EP0106928A1 - Toy of compound curved surfaces - Google Patents

Toy of compound curved surfaces Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0106928A1
EP0106928A1 EP82306325A EP82306325A EP0106928A1 EP 0106928 A1 EP0106928 A1 EP 0106928A1 EP 82306325 A EP82306325 A EP 82306325A EP 82306325 A EP82306325 A EP 82306325A EP 0106928 A1 EP0106928 A1 EP 0106928A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
toy
spheres
curved surfaces
sphere
compound curved
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Withdrawn
Application number
EP82306325A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Kunio Sudoh
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Kokushin Sangyo KK
Original Assignee
Kokushin Sangyo KK
Priority date (The priority date 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 date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Kokushin Sangyo KK filed Critical Kokushin Sangyo KK
Publication of EP0106928A1 publication Critical patent/EP0106928A1/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
    • A63H33/00—Other toys
    • A63H33/04—Building blocks, strips, or similar building parts
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
    • A63B43/00—Balls with special arrangements
    • A63B43/002—Balls with special arrangements with special configuration, e.g. non-spherical
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
    • A63B—APPARATUS FOR PHYSICAL TRAINING, GYMNASTICS, SWIMMING, CLIMBING, OR FENCING; BALL GAMES; TRAINING EQUIPMENT
    • A63B2208/00—Characteristics or parameters related to the user or player
    • A63B2208/12—Characteristics or parameters related to the user or player specially adapted for children

Definitions

  • the present invention relates generally to a toy made up of compound curved surfaces and more specifically to an irregularly-bounding elastic toy ball made up of a plurality of curved surfaces which is especially suitable for little children.
  • toy balls As is well-known, there are various spherical or oval (Rugby) toy balls with which little children can play. These toy balls are usually made of foamed plastic resin or by blowing air into a spherical capsule made of polyvinyl chloride, so as not to bound excessively from the standpoint of safety.
  • toy balls are usually made of foamed plastic resin or by blowing air into a spherical capsule made of polyvinyl chloride, so as not to bound excessively from the standpoint of safety.
  • the elastic toy ball of compound curved surfaces according to the present invention has a peculiar shape the contour of which comprises at least four convex spherical surfaces defined as the portions of the surfaces of at least four spheres, the centers of which are disposed at points around a center of the toy ball, and a plurality of concave curved surfaces connecting the at least four convex spherical surfaces.
  • the contour of the elastic toy ball of compound curved surfaces comprises four convex spherical surfaces defined as the portions of the surfaces of four first spheres of equal radius, the centers of which define a regular tetrahedron, and a plurality of concave spherical surfaces connecting the four convex spherical surfaces and defined by trace of the portion of the surface of a second sphere, the radius of which is twice or more greater than that of the first sphere, between points tangent to the first spheres, when the second sphere is rotated about the first spheres while remaining tangent to at least any two of the four first spheres.
  • Fig. 1(A) shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • the elastic toy ball 1 is made up of a plurality of curved surfaces, that is, four convex spherical portions 21, 22, 23 and 24 of four small spheres of equal radius, four concave spherical portions 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d of four large spheres of equal radius, and six saddle portions 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46.
  • the centers of the four small spheres define a regular tetrahedron.
  • the four concave spherical portions are defined, respectively, when one of the four large spheres is tangent to three of the four small spheres.
  • the six saddle portions are defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of the large sphere, between points tangent to the small spheres, when the large sphere is rotated about the small spheres while remaining tangent to two of the small spheres.
  • the elastic toy ball according to the present invention is made of foamed plastic such as foamed urethane.
  • Fig. 1(B) shows a regular tetrahedron 100, the apexes of which are labeled O 1 , 0 2 and 0 3 .
  • the labels 0 0 denotes a center of the regular tetrahedron 100 or the elastic toy ball of the present invention.
  • the segment O 1 A can be expressed as follows:
  • the segment O 1 B (the height of the tetrahedron) can be obtained as follows:
  • the centers O 1 , 0 2 , 0 3 or 0 4 of the four small spheres are located an equal distance l away from the center O 0 in such a way that the six angles subtended by the segments O 0 O 1 and O 0 O 2 , the segment O 0 O 1 and O 0 O 3 , the segments O 0 O 1 and O 0 O 4 , the segments O 0 O 2 and O 0 O 3 , the segments 0 0 0 2 and O 0 O 4 , and the segments O 0 O 3 and 0 0 0 4 are all 120 degrees, respectively.
  • the four small spheres of a small radius r are located so as to be tangent to each other. Therefore, the segment 0102(L) is 2r or equal to the diameter D of the small spheres and the relationship between the segment O 1 O 2 (L) and the segment O 0 O 1 (l) can be expressed as follows:
  • the four small spheres 21', 22', 23' and 24' of a small radius r are located so as to be tangent to each triangular surface of a larger tetrahedron 200, and the four convex spherical portions 21, 22, 23, and 24 are the portions of the surfaces of four small spheres 21', 22', 23' and 24', which are enclosed by each apex portion of the larger tetrahedron 200.
  • each portion of the compound curved surfaces are explained hereinafter in conjunction with the regular tetrahedron 100.
  • the numeral 1 denotes the first edge segment 0 1 0 3 of the small regular tetrahedron 100; the numeral 2 denotes the second edge segment 0 1 0 2 thereof; the numeral 3 denotes the third edge segment O 1 O 4 thereof; the numeral 4 denotes the fourth edge segment 0204 thereof; the numeral 5 denotes the fifth edge segment 0304 thereof; the numeral 6 denotes the sixth edge segment 0 2 0 3 thereof.
  • the label a denotes the first triangular surface of the regular tetrahedron 100 defined by three edge segments 1, 3 and 5;
  • the label b denotes the second triangular surface defined by three segments 1, 2 and 6;
  • the label c denotes the third triangular surface defined by three segments 2, 3 and 4;
  • the label d denotes the fourth triangular surface defined by three segments 4, 5 and 6.
  • the first concave spherical portion 3a corresponds to the first triangular surface a of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • the second concave spherical portion 3b corresponds to the second triangular surface b of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • the third concave spherical portion 3c corresponds the third triangular surface c of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • the fourth concave spherical portion 3d corresponds the fourth triangular surface d of the regular tetrahedron 100.
  • first saddle portion 41 corresponds to the first edge segment 1 of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • second saddle portion 42 corresponds to the second edge segment 2 of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • third saddle portion 43 corresponds to the third edge segment 3 of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • fourth saddle portion 44 -corresponds to the fourth edge segment 4 of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • fifth saddle portion 45 corresponds to the fifth edge segment 5 of the regular tetrahedron 100
  • the six saddle portion 46 corresponds to the sixth edge segment 6 of the regular tetrahedron 100.
  • the four concave spherical portions 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are defined as follows:
  • the second concave spherical portion 3b is defined as the portion of the surface of a large sphere 31, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 21', when the large sphere 31 is located so as to be tangent to the three small spheres 21', 22' and 23' at three points, respectively, at the same time.
  • the third concave spherical portion 3c is defined as the portion of the surface of a large sphere 31, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 21', when the large sphere 31 is located so as to be tangent to the three small spheres 21', 22' and 24' at three points, respectively, at the same time.
  • the fourth concave spherical portion 3d is defined as the portion of the surface of a large sphere 33, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 21', when the large sphere 31 is located so as to be tangent to the three small spheres 22', 23' and 24' at three points, respectively, at the same time.
  • four concave spherical portion 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d are defined as the portion of the surface of a large sphere located so as to be tangent to three spheres corresponding to four triangular surfaces of the regular tetrahedron 100, respectively, at the same time.
  • the second saddle portion 42 is defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere 31, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that_r of the small sphere 21' or 22', when the large sphere 31 is located so as to be tangent to the two small spheres 21' -and 22' at two points, respectively, and then rotated about the first small sphere 21' or 22' while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the third saddle portion 43 is defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere 31, the radius of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 21' or 24', when the large sphere 31 is located so as to be tangent to the two small spheres 21' and 24' at two points, respectively, and then rotated about the first sphere 21' or 24' while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the fourth saddle portion 44 is defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere, the radius of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 22' or 24', when the large sphere is located so as to be tangent to the two small spheres 22' and 24' at two points, respectively, and then rotated about the second sphere 22' or 24' while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the fifth saddle portion 45 is defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 23' or 24', when the large sphere is located so as to be tangent to the two small spheres 23' and 24' at two points, respectively, and then rotated about the small sphere 23' or 24' while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the sixth saddle portion 46 is defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 22' or 23', when the large sphere is located so as to be tangent to the two small spheres 22' and 23' at two points, respectively, and then rotated about the small sphere 23' or 24' while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the sixth saddle portion 46 is defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere, the radius R of which is twice or more greater than that r of the small sphere 22' or 23', when the large sphere is located so as to be tangent to the two small spheres 22' and 23' at two points, respectively, and then rotated about the small spheres 22' or 23' while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the six saddle portions 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46 are defined by the trace of the portion of the surface of a large sphere, between points tangent to the small spheres, when the large sphere is rotated about the small spheres while remaining tangent to the two points.
  • the large sphere the radius R of which is twice or more greater than the radius r of the small sphere is rotated about the second small sphere 22 1 while remaining tangent to at least any two of the other small spheres 21', 23' and 24'.
  • the saddle portions 42, 44 and 46 are defined; when the large sphere is tangent to the second small sphere 22' and any two of the small spheres 21', 23' and 24', the concave spherical portions 3b, 3c, and 3d are defined.
  • the large sphere is rotated about the third small sphere 23' while remaining tangent to at least any two of the other small spheres 21', 22' and 24'.
  • the large sphere is tangent to the third small sphere 23' and any one of the small spheres 21', 22' and 24' the saddle -portions 41, 45 and 46 are defined; when the large sphere is tangent to the third small sphere 23' and any two of the small spheres 21', 22' and 24', the concave spherical portions 3a, 3b, and 3d are defined.
  • the large sphere is rotated about the fourth small sphere 24' while remaining tangent to at least any two of the other small spheres 21', 22' and 23'.
  • the saddle portions 43, 44, and 45 are defined; when the large sphere is tangent to fourth sphere 24' and any two of the small spheres 21', 22' and 23', the concave spherical portions 3a, 3c and 3d are defined.
  • Fig. 2(B) shows a top view of the first embodiment of the elastic toy ball according to the present invention, by which the four concave spherical portions 3a, 3b, 3c and 3d and the six saddle portions 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 and 46 corresponding to the four triangular surfaces a, b, c and d and the six edge segments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the regular tetrahedron 100, respectively, may be understandable more clearly.
  • Fig. 2(C) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line C-C shown in Fig. 2(A), in which the first, second and third concave spherical portions 3a, 3b and 3c and the first, second and third saddle portions 41, 42 and -43 are depicted.
  • Figs. 2(D) shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line D-D shown in Fig. 2(A), in which the first, second and third concave spherical portions 3a, 3b and 3c and the first, second and third saddle portion 41, 42 and 43 are depicted in the shape different from that shown in Fig. 2(C).
  • Fig. 3(A) shows a second embodiment of the elastic toy ball made up of a plurality of curved surfaces according to the present invention.
  • the relationship between the segments L (the side length of the triangular surfaces of a regular tetrahedron) or the segment l (the distance from the center 0 0 to the centers of four small spheres) and the radius r of the small sphere is as follows:
  • Fig. 3(B) shows the top view of the second embodiment of the elastic toy ball according to the present invention shown in Fig. 3(A).
  • Fig. 4(A) shows a third embodiment of the elastic toy ball made up of a plurality of curved surfaces according to the present invention.
  • the relationship between the segment L (the side length of the -triangular surface of a regular tetrahedron) or the segment t (the distance from the center O 0 to the centers of four small spheres) and the radius r of the small sphere is as follows:
  • Fig. 4(B) shows the top view of the third embodiment of the elastic toy ball according to the present invention shown in Fig. 4(A).
  • the elastic toy ball of compound curved surfaces according to the present invention by disposing five spheres at each apex of a regular pentahedron, six spheres at each apex of a regular hexahedron or a plurality of spheres at each apex of polyhedron.
  • the spheres are colored by different colours, since the color of the toy ball changes continuously when the toy ball is rotating, a little children has an interest in playing with the toy ball according to the present invention.
  • this toy ball according to the present invention when the shape and the elasticity are appropriate, it is possible to use this toy ball according to the present invention as sport goods suitable for an old person or as a rehabilitation apparatus for a physically-handicapped person.

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  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Physical Education & Sports Medicine (AREA)
  • Toys (AREA)
EP82306325A 1982-10-15 1982-11-26 Toy of compound curved surfaces Withdrawn EP0106928A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP155972/82U 1982-10-15
JP15597282U JPS6025277Y2 (ja) 1982-10-15 1982-10-15 複合曲面体玩具

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0106928A1 true EP0106928A1 (en) 1984-05-02

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ID=15617554

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP82306325A Withdrawn EP0106928A1 (en) 1982-10-15 1982-11-26 Toy of compound curved surfaces

Country Status (2)

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EP (1) EP0106928A1 (ja)
JP (1) JPS6025277Y2 (ja)

Families Citing this family (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2008220454A (ja) * 2007-03-09 2008-09-25 Minoru Yoshida 玩具

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2031240A (en) * 1933-11-06 1936-02-18 Walter J Van Deest Toy
US2078382A (en) * 1936-05-20 1937-04-27 Charles H Hanshaw Playing ball
US2151030A (en) * 1938-04-28 1939-03-21 Ralph C Hinsen Game and playing piece therefor
FR1261616A (fr) * 1960-06-30 1961-05-19 Jouet élastique de forme sphérique ou similaire
FR2101123A1 (fr) * 1970-08-24 1972-03-31 Couderc Lucien Nouvelle balle assymetrique pour jeux sportifs et reeducatifs le reflex-ball

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2031240A (en) * 1933-11-06 1936-02-18 Walter J Van Deest Toy
US2078382A (en) * 1936-05-20 1937-04-27 Charles H Hanshaw Playing ball
US2151030A (en) * 1938-04-28 1939-03-21 Ralph C Hinsen Game and playing piece therefor
FR1261616A (fr) * 1960-06-30 1961-05-19 Jouet élastique de forme sphérique ou similaire
FR2101123A1 (fr) * 1970-08-24 1972-03-31 Couderc Lucien Nouvelle balle assymetrique pour jeux sportifs et reeducatifs le reflex-ball

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPS5961053U (ja) 1984-04-21
JPS6025277Y2 (ja) 1985-07-29

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PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

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Designated state(s): DE FR GB

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 19840424

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

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18D Application deemed to be withdrawn

Effective date: 19851029

RIN1 Information on inventor provided before grant (corrected)

Inventor name: SUDOH, KUNIO