EP0842683A1 - Pushable toy convertable to rocking chair - Google Patents

Abstract

The toy consists of a body (1) which forms the seat and a trolley (10) with wheels (11) to support it. The trolley is reversible, having convex curved surfaces (10a) on one side to act as rockets, and wheels on the other side, while each side has a recess to receive the body and two transverse slots (15a, 15b) to receive transverse projections (1a, 1b) on the underside of the body. The toy is equipped with a reversible handle (20) which is pivoted to the trolley and can be fixed in the upright position by wedging its cross-bar (22) underneath a projection (6) on the body, e.g. forming the tail of an animal. A safety ring (30) can be fitted over the body and handle to surround the child to prevent it from falling off. Both the body and trolley can be made from a blown or injected plastic material, e.g. polypropylene, polyethylene or polystyrene.

Description

The invention relates to a toy forming a rocking seat or pusher on wheels. This type of toy is more particularly intended for young children of learning to walk age who appreciate being able to ride a toy, for example in shape animal, to swing or to move forward thanks to a set of casters.

It is known to make toys which, by means of accessories suitable, can be configured either in seat at toggles, either as a pusher on wheels. Such toys exhibit the notable disadvantage of having to be equipped with parts removable to go from one configuration to another, so that these removable parts should be stored independently toy when not in use, which could cause loss of these accessory parts and a storage space important to plan for these rooms.

By document US-A-5,022,667, we know a toy from aforementioned type in which a reversible carriage can support a seat in the "tilt" position and in the driving position. The seat is assembled on the trolley thanks to feet which are articulated on the carriage and are not intended to be disassembled. It is therefore not possible for a child to have fun with the seat alone. In addition, the transition from the "toggle" position in the "rolling" position requires delicate maneuvering and can be dangerous because the fingers of a young user can be trapped between parts that rotate by compared to others.

The invention aims to solve these problems and to propose a toy forming rocker seat or pusher on wheels, your choice of the user or his parents, who does not understand additional parts to be added to go from one configuration to another and whose handling is particularly simple and safe.

In this spirit, the invention relates to a toy forming rocking seat or pusher on wheels, comprising a body forming a seat and a carriage intended to support said body and fitted with wheels, said carriage being reversible between a first position where it rests on a bearing surface by a curved and convex surface and a second position where said wheels rest on said bearing surface, characterized in that the carriage comprises, on each of its upper faces and lower, a housing for receiving a part of said body.

This housing effectively immobilizes the body by relation to the carriage and to avoid any risk of separation accidental handling by a child, by example when he tries to climb on the seat, while the handling of the toy is particularly simple and does not has no dangerous surfaces or edges.

According to a first advantageous aspect of the invention, the housing comprises at least one groove for receiving a transverse outgrowth of the body. According to another aspect advantageous of the invention, the housing comprises at least one blind hole for receiving an axial lug of the body. This groove and / or this blind hole contributes to the effective maintenance body on the cart.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the body can be placed on the upper and / or lower sides carriage in two positions offset 180 ° around an axis substantially vertical. Thanks to this aspect of the invention, the body can be oriented in two directions allowing play differently with the object of the invention, by depending on the animal or the object it represents, and, in particular, to pull or push this animal or object.

The invention also relates to a handle allowing to operate the aforementioned toy and, more specifically, a toy, forming a rocking seat or pusher on wheels, comprising a seat body and a carriage for supporting said body and fitted with wheels, said carriage being reversible between a first position where it rests on a bearing surface by a curved and convex surface and a second position where said wheels rest on said surface support, characterized in that said carriage carries a handle articulated around a substantially horizontal axis, said handle being able to pivot over a greater angular range at about 90 °, in particular of the order of 180 °, while being usable in the two positions of said carriage.

This handle allows the child to act on the toy. the invention, for example to pull or push it, and does not not oppose the reversal of the carriage because it can be away from the surface on which the toy rests by pivoting at an angle of about 180 °.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the toy includes means for immobilizing in angular position the handle in two positions corresponding respectively to two positions of the carriage. This aspect of the invention is particularly advantageous if the child chooses to use the toy by pushing it, for example when is a young child who is learning to walk.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the handle is provided with a bar and the body includes an extension suitable for covering this bar in an immobilized position of the handle. This arrangement makes it possible to immobilize, particularly simple, the handle in one position desired.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the toy includes a safety ring capable of surrounding a child in resting on both the handle in the immobilized position and on the body. This ring is useful to prevent the child from falls off the toy when it rides the seat. In this case, we may provide that the ring is provided with a receiving notch of an upper body.

• la figure 1 est une vue en perspective éclatée des éléments constitutifs d'un jouet conforme à l'invention ;
• la figure 2 est une vue en coupe axiale du jouet de la figure 1 en position "siège à bascule", le corps formant siège étant représenté en vue extérieure ;
• la figure 3 est une vue analogue à la figure 2, alors que le jouet est dans une seconde position permettant sa traction par un jeune utilisateur ;
• la figure 4 est une vue analogue à la figure 2, alors que le jouet est dans une troisième position, correspondant à son utilisation comme pousseur et
• la figure 5 et une vue en coupe partielle selon la ligne V-V de la figure 4, alors que le corps du jouet est représenté au-dessus du chariot auquel il est associé.

The invention will be better understood and other advantages of it will appear more clearly in the light of the following description of an embodiment of a toy in accordance with its principle, given solely by way of example and made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is an exploded perspective view of the components of a toy according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is an axial sectional view of the toy of Figure 1 in the "rocking seat" position, the seat body being shown in external view;
• Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, while the toy is in a second position allowing its traction by a young user;
• FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, while the toy is in a third position, corresponding to its use as a pusher and
• Figure 5 and a partial sectional view along the line VV of Figure 4, while the body of the toy is shown above the carriage with which it is associated.

In Figure 1, there is shown a toy comprising a body 1, forming a seat and representing a dog. This body includes a head 2 provided with handles 3 and 4, a saddle 5 and a tail 6. Ears 7 are pivotally mounted on the handles 3 and 4 and offer a playful aspect by being able a pendulum movement around the axis of the handles.

The body 1 is associated with a carriage 10 provided with four wheels 11. The carriage 10 comprises a housing 15 formed by a depression in its upper face 10 a and capable of receiving the lower part of the body 1. A similar housing 16 is provided in the underside 10b of the carriage 10, this housing appearing in FIGS. 2 and 5.

In the position shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 10 has been turned over with respect to FIG. 1 and the lower part of the body 1 rests in the housing 16. In this position, the face 10 a , which is curved and convex, constitutes the bearing surface of the whole toy on a bearing surface S which may be the ground. The toy is in its rocking seat configuration and can be used by a child to swing.

In the position of Figure 3, the carriage 10 has been turned over from the position of Figure 2 and the body 1 has been placed in the housing 15, so that its head 2 is oriented towards a handle 20 articulated around a substantially horizontal axis 21. In this position, the face 10 a is located above the carriage 10 and the face 10 b is oriented towards the bearing surface S. The geometry of the face 10 b is defined so that it does not oppose the support of the wheels 11 on the surface S, so that in the position of FIG. 3, the carriage 10 and the body 1 which it supports can be moved while rolling by a child who exerts a traction force F3 on the handle 20. In this position, the child using the toy can "walk his dog".

In the position of Figure 4, the body 1 has been turned over 180 ° around a vertical axis ZZ 'passing substantially through the middle of the housings 15 and 16. Indeed, the body 1 is movable between two positions offset by 180 ° around the axis ZZ '. In this position of FIG. 4, the toy can be used as a pusher by a child who exerts an effort thrust F4 on the handle 20 because the wheels 11 are suitable for roll on the ground as in the position in figure 3.

Thus, the toy of the invention can be used as rocking seat, as an object to be pulled or as a pusher without adding or removing parts, so there is no risk not to misplace some essential elements of this toy.

We note, by comparing Figures 2 to 4, that the handle 20 is able to pivot around the axis 21 over an angular range greater than 90 ° so as not to impede the reversal of the carriage 10. In practice, the handle 20 pivots over a range of approximately 180 °. to go from the position of figure 2 to that of the figures 3 and 4.

To use the toy in pusher configuration, i.e. in the configuration of Figure 4, it is expected that includes means for angular immobilization of the handle 20 around the axis 21. Indeed, in this position, the handle 20 must remain substantially vertical. To do this, she is provided with a bar 22 which is substantially parallel to the pivot axis 21. For its part, the tail 6 of the body 1 is shaped so as to cover the bar 22 in the position of Figures 2 and 4, so that in these two positions, the bar 22 cannot pivot about axis 21 and that the handle 20 is immobilized in a position substantially vertical. Advantageously, the tail 6 is provided with a nipple of retainer 6a which allows even more effective locking of the bar 22 under the tail 6.

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the housings 15 and 16 are configured to effectively maintain the body 1 in position relative to the carriage 10. To do this, each housing 15 or 16 comprises at least one, and preferably two, grooves 15 a and 15 b , respectively 16 a and 16 b, capable of receiving transverse protuberances 1 a and 1 b of the body 1 located in the lower part of the latter. The geometry of the protrusions 1 a and 1 b is more particularly visible in FIG. 5 where only the protrusion 1 b has been shown, the protrusion 1a being identical in order to allow the rotation of the body 1 around the axis ZZ 'between the positions of FIGS. 3 and 4. On the other hand, still with the aim of effectively maintaining the body 1 relative to the carriage 10, the housings 15 and 16 respectively comprise at least one blind hole 15 c or 16 c suitable to receive an axial lug 1 c of the body 1. This further contributes to the lateral retention of the body 1 relative to the carriage 10.

In order to allow the body 1 to rotate 180 ° relative to the carriage 10, it is provided that the housings 15 and 16 are each provided with a notch 15 d , 16 d for receiving the lug 1 c from the body 1 when that -This is in a position such that the lug lc is located on the opposite side of the corresponding blind hole 15 c or 16 c .

According to another advantageous aspect of the invention, the toy includes a ring or roll bar 30 capable of surrounding a child resting at the same time on the handle 20, in its immobilized position, and on the head 2 of the body 1. The ring 30 is shown in phantom in Figure 2. It could also be mounted on the toy in its "pusher" position from the Figure 4. Immobilization of the handle 20 relative to the axis 21 is crucial here since the handle supports the ring 30. This ring 30 is provided with a notch 30a of reception of the upper part 2a of the head 2, so that even when the ring 30 is in place, the child can see the head of the animal with which he plays. According to a variant not shown in the invention, the ring or roll bar 30 can be equipped with an abacus equipped with balls favoring the development of fine front-to-back motor skills and a dial of the "telephone" type favoring the development of motor skills fine left-right. The toy of the invention can be used with or without the ring 30.

Trolley 10 can also be used by a child independently of the body 1 for moving or walking menus objects such as fluff. In this case, the housing 15 serves receptacle for these objects. In addition, the body 1 can be placed directly on the support surface S and serve as a seat regardless of its use with the cart 10.

The various constituent elements of the invention and in particular the body 1 and the carriage 10 can be made in blown or injected plastic, such as for example polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene or any other equivalent material.

Claims (9)

Toy, forming rocking seat or pusher on wheels, comprising a body (1) forming a seat and a trolley (10) intended to support said body and equipped with wheels (11), said trolley being reversible between a first position where it rests on a bearing surface (S) by a curved and convex surface (10a) and a second position where said wheels rest on said bearing surface, characterized in that said carriage (10) comprises on each of its upper faces (10a ) and lower (10 b ), a housing (15, 16) for receiving a part of said body (1). Toy according to claim 1, characterized in that said housing (15, 16) comprises at least one groove (15a, 15 b , 16 a , 16 b ) for receiving a transverse protrusion (1 a , 1 b ) of said body (1). Toy according to claim 1, characterized in that said housing (15, 16) comprises at least one blind hole (15 c , 16 c ) for receiving an axial lug (1 c ) of said body (1). Toy according to claim 1, characterized in that said body (1) is suitable for being placed on the upper (10 a ) and / or lower (10 b ) faces of said carriage in two positions offset by 180 ° around an axis (ZZ ') substantially vertical. Toy, forming rocking seat or pusher on wheels, comprising a body (1) forming a seat and a trolley (10) intended to support said body and equipped with wheels (11), said trolley being reversible between a first position where it rests on a bearing surface (S) with a surface (10a) curved and convex and a second position wherein said wheels rest on said support surface, characterized in that said carriage (10) carries a handle (20) articulated around a substantially horizontal axis (21), said handle being able to pivot over an angular range greater than approximately 90 °, in particular of the order of 180 °, being usable in the two positions of said carriage. A toy according to claim 5, characterized in that it comprises means (6, 6a, 22) for angular immobilization of said handle (20) in two positions corresponding respectively to the two positions of said carriage. Toy according to claim 6, characterized in that said handle (20) is provided with a bar (22) and in that said body (1) comprises an extension (6) capable of styling said bar in a position for immobilizing said handle. Toy according to claim 6, characterized in that it includes a safety ring (30) capable of surrounding a child by resting at the same time on said handle (20), in position immobilized, and on said body (1). Toy according to claim 8, characterized in that said ring (30) is provided with a notch (30 a ) for receiving an upper part (2 a ) of said body.

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