Classifications

• • 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
  • A63H33/042—Mechanical, electrical, optical, pneumatic or hydraulic arrangements; Motors
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
  • A63H—TOYS, e.g. TOPS, DOLLS, HOOPS OR BUILDING BLOCKS
  • A63H17/00—Toy vehicles, e.g. with self-drive; ; Cranes, winches or the like; Accessories therefor
  • A63H17/26—Details; Accessories
  • A63H17/262—Chassis; Wheel mountings; Wheels; Axles; Suspensions; Fitting body portions to chassis

Definitions

• the invention concerns a wheel for use in a toy building set and comprising a tire for mounting on a rim with a substantially cylindrical mounting face.
• the object of the invention is to provide a wheel struc ⁇ ture for use in a toy building set which can be used in connection with various models of vehicles in a manner such that the wheels contribute to a realistic overall appearance of the vehicle.
• the tire is made of an elasti material, e.g. rubber, and can be received slidably in the axial direction on the rim.
• an elasti material e.g. rubber
• the wheel part on which the tire is mounted preferably comprises a cylindrical rim which is integral with a hub via a disc-shaped wheel part.
• the hub usually also has a cylindrical part for rotatable reception of a shaft part, e.g. shaped as a screw whereby the wheel can be attached to other elements incorporated in the toy building set.
• the tire is cylindrical and open at one end, so that the rest of the wheel can be re ⁇ ceived by movement in the axial direction.
• the other end of the wheel is partly closed and thus serves as a stop for the axial movement.
• the partly closed end of the tire may be formed with an internal, annular channel, in which part of the rim is received and retained as a frictional fit against two of the tire faces, partly inwardly partly outwardly.
• the depth of the channel may expediently cor ⁇ respond to the part ofthe rim which extends outside the disc-shaped wheel part.
• the disc-shaped wheel part is usually displaced with re ⁇ spect to the central plane of the rim, and stiffening elements in a radial direction may therefore expediently be provided behind the disc-shaped wheel part. These stiffening elements may then expediently serve as a stop for the innermost edge of the annular channel of the tire.
• the wheel shaft is shaped as a screw
• this may be attached to the hub in snap manner. It will here be the screw that is turnable with respect to the rest of the wheel.
• the screw will just be a relatively small single part, which is not always expedient, in particular if the toy building set is intended for small children.
• it is also possible to combine the two above-men- tioned structures so that both screw, hub/rim and tire are mutually turnable.
• hub/rim may likewise be constructed asymmetrically.
• fig. 1 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a wheel according to the invention.
• fig. 2 is a sectional view of an alternative embodiment of a wheel according to the invention.
• fig. 3 is a sectional view of a further embodiment of a wheel according to the invention.
• fig. 4 shows in perspective how a wheel according to the invention may be used in a toy building set
• fig. 5 is a side view of the wheel shown in fig. 1, and
• fig. 6 is a side view of the wheel of fig. 1 with turned tire.
• a wheel according to the invention is shown in fig. 4 where the wheel is adapted for use in a toy building set.
• the wheel comprises a substan- tially cylindrical tire which is generally designated by the reference numeral 10.
• the tire 10 has a tread face 9 and a ring-shaped outer face 11 provided at the end of the cylindrical section of the tread face.
• the tire 10 can be pushed inwardly over a substantially cylindrical rim 12 and be retained as a frictional fit.
• the rim 12 is integral with a hub 14 (see fig. 1), in which a shaft in the form of a screw with a shank 16 is rotatably journalled.
• the screw 16 has a head 18 with a profile such that a tool (not shown) suitable for the purpose can attach the wheel to a building element 30 incorporated in the toy building set.
• This attachment is provided in that the shank 16 of the screw is formed with a threaded section 19 which is received in a threaded hole 35 in the building element 30 complementary to the threaded section 19.
• Fig. 1 is a detailed sectional view of the structure shown in fig. 4. It will be seen that the head 18 on the screw serves as a stop for the hub 14. It will moreover be seen that the shank 16 of the screw has an annular bead 17 which is asymmetric, so that one side of the bead serves as a guide face in the mounting of the hub 14, while the other side serves as a stop face when the hub 14 has been mounted on the screw. During assembly of the individual parts of the screw it will thus be possible to slide the hub up along the shank 16 of the screw and inwardly over the bead 17. However, backward movement of the hub 14 will not be possible so that the hub 14 is retained rotatably between the head 18 of the screw and the bead 17.
• the hub 14 constitutes a cylinder tube which, via a disc-shaped section 13, is integral with a rim 12 co ⁇ axial with the hub 14.
• the outer cylinder face of the rim 12 is formed with an annular groove 22 so that when the tire 10 is removed the wheel can be used for other building purposes, e.g. fixing caterpillar treads and the like.
• the tire 10 itself is shown to be asymmetric, having at its one side a portion which extends beyond the edge of the rim 12 and forming an annular channel in which the edge of the rim 12 is re- ceived.
• the central plane of the tire preferably corres ⁇ ponds to the central plane of the rim, and in a preferred embodiment the tire therefore has a width corresponding to the width of the rim plus twice the thickness of the por ⁇ tion 11. This means that the part of the screw head 18 ex- tending outside the contour of the tire will be constant no matter which way the tire points.
• the rim 12 and the shaft 14 are connected with stiffening elements 23 in addition to the disc-shaped part 13. These stiffening ele- ments 23 extend from the hub 14 toward the rim 12 in a ra ⁇ dial direction.
• the depth of the ring-shaped channel of the tire - formed by the portion 11 - can correspond to the distance from the disc-shaped part 13 to the outer edge of the rim 12 as well as to the distance from the stiffening elements 23 to the other outer edge of the rim 12.
• Fig. 2 shows a second embodiment of the wheel according to the invention in which, like the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the hub 14 is rotatably journalled between a bead 17 and a head 18 on a screw with a shank 16.
• the hub 14 is here connected with a rim 12 via a disc-shaped wheel part 13.
• the rim 12 is provided with an annular groove 22, which is somewhat deeper than the annular groove shown in fig. 1, and which is adapted to receive a corresponding annular bead 24 on the internal cylinder face of the tire 10.
• the tire 10 is preferably of a flexible material, such as rubber, and the bead 24 can therefore be deformed and pushed inwardly over the rim 12 until it is received in the groove 22.
• the frictional fit explained in connection with fig. 1 will thus be strengthened additionally through the coupling between the tire 10 and the rim 12 achieved with the bead 24.
• the tire 10 is termi ⁇ nated toward one side, so that the tire termination sub- stantially follows the edge of the rim, while the tire at its other side terminates in a portion 25 that extends inwardly over and covers the tire 12.
• it will be possible to mount the tire 10 on the rim 12 from both sides so that the tire seems thick (e.g. like a trac- tor tire), or thin (e.g. like a tire for a passenger car).
• Fig. 3 shows a third embodiment of a wheel according to the invention, where the hub 14 is connected with the rim 12 via a disc-shaped wheel part 13 and stiffening elements 23.
• the tire 10 At its one side the tire 10 has a portion 11 extending outwardly over and inwardly below the rim 12.
• a portion 25 at the other side of the tire 10 extends downwardly over the rim 12 and functions in substantially the same manner as the bead 24.
• the tire 10 will be so elastic that it can be mounted on and removed from the rim 12 from both sides.
• the hub 14 is mounted on a screw with a head 18 and a shank 16.
• the shank will also have a bead 26 which, in contrast to the bead 17, has two inclined guide faces, thereby making it possible to remove the shaft from the hub.
• hub/rim is formed with diffe ⁇ rent front and rear sides, it will be possible to obtain a wheel with four different appearances with both a turnable shaft and a turnable tire.
• Fig. 5 is a lateral view of the tire shown in fig. 1, where the wheel has the appearance of a solid tractor tire because of the thick portion 11. From this side it is also possible to see the screw head 18 as well as part of the disc-shaped plate 13.
• Fig. 6 shows the wheel of fig. 1, where the tire 10 is turned, and it appears from this fi ⁇ gure that the wheel seems considerably smaller, e.g. like a wheel for a passenger car or the like.
• the figure shows the rim 12 on which the tire 10 is mounted, as well as the disc ⁇ shaped plate 13 which is shown in its entirety. Also the screw 18 is visible.
• the shaft forms an integral part with both the rim and the hub.
• this shaft part can be connected with a motor, where rotation of the shaft part can cause the wheel to rotate to propel a vehicle.

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• Toys (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=8108358

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (6)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 1991
  • 1991-11-06 DK DK182991A patent/DK171363B1/da not_active IP Right Cessation
• 1992
  • 1992-11-05 AU AU29419/92A patent/AU660510B2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1992-11-05 DE DE69210412T patent/DE69210412T2/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1992-11-05 EP EP92923708A patent/EP0611320B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1992-11-05 JP JP5508104A patent/JPH07500745A/ja active Pending
  • 1992-11-05 WO PCT/DK1992/000320 patent/WO1993008885A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1992-11-06 CN CN 92113774 patent/CN1076636A/zh active Pending
• 1996
  • 1996-05-27 GR GR960401429T patent/GR3020065T3/el unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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