GB2076668A - Toy baby-walker - Google Patents

Abstract

A toy baby-walker 1 has a main frame 2, a bottom frame 3, a supporting rod 4, a seat 5, and auxiliary wheels 6. There is a power source, an electric motor 9, a first and second gear mechanism, and a doll. The first gear mechanism is driven by the electric motor 9 to cause a main shaft 13 thereof to rotate, which shaft in turn rotates an operating member 20 and drives the second gear mechanism to move the toy baby- walker itself. The operating member 20 causes the head and arms of the doll to pivot with the aid of a pivoting mechanism. Thus, the toy baby-walker can accomplish two different functions simultaneously, using a single power source. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Toy baby-walker This invention relates to a toy baby-walker and, more particularly, to a toy baby-walker which is movable by motor power which is transmitted to a driving wheel of the toy baby-walker through a gear mechanism, having in addition a doll which has limbs and a head which are movable by the same motor power when the doll is sitting in the toy baby-walker.

There have been various types of toy babywalkers which can be operated either manually or using other power sources, and many improvements therein have been attempted in order to make them more interesting to children.

In conventional toy baby-walkers, however, it has not been known for the walker and a doll sitting in the walker to both be movable by a single power source (A toy baby-walker is henceforth referred to as a walker).

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to enable the provision of a toy baby-walker in which the above disadvantages are eliminated, or at least mitigated.

It is another object to enable the provision of a toy baby-walker which is capable of operating at the same time both the walker itself and a doll with a single power source.

It is a further object to enable the provision of a toy baby-walker in which a doll which sits in the walker can pivotally move its head and arms.

It is a still further object to enable the provision of a mechanism which is simple to make and assemble.

Thus the present invention enables the provision of a movable toy which comprises a movable member and a doll having limbs and a head which are pivotally movable, the arrangement being such that movement of the movable member can be accompanied by movement of the limbs and the head of the doll in a predetermined manner.

According to one embodiment of the invention, a toy baby-walker comprising a main frame, a bottom frame, a supporting rod fixedly connected therebetween, a seat suspended within a space defined by the frames, and a plurality of auxiliary wheels rotatably secured to the bottom frame also comprises: a power source; an electric motor connected to the power source and having a rotary shaft; a first and second gear mechanism; and a doll. The first gear mechanism is coupled to the rotary shaft and adapted to rotate an operating member fixed to one end of a main shaft, the operating member extending within the space of the walker. The second gear mechanism is coupled to the other end of the main shaft and adapted to rotate a driving wheel rotatably secured to the bottom frame.The doll has a pivoting mechanism within its body for imparting a pivotal movement to the head and arms thereof and sits on the seat. The pivoting mechanism is driven by rotation of the operating member.

The pivoting mechanism is preferably made up of an eccentric cam, a cam follower, and a connecting ring coaxially rotatable with the eccentric cam and adapted to be coupled with the operating member. The connecting ring is preferably made of elastic material.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same may be put into effect, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 shows a side elevational view, in partial cross-section, of a toy baby-walker in accordance with this invention; FIGURE 2 shows a top plan view of a first gear mechanism and a second gear mechanism of the toy baby-walker of Figure 1; FIGURE 3 shows an elevational view of a pivotal mechanism of a doll in accordance with this invention; FIGURE 4 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A of Figure 3, omitting therefrom a head of a doll; and FIGURE 5 shows a perspective view of the toy baby-walker of Figure 1 having the doll of Figure 3 on a seat thereof.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a preferred embodiment of the present invention in which the walker is generally designated by a reference numeral 1. The walker comprises a main frame 2, a bottom frame 3, and a plurality of supporting rods 4. The supporting rod 4 rigidly connects the main frame 2 and the bottom frame 3 lending mechanical strength and supporting the frames 2 and 3. A seat 5 is suspended centrally of the spaced defined by the main frame 2 and the bottom frame 3 to which a plurality of auxiliary wheels 6 are rotatably secured. A housing 7 for a gear box 8 and a power source (not shown) such as a dry battery is mounted at the rear side of the walker 1. At the bottom of the gear box 8 is fixed an electric motor 9, which is powered by the battery and has a rotary shaft 10 which extends vertically within the gear box.The rotary shaft 10 is provided with a driving gear 11 above which a first gear mechanism is disposed. The first gear mechanism comprises a crown gear 12 which meshes with the driving gear 1 a main shaft 13, and a plurality of reduction gears 14 to 19. On a shaft to which the crown gear 1 2 is rigidly connected, is disposed the reduction gear 14 which meshes with the reduction gear 1 5. The reduction gear 1 5 rotatably mounted around the main shaft 13 in turn meshes with the reduction gear 17 via the reduction gear 1 6 which is mounted on another shaft.The reduction gear 1 9 rigidly mounted on the main shaft 13 is then rotated via the preceding reduction gear 1 8. It is to be noted in the drawings that the above reduction gears 15, 16, and 17, 18 are mounted on the same respective shafts. Thus, rotation of the driving shaft is transmitted with decreased speed to the main shaft 13.

There is fixedly connected at one end of the main shaft 13 an operating member 20 generally of a cylindrical shape, which member protrudes within the space defined by the frames 2 and 3. To the other end of the main shaft 13, is rigidly attached a delivering gear 21 to which is coupled a crown gear 22 comprising part of a second gear mechanism. The second gear mechanism is so arranged to transmit rotation of the delivering gear 21 to a driving wheel 23 via a spur gear 24 rigidly attached to a driving wheel shaft, and a crown gear 25 which meshes with the spur gear 24 and operates coupled with the crown gear 22.

Turning,to Figures 3, 4 and 5, particularly to Figures 3 and 4, there is shown a doll for use in the toy baby-walker as described above. The doll has within its body a pivoting mechanism generally designated by a reference numeral 30, by which mechanism a head 39 and arms (not shown) are caused to move in a pivotal manner as shown in Arrows A, B and C depicted in Figure 5.

The pivotal mechanism comprises an eccentric cam 31 having a cam pin 32 integrally formed therewith, a cam follower 33 pivoted around a pivot axis 34, and a connecting ring 35 which is joined coaxially with the eccentric cam 31. The connecting ring 35 is made of elastic material, so that it can enjoy a relatively tight connection with the operating member 20 when the doll is placed on the seat within the walker. As a result, a pivotal movement of the cam follower 33 and hence that of the head 39 and arms are obtainable by transferring the rotational motion of the operating member 20 to the eccentric cam 31.

As may be readily understood from the description above, the toy baby-walker according to the present invention is operated in the following manner: on switching on the motor 9 all the gears of the first and second gear mechanism rotate causing the operating member 20 and the driving wheel 23 to rotate, and hence causing the walker to move and also the head and arms of the doll to pivot with respect to the body of the doll.

The doll appears to move as if walking by itself.

As can be seen from the foregoing description, a toy baby-walker according to the present invention can operate at the same time both the walker itself and a doll using a single power source so that it is interesting to children.

Moreover the movement of the whole toy baby walker is relatively realistic.

Claims (13)

1. A movable toy which comprises a movable member and a doll having limbs and a head whieh are pivotally movable, the arrangement being such that movement of the movable member can be accompanied by movement of the limbs and the head of the doll in a predetermined manner.

2. A movable toy according to claim 1 wherein the movable member comprises a rigid frame and a seat suspended therein on which the doll can be detachably disposed.

3. A movable toy according to claim 1 or 2 wherein the movable member comprises a toy baby-walker.

4. A movable toy according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the movable member comprises a toy baby-walker having a main frame, a lower frame, a rod rigidly connecting the main frame and the lower frame, a seat suspended within the space defined by the main frame, the lower frame and the connecting rod, and a plurality of wheels secured to the lower frame.

5. A movable toy according to any one of the preceding claims wherein an operating member can couple a part of the doll to a driving wheel of the movable member.

6. A movable toy according to claim 5 wherein the doll comprises an eccentric cam, a cam follower, and a connecting ring coaxially rotatable with the operating member.

7. A movable toy according to claim 6 wherein the connecting ring comprises an elastic material.

8. A movable toy according to any one of claims 5 to 7 wherein a reduction gear mechanism couples the operating member to the driving wheel.

9. A movable toy according to any one of the preceding claims which further comprises means for driving the toy.

10. A movable toy according to claim 9 wherein the said driving means comprises an electric motor having a rotary shaft.

11. A movable toy according to claim 5 and 10 wherein a reduction gear mechanism couples the rotary shaft and the operating member.

12. A movable toy substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.

13. Any novel feature or combination of features disclosed herein.