Patent Publication Number: US-2006014470-A1

Title: Robot toy and drive device for toy

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      The present invention relates to a robot toy and a drive device for a toy.  
     BACKGROUND ART  
      As a robot toy, for example, there is known a horse robot toy. This robot toy is configured to walk on four legs (Tokukaisyo-61-125368 (FIG. 2)).  
      However, the conventional horse robot toy (Tokukaisyo-61-125368) only walks when flipping a switch, so there is a problem that a form change and a movement change are monotonous.  
      The present invention is accomplished in view of the above problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a robot toy having various form changes and operation changes, and a drive device for a toy.  
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION  
      In accordance with the first aspect of the present invention, the robot toy according to the present invention, comprises: 
          a control unit formed by a portion of a body,     wherein a form is changed by controlling the control unit, and a different movement is performed before and after the form change. Examples of the “operation” include a light emitting operation, a walking movement, a sound production operation, mouth opening and closing movements and the like.        

      According to this robot toy, by controlling a part (control unit) of the body, the form of the robot toy changes and the operation can be changed.  
      Preferably, in the robot toy, a leg forms the control unit, and a standing posture and a forward bent posture are taken according to a control by the control unit.  
      According to this robot toy, the operation can be changed depending upon the case of standing posture or the case of forward bent posture.  
      Preferably, in the robot toy, one toy component is arranged on a link facing a frame in a four-section link, the other toy component is arranged on one of swinging links facing each other, the one of the swinging links extending to an opposite side with respect to the frame and a tip thereof rotatably and swingably engaging with a rotating disk at an eccentric position, and both toy components are rotated and perform opening and closing movements with each other by rotating the rotating disk, before or after the form change.  
      According to this robot toy, both toy components open and close while rotating before or after the form change.  
      Preferably, in the robot toy, the frame is arranged in a trunk portion, the one toy component is a lower jaw, and the other toy component is an upper jaw.  
      According to this robot toy, the jaw opens and closes while rotating before or after the form change.  
      In accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, in the robot toy according to the present invention, one toy component is arranged on a link facing a frame in a four-section link, the other toy component is arranged on one of swinging links facing each other, the one of the swinging links extending to an opposite side with respect to the frame and a tip thereof rotatably and swingably engaging at an eccentric position of a rotating disk, and both toy components are rotated and perform open and close movements with each other by rotating the rotating disk, before or after the form change.  
      According to this drive device for a toy, the both components for the toy open and close while rotating.  
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a dinosaur shaped toy in standing posture in which a drive mechanism of a toy according to the present invention is applied;  
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view showing the dinosaur shaped toy in walking posture in which the drive mechanism of the toy according to the present invention is applied;  
       FIG. 3  is a perspective view showing a dismounted main portion in which the drive mechanism of the present invention is applied in the toy shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 ;  
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing an assembled state of the main portion shown in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 5  is a structural view to explain a movement of the main portion shown in  FIG. 3 ;  
       FIG. 6  is a perspective view showing an assembling structure of a leg of the dinosaur shaped toy in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 7  is a view showing a method to operate a clutch incorporated in the dinosaur shaped toy in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view showing a frame and a disk of the dinosaur shaped toy in  FIG. 1 ;  
       FIG. 9  is a view showing a method to operate a leaf switch incorporated in the dinosaur shaped toy in  FIG. 1 ; and  
       FIG. 10  is a block diagram showing an electric system of the dinosaur shaped toy in  FIG. 1 . 
    
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION  
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a dinosaur shaped toy as one example of a robot toy according to the present invention, wherein  FIG. 1  shows a standing posture thereof, and  FIG. 2  shows a forward bent posture thereof.  
      The dinosaur shaped toy, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , comprises a trunk  1 , a neck  2 , an upper jaw  3 , a lower jaw  4 , a tail  5 , legs  6 ,  6 , hands  7 ,  7 , and the like. An operation of hind legs of the dinosaur shaped toy can realize the standing posture shown in  FIG. 1  and the forward bent posture in shown  FIG. 2 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , a motor  11  and a not shown battery are contained in a box  10  forming a main portion of the trunk  1  of the dinosaur shaped toy, and a motor power is adapted to be transmitted to a disk  12  through a gear mechanism or a clutch.  FIG. 5  shows an example of a portion of gears forming the gear mechanism and the clutch. In  FIG. 7 , the reference numeral  11   a  denotes a surface clutch, and clutch pieces of the surface clutch  11   a  gear each other when a pawl member  53  on the left side of the box  10  is moved forward, thereby transmitting the motor power to the disk  12 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the forward operation of the pawl member  53  is performed such that when a disk part  60  used to assemble the leg  6  rotates with the forward rotating operation of the leg  6  (for making the dinosaur shape toy be in the forward bent posture), the disk part  60  presses a switch cover  61  forward. The backward operation of the pawl member  53  is performed such that when the disk part  60  rotates with the backward rotating operation of the leg  6  (for making the dinosaur shaped toy be in the standing posture), the disk part  60  is separated from the switch cover  61  to make a biasing force from a spring  62  in  FIG. 7  act thereon.  
      There is provided a frame  13  ahead of the disk  12  to be rotatable around a shaft  14  as a center.  
      Two shafts  15  and  16  are provided on the frame  13  in a direction perpendicular to the shaft  14 . A link plate  17  and a cylindrical link  18  extend forward from these shafts, respectively. There are two projections  19 ,  19  on each side surface of the link plate  17 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , a rod  19   a  is fixed to the rear portion of the link plate  17 , and the rear end of the rod  19   a  is formed to have a spherical shape. The spherical body  19   b  engages a semispherical recess  12   a  formed on the eccentric position of the disk  12 . Thus, when the disk  12  rotates, the frame swings from side to side around the shaft  14  as a center, and in the meantime, the link plate  17  moves up and down around the shaft  15  as a center. A bearing  20  is formed at the tip of the cylindrical link  18 . The link  18  is formed to have a cylindrical shape so that the length of the link  18  can be changed (for example, to compensate for the effect of dimensional error in manufacturing). In the embodiment, the piston portion of the cylinder is biased by a spring in one direction (in a projecting direction or an immersion direction). The link  18  may not be a cylindrical shape, and an extendable spring may be used as the link  18 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 3 , the neck  2  is divided into right and left to comprise two neck parts  21 ,  21 . Recess portions  22 ,  22  are formed on each neck part to correspond to the projections  19 ,  19  of the link plate  17 . The recess portions  22 ,  22  fit into the projections  19 ,  19  of the link plate  17  so that the neck parts  21 ,  21  engage with each other at an appropriate position to be assembled as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
      There are formed a bearing  23  and a long hole  24  to surround the bearing at the tip of each neck part  21 ,  21 .  
      The upper jaw  3 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , is also divided into right and left to comprise two upper jaw parts  25 ,  25 . A shaft  26  to be inserted into the bearing  23  and a pin  27  to be inserted into the long hole  24  are formed on each upper jaw part  25 .  
      The shafts  26 ,  26  are inserted into the bearings of the neck parts  21 ,  21 , respectively, and the pins  27 ,  27  are inserted into the long holes  24 ,  24 , respectively, so that the upper jaw parts  25 ,  25  engage with each other at an appropriate position to be assembled as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
      Bearings  28 ,  28  are formed on the lateral surface of the upper jaw parts  25 ,  25 , respectively, and holes  29 ,  29  are formed at positions corresponding to eyes on the upper jaw parts  25 ,  25 , respectively.  
      The lower jaw  4 , as shown in  FIG. 3 , comprises a shell part  30  forming a shell, an inner part  31  forming a gear or the like, and a tongue part  32 .  
      There are formed four recess portions  33  on the inner surface of the shell part  30 . Arms  34 ,  34  are formed on both sides of the rear portion of the shell part  30 . Pins  35 ,  35  project inward at the tips of the arms  34 ,  34 . Projections  36  are formed at positions of the inner part  31  corresponding to the recess portions  33 , and a back portion  37  forming a rear portion of the lower jaw  4  is formed at the rear portion of the inner part  31 . Further, a pin  38  is formed at the tip of the back portion  37 , and a groove  39  is formed on the base portion of the back portion  37 . A shaft  40  to be inserted into the inner part  31  and a piece  41  further extending backward are formed at the tongue part  32 .  
      The projections  36  of the inner part  31  are inserted into the recess portions  33  of the shell part  30  to combine the inner part  31  with the shell part  30 , and the shaft  40  of the tongue part  32  is inserted into the groove  39  of the inner part  31 , so that the lower jaw  4  is assembled as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
      The pins  35 ,  35  are inserted into the bearings  28 ,  28  of the upper jaw parts  25 ,  25 , so that the lower jaw  4  is rotatably attached to the upper jaw  3 .  
      As shown in  FIG. 9 , there is also provided the pawl member  53  on the right side of the box  10 . The forward operation of the pawl member  53  is performed in the same way as the pawl member  53  on the left side, that is, when the disk part  60  rotates with the forward rotating operation of the leg  6  (for making the dinosaur shaped toy be in the forward bent posture), the disk part  60  presses the switch cover  61  forward. The backward operation of the pawl member  53  is performed such that when the disk part  60  rotates with the backward rotating operation of the leg  6  (for making the dinosaur shaped toy be in the standing posture), the disk part  60  separates from the switch cover  61  to make the biasing force from a spring  63  shown in  FIG. 9  acts thereon. When the pawl member  53  is moved forward, a leaf switch  54  of normal open type is ON.  
      Next, an explanation of an electric system of the dinosaur shaped toy will be made based on the block diagram shown in  FIG. 10 . A storage unit  70  stores an operation program. A processing unit  71  controls such that the number of revolutions of the motor  11  and the luminescent color of two-color diode (not shown) embedded in the eyes are different depending upon “OFF” or “ON” of the leaf switch  54 .  
      Next, an explanation of the movements of the neck  2 , the upper jaw  3 , and the lower jaw  4  of the dinosaur shaped toy constituted as above will be made based on the structural view shown in  FIG. 5 .  
      In the above dinosaur shaped toy, a four-section link is formed with the frame  13 , the link plate  17 , the cylindrical link  18 , and the back portion  37  of the lower jaw  4 . The link plate  17  (neck  2 ) extends in a direction of the motor  10 , and the tip thereof is coupled to the eccentric position of the disk  12 .  
      That is, in the dinosaur shaped toy, the four-section link is formed with the trunk  1  comprising the frame  13 , the neck  2  and the upper jaw  3  comprising the link plate  17 , and the lower jaw  4  comprising the back portion  37 .  
      When the disk  12  is rotated by the motor  10 , the neck  2 , the upper jaw  3 , and the lower jaw  4  rotate around the shaft  15  and the shaft  16  of the frame  13  arranged on the trunk  1  as a center. As shown in the solid line, the upper jaw  3  and the lower jaw  4  open at the top dead point, and the upper jaw  3  and the lower jaw  4  close at the bottom dead point as shown in the double line.  
      The explanation was made for the basic mechanism of the dinosaur shaped toy above, however, in the above dinosaur shape toy, the shaft  26  of each upper jaw part  25  is inserted into the bearing  23  of each neck part  21 , and the shaft  27  of each upper jaw part  25  is inserted into the long hole  24  of each neck part  21 , thereby engaging the upper jaw  3  with the neck  2 . Accordingly, the upper jaw  3  can be inclined in an up and down direction within the range of the long hole  24  to the neck  2 .  
      Moreover, in the above dinosaur shaped toy, the tongue part  32  fits into the groove  39  of the inner part  31  of the lower jaw  4  to be held rotatably, and the piece  41  of the tongue part  32  contacts the neck  2 . Accordingly, when the angle of the neck  2  to the lower jaw  4  changes, the tongue part  32  rotates in an up and down direction. That is, in this dinosaur shaped toy, when the lower jaw  4  is in the opened state, the tongue part can be positioned to be apart from the shell part  30 .  
      Further, in the above dinosaur shaped toy, a transparent box  42  having a built-in lamp such as an LED or the like is arranged on the upper jaw  3  to face the holes  29 .  
      Moreover, in the dinosaur shape toy, crank shafts  50 ,  50  are arranged on both side surfaces of the box  10 . These crank shafts  50 ,  50  are positioned with a phase of 180 degrees. The legs  6 ,  6  are arranged on the both side surfaces of the box  10  to be capable of moving backward and forward. The legs  6 ,  6  engage the crank shafts  50 ,  50 , respectively, so that the backward movement and the forward movement are alternately performed with the rotation of the crank shafts  50 ,  50 .  
      Moreover, in the dinosaur shaped toy, the tail  5  is attached to the rear surface of the box  10  to be swingable from side to side. Not shown pieces are slidably arranged on guides  51  formed on both side surfaces of the box  10 , respectively. One end of each piece contacts the crank shaft  50 , and the other end thereof contacts the tail  5 . Thus, when the crank shafts  50 ,  50  move, these pieces also move, so that the tail  5  can be moved from side to side.  
      Moreover, in the dinosaur shaped toy, a main switch  52  is arranged on the upper surface of the box  10 , the pawl member  53  to drive the motor  11  is arranged on one side surface of the box  10 , a sub switch (not shown) to blink a lamp such as an LED of the box  42  (for example, two-color light emitting diode) is arranged on the other side surface of the box  10 . When the main switch  52  is ON, the crank shafts  50  move, and the lamp such as an LED of the box  42  lights up with green. When the pawl member  53  is moved to the side of ON, the neck  2 , the upper jaw  3 , and the lower jaw  4  move, and the color of the lamp changes from green to red.  
      Moreover, in the above embodiment, the disk  12  is rotated directly by the motor  11 , however, the configuration may be such that a motor to rotate the crank shafts  50  is connected to the shaft of the disk  12  through a clutch or the like, and the clutch is connected by the above sub pawl member  53  to rotate the disk  12 . In this case, the movement of the head including the neck  2 , the upper jaw  3 , and the lower jaw  4 , the movement of the legs  6 ,  6 , the movement of the tail  5 , and further the movement of the hands  7 ,  7  can be performed by one motor.  
      In the above embodiment, the explanation was made of the example in which the drive mechanism of the present invention is applied to the dinosaur shaped toy, however, it is to be understood that the drive mechanism of the present invention can also be applied to other animal toys, doll toys or the like.  
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION  
      Explaining the typical effect of the present invention, a portion of the body forms the control unit, and when the control unit is controlled, the form changes and the movement which is different before and after the form change is performed. Thus, the robot toy which has various form changes and movement changes with high amusement can be realized.