FR2796304A1 - DYNAMIC GAME FOR CHILDREN - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a dynamic game for children consisting of a cylinder (1) open at its ends and capable of rotating about its longitudinal central axis (X). The invention is characterized in that: the cylindrical body (1) consists of parallel slats (6); the slats (6) are maintained in place by two peripheral rings (8) fixed on their outer surface and supporting a continuous raceway (10); the diameter of the cylinder (1) is such that the user should be lying down; the pairs of support rollers (4) are positioned such that they form between them an angle of at least 120° relative to the cylinder center; the support frame (2) for the cylinder (1) consists of two fixed rings (12) supporting the guide rollers (4) pressed against the two raceways (10) provided at the cylinder periphery.

Description

i

DYNAMIC GAME FOR CHILDREN

  Technical Field The present invention relates to the field of games for children, and more particularly dynamic type games, such as those which equip play areas in urban areas which, to date, are essentially constituted by

  swings, turnstiles, very often criticized for the risks they entail and which are subject to very strict safety standards.

  The invention relates to a new type of dynamic play, which can be used in public places as well as privately, by very young children, and which

  practically eliminates all risks during its use while being very attractive.

  Previous techniques Among the techniques proposed to date, it has been proposed for a very long time, as is apparent in particular from US patent 3,869,119 or from patent FR-A-2,464,732, to produce systems of the “squirrel cage” type. , whose rotation is communicated by a user disposed inside said cage which is in the form of a cylinder. 20 In the embodiment described in the aforementioned US patent, the assembly is in the form of '' a cylinder rotating around a central axis,

  the user walking inside the cylinder and thus causing its rotation. A seat is arranged laterally, which therefore allows a second child to be associated with the game, said seat then being driven simultaneously with the rotation of the cage.

  However, such a design presents certain risks for children, since the one who drives the cage and who is disposed inside it, is exposed to the public outside the game since the side face is open to allow the access. Likewise, the child carried by the seat is not protected and there may

  have the risk of falling during rotation, in particular depending on the speed of rotation which cannot be controlled, and the jolts which may occur.

  The second solution described in French patent 2,464,732, in which the rotating cylinder is no longer carried by a fixed central axis, but supported 2; U2796304 by external rollers, is more attractive but requires significant effort

  to drive the rotation of the drum by the user who is disposed inside, taking into account in particular that it comprises two pairs of carrier rollers which are arranged on either side of the vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder 5 being at a short distance from said vertical plane.

  Such a design of the support rollers in the lower part therefore requires a force greater than the weight of the spool for there to be a drive and can

  therefore be animated only in the event that the user is standing inside the cylinder.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a new type of dynamic game which not only presents very great safety for the user, a child in particular, and

  whose animation can be performed almost instantly, without significant physical effort on the part of said user.

  In general, the new dynamic play in accordance with the invention is of the type constituted by a cylinder open at its ends and able to rotate about its longitudinal central axis, said cylinder being mounted on a support frame comprising two pairs of rollers carriers arranged in planes perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder and axially separated, the rollers of each pair of rollers being arranged on either side of the vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder, and it is characterized in that: The cylindrical body consists of parallel slats, a void remaining between two consecutive slats; - Said slats are held in position by means of two peripheral rings fixed on their external face, positioned slightly recessed with respect to each end of the cylinder, and supporting a continuous peripheral raceway; - The diameter of the drum is limited, so that the user is in a lying position inside the cylinder and not standing as in the previous solutions; - the pairs of support rollers are spaced from each other so that they are positioned at an angle of at least 120 relative to the center of the cylinder (while of course being less than 180), a third 3 2796304 pair of bearings being provided in the upper part in the vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder; - The support frame for said cylinder consists of two fixed rings supporting the guide rollers in abutment against the two raceways provided at the periphery of the drum, these rings being carried by uprights arranged laterally relative to the cylinder. In accordance with the invention, the cylinder therefore forms a "cradle" inside which the child is stretched out, said cylinder possibly being either horizontal or preferably slightly inclined, and forming an angle of up to a maximum of 10 with respect to the horizontal, but which is preferably

  the order of 5 to 7 in order to avoid any natural sliding of the user.

  Furthermore, the inside diameter of the cylinder will advantageously be

  between 50 cm and 75 cm, which invites the child to go inside while lying down.

  Once inside, the child remains in bed or, possibly, if he is flexible and not too fat, can be in a sitting position and, by the very fact of the design of said set, as soon as he performs a movement, the coil oscillates in a pendulum motion and cradles the child to find the point of equilibrium. As a result, unlike previous solutions, such a game

  only causes rocking, its complete rotation can only be caused by an external action.

Brief description of the drawings

  The invention and the advantages which it brings will however be better understood thanks to the example of embodiment which follows given by way of nonlimiting indication, and which is illustrated by the appended diagrams in which: - the figurel is a general view of side of the set of a game produced in accordance with the invention; - Figure 2 is a general end view along F of Figure 1 showing the general structure of a teljeu;

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  - Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view showing how the drum is held on the fixed frame and the structure of the supports allowing its rotation; _ Figure 4 illustrates schematically, in section, the structure and positioning of two consecutive slats forming the drum of the game according to the invention _ Figure 5a is a diagram illustrating the reasons for positioning at 120 relative to the center support rollers compared to a

  positioning performed in accordance with the prior art as illustrated in FIG. 5b10 and corresponding to the state of the art constituted by FR-A-2 464 732.

  - Figure 6 is a side view showing a toy according to the invention

equipped with a decorative element.

  Referring to Figures 1,2 and 3 attached, the game according to the invention

  is of the type constituted by a cylinder, designated by the general reference (1), open at its ends and able to rotate around its longitudinal axis XX.

  Said cylinder is mounted on a support frame, designated by the general reference (2), the structure of which, in accordance with the invention, will be detailed

later.

  The support frame comprises two pairs of rollers, designated by the same reference (4), arranged in planes perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder and

  axially separated, the rollers of each pair being arranged on either side of the vertical plane passing through said cylinder.

  Furthermore, a third roller (5) is, in turn, disposed in the upper part

  in the vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder.

  According to the invention, the cylindrical body (1) consists of slats, designated by the same reference (6), parallel to each other, a vacuum remaining

between said slats.

  FIG. 4 illustrates the structure of each slat (6), the cross section of which, in one embodiment, is, expressed in millimeters, 55 x 25, the length being

equal to 1600 mm.

2796304

  On the angles and ends which can be in contact with the user, a rounded chamfer (7), with a radius equal to or greater than 3 mm, is produced, in a

  safety goal for users. Furthermore, the spacing (e) between two consecutive slats (6) 5 is generally between 25 and 30 mm.

  These slats (6) are held together by means of two peripheral rings (8) constituted by a steel plate (see FIG. 3), positioned slightly behind the end edge (9) of the slats (6). 10 These peripheral rings support a raceway (10) constituted in the present case by a curved tube, for example of diameter 50 mm,

  welded on a base (11) fixed itself to the ring (8).

  The diameter of the drum (1) is, for its part, limited to a value of between 50 and 75 cm, so that the user is preferably in position

  stretched out inside the cylinder and not upright as in the previous solutions.

  Possibly, it could be envisaged that the user is in a seated position.

  According to the illustrated embodiment, the internal diameter of the cylinder is of the order of 675 mm, the slats having a thickness of 25 mm. For a

  such a drum, when the slats used have a width of 55 mm, the drum therefore consists of 26 slats spaced from each other by about 27.8mm.

  The pairs of support bearings (4) are spaced from each other so that they are positioned at an angle of 120 with respect to

in the center of the cylinder.

  To ensure the positioning and the maintenance of the cylinder, the support frame is, as can be seen more particularly from FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, consisting of two

  sets, identical, designated by the general reference (C) in Figure 1 and 35 shown in more detail in the section shown in Figure 3.

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  Each assembly (C) consists of a fixed crown (12) supporting the holding and guiding rollers (4) and the roller (5) provided in the upper part in the

vertical plane.

  These rollers are mounted on the crowns (12) by means of an axis (15), around which they can rotate freely by means of bearings (14). These rollers which can be made of any suitable plastic material,

  metal - have a peripheral structure such that they have a groove (15) which bears against the surface of the raceways (10) fixed at the periphery of the drum. A protective cover (20) forms a housing which completely surrounds the system for holding and guiding the drum.

  To ensure perfect stability, the crowns (12) are supported by four uprights (M), two per crowns, and which are arranged laterally.

  The uprights (M) can either be of the same height, which makes it possible to have a cylinder (1) which is positioned horizontally, or, as can be seen in FIG. 1, have a different length making it possible to obtain a slight inclination by relative to the horizontal, inclination in general of the order of 5 to 7.20 Preferably, as said above, the slats are made of wood, which is a good thermal insulator, has a pleasant feel and gives good sensations for the child and which, moreover, prevents the whole from being too cold in winter or too hot in summer.25 As a type of wood, we will use essences which resist exposure to the outside, for example oak or an exotic wood such as teak

or iroko.

  Optionally, less resistant wood could be used by subjecting it beforehand to a heat treatment of the "ratification>>" type.

increasing their durability.

  The particular functioning of the game in accordance with the invention is the particular effect caused by any movement of a child placed in an extended position inside the cylinder, namely that the latter oscillates following a pendulum movement of the type <2796304 <swinging "can be explained as follows by referring to Figures 5a and 5b, Figure 5a illustrating the result obtained when using a game according to the invention, and Figure 5b the result which would be obtained starting from the teachings of FR-A-2 464 732 and assuming as 5 that this assembly is implemented by a person not standing inside the cylinder as this patent suggests, but being in

lying down position.

  Compared to the prior art, the essential difference therefore resides in the characteristic according to which the support rollers (4) form an angle of 120 relative to the center of the cylinder, whereas in the prior art as it emerges from the

  Patent cited above, the support rollers are certainly arranged on either side of the vertical plane passing through the center, but near the latter.

  The movement is generated as a result of the displacement of the internal mass of the coil.

  By displacement, the linear mass has an eccentric shape compared to the previous equilibrium, and the coil turns to find a new equilibrium.

  Balance is reached when the general mass has the same force on the supporting rollers (4).

  However, in accordance with the invention, the force necessary for the movement of the coil is lower when the rollers are moved apart. In fact, it is necessary to observe the decomposition of the force on the rollers, with a component perpendicular to the wheel (normal N) and a tangential component (T) on the

  tangent of the rollers. It is the force on this tangent which generates the rotational movement relative to the axis of the coil.

  Referring to Figures 5a and 5b attached, when an equilibrium force F moves inside the coil to become F'I, the forces on the rollers

  become different and the wheel on the side of the displacement of the force receives an excess force which is decomposed into N and T. We note that for the same displacement of the force in the coil, the force T generating the moment of rotation35 is much more important on the system according to the invention than on the system according to the prior art.

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  Consequently, with such a design, in which the support frame is designed so that the lower rollers form a maximum angle, it is possible to

  cause the cylinder to swing from any minute movement of the child who is lying inside the drum.

  It should also be noted that such a design in which the drum is held in the vicinity of its ends by two peripheral rings, the cages corresponding to these rings make it possible to serve as supports for complementary decorative elements, such as that shown in FIG. 6, for example giving the whole an external appearance of an animal making

the game even more attractive.

  Of course, the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment

  concrete described above, but it covers all variants made in the same spirit.

Claims (4)

  1 / Dynamic game for children of the type constituted by a cylinder (1) open at its ends and able to rotate around its longitudinal central axis (X), said cylinder (1) being mounted on a support frame (2) comprising two pairs rollers (4) arranged in planes perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder and separated axially, the rollers of each pair being arranged on either side of the vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder, characterized in that: - the cylindrical body (1) consists of parallel slats (6), a vacuum remaining between two consecutive slats; - Said slats (6) are held in position by means of two peripheral rings (8) fixed on their external face, positioned slightly back from each end (9) of the cylinder, and supporting a continuous peripheral raceway (10); 15 - the diameter of the drum (1) is limited, so that the user is in a lying position inside the cylinder and not standing as in the previous solutions; - the pairs of support rollers (4) are spaced from each other so that they are positioned at an angle of at least 120 relative to the center of the cylinder, a third pair of rollers (5) being provided in the upper part in the vertical plane passing through the axis of the cylinder; the support frame (2) for said cylinder (1) is constituted by two fixed rings (12) supporting the guide rollers (4) bearing against the two   raceways (10) provided at the periphery of the drum, these rings being carried by uprights (M) arranged laterally with respect to the cylinder (1).   2 / dynamic game according to claim 1, characterized in that the cylinder is positioned horizontally relative to the ground.   3 / dynamic game according to claim 1, characterized in that the cylinder is mounted on the support at an angle to the horizontal, angle of preferably less than 10.   4 / dynamic game according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in   that the two peripheral rings (12) serve as support for complementary decorative elements giving for example the whole external appearance of an animal making the game even more attractive.