GB2153242A

GB2153242A - A reconfigurable toy

Info

Publication number: GB2153242A
Application number: GB08502789A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kouzin Ohno
Original assignee: Takara Co Ltd
Current assignee: Takara Co Ltd
Priority date: 1984-02-03
Filing date: 1985-02-04
Publication date: 1985-08-21
Also published as: GB2153242B; FR2560782A1; GB8502789D0; FR2560782B1; IT8509324A0; CA1214935A; DE8502707U1

Abstract

A reconfigurable toy can be configured from one form such as a dinosaurian form (Fig. 2) in a first position into a second form such as a robotic humanoid form (Fig. 11) in a second position. The toy comprises a body (1) constituting a back portion in both forms; a dinosaurian head/neck 2/3 pivotal backwards to the second position; a pair of pivotal dinosaurian chest members (6) which can be opened outwardly on each side of the body (1) to the second position; a robotic head (5) which is exposed in the second position of the members 2/3 and 6; a dinosaurian abdomen member 9 which can be moved towards the simulated robotic head member (5) to constitute a robotic chest member; pivotal dinosaurian rear leg members 21/25, which form robotic arm members in the second position a robotic waist member (13) which is exposed in the second position of abdomen member 9; robotic thigh members (14) pivotally mounted on the waist member (13); and dinosaurian rump and tail members 15, 17 which are pivotal to the robotic, second positions shown in Fig. 11. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A reconfigurable toy The present invention relates to a reconfigurable toy and more particularly relates to a reconfigurable toy configuring from a dinosaurian form into a robotic humanoid form.

In general, a reconfigurable toy assembled by a plurality of parts can be configured from one form into another form by moving some common parts each usually constituting a different part in different forms, in contact with or adjacent to other parts. However, it is rather difficult to move the common parts readily, easily, securely and exactly to the predetermined positions when configuring.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a configurable toy, free from the above mentioned inconveniences and disadvantages, which is capable of performing a reconfiguration easily, readily, securely and exactly with a very fantastic and unexpected image change.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reconfigurable toy which is configured in a first position to provide a dinosaurian form and in a second position to simulate a robotic humanoid form, comprising a body constituting a back portion; a dinosaurian head member and a dinosaurian neck member which are pivotally mounted to the top of the body and are pivoted backwards in the second position; a pair of dinosaurian chest members which are pivotally mounted to the upper part of the body and are opened in the both side directions in the second position; a simulated robotic head member which is secured to the top of the body and is covered by the dinosaurian neck member and the dinosaurian chest members in the first position, and which is appered in sight in the second position;; a first member which is movably mounted to the lower front part of the body and constitutes a dinosaurian abdomen member in the first position, and which is moved to the simulated robotic head member after the dinosaurian chest members are opened in the second position, to constitute a simulated robotic chest member; a pair of second members which are pivotally mounted to the both sides of the first member and constitute dinosaurian rear leg members in the first position and simulated robotic arm members in the second position; a simulated robotic waist member which is secured to the lower front part of the body and is covered by the first member in the first position, and which is appeared in sight in the second position; a pair of simulated robotic thigh members which are pivotally mounted to the simulated robotic waist member;; a pair of third members which are pivotally mounted to the simulated robotic thigh members and constitute dinosaurian rump members covering the simulated robotic thigh members in the first position, and which are.

pivoted backwards to constitute simulated robotic shank members in the second position while the simulated robotic thigh members are appeared in sight; and a pair of fourth members which are pivotally mounted to the rear ends of the third members and constitute dinosaurian tail members in the first position, and which are pivoted to the outer sides of the third members to constitute accessories of the simulated robotic shank members in the second position.

Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of a reconfigurable toy, showing a dinosaurian form, according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of Fig. 1; Figure 3 is a schematic side view, alike Fig.

1, of the toy of Fig. 1 for explaining its construction; Figure 4 is a bottom view of Fig. 1: Figure 5 is a perspective view of the toy shown in Fig. 1, showing a midway of the configuring from a dinosaurian form into a robotic humanoid form; Figure 6 is a perspective view of an abdomen part and a body of the dinosaur and a head part of the robotic humanoid; Figure 7 is a perspective view, alike Fig. 6, wherein the abdomen part is moved upwards onto the head part of the robotic humanoid:: Figure 8 is a partial bottom view, partly in section, of the toy shown in Fig. 1, for explaining the configuring from rump and tail portions of the dinosaur into leg portions of the robotic humanoid; Figure 9 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of Fig. 8; Figure 10 is a perspective view of the toy shown in Fig. 1, showing a midway of the configuring into the robotic humanoid; Figure 11 is a perspective view of the toy, alike Fig. 10, showing the finish of the configuring into the robotic humanoid; Figure 12 is a front view of the toy of Fig.

11; and Figure 13 is a side view of the toy of Fig.

11.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in Figs. 1-4 a reconfigurable toy having a dinosaurian form according to the present invention.

As clearly shown in Fig. 3, the reconfigurable toy according to the present invention consists of a body 1 constituting a back portion, a dinosaurian head member 2 pivotally, through a certain angle rearwards, mounted to a dinosaurian neck member 3 which is pivotally mounted to the body 1 via a pivot shaft 4, a simulated robotic head member 5, not shown now from the outside, secured to the rear top of the body 1, a pair of right and left dinosaurian chest members 6, each having a right or left dinosaurian front leg 7 on its side, hinged to the upper rear portion of the body 1 via pivot shafts 8, so that the front of the chest part can be opened to both sides, a dinosaurian abdomen member 9 movably upwards mounted to the body 1 through a link member 10 and pivot shafts 11 and 1 2 which pivotally connect the opposite ends of the link member 10 to the body 1 and the abdomen member 9, a simulated robotic waist member 13, now not shown from the outside and positioned in the abdomen member 9, secured to the front of the body 1, a pair of simulated right and left robotic thigh members 14, not shown now from the outside, pivotally mounted to the robotic waist member 13, a pair of dinosaurian rump members 15, each being pivotally mounted to the lower end of the corresponding robotic thigh member 14 in its outer side through a pivot shaft 16, and a pair of right and left dinosaurian tail members 17, each being pivotally mounted to the corresponding dinosaurian rump member 1 5 so as to open outside via a pivot shaft 1 8 and brackets 1 9 and 20 secured to the robotic thigh member 14 and the dinosaurian tail member 1 7.

A pair of right and left dinosaurian thigh members 21 are pivotally mounted to the opposite sides of the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 through pivot shafts 22. A pair of right and left simulated robotic hand members 23, almost not shown now from the outside, are pivotally mounted to the front ends of the corresponding dinosaurian thigh members 21 through pivot shafts 24. A pair of right and left dinosaurian shank members 25 are slidably mounted to the corresponding robotic hand members 23. The dinosaurian thigh members 21 and the dinosaurian shank mem bers 25 constitute dinosaurian rear leg mem bers. Each dinosaurian shank member 25 is pivotally provided with two front nail mem bers 26 and a rear nail member 28 through pivot shafts 27 and 29, respectively.

As apparent from the above description, the toy having the dinosaurian form stands on the rear leg members, as shown in Figs. 1-2.

The toy having the dinosaurian form shown in Figs. 1-3 is configured into a simulated robotic humanoid form, as shown by imagi nary lines in Fig. 3, as follows.

The dinosaurian head member 2 and the dinosaurian neck member 3 are pivoted rearwards around the pivot shaft 4, and then the dinosaurian chest members 6 are opened to the right and the left hand sides around the pivot shafts 8, to appear the simulated robotic head member 5 in sight, with the result that the dinosaurian chest members 6 constitute robotic wing members. The dinosaurian head member 2, the dinosaurian neck member 3 and the dinosaurian chest members 6 are now held on the back by the configuring simulated robotic humanoid.

Then, the dinosaurian shank members 25 are moved along the robotic hand members 23 to the dinosaurian thigh members 21, to appear the robotic hand members 23 in sight, and then the front and the rear nail members 26 and 28 are pivoted around the respective pivot shafts 27 and 29 towards the robotic hand members 23 to constitute gard members thereof, thereby configuring into simulated robotic arms. That is, the dinosaurian thigh members 21 and the dinosaurian shank members 25 constitute simulated robotic upper arm members and simulated robotic forearm members, respectively.

Then, the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 is moved upwards onto the simulated robotic head member 5, thereby constituting a simulated robotic chest member and appearing the simulated robotic waist member 1 3 in sight, as hereinafter described in detail with reference to Figs. 6 and 7.

Then, the dinosaurian tail members 1 7 are pivoted around the pivot shafts 1 8 their outer sides onto the outer sides of the dinosaurian rump members 15, and then the dinosaurian rump members 1 5 are pivoted rearwards through a 180 degree of angle around the pivot shafts 16, as hereinafter described in detail with reference to Figs. 8 and 9, with the result of the appearing of the simulated robotic thigh members 1 4 in sight, and the upset dinosaurian rump members 1 5 and the dinosaurian tail members 1 7 being constituting simulated robotic shank members and their accessories, as shown in Figs. 5 and 10.

Lastly, the simulated right and left robotic thigh members 14 are opened in the both side hand directions, as hereinafter described in detail with reference to Fig. 8, resulting in that the reconfigurable toy having the dinosaurian form is now completely configured into the simulated robotic humanoid form, as shown in Figs. 11-13.

Now, the configuration of the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 into the simulated robotic chest member will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 6 and 7. The dinosaurian abdomen member 9 is made of a plastic material in an approximate box form, and a rectangular cut 9b is formed in the central rear portion of a top plate 9a of the dinosau rian abdomen member 9. A pair of small engage holes 31 are provided in the rear end portion of each side plate 9c of the dinosau rian abdomen member 9.

A guide plate 5a conforming to the rectan gular cut 9b of the dinosaurian abdomen member 9, horizontally projects frontwards from the top of a stand member 1 a which is provided integrally in the upper part of the body 1. The simulated robotic head member 5 is put on the central portion of the guide plate 5a.

The dinosaurian abdomen member 9 is movably mounted to the body 1 by the link member 1 0. One end of the link member 10 is pivotally mounted to the central portion of the stand member 1 a by the horizontal pivot shaft 11, and the other end of the link member 10 is pivotally mounted to the inside of the inner end of the rectangular cut 9b of the top plate 9a of the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 by the horizontal pivot shaft 1 2.

It is readily understood from the above explanation that the moving distance of the movable member such as the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 can be readily varied, as occasion demands, by varying the length of the link member, which is very advantageous and convenient.

The body 1 is provided with a pair of engage projections 32 in the front end portion of each side contacting to the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 so that the engage projections 32 may engage with the engage holes 31 of the side plate 9c of the dinosaurian abdomen member 9, as shown in Fig. 6.

Further, the engage holes 31 and the engage projections 32 are so formed that the upper engage projections 32 of the both sides of the body 1 may engage with the lower engage holes 31 of the both side plates 9c of the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 when the dinosaurian abdomen member 9 is moved upwards so as to engage the rectangular cut 9b of the top plate 9a with the guide plate 5a for the simulated robotic head member 5, as shown in Fig. 7.

It is apparent from the above description that the positioning of the moving members can be carried out securely and exactly by means of the engage holes and the engage projections when configuring from one form into another form, and the positions of the moving members are stabilized before and after the configuring so as not to move readily by a little force added thereto.

Then, the configuration of the dinosaurian rump members 1 5 and the dinosaurian tail members 15 into the simulated robotic shank members and their accessories will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 8 and 9. The dinosaurian rump member 15 is formed in an approximate upset U-shaped horizontal cross section. The simulated robotic thigh member 14 is enclosed in the corresponding dinosaurian rump member 1 5 which substantially consists of an outer wall 15a, an inner wall 15b and a back wall 15c, and therefore the simulated robotic thigh member 1 4 cannot be seen from the outside except from the opening of the dinosaurian rump member 15, which is normally settled on the bottom, as shown in Fig. 4.

When the dinosaurian tail member 1 7 is firstly pivoted around the pivot shaft 1 8 to the outer side of the dinosaurian rump member 1 5 and then the dinosaurian rump member 1 5 is pivoted backwards through 1 80 degree around the pivot shaft 1 6 together with the pivoted dinosaurian tail member 1 7, the simulated robotic thigh member 14 is appeared in sight and the upset dinosaurian rump member 15 is connected under the simulated robotic thigh member 1 4 and constitutes the simulated robotic member, with a very fantastic and unexpected image change.

A pair of engage projections 41 are formed, projecting downwards, on the central portion of the bottom of the body 1. An engage groove 42 is formed on the upper inside end portion of the inner wall 15b of each dinosaurian rump member 15 so that the engage projection 41 may engage with the engage groove 42 when the dinosaurian rump member 15 is settled in the right position in the dinosaurian form. That is, the position of the dinosaurian rump members 1 5 are stabilized so as not to pivot or move in the dinosaurian form by these engage projections 41 and the engage grooves 42 even if a little force is added thereto.

In Fig. 8, the simulated right or left robotic thigh member 1 4 comprises an upper thigh member 14a, a lower thigh member 14b and a pivot member 1 4c on which the upper thigh member 1 4a and the lower thigh member 1 4b are pivotally connected. The upper thigh member 1 4a is pivotally mounted to the simulated robotic waist member 1 3 by a pivot shaft 43.The simulated robotic leg members consisting of the simulated robotic thigh members 1 4 and the simulated robotic shank members 15 are opened simply in the right and the left side hand directions by pivoting the upper thigh members 1 4a outwards around the pivot shafts 43 and pivoting the lower thigh members 14b inwards around the pivot members 1 4c with respect to the upper thigh members 14a, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11.

As explained above in detail with respect to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a reconfigurable toy is configured from one form into another form by slidably and/or pivotally moving common members and thereby appearing in sight or covering peculiar members for the one or another form.

with the result of a remarkable, unexpected and fantastic configuration change.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawings, however, various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable toy which is configured in a first position to provide a dinosaurian form and in a second position to provide a robotic humanoid form, comprising a body constituting a back portion; a dinosaurian head member and a dinosaurian neck member which are pivotally mounted to the top of the body and can be pivoted backwards to the second position; a pair of dinosaurian chest members which are pivotally mounted to the upper part of the body and can be opened outwardly on each side of the body to the second position; a simulated robotic head member which is secured to the top of the body and is covered by the dinosaurian neck member and the dinosaurian chest members in the first position, and which is exposed in the second position;; a first member which is mounted on the lower front part of the body and constitutes a dinosaurian abdomen member in the first position, and which can be moved towards the simulated robotic head member after the dinosaurian chest members have been opened and moved to the second position to constitute a simulated robotic chest member; a pair of second members which are pivotally mounted one on each side of the first member and constitute dinosaurian rear leg members in the first position and simulated robotic arm members in the second position; a simulated robotic waist member which is secured to the lower front part of the body and is covered by the first member in the first position, and which is exposed in the second position; a pair of simulated robotic thigh members which are pivotally mounted on the simulated robotic waist member;; a pair of third members which are pivotally mounted on the simulated robotic thigh members and constitute dinosaurian rump members covering the simulated robotic thigh members in the first position, and which can be pivoted backwardly to constitute simulated robotic shank members in the second position in which the position the simulated robotic thigh members are exposed; and a pair of fourth members which are pivotally mounted on the rear ends of the third members and constitute dinosaurian tail members in the first position, and which can be pivoted outwardly of the third members to constitute accessories of the simulated robotic shank members in the second position.

2. A configurable toy according to Claim 1, wherein the second members comprise a pair of first limb members which are pivotally mounted on the first members, a pair of second limb members and a pair of simulated robotic hand members on which the second limb members are slidably mounted which second limb membersare pivotally mounted on the free ends of the first limb members, wherein the first limb members constitute dinosaurian rear thigh members in the first position and simulated robotic upper arm members in the second position, the second limb members constitute dinosaurian rear shank members in the first position and can be slid over the simulated robotic hand members towards the first limb members to constitute simulated robotic forearm members in the second position, and the simulated robotic hand members are substantially covered by the second limb members in the first position and are exposed in the second position.

3. A reconfigurable toy according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein each dinosaurian chest member is provided with a dinosaurian front leg member.

4. A reconfigurable toy according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein each simulated robotic thigh member comprises an upper thigh member which is pivotally mounted on the simulated robotic waist member, and a lower thigh member which is pivotally mounted on the free end of the upper thigh member, and the simulated robotic leg members comprising the simulated robotic thigh members and the simulated robotic shank members are produced by pivoting the upper thigh members outwardly with respect to the waist member and pivoting the lower thigh members downwardly with respect to the upper thigh members.

5. A reconfigurable toy according to any one of Claims 2 to 4, wherein each second limb member is pivotally provided with a third limb member which constitutes simulated front nail members and a simulated rear nail member in the first position and constitutes guard members for the simulated robotic hand member in the second position.

6. A reconfigurable toy which is configured in a first position to provide one form and in a second position to provide a second form, comprising a member constituting a part of said one form in the first position, which is slidably connected to another part of said toy and which can be slidably moved to constitute a part of said second form together with other members in the second position.

7. A reconfigurable toy which is configured in a first position to provide one form and in a second position to provide a second form, comprising a member constituting a part of said one form in the first position, which is pivotally connected to another member constituting a part of said second form and covers said other member before pivoting to the first position, and which can be pivotally moved to constitute together with said other member a part of said second form in the second position to expose second member.

8. A reconfigurable toy substantially as described herein with reference to the drawings.