FR2714845A1 - Spring propelled figure for game - Google Patents

Abstract

The figurine (1) has a body (2) in the form of a seated animal. A spring (4) forming its tail has a hook (14) on one end which is hooked into a hole in the body, while its free end has a straight part (12) which passes through the spring and has a second hook (16) on its end. When the spring is compressed the straight part passes through a hole in the body, and the hook is held fixedly on a shoulder (28) in front of the body. The hook is released to release the spring.

Description

 The subject of the invention is a game figurine equipped with a spring and which can in particular be used as a board game figurine to propel other parts of this game away from it.

 The manufacturer of such a spring figurine must be able to offer his customers a product which presents no danger of use, especially for young children, efficient and economical to manufacture.

 The user wants to have a product that is pleasant to handle and easy to use.

The object of the present invention is to propose a new figurine which comprises
- a figurine body,
a spring having a first fixing end which is fixedly connected to the body, and a second opposite free end having an anchoring hook or equivalent, said spring being movable between a first unstressed position where the hook is spaced from said body and a second constrained position where the hook is removably engaged at the location of an anchoring zone of said body, so that by action on this hook, the latter can be extracted from said zone by causing relaxation spring.

 According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the spring which has an axis, develops by winding along and substantially along this axis.

 According to yet another characteristic, the spring may have an end portion carrying the aforementioned hook and extending while returning back through the turns of the wound spring.

 As will be seen in the more detailed description which follows, the figurine may, in accordance with the invention, include a hook control mechanism capable of acting on the hook to release it from its anchoring zone, where it is devoid of it, each structure offering advantages.

If the figurine includes such a control mechanism, it will advantageously include a push rod mounted movable relative to the body between
a first withdrawal position where it releases the anchoring zone by allowing the hook to come to lock, the spring then being in the constrained position, and
- A second advanced position where it forces the hook to extract from said anchoring zone so that the spring relaxes.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description made with reference to the accompanying drawings in which
FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 show, in a view partially in longitudinal median section, a first variant embodiment of the figurine,
FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view, exploded and with cutaway of the same figurine,
- Figures 5, 6 and 7 show a second alternative embodiment of this figurine,
FIG. 8 is a front view of part of the figurine of FIGS. 5 to 7.

 Referring first to Figures 1 to 4, there is shown a game figurine referenced as a whole at 1. This figurine comprises a body 2 having the shape of an imaginary animal in a seated position, and a spring 4 constituting the moving tail of this animal.

 The spring 4 has a first end 14 intended to be fixedly connected to the body 2 and a second opposite free end 24 which has an anchoring hook 16 or any equivalent removable fixing means making it possible to retain against the body 2 and at least temporarily the spring 4 in the constrained position, as long as no release action is exerted on this spring. The spring, of axis 6, is constituted here by a structure wound axially along the surface of a cone of revolution represented in broken lines 8 and whose large base is located in the immediate vicinity of the fixing end 14.

 This spiral has here been produced from an elastic wire of section of the order of a millimeter or a few millimeters, having a flexibility allowing it to be thus wound. One can in particular use a metal wire or a plastic filament.

 In the illustrated version, it is noted that only a central part of the wire is thus wound, the two opposite end parts 10, 12 of this wire extending, at least in part, substantially parallel to the axis 6, at the rear. of the body of the figurine.

 The first end portion 10 located towards the end 14 does not cross the spiral. This part 10 is here folded at right angles, substantially in the middle and towards the axis 6, to be easily fixedly maintained inside a housing 22 of the body, of complementary shape and which opens onto the outside (shown diagrammatically in dotted in Figure 4).

 The second end portion 12, substantially rectilinear, crosses the spiral 4 extending substantially along the axis 6, to end with the hook 16 (also square).

 The body 2, for example of plastic, in the simplified version of Figures 1 to 4 consists essentially of two parts 18 and 20 cooperating with each other to easily block the end 14 of the spring.

 This body 2, rigid and essentially full, here has a passage 26 preferably coaxial with the spring. This passage 26 passes right through the first part 18 and opens, on one side, on an anchoring zone 28 having a shoulder such that, when the hook 16 is anchored there, the spring is kept in a constrained state.

This zone 28 is here located on the surface of the body, opposite the spring and therefore directly accessible to the user.

Note that the part 12, which must be able to pass through the passage 26, has a length 1 at least equal to the length
Lr of spring 4 in its constrained state.

 In Figure 4, we note that the part 18 has on its underside 30, a notch or groove 32 for assembly with the part 20. This groove 32, into which here opens a cavity 34, extends from a end to face of the face 30 preferably substantially parallel to the axis 6.

 The second part 20 comprises a base 40, of trapezoidal section complementary to that of the groove.

This base 40 is extended at one of its ends by an end portion 42 which has an abutment face 42a which can cooperate with a complementary face 21 of the part 18.

 As illustrated, a first arm of the housing 22 "L" is here hollowed out in the part 18, substantially perpendicular to the notch 32 and opens into the latter. The other arm of the bracket 22 is constituted in this case by two complementary longitudinal grooves 36, 43 made, one in the base 40 and the other in the bottom 32a of the notch 32, from the ends respectively opposite the faces 42a and 21.

 To fix the angled portion 10 to the body, it is introduced into the first arm of the housing 22. Then the base 40 (according to arrow 38) is slid into the notch 32 until the cooperating faces 42a and 21 come to support. The elastic locking by force of the two parts 18 and 20 is done by means of known locking means, in this case thanks to a lug 44 of the base 40 cooperating with a projection 46 which is provided on the bottom 32a of the notch 32, at the edge of the cavity 34.

 If we refer to Figures 5 to 7, we see illustrated a more improved variant of the figurine, now referenced 1 ', whose constituent elements identical to those of the previous variant have the same references.

 The figurine 1 'here comprises a mechanism for controlling the locking / unlocking of the hook 16 which is movably linked to the first part 18' of the body 2. This mechanism is housed in a cavity 34 'of axis 50 preferably substantially normal to the axis 6. This cavity 34 ', here circular cylindrical, opens at one end to the outside and to the other at the notch 32.

 The passage 26 ', for the introduction of the hook to its anchoring zone, here opens into the interior cavity 34', the anchoring zone 28 'of the hook being internal to the body and therefore located at the intersection of the cavity 34 'and the passage 26'.

 It is further noted that the cavity 34 'has a peripheral abutment shoulder 58 and located here substantially at the level of the zone 28'. In this case, the shoulder 58 has a non-constant radial section so that it defines a narrowed opening 52 (substantially circular) with an axis offset with respect to the axis 50.

 The spring control mechanism comprises a pusher 53 consisting of an end element 54 (here representing the head of the figurine), permanently disposed outside of the part 18 'and extended by a rod 56. This rod has a first portion 60, of section substantially equal to that of the cavity, extended by a second terminal portion 62, the section of which, smaller, corresponds substantially to that of the narrowed opening 52.

 The two portions 60, 62 connected by a shoulder 64, substantially normal to the axis of the pusher, are not coaxial to allow the rod to slide through the cavity 34 'while maintaining this rod in a radial position fixed relative to to the body.

 The second portion 62 has a through window 68 suitable for communicating with the passage 26 '.

It also has on its outer surface lugs 66, with an abutment face 66a oriented on the side of the head 54. These lugs 66, distributed in a plane substantially normal to the axis of the pusher, are adapted to cooperate with the shoulder 58 to link the pusher to the body 2. When mounting the figurine, the pusher is forced into the body so that the pins 66 come to rest against the underside 58a of the shoulder 58. In the figures, there is also a push spring 70 arranged around the rod and locked between the shoulder 64 and the upper face 58b of the shoulder 58.

 Thus it appears that the piston-forming pusher is movable in translation in the cavity between a first extended or rest position (FIGS. 5 and 7) where the spring 70 recalls the pusher upwards and where the lugs 66 are pressed against the shoulder 58, and a second active position (FIG. 6) where the user presses on the head of the figurine by constraining the spring 70.

 Note that the rod 56 has a length adapted so that in the active position, the upper face 68a of its window 68 is located opposite the passage 26 ', and at rest this face 68a is located above the area d 'anchor 28' which can engage the hook 16 whose end will preferably come to bear against the defined shoulder.

 We will now describe the operating mode of the figurine in relation to the two variants.

 Firstly, the user compresses the spring 4 with one hand in the direction of the body 2 which he holds with the other hand and passes the terminal portion 12 through the interior passage 26, 26 'until the hook 16 is fixed in its anchoring zone 28, 28 '. The spring is thus in a constrained position (Figures 1, 2, 5 and 6) and the figurine can then be put into action for example to move it away from another piece 76 of the game.

 In the variant of the figurine of Figures 1 to 4, the user causes the spring to relax by acting directly on the hook 16 (along arrow 80) to extract it from its anchoring zone. Once the hook placed opposite the opening of the passage 26, the end portion 12 crosses this passage 26 and allows the spring to relax (along the axis 6) which will naturally return to its unstressed position (FIG. 3) in causing the expulsion of room 76 which was in the immediate vicinity. In the variant of FIGS. 5 to 7, the user acts, via the pusher 53, on the hook 16 housed in abutment against the wall of the cavity 34 '. When it presses on the head 54, the hook 16 is driven by the upper face 68a of the window 68 until it is no longer pressing against the wall of the cavity. The spring can then relax as previously described.

Claims (6)

 1. Game figure (1, 1 ') including  - a figurine body (2),  - A spring (4) having a first fixing end (14) which is fixedly connected to the body, and a second opposite free end (24) having a hook (16) for anchoring or the like, said spring being movable between a first unconstrained position where the hook is spaced from said body and a second constrained position where the hook is removably engaged in an area (28, 28 ') for anchoring the body, so that by action on this hook, that it can be extracted from said zone by causing the spring to relax.  2. Figure according to claim 1, characterized in that the spring has an axis (6) and develops by winding along and substantially along this axis.  3. Figurine according to claim 2, characterized in that on the side of its second end the spring returns back through its turns.  4. Figurine according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a mechanism (54, 56, 70) for locking / unlocking the hook (16), this mechanism being able to act on the hook for release it from its anchoring zone (28 ').  5. Figure according to claim 4, characterized in that said control mechanism comprises a pusher, mounted movable relative to the body between  a first withdrawal position where it releases said anchoring zone (28 ′) by allowing the hook to come to lock in its said constrained position,  - And, a second advanced position where it forces the hook to extract itself from this anchoring zone.  6. Figurine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said body has a passage (26) passing right through it to allow anchoring of the hook at the outlet of said passage.