AU615351B2 - Wheeled plaything - Google Patents

Description

AU STRA LI A Patents1 Act COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(ORIGINAL)

Class Int. Class Application Number: Lodged: 61535 Complete Specification Lodlged: Acceptedl: a SRelated Art: Published: APPLICANT'S REF,: CAP of PJ 1106 ~I a a a 4' a a a a a *44 ~.4h4 ii 4 Name(s) of Applicant(s): Addrcss(cs) or Applicant(s): FIRST DORANI PTY. LTD.

15 IKevin Avenua, Ferntree Gully, Victoria$ Aust.ral'ia Actual Inventor(s): ~4 I~ 10 89 Address for Service is: PI-IILLI PS, ORMONDE AND FITZPATRICK Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys 367 Collins Street Melbourne, Australia, 3000 Complete Specification for the invention entitled: 11WHtELED PLAYTHING" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to applicant(s): 11 19/3/84 to o a o *a .994 9 0# *9 0 #99.

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*9* 9 99,4 '999 9 @9 94 0 8 *4 *a 0 *9 WHEELED PLAYTHING This invention relates generally to a wheeled plaything for children, and in particular to the construction of the plaything as involving connection of the wheels to a frame or body of the plaything. The invention is applicable to ride-on and ride-in toys, trucks, trolleys, trailers, wagons and other wheeled toys, and it will be convenient to hereinafter describe the invention in relation to that exemplary application. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to that application.

In the construction of wheeled playthings, the wheels are typically rotatably connected to a frame or body of the plaything by axle arrangements. In one arrangement one or more through axles extent across the frame or body so as to support wheels at opposite ends thereof or intermediate those ends. One such plaything with this arrangement is a wheeled WALKER WAGON having a body including a support tray with low side and end walls in which play blocks or other articles can be carried, and a handle projecting upwardly and rearwardly from the body for gripping and pushing of the wagon by a child. A pair of through axles extend across the body and are journalled in the side walls. Axle ends project outwardly from the side walls and separate wheels are rotatably mounted thereon.

In an alternative arrangement, stub axles may be mounted at one end in the frame or body and project therefrom so that respective wheels are supported toward the other end thereof.

The frame or body of the wheeled playthings is usually constructed independently of the axles so that the axles do not assist in the construction or assembly of the frame or body. Thus, the axles are only used to rotatably connect the wheels to the frame or body, and additional connection arrangements are required for assembling parts of the frame or body together. That is so with the WALKER WAGON where adhesive and fastening elements, such as staples, are used to assemble the tray and separate walls of the body together prior to fitting of the axles and wheels.

In the case of the WALKER WAGON this separate assembly of the body with adhesive and fastening elements is a 9*9.

O 9 4949 0 3 9 9 39 2 i, II significant construction cost, adversely affecting unit end costs which can be ill-afforded in the very competitive and price sensitive plaything and toy market. Moreover, it has been found on occassion that the adhesive and fastening elements fail so that the body will come apart, particularly under vigorous use by children.

It is an object of the present invention to alleviate these problems through the provision of an improved, simpler wheeled plaything construction.

to It is another object of the present invention to provide a wheeled plaything having a simple wheel connection.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a wheeled plaything which is easy and inexpensive to construct and assemble yet is robust in use.

With these objects in mind, the present invention broadly provides a wheeled plaything including: a body having S walls abutting, and extending from, one another; a plurality S of support wheels by which the plaything is supported and ,rrr S rolls during use; and, a plurality of axle members each connecting a respective support wheel to the body for rotation o. so as to roll the plaything, each axle member being elongate and extending through the respective support wheel and also through one of the walls and into another of the walls abutting thereto so as to rigidly connect those abutting walls together.

In at least one embodiment, the axle members are the S sole form of connection between the abutting walls. However, in one embodiment, adhesive is applied between the walls to Sassist the axle members in connecting them together.

S Moreover, in another embodiment, interfitting or interlocking joints are formed between the body parts to assist the axle S members in connecting them together. Adhesive may or may not Sbe used with these joints.

Each axle member includes an axle shank connected to the abutting walls in one embodiment. An enlarged head is provided on the axle shank remote from the body, the respective support wheel being rotatably retained on the axle shank between the enlarged head and body in this embodiment.

N In one embodiment the axle shank has a screw threaded

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0 -3j portion for screw threaded connection to the abutting walls.

In at least one embodiment, each axle member includes an abutment shoulder. That shoulder extends about each respective axle shank and presses against an outer surface of one of the wall through which the axle shank extends. In one embodiment, each axle member includes a separate sleeve fitted over each axle shank and extending between the enlarged head and outer surface, one end region of the sleeve providing the abutment shoulder. The enlarged head presses the sleeve so that the one end region engages the outer surface of that wall through which the axle shank extends.

The following description refers to a preferred embodiment of the plaything of the present invention. To facilitate an understanding of the invention, reference is made in the description to the accompanying drawings where the plaything is illustrated in that preferred embodiment. It is to be understood that the plaything is not limited to the S preferred embodiment as hereinafter described and as ri 0 4l S illustrated in the drawings.

In the drawings: o Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a detail of one embodiment of the wheeled plaything; and, Ole Fig. 2 is a sectional view of the plaything detail through Section II-II of Fig. i.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a corner detail of wheeled plaything 1 which includes frame or body 2 having flat support tray 3, and a pair of spaced apart low S side walls 4 and a pair of spaced apart end walls 5 (of which only one of each is shown) upstanding from tray 3. In one 1 embodiment (as shown), walls 4, 5 have slots 6 into which edge regions 7 of tray 3 fit for support and connection. Moreover, in this embodiment, end walls 5 end butt against side walls 4.

Plaything 1 also includes a plurality of support wheels a 8 (of which only one is shown) by which plaything 1 is supported and rolls during ise. Typically, four wheels 8 are provided, one adjacent each corner of body 2. Each wheel 8 is of any suitable construction and, as shown, may include hub 9 providing axle bore 10 defining axis of rotation 11, and tread 4 '4 1* 00 0 on 0 a o oo 0 80 o t 0 04 0 *a0* O 0 O 00 OQib 0000 0 0 00 12 connected to hub 9 by means of web 13, Conveniently, wheels 8 are molded of plastics material, although other materials may be equally suitable.

Plaything 1 further includes axle means 14 rotatably connecting wheels 8 to body 2. Axle means 14 also simultaneously connects side walls 4 and end walls 5 rigidly together. In particular, in the embodiment shown, axle means 14 connects each wheel 8 to a respective side wall 4 and also connects that side wall 4 to an end wall 5 associated therewith so that those walls 4, 5 are connected together.

Multiple wheels 8 are connected to the same side walls 4 in this embodiment.

In this embodiment, axle means 14 includes separate axle member 15 for connecting each wheel 8 to body 2. Each axle member 15 is elongate with respective wheels 8 being mounted thereon so axle members 15 lie along respective axes of rotation 1. Moreover, in this one embodiment each axle member 15 extends longitudinally through side walls 4 to which respective wheels 8 are connected, and projects into end walls Each axle member 15 includes axle shank 16 having connecting portion 17 by which axle member 15 is connected to body 2 and walls 4, 5 are connected together, and mounting portion 18 which projects outwardly from body 2 and on which respective wheel 8 is mounted for rotation. In this embodiment, each connecting portion 17 rigidly connects each axle member 15 to body 2 and respective wheel 8 is freely rotatably journalled onto fixed mounting portion 18 through hub 9.

In this embodiment, each axle shank 16 has a screw thread at connecting portion 17 so as to screw connect each axle member 15 into body 2. The screw thread may extend along connecting portion 17 a sufficient distance so as to screw connect connecting portion 17 into side and end walls 4, 5 in one embodiment. In an alternative embodiment, there is no such screw thread connection with side walls 4, connecting portion simply passing through side walls 4. Depending on the materials of walls 4, 5 and axle shanks 16, the screw thread may self tap into walls 4, 5 (for example, where walls 4, 0 6 0 00 0 00 0 0 00 0000 a 0 0 030 0 3 i 1 30 o uo 0 3 39 5 are composed of timber or plastic), whilst alternatively a mating screw thread may be preformed in walls 4, 5 (for example, where walls 4, 5 are composed of metal).

In this embodiment each axle member 15 has abutment shoulder 19 on shank 16 which engages upon an outer surface of side wall 4 when the screw thread screw connects into body 2.

This engagement causes side wall 4 to be pressed by shoulder 19 against end wall 5 so as to tightly secure walls 4, together. In this embodiment, the pressure applied by the abutment should 19 is sufficient to drive shoulder 19 a short distance into side wall 4 at least where that wall 4 is composed of soft material, such as timber. In this embodiment, abutment shoulder 19 is located between connecting and mounting portions 17, 18 of axle shank 16 of each axle member 15. Each abutment shoulder 19 is formed integral with respective shank 16 in one embodiment (not shown), whilst in another embodiment (as shown) shoulder 19 is provided by an end region of sleeve 20 slid over shank 16 and overlying mounting portion 18 of respective axle member 204. Each axle member 15 also includes enlarged head 21 on axle shank 16. Head 21 is integral with axle shank 16 in this embodiment, although may be separable therefrom in other embodiments. Head 21 acts to retain respective wheel 8 in position on shank mounting portion 18. In addition, in this embodiment, head 21 has provision for connection of a tool S. (not shown) to screw connect axle member 15 to body 2. That head 21 has flats (not shown) for connection of a spanner or a slotted recess 22 for connection of a screw driver, in alternative embodiments.

1 30 Where sleeve 20 provides abutment shoulder 19 of each S* axle member 15, then sleeve 20 abuts against enlarged head 21 so as to be driven into engagement with side wall 4 and held firmly between side wall 4 and head 21.

In this embodiment (as shown), axle means 14 is the sole form of connection between side walls 4 and end walls 5. In that regard, separate fastening elements, such as screws, rivets and staples, are not used.

In one embodiment (not shown), an adhesive may be used 39 in addition only to axle means 14 to connect walls 4, 6

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together. Thus, only adhesive and axle means 14 rigidly connect walls 4, 5 together, In a further embodiment (as shown), interfitting or interlocking joints 22 are provided between side walls 4 and end walls 5 and are used to assist axle means 14 in rigidly connecting walls 4, 5 together. Adhesive may be provided at joints 23 to assist wall 4, 5 connection.

Wheeled plaything 1 of the present invention has been described in a constructed or assembled condition. That is 1 0 how plaything 1 may be typically marketed. However, it should be appreciated that plaything 1 may alternatively be marketed in an unassembled, kit condition ready for assembly by a purchaser. The present invention is applicable to playthings a0 0 o o in both assembled and unassembled condition.

°o With the wheeled plaything of the present invention, the a 'o wheels are connected to a frame or body with an axle means o00 ODo which also connects together parts of that frame or body.

°O This alleviates the need for separate connection of the frame "o0o or body parts. Moreover, because assembly of the parts and connection of the wheels to the frame or body can be achieved generally simultaneously, construction time of the plaything is quite rapid. This all provides the basis for minimising or a reducing construction costs.

a 0O 0 oo In addition, the use of the wheel axle means to connect 004o the body parts together provides a more rigid structure less o"o likely to collapse or fall apart. This is because the axle 0 o o means tends to unify the various plaything components, when compared with previous similar arrangements where different Soo fastening end connection was used between those components.

3 °0to Finally, it is to be understood that various additions and/or modifications may be made to the wheeled plaything without departing from the ambit of the present invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

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Claims (2)

1. 9. A wheeled plaything as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the body has a support tray, and the walls include a pair of spaced apart side walls upstanding along respective opposite sides of the tray and a pair of spaced apart end walls upstanding along respective opposite ends of the tray and extending between and abutting the side walls. A wheeled plaything as claimed in claim 9, wherein four of the support wheels are provided, the support wheels being positioned adjacent respective opposite end regions of the side walls, and each axle member extends through one of the side walls and into one of the end walls so as to rigidly connect the side and end walls together.
2. 11. A wheeled plaything substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 0 0 oo DATED: 17 June, 1991 S PHILLIPS ORMONDE FITZPATRICK oo, Attorneys for: FIRST DORANI PTY. LTD. t o e 6 0 0 e ao 5217E 0 0 9 KW 9