Abstract:
A transformable toy which can be instantly transformed by merely reversibly changing its state between a horizontal state and a vertical state, without operating the toy with an intention to carry out transformation, and surprises and excites users; and an accommodating case for accommodating the transformable toy. The transformable toy includes weight members swingably disposed therein and is reversibly transformed between first and second configurations by using a movement of the center of gravity of the weight members. The transformable toy assumes the first configuration in the horizontal state and the second configuration in the vertical state. The accommodating case includes a fixing device, for fixing a bottom surface of the transformable toy to a bottom plate of the accommodating case when the transformable toy is in the first configuration, and an abutment portion, which abuts with a rear portion of the transformable toy.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a transformable toy which is reversibly transformed between two configurations, from a first configuration such as a vehicle or an animal to a second configuration such as a robot, or vice versa, and more particularly to a transformable toy which is reversibly transformed between a first configuration and a second configuration by means of a movement of the center of gravity of a weight member disposed inside the toy body, and an accommodating case for accommodating such a transformable toy. 
         [0003]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0004]    Conventionally, when a transformable toy is transformed during play, it has been required that each constituent part be manually operated and operating procedures have been complicated. Therefore, a transformable toy which can be transformed by a simple operation has been proposed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 9-10442). In this transformable toy, a first configuration is a vehicle configuration, a second configuration is a robot configuration, and a rear member is provided with a sliding member in a forwardly and backwardly slidable manner, the sliding member being formed with a rack, being partly exposed above the rear member, and having an operating element mounted thereon. When the sliding member is slid forwardly by operation of the operating element, the rack formed on the sliding member slides forwardly. A gear formed at an end portion of one of connecting links is in mesh with the rack, and therefore the connecting links are folded, pivoting about a pivoting shaft. A front member is pivotably connected to the other of the connecting links, and since the front member is foldably connected to the rear member, the front member is folded with respect to the rear member, and the front member and the rear member constitute a trunk portion in the robot configuration, the trunk portion being part of a second configuration. 
         [0005]    Although even young children can enjoy the above-described transformable toy in that the toy can be transformed by a simple operation, namely, by operating a sliding member, the toy cannot surprise or excite users because they operate the sliding member with an intention to carry out the transformation. 
         [0006]    Moreover, in selling transformable toys, it has been required that sellers prepare a large number of samples which can be directly touched and operated by buyers according to the types of transformable toys, in addition to articles for sale stored in accommodating cases for sale, so that buyers can buy transformable toys after checking their transformation. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a transformable toy, based on a new idea, which can be instantly transformed by merely reversibly changing its state between a horizontal state and a vertical state, without operating the toy with an intention to carry out transformation, and give users a surprise and excitement. 
         [0008]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an accommodating case for a transformable toy which allows the transformation of such a transformable toy to be checked while the toy is accommodated in the accommodating case, without the toy being taken out of the case and directly touched. 
         [0009]    In order to solve the foregoing problems, according to the present invention, there is provided a transformable toy reversibly transformed between a first configuration and a second configuration. The transformable toy includes a toy body, and a weight member swingably disposed inside the toy body. The transformable toy is transformed by using a movement of a center of gravity of the weight member and assumes a first configuration in a horizontal state and a second configuration in a vertical state. 
         [0010]    Preferably, the second configuration of the transformable toy is a robot configuration. 
         [0011]    Further, preferably, the transformable toy includes a frame; a plurality of pivoting members pivotably provided on the frame, the pivoting members being constructed to show appearances differing before and after pivoting, the pivoting members showing the first configuration before pivoting and the second configuration after pivoting; and a pivoting mechanism disposed on the frame, the pivoting mechanism pivoting the pivoting members; and the weight member is disposed at a rear portion of the frame in a forwardly and backwardly swingable manner; a movement of the center of gravity of the weight member occurs during swinging; and the pivoting mechanism operates by using the movement of the center of gravity of the weight member as a driving force. 
         [0012]    Moreover, desirably, the transformable toy includes a lock device for preventing swinging of the weight member, the lock device having a lock releasing member, the lock releasing member being partly protruded backwardly from a rear portion of the transformable toy when the transformable toy is in at least one of the first configuration and the second configuration; and prevention of the swinging of the weight member is released by pressing of the lock releasing member. 
         [0013]    Moreover, an accommodating case for accommodating the transformable toy according to the present invention includes a fixing device for fixing a bottom surface of the transformable toy to a bottom surface of the accommodating case when the transformable toy is in the first configuration, and an abutment portion abutting with a rear portion of the transformable toy. The accommodating case permits swinging of the weight member, and allows the transformable toy to be reversibly transformed from the first configuration to the second configuration while being accommodated in the accommodating case. 
         [0014]    According to one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to achieve a transformable toy, based on a new idea, which allows its configuration before and after transformation to be easily checked, without a special operation or replacement of constituent parts which is required for transformation of conventional transformable toys being carried out, because the transformable toy can be reversibly transformed between a first configuration and a second configuration by merely changing the state of the transformable toy from a horizontal state to a vertical state, or from a vertical state to a horizontal state. 
         [0015]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, since the second configuration is a robot configuration, and a first configuration such as a running toy is reversibly transformed into a robot configuration, users can play with a first configuration such as a running toy and with a robot configuration. 
         [0016]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, the transformable toy can be instantly transformed, without its pivoting mechanism being operated from outside, by reversibly changing the state of the transformable toy between a horizontal state and a vertical state because a movement of the center of gravity of the weight member occurs and the pivoting mechanism for pivoting the pivoting members is operated by using the movement of the center of gravity as a driving force. 
         [0017]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, it is possible to achieve a transformable toy, based on a new idea, which gives users an impression that the transformable toy is transformed by magic in that transformation does not occur when its state is merely changed into a vertical state or a horizontal state, but the transformable toy can be transformed when a rear portion thereof is brought into abutment with a placement surface, because a lock device is provided to prevent swinging of the weight members so that a movement of the center of gravity does not occur spontaneously. 
         [0018]    According to another aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a transformable toy which is very advantageous for both buyers and sellers in that buyers can easily check its transformation and sellers only need to prepare articles for sale, without needing to prepare samples, because buyers can check the transformation of transformable toys for sale displayed in stores without directly touching them and sellers need not provide transformable toy samples and can put various types of transformable toys in their stores, owing to the fact that the transformable toy is transformed, while being accommodated in an accommodating case, when the accommodating case is merely laid flat or erected. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a running object, which is one example of a first configuration of a transformable toy according to the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing a state of the transformable toy which has been transformed into a robot, which is a second configuration; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view showing an internal structure of the transformable toy; 
           [0022]      FIG. 4  is an exploded perspective view showing a lock device; 
           [0023]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing the transformable toy, in a vertical state, simulating the running object, which is the first configuration; 
           [0024]      FIGS. 6A and 6B  are operation explanatory diagrams showing the transformable toy, in a vertical state and in abutment with a placement surface, as viewed from a front side; 
           [0025]      FIGS. 7A and 7B  are operation explanatory diagrams showing the transformable toy, in a vertical state and in abutment with a placement surface, as viewed from a lateral side; 
           [0026]      FIG. 8  is an explanatory diagram showing a process of transformation of the transformable toy into a robot;. 
           [0027]      FIG. 9  is a perspective view showing an accommodating case for accommodating the transformable toy; and 
           [0028]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  are perspective views showing the accommodating case, in a horizontal state and in a vertical state, accommodating the transformable toy. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0029]      FIG. 1  shows one example of a first configuration of the transformable toy A according to the present invention. In this example, the first configuration simulates a running object, and the transformable toy A can be transformed into a robot configuration, as shown in  FIG. 2 , when transformation into a second configuration is carried out. 
         [0030]    The transformable toy A has a plurality of pivoting members  2  provided on a frame  1  and is adapted to be reversibly transformed between a first configuration and a second configuration by pivoting of the pivoting members  2 . The pivoting members  2  include a front cover  3  simulating a hood of a running object in the first configuration, an upper cover  5  simulating a roof thereof, and a head portion  42  of a robot in the second configuration, which will be described later. The front cover  3  includes two members: a right front cover member  3   a  simulating a right-side hood portion and a left front cover member  3   b  simulating a left-side hood portion. The rear cover  4  is fixed to the frame  1  and covers a pivoting mechanism B, which will be described later. 
         [0031]    The rear cover  4  has simulated leg portions  4   a  formed at an upper surface thereof in the shape of semi-cylinders, simulating leg portions of the robot, the simulated leg portions  4   a  being covered by a sub-cover  5   a  mounted in a vertically pivotable manner at a rear end of the upper cover  5 . 
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , the pivoting mechanism B pivots the right front cover member  3   a , the left front cover member  3   b , the upper cover  5 , and the head portion  42  by using a movement of the center of gravity of weight members  10  as a power. The pivoting mechanism B is disposed on the frame  1  in a longitudinal direction. The pivoting mechanism B includes a driving shaft  18  having a crown gear  15 , a driving gear  16 , and a bevel gear  17 ; and a sector gear  20  for rotating the driving shaft  18  in response to forward and backward movements of the weight members  10 , a rotation of the sector gear  20  being transmitted to the crown gear  15  through an intermediate gear  21 . 
         [0033]    The weight members  10  are fixed at both ends of a shaft  22  rotating by being journaled in a bearing (not shown), the shaft  22  having the sector gear  20  fixed at a substantially middle thereof. The weight members  10  are adapted to swing in forward and backward directions of the frame  1 . When the weight members  10  swing, since the sector gear  20  coaxial with the weight members  10  also rotates forwardly and backwardly, the intermediate gear  21  meshing with the sector gear  20  rotates. Since the crown gear  15  fixed at a rear end of the driving shaft  18  is in mesh with the intermediate gear  21 , the crown gear  15  is rotated, and the driving shaft  18  is rotated. 
         [0034]    The weight members  10  are locked by a lock device C so that the weight members  10  do not pivot and movement of the center of gravity of the weight members does not occur when the state of the transformable toy A is merely changed from a horizontal state to a vertical state. As shown in  FIG. 4 , the lock device C includes a sliding member  23 , which slides transversely by having protruding edges  23   a  formed in a transverse direction on upper and lower surfaces thereof guided by guide grooves (not shown), and a lock releasing member  24 , which slides longitudinally by having protruding edges  24   a  formed in a longitudinal direction on upper and lower surfaces thereof guided by guide grooves (not shown). The sliding member  23  has an engaging claw  25 , formed at a side surface thereof for engaging with and disengaging from an engaging recess  10   a  formed in one of the weight members  10 , and an engaging protrusion  26 , formed at a rear surface thereof for engaging with the lock releasing member  24 . An end  26   a  of the engaging protrusion  26  and an end  24   b  of the lock releasing member  24  have inclined surfaces, and the inclined surfaces are adapted to slide along each other. The sliding member  23  is adapted so that the engaging claw  25  disengages from the engaging recess  10   a  of the weight member  10  when the lock releasing member  24  is pressed. When the transformable toy A is in a horizontal state and wheels are in contact with a placement surface, the weight members  10  are in a locked state. When the transformable toy A is in a vertical state and a back surface of the rear cover  4  is brought into abutment with a placement surface, the lock releasing member  24  is pressed by the placement surface into the rear cover  4 , and the engaging claw  25  of the sliding member  23  disengages from the engaging recess  10   a , whereby the lock is released. Thus, transformation does not occur when the transformable toy A is merely changed into a vertical state, and occurs only when a back surface of the rear cover  4  is brought into abutment with a placement surface. 
         [0035]    Moreover, two crown gears  30  and  31  are in mesh with the driving gear  16  fixed at a substantially middle of the driving shaft  18  so as to sandwich the driving gear  16 . The crown gears  30  and  31  have gears  32  and  33  integrally formed therewith, respectively, and arm members  34  and  35  for pivoting a right front cover member  3   a  and a left front cover member  3   b  are linked with the gears  32  and  33 , respectively. 
         [0036]    The arm members  34  and  35  include two arm elements  34   a  and  34   b , and arm elements  35   a  and  35   b , respectively, the arm elements being bent outwardly in a shape of a dog leg. The arm members  34  and  35  each have one end pivotably journaled on the frame  1  and the other end pivotably journaled on the right front cover member  3   a  and the left front cover member  3   b , respectively. When the arm members  34  and  35  pivot outwardly, the right front cover member  3   a  and the left front cover member  3   b  pivot outwardly in parallel to the frame  1 . 
         [0037]    The arm element  34   a  and the arm element  35   a  have racks  36  and  37  formed in a shape of a sector at one end thereof, respectively, the racks  36  and  37  being in mesh with the gears  32  and  33 , which are integral with the crown gears  30  and  31 , respectively. 
         [0038]    Moreover, a bevel gear  40  is in mesh with the bevel gear  17  fixed at a front portion of the driving shaft  18 . The bevel gear  40  has a shaft  41  protruding through the rear cover  4  and having the upper cover  5  fixed at an end thereof. 
         [0039]    Further, the driving shaft  18  has a head portion  42  of a robot, which is one of the pivoting members, mounted at an end thereof, the head portion  42  being adapted to be re-oriented from backward to forward when the driving shaft  18  rotates by 180 degrees. 
         [0040]    Next, a manner of operation of the transformable toy A having the above construction will be described. First, the transformable toy is brought into a vertical state, as shown in  FIG. 5 . In this state, since the rear cover  4  is off the placement surface a, as shown in  FIG. 6A , the lock releasing member  24  protrudes from the rear cover  4 . Accordingly, the sliding member  23  cannot be slid, the engaging claw  25  of the sliding member  23  is still engaged with the engaging recess  10   a  of the one of the weight members  10 , and therefore the weight members  10  cannot pivot downwardly. Thus, the pivoting mechanism B does not operate (see  FIG. 7A ). Accordingly, the right front cover member  3   a , the left front cover member  3   b , the head portion  42 , and the upper cover  5  do not pivot, and the transformable toy A maintains the same configuration as when it was in a horizontal state. 
         [0041]    Next, when the transformable toy A is erected on a placement surface a in a vertical state, as shown in  FIG. 6B , since the lock releasing member  24  is pressed into the rear cover  4 , the sliding member  23  is slid leftward, and the engaging claw  25  disengages from the engaging recess  10   a . Therefore, the locking of the weight members  10  by the engaging claw  25  is released, and, as shown in  FIG. 7B , the weight members  10 , whose center of gravity g was located laterally, pivot downwardly as the center of gravity g lowers. When the weight members  10  pivot downwardly, since the sector gear  20  fixed to the shaft  22  of the weight members  10  rotates downwardly, the intermediate gear  21  in mesh with the sector gear  20  rotates, the crown gear  15  rotates, and the driving shaft  18  rotates. 
         [0042]    When the driving shaft  18  rotates, since the driving gear  16  fixed to the driving shaft  18  also rotates, the crown gears  30  and  31  in mesh with the driving gear  16  rotate. Since the rack  36  of the arm element  34   a  of the arm member  34  is in mesh with the gear  32  integral with the crown gear  30 , and the rack  37  of the arm element  35   a  of the arm member  35  is in mesh with the gear  33  integral with the crown gear  31 , the arm members  34  and  35  pivot outwardly, and the right front cover member  3   a  and the left front cover member  3   b  begin to move away from the frame  1  (see  FIG. 8 ). 
         [0043]    Meanwhile, since the bevel gear  17  fixed to the driving shaft  18  also rotates, the bevel gear  40  in mesh with the bevel gear  17  also rotates, and the upper cover  5  fixed to the shaft  41  of the bevel gear  40  also begins to rotate. Moreover, the head portion  42  fixed at an end of the driving shaft  18  also begins to rotate. 
         [0044]    When the center of gravity g of the weight members  10  has moved to a position directly under the shaft  22 , the rotation of the sector gear  20  stops, and the pivoting mechanism B also stops. In this state, as shown in  FIG. 2 , the right front cover member  3   a  and the left front cover member  3   b  have moved to the outside, constituting arms of the robot, the head portion  42  is exposed, with its face oriented forwardly, the upper cover  5  has been vertically inverted, the simulated leg portions  4   a  formed on the rear cover  4  are exposed and showing legs of the robot, and the sub-cover  5   a , which was hiding the simulated leg portions  4   a  in the running-object configuration, has flipped down forwardly under its own weight and is no longer hiding the head portion  42 . Thus, the transformable toy can be instantly transformed from a running-object configuration to a robot configuration. 
         [0045]    Meanwhile, when the transformable toy in the robot configuration is restored to its horizontal state, since the center of gravity g of the weight members  10  moves forwardly, the driving shaft  18  rotates in the opposite direction. The driving gear  16  and the bevel gear  17  mounted on the driving shaft  18  rotate in the opposite direction, and the right front cover member  3   a , the left front cover member  3   b , the upper cover  5 , and the head portion  42  are restored to their original states. Thus, the transformable toy can be instantly restored from the robot configuration to the running-object configuration. 
         [0046]    Moreover, the lock device C may be disposed at a rear portion (back side) in the robot configuration, and an end of the releasing member  24  may be protruded from the back side (this construction is not shown). By being constructed in this manner, the transformable toy is not restored to the first configuration when it is merely restored to its horizontal state but can be restored to the running-object configuration, which is the first configuration, when a back of the robot is brought into abutment with a placement surface. 
         [0047]    Next, an accommodating case P for accommodating the above-described transformable toy A will be described. The accommodating case P is a rectangular parallelepiped box formed of a transparent material and has an opening at a front portion thereof for taking out and putting in the transformable toy A, the opening being formed so as to be closable by a flap lid. The accommodating case P is adapted so that the transformable toy A is accommodated therein when the transformable toy A is in the state of a running object, which is the first configuration, as shown in  FIG. 9 . The accommodating case P is provided, at a bottom plate  50  thereof, with a base  51  for lifting the transformable toy A so as not to stick to the bottom plate  50 , the base  51  having a through-hole  53  at a center thereof for inserting a screw  52 , which is a fixing device; and a supporting plate  55  for supporting the transformable toy A so as not to stick to a rear wall  54 . The rear wall  54  of the accommodating case P is provided with an abutment portion  56 , which abuts with the lock releasing member  24  protruding backwardly from a rear portion of the transformable toy A and presses in the lock releasing member  24 . When the transformable toy A is accommodated in the accommodating case P and the lock releasing member  24  is pressed against the abutment portion  56 , the screw  52  is screwed into a screw hole  57  formed at a bottom portion of the transformable toy A from a back side of the accommodating case P, and the transformable toy A is fixed in the accommodating case P, as shown in  FIG. 10A . 
         [0048]    In this state, when the accommodating case P is erected, since the lock releasing member  24  has already been pressed in by the abutment member, the engaging claw  25  of the sliding member  23  has disengaged from the engaging recess  10   a  of the one of the weight members  10 , and the locking of the weight members  10  has been released, a movement of the center of gravity of the weight members  10  occurs, and the pivoting mechanism B operates. Thus, the transformable toy A is instantly transformed from a running-object configuration to a robot configuration (see  FIG. 10B ). 
         [0049]    As described above, it is possible to provide a transformable toy which is advantageous for both buyers and sellers in that buyers can easily check its transformation and sellers only need to prepare articles for sale, without needing to prepare samples, because buyers can check the transformation of transformable toys for sale displayed in stores without directly touching them and sellers need not provide a transformable toy sample, for any of the various types of transformable toys which sellers may put in their stores, owing to the fact that the transformable toy A is transformed when the accommodating case P accommodating the transformable toy A is merely changed from a horizontal state to a vertical state.