portion  60  supports aesthetic features while upper jaw  22  supports simulated teeth  23 . 
     To further enhance the aesthetic appeal of toy  10  lower jaw  21  supports a simulated steering wheel  24 . 
     FIG. 2 sets forth a right side view of toy vehicle  10  having wheels  30  and  32  shown in dashed-line to facilitate illustration of the attachment mechanism for wheels  30  and  32 . Thus body  11  includes an upwardly extending tail  12  and a frontal portion  16  as described above. Rear wheel  33  and front wheel  31  are shown rotatable and eccentrically supported on the far side of body  11  in the manner described above in FIG.  1 . Wheel  32  (shown in dashed-line) is rotatably supported upon axel  90  in an eccentric or offset attachment it should be noted that the offset of wheel  32  is not aligned with wheel  33  producing an out of phase relationship for the undulations of wheels  32  and  33 . Similarly, wheel  30  (shown in dashed-line) is rotatably supported by axel  26  in an eccentric or offset rotatable attachment. Cam  96  is correspondingly offset conforming generally to the offset of wheel  30 . It will also be noted that wheels  30  and  31  are offset in an out of phase relationship similar to wheels  32  and  33  resulting in offset undulations of each wheel. 
     An elongated arm  85  includes a cam follower  87  at the lower end thereof which in encircles cam  96 . Cam  96  is supported in an offset of eccentric relationship to an axel  26 . Arm  85  extends upwardly to support a coupler  53  utilizing a pin  86 . Pin  86  securely attaches the interior portion of coupler  53  to the upper end of arm  85  such that pivotal movement of arm  85  about pin  86  produces corresponding pivotal movement of coupler  53 . v 
     An arm  50  having a claw  51  includes a flange  56  received by coupler  53  in a pivotal attachment using pin  57 . 
     In operation, as the user pulls or pushes toy  10  along a play surfaces wheels  30  through  33  are caused to rotate. Because of the offset rotatable support of each wheel the eccentric character thus produced in each wheel causes body  11  to undergo an erratic undulating motion as it moves across a play surface. In addition, the rotation of cam  96  within cam follower  87  as indicated for example by arrow  97  about axel  26  produces pivotal movement of arm  85  in the directions indicated by arrows  92  and  94 . Because of the attachment of coupler  53  to the upper end of arm  85 , a corresponding pivotal motion is imparted to arm  50 . Thus forward pivotal movement of arm  85  in the direction indicated by arrow  92  produces corresponding upward motion of arm  50  in the direction indicated by arrow  93 . Conversely, rearward motion of arm  85  in the direction indicated by arrow  94  lowers arm  50  in the direction indicated by arrow  95 . 
     It will be recalled that an identical wheel structure for supporting wheel  30  and pivoting arm  40  is set forth above in FIG.  1 . As a result moving push-pull toy  10  across a play surface induces the above described undulating travel while pivoting arms  40  and  50  (arm  40  seen in FIG. 1) up and down to provide an amusing and entertaining feature. 
     Toy life preserver  80  is normally stored within pocket  13  and is maintained therein by rotating knob  67  to wind a substantial amount of string  69  thereon. When desired however, the child user is able to remove toy life saver  80  from pocket  13  and draw string  69  outwardly unwinding wheel  68 . Thereafter, string  69  may be again be wound upon reel  68  by rotating knob  67  and toy life saver  80  may again be stored in pocket  13 . 
     What has been shown is a push-pull toy having a fanciful appearance which is supported by a plurality of wheels in eccentric attachment to provide an undulating or wobbly movement of the toy as it is rolled across a play surface. A pair of pivoting cam followers and cams are supported upon the body and driven by the front wheel of the toy vehicle to produce corresponding pivotal movement of a pair of forwardly extending arms. A sound circuit responds to movement of a control button to output predetermined audible sounds and speech for further entertainment. The toy includes a toy life saver coupled to a wind-up reel within the toy body by an elongated flexible string. 
     While particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the invention in its broader aspects. Therefore, the aim in the appended claims is to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.