Patent ID: 12208339

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments in this document and their various characteristics and advantageous details are explained in further detail with reference to the non-limiting embodiments shown in the attached drawings and detailed in the following description. The descriptions of components and well-known processing techniques have been omitted so as not to make the embodiments in this document unnecessarily complex. Moreover, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, since some embodiments can combine with one or more embodiments to make new embodiments. The term “or”, as used in this document, refers to non-exclusive, unless otherwise stated. The examples used in this document are just intended to enable a better understanding of the ways in which the embodiments in this document can be carried out and allow experts in the technique to carry them out. Consequently, the examples must not be understood as limiting the scope of the embodiments in this document.

FIG.1shows a sectional view of an elastic vehicle with rigid wheels. The body of the vehicle comprises a flexible body made of a TPR-type elastomeric polymer, highly deformable, part101, which may include an internal chamber filled with a material that may vary: liquid, sand, gel, paper, etc. The vehicle has four (4) rigid wheels. The image only shows a front wheel and a back wheel, parts104and105, and they are attached to the body through a chassis that has two parts, front part102and back part103, although the chassis does not need to have two parts.

FIG.2illustrates a schematic diagram showing a perspective view of an example of elastic toy vehicle200, according to an embodiment as described in this document. In this embodiment, the elastic toy is the car200, as seen inFIG.2. Hereinafter, the elastic toy car200will be referred to as toy car200, car200and/or elastic car200.

In another embodiment, the elastic toy200may be any other vehicle, for example, but not limited to, a train, a bus and the like.

The car200, as shown inFIG.2, comprises four wheels202,203,204and205(the latter two are not shown or indicated in the drawing). Each wheel is guided by its respective wheel axle, if any.

Numeral201illustrates the deformable elastic outer body of the car200. The outer body201is made of thermoplastic rubber (TPR). TPR has characteristics of both plastic and rubber and is a kind of synthetic rubber. In another embodiment, the outer body201may be made of any other elastic material. The outer body201is layered on an inner body that cannot be seen in the image of the car200. The inner body is a chassis of the car200. The chassis is made of a rigid material. The chassis of the car200comprises two parts: a front part and a back part. The two parts are attached together to form the chassis. The chassis is assembled in such a way that the outer body201and the chassis do not disassemble when the outer body201is pulled and released to a maximum length.

The outer body201together with the inner body make up a system that guides a movement forward of the car200in response to a backward movement by a user.

As seen inFIG.2, the user of the item pulls and releases the outer body201of the car200made of TPR. The outer body201of the car200, when pulled back and released, enables the transmission of direct force towards the wheels. The front transmission acts as a guide for the car200and makes the car200rash forward. Thus, the car200rushes forward thanks to the combination of this elastic material of the outer body201with the rigid chassis of the inner body that holds the wheels and helps transfer the force.

In one embodiment, the car200may have more or fewer characteristics and/or components than those described above.

The toy car200, as seen inFIG.2, moves forward when just the outer body201is pulled back. However, in the existing items, the entire toy is pulled back, not just the outer body201. Therefore, the operation of the existing items and the proposed toy is different.

In one embodiment, the outer body201and the inner body are aligned in such as way that the entire toy car200experiences a movement forward due to the outer body201being pulled and released. The elastic material of the outer body201produces tension when pulled back and even more when the outer body201is released, and this tension turns into a movement forward of the toy car200.

FIG.3shows a view of the rigid inner chassis of the vehicle. In the figure, this chassis comprises a front part301and a back part302, but it could be made up of more than two parts. The rigid wheels would be attached to this chassis.

FIG.4shows an exploded view of a sample toy car400shaped as a shark, according to an embodiment as described in this document. As shown inFIG.4, the toy car400comprises four wheels403,404,405and406together with the corresponding axle. Moreover, the outer body401of the toy vehicle400is made of elastic material. The outer body401of the toy car400may be made of TPR, without it being limited to this material.

The chassis of the toy car that makes up the inner body comprises a front part407and a back part402. The front part407and the back part402make up the chassis when combined. The front part407and the back part402are made of rigid material. Then, wheels403-406are fitted in the chassis.

The outer body401is placed on the combined chassis. The chassis and the outer body401are assembled in such a way that, when the outer body401is pulled back to its maximum extension, the front part407and the back part402of the chassis do not disassemble. In one embodiment, the outer body401of the toy car400is pulled back and released. The user may pull from a back end of the toy car400, the back end being made of TPR. It must be pointed out that the user pulls back and releases only the back end and not the entire toy car400. Pulling the back end back causes a tension in the elastic material (TPR) that makes the toy car400move forward. In this regard, the travel mechanism of the vehicle by pulling the rigid chassis back will be of the conventional type used in the totally rigid toys existing in the market.

The released tension enables a direct transfer of force to the wheels. The forward transfer of force acts as a guide for the toy car400and makes the toy car400race forward. Thus, the toy car400races forward due to the combination of this elastic material of the outer body401with the rigid chassis of the inner body that holds the wheels.

The above description of the specific embodiments will reveal the general nature of the embodiments in this document so fully that others, by applying current know-how, can easily modify and/or adapt it for various applications, such as specific embodiments, without these specific embodiments deviating from the generic concept. Therefore, said adaptations and modifications should aim and aim at being understood within the meaning and range of embodiments that are equivalent to those described. It must be understood that the wording or the terms used in this document are for descriptive rather than limiting purposes. Therefore, even though the embodiments in this document have been described as preferred embodiments, the experts in the technique will admit that the embodiments herein can be carried out with modifications within the scope of the embodiments described in this document.