EP0201626A2 - Walking toy - Google Patents
Walking toy Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0201626A2 EP0201626A2 EP85111758A EP85111758A EP0201626A2 EP 0201626 A2 EP0201626 A2 EP 0201626A2 EP 85111758 A EP85111758 A EP 85111758A EP 85111758 A EP85111758 A EP 85111758A EP 0201626 A2 EP0201626 A2 EP 0201626A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- walking
- toy
- torso
- flywheel
- drive device
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
- A63H11/00—Self-movable toy figures
- A63H11/14—Mechanically-moved walking figures balanced by gyrostatic effects
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a structure of a walking toy with two legs such as a toy robot which is provided with a flywheel in the torso thereof and the posture is retained stable by utilizing the gyroscopic precession of the flywheel while walking uprightly.
- the present invention is directed to a walking toy which can walk uprightly and change its walking direction in a stable manner, by providing a motor exclusively used for obtaining the gyroscopic precession from the flywheel and another motor for driving the two leg members.
- Conventional upright walking toys such as walking dolls have generally a single motor mounted in the torso thereof and a speed reduction mechanism coupled to the motor which constitutes a power device for walking toys.
- a crank shaft coupled to the power device is adapted to drive left and right leg members such that the leg members are alternately moved fore and aft by drive force from the power device, thereby enabling to make the toy walk.
- the present invention has been made to eliminate the prior art problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking toy which is stable while walking and can change its turning direction as desired.
- the walking toy comprises a pair of supporting feet; leg members respectively mounted pivotally on the pair of supporting feet; two cooperation means coupled in cooperative association with the leg members; a drive device mounted on a frame member formed in a torso section of the toy for swinging one of the cooperation means, which is swingingly coupled to the drive device; a flywheel mounted on the torso and having its rotation shaft substantially horizontal; and drive motors respectively for the drive device and the flywheel.
- Fig.1 is an exploded and perspective view of the main part of the walking toy according to an embodiment of the present .invention; Fig.2 is a partially broken side view of the main portion of the walking toy; Fig.3 is a partially broken front view of the walking toy; and Figs.4(a) to (d) are views for explaining the operation of walking of the toy.
- numeral 1 represents a supporting foot of generally disk shape having a shaft member 2 extending upward from the middle of the disk portion of the supporting foot 1.
- a leg member 3 is rotatably mounted on the shaft member 2.
- a pair of leg members 3 are fixed at upper ends thereof to respective plates 4, the plate being formed with two apertures 5 and 6 spaced from each other by a predetermined distance along the longitudinal direction of the plate 4.
- Two cooperation members 7 and 8 respectively formed with apertures 9 and 10 are coupled to the plates 4 by rivets 11 and 12 inserted into the apertures 6, 9 and 5, 10, respectively, such that the right and left leg members 3 can be moved maintaining parallel during up and down motion of the members while walking.
- Numeral 13 represents a torso of a box shape of the toy.
- a frame member composed of a plurality of plates 14, 15 and 16 fixedly screwed to the torso 13.
- Through holes 17 are formed at the lower portion of the frame member, into which through holes 17 a shaft 18 mounted on the cooperation member 7 is inserted to thereby enable the pivotal movement of the cooperation member 7 relative to the frame member.
- the cooperation member 7 is integrally formed with an operation piece 20 having an elongated hole 19 and is generally of an inverted T character shape.
- the other cooperation member 8 coupled at the opposite side of the plate 6 relative to the cooperation member 7 is formed with an aperture 21 through which the shaft 18 extends to the through hole 17 of the plate 14, thus the pivotal movement of the operation member 8 is not restricted by the rotation of the shaft 18.
- Numeral 22 represents a drive motor for driving the operation member 7 to swing or pivot relative to the shaft 18.
- the drive motor 22 is fixedly screwed between the plates 14 and 15 with its output shaft provided with a pinion 23.
- the pinion 23 is coupled to a reduction device comprising reduction gears 26, 27, 28 and 29, each gear meshing with each other in this order and having a pinion gear except the gear 29 as shown in the figure.
- the pinion gear of the spur gear 28 rotatably supported by a shaft 24 meshes with the spur gear 29 fixed to a rotation shaft 25 supported between the plates 15 and 16.
- One end of the rotation shaft 25, on the output side of the reduction device is provided with a cam member 30 formed on an eccentric member 31 eccentrically mounted relative to the rotation shaft 25.
- the cam member 30 of the eccentric member 31 is inserted into the elongated hole 20 of the operation piece 21 of the cooperation member 7.
- a motor housing 32 is formed above the frame member in the torso, the longitudinal axis of the housing 32 of an elongated cylinder shape being substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction of the cooperation member 7.
- the rotation shaft 34 of the motor 33 is coupled to a flywheel 35.
- Numeral 36 represents a receiver for a remote radio control operation, the receiver 36 being powered by a not shown battery and constructed such that the motors 22 and 33 are independently controlled by not shown drive circuits.
- the reduction device comprising the reduction gear 26 meshing with the pinion 23 of the motor 22, reduction gears 27, 28 and 29 causes the rotation shaft 25 to rotate at a predetermined reduction rate.
- the cam member 30 of the eccentric member 31 connected to the rotation shaft 25 then rotates to thereby make the cooperation member 7 swing with the cam member 30 engaged with the elongated hole 19 of the operation piece 20. Therefore, by virtue of the swing movement of the cooperation member 7, the right and left leg members 3 are alternately moved up and down while remaining parallel with each other due to the provision of the other operation member 8.
- the flywheel 35 rotates at a high speed to thereby obtain a gyroscopic effect with the direction of torque perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cooperation member 7.
- Fig.4 (d) where the walking toy stands with its torso 13 slanted, even in such case the slant of the torso 23 is automatically corrected due to the torque generated from the gyroscopic effect.
- the walking toy can stand upright and in turn stand on a single foot as shown in Figs.4 (b) or 4(c).
- the walking toy standing on a single foot 1a with the other foot 1b apart from the floor, as shown in Fig.4 (b) for example, is then pivotable on the shaft 2 of the supporting foot 1a.
- the torso 13 will be rotated in a certain horizontal direction.
- the motor 22 is rendered to be rotated so as to change the slant direction of the cooperation member 7.
- the posture of the walking toy standing on the single foot la is changed from Fig.4(a) to Fig.4(c) with the help of the gyroscopic effect.
- the walking toy stands on the single foot 1b with the other foot 1a spaced apart from the floor while maintaining an upright posture of the torso 13. Then, it is possible to rotate the torso 13 in a certain horizontal direction about the shaft 2 of the supporting foot 1b. The above operation are repeated to effect the change of turning direction while standing on a single foot and the forward walking one foot after another.
- the walking toy standing on the single foot contacting the floor can be turned about its foot. By changing the timings for the turning motion of the walking toy, a desired walking direction can be obtained.
- the provision of the flywheel within the torso and the motor for exclusively driving the flywheel enables to obtain the gyroscopic effect caused by a high speed rotation of the flywheel and the stable upright posture of the toy walking on two feet.
- the provision of another drive motor for effecting the alternate raising of the feet enables to turn the walking direction of the torso with the help of the torque generated by the gyroscopic effect. Therefore, even with a high position of the center of gravity of the walking toy, there is no fear of swinging the center of gravity while walking.
- the gyroscopic effect gives automatic restoration of the stable upright posture and enables to stand on a single foot, thus always ensuring a stable walking.
- a desired walking direction can be obtained with a relatively natural walking posture.
Abstract
A walking toy includes a pair of supporting feet; leg members respectively mounted pivotally on the pair of supporting feet; two cooperation members coupled in cooperative association with the leg members; a drive device mounted on a frame member formed in a torso section of the toy for swinging one of the cooperation members, which is swingingly coupled to the drive device; a flywheel mounted on the torso and having its rotation shaft substantially horizontal; and drive motors respectively for the drive device and the flywheel.
Description
- The present invention relates to a structure of a walking toy with two legs such as a toy robot which is provided with a flywheel in the torso thereof and the posture is retained stable by utilizing the gyroscopic precession of the flywheel while walking uprightly. Particularly,, the present invention is directed to a walking toy which can walk uprightly and change its walking direction in a stable manner, by providing a motor exclusively used for obtaining the gyroscopic precession from the flywheel and another motor for driving the two leg members. (Prior Art)
- Conventional upright walking toys such as walking dolls have generally a single motor mounted in the torso thereof and a speed reduction mechanism coupled to the motor which constitutes a power device for walking toys. A crank shaft coupled to the power device is adapted to drive left and right leg members such that the leg members are alternately moved fore and aft by drive force from the power device, thereby enabling to make the toy walk.
- The above conventional toy structure is however associated with some drawbacks that since the power device is accommodated within the torso of the toy and positioned above the two leg members substantially centrally of the torso, the center of gravity of the toy swings right and left as the toy walks, thereby degrading the upright stability of the toy. In order to overcome such problems, auxiliary supporting members have been provided for the respective leg members so as to ensure the upright stability even while the toy stands on a single leg member. This method, however, disadvantageous in that the outer appearance of the toy is deteriorated, the movement of the toy is somewhat unnatural, and only the forward walking is possible without enabling a turn walking.
- The present invention has been made to eliminate the prior art problems. It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking toy which is stable while walking and can change its turning direction as desired.
- According to the present invention, the walking toy comprises a pair of supporting feet; leg members respectively mounted pivotally on the pair of supporting feet; two cooperation means coupled in cooperative association with the leg members; a drive device mounted on a frame member formed in a torso section of the toy for swinging one of the cooperation means, which is swingingly coupled to the drive device; a flywheel mounted on the torso and having its rotation shaft substantially horizontal; and drive motors respectively for the drive device and the flywheel.
- Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings.
- Fig.1 is an exploded and perspective view of the main part of the walking toy according to an embodiment of the present .invention; Fig.2 is a partially broken side view of the main portion of the walking toy; Fig.3 is a partially broken front view of the walking toy; and Figs.4(a) to (d) are views for explaining the operation of walking of the toy.
- Referring now to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment of the present invention,
numeral 1 represents a supporting foot of generally disk shape having ashaft member 2 extending upward from the middle of the disk portion of the supportingfoot 1. Aleg member 3 is rotatably mounted on theshaft member 2. - A pair of
leg members 3 are fixed at upper ends thereof torespective plates 4, the plate being formed with twoapertures plate 4. Twocooperation members apertures 9 and 10 are coupled to theplates 4 byrivets apertures left leg members 3 can be moved maintaining parallel during up and down motion of the members while walking. -
Numeral 13 represents a torso of a box shape of the toy. At the bottom of thetorso 13, there is provided a frame member composed of a plurality ofplates torso 13. Throughholes 17 are formed at the lower portion of the frame member, into which through holes 17 ashaft 18 mounted on thecooperation member 7 is inserted to thereby enable the pivotal movement of thecooperation member 7 relative to the frame member. Thecooperation member 7 is integrally formed with anoperation piece 20 having anelongated hole 19 and is generally of an inverted T character shape. Theother cooperation member 8 coupled at the opposite side of theplate 6 relative to thecooperation member 7 is formed with anaperture 21 through which theshaft 18 extends to the throughhole 17 of theplate 14, thus the pivotal movement of theoperation member 8 is not restricted by the rotation of theshaft 18. -
Numeral 22 represents a drive motor for driving theoperation member 7 to swing or pivot relative to theshaft 18. Thedrive motor 22 is fixedly screwed between theplates pinion 23. Thepinion 23 is coupled to a reduction device comprisingreduction gears gear 29 as shown in the figure. The pinion gear of thespur gear 28 rotatably supported by ashaft 24 meshes with thespur gear 29 fixed to arotation shaft 25 supported between theplates rotation shaft 25, on the output side of the reduction device, is provided with acam member 30 formed on aneccentric member 31 eccentrically mounted relative to therotation shaft 25. Thecam member 30 of theeccentric member 31 is inserted into theelongated hole 20 of theoperation piece 21 of thecooperation member 7. - A
motor housing 32 is formed above the frame member in the torso, the longitudinal axis of thehousing 32 of an elongated cylinder shape being substantially parallel with the longitudinal direction of thecooperation member 7. Therotation shaft 34 of themotor 33 is coupled to aflywheel 35. -
Numeral 36 represents a receiver for a remote radio control operation, thereceiver 36 being powered by a not shown battery and constructed such that themotors - The operation of the walking toy constructed as above will be described. Upon rotation of the
motor 22, the reduction device comprising thereduction gear 26 meshing with thepinion 23 of themotor 22,reduction gears rotation shaft 25 to rotate at a predetermined reduction rate. Thecam member 30 of theeccentric member 31 connected to therotation shaft 25 then rotates to thereby make thecooperation member 7 swing with thecam member 30 engaged with theelongated hole 19 of theoperation piece 20. Therefore, by virtue of the swing movement of thecooperation member 7, the right andleft leg members 3 are alternately moved up and down while remaining parallel with each other due to the provision of theother operation member 8. Upon rotation of themotor 33, theflywheel 35 rotates at a high speed to thereby obtain a gyroscopic effect with the direction of torque perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of thecooperation member 7. For example, as shown in Fig.4 (d) where the walking toy stands with itstorso 13 slanted, even in such case the slant of thetorso 23 is automatically corrected due to the torque generated from the gyroscopic effect. Thus, the walking toy can stand upright and in turn stand on a single foot as shown in Figs.4 (b) or 4(c). The walking toy standing on asingle foot 1a with theother foot 1b apart from the floor, as shown in Fig.4 (b) for example, is then pivotable on theshaft 2 of the supportingfoot 1a. In this condition, due to the torque of the gyroscopic effect acting upon thetorso 13, thetorso 13 will be rotated in a certain horizontal direction. Next, during the rotation of thetorso 13, themotor 22 is rendered to be rotated so as to change the slant direction of thecooperation member 7. As a result, the posture of the walking toy standing on the single foot la is changed from Fig.4(a) to Fig.4(c) with the help of the gyroscopic effect. Thus, in this case, the walking toy stands on thesingle foot 1b with theother foot 1a spaced apart from the floor while maintaining an upright posture of thetorso 13. Then, it is possible to rotate thetorso 13 in a certain horizontal direction about theshaft 2 of the supportingfoot 1b. The above operation are repeated to effect the change of turning direction while standing on a single foot and the forward walking one foot after another. In particular, while maintaining the upright posture of thetorso 13 by the gyroscopic effect generated by the rotation of themotor 33, the walking toy standing on the single foot contacting the floor can be turned about its foot. By changing the timings for the turning motion of the walking toy, a desired walking direction can be obtained. - As appreciated from the above description, the provision of the flywheel within the torso and the motor for exclusively driving the flywheel enables to obtain the gyroscopic effect caused by a high speed rotation of the flywheel and the stable upright posture of the toy walking on two feet. In addition, the provision of another drive motor for effecting the alternate raising of the feet enables to turn the walking direction of the torso with the help of the torque generated by the gyroscopic effect. Therefore, even with a high position of the center of gravity of the walking toy, there is no fear of swinging the center of gravity while walking. Specifically, the gyroscopic effect gives automatic restoration of the stable upright posture and enables to stand on a single foot, thus always ensuring a stable walking. Furthermore, by controlling the timings for changing the turning direction, a desired walking direction can be obtained with a relatively natural walking posture.
- While a preferred embodiment has been described, variations thereto will occur to those skilled in the art within the scope of the present inventive concepts which are delineated by the following claims.
Claims (4)
1. A walking toy comprising; a pair of supporting feet; leg members respectively mounted pivotally on the pair of supporting feet; two cooperation means coupled in cooperative association with the leg members; a drive device mounted on a frame member formed in a torso section of the toy for swinging one of the cooperation means, which is swingingly coupled to the drive device; a flywheel mounted on the torso and having its rotation shaft substantially horizontal; and drive motors respectively for the drive device and the flywheel.
2. A walking toy according to claim 1, wherein said cooperation means are disposed substantially in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the rotation shaft of said flywheel.
3. A walking toy according to claim 1, wherein said drive device for swinging one of said cooperation means comprises an operation piece formed integrally with said one of cooperation means having an elongated hole; a cam member formed on an eccentric member mounted on an output shaft of a reduction device coupled to said drive motor; and wherein said cam member of said eccentric member is inserted for engagement with said elongated hole of said operation piece.
4. A walking toy according to claim 1, wherein said pair of supporting feet are of a disk shape and respectively formed centrally thereof with shaft members for pivotally coupling said supporting feet.
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP98639/85 | 1985-05-09 | ||
JP9863985A JPS61255682A (en) | 1985-05-09 | 1985-05-09 | Walking toy |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0201626A2 true EP0201626A2 (en) | 1986-11-20 |
EP0201626A3 EP0201626A3 (en) | 1988-11-23 |
Family
ID=14225077
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP85111758A Withdrawn EP0201626A3 (en) | 1985-05-09 | 1985-09-17 | Walking toy walking toy |
Country Status (3)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0201626A3 (en) |
JP (1) | JPS61255682A (en) |
AU (1) | AU4641285A (en) |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4878875A (en) * | 1988-01-22 | 1989-11-07 | Pin Hung Lin | Novel climbing toy |
US5823845A (en) * | 1996-03-12 | 1998-10-20 | Kieran Bergin, Inc. | Mobile, gyroscopically stabilized toy with controlled multi-action movements |
US6276985B1 (en) | 2001-02-16 | 2001-08-21 | Howard M. Kober | Gyroscopic motion device |
US6620021B2 (en) * | 2001-11-13 | 2003-09-16 | Da-Ming Liu | Oscillation device of motion toy |
US8784154B2 (en) | 2010-11-23 | 2014-07-22 | Mattel, Inc. | Toy figure with reciprocally movable limb |
US8956198B1 (en) | 2010-09-27 | 2015-02-17 | Mattel, Inc. | Walking toy |
Families Citing this family (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
HU205836B (en) * | 1985-09-24 | 1992-07-28 | Ss Pharmaceutical Co | Aquous fungicide dispersion containing thiabendazol and sacharoze-fatty acid ester |
JPH043790U (en) * | 1990-04-23 | 1992-01-14 |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE7403364U (en) * | 1974-06-20 | Max Carl Kg | Game figure with running movement | |
US4365437A (en) * | 1981-04-15 | 1982-12-28 | Jameson John W | Gyroscopic walking toy |
US4555237A (en) * | 1983-11-25 | 1985-11-26 | Tomy Kogyo Company, Incorporated | Walking and rolling toy |
Family Cites Families (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JPS5494582U (en) * | 1977-12-16 | 1979-07-04 | ||
JPS5631279U (en) * | 1979-08-17 | 1981-03-26 |
-
1985
- 1985-05-09 JP JP9863985A patent/JPS61255682A/en active Granted
- 1985-08-19 AU AU46412/85A patent/AU4641285A/en not_active Abandoned
- 1985-09-17 EP EP85111758A patent/EP0201626A3/en not_active Withdrawn
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE7403364U (en) * | 1974-06-20 | Max Carl Kg | Game figure with running movement | |
US4365437A (en) * | 1981-04-15 | 1982-12-28 | Jameson John W | Gyroscopic walking toy |
US4555237A (en) * | 1983-11-25 | 1985-11-26 | Tomy Kogyo Company, Incorporated | Walking and rolling toy |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US4878875A (en) * | 1988-01-22 | 1989-11-07 | Pin Hung Lin | Novel climbing toy |
US5823845A (en) * | 1996-03-12 | 1998-10-20 | Kieran Bergin, Inc. | Mobile, gyroscopically stabilized toy with controlled multi-action movements |
US6276985B1 (en) | 2001-02-16 | 2001-08-21 | Howard M. Kober | Gyroscopic motion device |
US6620021B2 (en) * | 2001-11-13 | 2003-09-16 | Da-Ming Liu | Oscillation device of motion toy |
US8956198B1 (en) | 2010-09-27 | 2015-02-17 | Mattel, Inc. | Walking toy |
US8784154B2 (en) | 2010-11-23 | 2014-07-22 | Mattel, Inc. | Toy figure with reciprocally movable limb |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JPH0465712B2 (en) | 1992-10-20 |
AU4641285A (en) | 1986-11-13 |
EP0201626A3 (en) | 1988-11-23 |
JPS61255682A (en) | 1986-11-13 |
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18D | Application deemed to be withdrawn |
Effective date: 19890524 |
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RIN1 | Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected) |
Inventor name: MASUBUCHI, HIROSHIC/O TOCHIGI FACTORY K.K. BANDAI |